September, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Undefeated Flightline Scheduled For Saturday Breeze At Santa Anita

Flightline, the undefeated tour d' force who has elicited comparisons to some of racing's all-time great champions, will have his first work in preparation for the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic this Saturday at Santa Anita.

A sensational 19 ¼ length winner of the Pacific Classic Sept. 3 at Del Mar, Flightline has taken his five starts by a combined 62 ¾ lengths and registered an astronomical 126 Beyer Speed Figure at Del Mar, is scheduled to breeze a half mile under Juan Leyva Saturday at 6:30 a.m. according to trainer John Sadler.

With the Breeders' Cup Classic looming on Nov. 5 at Keeneland, Flightline, a $1 million yearling purchase by Tapit, will likely have five local works before departing for Lexington several days in advance of the Classic.

A six-length winner of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile Handicap at Belmont Park June 11, a race in which regular rider Flavien Prat had to negotiate his way through significant early trouble, Flightline will be making his third start of the year and possibly his final career start, in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Owned by California-based Hronis Racing, LLC, Siena Farm, LLC, Summer Wind Equine, LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing, LLC, Flightline has run twice at The Great Race Place, most recently in the Grade 1 Runhappy Malibu Stakes this past Dec. 26.

Odds-on in all of his races, Flightline, who is out of the Indian Charlie mare Feathered, took the seven furlong Malibu by 11 ½ lengths at 2-5.

A 12 ¾ length allowance winner going six furlongs at Del Mar on Sept. 5, 2021, Flightline was a devastating first-out maiden winner at Santa Anita four months previous on April 24, winning by 13 ¼ lengths while getting six furlongs in 1:08.60.

Santa Anita's 18-day Autumn will open on Friday, Sept. 30, with first post time at 1 p.m.

First post time for Breeders' Cup Challenge weekend on Oct. 1 & 2 will be at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 and at 1 p.m. on Oct. 2. The weekend will feature a total of 10 stakes, including the Grade 1, $300,000 Awesome Again on Oct. 1, which will provide the winner with a fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

For additional information regarding Santa Anita's upcoming Autumn Meet, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Undefeated Flightline Scheduled For Saturday Breeze At Santa Anita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Liam’s Map Filly Makes It Three Straight at Presque Isle

7th-Presque Isle Downs, $45,046, Alw (NW3L), Opt. Clm ($40,000), 9-21, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f (AWT), 1:08.64, ft, 2 3/4 lengths.
ROSES FOR DEBRA (f, 3, Liam's Map–Essential Rose, by Bernardini) would be perfect but for a debut demotion at this venue May 23 when two lengths best, only to be taken down for drifting in and causing interference. A clear-cut maiden winner second time out June 9, the gray filly was last seen posting a facile 3 3/4-length triumph in the state-bred restricted Malvern Rose S. over an extra sixteenth of a mile July 18. A cozy fit for this open-company test, Roses for Debra was content to allow a pair of rivals set things up for her, rallied three wide on the turn and pulled away through the final furlong to take it by a handy 2 3/4 lengths as the 1-2 mortal. Blackstone Farm purchased the unraced Essential Rose, a daughter of Canadian Grade III winner Essential Edge (Storm Cat), for a bargain $32,000 in foal to Lookin At Lucky at Keeneland November in 2015. The dam of Rose's Vision (Artie Schiller), SW-USA, MSP-Can, $264,358, Essential Edge is a half-sister to Grade III-placed Leading Edge (Tapit), whose daughter Pioneer's Edge (Pioneerof the Nile) is twice stakes-placed for Chiefswood Stables this season, including a third in the Aug. 14 Bison City S. Essential Rose is also responsible for the once-raced Rosie's Alibi (Justify), a $625,000 FTSAUG grad, a yearling filly by Palace Malice and a filly foal by American Pharoah, all foaled in Pennsylvania. She most recently visited Gun Runner. Sales history: $120,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $25,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: SW, 4-3-1-0, $113,830. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-John O'Meara; B-Blackstone Farm LLC (PA); T-Michelle C Brafford.

The post Liam’s Map Filly Makes It Three Straight at Presque Isle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Hearing Officer In Baffert-Medina Spirit Case Recuses Himself

The appeal of Bob Baffert's suspension and Medina Spirit's 2021 Kentucky Derby disqualification resulting from a failed drug test took an unlikely turn on Wednesday when the hearing officer assigned to the case recused himself three weeks after the appeal was heard in Frankfort, Ky.

