News | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sizzling Pace Sets Up Arzak’s Stretch Run In Woodford

Sonata Stable's Arzak, ridden by Joel Rosario, benefited from a hot pace in Saturday's Grade 2, $350,000 Woodford Stakes presented by FanDuel, roaring down the stretch to pass European invader Live In The Dream inside the furlong pole to win going away by two lengths.

The 5-year-old son of Not This Time, trained by Michael Trombetta out of the Fair Hill training center in Maryland, covered five furlongs on firm turf in :55.59. He paid $25.66 to win.

Our Shot, co-favorite at 7-2 with Live In The Dream, won a photo for second over Beer Can Man, the two racing as a team through the stretch. Live In The Dream held fourth – another 1 1/4 lengths back – after setting sizzling fractions of :20.97 for the opening quarter mile and :43.67 for the half. The Irish-bred Live In The Dream came to Keeneland off a one-length win in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York in England on Aug. 25 and has won six of 18 career starts.

Live In the Dream finished a nose ahead of Bad Beat Brian, who was a nose in front of Let My People Go, who nosed out Olympic Runner for sixth. Coppola, Kaufymaker, Kavod, Eye Witness, and Foxtrotanna completed the order of finish.

The win was similar to Arzak's most recent start, an Aug. 23 allowance/optional claimer at Saratoga, in which he got up to win by a head over Coppola. In that race and in the Woodford, Arzak settled into fifth while chasing fast fractions and kicked into gear in the stretch.

In Saturday's Woodford, Rosario saved ground while in fifth – several lengths behind Live In The Dream, who was under some pressure from Foxtrotanna in the run down the backstretch. Rosario swung Arzak wide into the stretch and took dead aim on Live In The Dream, who still had a clear lead with a furlong to run.

Arzak drifted in, engaged Live In The Dream, and put that rival away in the final sixteenth.

“It looked like (they were going very fast up front),” said Rosario. “(Arzak) also has a little speed. On the backside I was farther back than I wanted to be, but it looked like they were really putting a good pace in front of him so I just stayed there and then kicked him on to finish. It was very easy for him (after he kicked into high gear coming down the stretch). I rode him before, and he always tries really, really hard. He's a good horse.”

The Woodford was Arzak's seventh win from 23 career starts and second graded stakes win, the other coming in the G3 Jacques Cartier Stakes over the all-weather track at Woodbine.

Bred in Kentucky by John C. Oxley, Arzak was produced from the Tapit mare, Delightful Melody. He was purchased by Marc Tacher, who races in the name of Sonata Stable, for $575,000 at the 2020 OBS April Sale of 2-year-olds in training.

Adam West, trainer of Live In The Dream, wasn't deterred by his horse's defeat. “Incredibly fast. Very strong headwind today,” West said. “For me anyway, that (performance) would paint the target on him. When we get to Santa Anita (for the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint), (he's) going to be hard to catch. We trained at Keeneland, and I'm very appreciative of (the experience). Everyone's been fantastic, and that's (race from Live In The Dream is) kind of exactly what I wanted to see.”

The post Sizzling Pace Sets Up Arzak’s Stretch Run In Woodford appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Practical Move Doing Well After Friday’s Comeback Win

Trainer Tim Yakteen reported GI Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move (Practical Joke) was in good order the day after winning his return from a nearly six-month layoff on Friday.

“He's in great shape,” Yakteen said Saturday morning.

Returning in an allowance going a mile on dirt, Practical Move stalked a lively pace and then drew off in the stretch to notch a comfortable four-length victory under Ramon Vazquez. The winning time was 1:35.14, which earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form.

Yakteen and Practical Move's owners will now decide whether to move on to the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. Practical Move is a candidate for either the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile or the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

The post Practical Move Doing Well After Friday’s Comeback Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Classic Hopeful Arabian Knight Leads Saturday Work Tab

Clairiere (Curlin) and stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) each had their first works at Santa Anita Saturday for trainer Steve Asmussen while Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) fired a bullet towards the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for trainer Bob Baffert.

Work of the Day from @santaanitapark—Arabian Knight worked 6 Furlongs in 1:12.60 on October 7th, 2023, for trainer Bob Baffert. pic.twitter.com/z1CDb3I55x

— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 7, 2023

Also on Saturday, GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hopefuls Anarchist (Distorted Humor) and The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) each worked and Arcangelo (Arrogate), another contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic, returned to the track after working Thursday. Fellow Classic hopeful White Abarrio (Race Day) galloped for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.

