Month: August 2023

Trainer Kenny McPeek is hopeful that Lucky Seven Stable's Rattle N Roll can put together a Breeders' Cup worthy performance in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, at Saratoga Race Course.  The 10-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.

The 4-year-old Connect colt has proven that he does not have to take his racetrack with him, having won five graded stakes over four different racetracks. Rattle N Roll won his stakes debut in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity in October 2021 at Keeneland and earned a triumph in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park nearly one year later.

But Rattle N Roll's 4-year-old season appears to be his best one yet, having put together a string of three graded stakes triumphs this year. After making a successful return to the site of his lone Grade 1 coup in the Grade 3 Ben Ali on April 22, he shipped to Pimlico Race Course to secure a narrow triumph in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special. Both efforts earned a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure. From there, he won the Grade 3 Blame on June 3 going nine furlongs at Churchill Downs.

Rattle N Roll has not raced since finishing second beaten a half-length by West Will Power in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on July 1 at Ellis Park. McPeek said a strong performance would warrant targeting the Breeders' Cup Classic, with a possible start in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic on September 30 at Churchill Downs.

“He's a horse that ran hard all spring and every time we led him over there, he did great,” McPeek said. “We just felt that if we were going to make the Breeders' Cup Classic, we should space his races a little bit. Let's see what he does this weekend. If he runs really well with the two-month spacing, he might not run again until Breeders' Cup. We can always come back in the Lukas Classic if we choose to, but he's done everything we asked him, and he continued to thrive.”

McPeek said he was selective about where to run his talented colt this year.

“We were really conservative with him as a 3-year-old and even as an older horse,” McPeek said. “We were trying to find soft spots and let him continue to win. At this stage, you got to take things to a higher level. At this point it's up to him, but he's been a fantastic horse to be around. How many horses win graded stakes at 2, 3 and 4? He's been a constant professional. He can win anywhere you want to go.”

Rattle N Roll has banked $1,697,741 through a 19-8-2-2 lifetime record. He was selected by McPeek for $210,000 out of the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Johannesburg mare Jazz Tune, who has a Liam's Map yearling colt entered in this year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale listed as Hip 1300.

McPeek will have the chance to double up on Grade 1 scores at Saratoga when he saddles first-out maiden winner Wonder Ride in Sunday's seven-furlong $300,000 Spinaway. The 2-year-old Gun Runner filly broke her maiden going the Spinaway distance on August 13, coming from just off the pace en route to a half-length score. The triumph produced a 72 Beyer Speed Figure.

Wonder Ride, owned and co-bred by Walking L Thoroughbreds with Fest Miles, is out of the graded stakes winning New York-bred Wonderment, who was campaigned by McPeek. Wonder Ride was raised on McPeek's Magdalena Farm in Central Kentucky. He said breeding to Gun Runner was a no-brainer.

“That wasn't a hard decision,” McPeek said, with a laugh. “But physically, I felt that Gun Runner was going to help the mare and maybe contribute a little added balance and speed and he's done it. He's a once in a lifetime stallion. He's a very well made horse. Whether you breed him to a big mare or a little mare, I think he adds his influence.”

McPeek also reported that he will keep a string of about 20 horses at Belmont Park following the conclusion of the Saratoga meet. He said he plans on running at the Belmont at the Big A meet through the fall and possibly into Aqueduct's fall and winter meet.

“I think we have the numbers to be able stay and I have some horses that I want to run up there in New York, so we decided to set up a division there,” McPeek said. “I think it's ideal for us to leave some horses up there during the fall and maybe even the winter if all goes well.”

The post Jockey Club Gold Cup: Rattle N Roll Needs ‘To Take Things To A Higher Level’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Josie Carroll, who was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2019, will send out a pair of strong contenders in Tyson and Duke of Love in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup. The 10-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Santa Anita Park.

Carroll teamed up with Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey Robert Landry to win the 2009 Grade 1 Alabama here with the flashy grey Careless Jewel, who entered on a trio of frontrunning wins topped by a score in the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks.

