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A Grade 1 First For Trainer Hamm As Dayoutoftheoffice Wins Frizette

Dayoutoftheoffice extended her unbeaten streak to three on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., with a command performance in Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Frizette for 2-year-old fillies, a 'Win and You're In' event for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

The race was a fitting encore to the day's first Grade 1 event for juveniles, the one-mile Champagne, which was won impressively by the undefeated Jackie's Warrior in 1:35.42. Contested just a little more than a half hour later on the fast main track at Belmont, Dayoutoftheoffice completed a mile in the Frizette in 1:35.82, a sparkling final time that could position her to be among the favorites in next month's Juvenile Fillies.

Trained and co-owned by Tim Hamm with Siena Farm, the dark bay daughter of Into Mischief began her career with an easy win in a 4 1/2-furlong dash on May 14 at Gulfstream Park. She made her next start in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga Race Course and despite being sent off at 19-1 odds, she exploded to a six-length score in the six-furlong sprint. Having learned their lesson in the Schuylerville, the wagering public made her the second choice in the betting in the Frizette, with runaway Grade 1 Spinaway winner Vequist inheriting the role of odds-on favorite.

Breaking from post 5 under Junior Alvarado, who was aboard Dayoutoftheoffice for her breakthrough victory in the Schuylerville in July, the Siena Farms homebred took up position in second early as stretch-out sprinter Joy's Rocket darted to the front to set the pace. With Vequist tucked in along the inside in third of a tightly packed bunch, Joy's Rocket carved out splits of 22.94 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.41 for the half.

Joy's Rocket's early advantage evaporated in a hurry around the far turn, however, as Dayoutoftheoffice made what proved to be the winning move, quickly wresting control of the lead away from the frontrunner and putting daylight between her and the rest of the field as they turned for home through three-quarters in 1:10.98

Vequist, not willing to concede defeat, launched her rally and was in hot pursuit of Dayoutoftheoffice in upper stretch, even appearing at points as if she would overtake the leader, but her chase was ultimately in vain as Dayoutoftheoffice dug in doggedly in the final eighth of a mile and hit the wire first by two lengths.

“When you ride fast horses, it makes it easy for you,” said Alvarado. “I thought it [the pace] was going to be a little more contested and I was going to stalk but I felt like I was in control of the race from where I was. I knew I had the horse in front of me [measured], so I just made sure my filly got into a nice rhythm and at the same time keep everybody where I wanted them to be. It worked out great today. When I asked her turning for home, she responded beautifully.”

Just shy of 3-1, Dayoutoftheoffice returned $7.80 on a $2 win wager and bumped her bankroll over the $200,000 mark through three career starts, all of which have been spaced out by at least a couple months.

“She's a big, scopey filly and I wanted to have some horse for the end of the year,” said Hamm, who earned the first Grade 1 win of his career in the Frizette. “The plan was to have a fresh horse for this time of the year. We wanted to just train her a little lightly and have her fresh for the fall run. Everything went according to plan.

“When you put a plan together that works – the team of Siena Farm and myself and all our assistants – you feel vindicated,” the veteran trainer added. “We all thought this filly was special when she won at 4 1/2 [furlongs] because we knew she would be able to get longer than that. She was able to get the job done today.”

While no match for the winner, Vequist ran a valiant race in defeat and proved her 9 1/2-length demolition of the Spinaway on September 6 at the Spa was no mirage. The dark bay daughter of Nyquist finished second, 10 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Cilla.

“She broke pretty nice and I thought we were in a good spot,” said Luis Saez, rider of Vequist. “When we got to the three eighths, I started asking her a little and when we got to the stretch the winner took off.

“I wish we could have been outside [instead of inside post] so I could have pressed early, but that's racing,” Saez added.

Joy's Rocket, Cantata, and Get On the Bus completed the order of finish in the 71st running of the Frizette. Fifth Risk was scratched.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont Park with a 10-race card highlighted by the 130th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Futurity, a six-furlong turf sprint offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 6 at Keeneland. It is one of two turf stakes for juveniles on the 10-race card, with the Grade 3, $100,000 Matron for 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs also on the docket. First post is 12:50 p.m.

