Month: March 2024

Linda Rice and Dylan Davis Lead Way at Aqueduct Winter Meet

Linda Rice continued to assert her dominance on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit when capturing the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet training title with 23 wins at the 45-day meeting which ran from Jan. 1 through Mar. 30.

Rice has now won the training title at six of the last seven NYRA meetings, along with year-end honors last year as the circuit's top trainer with a record-tying 164 wins. She also came out on top at last year's Big A winter meet with 37 wins.

“It's great,” said Rice. “Frankly, I love New York winter racing and it's a good place for my clients. They enjoy it, I enjoy it, and it's been a good winter. It's pretty surreal.”

Rice, 60, posted a record of 137-23-27-23 with $1,471,414 in earnings, good for a win rate of 16.79 percent and in-the-money rate of 53.28 percent.

Jockey Dylan Davis clinched his second Aqueduct winter meet riding title when posting 54 wins.

In all, Davis' mounts banked $2,699,061, with a win rate of 22.31 percent and in-the-money percentage of 50.41.

“I've won this title before and [it's] great to win it again,” said Davis. “My business has improved every year along with the quality of horses I'm riding.”

David Jacobson claimed his first owners' title at NYRA since capturing the 2017 Aqueduct inner track meet. The veteran owner and conditioner secured 18 wins at the meet, including four races on Closing Day.

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Fast Anna’s Thorpedo Anna Stylish in Fantasy Win Off Layoff

'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (f, 3, Fast Anna–Sataves, by Uncle Mo), off since a second Nov. 25 in the GII Golden Rod S., shook off any cobwebs with aplomb to notch a four-length score in the GII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn under a hand ride Saturday. West Omaha (West Coast) and Tapit Jenallie (Tapit), who filled out the trifecta in the reverse order behind Lemon Muffin (Collected)–seventh here–in the Feb. 24 GIII Honeybee S., finished second and third, respectively. The Fantasy is a Kentucky Oaks points race on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis, giving Thorpedo Anna a certain spot in the starting gate the first Friday in May.

Breaking from the outside 12th gate, Thorpedo Anna left her post in razor-sharp fashion to immediately join the first flight. Rider Brian Hernandez, Jr. kept her quiet and on the outside in third as previously unbeaten Recharge (Gun Runner), winner of the Sunland Park Oaks in her stakes debut Feb. 18, and Candy Aisle (Gun Runner), second at in that same race at Sunland, showed the way through :23.45 and :47.90 fractions. Still third on the turn, the Kenny McPeek trainee moved up on the outside with no visual urging, took control with ease long before Hernandez showed her the stick once to keep her mind on business, and left no doubt about the best filly in the race on the day. Her ears pricked, she eased up before the wire with a final time for the 1 1/6 miles of 1:44.24.

The Fantasy marked the fourth win on the card for the duo of McPeek and Hernandez.

McPeek, who has a long list of savvy buys to his credit, picked up Thorpedo Anna for $40,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale. Bred by Judy Hicks in Kentucky, who stayed in on the filly, the ownership team also includes Mark Edwards, Brookdale Racing, and the McPeek family's Magdalena Racing. She is reportedly named for a relative of Edwards who shares the name 'Anna' with the filly's sire and is a swimmer. 'Thorpedo' is a well-known nickname of multiple gold medalist Ian Thorpe, an Australian swimmer who is now retired.

The Fantasy winner debuted at Keeneland last October in a maiden special weight restricted to fillies who sold or RNA'd for $50,000 or less and promptly blew the field away by open daylight. She wowed again just over two weeks later in a Churchill optional allowance, netting her the 'Rising Star' tag. Intricate (Gun Runner), who has since been beaten twice by GI Kentucky Oaks favorite Tarifa (Bernardini), bested Thorpedo Anna in the Golden Rod and is the only horse to finish in front of the dark bay in her four starts. It was soon after the Golden Rod that McPeek indicated Thorpedo Anna needed time off due to a bruise on her hip. She began working again in earnest in February and had posted six works coming into the Fantasy, all at Fair Grounds, including a most recent 1:01 2/5 for five furlongs (17/36) Mar. 23. She is a regular work partner of Mystik Dan (Goldencents), the Feb. 3 GIII Southwest S. winner who was third in the GI Arkansas Derby one race after the Fantasy.

Pedigree Notes:

Thorpedo Anna is the first graded winner for the late Three Chimneys stallion Fast Anna, whose five modest-sized crops have netted 14 black-type winners, all in North America. The son of Medaglia d'Oro, second in the 2014 GI King's Bishop S., was out of 2006's champion 2-year-old filly Dreaming of Anna (Rahy). He lost a battle with laminitis just prior to the 2021 breeding season.

Thorpedo Anna is not the first prominent 3-year-old this season for Uncle Mo as a broodmare sire, as fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic), who won the GI Arkansas Derby one race later on the Oaklawn card, is also out of one of his daughters. Uncle Mo, who stands at Coolmore America, has a total of 18 stakes winners as a dam sire. Sataves is unraced, as is her dam, Pacific Sky. However, the latter is a half-sister to GISW Eskendereya (Giant's Causeway) and to English G1SW Balmont (Stravinsky).

