August, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Teofilo’s Nations Pride Gets the Trip to Capture Saratoga Derby

Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), the beaten favorite with a wide trip four weeks ago in the GI Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational S., worked out a much cozier voyage Saturday under William Buick to annex the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational S.

Graduating by 4 3/4 lengths at second asking over the Lingfield all-weather last October, the Godolphin homebred reeled off three more open-lengths tallies culminating with a seven-length rout in the Newmarket S. Apr. 29. Disappointing some when finishing a distant eighth in the G1 Cazoo Derby June 4 at Epsom, he finished full of run before coming up three-quarters of a length short in second to 26-1 upsetter Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) in the July 9 Belmont Derby.

Breaking a beat slowly as the narrow favorite once again Saturday, Nations Pride was smartly sent through a narrow early opening by Buick to gain position as Classic Causeway went clear going past the stands the first time and found a perfect spot by the time the field bent into the first turn, stalking from the pocket in third. Tipping off the rail around the quarter pole, the blaze-faced bay charged past Classic Causeway inside the furlong marker and finished up smartly to win comfortably by 1 3/4 lengths in the end. Second choice Annapolis (War Front) edged out Classic Causeway for second on the wire.

“I came in yesterday and saw them train this morning [Nations Pride and filly With The Moonlight, who starts in Sunday's G3 Saratoga Oaks] and as a physical, I think they've done very well. The style of training [both recorded four breezes in an 11-day span], they've adapted to it,” said winning trainer Charlie Appleby. “On the back of Belmont, they were a touch unlucky. He was a bit slow from the gate there and had that wider trip around. It was a little bit messy, but that was by the by. We came in today confident that if we could just get him to break a bit quicker and William could get him up in behind the pace that we felt he was the right horse in the race and could go on and get the job done. It was a great ride by William.”

“He was drawn 10 at Belmont and he jumped a step slow, which he did today as well,” added Buick. “From the four gate, I managed to go to the inside and get him into a good spot and he did the rest from then on really. I expected them to go faster, but I also had in the back of my head that the horse that made the run in the Belmont race [Classic Causeway] would want to be doing the same again today. Once I saw that I knew Julien [Leparoux, aboard Classic Causeway] wasn't going to go too fas, I was happy where I was. I knew there were a couple closers in the race, but I knew my horse would stay well and the way that rain took the speed out of the track a little bit, so I was confident that my horse would stay well and hit the line well.”

Nations Pride was the first mount at Saratoga for Buick, who appreciated the occasion and the company kept in the track's star-studded jockeys' room.

“I'm very privileged to be able to come over here and ride these horses,” the 34-year-old said. “I've been riding a lot in the States on and off the last few years and I love it. The jockey colony over here is something really special. To be in that jocks' room today with all the superstars was fantastic and great to be part of it. I've never been to Saratoga before. This is my first ride. I've watched plenty of races here and last year we couldn't travel here, so when Charlie asked me to come and ride these horses, it was great to get that call.”

Pedigree Notes:

With the victory, Nations Pride is now the 59th graded/group stakes winner and 23rd Grade I/Group 1, as well as the first Stateside top-level scorer for the 18-year-old Kildangan Stud stalwart. His second dam Satwa Queen (Fr) was a five-time group winner in France and half-sister to G1SW Spadoun (Fr) (Kaldoun {Fr}) whose crowning achievement was a victory in the 2007 G1 Prix de l'Opera. Important Time, a minor stakes winner in Germany in 2015, has a yearling filly by Dark Angel (Ire) and produced a full-sister to the winner Mar. 8.

Saturday, Saratoga
CAESARS SARATOGA DERBY INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $1,000,000, Saratoga, 8-6, 3yo, 1 3/16mT, :00.00, fm.
1–NATIONS PRIDE (IRE), 122, c, 3, by Teofilo (Ire)
                1st Dam: Important Time (Ire) (SW-Ger), by Oasis Dream (GB)
                2nd Dam: Satwa Queen (Fr), by Muhtathir (GB)
                3rd Dam: Tolga, by Irish River (Fr)
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Godolphin, LLC; B-Godolphin (Ire); T-Charles Appleby; J-William T. Buick. $535,000. Lifetime Record: 8-5-2-0, $899,216. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Annapolis, 122, c, 3, War Front–My Miss Sophia, by Unbridled's Song. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Bass Racing, LLC; B-Bass Stables, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $185,000.
3–Classic Causeway, 122, c, 3, Giant's Causeway–Private World, by Thunder Gulch. O/B-Kentucky West Racing LLC & Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $100,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, 1. Odds: 2.10, 2.90, 5.90.
Also Ran: Sy Dog, Stone Age (Ire), Royal Patronage (Fr), Main Event, Grand Sonata, Ethereal Road, Emmanuel. Scratched: Stolen Base.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Injunction Streaks To Ellis Park Track Record In R. A. ‘Cowboy’ Jones Overnight Stakes

By VidHorse

After playing the role of bridesmaid in his first two appearances at Ellis Park, Injunction not only found his way into the Pea Patch's winner's circle Saturday, but he earned a couple career milestones along the way.

