Month: May 2022

With a sweeping move from the outside deep in the Pimlico Race Course stretch, Set Piece pulled the tablecloth out from under the late leaders to win the Grade 2 Dinner Party Stakes on Saturday's Preakness Stakes undercard.

The 6-year-old Dansili gelding was unhurried out of the gate by jockey Florent Geroux, who allowed Set Piece to settle in second to last, while English Bee, Atone, and Tango Tango Tango vied for the early lead passing under the wire for the first time.

Atone took control of the pace heading into the first turn from the outside of Atone, clocking the opening quarter in :23.44 seconds. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. let Atone get comfortable on the lead, and they distanced from the rest of the field through the turn and heading into the backstretch. They maintained a 3 1/2-length advantage over English Bee after passing the half-mile mark in :47.81 seconds. Set Piece remained near the back of the pack across the back straightaway, but he kept contact with the field as it settled together.

The running order went largely unchanged as Atone led the field into the final turn, and through three-quarters in 1:12.56. Geroux had kept Set Piece well off the rail up to the stretch drive, but he swung his mount even wider as they entered the straightaway, and by the time they took aim at the lead at the top of the stretch, they were five-wide.

Atone remained clear of his rivals under urging from Ortiz as they passed the three-sixteenths pole, and he remained in front with a furlong to go. However, Set Piece gained considerable ground on the outside as Geroux pushed his mount forward, and he got his head in front at the sixteenth pole. Atone had no answer for the challenge, and Set Piece carried on to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Tango Tango Tango, who carried on for second after a steady run. Tango Tango Tango finished a neck ahead of Atone.

Set Piece completed the 1 1/16-mile Dinner Party in 1:41.64 over a firm Pimlico turf course. He paid $6.20 to win as the post time favorite.

Set Piece races as a homebred for Juddmonte Farms, and he was trained by Brad Cox.

Saturday's Dinner Party victory propelled Set Piece to his 10th career win in 20 starts, and improved his earnings to $697,823. It marks a continued renaissance for the British-born horse, who competed in the 2019 British 2,000 Guineas, and was relocated to the U.S. a year later.

The Dinner Party was the second start of 2022 for Set Piece after he finished seventh in the G1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland in April, just two lengths off winner Shirl's Speight. It was his first win since last June, when he employed a similar closing kick to take the G2 Wise Dan Stakes at Churchill Downs.

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Native Trail returned to his imperious best to give Godolphin an English, French, and Irish 2,000 Guineas treble when landing the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas (G1) Saturday at the Curragh.

The imposing son of Oasis Dream, who ended his 2-year-old career as the unbeaten European champion after wins in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes and Group1 National Stakes, ran a massive race to finish second behind stablemate Coroebus in the 2,000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket and duly made amends with a comfortable 1 3/4 length win from New Energy in the Irish equivalent. Godolphin also captured the French equivalent, the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (G1), with Modern Games.

Guided by William Buick, Native Trail covered one mile in 1:39.28 on turf rated as yielding.

Imperial Fighter was third in the field on nine.

Trainer Charlie Appleby is just the second trainer to win the English, French and Irish 2,000 Guineas in the same season, and the first to achieve the feat with three different colts.

“Everyone wants to see the champion 2-year-old hopefully fulfill their 3-year-old careers and that is what Native Trail has done,” Appleby said on Godolphin's website. ”He lost nothing in defeat in the English Guineas – Coroebus was a horse that we thought of highly – and we will never know if it would have been a closer contest if they had been drawn next to each other.

“It's nice to have conversations where, instead of trying to find one to win a race, you are trying to potentially keep them apart. Modern Games will head to the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) (G1) and Coroebus was always going to go to the St. James's Palace Stakes (G1).

“Now Native Trail will have to come into the Royal Ascot conversation as well over the next 10 days or two weeks. We all know that the St. James's Palace Stakes is a fantastic race and it's the last chance for the 3-year-olds to compete against each other over a mile.

“Native Trail has a racing head that gives himself a chance of getting 10 furlongs. He is doing nothing wrong over a mile at the moment, but going through the line is always the strongest part of his race. More importantly, I think we need a conversation over whether we let him and Coroebus take each other on in the St James's Palace Stakes first.”

Purchased from Oak Tree Farm by Godolphin at the 2021 Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up, Native Trail was originally bought from Kildaragh Stud by Mags O'Toole and Norman Williamson for 67,000 guineas at Book 1 of the 2020 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Out of the Observatory mare Needleleaf, a half sister to the Group 1 winning sprinter African Rose, Native Trail's classic success also represents a major triumph for breeder Jose Delmotte, who purchased Needleleaf from Juddmonte Farms at the 2015 Tattersalls December Mares Sale for 60,000 guineas.

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Klaravich Stables' Technical Analysis gained an easy lead soon after the start and cruised to her third graded stakes victory in the $150,000 Gallorette Stakes (G3) Saturday at Pimlico.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz for trainer Chad Brown, Technical Analysis rolled through easy fractions of :24.37 and :48.54 for a half mile with Foggy Dreams in pursuit 1 ½ lengths back and Crystal Cliffs tracking from third along the rail.

Crystal Cliffs was eased out off the far turn and moved to second, 1 ½ lengths back, as the winner was timed in 1:12.26 for six furlongs. Crystal Cliffs loomed a brief threat approaching the lane, but Technical Analysis opened up by two lengths in early stretch and drew off for the victory.

The 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Kingman won by 3 ½ lengths from Crystal Cliffs and covered the 1 1/16 miles on turf in 1:41.40. The 3-5 favorite, she returned $3.20.

Crystal Cliffs finished with good energy under Tyler Gaffalione but was no match for the winner. In a Hurry finished third, three lengths behind Crystal Cliffs.

“I was just a passenger,” Ortiz said said of Technical Analysis. “She was much the best today. She looked like it on paper, and she just went out there and did what she had to do. Chad had her ready.” 

“She's a little quirky. You don't fight with her. You just have to let her be happy and find a good rhythm. She was relaxed, is the main thing. She wasn't paying attention to the infield, and I was very happy down the backside.”

Technical Analysis won a pair of graded stakes last summer at Saratoga taking Lake George Stakes (G3) and Lake Placid Stakes (G2) and closed 2021 with a second in the Queen Elizabeth Challenge Stakes (G1) at Keeneland October 16. After six months off, she  was second in the Plenty of Grace Stakes April 16 at Aqueduct to launch her 2022 campaign.

“She keeps improving. Her speed and her turn of foot is dangerous in any race. I think she'll be a contender in the division. Chad has a lot of them. He'll decide where to place her next time.”

“She was able to take control of the race, which it looked like on paper, which made her the heavy favorite here,” Brown said. “So relieved to see her respond. Once she took control of the race going down the backside, I felt pretty good. She got tested, by, what I think, is really good filly [Crystal Cliffs] turning for home that made her move early and tried her.

“I  was very interested to see how she responded after her first race of the year [second in the Plenty of Grace Stakes ] where she got a wide trip and got beat. It was a good, solid race, but the second race off the layoff would really tell the story to me where we are headed, and it looks like we are headed some place good.”

With Saturday's victory, her record improves to 5-2-1 from nine career starts.

Technical Analysis was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock from the Sea The Stars mare Sealife.

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