Month: October 2023

Trainer D’Angelo’s Undefeated Duo To Seek Second Florida Sire Stakes Wins

Trainer Jose D'Angelo hopes to relive a career achievement at Gulfstream Park, when he saddles his undefeated duo of Bentornato and Welcome Back for starts in Saturday's second leg of the 2023 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series.

D'Angelo, who is locked in a tight three-way battle for the Sunshine Meet training title with Saffie Joseph Jr. and Victor Barboza Jr., saddled King Leon Stable Corp.'s Bentornato for a romping victory in the Dr. Fager and Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing LLC's Welcome Back for a fast-closing narrow triumph in the Desert Vixen to sweep the six-furlong first-leg races for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.

Bentornato looms as a big favorite in a field of 12 entered Sunday for the $200,000 Affirmed, which will be contested at seven furlongs. Welcome Back appears to have a tougher task in the $200,000 Susan's Girl, the seven-furlong co-feature for fillies.

Bentornato has two stakes victories on his unblemished three-race resume. After rallying for a narrow debut victory at five furlongs July 1, the son of Valiant Minister overcame early bumping to register an eye-catching 4¼-length front-running score in six-furlong Proud Man Aug. 12. He came right back with a dominating 7 ½-length front-running win in the Dr. Fager.

Emisael Jaramillo has been aboard for all three wins and has been awarded the return mount.

Ironhorse Racing Stable LLC and Harlow Stables LLC's Mattingly is scheduled to make his main track debut in the Affirmed with an impressive record on Tapeta. The Joe Orseno-trained son of Bucchero has three stakes placings, including a victory last time out in the Hollywood Beach at Gulfstream, and a maiden score on his four-race record.

Trainer Christophe Clement has entered Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Hurricane Nelson in the Affirmed. The son of Kozan will seek to graduate Saturday after finishing second in her first two starts in New York. She fell a half-length short of graduating in his Aug. 12 debut at Saratoga before checking in second again a month later at Aqueduct.

Brad Grady and David Grund's Seminole Chief, a son of Girvin, is scheduled to make his stakes debut for trainer Jack Sisterson after capturing his Sept. 11 debut at Finger Lakes by a going-away eight lengths.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds LLC's Echo Lane, Champion Equine LLC's Esperon, Arindel's Lasso, Just For Fun Stable Inc.'s Roar Ready, Scott Savin and Savin Sisters Stable's Rye's My Guy, Cammarota Racing LLC's Secret Lover, Lawson Racing Stables' Sound of the Beast, and Screen Door Stables LLC's Squints round out the field.

Soldi Stable LLC's Welcome Back is slated to seek her third-straight victory while facing 11 other fillies in the Susan's Girl. The daughter of Adios Charlie took on winners in her July 29 debut, a five-furlong optional claiming allowance on Tapeta in which she closed from far back and drew off to a 1 ¾-length score. She was the odds-on favorite for her return in the Desert Vixen but had to work for a nose decision after being steadied in traffic on the turn into the homestretch under returning rider Edwin Gonzalez.

Welcome Back figures to have her work cut out for her if she is to emerge undefeated from the Susan's Girl, in which she will be challenged by undefeated R Harper Rose.

Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing LLC's R Harper Rose was the morning-line favorite for the Desert Vixen, only to be scratched after coming down with a slight fever a few days earlier. The daughter of Khozan recovered quickly and made an impressive return to action while capturing a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance Sept. 22 by 5 ¾ lengths. The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained filly had previously debuted with a front-running debut victory by 6 ¼ lengths. Edgard Zayas has the return mount.

Arindel's Mist, a homebred daughter of Brethren, will seek to turn the tables on Welcome Back, after coming within a nose of victory in the Desert Vixen.

Brad Grady's Honey Dijon is scheduled to ship in from Kentucky for the Susan's Girl. The Joe Sharp-trained daughter of Girvin broke her maiden at seven furlongs at Saratoga in her second career start before finishing an even sixth over Kentucky Downs turf in the Untapable Stakes.

Robyn Kaiser's Bucchera, Quintessential Racing Florida and Rocky Top Stable's Dancing N Dixie, Jacks or Better Farm Inc.'s Fields of Green, BC Racing LLC's Haunted, Just For Fun Stable Inc.'s Jazzin, Gelfenstein Farm LLC's Reina Mar, and Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Unrelentless round out the field.

The post Trainer D’Angelo’s Undefeated Duo To Seek Second Florida Sire Stakes Wins appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Week in Review: HBPA Tries to Derail HISA in Federal Court–But Also Wants Its Help in Arizona

If the saga over the supposedly pending sale of now-closed Turf Paradise was a soap opera, its title would surely be “AZ the World Turns.” The state's racing is hanging in the balance amid an increasingly acrimonious long-term feud between the track's owner and horsemen, leading one trainer at last Thursday's Arizona Racing Commission meeting to liken the horse community's predicament to children “being used as pawns in a divorce battle” by vindictive parents on the verge of a nasty split.

