Month: August 2023

Tapit Trice and Forte emerged well from their respective third- and fourth-place finishes in Saturday's Travers (G1), trainer Todd Pletcher reported Sunday.

“They're doing good,” Pletcher said. “Both of them looked well this morning.”

Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's Blue Grass (G1) winner Tapit Trice, fitted with blinkers for the first time in the 154th Travers, found himself closer to the lead than he had been in recent starts despite breaking a step slow and was still within one length after one mile but was unable to catch the winner, Arcangelo, or Disarm, who rallied up the rail for second.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Tapit Trice wound up beaten 3 1/2 lengths. He also ran third by 1 1/2 lengths to Arcangelo in the Belmont Stakes (G1) June 10.

“He got a bit of a wide trip around the first turn, but he got involved and I thought he stayed on steadily through the lane,” Pletcher said. “It was a good third-place effort.”

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte, the champion 2-year-old male of 2022 who went off as the 8-5 Travers favorite, broke from the rail but lost his inside position to Arcangelo early on and trailed each of his six rivals through the first quarter-mile of the Travers.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was forced to swing well wide in an effort to make up ground, but Forte was unable close on the muddy main track and wound up 4 1/2 lengths behind his stablemate, beaten eight lengths for it all. Forte, who began the year with wins in the Fountain of Youth (G1) and Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, finished second to Arcangelo in the Belmont and went into the Travers off a gutsy nose triumph in the Jim Dandy (G2) July 29 at Saratoga.

“It was kind of odd how things unfolded going into the first turn, that we ended up outside the eventual winner,” Pletcher said. “He kind of lost some position there and got shuffled all the way back to last, and then had to go wide to kind of get back involved and just kind of ran evenly from there.”

Pletcher indicated no decision has been made on where either of Tapit Trice or Forte will run next.

“Not yet,” he said. “We'll give it a few days to see how they are and come up with a game plan.”

The post Pletcher: Forte, Tapit Trice In Good Order After Travers; Next Starts TBD appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Juddmonte's Kentucky homebred Idiomatic was awarded a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for her dominant score in Friday's Personal Ensign (G1), a nine-furlong test for older fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Brad Cox, Idiomatic led at every point of call under Florent Geroux to draw off strongly in the lane to a four-length triumph in a final time of 1:49.12 over a sloppy and sealed main track. It was her third consecutive graded score and came on the heels of a determined head victory over Classy Edition in the Delaware Handicap (G2) on July 8 after a bobble at the start and a wide run into the stretch.

“She is doing well and has been since she came back from a layoff [in December],” said Cox. “When the draw came out, I thought based on what we saw on paper, she had a good shot to establish a nice, clear lead and obviously, she did. I didn't think the mile and an eighth would be an issue because she had just run a mile and three-sixteenths and overcame a tough trip at Delaware. She has a lot of class and it's a huge update for her pedigree and herself. She's a serious filly.”

Cox said the daughter of Curlin could be pointed to the Spinster (G1) on October 8 at Keeneland, but that he will meet with her owners to make solid plans in the near future. Other potential races include the $250,000 Beldame (G2) going 1 1/8 miles on the same day at Belmont at the Big A.

“She's got a nice little win streak going and she came back well,” said Cox. “We'll talk with Prince Khalid and family and come up with a game plan, but I would say the Spinster is probably the top spot on the radar given the fact it's a Grade 1 and Juddmonte sponsors the race. The Beldame would be 'Plan B' because there's not a lot of options. Obviously, the Breeders' Cup is the target to end the year, and we'll need another race between now and then.”

On Saturday, Cox sent out two other trainees to on-the-board efforts in Grade 1s at the Spa, with Matareya finishing third in the Grade 1 Ballerina (G1) and Verifying placing second in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1).

Godolphin's Kentucky homebred Matareya, a two-time Grade 1 winner, was a hard-trying third in the seven-furlong Ballerina behind the victorious 2021 champion juvenile filly Echo Zulu and the reigning champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive. The daughter of Pioneerof the Nile tracked in third one length behind the pace and made a brief bid into upper stretch, but weakened and held on long enough to secure show honors by a nose over Caramel Swirl.

“She came back really good and I was very proud of the effort,” said Cox. “It was a good ride to save ground and she was beaten by two Champions, so no disgrace in the performance. I'm happy with the way she looks this morning. I'm not sure where she'll land, so we'll talk it over with the Godolphin team. We'll pursue the Breeders' Cup, but we'll probably want one more race. She's run well enough against these top fillies this year to be in the mix.”

Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor's Indiana Derby (G3) victor Verifying finished second in the H. Allen Jerkens 1 3/4 lengths behind the late-running One in Vermillion after pacesetter New York Thunder fell in midstretch due to a catastrophic injury.

Cox said the race led to difficulty in taking away anything about Verifying's first start around one turn since October.

“He looks great this morning, but I don't really know what to say about the race at all,” said Cox. “He's going to take some homework on what to do moving forward. I'm not really sure what to do with him. I do like what I saw from him around one turn though, and I like him at seven-eighths and a one-turn mile.”

Cox said it is likely Verifying could target the seven-furlong Malibu (G1) in December at Santa Anita Park as a year-end goal.

“We need to figure out something between now and then, but he came back in good order,” said Cox.

