breeders' cup sprint | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘I Wouldn’t Like It If It Were Easy’: Moquett Enjoys Challenges Of Training Strong-Minded Whitmore

Training the strong-minded reigning Champion Sprinter Whitmore comes with its challenges, but Arkansas-born conditioner Ron Moquett said he wouldn't have it any other way.

“I wouldn't like it if it were easy. It wouldn't mean as much if everything works out if it were easy,” Moquett said. “I think for me, at this stage in my career, it's good to get something that's a little quirky and a little different and show that you can handle those types and then hopefully get some of the easier ones down the road.”

Owned by Moquett in partnership with Robert V. LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners, Whitmore looks to add a third Grade 1 victory to his ledger in Saturday's Grade 1 $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga. The veteran 8-year-old gelding boasts a lifetime record of 41-15-13-4, which include triumphs in the Grade 1 Forego in August 2018 at the Spa as well as the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland.

Whitmore developed a good rapport with some of his previous pilots, with six jockeys having guided the talented veteran to the winner's circle, which include, Jose Ortiz, Irad Ortiz, Jr., Manny Franco, Didiel Osorio and Joe Talamo. Other jockeys of note to have piloted the 8-year-old veteran include Luis Saez, Joel Rosario, and Flavien Prat, as well as Hall of Famers Mike Smith and Victor Espinoza.

“He's quirky, but he's not hard to ride,” Moquett said. “These guys are professionals. When you look at the list of jockeys that have ridden this horse, those are some top riders. I've always said you ride riders for the comfort that they will get done what you want to get done, but it also has to do with the fact they're very sure and confident. If he catches a little glimpse of any thread, he can pick on you, he will pull that thread.”

Through a racing career which dates back to a 7 ¼-length debut win in November 2015 at Churchill Downs, Moquett has been able to spend more time with Whitmore than most trainers can say they've spent with some of their star pupils.

“He still deals with things that aren't easy. He hasn't had a nail in his shoe since he was a 3-year-old. He wears glue-on shoes,” Moquett continued. “He's not the easiest to be around at the gate. He likes to train backwards, he refuses to train by himself. He wants competition or he'll give you the middle finger. We have to soak his feed a certain way before he'll eat it. Everything is a collaboration of figuring out how to get along with him.”

Moquett credits his wife and assistant trainer Laura for being instrumental in coaxing the most from Whitmore.

“Laura is the master of that, and she has the patience of Job, which is probably how we're married,” Moquett said. “Being married to me has trained her to get along with Whitmore.”

Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. appears to know Whitmore better than any other jockey, having finished in the money 15 of the 17 times he has been in the irons.

“Sometimes it works like that. Certain riders say, 'Hey we're doing this, let's go,' and Santana does that. They work well together,” Moquett said.

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C Z Rocket Slight Favorite In Contentious Bring Crosby

Nine of the fastest racehorses on the grounds will step on the accelerators at Del Mar Saturday for a six-furlong battle royale in the 76th edition of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes.

The race offers a $300,000 purse and, additionally – as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series – an all-expenses paid ticket into the $2-million Breeders' Cup Sprint, which will be contested at Del Mar on Saturday, November 6.

The race is deep in talent, deep in contention and crack full of speed. Picking a favorite is tough, but Del Mar's morning line man, Jon White, had made a call for the running machine known as C Z Rocket and hung him at 5/2. To underline the extent of the friction that rises with a dash like this, White has put 7/2 listings on both Dr. Schivel and Brickyard Ride, as well as a 4-1 tab on Collusion Illusion, the race's defending winner.

C Z Rocket has proven to be one of the great claims of recent times since he was haltered for his current connections by trainer Peter Miller at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas in April, 2020. The now 7-year-old gelding by City Zip has since run nine times – the last six in stakes – and won seven of them, along with a pair of seconds. In the process he's banked more than $1 million and improved his career marks to 26-11-3-2 with total earnings of $1,391,641.

