Month: November 2023

Tejano Twist rallied from the back of the pack to shoot past odds-on 3-5 favorite Bango in deep stretch and win Saturday's 15th running of the $300,000 Bet On Sunshine Stakes (Listed) at Churchill Downs by 1½ lengths over Miles Ahead. Bango finished another length back in third in his attempt to collect his record 12th Churchill Downs victory.

“He ran a good race just wasn't good enough tonight,” said Bango's trainer Greg Foley.

Tejano Twist, owned by Jackie Slawson's JD Thoroughbreds and Joey Keith Davis, clocked six furlongs in 1:09.27 under jockey Chris Landeros for trainer Chris Hartman.

The win was worth $178,800 and made Tejano Twist a millionaire. The 4-year-old's record improved to 8-6-4 and $1,092,104 from 27 career starts. Saturday's race marked his fourth career stakes win after earlier winning the 2021 Lively Shively, the 2022 Steel Valley Sprint in 2022 and the Whitmore (G3) earlier this year.

“He ran great,” Hartman said. “He's had a really good year and this was a great addition to it.”

Sir Alfred James set the pace by leading the field of nine older horses through splits of :21.75 and :44.47 as Bango tracked from third and Tejano Twist relaxed behind the entire field. Bango made a three-wide move around the turn and went for the record as he grabbed the lead with a furlong to run. Tejano Twist, along with Miles Ahead, were rallying down the stretch and swept past the leader inside the final sixteenth of a mile.

“I'm really proud of how he ran tonight,” Landeros said. “He broke a little slow but they went pretty fast up front. Turning for home I was loaded and he really came home strong.”

Tejano Twist returned $11.36as the 9-2 second betting choice.

Necker Island, Sir Alfred James, Manny Wah, Empire of Gold, Exxel, and Awesome Aaron completed the order of finish.

Tejano Twist is a gelded son of Practical Joke out the Cuvee mare Haley's Lollypop. He was bred in Kentucky by Tom Durant.

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Wheeling back in just seven days off a fourth-place finish in the Lure Stakes at Santa Anita, Southern California invader War At Sea picked up his second lifetime stakes victory in Saturday's $100,000 Grade 3 Golden Gate Handicap at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif.

After a clean break from all the runners in the contest, 9-1 chance Silent Poet was keen on setting the pace. Jockey Evin Roman was able to slow the pace down, and Silent Poet carved out moderate fractions of :24.29, :49.48, and 1:13.61.

Turning into the stretch, Silent Poet opened up the lead to a length or so and kicked on. War At Sea, who had been placed in midfield by jockey Frank Alvarado while always traveling within a couple lengths of the lead, searched for racing room in a stacked-up group turning for home, tipped outside in upper stretch, rallied strongly down the middle part of the track in the final furlong and wore down Silent Poet in the shadow of the wire. War At Sea completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.48 and hit the wire just a head in front of the runner-up. Silent Poet held second, with Tripoli third and Lammas fourth. The latter pair was co-favored at 5-2. Il Bellator was next, followed by I'mgonnabesomebody and Supermazel.

Sent off at odds of 6-1, War at Sea paid $15.80 to win. Silent Poet paid $10.40 to place and $6.60 to show while third place finisher Tripoli returned $3.20 to show. Tripoli and fourth place finisher Lammas went off co-favored at 5-2.

A 4-year-old colt trained by Ron Ellis, War At Sea was purchased for $525,000 at the OBS 2-year-olds in training sale of 2021 by owner Doubledown Stables Inc. The son of War Front was bred in Kentucky by Lewis Thoroughbred Breeding and has won four of 14 lifetime starts. Picking up $60,000 for the Golden Gate Handicap victory, War At Sea improved his career earnings to $278,472.

Live racing resumes at Golden Gate on Sunday afternoon. First post in a 9-race card is 12:45 p.m. PT.

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Witwatersrand, under an enterprising ride from Patrick Husbands, took top prize in the $150,000 Mazarine Stakes (G3), Saturday at Woodbine.

The 1 1/16-mile main track event attracted a field of six 2-year-old fillies, including Gary Barber's Witwatersrand, a daughter of Connect, bred in Kentucky by G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and trained by dual hall of fame conditioner Mark Casse.

Mystic Lake broke sharply and was guided to the lead by Tyler Conner as Uphill Dance grabbed a seat in second and was followed by Witwatersrand, 3-5 choice Tripolina, Simply in Front and That Girl Artemus through an opening quarter reached in :24.31.

It was status quo through a half in :48.91 with Mystic Lake holding a half-length advantage over Uphill Dance, while Husbands kept a patient hand aboard Witwatersrand, who continued to track from along the rail in third.

Mystic Lake was still on top heading into the final turn, but Uphill Dance, Witwatersrand and a circling Tripolina loomed as major threats to the frontrunner. In midstretch, Husbands roused his charge off the rail and the pair seized control quickly as Tripolina came calling.

Witwatersrand had plenty in reserve and drew away in the final yards for a confident 2¾-length triumph in a time of 1:43.72.

“No matter who she works with in the morning, she'll play with them,” said Husbands. “She is a nice filly, and Mark knows, everybody knows, she's a nice filly.”

It was the second straight stakes engagement for Witwatersrand (named for the approximately 35-mile-long, north-facing scarp found in South Africa), who was third in the seven-furlong Glorious Song Stakes on October 15. She broke her maiden in her debut, a three-quarter length score at 6½ furlongs over the Woodbine Tapeta on September 1.

Witwatersrand topped this year's Fasig-Tipton October Digital Sale when she sold out of the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment for US$230,000. Her dam is the Medaglia d'Oro mare Carta de Oro.

She paid $10.30 for the Mazarine win.

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