Aug Lutes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Unbeaten Lady Speightspeare Makes All-Weather Debut in Bessarabian

'TDN Rising Star' Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), three-for-three on turf to start her career, will try all-weather racing for the first time Saturday at Woodbine, going seven furlongs on the Tapeta in the GII Bessarabian S.

A sharp 3 3/4-length frontrunning winner debuting on the local turf last August to earn her 'Rising Star' badge, the Chuck Fipke homebred quickly backed up that distinction with a score in the GI Natalma S. The chestnut was sidelined for nearly a year after that, however, before returning with an optional claiming success in a turf route here Sept. 6. She recently was scratched out of the GIII Rubicon Valley View S. at Keeneland in favor of this spot.

The favorite on the morning line at 2-1 is Gary Barber's Our Secret Agent (Secret Circle), who looks for her second straight graded stakes tally. Breaking her maiden by seven lengths in her local bow last July, she repeated in an allowance a month later, but went winless in her next seven outings while placing in six black-type events. She broke through with the addition of blinkers last out in Woodbine's GIII Hendrie S. Oct. 23, running away to a 3 1/2-length triumph.

Other contenders include Gidgetta (Fast Anna), who moved from Richard Baltas's barn to the Josie Carroll stable following a fast-closing optional claiming win in a Santa Anita turf sprint Oct. 8, and Aug Lutes (Midnight Lute), who's notched four wins and a second in five starts to open her career and upset the Glen Cove S. at 19-1 on the Belmont lawn Oct. 15.

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Equibase Analysis: Aug Lutes, Gidgetta Have The Edge In Bessarabian

This Saturday's Grade 2, $175,000 Bessarabian Stakes brings together a strong field of nine fillies and mares running seven furlongs on the all-weather Tapeta surface at Woodbine. All seven finished third or better in their most recent races, with five emerging victorious in those starts over the past two months.

Both Aug Lutes and Our Secret Agent earned their recent wins in stakes races, with Aug Lutes' win coming in the Glen Cove Stakes at the distance of the Bessarabian Stakes but on turf, while Our Secret Agent won the Hendrie Stakes on the Woodbine Main track at the slightly shorter distance of six and one-half furlongs.
Gidgetta ships into the barn of top trainer Josie Carroll after having won on turf in California last month in a very highly rated race which suggests she fits with these.
Lady Speightspeare, who is undefeated in three starts, won the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes on grass in September, 2020 then returned from nearly a year away from the races this September to win easily.
Emmeline may have just earned her first career win last month, in her ninth career start but finished second in both the Bison City Stakes and Woodbine Oaks prior to that so is another who appears to fit on all counts in this field.
Juxtapose enters the race off a third place finish in the Grade 3 Ontario Matron Stakes four weeks ago, and leads the field in career wins with six, from 13 starts.
La Libertee finished third in the Hendrie Stakes behind Our Secret Agent after a troubled start and can improve.
Spun Glass ships in from Maryland for trainer Michael Trombetta, who also saddles Aug Lutes, and won the only time she raced on an all-weather surface previously.
Last but certainly not least is Tuned, who just won the All Along Stakes on turf at Laurel for her third straight win.

Main win contenders:

Even with so many of the eight entrants proven in stakes or entering the race off top efforts, Aug Lutes and Gidgetta appear to have a significant edge over the rest based on their most recent efforts. Aug Lutes gets slight preference of the pair, not only because she has won four of five career races and finished second in the other, but because she's on a pattern for significant improvement off a career-best 102 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure earned last month posting the 19-1 upset in the Glen Cove Stakes at Belmont. That race, her first ever on turf, was run at the same seven furlong distance of the Bessarabian. Right before that Aug Lutes rallied from 10th to second in the Duchess Stakes at this seven furlong trip on the Tapeta main track at Woodbine. Jockey Antonio Gallardo, who is one of the top jockeys at Woodbine, rode Aug Lutes to that win at Presque Isle Downs in September, which followed a 10 month layoff, then rode her again in the Duchess. Likely to take another step forward as a lightly raced three year old, off the pattern of figures from 88 to 95 to 102, and proven to love the all-weather main track surface, Aug Lutes may be very tough to beat in this race.

That being said, Gidgetta may give Aug Lutes all she can handle if she takes to the surface as it appears she might based on her two recent workouts after shipping in from California. Never worse than third in five sprint races this year on turf, Gidgetta earned a career-best 108 ™ figure when finishing second in May, then two races later in a sprint earned a 105 figure before a 104 figure effort winning by a nose last month. Owned and bred by famous sports radio host Jim Rome (Jungle Racing), Gidgetta is showing every sign of running as well on the Tapeta all-weather surface as she did on turf. In her first local workout on October 30, Gidgetta worked :47.8 for a half-mile which was the 13th best of 90 workouts at the distance on the day. Then, in her most recent workout on November 8, the filly worked the same half-mile in a scintillating 47 flat which was the best workout of the day for the distance. With Patrick Husbands getting on for top trainer Josie Carroll and with it likely Gidgetta is going to run another “A” race like her last four sprints, the stretch run of this race between her and Aug Lutes promises to be very exciting.