Dr. Schivel's main claim to fame so far is winning the Del Mar Futurity last September, after which he was sold to his current outfit and sent to the barn of trainer Mark Glatt, who then put him on the shelf for nine months. The 3-year-old son of Violence made a comeback start in June at Santa Anita in an allowance race and won it in a photo.

Brickyard Ride is a seriously fast horse whose style is to go to the front and dare his rivals to come catch him. Trainer Craig Lewis has campaigned the 4-year-old by Clubhouse Ride both in California-bred races and against open company and has come away a winner in both circumstances. He's captured eight of 16 starts and banked $464,477.

Collusion Illusion won the Crosby as a 3-year-old, getting up in the very last jump to score by the proverbial whisker. The Twirling Candy offspring has proved a winner in five of his nine trips to the post and will be making his first start since last December at Santa Anita. He, too, is trained by Glatt, while the conditioner also calls the shots for Crosby entrant Law Abidin Citizen.

Here's the full field for the Crosby from the rail out with riders and morning line odds: Exline-Border Racing and ERJ Racing or Hudock's Shooters Shoot (Trevor McCarthy, 15-1); Slam Dunk Racing or MyRacehorse's Vertical Threat (Joe Bravo, 8-1); Madaket Stables, Barber or Kagele's C Z Rocket (Florent Geroux); Agnew, Schneider or Xitco's Law Abidin Citizen (Wayne Barnett, 12-1); Dare to Dream Stable's Quick Tempo (Umberto Rispoli, 12-1); MyRacehorse, Agnew, Orr, et al's Collusion Illusion (Tyler Baze); Coolmore Stud, Madaket Stables or Starlight Racing, et al's Eight Rings (Abel Cedillo, 10-1); Red Baron's Barn, Rancho Temescal or Reeves, et al's Dr. Schivel (Flavien Prat), and Alfred Pais' Brickyard Ride (Juan Hernandez).

The Crosby goes as the 10th race on an 11-race program with a first post of 2 p.m.

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Moquett Believes Reigning Champion Whitmore Will Bring His ‘A Game’ In Saturday’s Vanderbilt

The defending Champion Sprinter Whitmore has shown no signs of slowing down in his 8-year-old campaign. He will again look to put his ability on display, facing some of the top sprinters in the country in Saturday's 37th running of the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga Race Course.

The prestigious six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and upward pays homage to the influential owner, breeder and racetrack operator who made a major impact on the North American thoroughbred industry in the 20th century.

Whitmore, co-owned by trainer Ron Moquett with Robert V. LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners, arrives at the Vanderbilt with $4,434,350 in the bank, and a record of 41-15-13-4, including seven graded stakes victories at four different racetracks. The gelded son of Pleasantly Perfect capped his award-winning 2020 campaign with a 3 ¼-length victory in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland.

Whitmore has not found the winner's circle in 2021 but has come close in all three starts. After a game second by a neck to C Z Rocket in the Hot Springs on March 13 at Oaklawn Park, he returned to run second to his rival once more in the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint on April 10 at the Arkansas oval. Whitmore was last seen finishing a close third in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs on May 1, where he was seven-wide in upper stretch and crossed the finish line in tandem with Flagstaff and Lexitonian.

“His record says he's 0-for-3 this year, but he's 3-for-3 in effort,” Moquett said. “All we can ask is for him to try. Are there some things that may have resulted in a better outcome? Probably. But at the same time, he brought his A game. You're going to win some and you're going to lose some. It's all about bringing the effort.”

A winner of the 2018 Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga, Whitmore was second in last year's Vanderbilt to Volatile.

“He was going to be the favorite for the Vanderbilt during his 4-year-old year, but we had to scratch him because he pawed from the airplane in Albany to here. He would have been a short price,” Moquett said. “We learned from that. He's training us on how to train him and we learned that we need to move him well in advance or, if he's going to be on a van, it's going to be ours. Someone that won't stop and just go straight through. He can't do a milk run.”

Whitmore captured last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint at 18-1 odds, after running a respective eighth [2017], second [2018] and third [2019] in the previous three runnings.

