Simply Ravishing Will Try To Rebound In Saturday’s Golden Rod Stakes

Harold Lerner LLC, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables' $350,000 Alcibiades (Grade 1) winner Simply Ravishing will lead a field of 10 promising juvenile fillies that were entered in Saturday's $200,000 Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill Downs.

The Golden Rod has helped launch several fillies on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks including eventual Oaks winners Monomoy Girl, Rachel Alexandra and Silverbulletday. The 1 1/16-mile race is carded as Race 9 with a post time of 4:57 p.m. The race shares the spotlight on Saturday's 12-race program with the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2). First post is 1 p.m.

Simply Ravishing, trained by Kenny McPeek, was a dominant 6 ¼-length winner of the Oct. 2 Alcibiades at Keeneland. The Laoban filly finished fourth in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Nov. 6 behind Vequist, Dayoutoftheoffice and Girl Daddy.

The three-time winner will be ridden by 2020 Preakness Stakes (G1) winning jockey Robby Albarado from post No. 8.

Among the other rivals to Simply Ravishing in the Golden Rod is Kueber Racing's undefeated $98,000 Rags to Riches winner Coach. Trained by Brad Cox, Coach is a perfect 3-for-3 in her young career. She'll be joined in the starting gate by stablemate Travel Column. Owned by OXO Equine, Travel Column dazzled on debut by 4 ¼ lengths and returned with a third-place effort behind Simply Ravishing in the Alcibiades.

Joe Talamo will have the call aboard Coach from post 3 while Florent Geroux will ride Travel Column from post 5.

The Golden Rod field also includes WinStar Farm, Blazing Meadows Farm and Michael Lewis' three-time Ohio-bred stakes winner Alexandria and Six Column Stables, Randy Bloch, Jim Gladden and Riverview Racing's New York-bred stakes winner No Mo' Spending.

The complete field from the rail out (with jockey and trainer): Lady Lilly (Tyler Gaffalione, Steve Asmussen); No Mo Spending (Chris Landeros, Ian Wilkes); Coach (Talamo, Cox); Farsighted (Julien Leparoux, Rusty Arnold II); Travel Column (Geroux, Cox); Clairiere (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen); Lady Traveler (Corey Lanerie, Dale Romans); Simply Ravishing (Albarado, McPeek); Princess Theorem (John Velazquez, Brendan Walsh); Alexandria (Gerardo Corrales, Tim Hamm).

The post Simply Ravishing Will Try To Rebound In Saturday’s Golden Rod Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Brad Cox Trying For Fourth Consecutive Trainer’s Title At Fair Grounds

Fresh off a record-tying four wins at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland earlier this month, trainer Brad Cox will look to parlay that success to his fourth straight Fair Grounds trainer's title when the 149th meet kicks off Thanksgiving Day. Cox, who won 40 races last year and also led with 12 stakes wins, will have the maximum number of 44 allotted stalls, two of which will eventually be occupied by soon-to-be champions Essential Quality and Monomoy Girl, who, along with Knicks Go and Aunt Pearl, helped him tie Hall of Famer Richard Mandella for the most wins at one Breeders' Cup. And while he's the clear favorite to extend his local streak, it won't be at the top of his to-do list to start the meet.

“Honestly, I never go into a meet thinking about winning the trainer's title,” Cox said. “The goal is always to be competitive, and especially now to develop our younger horses, that's a huge part of it. If we get halfway through the meet and we're in contention, then that's great.”

At the top of the list of younger horses is Godolphin's homebred, Essential Quality, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile to cap a 3-for-3 campaign that will almost assuredly earn him an Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male. The son of Tapit is on the short list of Kentucky Derby contenders and could be a candidate for the March 20, $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), a race Cox won last year with Wells Bayou. Essential Quality has been given some time off after his Juvenile win and could resurface in mid-February, which means the local February 13 Risen Star (G2) could be in play.

“Right now, he's at Churchill jogging and will be there through November,” Cox said. “We'll eventually get him down to Fair Grounds and start mapping out a path to the Derby, with likely two preps. I don't have a spot picked out yet but Fair Grounds and their series is definitely in play.”

Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' Monomoy Girl won her second Breeders' Cup Distaff prior to being sold for $9.5 million to Spendthrift Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Selected Mixed Sale but, in a somewhat surprise decision, will race in 2021. The 5-year-old daughter of Tapizar is 13-for-15 lifetime in a surefire Hall of Fame career, won the Eclipse Award as Champion 3-Year-old Filly in 2018 and is odds-on to win Champion Older Mare this year.  Monomoy Girl, who won the local Rachel Alexandra (G2) in 2018, is another who will join Cox's stable during the meet, though a potential schedule has yet to be determined.

