bill mott | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘High’ Hopes in Hopeful Showdown

No less than five undefeated 2-year-olds–including two graded winners–line up for Saratoga's Labor Day finale in the GI Hopeful S. Hard to separate, at least on paper, are Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway's Wit (Practical Joke) and LRE Racing and JEH Racing's High Oak (Gormley). The former earned TDN Rising Star billing when kicking off his career with a six-length score at Belmont June 5. Equally impressive in his return in the July 17 GIII Sanford S., the Todd Pletcher trainee cruised home an easy eight-length winner in the six-furlong test and gets to show if he can handle the extra yardage this time. Pletcher is also represented by Repole and St. Elias Stable's Power Agenda (Nyquist), who enters her off a nose victory in his unveiling Aug. 14. Irad Ortiz Jr. returns to partner Wit, while Manny Franco gets the call on the latter.

“Wit has the advantage of having a couple of starts,” said Pletcher of the $575,000 KEESEP purchase. “He deserves the chance to step up. I think the way Wit finished up going six furlongs you would think seven would be no problem,” Pletcher said. “Power Agenda was game in his only start and he should be able to handle the distance.”

Pletcher won the Hopeful on three prior occasions with Circular Quay [2006], Shanghai Bobby [2012] and Competitive Edge [2014].

While less flashy in his debut, High Oak did just what he had to do to triumph by a neck in the 5 1/2-furlong test at Belmont June 26. Showing a little more flare for his latest, he came from off the pace to win by a widening 4 1/2-length margin in the GII Saratoga Special Aug. 14. Since that effort, the colt has been showing some lick in the mornings over the Oklahoma track, including the latest a bullet three furlongs in :35.44 Sept. 3. Junior Alvarado, who was aboard for the colts first two starts, returns for this Grade I debut.

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War Like Goddess Earns Breeders’ Cup Berth With Flower Bowl Win

In a longtime turf stakes race run at a new distance and a new venue, War Like Goddess got a new title: Grade 1 winner. The daughter of English Channel bided her time behind the front-running La Signare, waited for the final turn to make her move, and sprinted away to victory over Great Island and My Sister Nat in the 1 3/8-mile Flower Bowl at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Breaking from the third post, War Like Goddess got a clean start, settling in third behind La Signare and Great Island early. On the backstretch, Lovely Lucky took over third, leaving War Like Goddess six lengths behind the front-running La Signare, who set early fractions of :24.71 for the first quarter, :48.83 for the half-mile, and 1:13.66 for six furlongs. Entering the final turn, the lead was down to two lengths as Great Island started to challenge La Signare's lead going into the Saratoga straight. Julien Leparoux angled War Like Goddess out from the hedge on the turn, seeking a clear running lane in the race's final furlongs.

In the stretch, Great Island made the lead as War Like Goddess sprinted down the center of the track, passing Great Island to take the lead and win by two lengths. Great Island held off a surging My Sister Nat to finish second.

The final time for the 1 3/8-mile G1 Flower Bowl was 2:13.07 over a firm turf course.

The Flower Bowl is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. As a Win and You're In race for the Filly and Mare Turf, the winner earns a feed-paid guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding race at the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, War Like Goddess is a 4-year-old filly out of the North Light mare Misty North. Owned by George Krikorian, the filly is trained by Bill Mott. With her win in the Flower Bowl, the filly has four wins in five starts, for a lifetime record of six wins in seven starts. Consigned by Hemingway Racing and Training Stables, War Like Goddess was purchased by H N D Bloodstock for $30,000 at the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age sale.

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War Like Goddess Rolls to Fourth Straight in Flower Bowl

The meteoric ascent of George Krikorian's War Like Goddess (English Channel) continued in Saturday's GI Flower Bowl S., contested at Saratoga for the first time and lengthened to 11 furlongs. Coincidentally, the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf will be contested over that exact trip the first weekend of November and with the victory, the 4-year-old has earned an all-expenses-paid trip to Del Mar, where she figures to take plenty of beating.

Four of the bay filly's prior starts had come at a mile and three furlongs and farther, as she graduated by a convincing 3 1/4 lengths at Churchill last October before getting some time off. A better-than-it-might-look fifth from after trying to make a run from last in the GIII The Very One S. at Gulfstream first off a four-month layoff Feb. 27, War Like Goddess came with a furious stretch rally to make the grade by a nose in the GIII Orchid S. in Hallandale Mar. 27. She handled the extra furlong of Keeneland's GIII Bewitch S. Apr. 23 with consummate ease, scoring by 3 3/4 lengths, and made this track's GII Glens Falls S. her third straight graded conquest with a 3 1/4-length defeat of My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}) Aug. 7.

La Signare (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) hit the ground running and set a reasonably strong pace for the distance as Great Island (Scat Daddy), extremely impressive in winning the GIII WinStar Matchmaker S. over nine panels at Monmouth July 17, was ridden much handier. War Like Goddess settled just behind midfield, with the white-capped My Sister Nat content to caboose the field. War Like Goddess, a bit headstrong through the lane for the first time settled much more kindly down the backstretch, but it was Joel Rosario who was first to play his hand, as he sent Great Island after her front-running stablemate, in an attempt to get first run on the heavy favorite. Great Island claimed La Signare in upper stretch, but Julien Leparoux had yet to move a muscle atop War Like Goddess, and the duo hit the front, felt one left-handed crack of the crop and pulled confidently clear. Great Island drifted a bit in upper stretch and was home a half-head better than My Sister Nat.

“She's a classy filly,” said Leparoux. “You can do whatever you want and she'll still give you that punch in the end. It's nice. It's a sign of the good ones, for sure. Bill Mott knows how to get them to these Grade 1s. They took their time with her and it has paid off. For sure, the Breeders' Cup is the goal, so if she gets there healthy, she'll be going in with a big chance.”

