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Belmont Park Resumes Annual 9/11 Tribute To Firefighters

From air shows to rock concerts, Belmont Park has hosted a wide variety of non-racing events in its more than 115 years.

But none of those events are more important than the hundreds of firefighters, their families and others who have gathered at Belmont Park in recent years to climb the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs from the World Trade Center, where 343 FDNY firefighters perished on Sept. 11, 2001.

After a year lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDNY Stair Climb returns to Belmont Park on Sunday, October 17. This year's 7th annual event is part of the nationwide 9/11 stair climb program that pays tribute to the FDNY firefighters who died more than 20 years ago on 9/11. The climb benefits the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), which supports the families of fallen firefighters and the FDNY Counseling Service Unit.

“Twenty years later, I still remember what trauma looked like etched on the faces of firefighters at the World Trade Center site when a team from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and I arrived on scene September 12, 2001,” said Chief Ron Siarnicki, who is the NFFF executive director. “It's not something you can ever forget.”

Siarnicki and a foundation team arrived at the World Trade Center site within hours of the terrorist attacks. And once there, the enormous challenge ahead in facing a level and scope of tragedy unmatched in the history of U.S. firefighting became apparent.

“We quickly understood we needed to expand our capabilities and look for resources and support that we could utilize to assist the fire service and their families through this unprecedented amount of grief and loss,” recalled Siarnicki. “Not only did we lose an unprecedented number of firefighters; we also realized that supporting the families and co-workers left behind would require behavioral and mental health support with a new and intense focus on trauma.”

The nation's inaugural FDNY stair climb to benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation took place on September 11, 2005 when Colorado firefighters climbed 110 flights of stairs in Denver – each step commemorating the 110 stories of the World Trade Centers. The concept caught on around the country and became an annual event, taking on particular relevance in New York, where the tragedy of 9/11 was so personal and still raw. Citi Field, home of the Mets, hosted the first of several FDNY stair climbs. In 2017, the annual event moved to Belmont Park.

There are several ways to participate. At https://nfff.akaraisin.com/ui/national/about?utm_source=ticketpage&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=belfall21&utm_content=fdnystairclimb, you can register as an individual climber, team captain or team member. You also can donate to a climber, a team or a team member.

Gates and on-site registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. on October 17 at Belmont Park. The opening ceremony will be at 9:30 a.m., with the climb set from 10 a.m. to Noon. Participants are invited to a post-climb reception with food and entertainment and the day's racing card. Five races will be named in honor FDNY fallen heroes.

The fees are $50 for a climber (13 & up), which includes a t-shirt, badge & after party; $35 for a virtual climber (includes a t-shirt and virtual-climb toolkit); $35 for a virtual runner/walker, biker and gym stair climber (includes a t-shirt and virtual-climb toolkit; $50 for a climb supporter; and $20 for Kids, 4-12 (includes the after P=party, which is free for Children 3 & under.

“The FDNY knows that we're here for them as long as they need us,” said Chief Siarnicki of the NFFF. “We've been able to bring this same promise to the fire service as a whole. Our trauma, grief and behavioral health counseling program is something we now offer to fire service organizations across the U.S. as they're dealing with their own traumatic events and line-of-duty deaths.”

Go to firehero.org to read Chief Siarnicki's article, “20th Anniversary of 9/11 Lessons Learned.”

The post Belmont Park Resumes Annual 9/11 Tribute To Firefighters appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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My Sister Nat Repeats As Winner Of Waya Stakes

My Sister Nat lived up to her status as the post time favorite, won her second straight edition of the Grade 3 Waya Stakes with a sweeping outside move on Sunday at Belmont Park.

The 6-year-old French-bred Acclamation mare placed mid-pack by jockey Jose Ortiz, breaking from the outside post, as Always Shopping took the early lead on the rail, followed closely by Call Me Love. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. guided Always Shopping through an opening quarter in :25.63 seconds, and the pair stretched out their early lead through the first turn of the 1 3/8-mile race.

