July, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ghostzapper Filly Gallops in Woodbine Oaks

Moira looped the field impressively en route to a dominant score in Sunday's Woodbine Oaks, providing trainer Kevin Attard with a second-straight win in this event and adding to a long list of accomplishments for her ownership group. And she did it all without her hind shoes, having acted up in the paddock and been unable to be adequately re-shod in time.

An impressive debut graduate from out of the clouds in the C$250,000 Princess Elizabeth S. here last October, the bay settled for second as the favorite in the GIII Mazarine S. Nov. 28. She resurfaced in the seven-panel Fury S. for Ontario-breds June 11, and got the job done narrowly over Pioneer's Edge (Pioneerof the Nile). Looming large here on the stretch back out to two turns and with $1.6-million New York-based, Chad Brown-trained maiden Sahlabiya seemingly the main danger, the dark bay was unhurried early while saving ground. She was guided off the fence a bit and ridden to keep pace down the backside. Rider Ramon Hernandez hit the gas early and split horses into the home turn, and Moira blew past Sahlabiya like she was standing school before running up the score in a time that was nearly a second faster than the boys went in the Plate Trial two races earlier.

“She was push button in the first turn,” said Hernandez. “We just sat there and saved as much ground as we could and made our move down the backside. I knew horses were going to be stopping in front of me, so I just tried to get her away from them. By the three-eighths, I was already where I wanted to be. Turning for home, I just talked to her and said, 'Come on Moira, it's all about you. Go get it.' And she just exploded. I have to give a lot of thanks to this excellent group, the owners, for giving me an opportunity to get back on this amazing filly. From the first day I got on in the morning I was impressed. Today, she showed up. She just played with the rest of the field.”

Of the pre-race incident, trainer Kevin Attard said, “It was crazy. You know, she's always been a little bit kind of antsy in the paddock. We school her a lot and she just kind of had a little episode and unfortunately stepped on her hind foot and kind of knocked off the one shoe and kind of bent the other shoe. The paddock blacksmith tried to adjust it and fix it. I appreciate his effort. So, we elected to run her without the hind shoes. I wasn't too concerned with it being a synthetic surface. But obviously you're not accustomed to doing it, so it's always a little bit in the back of your head anyways. She's a class horse and I've always thought highly of her, and she obviously ran to that today.”

Moira, named for the character Moira Rose from the Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek, acted up once more for good measure as her picture was being taken in the winner's circle.

While fillies have a particularly stellar record in the first leg of Canada's Triple Crown, top bloodstock agent and Montreal native Donato Lanni–the organizer of X-Men Racing–would not yet commit to the Aug. 21 Queen's Plate.

“It's going be up to her and Kevin,” Lanni said. “It may be great to run in that race again. Fillies have won it before, but we're just so lucky to be here today. So, let's take one race at a time and thank you for Woodbine. You do a great job here and it's a great place to come.”

The winner has a 2-year-old full-brother named Runaway Charlie and her dam fetched $400,000 back in foal to Ghostzapper at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Devine Aida–a stakes winner on both dirt and turf–lost that foal of 2021, but produced a Sir Prancealot (Ire) colt this term. She is a daughter of the speedy GSW Passion (Came Home).

WOODBINE OAKS PRESENTED BY BUDWEISER, C$500,800, Woodbine, 7-24, (C), 3yo, f, 1 1/8m (AWT), 1:49.78, ft.
1–MOIRA, 121, f, 3, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Devine Aida (MSW & GSP, $273,215), by Unbridled's Song
2nd Dam: Passion, by Came Home
3rd Dam: Rajmata, by Known Fact
($150,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables
LLC & SF Racing LLC; B-Adena Springs (ON); T-Kevin Attard;
J-Rafael Manuel Hernandez. C$300,000. Lifetime Record:
4-3-1-0, $440,331. *1/2 to Jungle Cry (Animal Kingdom), SW,
$114,340.
2–Sister Seagull, 121, f, 3, Hard Spun–Sweet Kitten, by Kitten's
Joy. ($95,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-Sean & Dorothy Fitzhenry; B-Sean Fitzhenry (ON);
T-Catherine Day Phillips. C$100,000.
3–Sahlabiya, 121, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Orchard Beach, by Tapit.
($1,600,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Shadwell
Stable; B-Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (ON); T-Chad C. Brown.
C$50,000.
Margins: 10 3/4, 4 3/4, NO. Odds: 1.00, 9.80, 4.60.
Also Ran: Souper Flashy, Pioneer's Edge, Swoop to Finish, Maccool's Girl, Bizymaline, Curlin Candy, Loaded Vixen. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Saratoga Race Declared ‘No Contest’ After Gate Tractor Malfunction

The seventh race Sunday at Saratoga Race Course, a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies on the inner turf course, was declared a “No Contest” by the Board of Stewards.

