July, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

A Classic Upset: Classic Causeway Wires Belmont Derby at 25-1

A season that has had more ups and downs than the Cyclone at nearby Coney Island reached new heights for Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), as the blaze-faced chestnut–making his first start on the grass–forgot to stop en route to a 3/4-length defeat of Godolphin's favored Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) in Saturday's $1-million GI Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational on Long Island. Peter Brant's Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), heretofore never worse than midfield in the early stages of any of his previous eight trips to the races, made steady progress to finish third after racing far back through the opening furlongs.

Classic Causeway was having his second start Saturday for trainer Ken McPeek, who saddled him to a third in the GIII Ohio Derby June 25, and who not afraid to think a bit outside the box.

“He came back good and was eating the bottom out of the feedbag,” said co-owner Patrick McKeefe of Kentucky West Racing. “What Kenny says, I do.”

The early scratching of wire-to-wire GII Pennine Ridge S. winner Emmanuel (More Than Ready) left the pace scenario of the Belmont Derby somewhat murky, and that played right into the hands of Classic Causeway. Employing the same front-running tactics that won him the GIII Sam F. Davis S. and GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby along the Triple Crown trail over the winter, the homebred colt jumped right into the bridle for Julien Leparoux, and while he had a bit of early company in the form of G2 Dante S. runner-up Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Classic Causeway was going along easily enough and was past the six-furlong peg in a manageable :48.02.

Allowed to lob them along and in a good rhythm through three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.33, he remained well within his comfort zone and maintained a safe advantage over Royal Patronage as they reached the quarter pole. Asked for a sprint by the Frenchman, Classic Causeway carried a two-length bulge into the ultimate eighth of a mile, and try as they might, the chasers ran out of real estate. Nations Pride, who defeated future G1 Cazoo Derby runner-up and £1.2-million Goffs London Sale topper Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) by seven lengths in the Listed Newmarket S. Apr. 29, closed his final quarter-mile in a race-strongest :22.98 to just beat G3 Leopardstown Derby Trial romper Stone Age out of second.

“The plan was to go on the lead,” confirmed Leparoux. “The only time I was a little worried was in the first turn when Joel [Rosario, aboard Royal Patronage] was kind of head-to-head with me. When he took back, my horse got to cruising and happy to be on the lead. I was getting him to relax nicely and switch off. It was a good run for him.

“He was actually feeling pretty fresh today,” he added. “It was Kenny's idea to wheel him right back on the grass, and it paid off today for sure.”

Early Saturday afternoon, the New York State Gaming Commission issued a brief statement on the scratching of Emmanuel, saying without elaborating further: “The Commission Steward ordered the scratch of Emmanuel, scheduled to run in today's Belmont Derby, due to issues relating to veterinary records. The matter remains under review.”

Looking every bit a Classic contender off his two wins at Tampa, Classic Causeway was last of 11 as a 37-10 chance in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Apr. 2, casting a fair bit of doubt on his immediate future. After first expressing their intention to pass the GI Kentucky Derby, connections called an audible, and Classic Causeway did not disgrace, finishing 11th, albeit from off the pace. Sensibly spotted in the Ohio Derby after being transferred from Brian Lynch to McPeek, Classic Causeway was a clear third, beaten just over two lengths by Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile).

Pedigree Notes:

Classic Causeway is one of three foals–all colts–from the final crop of the 'Iron Horse' Giant's Causeway and is the late sire's 36th Grade I/Group 1 winner. His other two offspring born in 2019 are Giant Game, third in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and Shadwell homebred Monaadah, a winner of three of his five career starts and fourth in the Listed Sir Henry S. for Saeed bin Suroor at Newmarket July 7.

Private World is the dam of a 2-year-old filly by Lookin At Lucky, a yearling colt by Justify and a filly by the Triple Crown winner foaled May 15.

Saturday, Belmont Park
CAESARS BELMONT DERBY INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $1,000,000, Belmont, 7-9, 3yo, 1 1/4mT, 1:59.99, fm.
1–CLASSIC CAUSEWAY, 122, c, 3, by Giant's Causeway
                1st Dam: Private World (MSW, $166,058), by Thunder Gulch
                2nd Dam: Rita Rucker, by Dmitri
                3rd Dam: Darlease, by Temperence Hill
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Kentucky West Racing LLC & Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek; J-Julien Leparoux. $535,000. Lifetime Record: 9-4-1-2, $1,106,100.Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Nations Pride (Ire), 122, c, 3, Teofilo (Ire)–Important Time (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Godolphin, LLC; B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charles Appleby. $185,000.
3–Stone Age (Ire), 122, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Bonanza Creek (Ire), by Anabaa. O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Westerberg Smith, Peter Brant; B-White Birch Farm Sc (IRE); T-Aidan P. O'Brien. $100,000.
Margins: 3/4, HD, NK. Odds: 26.75, 2.40, 2.90.
Also Ran: Grand Sonata, Royal Patronage (Fr), Sy Dog, Limited Liability, Machete (Fr), Tiz the Bomb, Implementation, Napoleonic War, Stolen Base. Scratched: Emmanuel.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post A Classic Upset: Classic Causeway Wires Belmont Derby at 25-1 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Review of Online Gambling

