May, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Determined Webslinger Makes Grade In 22-1 American Turf Upset

D. J. Stable's Webslinger closed with a furious outside rally and was up in time to narrowly deny Far Bridge and Major Dude in a 22-1 upset in the $500,000 American Turf (G2) Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Under Javier Castellano, the Constitution colt trained by Mark Casse prevailed in a desperate four-horse charge to the finish, winning by a nose from runner-up Far Bridge on the rail. In between them, Major Dude finished third, a half length behind Far Bridge, while pacesetter Mo Stash, who faded in the closing stages as he valiantly tried to lead gate to wire, hung on for fourth, another length back in the 13-horse field.

Webslinger, who tracked from midpack early, paid $47.34 after completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.54 on firm turf. He came into the American Turf following a third-place finish in the Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3) April 7 at Keeneland but tallied his first graded win Saturday with a determined effort. His career line stands at 3-2-1 from eight career starts.

Bred in Kentucky by Kenneth L. Ramsey and Sarah K. Ramsey, Weblslinger was produced by Arana, by Hard Spun. Offered by Blue River Bloodstock at the 2022 OBS June 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing age sale, he sold to D. J. Stable for $50,000. The $285,200 winner's share of the American Turf purse increased his lifetime bankroll to $$723,800.

The post Determined Webslinger Makes Grade In 22-1 American Turf Upset appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Cody’s Wish Picks Up Right Where He Left Off

Making his first start since taking out last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Cody's Wish (Curlin) became the third Grade I winner of the weekend for Godolphin–each for a different trainer–with a worst-to-first victory in Saturday's GI Churchill Downs S. He completed a sweep of the day's seven-furlong events after Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) caused a minor upset in the Derby City Distaff and was adding to the wide-trip success of 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) in Friday's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Back markers had been facing an uphill battle on Saturday's program beneath the Twin Spires, and Cody's Wish found himself at the tail of the field through the opening exchanges as Here Mi Song (Cross Traffic) slid up the fence and set the pace–albeit a modest :22.70 for the opening quarter-mile–in advance of fellow longshot Hoist The Gold (Mineshaft). Slipped a bit of rein by Junior Alvarado with just under four furlongs to race, Cody's Wish began to catch the eye, as he effortlessly rolled up three or four wide outside of Tejano Twist (Practical Joke) midway on the turn and was in full stride when heads were turned for home. Roused left-handed with three-sixteenths of a mile to travel, Cody's Wish inhaled Hoist The Gold before the eighth pole and shot clear to take his current winning streak to five. Tejano Twist closed off well to finish third. Here Mi Song finished fourth and was vanned off, according to the chart, but X-rays proved negative.

“With this horse winning, it's really way more than a horse race,” said Bill Mott, winning his first Grade I at Churchill since Country House (Lookin At Lucky) was put up in the Derby four years ago. “For us, I mean, Cody Dorman, and Cody's Wish, make it something special. When this horse came back after the race, and hearing the crowd, they were going crazy up there, more than they normally cheer for any other race. And the horse is just so great. He's been showing up every time. He's been off since the Breeders' Cup, but it sure looked like he was ready today.

“I get choked up easily, but when he was walking over, my assistant Kenny said he paused, and he looked, and said it was almost like there is a connection there. Usually we don't see that in horses. For whatever reason, the horse knows something is special.”

Pedigree Notes:

Cody's Wish's dam, a $67,000 graduate of the 2010 Keeneland September Sale, was purchased by John Ferguson on behalf of Godolphin for $750,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale a handful of months later, and it proved a shrewd buy, as Dance Card won the 2012 GI Gazelle H. and was third to Groupie Doll (Bowman's Band) in the 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint before retiring to stud. A half-brother to MGSW Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), eighth in Saturday's race, Cody's Wish is kin to the 2-year-old colt Hunt Ball (Into Mischief) and a yearling filly by 2007 GI Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense. Dance Card was most recently bred to Gun Runner.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
CHURCHILL DOWNS S. PRESENTED BY FORD-GI, $750,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:21.17, ft.
1–CODY'S WISH, 123, h, 5, by Curlin
               1st Dam: Dance Card (GISW, $502,200), by Tapit
               2nd Dam: Tempting Note, by Editor's Note
               3rd Dam: Tempt, by Devil's Bag
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado.
$446,400. Lifetime Record: 12-8-1-3, $1,778,530. *1/2 to
Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), MGSW, $964,133.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Hoist the Gold, 123, c, 4, Mineshaft–Tacit Approval, by Tapit.
($47,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Dream Team One Racing
Stable; B-Dream Team Racing (KY); T-Dallas Stewart. $144,000.
3–Tejano Twist, 123, g, 4, Practical Joke–Haley's Lolipop, by
Cuvee. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-JD Thoroughbreds LLC and
Davis, Joey Keith; B-Tom Durant (KY); T-Chris A. Hartman.
$72,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 0.72, 10.10, 11.72.
Also Ran: Here Mi Song, Sir Alfred James, Get Her Number, Steal Sunshine, Endorsed, Fortin Hill. Scratched: C Z Rocket, White Abarrio. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Cody’s Wish Picks Up Right Where He Left Off appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Stars Align For Tahiyra In Guineas

