Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Country Grammer Battles Back In Gold Cup

Narrowly favored at 9-5 in Monday's GI Hollywood Gold Cup, WinStar Farm's Country Grammer (Tonalist) became his Lane's End-based stallion's first Grade I winner, narrowly outbattling Royal Ship (Brz) (Midshipman) in a rousing finish.

Away alertly, the former Paul Pompa runner was taken hold of to sit second as longshot Brown Storm (Chi) (Scat Daddy) rolled to the front showed the way through moderate splits of :22.92 and :47.16. Switched off nicely in the two path for the run down the backstretch, Country Grammer was asked for a bit of acceleration and overtook Brown Storm at the three-furlong pole, but he soon had outside company in the form of Royal Ship, who was deftly slipped a bit of rein by Mike Smith at the 4 1/2-furlong marker and raced three wide just off the pace into the turn. Country Grammer and Royal Ship hit the quarter pole more or less on even terms, but the last-out GII Californian S. hero appeared to have all the momentum and was clearly in front entering the final eighth of a mile. But Country Grammer remained in for the fight, re-took the lead inside the final sixteenth of a mile and scraped home just in front as Royal Ship came back at him at the wire.

“He ran super well,” said winning jockey Flavien Prat. “He broke well and I was able to get myself in a good spot. I was a little worried when I saw Mike Smith on the outside of me, I wish I could have kept him inside. Mike took the lead on me, but my horse was really game to come back.”

Trained by Chad Brown to win last year's GIII Peter Pan S., defeating future G1 Dubai World Cup hero and 'TDN Rising Star' Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) into third on that occasion, the $60,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $450,000 OBS April juvenile was fifth in the GI Runhappy Travers S. and changed hands for $110,000 as part of the late Pompa's dispersal at this year's Keeneland January sale. He was beaten a neck into second by Royal Ship when making his local debut in the GII Californian S. Apr. 17.

“Elliot Walden and WinStar bought him to bring to California because they figured a mile and a quarter was his distance,” said trainer Bob Baffert, winning the Gold Cup for the eighth time, equaling the record of Charlie Whittingham. “His form on the dirt was really good last year. It looked like he was beat today, but he kicked it in. It's exciting. He ran a big race last time and just got beat. He was really ready to go today and I think the distance was the key. He got it done with a lot of class and determination.”

Pedigree Notes:

Country Grammer was one of two Memorial Day stakes winners for Tonalist, who was also represented by Bouwerie S. heroine Betsy Blue at Belmont Park. Country Grammer's second dam Prima Centauri was a half-sister to French G1SW and US MGSW/GISP Etoile Montante (Miswaki), whose MGSW daughter Starformer (Dynaformer) produced SW & GSP Flavius (War Front) and GSP Oyster Box (Tapit). This is same female family as MGSW Bonny South (Munnings) and Saturday's GIII Matt Winn S. winner Fulsome (Into Mischief), whose second dam Viviana (Nureyev) was a full-sister to the dam of Etoile Montante. Arabian Song's 3-year-old daughter Joyful Cadence (Runhappy) was second in this year's Purple Martin S. and third in the GIII Miss Preakness S. and her most recent produce is a 2-year-old filly by Wicked Strong.

Monday, Santa Anita
HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP S.-GI, $301,000, Santa Anita, 5-31, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:02.23, ft.
1–COUNTRY GRAMMER, 122, c, 4, by Tonalist
1st Dam: Arabian Song, by Forestry
2nd Dam: Prima Centauri, by Distant View
3rd Dam: Willstar, by Nureyev
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($60,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $450,000 2yo '19
OBSAPR; $110,000 4yo '21 KEEJAN). O-WinStar Farm LLC;
B-Scott & Debbie Pierce (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Flavien Prat.
$180,000. Lifetime Record: 8-3-1-1, $377,320. *1/2 to Joyful
Cadence (Runhappy), GSP, $106,857. Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Royal Ship (Brz), 124, g, 5, Midshipman–Bela Val (Brz), by Val
Royal (Fr). O-Fox Hill Farms, Inc. & Siena Farm LLC; B-Haras
Belmont (BRZ); T-Richard E. Mandella. $60,000.
3–Express Train, 124, c, 4, Union Rags–I'm a Flake, by
Mineshaft. ($500,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-C R K Stable LLC;
B-Dixiana Farms LLC (KY); T-John A. Shirreffs. $36,000.
Margins: HD, 4 1/4, HF. Odds: 1.80, 3.20, 2.30.
Also Ran: Rushie, Heywoods Beach, Two Thirty Five, Brown Storm (Chi). 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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Magic On Tap Holds Off Shooters Shoot In Triple Bend

With his well-fancied stablemate empty a furlong from home, Bob Baffert's Magic On Tap rallied three-deep to take Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Triple Bend Stakes by two lengths at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, who collected his second consecutive stakes win on the day, Magic On Tap got seven furlongs in 1:23.54.

As expected, Baffert's Eight Rings, a Grade 1 stakes winner at age 2 and idle since Aug. 1, rocketed out of the gate under Flavien Prat, but was soon headed by Lambeau, who broke from post two with Edwin Maldonado.

This pair raced as a team into and around the far turn, with Magic On Tap sitting third, about a length off the lead a quarter mile out. From there, Lambeau dropped back at the rail and despite the fact he remained on his left lead, Magic On Tap gained the advantage in mid-stretch and went on to an impressive win in his sixth career start.

