Month: July 2022

As he watched the final furlong unfold in the $75,000 Ellis Park Turf Stakes Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on Sunday, trainer Ian Wilkes had the best kind of problem on his hands.

His allegiance was split between both the determined distaffers on the front end, but he knew no matter who prevailed, he was going to have some celebrating to do.

Wilkes trainee Market Rumor ran down her stablemate Undisturbed in late stretch to capture the 1 1/16-miles race by a half length and earn the first stakes victory of her 20-race career.

“It's always great when you come into the straight and your two are 1-2 in a stakes, you know,” Wilkes said. “It doesn't matter where it's at, you're always happy to see that.”

The Ellis Park Turf was the lone race to remain on the grass Sunday as weather continues to wreak havoc with the track's turf lineup. Fortunately for Market Rumor, the bay mare is accustomed to handling whatever surface she is asked to run over as she has earned top three placings at seven of the eight tracks she has visited.

What the daughter of Afleet Alex hadn't yet earned was a stakes victory, something she took care of in professional fashion on Sunday.

With Undisturbed on the lead through fractions of :24.82 and :48.88, Market Rumor rated patiently in sixth over the yielding ground, waiting for regular rider Chris Landeros to give her the cue to go on.

“I kind of just break and let her dictate where she needs to be,” Landeros said. “She's versatile. You don't want to get in a hurry with her but you also don't want to take anything away from her. She's as cool as they come. She's just a cool filly. She's grown up a lot.”

Market Rumor may not have owned a stakes win prior to Sunday but she had the back class of defeating stakes-quality horses. When she won an allowance race at Keeneland on April 23, she toppled Gam's Mission, who returned to take the Old Forester Mint Julep Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs on June 5.

That top-quality turn of foot came through as the seven-horse field reached the final turn in the Ellis Park Turf. As Undisturbed worked to fend off a challenge from Joy of Painting to her outside, Market Rumor advanced five-wide and kept her momentum down the lane despite being well out in the middle of the track.

“It's very satisfying. She needed a stakes win,” Wilkes said of Market Rumor. “She's been second in a stakes so this is huge for her and the owners as she's a homebred. I'm very proud of the other filly too (Undisturbed), she ran game. I was happy to see her bounce back to form because she's been in and out of form.  I'm just so proud of them both.”

Final time was 1:43.42 on turf rated as yielding.

Sent off as the 6-5 favorite, Market Rumor paid $4.52 to her backers while improving her overall record to five wins from 20 starts and $397,563 in earnings.

Undisturbed, whose two career wins both came at Ellis Park, was 3 1/2 lengths clear of third-place finisher Demodog.

Owned by breeder Randall Bloch, et al. and Six Column Stables LLC, et al., Market Rumor was bred in Kentucky out of the Street Sense mare Taylor Street.

“I'd love to try and separate them going forward because I'd love to get a stakes win on Undisturbed,” Wilkes said when asked what might be next for his duo. “She deserves to win a stakes somewhere, so I'm going to separate them some way.”

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Trainer Bret Calhoun had a banner day at Lone Star Park on Sunday, sending out Free Drop Maddy to win the filly division of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity and Vietnam Victory to take the colts and gelding division. Each race offered a $150,000 purse to Texas accredited and TTA Sale graduates.

The James Stodola-owned Vietnam Victory was a $30,000 TTA Yearling Sale graduate last year who entered the Sunday's race off a gutsy performance in his maiden debut May 15 at Lone Star Park. That maiden race saw the Texas-bred Klimt colt post a one-length victory at first asking.

In the TTA Futurity, Vietnam Victory met six other rivals in the 5½- furlong contest.

With jockey Jose Alvarez aboard, Vietnam Victory dueled front-running Steve Asmussen-trained Bling Bling Bling through a half-mile before another Asmussen stablemate, Village Way, ranged up along the outside to make it three-horse battle across the track.

At the top of the stretch, both Vietnam Victory and Village Way darted away from the pacesetter to make it a two-horse race by midstretch, with Village Way leading by a half length. On cue, Vietnam Victory dug in and rallied to grind out the effort to surpass Village Way in deep stretch and go on to post a two-length victory in 1:06.13.

Village Way held for second, six lengths in front of Little Jony.

“We are delighted with how this colt ran today in the Futurity,” Calhoun said. “I am happy to get the win for my owner James Stodola, who is a Vietnam war veteran and named this horse accordingly. This colt really has just checked all of the boxes since we've had him, and I am looking forward to seeing just how capable he is moving forward.”

With the victory at 9-1 odds, Vietnam Victory moved his career earnings to $109,620 from only two career outings. He returned $21.40.

Bred by CJ Thoroughbreds, Vietnam Victory was produced by the Smart Strike mare Real Strike.

Calhoun also sent out Landon Jordan's Louisiana-bred Free Drop Maddy to a decisive victory in the filly division of the TTA Futurity.

With Kentucky-based jockey Gabriel Saez making the trip to ride the daughter of Free Drop Billy, Free Drop Maddy led at every point of call and won by 1 ¾ lengths from 23-1 longshot Guitar Woman. Cajun Gumbow 1 ½ lengths back in third in the 12-horse field.