Despite arriving at last year's Breeders' Cup as a longshot, Moquett said he felt a strong sense of confidence in Whitmore, who was fourth in the Grade 3 Phoenix at Keeneland, a race he won in 2017, in his previous effort.

“When I ran against [2019 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner] Mitole the previous year, I thought we were going to need someone to hook him or get him out of position, but I didn't feel like that against any of the ones we were up against last year,” Moquett said. “I figured we could run our best race and they could run theirs, but we could still be in front. I threw the Phoenix out. It was a speed and rail-favoring surface. We got a little far back, but he finished up well and needed the race. There were some good horses in there, but there was no [2018 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner] Roy H or Mitole. I just knew that we were sitting in a good post and had enough ability.”

Fresh off a Grade 1 triumph aboard Maracuja in last Saturday's CCA Oaks, jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. seeks an eighth triumph aboard Whitmore, whom he will ride for the 18th time from post 6.

Mr. Amore Stable's Firenze Fire also is an accomplished veteran with nine graded stakes triumphs over four different tracks, including victories in the Grade 3 Runhappy and Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park to commence his 6-year-old season. He has finished fourth in the last two editions of the Vanderbilt.

Trained by Kelly Breen, the son of Poseidon's Warrior boasts a record of 34-14-5-3 with earnings of $2,534,350, including victories in the Grade 3 General George in March 2020 at Laurel Park and the Grade 3 Gallant Bob in September 2018 at Parx Racing. His lone graded win at the Spa came during his juvenile campaign when taking the Grade 3 Sanford in July 2017. Third to Whitmore in last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint, Firenze Fire notched his only Grade 1 triumph in the 2017 Champagne at Belmont Park.

Firenze Fire was a game second last out in the Grade 2 John A. Nerud on July 4 at Belmont Park, where he battled gamely down the stretch to the inside of Mind Control, finishing a head shy of victory.

“He's on his game and doing well,” said owner Ron Lombardi. “After that last race he came back to the barn that night and felt like he didn't even run, He went for a jog the next morning. At this level they're all tough races, but he's doing great.”

Lombardi said the results might have been reversed had it been Firenze Fire dueling to the outside in his most recent engagement.

“If he's on the outside he probably runs that race but it's all a part of the game. It was a duel with Mind Control last time, and we just missed,” Lombardi said. “That was the first time we went gate to wire which is something I've always wanted to try. Jose [Ortiz] did that with him, and it worked out.”

Ortiz will return aboard Firenze Fire from post 3.

Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex proved a force to be reckoned with following decisive graded stakes victories earlier this year, and cuts back to six furlongs after running third in the Grade 1 Met Mile last out on June 5 at Belmont Park.

The Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained 4-year-old son of Into Mischief displayed excellence in his first three starts this season, defeating optional claiming company on January 10 at Gulfstream Park en route to a victory in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint on February 13. A winner of the Grade 3 Gotham in March 2020 at Aqueduct, he returned to the Big A with vigor in capturing the Grade 1 Carter in April by 5 ½ lengths under a hand ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr., garnering a 109 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He is training for this as well as he did for the Carter,” Joseph, Jr. said. “I thought he had a real good work here a couple weeks back. He's going over with a really good chance. I think six to seven is his best distance. This race is six and the next one will be seven. I think that's most suitable.”

Ortiz, Jr. will return to irons from post 2.

Calumet Farm's Lexitonian will seek to make amends following a lackluster sixth in the Grade 1 Met Mile for trainer Jack Sisterson.

The 5-year-old chestnut son of Speightstown, who won the 2004 Vanderbilt, was previously a game second finishing a nose in front of Whitmore in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs.

Lexitonian, who scratched at the gate in last year's Vanderbilt, finished second by a nose to Collusion Illusion one week later in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar. During his sophomore season, he won the Grade 3 Chick Lang at Pimlico at 17-1.

