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Nest Romps in Beldame

Nest tuned up for her engagement in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland next month with an effortless victory in the GII Beldame S. at Aqueduct Sunday. Making her first start against her elders, the 1-9 favorite broke well from her inside post and was on the lead in the early strides before allowing Travel Column (Frosted) to take over heading into the first turn. Nest settled into third as Travel Column set the tempo with First to Act tracking in second as the quarter went up in :24.52 and the three fillies lined up across the track after a half in :49.01. Three wide on the far turn, Nest floated wider into the lane, but once straightened she produced an emphatic burst of speed to power clear to an 9 3/4-length victory.

“I was a passenger,” said winning rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. “She's doing so good right now. I broke good. Before, she used to break a step slow. Now, the last couple of times she's been breaking good out of there and that's a big advantage because I don't have to use that much. She put herself in the race and I just waited for my time to go. In the turn, I stayed away from the other horses because I was already going by them a little early, but I don't get in her way. I stayed away a little bit just to keep her there and let her do her thing.”

Winner of the GI Ashland S. in April, Nest was second in the GI Kentucky Oaks and against the boys in the GI Belmont S. She staked her claim to the top of the 3-year-old fillies division this summer at Saratoga with wins in the July 23 GI Coaching Club American Oaks and Aug. 20 GI Alabama S.

“She's going to race at four,” said co-owner Mike Repole. “She's so special. She's by Curlin and she's getting better. Those were three 'wow' performances we just saw out of her and she's improving every start. It's great for racing. She's a special filly.”

Repole will hold a strong hand at the Breeders' Cup, with Nest joined by GI Frizette S. winner Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke) and GI Hopeful S. and GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner Forte (Violence).

“Nest will probably be a top two or three favorite [in the Distaff],” he said. “Chocolate Gelato will be first or second choice [in the Juvenile Fillies], Forte will probably be first or second choice [in the Juvenile]. It's been an incredible blessing this year. Seven Grade Is and horses like this have made this year incredible.”

Pedigree Notes:

Marion Ravenwood, the dam of last year's GI Santa Anita H. winner Idol (Curlin), has also been represented this year by Sapling S. winner Lost Ark (Violence). The 14-year-old mare, a half-sister to graded placed Abstraction, was barren in 2021 and 2022 and was bred to Curlin this spring. She was purchased by co-breeder Ashview Farm for $400,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale.

Sunday, Belmont The Big A
BELDAME S.-GII, $242,500, Belmont The Big A, 10-9, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8m, 1:52.38, ft.
1–NEST, 120, f, 3, by Curlin
                1st Dam: Marion Ravenwood (SW, $112,598), by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Andujar, by Quiet American
                3rd Dam: Nureyev's Best, by Nureyev
($350,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable, Eclipse
Thoroughbred Partners & Michael House; B-Ashview Farm &
Colts Neck Stables (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.
$137,500. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 10-7-2-1, $1,873,050.
*1/2 to Dr Jack (Pioneerof the Nile), MSP, $156,155;
Lost Ark (Violence), SW, $177,000; Full to Idol, GISW,
$426,964. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–First to Act, 123, f, 4, Curlin–First Passage, by
Giant's Causeway. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Andrew
Rosen; B-AR Enterprises, LLC (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III.
$50,000.
3–Hybrid Eclipse, 123, f, 4, Paynter–Super Plan, by Valid Wager.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($37,000 2yo '20 EASMAY;
$107,000 4yo '22 FTKHRA). O-The Elkstone Group, LLC
(Stuart Grant); B-Alex Venneri Racing, LLC (KY); T-Brittany T.
Russell. $30,000.
Margins: 9 3/4, 5HF, 4 1/4. Odds: 0.05, 9.50, 48.25.
Also Ran: Travel Column, The Grass Is Blue.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Imbriale to Keep Belmont Announcing Duties; Mirahmadi To Take Over at Saratoga, Griffin at Aqueduct

While retaining announcing duties at Belmont Park, John Imbriale will retire as the full-time announcer at the New York Racing Association at the end of 2022, the organization announced Sunday. Frank Mirahmadi will take over the race calling duties at Saratoga Race Course and Chris Griffin will become the primary track announcer at Aqueduct Racetrack beginning in 2023.

