October, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

$71,283 Pick 6 Carryover On Thursday’s Belmont At The Big A Program

Thursday's program at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet will be bolstered by a Pick 6 carryover of $71,283 after the multi-race wager went unsolved on Sunday's 10-race program at Aqueduct in South Ozone Park, N.Y.

The $1 Pick 6 returned $1,350 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly.

The sequence kicked off with two major upsets with Flawless Cat [No. 1, $26.80] graduating at first asking for a $50,000 tag for owner and trainer Michael Dini and piloted to victory by Madeline Rowland. Trainer Danny Gargan saddled Missy Greer [No. 6, $30.20] to victory in Race 6. The daughter of Nyquist defeated winners going a one turn mile under jockey Manny Franco.

Peter Brant's Rocky Sky [No. 8, $9.40] earned her first stateside triumph in Race 7, the Grade 3, $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya going 1 3/8 miles over the inner turf, leading a Chad Brown-trained exacta and defeating stablemate Capital Structure. Franco piloted the 4-year-old daughter of Rock of Gibraltar.

Repole Stable's 2-year-old filly Chocolate Gelato [No. 4, $5.30], backed up her favoritism in Race 8 – the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette at a one-turn mile – for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. Irad Ortiz, Jr. piloted the dark bay daughter of Practical Joke.

Ortiz, Jr. and Pletcher secured their second stakes win of the day with Major Dude [No. 3, $22.40] in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim [Race 9] for 2-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the outer turf.

The John Terranova-trained I Am the Law [No. 2, $6.30] triggered the carryover when he captured the final leg in Race 10, which was scratched down to a field of nine after being taken off the turf. The son of Mshawish earned his second career victory, covering the one-turn mile under Joel Rosario.

Thursday's Pick 6 will kick off in Race 4 [2:12 p.m. Eastern]. First post for the nine-race card is 12:35 p.m.

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of every day of Belmont at the Big A on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the fall 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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Major Dude Takes To Turf And Captures ‘Win and You’re In’ Pilgrim

Spendthrift Farm's Major Dude sprung a mild upset on Sunday at Aqueduct in the $200,000 Pilgrim (G2) for 2-year-olds, gamely holding off odds-on favorite I'm Very Busy to give trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. their second consecutive graded stakes win on the card.

Making his turf debut in the 1 1/16-mile Pilgrim, Major Dude had previously raced three times on dirt and failed to distinguish himself on the surface. The $550,000 yearling purchase, the Bolt d'Oro colt won his debut going five furlongs on June 18 at Monmouth Park before finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga Race Course and third in the one-mile Sapling at Monmouth last out, topping out at a Beyer Speed Figure of 69.

While the Pilgrim represented a question mark for his connections given the challenging conditions, it was evident as soon as the field left the gate that at the very least Major Dude's early speed had transferred to the new surface. Movisitor broke sharply from outermost post 11 and then ceded the lead to Fly Right, who shot through on the rail into the clubhouse turn to take control. Major Dude sat just off those two in an ideal stalking position under Ortiz, the meet's leading rider.

“You're always concerned when you're running on ground that you haven't been on before,” said Pletcher. “When we worked him on the turf, it was pretty firm ground, so we knew he liked that. We were hoping he'd like [softer ground] today. It seemed like he was always traveling really well.”

Fly Right, with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano in the irons, led the field through honest fractions of :24.10 for the opening quarter-mile, :49.73 for the half, and 1:15.84 for three-quarters over the yielding outer turf course at the Big A, as Movisitor sat just off his flank and longshot Noble Huntsman raced in tandem with Major Dude. I'm Very Busy, meanwhile, broke slowly from post 9 under Flavien Prat and found himself near the back of the pack in the nascent stages of the race.

