A Mo Reay | Horse Racing Free Tips

Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Back At Woodbine, Derby-Oaks Roads Begin At Churchill

Racing roads converge this Saturday. With a little over a month left before horses and their connections officially point to Santa Anita, the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series returns to Woodbine Racetrack. Featured are three 'Win and You're In' chances, including the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile.

Meanwhile, at Churchill Downs, the prep seasons officially open for 2-year-old colts and fillies, who are seeking to bank points for next May's 150th editions of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks.

There is much to get to with Belmont at the Big A, Pimlico and Hastings, all carding graded races as well.

Appleby Looks to Repeat in Woodbine Mile

Last year, trainer Charlie Appleby sent MGISW Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) to Toronto for the Woodbine Mile and the now-retired globetrotter with William Buick aboard brought home the prize en route to another win in the Breeders' Cup.

With a trip to the FanDuel GI Breeders' Cup Mile on the line, this time around the Godolphin conditioner ships in multiple-group winner Master of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was well-beaten last March on the World Cup undercard in the G1 Dubai Turf, but won the G2 Fred Cowley MBE Memorial Summer Mile S. by four lengths at Ascot July 15.

“He has natural pace and travels well,” said Charlie Appleby. “The E.P. Taylor is a nice conventional track which suits him. It is a fair track with a nice straight that gives you a chance.”

The 5-year-old morning-line favorite will face five others, including MGSW War Bomber (Ire) (War Front), whose stalking trip led to a key victory in the Aug. 19 running of the GII King Edward S. That race saw 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Maker's Mark Mile hero Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) run fourth, which was the 6-year-old's first attempt since finishing fourth in the G1 Dubai Turf.

Also scheduled, trainer Mark Casse has almost half of the field looking for a trip to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in the GI bet365 Summer S. Out of his entries, My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince) was certainly eye-catching when he won against restricted company by 14 lengths in the Simcoe S. over the Tapeta at Woodbine Aug. 27. The gray upstart will do battle with Catch a Glimpse S. victor Airosa (Uncle Mo), who is looking to take on the boys.

The fillies will get their chance for a trip to Santa Anita and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Saturday in the GI Johnnie Walker Natalma S. Airosa could run in this spot, but it is an incredibly open race with Appleby's import Dazzling Star (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}) present and the Christophe Clement-trained Ozara (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who broke her maiden by a neck Aug. 6 at Saratoga.

“We liked this horse from day one,” said Miguel Clement, son and assistant to the trainer. “She'd been working well on the grass, and we were actually quite confident in her. She's a gutsy little filly, with tactical speed and a turn of foot that makes her very dangerous.”

Switching to the Tapeta, Woodbine rounds out their graded races with the GIII Vigil S. Seven sprinters will try to derail the early speed of Patches O'Houlihan (Reload), who stepped up to win the GIII Bold Venture S. in Toronto Aug. 20.

The Roads Begins Where It Ends at Churchill

Less than nine months from now, the 150th GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks will be crowned. The roads start at Churchill Downs on Saturday as points of 10-5-3-2-1 will be distributed to the top five finishers.

For the colts, the GIII Iroquois S. includes Winchell Thoroughbred's Risk It (Gun Runner), who sprinted home a winner at first asking Aug. 19 at Saratoga for trainer Steve Asmussen. The morning-line favorite will try to outrun WinStar and Siena Farm's Gettysburg Address (Constitution), who won in his first career race for trainer Brad Cox at Ellis Park Aug. 6.

As for the fillies, their race is no-less competitive as nine will be sent on their way in the GIII Pocahontas S. V V's Dream (Mitole) makes her return to the races after garnering 'TDN Rising Star' honors when she debuted for Kenny McPeek back in mid-May at Churchill Downs. The gray filly was second in her last effort to the undefeated GISW Brightwork (Outwork) at Ellis July 2 in the Debutante S. Facing her will be a number of contenders on the make, including SW Hot Beach (Omaha Beach), Empire Island (Classic Empire) and Peignoir (Mendelssohn).

