Month: April 2022

NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and Parkland Thoroughbreds' Venti Valentine will look to continue her journey down the Road to the Kentucky Oaks in Saturday's Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle for sophomore fillies going nine furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack. The Gazelle offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

A New York-bred daughter of Firing Line, Venti Valentine has compiled a near-perfect record, registering three wins from four starts including two stakes victories. Trained by Jorge Abreu, Venti Valentine was a last-out winner of the Busher Invitational by an impressive seven lengths in her sophomore debut.

The bay filly kicked things off with a debut win going six furlongs at Belmont Park in September, rallying from 10th to nab a nose victory against fellow state-breds. She stepped up to stakes company in her first start against winners and easily took the Maid of the Mist against fellow state-breds by 3 3/4 lengths when stretching out to a one-turn mile in October, stalking a bit closer and taking command at the top of the lane.

Venti Valentine's graded stakes debut came in the G2 Demoiselle at the Big A on Dec. 4, which also marked her first attempt at nine furlongs. Ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Venti Valentine was positioned a half-length from the lead at the half-mile marker before making her run at pacesetter and winner Nest. She closed well to the outside but came up short and was beaten a neck.

After a freshening at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, Venti Valentine made her return to the Empire State in the $250,000 Busher Invitational three months later. With Manny Franco in the irons, Venti Valentine was sent off at odds of 5-1 and launched a menacing bid rounding the turn. Under urging, she improved her advantage to seven lengths at the wire and completed the mile in 1:39.65.

“We knew she had talent early on, and turning from two to three, you could see the right change on her,” Abreu said of Venti Valentine's development. “She got stronger, she was more focused and she showed that in her last race.”

Venti Valentine posted a sharp five-furlong work in 59.11 seconds over the Belmont dirt training track on March 27 with Franco up and made her final Gazelle preparation on Saturday, breezing a half-mile in 49.90 in company with stablemate Guardian Moon.

“They breezed really well,” Abreu said. “I gave her a really strong breeze the week before with Manny.”

Bred in New York by Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable, Venti Valentine is a half-sister to 2019 Busher victress Espresso Shot, who was also campaigned in part by Final Furlong and trained by Abreu. Venti Valentine is Abreu's second-highest earning trainee behind Espresso Shot.

“It's been so exciting,” Abreu said with a laugh. “I'm on cloud nine right now.”

Franco will pilot Venti Valentine again from post 5.

Divine Huntress will look to regain her winning form for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Long Valley Stables and trainer H. Graham Motion. The daughter of Divining Rod began her career with trainer Rick Buckley at Laurel Park, finishing third on debut sprinting six furlongs. She shipped to Parx Racing to break her maiden at second asking, stretching out to seven furlongs and hand-ridden by Mychel Sanchez to a 2 1/4-length victory over next-out winner Misty Mauve.

The bay filly was transferred to Motion's barn for her next outing, a dominant optional claiming score going one mile and 70 yards at Parx on Jan. 22. With Sanchez in the irons again, Divine Huntress spotted pacesetter Colin's Grey Lady four lengths at the half-mile marker before launching her bid and taking command at the three-quarter call, galloping away and widening her margin to 12 3/4 lengths at the wire in a final time of 1:47.32.

“She did it very impressively,” said Motion. “You always wonder what's behind you in those kind of races, but she couldn't have done it any easier.”

Divine Huntress made her stakes debut in her next outing, stretching out to 1 1/16 miles in the G2 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds on Feb. 19 under new rider Jose Ortiz. Racing in seventh of 11 sophomore fillies, Divine Huntress could only manage to improve her position to fourth at the three-quarter marker before tiring and fading to ninth 14 1/4 lengths behind Turnerloose.

Motion said Divine Huntress' performance may have been hindered when the Steve Asmussen-trained pacesetter La Crete was pulled up down the backstretch.

“It was kind of a head-scratcher for us and I don't know what to make of it,” said Motion. “That horse of Steve's went wrong on the backstretch in front of her which put her off her game a little bit. She just didn't seem to run her race and Jose took care of her in the last part. She seems fine and she went into it well.”

