Tag: Band of Gold

Derby And Oaks Points Ripe On Graded Sunny Saturday At Oaklawn

The massive deep freeze which crippled the second half of Oaklawn Park's January cards seems like a distant memory, as weekend weather in Hot Springs looks to punch through the upper 60s and into the lower 70s. The sunshine will be a welcome sight with points intended for passage to the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks ripe for the picking.

 

Timberlake Favorite Choice in Rebel

The Arkansas series for the colts features another running of the GII Rebel S., which brings together a field of 13.

The class headliner looking to take home 50 Derby credits to the winner is 'TDN Rising Star' Timberlake (Into Mischief). Bred by St. Elias and owned by WinStar, the Brad Cox trainee is coming off the shelf for his 3-year-old debut.

Last summer, the bay powered across the Ellis Park wire by 9 1/4 lengths which earned him a 'Rising Star' blue ribbon at second asking. As the runner-up in the GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga, he returned to New York a month later to capture the GI Champagne S. during the Belmont at the Big A meet. His juvenile campaign came to a close when he finished fourth to 'Rising Stars' Fierceness (City of Light), Muth (Good Magic) and Locked (Gun Runner) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

“We gave him a little bit of a break after the Breeders' Cup,” said Cox. “He had a long campaign, and we were very happy with what he was able to accomplish at the age of 2. Just excited about what lies ahead for him. He's really turned it on over the last two weeks with his works. We feel like we've got him about as good as we're going to get him.”

Timberlake is the only entry without an attempt over the local strip in Hot Springs. Out of the other 12, Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, who welcomed as an investor current Oaklawn leading owner Staton Flurry, will look for 'TDN' Rising Star' Carbone (Mitole) to improve. The favorite in the GIII Southwest S. turned in a seventh-place finish.

Others in for a bushel full of points include a pair from Ken McPeek's shedrow. Northern Flame (Flameaway) missed hitting the board last fall in the GI Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland and in the GIII Street Sense S. at Churchill Downs. However, his gate to wire win against optional claimers at Oaklawn Jan. 28 proves he can be dangerous up front. His stablemate Common Defense (Karakontie {Jpn}) displays the complete opposite running style, as he likes to be heard from late in the game.

“(Northern Flame) has improved from 2 to 3,” said trainer Ken McPeek, who just celebrated his 2,000th victory this week. “He fought on well in that allowance race. He's a good, solid colt. … (Common Defense) didn't like the mud last time. I'm hoping for a dry track this weekend. I started to take him to the (Mar. 2) Battaglia Memorial at Turfway because I think ultimately his future may be on turf. He worked so good this week that I went ahead and put him back in at Oaklawn.”

Making his third start over the Oaklawn dirt is the experienced picker Just Steel (Justify) for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who was the runner-up in the GIII Southwest S. He will break to the inside of an upstart named Time for Truth (Omaha Beach) on the stretch out for conditioner Ron Moquett and principal owner Harry T. Rosenbaum.

 

Honeybee Could Be Sweet For West Omaha

West Omaha | Hodges Photography/Lou Hodges, Jr.

Just as with the boys, the fillies are also looking to harvest a top prize of 50 points. Their haul in Saturday's GIII Honeybee S. will be applied towards a spot in the starting gate for the GI Kentucky Oaks.

Leading the charge is another from Cox's stable, who like Timberlake, has been working out at his Fair Grounds base. Gary and Mary West's homebred West Omaha (West Coast) was scratched out of the GII Rachel Alexandra S. after she won the Silverbulletday S. by five lengths in New Orleans Jan. 20.

The filly will tangle the Martha Washington S. winner Band of Gold (Preservationist). The McPeek trainee turned on the jets down the lane in that Feb. 3 stakes race and won by 2 3/4 lengths in what was an impressive display of speed.

Finally, Greg Tramontin, who left racing for 23 years before returning once again as an owner in 2018, enters Alys Beach (Omaha Beach). The chestnut debuted a winner last summer at Saratoga under Tom Amoss, but she was a well-beaten fourth in the GI Spinaway S. upstate before the meet closed and when she faded to third in the GI Alcibiades S. at Keeneland in early October.

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Kenny McPeek Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

No one was hotter last week than trainer Kenny McPeek, who won two stakes at Oaklawn over the weekend, one a prep for the GI Kentucky Derby, the other a prep for the GI Kentucky Oaks. McPeek scored with the filly Band of Gold (Preservationist), who, at 24-1, won the Martha Washington S. Two races later, it was the colt Mystik Dan (Goldencents), who was an impressive eight-length winner of the GIII Southwest S. at odds of 11-1. That meant there was plenty to talk about when McPeek joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. McPeek was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

Though Mystik Dan had been a bit inconsistent during his brief career, McPeek said he always knew the colt had ability.

