Month: May 2023

New York-bred Eye Witness, expertly handled by Jose Ortiz, notched a second consecutive open-company stakes score, staving off the late charge of Inflation Nation to capture Saturday's $150,000 Paradise Creek, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomores, at Belmont Park.

Trained by Wesley Ward for owners Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael B. Tabor, the City of Light bay rallied to the lead through the driving rain at the top of the lane before digging in gamely to fend off the late bid from a surging Inflation Nation to win by a head.

“Oh, I felt him coming and said, 'Oh, here he is.' I'm just glad we got there first,” Ortiz said. “I'm thankful for the opportunity from Wesley and the ownership.”

Eye Witness, a debut third in September in a state-bred maiden special weight over the Belmont at the Big A turf, entered from a pair of open-company scores over the Turfway Park synthetic topped by a five-length romp last out in the six-furlong Animal Kingdom on March 25.

Charging was hustled out of the inside post by Manny Franco to set swift fractions of :21.76 and :45.03 over the good going with Son of a Birch and Devils Only Friend pressing to his outside.

Inflation Nation, who was last-of-8 under Dylan Davis in the opening strides, was urged up the rail and into contention down the backside to stalk from fourth position to the inside of Eye Witness as Charging continued to dictate terms.

Eye Witness made his bid first, angling wide around the tiring pacesetters late in the turn to get the jump on the ground-saving Inflation Nation. Eye Witness appeared to be home and cooled out with a furlong to run, but Inflation Nation refused to give up and maneuvered into contention to make a late surge in the final strides as Eye Witness stopped the clock in 1:25.32.

It was a further 5 1/2-lengths back to Vacation Dance in third with Hey Eugene, Joey Freshwater, Son of a Birch, Charging and Devils Only Friend rounding out the order of finish. Golden Nugget was scratched.

Ortiz, who entered the card as the Belmont spring/summer meet's leading rider, said he felt he had a winning position behind a torrid pace.

“I knew the first quarter was very fast, and those three horses on the lead were almost impossible to get to with that soft ground,” Ortiz said. “From that point on, I was very confident in my horse and I was just worrying about Dylan to the inside of me. But he was following the right horse which was the one horse [No. 1, Charging]. So, I said 'I'm just going to go around – I feel like I have enough horse to kind of block them and make them wait longer than they wanted to.' I did, and my horse responded so well when I put him in the clear.”

Ortiz, aboard Eye Witness for the first time in the afternoon, said he was intent on keeping his horse in the clear.

“I didn't want to take the momentum away from him, and I felt like I probably moved a little sooner than I wanted to, but with the soft ground, sometimes if you stop the momentum, it's very hard to get it back,” Ortiz said. “I almost paid the price in the end, but I'm just glad we held on.”

The Irish-bred Inflation Nation hit the board in a turf stakes for the third consecutive start under Davis, following a third-place finish in the six-furlong Atlantic Beach in November and a runner-up effort last out in the one-mile Woodhaven – both at the Big A for trainer Christophe Clement.

Davis, who guided Inflation Nation a second-out maiden score over good going in September at Saratoga Race Course, said his horse ran a credible race.

“Once we got to the turn, he got himself gathered and he was on the bridle nicely saving all that ground. I just had to wait my turn to get through,” Davis said. “Once he did come through, he was grinding it out. He was the only one running there at the end. That last sixteenth of a mile I thought he was going to get up, it just didn't quite go our way. I thought he still ran a great race.”

Bred in the Empire State by Anlyn Farms, Eye Witness banked $82,500 in victory while improving his record to 4-3-0-1. He paid $7.70 for a $2 win ticket. The $650,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase from consignor Woods Edge Farm, is out of the Mr. Greeley mare Gracilia, who is a half sister to graded stakes winner and sire Sharp Humor. Eye Witness is a  half brother to stakes winner More Mischief.

The post ‘We Held On’: Eye Witness Wins Paradise Creek With Head Bob appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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MyRacehorse's Straight No Chaser outbroke the field under John Velazquez and was in front every step of the way, winning Saturday's Grade 3 $100,000 Maryland Sprint Stakes in a romp by 7 1/2 lengths. The six-furlong Maryland Sprint for 3-year-olds and up was one of four graded stakes leading up to the 148th running of the G1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico race course in Baltimore, Md.

