Augustin Stable | Horse Racing Free Tips

Value Proposition Headlines Field Of Ten For Forbidden Apple At Saratoga

Klaravich Stables' Value Proposition, one of three entrants for trainer Chad Brown, leads a talented field of 10 assembled for Friday's seventh running of the $150,000 Grade 3 Forbidden Apple at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

In addition to Value Proposition, the four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner will saddle Sacred Life and Delaware in search of a first win in the one-mile inner turf test for older horses.

Value Proposition matched a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure last out, winning a one-mile optional-claiming event on the Belmont turf. That effort followed a close third in his seasonal debut in the seven-furlong Elusive Quality on April 24 at Belmont.

The 5-year-old Dansili ridgling made two attempts in graded company last year, finishing third in the Grade 3 Poker in July at Belmont and eighth in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile in September.

Brown said he is expecting a strong effort from Value Proposition.

“He's had a few breaks in his form, but I feel that he's really matured mentally,” said Brown. “Early on, he was a bit difficult to get to focus on his job. He now appears to be much more focused and confident in his works and in his last race.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will pilot Value Proposition from post 3.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Bethlehem Stables' Sacred Life [post 9, Joel Rosario] enters from a rallying fourth as the beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Dinner Party on May 15 at Pimlico.

The 6-year-old French-bred son of Siyouni made a pair of starts in 2019 at Saratoga, completing the exacta in both the Lure and Grade 2 Bernard Baruch. The talented bay captured the 2017 Group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon at Saint-Cloud.

Delaware [post 7, Jose Ortiz], owned by Dubb, Nice Guys Stables, and Michael Caruso, will make his Saratoga debut in his 20th career start. The 5-year-old Frankel bay, a Group 3 winner in France, captured the Danger's Hour in April at Aqueduct ahead of a fourth last out in the Seek Again on May 22 at Belmont.

Augustin Stable's Grade 1-placed Corelli enters from a closing third in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Monmouth, contested over good going on June 5.

The 6-year-old Point of Entry gelding ran third in last year's 11-furlong Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth ahead of a distant fifth in the 12-furlong Grade 1 Sword Dancer over soft going at Saratoga.

A winner of the 1 1/16-mile Henry S. Clark at Pimlico in April in his seasonal debut, Corelli will turn back to one mile for the first time in his 16-race career.

“I thought his best race on paper was the mile and a sixteenth race because he had some pace to run into,” said Thomas. “I don't know that he's a real mile and three-eighths horse. He may, ideally, be a mile and an eighth horse. He does seem to like to come with a run. so what we're hoping for is to get a real pace to close into.”

Thomas said he will continue to seek out opportunities up to nine furlongs for the bay gelding.

“He ran well going a mile and three-eighths last year, but he was getting weaker as the race went on, not stronger,” said Thomas. “So, the turnback seems to suit him a little bit.”

Corelli will exit post 2 under Manny Franco.

Bond Racing Stable's New York-bred Rinaldi has proven to be a horse-for-course at Saratoga with three wins from four attempts, including scores in the NYSSS Spectacular Bid and NYSSS Cab Calloway in 2019 and the West Point for state-breds in September. His lone losing effort came with a strong fourth in the Grade 3 Saranac in August.

The 5-year-old Posse gelding, bred in the Empire State by Barry Ostrager, was a pace-setting second in the one-mile Danger's Hour in his seasonal debut in April at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Luis Saez will have the call from the inside post.

Calumet Farm's well-bred Flying Scotsman, a 5-year-old English Channel chestnut, will look to get back to winning ways after off-the-board efforts in his last three starts for trainer Jack Sisterson.

Out of the French Deputy mare Padmore, Flying Scotsman is a half-brother to multiple graded stakes winner Leigh Court and 11-time winning stablemate Bon Raison. A four-time winner from 14 starts, Flying Scotsman finished sixth last out, defeated just 2 1/4-lengths, in the Grade 2 Dinner Party at Pimlico.

Flying Scotsman captured the 2018 Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille for Hall of Fame conditioner Jerry Hollendorfer and won the 2019 Woodchopper at Fair Grounds in his third start for Sisterson.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. will pilot Flying Scotsman from post 6.

