Nysos Proves A Smooth Winner of the Robert B. Lewis

Things may not have gone strictly according to script for undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) in Saturday's GIII Robert B. Lewis S., as he was perhaps a half-step slowly away, and with a trio of rivals hellbent on being part of the pace battle, was forced to sit farther off the speed than he'd done in either of his previous towering victories. At the end of the day, it mattered very little, as the Bob Baffert trainee came with a bold run three wide into the lane and went on to treat his six other rivals to a 7 1/2-length beating.

Though Nysos did lay fourth early on before bolting up in the GIII Bob Hope S. at Del Mar Nov. 19–having earned 'Rising Star' accolades when graduating by better than 10 lengths the previous month–those were sprinter-type splits ahead of him at Del Mar and he would need to prove he could switch off behind fractions that were sure to be slower on balance. Indeed, stretching out to a route of ground for the first time Saturday, Nysos settled nicely enough for Flavien Prat, about five lengths away from the hard-sent Scatify (Justify), his stablemate Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso) and Mc Vay (Constitution) down the backstretch and past the half-mile in :46.67.

Still fourth as they raced into the final three-eighths of a mile, Nysos gained inside of Mc Vay with under three furlongs to travel, was switched out wide under a full head of steam at the quarter pole and kicked home in a race of his own. Wine me Up won the battle for second over Scatify.

It was the sixth win in a row and 12th in the race for trainer Bob Baffert, who trained Silver Charm for Bob and Beverly Lewis to win the 1997 GI Kentucky Derby. General Challenge provided him with his first back in 1999, when the race was contested as the Santa Catalina S. It was renamed for Lewis following his passing in 2006. Nysos is ineligible for this year's Derby, having been left with Baffert at the Jan. 29th deadline.

“He stumbled a bit leaving there, but he was in a good spot,” the winning trainer commented. “Prat rode him with a lot of confidence, he knows the horse well. I love the fact that he has speed and he proved he can do two turns. He has a great mind. He is a really good colt. You can just sit there and push the button at any time. It makes it so much easier for the riders, but I still get a little nervous.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of 22 stakes winners and 11 graded winners for his Kentucky Derby-winning sire, Nysos is bred on the same cross that produced GI Summer S. hero Gretzky the Great from Nyquist's first crop to the races in 2020, and the cross over A.P. Indy and his stallions sons has resulted in fellow Grade I winner Vequist and Grade II victress Turnerloose. Bernardini dams have produced Grade I winner Mo Town and other graded scorers Modernist and Mopotism when bred to Nyquist's sire Uncle Mo.

The unraced Zetta Z, a granddaughter of GI Breeders' Cup Distaff upsetter Unbridled Elaine, is the dam of four winners from five to race and she has become increasingly popular from a commercial standpoint. Before Hades blossomed from a $130,000 Keeneland November weanling and $150,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling into a $550,000 OBS April breezer, the mare's now 2-year-old Street Sense filly was a $70,000 KEENOV purchase turned $170,000 FTKOCT acquisition after Zetta Z changed hands for $35,000 at KEENOV in 2021. Zetta Z's colt by Uncle Mo's son Yaupon was knocked down for $450,000 at Keeneland last November, the priciest of 44 of the stallion's foals reported as sold in 2023. Zetta Z was covered by Cyberknife last year.

 

Saturday, Santa Anita
ROBERT B. LEWIS S.-GIII, $201,000, Santa Anita, 2-3, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.65, ft.
1–NYSOS, 120, c, 3, by Nyquist
1st Dam: Zetta Z, by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Seresa's Spirit, by Rahy
3rd Dam: Unbridled Elaine, by Unbridled's Song
'TDN Rising Star'. ($130,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $150,000 Ylg '22
FTKOCT; $550,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Baoma Corp; B-Atkins
Susie (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Flavien Prat. $120,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-3-0-0, $216,600. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple
Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for
the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wine Me Up, 120, c, 3, Vino Rosso–Deanaallen'skitten, by
Kitten's Joy. ($115,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $300,000 2yo '23
OBSOPN). O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul
Weitman; B-Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
$40,000.
3–Scatify, 120, c, 3, Justify–Broadway Run, by Prospective.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($120,000 2yo '23
EASMAY). O-West Point Thoroughbreds; B-Doug & Felicia
Branham (KY); T-John W. Sadler. $24,000.
Margins: 7HF, 3/4, 4 1/4. Odds: 0.10, 6.50, 13.10.
Also Ran: Mc Vay, Moonlit Sonata, Better Than Gold, Ace of Clubs. Scratched: Coach Prime, Stronghold.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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First World War Impresses In Return To Turf With Kitten’s Joy Win

One could hardly blame trainer Brendan Walsh for trying First World War (War Front) on the main track. After all, the colt had shown promise breaking his maiden on debut over the undulating Kentucky Downs turf course in September before finishing a narrow fourth in the GII Bourbon S. Oct. 8 behind a trio of horses who'd all seen stakes success on either the dirt or the Tapeta. He made a good show of himself by checking in second on both attempts–first to 'TDN Rising Star' Parchment Party (Constitution) and then to Otello (Curlin) by just a half-length in the Mucho Macho Man S. Jan. 1. But off a best-of-40 four-furlong drill Jan. 28, Walsh opted to place the Qatar Racing/Hunter Valley Farm entry back on the grass and was quickly rewarded with a win in Saturday's GIII Kitten's Joy S.