“He has so much heart. He's never a flashy work horse or in running,” Sisterson said. “He may come off the bridle, but whoever is riding him knows he responds to pressure and that's just the way he likes to be ridden. Ideally, his best running style is being forwardly placed in a dog fight. He really shows his true colors when asked to be set down and that's how he'll be ridden. He'll be forwardly placed. We'll be aggressive out of the gate and put him in the race and see who wants to come and catch us.”

Jockey Jose Lezcano rides from post 1.

Miles Ahead made the grade last out in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint on July 3 at Gulfstream Park and will try to sustain momentum when racing outside of Florida for the first time.

The dark bay or brown son of Competitive Edge, previously trained by Florida-based conditioner Eddie Plesa, Jr., makes his debut for the barn of Rusty Arnold and boasts a consistent 16-8-2-1 record.

Jockey Luis Saez will ride from post 7.

Trainer Mike Maker will saddle up-and-comer Special Reserve, who has displayed newfound abilities in his last two efforts. Never off the board in five starts this year, the son of Midshipman, owned by Paradise Farms Corp and David Staudacher, won the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on May 15 at Pimlico ahead of a score in the Iowa Sprint on July 3 at Prairie Meadows, where he recorded a career-best 101 Beyer.

Breaking from post 9, Special Reserve will be ridden by jockey Joel Rosario.

Completing the field for the Vanderbilt are 2018 Grade 3 Swale-winner Strike Power [post 4, Tyler Gaffalione], Three Technique [post 5, Manny Franco] and Montauk Traffic [post 8, Eric Cancel].

Voted “The Man Who Did Most for Racing” four times, Vanderbilt operated the prominent Sagamore Farm in Maryland for multiple decades and campaigned Hall of Famers Discovery, Bed o' Roses and Native Dancer. As a racetrack operator, Vanderbilt owned Pimlico Race Course and arranged the famous match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral in 1938. He also was president of Belmont Park and served as chairman of the NYRA board from 1971-75.

The Vanderbilt is slated as Race 8 on Saturday's 11-race card, which offers a first post of 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Gritty Whitmore ‘Still There Being Honest’

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–To illustrate his point about Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), trainer Ron Moquett stepped into the Eclipse Award winner's stall Sunday morning saying, “This is not the time to do this,” and rubbed his star's coat with a small towel. Showing his displeasure, Whitmore promptly kicked the wall. Hard.

“He is as consistent as the day is long,” Moquett said, smiling. “He will do everything the exact same way. Our job is to get done, working with him, knowing his idiosyncrasies.”

Moquett and his staff live in Whitmore's world, ruled by the 8-year-old gelding who is scheduled to make his 42nd career start–the 13th in a Grade I–in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Dependable as he is gritty and irascible, Whitmore, who was 19th in the 2016 GI Kentucky Derby, has flourished in the sprint division and was the 2020 champion. Overall, during his career, he won 15 times and has finished in the money in 78% of his races while earning over $4.4 million in purse money.

In the seven years since Moquett purchased the 2-year-old named Pleasant Mel in a private sale for $37,000, he and his staff have learned how to keep Whitmore in balance. Carlos Monroy has been his groom since he arrived. Moquett's wife and training partner, Laura, is his exercise rider. Moquett repeats a word to describe Whitmore's personality and his competitive nature, which is why he is catered to every morning and afternoon.

“I'm amazed all the time, just in his consistency,” Moquett said. “The thing is Whitmore doesn't owe us anything. So he gets to do what he wants to do every day of his life. If he wants to stay in the barn and do nothing, that's what he gets to do. His honesty and loyalty has been there and we owe him.”

Whitmore's Breeders' Cup Sprint | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire

It's fair to say that Whitmore reached another level of popularity with his victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint last November at Keeneland. As he had done so many times in the past, the big chestnut came from far off the early pace to beat C Z Rocket (City Zip) by 3 1/4 lengths. After two rare off-the-board finishes prior to the Sprint, he was 18-1 in the wagering.

Moquett said he was overwhelmed by who responded to the decisive score in the Sprint.