Divine Huntress has posted a series of works over the dirt at Fair Hill, most recently breezing five-eighths in 1:02.60.

“I haven't done a lot with her,” Motion said. “She keeps herself pretty fit, but she's had several breezes at Fair Hill and she seems to have done well.”

The Gazelle will be the farthest race so far for Divine Huntress, whose immediate family includes the versatile Grade 1-placed and multiple stakes-winning Aggadan.

“She seemed a little fresh in New Orleans and she probably wants to be a bit forwardly placed going the nine furlongs,” Motion said.

Divine Huntress breaks from post 7 with Dylan Davis aboard.

Robert Low and Lawana Low's Classy Edition will look to regain winning form after a three-race win streak was snapped last time out in the G2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park on March 5.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the New York-bred Classy Edition won her first three starts by a combined 18 lengths, starting with a professional debut state-bred maiden special weight win in September at Saratoga Race Course.

She followed up her maiden victory with a pair of state-bred stakes triumphs, taking the seven-furlong Joseph A. Gimma at Belmont by eight lengths and the six-furlong Key Cents by 3 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct.

The daughter of Classic Empire made her first start going one mile last time out in the Davona Dale, racing from off the pace under regular rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. She came up two lengths short of next-out G2 Gulfstream Park Oaks winner Kathleen O. to suffer her first career defeat.

Pletcher said he was proud of the effort from Classy Edition, who had some traffic trouble at the top of the lane in the Davona Dale.

“I thought she ran really well. She was bottled up inside and had to wait for room and Kathleen O got the jump on her,” Pletcher said. “That form was flattered by Kathleen O coming back to win the Gulfstream Oaks. We've always felt like Classy Edition wanted two turns and this is going to be her first opportunity to get stretched out to a two-turn mile and an eighth. We've always felt like this is what she's been wanting to do.”

Out of the Bernardini mare Newbie, Classy Edition is a half-sister to the multiple stakes-winning New York-bred mare Newly Minted and multiple stakes-placed New Girl in Town.

Classy Edition will break from post 6 with Joel Rosario aboard.

Pletcher will also be represented by maiden-winner Greatitude, who enters from a distant fifth in the G3 Forward Gal at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 5.

Owned by Repole Stable, the daughter of Dialed In was a winner at second asking sprinting seven furlongs at Gulfstream before stepping up to graded company in the Forward Gal. Ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., Greatitude broke sharply and stalked the pace in fourth behind pacesetter Girl With a Dream but failed to improve position racing two-wide and was beaten 10 1/2 lengths.

Pletcher said maturity and more ground will be the keys to Greatitude's success.

“She really didn't behave very well in her last start. She was very upset in the paddock before the race and we felt like she left her race in the paddock,” said Pletcher. “We shipped her up to Belmont early and she did some paddock schooling at Aqueduct this week and did well, so we're hoping she'll keep herself composed and getting the opportunity to stretch out will make a difference.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano picks up the mount from post 2.

Godolphin's Nostalgic is still in search of her first stakes triumph and enters in good form after a 6 3/4 length victory at the optional claiming level for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The Kentucky homebred daughter of Medaglia d'Oro graduated on debut going 1 1/16 miles at Belmont Park in October, striding away to an easy 7 3/4-length victory under regular rider Jose Ortiz.

Nostalgic, who has won two races by a combined 14 1/2 lengths, will be guided by Ortiz from post 3.

Completing the field are multiple stakes-placed Morning Matcha [post 1, Frankie Pennington]; Shotgun Hottie [post 4, Trevor McCarthy], a well-beaten runner-up to Venti Valentine in the Busher; and Caragate [post 8, Eric Cancel], who finished third in the Maddie May on February 21 in her stakes debut.