Always Shopping had gotten loose by 1 1/2 lengths after the opening half-mile in :52.01 seconds, while British-born Call Me Love and longshot Lovely Lucky trailed as the closest competition and My Sister Nat remained unhurried near the back of the pack. The lead trio continued to separate from the rest of the field throughout the back straightaway, and they entered the final turn through three-quarters in 1:17.52.

The top three remained unchanged through the bend, but Ortiz started calling upon My Sister Nat, who started gaining position on the outside, and was battling for second as the field turned for home. My Sister Nat drew even with Always Shopping under a vigorous hand ride, and blew past the pacesetter when Ortiz drew his crop. The mare drew clear, and crossed the line 2 1/2 lengths ahead of a late-moving Orglandes, who finished a neck ahead of Always Shopping for the runner-up spot.

My Sister Nat stopped the clock in 2:15.37 over a firm turf course, and she paid $3 to win as the post time favorite.

Sunday's race was My Sister Nat's first win since last year's Waya, which was held in August at Saratoga Race Course. She'd been on the cusp of graded success several times between wins, finishing third or better in five graded stakes races, including a runner-up effort in last year's G1 Flower Bowl Stakes.

The Waya improved My Sister Nat's record to four wins in 20 starts, and earnings of $825,672. Chad Brown trains the mare for owner Peter Brant. She was bred in France by Ecurie Des Monceaux.

View the full race chart here.

Stakes Quotes Courtesy of NYRA Press Office

Dan Stupp, assistant to Chad Brown, winning trainer of My Sister Nat (No. 7, $3.00*) and runner-up Orglandes (No. 7): “She's a very nice and very honest mare. She's had a very consistent career. She shows up every time with her run. Sometimes pace dynamics don't work out in her favor, and we get a little unlucky but Jose [Ortiz] always rides her well and she always shows up. It's nice to see her put in another strong effort.

“They were going a little slow early on, but she was also comfortable and had quite a bit of run, so she was able to overcome that pretty easily.”

On runner-up Orglandes: “She won out in California [Grade 3 Red Carpet at Del Mar] last year. She was one that we always had some high hopes for this year. We just got sidetracked with some minor stuff. It's nice to see her get back on track. We thought she would have a solid campaign and hopefully we can move forward off this race.”

Jose Ortiz, winning jockey aboard My Sister Nat (No. 7): “In this kind of race they usually go slow. It felt like they went 50 and 51 but I was following who I thought was the right horse [No. 6 Beautiful Lover] and around the three-eighths pole I put her in the clear and she gave me such a great feeling. She just was handling the course really well. She gave me a great kick from the three-eighths pole to the wire, and she kept running.

“It's big to have a win right before the Breeders' Cup. I don't know if we're going or not but we've been running against better horses. I think her last race [third in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational] was very good, we ran well and got beat by the right horse [War Like Goddess].”

Irad Ortiz, Jr., jockey aboard runner-up Orgalndes (No. 4): “I got squeezed a little bit out of the gate, so it cost me to get a better position, but that's racing.”

On improved effort from her previous two starts: “She likes the hard turf, that might have made the difference.”

The post My Sister Nat Repeats As Winner Of Waya Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Echo Zulu Brilliant Again in Frizette

There have been other impressive performances turned in by 2-year-old fillies in recent weeks (namely Hidden Connection {Connect} in the GIII Pocahontas S. and Ain't Easy {Into Mischief} in the GII FrontRunner S.), but 'TDN Rising Star' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) reaffirmed her spot at the top of the division Sunday as she blew away her competition in Belmont's GI Frizette S., a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

The L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer was a 5 1/2-length debut winner over a field that included subsequent two-time Florida-bred stakes dominator Outfoxed (Valiant Minister) on opening day at Saratoga July 15–good for a very strong 92 Beyer Speed Figure. She made similarly short work of the GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga Sept. 5, contributing to a highly memorable meet for her connections that got even better when Gunite closed things out with a win in the GI Champagne S. to complete an unprecedented double for freshman sire Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}).

