Month: August 2022

Boston-raised, Florida-based trainer Bobby Dibona had never before raced a horse at Ellis Park. But he had a memorable day Sunday, winning the $200,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby with Steal Sunshine.

Dibona's first Ellis Park starter actually was Tap'er Light, who finished third at 23-1 in the RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Debutante, one of five stakes Sunday. Steal Sunshine followed with a 3 1/4-length triumph over the pacesetting 57-1 shot Rome, rallying from last in the field of nine 3-year-olds. He paid $13.98 to win after covering the mile in 1:38.19.

Steal Sunshine had never raced outside of Gulfstream Park. But the son of the WinStar Farm stallion Constitution returned to his birth state to capture his second stakes in a row under jockey Leonel Reyes, following Gulfstream's $75,000 Carry Back.

Dibona said his only prior time at Ellis Park came around 30 years ago when, as a young trainer starting out in his hometown of Boston, he came to the track called the Pea Patch to claim a horse. Semi-jokingly, he quipped that he'd never before seen soybeans, Ellis Park's infield cash crop.

“It reminds me of being in the Field of Dreams,” he said, referring to the 1989 baseball movie starring Kevin Costner. “I think this is a field of dreams right now. So happy. I don't think you can even say enough. He's got such an explosive run. It doesn't matter what they're doing early. He just waits, and when he gets rolling, he gets rolling.”

Said breeder and co-owner Carrie Brogden, of Machmer Hall Farm in Paris, Ky.: “Crazy. It's beyond my wildest dreams…. I'm like 'margarita!'”

Steal Sunshine, who is co-owned by Little Red Feather Racing, is now 4 for 9, with a second and a third, earning $233,910 after his third straight victory.

Asked what might be next, Brogden said, “I have laid my head down at night and dreamed of being in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Now, it's just a dream, but we all have it…. We'll see what the next stepping stone is. I think the Pennsylvania Derby might come up a little, like talk about facing the bears of all bears. But he's certainly proved he might belong.”

The post ‘Field Of Dreams’: Ellis Park Derby Winner Steal Sunshine May Target Pennsylvania Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Despite having one of the highest athletic ceilings of his class, trainer Todd Pletcher said Charge It has spent most of his 3-year-old season playing catch-up.

The calendar is the most obvious indicator. The Tapit colt didn't make his first start until January of his sophomore season, well after most of the division's top competitors had already gotten their feet wet. He went into the Kentucky Derby with just three starts under his belt, and he came out of it with a displaced soft palate that required minor surgery, and some time on the sideline.

From a scheduling standpoint, Charge It hasn't run as often as many of his contemporaries, but that wasn't where Pletcher was concerned about his colt keeping the pace – it was between his ears.

Following Charge It's five-furlong breeze on the main track at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 13, Pletcher said the colt's mind has started to catch up with his body.

“You can see, mentally, he's made big strides,” the trainer said. “He's a horse that's continuing to develop and get better and better, and this morning's work was another indication of that.”

“He's always been a physically imposing horse,” Pletcher continued. “I'd say it's really been more the mental maturity than physical, because he's always had the body to go with the ability.”

Charge It covered the five furlongs 1:01.01 in preparation for the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

“I loved the way he did it, moving great, and galloped out really strongly on a track that's not real fast,” Pletcher said outside his barn after the breeze.

Many of the horses Charge It will face in the Travers will be familiar rivals from his 17th-place finish in this year's Kentucky Derby, including top three finishers Rich Strike, Epicenter, and Zandon.

Pletcher described Charge It's Derby experience as “a bit of a mess,” but he quickly noted that the colt in Saratoga is not the same one that entered the starting gate at Churchill Downs, and he's especially grown from his breakout performance as a runner-up in the G1 Florida Derby in April.

“I think he's caught up,” Pletcher said. “He still lacks a little bit of seasoning compared to some of the others in the Travers, but from an ability standpoint, I think he's got enough to have a chance in there. I think he's matured a lot since Florida Derby day, but I think there's still more to come.”

The colt showed major flashes of his development during his comeback start from throat surgery on July 2 in the G3 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park, where he trounced a heavily overmatched field by 23 lengths.

When a racehorse does what they're supposed to do against inferior competition with such authority, the question becomes what can be gleaned from that effort that can be applied toward the greater goals. Where does Charge It's Dwyer romp position him amidst what appears to be a deep Travers field?

“I don't think he's going to win by 23,” Pletcher said.

John Velazquez, who rode Charge It in the Dwyer, will have the riding assignment in the Travers for owner Whisper Hill Farm.

The post ‘He’s Made Big Strides’: Charge It’s Mental Maturity Continues To Develop Ahead Of Travers Start appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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