In a dramatic finish, the Jeff Mullins-trained Quattroelle surged late to take Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Megahertz Stakes by a half length while getting a flat mile over the Santa Anita turf in 1:35.04.
While the original plan was to be attentive to the pace, jockey Hector Berrios went to “Plan B” and instead tracked the field while last by about four lengths around the far turn and split horses inside the sixteenth pole to overhaul John Velazquez and Bay Storm when it counted.
“I had to be patient, I hung close to the (other horses), and I tried to wait as long as I could for an opening,” said Berrios. “Once I saw a clear opportunity, she responded well to my instructions to push forward.”
A 5-year-old Irish-bred mare, Quattroelle, who was an ungraded stakes winner for Mullins at age two, came off an even third-place finish going 1 1/8 miles on turf in the G3 Robert J. Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 31.
Dismissed at 10-1 in a field of seven older fillies and mare, Quattroelle paid $23.60, $8.80, $5.00.
Owned by Red Baron's Barn, LLC and Rancho Temescal, Quattroelle picked up $60,000 for the win, increasing her earnings to $292,772. She now has four wins, three seconds and four thirds from 14 career starts.
“We were a little concerned about the distance, but it was really our only opportunity to run her, so this is where we ended up,” said Mullins. “Hector's done a great job with this filly. I don't speak Spanish and he doesn't speak English, but we got it going on right now.”
Bay Storm, who showed the way and fought off all challengers except the winner, ran a big race in defeat under John Velazquez, finishing a half length in front of Closing Remarks. The second choice in the race at 3-1, Bay Storm returned $5.60 and $3.80.
Ridden by Joe Bravo, Closing Remarks, the lone California-bred in the field, checked in third, a neck in front of longshot One Silk Stocking and paid $3.40 to show while off at 9-2.
School Dance, the 2-1 favorite with Frankie Dettori, tired late to finish fifth, about 2 ¼ lengths behind the winner.
Fractions on the race were 23.37, 48.09, 1:12.35 and 1:23.75.
The post ‘Patient’ Berrios Guides Quattroelle To Late-Running Megahertz Score appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Things looked downright bleak for Town and Country Racing and Repole Stable's Cairo Consort (Cairo Prince) at outset of Saturday's GIII Sweetest Chant S. at Gulfstream Park, as she went in the air as the gates flew, spotting her rivals several lengths. But the gray filly was given a supremely patient ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and whistled past stablemate Alpha Bella (Justify) in the final sixteenth of a mile to register a breakthrough graded success.
Favored at 11-5, Cairo Consort was forced to take her medicine from the back of the pack, as Sweetlou'sgotaces (Constitution) led from Malleymoo (English Channel) into the backstretch. Still out of the picture and with it all to do past the half in :47.11, Cairo Consort was held together while full of run and had well and truly caught up to her rivals as they turned for the money. Hitting another gear three away from the inside with better than a furlong to race, she was shifted out into the clear and leveled off beautifully to–somehow–score by a comfortable margin.
“When she missed the break, I just let her relax,” said Ortiz, Jr. winning for the 10th time in two days. “She was happy back there, relaxing. At the same time, she was in contact with the field. She wasn't that far back. By the turn, she wanted to go. I didn't want to go too wide, so we cut the corner. She was there and gave me a good turn of foot.”
Winner of the Aug. 20 Catch a Glimpse S. at Woodbine, Cairo Consort was second in that track's GI Natalma S. and a sound third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for Maple Lane Farm and trainer Nathan Squires before hammering to these connections for $875,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale about 48 hours later. In her only previous appearance for her new ownership, Cairo Consort was the popular winner of the Jan. 7 Ginger Brew S.
There is a previous connection between the Courtelis family's Town and Country Racing and Mike Repole. In 2014, after she was led out unsold on a bid of $3.15 million at Fasig-Tipton November, Repole's multiple Grade I winner Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat) was acquired privately by Town and Country and continued her career with Todd Pletcher, which included a 7-1 upset in the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland.
Pedigree Notes:
Cairo Consort is the seventh graded winner for her sire and was one of three winners Saturday out of mares by the late Street Cry, who was being represented by his 63rd graded winner as a broodmare sire.
