Hello Beautiful Rounds Out 2021 Season With Willa On The Move Try

Though her career has been one with far more successes than failures, Hello Beautiful has also shown a resilience to match her talent. Trainer Brittany Russell will be hoping for more of the same from the history-making filly when she caps her 4-year-old season in the $100,000 Willa On the Move Dec. 26 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful had a three-race win streak snapped when she finished last of five as the favorite in the six-furlong Politely Nov. 26 at Laurel. Russell said the Golden Lad filly came back well, if agitated, from the performance.

“She was very unhappy after the race, in a just [ticked] off kind of way. She knew that it wasn't supposed to go like that,” Russell said. “When I went back to check on her, it wasn't her normal munching her hay. It was like, 'Get away from me.' The important thing is she's doing well, and she's still Hello Beautiful.

“She's been fine. She really only ran about a quarter of a mile, if you really look at how it went down,” she added. “She came back no worse for the wear. She's doing fine, and she's trained well since.”

Prior to the Politely, Hello Beautiful was a front-running winner of the Alma North at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and the Weather Vane and Maryland Million Distaff to put her career win total at 10, eight of them in stakes. She is one of only seven horses in event history with three Maryland Million victories.

Hello Beautiful broke from the rail and found herself atypically behind horses in the Politely, outrun to the lead by Princess Kokachin, another speedy type that drew the post just outside the favorite. Jockey Jevian Toledo opted to drop back and then make a run that never materialized.

“I probably should have been a little more clear with Toledo to just kind of stay on that filly. We know our filly. She was a step slow that day, but you've got to go. You've got to go with her,” Russell said. “They were moving, they were going quick, but that's our game, too. When she kind of got checked out of there, it was over.”

Toledo climbs back aboard for the fourth straight race in place of Russell's husband, injured jockey Sheldon Russell, and they drew Post 6 in a field of eight at 124 pounds, a topweight she shares with Call On Mischief and Jakarta.

“You can look at it all different ways, but had our filly drawn outside that filly that day, it might have been a different outcome, too. It's fine. It happens,” Russell said. “You better learn how to lose races, because we lose a lot more than we win. Just be a good loser and hopefully, she bounces back next time.”

Eric Rizer's homebred Princess Kokachin will break inside Hello Beautiful from Post 3 under regular rider Xavier Perez, looking to extend her win streak to six races. The Politely marked the stakes debut for the Jerry Robb-trained 3-year-old Graydar filly, with all of those victories coming against older horses. She set testing fractions of :21.98 and :45.12 before finishing up in 1:11.22 to win by 5 ½ lengths.

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Beaten in the Alma North and May 15 Skipat, also at Pimlico, in two previous trips to Maryland this year, Down Neck Stables' Call On Mischief is set to make her Laurel debut. She prevailed by a half-length after a prolonged drive to win the six-furlong Mahoning Distaff Nov. 22, and was most recently second in the Garland of Roses Dec. 11 over a sloppy surface at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya captured last year's Willa On the Move to cap her 3-year-old campaign on a five-race win streak. Winless in her first four starts to open 2021, she went three months between the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie Feb. 20 and Skipat, and returned to the winner's circle with a popular 6 ¼-length optional claiming allowance triumph in front-running fashion sprinting six furlongs Nov. 5 at Laurel.

Also entered are Three Diamonds Farm's Jakarta, a stakes winner making her first start for trainer Mike Trombetta and first dirt start since running fourth in the June 2020 G3 Vagrancy at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.; Kaylasaurus, racing first off the claim for Penn National-based trainer Tim Kreiser; Kentucky shipper Miss Mosiac; and multiple stakes-placed Paisley Singing.

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Partners Bid Farewell To Grand Mare

Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) has taken her connections on a remarkable ride over the last three years, and after a short sojourn in Tokyo-where she picked up fifth-place prizemoney in Sunday's G1 Japan Cup-the G1 Prix Jean Romanet winner and G1 Prix de Diane third-place finisher rolls into Deauville this weekend to go through the ring at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale as lot 192 from Haras de Castillon.

Grand Glory is trained in France and owned by a trio of Americans, but her story has a decidedly Italian feel. Purchased for €18,000 as a yearling by the Rome-based Marco Bozzi, Grand Glory went into training in Maisons-Laffitte with Gianluca Bietolini, a successful trainer in Italy who emigrated to France in 2013. After making a winning debut in December of 2018 for owner Bartolo Faraci, Grand Glory was purchased privately by a trio of Italian American friends now scattered across the States: Albert Frassetto, John D'Amato and Mike Pietrangelo.