I'm Very Busy picked things up around the far turn while racing four-wide as Major Dude slipped through on the inside into the stretch. With full momentum on the outside, it appeared as though I'm Very Busy was destined to win easily, however Major Dude dug in gamely over the rain-soaked course and battled back to prevail by a length. He completed the distance in 1:46.60 and returned $22.40 on a $2 win wager as the 10-1 fourth choice in the wagering.

Ortiz said Major Dude was full of run throughout.

“At the half-mile, I think I can go by those horses whenever I want to,” said Ortiz, Jr. “I feel like my horse switched off on the backside and saved a lot of energy for the end and I took some time.

“I worked the horse and I thought he loved the grass,” added Ortiz. “He felt really good on it and worked really well on the bridle. He handled [softer going] really well. He got the job done, so I can't complain.”

“He's a colt that we've really liked from the very beginning,” said Pletcher. “He was one of the first to come in [this year]. He was training well on the dirt and we gave him a couple opportunities and we just kind of got the feeling that we weren't getting everything that we thought we had. So, I saw a couple of Bolt d'Oros were running well on the turf and said, 'Let's work him on the turf.' Then it was like, OK, that's what we were hoping to see. I'm not surprised he stepped up today. He's always been a very professional, straightforward colt. I'm happy he found what he was looking for.”

In addition to taking home the winner's share of the purse of $110,000, which bumped his bankroll to $165,250, Major Dude also received an all-expenses paid trip to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, as the Pilgrim is a designated 'Win And You're In' event. The $1-million Juvenile Turf (G1) is scheduled for November 4 at Keeneland.

The Chad Brown-trained I'm Very Busy, owned in partnership by Team Hanley, Richard Schermerhorn, and Paul Braverman, had to settle for second after a less-than-ideal trip, while still finishing 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Lachaise in third, who was followed by Noble Huntsman in fourth.

“I got wide in the last turn and that draw was difficult to get a really good trip,” said Prat. “I didn't have a bad trip, but not a great trip compared to the winner. I came really easy, it looks like I'm going to win by two or three lengths and I just hooked up with that horse [Major Dude] and couldn't go by him. I think the ground is a bit too soft.”

Ramblin' Wreck, Dataman, Battle of Normandy, Movisitor, Bramble Blaze, Fly Right and Torigo completed the order of finish. Vacation Dance was scratched.

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Midnight Memories Dominates Zenyatta Rivals

Ridden aggressively by Ramon Vazquez, Midnight Memories pressed dueling leaders Awake at Midnyte and Soothsay leaving the half-mile pole, wheeled three-deep turning for home and marched to an emphatic 3 ¼-length win in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Trained by Bob Baffert, Midnight Memories got 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:45.07 and will likely be pointed to the $2-million Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

A gate-to-wire winner of the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes at one mile on Sept. 4, Midnight Memories burst clear leaving the furlong pole in what appeared to be her best race to date. A winner of four out of her five starts, was off as the 8-5 favorite among five fillies and mares three and up and paid $5.20, $2.60 and $2.10.

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Midnight Memories, a 3-year-old filly by Mastery out of the Midnight Lute mare Tiz Midnight, picked up $120,000 for the win, increasing her earnings to $286,680.

Head and head for the lead for most of the trip, Awake At Midnyte held the place under Mario Gutierrez, finishing a neck clear of an onrushing Empire House. Off at 9-5, Awake At Midnyte paid $2.40 and $2.20.

Ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, longshot Empire House rallied from last to just miss second money and paid $3.20 to show while off at 23-1.

Fractions on the race were 24.16, 48.26, 1:11.97 and 1:38.21.

JOCKEY QUOTES
RAMON VAZQUEZ, MIDNIGHT MEMORIES, WINNER: “I felt really good today. I concentrated on the race and told myself to do my best. From the beginning of the race, we took a nice position, and in the last quarter (Midnight Memories) ran really well.”

