Month: September 2023

With limited opportunities for a horse of St Anthony's ilk in California, trainer Neil Drysdale decided to send the 4-year-old Noble Mission gelding East to campaign this year.

A stakes win is the latest result of that decision.

St Anthony split horses coming out of the final turn and powered his way to a 2¼-length victory in Monday's $102,000 Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth Park, the horse's second straight win at the Jersey Shore track.

St Anthony's winning time for the mile over a firm turf course was 1:34.58.

“When we started him off this year he was a little fresh his first start and then he hit soft ground in his next start,” said Drysdale. “Everything has gone well since he came to Monmouth Park. For a horse like him there are more opportunities in the East. That's why we decided to ship him here. You have several racetracks that are options from Monmouth and New York.

“In California if you're not good enough there aren't a lot of opportunities. This (the East) gave us a lot more options with him.”

Ridden by Paco Lopez, St Anthony had an ideal set-up in the seven-horse field of 3-year-olds and up, sitting behind the early speed duel between Megacity and Principled Stand. Lopez deftly managed to steer his horse to the rail while tracking the front-runners through early fractions of :23.07 and :45.98 to the half.

Coming out of the final turn, Lopez had to split horses, with Megacity inside and There Are No Words on the outside of him.

Owned and bred in Kentucky by Alice Bamford, St Anthony returned $5.80 to win as the favorite. The Invincible Spirit mare Amnesia is the winner's dam.

“It sure helps when you have the best horse and you get a perfect trip,” said Lopez, who has all but officially wrapped up his ninth Monmouth Park riding title in the past 11 years with one weekend of live racing remaining. “I really like this horse. I liked him off his last win and I told my agent (Cory Moran) that I wanted to ride him back.

“I knew there was speed in this race so I wanted to be close to it. I was able to get to the rail early (from post seven) and I was able to track the speed until I needed to go. It got a little tight there for a while and I had to split horses coming out of the turn but we had room and he was really wanting to run at that point.”

St Anthony started this year with two races at Belmont Park before winning an optional claimer at Monmouth Park on July 28. He is now 5-for-17 lifetime and 2-for-2 at Monmouth Park.

“He's certainly done well his past two races at Monmouth Park,” said Drysdale. “I think Paco gets along with him really well. He gave him a picture perfect ride. That plays a good part in it.”

Wicked Finn rallied from far back to get second, edging out There Are No Words by a neck.

In the supporting feature earlier on the card, Great Navigator turned in a dazzling performance while coasting to a 10-length victory in the $127,000 Charles Hesse III Handicap for New Jersey-breds.

Great Navigator, meanwhile, easily handled the longest stretch out of his eight-race career for jockey Jairo Rendon in the 1 1/16-mile Hesse Handicap, doing so as the only 3-year-old in the seven-horse field. The winning time was 1:44.25

“He's just such a consistent horse,” said winning trainer Eddie Owens. “He's been consistent since day one. He's just a very nice horse. Nice horses overcoming everything so I wasn't worried about this being the longest race of his career. I know how talented he is.”

Great Navigator, a son of Sea Wizard, has never missed the board in eight lifetime starts. The Hesse marked his second time trying two turns. He paid $7.80 to win.

Lemon Creek Louie was second, four lengths ahead of Irish Boolum.

The post ‘More Opportunities In The East’: Drysdale-Trained St Anthony Lands Red Bank appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The summer meet at Del Mar comes to an end next weekend but not before the 2-year-olds have their say both on the dirt and on the grass.

Six stakes are on tap for next weekend starting Friday with the $125,000 I'm Smokin, a six-furlong test for Cal-bred 2-year-olds. Five of the eight runners in the Graduation Stakes, run at Del Mar last month, are entered in the I'm Smokin, including the top three finishers who were only separated by three-quarters of a length. Lord Prancealot wired them that day but Last Call London's final bid came up a head short and Mici's Express was right behind him.

Saturday, three stakes are on the docket, including the FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante (G1). Ten are possible for the race including the top three finishers in the Sorrento (G3) and the winner of the CTBA, both run earlier in the meet. Dreamfyre, trained by O. J. Jauregui, put on a clinic in the Sorrento, going wire-to-wire to win by 3 ½ lengths over race favorite Benedetta. The Bob Baffert-trained Dua was next, another 7 ¼ lengths behind the front-runners.

Pushiness, an undefeated Cal-bred, also may get in the mix. She won her stakes debut in front-running fashion and is expected to give Dreamfyre a tussle.

Tamara, the daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder who won her career debut, is also a possible for the seven-furlong race on the main track.

On the Debutante undercard is the Juvenile Fillies Turf, a one-mile journey. Nineteen fillies have been nominated for the race. Most are coming out of maiden races.

Grass races for juveniles are tough to come by this time of year, let alone around two turns. That being said, trainer Doug O'Neill's Angiolleta, Peter Eurton's Flattery and Michael McCarthy's Sushi Sticks are all coming off one-mile maiden special weight turf races.

Trainer Phil D'Amato, always dangerous on the turf, has nominated Loterie, runner up to Angiolleta in July.

The John C. Mabee (G2) is also on the Debutante undercard. Eleven fillies and mares have been nominated for the 1 1/8-mile grass race, including Closing Remarks, winner of the Yellow Ribbon Handicap (G2) at Del Mar last month, and Macadamia, winner of the Gamely (G1) at Santa Anita on Memorial Day.