Time was 1:06.02. Free Drop Maddy returned $5.60 at the 9-5 favorite.

“We've been feeling for a while that we were going to be live in this spot with this filly at Lone Star,” Calhoun said. “We had a lot of confidence in this filly, and it was great to see her step it up on this big day.”

Free Drop Maddy, who brought a winning bid of $10,500 at the 2021 TTA Yearling Sale, broke her maiden in the TTA Futurity to move her career earnings total to $102,700.

With Free Drop Maddy a Louisiana-bred, Calhoun is contemplating running her possibly against state-bred company in her next start.

“There are some Louisiana bred 2-year-old filly races coming up that we could possibly look at,” said Calhoun. “The Shine Young Futurity at Evangeline is possible for us to look at, depending on how she comes out of this effort and gets back to training.”

Free Drop Maddy was bred by Clear Creek Stud from the Half Ours mare Solo Bueno. She is the first stakes winner for Spendthrift Farm's first-crop sire Free Drop Billy, a Grade 1-winning son of Union Rags who stood for $5,000 in 2022.

The post Calhoun Runners Vietnam Victory, Free Drop Maddy Sweep Divisions Of Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity at Lone Star appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and trainer Christophe Clement visited the Saratoga Race Course winner's circle for the second time at graded stakes level at the current Saratoga meet when Big Invasion kept a win streak afloat Sunday in the $175,000 Quick Call presented by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (G3).

Clement and Reeves captured three stakes events last summer at Saratoga and are already in good position to equal last year's accolades just four days into the meet. The owner-trainer team collaborated Friday in Forbidden Apple (G3) with New York-bred City Man.

Big Invasion secured his fifth consecutive victory and first graded score in the 5 1/2-furlong test for sophomores over the Mellon turf course after winning his previous four starts by at least two lengths. Cutting back from the seven-furlong Paradise Creek on May 29 at Belmont Park, the Declaration of War bay solidified his distance versatility, splitting rivals around the far turn and was hand ridden to victory in the final strides under Joel Rosario.

Big Invasion, who broke from the outermost post 6, dropped back to fifth in the early stages as Surprise Boss was hustled out the gate by Kendrick Carmouche and led the opening quarter mile in a torrid :21.41 over the firm going with Run Curtis Run keeping close company in second.

Making his move in between horses around the far turn, Big Invasion was in third nearing the quarter pole and was on even terms with Surprise Boss and Run Curtis Run through a half-mile in :43.83. Big Invasion was already one length in front by the stretch call and powered home a 2 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:00.80.

Run Curtis Run held second a half-length ahead of Surprise Boss.

Completing the order of finish were Sky and Sand, also owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Asymmetric, and Nobals. Dance Code, One Timer, and main track-only entrants Senbei and Hagler were scratched.

Big Invasion, who returned $3.70 for a $2 win wager as the favorite, has now won his fourth stakes race over as many ovals. He previously captured the Texas Glitter on March 26 at Gulfstream Park nearly six weeks before capturing the William Walker at Churchill Downs.

“He's a very good horse and he keeps winning. That's what good horses do, they win more often than the lesser ones,” said Clement, who won the 2014 Quick Call with popular turf sprinter Pure Sensation.

“He was impressive last time and impressive the time before that. Today, I told Joel to be comfortable with whatever he wanted to do. We know he can rate now. He's still a bit immature. He was perfect, but he got a little bit rank in the turn. But he's so good, he just goes away from them in the stretch. He's very exciting.”

Clement noted the horse's versatility in terms of both distance and pace tactics.

“He's better than just the setup [of the race]. He can do different things,” Clement said. “If there's no pace, he can go to the lead. He showed the other day he could go seven-eighths at Belmont. He's becoming very versatile. He's becoming more mature and a very serious horse.”

Big Invasion's best days could still be ahead of him, according to Clement.

“If I keep him sound, he should be even better from three-to-four because he's still a touch immature,” Clement said. “You can see it in the way he runs. But he's very fast and if you can just control that speed, he's a major horse.”

The win was also business as usual for Rosario, who now boasts three graded stakes victories through the past three days of the Saratoga meet. After winning aboard City Man, he captured the Diana (G1) on Saturday when piloting In Italian.

Rosario earned a third Quick Call conquest, previously piloting Listing [2019] and eventual New York leading sire Central Banker [2013].

“He broke very well and it looked like it was a little speed in front, and we set up nice in behind them,” said Rosario. “I kind of made a move into the turn and continued his move. He did great. Turning for home, I was just a passenger on the best horse in the race. Going forward, his races look like they're getting better and better. That's exciting.”

Clement said either the $150,000 Mahony on August 14 at Saratoga or the Franklin-Simpson (G2) on September 10 at Kentucky Downs are both viable options for Big Invasion's next start.

Big Invasion now boasts a bankroll of $361,545 through a 5-1-0 record from six starts. His lone defeat was his career debut on January 7 where he was second beaten two lengths over the Gulfstream turf.

Purchased for $72,000 by agent Taproot Bloodstock out of the Vinery Stables consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Big Invasion is the third offspring out of the Curlin mare Curls in Place, whose other two progeny of racing age are both stakes-placed.

Big Invasion was bred in Kentucky by John O'Meara.

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