“It was one of the most exciting races I've been a part of – what sticks out in my mind is her dumping the rider twice before the race and that fear that we were even going to get to run,” recalled Carroll, with a laugh. “She stumbled leaving there and didn't assume her usual position which just worked out fortuitously for her. She was brilliant that day.”

Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Stretch Run Ventures' Kentucky homebred Tyson has raced exclusively on synthetic surfaces, entering from a pair of wins over Tapeta at Woodbine Racetrack with a rallying effort in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Dominion Day on July 1 and a prominent score in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Seagram Cup on July 29.

“He came out of his last race really well. It didn't take a lot out of him and he's had plenty of time in between. I'm happy to be here with him,” said Carroll, who also enjoyed NYRA-circuit success with Springside, who captured the 2008 Grade 2 Demoiselle in rein to the late Hall of Famer Garrett Gomez at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Tyson has won 4-of-5 starts, graduating in March 2022 over the Gulfstream Park synthetic while in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. The 4-year-old Tapit colt then transferred to Carroll and captured an optional-claiming route in May at Woodbine while racing from a more than one-year layoff. His lone non-winning effort came when third in June in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Eclipse at Woodbine.

Tyson has breezed on dirt over the winter in Florida, but has worked exclusively over Woodbine's Tapeta surface in preparation for the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He trained over dirt here this morning under exercise rider Tyler Gaskin.

“He breezed all winter on dirt at Payson Park and he handled it well,” Carroll said. “I'm pretty comfortable with the way he gets across it, but you don't know until you run. He trained here this morning and my exercise rider said he dragged him around there.”

Tyson is out of the Smart Strike mare Honouring – a full-sister to Grade 1-winner Streaming as well as being a half-sister to Modeling, whose fifth offspring Arcangelo captured this year's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and Grade 1 Travers. His third dam, Better Than Honour, produced Hall of Famer Rags to Riches and Belmont Stakes-winner Jazil.

It's a family Carroll is familiar with having trained Tyson's second dam, Teeming.

“I probably go back three generations with the family and they've all been incredibly talented horses. It's really exciting to have one in a Grade 1,” Carroll said.

Manny Franco has the call from post 6 aboard Tyson, who is listed at 5-1 on the morning line.

“Manny has been incredibly strong at this meet,” Carroll said. “Tyson is a very kind horse to ride and he'll do whatever the rider asks. It's a nice position to be in with an outside post where he can see how the race unfolds and judge from there.”

My Racehorse's Duke of Love, bred in Ontario by Caldara Farm, Patrick Costello, David Whitford and Tom Zwiesler, was purchased for $85,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

The 4-year-old Cupid colt boasts a record of 12-4-1-0 for purse earnings of $443,817 and is a perfect 2-for-2 on dirt with wins over a muddy and sealed main track in last year's 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales – the middle leg of the Canadian Triple Crown at Fort Erie – and a last-out score in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 West Virginia Governor's over a good main track on August 6 at Mountaineer.

Duke of Love entered his Mountaineer score from a fading seventh in the Dominion Day after attending a swift early pace.

“He had run well in the Dominion Day but maybe got a little tired – he was forwardly placed. We saw the Governor's and thought it was a good spot to try him on the dirt again, and he was tenacious. He really impressed me, so if ever there was a time to take a shot it's now. He's on his game,” Carroll said.

Luis Contreras, who captured the 2017 Grade 3 Schuylerville here with Dream It Is, will guide Duke of Love from post 7 with a 15-1 morning line assessment. The multiple Sovereign Award-winning jockey has ridden Duke of Love through each of his past two outings.

“Luis seems to get along really well with Duke of Love,” Carroll said. “He runs with his head a little high, a little cocked. Luis throws his head away and the horse seems really comfortable running for him.”

The post ‘If Ever There Was A Time To Take A Shot, It’s Now’: Josie Carroll Enters Tyson, Duke Of Love In Jockey Club Gold Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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