While he took a chunk of early money, First World War wound up second choice at 5-2 behind the Repole Stable/Todd Pletcher entry Noted (Cairo Prince). Away clearly from the middle of a gate, Tyler Gaffalione positioned his runner towards the front just off the heels of longshot pacesetter Tocayo (Always Dreaming). Racing two wide around the first turn, First World War began to pick up a clear second as the half went in :47.97. Still under a hold past the quarter pole, Gaffalione finally gave his mount a shake of the reins and First World War responded in earnest, charging up outside of Tocayo to strike the front and holding off a charging Hammerstein (Oscar Performance) to earn the win.

“All the credit goes to Brendan and his team,” said Gaffalione. “They brought the horse over ready and he fired big for us. Everything went to plan. The speed horse jumped out in front and my horse settled great behind him. He got into a great rhythm and he responded well for me down the lane.”

“He's a tremendous talent,” Gaffalione continued. “He's still learning, but the sky's the limit for him. If he keeps developing the way he is, I think we'll have a pretty nice horse down the road.”

 

Pedigree Note:

Claiborne stalwart War Front picked up his 116th stakes winner Saturday. Out of GIII Indiana Oaks S. runner up Sundaysatthebeach, First World War is also the 101st stakes winner for Medaglia d'Oro as a broodmare sire. Sundaysatthebeach, herself a daughter of MGISW and $1.8m Stonestreet broodmare purchase Ask the Moon (Malibu Moon), is a half to MSW/MGSP Belgrano (War Front). First World War is her first foal and she has a 2-year-old Candy Ride (Arg) colt as well as a yearling Uncle Mo colt both in the wings. She visited Street Sense for 2024.

 

Saturday, Gulfstream
KITTEN'S JOY S.-GIII, $175,000, Gulfstream, 2-3, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:39.78, fm.
1–FIRST WORLD WAR, 118, c, 3, by War Front
                1st Dam: Sundaysatthebeach (GSP, $129,280),
                                by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Ask the Moon, by Malibu Moon
                3rd Dam: Always Asking, by Valid Appeal
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($285,000
Wlg '21 FTKNOV; $135,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Qatar
Racing LLC and Hunter Valley Farm; B-Skyfall Thoroughbreds
LLC (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $105,245.
Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-0, $266,313. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Hammerstein, 118, c, 3, Oscar Performance–Memorial Wall,
by Chattahoochee War. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK
TYPE. O-Amerman Racing LLC; B-Mrs. Jerry Amerman (KY);
T-Brian A. Lynch. $33,950.
3–Tocayo, 122, c, 3, Always Dreaming–Spooky Tooth, by
Ghostzapper. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Lugamo Racing
Stable (MD); T-Steve Klesaris. $16,975.
Margins: HF, 1HF, 1HF. Odds: 2.50, 3.80, 13.30.
Also Ran: Freedom Principle, Edgartown, Quokka, Noted, Deadpan. Scratched: Agate Road.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Band of Gold a First Stakes Winner For Preservationist In Martha Washington

The 24-1 longest shot in a field of nine for Saturday's Martha Washington S. at a soggy Oaklawn Park, Dixiana Farms LLC's Band of Gold (Preservationist) became the first black-type winner for her young Airdrie Stud-based sire (by Arch) with an irresistible late run to best heavily favored Denim and Pearls (Into Mischief).

Content to drop down onto the fence from her low draw, the $70,000 Keeneland November weanling switched off nicely behind midfield for Brian Hernandez, Jr. and remained within striking distance for the run around the turn. In hand and going well nearing the stretch, she split horses a quarter-mile from home, angled out into the center of the rain-affected strip and did her best work through the line to cause the boilover.

“It's one of those deals, looking at it on paper, a lot of us were coming out of sprints, so there was going to be quite a bit of speed,” said Brian Hernandez Jr. “We ended up being 24-1. We had the two hole, so our advantage was just going to be to save every inch of ground. And if she was good enough from the head of the lane [coming] home, she was going to get there. That's what happened.”

Band of Gold became one of 14 first-crop 2-year-old winners for Preservationist when dropping her nose on the line to graduate over Churchill's one-turn mile in a race taken off the grass Nov. 25, but she never factored in her juvenile finale, a distant fifth in the Dec. 23 Untapable S. at the Fair Grounds.