Saturday's dour weather at Newmarket means that only the tough need apply in Sunday's G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas. A preference for testing ground is a must and so TDN Rising Star Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) seems in pole position given how electric she was on it when dealing with Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. at The Curragh in September. Dermot Weld resisted the temptation to come here with Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) 12 months ago, despite the fact that she could have ended his long drought in the race and his unerring judgment could be rewarded quickly by The Aga Khan's half-sister to Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal). Despite his reservations about whether she is at a peak, it speaks volumes that such a sage is happy to let her run and suggests we are dealing with something as special as she looked when we last witnessed her at The Curragh.

Ready For Remarquee

Newbury's ground for the G3 Fred Darling S. was worse than it is here, so Julian Richmond-Watson's Remarquee (GB) (Kingman {GB}) comes into play particularly as she is bred to stay at least this mile and probably further. From the family of the Oaks heroine Look Here (GB) (Hernando {Fr}) and the G1 Prix Royal Oak winner Scope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), the homebred has enjoyed the injection of pace that Kingman provides and looks a deadly proposition here. “She didn't really get the run of the race and Rob [Hornby] dropped his stick with half a furlong to run, yet she still won with one ear pricked, having wandered around. She'll have learned a lot,” trainer Ralph Beckett said. “We've been here before, having won a few Fred Darlings, and it can be tough getting a filly back in time for the Guineas but all of the signs are good. She didn't have a hard race and I'm very happy with her.”

Loaded Amo

Amo Racing's season has started with a bang and their G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Mammas Girl (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) was the main contributor as she dominated the G3 Nell Gwyn S. here last month. Richard Hannon has either been the name next to or been directly involved with the winner of this twice in the last 10 years and racing and operations manager Tom Pennington is hoping it can be three. “She goes there having won twice at the track and some experts have said she is not going to get the trip, but I disagree,” he said. “She's a relaxed and laid-back filly and I really don't see the mile being an issue.”

Second behind her in the Nell Gwyn was the solid Fairy Cross (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), but it has been clear for a while that Charlie Appleby's number one is Dream Of Love (Ire) (Shamardal).

Lively Longshots

Anybody who witnessed the G2 May Hill S. success of Polly Pott (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) at Doncaster in September will remember how effective she is on rain-softened ground and it may be that her subsequent fourth to Commissioning (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Fillies' Mile here was one run too many. Now with Ben Pauling, she rates as having a genuine squeak along with Jaber Abdullah's Listed Star S. winner Dance In The Grass (GB) (Cracksman {GB}) and Hunscote Stud's Listed Montrose Fillies' S. scorer Caernarfon (GB) (Cityscape {GB}) who will both relish the ground.

Mick Channon made an instant impact in his training career, but missed out on Guineas success a few times so it would be fitting if his son Jack could land one on his first attempt. “She is in great form and trained really well all winter and her work, touch wood, has been perfect,” he said of Caernarfon. “I think we've got her exactly where we want her and it will be down to simply whether she is good enough now. She had a decent amount of experience as a 2-year-old, she won over course and distance last time and she is not a filly who is too hard to get fit.”

Time For Adayar

Following the romp of Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) on Friday, Godolphin's other star Frankel Adayar (Ire) also comes to the Rowley Mile for the rescheduled G3 Gordon Richards S. lost from Sandown last week. The 2021 Derby and King George hero is up against Shadwell's G2 Prix Dollar winner Anmaat (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) as he would have been last Friday, but also White Birch Farm's unbeaten and unexposed Francesco Clemente (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

Charlie Appleby also saddles two in the Listed Pretty Polly S., with William Buick on the impressive Southwell novice scorer Queen Of Fairies (GB) (Cracksman {GB}), and last year's winner of that Oaks trial With The Moonlight (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G2 Dahlia S. Already successful in the G2 Cape Verdi and G2 Balanchine in 2023, she is back from an encounter with the high-class In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Keeneland's GI Jenny Wiley S. and has it easier here despite carrying three pounds more than her rivals. She is joined by last year's G1 Falmouth S. heroine Prosperous Voyage (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and fellow Godolphin representative and TDN Rising Star Life In Motion (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), another of Andre Fabre's keenly-aimed arrows at a race he has won twice since 2014 at the track he loves.

“With The Moonlight came back from Keeneland in great order and is a rock-solid filly,” Appleby said. “Nine furlongs is a perfect distance for her and she should be a big player, even with her penalty, providing the ground doesn't get too testing.”