The Gazelle is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's loaded 11-race card that also features the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in Race 8 and the Grade 1 Carter Handicap presented by NYRA Bets in Race 9. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

The post Venti Valentine Continues Along Road To Kentucky Oaks In Aqueduct’s Gazelle appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner will look to continue a dominant start to his 4-year-old campaign in trying to parlay consecutive graded stakes victories at one mile when returning to sprinting as part of a talented field in Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Carter Handicap presented by NYRA Bets for 4-year-olds and up contesting seven furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 122nd running of the prestigious Carter, first run in 1895 and famously carrying the distinction as the only American stakes race to feature a triple dead heat for victory with Brownie, Bossuet and Wait A Bit hitting the wire simultaneously in 1944, is one of six races on the stacked Saturday docket.

The 11-race card, with a first post of 12:50 p.m. Eastern, is headlined by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles in a contest offering 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers. The stakes-laden card also features the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle for 3-year-old fillies also going nine furlongs with 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Oaks points on the line; the Grade 3, $200,000 Bay Shore for sophomores sprinting seven furlongs; the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap for older fillies and mares going seven furlongs; and the day's lone turf stakes with the $100,000 Danger's Hour for 4-year-olds and up at one mile.

Speaker's Corner, conditioned by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, earned an eye-opening 109 Beyer Speed Figure for his 6 3/4-length romp against optional claimers going 1 1/16 miles in October over Belmont Park's Big Sandy and capped his sophomore year with a strong second, a half-length back to Miles D, in the two-turn 1 1/8-mile Discovery in November to mark his debut at the Big A.

That effort represented his best finish in a stake at the time, besting a sixth-place finish against top-flight competition in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby in September at Parx.

The Street Sense colt started 2022 even better than the previous campaign, registering a 102 figure for his 1 1/4-length gate-to-wire win in the G3 Fred W. Hooper in January at Gulfstream Park. He tallied triple digits for a fourth consecutive start for his 5 1/2-length triumph over the same track in the G2 Gulfstream Park Mile on March 5, garnering a 106.

“He showed plenty last year. We tried stretching him out, but it wasn't really what he wanted to do,” said Godolphin bloodstock director Michael Banahan. “We got him back out to one-turn miles and he was impressive in both of those. That's [one-turn contests] what it looks like he wants to do.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado, aboard for Speaker's Corner's last four starts, will have the return assignment from the outermost post 8 with his charge carrying the highweight of 124 pounds.

Stronach Stables' Green Light Go will try to capitalize on the opportunity to live up to his name, cutting back to sprinting following a pair of victories going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct. After being forwardly placed before cruising to a nine-length win against optional claimers in January, jockey Dylan Davis sent the 5-year-old son of Hard Spun to the front in the Stymie on Feb. 26 in a 3 1/4-length victory.

With the starting gate for the Carter not abutting Conduit Avenue like the one-mile race requires, trainer Jimmy Jerkens said the strategy might shift, with his second-place finish in the six-furlong G3 Fall Highweight on Nov. 21 as a guide. In that contest, Green Light Go tracked in fifth position through the opening half-mile before rallying to finish a head back to Hopeful Treasure.

“He showed easy speed going a mile, but against better horses at a shorter distance, he might be forced to stalk a little bit,” Jerkens said.

Davis will have the call again with Green Light Go carrying 121 pounds in breaking from post 2.

Klaravich Stables' Reinvestment Risk will make his first stakes appearance since capping his 2-year-old year with a 10th-place finish in the 2020 G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland. The Chad Brown trainee burst onto the scene with a pair of Grade 1 runner-up finishes in his first three career starts, both times running second to Jackie's Warrior in both the Hopeful in September 2020 at Saratoga Race Course and following in the Champagne the next month at Belmont before his off-the-board Breeders' Cup performance.

The son of Upstart made just one start in his 3-year-old year, running third against allowance company in June, and returned off a subsequent seven-month layoff to best optional claimers in February at Gulfstream. After earning a 103 Beyer for that effort, Brown weighed the Carter and the G3 Commonwealth at Keeneland as the possible next start before deciding to ship Reinvestment Risk to Ozone Park.

“He didn't exit his race last year in good shape, so he went to the sidelines,” Brown said. “This year, he came out of it in good shape and ran much better.”