“This horse is really fast,” McPeek said. “He has been from the beginning. Initially, I ran him twice in sprint races and afterward I kind of regretted it a little bit because we had to retool him a little bit. He's so quick, but you had to kind of re-teach him and he needed to learn how to go longer. What he did this past weekend was pretty special in the sense that we've been teaching him to sit off horses. Let him just go easy and then learn to utilize that speed. The last three furlongs, it looked like he was shot out of a cannon.”

McPeek has won the GI Preakness S. and the GI Belmont S., but a Derby win has eluded him. He came close with his first ever runner Tejano Run (Tejabo), who was second in 1995. But, overall, he is 0-for-9 in America's greatest race. How badly does he want to add a Derby win to his resume?

“For me, being from Kentucky, it is a big deal,” McPeek said. “I think any horse trainer wants to win a race like that. But it's got to come together on its own. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm not going to put all my eggs in the one basket and say I haven't won the Derby so I haven't had a full career.”

Band of Gold was a badly beaten fifth in the Untapable S., but McPeek wasn't about to give up on her after she won her debut, a maiden race at Churchill Downs.

“Any filly that wins first time out like she did at Churchill Downs is obviously talented,” he said. “I think that she got a little confused in her second start at the Fair Grounds. We ran her in the Untapable, but she never really figured out what she was supposed to do out there. She was the one that we somewhat had to regroup with.”

In the stallion spotlight segments, the podcast featured Coolmore's Tiz the Law (Constitution), who stands for a fee of $20,000. The focus was also on Audible (Into Mischief), who stands at WinStar Farm for a fee of $15,000.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, 1/ST Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Bill Finley and Zoe Cadman reviewed the ultra-impressive win by Nysos (Nyquist) in the GIII Robert B. Lewis. Because he is trained by Bob Baffert, who remains under a ban at Churchill Downs, he cannot run in the Derby. The panel agreed that the absence of Nysos and the other Baffert runners could turn into the type of controversy that could overshadow the race itself. The discussion also included the GIII Holy Bull S., in which the heavily favored champion Fierceness (City of Light) didn't have the best of trips on his way to a third-place finish. All agreed that it was a subpar race from a horse who shows signs that he can't handle adversity. The podcast closed with a look at the story of trainer Jeffrey Englehart, who is facing a two-year suspension for clenbuterol, which he insists was administered to the horse before it came into his barn.

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Kenny McPeek’s Mystik Dan Upends Oaklawn’s Southwest

One of four Kentucky Derby preps run Saturday, the $800,000 GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park was the richest. It also promised to be the most wide-open betting contest and it didn't disappoint as a mud-splattered 11-1 MYSTIK DAN (c, 3, Goldencents–Ma'am, by Colonel John) pulled the upset for trainer Kenny McPeek. Last fall's Ed Brown S. winner Just Steel (Justify) got up for second while GIII Street Sense S. winner Liberal Arts (Arrogate) secured third. The Southwest offers points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale for the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Out from the 10 post in the mud, Mystik Dan broke sharply only to angle over to the rail and settle midpack under Brian Hernandez, Jr. Otto the Conqueror (Street Sense), winner of the Springboard Mile S. in December, set a :23.56 and :47.95 pace up front with his ears pricked while previously undefeated race favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Carbone (Mitole) pressured him from the outside. Meanwhile, Mystik Dan bided his time on the rail, with Hernandez carefully concealing the power about to be unleashed. Just Steel, keen early in fourth, collared Otto the Conqueror from the outside off the turn and looked to be running easily while Mystik Dan, so close to the rail he could have scraped paint, found a seam and burst through. The two spent the briefest of moments on even terms before Mystik Dan thumbed his nose at the competition, simply forgetting to stop as he looked stronger with every stride and sailed home eight lengths to the good after being geared down late. It was a visually impressive performance as Just Steel held for second, a neck over a closing Liberal Arts, who was nine lengths clear of the rest.

An open-daylight maiden sprint winner at Churchill in November, Mystik Dan brought a field-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure into the Southwest. Last seen finishing fifth behind Catching Freedom (Constitution) in Oaklawn's Smarty Jones S. on New Year's Day at his first try at the Southwest distance, he had faded in the stretch that day after pressing the pace.

McPeek and Hernandez also teamed up to win Oaklawn's Kentucky Oaks points race on Saturday–the $250,000 Martha Washington S.–with longshot Band of Gold (Preservationist). The pair of victories marked the first wins by each of the veterans in both of the races.