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‘One of the Good Guys’: Barry Abrams Dies at 66

A towering presence of California horse racing in both stature and sheer strength of character, trainer, owner and breeder Barry Abrams has died at the age of 66.

“He really looked into the soul of a horse,” said David Abrams, Barry Abrams’s brother. “He had horses run that didn’t run for anybody else.”

Abrams had battled throat cancer for more than 15 years.

“He never once complained about what he was going through,” said trainer Richard Baltas, Abrams’s former assistant. “He helped people who were less fortunate than him and was one of the good guys at the track.”

From hard-scrabble beginnings–“One of the underdogs. The little guy with a small stable,” said David–Abrams left an indelible stamp on the sport in the Golden State. From just over 6,000 individual starts, he secured 688 victories and more than $30 million in prize money.

His top-tier prizes included Famous Digger (Quest for Fame {GB})’s win in the 1997 GI Del Mar Oaks, the 2008 GI Las Virgenes S. with Golden Doc A and the 2010 GI Hollywood Turf Club S. with Unusual Suspect–the latter two by Unusual Heat, the remarkable lynchpin stallion of the California breeding industry who Abrams also conditioned.

“He was brilliant with his claims,” said David, of his brother. “He claimed two horses from Richard Mandella. One became a Grade I winner [Famous Digger], the other one was Unusual Heat. He saw in Unusual Heat what other people didn’t–they thought he was crazy claiming a 6-year-old with potential bowed tendon. He said, ‘the horse is worth what I’m claiming him for as a sire.'”

Abrams remained a minority owner of Unusual Heat, who stood at the Harris Ranch in Coalinga, and eventually became the all-time leading sire in California through his offsprings’ earnings.

“Barry was a remarkable horseman and a real horse whisperer. He was also a master at navigating the racing office, which I think is a lost art in trainers,” said Harris Auerbach, managing partner of the Unusual Heat Syndicate.

“He taught me an awful lot about horsemanship, about gamesmanship and about life,” Auerbach added. “He was just a giving, caring, remarkable man.”

Over the years, Abrams hewed closely to the ethos, “you don’t get paid for workouts,” becoming synonymous with moderately bred horses who earned their supper on the track.

“I remember a horse called Bengal Bay, one of the first horses we were successful with. He ran it three times in nine days,” said David. “Even [trainer] Roger Stein, who Barry worked for, criticized him for doing it. The horse won by six lengths at Hollywood Park on the third trip. That horse just loved to run.”

Beyond Abrams’s chronicled deeds that are now stamped into the dust of racing posterity, many point to a largesse and generosity of spirit that encompassed all, the less fortunate and the blue collar everyman that constitute racing’s rank and file.

“Anybody could walk up to Barry and be part of the family,” said David. “At Del Mar he had an area where he sat–it was a table around which sat a bunch of guys, just the common gambler. Folks just having fun. There’s Barry with a Grade I horse, and he doesn’t go to the director’s room. He sat back down there and made sure his family was all taken care of.”

Whether it was gamblers or racetrack patrons or those he’d known for years, “Barry felt obligated to help them out when they needed it,” said Auerbach. “He would give anybody the shirt off his back–he was that kind of guy.”

Abrams’s father was a Polish holocaust survivor, his mother a Russian economist. The family emigrated to the U.S. in 1963. “We came with nothing,” said David.

If their mother had her way, Abrams would have charted a course into the less exotic realms of certified public accountants. But he caught the gambling bug early. “My mom almost had a heart attack when he quit school, laid carpet, then became a groom,” said David.

Abrams took out his training license in 1975. “When he first started, he only had I think four horses, and didn’t have a groom. He did everything himself. He lost 28 pounds that first summer he trained on his own,” said David. “He just had a passion for horse racing.”

He also had a passion for the Lakers and wasn’t shy about advertising it–the stakes-winning Lakerville, who he part-owned with the Auerbachs, would go on to earn more than $300,000 on the track.

“We asked the nurse last night to put the Lakers game on,” said David. “Ten minutes after they lost he passed away.”

“He was a fighter,” David added. “He knew. I saw him two days before and he knew. He wanted to tell everybody how much he loved them all, and how much we all meant to him.”