Pietrangelo, a Memphis-based retired attorney, has been dabbling in racehorse ownership, breeding and pinhooking for the better part of 20 years, but he has never had a horse like Grand Glory. Recalling how he and his partners came to buy her, Pietrangelo said, “John [D'Amato] is really close to our trainer, Gianluca Bietolini, and also with Marco Bozzi, who is our bloodstock agent in Europe. Marco had bought Grand Glory for another client, and she ran a very good first race. John D'Amato called up Gianluca to congratulate him, and Gianluca was a little sad. He said, 'I've already had calls and I think the owner is going to sell.' John said, 'no, we need to buy this horse. Tell me what a fair price is.' We had Marco work that out and we bought her. Then John said, 'I'm going to ask Al Frassetto to come in.' So we have a third each.”

Pietrangelo and D'Amato met at a day at the races hosted by another Italian American, the Florida-based Paolo Romanelli, about 10 years ago. The pair, who each had racing interests in the U.S., hit it off, and before they knew it they were racehorse owners overseas.

“There were a couple of horses that were sold in Ocala and shipped over to Europe, but the buyer never paid for them, so the horses were there and they were actually with Gianluca, so we bought them,” Pietrangelo said. “Between the three of them, I don't think they won a race, but that's how we got started. Marco then bought us a couple at the Arqana sale, and we had some good luck.”

Some good luck, and a lot of ability, would be a good descriptor for Grand Glory who, after her purchase by D'Amato, Frassetto and Pietrangelo, was put away for the winter. Meeting heavy ground on her 3-year-old debut, she was second in the Listed Prix Rose de Mai, and five weeks later won a Saint-Cloud conditions race going 2000 metres. Next up was a lofty assignment in the G1 Prix de Diane, but Grand Glory's odds of 28-1 did nothing to damper the excitement of her owners, who all traveled to Chantilly to see their filly in action. Grand Glory outran her odds to be a fast-finishing third behind Channel (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}).

“That was one of my most exciting days at the races,” Pietrangelo said. “It's as big a race in France as anything we have in the U.S., and to see her close like she did–maybe with another 20, 30 yards, I'm not saying we'd win, but maybe we'd get second. It was just spectacular.”

The subsequent onset of the pandemic has meant that Team Grand Glory hasn't since been able to gather to cheer home their mare in person, but she has nonetheless continued to provide thrills from afar. In her first appearance since the Diane, Grand Glory won her first black-type race, the Listed Prix Zarkava at ParisLongchamp, last May, and added the G3 Prix de Flore before seasons' end.

As good as Grand Glory was at three and four, she has proven a revelation at five. After winning the G3 Grand Prix de Vichy, she came from a joint-last early to nab the defending winner and Breeders' Cup champion Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) by a short head in the G1 Prix Jean Romanet in August. The bob of the head, however, went against Grand Glory next out, and she lost the G1 Prix de l'Opera by a nose to Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}), who will also be offered on Saturday.

“After she won the Romanet we were pretty excited, and then we went to the Opera and she lost by a little bit less than she won the Romanet,” Pietrangelo said. “You live by the sword you die by. You can't complain, though it was heartbreaking.”

A trip to the Breeders' Cup and subsequent sale at Fasig-Tipton November had come under consideration for Grand Glory, but with Bietolini wary of the mare's suitability to Del Mar, that plan was shelved. Just days after the Opera, it was announced that Grand Glory would sell at Arqana, but her owners weren't quite ready to call time on a mare at the top of her game. So it was decided to take up an invitation for the Japan Cup.

“We tried like heck to go, and they dropped the quarantine to three days so that made it possible, but you had to have an essential reason to travel to Japan, and owning a horse in the Japan Cup wasn't considered essential enough,” Pietrangelo said.

So Pietrangelo and his family stayed up until 1 a.m. to watch at home in Memphis as Grand Glory came home a very respectable fifth, tracking the winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) much of the way before getting going a bit late in the stretch, a placing no international raider has bettered in Tokyo's marquee race in the past decade.

“We're very satisfied,” Pietrangelo said. “Nobody was going to catch the winner, Contrail–that's a special horse–but I think that stretch was a bit short for her. It was incredible competition and I think it was a great experience-we're sorry we couldn't have been there with her, but we're pleased.”

“She came out of it fine,” he added. “It's hard to say I'm happy with fifth, but with that field and under the conditions, it's ok. We beat the other two foreign horses, and one of those [Broome] had finished second in the Breeders' Cup just three weeks ago, so we're pleased. I don't think she hurt her value for the sale at all. It was quite a privilege for us to have a horse invited to that race and to run respectably, which is what she did.”

One of just two current-season Group 1 winners catalogued at the sale, Grand Glory-with an outcross pedigree to boot-offers plenty of upside to breeders anywhere in the world.

