Breeders' Cup Distaff | Horse Racing Free Tips

Distaffers and Juveniles in the Spotlight Sunday

With two graded events for distaffers and four for juveniles, including including four Breeders' Cup qualifiers, Sunday is basically Saturday part two from coast-to-coast.

The day's main event is the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland, A “Win and You're In” event, where champions Malathaat (Curlin) and Letruska (Super Saver) face off yet again. Malathaat looks to make amends for a solid third in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff and she enters off a win in Saratoga's GI Personal Ensign S. Aug. 27.

Letruska, who won last year's Juddmonte, finished third in that prestigious Saratoga event and was off the board in her prior start in the GI Ogden Phipps S. Tyler Gaffalione takes over the controls for the first time from the Ortiz brothers, who both stayed home to ride in New York.

The other four members of this six-horse field will be likely be running for third and that group is topped by GIII Locust Grove S. winner Played Hard (Into Mischief).

Distaffers take center stage at Belmont as well with 3-year-old filly leader Nest (Curlin) taking on her elders for the first time in the GII Beldame S. at Aqueduct. Heavily favored against four severely overmatched competitors, the bay should be able to secure a very easy victory here ahead of a likely next start in the Breeders' Cup. Runner-up in the GI Belmont S., Nest romped by 12 1/4 lengths in the GI CCA Oaks at Saratoga July 23 and dominated that venue's GI Alabama S. next out Aug. 20.

“She's run well against the boys and all the best fillies of her generation, but first time against elders is always a challenge,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “She showed a lot of talent and class in her races against 3-year-olds and we would expect her to handle the step up.”

MGSW Travel Column (Frosted) stretches back out after a failed effort in the GI Ballerina H. Aug. 28 and First to Act (Curlin) enters off a good second in the Summer Colony S. Aug. 19.

Juveniles Compete for Breeders' Cup Berth

Aqueduct hosts a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Sunday in the GIII Futurity S. Several competitors enter off strong maiden wins, including Nagirroc (Lea), who graduated over this course and distance Sept. 24 in his first start for Graham Motion.

“He's been pretty classy in the morning since I've got him,” said Motion. “I haven't had him for that long and I was impressed with what he had done, but I certainly would not have expected him to run the way he did. I thought it was a very good effort. He won very comfortably.”

Inflation Nation (Ire) (Speightstown) missed by a head on debut at Saratoga, but got it done next out there Sept. 1 for Christophe Clement.

Mike Maker sends out Gaslight Dancer (City of Light), who did no running on dirt in his Churchill unveiling in August, but graduated by five lengths when switched to turf at Kentucky Downs Sept. 3.

Determined Jester (Practical Joke) takes on the boys in this event after breaking her maiden in Colonial's Rosies S. in her third career start Sept. 6.

Meanwhile at Keeneland, 2-year-old turf routers get their chance to earn a spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf starting gate in the GII Castle and Key Bourbon S. GIII With Anticipation S. winner Boppy O (Bolt d'Oro) leads this large and competitive field. He has already proven this distance is right up his alley.

Steve Asmussen has a live on here in Gigante (Not This Time), who ran away to a 6 3/4-length score over Rarified Air (Honor Code) in the Kitten's Joy S. going 1 1/16 miles at that venue Sept. 6.

Kentucky Downs Juvenile S. winner Reckoning Force (Air Force Blue) makes his first start for Brendan Walsh here after a quartet of races for Joseph O'Brien. Third-place Really Good (Hard Spun) adds blinkers this time.

Keeneland also plays host to a qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in the Indian Summer S. Wesley Ward sends out the favorite there in the filly Love Reigns (Ire) (U S Navy Flag). The 'TDN Rising Star' captured Saratoga's Bolton Landing S. last out Aug. 21.

While they may not be “Win and You're Ins,” Santa Anita also hosts a pair of juvenile turf events in the GIII Surfer Girl S. and GIII Zuma Beach S., which will likely contain potential Breeders' Cup competitors.

The fillies are up first in the Surfer Girl, which is being run at graded status for the first time this year. European import Comanche Country (Ire) (Highland Reel {Ire}) is two-for-two since coming to America, most recently taking the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf S. Sept. 10. Sell the Dream (Munnings) and Excelia (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) were second and third in that event.

