September, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sanford Winner Mo Strike Returns For Monday’s Hopeful

Nasser Bin Omairah's undefeated Mo Strike will vie for his second graded stakes win of the meet in Monday's Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful for juveniles sprinting seven furlongs at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, Mo Strike was last seen defeating a 12-horse field in the Grade 3 Sanford on July 16 at the Spa, pouncing from a half-length off the pace under Florent Geroux to draw away to an impressive 3 1/2-length victory. He completed the six furlongs in 1:11.35 and earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“We didn't get a work before the Sanford and shipped in about five days before the race, but he handled it fine,” said Brad Cox's son and assistant, Blake Cox.

The Sanford was Mo Strike's first outing against winners after a determined debut score sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs in June at Churchill Downs. There, he delivered a similar performance to his Sanford score and rallied from just behind the pacesetter to take the lead and hold off Summonyourcourage in the stretch. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to Disarm, who went on to post a strong 6 1/4-length victory in his next start at the Spa.

“He's doing great. He's been feeling really good and came out of the Sanford in good order,” said Cox. “He's been working every seven days.”

Mo Strike will leave post 5 with Geroux aboard.

Trainer Chad Brown will look to secure his second win in this event with promising maiden winner Blazing Sevens, a dominant open-lengths winner of his July 24 debut at Saratoga in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint. The runner-up in that race, fellow Hopeful aspirant Bourbon Bash, returned to break his maiden next out by eight lengths at the Spa.

Owned by Rodeo Creek Racing, the son of Good Magic was a $225,000 purchase at last year's Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale from the Eaton Sales consignment. The first foal out of the Warrior's Reward mare Trophy Girl, Blazing Sevens' second dam, Storm West, produced Grade 1 winner King David.

Blazing Sevens breezed a half-mile in 1:01.95 on August 28 over the main track in his final preparation of the Hopeful.

“The form looked good in his last race,” said Brown. “He had his last breeze [on Sunday] for the Hopeful, so we'll see.”

Manny Franco has the call again from post 6.

Stakes-winner Gulfport will return to the scene of his first career loss when he finished a troubled second in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special behind Damon's Mound on August 13. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen for owners William Heiligbrodt, Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm, Whispering Oaks Farm and Coolmore Stud, Gulfport was an emphatic 12 1/4-length winner of the Bashford Manor in his stakes debut on July 4 at Churchill Downs.

In the Saratoga Special, Gulfport raced one length off the pace in third and traveled well throughout the first half-mile, but was checked and steadied in the turn and lost position before re-rallying to come up 3 1/4 lengths shy.

Flavien Prat will ride for the first time from post 4.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte will hope to regroup from an even fourth-place effort last out in the Sanford. A 7 3/4-length winner in his May 27 debut for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher at Belmont Park, Forte closed from seventh-of-12 in the Saratoga Special, but could not catch up to a runaway Mo Strike.

Pletcher said Forte should benefit from the extra furlong in the Hopeful.

“The track was probably a little deep for his liking [in the Sanford]. The pace didn't come back much,” said Pletcher. “I think he should appreciate the added distance.”

The son of Violence will exit post 2 with returning rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons.

Completing the field are Bourbon Bash and stablemate Western Ghent, who will try to give their Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas a record-extending ninth Hopeful victory and first since Sporting Chance took down the 2017 edition.

Campaigned by BC Stables, Bourbon Bash scored his last out maiden victory with ease, leading the field of nine at every point of call and widening his margin down the stretch to coast home eight lengths in front. A son of City of Light, Bourbon Bash was a $280,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Bourbon Bash recorded a bullet half-mile breeze in 47.30 over the Oklahoma training track on August 23.

“He woke up in that race,” Lukas said of his maiden effort. “That was a pivotal race I think for him. He came around and since has trained really strong. It'll be interesting to see if he can step up in the Hopeful.”

Western Ghent wheels back on 11 days rest after graduating by a head for a $75,000 tag here on August 25. The dark bay American Pharoah colt will be making his fourth start of the Saratoga meet after two non-threatening maiden special weight efforts and his maiden claiming score. Owned by Lukas with Bob Ghent, Ann Ghent and Laurie Lukas, Western Ghent was an $80,000 buy at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Tyler Gaffalione will ride Bourbon Bash from post 3 while Western Ghent will emerge from post 1 in rein to Luis Saez.

