Month: July 2023

D. Hatman Thoroughbreds and Kingdom Bloodstock 's Determined Kingdom scored a convincing gate-to-wire victory under Mychel Sanchez in the 5½-furlong, $125,000 Punch Line Stakes Saturday at Colonial Downs — one of four turf stakes worth a total of $500,000 on the card for Virginia-bred and -sired horses.

The 4-year-old Animal Kingdom gelding won his fifth career race and pushed his bankroll to $325,189 with the win. The Phil Schoenthal trainee won the 2022 Punch Line by 5½ lengths in a rallying effort and captured Saturday's edition by 5¼ lengths on the front end.

“He's always been the kind of horse that relaxed off the pace and came on with a rush,” said Schoenthal, who enjoyed his second stakes win on the day as Living Magic captured the My Dear Girl Stakes at Woodbine. “But in the last two starts, he was very keen and showed a lot of speed and didn't have his relaxing kind of run. We cut blinkers way back today and felt like that might slow him and relax him but I told Mychel in the paddock that if he wants to go, don't fight him. He came out of there running. Mychel had a ton of horse, put him in place and put the field away.”

Schoenthal targeted this race early in the year. Coming off an eight-month layoff, Determined Kingdom had two late spring starts in Maryland that resulted in sixth and seventh place finishes.

“He needed a couple starts off the layoff,” Schoenthal said. “I didn't have him totally cranked up at Pimlico and thought he would run better at Laurel but didn't feel too bad because the winner in that race set a new track record. It was improvement and I felt that in his third start off the bench, he would improve again. I'm real proud of him. We got him as a yearling and he's been a lot of fun. It's really rewarding when he shows up on a big day.”

Larry Johnson's Embolden was second and David Lengel's Uncle Andrew finished third.

Determined Kingdom ($#.60) was bred by Audley Farm Equine, also the breeder of Country Life Farm's Galilei, winner of the $125,000 Brookmeade.

Galilei angled three-wide from third at the top of the stretch, passed two front runners, and hit the wire first, three-quarter lengths the best, in the 1 1/16-mile contest for fillies and mares. The 4-year-old daughter of Lemon Drop Kid had her best outing since a maiden-breaking turf win at Colonial last summer. Horacio Karamanos, Colonial's all-time leading jockey who had two stakes wins on the card, was in the irons for trainer Michael Trombetta.

Galilei returned $11.80.

Susan Moulton's Tufani was runner-up and Larry Johnson's Continentalcongress finished third.

Sam English's homebred Chambeau defended her 2022 Tyson Gilpin/Glenn Petty Stakes title by defeating seven other fillies and mares Saturday in this year's $125,000 edition. The 6-year-old Karakontie mare ($5.60) was ridden Karamanos and left the winner's circle with a career bankroll of $200,300.

Chambeau was positioned second through the half, took the lead at the top of the stretch and crossed 3¾ lengths the best. The Anthony Aguirre trainee — who did not start competing until the age of five — is now 3-for-6.

Robert D. Bone and Edward Brown's Carolina Sun finished second and Stonestreet Stables' Aisha R N was third.

Six-year-old Flatter gelding Alex Joon, who finished second in last year's Edward P. Evans Stakes, took a step forward in Saturday's $125,000 Evans with a three-length victory over Reiley McDonald's Passion Play. A field of nine battled one mile in the stakes fifth running, and after an inside move from deep in the field early on, Lindsay Schultz's trainee crossed first with Forest Boyce up top. The victor, bred by Morgan's Ford Farm, is owned by Ten Strike Racing. He returned $4.60.

Iapetus Racing and Diamond T racing's Gigante was third.

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Trainer Daniel Velazquez visited the Saratoga Race Course winner's circle for the first time in stylish fashion Saturday when Yo Yo Candy posted a monstrous upset in the $175,000 Sanford (G3), a six-furlong main track sprint for juveniles.