Backed at 35 cents on the dollar to carry her brilliance over an additional furlong Sunday, Echo Zulu wasted no time taking command as Brown/Klaravich representative Gerrymander (Into Mischief) applied some pressure through splits of :22.94 and :46.37 (according to Trakus). There was a brief moment midway around the turn when Echo Zulu looked like she might let her competition into the race, but as soon as her nose pointed for home, she slammed the door. Ricardo Santana, Jr. hit the gas, and she poured it on at will, running the score up to 7 1/4 lengths from the staying-on Gerrymander. Maiden A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo) came out on top of a blanket finish for third.

“It's amazing. She's a special filly and she's by Gun Runner. How much better can it get? She's better than good,” said all-time winningest trainer Steve Asmussen. “She's a Spinaway and a Frizette winner. That's elite company. I'm proud of her. Good energy though the wire. She didn't stagger in there and she set honest fractions.”

The Hall of Fame trainer had won the Frizette three times previously, perhaps most notably in 2011 with the similarly brilliant My Miss Aurelia (Smart Strike), who subsequently ran to favoritism at the Breeders' Cup to lock up an Eclipse Award.

“The filly obviously has a tremendous amount of ability and I think the big jump is to get to this level,” said Asmussen when asked about the upcoming two-turn test at Del Mar. “The Spinaway and the Frizette –that sort of foundation and doing it multiple times gives you a tremendous amount of confidence. My worry was the Spinaway off one 5 1/2-furlong race with the [lack of] seasoning. The Spinaway and Frizette have eased all those tensions, now it's just up to how fast everybody is.”

Santana added, “She's special. She broke her maiden and we never expected she was ready first time out in Saratoga. How she did it [shows] she has some ability and she proved it today… She broke good and was waiting for the company. When the company got to her, she took off again. She's really special.”

Sunday, Belmont Park
FRIZETTE S.-GI, $400,000, Belmont, 10-3, 2yo, f, 1m, 1:35.12, ft.
1–ECHO ZULU, 120, f, 2, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Letgomyecho (GSW, $136,200), by Menifee
2nd Dam: Echo Echo Echo, by Eastern Echo
3rd Dam: Kashie West, by Sir Ivor
'TDN Rising Star' ($300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-L and N Racing
LLC & Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Betz/J. Betz/Burns/
CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen; J-Ricardo Santana, Jr. $220,000. Lifetime Record:
3-3-0-0, $440,000. *1/2 to Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's
Song), GSP, $253,478; J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), GSW,
$377,543; and Echo Town (Speightstown), GISW, $410,020.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Gerrymander, 120, f, 2, Into Mischief–Ruby Lips (GSP), by
Hard Spun. ($375,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables,
Inc.; B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC & Pollock Farms (KY);
T-Chad C. Brown. $80,000.
3–A Mo Reay, 120, f, 2, Uncle Mo–Margaret Reay (GSP,
$133,455), by Pioneerof the Nile. ($400,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O-My Racehorse Stable & Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-T & G Farm
of Kentucky LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $48,000.
Margins: 7 1/4, 3, NK. Odds: 0.35, 10.60, 6.50.
Also Ran: Magic Circle, Saucy Lady T, Jester Calls Nojoy, Hot Fudge, Jumeirah, Frosty Brew. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Gun Runner has been represented by four graded stakes winners already in his first crop, including the aforementioned Gunite, who was fifth in Saturday's GI Champagne S.; fellow Winchell/Asmussen filly Wicked Halo, who took Saratoga's GII Adirondack S. in August; and GII Best Pal S. hero Pappacap, second in Friday's GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita on the stretch out. Tony Holmes and Winchell's Concept (Gun Runner) broke his maiden in Remington's Kip Deville S. Sept. 26 while earning a 92 Beyer.