The Hopeful is slated as Race 11 on Monday's Closing Day card, which also features the Grade 3, $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap in Race 3. First post on the 12-race card is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Reeves Hopes City Man Can Bookend Successful Saratoga Meet In Bernard Baruch

Owner Dean Reeves is looking to end the Saratoga Race Course meet the same way he started it: with a Grade 3 victory with multiple stakes-winner City Man. This time, the talented New York-bred son of Mucho Macho Man will contest the $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap for 3-year-olds and upward going 1 1/16 miles over the inner turf.

Trained by Christophe Clement, City Man captured the Grade 3 Forbidden Apple on July 15 at one mile. Racing in mid-pack early on, he was six wide in upper stretch and tipped out in the clear before making his winning move to take command from Get Smokin to win by 2 3/4 lengths. The win garnered a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.

Under the Reeves Thoroughbred Racing moniker, Dean and his wife, Patti, have won five stakes this meet. In addition to the Forbidden Apple, their sophomore turf sprinter Big Invasion secured scores in the Grade 3 Quick Call presented by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Mahony, while Isolate won the Tale of the Cat to give trainer Tom Amoss his 4,000th career victory. They also won the NYSSS Cab Calloway with the Danny Gargan-trained Dakota Gold.

The 5-year-old City Man captured the Danger's Hour on April 9 at Aqueduct in his 2022 debut before two unplaced efforts at stakes level at Belmont Park ahead of the Forbidden Apple. Initially slated to defend his title in the state-bred West Point presented by Trustco Bank on August 26, City Man scratched out of the 1 1/16-mile event when weather conditions forced the race onto the main track.

“Hope we can get by this one without some bad weather,” said Reeves, who owns City Man with Peter and Patty Searles. “We're hoping to finish the way we started. We might have run on the dirt had this race not been a week later, so it just made sense. So we figured, why not? We'll wait a week, come back and hope we get a good turf course. It's the same distance and we feel like we can be competitive in it.”

City Man, a dual surface stakes winner, won the 2019 Funny Cide on the Spa main track before winning the following year's Gio Ponti over the Aqueduct inner turf. Through a record of 22-6-4-3, City Man has amassed field-best earnings of $653,050. He was bred in the Empire State by Moonstar Farm.

“To start the meet with a Grade 3 and finish with a Grade 3 would be unbelievable,” Reeves said. “It really will make the trip home easy. So, fingers crossed, but I think we have a live shot. I would really like the end of the meet on the last day with a win like that.”

Joel Rosario, who won the 2019 Bernard Baruch aboard repeat winner Qurbaan, will return to the irons from post 5.

Trainer Tom Morley will be treading familiar waters when saddling Flying P Stable and James F. Schurman's stakes-winner Dynadrive.

Last year, Morley captured the Bernard Baruch with Tell Your Daddy, who is a half-brother to Dynadrive. By Temple City, Dynadrive enters from an upset coup in the restricted Lure on August 6 over the Mellon turf course at Saratoga, where he was second-to-last down the backstretch and made an inside rally to collar Sifting Sands to win by a head at 23-1 odds under return rider Eric Cancel.

Dynadrive lit up the Belmont tote board in his previous effort, winning a ten-furlong allowance optional claimer at 45-1 odds in his debut for Morley. Claimed by previous trainer Robertino Diodoro in November, Dynadrive won over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track last August. In July 2020, he won for a $40,000 tag over the Saratoga inner turf.

“We were lucky enough to have him moved into our shed row. He's one that has done very well since coming to us,” Morley said. “He really likes Saratoga. He's run three times here and won all three races. He was fantastically brave in the Lure and it looks like he's continued on the right trajectory since then. Eric Cancel has all the confidence in this horse.”

Dynadrive will leave from post 3.

Morley will also saddle New York-bred stakes winner Ocala Dream who, like City Man, also was originally pointing to the West Point. Owned by Thomas Albrecht, Vincent J. Fusaro and James Klein, the son of Effinex will be in search of his first win since the Kingston on May 30 at Belmont.

“There was nowhere else to run him in between [the West Point and Aqueduct],” Morley said. “It's a perfectly logical spot for the horse to have a crack at a graded stake at his best distance. If you take his form from the Kingston, he's a very legitimate horse in this race.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, a two-time Bernard Baruch winner, will ride Ocala Dream from post 1.

