Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Very Professional’ Perfect Alibi To Begin 3-Year-Old Season In Acorn

Tracy Farmer's Grade 1-winner Perfect Alibi has been ready to debut her 3-year-old form for the better part of the last few months. On Saturday, Belmont Stakes Day, the daughter of Sky Mesa will finally get the chance to take some tangible steps forward in her progress when she headlines a field of sevensophomore fillies in the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Acorn going a one-turn mile over the Belmont Park main track.

The Longines Acorn, slated as Race 8 at 4:15 p.m. Eastern, is one of six graded stakes races on a stellar June 20 card highlighted by the 152nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes and two additional Grade 1s in the $250,000 Woody Stephens presented by Claiborne Farm an the $250,000 Jaipur presented by America's Best Racing, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. NBC will have live coverage starting at 2:45 p.m. Eastern.

When Perfect Alibi heads to post in the Acorn – which has produced such divisional champions as Abel Tasman (2017) and Monomoy Girl (2018) in recent seasons – it will mark the first competitive outing for the dark bay filly since her fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Park on November 1. Though her trainer Mark Casse already planned for his protégé to get a deserved break following her sixth career start, the hiatus ended up being extended as the coronavirus pandemic forced most tracks to shut down temporarily.

As the newly minted Hall of Fame conditioner worked to keep Perfect Alibi race ready while waiting for an opportunity to present itself, Casse saw a more authoritative version of her in the mornings – one he hopes will elevate her gritty demeanor in the afternoons.

“She's been ready to run for about three months,” Casse said. “She's always been very, very professional. If anything, she's a little better work horse than she was. Last year, if you wanted to give some confidence to another horse you'd just work them with her because she'd let anybody beat her – except when they run in the afternoon. This year and recently, she's been a little more aggressive in her works.”

Bred in Kentucky by Pin Oak Stud out of the Maria Mon's mare No Use Denying, Perfect Alibi was one of the more precocious members of her class last season, winning three of six starts including two graded stakes triumphs at Saratoga Race Course. Two starts after breaking her maiden at first asking last May at Churchill Downs, the leggy filly showed mettle beyond her years when she found room after being stuck behind a wall of horses midstretch en route to taking the Grade 2 Adirondack going 6 ½ furlongs last August.

She followed that effort up by taking her quality to the next level with a 1 ¼-length triumph in the Grade 1 Spinaway before being bested by eventual 2-year-old filly champion British Idiom in both the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades at Keeneland and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

“She struggled big time (with the Santa Anita track),” Casse said of Perfect Alibi's Breeders' Cup run. “She got a hold of the track late and she actually made a mild move at the end.”

Perfect Alibi has logged one start over the Belmont surface, having finished second in the 2019 Astoria going 5 ½ furlongs last June. She will break from post 7 under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“I said the other day that training horses is like putting a puzzle together. And this year it's putting a puzzle together with no pictures and no edges. It's even more difficult with everything going on,” Casse said. “I just feel fortunate that we're running. We're lucky.”

Perfect Alibi is the only graded stakes winner in the Acorn field but she will have no cakewalk as she returns from her near seven-month layoff. Among her biggest threats is the speedy Gamine, who has led every point of call in her two career starts.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Gamine has been stealing focus from her comrades ever since she sold to owner Michael Lund Petersen for $1.8 million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training sale. The daughter of Into Mischief dusted her foes by 6 ¼ lengths on debut March 7, going 6 ½-furlongs at Santa Anita Park. She then stretched out successfully when taking a 1 1/16-miles allowance optional claiming test by a neck at Oaklawn Park on May 2.

“She's just a tall, really elegant filly,” Baffert said. “We took our time with her, let her develop. Her two races have been really nice races. I could have stayed home and run her here two turns in the (Santa Anita) Oaks but I wanted to give her a couple extra weeks. I thought the Acorn with the bigger, wider turns, I think she'll like that. And it's a lot of prestige.”