“The thing that will always be what touched me the most was other trainers' and competitive owners' and jockeys' reactions,” he said.

Among those who reached out to Moquett, 49, were Hall of Fame trainers Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert and Richard Mandella, who developed his sire, Pleasantly Perfect, into a major star.

“Here's the thing that people have got to realize,” Moquett said. “One, I like horses more than your average person likes horses. Two, I love horse racing. So I'm still a fan, even though I'm in the business. So when you get a text from Pletcher, you get a text from Asmussen or Asmussen cheers for your horse…”

Moquett didn't complete the sentence, but finished the thought.

“I get people coming up to me and they don't know me from a load of hay,” he said. “I could have been the leading trainer at Oaklawn or Churchill or Ellis by 50-whatever and they might not say hi to you. But they relate to him and they're like, 'Man, congratulations. I was really cheering for your horse.' That's something for a guy that grew up just a huge fan of all things racing.”

Moquett started with Quarter Horses and moved to Thoroughbreds in 1997. He has a solid stable that is nearing $32 million in career earnings, but Whitmore is by far the most successful of his runners. It took an interesting twist of fate for Moquett to land Whitmore. Shut out at the 2015 June Ocala sale, Moquett asked his friend, the agent Jeff Mackor, to send him some pictures of horses that had not sold and were still available. One of the dozen images Mackor sent him prompted a reaction.

Whitmore in his stall at Saratoga this week | Mike Kane

Moquett made it clear that he liked what he saw: “I sent him back a two-word text that said, 'Buy him.'”

Mackor made the deal and Pleasant Mel joined the Moquett stable.

“That's a running joke, too,” Moquett said. “People that knew when I bought him I just despised the name. I know it's named after a lady named Melody and his mother's name was Melody [Melody's Spirit, by Scat Daddy]. And the daddy is Pleasantly Perfect. They combined it, but he was neither a Mel or pleasant.”

Moquett renamed the horse for Wilbur Whitmore, his high school basketball teammate in Pocola, Okla.

“I changed his name after him because he kind of reminded me athletic-wise of Whitmore,” Moquett said. “Whitmore is just a natural athlete that could do anything better than you.”

Moquett had two partners in Whitmore when he ran in the Derby: Robert LaPenta and Harry Rosenblum. Sol Kumin's Head of Plains Partners purchased Rosenblum's stake in the horse in April 2017.

Whitmore came out of the Derby with a chip in his knee that had to be removed by surgery. Moquett said his partners never quibbled about the surgery but he fretted about how it would affect the horse.

“That was the time where I went, 'Man. I hope we can 'cause a lot of horses don't come back,'” he said. “That's the reason why a lot of horses retire whenever they have a little bit of something wrong with them is because they come back a dimmer version of what was so bright.”

Whitmore promptly answered the question when he returned to competition in December 2016 with the first of five straight victories. He's been a serious player in the sprint division ever since. He was second in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Sprint and third in 2019.

From Moquett's perspective, Whitmore has remained successful into racing's geezerhood because he loves to run and the stable knows how to treat him. That includes flying in his farrier from Louisville, Ky., to deal with his tender feet.

“There's not a big turnover in our barn for employees. There's a familiarity that allows us to know the subtle things,” Moquett said. “And we use that as an indicator. We're going too far. We're not going far enough. We're going too hard. We're not pushing. We take in all that. I think it's kind of like cooking with the same skillet. You know what you're doing after that.”

With his compelling back story and his strong performances in graded stakes after graded stakes, Whitmore has become an inspiring horse.

“This has nothing to do with me. A lot of people that cheer for Whitmore can't tell you my name,” Moquett said. “They liked the fact that he ran in the Kentucky Derby. Everybody else is going to make babies and whatever and he's just still there being honest. And he wins. He wins when he's supposed to. He tries. From that point on, that's all anybody wants is honesty. They want to know that they got a fair shake.

“The thing about 'Whit' is you can never guarantee a win or whatever, but you can guarantee that he'll give you what he's got. I think that makes people like him.”

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