The 4-year-old Skipshot gelding out of Valid Valencia, by Northern Afleet, earned his first stakes victory in brave fashion, leading out of gate and then turning back challenges from West Will Power and Last Samurai in the lane to capture the inaugural running of the $70,000 R.A. “Cowboy” Jones Overnight Stakes in the track record time of 1:34.33 for one mile.

The “Cowboy” Jones was named in honor of the jockey and Ellis Park icon who died April 25 at the age of 79.

“I know R.A. Jones meant a lot to a lot of people and to Ellis Park, so it's an honor to take the victory home,” said Nick Vaccarezza, co-owner of Injunction and assistant to his father and trainer, Carlo Vaccarezza.

Injunction himself has held plenty of sentiment amongst the Vaccarezza clan since they privately purchased him as a 2-year-old.

It took four tries for the chestnut gelding to break his maiden, although two of his first three losses were runner-up efforts going one mile over the Ellis Park main track. Since finishing sixth in the WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (G2) in March to open his 2022 campaign, Injunction hasn't been worse than fourth in five subsequent outings with Saturday's effort representing his fourth win from 11 career starts.

“When we got him when he was 2, he was a little…ehhhh,” Nick Vaccarezza said. “We worked hard on him, and we got him here. He's got such a big heart. He beat the horse he had to beat (Last Samurai) and another horse coming on the outside and he still fought. You can't train heart and the horse has heart..”

Sent off as the 2-1 favorite in the six-horse field, Injunction got away well out of post No. 1 under jockey Rafael Bejarano and was able to hold a short lead over Last Samurai as those two raced side by side through fractions of :23.32 and :45.76. That pair stayed glued to one another coming off the far turn but had a threat in West Will Power looming up on the far outside.

Though Last Samurai seemed poised to go by his rival along the rail, Injunction refused to yield and had enough left to hold off the late surge from West Will Power, hitting the wire a head in front and eclipsing the previous track record of 1:34. 41 set by Looking Cool on July 13, 2014.

“I'm really happy for the team for doing a wonderful job with this horse,” Bejarano said. “I didn't have another really except to send to the lead. I was expecting to have a little pressure in the beginning, but my horse ran the whole way. He ran his heart out until the end.”

West Will Power got up for second, three-quarters of a length in front of Last Samurai in third. Title Ready, Mailman Money, and Night Ops rounded out the order.

Bred in Kentucky by Mikhail Yanakov and owned by Nick Vaccarezza in partnership with J&G Stables, Injunction improved his career earnings to $316,877.

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Life Is Good Shows Speed, Heart in Whitney Triumph

Life Is Good (Into Mischief) caught a flier right out of the gate, strutted his stuff up front for six furlongs and fought off a pair of stubborn challengers through the Saratoga stretch to capture Saturday's $1-million GI Whitney S., punch his ticket to the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic and stick his nose in front of a crowded Horse of the Year race.

Running away to a 9 1/2-length debut romp and 'TDN Rising Star' honors for Bob Baffert in November of 2020 at Del Mar, the $525,000 Keeneland September graduate stamped himself as the early favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby after capturing the GIII Sham S. and GII San Felipe S., the latter by eight lengths for an eye-popping 107 Beyer. That would be his last start for Baffert, however, as an injury forced him off the Derby trail and he was transferred to Todd Pletcher with Baffert facing multiple suspensions for eventual Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s drug positive.

A hard-fought neck second to eventual champion Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) upon return in a thrilling renewal of the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. here last summer, Life Is Good cruised to open-lengths victories in the GII Kelso H., GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. before fading late to finish fourth in the G1 Dubai World Cup. The bay returned no worse for the journey, however, a career-high 112 Beyer in a five-length conquest of the GII John A. Nerud S. July 2 at Belmont.