Well clear in the stretch | Coady/Robi Heffington

Pedigree Notes:

A homebred for the team of Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby, and 4G Racing LLC, Mystik Dan is out of a Colonel John mare bred by the late Lucy Bassett and originally trained by McPeek. Ma'am, out of a full-sister to GI Hollywood Futurity and GII Lane's End Breeders' Futurity winner Siphonic (Siphon {Brz}), also hails from the same family as GISW Laragh (Tapit), MGSW and sire Summer Front (War Front), and MGSW & GISP Dixie Dot Com (Dixie Brass). Ma'am has a 2-year-old Unified filly named Yes Ma'am and a yearling Knicks Go filly named Ford's Ma'am for the same team. She was bred to Wells Bayou for 2024.

Two-time GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner and Spendthrift sire Goldencents has 27 black-type winners worldwide. Mystik Dan is his seventh graded winner while also being the 10th black-type winner out of a daughter of Colonel John. The latter was last reported to be standing in Korea.

 

Saturday, Oaklawn
SOUTHWEST S.-GIII, $800,000, Oaklawn, 2-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.67, my.
1–MYSTIK DAN, 118, c, 3, by Goldencents
                1st Dam: Ma'am, by Colonel John
                2nd Dam: Lady Siphonica, by Siphon (Brz)
                3rd Dam: Cherokee Crossing, by Cherokee Colony
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Lance
Gasaway, Daniel Hamby & 4G Racing LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G.
McPeek; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. $408,000. Lifetime
Record: 5-2-1-0, $510,110. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple
Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for
the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Just Steel, 117, c, 3, Justify–Irish Lights (Aus), by Fastnet Rock
(Aus). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($500,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP).
O-BC Stables, LLC; B-Summerhill Farm (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas.
$136,000.
3–Liberal Arts, 119, c, 3, Arrogate–Ismene, by Tribal Rule.
O/B-Stephen Ferraro & Evan Ferraro (KY); T-Robert Medina.
$68,000.
Margins: 8, NK, 9. Odds: 11.40, 10.30, 4.90.
Also Ran: Awesome Road, Common Defense, Otto the Conqueror, Carbone, Linebacker, Charleston, Magic Grant, Wynstock. Scratched: Maycocks Bay.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Band of Gold a First Stakes Winner For Preservationist In Martha Washington

The 24-1 longest shot in a field of nine for Saturday's Martha Washington S. at a soggy Oaklawn Park, Dixiana Farms LLC's Band of Gold (Preservationist) became the first black-type winner for her young Airdrie Stud-based sire (by Arch) with an irresistible late run to best heavily favored Denim and Pearls (Into Mischief).

Content to drop down onto the fence from her low draw, the $70,000 Keeneland November weanling switched off nicely behind midfield for Brian Hernandez, Jr. and remained within striking distance for the run around the turn. In hand and going well nearing the stretch, she split horses a quarter-mile from home, angled out into the center of the rain-affected strip and did her best work through the line to cause the boilover.

“It's one of those deals, looking at it on paper, a lot of us were coming out of sprints, so there was going to be quite a bit of speed,” said Brian Hernandez Jr. “We ended up being 24-1. We had the two hole, so our advantage was just going to be to save every inch of ground. And if she was good enough from the head of the lane [coming] home, she was going to get there. That's what happened.”

Band of Gold became one of 14 first-crop 2-year-old winners for Preservationist when dropping her nose on the line to graduate over Churchill's one-turn mile in a race taken off the grass Nov. 25, but she never factored in her juvenile finale, a distant fifth in the Dec. 23 Untapable S. at the Fair Grounds.

Band of Gold is out of a half-sister to 2018 GIII Southwest S. hero My Boy Jack (Creative Cause) and her third dam was a winner of the GIII Fleur de Lis S. and runner-up in the GI CCA Oaks in 1996 for the late John Franks. The 2-year-old full-brother to Band of Gold, Chunk of Gold, was purchased for $2,500 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Play for Gold is due to Airdrie's Upstart for 2024. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

MARTHA WASHINGTON S., $250,000, Oaklawn, 2-3, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:45.16, sy.
1–BAND OF GOLD, 118, f, 3, by Preservationist
1st Dam: Play for Gold, by Cairo Prince
2nd Dam: Gold N Shaft, by Mineshaft
3rd Dam: Gold n Delicious, by Gold Alert
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($70,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV). O-Dixiana Farms LLC; B-Brereton C Jones (KY); T-Kenneth G McPeek; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr. $135,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $206,000.
2–Denim and Pearls, 122, f, 3, Into Mischief–Majestic Presence, by Majestic Warrior. ($500,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG). O-Red White and Blue Racing LLC; B-Town & Country Horse Farms LLC (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $45,000.
3–Neom Beach, 118, f, 3, Omaha Beach–Giant's Causey, by Giant's Causeway. ($210,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Bloom Racing Stable LLC (Jeffrey Bloom) & The Line Racing; B-Tami Bobo (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen. $22,500.
Margins: 2 3/4, NK, HF. Odds: 24.30, 1.00, 7.10.

 

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