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To be the champ, you have to beat the champ. And Winchell Thoroughbreds, in collaboration with trainer Steve Asmussen, did just that with two Gun Runner progeny in a pair of Grade 1 events on the Travers Day program at Saratoga Race Course.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Gunite kicked off Grade 1 action when turning the tables on reigning champion male sprinter Elite Power in the Forego going seven furlongs. Piloted by Tyler Gaffalione, the dark bay colt set an easy early tempo and fended off Elite Power's inside rally to win by 1 3/4 lengths and register a 101 Beyer Speed Figure – his eighth triple-digit number to date.

The redeeming triumph came following the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) on July 29 at the Spa, where he appeared poised for victory at the top of the stretch but couldn't fend off the late outside rally of Elite Power, who won by a head.

The win was a second Grade 1 victory for Gunite, who captured the 2021 Hopeful at Saratoga by 5 3/4 lengths. He has never finished worse than second at Saratoga in six starts.

David Fiske, the racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds, spoke of Gunite's consistency and compared him to his multiple stakes-winning New York-bred millionaire Bankit.

“He's just such a cool horse. He always shows up, he's always dependable,” Fiske said. “He's like the new Bankit. You can always depend on him. So far, he's never let us down. To see him get another Grade 1; one as a 2-year-old, one as a 4-year-old; and head to the Breeders' Cup for the second year in a row is satisfying and gratifying. He's so cool and I was so glad to watch him get it done.”

Fourth in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland, Gunite will target this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita Park and will likely have one more start beforehand.

While the $250,000 Vosburgh (G2) on September 30 at Belmont at the Big A and the $350,000 Phoenix (G2) on October 6 at Keeneland – both “Win And You're In” events for the Sprint – are both logical next targets for Gunite, Fiske did not rule out the $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) on September 30 as a possible next start.

“We haven't talked about it, but that could be a possibility,” Fiske said. “I know that Steve has a habit of shipping early, whether it's to California for the Breeders' Cup or Dubai for the World Cup (G1). Curlin went to Dubai about two months before and even got a race in over there beforehand. It's not out of the realm of possibility.”

While Gunite will likely race once before his Breeders' Cup endeavor, Echo Zulu is likely to train up to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1)  after she secured a “Win and You're In” berth in the Ballerina (G1) at Saratoga.

Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds in partnership with L and N Racing, Echo Zulu defeated last year's champion female sprinter and defending Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Goodnight Olive, who also won last year's Ballerina.

Like Gunite, Echo Zulu also set an early tempo down the backstretch and kept Goodnight Olive at bay in upper stretch before strolling home a 2 1/2-length winner over Goodnight Olive, with two-time Grade 1 winner Matareya completing the trifecta.

Echo Zulu produced a 112 Beyer, which is the co-highest figure recorded by any thoroughbred this year. She registered the same number when capturing the Honorable Miss (G2) on July 26 at the Spa by 7 1/4 lengths. Godolphin's Cody's Wish earned a 112 Beyer when capturing the Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan (G1) on June 10 at Belmont Park.

“Obviously, we all knew she was fast. A 112 Beyer is the fastest number anyone has run this year and she did it two times in a row. To do that a second time, that was pretty impressive,” Fiske said. “She's a little bit different than Gunite. Steve said Gunite would probably run again before the Breeders' Cup. Echo seems to run well when fresh and yesterday was kind of a third race in a cycle. Steve may just wait and train her up to the Breeders' Cup.”

Echo Zulu, the 2021 champion 2-year-old filly, was second in last year's Filly and Mare Sprint, where she drew post 13 and was five wide in the through the turn, finishing 2 1/2 lengths behind Goodnight Olive.

“Last year in the Breeders' Cup, Echo Zulu was a little disadvantaged by post position and how the race shaped up. It just didn't break her way that day, but she still ran a good second. Yesterday was an excellent race,” Fiske said. “In the filly and mare sprint division there aren't many Grade 1s, so if Echo Zulu can win again, she's probably the Eclipse winner. I would think if Gunite could win the Sprint, he would be the champion.”

Last year, Winchell and Asmussen enjoyed their first Travers (G1) victory when Epicenter strolled home a 5 1/4-length winner en route to champion 3-year-old colt honors. They took home the silver medal this time around when graded stakes-winner Disarm launched a strong inside rally, finishing one length behind the victorious Arcangelo. The effort, his first in blinkers, garnered a career-high 103 Beyer.

“He just seems to get incrementally better,” Fiske said. “[The blinkers] didn't hurt. It's hard to say how much of a difference they made because he did run some pretty credible races without the blinkers. I suspect he'll run back with them because like I said, they didn't hurt him at all.”

Fiske mentioned the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) on September 23 at Parx Racing as a possibility for Disarm, who achieved millionaire status with his Travers effort.

“We really weren't having that discussion last night, so I'd say all options are on the table,” Fiske said. “Going into the race, there was some talk about the Pennsylvania Derby. I think we were kicking around either [two-time winner] Magic Tap or Disarm as to who might be our Pennsylvania Derby horse. We'll talk this week, regroup and come up with some sort of plan.

The post Fiske: Gunite Could Have Race Prior To BC Sprint; Echo Zulu Could Train Up To BC Filly & Mare Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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