Backed to 85 cents on the dollar Saturday, Life Is Good could not have broken any better from his outside post and was in front in the blink of an eye. Kicking clear in a handful of strides, he was chased fairly closely by Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) and Olympiad (Speightstown) through a modest :23.64 quarter before turning on the jets down the backstretch and opening up by about four lengths past a half in :46.84. Hot Rod Charlie inched closer as Olympiad was asked for his best on the latter half of the far turn, and what looked like it would be a runaway score for Life Is Good suddenly became a horse race with Hot Rod Charlie and Happy Saver (Super Saver) eyeballing the favorite on either side as heads pointed for home.

Irad Ortiz, Jr., confident into the lane despite the creeping danger, quickly got to work on Life Is Good, who began to turn back the pair past mid-stretch. Shifting to the inside from a righty whip into Happy Saver's path while not quite interfering a furlong from home, Life Is Good held safe from there while still meandering a bit for a two-length success despite the valiant efforts of Happy Saver and Hot Rod Charlie, with the former narrowly edging the latter for second to complete a Todd Pletcher exacta. Olympiad was a one-paced fourth.

“He's a nice horse. He deserves all the credit,” said Ortiz. “When we got to the three-quarter pole and along the backside he changed leads and he just took off. Two jumps. He was strong. After that, I didn't want to fight too much with him. I was clear [in the stretch]. I looked and came [inside] a little bit. I know if he felt somebody that he would give me another run and more. I know he was coming back a little, the track is not that fast, so if he feels somebody he will fight. I know he will fight, so that is why I was looking.”

The win was the third in the Whitney in five years for Ortiz after scores aboard Improbable (City Zip) in 2020 and Diversify (Bellamy Road) in 2018.

“This means a lot,” he said. “It's a great race to win. I'm happy for the connections and the horse, too. He stayed and just never quit.”
“When you feel like you're bringing over the best horse, you worry about everything,” Pletcher, who moved within one of tying John M. Gaver, Sr. with his fourth Whitney win, added. “Today we got the rain, the deep track, the heat and humidity. All those things can be concerning, but he was able to overcome all of that and just show how brilliant he really is. To me it's the premier older horse race in the country outside of the Breeders' Cup Classic. So, it means a lot.”

Of his 14-1 runner-up finisher, Pletcher said, “Happy Saver ran super. He just kept finding. It looked like for a second like he was going to get right there. Johnny [Velazquez] said when he had to angle him off the rail, you could tell Life Is Good kind of found a little more. I was proud of his effort. We'll see what's next, we could wait for the Woodward or come back for the Jockey Club [Gold Cup]. We've got some options.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado said of Olympiad, who had his five-race winning streak snapped with a 9 1/4-length defeat, “He didn't run at all. He didn't run his race. Not even close. If he ran his race at least I'd say, 'We finished second.' But he didn't run his race. At the half-mile I knew I was in trouble. He wasn't traveling or picking it up like he normally does. I gave him a chance to regroup at the three-eighths and start picking it up again to see if he would start doing it and nothing. At that point I knew he wasn't showing up. No excuses for the track [conditions]. Good horses are supposed to handle the track and anything else. That is not the excuse. If he had a problem with the track he should at least try to the eighth pole, but he was done very early for me.”

Pedigree Notes:

The second foal to race out of Beach Walk, a $435,000 KEESEP yearling who went 0-for-5 in her career, Life Is Good is one of 111 stakes victors, 51 graded stakes winners and 11 Grade I conquerors for Into Mischief. His second dam Bonnie Blue Flag was runner-up in the 2010 GI Test S. and is a half-sister to MGISW Diamondrella (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}). Beach Walk has a juvenile Blame filly named Living Good who worked a best-of-53 bullet from the gate in :47 flat Saturday at Ellis, a yearling colt by Candy Ride (Arg) and a full-brother to Life Is Good foaled Mar. 31. She returned to Into Mischief for 2023.

