Tag: bill mott

Cody’s Wish Picks Up Right Where He Left Off

Making his first start since taking out last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Cody's Wish (Curlin) became the third Grade I winner of the weekend for Godolphin–each for a different trainer–with a worst-to-first victory in Saturday's GI Churchill Downs S. He completed a sweep of the day's seven-furlong events after Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) caused a minor upset in the Derby City Distaff and was adding to the wide-trip success of 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) in Friday's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Back markers had been facing an uphill battle on Saturday's program beneath the Twin Spires, and Cody's Wish found himself at the tail of the field through the opening exchanges as Here Mi Song (Cross Traffic) slid up the fence and set the pace–albeit a modest :22.70 for the opening quarter-mile–in advance of fellow longshot Hoist The Gold (Mineshaft). Slipped a bit of rein by Junior Alvarado with just under four furlongs to race, Cody's Wish began to catch the eye, as he effortlessly rolled up three or four wide outside of Tejano Twist (Practical Joke) midway on the turn and was in full stride when heads were turned for home. Roused left-handed with three-sixteenths of a mile to travel, Cody's Wish inhaled Hoist The Gold before the eighth pole and shot clear to take his current winning streak to five. Tejano Twist closed off well to finish third. Here Mi Song finished fourth and was vanned off, according to the chart, but X-rays proved negative.

“With this horse winning, it's really way more than a horse race,” said Bill Mott, winning his first Grade I at Churchill since Country House (Lookin At Lucky) was put up in the Derby four years ago. “For us, I mean, Cody Dorman, and Cody's Wish, make it something special. When this horse came back after the race, and hearing the crowd, they were going crazy up there, more than they normally cheer for any other race. And the horse is just so great. He's been showing up every time. He's been off since the Breeders' Cup, but it sure looked like he was ready today.

“I get choked up easily, but when he was walking over, my assistant Kenny said he paused, and he looked, and said it was almost like there is a connection there. Usually we don't see that in horses. For whatever reason, the horse knows something is special.”

Pedigree Notes:

Cody's Wish's dam, a $67,000 graduate of the 2010 Keeneland September Sale, was purchased by John Ferguson on behalf of Godolphin for $750,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale a handful of months later, and it proved a shrewd buy, as Dance Card won the 2012 GI Gazelle H. and was third to Groupie Doll (Bowman's Band) in the 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint before retiring to stud. A half-brother to MGSW Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), eighth in Saturday's race, Cody's Wish is kin to the 2-year-old colt Hunt Ball (Into Mischief) and a yearling filly by 2007 GI Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense. Dance Card was most recently bred to Gun Runner.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
CHURCHILL DOWNS S. PRESENTED BY FORD-GI, $750,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:21.17, ft.
1–CODY'S WISH, 123, h, 5, by Curlin
               1st Dam: Dance Card (GISW, $502,200), by Tapit
               2nd Dam: Tempting Note, by Editor's Note
               3rd Dam: Tempt, by Devil's Bag
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado.
$446,400. Lifetime Record: 12-8-1-3, $1,778,530. *1/2 to
Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), MGSW, $964,133.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. 
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Hoist the Gold, 123, c, 4, Mineshaft–Tacit Approval, by Tapit.
($47,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Dream Team One Racing
Stable; B-Dream Team Racing (KY); T-Dallas Stewart. $144,000.
3–Tejano Twist, 123, g, 4, Practical Joke–Haley's Lolipop, by
Cuvee. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-JD Thoroughbreds LLC and
Davis, Joey Keith; B-Tom Durant (KY); T-Chris A. Hartman.
$72,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 0.72, 10.10, 11.72.
Also Ran: Here Mi Song, Sir Alfred James, Get Her Number, Steal Sunshine, Endorsed, Fortin Hill. Scratched: C Z Rocket, White Abarrio. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Rocket Can Drills for Derby

Frank Fletcher's Rocket Can (Into Mischief) turned in his final work ahead of Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby going five furlongs in :59.80 (4/35) at Churchill Downs Sunday. With regular exercise rider Guelser Cardona aboard and working inside of stablemate Mr. McGregor (Into Mischief), the colt  worked in splits of :12.80, :24.40, :36. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.

“I thought it went very well,” trainer Bill Mott said of the work. “That's racehorse time for this track. He had a workmate out there, both riders did a good job, and it worked out like we had hoped it would. I thought Rocket Can finished well, and galloped out well. It was a very nice work.”

Rocket Can worked in blinkers Sunday and he'll be wearing them again Saturday.

“Visually, for me, they appear to be helping,” Mott said. “We had worked him before in blinkers and we had thought that they didn't make an extreme amount of difference. But if they help just a little bit, that's what you need.”