Band of Gold is out of a half-sister to 2018 GIII Southwest S. hero My Boy Jack (Creative Cause) and her third dam was a winner of the GIII Fleur de Lis S. and runner-up in the GI CCA Oaks in 1996 for the late John Franks. The 2-year-old full-brother to Band of Gold, Chunk of Gold, was purchased for $2,500 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Play for Gold is due to Airdrie's Upstart for 2024. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

MARTHA WASHINGTON S., $250,000, Oaklawn, 2-3, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:45.16, sy.
1–BAND OF GOLD, 118, f, 3, by Preservationist
1st Dam: Play for Gold, by Cairo Prince
2nd Dam: Gold N Shaft, by Mineshaft
3rd Dam: Gold n Delicious, by Gold Alert
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($70,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV). O-Dixiana Farms LLC; B-Brereton C Jones (KY); T-Kenneth G McPeek; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr. $135,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $206,000.
2–Denim and Pearls, 122, f, 3, Into Mischief–Majestic Presence, by Majestic Warrior. ($500,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG). O-Red White and Blue Racing LLC; B-Town & Country Horse Farms LLC (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $45,000.
3–Neom Beach, 118, f, 3, Omaha Beach–Giant's Causey, by Giant's Causeway. ($210,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Bloom Racing Stable LLC (Jeffrey Bloom) & The Line Racing; B-Tami Bobo (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen. $22,500.
Margins: 2 3/4, NK, HF. Odds: 24.30, 1.00, 7.10.

 

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Uncle Heavy Pulls The Upset in the Withers

Pennsylvania-bred Uncle Heavy (Social Inclusion) shipped up from his base at Parx for an outfit capable of pulling a surprise on this circuit and did just that, nailing El Grande O (Take Charge Indy) right on the wire by a nose to earn 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in Saturday's $250,000 GIII Withers S. at Aqueduct.

Drawn one from the outside over a rain-affected strip that was putting a demand on stamina, the hulking bay, off at 9-1, raced in the four path, but with cover on the back of longshot Khanate (Hightail) as El Grande O fought out the early fractions from the inside.

Asked to improve approaching three furlongs from home, the Butch Reid-trained Uncle Heavy appeared to be running in place as El Grande O and Khanate began to separate themselves at the quarter pole.

El Grande O was finally able to shake off Khanate entering the final eighth of a mile, pinched a break and looked on his way to victory, but Uncle Heavy kept plugging away and was shoved across the line first. El Grande O was second ahead of even-money favorite Lightline (City of Light) in third.

Uncle Heavy, a narrow debut winner going six furlongs versus open company at Parx Oct. 23, dwelt and ducked in at the start and finished fifth as the favorite in the Pennsylvania Nursery S. Nov. 28. He successfully stretched to two turns with a rallying victory going one mile and 70 yards against fellow state-breds in the Wait For It S. last time Dec. 27.

“I have always felt all along with this horse, the further the better,” Reid said. “He certainly proved that today. He looked like he was just hitting his best stride about 50 yards from the wire. He really started stretching out nice.”

He continued, “We haven't had a whole lot of time, and this was only his second time around two turns. For him to go a mile and an eighth and under the circumstances is a testament to him. It worked out great. It's a short ship [from Pennsylvania] and there's a lot of big money up here.”

On a potential next start in the GII Wood Memorial S. Apr. 6, Reid added, “We're going to keep him around two turns from here on out. We'll definitely have a look at the Wood, there's no doubt about that. We're going to sit down with (owner) Mikey (Milam), and start plotting and planning from here on in.”

Pedigree Notes:

Uncle Heavy is the first graded stakes winner for Social Inclusion, who entered stud at Woodford Thoroughbreds near Ocala in 2017, transferred to Diamond B Farm in Pennsylvania after two seasons and now stands privately at Briardale Farm under the stewardship of Joe Imbesi.

Bred in Pennsylvania by trainer Robert Reid's sister-in-law Barbara Reid, Uncle Heavy is out of the winning Tiz Wonderful mare Expect Wonderful, who brought just $1,700 from Milam Racing Stables at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed Sale while expecting the winner.

A $70,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-Bred yearling, Expect Wonderful RNA'd for $15,000 at the 2019 edition of the December Mixed Sale in foal to The Factor. The hammer fell at $70,000 for the resulting foal, later named Roan Burgundy, at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

Expect Wonderful's 2-year-old colt Beyondexpectations is by Peace and Justice, and she was bred to Weigelia for 2024.

Saturday, Aqueduct
WITHERS S.-GIII, $250,000, Aqueduct, 2-3, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:53.79, my.
1–UNCLE HEAVY, 118, c, 3, by Social Inclusion
1st Dam: Expect Wonderful, by Tiz Wonderful
2nd Dam: Holiday Peace, by Harlan's Holiday
3rd Dam: Stilled, by Quiet American
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Michael Milam; B-Barbara Reid (PA); T-Robert E Reid Jr; J-Mychel J Sanchez. $137,500. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $293,580. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–El Grande O, 119, c, 3, Take Charge Indy–Rainbow's Song, by Unbridled's Song. 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE. O-Barry K Schwartz; B-Stonewall Farm (NY); T-Linda Rice. $50,000.
3–Lightline, 118, c, 3, City of Light–Upperline, by Maria's Mon.
1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE. ($600,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Town & Country Horse Farms LLC (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $30,000.
Margins: NO, 2HF, HF. Odds: 9.30, 4.10, 1.15.
Also Ran: Deposition, Khanate, Speed Runner, Mission Beach, Society Man, Seminole Chief. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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