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McKulick ‘Frankel’-y Impressive In Belmont Oaks

Sent off the 27-5 fourth choice and only the second best-fancied of the three fillies in the race for trainer Chad Brown, Klaravich Stables' McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) hit top gear with a furlong to race and ran out a facile winner of Saturday's GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. to become the first American top-level winner for her all-conquering Banstead Manor-based stallion. With The Moonlight (Ire) completed a Frankel exacta, while the winner's commonly owned stablemate Consumer Spending (More Than Ready) finished with interest for third. It was a fourth Belmont Oaks for trainer Chad Brown since the event was lengthened to 10 furlongs in 2014 and his seventh dating back to the Garden City days.

McKulick is named in honor of Brown's first-ever employee, bookkeeper Mary McKulick. McKulick passed away in October 2020 at the age of 67 after losing a battle with cancer. Saturday was also meaningful for Brown for other reasons.

“It's an extra special win with it being [mentor] Bobby Frankel's birthday today. This horse is the first offspring of Frankel that I actually bought. Seth Klarman was nice enough to let me name this filly after my very first employee after I left Frankel, that's why I chose this horse being by Frankel. And wouldn't you know on his birthday she wins a Grade I. The irony and the importance of it today, on his birthday means everything to me personally.”

Drawn pole position on the stretchout to the mile and two furlongs, McKulick was away smoothly and secured a cozy midfield and ground-saving berth as 'TDN Rising Star' Cairo Memories (Cairo Prince) made the running in advance of Godolphin's Listed Pretty Polly S. heroine With The Moonlight. With all riders more or less content with their positions through the middle stages, McKulick was ridden quietly by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and was slipped a bit of rein at the three-furlong pole, shifting out three deep around last year's G1 Moyglare Stud S. runner-up Agartha (Ire) (Caravaggio) and stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' Haughty (Empire Maker) as they approached the entrance to the stretch. With The Moonlight wrested command from Cairo Memories at the quarter pole, but McKulick had dead aim on Frankie Dettori's mount, overtook that one a sixteenth from home and pulled clear.

Brown said, “She was really born to run a mile and a quarter. We were patiently waiting for a long time to get her to this distance, and my whole team did a super job with this horse in all divisions this filly has been in throughout this year.”

Concert Hall (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), favored on the strength of a fourth in this year's G1 Cazoo Oaks at Epsom, raced in close attendance to the eventual winner down the backstretch, but lacked the needed stretch kick and could finish only fourth.

“It might have been quick enough [ground] for her, she was just lugging in down the straight,” said her rider Ryan Moore. “They went hard and we had a nice run following the winner–just didn't keep up with them, but she ran respectably.”

McKulick and Consumer Spending were a coupled entry favored at 95 cents on the dollar on Saratoga debut Aug. 8, with McKulick getting home 1 1/2 lengths best before checking in a troubled third in the GII Miss Grillo S. Oct. 2. The 180,000gns Tattersalls October purchase resumed with a sound runner-up effort behind 'TDN Rising Star' New Year's Eve (Kitten's Joy) in the GII Edgewood S. at Churchill May 6 and was last seen running on to be second in the June 4 GIII Regret S. in Louisville.

“In both races, it didn't work out for her,” said Brown. “She needed more ground and she was out of position a bit. But she ran well. We had this as a major target of the whole summer and stayed focused on this race and it paid off.”

Pedigree Notes:

With her victory, McKulick becomes a 24th Group 1/Grade I winner for Frankel, who has now sired top-level winners in nine different jurisdictions (U.S., Canada, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Germany, UAE and Australia). She is his 98th SW and 66th GSW. McKulick is the first G1/GISW out of a mare by the excellent Makfi (GB). The cross of Frankel over mares by Makfi's sire Dubawi (Ire) has resulted in the likes of Group 1 winners Adayar (Ire) (Derby/King George), Dream Castle (GB) (Jebel Hatta) and Homeless Songs (Ire) (Irish 1000 Guineas), among other group-level scorers. With The Moonlight is also out of a Dubawi mare.

McKulick is the third full stakes winner from three to race for her Group 3-placed dam, a half-sister to Italian Group 2 winner Porsenna (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), Italian MSW/MGSP Basileus (Ire) (Dream Ahead) and Candidate (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Group 3-placed in Australia.

