Public Sector the One to Beat in HOF

Public Sector (GB) (Kingman {GB}), no worse than second in three attempts this season, has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in Friday's GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. at Saratoga.

An impressive debut winner over the Saratoga lawn last summer, the GII Pilgrim S. runner-up followed a win in a Belmont optional claimer June 4 with a rallying second-place finish after soft fractions–beaten just a head–to wire-to-wire winner Original (Quality Road) in the Manila S. July 4.

Public Sector's trainer Chad Brown won this race four straight times between 2015-18 with Takeover Target, Camelot Kitten, Bricks and Mortar and Raging Bull (Fr), respectively.

Wolfie's Dynaghost (Ghostzapper), a half-brother to millionaire Grade I-winning turfer Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy), makes his grass debut here. He enters off a win over next-out Tale of the Cat S. winner Founder (Upstart) in a washed-off optional claimer in the slop at Belmont July 3. “He has a lot of turf pedigree to him and if he's anything like his half-brother, we're optimistic that he'll run well,” trainer Tom Albertrani said.

The rail-drawn and stretch-running 'TDN Rising Star' Annex (Constitution), an eye-catching winner of his first three races, including a pair of Gulfstream stakes, figures to finally get much more pace to run at here following a trio of disappointing efforts. He was a flat fifth in the Manila last time.

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Wolfie’s Dynaghost Heads Field For National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes At Saratoga

Woodslane Farm homebred Wolfie's Dynaghost, a half-sibling to millionaire Grade 1-winning turfer Sadler's Joy, will make his grass debut in Friday's $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, a one-mile inner-turf test for sophomores at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 37th edition of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, slated for Race 7, is part of a loaded Friday card that includes the $120,000 Alydar in Race 8, a nine-furlong test for older horses who have not won a sweepstakes in 2021 other than state-bred; and the $200,000 Grade 3 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older horses in Race 9.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, Wolfie's Dynaghost graduated at first asking at odds of 33-1 in a seven-furlong maiden special weight in November over a good main track at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. The Ghostzapper bay, out of the Dynaformer mare Dynaire, returned to action in May when running a distant fifth in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Peter Pan over a Belmont Park main track rated fast.

Last out, in an off-the-turf optional-claiming event at 1 1/16-miles on July 3 at Belmont, Wolfie's Dynaghost relished the sloppy and sealed surface, bounding away to a two-length front-running score.

Wolfie's Dynaghost posted his first recorded breeze on turf Sunday, covering a half-mile in :51.10 on the Oklahoma training turf in company with older allowance winner Duress [:52.65].

With Irad Ortiz, Jr. up, Wolfie's Dynaghost tracked outside Duress before advancing through the turn and powering to the inside of his workmate for the stretch run, finishing up his breeze with vigor.

“It looked like he was really striding out well over it and it looked like he got a good hold of it. Irad was really happy with the work,” Albertrani said. “He galloped out strong, too. It was a really good work.”

“He showed a great turn of foot when Irad asked him. He responded really quickly,” Albertrani continued. “When he gave him his cue, he quickened up nicely and galloped out good. I got him in :51 and he galloped out in 1:02 and change.”

Albertrani said he is hopeful that Wolfie's Dynaghost will show the same affinity for turf as his half-sibling and stablemate Sadler's Joy, a Grade 1-winner on turf with more than $2.6 million in earnings through 37 career starts.

“He has a lot of turf pedigree to him and if he's anything like his half-brother, we're optimistic that he'll run well,” Albertrani said. “He's run well on two wet tracks. The Peter Pan was a bit of a head-scratcher. It could have been a combination of maybe he wasn't 100 percent tight that day or the dry track, too. Maybe he was looking for turf all along.

“We came back and tried him on the grass and it came off so we ran him anyway, and he was really impressive,” Albertrani added. “I think we're still in a phase with him and learning more about him, but I think this distance is perfect for him, and if the grass moves him up a step or two, even better.”