Four-time Saratoga meet leading trainer Chad Brown will saddle graded stakes-placed Mouillage and Emaraaty.

Owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, Mouillage last raced when a close second in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf on March 5 at Gulfstream Park. The effort was the 4-year-old son of Toronado's first effort away from his native France, where he registered four lifetime victories and has never finished off the board.

“He's off a layoff but he seems to be training well so we're happy to get him back on track,” Brown said. “We always liked him, and he ran really well at Gulfstream. Unfortunately, he exited the race with a minor injury, so we had to rest him but he's good now.”

Three-time meet leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Mouillage from post 2.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Michael J. Caruso's Emaraaty is a three-time winner of four starts at the Spa, with his only local defeat taking place when fourth in the 2019 Bernard Baruch. The 7-year-old son of Dubawi, out of Group 1 winner Zee Zee Top, enters off a victory in a one-mile allowance optional claimer on August 4 over the inner turf, where he defeated graded stakes placed runners Floriform and Atone.

“He seems to be a horse that has an affinity for Saratoga so it might be good to run him here again,” Brown said.

Emaraaty will be piloted by Flavien Prat from post 6.

Completing the field is Waterford Stable's Winters Back, who makes his first start in nearly 14 months for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. The 5-year-old son of Summer Front was seventh in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park last July after finishing second in the New Jersey oval's Grade 3 namesake race. He has won all three of his victories in wire-to-wire fashion.

Luis Saez has the call from post 4.

The Bernard Baruch is carded as Race 3 on Closing Day's 12-race program, which also features the Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs on the main track in Race 11. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

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Lukas ‘Hopeful’ On Final Weekend At The Spa

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Here we are on the final weekend of the Saratoga season and–no surprise–D. Wayne Lukas is ready to take swings in both of the historic Grade I races for 2-year-olds.

The Hall of Fame trainer, who turned 87 Friday, will saddle Holy Cow Stable's Naughty Gal (Into Mischief) Sunday in the GI Spinaway S. The next afternoon, Lukas will send out BC Stable's Bourbon Bash (City of Light) and Western Ghent (American Pharoah) in the GI Hopeful, the final stake of the 154th season of Saratoga racing.

Lukas skipped the last two years because of a combination of Covid-19 and a downturn in the quality of his stable, but came back to Saratoga this summer with 16 horses for what has been a productive meet. Through Friday, the Lukas stable had a record of 4-6-2 from 23 starts with earnings of $607,889. During the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, he signed the tickets for five yearlings for $2.725 million.

Three of Lukas' Saratoga wins came from his stakes starters. Bourbon Bash handled a maiden special weight field by eight lengths Aug. 13. Western Ghent, co-owned by Lukas and his wife Laurie, won a $75,000 maiden claimer Aug. 25. Naughty Gal, the GIII Adirondack winner Aug. 7, prevailed by 2 1/4 lengths despite running greenly and drifting out in the stretch under Luis Saez.

“She's corrected that, for sure, and I feel comfortable,” Lukas said, “And, of course, Luis is going to be a lot more familiar with who she is. The power steering kicked in and she overreacted to what he was trying to do. We wanted to be in the four or five-hole and we didn't want to be an eight or nine He ended up there so quick it surprised him.”

Lukas and his former assistant and fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher top the Spinaway trainers's standings with six victories each. In 23 starts, Lukas has a 6-5-3 record in the seven-furlong race. He won with Tiltalating (Tilt Up) in 1984, the first year he ran at the track. His most recent winner was Golden Attraction in 1995.

Figuring out who belongs in a graded stake, Lukas said, comes down to experience.

“Well, if you've been doing it for 60 years, you get a pretty good cross section of what works and what won't,” he said. “I've been guilty my whole career of entering in stakes that I have no idea what the competition's ability is. That goes for everyday races. I'll enter in non-winners of two and somebody will say this or that about the race and I have no idea. But I know what wins non-winners of two. I've seen it enough that I know that I'm competitive in a non-winners of two unless Secretariat shows up or Ruffian.”

Before the 40-day meet July 14, Lukas expected BC Stable's Summer Promise (Uncle Mo) to be his Spinaway horse. However, she finished second in the GIII Schuylerville on opening day and Naughty Gal moved up in the pecking order in the stable with her Adirondack triumph.

“She's going into it and the other one's not,” Lukas said. “I'm running the best one I've got at this point.”

Lukas said Naughty Gal is an obvious standout.