Rounding out the field are graded-stakes placed New York-bred Therapist [post 4, Javier Castellano]; multiple graded stakes winner Made You Look [post 5, Tyler Gaffalione]; allowance winner Sanctuary City [post 8, Dylan Davis]; and multiple graded stakes placed Logical Myth [post 10, John Velazquez].

The Forbidden Apple is slated as Race 9 on Friday's 10-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer 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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Jonathan Thomas Seeking Firm Turf For Corelli In Monmouth Stakes

Five starts after getting Corelli, trainer Jonathan Thomas believes he has finally found the key to success for the 6-year-old gelding. At least he hopes he has.

A winner in his 2021 comeback race on April 24 at Pimlico Race Course, Corelli will step up to graded stakes company again when the grass specialist goes in the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes, the headliner on Saturday's 12-race card at Monmouth Park.

The 13th running of the $150,000 Monmouth Stakes, scheduled for 1 and 1/8th miles on the grass, has attracted a field of 10 plus two alternates.

“We're really pleased with his comeback race,” said Thomas. “We think we've figured him out. We were probably running him too long last year.

“We've tried to kind of re-invent him and encourage him to show a little more turn of foot while also relaxing early on in races.”

After racing in England for his first 10 career starts, Corelli came into Thomas' care last year. Though winless in four starts in 2020, the son of Point of Entry-Vignette by Diesis did manage to get third in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park at a mile and three-eighths. But that was the extent of his success, with two of his races last year at a mile and three-eighths and one at a mile and a half in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. All were on the turf.

“I thought he ran well in the United Nations,” said Thomas. “He looked like he was running a winning race and then at the eighth pole he was kind of coming up for air a little bit.

“That's not to say we won't run him back in the United Nations at that distance but I get the feeling he is best suited for a mile and an eighth.”

Cut back to a mile and a sixteenth for his first start this year, Corelli rallied to win by a nose in the $100,000 Henry Clark over a firm turf course.

Thomas also found out something else about the Augustin Stable-owned Corelli from the Sword Dancer: He wants nothing to do with a soft turf course. In his last start in England over a soft grass course Corelli finished 15th. In the Sword Dancer he was fifth in the seven-horse field, beaten 18 lengths.

“The turf was very soft for the Sword Dancer that day,” said Thomas. “We learned with this horse that he is not a soft turf horse. He's a big horse. He does not like the soft ground.”

It's something Thomas will keep in mind for today and tomorrow, since rain is in the forecast for both days, though Saturday's is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the 80s.

“We're keeping he weather in the front of our minds,” Thomas said. “We'll have a much better idea on Friday as to what we're doing.”

The field of 10 for the Monmouth Stakes features three horses trained by Chad Brown (Devamani, Serve the King and Tribhuvan) as well as the Todd Pletcher-trainer Winters Back.

First race post time on Saturday is 12:15 p.m. Full card simulcasting of the Belmont Stakes day program will also be available.

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Corelli Flies Late in Henry S. Clark; Xanthique, Completed Pass Victorious

Augustin Stable's Grade 1-placed Corelli, cutting back to the shortest distance of his North American career in his first race since mid-October, came flying down the center of the track to catch Grade 2-winning favorite Pixelate approaching the wire and get his nose down at the wire of Saturday's $100,000 Henry S. Clark at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 21^st running of the Clark for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles was the second of three turf stakes on an 11-race Spring Stakes Spectacular program featuring six stakes worth $650,000 in purses. Headlining the card were the $125,000 Federico Tesio, a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated 3-year-olds to the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 15, and the $125,000 Weber City Miss, a 'Win and In' event for 3-year-old fillies to the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) May 14.

The $100,000 Dahlia for fillies and mares 3 and up, also at 1 1/16 miles, kicked off both the stakes action as well as the 2021 turf season in Maryland. The $100,000 King T. Leatherbury for 3-year-olds and up sprinting five furlongs on the grass closed the card.

Ridden by Jevian Toledo for trainer Jonathan Thomas, Corelli ($12) hadn't raced since finishing seventh in a 1 1/8-mile allowance Oct. 17 at Keeneland. Prior to that he was fifth in the 1 ½-mile Sword Dancer (G1), third in the United Nations (G1) and fourth in the Tiller – the latter two at 1 3/8 miles – after arriving in the U.S. from England.