Astrelle is the dam of the 2-year-old colt Lieber Power (GB), by Frankel's successful first-season stallion son Cracksman (GB), and a yearling filly by Calyx (GB).

Saturday, Belmont
BELMONT OAKS INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $700,000, Belmont, 7-9, 3yo, f, 1 1/4mT, 1:59.62, fm.
1–MCKULICK (GB), 121, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
               1st Dam: Astrelle (Ire) (GSP-Eng), by Makfi (GB)
               2nd Dam: Miss Mariduff, by Hussonet
               3rd Dam: Sopran Mariduff (GB), by Persian Bold (Ire)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST
GRADE I WIN. (180,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Essafinaat UK Ltd (GB); T-Chad C. Brown;
J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $375,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-1,
$583,650. *1/2 to Fearless King (GB) (Kingman {GB}),
GSW-Ger; and Just Beautiful (GB) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}),
GSW-Eng, GSP-Fr, $127,209. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–With The Moonlight (Ire), 121, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
               1st Dam: Sand Vixen (GB) (GSW-Eng, $119,931), by Dubawi (Ire)
               2nd Dam: Fur Will Fly (GB), by Petong (GB)
               3rd Dam: Bumpkin (GB), by Free State (Ire)
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE.
O/B-Godolphin, LLC (IRE); T-Charles Appleby. $130,000.
3–Consumer Spending, 121, f, 3, by More Than Ready
               1st Dam: Siempre Mia, by Scat Daddy
               2nd Dam: Shaconage, by El Prado (Ire)
               3rd Dam: Carita Tostada (Chi), by Gallantsky
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($200,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Forging Oaks Farm LLC (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown. $70,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, 1. Odds: 5.40, 7.40, 7.40.
Also Ran: Concert Hall (Ire), Cairo Memories, Hot Queen (Fr), Know Thyself (Ire), New Year's Eve, Haughty, Agartha (Ire).
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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Brian Lynch Talks Classic Causeway, John Sadler Gives Flightline Update On Writers’ Room

Kentucky West Racing and Clarke Cooper's Classic Causeway stamped himself as a major GI Kentucky Derby contender Saturday when convincingly taking the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Brian Lynch, and Tuesday, Lynch joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland. Sitting down with Joe Bianca and Bill Finley as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Lynch talked about his colt–one of the final horses by late superstar sire Giant's Causeway–provided updates on other top horses in his barn, reminisced about his time spent as an assistant for Bobby Frankel and more.

“I thought I might have dodged the [GIII] Holy Bull into a tougher spot, once it had all come out on paper,” Lynch said of the Sam Davis. “Because it looked like it was a pretty competitive race and a lot of horses wanted to be forwardly placed and that was the way I'd seen him running his race. When I walked into the paddock, it was a really good-looking group of 3-year-olds. But then when he walked in, I thought, 'Ah, I'm OK.' He looked great. When that :22 and change came up [for the first quarter] and they straightened for the run down the backside, I could see [jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s] body language telling me, 'I'm cruising. I'm comfortable. This [other horse] is hanging on to me, but I've got plenty of horse.' When we got halfway around the far turn, you could see them all try and edge up on him, but Irad still hadn't moved a finger. So that gave me plenty of confidence that he had some horse for his run down the lane.”

Asked about his time working for the legendary Frankel, Lynch said, “I trained for a lot of years out in California on my own and I'd known Bobby for many, many years before I went to work for him. I trained for Golden Eagle Farm, and when Mr. [John] Mabee died, Bobby said to me, 'They're going to downsize that operation, you need to come work for me. We've got a lot of 2-year-olds coming in here.' He talked me into coming out to Saratoga and taking a string of horses for him there. And every day, I think of what a blessing that was. It was my best move. He exposed me to a lot of good clients and a lot of good horses. When I think back, Bobby was probably not the greatest teacher, but if you were around him and didn't learn a lot, shame on you. He had that sixth sense, and he was all about the horse first. It was just a great experience to be around him for so many years, and it gave me a good feel for how to manage horses, how to get them to the races and how to keep them around.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, XBTV, Lane's End, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the hosts welcomed John Sadler to give an injury update on his barn superstar Flightline (Tapit) and held their annual 3-year-old fantasy draft. Click here for the video podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Brown Chasing Sixth Straight Diana Victory With Lemista, Pocket Square

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out Lemista and Pocket Square in Saturday's 83rd renewal of the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana as he looks to secure his sixth consecutive win in the nine-furlong inner-turf test for older fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course.