Sataves has a 2-year-old Cloud Computing colt named McAfee, who sold to Maddie Mattmiller for $40,000 at Keeneland September, and a Known Agenda filly born Mar. 15 and already named After the Storm.

Saturday, Oaklawn Park
FANTASY S.-GII, $750,000, Oaklawn, 3-30, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.24, ft.
1–THORPEDO ANNA, 118, f, 3, by Fast Anna
                1st Dam: Sataves, by Uncle Mo
                2nd Dam: Pacific Sky, by Stormy Atlantic
                3rd Dam: Aldebaran Light, by Seattle Slew
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($40,000 Ylg
'22 FTKOCT). O-Brookdale Racing, Inc., Mark Edwards, Judy
Hicks, & Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek); B-Judy Hicks (KY);
T-Kenneth G. McPeek; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. $393,750.
Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, $584,363. Werk Nick Rating: A++.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–West Omaha, 122, f, 3, West Coast–Birthday Bash, by
Medaglia d'Oro. O-Gary and Mary West; B-Gary & Mary West
Stables Inc. (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $131,250.
3–Tapit Jenallie, 122, f, 3, Tapit–Take Charge Tressa, by War
Front. O/B-Willis Horton Racing LLC (KY); T-Eddie Milligan, Jr.
$65,625.
Margins: 4, 3 1/4, NK. Odds: 2.70, 3.60, 27.20.
Also Ran: All Things Go, Recharge, Ba Dee Yah, Lemon Muffin, My Mane Squeeze, Candy Aisle, In Just My Heels. Scratched: Midshipman's Dance, Where's My Ring. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Fierceness Back on Top with Resounding Florida Derby Victory

Now that's much more like it.

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old colt 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), a head-scratching third after getting pinballed at the start in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3, put on an absolute show to win by daylight in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. It was a record-extending eighth Florida Derby win for Todd Pletcher and sixth for John Velazquez.

“That was a pretty awesome performance,” Pletcher said. “That's what we see in the mornings when we breeze him, a special talent. That's why it was so perplexing his two races that he didn't run brilliantly. He's three times brilliant and two times has had off days.”

Pletcher continued, “From a talent perspective, he has it all. Like everyone else in the Derby, you've got to hope you draw a good post, you get a good trip, and you like Churchill Downs–all those things.”

Winning owner/breeder Mike Repole added, “It's just special. I got 70 family members and they wanted it for me as much as I wanted it for them. It's just very special. I said before, we forget he's only had four races. He had a layoff. That was just really special. I told Todd if he wins by five or is beat by five, I wouldn't be surprised. How could you be?”

Ridden for speed by Velazquez from his outside draw in post eight, the Repole Stable homebred cleared the field rounding the clubhouse turn and the race was pretty much over from there. The bay got into a nice rhythm and clicked off fractions of :24.06 and :47.50. He began to shake free without being asked on the turn for home and dropped the hammer in the stretch to win by a record-setting 13 1/2 lengths. Catalytic (Catalina Cruiser) was second; Grand Mo the First (Uncle Mo) was third.

“We weren't committed to being on the lead,” Pletcher said. “We were committed to being forward and getting a good position on the first turn. We talked about we might be on the lead, we might be lying second, we might be lying third. But we just wanted to get away from the gate and get in a good position. It turns out he made the lead and got into a good rhythm, and just kept going. [I thought], 'If he does what he shows us in the mornings he can do, he's going to be pretty hard to beat from there.'”

Velazquez added, “It was pretty easy. This is what I expected last time out of him. He had been working lights out. He broke well today and I just let him have it. I let them come and get him, and he dominated the whole race. When he got to the backstretch and switched to the turn, he picked it up and so I let him do it. He was comfortable. Then at the quarter pole, I gave him a little smooch and he picked it up right away. It was pretty easy. This is why we're here. This is what we work for, for opportunities like this. It's exciting.”

Pedigree Notes:

Fierceness is one of two graded winners for young sire City of Light. Mike Repole paid $200,000 for the winner's second dam Nonna Mia–named in honor of his grandmother–at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and she was a gifted 2-year-old in her own right, winning her maiden by 12 lengths at second asking at Belmont Park before finishing third to stablemate Devil May Care (Malibu Moon) in the 2009 GI Frizette S. Nonna Mia, a close relative of MGSW sire Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile), was an immediate hit in the breeding shed, first producing the multiple stakes-placed Nonna's Boy (Distorted Humor) before a mating with Uncle Mo resulted in Outwork, the 2016 GI Wood Memorial S. hero. Nonna Bella, the third foal out of Nonna Mia, is a daughter of Repole's 2011 GI Travers S. hero Stay Thirsty (Bernardini). Nonna Bella produced a City of Light colt in 2022 and a filly by Caravaggio in 2023. She was bred to Uncle Mo for 2024.