“I thought this year we'd just kind of reinvent him and let him fall off the pace and hope for a little bit of a stronger run race so he could finish up,” Thomas said. “I put blinkers on him last year and probably ran him too long, and he was just kind of idling at the end.

“We just thought we'd try something different. Honestly I thought he was going to come late and we were going to have to stretch him off of this, but he showed us a different dimension,” he added. “Really proud of how he ran.”

Ballagh Rocks was eager for the lead, breaking from outside all but one rival in the nine-horse field, going the opening quarter-mile in 23.73 seconds. Papal Law, sent off at 50-1, pressed the early pace before taking over after a half in 47.76, with 9-5 favorite Pixelate in fourth after moving off the rail for a clear run midway down the backstretch.

Pixelate forged a short lead once straightened for home but Corelli came with a steady run on the far outside after being set down for a drive by jockey Victor Carrasco. The two leaders matched strides inside the sixteenth pole before Corelli surged late, with Dreams of Tomorrow making a bold move to get up for third, 1 ¼ lengths back.

Unraced at 2, Corelli spent 2018 and 2019 racing in England for trainer John Gosden, winning once in six starts – none of them shorter than 1 ½ miles – and finishing second three times by a total of three-quarters of a length. Augustin's George Strawbridge moved the colt to Thomas last year.

“He was trained by arguably the greatest trainer on the planet so we just took over a really sound, nice horse,” Thomas said. “Really the credit goes to Mr. Strawbridge. Sharing a horse like this with us is a great credit and we're very fortunate to have him. I'm glad he got rewarded today.”

Xanthique Breaks Through with Stakes Win in $100,000 Dahlia
Thwarted by traffic and unlucky trips in her previous stakes attempts, VinLaur Racing Stables' Xanthique got an ideal ride from jockey Feargal Lynch and nabbed Grade 3-placed favorite Crystal Cliffs on the wire for a nose victory in Saturday's $100,000 Dahlia.

Shipped to Pimlico by Belmont Park-based trainer Tom Morley, on hand for the race, Xanthique ($14.20) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.92 over a firm course in a thrilling opener to the 2021 turf season in Maryland.

“There was no unlucky in that trip,” Morley said. “It was as good a ride as you'll see around there. It was phenomenal.”

Making her sixth consecutive stakes start, Xanthique settled in mid-pack as 104-1 long shot Elegant de Domino outran Lagom for the early lead and they dueled through splits of 23.25 and 47.57 seconds with Vigilantes Way in the clear three wide in third and Crystal Cliffs saving ground inside in fourth.

Sheldon Russell and Crystal Cliffs was able to find a seam to take over the top spot at the top of the lane and Lynch followed on Xanthique, using the length of the stretch to wear down the favorite, racing for the first time since being beaten a head in the Regret (G3) last June. It was 2 ¼ lengths back to Vigilantes Way in third.

“She's a nice filly. Tom's done a great job. I followed Sheldon the whole way. She was the horse to beat. He got through and I followed him through and kept it simple,” Lynch said. “The turf course is beautiful. The guys have done a great job. The ground staff, they're working hard here and Laurel and doing everything they can.”

Xanthique, by Into Mischief, now owns five wins from 18 career starts and nearly $300,000 in purse earnings. Her best stakes previous stakes finishes were fourths in the Marie Krantz Memorial Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds and One Dreamer last September at Kentucky Downs.

“We were a little concerned there might be a lack of pace in the race, but we were delighted to see those two fillies go on in front of us. Feargal just stalked the favorite the whole way around there and turning in made a brave run up the rail but she's as game as a tiger, this horse. I never had any doubt that she put her head in the hole,” Morley said. “Huge credit to my team at Belmont. She's been a real project filly, so to claim her three years ago and now turn her into a stakes winner is very special indeed.”

Completed Pass Wins $100,000 King T. Leatherbury
Robert Bone's Completed Pass made his 7-year-old debut a memorable one when he gamely held off the 7-5 favorite and pacesetter Francatelli down the stretch to win the King T. Leatherbury, covering a firm five-furlong turf course in :56.52.

Saddled by leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez and ridden by Angel Cruz, Completed Pass, second in the Leatherbury in 2019 and a winner of the Laurel Dash last year, has won nine of 21 starts and more than $400,000. Cruz rated Completed Pass behind a :22.09 opening quarter set by Francatelli before drawing alongside him around the turn and putting a head in front entering the stretch. Despite a game performance by Francatelli, Completed Pass was never headed again.

