Month: August 2023

Maltese Falcon Spies Graded Prize In La Jolla Win

A six-start maiden, Maltese Falcon (Ire) (Caravaggio) was nevertheless dispatched as the public's choice for Sunday's GIII La Jolla H. and duly obliged with a perfect-trip graduation.

Neatly drawn in stall three in a field of eight in this final prep for the GII Del Mar Derby, the 105,000gns Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training purchase found a good spot at the fence right on the back of a sedate tempo set jointly by Agency (Bolt d'Oro) and Justin's Legacy (Justify). Juan Hernandez was content to allow Maltese Falcon to bide his time on the leaders' tails and opted to ride his mount for luck, hoping that a rails run would materialize. That roll of the dice ultimately paid off, as Maltese Falcon slipped through underneath the pace-advantaged Agency at midstretch and went on to prevail. Former Jessica Harrington trainee Panic Alarm (Ire) (Kuroshio {Aus}) was conversely done no favors by the lack of speed and kicked hard to be second in a solid U.S. debut for the Hronis Racing team.

Maltese Falcon was second in a Redcar novice over seven furlongs last Oct. 1 for trainer Rebecca Menzies and found himself at Tattersalls three weeks hence for the Autumn Horses In Training Sale, where he was the least costly of three purchases by Jed Cohen's Red Baron's Barn and son Tim Cohen's Rancho Temescal. The team also paid a sales-topping 850,000gns for I'm A Gambler (Ire) (No Nay Never)–a close third in the Wickerr S. at Del Mar July 23–and 260,000gns for Bellstreet Bridie (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}), who won last year's GIII Red Carpet H. straight off the plane last fall.

Things hadn't gone as swimmingly with Maltese Falcon, who sandwiched a third between a pair of fourth-place efforts at Santa Anita last winter before getting a freshen-up. A troubled third in a May 29 maiden, he backed up on short rest to finish runner-up in the June 11 Cinema S. going a mile and a quarter, an effort good enough to be the pari-mutuel darling Sunday afternoon.

“[Trainer] Leonard Powell told me this horse has a really good kick at the end,” the winning jockey commented. “I was really patient with him. My horse he wanted to run around the three-eighths, but I didn't have space to come through, so I decided to stay the longest I can. Finally around the eighth pole I got lucky because the rail opened for me. He was really brave today.”

Pedigree Notes:

Maltese Falcon is the 14th worldwide stakes winner and 10th group/graded winner for Caravaggio, who last year was sold to continue his stud career at Shizunai Stallion Station in Japan. Produced by a stakes-placed full-sister to Group 3-placed Pandora (Ire) and the multiple listed-placed Allegio (Ire), Maltese Falcon has a 2-year-old full-brother, a yearling half-sister by Mastercraftsman (Ire) and a weanling half-brother by Lope de Vega (Ire).

Sunday, Del Mar
LA JOLLA H.-GIII, $151,500, Del Mar, 8-6, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:44.20, fm.
1–MALTESE FALCON (IRE), 118, g, 3, by Caravaggio
                1st Dam: Isabella (Ire) (SP-Eng), by Galileo (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Song of My Heart (Ire), by Footstepsinthesand (GB)
                3rd Dam: Catch The Moon (Ire), by Peintre Celebre
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. (105,000gns 2yo '22 TATAHI). O-Red Baron's Barn LLC and Rancho Temescal LLC; B-Sir Robert Ogden (IRE); T-Leonard Powell; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 7-1-2-2, $135,948. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Panic Alarm (Ire), 120, g, 3, Kuroshio (Aus)–Thraya Queen (GB), by Shamardal. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. (12,000gns Wlg '20 TATFOA; £18,000 Ylg '21 TATIRY). O-Hronis Racing LLC; B-McCracken Farms (IRE); T-John W. Sadler. $30,000.
3–Agency, 120, c, 3, Bolt d'Oro–Queen of May, by Bernardini. ($100,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $400,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR). O-Muir Hut Stables, LLC; B-Twin Creeks Farm (KY); T-Mark Glatt. $18,000.
Margins: 1, NO, HD. Odds: 3.20, 6.40, 7.50.
Also Ran: Justin's Legacy, Kid Azteca, Henry Q, Smart Mo, Zalamo (Fr).
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Maltese Falcon Spies Graded Prize In La Jolla Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Duke Of Love Takes West Virginia Governor’s Stakes In Thriller

Former Canadian classic winner Duke of Love dueled Surly Furious down the stretch and dug deep for Luis Contreras to prevail by three-quarters of length in the $200,000 West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) Sunday at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort.

Sent off at 8-1 odds, the Ontario-bred Cupid colt was winning for the fourth time from 12 career starts. Campaigned by a My Racehorse ownership group, he entered off a seventh-place finish in the Dominion Day (G3) July 1 at Woodbine but would not be denied Sunday in a display of tenaciousness.

Duke of Love returned $19 after covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.49 on a track rated as good.

Ideally positioned in third then second as Altmeister laid down early fractions of :23.22 and :47 through a half mile, Duke of Love grabbed a slim lead on the far turn as Surly Furious surged determinedly into contention from fifth for Antonio Gallardo. The pair battled abreast through the stretch before Duke of Love knuckled down on the inside of his rival to get the win.

Chilean-bred O'Conner, who raced near the back of the 10-horse field in the early going, advanced down the backstretch and around the turn but was never a threat to the top two, finishing 5 1/4 lengths back in third as the favorite.