Just like any commercial market today, gambling also took its chance of having to saturate a broader area of gaming through the Internet.

Nowadays, there are as many online gambling games as there are gambling games. Every kind of gambling game has their online counter parts in the Web. From poker to sports betting, every gambling activity seems to be online.

Most proponents of online gambling assert that online gambling is just as safe as gambling in known casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Just like the usual casino, online casinos are also required to have their licenses and permits before engaging into online gambling.

By doing so, online casinos are systematically regulated and audited by professional firms. All online casinos use the secure e-cash facilities, in cooperation with the credit card companies, so that the customers are being protected from unauthorized use of credit cards or from cases of identity theft.

Generally, online gambling in an online casino will entice new players by requiring them to deposit an amount by offering bonuses. An online casino that will offer you a free $100 for a $50 deposit is a good example. In this manner, more people believe that online gambling offers better chances than real-life gambling. However, this poses more risk in getting addicted to the game.

For people who want to play online gambling, deposits can be made through credit cards, fire pay, or 900 pay. Fire pay works like an ordinary online debit card. Normally, the player places money into the account and can be spent to any online merchants. Funds can be deposited through wire transfers. 900 pay, on the other hand, is another way of depositing money by calling a 900 number and the amount that is to be deposited is charged to the player’s phone bill.

What’s more, online casinos are further classified into two groups based on their interface. Online casinos could either be web-based or download-based.

Web-based casinos are forms of online gambling wherein users may directly play online casino games without having to load any software to the local computer. Online gambling is mainly presented in the browser plugins like Macromedia Flash, Shockwave, or Java.

On the other hand, download-based online casinos are the most common online gambling sites in the Web. Here, online gambling users have to download certain software in order to play the casino games. And because it has pre-downloaded software, it is faster to initiate casino games on it compared to web-based casinos.

All the same, and due to the basic nature of online gambling, any transactions with it are vulnerable to fraud. There are online gambling known as rogue casinos wherein these sites refuse to pay the customers or contains a cheating software.

Plus, there are other ways of frauds in online gambling. Most of these cases are player-based. Players who want to cheat usually uses Adobe Photoshop or a comparable tool to maneuver the graphics of a slot machine screenshot in order to deceive the casino into thinking that the player just hit a jackpot.

Whatever forms of deception, it is evident that frauds are more likely to happen in online gambling. And if in any case, players get to be addicted in playing online gambling, they must remember that their obsession did not happen by mistake.

Online gambling is a highly interactive game, meaning whatever choices players make are based on their own prerogatives. So, however enticing online gambling can be it is a must that players must know their own dispositions so as not to be deceived.

Pletcher Continues Stakes Haul At Belmont As Favorite Dynamic One Takes Suburban By Slimmest Margin

Dynamic One capitalized on a patient approach from the outset that left enough in reserve to fend off a game First Captain in the final jumps for a victory by a nose in Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/4 miles on the Belmont Park main track.

The 136th running of the Suburban, the first of four graded stakes on Saturday's Stars and Stripes Racing Festival card, saw Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One build on a last-out victory in the Blame on June 4 at Churchill Downs to win consecutive races for the first time in his career.

Out of the gate, 4-5 favorite Dynamic One was content to sit last-of-five as stablemate Untreated led the quintet through the opening quarter-mile in :24.90, the half in 49.39 and three-quarters in 1:13.75 over the fast track.

Approaching the final turn, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. urged Dynamic One up from the outside, heading into the stretch on equal terms with First Captain to his inside and Untreated by the rail.

Ortiz used right-handed encouragement and his charge responded, gaining the slight edge over Dynamic One in the final sixteenth and holding on, hitting the wire in 2:01.26.

The victory continued an impressive Belmont run for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who captured last month's Belmont Stakes (G1) and started the spring/summer meet's closing weekend by saddling a winner for the fifth time in the last six stakes contested at Belmont, adding to last weekend's stakes sweep of the Manila [Annapolis]; Perfect Sting [Jouster]; Grade 2 John A. Nerud [Life is Good]; and Grade 3 Dwyer [Charge It].

