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Gotham Winner Mischevious Alex To Use Woody Stephens As Springboard To Haskell

Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex, who captured the Grade 3 Gotham last out on March 7 at the Big A for trainer John Servis, worked a half-mile in 51.42 Tuesday morning at Parx Racing in preparation for Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“He two-minute licked and then we let him pick it up the last half. I wanted to let him stretch his legs a little bit,” said Servis.

Servis said he had considered Saturday's Belmont Stakes for Mischevious Alex, but wanted to bring the Into Mischief colt back at a shorter distance. Servis said the Woody Stephens, at seven furlongs for sophomores, would set Mischevious Alex up for a two-turn try in the Grade 1 Haskell on July 18 at Monmouth Park.

“I think this race sets him up for the other races,” said Servis. “The Belmont is a one-turn mile and an eighth and the big question for my horse is two turns, so we'll save that for next time.

“If he runs really good on Saturday, we'll probably try the Haskell.”

Mischevious Alex is undefeated since the addition of blinkers for a score in the Parx Juvenile in November. He followed that effort with a prominent score in the Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park in February ahead of his Grade 3 Gotham coup.

Kendrick Carmouche, aboard for the Gotham win, retains the mount.

The probable field for the Woody Stephens presented by Claiborne Farm includes Echo Town (Steve Asmussen), Fore Left (Doug O'Neill), Meru (Jorge Duarte, Jr.), No Parole (Tom Amoss), and Shoplifted (Asmussen).

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Inside Man: Aqueduct Security Guard Charged In March Heist Of Over $280,000

A security guard at Aqueduct Racetrack has been charged with robbery under the federal Hobbs Act, which prohibits crimes that affect interstate or foreign commerce, after authorities found evidence that he acted as the “inside man” during a March 8 heist of over $280,000, reports the New York Post.

Lafayette Morrison allegedly told his long-time associate Lamel Miller and an unidentified third man when and where the cash would be moved to the vault after the Gotham card at Aqueduct. Authorities found a pair of burner phones Morrison and Miller used to communicate with one another 38 times, and Morrison and Miller were previously arrested together in 2000 for robbery.

In a prepared statement, Brooklyn US Attorney Richard Donoghue said: “The defendants allegedly gambled that they could pull off a high-stakes robbery with the benefit of inside information, but thanks to the outstanding efforts of ATF Special Agents and NYPD detectives, they ended up on the losing end of that bet.”

Feel Glorious Last-To-First In Memories Of Silver

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Tango Uniform Racing's Feel Glorious rallied last to first to capture the $100,000 Memories of Silver for sophomore fillies on Friday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Christophe Clement, the daughter of Bated Breath settled at the back of the pack under Eric Cancel as La Feve carved out the early fractions marking the opening quarter-mile in 25.69 seconds and the half-mile in 49.69 in the 1 1/16-mile route over a firm outer turf course.

Blowout, the 6-5 mutuel favorite under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, advanced down the backstretch with good energy up the rail, but stumbled slightly before recovering to fourth as La Feve, under constant pressure from Aunt Hattie, led the field into the final turn.

Cancel urged Feel Glorious into contention with a wide rally from the back while Castellano sought racing room behind the pacesetters, eventually splitting La Feve and Aunt Hattie with a strong burst to take command late in the lane.

However, Feel Glorious, racing in the clear outside of her rivals, maintained her good momentum and got up to win her North American stakes debut by a head, hitting the wire in 1:42.13.

Feel Glorious, previously trained in Europe by George Baker, was transferred to Clement in advance of her victorious North American debut on March 9 at Gulfstream Park. She remains undefeated for her new connections.

“She was very impressive when she won at Gulfstream last time,” said Christophe Lorieul, assistant to Clement. “It was a similar kind of race. She was at the back, made one run, and got the job done. Today was obviously a better field and she got the job done. She's on the improving side.

