Baytown Bear First Winner for Upstart

Baytown Bear (Upstart) cruised to a 9 3/4-length victory to become the first winner for his freshman sire Upstart (Flatter) at Indiana Grand Tuesday. The gray gelding, who RNA’d for $9,500 as a Keeneland September yearling, was well-beaten in a pair of efforts sprinting at Churchill Downs, over the main track May 22 and over the turf June 5, and was coming off a fourth-place effort going 5 1/2 furlongs over the dirt in Louisville June 12.

Sent off the 9-5 second choice in this stretch-out to a mile, Baytown Bear was floated wide around the first turn and pressed the pace while three wide. He raced in tandem with 1-5 favorite Onenightstandards (Archarcharch) through fractions of :24.71 and :45.91. The two favorites turned for home well in front of the rest of the field and Onenightstandards began inching clear despite drifting out. The favorite suddenly bolted to the outside rail with a furlong to run, leaving Baytown Bear in total isolation to the finish.

Baytown Bear is out of And You Can, a half-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can (Proud Citizen). The mare, in foal to American Freedom, sold for $12,000 at this year’s Keeneland January sale. She produced a colt by that sire this spring and also has a yearling filly by Creative Cause. Click for the Equibase.com chart.

1st-Indiana Grand, $31,000, Msw, 7-7, 2yo, 1m, 1:43.54, ft.

BAYTOWN BEAR (g, 2, Upstart–And You Can, by Istan) Lifetime Record: 4-1-0-0, $25,490. O-McEntee Racing, Inc.; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Paul McEntee. *$9,500 RNA Ylg ’19 KEESEP.

 

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Mr. Big News’ Experience Should Play A Big Role In Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes

After Mr. Big News finished fifth in the Fair Grounds' G2 Risen Star Stakes in February, trainer Bret Calhoun was excited about the 3-year-old colt's prospects heading down the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately, a large number of entries meant that Mr. Big News was excluded from the Louisiana Derby in March.

“I felt like he had a big chance that day, but we got excluded,” Calhoun said on an NTRA conference call on Tuesday afternoon.

Calhoun shifted gears and entered the Chester Thomas-owned colt in the listed Oaklawn Stakes on April 11. Mr. Big News was sent off at odds of nearly 47-1 in the $200,000 contest, but Calhoun had a lot of confidence in his charge.

“I think Gabe Saez gave him the kind of trip he had been looking for (in the Oaklawn Stakes),” Calhoun said. “He wants to be more of a free-running horse and use his stride. He gained a lot of experience in his earlier races, being down on the inside and taking the kickback, and I think that prepared him for that race. The pace scenario set up for him that day, and he was able to get home a winner.”

Mr. Big News charged from near dead-last to win the Oaklawn by a half-length, earning a spot in the starting gate for the Arkansas Derby, rescheduled for the first Saturday in May. Calhoun elected to skip that race, as well as the opportunity to earn Kentucky Derby points when he shifted his home base to Churchill Downs, in the Matt Winn Stakes in late May.

“I thought it was a little quick back from Arkansas, and he was being a little finicky eating for four or five days,” Calhoun explained. “I decided that the (Kentucky) Derby wasn't until September, so it would be best to have him at 100 percent.”

Initially, the plan had been to target the Indiana Derby on Wednesday night, since Triple Crown contender Maxfield was said to be pointing to the Blue Grass at Keeneland. When Maxfield defected, Calhoun decided to stay closer to home and enter the rescheduled Blue Grass Stakes on July 11.

“A lot of people may not believe in him because the Oaklawn win came in the mud,” Calhoun said. “His physical and mental maturity have improved a lot… I'm excited like the rest of the horsemen are to be back racing at Keeneland.”

Though Saez was handed a 30-day suspension by stewards in Indiana, he has been granted an exemption to ride Mr. Big News in the Blue Grass this Saturday.

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Gabriel Saez Given Exemption From Indiana Rule; Will Be Permitted To Ride In Stakes During 30-Day Suspension

Jockey Gabriel Saez, currently serving a 30-day suspension for what Indiana Horse Racing Commission stewards said was “extreme carelessness” in a June 17 race at Indiana Grand, has been given an exemption to ride in Saturday's Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes and other stakes races outside of Indiana.

The exemption would appear to be a violation of Indiana Horse Racing Commission rules stating that suspended jockeys may compete in designated races (stakes) “in the event a penalty for a riding violation is 10 days or less.”