“I was just concerned – I didn't think we got the best head bob and I thought he had a head in front right before the wire and First Captain got a good head bob, but thankfully we were able to get there,” Pletcher said.

Dynamic One returned $3.80 on a $2 win wager and increased his career earnings to $699,950. The 4-year-old Union Rags colt, who ran second in last year's Grade 2 Wood Memorial before running 18th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, has finished on the board in all four his starts this year. After running third in the Grade 3 Challenger in March at Tampa Bay and second in the Grade 3 Ben Ali in April at Keeneland, he is now a back-to-back winner for the first time in improving his career ledger to 4-3-1 in 12 starts.

“He has progressed and caught kind of a tough race first time back at Tampa and then we were at a starting point and felt like he would improve after that,” Pletcher said. “He made a move forward at Keeneland and then put together probably his most professional race last time in the Blame. It seems like he just keeps getting a little better and he's starting to figure things out. He's a horse that we've always had high hopes for.”

Ortiz earned his second Suburban win and first since Diversify in 2018.

“He's getting better,” Ortiz said. “His mind is much better. He's starting to figure out the game and he's changed a lot. He's having a great mind right now, switched up [leads] when I wanted to and he let me do my thing. Then he turned it on when I wanted to. His mind is getting better and better every time.

“When he made the lead, he waited a little bit and then he fought back,” he added. “We always liked him, but he could do some things that were a little green out there. I think the last three times [he ran], he's started to figure it out.”

The Luis Saez-piloted First Captain, previously unbeaten at Belmont for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, followed his win in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special in May by besting Untreated by three-quarters of a length for second.

“He tried and he ran his race,” Saez said. “He was battling, but the other one just got the jump. My horse tried pretty hard.”

Untreated, who was third in the Pimlico Special for Pletcher, finished 7 3/4 lengths ahead of three-time graded stakes-winner Max Player. Forewarned completed the order of finish.

“We were a little unsure that Untreated likes to be on the lead, but we decided after talking to Barry [Irwin, owner of Team Valor International] that from the one-hole going a mile and a quarter with the start on the turn there that we might as well go ahead and secure our position,” Pletcher said. “I thought we got a comfortable pace and the horse ran good. We were a little concerned with Dynamic One; how the pace scenario was going to set up for him. He's a horse that wants to settle and make one late run. In this case, you couldn't let him [Untreated] get too far away.”

The Suburban's top-four finishers will have their nomination, entry and starting fees waived if they start in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 3 at Saratoga Race Course. The 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Keeneland. Should a Grade/Group 1-winner in 2022 start in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the purse will increase to $1.25 million. Pletcher indicated Dynamic One would target the Jockey Club Gold Cup next.

The post Pletcher Continues Stakes Haul At Belmont As Favorite Dynamic One Takes Suburban By Slimmest Margin appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

McKulick ‘Frankel’-y Impressive In Belmont Oaks

Sent off the 27-5 fourth choice and only the second best-fancied of the three fillies in the race for trainer Chad Brown, Klaravich Stables' McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) hit top gear with a furlong to race and ran out a facile winner of Saturday's GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. to become the first American top-level winner for her all-conquering Banstead Manor-based stallion. With The Moonlight (Ire) completed a Frankel exacta, while the winner's commonly owned stablemate Consumer Spending (More Than Ready) finished with interest for third. It was a fourth Belmont Oaks for trainer Chad Brown since the event was lengthened to 10 furlongs in 2014 and his seventh dating back to the Garden City days.

McKulick is named in honor of Brown's first-ever employee, bookkeeper Mary McKulick. McKulick passed away in October 2020 at the age of 67 after losing a battle with cancer. Saturday was also meaningful for Brown for other reasons.

“It's an extra special win with it being [mentor] Bobby Frankel's birthday today. This horse is the first offspring of Frankel that I actually bought. Seth Klarman was nice enough to let me name this filly after my very first employee after I left Frankel, that's why I chose this horse being by Frankel. And wouldn't you know on his birthday she wins a Grade I. The irony and the importance of it today, on his birthday means everything to me personally.”

Drawn pole position on the stretchout to the mile and two furlongs, McKulick was away smoothly and secured a cozy midfield and ground-saving berth as 'TDN Rising Star' Cairo Memories (Cairo Prince) made the running in advance of Godolphin's Listed Pretty Polly S. heroine With The Moonlight. With all riders more or less content with their positions through the middle stages, McKulick was ridden quietly by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and was slipped a bit of rein at the three-furlong pole, shifting out three deep around last year's G1 Moyglare Stud S. runner-up Agartha (Ire) (Caravaggio) and stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' Haughty (Empire Maker) as they approached the entrance to the stretch. With The Moonlight wrested command from Cairo Memories at the quarter pole, but McKulick had dead aim on Frankie Dettori's mount, overtook that one a sixteenth from home and pulled clear.