Rounding out the first Saturday of racing at Churchill's September meet is the GIII Locust Grove S. Out of these older females, the two-turn test welcomes back GISW and MGSW Pauline's Pearl (Tapit). The Stonestreet homebred will once again do battle with the likes of MGSW Search Results (Flatter) and GISW A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo).

Grade III Tests at BAQ, Pimlico and Hastings

Swinging up to Aqueduct for the BAQ meet that just opened, we find the final leg of the Turf Triple Series for the fillies in the GIII Jockey Club Oaks Invitational.

Charlie Appleby will look to make his presence felt here too when he sends out Eternal Hope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). Last seen running third Aug. 20 at Deauville in the G2 Prix Alec Head S, she will match wits with Graham Motion trainee Speirling Beag (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who was second by a nose at Laurel Park Aug. 13 in the Searching S.

Speaking of racing in Maryland, Pimlico's short September meet continues and featured on Saturday is the GIII Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup S., which includes MSP Smokin' T (War Front), GSP Wolfie's Dynaghost (Ghostzapper) and SW King Vega (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

Wrapping up the graded day of racing, Hastings Racecourse will put on the GIII British Columbia Derby. Morning-line favorite SW Sunbird (Orb) will look to rebound after the bay gelding ran fifth in the GIII Canadian Derby.

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What’s In a Name: Tiz Tok and A Mo Reay

4th-Santa Anita, Mcl, 2-17, 3yo, 1m.
TIZ TOK (r, 3, Tiznow–Weekend Prospect, by A.P. Indy). Lifetime Record: 4-1-0-0, $26,568. O-Hronis Racing. B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-John W. Sadler.
As a play on words under the times we live in, naming a horse by Tiznow Tiz Tok simply is masterly, no doubt about it.

BEHOLDER MILE S.-GI, $501,500, Santa Anita, 3-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1m.
A MO REAY, 122, f, 4, Uncle Mo-Margaret Reay, by Pioneerof the Nile). Lifetime Record: 12-5-1-3, $692,650. O-Hunter Valley Farm; B-T & G Farm of Kentucky LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
Not only is A Mo Reay a clever blend of two parts of a name (sire Uncle Mo and dam Margaret Reay), it also has assonance with the word Amore, so it is wordplay–pun or calembour–resonating name combination (with possibly a little touch of an indefinite article in front of it). Literary-award level brilliance, for me. And we are talking about a Grade I winner, so the Gods like the name.

7th-Oaklawn, Msw, 3-17, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m.
EXPONENTIAL STAR (f, 3, Accelerate–Star Number, by Polish Numbers). O-Ten Strike Racing; B-A. Leonard Pineau (MD); T-Lindsay Schultz.
One can find many different definitions of “exponential” online (many heavy on mathematics…), but I like this one of the many from Google: (of an increase) becoming more and more rapid. Therefore, the name of the Oaklawn 3-17 female winner Exponential Star is spot on. Actually, in that race she came from behind and was “clear at the wire”, so she fully deserves the name.

3rd-Chukyo, 1-15, Newcomers, 3yo, 1800m.
KISS ON THE CHEEK (JPN) (f, 3, Curlin–Eskimo Kisses {GISW, $711,102}, by To Honor and Serve). O-Shadai Race Horse Co Ltd; B-Shadai Farm (Jpn); T-Mikio Matsunaga.
Maybe rubbing noses to signify affection is just a cute necessity for Eskimos, in reason of the freezing weather. In any case, a U.S.-conceived but Japan-based winning 3-year-old filly out of the famous and excellent Kenny McPeek-trained Grade I-winning mare Eskimo Kisses has graduated to the more temperate name of Kiss on the Cheek. You gotta be looking forward to more progeny out of the dam: love will save the day, as the popular song goes.

The post What’s In a Name: Tiz Tok and A Mo Reay appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A Mo Reay Gives Hunter Valley First Top-Level Victory

When Hunter Valley Farm's Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin purchased A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo) for $400,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale, the plan was to add the filly to the farm's broodmare band, but a string of three straight victories in the Hunter Valley colors has postponed that trip to the breeding shed and had the operation celebrating its first Grade I triumph when A Mo Reay scored a dramatic last-gasp victory in the GI Beholder Mile at Santa Anita Saturday.