Imbriale's 43-year tenure with NYRA dates to 1979 when he won a New York Daily News contest, which gave him the opportunity to call a race and work with the NYRA press office. He has served as NYRA's full-time track announcer since January 2020.

“NYRA is the pinnacle of this wonderful sport, and these last three years have been filled with incredible moments and races that I will never forget,” said Imbriale. “I'd like to thank the fans at Saratoga for truly embracing me, and I look forward to being in the booth the rest of the year and at Belmont Park moving forward.”

Mirahmadi has been the track announcer at Santa Anita Park since 2018 and Monmouth Park since 2015.

“I felt the history and tradition of Saratoga Race Course the moment I entered the gates for the first time 25 years ago,” said Mirahmadi. “It is a magical place, and I am beyond grateful to follow in the footsteps of John Imbriale next summer at the Spa.”

Griffin has served as track announcer at Parx Racing since 2021. He previously worked as track announcer at Sam Houston Race Park, Gulfstream Park West and Portland Meadows. A native of Santa Monica, California, Griffin was backup announcer to Imbriale at the 2021/22 Aqueduct winter meet.

“Aqueduct Racetrack plays a central role in New York's Thoroughbred racing ecosystem, and it was a privilege to be able to call races there last winter,” said Griffin. “I thank NYRA for this opportunity and can't wait to get back to the Big A to begin this new role.”

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Week in Review: Is Classic Best Fit for Life Is Good?

'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief) got the job done Saturday in the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga, which probably means that a start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic is on his schedule. The Whitney was a “Win and You're In” race for the Classic and has traditionally been one of the most important preps for the season-ending $6-million race. If trainer Todd Pletcher and owners WinStar Farm and the China Horse Club play this one by the book, the Classic is where they will end up.

But is that the best Breeders' Cup race for him?

After his performance in the nine-furlong Whitney, where he didn't quite deliver the type of spectacular performance he is capable of, it's a fair question to ask. The Classic is run at a mile-and-a-quarter and it's pretty clear than 10 furlongs is not Life Is Good's best distance. He'll have a lot easier time winning the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, the race he won last year, than the Classic.

Life Is Good has tried a 1 1/4 miles only once, in the G1 Dubai World Cup, and the result was, perhaps, the most disappointing race of his career. He had the lead until about 100 yards before the wire only to be passed by three horses. Pletcher has pointed out that the racing surface at Meydan was deep and tiring and said that worked against Life Is Good. That may be true, but with a horse with this much talent, he should have found a way to pull off the win. More so than the condition of the racetrack, the distance got him.

His first start after Dubai came in the GII John A. Nerud S. at seven furlongs and he thrashed a good horse in Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) to win easily. That seemed to set him up perfectly for the Whitney, where the competition included Olympiad (Speightstown) and three others. It's not that Life Is Good ran a bad race, or anything close to it. He won by two lengths and got a 107 Beyer. It was a good effort, some have said it was gutsy and that he showed heart. After getting loose on the lead, he had to fight off stablemate Happy Saver (Super Saver) to grind out the win. But, as brilliant as Life Is Good had been in some of his earlier starts, we expected something more than gutsy.

It also matters that Olympiad, who had been so consistent, winning five straight, picked this day not to show up. That meant the competition Life Is Good faced wasn't as strong as had been expected.

Winning a $1-million, Grade I race in Saratoga is no easy feat, but this didn't look like Life Is Good at his best, and the distance probably had something to do with that.

In some years, maybe Life Is Good could overcome distance limitations and win the Classic. But this year's field will be loaded. At a mile-and-a-quarter, can he beat Flightline (Tapit) or Epicenter (Not This Time)? Then there's Country Grammer (Tonalist), who finished ahead of him in the Dubai World Cup and is partially owned by WinStar.

Passing on the Classic isn't exactly a no-brainer. It's worth $4 million more than the $1-million Dirt Mile and if they don't run there they may cost themselves any chance at being named Horse of the Year. It's a race everyone wants to win and looks great on the record of a future stallion. But if you want to pick the race that is the best fit for Life Is Good and the one where he has the best chance of winning, that's an easy call. It's the Dirt Mile.

