Month: November 2022

Justique drove from last and cruised to her first stakes victory in the $101,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes for 2-year-old fillies Saturday at Del Mar.

Entering off a lackluster third in the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier (G2) Oct. 8 at Santa Anita, the Justify filly shortened to seven furlongs Saturday and proved best in a 2 ¼-length triumph under Victor Espinoza while completing the trip in 1:23.41 on a fast track.

Trained by John Sherriffs for owners Lee and Susan Searing's C R K Stable, Justique was off a step slow and settled last of seven as Parody led through a half mile in :45.05. Sweeping four to five wide around the turn, Justique hit the front with a furlong to run and coasted clear under a hand ride. She returned $5 as the 3-2 favorite.

Blessed Touch finished second, 6 ½ lengths in front of third-place finisher Naughty Lottie.

Justique improved to two wins from three starts, with Saturday's triumph and a last-to-first debut win July 31 at Del Mar bookending the Chandelier. The $60,000 winner's share of the Desi Arnaz purse increased her lifetime earnings to $132,000

Bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock from the Bernardini mare Grazie Mille, Justique was purchased by Mayberry Farm for $750,000 from Gunther's Glennwood Farm consignment at the 2021 Keeneland September yearling sale. Gunther also bred her sire, 2018 Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year Justify.

DESI ARNAZ STAKES QUOTES

VICTOR ESPINOZA (Justique, winner) – “I don't try to encourage her away from the gate; I just let her do her thing. I just want her to be happy in her races. The idea is to just get her in her rhythm; to let her do it her way. At the half mile (pole) she started to pick it up. When she wants to, she's quick; very quick. I moved up next to those horses on the turn and in two or three jumps she's in front. She's something. And if she goes longer?  I think she'll be better.”

JOHN SHIRREFFS (Justique, winner) – “I didn't get a good look at the break, so you always wonder when she's got to close a lot of ground, will she be able to do it? I saw her starting to make up ground and I thought 'Victor's gonna time it' and then she kept going.”

The post ‘I Just Let Her Do Her Thing’: Justique Impresses With Last To First Rally In Desi Arnaz appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Lothenbach Stables Inc.'s 5-year-old homebred mare She Can't Sing contested the early pace with Empire House and Liberty M D, assumed command midway around the turn, and spurted clear down the stretch to easily win Saturday's 37th running of the $300,000 Chilukki (G3) at Churchill Downs by 3 ¾ lengths.

After the first quarter mile in :22.82 and a half-mile in :45.50, She Can't Sing clocked one mile over a fast track in 1:35.38 to beat five other fillies and mares for Chicago-based trainer Chris Block and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. It was the filly's fourth stakes win of her career, but first against graded stakes company.

“We figured a couple others to our inside would go to the front, but we kind of inherited the lead up the backside,” Hernandez Jr. said. “She was traveling really comfortable all the way around there and finished really well down the lane.”

She Can't Sing banked the $183,450 first prize in the Chilukki and rewarded her backers with $9.04.

Ice Orchid, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, finished second, 2 /14 lengths in front of Liberty M D in third under Julien Leparoux.

Coach, the 7-5 favorite, was fourth and was followed by Empire House and Mariah's Princess. Center Aisle was scratched.

Overall, She Can't Sing has won eight of 33 starts and $816,588. Prior to the Chilukki, she raced on turf in her eight previous starts this year, including a third-place effort last out in the Mint Ladies Sprint (G3) at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 10. A year ago, She Can't Sing finished sixth of seven in the Chilukki won by Obligatory – her last start on dirt.

“This mare has been really consistent on both dirt and turf so I've been able to try a couple of different things with her,” Block said. “She loves this dirt track. Last year she won an allowance at seven-eighths but ended up having a really tough trip in the Chilukki. So, I decided to make it a goal to get her back for this race. I think we'll see her back next year. She'll head to Fair Grounds after this and get a little bit of a freshening before we start looking at a spring campaign.”

