Month: July 2023

Wet Paint Surges Late to Claim the CCA Oaks

Favored to earn her first taste of Classic glory in the GI Kentucky Oaks in May, Godolphin's Wet Paint (Blame) could only manage a fourth-place finish behind stablemate Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief). Fast forward through a runner-up effort in Ellis's Monomoy Girl S. last month followed by a trek to upstate New York, the bay finally bagged her own Grade I, taking Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga.

“She's a super consistent filly who always comes running,” said trainer Brad Cox, who won the 2018 renewal of the Oaks with subsequent champion Monomoy Girl. “Her run in the [Kentucky] Oaks was good and her last race at Ellis was probably better than it looked on paper running against a huge bias with no pace. I'm glad she stepped up and finally got that Grade I–that was big for her.”

GSW Southlawn (Pioneerof the Nile) stumbled dramatically leaving the innermost stall, spotting the field several lengths while 14-1 chance She's Lookin Lucky (Lookin At Lucky) and Sacred Wish (Not This Time) enjoyed cleaner starts and proceeded directly to the head of affairs. In the meantime, Wet Paint was unhurried in last, about four lengths off of She's Lookin Lucky, who registered a comfortable opening quarter in :24.67 as Sacred Wish and the awkward starting Southlawn pursued in second and third, respectively. Still content to linger out back through an equally modest half in :48.81, Wet Paint launched her bid heading to the quarter pole as Sacred Wish forged to the front and appeared to be en route to victory. Wet Paint, however, had other ideas. Fanned out several paths wide straightening for home, the 7-5 second choice slowly reeled in game leader in the final jumps and nailed her rival by a neck at the wire. Favored Gambling Girl was a long way back in third, finishing ahead of She's Lookin Lucky and Southlawn.

“She closes into soft paces like she did today, she closes into a fast pace,” said Cox. “This is her thing in regards to just kind of flopping out of the gate and finding her way and finishing up. I told Flavien [Prat] today, 'Just ride her like a turf horse.' He knows what to do and you don't have to tell him anything. That's really what it comes down to–just let her break and kind of find her way around there, and when she starts picking up, just keep her out of trouble.”

Added Prat, “Turning for home I thought I was going to win, at the eighth pole I was questioning it, and then she finally found another gear to get by that filly. We went slow and we really picked it up and the filly of George Weaver's kept on going, but she was able to get the win.”

Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) was scratched the morning of the race after sustaining a minor foot issue, via a Tweet posted by trainer Tom Amoss Saturday morning.

“Hoosier Philly was not herself this morning with a minor foot issue. Out of an abundance of caution, agreement with the state vets, & doing the right thing by her, she will be withdrawn from the CCAO. We look forward to getting back to the track in the future.”

On the board in two of three starts last season, Wet Paint kicked off the season with a win in Oaklawn's Martha Washington S. before adding wins in a sloppy renewal of the GIII Honeybee S. and GIII Fantasy S. ahead of her Classic bid.

Cox said Wet Paint will likely target the 10-furlong GI Alabama S. Aug. 19 at the Spa.

“That's the logical spot moving forward,” Cox said. “We'll talk it over with the Godolphin team, but I think a mile and a quarter is definitely something she's going to be able to handle based off her running style and showing today that she likes Saratoga.”

 

Pedigree Notes:
Wet Paint is one of 21 graded winners and 45 black-type winners for Claiborne's Blame, who also has six winners at the highest level. Three of those six Grade I winners are out of Mr. Prospector-line broodmare sires, making them inbred to that prolific Claiborne stalwart. Wet Paint herself is 4×4 to Mr. Prospector and her damsire, Darley's late Street Cry (Ire), is responsible for 140 stakes winners out of his daughters. The CCA Oaks winner is Blame's second Grade I winner at the Spa following Marley's Freedom, who won the 2018 Ballerina S.

A second-generation Godolphin homebred after Darley acquired the family from Stonerside, Wet Paint has a yearling half-sister by Medaglia d'Oro. Dam Sky Painter, who hails from the same family as 2020 GII Del Mar Derby winner Pixelate (City Zip) and whose third dam is four-time GISW Nastique (Naskra), most recently produced a filly by Not This Time Apr. 26.