“She'll be eligible for other stakes coming up,” continued Lorieul. “The question for us was the mile and a sixteenth today, which we were not sure would be her best distance, but she proved today that she can handle it.”

Cancel, aboard Feel Glorious for the first time in the afternoon, said he followed Clement's pre-race instructions to victory.

“She has some ability. They wanted me to cover her up and when I got to the quarter-pole, I just tried to get her in the clear,” said Cancel. “The trip worked out well. I just did what they asked, and as soon as I asked her by the quarter-pole, she gave me all she had.

“It didn't matter if they went quick or slow,” added Cancel. “With the ability that she has, she's pretty tactical. She can be closer to the pace or come from behind. We had an amazing trip. She'll keep on improving. It's just her second time out [in the United States] and she won a stakes, so she's proven she has the ability to belong here.”

Blowout completed the exacta, 1 1/2-lengths in front of La Feve. Aunt Hattie and Her Royal Highness completed the order of finish. Main-track only entrants Two Dozen Roses and It Justhitthe Wire were scratched.

Castellano said Blowout, who arrived at the Memories of Silver from a good second in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs, would have appreciated more pace to chase.

“There just wasn't any pace in the race. I tried to follow the instructions for us to wait and make one move, but I had to stalk and ran into some trouble. When she got through, she went up front, so she has a lot of fight. I like that,” said Castellano.

Bred in Great Britain by Mrs. E. C. Roberts, Feel Glorious banked $55,000 in victory, improving her record to three wins and one second from seven career starts. She paid $9.20 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing returns at the Big A on Saturday for the closing day of the spring meet, highlighted by the $100,000 Woodhaven [Race 6] along with the Park Avenue [Race 8] and Times Square [Race 9] divisions of the New York Stallion Series Stakes. There will be a mandatory payout on all pools on Saturday. First post is 1:30 p.m.

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Maven Becomes First North American Winner For American Pharoah

Triple Crown winner American Pharoah recorded his first winner in North America when Richard Ravin's Maven took the Friday opener at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Wesley Ward trainee, sent to post as the odds-on favorite in the 4 1/2-furlong maiden sprint, went straight to the lead under jockey Dylan Davis. The chestnut colt marked the opening quarter-mile in 22.55 seconds and the half-mile 46.10 under pressure from Lebda.

At the top of the stretch, Maven was confronted by Lebda but the chestnut comfortably kept his foe at bay to graduate first out, winning by a half-length in a final running time of 52.82 over a main track labeled fast.

“It's definitely big for breeding in North America,” Davis said. “A big thank you to Wesley Ward for continuing to use me. He's had a big impact on my career as a bug boy and continues to do so.

“With the horse being by American Pharoah, everyone expects a lot and he ran really well,” continued Davis. “I was jogging and galloping him in the mornings, so I got a good feel for him. A huge thanks to the connections, I'm sure they're looking for bigger and better things.”

Ward sent out filly Tesorina, American Pharoah's first starter in North America on Wednesday afternoon at Aqueduct, to a third-place finish.

Ward was ecstatic following Maven's triumph and said that American Pharoah's first North American winner will target the Group 2 Norfolk at Royal Ascot on June 20.

“I'm getting texts from everyone watching the race,” Ward said. “It's fantastic for racing, for Coolmore, for owner Richard Ravin and most importantly, for me. What I see is that he's going to be a good sire. The dam [Richies Party Girl] was a turf sprinter and I think this one is going to be a turf sprinter as well. He's had outstanding works over the Polytrack at Turfway which translates to turf. We'll run him in the Norfolk at Royal Ascot and hopefully we can put American Pharoah on the big scale as a sire.”

The 2015 Triple Crown winner's first overall starter was Peter Brant's Monarch of Egypt who graduated at first asking at Naas Racecourse in Ireland for trainer Aidan O'Brien.

Bred in Kentucky by Ward, Maven is the first progeny out of three-time turf stakes winning Any Given Saturday broodmare Richies Party Girl.

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