Wolfie's Dynaghost will exit post 8 under Ortiz, Jr.

Trainer Mark Casse, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday, will saddle Breeze Easy's Easy Time.

“I can't think of anything better than to get inducted in the morning and win it in the afternoon,” Casse said with a laugh.

Easy Time, by Not This Time, graduated at first asking, sprinting seven furlongs on Woodbine's Tapeta main track in October, but didn't resurface until January when off-the-board in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man on dirt at Gulfstream.

The dark bay, purchased for $250,000 at the OBS July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, tried the Gulfstream turf in February when second by a neck in a one-mile optional claimer.

Last out, Easy Time returned to synthetic and made the grade with a two-length win in the Grade 3 Marine at 1 1/16-miles on July 11 at Woodbine.

“Easy Time is a nice horse. He broke his maiden impressively,” Casse said. “We tried him on the dirt at Gulfstream and he probably wasn't ready to do that. He came back and had a troubled trip over the grass at Gulfstream and came out of it with a minor setback, so we gave him some time at our training center in Ocala. He was impressive last time.

“I think he's a pretty good horse,” Casse continued. “Judging by his only performance on the grass at Gulfstream, I don't think grass is an issue.”

Easy Time will exit post 4 under Tyler Gaffalione.

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Trainer John Terranova entered a strong one-two punch in Eric Fein's Original and Ranger Fox but said it's possible one of his entrants could scratch in favor of a start in the $120,000 Better Talk Now on August 29 at one-mile on the Spa turf.

Both horses worked a half-mile solo on the Oklahoma training turf Saturday with maiden winner Ranger Fox clocked in :51.66 and graded-stakes placed Original in :51.23.

“I'm not sure that both will run, but both worked very well,” Terranova said. “I thought Ranger Fox breezed really well yesterday and he's really stepping forward, so I figured we'll put him in there and take a look at the race.”

Ranger Fox, a Nyquist bay, is out of the Quality Road mare Xtra Spice, whose dam is Hall of Famer Xtra Heat.

Purchased for $310,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Ranger Fox graduated last out at fourth asking in a seven-furlong maiden special weight against older horses over good Belmont turf.

With Joel Rosario up, Ranger Fox tracked in third before taking command at the stretch call en route to a 5 1/2-length score, garnering a career-best 85 Beyer.

“He's a colt with talent. He just needed a little time to mature,” Terranova said. “There's a lot of room to go forward with this guy. He's doing really well right now and he's trained on forward since his maiden win at Belmont.

“He's matured quite a bit,” added Terranova. “It was nice to see it set up last time and that he handled it without issue. He was real handy and it gives us options going forward as far as stretching out when he's able to relax early.”

Original, a Kentucky-bred son of Quality Road with Luis Saez up for the second time following a third in an optional claimer on June 4 at Belmont Park, set a moderate pace over good going in the Manila, kicking two lengths clear of the field at the stretch call en route to a head score in the one-mile Widener turf test.

“Luis got to know him the first time he rode him and it worked out last time,” Terranova said. “He handled the softer ground last time too which is encouraging. Both horses have handled softer going which is good given what we've seen with the weather so far up in Saratoga. We couldn't be in better hands with Luis and Joel on our horses.”

Ranger Fox was assigned post 3 under Rosario, while Original would exit post 6 under Saez.

Rounding out the field are multiple stakes winner Annex [post 1, Junior Alvarado]; graded-stakes placed Public Sector [post 2, Flavien Prat]; maiden winner In Effect [post 5, Jose Lezcano]; and Next [post 7, John Velazquez], last-out winner of the one-mile War Chant on the Churchill Downs turf.

First post on Friday's 10-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Annex Adds Blinkers for Penn Mile

'TDN Rising Star' Annex (Constitution), a disappointing eighth as the favorite in the GII American Turf S. at Churchill Downs May 1, adds blinkers for Friday evening's GII Penn Mile S. at Penn National. The chestnut was perfect in his previous three trips to the post, including narrow wins in the Palm Beach S. Feb. 27 and Cutler Bay S. Mar. 27.