TRAINER QUOTES

BOB BAFFERT, MIDNIGHT MEMORIES, WINNER: “We have taken our time with her. The Mastery fillies seem to be slow coming around. We have had to be patient with her. She got into a nice rhythm today and when Ramon asked her in the lane, she took off. She is really improving. I'm not sure what the (Breeders' Cup) Dirty Dozen means, but we'll figure it out.”
ON THE BREEDERS' CUP POSSIBILITY: “We'll think it out. We have a few spots held on the plane. We just have to figure out who's going to fill those spots.”

OWNER QUOTES

PAUL WEITMAN, CO-OWNER/BREEDER, MIDNIGHT MEMORIES, WINNER: “I thought it was good, (Ramon Vazquez) did extremely good. She had a little problem coming out of the gate. She was like spinning her wheels, but he was patient with her, brought her up and turned for home fast.
“She's had a little tiny problem sometimes in the Paddock of acting up just a little bit, but today she was calm, and I watched her in the Paddock, and she was as calm as she could be. I think that is important that she doesn't get worked up.”

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‘I Think She Loved The Ground’: Rocky Sky Tallies First U.S. Victory In Soggy Waya

The late scratch of morning-line favorite Flirting Bridge and a water-logged inner turf course paved the way for a Chad Brown-trained exacta in the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya (G3) Sunday at Aqueduct, with Rocky Sky proving narrowly best over her stablemate Capital Structure,

A private purchase by owner Peter Brant in 2021, Irish-bred Rocky Sky had yet to register a win in the U.S. before her breakthrough victory in the Waya.

The daughter of Rock of Gibraltar began her stateside career with a disappointing eighth-place finish in last summer's Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational before hitting the sidelines for the remainder of the year, and while she showed improvement as a 4-year-old, she still wasn't able to find the winner's circle from four prior tries in 2022.

The soggy conditions and longer distance proved to be the difference for Rocky Sky, who took up position in fourth-place early under Manny Franco as longshot Tass led the field through pedestrian splits of :25.31 for the opening quarter-mile, :51.26 for the half, 1:18.54 for three-quarters, and a mile in 1:43.87 with Coastana perched to her outside in second and Gladys in third.

Tass continued to lead the field into the stretch after completing the final of three turns, but it wasn't long thereafter that Rocky Sky and Franco took the initiative. Their positional advantage proved to be the difference in the final eighth of a mile as they were able to stave off a late run from Capital Structure, who had lingered in last early as the 8-5 favorite, to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths in a final time of 2:21.42 for the 1 3/8 miles.

“Both horses got pretty good trips,” said Brown. “I was concerned a little bit with Rocky Sky around the turn, but she still kicked on. She's been a difficult horse to figure out. I cut her back, and then stretched her back out. She had me confused for a while. But it became clear that she did, in fact, want to run three turns today.”

Franco said Rocky Sky responded well to the yielding conditions.

“I think she loved the ground, definitely the soft ground helped her,” said Franco. “I think of the six horses, she was the better going in because she was liking the soft ground. I think putting her close to the pace [helped], because there was not going to be a lot of pace and I wanted to be close and that's what I did. She did the rest.”

The win was Rocky Sky's third from 10 starts and the dark bay filly returned $9.40 on a $2 win wager. Her earnings now stand at $268,931.

Klaravich Stables' Capital Structure, who made her first graded stakes appearance since the 2020 American Oaks (G1) at Del Mar, ran a gallant race to be a clear second best, finishing seven lengths clear of Coastana in third. The sparingly raced daughter of Lope de Vega had strung together four races already in 2022, including a win at 1 3/8 miles over firm Saratoga turf on July 31.

“I thought she got a nice ground saving trip the whole way,” Brown said of Capital Structure. “It was a nice step up for her into stakes company and getting a graded stakes placing was nice.”

Coastana, who arrived from a close third-place finish in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl at Saratoga where she earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure, was a narrow second choice in the Waya at 2-1, but the Cherie DeVaux-trained mare had no response for the Brown duo in the stretch. It was another two lengths back to Tass in fourth, who was followed home by Gladys and Lovely Lucky. Flirting Bridge and Flying Fortress were scratched.

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