Brown captured the first of his record six Diana wins in 2011 with Zagora and has enjoyed success in the last five editions with Dacita [2016], Lady Eli [2017], Sistercharlie [2018-19] and Rushing Fall [2020].

A former assistant to the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, himself a two-time Diana winner, Brown spoke about his affinity for the prestigious race on a recent episode of the Across the Board with Andy Serling podcast.

“We've had enormous success with it; I'm lucky. We've had the right horses,” said Brown. “It's a real honor to have that level of success looking back at five Dianas in a row. These are the [types of] races Frankel would point towards.”

Brown will saddle Lemista, a 4-year-old daughter of Raven's Pass, for three-time Diana winning owner Peter Brant, who campaigned Sistercharlie [2018-19] and Just a Game [1980] to Diana scores.

Lemista earned a 100 Beyer in her North American debut in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Beaugay on May 8 at Belmont, finishing a late-closing second to Diana-rival Harvey's Lil Goil.

The Irish-bred dark bay, previously trained by Ger Lyons, captured the Group 2 Kilboy Estate three starts back at the Curragh over yielding going.

Lemista has trained extensively on the Belmont inner turf following the Beaugay, posting eight works dating back to May 22, including a five-furlong effort in 1:01.80 on Sunday in company with Pocket Square [1:01.89].

“She's a top class filly. I have high hopes for her,” Brown said. “We've been pointing for this race for a while and I'm excited to get to it. I think that the time has done her well. She's been working consistently well.”

Juddmonte Farms' Pocket Square, a Group 3 winner at Deauville in October 2019 for former trainer Roger Charlton, rallied to an impressive allowance win in her North American debut on April 7 at Keeneland.

Brown said Pocket Square, by Night of Thunder, missed a breeze heading into her even fifth last out as the lukewarm favorite in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game, a one-mile jaunt over good turf on June 5 at Belmont.

“She missed her last work with the storms that came through and maybe the soft-ish turf didn't help,” said Brown. “I really thought she was lined up really well going into the Just a Game and I was hopeful she could overcome, but things just didn't work out. She's come back and worked really super, so I'm drawing a line through it and going right back at another Grade 1 with her.”

Despite good form over soft going in Europe, Brown said he would prefer firmer footing for Pocket Square.

“I know she ran well in Europe that way [on good-firm ground], but I think she's more effective on a firm turf course from what I've seen in her training,” said Brown.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will also look to extend his Diana win record to seven, piloting Pocket Square from post 2, while Irad Ortiz, Jr. will guide Lemista from post 7.

Trainer Charlie Appleby enjoyed a one-two finish with 4-year-old Godolphin fillies Althiqa and Summer Romance in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game.

The Godolphin greys have squared off in their last three starts, dating back to the one-mile Group 2 Cape Verdi in January at Meydan won by Althiqa, a British homebred by Dark Angel. Summer Romance turned the tables on Althiqa in the nine-furlong Group 2 Balanchine in February at Meydan.

In their North American debuts, Summer Romance, an Irish-bred daughter of Kingman, set a sharp pace under Luis Saez, but could not stay off the late run of Althiqa under Hall of Famer Mike Smith.

Both fillies remained at Belmont following the Just a Game, breezing extensively on the Belmont inner turf before shipping upstate to Saratoga on Monday.

Summer Romance, who won the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth at Epsom last July, will exit post 6 under Saez, while Althiqa, who boasts a perfect in-the-money record of 10-5-2-3, will be piloted by Manny Franco from post 8.

The Estate of Harvey A. Clarke and Paul Braverman Harvey's Lil Goil will look to give Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his fifth Diana win.

Mott, who last won the Diana in 2010 with Proviso, captured three straight editions with Sand Springs, Angara and My Typhoon from 2005-07.