Gamine's speed has been her most effective weapon, and her trainer isn't about to alter that strategy for Saturday's one-turn test.

“She's fast. At Oaklawn, she just broke and made the lead easily,” Baffert said. “I've been breezing her and going easy with her. The other day I worked her and she tracked a horse all the way. She's still just learning. But she's going to be forwardly placed. She'll be up there close.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez will have the call aboard Gamine on Saturday from post 1.

Casual, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, is also stepping into graded stakes company for the first time after posting victories in her first two starts.

Assistant trainer Toby Sheets said the Curlin filly should be comfortable in the one-turn mile.

“Casual is doing very well. She shipped in [Tuesday] also and came in very well; she looks great,” said Toby Sheets, assistant to Asmussen. “I don't think a mile will be a problem at all for her.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. has the call aboard Casual from post 4.

Rounding out the field is Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks-runner-up Lucrezia [post 2, Julien Leparoux] for trainer Arnaud Delacour; the Rudy Rodriguez-trained last-out Busher Invitational-winner Water White (post 3, Jorge Vargas, Jr.]; Glass Ceiling [post 5, Joel Rosario]; and Pleasant Orb [post 6, Manny Franco] round out the field.

The post ‘Very Professional’ Perfect Alibi To Begin 3-Year-Old Season In Acorn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Baffert Tabs Authentic For July 18 Haskell; Mike Smith To Ride

Following the first loss of his career in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, Authentic will be pointed to the Grade 1 Haskell on July 18 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., reports the Daily Racing Form.

The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief breezed a half-mile on Monday at Santa Anita, covering the distance in 48 4/5 seconds. It was his first work since finishing second to Honor A.P. on June 6.

Trainer Bob Baffert was encouraged by the workout, and has sent out the winner of the Haskell a record eight times over the course of his career. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will have the riding assignment.

Earlier this year, the colt won the G3 Sham Stakes and the G2 San Felipe while beginning his career with three straight victories.

MyRacehorse.com Buys into Authentic

If you’ve got a dream and $206 you, too, can own a piece of a contender for the GI Kentucky Derby. MyRacehorse.com has purchased a 12.5% interest in GI Santa Anita Derby runner-up Authentic (Into Mischief) and will soon begin the process of selling micro shares in the horse to clients. The transaction includes buying into the horse’s stallion career, which is a first for the racing partnership that specializes in selling very small shares in horses for a few hundred dollars or less.

Launched by CEO and Founder Michael Behrens in 2018, MyRacehorse has taken the traditional racing partnership and turned it into something almost anyone can afford. Rather than sell 20 or 25 shares in Authentic, MyRacehorse will sell 12,500. Behrens expects the final price for a share to be $206. For one share, the client will own .001% of the breeding and racing rights in the horse.

MyRacehorse often partners with Spendthrift Farm and was given the opportunity to purchase a part of Authentic after Spendthrift bought a majority interest in the 3-year-old earlier this month.

MyRacehorse has never sold more than 6,000 shares in a horse, but Behrens expects the offering on Authentic to sell out quickly. He cannot officially sell shares until getting approval from the SEC, which, he says, typically takes between five to 15 days. Partners can buy more than one share, but their total active investments cannot exceed 10% of a person’s annual income or total assets.

“We started out with more modest horses, but now we are seeing what people really want,” Behrens said. “This is what people desire. People love the action on the big days. We keep getting feedback. This is what they want, a shot at the Derby, a shot at the Breeders’ Cup.”

MyRacehorse has bought into high-profile horses before, most notably Street Band (Istan), who won the GI 2019 Cotillion S., and Lazy Daisy (Paynter), the winner of the 2019 GII Pocahontas S. But this is their most ambitious venture yet.

“We think this is a great chance to bring in people on the periphery or maybe people who have become a little less involved in a game they used to love,” Behrens said. “What we are seeing over and over again is people get re-energized by something like this because it is such an easy way to enjoy the sport you like. We’re hoping this brings in a lot of new people.”