The speedy Original (Quality Road) collected third in his previous two attempts in the GIII Kitten's Joy S. Jan. 30 and Woodhaven S. Apr. 17. He will be on the engine from his inside draw with Hall of Famer John Velazquez riding.

Chess's Dream (Jess's Dream), winner of the Kitten's Joy and third-place finisher in the Palm Beach, was seventh at 20-1 in the American Turf.

Trainer Wesley Ward told Daily Racing Form that 8-5 morning-line favorite and last term's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf third Outadore (Outwork) would be scratched in favor of Sunday's Paradise Creek S. at Belmont Park.

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Outadore Installed As Morning LIne Favorite For Friday’s Penn Mile

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course announced Monday that a field of seven horses has been entered for the eighth running of the $300,000 Penn Mile (G2) for 3-year-olds going one mile on the turf to be run on Friday, May 28.

Post time for the 11-race card is 6 P.M. EST with the Penn Mile set as the fourth race scheduled for approximately 7:45 P.M. as the final leg of an “All Stakes – All Turf Pick 4.” The Pick 4 will kick off with two $100,000 stakes for Pennsylvania-breds followed by the $100,000 Penn Oaks for 3-year-old fillies going one mile on the turf.

Also featured on the evening card is a mandatory payout of the Hollywood High 5 carryover in race 7 which currently stands at over $216,000 as of Friday, May 21

Breeze Easy, LLC's Outadore, trained by Wesley Ward, was installed as the 8-5 morning line favorite for the Penn Mile. A winner in his last race in the Animal Kingdom Stakes at Turfway Park on the synthetic surface, Outadore will switch back to the turf for Friday's featured race. Twice a winner on the turf as a two-year-old, Outadore also finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Keeneland last fall. Irad Ortiz, Jr., Eclipse Award winner as the top rider in North America for three consecutive years and winner of the 2017 Penn Mile aboard Frostmourne, is scheduled to ride.

Hall of Famer conditioner Bill Mott will saddle 9-5 morning line second choice Annex for owners LNJ Foxwoods and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. A winner of his first three lifetime starts including the Cutlers Bay and Palm Beach stakes at Gulfstream Park earlier this year, Annex finished eighth, beaten only five and half lengths, as the favorite in the Grade 2 American Turf run at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby day race card. Jockey Junior Alvarado has the mount.

The Mike Maker trained Chess's Dream, owned by Michael Dubb, Steven Bouchey, Bethlehem Stables LLC and Chester A. Bishop, also last raced in the American Turf checking in seventh. Chess's Dream was victorious in the Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream Park in January and will be ridden by jockey Kendrick Carmouche on Friday.

Hall of Famer and recent Kentucky Derby winning jockey John Velazquez will be aboard Eric Fein's Original. Trained by John Terranova II, Original placed third in his last two starts – the Woodhaven Stakes at Aqueduct and the aforementioned Kitten's Joy won by Chess's Dream.

Rounding out the field is Godolphin, LLC's Gershwin, trained by Michael Stidham and ridden by Joe Bravo, J Park Racing, LLC and Delia Nash's Sibelius, trained by Jeremiah O'Dwyer and ridden by Sheldon Russell, and Kernan E Morris, Jr. and Jagger Inc.'s The King Cheek, trained by Jamie Ness and ridden by Jaime Rodriguez.

After only seven previous editions the Grade 2 Penn Mile has quickly become one of the top turf events of the year for the 3-year-old division earning Grade 3 status after just three runnings and moving up to Grade 2 status after just four renewals. In its short history, prior Penn Mile winners include Breeders' Cup champion Bobby's Kitten as well as Grade 1 winners Catch a Glimpse and Force the Pass in its short history.

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