Cairo Consort is out of an unraced half-sister to Awesome Maria (Maria's Mon), who also called the Pletcher barn home and posted her best career effort in the 2011 GI Ogden Phipps H. Her GI Alabama S.-winning third dam includes fellow Robsham luminaries Discreet Cat (Forestry), GISW Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft) and MSW/GISP Pretty Wild (Wild Again).
Absolutely Awesome is also responsible for the 2-year-old filly Accomplished (Tonalist).
Saturday, Gulfstream
SWEETEST CHANT S.-GIII, $175,000, Gulfstream, 2-4, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:40.95, gd.
1–CAIRO CONSORT, 122, f, 3, by Cairo Prince
1st Dam: Absolutely Awesome, by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Discreetly Awesome, by Awesome Again
3rd Dam: Pretty Discreet, by Private Account
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($37,000 RNA Wlg '20 FTKNOV;
$95,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $875,000 2yo '22 FTKNOV). O-Repole
Stable & Town and Country Racing, LLC; B-Frankfort Park Farm
(KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $104,160. Lifetime
Record: MGISP, 8-4-1-2, $430,449. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Alpha Bella, 118, f, 3, Justify–Andina (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Don Alberto
Corporation (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $33,600.
3–Heavenly Sunday, 120, f, 3, Candy Ride (Arg)–Alien Giant,
by Giant's Causeway. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK
TYPE. ($170,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Miacomet Farm
(William Harrigan); B-Randal Family Trust (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$16,800.
Margins: 3/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 2.20, 16.30, 2.50.
Also Ran: Metaphysical, Bulsara, Malleymoo, Stephanie's Charm, Padma, Sweetlou'sgotaces.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
The post Cairo Consort Overcomes Adversity In Sweetest Chant appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Ashbrook Farm and Upland Flats Racing's Red Carpet Ready, unbeaten in her first two starts, stepped up to graded company and kept her perfect record intact with a dominating victory in Saturday's $125,000 Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream Park.
The seven-furlong Forward Gal for fillies was the third of five graded stake worth $850,000 in purses for 3-year-olds and anchored by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on Gulfstream's road to the $1-million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) April 1.
Ridden by jockey Luis Saez for trainer Rusty Arnold, Red Carpet Ready ($6.60) broke running outside all but two rivals in the field of nine but quickly settled in fourth as Twice as Sweet, winner of the Smart Halo last fall at Laurel Park, and Arella Star dueled through a quarter-mile in :22.78.
Saez kept Red Carpet Ready in the clear and ranged up on front-running Twice as Sweet midway around the far turn as the half went in :45.98. Undervalued Asset made a run at Red Carpet Ready at the top of the stretch but the winner had plenty left in reserve and sprinted clear.
Undervalued Asset held second ahead of late-running multiple stakes winner Atomically. Positano Sunset, Apropos, Flakes, Twice as Sweet, Arella Star and Adeliese's Smile completed the order of finish. Lynx was scratched.
Red Carpet Ready debuted last October with a gate-to-wire 10-length maiden special weight triumph sprinting six furlongs at Churchill Downs, where she followed up with a 3 ¼-length victory in the 6 ½-furlong Fern Creek to cap her juvenile season.
Bred in Kentucky by Lynn B. Schiff, Red Carpet Ready is out of the Street Sense mare Wild Silk.
The Forward Gal is a Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifier. Red Carpet Ready earned 20 points for her winning effort toward a start in the Louisville race.
Forward Gal (G3) Quotes
Winning trainer George 'Rusty' Arnold II (Red Carpet Ready): “She's answered the bell every time we've run her. She's pretty special.
“I'd be shocked if she doesn't go long. I was more worried that she wasn't a sprinter.”
“[Jockey] Luis [Saez] said she wanted to break so sharp, she her lost her footing a little bit, but after she recovered, she did everything right.”
Winning jockey Luis Saez (Red Carpet Ready): “I had a pretty good trip. She broke from there running and she's pretty fast. We just tried to have a target in front and eveything came out so perfect. She's a pretty nice filly. She has everything. She can run from anywhere, in front or behind, and she keeps going.”
The post Road To The Kentucky Oaks: Red Carpet Ready Keeps Record Perfect With Forward Gal Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