With all prior partnerships, the horses were sold at the end of their racing careers and whatever monies were available were distributed to the owners. In the case of Authentic, Behrens is counting on even greater interest than normal because the owners will be in on his stallion career.

“We decided it would be really cool, not only for people to have the opportunity to have a Derby prospect, but also to stay in as he becomes a stallion,” he said. “We never had any desire to move into the stallion, breeding games. But with all the growth and all the people we have who are particpatory, we thought we should try this. The idea will be that you buy in for racing and breeding equity and will own your pro rata percentage. We want to take people on the same great journey we always do. It will be fun to have a shot at the Kentucky Derby and also the chance to own a part of a great stallion. I think the ability to participate in that side of the game is going to attract a lot of people.”

Trained by Bob Baffert, Authentic won the GII San Felipe S. before finishing second as the 6-5 favorite in the Santa Anita Derby. He is considered by many to be top five threat for the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby.

The MyRaceHorse perks include getting reports on the horses at least twice a week and access to the winner’s circle. Behrens said that if fans are allowed in for the Kentucky Derby and Authentic runs, the stable will buy as many seats as possible and then hold a lottery in order to figure out which partners get the seats.

The post MyRacehorse.com Buys into Authentic appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Does Cezanne Justify The Hype Of Previous Baffert Stars?

Cezanne, who topped Fasig-Tipton's sale of two-year-olds in training last year at Gulfstream Park when he fetched a final bid of $3.65 million, kicked off his racing career with a 2 1/2-length victory in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race last Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Cezanne was sent away as an overwhelming 2-5 favorite and posted a final time of 1:16.13. Leading jockey Flavian Prat rode the Kentucky-bred three-year-old colt by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.

Bob Baffert trains Cezanne for owners Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Michael B. Smith and St. Elias Stable.

“Cezanne was credited with a 90 Beyer Speed Figure,” said Jon White, Santa Anita's longtime morning-line oddsmaker. “Considering he was making his career debut as a three-year-old, I wondered how a 90 Beyer stacks up against the debut Beyers for Arrogate, West Coast and Justify. They also debuted at the age of three for Baffert.

And they all went on to be voted an Eclipse Award that same year as the champion three-year-old male (Arrogate in 2016, West Coast in 2017 and Justify in 2018).

“Because there had been so much hype for Cezanne's debut, some probably expected to see him win by a bigger margin and get a higher Beyer. But a 90 is a lot higher than Arrogate's 80 Beyer in his career debut. And keep in mind that after Arrogate's debut, what he did later that year was extraordinary.”

In the first start of Arrogate's career, he finished third in a six-furlong maiden race at Los Alamitos on April 17, 2016. Later in the year he won the Travers by 13 ½ lengths while breaking Saratoga's track record for 1 ¼ miles.

In his final start at three, Arrogate won the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita beating California Chrome and other older horses.

“What Cezanne's 90 Beyer is comparable to was West Coast's figure in the first start of his career when he got a 91,” White noted.

West Coast began his career by finishing second in a one-mile maiden race at Santa Anita on Feb. 18, 2017. Later in the year he won the Travers and the Pennsylvania Derby before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.

“Justify's debut Beyer went through the roof, a 104, when he won his first race by a huge margin,” White said. “That really was some performance. Justify showed everyone right from the start what an outstanding equine athlete he was.”

Bursting on the scene early in 2018 at Santa Anita, Justify registered a 9 1/2-length victory in a seven-furlong maiden race on Feb. 18. He subsequently won the Santa Anita Derby and swept the Triple Crown, then was retired after the Belmont Stakes. Justify won all six of his career starts.

“Cezanne raced a bit greenly in his first start and should improve with that race under his belt,” White said. “I also think there's a good chance that he will do well when he goes farther. Baffert has said that he believes Cezanne has the potential to have a big second half of the year like Arrogate and West Coast.

“So it's sure going to be interesting to see what Cezanne can do during the rest of the year.”

The post Does Cezanne Justify The Hype Of Previous Baffert Stars? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post