Trained by Dan Blacker, Straight No Chaser laid down quick fractions of :22.44 for the opening quarter mile, :44.66 for the half and :56.20  for five furlongs en route to a final clocking of 1:08.27 for three-quarters of a mile on a fast track. The time was a stakes record and just over a half second slower than the track record of 1:07.70, set by champion female sprinter  and champion 3-year-old filly Covfefe in the 2019 Miss Preakness Stakes.

A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by the late Speightster, Straight No Chaser paid $5.20 to win as the 8-5 favorite, winning for the fourth time in seven starts while recording his first stakes victory.

Prevalence, a G3 winner at Keeneland last year but winless in six stars since, finished second at 6-1 odds after being Straight No Chaser's closest pursuer throughout the race under Irad Ortiz Jr. Nakatomi, the 5-2 second choice, finished third under Tyler Gaffalione. They were followed by Full Authority, Willy Boi, Wondrwherecraigis, War Tocsin, Threes Over Deuces, and Hello Hot Rod.

Straight No Chaser, produced from the Johannesburg mare Margarita Friday, was bred by John Eaton and Steve Laymon. He was purchased by MyRacehorse from consignor Paul Sharp for $110,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic Sale of 2-year-olds in training in Timonium, Md.

Winning wire to wire in his debut more than a year later at Del Mar, Straight No Chaser won an allowance race three months later, then finished seventh behind Taiba in the G1 Malibu in his stakes debut last Dec. 26. He finished third behind Hopkins after setting the pace in the G3 Palos Verdes Stakes, then scored a confidence-building wire-to-wire allowance win by 7 1/4 lengths at Oaklawn Park under Velazquez on April 1.

Straight No Chaser is the second graded stakes winner for Blacker, a native of England who has been training since 2011. His first was G1 winner Hit the Road, winner of the 2021 Kilroe and G3 Thunder Road.

Maryland Sprint Stakes Quotes

Winning Trainer Dan Blacker (Straight No Chaser): “He's always been a very talented horse, superior work horse. When we first got him in the barn, he was always very impressive. So, it's really a relief to see him carry it into the afternoon.

“I think he probably ran a similar race to what he did last time, but obviously against better company today. I said, 'If he runs the same race as last time, he's going to be really tough.' And thankfully he did. I'm just really thankful to MyRacehorse for the opportunity.

“In the last eight months he's improved a lot mentally. He's gotten much more mature, much more straightforward to be around. You can see he's shipped for two races now and done really well. He's just getting better, that's the crazy thing. He's a 4-year-old now. It just shows that sometimes with these horses you've just got to be a little patient. Luckily, we've got great owners who were allowing me to be patient and giving him time to mature. He's really just peaking now.”

Winning Jockey John Velazquez (Straight No Chaser): “The break was awesome. I got told by the trainer, if one goes fast, you have to go a little bit faster. I just let him do what he wants to do. Pretty easy. That's exactly how it feels.”

Trainer Brendan Walsh (Prevalence, 2nd): “He ran great. We're delighted with him. He can be a little in and out and sometimes frustrating. We put the blinkers on today, shortened him up a little from what he had been running and it seemed to work. We ran into an absolute freak that won. He is a serious horse. His form has been very, very good up to now and he has an impeccable record so far. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with because he is a young horse. My horse is a fast horse, and he just ran him off his feet.”

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Prevalence, 2nd): “He broke good. The plan was to break forward with blinkers today. (Straight No Chaser) was freaky good. He ran away from me. My horse was responding in the stretch, and I just couldn't make up any ground.”

Trainer Wesley Ward (Nakatomi, 3rd): “He ran great.  He's kind of turned into a deep-closer sprinter. He hooked into what looks like the Breeders' Cup Sprint winner, if they ran it here next week. That horse was unbeatable today. He ran phenomenal. My guy ran a really good, solid race. That's how you win these big ones by being a longshot, is if him and another one hooked up there early, and the pace goes early, and we come running. That's always been my plan with him. He's kind of like a grinder. If you can get this style going you can win these big races if the pace up front heats up. I'm really proud of my horse today. He's really a hard-trying guy. “

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione (Nakatomi, 3rd): “They sprinted away from us and weren't really coming back. He ran his race, just too much to do. Hats off to the winner. He was very impressive last time, and he duplicated that performance today.”

The post Straight No Chaser Sizzles In Maryland Sprint Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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