 

Saturday, Saratoga
COACHING CLUB AMERICAN OAKS-GI, $485,000, Saratoga,
7-22, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:50.68, ft.
1–WET PAINT, 121, f, 3, by Blame
                1st Dam: Sky Painter (GSP, $169,755), by Street Cry (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Skylighter, by Sky Mesa
                3rd Dam: Painted Lady, by Broad Brush
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-0, $1,057,175. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sacred Wish, 121, f, 3, by Not This Time– Indian Wish, by Indian Charlie. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $70,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP; $50,000 2yo '22 EASMAY). O-Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, Christopher T. Dunn and Anthony Spinazzola; B-John Penn (KY); T-George Weaver. $100,000.
3–Gambling Girl, 121, f, 3, by Dialed In–Tulipmania, by Empire Maker. ($200,000 Ylg '21 SARAUG). O-Repole Stable; B-Gallagher's Stud (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $60,000.
Margins: NK, 8HF, HF. Odds: 1.45, 10.80, 1.20.
Also Ran: She's Lookin Lucky, Southlawn. Scratched: Hoosier Philly.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Therapist Upsets United Nations to Score First Grade I Victory at Eight

With the most starts in the field at 41 and the most claims under his girth in the last year with three, Therapist (g, 8, Freud–Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike) may not have appeared to be the one most likely headed back to the barn after Monmouth Park's GI United Nations S. as the winner. But like fine wine, he has improved with age, winning his first graded race earlier this year and adding his first Grade I score in Monmouth's Haskell undercard highlight. Therapist is 8-years-young.

Off at 12-1 in the $600,000 United Nations, Therapist broke cleanly from the inside and settled into a nice midpack spot as 58-1 longshot So High (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) showed the way through early :24.76 and :49.32 quarters. Unhurried, Therapist bided his time until the final turn, where he kicked on wide and rallied down the lane to reel in favored last-out GIII Monmouth S. winner Catnip (Kitten's Joy), who had tracked So High all the way before tackling him in the stretch. Therapist also held off a surging Red Knight (Pure Prize), a fellow older model who has had a resurgence of his own to win the GI Man o' War S. in May. Red Knight, like Therapist, hails from the barn of Michael Maker, who has now won this race three times since 2017.

“He's a really good horse,” said jockey Javier Castellano of the winner. “He's a long-distance horse. He seems to always maintain his rhythm. I knew that horse on the lead was going to stop. I just rode my race. I knew he was going to come back to us. I didn't want to chase him and not have anything left. It's a long distance. You have to have a lot of patience and have a lot of confidence in the horse. It's amazing that he won a Grade I race at 8-years-old. He's just a professional horse.”

Therapist has had a long career, breaking his maiden in 2017–three years before the competitors in the GI Haskell S., the next race on Monmouth's card–were even born. A multiple listed winner at two and winner of several black-type races in the ensuing years, he has clearly improved over time, adding his first graded win in Gulfstream's GII Pan American S. just this April. Last seen finishing second in the Chorleywood Overnight S. at Ellis Park June 17, Therapist was picked up by owner Michael Dubb for $50,000 at Gulfstream in January after he lost a $25,000 shake for him in December.

“I followed this horse throughout his career,” said Dubb, who was winning his third consecutive United Nations, although the last two were in partnership. “I knew the ability he had and that's why I claimed him.

“This is Mike Maker's sweet spot. When we got him the horse hadn't been racing this long and I asked Mike why he wanted to go this long. He said, 'I see it in the breeding.'”

Pedigree Notes:

Therapist is the fifth Grade I winner for New York's veteran star sire, Freud. The 25-year-old Sequel Stallions stalwart, a full-brother to the late Giant's Causeway, has 61 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere and 11 graded winners. Freud has three stakes performers out of Smart Strike mares, with two of those being Therapist and his younger full-sister, Fresco. Smart Strike currently sits second on the 2023 list of leading broodmare sires and has 164 black-type winners out of his daughters.