Rocket Can, who is out of a Tapit mare, won the Feb. 4 GIII Holy Bull S. and was second behind champion Forte (Violence) in the Mar. 4 GII Fountain of Youth S. He was a closing fourth behind Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) after a wide trip in the nine-furlong GI Arkansas Derby last time out Apr. 1.

“The one thing we all have to prove is if we can get 10 furlongs,” Mott said. “That's always the question in the Derby, there's not that many prep races at that mile-and-a-quarter distance. When they turn for home in the Derby, that really sorts them out. We hope this horse has the stamina to get the 10 furlongs. We think he has it, he has a pedigree that indicates he should get the distance. You never know if they can do it, until they do it.”

The field for both the Kentucky Derby and Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks will be held Monday from 2-3 p.m. in the Aristides Lounge at Churchill Downs.

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War Like Goddess Takes a Historic Third Straight Bewitch Stakes at Keeneland

Racegoers can be forgiven a bit of deju vu when War Like Goddess (m, 6, English Channel–Misty North, by North Light {Ire}) won the GIII Bewitch S. at Keeneland Friday as it was, indeed, the third straight year she won the race. She is only the third horse in Keeneland history–and first in nearly 50 years–to win the same race at the storied Central Kentucky track three consecutive times.

The five-horse field broke with recent GIII La Prevoyante S. winner Personal Best (Tapit) tumbling out of the stalls, but the stumble didn't stop her from mounting a quick challenge to Chaton Rouge (Kitten's Joy) for the lead. Personal Best quickly went clear with MGSW Temple City Terror (Temple City) in third with the restrained power of War Like Goddess looming to her outside.

With Personal Best continuing to lead through a :26.34 first quarter and a :52.39 half, War Like Goddess was under a noticeably tight hold through the Keeneland stretch for the first time and onto the backstretch. Just after the six-furlong mark in a pedestrian 1:18.74, Joel Rosario let her rev her engine just a little and the Calumet-bred mare immediately moved up to a join Chaton Rouge in second. Temple City Terror followed and Rosario responded by letting War Like Goddess out another notch. The two both went wide off the final turn and quickly swallowed up Personal Best. It took Temple City Terror several strides to swap to her correct lead, but it didn't matter as War Like Goddess was simply too good. The George Krikorian runner pinned her ears, digging in with minimal encouragement, and the 1 1/2-length winning margin belied her ease of victory. Personal Best held on for third.

“She was outside of horses, she wasn't tucked in, and she was still relaxed enough early,” said winning Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. “Going a mile-and-a-half, coming off a long freshening, you worry about them being a little rank or a little anxious. Joel [Rosario] was able to get in behind one horse coming by the stand the first time, she relaxed very nicely, and was responsive when he asked her to run.”

Famously a $1,200 weanling when purchased at the 2017 Keeneland November sale by Falcon L & L Stables and Lawrence Hobson, the now-eight-time graded winner was a $1,000 RNA at the next year's Keeneland September sale. H N D Bloodstock picked her up for $30,000 as a 2-year-old at OBS and she now sports the Krikorian colors. She didn't debut until September of her sophomore year, reeling off two straight at Churchill Downs before Bill Mott moved her exclusively to graded company. Her first graded try–the 2021 GIII Very One S. in just her third career start–remains the only off-the-board finish on her CV. War Like Goddess then went on a tear, winning four straight, including her first Bewitch and her first Grade I, the Flower Bowl S. She keeps climbing new heights, which included a 105 Beyer when beating the boys in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. last October. She was last seen finishing third in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf against top males Nov. 5. The Bewitch, named after Calumet's great mare, was the bay's first start of 2023.

“She's as good [as she's ever been] or better right now, and she's just such a really special filly,” said Mott. “They don't come along that often. You can get a lot of horses in the barn, but to have one like this that's so consistent and she shows up all the time–she's just a very special horse. I'm very fortunate to have been the recipient of her when she came in as a 2-year-old.”

Pedigree Notes:

The much-missed champion and superstar turf sire English Channel, who died at his Calumet home last November after a brief illness, is the sire of War Like Goddess and 65 other black-type winners. His 35 graded winners include six Canadian champions, plus 2020 U.S. champion Channel Maker, and a dozen Grade I winners. War Like Goddess's G1 Epsom Derby-winning broodmare sire, the Danehill stallion North Light (Ire), has seven stakes winners out of his daughters to date, with the Bewitch winner clearly the star.

Calumet bought dam Misty North for $30,000 while in foal to Cape Blanco (Ire) at the 2014 Keeneland November sale. After she produced a few foals, including War Like Goddess, the farm resold her at the 2019 November sale for $1,000 to Charles Yochum. The mare produced a Bal a Bali (Brz) colt named North of Bali in 2020, who has yet to race, then skipped a few years before being bred to Curlin for this spring.

