December, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Skippylongstocking Pegasus World Cup Bound After Harlan’s Holiday Triumph, Ortiz Notches 50th Graded Stakes Win of Year

Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking parlayed a dream trip into a solid victory in Saturday's $150,000 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream Park, virtually clinching a berth in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at the Hallandale Beach track Jan. 28.

O'Connor, a stablemate in the Saffie Joseph Jr. stable who was favored at 6-5 in the stakes for 3-year-olds and up, finished a disappointing fourth.

Skippylongstocking ($8.40) provided jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. with a record 5oth graded stakes victory in 2022 on the New Year's Eve card that included six stakes (five graded), co-headlined by the Harlan's Holiday, a prep for the Pegasus World Cup, and the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2), a prep for the $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), also on Jan. 28.

“It was a game effort by Skippy. He's a horse that tries and he runs hard,” said Joseph, who is training Florida Derby (G1) winner White Abarrio up to Pegasus. “O'Connor disappointed. He's better than that. He's much, much better than that. Seeing how the race unfolded and the speed kept going around, maybe that was it, but I can't really buy that. He made up ground and hit a flat spot. Hopefully, he comes out well, and we'd like to give him a chance in the Pegasus also.”

Skippylongstocking broke alertly to closely monitor the pace set by Pioneer of Medina around the first turn before bobbling briefly at the top of the backstretch. The son of Exaggerator recovered quickly to put pressure on the Todd Pletcher-trained pacesetter, who put of fractions of 23.75 and :47.14 for the first half-mile. Ortiz asked his long-striding mount for a kick, and the Kentucky-bred 3-year-old obliged with a steady run through the stretch to score comfortably by two lengths.

Pioneer of Medina fought back after being passed in midstretch by a stalking Simplification to finish second by a neck. O'Connor, who raced in fifth on the backstretch was eased off the rail by jockey Edgard Zayas in the backstretch to launch a bid, but the Chilean Group 1 winner never made an impact while settling for fourth, beaten by 4 ¼ lengths by his stablemate.

“I was planning to break out of there running because of the post position and try and get a good position, and then when it was time to make a move try to make it on the outside. Everything worked out perfect, but the race wasn't for him today. It wasn't his day,” Zayas said. Maybe next time he can get a little bit of pace to run at. I don't think he wants to be rushed to his feet. Hopefully he finishes strong next time.”

Skippy Longstocking ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.76 to collect his second graded stakes victory of the year while beating older horses for the first time. Earlier this year he finished third in the Belmont Stakes (G1), fifth in the Preakness (G1), and won the West Virginia Derby (G3).

“The trainer told me just ride him wherever he's comfortable. He broke in a good position. I was in a good forward place — good position — and I go from there,” Ortiz said. “When I asked him, he had plenty in the tank.”

While Skippylongstocking was pretty much on cruise control in the Harlan's Holiday, he did provide an anxious moment for his trainer when he bobbled in the backstretch.

“He had a perfect trip, except when he went to switch leads in the backstretch. It looked liked something went wrong. Irad said that there was poop on the track and he jumped it,” Joseph said. “It scared me.”

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher was pleased with the effort put forth by Pioneer of Medina.

“I thought he ran great, broke really sharply and Luis went ahead and took the initiative. I thought the fractions were reasonable and he fought hard for second. I'm proud of him. He's probably a little better at a mile and an eight,” said Pletcher, not ruling out a return in the Pegasus World Cup should an invitation be forthcoming.

The post Skippylongstocking Pegasus World Cup Bound After Harlan’s Holiday Triumph, Ortiz Notches 50th Graded Stakes Win of Year appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Beverly Park Closes Out Year with 15th Win

There are better, faster horses in the sport, but there's not another one like Beverly Park (Munnings). In an era where five or six starts a year is considered a normal campaign for a horse and many trainers look for seven or eight weeks between starts, the 5-year-old made of blood, flesh and iron continued to laugh at conventional wisdom. In his 30^th start of the year, he won Saturday's third race at the Fair Grounds by 3 3/4 lengths, paying $3.80. The race was a starter optional claimer and it was his 15^th win on the year.