Now 20, Lady Renaissance has been sold since foaling Therapist and Fresco in the Empire State. She brought $52,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale from Dennis Yokum and was shipped to California. Her most recent produce is Seize the Derby (Carpe Diem), an unraced 3-year-old gelding. Lady Renaissance's lovely extended pedigree includes a granddam who is a half-sister to 1994 Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen (Pretense), whose influence is still felt today.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
UNITED NATIONS S.-GI, $612,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:14.50, fm.
1–THERAPIST, 124, g, 8, by Freud
               1st Dam: Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Artistic, by Pirate's Bounty
                3rd Dam: Paintbrush, by Bold Hour
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($8,000 RNA Ylg '16 SARAUG). O-Michael Dubb; B-Oak Bluff Stable, LLC & C. Clement (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Javier Castellano. $360,000. Lifetime Record: 42-13-5-8, $1,353,815. *Full to Fresco, SW, $125,350. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catnip, 124, g, 4, Kitten's Joy–Masquerade, by Silent Name (Jpn). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-John Moore & Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $120,000.
3–Red Knight, 124, g, 9, Pure Prize–Isabel Away, by Skip Away. O/B-Trinity Farm, LLC (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3/4, NO. Odds: 12.30, 1.20, 2.70.
Also Ran: Limited Liability, Planetario (Brz), Foreign Relations,
So High (GB), Yamato, Kygo (Ger). Scratched: Oceans Map.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV .

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So Noted: Pletcher, Repole Team Up For Saratoga Maiden Win On Grass

by Bill Finley and Stefanie Grimm

Mike Repole has had dozens of top horses and has won a slew of 2-year-old maiden races in Saratoga over the many years he's been a force in the ownership ranks. But, usually, Repole's strength is with young dirt horses. It might be time to rethink that.

Repole is the co-owner of what is arguably the top grass horse in the sport in the 4-year-old Up to the Mark, the winner of this year's GI Turf Classic S. at Churchill Downs and the GI Manhattan S. at Belmont. And now he's got another one that could some day follow in his footsteps.

The team of Repole, Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. teamed up to win Saturday's first race at Saratoga, a mile-and-a-sixteenth maiden special weight race on the grass with a $136,500 purse with 3-5 favorite Noted (Cairo Prince). A $200,000 Keeneland September purchase, it was his second career start after he finished second in his debut in a five-furlong turf maiden at Belmont. Clearly relishing the stretch out in distance, Noted stalked the pace set by Fortune Seller (Kitten's Joy) before grabbing the lead at the top of the stretch. Noted edged clear of Fortune Seller at the sixteenth pole and then had to hold off a bid from Spirit Prince (Cairo Prince), who was making his debut for trainer Christophe Clement. Sons of Cairo Prince finished one-two.

“We entered him in a dirt race that didn't fill, so we opted to try the turf,” Pletcher said. “He had enough pedigree to suggest he would take to the turf.”

“I was happy with the win,” Repole said. “He needed more ground after his first start. He was training well on the dirt but we decided to try him on the turf early on. I think it's paying dividends.”

Bred by Brereton C. Jones, Noted is out of Sea View Millie (Proud Citizen) and was the dam's first winner.

Pletcher said the GIII With Anticipation S. on Aug. 31 would be next for Noted.

Pletcher has still another top turf horse in his barn in the 3-year-old Far Bridge (English Channel), who is owned by LSU Stables. Far Bridge is coming off a win in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S.

Out of a full-sister to MGSW Mark Valeski and a half to GSW & GI Haskell Invitational S. runner up Albano (Istan), Noted has a yearling half-sister by Global Campaign while his dam reported a filly by Upstart this spring.

1st-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 7-22, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:46.57, gd, 1/2 length.
NOTED (c, 2, Cairo Prince–Sea View Millie, by Proud Citizen)    Sales History: $200,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $75,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Repole Stable; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.

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Liam’s Map Filly Shows Class in Saratoga’s Caress

Despite never having won against open stakes company, Roses for Debra nonetheless installed the 8-5 choice to best four others in Saturday's GIII Caress S. at Saratoga. Undefeated in a pair of starts since joining Christophe Clement's string earlier this season, the Pennsylvania-bred filly made short work of her rivals, coming from off the pace to win by an authoritative victory over Wakanaka (Ire).