The Future of Belmont Park

On this week's TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland, NYRA CEO and President Dave O'Rourke said that NYRA's long-range plan is likely to include shutting down Aqueduct and running at Belmont in the winter. That's one of the reasons NYRA is planning on installing a synthetic Tapeta surface at Belmont. It also looks like stands will be torn down and replaced with a smaller facility.

O'Rourke also said there are no plans to change the current circumferences of the tracks, meaning the main track at Belmont will remain the massive mile-and-a-half oval that it is. Buy why? The 12-furlong track works for one race, the GI Belmont S. For every other race, it's simply too big, it's impractical and the sight lines are not good. It also means that any 1 1/4-mile dirt races, like the Breeders' Cup Classic, have to start on the clubhouse turn. A nine-furlong main track, which they have at Aqueduct ands Saratoga, makes more sense.

Fillies Dominate the Hall of Fame

Two horses from the modern era were inducted this week into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and, in Tepin (Bernstein) and Beholder (Henny Hughes), both were fillies. That's no coincidence. Since 2015, six fillies have made the Hall of Fame and only three male horses: American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), Lava Man (Slew City Slew) and Wise Dan (Wiseman's Ferry). The latter two are geldings.

In an era where star males horses who are not geldings will almost always call it quits after their 3-year-old seasons and maybe run nine or 10 times in their careers, you're not going to get many who have Hall of Fame credentials. Justify (Scat Daddy), who raced just six times, is one of the few exceptions, but only because it would be awful hard to keep a Triple Crown winner out of the Hall of Fame. Otherwise, the voters will be hard pressed to put a horse into the Hall of Fame who raced just two years and made a limited number of starts.

Fillies are a different matter. With a top broodmare being worth considerably less than a top sire, it makes economic sense to continue to race them. Beholder ran 26 times and raced at six. Tepin retired after her 5-year-old campaign and made 23 starts.

Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) ran 20 times and was still out there at age six. Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) raced 19 times and stuck around through her 4-year-old year. With top male horses, those are numbers you don't see anymore.

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Brown Wins Seventh Consecutive Belmont Spring/Summer Title; Irad Ortiz Jr. Top Rider

Trainer Chad Brown notched a record-extending seventh consecutive training title at the Belmont spring/summer meeting with 47 victories, the record for most wins earned by a trainer at a Belmont spring/summer meet. Irad Ortiz, Jr. secured the leading rider title with 48 wins, while Michael Dubb paced all owners with 16 wins. The Belmont spring/summer meet was conducted for 44 days from Apr. 28 through July 10.

The previous training record of 44 victories, set by David Jacobson at the 56-day 2013 spring/summer meet, was broken when 3-year-old filly Demandsrespect (Union Rags) graduated at fourth asking in a July 4 maiden special weight over the main track.

“My team should be very proud of themselves and proud of what they did,” Brown said of setting the meet record. “Obviously, it's never been done and they deserve every bit of it.”

Brown's successes at the meeting include 12 graded stakes victories, and he closed out the meet with a record of 153-47-30-22, earnings of $5,776,633, a 30.72% win percentage and a 64.71% in-the-money clip.

The battle for leading jockey came down to the final day of the meet as Ortiz Jr. entered the card one win behind Dylan Davis. Ortiz Jr. evened the score with a victory aboard Lady Yellen (Central Banker) in the opener before coming away with a one-win advantage aboard First to Act in race five. With the top two riders slated to ride in two more races, Ortiz, Jr. clinched the title–his 19th on the NYRA circuit–with a thrilling finish in race seven aboard Queen Bourbon (Empire Maker) to post his 48th win of the meet.

“It feels great,” said Ortiz Jr. “Honestly, we've been working so hard since the year started. Hard work, a lot of dedication. We've been out there every day that they ask for me. It feels good when you win a title. We love to win the meet; it's not easy, but thank God we got it done today. Thanks to my agent Steve Rushing for doing an amazing job. It was great. Dylan had a great meet, also.”

Ortiz, Jr.'s meet was one to remember, scoring the Classic win of his career in taking the GI Belmont S. atop the Todd Pletcher-trained Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo).

Live racing resumes on Opening Day Thursday of the summer meet at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the $135,000 Wilton S. and $175,000 GIII Schuylerville S. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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