Reinvestment Risk, carrying 117 pounds, will have Manny Franco in the irons from the inside post.

Graded stakes-winner First Captain, fresh off a win over optional claimers in February at Gulfstream, will make his first Aqueduct appearance as Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey seeks his second Carter victory and first since Dancing Spree in 1990.

Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing, the 4-year-old Curlin colt won his stakes bow in the G3 Dwyer in July at Belmont before running third in the stakes named for his sire in July at the Spa. That effort in the Curlin was his last race of the year, with First Captain returning to the track to earn an 88 Beyer in his first race in seven months.

A $1.5 million purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, First Captain will carry 120 pounds with Jose Ortiz retaining the mount from post 5.

Off a six-month layoff, Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable's Mind Control will make his long-awaited 6-year-old debut for Hall of Fame trainer and three-time Carter-winner Todd Pletcher.

Mind Control was a winner last out, capturing the Parx Dirt Mile in September to earn a 104 Beyer in cracking triple digits for the first time in 23 career starts. Originally targeting a spot in the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in November at Del Mar, Mind Control was forced to missed the $2 million race after running a fever.

Bolstered by a long respite, Mind Control will now be making his third career appearance in the Carter after running sixth in the 2020 edition that was contested at Belmont and second – 5 1/2 lengths back to Mischevious Alex, in last year's edition that returned to its customary spot at the Big A.

“We loved the way he ran at Parx and unfortunately he didn't get to run in the Breeders' Cup,” Pletcher said. “He shipped out to California but spiked a temperature so that was the end of the year for him.

“He wintered really well and got some time off at Red Oak and came in looking super,” Pletcher added. “He's training consistently like he always does. He's a happy horse and trains well and traditionally runs well fresh. We're looking for him to pick up where he left off.”

Pletcher said added distance could be in Mind Control's future later in the year.

“I think he's very versatile,” Pletcher said. “We'll see how things go in here but we might give him an opportunity to stretch out at some point this year.”

Joel Rosario will ride from post 4 with Mind Control carrying 123 pounds.

Drafted, who has won group or graded stakes in two continents, earned the opportunity to take a step up in class following a 4 1/2-length win in the seven-furlong G3 Toboggan in February at the Big A for trainer David Duggan.

The 8-year-old is coming off a race in which he set a personal-best 97 Beyer, and his conditioner said he is intrigued if a near decade's worth of racing experience can help overcome the challenge of talented younger opposition.

“You could make a case for five horses in there. We're taking a shot at some young guns,” Duggan said. “He's proven the last time that with the right conditions, he can be competitive. If everything sets up, we'll be making sure he'll be legitimate.”

Drafted, owned by Dublin Fjord Stables, Racepoint Stables, Kevin Hilbert and Thomas O'Keefe, will have a rider change with Kendrick Carmouche on the bridle, as Ortiz rides First Captain.

Drafted, who will carry 118 pounds from post 7 on Saturday, captured the 2019 Group 3 Mahab Al Shimaal at Meydan Racecourse.

“Whether he's good enough at eight, it's hard to know,” Duggan added. “But he's doing good. We'll take a good swing at it. I'm quite happy with Kendrick on there. All we want is a good showing.”

Shea D Boy's Stable's Bank On Shea, winner of the six-furlong Pelican in February at Tampa Bay. Bred in New York by Dr. Scott Pierce, the 5-year-old Bank On Shea is 5-1-1 in eight career starts with three stakes wins. The Carlos David trainee will carry 118 pounds as Trevor McCarthy will be aboard in breaking from post 3.

Rounding out the field is Trin-Brook Stables' War Tocsin, trained by Uriah St. Lewis, was second last out in the G3 General George in February at Laurel Park. War Tocsin, carrying 116 pounds, will have Dexter Haddock ride from post 6.

The Grade 1 Carter Handicap is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 11-race card.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

The post Speaker’s Corner Headlines Talented Field In Saturday’s Grade 1 Carter appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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