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Count Again Locks Up BC Berth in Shoemaker

Seven-year-old Count Again (Awesome Again) sliced through horses and blew past heavily favored Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) in the lane to annex Monday's GI Shoemaker Mile S. at Santa Anita. Picking up an automatic spot in the starting gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile later this year, Count Again's victory was the fourth on the card for East Coast invader Irad Ortiz, Jr.–with a runner-up finish in the only other race run to that point–and was won in notably similar fashion to Ortiz's score in the GI Hollywood Gold Cup one race earlier.

Count Again was content to caboose the field early as 2-5 Smooth Like Strait was forced to stalk through splits of :22.54 and :45.58. The chalk blew the race apart on the turn, but Count Again immediately caught the eye in the scan for potential challengers. Having been guided out into the clear and already into second as noses pointed for home, Count Again's momentum could not be stopped as he took over at the eighth pole and built his advantage to 2 1/4 lengths at the line. Masteroffoxhounds (War Front) gave trainer Phil D'Amato the first and third finishers. The winner stopped the clock in a snappy 1:32.40.

“I just followed instructions,” said Ortiz. “Phil told me to let him do his thing and don't rush him. He has a big turn-of-foot. The horse was ready to run today, was ready to win.

“They went a little fast, but I wasn't too far [back]. Honestly, I was happy where I was with my horse. Most of the time, he comes from off the pace. I just wanted to be in contact with the field and when he put me right there in the first turn…I said, 'Why not', let him be there and he responded really well. When I went through horses at the quarter pole, Phil told me to make sure to keep him outside down the stretch. In the clear and that's what I did. When we were in the clear, I asked him and he took off.”

A Grade III winner over 10 panels at Woodbine in 2020 for his breeder Sam-Son Farm and trainer Gail Cox, Count Again was bought into by Agave Racing and transferred to D'Amato ahead of a last-to-first score in that November's GII Seabiscuit H. The gelding's form had been somewhat in and out since then, but he kicked off his 7-year-old season with a course-and-distance victory in the Feb. 5 GIII Thunder Road and doubled up in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile Mar. 5. Count Again was most recently sixth in a slow-paced running of Keeneland's GI Maker's Mark Mile Apr. 15, finishing one spot ahead of next-out GII Dinner Party S. winner Set Piece (GB) (Dansili {GB}). Smooth Like Strait was third that day after setting the pace.

“He was in great position today and turning for home, he had the leader measured,” D'Amato said. “He was sitting on a big race today. This puts him in a position to win the Breeders' Cup Mile in November.”

Monday, Santa Anita
SHOEMAKER MILE S.-GI, $500,500, Santa Anita, 5-30, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:32.40, fm.
1–COUNT AGAIN, 126, g, 7, by Awesome Again
            1st Dam: Count to Three (SW & GSP, $398,651),
                                by Red Ransom
            2nd Dam: Countus In, by Dancing Count
            3rd Dam: Cloudy and Warm, by Cloudy Dawn
O-Agave Racing Stable & Sam-Son Farm; B-Sam-Son Farm
(ON); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $300,000. Lifetime
Record: 17-7-1-4, $1,069,915. *1/2 to Ransom the Moon
(Malibu Moon), MGISW, $884,829. Werk Nick Rating: B+.
   Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Smooth Like Strait, 124, h, 5, Midnight Lute–Smooth as
Usual, by Flower Alley. O/B-Cannon Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY);
T-Michael W. McCarthy. $100,000.
3–Masteroffoxhounds, 122, h, 5, War Front–Outstanding (Ire),
by Galileo (Ire). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Rockingham Ranch;
B-Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt (KY); T-Philip D'Amato.
$60,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 3HF, 1. Odds: 2.50, 0.40, 6.30.
Also Ran: Heywoods Beach, Restrainedvengence, Dance Some Mo. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Count Again's half-brother Ransom the Moon was purchased privately from Sam-Son by Mark Martinez's Agave Racing and Jeffry Wilke before going on to take back-to-back renewals of the GI Bing Crosby S. in 2017 and 2018 for D'Amato. The Calumet Farm resident has first 2-year-olds this season, with his top seller fetching $375,000 at the recently concluded Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale.

Count Again is one of 15 Grade I winners for the late fellow Ontario-bred Awesome Again. He has an unraced 3-year-old half-sister by Pioneerof the Nile who breezed a half-mile at Woodbine Sunday in :47.60 (190/87); and a Malibu Moon 2-year-old half-sister purchased for $30,000 at KEEJAN '22 by Shannondoe Farm. Count to Three was bred to Not This Time for 2022 but a foal has not yet been reported. Count Again's second dam won the GI Matriarch S. on this same circuit.