Our Secret Agent has to be considered a contender to win as well. Her consistent career record of 3-6-3 in 12 career sprint races tells us she shows up with a competitive effort every time. As part of that record, Our Secret Agent finished third in the 2020 Bessarabian as well as second in the 2020 Duchess Stakes (with a career-best 100 figure), the same race Aug Lutes finished second in this year. Our Secret Agent also just won the Hendrie Stakes at the slightly shorter distance of six and one-half furlongs last month. The addition of blinkers for that race appears to have made a big difference, as did the jockey change to Kazushi Kimura, who had not ridden the filly since July of 2020, also to victory. With her last two sprint efforts yielding 98 and 99 figures not too far from the best efforts of Gidgetta and Aug Lutes, Our Secret Agent may have what it takes to win this race and even if she doesn't win she is highly probable to finish second or third as she's done so many times previously.
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The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Emmeline (101), Juxtapose (100), La Libertee (91), Lady Speightspeare (98), Spun Glass (96) and Tuned (104).

Win Contenders:
Aug Lutes
Gidgetta
Our Secret Agent

Bessarabian Stakes – Grade 2
Race 8 at Woodbine
Saturday, N0vember 13 – Post Time 5:16 PM E.T.
Seven Furlongs
Fillies and Mares, Three Year Olds and Upward
Purse: $175,000

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Trombetta Inches Closer To Milestone With Win In Glen Cove

Trainer Michael Trombetta secured his 1,996th career win Friday when Aug Lutes rallied from tenth – nearly 10 lengths off the pace – to secure a 1 1/4-length score in the inaugural $100,000 Glen Cove, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomore fillies at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trombetta, a 54-year-old Maryland native, saddled his first winner in 1986 and rose to national prominence when his 2006 Illinois Derby winner Sweetnorthernsaint exited the Kentucky Derby starting gate as the mutuel favorite, finishing seventh.

In addition to his Grade 1 winners Next Question and Wet Your Whistle, Trombetta captured a memorable edition of the Grade 1 Forego with Win Win Win in August 2020, contested over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track under stormy conditions at the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., track.

With Hall of Famer Javier Castellano up, Win Win Win was last of 11 early on before making a remarkable nine-wide move at the top of the lane to swoop past five rivals and collar Complexity for a half-length win.

Trombetta was still in a state of disbelief following the race.

“I honestly don't know what to say; he dropped so far back and his chicklet and number actually went off the screen and I couldn't even see across the track,” Trombetta said at the time. “I thought he was absolutely out of the race and might not have had a chance to even finish. But then turning for home, he came back on the screen. It's just unbelievable.”

Trombetta, who oversees 70-100 horses across divisions at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., and Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., said he's humbled to be approaching the 2,000 career win milestone.

“I've always enjoyed what I've done here,” Trombetta said. “It's went quickly and over the years it makes you appreciate all the effort that everyone puts into it to help get you to these points.”

Trombetta was quick to tip his cap to the backstretch staff that he works alongside each day.

“They're unbelievably dedicated individuals – and that's not just in my barn – that's in the other trainer's barns as well,” Trombetta said. “The lifestyle these employees live is truly all about the horses. It really means a lot.”

While the 19-1 score by Aug Lutes on Friday was no match in stature to Win Win Win's Grade 1 coup, Trombetta was just as appreciative of the rallying effort from the dark bay daughter of Midnight Lute in her turf debut which garnered a career-best 92 Beyer.

“She ran really nicely. We were hoping she could handle the turf and run well, but that was beyond what we could have hoped for,” Trombetta said.

A winner of 4-of-5 starts, Commonwealth New Era Racing's Aug Lutes made her first four starts on synthetic, including a runner-up effort in the seven-furlong Duchess at Woodbine Race Track in Toronto, Ontario on September 25.

Aug Lutes, with Jose Lezcano up, endured a troubled start in the Glen Cove which saw Caldee set swift splits of :22.53 and :44.50 over firm going. Aug Lutes was one of many chances at the top of the lane and the filly finished with aplomb to notch her first career stakes win.

“She got bumped leaving the gate and it may have been to her favor after the fact, but it sure didn't seem that way early on,” Trombetta said.

Trombetta said the $150,000 Autumn Days going six furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., on November 28 is one of a number of options going forward for Aug Lutes.

Live Oak Plantation's homebred Biz Biz Buzz also endured a troubled trip when third in last Sunday's Grade 3 Futurity, a six-furlong turf sprint for juveniles won by Slipstream.

“It was a peculiar situation. When I read the chart it said, 'hit by gate,'” Trombetta said. “I went back and watched and sure enough the left side of the gate opened but it didn't latch and it swung back and bounced off of him. I don't think it had anything to do with where he placed. It would probably have been more an impact for the jockey than the horse, but everything was fine.”