A mechanical issue with the starting gate tractor created a delay in removing the gate once the field broke. Due to safety concerns communicated by the outriders to the jockeys, several jockeys pulled up their mounts during the running of the race. As a result, the Board of Stewards declared the race a “No Contest.”

“Ensuring a safe racing environment for jockeys and horses is paramount,” said Pat McKenna, Vice President of Communications for NYRA. “Our outriders are highly skilled and experienced professionals who made a swift decision today based on concern for the safety of the jockeys and horses in the heat of competition.”

All wagers placed starting in Race 7 were refunded. All other Pick 3, Pick 5, Pick 6 and Grand Slam wagers were considered an ALL for the corresponding leg of the wager. Consolation payouts were given for the Double that started in Race 6.

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Saratoga 2YO Turf MSW Declared No Contest

Saratoga's seventh race Sunday, a 1 1/16-mile turf event for maiden juvenile fillies, was declared a no contest after a mechanical issue with the starting gate tractor caused an outrider to attempt to stop the field on the backstretch (click for replay). While the starting gate was ultimately moved in time and the majority of runners finished the race, several were pulled up prematurely.

Towhead (Malibu Moon), a third-time starter stretching out off a pair of on-the-board efforts on the Churchill dirt and part of a 5-1 entry, battled back to narrowly best buzzed-about Chad Brown firster Idea Generation (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in a posted time of 1:44.15.

All wagers starting in race seven were refunded. Consolation payouts were made for the daily double ending in that race, and the race was treated as an “all” for other multi-race wagers.

Towhead, a $100,000 KEESEP yearling owned by Deuce Greathouse, Cindy Hutson and Brett Setzer and trained by Mike Maker, remains a maiden.

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Juvenile Filly Sweet Harmony Shows Turf Ability With Colleen Stakes Win At Monmouth

Now that Sweet Harmony has followed her first-out win on the dirt with a victory on the grass in the $100,000 Colleen Stakes Sunday at Monmouth Park, trainer John Terranova has plenty of options with the 2-year-old daughter of Bayern.

But Terranova has already settled on one: She's a turf sprinter.

Sweet Harmony improved to 2-for-2 in her career after stalking the early speed and then responded with ease under slight urging from jockey Samy Camacho to win the 84th edition of the Colleen by 1¾ lengths. Alternate Rock rallied for second, a head better than tiring speedster Motown Mischief.

The winning time for the five furlongs over a firm turf course was :56.37.

“We took her on the infield at Belmont Park and galloped her around the turf and you could just tell,” Terranova said. “She just loved it. She loved the feel of it. The riders who have been on her, they all said this filly is grass.

“So we shipped her to Monmouth for this race, but with the heat and everything you never know. But she's a class act. She's got some sassiness to her. Turf, I think, will be her game as she develops into an older filly.”

Sweet Harmony, a $135,000 purchase at the OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds In Training by co-owner Gatsas Stable, won her career debut at 4½ furlongs on the dirt at Monmouth Park on June 4. Camacho has ridden her both times.

“I talked to John Terranova after she won her first race and told him she looks like she can handle dirt or turf,” said Camacho. “In my opinion she has more kick on the turf, so I like her better on the turf. She's not 100% developed yet. She still has a lot of room to improve. She is going to get even better.”

Breaking from post seven in the eight-horse field, Sweet Harmony hooked up early with Motown Mischief through an opening quarter in :21.28, eventually taking over entering the turn, with the half reached in :44.06. Sweet Harmony was well on her way then, with Motown Mischief tiring slightly and Alternate Rock rallying from off the pace to nab second.

Kerry, the 6-5 favorite trained by Christophe Clement, finished last of eight runners.

Sweet Harmony returned $27.20 for the win.

“It looked like I was chasing the speed (Motown Mischief) early, but I really wasn't,” said Camacho. “She broke alertly and I wanted to keep her outside and just off the speed but she took me to the lead. She's a very talented filly with a lot of potential.”

Terranova said he would point Sweet Harmony to the Bolton Landing Stakes at 5½ furlongs on the grass at Saratoga on August 21.

Gatsas Stables owns the filly with R. A. Hill Stable, Steven Schoenfeld, and Smart Choice Stable.

Kaleen Shah bred Sweet Harmony in Kentucky from the Marino Marini mare Sweet Marini.

Former Central Kentucky sire Bayern, who was sold to stand in South Korea last year, was represented by a second stakes winner Sunday, Hazelbrook, who won the Hendrie Stakes (G3) at Woodbine.

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