bill mott | Horse Racing Free Tips

Constitution’s Annex Remains Unbeaten in Cutler Bay

Annex took his record to three-for-three with his second straight stakes victory in Gulfstream's Cutler Bay S. Rallying to victory in his career bow over course and distance Jan. 16, the 'TDN Rising Star' captured the Palm Beach S. in Hallandale next out Feb. 27 and was favored to repeat here. Sitting a bit closer to the pace in a joint fourth, the flashy chestnut raced off the fence through a :24.06 opening quarter and :47.78 half-mile. Swung out three wide turning for home, the even-money favorite surged up alongside Fulmini and It Can Be Done in late stretch and out-boxed those foes to the wire for a narrow success.

“It's always a special to race for Mr. Mott,” said winning rider Junior Alvarado. “He lets you do what you think is right in a race. Today, there wasn't much pace on paper. He broke good. He put himself in a good spot and I wasn't going to take anything away from him. After that, I just kept picking it up little by little. He's still very green, which makes my job a little challenging, but he got it done.”

The winner's dam You Make Me Sing is a half-sister to MGISW and multi-millionaire You (You and I), who produced GSW You and I Forever (A.P. Indy) and SW & GSP Causeway's Kin (Giant's Causeway). She produced an Honor Code colt in 2019 and a filly by that sire in 2020. She was bred back to Mitole. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

CUTLER BAY S., $100,000, Gulfstream, 3-27, 3yo, 1mT, 1:34.33, fm.
1–ANNEX, 120, c, 3, by Constitution
                1st Dam: You Make Me Sing, by Unbridled's Song
                2nd Dam: Our Dani, by Homebuilder
                3rd Dam: Lovely Briar, by Briartic
($65,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-LNJ Foxwoods and Eclipse
Thoroughbred Partners; B-William Harrigan & Mike
Pietrangelo (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $60,140.
Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $144,280. 'TDN Rising Star'
2–Fulmini, 118, c, 3, Overdriven–Gina's Kitten, by Kitten's Joy.
O-Bell Racing, LLC; B-Gina D'Amato (FL); T-Carlos A. David.
$19,400.
3–It Can Be Done, 120, g, 3, Temple City–Gotham City Girl, by
Freud. O/B-Red Oak Stable (KY); T-Gregory D. Sacco. $9,700.
Margins: NK, NO, 3/4. Odds: 1.10, 29.60, 12.70.
Also Ran: Lucky Law (Ire), Hyperfocus, King of Dreams, Fighting Force, Step Dancer. Scratched: Whatmakessammyrun.

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Twirling Candy Firster Flies Home in GP Opener

1st-Gulfstream, $45,000, Msw, 3-27, 3yo, 1mT, 1:34.82, fm,

3 3/4 lengths.

COLTON'S COMMAND (c, 3, Twirling Candy–Baublette, by Unbridled's Song), well liked at 7-2 in this unveiling, raced straight past even-money fourth-timer Shaftesbury (Uncle Mo) inside the final eighth of a mile and sprinted away to graduate smartly at first asking. Settled in about midpack as the debuting Fortified (American Pharoah) cut out a moderate pace from Shaftesbury and War Bomber (Ire) (War Front), Colton's Command improved a few spots while making eye-catching progress on the turn. Shifted out for the drive under a full head of steam, the $75,000 Keeneland September graduate flew home to score by 3 3/4 lengths over Shaftesbury. Colton's Command is bred on the same cross responsible for 'TDN Rising Star' and Lane's End stallion Gift Box. Sales history: $75,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $27,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

O-NK Racing; B-Merriebelle Stable, LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott.

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Cross Border Faces Seven in Pan American

Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border (English Channel), a late-closing third behind Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) in the Jan. 23 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, will try to take advantage of that foe's absence and some extra real estate when he goes postward in the 1 1/2-mile GII Pan American S. at Gulfstream Park Saturday.

“He ran another big race last time and was flattered the other day by Colonel Liam,” trainer Mike Maker said. “We expect another strong effort from him.”

