Month: March 2023

Champion Forte Super Strong in Fountain of Youth

The champ is back and possibly better than ever.

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old colt 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) returned to the races in style with a powerful performance in Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth S., good for 50 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby.

“We kind of carefully laid it out and put him in a program that would put him in the condition to be ready to run and still having room for improvement and room to continue to develop,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I think we were able to accomplish that.”

He added, “Honestly, I can't say I was surprised. I felt really, really good the way this horse was coming into the race. It looks like there's a lot of upside.”

The 1-2 favorite broke slightly inward and bumped with a rival at the start. He recovered nicely and traveled kindly in fifth as longshot Cyclone Mischief (Into Mischief), the beaten favorite in the GIII Holy Bull S., led them through fractions of :24.05 and :47.65. Stuck in some traffic on the far turn, jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. tipped Forte out and into the clear four deep approaching the top of the stretch. He took off from there to win impressively going away by 4 1/2 lengths. Rocket Can (Into Mischief), winner of the aforementioned local prep, was up for second. Cyclone Mischief stayed on for third.

Forte, a $110,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by Repole Stables and St. Elias Stable, capped his sensational juvenile season with three straight Grade I victories. In addition to his win at the Championships, Forte also captured last summer's GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga and the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland. The latter was his first attempt around two turns.

“It's special,” winning co-owner Mike Repole said. “Very special. Very special. You know, for a horse making his first start in four months against other horses who have already raced this year, he does it with so much confidence. He's just checking all the boxes right now. He's a pretty special horse right now.”

As for the Kentucky Derby, Repole added, “It's always been the dream. Dream big, dream bigger. It's a good feeling right now.”

Pedigree Notes:

It's good to be a Hill 'n' Dale stallion. In addition to Curlin siring three individual Eclipse winners of 2022 and Good Magic battling down to the wire for freshman sire supremacy last term, Violence had two winners on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Saturday, with Forte joining the hour-earlier GIII Gotham S. winner Raise Cain at Aqueduct. Violence, himself runner-up in the 2013 Fountain of Youth in what would be his last career start, now has 31 Northern Hemisphere-bred black-type winners and nine graded winners.

Forte's broodmare sire, Claiborne stallion Blame, also had two graded winners Saturday as a damsire, with Danse Macabre–by yet another Hill 'n' Dale stallion in Army Mule–winning the GIII Herecomesthebride S. at Gulfstream. Blame has 11 stakes winners out of his daughters.

Forte is the first foal out of Queen Caroline, with her now-juvenile colt by Uncle Mo hammering for $850,000 to Mayberry Farm at Keeneland September. She lost her 2022 foal and was bred to Not This Time for this term. Her third dam is the MGSW Jeano (Fappiano), whose descendants also include champions Folklore (Tiznow) and Essential Quality (Tapit); Japanese champion Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}); and additional GISW Come Dancing (Malibu Moon). The family traces tail-female to the great La Troienne through her Broodmare of the Year granddaughter by War Admiral, Striking.

Saturday, Gulfstream
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH S.-GII, $400,000, Gulfstream, 3-4, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.12, ft.
1–FORTE, 123, c, 3, by Violence
                1st Dam: Queen Caroline (MSW, $401,608), by Blame
                2nd Dam: Queens Plaza, by Forestry
                3rd Dam: Kew Garden, by Seattle Slew
'TDN Rising Star'. ($80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21
KEESEP). O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable; B-South Gate
Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $238,080.
Lifetime Record: Ch. 2-year-old Colt & MGISW, 6-5-0-0,
$1,833,230. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Rocket Can, 123, c, 3, Into Mischief–Tension, by Tapit.
($245,000 RNA Ylg '21 FTSAUG). O-Frank Fletcher Racing
Operations, Inc.; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY);
T-William I. Mott. $76,800.
3–Cyclone Mischief, 121, c, 3, Into
Mischief–Areyoucominghere, by Bernardini. 1ST BLACK TYPE,
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($450,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP).
O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC and Castleton Lyons; B-Castleton
Lyons & Kilboy Estate (KY); T-Dale L. Romans. $38,400.
Margins: 4HF, 1 1/4, 1. Odds: 0.50, 6.70, 15.60.
Also Ran: Mage, Shadow Dragon, Il Miracolo, Dangerous Ride, Blazing Sevens, Legacy Isle. Scratched: General Jim.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Late Surge Propels Quattroelle To Buena Vista Win

Under patient handling from Hector Berrios, Irish-bred Quattroelle surged late to take the $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes (G2) by a half length Saturday at Santa Anita.