Turning to Sunday, two stakes are scheduled for the closing-day card at Del Mar, beginning with the Del Mar Juvenile Turf (G3). Twenty 2-year-old colts and geldings have been nominated for the one mile race. Like its filly counterpart, a few of the nominees have won on the turf at the one mile distance, including McCarthy's Endlessly and Blue Eyed George, who did it at Ellis Park. Richard Mandella's Boltage won by five lengths in a maiden special weight at the distance at Del Mar last month.

D'Amato's lone entry, Poor Dompter, is making his first start in the U.S.

The stakes schedule closes out with the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1), headed by Baffert's Prince of Monaco and Muth, the top two finishers in last month's Best Pal (G3). Prince of Monaco won by 4 ¼ lengths for his second open length win. The son of Speightstown broke his maiden by eight lengths.

O'Neill's Raging Torrent, who finished third behind the Baffert pair in the Best Pal, is also possible for the Futurity.

The post Tamara, Dreamfyre Possible For Del Mar Debutante; Baffert Pair Could Face Off In Futurity appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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By Christian Abdo

A. Bianco Holding Limited's Pioneering Spirit stalked and pounced to a 2 3/4-length victory in closing day Monday's 65th running of the $150,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap, a listed race for 3-year-olds and upward going 1 1/16 miles over the firm inner turf at Saratoga Race Course.

Trainer by Linda Rice and piloted by Jose Lezcano, the 4-year-old American Pharoah gelding was claimed for $40,000 in March and has now won five of his last six starts, with his only miss coming just nine days ago in a respectable third-place effort versus Grade 1 company in the Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer at the Spa.

Pioneering Spirit put together a four-race win streak for Rice after being moved to the turf, beginning with a maiden claiming score in May at Belmont Park and extending through an optional-claiming win traveling 11 furlongs on July 27 at Saratoga ahead of his stakes debut in the Sword Dancer.

“The horse is just a dream. Every horse you claim should be that good. The ride Jose Lezcano put on him today was masterful and he's such a good rider. I was thrilled with his position,” said Rice. “We talked about it in the paddock, he said 'Linda, I need to be closer today', and he was right.”

Pioneering Spirit broke from post 2 and settled at the rail in third position behind pacesetter Bring Me a Check, who marked the opening quarter-mile in :24.19 with last year's winner, Emaraaty, stalking to his outside in second. Wit, the 9-5 mutuel favorite, tracked in fourth with multiple graded stakes winner Public Sector, who stumbled at the start, last of five.

The order remained unchanged through a half-mile in :47.94 but the field became more compact down the backside with Emaraaty drawing up alongside Bring Me a Check as Pioneering Spirit continued to save ground along the rail.

After three quarters in 1:11.43, the real running began around the far turn as Flavien Prat launched an early bid aboard Emaraaty and Lezcano found room to get Pioneering Spirit off the rail.

“He broke a little slow, but I got the position I want. He really ran on nicely. I had horse the whole way around. When I got to the quarter pole, I had a lot of horse,” Lezcano said. “I didn't know how much the others had, but I had a lot of horse.”

Pioneering Spirit spurted down the center of the track to lead Emaraaty by a head at the stretch call as Bring Me a Check attempted to battle back at the rail under urging from jockey Tyler Gaffalione. Public Sector, who trailed the field since the break, rallied from off-the-pace under Irad Ortiz Jr. with a sixteenth remaining and a mile in 1:34.77, a move that would be too late to catch Pioneering Spirit, whose lead extended to the wire in a final time of 1:40.69.

Bring Me a Check gamely held second by a neck over Public Sector, who was a neck better than Emaraaty in fourth. Wit, who was returning from a seven-month layoff, rounded out the order of finish.

Rice credited Lezcano for taking a more forward approach with the versatile Pioneering Spirit, who boasts wins ranging from one-mile to 11 furlongs.

“He [Pioneering Spirit] can switch it up from short to long, obviously this was a mile and a sixteenth. I had a little concern, but I thought maybe they could set a fast pace and he can close into it,” Rice said. “Jose Lezcano came to the paddock, he changed it up, he convinced me that we were going to be closer. He's a fantastic turf rider, so I just let him do his thing.”

Tyler Gaffalione said he was pleased with the Patrick Reynolds-trained Bring Me a Check's effort for second as the longest price on the board at odds of 7-1.

“Mr. Reynolds brought him over here ready to run today. He ran a big race for us and I was very pleased. I thought we would get away a little more comfortably,” Gaffalione said. “There was a little more pressure than expected. He definitely found more coming into the stretch, and really fought on nicely.”

Rice said she is considering a number of options for Pioneering Spirit, including the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) on Sept. 30 at Belmont at the Big A.

Bred in Kentucky by International Equities Holding, Inc., Pioneering Spirit was produced by the Giant's Causeway mare Foundation Spirit. He was a $144,315 purchase by BBA Ireland at the 2021 Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale, where Mocklershill consigned hi.  He increased his lifetime earnings to $443,250 after banking $82,500 in victory and improved his lifetime record to 5-4-2 from 18 starts.

A $2 win wager returned $8.20.

The post ‘I Had Horse The Whole Way Around’: Pioneering Spirit Lands First Stakes Win In Bernard Baruch appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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