Colonel Liam returned from the Pegasus to win the GII Muniz Memorial Classic S. at Fair Grounds last weekend.

Cross Border was second over the Gulfstream course in last year's 1 1/2-mile GIII W. L. McKnight S. and inherited his first graded win when Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy) was disqualified from the victory in the GII Bowling Green S. at Saratoga last summer.

“He's run well here, but he shows up everywhere,” Maker said. “He's a horse that never disappoints and loves his job.”

Sadler's Joy will need to snap a nine-race losing streak if he is to win his second Pan American Saturday. The 8-year-old veteran earned his first graded victory in that race in 2017. He was most recently fourth in the Jan. 23 McKnight.

“He's doing as well as ever, so hopefully we'll get another good trip out of him and go from there,” trainer Tom Albertrani said. “We just keep him on a regular routine, training-wise. You look at his work tab and you don't see the fancy, fast works or anything; just normal, kind of routine works just to keep him ticking over between races.”

Last year, Sadler's Joy went 0-for-8 with third-place finishes in the GII Mac Diarmida S. at Gulfstream and GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and GI Manhattan S. at Belmont Park. He was disqualified from first to fourth for interference in the Bowling Green.

“If he wasn't in the barn, it'd be pretty strange. When that day comes, it's going to be a sad day when we don't see him walking down the shedrow anymore,” Albertrani said. “He's just been one of those types of horses that tries every race. He puts everything into every time he runs and its' just a pleasure having a horse like that.”

Trainer Bill Mott will be seeking his seventh Pan American win when he saddles Summer Wind Equine's Moon Over Miami (Malibu Moon). The 4-year-old is coming off a troubled third-place finish in the Feb. 27 Mac Diarmida.

“His last race was a mile and three-eighths and he was finishing up very well when he finally got out, which was a little late in the game,” Mott said. “He came running and got up for third and deserves a chance in the Pan American. I think he's going to turn into a useful horse going that trip.”

Moon Over Malibu won the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Ground Derby last September at Kentucky Downs.

“We stretched him out at Kentucky Downs last fall in their derby and he won that,” Mott said. “That was a little longer race. He doesn't seem to run the turns real well, so it seems like the slower pace of the longer races helps him get around the turns a little better.”

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McPeek Looks for Back-to-Back GP Oaks Wins

Trainer Ken McPeek, who won last year's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks with 3-year-old filly champion Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), will look to take a second straight renewal of the 1 1/16-mile race when he saddles Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) Saturday in Hallandale. The gray filly, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, was second in both the GIII Pocahontas S. and GI Darley Alcibiades S. last fall before ending her juvenile campaign with a sixth-place effort in the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She rallied from well back to finish second in her sophomore debut in the Feb. 27 GII Davona Dale S.

“She ran great here.” McPeek said of Crazy Beautiful's effort in the Davona Dale. “I think that she's training well enough that we should go right now.”

Juddmonte Farms homebred Millefeuille (Curlin) will be looking to rebound from a troubled seventh-place effort in the Davona Dale when she goes postward Saturday for trainer Bill Mott. The bay filly, 7-2 on the morning line, was second after setting the pace in the GII Demoiselle S. at Aqueduct last December. She lost all chance in the Davona Dale when shuffled back to near last approaching the stretch and comes into her second start of the year with a bullet four-furlong work in :48.60 (1/41) at Payson Park Mar. 19.

Con Lima (Commissioner) moves back to the main track after runner-up efforts over the Hallandale turf in the Jan. 30

GIII Sweetest Chant S. and Feb. 27 GIII Herecomesthebride S. She was second in pair of off-turf stakes last September and was a wire-to-wire winner over the turf in the Jan. 2 Ginger Brew S.

“It's something we've been thinking about for a while,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of the surface switch. “Being a graded-stakes and all–and she seems to like Gulfstream–we decided to give it a try. Her races on the turf have been very good, but she's been consistent on both surfaces.”

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