A 4-year-old American Pharoah grey, Harvey's Lil Goil enjoyed a remarkable sophomore campaign, winning the Grade 3 Regret at nine furlongs over firm Churchill Downs turf last June ahead of a game third in the 10-furlong Alabama on the Saratoga main track.

The versatile filly completed her 3-year-old year with a pair of Grade 1 turf starts at Keeneland, including a win in the nine-furlong Queen Elizabeth II Cup in October over good going and a closing third in the 1 3/16-mile Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf over firm footing in November.

A prominent winner of the Beaugay in her seasonal debut on May 8 on good Belmont turf, Harvey's Lil Goil was an even fifth last out in the 10-furlong Grade 2 New York contested on yielding Belmont turf on June 4.

“It was very soft ground,” said Mott of the New York effort. “Some of our stakes have been run on really soft ground and it could have worked against her a little bit.”

Mott said a turnback in distance as well as the tighter turns of the Saratoga inner turf should benefit Harvey's Lil Goil.

“That [cutting back] won't hurt her I don't think,” said Mott. “She's run well on that type of oval previously. She won the Queen Elizabeth at Keeneland and she ran good in the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland and that's a tight turf course, so I don't think that will hurt her.”

Harvey's Lil Goil has recorded four works since the New York, including a five-furlong effort in 1:00.12 on the Oklahoma dirt training track on July 9.

“She couldn't be doing any better,” said Mott.

Junior Alvarado retains the mount from post 5.

Lael Stables' Magic Attitude, a 4-year-old daughter of the late Galileo, will look to improve off a flat seventh last out in the New York.

The British-bred bay was a Group 3 winner in France last May for trainer Fabrice Chappet before being transferred to conditioner Arnaud Delacour for a fall campaign.

In October, Magic Attitude captured the 10-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, part of NYRA's Turf Triple series, in her first start for Delacour and followed with a third in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

The talented bay has made three starts this year, including a win in the 11-furlong Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay on firm Belmont turf in May. She will exit post 3 under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano in her Saratoga debut.

Madaket Stables, Tim Cambron, Anna Cambron and Bradley Thoroughbreds' La Signare made the grade with a front-running score in the 2018 Grade 3 Wonder Again traveling nine furlongs on the Belmont turf.

The 6-year-old French-bred daughter of Siyouni, trained by Brendan Walsh, has made four of her last six starts in Grade 1 company, including a third in the 1 1/16-mile Jenny Wiley on yielding Keeneland turf in April and a closing second in the nine-furlong Gamely last out on firm footing on May 31 at Santa Anita.

La Signare will emerge from the inside post under Ricardo Santana, Jr.

Phipps Stable homebred Vigilantes Way enters from a 2 1/4-length score in the Eatontown, a 1 1/16-mile test over firm Monmouth Park turf on June 20.

The 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro bay, out of the Unbridled mare Salute, is a half-sister to Grade 1-winning millionaire Mr Speaker and Grade 1-winning steeplechaser Snap Decision.

Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, Vigilantes Way boasts a record of 12-5-2-3 and will be piloted from post 4 by Jose Ortiz.

The Diana is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's 11-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Kirkpatrick & Co Presents In Their Care: Humberto Gomez More Than Just An Exercise Rider To The Stars

It is impossible to imagine that any exercise rider can match the resume Mexico City native Humberto Gomez has built since he arrived in the United States in 2000.

He learned the importance of keeping his mount in rhythm from trainer Bobby Frankel. John Shirreffs' emphasis on patience was somewhat offset by Julio Canani's aggressiveness. Doug O'Neill stressed the importance of a positive attitude and teamwork.

Bob Baffert then hired Gomez and allowed him to put all of that together in 2018. He entrusted him with Justify and the rider who is widely known as “Beto” helped him develop an unraced 2-year-old into an undefeated Triple Crown champion.

Gomez emerged as the successor to the great Dana Barnes in Baffert's phenomenal stable, helping quirky Authentic to mature in time to win the pandemic-delayed Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic last year.

Gomez's heroic handiwork on the ground in 2017 is as impressive as anything he has accomplished on horseback. Trainer Kristin Mulhall credits him with saving the life of a 4-month-old Thoroughbred that was seemingly taking its last breaths after swallowing a black widow spider.