“Awful strong. Big, powerful filly,” he said. “One of the best horsemen I know called me the other day and said 'Boy, that's a good-looking (SOB) you ran in the Adirondack. He was watching on television. She's a picture of conformation. For her age, her development, strength, size is incredible. She's really a study. You want to study one how they're supposed to look, she's it in every way. That's why I say the seven furlongs should just be right in her wheelhouse.”

Never shy about promoting his horses, Lukas said Naughty Gal is a filly with a future.

“Big time. And I'm anxious to run her two turns,” he said. “That's where I really want to see her run.”

If things go well in the Spinaway, Lukas said Naughty Gal is on the road to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in November at Keeneland.

“No bones about it,” he said. “I'm pointing her right there.”

Lukas is the career leader in Hopeful wins with eight from 32 starts. Pletcher and Steve Asmussen are next with three each.

Bourbon Bash was a well-beaten second to the Chad Brown-trained Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) in his first try July 24, but earned his trip to the Hopeful with the romp in his second start.

“He's a real immature colt, but I think he'll also relish the seven-eighths,” Lukas said. “He was getting in cruise control the other day. The only thing that is a little bit disturbing is the race was slow. Of course, it wasn't slow for him. When they say the race was slow, I always say, 'Well, he beat everybody that showed up.' I wondered about the time a little bit. I'm talking to Chad Brown and he said, 'You know, my colt is the one that beat yours' when I first started him. I said, 'well, it will be interesting the next time.'”

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Ontario Mare Purchase Program Foal Among Sales Leaders At Canadian Premier Yearling Sale

Foals out of dams purchased through Ontario Racing's Thoroughbred Improvement Program's innovative Mare Purchase Program (MPP) were hot commodities at the 2022 Canadian Premier Yearling Sale on Aug. 31, including Hip 48, one of three yearlings to hammer for over $100,000.

Hip 48's dam Zee Ro Drop was purchased in-foal to Palace Malice by Jeremia Rudan's Villa Rosa Farm for $40,000 USD at the 2021 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.

“I bought Zee Ro Drop with a partner of mine, Steve Kemp from Ballycroy Training Centre,” said Rudan. “We partnered on her, and we went down and shopped, and we found her. She was a big, pretty mare.”

The grey or roan colt Zee Ro Drop produced sold for $102,000 CDN on Wednesday at the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's annual yearling sale.

Through the MPP, Villa Rosa Farm was reimbursed $15,000 CAD when purchasing Zee Ro Drop. The amount has since been increased to a maximum of $25,000 CAD for up to 50 percent of the purchase price of an in-foal mare at any recognized public auction outside of Ontario.

“I wouldn't be buying in-foal mares if not for the program,” said Rudan. “It gives you a little bit of extra wiggle room to buy better mares. Especially with the exchange, the program certainly helps, and incentivizes you to do it.”

Rudan will continue using the MPP when he heads to the fall sales.

“The Ontario program is really getting good,” said Rudan. “The people I see in the states, they're seeing the Ontario Bred races, the incentives for Ontario Breds, and the breeding program. I think people are starting to bring better mares across and foal them out in Ontario and having them race in Ontario.”

Four other foals of mare purchased through the MPP went through the sales ring, and all sold above the median of $19,500.

Hip 139: A bay Hard Spun colt out of Isabel's On It (GB) sold for $50,000. Isabel's On It (GB) was brought to Ontario as part of the 2021 Mare Purchase Program by Spring Farm as a $32,000 USD purchase at Keeneland November 2020.

Hip 79: A dark bay or brown Yoshida (JPN) colt out of CC's Joy sold for $46,000. CC's Joy was brought to Ontario as part of the 2021 Mare Purchase Program by Jesse Korona as a $18,000 USD purchase at Keeneland January 2021.

Hip 148: A dark bay or brown Outwork colt out of Kin's Ghost also sold for $46,000. Kin's Ghost was brought to Ontario as part of the 2021 Mare Purchase Program by Phoenix Rising Farm as a $15,000 USD purchase at Keeneland November 2020.

Hip 105: A bay Always Dreaming filly out of Fallen Leaf sold for $22,000. Always Dreaming was brought to Ontario as part of the 2021 Mare Purchase Program by Dr. B. Van Arem as a $50,000 USD at Keeneland January 2021.

Click here for details on the 2023 Mare Purchase Program.

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