Trained by Jeff Mullins, Quattroelle got one mile over a turf listed as good in 1:35.74.

Unhurried behind a pedestrian pace set by Kitty Kitana to the far turn, the complexion of Buena Vista changed suddenly as Kitty Kitana, with Flavien Prat up, stopped three furlongs from home, enabling longshot Tik Tok Famous to get first run on the field around the far turn.

Fifth, about three lengths off the lead at the quarter pole, Quattroelle lengthened her stride as School Dance made a brief lead while joined to her outside by Nadette, who was unable to hold off eventual runner-up Macadamia at the rail and Quattroelle, who rallied five-deep to get up in time.

A winner of the Megahertz Stakes (G3) at one mile on turf Feb. 4 at Santa Anita, Quattroelle was off as the 3-1 second choice and paid $8.60 for the win.

A 5-year-old Irish-bred Mehmas mare, Quattroelle notched her second graded stakes win and her third overall. Owned by Red Baron's Barn LLC and Rancho Temescal, she picked up $120,000 for the win, boosting her earnings to $412,772 from an overall mark of 5-3-4 from 15 starts.

Ridden by Tiago Pereira, Brazilian-bred Macadamia finished one length in front of third-place finisher Closing Remarks, who rallied from far back.

Fractions on the race were :23.32, L:47.96, 1:12.42 and 1:24.11.

BUENA VISTA STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

HECTOR BERRIOS, QUATTROELLE, WINNER: “Patience is what I had. When you know you have a good mare, you can just wait for the right time to make your move. She was ready to move on the turn. When you are the 'favorite', everyone is looking at you. I waited for that moment to move and she did the rest.”

TRAINER QUOTES

JEFF MULLINS, QUATTROELLE, WINNER: “Hector has really figured her out. It wasn't until her last race in the Megahertz that he decided to just be a little more patient and it worked.

“She came out of that race really well, and she's trained just as she's always had. We just knew. Today she just got a cleaner trip. Hector just sat there, and sat there, I thought, 'Man you gotta go sometime,' and she just kicked away. Hector is the key to this filly right now.”

The post Late Surge Propels Quattroelle To Buena Vista Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Inside ‘Move’ a Winning One in San Felipe

Trainer Tim Yakteen had five of the 11 entrants in Saturday's GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita–four of which were transferred from the Bob Baffert barn–but the horse who had been with him from the start, Practical Move (Practical Joke), emerged victorious in the GI Kentucky Derby prep.

With new stablemate and morning-line choice National Treasure (Quality Road) forced to scratch with a foot issue, Practical Move was backed at 4-1, having not been seen since annexing the GII Los Alamitos Futurity decisively in December. He worked his way into a perfect ground-saving spot a few off seven-figure Hejazi (Bernardini), and inched ominously closer heading for home, only to find himself with no real running room and being forced to tap on the brakes. Hejazi came off the fence into the stretch as favorite Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) was pumped on outside, however, and Practical Move now had all the real estate he needed to stretch his legs. He took a few up-and-down strides while sorting out his leads, but leveled off powerfully to report home 2 1/2 lengths clear in 1:42.01. Richard Mandella-trained Geaux Rocket Ride completed the exacta, with John Shireffs pupil Skinner (Curlin) rounding out the triple.

The former Baffert runners were led by Hejazi in fourth, followed by Fort Bragg (Tapit) fifth and Mr Fisk (Arrogate) sixth.

The winner was second behind future MGISW Baffert monster Cave Rock (Arrogate) on debut at Del Mar Aug. 13, and was third to the aforementioned National Treasure back at that venue a few weeks later. He was promoted from second to first after being interfered with by Fort Bragg when stretched to a mile here Oct. 10, and cut back a furlong to be third in the GIII Bob Hope S. Nov. 20 behind two other Baffert trainees before his breakout performance at Los Al.