“It's great to have her back (for another season),” Cox said. “Obviously, the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar is the main goal, but right now we really haven't talked 2021 with her. We'll get together with Spendthrift to work out a schedule, let her tell us when she's ready, and we'll go from there.”

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go will be the third of the Cox-trainer Breeders' Cup winners to be stabled at Fair Grounds this meet, though he could be pointed to the Pegasus World Cup in January at Gulfstream Park. Cox, with an ever-growing stable, will also have horses at Palm Meadows in South Florida this year, as part of his Gulfstream contingent, though he will spend the majority of his time in New Orleans. Cox will kick off his title defense with runners in the last five races on the Opening Day card, including ERJ Racing, Madaket Stables, and Dave Kenney's Landeskog, who is 4-1 on the morning line for the featured $125,000 Thanksgiving Classic.

The post Brad Cox Trying For Fourth Consecutive Trainer’s Title At Fair Grounds appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Essential Quality 10-1 Favorite In First 2021 Derby Future Wager Pool

Godolphin's undefeated $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) winner Essential Quality is the 10-1 individual favorite among 24 betting interests in Pool 1 of the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which kicks off a four-day run at Churchill Downs on Thanksgiving Day.

The pari-mutuel field of “All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings” is expected to be the overall first-pool favorite for the 23rd consecutive year and veteran odds maker Mike Battaglia has installed it as the 6-5 favorite.

In addition to Essential Quality, other promising juveniles that are expected to take interest are CHC INC and WinStar Farm's recent 9 ½-length maiden winner Life Is Good, who cruised 6 ½ furlongs on debut in 1:15.40 Sunday for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, and Klaravich Stable's $125,000 Nyquist Stakes winner Highly Motivated, who is conditioned by top trainer Chad Brown. Both colts were made 15-1 on Battaglia's morning line odds.

Here's the complete Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1 field (with trainer and morning line odds): #1 Caddo River (Brad Cox, 30-1); #2 Dr. Schivel (Mark Glatt, 30-1); #3 Essential Quality (Cox, 10-1); #4 Fire At Will (Mike Maker, 30-1); #5 Get Her Number (Peter Miller, 20-1); #6 Highly Motivated (Brown, 15-1); #7 Hot Rod Charlie (Doug O'Neill, 20-1); #8 Jackie's Warrior (Steve Asmussen, 20-1); #9 Keepmeinmind (Robertino Diodoro, 20-1); #10 King Fury (Kenny McPeek, 50-1); #11 Life Is Good (Baffert, 15-1); #12 Midnight Bourbon (Asmussen, 30-1); #13 Pickin Time (Kelly Breen, 20-1); #14 Red Flag (John Shirreffs, 30-1); #15 Reinvestment Risk (Brown, 30-1); #16 Rombauer (Michael McCarthy, 30-1); #17 Savile Row (Baffert, 20-1); #18 Scarred (Asmussen, 30-1); #19 Sittin On Go (Dale Romans, 30-1); #20 Speaker's Corner (Bill Mott, 50-1) #21 Super Stock (Asmussen, 30-1); #22 Ten for Ten (Shug McGaughey III, 50-1); #23 All 3-Year-Old Fillies (50-1); and #24 All Other 3-Year-Old Colts and Geldings (6-5).

The pool, which features $2 Win and Exacta wagering, opens Thursday at noon and will close Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager will be offered concurrently with the sixth annual Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, which provides bettors with a unique opportunity to wager on select breeding stars and their entire crop of juveniles with the hope of winning next year's Kentucky Derby.

Offspring sired by Into Mischief and Tapit were made the co-individual favorites at 6-1 on the morning line by Battaglia. The overall favorite is the “All Other Sires” betting interest, which was made 9-2.

Here's the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager field (with morning line odds): #1 American Pharoah (20-1); #2 Bernardini (30-1); #3 Bodemeister (30-1); #4 Candy Ride (ARG) (30-1); #5 Constitution (20-1); #6 Curlin (15-1); #7 Flatter (30-1); #8 Frosted (30-1); #9 Ghostzapper (30-1); #10 Hard Spun (20-1); #11 Honor Code (20-1); #12 Into Mischief (6-1); #13 Liam's Map (30-1); #14 Medaglia D'Oro (20-1); #15 Munnings (30-1); #16 Not This Time (20-1); #17 Pioneerof the Nile (30-1); #18 Quality Road (30-1); #19 Street Sense (15-1); #20 Tapit (6-1); #21 Tiznow (15-1); #22 Uncle Mo (15-1); #23 Union Rags (50-1); and #24 “All Other Sires” (4-1).