Although TDN's original story about that Oct. 12 commission meeting didn't have the space to cover all aspects of the ongoing bickering among the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) and Turf Paradise's owner, Jerry Simms, one subplot is worth further mention here, because its irony resonates at the federal level (and perhaps soon all the way to the United States Supreme Court).

Lloyd Yother, the president of the AZHBPA, alleged on Thursday that Simms is so far behind in making necessary repairs and upkeep that a new, incoming owner would never be able to open Turf Paradise for a race meet in January, a target date that Simms has said is perfectly reasonable as he attempts to execute a purchase-and-sale agreement with a buyer who has thus far refused to speak publicly about the deal at Arizona commission meetings.

In particular, Yother and Simms sparred verbally over the specific issue of whether or not extensive repairs are needed for the main track railing, with Yother claiming the fencing is not up to spec and Simms countering that Turf Paradise had fixed problems related to a non-compliance warning issued by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety (HISA) Authority earlier this year after an inspection turned up “numerous gaps and exposed edges in the railing material that could inflict serious harm upon jockeys…”

Darrell Haire, the western regional manager for The Jockeys' Guild, told commissioners on Thursday that the Turf Paradise rail during the 2022-23 season “was patched up the whole meet. And I don't know what condition it's in now, because it's just getting older. It's just deteriorated. So I believe that it has to be replaced. The patchwork they did was finished the last week of the meet, and it was supposed to be done at the beginning of the [last] meet.”

Haire's points are well-taken. But to understand where things got interesting in this particular argument, you have to widen the lens to encompass the HBPA's 2 1/2-year-old legal quest to kill off HISA over alleged constitutional violations. Keep that court fight in mind when considering what Yother next suggested at that meeting:

“I have a recommendation that maybe we ought to ask HISA to come back in and take a look at the track, to maybe get a step ahead of some of the delays that we're encountering now,” Yother said. “If we get HISA to send somebody in to look at the track [we can] see what's going to have to be done before anybody will be able to race, whether it be current owner, future owner, or whatever.”

Yes, that's the president of an HBPA affiliate, whose own organization–plus its national parent and 11 other HBPA affiliates–have written in court documents that the HISA Authority functions like “a private police department” with sweeping powers that equate to “oligarchic tyranny,” now calling upon that very same Authority to intervene when the AZHBPA needs an entity with federal clout to advocate for its own cause.

This unlikely juxtaposition of the AZHBPA asking the HISA Authority for help while it's simultaneously trying to eradicate that regulator and its enabling law would be stunning were it not overshadowed by the truly dire overall predicament that Arizona racing now faces.

'Notion' is 'Great' in two states

Saturday's win by Witty in the $100,000 Maryland Million Turf Sprint S. over 5 1/2 furlongs at Laurel Park extended an impressive streak set by Great Notion, the state's top stallion by progeny earnings every year since 2018 (and the leader so far this season). His offspring have now won at least one Maryland Million Day stakes in 14 runnings of that event, dating to 2010.

But the Maryland Million win wasn't even the biggest payday for a Great Notion-sired runner in a state-restricted stakes on Saturday. Later that evening, Coastal Mission splashed home by 5 3/4 lengths in the $300,000 Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders' Classic at Charles Town. Despite racing beyond seven furlongs for the first time, the 4-year-old was pounded to 1-5 favoritism and delivered by wiring the field over the three-turn, nine-furlong distance.

Owned, bred and trained by Jeff Runco in partnership with his wife, Susan (Coleswood Farm), the win was the sixth straight for Coastal Mission. The gray has won nine of his last 10 dating to December, with all of the victories coming at Charles Town. His lone defeat was a fifth back in March when the gelding ventured to Laurel for a stakes engagement. In West Virginia, he's scored in state-bred stakes, open allowances, and also in the open-company $250,000 Russell Road S. last time out.

Coastal Mission's lifetime mark stands at 11-3-1 from 16 starts, with $572,728 in earnings.

Bred, owned, and trained by Elizabeth Merryman, Witty is a 4-year-old half-brother to last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint victress Caravel (Mizzen Mast). She was also bred and initially trained by Merryman prior to joining trainer Brad Cox for owners Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel and Madaket Stables.

On Sunday, the 6-year-old Caravel just missed giving her dam, Zeezee Zoomzoom, two six-figure stakes winners on the weekend. She ran second as the odds-on favorite in the GII Franklin S. at Keeneland.

Jockeying for Graded Stakes

Flavien Prat won that aforementioned Franklin S., closing the gap to one victory in the North American jockey race for most graded stakes wins in 2023. Heading into the lucrative Breeders' Cup championships, this battle is shaping up as a two-rider run-off, with Irad Ortiz, Jr., (36) narrowly ahead of Prat (35).

Through Sunday's races, the next closest jockeys are Juan Hernandez (24), Luis Saez (21), then Tyler Gaffalione and Joel Rosario (20 each).

Ortiz has ridden in 11 more graded stakes than Prat. Interestingly, Hernandez is the top percentage rider among the leaders, winning graded stakes at a 31% clip from only 77 chances (everyone else mentioned has ridden in at least 121 graded stakes).

Last year Ortiz topped Prat 50-42.