“Adrian and another partner on the farm, John Wade, they both went out,” Galvin, who enjoyed Saturday's victory from his home in Kentucky, said. “But it was great. It was fantastic. We had a couple of near-misses with Family Way (Uncle Mo), she had a great campaign with Brendan Walsh for two years, showed up in a lot of the Grade I races, but to actually have one get a head in front in our own colors is fantastic. And it was made even better with Adrian and John out there to enjoy it all. Really at the end of the day, that's what it's all about, to be able to enjoy the big days. Everybody works hard in the business and you've got to be able to enjoy the big days.”

A Mo Reay was third in the 2021 GI Frizette S., but had yet to win a stakes race when she went through the ring at Fasig-Tipton last fall. Having spent most of her career on the main track, she came into the sale off a pair of efforts over the turf, finishing third in the Aug. 25 Riskaverse S. and fifth in the Sept. 18 GIII Pebbles S.

“She is a lovely physical,” Galvin said. “Adrian and I were talking and we were saying if she could just win a listed race to go along with her Grade I-placing, it would help her broodmare value down the road.”

A Mo Reay was sent to trainer Brad Cox's Fair Grounds base and duly delivered for the team with a three-length victory in the Dec. 31 Pago Hop S.

“Not long after she went down there, Brad was starting to speak in pretty glowing terms about her,” Galvin said. “So we were getting more and more confident with her as time went on.”

The group's optimism in the filly continued to grow when a trip to Oaklawn Park resulted in a late-closing half-length victory in the Feb. 4 GIII Bayakoa S. Shipped across the country, A Mo Reay was sent off at 7-1 in the Beholder Mile. She rolled up to engage Fun to Dream (Arrogate) at the top of the stretch, only to have the even-money favorite scamper clear. Undeterred, A Mo Reay closed relentlessly to just get her head in front on the line.

Of the dramatic stretch run, Galvin said, “I can't say I was confident, but the way she has finished in her two prior races with Brad, she has done her best work in the last furlong. So I knew she would definitely finish up. It was just a matter of if she could catch Baffert's filly and it was really nail-biting as she just kind of got her at the final jump.”

Hunter Valley came close to Grade I glory a few times last year with Family Way, a filly Galvin purchased on behalf of the farm, Marc Detampel and Debra O'Connor for €150,000 at the 2020 Arqana December sale. The mare was on the board in three Grade I races last term, including a runner-up effort in the GI Rodeo Drive S. in October before selling for $1.45 million at the 2022 Fasig November sale.

Could A Mo Reay's Grade I victory mean a return to the sales ring this coming November?

“It's a bit too early to say,” Galvin said. “She has obviously become a very valuable proposition. We do know that she will definitely race this year and we haven't really discussed anything beyond that. Everything is open at this stage. We just want to enjoy her racing career this year and come up with a plan later on.”

Hunter Valley has been involved in several high-profile purchases of racing age fillies who succeed for their partners both at the track and then again in the sales ring. In addition to Family Way, the operation purchased Caravel (Mizzen Mast), who went on to win last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, for $500,000 at the 2021 Fasig November sale, as well as Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), who was purchased for $5 million at that same auction before adding another graded victory and a pair of Grade I placings to her resume before reselling for that same figure last year.

“If you do get lucky enough to stumble across the likes of an A Mo Reay or a Family Way, the prize money structure if they are good enough to compete at that level is really fantastic,” Galvin said. “Especially with fillies, you have the residual value. Whether or not she succeeded for us back at the racetrack, we knew A Mo Reay had plenty of broodmare value. It's nice to have a fallback when you buy them with black-type, or Grade I-placing, in her case. She wasn't cheap at $400,000, but at the same time, she had already X amount of broodmare value as it was. There is less risk involved with fillies, and certainly well-bred fillies.”

As for where A Mo Reay may start next, Galvin said, “She came out of [the Beholder] good and she will fly back to her Fair Grounds base the middle of the week. I haven't really had much time to chat with him, but you really don't have to get in Brad's way too much as far as race planning. He is always about two steps ahead of everybody.”