Brown said, “She was really born to run a mile and a quarter. We were patiently waiting for a long time to get her to this distance, and my whole team did a super job with this horse in all divisions this filly has been in throughout this year.”

Concert Hall (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), favored on the strength of a fourth in this year's G1 Cazoo Oaks at Epsom, raced in close attendance to the eventual winner down the backstretch, but lacked the needed stretch kick and could finish only fourth.

“It might have been quick enough [ground] for her, she was just lugging in down the straight,” said her rider Ryan Moore. “They went hard and we had a nice run following the winner–just didn't keep up with them, but she ran respectably.”

McKulick and Consumer Spending were a coupled entry favored at 95 cents on the dollar on Saratoga debut Aug. 8, with McKulick getting home 1 1/2 lengths best before checking in a troubled third in the GII Miss Grillo S. Oct. 2. The 180,000gns Tattersalls October purchase resumed with a sound runner-up effort behind 'TDN Rising Star' New Year's Eve (Kitten's Joy) in the GII Edgewood S. at Churchill May 6 and was last seen running on to be second in the June 4 GIII Regret S. in Louisville.

“In both races, it didn't work out for her,” said Brown. “She needed more ground and she was out of position a bit. But she ran well. We had this as a major target of the whole summer and stayed focused on this race and it paid off.”

Pedigree Notes:

With her victory, McKulick becomes a 24th Group 1/Grade I winner for Frankel, who has now sired top-level winners in nine different jurisdictions (U.S., Canada, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Germany, UAE and Australia). She is his 98th SW and 66th GSW. McKulick is the first G1/GISW out of a mare by the excellent Makfi (GB). The cross of Frankel over mares by Makfi's sire Dubawi (Ire) has resulted in the likes of Group 1 winners Adayar (Ire) (Derby/King George), Dream Castle (GB) (Jebel Hatta) and Homeless Songs (Ire) (Irish 1000 Guineas), among other group-level scorers. With The Moonlight is also out of a Dubawi mare.

McKulick is the third full stakes winner from three to race for her Group 3-placed dam, a half-sister to Italian Group 2 winner Porsenna (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), Italian MSW/MGSP Basileus (Ire) (Dream Ahead) and Candidate (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Group 3-placed in Australia.

Astrelle is the dam of the 2-year-old colt Lieber Power (GB), by Frankel's successful first-season stallion son Cracksman (GB), and a yearling filly by Calyx (GB).

Saturday, Belmont
BELMONT OAKS INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $700,000, Belmont, 7-9, 3yo, f, 1 1/4mT, 1:59.62, fm.
1–MCKULICK (GB), 121, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
               1st Dam: Astrelle (Ire) (GSP-Eng), by Makfi (GB)
               2nd Dam: Miss Mariduff, by Hussonet
               3rd Dam: Sopran Mariduff (GB), by Persian Bold (Ire)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST
GRADE I WIN. (180,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Essafinaat UK Ltd (GB); T-Chad C. Brown;
J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $375,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-1,
$583,650. *1/2 to Fearless King (GB) (Kingman {GB}),
GSW-Ger; and Just Beautiful (GB) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}),
GSW-Eng, GSP-Fr, $127,209. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–With The Moonlight (Ire), 121, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
               1st Dam: Sand Vixen (GB) (GSW-Eng, $119,931), by Dubawi (Ire)
               2nd Dam: Fur Will Fly (GB), by Petong (GB)
               3rd Dam: Bumpkin (GB), by Free State (Ire)
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE.
O/B-Godolphin, LLC (IRE); T-Charles Appleby. $130,000.
3–Consumer Spending, 121, f, 3, by More Than Ready
               1st Dam: Siempre Mia, by Scat Daddy
               2nd Dam: Shaconage, by El Prado (Ire)
               3rd Dam: Carita Tostada (Chi), by Gallantsky
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($200,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Forging Oaks Farm LLC (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown. $70,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, 1. Odds: 5.40, 7.40, 7.40.
Also Ran: Concert Hall (Ire), Cairo Memories, Hot Queen (Fr), Know Thyself (Ire), New Year's Eve, Haughty, Agartha (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post McKulick ‘Frankel’-y Impressive In Belmont Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post