Arabian Knight, last-out winner of the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar Sept. 2, blitzed six furlongs in 1:12.60.

Clairiere, bound for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, worked an easy half mile in 51.0 seconds. Gunite, possible for either the Breeders' Cup Sprint or Dirt Mile, went the same distance in 50.2 seconds.

As for Clairiere and Gunite's works, Blasi noted “it was the same thing as we did yesterday. Just giving them a feel for the track. We'll start to pick things up next week.”

The Chosen Vron, winner of the GI Bing Crosby at Del Mar July 29, worked five furlongs on the training track in 1:02.40 for trainer Eric Kruljac.

Anarchist, second to The Chosen Vron in the Bing Crosby, worked five furlongs on the main track in 1:00.00.

Back East, Godolphin's Proxy (Tapit) began the Kentucky phase of his preparation for an expected start in the Classic by working five furlongs in 1:01 for trainer Mike Stidham.

The post Classic Hopeful Arabian Knight Leads Saturday Work Tab appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Favorite McKulick Extends Browns Domination In Waya, Filly Possible For Breeders’ Cup

Trainer Chad Brown extended his domination in the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya (G3), as Klaravich Stables' McKulick rewarded her 2-5 favoritism to post a two-length victory on Saturday in the 1 3/8-mile inner turf test for fillies and mares at Belmont at the Big A.

Brown saddled the Waya winner for the fifth consecutive time and the seventh time overall, extending his own record, as McKulick registered her fourth career graded stakes score by overtaking stablemate Idea Generation from the outside in the stretch, giving the connections the 1-2 finish.

Idea Generation went to the front from the inside post, leading a compact four-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in :25.14, the half in :51.40, three-quarters in 1:17.23, and a mile in 1:43 over yielding ground that continued to take on rain.

McKulick and the French-bred Parnac jostled for second position, with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. moving up McKulick approaching the final turn. Idea Generation, under rider Florent Geroux, was not content to simply serve as a rabbit, maintaining the lead into the final furlong before McKulick's late move as she surged to the finish, hitting the wire in 2:20.10.

Idea Generation finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Sister Otoole for second, with Parnac completing the order of finish. Romagna Mia and Personal Best along with main-track only entrants Movie Moxy and Peak Popularity were scratched.

Brown said the impressive effort could put McKulick in play for the 1 1/4-mile Grade 1, $2-million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 4 at Santa Anita Park. She would be entering with momentum after avenging a second-place finish to Parnac in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl in September at Saratoga Race Course and winning the Grade 2 Glens Falls in August at the Spa.

“I think going a mile and a quarter back to two turns would be good for her, if there's pace like there should be going back to two turns,” Brown said. “This filly has proven she can run on firm or bottomless ground like today. She's a very versatile horse and we're lucky to have her in the barn.”

McKulick returned $2.80 on a $2 win bet and improved her career earnings to $1.61 million. The 4-year-old Frankel filly, who defeated Grade 1-winning multimillionaire War Like Goddess in the Glens Falls, improved to 5-5-2 in 13 starts.

“She [McKulick] did great,” Brown said. “She was very unlucky in the Flower Bowl, she was clearly the best in that race. She got race ridden a little bit there by the horse that finished last in the race [Parnac]. I wanted to make sure we had a pace horse in there to keep it an honest race, but could also do some good in the race. Everything was accomplished today.”

Ortiz has been aboard for 11 of McKulick's 13 starts and all five victories.

“She really liked the soft ground,” Ortiz said. “I think she appreciated it and the pace. Last time, there was no pace in the race and it cost her that race. Today, the other filly of the same connections [Idea Generation] put an honest pace and a better pace than last time and she really liked it. She always gives me a good kick and she stays on and keeps coming.”

Idea Generation earned place honors in her graded stakes debut with the 3-year-old Irish bred garnering black type for the first time in three stakes appearances overall, including a seventh-place finish in the Virginia Oaks in her previous start at Colonial Downs.

“Florent really followed instructions well. It appeared she was just the pacemaker in here, but I must say this filly didn't ship well to Colonial,” Brown said. “The race at Colonial was a throw out. Her form behind there was sneaky good for a stretch out horse — she looked like she had been wanting to run three turns. For a 3-year-old, it's hard to find three-turn races unless you're running against older horses. I was very clear with Florent, I told him, 'You could certainly get a piece of this race and be near everyone near the finish if you get out there and get comfortable.' ”

The post Favorite McKulick Extends Browns Domination In Waya, Filly Possible For Breeders’ Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post