Attorney Clark Brewster, who represents Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan, told the Paulick Report he unknowingly bought a horse at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale that was co-owned by Clay Patrick, who conducted the six-day hearing in August and was expected to make a recommendation on the appeal to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission within 60 to 90 days.

Zedan appealed the disqualification of Medina Spirit – who has since died – and Baffert wants the $7,500 fine and 90-day suspension he already served erased. Medina Spirit was disqualified after a positive test for betamethasone, which Baffert and Zedan attorneys said resulted from an ointment used to treat a skin rash on the colt.

Patrick operates family-owned Ramspring Farm, a breeding, boarding, and sales prep operation in Frankfort. Hip 409, a More Than Ready colt out of the Quality Road mare Road of Honor, was bought by Brewster, for $190,000 from the consignment of Taylor Made Sales Agency, Agent LXXVI. Brewster purchased two other yearlings in the opening week of the sale, a Gun Runner filly for $300,000 and a Ghostzapper filly for $50,000.

Keeneland sale catalogues do not list the owner or breeder of horses being sold, only the consignor.

“After I bought the colt I noticed how young the mare is (Road of Honor was foaled in 2015) and looked to see who owned her,” Brewster said. “When I saw that she had been bought by Ramspring Farm and Milam Farm, I asked Mark Taylor (Taylor Made's CEO) who that was.”

Taylor confirmed to Brewster that Clay Patrick runs Ramspring, a farm his father started in 1976. Milam Farm's ownership includes Michael Dudgeon, a member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

A Sept 21 recusal order signed by Patrick stated that two post-hearing conferences involving the different parties took place on Sept. 16 and Sept. 20.

According to Brewster, at the most recent conference, Patrick asked, “How do you want to handle this?”

Brewster said he had no problem with Patrick continuing on in his role as hearing officer but said KHRC attorney Jennifer Wolsing indicated the commission would file a motion for Patrick to recuse himself. (Wolsing could not be reached for comment and did not reply to an email at time of writing.)

What's next?

Brewster said a new hearing officer would be appointed and either conduct another hearing or possibly use the transcripts from the first appeal and make a recommendation based on that.

The recommendation would then go to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which can accept, reject or amend it. It remains to be seen if any commission members, a number of which have directly or indirectly conducted business with Baffert and/0r Zedan, will recuse themselves from the matter.

The post Hearing Officer In Baffert-Medina Spirit Case Recuses Himself appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘Going Into This Hopeful’: White Abarrio Gets Another Shot After Haskell Dud

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. can't get the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Stakes out of his mind.

For the life of him, he can't figure out what happened to White Abarrio in the signature race of the summer meeting at Monmouth Park.

White Abarrio, owned by C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable, ran a dud in the Haskell, finishing seventh in the field of eight. He was beaten 34 1/2 lengths by Cyberknife.

Now, here comes another chance. Joseph has entered White Abarrio in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million betPARX Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing. The son of Race Day has much to prove to his trainer and just about everyone else who follows horse racing when he enters the starting gate for the 1 1/8-mile Derby. His odds reflect that as he is 8-1 on the morning line.

“We are going into this hopeful,” said Joseph, who will also saddle Skippylongstocking in Derby. “It's hard to go over there with confidence after that (Haskell). When a horse runs like that, it puts a question in the back of your mind.”

White Abarrio has won four of eight career starts and all of the wins have come at his home track at Gulfstream Park.

After the Haskell, Joseph said White Abarrio was checked from head to toe and nothing was remiss. The race was one that disappointed the trainer but also one that could not be explained.

“He didn't show up the last time, and, since that last race, we have freshened him,” Joseph said.

He kept the horse, as well as Skippylongstocking, at Saratoga Race Course after that meet ended, calling it a “vacation.”

Since then, he said White Abarrio has trained “as good as he has ever trained.”

Both horses will ship to Parx on Friday.

“If White Abarrio shows up, it's a tough race,” Joseph said. “We know he is capable. At Saratoga, we kept building him up and we are happy coming into the Parx race. We are coming with a fresh horse.”

White Abarrio will get a new rider as Luis Saez will be on board for the first time. Joel Rosaro rode him in the Haskell and Tyler Gaffalione was his jockey in the four races before that.

The post ‘Going Into This Hopeful’: White Abarrio Gets Another Shot After Haskell Dud appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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