Beverly Park's 15 wins easily led the sport in 2022. Nine other horses are tied for second with eight victories. His 30 starts also led all horses. Pretty Loud (Boisterous) was next with 28. The Fair Grounds was the 14^th track Beverly Park has competed at this year.

“He is definitely an iron horse,” said owner-trainer Lynn Cash. “He's probably the horse of a lifetime. He travels well. He's been a fun horse. I just happened to grab onto his coattails while he was going by and he pulled me up. He's as sound a horse as has ever been. I've never had to do any work on him whatsoever.”

The story of Lynn Cash and Beverly Park began on Aug. 15, 2021 when he claimed the horse from trainer Dane Kobiskie for $12,500 out of a race at Belterra Park. Cash brought him back 13 days later and he won for his new barn. During 2021, he won seven of eight starts for Cash. His overall record for Cash's Build Wright Stables is 22-for-38.

Much of his 2022 campaign was spent in a starter allowances. Throughout the year, he was eligible for races where a horse had started for $5,000 or less in 2021 or 2022. Cash would take him around the country, shipping to wherever he could find a race at that level, traveling countless miles.

“I just love this horse,” he said. “Me and him, from the beginning, we have been the ones together on the road.”

What Cash learned early on was that while Beverly Park may not be a top-level horse when it came to talent, but he more than made up for that with his competitive spirit.

“He's just a competitor,” he said. “He's at the track, slow galloping or jogging and when a horse comes by that is working he wants to take off and go get them. He has so much heart. Every time, he leaves it out there.”

With a new year here, Cash will have a harder time finding races for Beverly Park as he will no longer be eligible for the starter allowance races at some tracks. He said if he can't find enough starter races he will try Beverly Park in allowance races. He also said it's not out of the question that he ventures into stakes company.

“At some point, I may give him his shot in stakes,” he said. “Maybe a Grade III in New York or something like that. They have a lot of small fields in stakes there. I think he deserves that chance.”

He said one goal for 2023 would be to again lead the nation in wins and added that he thought 11 or 12 victories next year was reasonable.

Cash wasn't sure where Beverly Park would run next but said a Jan. 11 race at Parx is a possibility. If not there, a return to the Fair Grounds for a Jan. 19 race could be in the offing. He could, of course, always run in both.

For now, there will be a few days rest and a chance to savor another big win.

“This one was really sweet,” Cash said. “They were very nice to us here at the Fair Grounds. A lot of people came up to us after the race. He's become a fan favorite. Just a special, special horse.”

The post Beverly Park Closes Out Year with 15th Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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City Man Punches Pegasus Turf Ticket in Ft. Lauderdale

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Peter and Patty Searles' City Man (Mucho Macho Man) was the recipient of a cool-headed ride from Joel Rosario and kicked smartly at the fence to take out Saturday's GII Fort Lauderdale S., earning a spot in the field for the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf in a month's time.

And he's done it the old-fashioned way–he's earned it.

The second betting favorite as the public went head over heels for the comebacking two-time Pegasus hero Colonel Liam (Liam's Map), City Man bounced well from gate six and was asked for a bit of speed to get a foothold at the fence in third, as longshots Winfromwithin (Into Mischief) and Decorated Invader (Declaration of War) showed the most early interest. Colonel Liam, marooned in the 11 hole and having his first run since finishing down the field in the G1 Dubai Turf last March, got all the way down into the two path to be a forward factor as well.

Holding his spot at the fence turning up the backstretch, City Man was in the box seat from third, while Colonel Liam was taken out three wide, with a clear shot at the leaders as they reached the midpoint of the second turn. Ridden with the whip three wide at the three-sixteenths, Colonel Liam got to within a length of the now-scrimmaging pacesetters, but had run his race soon after. Ridden for a bit of luck by Rosario, City Man was shifted down to the rail to take advantage of the opening left by a drifting Winfromwithin, felt a right-handed crack of the crop when striking to the lead about a furlong down and kept on gamely for the victory. Street Ready (More Than Ready) won a photo for third ahead of the dead-heating Winfromwithin and 65-1 Good Governance (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who ran a sneaky race while covering stacks of extra ground. Colonel Liam tired to sixth.

