December, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Weekend Lineup: Gulfstream Swings Into Championship Meet With Pegasus Preps

The Gulfstream Park Championship Meet goes into full swing this weekend, with five graded stakes on Saturday's 11-race New Year's Eve program at the South Florida track. Several horses with designs on the Jan. 28 Pegasus World Cup day program will be competing.

Saturday's Gulfstream Park card gets under way at 12:10 p.m. ET.

Out west, Santa Anita has three graded stakes on Saturday and one on Sunday, the Grade 3 Santa Ynez Stakes, the latter serving as a qualifying points race for the Kentucky Oaks.

Both Saturday and Sunday's programs at Santa Anita begin at noon PT/3 p.m. ET

The first Kentucky Derby points race of the new year is also on tap Sunday with Oaklawn presenting the Smarty Jones Stakes.

Oaklawn's Sunday program kicks off at 12:30 p.m. CT/1:30 p.m. ET.

Here's a brief look at some of the New Year's weekend major stakes:

Saturday

1:10 p.m. ET – Grade 3 Sugar Swirl Stakes at Gulfstream Park

Frank's Rockette finished second as the 11-10 choice in last year's Sugar Swirl and the Bill Mott runner will be the favorite again this year. The daughter of Into Mischief is a steady check collector, with 21 of 24 in the money finishes, but she's been runner-up just as often as she wins. Philip Bauer-trained Coppelia could be the up and comer in this lineup and she bids for her third consecutive win in her South Florida debut.

Sugar Swirl Entries

3:09 p.m. ET – Grade 3 Suwannee River Stakes at Gulfstream Park

A Group 1 winner in her native Argentine, Scotish Star is 1-for-5 in this country over the last two years but seems to be going in better form on the East Coast than when she arrived in this country in California in 2021. She looks to be the speed in this field and expect Luis Saez to take advantage of the No. 1 post position draw.

Suwannee River Entries

4:00 p.m. ET – Grade 3 Robert J. Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita

Very contentious group of 11 fillies and mares contesting this year's Robert J. Frankel, including Queen Goddess, the 5-2 morning line favorite who won the G3 Santa Ana over the Santa Anita turf course last March. England's Rose was no match for Regal Glory in the G1 Matriarch at Del Mar Dec. 4 but she should benefit from the additional furlong here.

Robert J. Frankel Entries

4:10 p.m. ET – Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park

Colonel Liam, the 8-5 morning line favorite, really has his work cut out for him as he will break from the outside post in a field of 12 in a race that could determine whether or not he bids for a third consecutive victory Jan. 28 in the G2 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. The 5-year-old by Liam's Map had only one start after last year's Pegasus Turf, that being a ninth-place effort in the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan in March.

Fort Lauderdale Entries

4;40 p.m. ET – Grade 3 Harlan's Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park

How good is the Chilean start O'Connor, who romped by six lengths in his October U.S. debut in a Gulfstream Park allowance/optional claimer for Saffie Joseph Jr.? Though he won 10-of-18 in Chile, including a G1 race, he'll get tested for class as the 8-5 morning line favorite in the Harlan's Holiday, which figures to determine whether or not he will go on to the Pegasus World Cup Jan. 28. Joseph also saddles Skippylongstocking, whose best may be good enough but isn't the most consistent type.

Harlan's Holiday Entries

Sunday

5:10 p.m. ET – Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn

Brad Cox brings the unbeaten Tapwrit colt Victory Formation to Oaklawn for this $250,000 race that offers 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner. He's never raced around two turns but has speed and gets the riding services of Flavien Prat, who flies in from California for the mount. Denington made a belated rally to be fifth at Churchill Downs in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and figures to improve for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Smarty Jones Entries

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Rainy Forecast Forces Adjustments To Santa Anita’s Holiday Schedule

A picturesque opening day at Santa Anita with temperatures reaching the high 70s helped drive an on-track attendance of 41,446 and a record all-sources opening day handle of $26.3 million.

Weather-wise, it will be different story this holiday weekend at the The Great Race Place, which has led to some changes in the racing program including an all-dirt card on Sunday.

On Friday's nine-race program, five are scheduled for the turf including both the $100,000 Eddie Logan and $100,000 Blue Norther. The card is expected to go as scheduled. But then things start could change on Saturday. The National Weather Service forecasts a “100 percent chance of precipitation” with up to an inch of rainfall in Arcadia.

As a result, both of Saturday's turf stakes are carded early on the program to try and avoid the pending rainstorm. The opener will be the Grade 2, $250,000 Joe Hernandez on the hillside turf course with the Grade 3, $100,000 Robert J. Frankel going as race three.

“For today and tomorrow, everything should go according to plan,” said Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Chris Merz. “The really hard rain on Saturday isn't supposed to hit until about 6 o'clock on Saturday. And talking with our turf guy (Jessie Martinez), despite the rain we have already had, he felt everything is right where it is supposed to be.”

For Sunday, the Racing Office took no chances. The eight-race program will be run exclusively on dirt. As for the scheduled Grade 3, $100,000 Las Cienegas on the hillside turf course, it was moved to the special New Year's holiday card on Monday.