Packs a Wahlop (Creative Cause) tops the Zuma Beach after a decisive score in the GIII Del Mar Juvenile Turf S. and is two-for-two on grass. Dandy Man Shines (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) was fourth in that event and is still a maiden. Also of interest here is undefeated Cal-bred Giver Not a Taker (Danzing Candy), who took the state-bred I'm Smokin S. last out Sept. 9 at Del Mar.

The post Distaffers and Juveniles in the Spotlight Sunday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Blue Stripe Runs Away From Shedaresthedevil in Clement Hirsch

Pozo de Luna's Blue Stripe (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg}), a Group 1 winner in her native country, scored her first top-level win in the big leagues of American racing Saturday, conquering odds-on defending champion Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) and three other rivals in Del Mar's GI Clement L. Hirsch S. The victory in the Win and You're In qualifier punched Blue Stripe's ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Annexing the G1 Criadores last May Hipodromo in Argentina for trainer Nicolas Martin Ferro, the bay was ambitiously spotted in the Distaff in her Stateside debut and finished a well-beaten seventh. Rallying to capture the GII Santa Margarita S. Apr. 30 at Santa Anita, she was a narrow second in the GII Santa Maria S. there last out June 18.

Sent off as the 53-10 third choice in this scratched-down field, Blue Stripe settled in third as Private Mission (Into Mischief) showed the way by a length and a tail to odds-on Shedaresthedevil through a :23.18 quarter. The pacesetter let it out a bit past a half in :46.82, but the chalk came after her entering the far turn and swept past with ease midway around the bend. Blue Stripe's bid was not far off though, and she challenged Shedaresthedevil going by three-quarters in 1:11.42. Surging to the front straightening into the lane, Blue Stripe slammed the door by the eighth pole and held firm for a two-length success over Desert Dawn (Cupid), who tagged the favorite for second in the final jump.

Pedigree Notes:

Blue Stripe is one of 59 stakes winners, 49 graded/group stakes winners and 24 Grade I/Group 1 winners for influential South American sire Equal Stripes and is his first American Grade I victor. She is a half-sister to multimillionaire and 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff heroine Blue Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize), who sold for $5 million to OXO Equine two days later at Fasig-Tipton November. Blues for Sale, a three-time group winner in Argentina, has a 2-year-old Suggestive Boy (Arg) filly named Blue Coast (Arg).

Saturday, Del Mar
CLEMENT L. HIRSCH S.-GI, $400,000, Del Mar, 8-6, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:42.97, ft.
1–BLUE STRIPE (ARG), 123, m, 5, by Equal Stripes (Arg)
1st Dam: Blues for Sale (Arg) (MGSW-Arg), by Not For Sale (Arg)
2nd Dam: Key Cure, by Cure the Blues
3rd Dam: Dancer's Key, by Key to the Mint
O-Pozo de Luna, Inc.; B-La Manija (ARG); T-Marcelo Polanco;
J-Hector Isaac Berrios. $240,000. Lifetime Record: 10-6-1-2,
$461,882. *1/2 to Blue Prize (ARG) (Pure Prize), G1SW-Arg &
MGISW-USA, $2,692,253. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple
Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Desert Dawn, 119, f, 3, by Cupid
1st Dam: Ashley's Glory, by Honour and Glory
2nd Dam: Ashley Secret, by Dr. Carter
3rd Dam: Whatever It Takes, by Hatchet Man
($32,000 RNA Ylg '20 OBSOCT). O/B-H & E Ranch (AZ); T-Philip
D'Amato. $80,000.
3–Shedaresthedevil, 123, m, 5, by Daredevil
1st Dam: Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats
2nd Dam: Andria's Forest, by Forestry
3rd Dam: Andriana B., by Far North
($100,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $20,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP;
$280,000 2yo '19 KEENOV; $5,000,000 4yo '21 FTKNOV).
O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC, Qatar Racing Limited & Whisper
Hill Farm, LLC; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$48,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, 17 1/4. Odds: 5.30, 6.30, 0.80.
Also Ran: Soothsay, Private Mission. Scratched: Lisette, Samurai Charm. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Blue Stripe Runs Away From Shedaresthedevil in Clement Hirsch appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Clairiere Picks Up the Pieces in Ogden Phipps to Cap Curlin Exacta