Saturday, Saratoga
WHITNEY S.-GI, $925,000, Saratoga, 8-6, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:48.97, gd.
1–LIFE IS GOOD, 124, c, 4, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Beach Walk, by Distorted Humor
                2nd Dam: Bonnie Blue Flag, by Mineshaft
                3rd Dam: Tap Your Feet, by Dixieland Band
'TDN Rising Star'. ($525,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-CHC Inc &
WinStar Farm LLC; B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc. (KY);
T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $535,000. Lifetime Record:
10-8-1-0, $4,086,700. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Happy Saver, 118, h, 5, Super Saver–Happy Week, by
Distorted Humor. O/B-Wertheimer Et Frere (KY); T-Todd A.
Pletcher. $185,000. 'TDN Rising Star'.
3–Hot Rod Charlie, 124, c, 4, Oxbow–Indian Miss, by Indian
Charlie. ($17,000 Ylg '19 FTKFEB; $110,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT).
O-Boat Racing, LLC, Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck),
Roadrunner Racing & William Strauss; B-Edward A. Cox (KY);
T-Doug F. O'Neill. $100,000.
Margins: 2, HD, 7 1/4. Odds: 0.85, 13.50, 4.00.
Also Ran: Olympiad, Zoomer. Scratched: Americanrevolution.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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‘She Had A Little More Kick Than The Rest Of Them’: War Like Goddess Scores Repeat Win In Glens Falls

George Krikorian's War Like Goddess, perfectly piloted by Joel Rosario, drew away in hand to a 1 1/4-length score in Saturday's $250,000 Glens Falls (G2), a 12-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 5-year-old English Channel mare is now 3-for-3 over the Saratoga turf, including a 3 1/4-length score in this event last year ahead of a 2 1/4-length win in the Flower Bowl Invitational (G1).

Key Biscayne set the tempo under Junior Alvarado, marking off fractions s of :25.26, :51.53 and 1:17.51 over the firm going with Petricor stalking from second and War Like Goddess tracking in fourth to the outside of Virginia Joy.

Petricor was given her cue by Jose Ortiz into the final turn as Flanigan's Cove made a wide bid from the back of the pack with Rosario still sitting chilly aboard War Like Goddess.

War Like Goddess took a three-wide route home from the top of the lane, traveling safe and in the clear of the Irad Ortiz Jr.-piloted Virginia Joy and the pacesetter as Temple City Terror and Flanigan's Cove rallied into contention. Rosario, comfortable throughout, needed to provide little urging down the lane as War Like Goddess strode home a winner in a final time of 2:29.33. Temple City Terror completed the exacta by a half-length over Virginia Joy with Flanigan's Cove, Key Biscayne, Treasure Tails, and Petricor rounding out the order of finish.

Mott praised the confident handling by Rosario, who secured his ninth graded win of the Spa summer meet.

“They were sitting on a bunch of them early, but I guess late she had a little more kick than the rest of them,” Mott said. “You always worry about if they're going fast enough up front to give her enough pace and you don't want them to have to wrestle with her to keep her back off the pace. Joel did a good job. He has good hands and the filly responded to him and when he asked her to go on, she was there for him.”

Rosario, who took over riding duties from Julien Leparoux this year, noted his mare's tremendous turn of foot.

“She's a nice horse and easy to ride. The pace was slow, but the whole time I had confidence in her and when I turned her loose and wanted to go she went,” Rosario said. “She was running really nice for me and I just had to stay with her like that. She felt the confidence at that point and I just went with that. She's just amazing. Even before I rode her, when Julien used to, I remember she just always had that kick at the end. I'm very happy with the ride.”

War Like Goddess enjoyed a tremendous 2021 campaign, posting wins in the Orchid (G3) at Gulfstream Park and the Bewitch (G3) at Keeneland before her summer success at the Spa. She completed her 4-year-old season with a troubled trip in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) in November at Del Mar after a wide and rushed-up trip when finishing third, just a half-length behind the victorious Loves Only You and My Sister Nat. Rosario guided her to a stylish return win last out in the Grade 3 Bewitch (G3) in April at Keeneland.

Mott said War Like Goddess will make her next start at the Spa with either a title defense in the 11-furlong, $600,000 Flower Bowl (G2) on September 3, which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf; or take on the boys in the 12-furlong, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer (G1) on August 27, which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf.

“She's a Grade 1 winner already, but unfortunately the Flower Bowl has been a Grade 1 since I've been in New York and they downgraded it, which is a very big disappointment. There have been some real top fillies run in the race,” said Mott, a five-time Flower Bowl-winner.

Tyler Gaffalione, aboard runner-up Temple City Terror, said he was proud of his mare's effort as she improved one position from her third-place Glens Falls finish a year ago.

“It was a real gutsy performance today,” Gaffalione said. “I followed Irad and Joel most of the way around there, and when Joel started making his move, I tipped out behind him and just kind of followed him. The filly put in a big run, just second best today.”

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm from the North Light mare Misty North, War Like Goddess banked $137,500 in victory, while improving her record to 8-0-1 from 10 starts. She returned $2.80 for a $2 win ticket.

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