For Cruz, the victory was a bit of redemption after being disqualified from first to second in the Tesio aboard Excellorator for bothering The Reds.

“I was a little upset because I didn't think I bothered him enough, but the stewards so I did,” Cruz said. “So to come back and win this stake makes me feel better, makes me happy.”

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‘Quirky’ Theodora B. Wires Kentucky Downs’ TVG Stakes For Dickinson

Augustin Stable's homebred Ghostzapper mare Theodora B. held off a late charge by favored Mrs. Sippy to win the $500,000 TVG Stakes at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., for fillies and mares by three-quarters of length while never seriously threatened by the closing favorite Mrs. Sippy over a course rated good.

“She's a really incredible filly, a little on the quirky side,” said Fenella O'Flynn, who serves as an assistant trainer, van driver and whatever needs done for Maryland-based trainer Michael Dickinson. “But she's a really, really nice filly. She trained lovely here the last couple of days. We had to stay the extra couple of days of course, but it was better for her. We traveled here and we'll travel again tomorrow to Tapeta Farm.”

Guided by Irad Ortiz, Jr. while well off the rail, 3-1 second betting choice Theodora B. set the pace with slow fractions of 26.23 seconds for the first quarter-mile, 51.32 seconds for the half, and 1:15.85 for six furlongs. Mrs. Sippy, sent off as the 9-10 favorite under Joel Rosario, bided her time in fourth, fifth and then sixth of six starters while around four lengths back heading down the hill at the top of the backstretch.

Turning for home, Theodora B. had registered a mile in 1:39.78 and was still in front with Mrs. Sippy fifth by 2 1/2 lengths. Theodora B. dug in with gas still in the tank to hit the finish line first.

“She broke really good,” said Ortiz, the reigning Eclipse Award jockey who pulled within two wins of Tyler Gaffalione's meet-leading eight for the riding title with only Wednesday's card remaining. “She broke in front. I didn't want to fight with her too much. She relaxed going up the hill, going down the hill, waiting for me. When I called, she was there.”

Reached by phone, Dickinson said he was looking at three stakes for Theodora B. but opted for Kentucky Downs because of the 1 5/16-mile distance. In her last start, the 5-year-old mare led all the way to take Woodbine's Grade 2 Dance Smartly. She could return to Woodbine for the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor, for which this stakes has produced three winners.

Theodora B. now has six wins from 18 starts with five seconds and three thirds. With $306,900 in purse money she collected, her career earnings stand at $647,911.

Delta's Kingdom, the longest-odds starter in the field at 15-1, was second until upper stretch and checked in third, another two lengths back. She was followed by English Affair, Siberian Iris and Over Thinking, who was unable to overcome a slow start. The winning time for 1 5/16 mile was 2:09.72 on a course rated good.

Theodora B. paid $8.20 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.80 to show. Mrs. Sippy returned $2.40 and $2.20, while Delta's Kingdom's $2 show tickets were worth $3.40.

Dickinson, who invented the Tapeta all-weather racing surface that is being installed at Turfway Park, was not at the track. The horseman whose reputation surged when called the Mad Genius by turf writer Bill Finley — and who became immortalized when Dickinson objected to being called a genius — is famous in racing circles for having a female associate walk the course in stiletto heels to check out the turf.

O'Flynn said she walked the course twice.

“The first time after the rain. It wasn't so bad. I'm glad it stopped Sunday morning,” she said. “It had nearly two days to dry out. I walked it again yesterday it was better and today was perfect. The turns are just a little bit soft but we got over that.”

And no, she didn't wear stilettos. “He (Dickinson) actually asked me if I had them with me,” she said. “I said I didn't. He said he was going to overnight them to me. But I said I didn't get them. But it was perfect, and she ran brilliant.”

Dickinson pointed out that Theodora B. was carrying four pounds more, 126-122, than her rivals.

“She was nervous as a young horse,” he said. “She lost a couple of races in the paddock in her younger days. So it's taken her a bit of time to grow up.”

Asked if he was a great fit for a quirky horse, Dickinson paused and said, “Do I understand her? Well, does anybody really understand women and horses? Maybe there are some, but I'm not one of them.”

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