“I think she's really an outstanding broodmare prospect,” Pietrangelo said. “Her demeanour-you can get in the stall with her, you could take her out and walk her, she's just so pleasant to be around. For a horse that's that good and that competitive, the only time she has an edge is on the racetrack. She's perfectly correct, she's good-sized, and she has a race record.”

“There is no stallion in Europe that you couldn't breed her to except for her own sire,” he added. “She would be an outcross with anyone, and we think that's really an exciting opportunity for her.”

Pietrangelo said high-end breeding has never been in the business plan of he or is partners-hence why Grand Glory is going through the ring-but he stressed that, naturally, they won't let her go cheaply.

“The problem with breeding from her-and we've talked about it-is that to do her justice, you need to go to one of the top sires anywhere,” he reasoned. “In Europe, you're talking a couple hundred thousand pounds. In the U.S., who are you going to breed her to? You'd have to breed her to a turf stallion so you'd go to War Front. But to do her justice you need to have a large breeder who has the resources and wherewithal to say, 'we're going to breed her to the best available.'”

“To do her right would require substantial commitment to stud fees, and that's not the level I play at,” he added. “John doesn't breed, and I don't think Al breeds, so it didn't make sense for us to change what we do. But of course if she doesn't get a price we're happy with, we'll have to change what we do. We're not going to give her away. So if we have to breed from her, we will. But we think in the hands of one of the leading breeders around, she'll be a lot better served and her offspring will have much better opportunities.”

While the pandemic has forced Pietrangelo to miss out on much of Grand Glory's Group 1 action, he is taking up the opportunity to travel to Deauville this week to see Grand Glory go through the ring. For the man who fell in love with racing going to Aqueduct Racetrack in New York to watch Dr. Fager run, the gravity of being the custodian of a mare like Grand Glory is not lost.

“She means so much,” Pietrangelo said. “Just to have a horse to do this, and to be there for the Diane; that was probably one of the best days I've had, and I've been to all the Derbys. It's very rewarding to have a mare of this calibre and to know that she's a gentle mare with a really good head, and is so pleasant to be around.”

Bozzi has already begun to replenish the partners' stable with the addition of a 2-year-old and a yearling, and Pietrangelo warned he may not be leaving Deauville empty-handed, even if Grand Glory does sell.

“Marco Bozzi is convinced we need to buy a replacement,” Pietrangelo said. “He has already told me, 'if she sells well, you're not leaving unless you buy a broodmare.' I told him if he can guarantee me one with the same ability, I might go for it.”

He added, “It's a lot of fun, and having the faith I have in Gianluca and Marco-I know Marco will pick out a good horse for us, and I know Gianluca is as good a trainer as we can have. You have to have that confidence in the people you're working with, or you probably ought to find something else to do. But we have tremendous confidence in their skills and they've proven it. It's been fun. I never thought I'd be owning horses running in Europe or Japan, but things happen.”

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Hello Beautiful “Awesome” After Historic Win In Maryland Million Distaff

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful was doing “awesome” on Sunday following her history-making victory in the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 4-year-old filly dispatched her six rivals by 3 ½ lengths to become just the seventh horse to win three Maryland Million races since its inception in 1986, joining Ben's Cat, Countus In, Docent, Eighttofasttocatch, Mz. Zill Bear, and Hall of Fame mare Safely Kept.

“She looks awesome this morning,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “[She's] pleased with herself.

“She's been good to us. She kind of has this cocky attitude about her,” she added. “When you walk into the barn, she doesn't greet you. You walk in that first stall, her bum's getting you at the door. She has an air about her. She's very straightforward to train, knock on wood.”

Hello Beautiful won the 2019 Lassie as a 2-year-old and 2020 Distaff among her eight career stakes wins. She didn't break sharply in Saturday's race but quickly inherited the lead and was left alone up front despite the presence of speedy eight-time stakes winner Street Lute, who figured to pose an early challenge.

“It sort of the same thing it always is. I feel like there's speed in the race and she's the fastest horse. If they want to go with her, go with her,” Russell said. “It's not like she jumped out of there and had the lead from the first jump. She ran a little faster probably that first part and they sat off of her.”

It was fellow stakes winner Malibu Beauty who stayed closest to Hello Beautiful, getting to within 1 ½ lengths after a half mile, before the 1-5 favorite steadily gained separation on the field and pulled away through the lane as Street Lute mounted her bid, only to get nosed at the wire for second by Malibu Beauty.

Street Lute's former Jerry Robb-trained stablemate, 11-time stakes winner Anna's Bandit who was retired in August, was honored between races prior to the Distaff, which she won in 2019, adding to the significance of Hello Beautiful's subsequent victory.

“This is special. There's been a lot of good fillies. You saw Anna's Bandit walk over here [yesterday]. Hello Beautiful, she's won three Maryland Millions, she's won open races. It's that graded race that's missing on her resume,” Russell said. “Unfortunately, she probably won't be able to get it because of the Lasix situation, but that's OK. She keeps doing her thing and we're having fun with her.”