Sent to post at odds of 46-1, Yo Yo Candy stalked and pounced to a 2 1/4-length victory under Angel Castillo, giving Velazquez his second graded victory after taking Aqueduct Racetrack's Remsen (G2) in 2020 with Brooklyn Strong.

“I jumped from the balcony over here,” said Velazquez. “I don't even know how I got here. This is a dream come true. As a kid, you dream of winning races here and here I am.”

The win was also the first North American graded score for Castillo, who won three Group 1 events in Venezuela prior to moving his tack to America.

“I'm always looking for opportunities to demonstrate my talent and I try to take my one or two opportunities,” said Castillo. “The trip was very good. I had a good start and good position in the race. In the turn, he charged outside and in the stretch he ran very good.”

The dynamics of the race were altered dramatically when post-time favorite Gold Sweep, who boasted the highest speed figures in the field, broke awkwardly from post 8 under Jose Ortiz and was left at the back of the nine-horse field. Yo Yo Candy broke cleanly from post 4 and tucked in fourth behind pacesetter Dickens, who marked an opening quarter-mile in 22.15 seconds over the fast main track.

Market Street loomed large on the outside of Dickens down the backstretch and into the turn, sticking his head in front midway through the turn while Yo Yo Candy took up third position from a fading Call the Cavalry under patient handling from Castillo. Ortiz got to work aboard Gold Sweep and guided his charge in between foes to range into contention with a swift turn of foot after a half-mile in 45.83.

A stubborn Dickens refused to yield along the rail as the field made its way into the stretch with Market Street battling to his outside and Yo Yo Candy moving three-wide with dead aim on the leaders. Market Street backpedaled nearing the eighth pole and with just one foe left to tackle, Yo Yo Candy swept past a resolute Dickens in the final sixteenth to fend off the late surge of Gold Sweep and draw off to victory in a final time of 1:11.83.

Gold Sweep got up to land place honors by three-quarter lengths over Dickens, who secured show by a neck over Triple Trea. Call the Cavalry, Market Street, Jive, His Rights and Ramming Speed completed the order of finish. Factor U and Me In was scratched.

Call the Cavalry was pulled up by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. in the gallop out and was vanned off after walking onto the ambulance.

Yo Yo Candy entered the Sanford from a distant third-place effort to a runaway Gold Sweep in the 5 1/2-furlong Tremont on June 11 at Belmont where he broke a step slow and improved position throughout to pick up show honors. He added blinkers for the Sanford, a move Velazquez said helped lead to a sharper break.

“The blinkers adjustment was huge. In his last race, we didn't have the blinkers because he won first time out and we were happy with that,” said Velazquez. “I watched him break last time and he broke a little sluggish. He has more speed than that tactically. I added the blinkers and took him back to the gate a couple of times after the race. I told Angel, 'If he's as good as we think he is, we're going to be competitive.' No respect on the board, but we knew coming in that we did everything right coming into this race. I was very, very satisfied watching him out there warm up.”

Velazquez said he will relish the Sanford victory for now, but could consider the $300,000 Hopeful (G1) on September 3 for the colt's next start.

“Honestly, I just want to go home and dry off and we'll go from there,” said Velazquez. “But definitely the Hopeful could be in there, but we want to take it one day at a time.”

Bred in California by Checkmate Thoroughbreds, Yo Yo Candy scored the second win of his career and added to a debut maiden victory in May at Parx Racing. The son of Danzing Candy out of the Two Punch mare Yolanda B. Too banked $96,250 for his Sanford victory, boosting his total purse earnings to $141,250. He returned $94 for a $2 win ticket.

Jose Ortiz, who guided the Steve Asmussen-trained Gold Sweep to his dominant nine-length win in the Tremont, said the son of Speightstown ran valiantly despite the troubled start.

“He was standing good,” said Ortiz. “He popped out when the door opened and went as fast as he could. I think that kind of made everything go wrong. He stumbled badly and I tried to ride him with a lot of passion after that. He came back for second, but it was a lot to do for him, and he did it. I'm very proud of his effort, just very unlucky. Very unlucky.”