Gun Runner's yearlings were, unsurprisingly, highly coveted at Keeneland September, with a top-priced colt bringing $975,000 and six youngsters selling for $625,000 or more. The Three Chimneys resident's 40 sellers at KEESEP grossed $13,037,000 at an average of $325,925 and median of $280,000.

Echo Zulu's dam was talented herself, winning by 5 1/2 lengths in her Calder debut as a newly turned 3-year-old and streaking to three-for-three in the 2005 GII Forward Gal S. L and N Racing and Asmussen campaigned Letgomyecho's son Echo Town, who took last term's GI H. Allen Jerkens S. and completed his first season at Coolmore's Ashford Stud this year. Echo Zulu's yearling half-sister was also extremely popular at Keeneland September–she topped the first session of the sale on a $1.4-million bid made on behalf of Joe Allen. Ron Winchell bought the second topper that day. Click here for more.

The post Echo Zulu Brilliant Again in Frizette appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Annapolis Remains Perfect With G2 Pilgrim Victory

Bass Racing's homebred Annapolis outdueled Portfolio Company in a stirring stretch drive to capture Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim going 1 1/16 miles for juveniles over the firm inner turf at Belmont Park.

The Pilgrim has seen three of its last five winners go on to capture the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, including Oscar Performance [2016], Structor [2019] and Fire At Will [2020].

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Annapolis entered out of a stylish debut win on closing weekend at Saratoga Race Course, where he rallied from off-the-pace under returning rider Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Breaking from post two in a compact field of four, Annapolis sat second behind pacesetter Portfolio Company, who marked off splits of 24.34 seconds for the quarter-mile and 48.96 to the half-mile under Joel Rosario. At the half-mile pole, Ortiz, Jr. began to inch Annapolis closer to the leader and the two colts met up at the quarter pole after six furlongs in 1:14.46.

The front-running duo gained separation from their two competitors – Limited Liability [Jose Ortiz] and Doctor Jeff [Jose Lezcano] – and battled gamely to the wire. Annapolis needed every inch of ground to get by a stubborn Portfolio Company, putting his head on the wire in a final time of 1:41.04.

“With only four horses, there wasn't much speed in the race,” Ortiz, Jr. said, “I just broke well and tried to be close to the pace. I ended up second to the horse I had to try and beat, so I just went from there. He fought the whole way to the wire. The way he did it last time he looked like a nice horse, so we expected him to move forward and he did.”

Byron Hughes, Pletcher's Belmont-based assistant, said he was pleased with how the race unfolded.

“He broke well and Irad had him in a great spot on the outside,” Hughes said. “It was a good duel down the stretch and he was able to get a head down at the wire.”

Rosario won five races on Saturday's card at Churchill Downs, including Grade 3 scores with Knicks Go in the Lukas Classic and aboard Plainsman in the Ack Ack, both for trainer Brad Cox.

The veteran rider said he had no complaints about his trip aboard maiden-winner Portfolio Company, who was exiting a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 With Anticipation on September 1 at Saratoga for trainer Chad Brown.

“He responded well. The other horse [Annapolis] came to me a little bit early and then I had to just keep moving inside. It was a very good race in the end,” Rosario said. “When he came to me, I had to hold my position. Turning for home, [Annapolis] moved a little early which engaged me to move forward a little more than I wanted to. You just have to ride them the way the race is playing.”Annapolis returned $3.30 to win off a $2 wager and increased his lifetime earnings to $165,000.

Limited Liability was third, 3 1/4-lengths ahead of Doctor Jeff. Midnight Worker and City At Night were scratched.

A Kentucky homebred, Annapolis is by War Front and out of the graded-stakes winning Unbridled's Song mare My Miss Sophia, who was also conditioned by Pletcher.

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