By Fed Biz and out of the Candy Ride mare Candy Striper, Biz Biz Buzz graduated at first asking on the Laurel Park turf ahead of his stakes debut.

While Slipstream and Futurity runner-up Run Curtis Run are likely to enter the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Trombetta said he has made no plans yet for Biz Biz Buzz.

“He's a talented guy. I'm not sure whether he's ready for the next big challenge like that but I'll watch him and see how he's doing and figure out a plan,” Trombetta said.

Trombetta will continue his quest for 2,000 career wins next week at Belmont when he sends out Arzak in Friday's inaugural running of the $100,000 Carle Place, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomores.

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Bay Storm Seeks Second Stakes Win In Friday’s Glen Cove At Belmont

Trainer Jonathan Thomas is hoping that lightning can strike twice at stakes caliber this Belmont Park fall meet when he sends out Bay Storm for Friday's inaugural running of the $100,000 Glen Cove for sophomore fillies going seven furlongs over the Widener turf at the Elmont, N.Y., track.

Owned by Bridlewood Farm, Bay Storm enters the Glen Cove off a wire-to-wire win in the Christiecat on opening weekend at Belmont, registering a 92 Beyer Speed Figure for the three-length triumph.

The dark bay or brown daughter of Kantharos broke sharply from the hedge in the Christiecat and never relinquished her advantage as she drew clear of the field under Hall of Famer John Velazquez

In her previous trio of starts, Bay Storm came from off the pace, including a two-length maiden score last October at Belmont over eventual winners O' Gotten Girl and Third Draft, the latter of whom was stakes-placed. Following this effort, she did not race until August of this year, where she was a close fifth beaten 1 ¾ lengths against winners over Saratoga's Mellon Turf, ahead of a Christiecat score.

Although Bay Storm has never raced past six furlongs in four lifetime starts, Thomas expressed confidence in his filly's ability to get the distance in the Christiecat.

“When you ride Johnny Velazquez, the instructions are pretty simple,” Thomas said. “He took control of the race, she broke well and settled really nicely on the front end and was able to kick away. She looks like she'll stretch out. We won't take the weather for granted as long as we have good ground and weather.”

Thomas said one mile could possibly be within reach farther down the road.

“It's hard to tell,” Thomas said. “She's out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare [stakes-winner Stormy Regatta] so there's plenty of stamina on the bottom. It'll be up to her. I don't see her being a mile and a quarter, but she could be effective at a mile.”

Luis Saez picks up the mount from post 7.

Shortleaf Stable's Caldee, second in the Christiecat, will attempt to turn the tables on Bay Storm for trainer Brad Cox.

The daughter of veteran stallion More Than Ready saw a considerable cutback in distance from her previous four efforts this year at one mile to a mile-and-a-sixteenth, which included runner-up efforts in the Dueling Grounds Oaks Preview on August 7 at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., and the Christiana on July 3 at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del.

Second in last year's Grade 2 Miss Grillo at Belmont to Plum Ali in her only graded stakes effort, Caldee defeated winners going one mile on May 28 over the Widener turf in her most recent victory.

Manny Franco will return to the irons from post 3.

Michael Ryan, Jeff Drown, and Team Hanley's Invincible Gal has been second five times over as many ovals at stakes level and seeks a breakthrough victory for trainer Graham Motion.

Winless in eight starts since a debut win last August at Saratoga, Invincible Gal will cut back for the Christiecat, arriving off a second in the nine-furlong Virginia Oaks on August 31 at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va. After finishing second in the Tepin last November at Aqueduct, she picked up another runner-up effort off a six-month layoff when second beaten a neck in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly at Belmont on May 15.

Breaking from post 5, Invincible Gal will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.

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Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister's Honey Pants has earned both of her career victories at Belmont and will vie for her first stakes victory after five previous attempts at that level.

Trained by Christophe Clement, the gray or roan daughter of Cairo Prince was second in the Stewart Manor last fall at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., en route to another runner-up effort in her sophomore bow in the Ginger Brew on January 2 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Honey Pants defeated winners three starts back going six furlongs over the inner turf on June 20, defeating next-out winners Too Sexy, her stablemate, and Time Limit.

Dylan Davis will pick up the mount from post 12.

Completing the field are Alwayz Late [post 1, Jose Ortiz], Orbs Baby Girl [post 2, Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.], Adelaide Miss [post 4, Jorge Vargas, Jr.], Aug Lutes [post 6, Jose Lezcano], Spirit of Bermuda [post 8, Javier Castellano], Miss Dracarys [post 9, Junior Alvarado], Por Que No [post 10, Paco Lopez], and Keeper of Time [post 11, Kendrick Carmouche].

The Glen Cove is slated as Race 7 [3:49 p.m.] on Friday's nine-race program. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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