Flashy Southern Phantom Retired To WestWin Farms In Oklahoma

Southern Phantom, a Bodemeister colt whose flashy markings have made him a fan favorite at racetracks around the country, has been retired from racing and will enter stud at WestWin Farms in Purcell, Okla., for the 2021 breeding season.

Owner Danny Caldwell confirmed the 4-year-old's retirement on Friday.

Southern Phantom went winless in 10 starts, racing first for breeder Southern Equine Stables and co-owner Calumet Farm. He finished third his second career start as a juvenile; a Saratoga maiden special weight. The colt then finished third again in his debut as a 3-year-old at Aqueduct.

That fall, Southern Phantom was entered in the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, where he sold to Caldwell for $20,000. The colt was moved from New York to the Southwest, where he went unplaced in three starts this year at Oaklawn Park, Lone Star Park, and Remington Park.

Southern Phantom is out the unplaced Bernardini mare Out for Revenge, and he is a full-brother to stakes-placed Stronger.

His third dam is the blue hen mare Yarn, putting Southern Phantom in the same family as notable sires Tale of the Cat and Johannesburg. Other notable names on his page include English and Irish Group 1 winner Minardi, as well as Grade 1 winners Preach and Joking and Grade 2 winners Fed Biz and Stanford.

In addition to Thoroughbred stallions Code West, Euroears, Pass the Buck, and Mister Lucky Cat, WestWin Farms also stands the paint stallion Painted Turnpike, paint racing's all-time leading money earner.

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Harpers First Ride Scores Frontrunning Victory In Pimlico Special

Harpers First Ride went to the front from the outside post and led throughout in Friday's $250,000, Grade 3 Pimlico Special, fighting off a bid from 3-5 favorite Owendale and drawing away in deep stretch under Angel Cruz to register his first career graded stakes triumph in his 14th start.

Trained by Claudio Gonzalez, Harpers First Ride – a 4-year-old gelding by Paynter bred in Maryland by Sagamore Farm – covered 1 3/16 miles on a fast track in 1:54.97.

He paid $13 for the win.

Owendale, a three-time Grade 3 winner who finished third behind War of Will in last year's Preakness at the Baltimore, Md., track, held second after dogging Harpers First Ride throughout under John Velazquez. Cordmaker finished third, with 7-2 second choice Tenfold (third behind Justify in the 2018 Preakness) fourth and Forewarned fifth in the field of seven older runners. Monongahela and Plus Que Parfait were scratched.

Harpers First Ride set moderate fractions of :24.41, :48.41, 1:12.11 and 1:35.94 en route to his final clocking.

The Pimlico Special winner was coming off a victory in the Sept. 5 Deputed Testamony Stakes at Laurel in which he sat third, then rallied in the stretch. That  was his first stakes victory and fourth win of 2020 in seven starts.

Harpers First Ride began his career in Kentucky racing for his breeder. He was claimed for $30,000 in his third start, a maiden victory on Sept. 14, 2019, then transferred to the Maryland circuit and the barn of Gonzalez, who has dominated the training ranks.

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Simply Ravishing Leads All The Way As McPeek Saddles Exacta In Alcibiades

Trainer Kenny McPeek sent out his fifth winner of the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades this Friday at Keeneland, saddling Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables' Simply Ravishing for a dominant front-running victory by open lengths. The 2-year-old daughter of Laoban ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.58, and is undefeated in three career starts. Ridden by Luis Saez, Simply Ravishing earned an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies next month, also at Keeneland.

Breaking from the outermost stall in the field of seven, Simply Ravishing worked her way to the lead before the clubhouse turn, and Saez nudged her over to the rail with a 1 1/2-length advantage. The filly relaxed through fractions of :24.43, :48.59, and 1:12.94, maintaining her easy lead all the way to the top of the lane.

Saez looked under his arm turning into the short stretch run, and gave the filly her cue. Simply Ravishing responded easily, pulling away to win by about seven lengths on the wire.

In an all-out battle for second, the McPeek-trained Crazy Beautiful defeated Travel Column in a photo finish. Thoughtfully checked in fourth, and Oliviaofthedesert (also trained by McPeek) was fifth.

“I knew two very fast horses were inside,” said Saez. “(I thought) let's break from there and see what they're doing. She breaks so sharp; she was right there. It was easy. We took it (the lead). She was traveling pretty good. I felt like I had a lot of horse all the way. When we came to the straight, she just took off. She did it pretty easy, like normal. Like nothing. It was amazing. She's a very good filly.”

“They are both really special fillies,” said McPeek. “I kind of hated to run them against each other, but it is a race we are obviously fond of and we felt like we had a heck of a chance with both of them in there. We will probably go to the Breeders' Cup with both of them. I told (D. Wayne) Lukas a long time ago that I would win more Alcibiades than him. (Lukas has six wins in the race.)”

Bred in New York by Meg Levy, Simply Ravishing is out of the unplaced More Than Ready mare Four Wishes. A $50,000 yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall sale in 2019, Simply Ravishing won her debut at Saratoga over two turns on the turf. She came back a month later to win the Spa's P.G. Johnson Stakes, originally scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the turf but rained off and held over seven furlongs on the main track instead. Now, the dual-surface undefeated filly has won all three of her career starts for earnings of over $300,000.

“I don't think we know how good she is,” McPeek assistant Alan Shell said. “She's won on turf, dirt, going short, going long. It's just real exciting. We're just so thankful we have owners like Mr. (Harold) Lerner and Jack Cohen and Magdalena Racing that are behind us. They made a commitment when they bought this filly. They buy the best horses. Kenny did a great job picking her out. It's all a team effort.”

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