This marks the eighth consecutive year that Churchill Downs has hosted Future Wager pools in November on closing weekend of its Fall Meet. In last year's wager, eventual Kentucky Derby winner Authentic closed at 50-1 odds and returned $103.60 for a $2 wager. His sire, Into Mischief, closed at 17-1 and returned $36.20.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wagers provide fans of Thoroughbred racing with opportunities to place bets on possible entrants in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) at odds that could be far greater and more attractive than those available on the day of the race. The 147th running of Kentucky Derby, America's greatest race and the first leg of the Triple Crown, is set for Saturday, May 1, 2021 at Churchill Downs.

Bets can be placed at Churchill Downs Racetrack, TwinSpires.com and other online wagering outlets and satellite wagering centers across North America.

There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Should Churchill Downs officials determine during the duration of this week's four-day pool that one of the wagering interests has experienced an injury, illness or other circumstance that would prevent the horse from participating in the Kentucky Derby, betting on the individual horse will be suspended immediately.

More information, Brisnet.com past performances and real-time odds on the Kentucky Derby Future Wager will be available before the pool opens Thursday online at https://www.kentuckyderby.com/wager/future-wager.

The post Essential Quality 10-1 Favorite In First 2021 Derby Future Wager Pool appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Bonny South Taking On Elders For First Time In Thursday’s Falls City

Juddmonte Farms' $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (Grade 2) winner Bonny South tops a competitive field of nine fillies and mares that were entered in Thursday's 105th running of the $200,000 Falls City (G2) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

The 1 1/8-mile Falls City has been run on Thanksgiving Day beneath the historic Twin Spires since 1978. It will go as the featured event in Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 3:53 p.m. Eastern. There will be a special first post of 11:30 a.m. for the holiday program.

Bonny South was a highly-touted 3-year-old filly last winter following her 2 ¼-length victory in the Fair Grounds Oaks. Following nearly four months on the sidelines, the daughter of Munnings returned in the $400,000 Ashland (G1) where she finished fourth behind Speech, Venetian Harbor and fellow Falls City rival Envoutante.

Following her race in the Ashland, Cox shipped Bonny South to Saratoga where she was the runner-up behind Swiss Skydiver in the $500,000 Alabama (G1). Bonny South will enter Thursday's Falls City following a narrow defeat in the Oct. 3, $250,000 Black Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico. This will mark her first race against elders.

Jockey Florent Geroux has the call on Bonny South who will break from post position No. 3.

Cox will attempt to win his second straight Falls City following Mylady Curlin's 2 ¼-length score in last year's event.

Chief among Bonny South's rivals in the Falls City is Walking L Thoroughbreds LLC and Three Chimneys Farm's $100,000 Remington Park Oaks (G3) winner Envoutante. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Envoutante has faced Bonny South twice in her eight-race career. Envoutante got the better of Bonny South by two lengths in the Ashland but was defeated by 7 ¼ lengths as the fourth-place finisher in the Alabama.

Brian Hernandez Jr. rides Envoutante in the Falls City from the rail.

Also entered in the field of fillies and mares is Farfellow Farm's multiple graded stakes placed Another Broad, who will make her first start under the care of Steve Asmussen; LBD Stable and David Ingordo's $125,000 Shuvee (G3) third-place finisher Our Super Freak; and G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s graded stakes placed duo of Cash Out and High Regard, who are joined in the gate by his three-time winnerOver Thinking.

The complete field for the Falls City from the rail out (with jockey and trainer): Envoutante (Hernandez, McPeek); Another Broad (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen); Bonny South (Geroux, Cox); Smooth With a Kick (Tyler Gaffalione, Chad Brown); Our Super Freak (Gabriel Saez, Cherie DeVaux); Cash Out (Edgar Morales, Rusty Arnold II); High Regard (Corey Lanerie, Vicki Oliver); Over Thinking (Rafael Bejarano, Oliver); and Market Rumor (Chris Landeros, Ian Wilkes).

The post Bonny South Taking On Elders For First Time In Thursday’s Falls City appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights