Corniche Returns in Amsterdam

Champion Corniche (Quality Road) makes his highly anticipated return to the races and first start for trainer Todd Pletcher Sunday in Saratoga's GII Amsterdam S.

The 'TDN Rising Star' spent some time at WinStar after his championships season and, with Bob Baffert serving his suspension, was sent to Pletcher in May with an eye on the late season sophomore highlights. (Click here for Pletcher's thoughts in Mike Kane's Saturday feature).

“We're hoping that with the good fortune we had with his sire Quality Road and him making his debut for us in the Amsterdam, which produced a track record performance, that hopefully some of that good fortune will follow through here,” said Pletcher, who seeks his fifth Amsterdam win.

While he will be the favorite, he won't have it easy. Corniche is joined by Grade I winner Gunite (Gun Runner) and graded stakes-winning fellow Pletcher trainee My Prankster (Into Mischief), who finished one-two in Churchill's Maxfield S. last out July 3. The champ also faces one of his former shedrow mates from the Baffert barn in GISW Pinehurst (Twirling Candy).

Also on tap at Saratoga Sunday is the GII Bowling Green S. for turf marathoners. Grade I winners Arklow (Arch) and Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).

Juju's Map Headlines Monmouth Oaks

Never worse than second in a juvenile campaign that included a win in the GI Darley Alcibiades S., Juju's Map (Liam's Map) looks to return to winning ways Sunday in the GIII Monmouth Oaks. Making her seasonal debut with a dominant optional claimer score on the GI Kentucky Oaks undercard, the dark bay checked in third as the favorite last out in Belmont's GII Mother Goose S. June 25.

She will be made to work for it though with the presence of Meydan sensation and 'TDN Rising Star' Shahama (Munnings), who receives Lasix for the first time Sunday. The $425,000 OBSAPR acquisition was second in the Mother Goose after rallying for sixth in the Oaks.

A pair of Gun Runner fillies look to add to their sire's stakes success at Monmouth last weekend in SW Shotgun Hottie and GSP Runaway Wife.

Sunday's graded action wraps at Del Mar with the GII Eddie Read S., where GII Charles Whittingham S. top two Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) and Masteroffoxhounds (War Front) top the field.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Wycoff’s Three Diamonds Farm Runners Find Their Niche On Turf

Meeting Cross Border in the winner's circle after his successful title defense in Saturday's Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga race course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was a special moment for owner Kirk Wycoff. The long-missed sound of fans cheering, the magnitude of the 7-year-old's performance on the track, and the ever-significant ability to share the moment with his family; it all played a part in the emotion playing over Wycoff's face as he gave Cross Border a well-earned pat.

“We didn't go in thinking we were going to win, and a lot of people had kind of written him off, so for him to give that performance, it was very special,” Wycoff said. “I was glad for him that he got that double under his belt, and to see him win.”

The Mike Maker trainee is also listed as the winner of the 2020 edition of the Bowling Green, though that trip to the winner's circle came as a result of the disqualification of Sadler's Joy, who'd crossed the wire in front by a neck after impeding Cross Border at the sixteenth pole.

“Last year he did it with no fans and the disqualification, so it was nice to see him get the win today,” said Wycoff. “This horse has been a project, like so many we buy out of the horses of racing age sales in July.

“My son Jordan picked him out because of a race he ran for $16,000 at Woodbine, and we bought him for $100,000. He had multiple little issues, so we gave him time off like we do with all our horses. It took eight months until he was right. Whenever you own one that long — we bought him when he was four — you get attached to them and so does the whole team.”

Cross Border has been holding his own against some of the top turf horses in the United States for the past year, running second in the G1 Sword Dancer (Aug. 2020) and third in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Turf (Jan. 2021). 

“I still think we could have won the Pegasus, but we didn't get the best trip,” Wycoff said. “In high level turf racing around two and three turns, the trip is extremely important; he got a great trip Saturday in the Bowling Green. He's a very handy horse, likes the tight turns at Saratoga and Gulfstream, so we'll keep that in mind when pointing him to future races.”

A return trip to the G1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga is likely the next target for Cross Border.

“It might be a little short for him, but he's definitely earned the right to run in a Grade 1 again,” said Wycoff.

Cross Border winning the Bowling Green

Meanwhile, Wycoff's Three Diamonds Farm (named for his three children: Kirby, Ashley, and Jordan) will have several other runners coming up at Saratoga, including G2 Black-Eyed Susan and G3 Iowa Oaks winner Army Wife pointing to the Grade 1 Alabama. 

Currently residing in Saratoga for the summer, Wycoff spent Monday afternoon at a charity golf event, and planned to accompany his wife Debra to the high-level show jumping competitions at Saugerties (about 1 ½ hours away) on other dark days. They'll reside in the bucolic horse racing town of upstate New York until it's time to head south for the Kentucky Downs meet.

Wycoff has loved horses for as long as he can remember, from taking riding lessons as a young man in Pennsylvania to acquiring his training license at Penn National as a hobby during college. He remembers mucking 40 stalls every morning before heading off to class!

Wycoff and his wife met through horse racing 44 years ago, and Debra is still riding today.

“My wife loves the jumpers, and still shows her amateur jumpers,” Wycoff said, referring to a division in which the height of the jumps is up to 1.3 meters, or approximately 4 feet, three inches. “It does make me nervous, certainly, but after 40 years of marriage, what you want as a husband is your wife to have a smile on her face.”

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A managing partner of the Philadelphia-based private equity firm Patriot Financial Partners, Wycoff decided to get back into horse racing in the early 2000s, once he and Debra's children were old enough. 

The couple ramped up their participation around 2010 when they were first introduced to Maker.

“We wanted to compete, to win, and in studying the business, we realized that we were not in a position then or now to buy very expensive, well-bred dirt yearlings and 2-year-olds,” Wycoff explained.  “We love turf racing because it's typically very close, so we concentrated on a part of the business where people didn't want to be. A lot of thought has to go into the horses you buy and where you race them, and we had to find trainers who could train two-turn turf horses. 

“It was apparent to us six years ago, when we claimed Bigger Picture, that horses that were middle level claiming horses at 1 1/16 miles could be stakes horses at 1 ¼, 1 ½ miles, if they were bred appropriately. According to my bloodstock advisers, I've unfortunately now made that obvious to everyone else!”

The Wycoffs and Maker have had significant success claiming horses and turning them into stakes competitors. Bigger Picture is at the top of that list: a $32,000 claim in November of 2015, he went on to win the G3 Red Smith in 2016, and the G3 John B. Connally Turf Cup and G1 United Nations in 2017.

Other claimers-turned-graded-stakes-competitors for the Wycoffs include Gianna's Dream and Roman Approval. 

The Wycoffs have also found success with purchases from the sales rings including: G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Fire At Will, G1 winner Next Question, multiple G3 winner Field Pass, and G2 winner Hembree.

One of the benefits of having turf horses that run long, Wycoff explained, is being able to have sound horses into their 6- and 7-year-old seasons who often go on to have successful second careers. While his son Jordan particularly enjoys the racing aspect of the family business, Wycoff's eldest daughter prefers the aftercare side, and now has a four-stall barn of her own in Chester County.

Bringing the Wycoffs full circle is the fact that they just closed on a horse farm of their own in Lexington, Ky. It's a combination show jumping/Thoroughbred facility just a few miles away from the Kentucky Horse Park, and it's the first farm the couple has owned in over 40 years.

“Today the fence man sent me the bill to repair the fencing,” Wycoff quipped. “You know, whatever you plan for, it might not be what's next, but there's always something to be grateful for.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Wycoff’s Three Diamonds Farm Runners Find Their Niche On Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Nets $26,699 For Winning Tickets

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 featuring action from Saratoga Race Course, Woodbine Race Track, and Monmouth Park, paid $26,699 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $125,652.

Four graded stakes comprised the wager, starting with the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks for 3-year-old fillies in Race 10 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. Leader of the Band, a 10-1 selection for trainer John Servis, posted a two-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile contest, hitting the wire in 1:43.44 under jockey Frankie Pennington. Leader of the Band returned $22.60 on a $2 win wager.