“The idea was to be forward with him,” winning trainer Christophe Clement confirmed. “I told [jockey Joel Rosario] not to fight him and be comfortable, and he won well. It's a nice race, a prep for the Pegasus. That would be the plan. He's a New York-bred, so I gave him a break [in the winter] in the past. But this year, I just thought we had never run in the Pegasus and I told Mr. Reeves, 'Why don't you try to run in the Pegasus?' It's a beautiful turf course, well done by Gulfstream. They got it right. All the jockeys have been very positive about it, and I'm delighted.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher indicated that the Pegasus remains in the plans for the beaten favorite.

“I thought he worked out a pretty good trip from the wide post,” the conditioner said. “He got to the position we wanted. They were really running along quickly. [Jockey] Irad [Ortiz Jr.] said he flattened out on him a little in the middle of the far turn. It's been a while since he's run and hopefully, he needed the race. He seemed to jog back great and looked great. We'll train as though he'll run in the Pegasus Turf unless he tells me not to.”

Better than ever at the age of five, City Man caused a 12-1 upset in Saratoga's GIII Forbidden Apple S. in July, his first at the graded level and was a good second in the GIII Bernard Baruch H. in September. Much to the chagrin of his competition, the 5-year-old returned to state-bred restricted company for his two most recent appearances at Aqueduct, resulting in wins in the Sept. 24 Ashley T. Cole S. and the Mohawk S. Oct. 30.

Pedigree Notes:

City Man is one of three graded winners for Mucho Macho Man, whose two Grade I winners include 2020 GI Pegasus World Cup romper Mucho Gusto. City Scamper, a winning half-sister to New York-bred stakes winner Alwaysinstilletos (Bandini), produced a colt by Hoppertunity in 2020, a full-sister to City Man in 2021 already named Miss City Girl and a Vino Rosso filly in 2022.

Saturday, Gulfstream
FT. LAUDERDALE S.-GII, $200,000, Gulfstream, 12-31, 3yo/up, 1 1/8mT, 1:46.10, fm.
1–CITY MAN, 126, h, 5, by Mucho Macho Man
                1st Dam: City Scamper, by City Zip
                2nd Dam: Always Belong, by Belong to Me
                3rd Dam: Morgans Raider, by Giboulee
($20,000 Wlg '17 FTNMIX; $185,000 2yo '19 OBSAPR).
O-Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Peter & Patty Searles;
B-Moonstar Farm (NY); T-Christophe Clement; J-Joel Rosario.
$115,320. Lifetime Record: 26-9-5-3, $987,120. Werk Nick
Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Decorated Invader, 121, h, 5, Declaration of War–Gamely
Girl, by Arch. ($200,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-West Point
Thoroughbreds, William T. Freeman, William Sandbrook &
Cheryl Manning; B-Redmon Farm, LLC (KY); T-Christophe
Clement. $37,200.
3–Street Ready, 121, g, 5, More Than Ready–Sense to
Compete, by Street Sense. ($240,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Lucky
Seven Stable (Mackin); B-Earle I. Mack LLC (KY); T-Ian R.
Wilkes. $18,600.
Margins: 1HF, NK, HD. Odds: 3.10, 21.90, 8.10.
Also Ran: (DH)-Good Governance (GB), (DH)-Winfromwithin, Colonel Liam, Pao Alto (Fr), Tango Tango Tango, King Cause, Shadow Sphinx, Kentucky Ghost, Carpenters Call. Scratched: Marwad (GB). Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Gulfstream Park: Rainbow 6 Jackpot Guaranteed At $450,000 Sunday

Sunday's Rainbow 6 gross jackpot guarantee at Gulfstream Park will be $450,000.

The popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for eight racing days following a jackpot hit Dec. 18 for a $137,119 payoff.

The Rainbow 6 will begin Sunday with Race 5 an allowance optional claimer at a mile on the turf. The full field of 12 includes 2019 Jim Dandy (G2) runner-up and 2021 Harlan's Holiday (G3) winner Tax and Juddmonte's Samburu. The sequence also includes the $100,000 Limehouse, $100,000 Cash Run and the $150,000 Mucho Macho Man.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

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