Month: September 2023

Patricia's Hope's Nobals, winner of six stakes including the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes at Churchill Downs May 6, leads a field of ​10 horses entered in Saturday's $150,000 Korbel Da Hoss Stakes at Colonial Downs, one of six turf stakes on the New Kent County Virginia Day program. The six stakes races combined feature purse money of $1.3 million. There are 11 races on the Saturday card which starts at 1:30 P.M.

Nobals is a Larry Rivelli trainee who is eight for 16 lifetime with earnings of $843,274. The 4-year-old Noble Mission gelding was second most recently in the G3 Troy Stakes at Saratoga and just prior, scored in the William Garrett Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Nobals will be ridden by Pablo Morales from post ​eight.

Philip Gleaves, Joseph Straus Jr. and Hugh Fitzsimons' Yes and Yes has finished second in three different stakes this year — the Select Stakes at Monmouth, Van Clief at Colonial and Elusive Quality at Belmont. The 7-year-old Sidney's Candy gelding was runner-up in the 2022 Da Hoss Stakes and on June 10 this year, competed in the G1 Jaipur at Belmont. The David Donk trainee will leave from post six with Jose Gomez up.

Penny Lauer's Strong Tide and Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Temple both bring impressive credentials into the $150,000 Biosaphe Colonial Cup which attracted a field of 11 that will battle over 1½ miles.

The former is fresh off a win in the Bucchero Handicap at Horsehoe Indianapolis and earlier this year took an impressive third in the G1 Man o'War Stakes at Belmont. The 6-year-old English Channel gelding also competed in the G1 Arlington Million August 12 in New Kent where he finished ninth. The latter has been stakes placed in four of his last eight including a win in the G2 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream Park in March 2022 and a runner-up in the G3 Sycamore last October. The Mike Maker trainee has just one start this year. The pair will be ridden respectively by Cristian Torres​ and Jose Ortiz and will leave from posts nine and six.

Head of Plains Partners' Sy Dog should also attract attention from bettors. The Graham Motion trainee won the G3 Transylvania Stakes last year as a 3-year-old and though he has not won since, had solid outings in a pair of Grade 1 races, the Belmont Derby and Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes. Most recently, the Slumber colt took second in the John's Call Stakes at Saratoga August 23. Flavien Prat will ride from post 10.

The $125,000 Exacta Systems Rosie's Stakes is for 2-year-olds and has attracted a field of 11 sprinters. Bregman Family Racing and WWBD's No Nay Mets is the only entrant that has a stakes victory on his resume. The George Weaver trainee powered home to a 5-1/2 length triumph in the Tyro Stakes at Monmouth July 30 and started his career with a similar style victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream. Paco Lopez will direct the No Nay Never colt from post five.

Ray Pennington's King Kontie also brings stakes experience to the table. The Karakontie gelding broke his maiden in dominating gate-to-wire fashion by 5½ lengths at Colonial July 14 and followed with a third in the Hickory Tree Stakes in New Kent three weeks later. The Ollie Figgins trainee will leave from post 10 with Fredy Peltroche in the irons.

The $125,000 TAA Kitten's Joy Stakes has attracted the largest field of the six offerings. Thirteen 2-year-olds will compete 1-1/16 miles, and all but one has a win in their portfolio. Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Triple Espresso, trained by Todd Pletcher. The Omaha Beach colt will make his career bow from post three with Jose Ortiz aboard.

Eight of the others collected maiden-breaking wins at Colonial Downs this summer including Respect the Valleys' Massif, who took second in his debut at 5½ furlongs July 14 then surged home to a 7¼- length performance at the one-mile distance August 5. Jevian Toledo has the mount for trainer Brittany Russell from post nine.

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RyZan Sun Racing and Madaket Stables' Mission of Joy is the likely favorite in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies entered in Saturday's $250,000 Woodford Reserve Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs. The Virginia Oaks is the richest race on the undercard and the sister race to the Grade 2 $500,000 New Kent County Virginia Derby. The 1-1/8 miles turf contest is one of six stakes races on the closing day program at the New Kent, Va. racetrack.

A daughter of Kitten's Joy, Mission of Joy enters off a seventh-place run in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks though she was beaten just three lengths in that 1¼-miles affair. Earlier this year she had a pair of Grade 3 victories in the Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs in March and in the Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs in June. Antonio Gallardo rides Mission of Joy from post seven for trainer Graham Motion, who captured the 2010 edition of this race with Check the Label.

ERJ Racing, Pappas Horse Racing and Neil A. Haymes' Broadway Girls invades from Southern California for trainer Doug O'Neill. The daughter of Army Mule is looking to bounce back from a 13th-place finish in the Grade 2 San Clemente at Del Mar but prior to that disappointing effort she was third in the Grade 3 Providencia in April and ran second in the Grade 3 Honeymoon, both at Santa Anita Park. Jevian Toledo picks up the mount and the pair will depart from post five.

Susan Moulton's Tufani is the only filly in the race to have previous experience over the Colonial Downs turf course having finished second, beaten only three-quarters of a length, in the $150,000 Brookmeade Stakes for Virginia-certified fillies. The daughter of Distorted Humor is trained by Mike Stidham who scored in the 2019 renewal with Carnival Covers. Tufani, who drew post two, will be ridden by two-time Virginia Oaks winner Forest Boyce.

Thirty Thou Kelvin, who races in the colors of SJB Stable, comes in off a wire-to-wire 2¼-length tally in the $150,000 Christiana Stakes at Delaware Park. The John Terranova II-trained daughter of Bolt d'Oro, who will start from post six, will be piloted by two-time Colonial Downs riding champion Trevor McCarthy.

Completing the field are: Jeff Drown's Root Cause (Feargal Lynch, post one); Magdalena Racing and Alfred Riccio's Beautifulnavigator (Cristian Torres, post three); Klaravich Stables' Idea Generation (Flavien Prat, post four); and Don Alberto Stable's Alpha Bella (Jose Ortiz, post eight).

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