The post ‘Dream Come True’: Cal-Bred Yo Yo Candy Strikes In Sanford At 46-1 Odds appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's multiple Grade 1-winner Casa Creed got the jump on favored Annapolis and held on strong to post a one-length score in Saturday's $175,000 Kelso (G3), a one-mile inner turf test for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and piloted by Luis Saez, the 7-year-old Jimmy Creed horse has now won three graded events traveling one mile over the Saratoga turf, taking the 2019 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) and last year's Fourstardave Handicap (G1).

“It's very rewarding,” said Mott of conditioning the evergreen Casa Creed. “Ordinarily, you don't get any more than two seasons out of a horse running at the top level. To have a horse that can run at two, three, and maybe four seasons to run at the very highest level is very good. You don't find those kind.”

Casa Creed has proven to be proficient at a variety of distances, notching back-to-back editions of the six-furlong Jaipur (G1) in 2021-22 at Belmont Park and missing narrowly when second in the last two runnings of the 6 3/4-furlong 1351 Turf Sprint (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia.

Lee Einsidler of LRE Racing spoke volumes of the hard-trying Casa Creed.

“He's special. He's taken us around the world and he's made a huge difference in our lives, really,” Einsidler said. “When you get into this game, they become part of your family. Life is all about building memories and this is another great one.”

Big Everest, who entered his graded stakes debut on a four-race win streak, led the seven-horse field through splits of :23.35 and :47.07 over the firm going with Filo Di Arianna tracking in second position and English Bee saving ground in third to the inside of Anaconda.

Casa Creed exited the outermost post 7 and settled in sixth position in the early stages to the outside of Annapolis. He advanced with purpose approaching the final turn and quickly swooped the field to take command from Big Everest at the stretch call. Annapolis angled off the rail and attempted to follow Casa Creed's run through the turn, but he could not reel in the winner, who stopped the clock in a final time of 1:35.51.

It was a further 1 1/4-lengths back to English Bee in third with Ice Chocolat, Big Everest, Filo Di Arianna and Anaconda rounding out the order of finish. Mid Day Image and main-track only entrant Gun It were scratched.

Saez said having outside position on his main rival Annapolis proved to be beneficial.

“The key was try to be right there on top of the favorite,” Saez said. “So everything came out perfect, he broke pretty sharp. I can feel it behind the gate, too, he was a little bit tough. So, I don't want to take too much, I just let him break and be comfortable, and he was pretty comfortable. Came to the top of the stretch and gave me a big kick.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., aboard Grade 1 winner Annapolis, said he had no choice but to wait for Saez to make his move.

“He beat me,” Ortiz said. “I kind of waited a little longer than I wanted to, but I kind of had to. There was nowhere to go and I kind of stayed steady waiting for Luis to make his move and then I followed him.”

Mott said he was pleased to see Casa Creed keep the well-regarded Annapolis at bay.

“That was a good horse – it says something for Casa Creed because the horse he beat is a real horse and a real tough competitor. He handled him today,” Mott said.

Mott said he is hopeful Casa Creed can defend his title in the $500,000 Fourstardave on August 12.

“He's a fun horse. We love to see him run and we try to give him enough time to make sure he's ready to go but at this point in time it doesn't have to be a Grade 1. The Fourstardave is and that's a big goal, but to be able to see him and have him compete is great fun,” Mott said. “His owner [Einsidler] loves Saratoga, too. Not only Casa Creed but his owner, too. I guess we all get hyped up about Saratoga right? Casa Creed is one of us.”

Einsidler noted that the $2.1-million earner, a $105,000 purchase from consignor Kelli Mitchell at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, will continue to race as long as he's competitive.

“He wants to run, so as long as he's telling us he wants to run that's what we'll do. When he tells us he wants to retire, we'll find a home for him,” Einsidler said.

Bred in Kentucky by Silver Springs Stud, Casa Creed banked $96,250 in victory, while improving his record to 32-8-5-5. He returned $6.50 for a $2 win bet.

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