She Can't Sing is a bay daughter of Bernardini out of the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Magic and was bred in Kentucky by her owner, Bob Lothenbach.

Known as the Churchill Downs Distaff from 1996-2004, the Chilukki was renamed in 2005 to honor Stonerside Stable's graded stakes-winning filly. The daughter of Cherokee Run made four starts at Churchill Downs, all of which were victories. Chilukki won the 2000 edition of this race in what would be her final start with a final time of 1:33.57 – a track record at the time.

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Lael Stables' Navy Goat overcame a slow pace by saving ground and employing a strong late kick to capture the $60,000 Juvenile Fillies, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 2-year-old Florida-bred fillies on Tapeta, Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

The Juvenile Fillies co-headlined Saturday's 11-race program with the $60,000 Juvenile, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for Florida-bred 2-year-olds on Tapeta.

Favored Navy Goat ($5.40), who was purchased for $450,000 out of the OBS April sale, scored by 2 ½ lengths under Samy Camacho while running 1 1/16 miles on the all-weather surface in 1:44,46. Oh Darlin, the 3-1 second betting choice ridden by Kevin Krigger, finished second, a neck ahead of Luck in the Dusk.

Oh Darlin, who was stretching out around two turns for the first time after graduating by three lengths in a five-furlong maiden test on Tapeta, broke alertly to set a controlled pace around the first turn and along the backstretch.

Navy Goat, a daughter of Army Mule, settled near the rear of the closely packed field of seven fillies as Oh Darlin took a narrow lead into the stretch. The Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained pacesetter fought off all challenges to open a clear lead in the stretch, only to fall victim to Navy Goat, who found room and her best stride to overtake the second choice with a rail surge inside the sixteenth pole.

“She broke a touch slow and there was not much pace, so I thought for a while that she was a little bit in trouble,” trainer Arnaud Delacoeur said. “But he did manage to get her to settle and wait, and she made a big run.”

Navy Goat, who finished third in her Aug. 20 debut in a five-furlong turf race at Monmouth, graduated in one-mile turf event at Kentucky Downs Sept. 14.

“I thought she ran very well at Kentucky Downs, but she needed a little bit of time because we shipped there and we were running back quick, so she was not quite ready for the big races in the fall,” Delacoeur said. “But this was a perfect spot, we gave her plenty of time and obviously she likes the track. I'll have to see what our options are, but I believe that we'll try her in one of those 3-year-old stakes on the turf at some stage.”

Navy Goat was bred by Belvedere Farm. Her dam is the Midnight Lute mare Mandolin.

In the co-featured Juvenile, NBS Stable's Anamnestic emerged on the outside of a hotly contested stretch drive with a late surge to finish first, only to be disqualified for interference.

Palm Beach Racing Partnership's homebred Dangerous Ride took the safest route to the finish line, surging late along the rail while avoiding the trouble that resulted in the disqualification from first to fifth of Anamnestic.

Dangerous Ride ($14.40) was awarded his first stakes victory in his fifth consecutive stakes start since winning his debut May 22 at Gulfstream. The son of Lord Nelson saved ground while closely tracking pacesetter Cheerful Charlie along the backstretch and around the turn into the homestretch.

Edwin Gonzalez found room along the rail at the top of the stretch and sent the Florida-bred colt inside the tiring Cheerful Charlie. Dangerous Ride caught Big Save for second, but Anamnestic had gotten the jump on him from the outside to prevail by three-quarters of a length.

The stewards, however, subsequently ruled that Anamnestic had caused considerable stretch trouble, placing the first-place finishes behind the favorite and fourth-place finisher Souper Blessing. Cheerful Charlie was awarded third.

“It was pretty even at the end. I think he fought at the end. There was a little something going on the outside. At first, I wondered why he didn't go out, but he would have ended up in the whole thing so it's a good thing he saved ground,” Dangerous Ride's trainer Carlos David said. “He decided to stick with the rail and he came up and fought to get second. We're happy.”

Dangerous Ride was produced by the Medaglia d'Oro mare Ride a Wave.

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