MGSW Our Flash Drive (Ghostzapper) got off to an awkward start, spotting the field a couple of lengths as 2-1 chance Bubble Rock took control while Roses for Debra settled two lengths behind through a snappy quarter in :20.95. With Bubble Rock still in front turning for home, Wakanaka loomed up on the outside of the favorite and it appeared to be anybody's race. Unrelenting down the center of the course, Roses for Debra collared Bubble Rock midstretch and powered home a three-length winner over Wakanaka who outlasted the early front runner.

“She broke well. I thought there was going to be a little more speed in the race, but she broke so well so I just sat on her,” ridere Irad Ortiz Jr., winning his fourth race on the day's card. “When the other horse [No. 2, Bubble Rock] went, I just followed the leader. After that, I just let her do her thing from the quarter pole.”

Under the care of Presque Isle trainer Michelle Brafford, the grey reeled off a quartet of synthetic wins at that venue, including the Malvern Rose S. against state-bred company one year ago. Fourth while stepping into better company in a six furlong main track test at Keeneland in October, she came home fourth before resurfacing in 2023 with Clement.

“She came [to me] in the spring,” explained Clement. “One of our owners, Mr. [Dean] Reeves, tried to buy her last year, so we knew about the filly. The deal fell through, but we liked her. I knew the owner because we trained for the owner years ago and he's also the breeder of Big Invasion [Clement-trained graded-stakes winner]–the good sprinter–so, I got the phone call to train her which is great. I'm absolutely delighted to have her in the barn.”

Trying the turf for the first time at Pimlico this season, the 4-year-old came from off the pace to score sprinting five panels against optional claiming company May 19 before posting yet another win while progressing into 3X company and adding an extra furlong at Belmont July 3.

“She's very good. She was impressive at Pimlico. She was very impressive at Belmont,” said Clement. “She came out of the race at Belmont in great shape. When you run at Belmont you don't have to ship, you take them straight from the stalls to the paddock and back. I know it was ambitious, but why not have a look. It worked out. It's nice when you're aggressive and it works out.”

Pedigree Notes:
Rose for Debra represents the ninth group/graded stakes winner for MGISW Liam's Map (Unbridled's Song). Out of the unraced Bernardini mare Essential Rose, the filly is a half-sister to SW Rose's Vision (Artie Schiller). A daughter of the GSW Essential Edge (Storm Cat), the 12-year-old mare is from the prolific family of Flame Of Tara (Ire), responsible for a bevy of accomplished runners, including Irish Highweight route horse Salsabil (Ire) and G1SW Marju (Ire).

Saturday, Saratoga
CARESS S.-GIII, $194,000, Saratoga, 7-22, 4yo/up, f/m,
5 1/2fT, 1:02.39, gd.
1–ROSES FOR DEBRA, 120, f, 4, by Liam's Map
              1st Dam: Essential Rose, by Bernardini
              2nd Dam: Essential Edge, by Storm Cat
              3rd Dam: Rose of Tara (Ire), by Generous (Ire)
   1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($120,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $25,000
Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-John O'Meara; B-Blackstone Farm LLC (PA);
T-Christophe Clement; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $110,000. Lifetime
Record: 8-6-1-0, $323,930. *1/2 to Rose's Vision (Artie
Schiller), SW-USA, MSP-Can, $264,358. Werk Nick Rating:
A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross
pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style
pedigree.
2–Wakanaka (Ire), 124, m, 5, Power (GB)–Storyline (Ire), by
Kodiac (GB). (ÂŁ3,500 Ylg '19 GOFFPR; $975,000 RNA 4yo '22
KEENOV). O-Team Valor International and Gary Barber; B-Mrs
Jean Brennan (IRE); T-William I. Mott. $40,000.
3–Bubble Rock, 124, f, 4, More Than Ready–Reef Point, by
Giant's Causeway. O/B-Shortleaf Stable (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$24,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, NK, HD. Odds: 1.75, 4.80, 2.30.
Also Ran: Poppy Flower, Our Flash Drive. Scratched: Bank On Anna.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.
VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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