The post Count Again Locks Up BC Berth in Shoemaker appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Agave Racing Stable to Present Major Gift to Ed Brown Society

Agave Racing Stable, owned by Mark Martinez, will be presenting a major gift to the Ed Brown Society (EBS) Saturday Apr. 30, in the Winner's Circle at Santa Anita Park, after the running of the inaugural Ed Brown Memorial. The race's namesake was born into slavery in 1850 in Lexington, KY. He went on to apprentice under Ansel Williamson, the African-American trainer of the first Kentucky Derby winner, Aristides. Ed Brown went on to become one of the most accomplished horsemen in thoroughbred racing, winning the Belmont Stakes as a jockey, the Kentucky Derby as a trainer and numerous stakes races as an owner.

EBS was founded by Living The Dream Stables, thoroughbred racing syndicates managed by Greg Harbut and Ray Daniels. Martinez's Agave Racing Stable, Living The Dream Stables and Rockin Robin Stables own Miss Bigly (Gemologist), an entrant in Saturday's GII Santa Margarita Stakes at Santa Anita.

“As a third-generation horseman, and one of the few African American professionals in the industry, I am extremely excited about Agave Racing Stable's gift to advance our mission,” said EBS Chairman Greg Harbut, whose great-grandfather was the groom of Man O' War.

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Count Again Up in Time in Kilroe Mile

Making just his 15th start at the age of seven, Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm's Count Again (Awesome Again) uncorked his usual late run to come out on top of a tight finish in Santa Anita's GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. A close third in last year's Kilroe and most recently a winner of the GIII Thunder Road S. here Feb. 5, the Ontario-bred gelding sat in a joint second last around the first turn while scraping paint. He continued to draft from a nice spot as GISW Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) sped along up front through a :45.45 half and six furlongs in 1:09.38. Count Again was switched out by Flavien Prat for clear sailing as they entered the stretch, and he soon joined the trio fighting it out for the top slot, hitting his best stride when it mattered to poke a head in front in the shadow of the wire. Space Traveller (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) and Subconscious (Tapit) were second and third, respectively, while Beyond Brilliant wasn't beaten far despite his early exertions.

“It took him a little bit to get going, but once he did, he did well,” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “I had a good trip and it worked out well. He got himself into the race and the pace was pretty hot. I was traveling super well and I thought I was behind a good horse. I was able to track him all the way. Once I got to the outside, I was able to run him down.”

Count Again spent time in three prior barns while owned solely by his breeder Sam-Son Farm, taking the 2020 GIII Singspiel S. and finishing fourth in the GI Northern Dancer S. over longer trips for Gail Cox. Agave Racing Stable subsequently bought in, and Count Again shipped West to join the Phil D'Amato barn and immediately reward his new connections with a last-to-first score in Del Mar's GII Sea Biscuit H. He went winless in his next five outings, including in the Kilroe and when fourth amidst a tough bunch in Churchill's GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. on Derby Day, but broke through again last out after a freshening since August.

“He's just one of those dream kind of horses,” D'Amato said. “You know if you have dead aim at the top of the lane with him, he's going to give you his late kick pretty much every time. He's just a fresh happy horse now and Flavien fits him well.”

The conditioner added, “This is probably one of my favorite races growing up and I've had pretty decent luck winning this race [before in 2018], but this horse being a 7-year-old, he was just one of those horses knocking on the door for the Grade I and to get it done today…for him and [Agave's] Mark Martinez and Sam-Son Farms it means a lot.”

Saturday, Santa Anita
FRANK E. KILROE MILE S.-GI, $503,000, Santa Anita, 3-5, 4yo/up, 1mT, 1:33.24, fm.
1–COUNT AGAIN, 122, g, 7, by Awesome Again
1st Dam: Count to Three (SW & GSP, $398,651), by Red    Ransom
                2nd Dam: Countus In, by Dancing Count
                3rd Dam: Cloudy and Warm, by Cloudy Dawn
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm;
B-Sam-Son Farm (ON); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Flavien Prat.
$300,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 15-6-1-4, $763,665. *1/2 to
Ransom the Moon (Malibu Moon), MGISW, $884,829. Werk
Nick Rating:B+.Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Space Traveller (GB), 120, h, 6, Bated Breath (GB)–Sky Crystal
(Ger), by Galileo (Ire). (85,000gns Ylg '17 TAOCT). O-Clipper
Logistics; B-El Catorce Partnership (GB); T-Brendan P. Walsh.
$100,000.
3–Subconscious, 122, g, 4, Tapit–Sweet Dreams, by Candy Ride
(Arg). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($380,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-LNJ
Foxwoods; B-Buscar Stables, Inc. (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella.
$60,000.
Margins: HD, HD, 3/4. Odds: 2.30, 3.20, 3.20.
Also Ran: Beyond Brilliant, Law Professor, Flavius, Delaware (GB), Bob and Jackie, Whisper Not (GB), Tell Your Daddy, Team Merchants. Scratched: Vanzzy. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Count Again's half-brother Ransom the Moon was purchased privately from Sam-Son by these same connections before going on to take back-to-back renewals of the GI Bing Crosby S. in 2017 and 2018. The Calumet Farm resident has first 2-year-olds this season.