However, Indiana Horse Racing Commission steward Dan Fick told the Paulick Report the commission's executive director has the authority to waive the rule and did so, permitting Saez to ride in specific designated races outside of Indiana.

The original ruling, dated June 18, was amended on July 2, stating: “Gabriel Saez, having reached a tentative agreement with the Commission Staff, may run in stakes races outside the state of Indiana while awaiting final approval of the settlement agreement by the Commission. Mr. Saez has agreed to add one day to the period of his suspension for each day that he participates in a stakes race. At this time, Mr. Saez has indicated to the commission that he wishes to participate in the following: The Met Mile (7/4/2020) and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (7/11/20210). Per the settlement agreement, the term of Mr. Saez's suspension is extended by two days to include July 22 and July 23, 2020.”

Section 71IAC7.5-7-5 “Designated Races” of the Indiana Administrative Code states: “In the event a penalty for a riding violation is 10 days or less, the jockey may compete in a designated race or races provided the jockey must be named at the time of entry. … For the purpose of this section, a designated race shall mean any stakes, futurity, or futurity trial in any state.”

According to the June 18 ruling, stewards found that Saez “did carelessly allow his mount Justtequilatalkin to alter course into the path of another horse without sufficient clearance, setting off a chain reaction in which the riders of three other horses were unseated from their mounts and resulting in Justtequilatalkin being disqualified from first place and placed last.”

The original suspension called for Saez to serve the 30 days from June 22 through July 21, inclusive.

Indiana Horse Racing Commission executive director Deena Pitman, who waived the rule, did not respond to a message from the Paulick Report.

 

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Spendthrift Farm Secures Breeding Rights To Met Mile Winner Vekoma

B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm has acquired the breeding rights to multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Vekoma. The 4-year-old son of leading sire Candy Ride captured the prestigious Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont on Saturday, staking his claim as one of North America's top racehorses in 2020.

“We are extremely excited about Vekoma and his future as a stallion. It's not often you see an elite racehorse that is by a Grade 1 winner and out of a Grade 1 winner,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “Vekoma is a terrific blend of his sire Candy Ride and his Speightstown dam Mona de Momma, showing brilliance from six furlongs to a mile and an eighth and from ages two to four. There's sire power throughout the pedigree, with Vekoma's second dam being a sister to Mr. Greeley. You just will not find a better-bred son of Candy Ride. Vekoma proved he is one of the best horses in training with wins over good fields in the Carter and Met Mile, which have been two of the best performances we have seen this year. The combination of brilliance and pedigree is special.”

Trained by George Weaver for owners R. A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, Vekoma has always been one of the top racehorses in his crop, capturing graded stakes wins at two, three and four. After breaking his maiden at first asking in 1:08 4/5 at Belmont, the talented chestnut stretched out to win the one-mile G3 Nashua at Aqueduct to complete an undefeated juvenile campaign. At three, Vekoma jumped onto the Triple Crown trail, finishing third to Code of Honor in the G2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream in his seasonal debut. He went on to score a dominant 3 1/2-length win in the 1 1/8-mile G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, earning a berth into the Kentucky Derby.

This year, Vekoma has been perfect in three starts at three different racetracks, kicking off his 4-year-old season with a 3 3/4-length victory in Gulfstream's Sir Shackleton Stakes in March. Vekoma earned his first Grade 1 triumph in the form of a dazzling 7 1/4-length win in the G1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct, earning a career-high 110 Beyer Speed Figure. Last Saturday, he validated his Carter performance with a front-running win in the aforementioned Met Mile, defeating Grade 1 winners Code of Honor and McKinzie, among others, while stopping the clock in a crisp 1:32 4/5 – just .15 seconds off the stakes record for the 129-year-old fixture in New York.

“Vekoma has been an outstanding talent since the moment we got him. He's such a special horse,” said Weaver. “We will take our time to enjoy this win, but Saratoga is the likely next place for him to run. We would like to put the horse in a position to become a champion.”

An earner of $1,245,525 to date, Vekoma was bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stables. He is out of the Speightstown mare Mona de Momma who scored her biggest win as a racehorse in the G1 Humana Distaff on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill. Vekoma's second dam, Society Gal, is a half-sister to successful sire Mr. Greeley.

Vekoma is the third Met Mile winner in the last four years that will take up stud duty at Spendthrift. Mor Spirit, the 2017 winner, and Mitole, the 2019 winner, both stand at the historic Lexington-based farm.

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