“We might see traces of rain Sunday, but it shouldn't affect how we do business,” Merz said. “And then on Monday, there is a lot of sun and wind in the forecast. We're hoping to be full steam ahead.”

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Bobby Miller Funeral Arrangements Announced

A visitation for Bobby Miller, the longtime manager and vice chairman at Ro Parra's Millennium Farm who passed away Thursday following a long battle with cancer, has been planned for Wednesday, Jan. 4 at Kerr Brothers, 463 E. Main St., Lexington, Ky. 40507 from 5-8 p.m. Miller's funeral service will be held the following day at 11 a.m. The family requests that donations be sent to Bluegrass Hospice Care.

The post Bobby Miller Funeral Arrangements Announced appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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‘She Acts Like A Filly With A Lot Of Talent’: McPeek High On Defining Purpose In Year’s End Stakes

Defining Purpose has been installed the 7-5 program favorite for the inaugural $150,000 Year's End Stakes for 2-year-old fillies Saturday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the 1-mile Year's End, the ninth of 10 races, is 4:14 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 12:30 p.m. The card, the first in Oaklawn history exclusively for 2-year-olds, also features the inaugural $150,000 Renaissance Stakes at 6 furlongs.

The projected nine horse Year's End field from the rail out: Defining Purpose, David Cabrera to ride, 117 pounds, 7-5 on the morning line; Unifying, Ricardo Santana Jr., 117, 12-1; Taxed, Joe Talamo, 117, 20-1; Midnight Heiress, Angel Rodriguez, 117, 8-1; Charlee Mae, Nik Juarez, 117, 20-1; Take Charge Briana, Cristian Torres, 117, 6-1; Bluelightspecial, Francisco Arrieta, 117, 9-2; Need Some Money, Gabriel Saez, 117, 12-1; and Fabulous Candy, John Hiraldo, 117, 5-1.

The Year's End is the first major local prep for the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28. The Martha Washington is Oaklawn's first of three Kentucky Oaks points races. The series continues with the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) Feb. 25 and the $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) April 1. Those races are also 1 1/16 miles.

A $120,000 allowance race at 1 mile last New Year's Eve at Oaklawn – rebranded in 2022 as the Year's End Stakes – was won by Secret Oath, who captured the Martha Washington and Honeybee in her next two starts. After finishing third against males in the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn, Secret Oath won the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) last May at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Oaks is the country's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies.

Defining Purpose, who has raced around two turns in all three career starts, broke her maiden by six front-running lengths Nov. 17 at Churchill Downs. Returning nine days later for trainer Kenny McPeek, Defining Purpose finished fifth, beaten 6 ¼ lengths, by the highly regarded Hoosier Philly in the $400,000 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs. Defining Purpose was only beaten 1 ¼ lengths for second in the 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod.

“We got ambitious with her in that last run at Churchill,” McPeek said. “There was a really good filly that won the race, of course. She acts like a filly with a lot of talent. She handled the wheel back and short rest at Churchill and this timing is really good for her. I think it's five weeks in between races. Like anything, we want to see if she's a black-type filly and if she's competitive, then we'll go on down that path – Martha Washington, Honeybee, Fantasy route. And if she's not, then we'll regress to (allowance) other than.”

Defining Purpose races for a trio of owners, including McPeek's wife, Sherri, and breeder Colette Marie Vanmatre.

Fabulous Candy returns to stakes company after an entry-level allowance victory at 1 mile and 70 yards Nov. 2 at Delaware Park for trainer Chelsey Moysey and owner Lewis Mathews of Bismarck, Ark. After breaking her maiden by 10 ½ lengths sprinting Sept. 2, Fabulous Candy stretched out to finish fourth in the $100,000 White Clay Creek Stakes at 1 mile Oct. 14. Those races were also at Delaware Park.

“I love her post position,” Moysey said. “Honestly, you can kind of put her anywhere and she's going to do well. I'm happy with the post. I think it's a lighter field than I was expecting. I think some of the better horses went other places. Not too thrilled about the weather, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be as bad, maybe.”

Take Charge Briana broke her maiden sprinting Sept. 4 at Saratoga for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, but was pulled up and vanned off in the Golden Rod. The daughter of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin returned with a half-mile work in :48.80 Dec. 11 at Oaklawn in advance of the Year's End.

“That's a good spot for her,” Lukas said. “A real good spot.”

Defining Purpose, Unifying, Take Charge Briana and Need Some Money will be racing on the anti-bleeder medication Lasix for the first time Saturday. Bluelightspecial removes blinkers for trainer Cipriano Contreras.

Unifying marked the first career winner for trainer Riley Mott, who went out on his own Nov. 1 after assisting his father, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, for eight years. Unifying, who broke her maiden Nov. 10 at Churchill Downs, will be Riley Mott's first career stakes starter.

The post ‘She Acts Like A Filly With A Lot Of Talent’: McPeek High On Defining Purpose In Year’s End Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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