Lexitonian provided an even bigger upset in the $350,000 Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt in Saratoga's Race 8. The Jack Sisterson trainee, off at 34-1, dueled Special Reserve from the top of the stretch before kicking away under jockey Jose Lezcano for a half-length win, paying $70. Lexitonian, the biggest price in the nine-horse field, completed the six-furlong sprint in 1:09.38.

Woodbine Race Track in Toronto, Ontario got in on the action when Souper Munnings, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, bested Grey Seal by a neck to win a seven-furlong turf allowance for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up in Race 9. Souper Munnings, ridden by Patrick Husbands, won as the favorite, completing the course in 1:23.15 and returning $7.90.

Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., completed the final two legs, starting with Essential Quality's half-length win over Keepmeinmind in the $600,000 Grade 2 Jim Dandy for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles in Race 9. Essential Quality, who entered off a win in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes last out, set himself up for a potential start in the $1.25 million Grade 1 Runhappy Travers on August 28 with his Jim Dandy score under jockey Luis Saez. The defending Champion 2-Year-Old paid $2.80 as the favorite, notching a final time of 1:49.92.

Cross Border closed the wager with a 1 1/4-length win in the $250,000 Grade 2 Bowling Green for 4-year-olds and up on the inner turf in Race 10. The Mike Maker trainee repeated as the Bowling Green winner, with Saez aboard, as the son of English Channel won the 1 3/8-mile marathon in 2:16.36. Cross Border paid $14.40.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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Maker Talks Next Starts For Cross Border, Somelikeithotbrown

Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border continued his dominance on the Saratoga turf with a decisive 1 1/4-length score in Saturday's $250,000 Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 7-year-old New York-bred tracked in third position as Channel Maker and Channel Cat – fellow progeny of English Channel – set the early pace over the inner turf. Luis Saez tipped Cross Border out a path for the stretch run and the dark bay ridgling responded with a powerful turn of foot to secure the win and a 100 Beyer.

Trained by Mike Maker, who tops the Spa trainer standings with 12 wins heading into Sunday's card, Cross Border boasts a record of 7-6-1-0 on the Saratoga turf, including four wins on the inner course.

“The race shaped up like it looked on paper,” Maker said. “We had a great trip and we were fortunate enough to get the job done. He came back super.”

Bred in the Empire State by Berkshire Stud and B.D. Gibbs, Cross Border went 3-for-3 over the local turf in 2019, led by an open allowance score.

Last year, Cross Border stepped things up a notch, winning the state-bred Lubash ahead of a win in the Bowling Green by disqualification. He completed his 2020 Spa campaign with a runner-up effort to Channel Maker in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer.

Maker said Cross Border will now target a return engagement in the $750,000 Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer on August 28. The 1 1/2-mile turf contest for 4-year-olds and up is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifier to the $4 million Longines Turf in November at Del Mar.

Maker said he is hoping to send out another New York-bred for a stakes win this summer when he saddles multiple graded stakes winner Somelikeithotbrown in the $150,000 West Point presented by Trustco Bank, a 1 1/16-mile test for state-breds 3-years-old and up on August 27.

“We have another New York-bred, Somelikeithotbrown, who will show up in the West Point and Cross Border will come back in the Sword Dancer,” Maker said.

Skychai Racing and Sand Dollar Stable's Somelikeithotbrown has made three starts on the Saratoga turf, including a maiden win ahead of a runner-up effort in the 2018 Grade 3 With Anticipation. Last year, the talented bay, bred in the Empire State by Hot Pink Stables and Sand Dollar Stables, won the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch in gate-to-wire fashion.

Maker will also look to secure a Grade 1 win later in the meet with Three Diamonds Farm's Kentucky-bred Army Wife in the $600,000 Alabama, a 10-furlong test for sophomore fillies on August 21.

By Declaration of War, Army Wife will be in search of a graded-stakes hat trick following scores in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks on July 2 at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa.

Maker, who is four wins clear of Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher heading into Day 14 of the summer meet, credited his staff for the strong start to the meet.

“We have a lot of horses that fit the book well and we're fortunate enough to get some wins,” Maker said. “I know we're on top but we've got a long way to go. It would be great for the staff [to win the meet] and they deserve it.”

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