Count Again becomes the 15th highest-level winner for the late fellow Ontario-bred Awesome Again, whose stand-outs also included three-time Big 'Cap winner Game On Dude.

Count Again has an unraced 3-year-old half-sister by Pioneerof the Nile and a Malibu Moon 2-year-old half-sister purchased for $30,000 at KEEJAN '22 by Shannondoe Farm. Count to Three was bred to Not This Time for 2022. Count Again's second dam won the GI Matriarch S. on this same circuit.

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Letter to the Editor: Why I Choose Racing Over The Sports I Loved For 50 Years

I just read the letter from my fellow Texan (Name Withheld) and I appreciate that he took the time to share his thoughts. I try to be open minded and we (racing) need everyone's opinion. However, like a coin there's two sides to this story and I feel compelled to share a different perspective.

As a kid growing up in Detroit in the 1970s, my days and nights were filled with following and watching football, baseball, basketball and hockey. I wasn't a casual fan, I was the true meaning of fan – fanatical. Watched and played sports 24/7, read the sports page front to back, traded cards, listened to the Tigers broadcast on my transistor radio well past bedtime and became a sports encyclopedia that could tell you Denny McLain's ERA the year he won 31 games, but couldn't recite the presidents of the United States.

As I became an adult, I continued to be an avid sports fan and had season tickets to the Miami Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys and, for the past 25 years, the San Antonio Spurs. I was in Candlestick Park for “The Catch” and in the arena when the Spurs hung five championship banners. Talk about a run. I thought to myself, 'It doesn't get any better than this.' I couldn't have been more wrong!

I had always been intrigued by Thoroughbred racing, but I was just a casual fan who went to the local racetrack occasionally or watched the Triple Crown races on TV. Then something happened about 15 years ago that changed my sports world forever! I decided that I wanted to own a piece of a racehorse and went in search of a syndicate and a horse that looked good to me. I didn't know anything about anything so going in search of a racehorse is nothing short of hilarious to me today. Anyway, I fell into safe hands and I was off and running.

Those early years were a blast – surrounded by great people that were truly passionate about the game and lived it morning, noon and night. I was having a ton of fun, but after a few years the numbers on the circuit I was running just didn't make sense. In other words, my expense to purse ratio was not good enough to sustain my stable. I had graduated from the syndicate ranks a few years earlier and the expenses can mount up if you aren't careful. A change had to be made if I was going to survive in the game that I was now so passionate about.

That took me to the West Coast and what was, in my eyes, the mecca of racing. You only need to sit in the stands of Santa Anita Park once looking out over the track at the San Gabriel Mountains or stand in the saddling paddock of Del Mar to know you don't want to run anywhere else in the world. To make a long story shorter, my move to California was a game changer for me. I had the good fortune of some graded stakes wins and Breeder's Cup appearances that I thought were reserved for only the top players in the game.

I don't take winning for granted. It's a tough game and winning is the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of a lot of good people. Horsemen and horsewomen committed to their trades and working tirelessly to achieve results in a sport where losing 80% of the time is considered a success. I have found that most are motivated by passion and not by money or greed. But maybe the best part of all is the friendships that you make in racing — the kind that will celebrate you when you win and are there to pick you up when you lose.

So, whatever happened to the sports I followed for 50 years? While “Name Withheld” wrote about horse racing changing, so has MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL. I guess the $150 million contracts, the outrageous tickets prices, and the $15 hotdogs and beers contributed to my change, but it was the greatness of racing that ultimately changed the sports landscape for me.

While change is inevitable in all sports, it doesn't have to be a negative. Let's evolve our game to be more inclusive and let's work together to make it better. It's easy to tear something down, but it takes real commitment to make racing something we can all be proud of.

I'm in – how about you?

In closing, I would like to thank my trainers, my partners, my jockeys, my agents, my veterinarians, my fellow owners, the racetracks and my horse racing friends that have contributed so significantly to giving me the opportunity to take the ride of a lifetime. It truly is The Greatest Game!

–Mark Martinez (Agave Racing Stable)

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, please write to info at paulickreport.com and include contact information where you may be reached if editorial staff have any questions.

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