All graded stakes in Maryland are contested without Lasix. Riding a three-race win streak, Hello Beautiful ran fifth in the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie Feb. 20 at Laurel in her most recent graded attempt.

“It's disappointing, I think, more because she's a filly that has the ability to do it. You see her numbers and you see how she runs,” Russell said. “Maybe her 3-year-old year wasn't the year to try it. She didn't have luck with shipping and all those things, but I think now, as a mature horse, you wish you had the chance.

“Maybe if she runs as a 5-year-old next year knowing that she'd be retired as a 6-year-old [we'd try again],” she added. “I'm not saying it's completely out of the question but at this stage to keep her where she is and keep her healthy and do the right thing by her, it sort of all makes sense.”

A decision has yet to be made whether Hello Beautiful returns to race in 2022. There are two upcoming spots for her in Maryland this year, the $75,000 Politely for Maryland-bred/sired horses Nov. 26 and $100,000 Willa On the Move Dec. 26, both for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting six furlongs.

“I don't know when we're going to come to that decision. We have time. There's still two potential spots this year,” Russell said. “It just depends on how things shake out. If she keeps winning, I think they'd probably rather keep her racing, but that's just me. You have a horse who's winning, and winning stakes, she can be a broodmare next year. If she stubs her toe by the end of the year, maybe we make a different decision but if she stays healthy …”

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Hello Beautiful Gets Her Third Maryland Million Win With Distaff Victory

It took just over 82 seconds for 4-year-old filly Hello Beautiful to race her way into Maryland Million history.

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful rolled to her second consecutive front-running victory in the $100,000 Distaff Saturday at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., becoming just the seventh horse in event history with three Maryland Million wins.

The seven-furlong Distaff for fillies and mares 3 and older was among eight stakes and four starter stakes on the 36th Jim McKay Maryland Million program, 'Maryland's Day at the Races' celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state.

Hello Beautiful ($2.40) also won the 2019 Lassie as a 2-year-old among her eight career stakes victories and joins Ben's Cat, Countus In, Docent, Eighttofasttocatch, Mz. Zill Bear, and Hall of Fame mare Safely Kept in the exclusive three-win club. She was greeted with a large round of applause from fans as she returned to the winner's circle.

“It's so special, especially with her. It's a tough game, and to have a filly like her she just kind of keeps you up there. She gives you confidence. She shows you that you can do it. She makes you want to wake up in the morning and do it all over again on the bad days,” winning trainer Brittany Russell said. “I have a barn full of horses because of her, and many clients because of her. She's been so good to us.”

Favored at 1-5 in a field of six that included eight-time stakes winner Street Lute, a 3-year-old facing older horses, and Aug. 21 Miss Disco winner Malibu Beauty, Hello Beautiful broke alertly and quickly inherited the lead, going the first quarter-mile in :22.59 with Malibu Beauty giving closest chase and Street Lute settled in third on the inside.

Jockey Jevian Toledo, subbing for the injured Sheldon Russell, Brittany Russell's husband, had yet to move as Hello Beautiful rolled through a half-mile in :45.65. They drifted out to the two-path once straightened for home when Toledo shook the reins and the daughter of Golden Lad steadily pulled clear of her rivals to win by 3 ½ lengths in 1:22.22.

Malibu Beauty nosed out Street Lute for second, followed by Coconut Cake, Whispering Pines, and Street Lute's stablemate Fille d'Esprit, a winner of three straight making her first start since Dec. 18.

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“She's a really nice horse. She's just a special filly. You can do anything you want with her,” Toledo said. “She's got the speed, so we used her speed to our advantage because the track is pretty fast today. When I asked her, she just took off in the stretch. She just put her head in front and she wouldn't let them go by.”

Sheldon Russell had surgery last week on his right foot, injured in a pre-race spill Sept. 9 at Laurel. He joined his wife, who is expecting the couple's second child, and members of the ownership group in the winner's circle.

“He's the one that made me all emotional. He was screaming like a crazy man in there,” Brittany Russell said. “I felt confident, and he kept going, 'Turn her loose! Turn her loose!' He and Toledo are tight, so Toledo picking up the mount is the next best thing.”

A $6,500 purchase in December 2018, Hello Beautiful earned her third straight win following the July 31 Alma North at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and Sept. 18 Weather Vane at Laurel, and 10th from 18 career starts, pushing her career bankroll near the $600,000 mark. She is 9-for-11 lifetime over Laurel's main track.

“The way she bounced out of her last one, it didn't seem like a hard effort for her. She just responds,” Russell said. “When we walk her over, she's ready to go. She's been touting herself.”

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