Saturday, Gulfstream
CURLIN FLORIDA DERBY PRESENTED BY HILL 'N' DALE FARMS AT XALAPA-GI, $1,000,000, Gulfstream, 3-30, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:48.22, ft.
1–FIERCENESS, 122, c, 3, by City of Light
                1st Dam: Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty
                2nd Dam: Nonna Mia, by Empire Maker
                3rd Dam: Holy Bubbette, by Holy Bull
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Repole Stable, Inc. (KY); T-Todd A.
Pletcher; J-John R. Velazquez. $576,600. Lifetime Record:
Ch. 2-year-old, 5-3-0-1, $1,703,850. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catalytic, 122, c, 3, Catalina Cruiser–One Show Only, by
Distorted Humor. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE,
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($70,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $125,000 Ylg
'22 FTSAUG). O-Tami Bobo, Julie Davies and George G. Isaacs;
B-Fred W. Hertrich (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. $186,000.
3–Grand Mo the First, 122, c, 3, Uncle Mo–Lilies So Fair, by
Giant's Causeway. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($125,000 RNA Ylg '22
KEESEP; $135,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $335,000 RNA 2yo '23
OBSMAR). O-Granpollo Stable; B-John D. Gunther (KY);
T-Victor Barboza, Jr. $93,000.
Margins: 13HF, 2HF, NO. Odds: 1.10, 29.00, 21.50.
Also Ran: Conquest Warrior, Hades, Frankie's Empire, Iris's Dream, Real Macho, Le Dom Bro. Scratched: Bail Us Out, Seminole Chief.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Union Rags’ Power Squeeze Upsets the Gulfstream Park Oaks

The streaking Power Squeeze (Union Rags) punched her ticket to the GI Kentucky Oaks while upsetting heavily favored 'TDN Rising Star' Ways and Means (Practical Joke) in Saturday's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks.

The Cash Run S. Jan. 1 and Suncoast S. Feb. 10 heroine, off at odds of 11-1 while looking for her fourth straight victory here, stayed out of trouble on the inside while Ways and Means, making her first start since a second-place finish in Saratoga's GI Spinaway S., was bounced around in between rivals and shuffled back on the clubhouse turn.

Traveling nicely in an inside fourth down the backstretch, Power Squeeze was in no hurry as Ways and Means slingshotted her way near the front with a flashy move on the outside beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. Ways and Means poked her head in front at the top of the stretch and looked well on her way as she kicked for home. Power Squeeze, however, was just getting going. She set her sights on Ways and Means in the stretch and rolled right on by to get the money.

The Gulfstream Park Oaks was worth a total of 200 qualifying points to the top five finishers for the Kentucky Oaks.

“We always thought very highly of her. We never felt like she was [11-1]. We felt like she was 1-1,” winning trainer Jorge Delgado said. “We felt like we had a really good chance. We believed in the filly, and she responded for us.”

He added, “I believe the stretch at Churchill is going to be really good for her. Hopefully everything comes back in order and we're going to plan a trip to go there.”

As for the runner-up, trainer Chad Brown said, “[Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.] said the first turn cost him. It got tight in there, he was bounced around a bit, and he got wide. And then when she saw daylight, she kind of pulled herself up to the front, a little premature move. He said he didn't really want to do that. She ran really well. I think without the layoff, she probably could have encountered some trouble like that and still had enough to go, but she had a lot to do today. And then when you add the trouble in the first turn and the wide trip and all, it maybe took just enough out of her to get caught by the wire.”

Pedigree Notes:

Power Squeeze, a $50,000 KEESEP yearling and $90,000 OBSAPR juvenile, becomes the 16th graded winner for Union Rags. The winner's three-time, stakes-winning dam Callmethesqueeze, a $50,000 purchase by Athens Woods at the 2022 KEENOV sale, is also responsible for a 2-year-old filly by Street Sense and a yearling colt by Liam's Map. She was bred to Vino Rosso for 2024.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
GULFSTREAM PARK OAKS PRESENTED BY FANDUEL TV-GII, $250,000, Gulfstream, 3-30, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.19, ft.
1–POWER SQUEEZE, 122, f, 3, by Union Rags
                1st Dam: Callmethesqueeze (MSW, $324,499),
                                by Awesome Again
                2nd Dam: Mop Squeezer, by Roanoke
                3rd Dam: Honey League Girl, by Honey Jay
   1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($50,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $90,000
2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Lea Farms, LLC; B-Forging Oaks LLC (KY);
T-Jorge Delgado; J-Daniel Centeno. $148,800. Lifetime Record:
6-4-1-0, $337,450. *1/2 to Call On Mischief (Into Mischief),
SW, $283,237. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ways and Means, 122, f, 3, Practical Joke–Strong Incentive,
by Warrior's Reward. O/B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown. $48,000.
3–Into Champagne, 122, f, 3, Into Mischief–Bedford Land, by
Speightstown. ($300,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Six Column
Stables, LLC, Randall Bloch, Jim Gladden, Mike Davis & Michael
Steele; B-Robert & Lawana Low (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes. $24,000.
Margins: 1, 5 3/4, 1. Odds: 11.00, 0.50, 8.20.
Also Ran: Gun Song, Scalable, Do Gooder, America's Vow, Fiona's Magic, Neom City. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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