Mulhall, receiving phone instructions from veterinarian Melinda Blue, was attempting to perform an emergency tracheotomy using a dull box cutter and a syringe casing for a tube. She was in despair when Gomez arrived. She looked into the flailing horse's eyes and saw imminent death.

“You couldn't even see his pupils,” Mulhall said. “His eyes were bloodshot and cloudy. I thought 'Well, if he can't get enough oxygen, he's probably brain dead.'“

When she told Gomez as much, he refused to give up. He jumped on top of the foal, doing everything he could to hold down its head and feet.

“Try again!” he implored Mulhall. “Try again!”

Her third attempt was the charm. She finally succeeded at cutting an adequate hole in the trachea and suturing the tube into place using dental floss.

“The minute she put the tube, the horse took a lot of air,” Gomez said. “That gave us a lot of hope.”

Humberto Gomez on horseback off the track

Gomez and a friend dragged the horse into a trailer. Gomez continued to hold down the foal as he was rushed to Chino Hills Equine Hospital, where he began a full recovery.

Mulhall thanked Gomez by inviting him to name the California-bred. Gomez thought back to Catemaco, a horse he rode in Mexico City that displayed a huge heart every time he raced. Mulhall quickly embraced the name, which was approved.

Mulhall will be forever grateful to Gomez. “He pushed me to try because I gave up,” she said.

For Gomez, 44, his job is so much more than a job. “I just love what I do,” he said. “I have a passion for racing.”

That passion, combined with expertise gained through exposure to so many prominent trainers, has made him the go-to exercise rider for many of Baffert's stars.

“He can tell me a lot. He tells me what we can do differently. We try to change it up a little bit every day,” Baffert said, adding, “He's a good horseman. He's a really good horseman.”

Baffert and Gomez form a dynamic combination, much the way Baffert and Barnes did. “He cannot feel what I feel,” Gomez said. “I cannot see what he sees.”

According to Baffert, Gomez's input is vital. “He'll tell me if a horse is not doing well,” he said. “I want to know if we're doing too much with him, if we're not doing enough.”

Humberto Gomez with Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic

Baffert had long admired Gomez from a distance. “I always thought he'd make a great addition to the barn,” he said. Once he had the opportunity to hire him, he did not hesitate to assign highly-regarded but unproven Justify to him.

Gomez knew almost immediately that Justify would be the horse of his dreams. “The power of this horse and how professional,” he said. “He was acting like he was an older horse. The horse would do anything you wanted him to do. He likes to please you.”

Authentic? He was a project from the start.

“Authentic, when we got him, he was really immature,” Gomez said. “He would be galloping and looking at things all the time and trying to do things like a troublemaker. Every day was something with him.

“Day by day, we were trying to get to know him better, always keeping in mind that he was a late foal (May 5) and it was going to take him time to mature. With this COVID thing, they changed the time for the Kentucky Derby, so we were lucky to get him more time to get him more mature and everything.”

Gomez raves about Saudi Cup-bound Charlatan, describing him as a “machine.” Although newly-minted 3-year-old Life Is Good and Authentic were both sired by white-hot stallion Into Mischief, he believes that Life Is Good is more advanced than Authentic was at this early stage while describing him as being “in a learning process.”

Justify, Authentic, Charlatan, Life Is Good. The hits keep coming for Gomez. That almost surely will continue as long as he remains aligned with one of the most accomplished trainers of all time.

“I love to be riding all these champions,” Gomez said. “I'm so lucky to be part of his team.”

Catemaco will always hold a special place in his heart, though. Mulhall needed to wait until he turned 4, but on New Year's Day she and Gomez exulted as he made a winning debut in a six-furlong race at Santa Anita.

“It was very emotional because I see a horse almost dying and you never thought the way we saw him that he would make it just to be a pet,” said Gomez, appreciating how far he and Catemaco have come.

Tom Pedulla wrote for USA Today from 1995-2012 and has been a contributor to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Blood-Horse, America's Best Racing and other publications.

If you wish to suggest a backstretch worker as a potential subject for In Their Care, please send an email to info@paulickreport.com that includes the person's name and contact information in addition to a brief description of the employee's background.

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