Pedigree Notes:

The 12th worldwide Group 1/Grade I winner for Calumet's under-appreciated English Channel, War Like Goddess is the ultimate rags-to-riches story. With no black-type to be found in her first couple of dams, War Like Goddess attracted a couple of $100 bids at Keeneland November in 2017, but two fewer bids at the September sale, when she was led out unsold for the upset price of $1,000. She had a few admirers at OBS June in 2019, selling for $30,000. War Like Goddess is one of two of her sire's 32 graded/group winners worldwide to be produced from a Danzig-line dam (Irish Strait).

The dam of the 3-year-old gelding Market Economy, by English Channel's son Optimizer, Misty North is responsible for the 2-year-old filly Thecradlewillrock (Red Rocks {Ire}). She was sold in foal to Calumet's Bal a Bali (Brz) for $1,000 at the 2019 November Sale and produced a colt last May now named North of Bali.

Saturday, Belmont Park
FLOWER BOWL S.-GI, $600,000, Saratoga, 9-4, 4yo/up, f/m,
1 3/8mT, 2:13.07, fm.
1–WAR LIKE GODDESS, 122, f, 4, by English Channel
                1st Dam: Misty North, by North Light (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Misty Gallop, by Victory Gallop
                3rd Dam: Romanette, by Alleged
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($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-Julien R Leparoux.
$330,000. Lifetime Record: 7-6-0-0, $713,684. Werk Nick
Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Great Island, 120, m, 5, by Scat Daddy
                1st Dam: Voyage, by Rahy
                2nd Dam: Matlacha Pass, by Seeking the Gold
                3rd Dam: Our Country Place, by Pleasant Colony
($160,000 Wlg '16 KEENOV; $300,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Alpha
Delta Stables, LLC; B-Ben P Walden Jr & Larry Taylor (KY);
T-Chad C Brown. $120,000.
3–My Sister Nat (Fr), 118, m, 6, by Acclamation (GB)
                1st Dam: Starlet's Sister (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Premiere Creation (Fr), by Green Tune
                3rd Dam: Allwaki, by Miswaki
(€20,000 Ylg '16 ARQFEB). O-Peter M Brant; B-Ecurie Des
Monceaux (FR); T-Chad C Brown. $72,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, NO, 6 3/4. Odds: 0.40, 6.50, 8.00.
Also Ran: Lovely Lucky, American Bridge (GB), La Signare (Fr). Scratched: Coastana. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Sept. 5 Insights

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

HALF TO BOBBY'S KITTEN DEBUTS IN KY

2nd-KYD, $135K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:53 p.m.

Joe Sharp unveils MISTHAVEN (IRE) (Candy Ride {Arg}) in this first baby race of this boutique meet. SF Bloodstock purchased Celestial Woods (Forestry) for $350,000 with this filly in utero at the 2018 FTKNOV sale. She is also the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner and millionaire Bobby's Kitten (Kitten's Joy) and MGSW Camelot Kitten (Kitten's Joy). TJCIS PPs

PLETCHER UNVEILS PRICEY CLASSIC EMPIRE FILLY AT THE SPA

7th-SAR, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, (S), 5 1/2f, 3:53 p.m.

Robert and Lawana Low went to $550,000 for CLASSY EDITION (Classic Empire) at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Old Sale after she breezed in :10 1/5 and she debuts for Todd Pletcher here. Bred by top New York breeders Chester & Mary Broman, the bay is a half-sister to the fleet-footed Newly Minted (Central Banker), who was a four-time stakes winner for trainer Linda Rice. She is also a half to MSP New Girl in Town (Boys At Tosconova). TJCIS PPs

HALF TO ACCELERATE MAKES CAREER BOW

8th-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 4:27 p.m.

Crawford Farms Racing and Stonestreet Stables' MALIBU KENDALL (Curlin) makes her first trip to the post in this event on the second to last day of the Saratoga meet. Out of SP Issues (Awesome Again), the $335,000 FTKSEL buy is a half-sister to champion and five-time Grade I winner Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky); SW & GISP Daddy D T (Scat Daddy); and SW & GSP Amarish (Scat Daddy). Bill Mott also saddles a first timer with a big pedigree in Summer Wind homebred Handbelle (Tapit). Summer Wind's Jane Lyon went to $800,000 for Amazing Belle (Midnight Lute) with this filly in utero at the 2018 FTKNOV sale. Amazing Belle is a daughter of MGSW Queenie Belle (Bertrando), who is also the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic heroine Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song). That millionaire mare topped the 2016 KEENOV sale when bringing $3.8 million from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. She was carrying a full-sibling to her two-time champion daughter Unique Bella (Tapit) at the time. TJCIS PPs

FLIGHTLINE RETURNS AT DEL MAR

8th-DMR, $72K, Opt. Clm. ($40K), 3yo/up, 6f, 8:00 p.m.

'TDN Rising Star' FLIGHTLINE (Tapit) makes his long awaited second start Sunday while facing older at Del Mar. The $1-million FTSAUG buy dazzled the racing world when running away to a 13 1/4-length tour de force in his six-panel debut at Santa Anita Apr. 24, earning a gaudy 105 Beyer Speed Figure. The bay was originally being aimed for a race at the start of the Del Mar meet, but was thrown off course by a foot abscess and instead landed here. He has been working well in preparation for this first try against winners, most recently breezing five furlongs in :59 3/5 Aug. 30 (3/44). Bred by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, which retained a piece of the colt, Flightline is out of GSW & MGISP Feathered (Indian Charlie), who Lyon acquired for $2.35 million in foal to War Front at the 2016 KEENOV sale. TJCIS PPs

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