“My horse, he helped me a lot, he broke really sharp and I was behind the speed all the race then when I hit the quarter pole, I asked him to go and he responded really well,” said Hernandez, who was aboard for the first time today. “It looked like he was playing, he was looking around. He never changed leads. I asked him a couple of times and he didn't want to do it, so I let him alone because he kept running. It didn't matter if he changed leads or not, he just kept going.”

A 5-year-old full horse by Tapit, out of the Street Sense mare Aubby K, Magic On Tap, who is owned and bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Equine, cut back in distance following a 23 ¾ length defeat in the G2 Californian Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on April 17 and paid $13.20, $6.00 and $3.00 while off at 5-1 in a field of five older horses.

With his first stakes win in-hand, Magic On Tap banked $120,000 for his efforts and improved his overall mark to 6-3-2-0 while boosting his earnings to $228,800.

“I was afraid of a speed duel, where we would wear each other out,” said Baffert. “Eight Rings was coming off a layoff, so with fractions like that, it was crazy. I threw the other horse (Magic On Tap) in there. I was looking for an allowance race for the horse and then I decided to throw him into the stakes race.

“He is bred to be a good one. It was good to get a stakes win for him after he disappointed in the Californian. He is still a little green, but he has been working really well. I was disappointed for Eight Rings, but you gotta get the trip. I thought we could run one-two today.”

Trained by Peter Eurton and ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Shooters Shoot rallied from last to finish second at odds of 5-1 and paid $5.40 and $2.80 while finishing 1 ¾ lengths in front of Exaulted.

The second choice at 2-1 with Abel Cedillo, Exaulted paid $2.20 and finished 2 ¾ lengths in front of 8-5 favorite Eight Rings.

Fractions on the race were 22.10, 45.03 and 1:10.14.

(Hernandez won the previous race, the Grade II Charles Whittingham Stakes, with the David Hofmans-trained Award Winner).

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 1 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Magic On Tap Holds Off Shooters Shoot In Triple Bend appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Friday Show Presented By Uptowncharlybrown Stud: FAQs From Readers

Google Analytics confirms something we already knew. May has been a very busy month for horse racing news. With a few days remaining until we turn the calendar page, the Paulick Report has had over 600,000 unique visitors and 1.1 million user sessions since May 1.

Many of those readers have questions.

Such as … “Why haven't you reported on the status of the split sample from Medina Spirit's post-race test from the Kentucky Derby?” “Why isn't everyone doing hair testing? And our all-time favorite: “Why do you only report negative news?”

Paulick Report editor-in-chief Natalie Voss and publisher Ray Paulick run through some of the most frequently asked questions about how and why we report what we do (and sometimes what we don't or can't).

Joe Nevills then joins Paulick to talk about the Wisconsin connections behind our Star of the Week.

Watch this week's show, presented by Uptowncharlybrown Stud, below:

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JPMorgan, Four Corners Racing’s Anthony Trimarchi Joins Writers’ Room

It was an eventful few days for racing in the northeast, and the TDN Writers' Room presented by JPMorgan Private Bank broke down all of the latest developments in the Monmouth jockey standoff and the raids on Parx barns by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission Wednesday morning. Plus, they welcomed Four Corners Racing's managing partner Anthony Trimarchi as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss his experiences as a new owner in the game and the economics of racing from a banking perspective.

“I was exposed to racing at a real young age because I grew up in Albany, just south of Saratoga,” Trimarchi said of his history in the game. “Every year of my life, I would spend a day at the races with my extended family in the backyard at Saratoga and hanging out at the picnic area at the top of the stretch. I loved going to the track as a kid for the same reasons I love it today. It's an amazing, outdoor sport with beautiful horses, excitement, competition, crowds, numbers, colors. As I got older, I kept going, introducing a bunch of college friends to Saratoga. I had my bachelor party at the Travers in 2010. Fast forward to today, I've been involved on the ownership side for about five years and it's all come full circle for me because I've taken my kids to the track. I've got three elementary school-age children who have all been in the paddock at Belmont, Saratoga and Aqueduct. They've been in the winner's circle at Oaklawn Park. I just hope that they'll have the same fond memories that I have from when I was a kid, and I can't wait to make new memories with them over the next 10, 20, 30 years.”

Also a managing director at JPMorgan Private Bank, Trimarchi was asked from an economic standpoint why he thinks racing has struggled to find new owners despite skyrocketing purses over the last decade-plus.

“I think it's just all about exposure and awareness,” he said. “The purses are attractive if you structure your business the right way and have the right partners. And the shot of adrenaline that you get leading up to a race or when you win a race, I wish I could put that in a bottle because I'll be chasing that the rest of my life. The first time I was in the winner's circle, I decided I was going to own a horse. I saw the sport [initially] through clients who were major owners who had dozens of horses running all over the place. I didn't understand what entry [into the game] would look like. I thought it was the kind of thing you needed to be a billionaire to do. It's not. It requires some disposable income obviously, but you can do it responsibly and get exposure. I'm a great example of that. I started out doing small syndicate stuff, I saw the sport, I saw the risk, I understood it, and I decided I wanted to do more.”

Elsewhere in the show, which is also sponsored by Keeneland, West Point Thoroughbreds, the Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers questioned whether or not there would be any long-term consequences for Bob Baffert from the embarrassment of the Derby and looked forward to Memorial Day Weekend stakes action. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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