Friday, Keeneland
BEWITCH S.-GIII, $297,500, Keeneland, 4-28, 4yo/up,
f/m, 1 1/2mT, 2:32.11, gd.
1–WAR LIKE GODDESS, 123, m, 6, by English Channel
     1st Dam: Misty North, by North Light (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Misty Gallop, by Victory Gallop
     3rd Dam: Romanette, by Alleged
($1,200 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $1,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP; $30,000 2yo '19 OBSOPN). O-George Krikorian; B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Joel Rosario. $186,000. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 14-10-1-2, $2,158,184. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Temple City Terror, 120, m, 7, Temple City–It Takes Two, by More Than Ready. ($22,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP; $600,000 6yo '22 KEENOV). O-Town and Country Racing, LLC; B-Upson Downs Farm (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. $60,000.
3–Personal Best, 120, f, 4, Tapit–War Flag, by War Front. O/B-Mr. Joseph Allen LLC (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $30,000.
Margins: 1HF, 11, 3. Odds: 0.50, 3.98, 3.40.
Also Ran: Ensemble (Ire), Chaton Rouge. Scratched: Sopran Basilea (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.
VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Frost Point Closes For Doubledogdare Score

The only 5-year-old facing a field of younger fillies, Frost Point (Frosted) proved age is just a number with a come-from-behind effort to win her first graded stakes in the GIII Baird Doubledogdare S. at Keeneland Friday.

Last seen rolling to a 6 1/4-length win in gate-to-wire fashion in the Heavenly Prize Invitational at Aqueduct Feb. 23 and racing in the royal blue of owner/breeder Godolphin, the bay daughter of another prolific homebred was away a step off and patiently handled by Flavien Prat at the rear of the field as Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) and Hidden Connection (Connect) squared off up front. Last of the octet into the first turn, Frost Point saved ground up the backstretch through an opening quarter in :24.03 set by a now solo Hidden Connection. Always in touch with the tightly-bunched group, she began to make up ground around the far bend, coming inside of a fading Traverse (Street Sense) before tipping up past the quarter pole to take dead aim on the leading pair of Hidden Connection and Green Up (Upstart). While she needed the length of the short Keeneland stretch to get by, Frost Point rallied up the outside and dove past Hidden Connection in the final strides, winning as the 9-2 second choice.

“Over the summer, she put on weight and started looking better,” said winning trainer Bill Mott. “She's come back very well. She's three-for-three now (beginning Dec. 30 at Aqueduct in her first start since May). This was a very good race, and she beat a really solid field.”

Pedigree Notes:

Out of GI Frizette S. heroine Balletto (UAE) (Timber Country), Frost Point traces back to champion 2-year-old filly Althea (Alydar), champion 2-year-old filly in Japan Yamamin Paradise (Danzig), GI Juddmonte Spinster winner Acoma (Empire Maker), and GISW and late sire Arch (Kris S.). Frost Point is the fifth graded-stakes winner for sire Frosted. She has a winning 3-year-old full-brother, Ski Country, a 2-year-old full-brother, and a yearling half-sister by Maclean's Music.

Friday, Keeneland
BAIRD DOUBLEDOGDARE S.-GIII, $292,594, Keeneland, 4-21, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.95, ft.
1–FROST POINT, 118, m, 5, by Frosted
            1st Dam: Balletto (UAE) (GISW, $1,151,850), by Timber Country
            2nd Dam: Destiny Dance, by Nijinsky II
            3rd Dam: Althea, by Alydar
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Godolphin LLC (KY); T-William I
Mott; J-Flavien Prat. $183,675. Lifetime Record: 11-5-3-2,
$446,235. *1/2 to Villanesca (Distorted Humor), SW & GISP,
$237,500. Werk Nick Rating: C+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Hidden Connection, 118, f, 4, Connect–C J's Gal, by Awesome
Again. ($49,000 RNA Wlg '19 KEENOV; $40,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP;
$55,000 RNA 2yo '21 OBSAPR; $85,000 2yo '21 OBSOPN).
O-Hidden Brook Farm & Black Type Thoroughbreds; B-St
Simon Place (KY); T-W Bret Calhoun. $59,250.
3–Green Up, 118, f, 4, Upstart–Green Punch, by Two Punch.
'TDN Rising Star' 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE. ($10,000 Ylg '20
EASOCT). O-Team Valor International, LLC; B-Althea Richards
(VA); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $24,688.
Margins: 3/4, 1HF, HF. Odds: 4.53, 11.02, 2.57.
Also Ran: Interstatedaydream, Shotgun Hottie, Traverse. Scratched: Moon Swag, Music Street.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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