Saturday's GI Ogden Phipps S. may have only attracted five horses, but it was the “right” five with champions Malathaat (Curlin) and Letruska (Super Saver), Grade I winners Clairiere (Curlin) and Search Results (Flatter) and MGSW Bonny South (Munnings). After a knock down, drag out fight on the front end between Letruska and Search Results, it was left to the two Stonestreet Stables-bred fillies, Clairiere and Malathaat, to decide it in the lane. In the end, it was Clairiere, carrying her breeders' famed gold and burgundy silks, who got her head on the line first.

Defending Ogden Phipps winner Letruska was hammered down to 3-5 favoritism to repeat here with Malathaat the 3-1 second-choice and Clairiere behind them at 9-2. Clairiere broke sharply, but was quickly out-footed by an over eager Search Results and the typically speedy Letruska. Search Results gained a narrow advantage with the chalk glued to her tail through a :22.75 opening quarter and over a dozen lengths back to the remaining three, led by Malathaat. Clairiere inched up to confront Malathaat as the top two, now on even terms, blazed through a :45.23 half-mile. Search Results overtook Letruska at the five-sixteenths pole as Clairiere and Malathaat began to wind up on the outside. That duo overtook a tiring Letruska in early stretch and set their sights on Search Results. That Chad Brown trainee put in a valiant effort, but the early pace caught up with her in late stretch. Malathaat seized command with Clairiere on her outside shoulder, but it was clear Clairiere had more momentum. She forged past a determined Malathaat in the final strides to secure a narrow victory.

“It was very special, especially with a field like this,” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen. “It was a wonderful experience. 1:41 for a mile and a sixteenth. Is that even possible? They were rolling. The separation they got from the three-eighths to the quarter-pole worried me a bit. The first half, you think, 'perfect'. But when those fillies continued to separate I became concerned. They flew home. 1:41 flat [1:41.10]. They didn't stagger. They had to run.”

He continued, “It was heart, soul and guts, absolutely. What can you say about her? She is racing royalty by Curlin out of Cavorting. I think she's even better this year. She was a wonderful filly last year, but as a 4-year-old, she's faster now than she was then. This is a tremendous stage to do it on. The head went our way this time. I think it is absolutely beautiful that she and Malathaat were that close together the entire race. They are great mares. Unbelievable mares. How proud Stonestreet should be that they bred both of them.”

As for what's next, the Hall of Famer said, “The horse goes to Saratoga next, looking at the [GI] Personal Ensign. The [GI] Breeders' Cup Distaff is the main goal.”

“I always felt Clairiere was coming on strong and if she got a little bit of pace she would do it, and she did it,” said Stonestreet principal Barbara Banke. “She got pace and she did it. I was happy to see Malathaat right behind her. Those are two Stonestreet homebred Curlin fillies. You can't beat that.”

“She was tough to beat and for a second I thought she got me, but she really responded and we got lucky we got it,” said Joel Rosario. “I started by following Johnny [Velazquez aboard Malathaat] for a bit and turning for home it looked like I may never go by, but she did go by.”

As for the runner-up, trainer Todd Pletcher said, “Johnny said she kind of lost focus the last sixteenth of a mile. It's probably time to think about some blinkers, which we've had in the back of our minds for a while. It caught him off-guard because usually if she has a horse next to her, she'll stay focused, but the last 100 yards she saw something and kind of came off the bridle. It's a big effort.”

Clairiere announced herself last year with a win in the race named for her birthplace's most famous resident, the GII Rachel Alexandra S. She was ultra consistent in her next five starts, never finishing worst than fourth, including a second to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat in the GI Alabama S. last August. She got her well-deserved Grade I next out in the Sept. 25 GI Cotillion S. at Parx and rallied from well back to be fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 6, one spot behind Malathaat. Kicking off 2022 with a dominant optional claimer score at Fair Grounds Mar. 16, the homebred came in second to another Eclipse winner in Letruska in Oaklawn's GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 23.