Duke of Love earned the $119,000 winner's share of purse, boosting his career earnings to $443,817. He had raced on Tapeta and turf in 10 of his 11 previous starts; his only other start on dirt prior to Sunday resulted in victory in the 2022 Prince of Wales, a leg of Canada's Triple Crown, at Fort Erie.

“When he won the Prince of Wales he ran his best numbers,” said Charlie Nash, assistant to his wife, trainer Josie Carroll. “She thought this would be the best place for him (to return to dirt). And that was a good ride by Luis.”

Produced by the Smart Strike mare Tell the Duchess, Duke of Love was bred by Caldara Farm Inc., Patrick Costello, David Whitford, and Tom Zwiesler.

My Racehorse paid $85,000 for Duke of Love at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where Julie Davies consigned him.

The post Duke Of Love Takes West Virginia Governor’s Stakes In Thriller appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Red Route One Rolls Home In the West Virginia Derby

Sent off the third betting choice at just shy of 4-1, Red Route One (Gun Runner) sustained a run for the better part of the final five furlongs and shot past the dueling pacesetters to give his owner Winchell Thoroughbreds a third win and trainer Steve Asmussen a sixth success in the GIII West Virginia Derby.

Outrun early, the homebred was third-last to make the first turn as Iowa Derby first-past-the-post One In Vermillion (Army Mule) and West Coast Cowboy (West Coast)–fifth in Altoona–eyeballed one another through honest splits. Red Route One began to make progress as he weaved his way through at the midway stage and was up into sixth, but still a good 10 lengths off the leaders as they hit the second turn. Going clearly the best of them nearing the stretch, though with several lengths to find, Red Route One was thrown onto his correct lead by Cristian Torres in the vicinity of the eighth pole and inhaled the front-runners shortly thereafter before kicking clear to score by daylight.

Runner-up in the GIII Southwest S. and again in the GII Rebel S., both sloppy-track affairs at his winter base at Oaklawn, Red Route One was left with too much to do in the GI Arkansas Derby and could do no better than a well-beaten sixth to Angel of Empire (Classic Empire). Winner of the Apr. 22 Bath House Row S. after failing to make the cut for the GI Kentucky Derby, Red Route One was a sound fourth to National Treasure (Quality Road) in the GI Preakness S. May 20 and was eased home a distant eighth when last seen in the GI Belmont S. June 10.

Pedigree Notes:

The 13th graded winner for his Three Chimneys-based stallion, Red Route One is out of an unraced daughter of Grade II winner Fun House, the dam of 2014 Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly and five-times Grade I winner Untapable, whose two most recent foals are Gun Runner colts of 2021 and 2023. Fun House also dropped GISW Paddy O'Prado (El Prado {Ire}) and the dam of GSW Majestic Eagle (Medaglia d'Oro). The deeper family includes Winchell standouts Olympio, Call Now and Early Flyer.

It comes as little surprise that the cross of Gun Runner over Tapit has proved fruitful, having accounted for the likes of GISW Society and other graded scorers Wicked Halo and Disarm. Another half-dozen of Gun Runner's black-type winners descend from other A.P. Indy-line sires. Red House sadly passed away at just five years of age in 2020.

Sunday, Mountaineer Casino & Resort
WEST VIRGINIA DERBY-GIII, $500,000, Mountaineer Casino & Resort, 8-6, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.49, gd.
1–RED ROUTE ONE, 118, c, 3, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Red House, by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Fun House, by Prized
                3rd Dam: Bistra, by Classic Go Go
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC
(KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Cristian A. Torres. $297,500.
Lifetime Record: GISP, 12-3-2-1, $1,045,025. *Full to Red Run,
SW & GSP, $385,598. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–West Coast Cowboy, 118, c, 3, West Coast–Coco's Sweetie,
by Tenpins. ($35,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $170,000 2yo '22
OBSAPR). O-Gentry Farms (A.P. Gentry); B-Gary & Mary West
Stables Inc. (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. $100,000.
3–One in Vermillion, 118, c, 3, Army Mule–Given Star, by
Any Given Saturday. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($26,000 Ylg
'21 ARZNOV). O-Jonathan Kalman; B-Richard Barton
Enterprises (CA); T-Esteban Martinez. $50,000.
Margins: 3, HD, 3HF. Odds: 3.90, 7.50, 3.30.
Also Ran: Raise Cain, Groveland, Lord Miles, Timesatappin, Knockout Guy, Looka Looka, Fartlek. Scratched: Dreaming of Kona, My Man Biggie, Russian Hammer, Tapit's Conquest.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/race-replays/0/202202261821OPM11/

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Gulfstream Park: Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed At $375,000 Friday

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 Gross Jackpot Pool will be guaranteed at $375,000 Friday at Gulfstream Park, where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday for the 16th racing day following a mandatory payout.

Monday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 3-8, including a well-stocked maiden special weight event for older fillies and mares. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is represented by Arzag, a first-time starter by Bernardini, and Lawson Racing Stables' Uncaptured Dove, who finished third and fourth in two starts. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. is scheduled to saddle Divine, a 3-year-old daughter of Good Magic who has been working sharply for her career debut in the seven-furlong event. Sweet Temptation, a Whisper Hill Farm homebred daughter of Overanalyze is scheduled to debut for trainer Ralph Nicks.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

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