London Calling

With Aidan O'Brien relying solely on Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the 1000 Guineas, Wayne Lordan stays at Leopardstown to take the mount on the stable's TDN Rising Star Tower Of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Derby Trial S. The full-brother to Capri (Ire) did everything the wrong way round in the G2 Champions Juvenile S. when last seen here in September and looks a stronger candidate than the yard's G3 Prix Noailles fourth Londoner (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}). Both have a high bar to reach to get to the G1 Criterium International winner Proud And Regal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while the G3 Ballysax S. runner-up Up And Under (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) adds further intrigue in another O'Brien-dominated Classic trial.

“We're not 100% sure what his trip is going to be, whether he will be a 10- or 12-furlong horse or maybe even he drops back to a mile, but it is great to get him started,” Donnacha said of Proud And Regal. “The hope is that he becomes a Derby horse, that's the dream, but I guess we will find out more on Sunday. If he goes and wins well, we will for sure have to have a look at Epsom, but if he didn't we may have to alter our plans.”

The post Stars Align For Tahiyra In Guineas appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Constitution’s Webslinger Upsets American Turf

Webslinger (Constitution), who broke his maiden in some style in the $510,000 Nownownow S. in his owners' backyard at Monmouth Park last September, sat a three-wide trip, but–crucially–with cover, and outfinished the rail-rallying Far Bridge (English Channel) to provide owner D J Stable with a memorable 2,500th victory in Saturday's GII American Turf S. at Churchill Downs.

Mo Stash (Mo Town), wire-to-wire winner of the GIII Transylvania S. last time and two lengths ahead of the third-placed Webslinger, won the break and cut out the running beneath Luis Saez over a course that had been playing kind to speed over the course of the last couple of days. Desert Duke (Kitten's Joy), whose two latest wins had also come on the engine, pressed the pace, and 'TDN Rising Star' Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) raced in close attendance while three deep and in the breeze. Those somewhat surprising tactics allowed Javier Castellano to tuck in Webslinger on the favorite's tail, and he followed that one's move until being pulled off heels to deliver his challenge in upper stretch. Mo Stash kept on bravely and took the field deep into the final furlong, but Far Bridge–locked away on the turn–began to weave his way through and appeared to nose in front at the fence with 100 yards to race. But Webslinger refused to be denied, as he was shoved across the wire first, while Major Dude was forced to settle for third, having sat a golden inside trip throughout.

Eleventh, but not beaten far in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, the bay was the 3/4-length winner of his seasonal debut at Gulfstream Feb. 11 before just missing in that track's Colonel Liam S. Mar. 4. Forced to cover ground on the second turn in the Apr. 7 Transylvania, he stuck on gamely to round out the triple, but was dismissed by the punting public Saturday.

“I'm so grateful that Mark [Casse] gave me the opportunity to ride this horse today,” said Castellano. “At Keeneland, he learned a lot when he finished third, and he broke so well coming out of the gate today. That allowed me to save ground, which we needed coming out of 14. I let the race develop on the first turn, and I really liked the way he did it today, and the way he finished the race.”

“That's such a big accomplishment,” said D J Stables' Jon Green. “Win number 2,500 by a horse who we bought inexpensively and now he's won two half-million dollar races. We are thrilled to do it and I think that was one of the deepest races on the entire card.”

Pedigree Notes:

A 24th worldwide graded/group winner (16th in the U.S.) for his sire, Webslinger was offered in utero at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale, but Arana was led out unsold on a bid of $24,000. The mare returned to the November Sale 12 months on in foal to Outwork, but was again retained by the Ramseys, this time when bidding stalled out at $14,000. Arana was acquired by Korean interests for $7,000 in foal to Take Charge Indy at KEENOV in 2021 and foaled a filly last season.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
AMERICAN TURF S. PRESENTED BY BMW-GII, $500,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:41.54, fm.
1–WEBSLINGER, 118, g, 3, by Constitution
               1st Dam: Arana, by Hard Spun
               2nd Dam: Sunny Nature (GB), by Sadler's Wells
               3rd Dam: Bright Spells, by Alleged
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($45,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP;
$25,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $45,000 RNA 2yo '22 OBSAPR;
$50,000 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-D. J. Stable LLC; B-Kenneth L.
Ramsey & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Javier
Castellano. $285,200. Lifetime Record: 8-3-2-1, $723,800.
Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or
the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Far Bridge, 118, c, 3, English Channel–Fitpitcher, by
Kitten's Joy. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
O-LSU Stables; B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$92,000.
3–Major Dude, 122, c, 3, Bolt d'Oro–Mary Rita, by Distorted
Humor. ($550,000 Ylg '21 FTSAUG). O-Spendthrift Farm LLC;
B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $46,000.
Margins: NO, HF, 1. Odds: 22.67, 6.46, 3.60.
Also Ran: Mo Stash, Johannes, Behind Enemy Lines (GB), Andthewinneris, Carl Spackler (Ire), Mendelssohns March, Anglophile, Scoobie Quando, Otago, Desert Duke. Scratched: Funtastic Again, Talk of the Nation, Wadsworth.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.v

The post Constitution’s Webslinger Upsets American Turf appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post