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That’s A Mo Reay! Uncle Mo Filly Upsets The Beholder Mile

There were ostensibly no moons hitting eyes like big pizza pies on a dreary Saturday at Santa Anita, but the 4-year-old filly who was up in the final jump to take the GI Beholder Mile S.?–that's A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo).

A $400,000 purchase by Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin's Hunter Valley Farm out of last year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale, the dark bay swerved a clash with returning Grade I winners Secret Oath (Arrogate) and Clairiere (Curlin) in the GII Azeri S. in favor of a second career appearance at the top level, and the decision paid off handsomely, as she chinned odds-on Fun to Dream (Arrogate) right on the line for her biggest conquest to date.

Off at 79-10, A Mo Reay raced outside of Awake At Midnyte (Nyquist) rounding the first turn and had tugged her way up into a three-wide third as Ganadora (Quality Road) set the pace from a well-held Fun to Dream down the backstretch.

Fun to Dream was allowed to stride into the lead fully three furlongs from the line and drifted out into the lane while maintaining a clear lead. The odds-on chalk boxed on gamely nearer the inside, but A Mo Reay refused to lie down and was shoved across the line first by Flavien Prat to cause the upset.

“She really dug in when it was time to run, and she was travelling well all around,” the Frenchman said. “I watched her previous race and I talked to [trainer] Brad [Cox who watched the race from Oaklawn Park] and he was really high on her and really wanted her in this race. He was right.”

A Mo Reay made the first nine starts of her career for MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, finishing third to eventual champion Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) in the 2021 GI Frizette S. as a maiden before graduating in the last of four juvenile starts that December. A Laurel allowance winner last June, she was third in the Riskaverse S. over the Saratoga turf course and fifth in the grassy GIII Pebbles S. before changing hands at FTKNOV. A Mo Reay took an off-turf renewal of the Dec. 31 Pago Hop S. at the Fair Grounds before wearing down Lovely Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the Bayakoa last time.

Pedigree Notes:

A Mo Reay is the 12th top-level scorer for Uncle Mo, four of which were produced by Unbridled-line mares (Golden Pal, Unbridled Mo and Outwork). Other graded scorers by Uncle Mo from the same line include Grade III winners Uncle Vinny, Uncle Chuck and Girl Daddy.

Margaret Reay, a longshot second to Lady Eli (Divine Park) in the 2014 GIII Miss Grillo S. for Zayat Stables, was purchased by T & G Farm of Kentucky for $180,000 in foal to California Chrome at the 2018 Keeneland January Sale and is also the dam of the 3-year-old colt Upgrade (Flatter)–a $550,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by Mike Repole and St. Elias–and a yearling filly by Gun Runner. She was most recently covered by Quality Road.

Saturday, Santa Anita
BEHOLDER MILE S.-GI, $501,500, Santa Anita, 3-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:36.25, gd.
1–A MO REAY, 122, f, 4, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Margaret Reay (GSP, $133,455), by Pioneerof the Nile
2nd Dam: Legendary Stacey, by Include
3rd Dam: Ruth Ann d'Or, by Tour d'Or
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($400,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $400,000 3yo '22
FTKNOV). O-Hunter Valley Farm; B-T & G Farm of Kentucky LLC
(KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $300,000. Lifetime Record:
12-5-1-3, $692,650. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Fun to Dream, 120, f, 4, by Arrogate
                1st Dam: Lutess, by Maria's Mon
                2nd Dam: Alchema, by Menifee
                3rd Dam: Madeira M'dear, by Black Tie Affair (Ire)
O-Natalie J. Baffert and Connie Pageler; B-Connie Pageler &
Bob Baffert (CA); T-Bob Baffert. $100,000.
3–Midnight Memories, 122, f, 4, by Mastery
                1st Dam: Tiz Midnight (GSW & GISP, $339,800), by Midnight Lute
                2nd Dam: Tough Tiz's Sis, by Tiznow
                3rd Dam: Leaseholder, by Taylor's Falls
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Michael E. Pegram, Paul Weitman &
Karl Watson (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
Margins: HD, 2 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 7.90, 0.90, 8.40.
Also Ran: Desert Dawn, Kirstenbosch, Awake At Midnyte, Pauline's Pearl, Ganadora.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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