Pedigree Notes:

Clairiere is one of 18 Grade I winner by the mighty Curlin. She is the first foal out of MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Cavorting, who won this race in 2016 for the now-retired Kiaran McLaughlin. That Stonestreet colorbearer is one of 14 mares by the late Bernardini to produce a Grade I winner. Her second foal, the now-3-year-old filly La Crete (Medaglia d'Oro), won the Silverbulletday S., making that two black-type winners from two to race for the star mare. Cavorting's 2020 colt Judge Miller (Curlin) summoned $550,000 at KEESEP form Muir Hut Stables. She was barren when bred to Quality Road for 2021 and was bred back to Into Mischief, but has no live foal reported yet for this year. Out of GSW Promenade Girl, Cavorting is a half to GSW Moon Colony (Uncle Mo) and MGSP Thirstforlife (Stay Thirsty).

Saturday, Belmont Park
OGDEN PHIPPS S.-GI, $480,000, Belmont, 6-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:41.10, ft.
1–CLAIRIERE, 122, f, 4, by Curlin
1st Dam: Cavorting (MGISW, $2,063,000), by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Promenade Girl, by Carson City
                3rd Dam: Promenade Colony, by Pleasant Colony
O/B-Stonestreet Stables LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 13-5-4-2, $1,799,592. *1/2 to La Crete (Medaglia d'Oro), SW, $159,460. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Malathaat, 124, f, 4, by Curlin
1st Dam: Dreaming of Julia (GISW, $874,500), by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Dream Rush, by Wild Rush
                3rd Dam: Turbo Dream, by Unbridled
($1,050,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Shadwell Stable; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. $100,000.
3–Search Results, 122, f, 4, by Flatter
                1st Dam: Co Cola (GSP), by Candy Ride (Arg)
                2nd Dam: Yong Musician, by Yonaguska
                3rd Dam: Alljazz, by Stop the Music
($310,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $60,000.
Margins: HD, 2 1/4, 6 3/4. Odds: 4.80, 3.15, 5.30.
Also Ran: Bonny South, Letruska.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Clairiere Picks Up the Pieces in Ogden Phipps to Cap Curlin Exacta appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Saudi Cup The Perfect Swansong For Breeders’ Cup Distaff Winner Marche Lorraine

Leading Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi has revealed The Saudi Cup was the first thing on his mind when Marche Lorraine won the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar last November.

Despite a possibility that the six-year-old mare would retire after her success in California, connections were keen to run one more time – and the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 26 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh will provide the setting for her send-off.

The Japanese superstar recently returned to full training ahead of her Saudi Cup mission and she will join some of the best dirt horses on the planet contesting the nine-furlong race.

Last year's winner Mishriff, Japan Champions Cup winner T O Keynes, and the highly-progressive US-trained Mandaloun are just a few of her potential rivals, with entries from America, Europe, South America and Asia.

Speaking about the decision to run in The Saudi Cup, Yahagi said: “It was immediately after the Breeders' Cup Distaff… I thought The Saudi Cup should be her next race if she ran one more time. There was a possibility that Marche Lorraine would retire after the Breeders' Cup.

“She needed to have a period to relieve fatigue and spent an easy time at the Shigaraki Branch of Northern Farm. She returned to my barn at Ritto Training Centre on Jan. 27.”

Three-time Japanese Champion Trainer, Yahagi, was surprised by Marche Lorraine's win in America, but hopes that she can run to that level again in Riyadh and achieve a similar send off to Loves Only You, who followed her Del Mar win with a triumphant final outing in the Hong Kong Cup.

He said: “With regard to the Filly & Mare Turf, I thought Loves Only You had enough ability to win the race, and I was deeply moved to become the first Japanese trainer to win a race at the Breeders' Cup. It was kind of a surprise – even for me – to watch Marche Lorraine win the Distaff to be frankly honest.

“First of all, I want her to complete the race safely, as she will be a mother soon. While I understand the competition is very tough, I hope she performs well enough, like at the Breeders' Cup.”

Source of original post