The post The Week in Review: HBPA Tries to Derail HISA in Federal Court–But Also Wants Its Help in Arizona appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Tony Ann Bests Caravel At The Wire In Thrilling Franklin S. At Keeneland

Tony Ann, a 7-1 shot, outkicked heavily favored Caravel to the wire to earn the first stakes victory of her career in the GII Franklin S. at Keeneland Sunday. Caravel, who began a five-race win streak in last year's Franklin, broke from the rail and found herself chasing dueling pacesetters Twilight Gleaming (Ire) (National Defense {GB}) and B G Warrior (Run Away and Hide) through an opening quarter in :21.09. Tony Ann, who had raced just outside of the favorite early, fell back on the turn as Caravel attempted to reel in the pacesetters. Caravel looked to be spinning her wheels at the top of the stretch, as a resurgent Tony Ann swept to the lead. The champion battled back bravely on the inside, but could not get past Tony Ann.

“It felt like the pace was strong enough, and I was traveling really well behind Caravel, so I was pleased with my trip,” said winning jockey Flavien Prat. “When I tipped her out, she responded really well. I was a bit worried by the sixteenth pole because Caravel came back on us, but she was really game. To go by Caravel you've got to go all out, but she was really game today.”

Trained by California-based Phil D'Amato, Tony Ann was making just her third start of the year after opening the campaign with a runner-up effort in the July 28 Daisycutter S. going five furlongs over the Del Mar lawn. She headed east to be a close-up third after battling on the lead in the Sept. 9 GII AGS Ladies Turf Sprint S. at Kentucky Downs last time out.

Caravel, who followed her win in last year's Franklin with a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, was suffering her second straight loss Sunday.

“The filly tried hard, but we just weren't able to get her head in front today,” said jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who was aboard the beaten favorite. “The fractions were solid, very fast, but I was content with where I was. I think my filly really struggled with the ground a bit today.”

Trainer Brad Cox said a return trip to the Breeders' Cup was still in the plans for Caravel.

“Good run, just came up a touch short,” Cox said. “I am proud of the effort. She likes it here at Keeneland and ran another great race. Breeders' Cup is definitely still something we are pointing towards. We'll see how she comes out of this race and go from there.”

Pedigree Notes:

Tony Ann's dam Never Ever is a half-sister to Grade I winner Cost of Freedom (Cee's Tizzy). She is the eighth graded stakes winner worldwide for her sire, Cairo Prince.

Sunday, Keeneland
FRANKLIN S.-GII, $336,525, Keeneland, 10-15, 3yo/up, f/m, 5 1/2fT, 1:02.42, gd.
1–TONY ANN, 120, m, 5, by Cairo Prince
                1st Dam: Never Ever, by In Excess (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Freedom Dance, by Moscow Ballet
                3rd Dam: In True Form, by Imasmartee
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-A Venneri Racing, Inc. and Anthony Fanticola; B-Alex Venneri Racing, LLC (KY); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Flavien Prat. $208,863. Lifetime Record: 10-5-1-3, $511,883. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Caravel, 124, m, 6, Mizzen Mast–Zeezee Zoomzoom, by Congrats. ($330,000 RNA 3yo '20 WANOCT; $500,000 4yo '21 FTKNOV). O-Qatar Racing LLC, Marc Detampel and Madaket Stables LLC; B-Elizabeth M. Merryman (PA); T-Brad H. Cox. $57,750.
3–Train to Artemus, 120, m, 5, Tapizar–Pay Day Kitten, by Kitten's Joy. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-M and W Stables, LLC; B-Kenneth L. Ramsey & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Kelly J. Breen. $33,688.
Margins: NK, 3/4, HF. Odds: 7.80, 0.72, 43.20.
Also Ran: Twilight Gleaming (Ire), Wakanaka (Ire), Bay Storm, Linguistic, B G Warrior. Scratched: Star Guest (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Arcangelo Tunes Up for Breeders’ Cup Classic

Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo (Arrogate) continued preparations for the Nov. 4 GI Breeders' Cup Classic with a five-furlong drill in 1:00.00 (3/33) at Santa Anita Sunday. Trainer Jena Antonucci, in from New York to watch the work, clocked Arcangelo's final furlong in under :12. He galloped out an extra two furlongs, which Antonucci clocked in “:13 and change” for each furlong.

“It was a serious work. A pretty work,” Antonucci said immediately after the drill. “I wanted sub-12 seconds the final furlong, which he gave me. I think I'm pretty spot-on with that. That's what he'll need to do on race day.”

Ten days ago at Santa Anita, Arcangelo had his first local work when going five furlongs in 1:02.20. Antonucci said the 3-year-old ridgling will have one more work about 10 days ahead of the 1 1/4-mile Classic.

“We'll increase the pace of his gallops and just continue to do what we're doing,” the trainer added. “For his final work, we'll see if we need to tighten something here or there, or if he needs more of a lung-opener.”

Arcangelo, who will be facing older rivals for the first time in the Classic, is coming off wins in the May 13 GIII Peter Pan S., June 10 GI Belmont S. and, most recently, the Aug. 26 GI Travers S.

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