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Jackie’s Warrior Now 4-For-4 After Rollicking Champagne Victory

Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior kept an unblemished record intact, establishing an early lead while shaking off a challenge from Reinvestment Risk to win Saturday's 149th running of the Grade 1, $250,000 Champagne going one mile for juveniles over the main track at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The 2-year-old son of Maclean's Music improved to a perfect 4-for-4, including two Grade 1 triumphs along with the Runhappy Hopeful on September 7 at Saratoga. He earned an automatic entry into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile on November 6 at Keeneland from his victory in the Champagne, which is a Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” event.

Within a few strides out of the gate, Jackie's Warrior was able to secure his usual frontrunning position under jockey Joel Rosario and recorded the opening quarter-mile in 23.12 seconds over the fast main track with Hopeful runner-up Reinvestment Risk in second and stablemate Midnight Bourbon another path to the outside in third.

Around the turn, through a half-mile in 46.54, jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. launched his bid aboard Reinvestment Risk, and came close to being on even terms with Jackie's Warrior. Just outside the quarter-pole, Rosario nudged his charge a couple of times and that was all it took to get Jackie's Warrior to extend his advantage.

Jackie's Warrior opened up by three lengths in the stretch and was geared down just past the sixteenth pole, crossing the wire a 5 1/2-length winner in a final time of 1:35.42. Reinvestment Risk finished 8 ¾ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Midnight Bourbon.

Civil War, Run Casper Run, and Ambivalent rounded out the order of finish.

“He's a beautiful horse; a big horse, and it looks like everything he does is easy for him,” Rosario said. “I was very confident that he could get the mile. I felt confident the whole way. He just enjoyed what he was doing.”

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Jackie's Warrior, who returned $3.70 for a $2 win bet as the favorite, banked $137,500 in victory which enhanced his lifetime earnings to $402,564.

Prior to his pair of Grade 1 scores, he was a 2 1/2-length winner on debut on June 19 at Churchill Downs before taking the Grade 2 Saratoga Special presented by Miller Lite on August 7 by three lengths.

“He had an easy half-mile and I'm surprised he came home that quick. He's very impressive,” said Asmussen's Belmont Park-based assistant Toby Sheets. “He's a class act and does everything correct. The one-turn mile certainly didn't seem to bother him.”

The Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile will be Jackie's Warrior first two-turn engagement, which Rosario said should be no problem for the unbeaten juvenile.

“I tried to get him away from there quickly and get position. I think the further he goes the better. He seemed to do it very easy today and I was very confident in him,” Rosario said. “I wanted to be a little out in front, so he had confidence, and it looked like he liked that. I let him do whatever he wanted to do. He breaks two lengths in front of everyone and not all horses can do that. He's amazing.”

Bred in Kentucky by J & J Stables, Jackie's Warrior is out of the A.P. Five Hundred mare Unicorn Girl. He was purchased for $95,000 from the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

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Speightstown Rising Star Puts on a Show at Keeneland

5th-Keeneland, $71,000, Alw, 10-10, (NW2L), 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.10, ft, 9 3/4 lengths.
NASHVILLE (c, 3, Speightstown–Veronique, by Mizzen Mast), a $460,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, ran away with his career bow in the slop with a dazzling, front-running ‘TDN Rising Star’ performance at Saratoga Sept. 2, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. He displayed a string of sharp works in the interim, including a pair of bullets, working four furlongs over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track in :48 (1/32) two back Sept. 27. Hammered down to 1-2 favoritism in this first attempt versus winners, the bay ran the field off their feet right from the start. Jumping out to a clear advantage, Nashville was well within himself as he zipped through opening splits of :22.18 and :45.06, and he cruised home under a motionless Ricardo Santana, Jr. to win by a jaw-dropping 9 3/4 lengths over Sounion (Liam’s Map). Nashville’s unraced dam is also represented by the placed 2-year-old colt Market Cap (Candy Ride {Arg}) and a Mastery colt of 2019 and filly of 2020. The 9-year-old was bred to Collected for 2021. Nashville’s third dam Set Them Free (Stop the Music) produced 2005 GI Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo (Holy Bull) and MGISW Tiago (Pleasant Tap). Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $82,200. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-CHC INC. & WinStar Farm LLC; B-Breffni Farm (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.

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