“This horse keeps getting better and better every day,” said winning rider Ramon Vazquez. “He can go inside or outside. He is comfortable wherever. He lets me do my job and he does the rest. I only rode him once [in the Los Alamitos Futurity], but I know he is very aggressive from the gate, so I let him do his thing. He galloped out very good. I have always dreamed of winning the Kentucky Derby. I had one previous chance in 2015 [with Mr. Z] for Mr. [D. Wayne] Lukas.  I'm hoping for another chance here.”

Yakteen, celebrating his first San Felipe trophy (his former boss Baffert has nine), said of the winner, “He is a very healthy horse. He is a phenomenally gifted horse. I am amazed at how strong he is and how he has matured from a 2-year-old to a 3-year-old. Everything has fallen into place. There was only one challenge before this race, I felt we needed to get one more work in.

“There is nothing more satisfying than winning, so I am taking this in stride. I have to give kudos to my staff and thank them for the job they have done. They are the unsung heroes here.

“I've also got to tip my hat to [owners] Leslie and Jean Pierre [Amestoy]. They were the ones who went to Florida and bought this horse.

“I plan to start him again. I want to leave the canvas blank now and we'll make the call later, but I think he will have one more start before the [Kentucky] Derby.”

With the 50 points he picked up Saturday, Practical Move sits second on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 60.

Co-owner Leslie Amestoy said, “This was our dream. It's been our dream for years and we love the colt, we are so happy and we really think we have a great horse.”

Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr. added, “We've seen him improve every race, almost. The first couple of races, he was green and didn't know how to switch leads. Tim has brought him along perfectly and has taught him, and now he's finishing like we expected he could finish. Like Leslie said, I think we've got a good one.”

Saturday, Santa Anita
SAN FELIPE S.-GII, $402,000, Santa Anita, 3-4, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.01, ft.
1–PRACTICAL MOVE, 124, c, 3, by Practical Joke
                1st Dam: Ack Naughty (MSP, $310,450), by Afleet Alex
                2nd Dam: Dash for Money, by General Meeting
                3rd Dam: Hot Lear, by Lear Fan
($90,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP; $230,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR).
O-Leslie A. Amestoy, Pierre Jean Amestoy, Jr. and Roger K.
Beasley; B-Chad Brown & Head of Plains Partners (KY); T-Tim
Yakteen; J-Ramon A. Vazquez. $240,000. Lifetime Record:
6-3-1-2, $434,200. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Geaux Rocket Ride, 120, c, 3, Candy Ride (Arg)–Beyond
Grace, by Uncle Mo. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK
TYPE. ($350,000 Ylg '21 FTKJUL). O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-OXO
Equine LLC (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $80,000.
3–Skinner, 120, c, 3, Curlin–Winding Way, by Malibu Moon.
($40,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $510,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-C R K
Stable LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY);
T-John A. Shirreffs. $48,000.
Margins: 2HF, 1 1/4, HF. Odds: 4.20, 2.70, 2.80.
Also Ran: Hejazi, Fort Bragg, Mr Fisk, Chase the Chaos, Genius Jimmy, Bluegrass Go Go. Scratched: Crypto Ride, National Treasure.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Practical Move, a :10 1/5 OBSAPR breezer, is one of four Northern Hemisphere graded winners for her sire (10 overall). He is one of eight worldwide graded/group winners out of a mare by GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. hero Afleet Alex. Also among that group is 2019 Belmont winner Sir Winston.

Dam Ack Naughty was just a $20,000 SARAUG RNA, but racked up more than $310,000 in New York turf events for Sol Kumin and partners and trainer Chad Brown, who had Practical Joke in the barn at the same time. Ack Naughty produced a Complexity colt in 2022 before selling to Chester and Mary Broman for $500,000 at this year's Keeneland January sale. The Upstart foal she was carrying at the time was unfortunately stillborn. Ack Naughty hails from the family of champion older horse Vino Rosso.

The post Inside ‘Move’ a Winning One in San Felipe appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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