Breeders' Cup undercard | Horse Racing Free Tips

Nashville Retires to WinStar

CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's track record-setting Nashville (Speightstown–Veronique, by Mizzen Mast) has been retired from racing and will stand alongside his sire at WinStar, the farm announced Thursday.

Tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' off his impressive 11 1/2 length debut romp at Saratoga in September of 2020, the $460,000 KEESEP buy followed suit with a dominant Keeneland allowance win a month later, good for a 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

Nashville may not have won the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, but he was the fastest sprint winner on the card. After sizzling through fractions of :21.54 for the opening quarter and :43.87 for the half-mile, Nashville sailed home the easiest of winners. Geared down in the late stages, he crossed the wire 3 1/2 lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer in the new track-record time of 1:07.89, earning a 102 Beyer Speed Figure. Nashville's final clocking proved nearly a second faster than subsequent Eclipse Champion Sprinter Whitmore's time (1:08.61) in winning the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint later that same day.

This season, Nashville continued his winning ways with a 4/34-length, wire-to-wire victory at Fair Grounds in March, covering six furlongs in 1:08.61, the fastest sprint race of the entire Fair Grounds meet and the fastest time at that distance in more than two years.

“Nashville is the fastest horse we have ever had at WinStar,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO and racing manager of WinStar. “He is a freak of nature. Three times he went :43 and change; he led through the first quarter in every start and led after a half in all but one start. The brilliance he showed will give him a big chance at stud. Speightstown is always a plus, already having six sons to sire Grade I winners.”

By champion sprinter Speightstown, Nashville is out Veronique, a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Almond Roca (Speightstown) and graded stakes-placed Calistoga (Speightstown), who was purchased by James Delahooke for $800,000 in foal to Collected at Keeneland November in 2020 just days after Nashville's powerhouse performance in the Perryville. He hails from the direct female family of GI Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, GI Santa Anita Derby winner Tiago, and graded stakes winner and Grade I-placed Stanwyck. Nashville was bred in Kentucky by Breffini Farm and purchased from the Lane's End consignment.

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Del Mar’s Summer Stars Aim To Shine On Saturday Undercard

Tizamagician and Going Global were impact players during the Del Mar summer meeting.

Tizamagician won the Grade 3 Cougar II, a 1 ½-mile main track marathon on July 18 to cap the opening weekend of the meeting. The 4-year-old Tiznow colt then came back in the TVG Pacific Classic to lead for the first three quarters before finishing second to Tripoli in the $1 million, 1 ¼-mile signature event of the season.

Going Global came to Del Mar on a four-race winning streak on turf after being imported from Ireland, but had it snapped when beaten a half-length by Madone in the Grade 2 San Clemente on July 24, contested at one mile on the Jimmy Durante course. A month later, and at her more preferred distance of 1 1/8 miles, Going Global took control in the stretch and won the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks by a length.

For that effort, Going Global was a unanimous choice in the Del Mar media vote for top 3-year-old filly of the meeting.

Del Mar followers will get another look and a worldwide Breeders' Cup audience can avail itself of a first glance of the two summer stars in a pair of stakes with combined purses totaling $550,000 immediately preceding the nine Breeders' Cup races on Saturday's card.

Call the $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes and the $300,000 Goldikova Stakes an aperitif for the smorgasbord to follow – races with combined purses of $21 million – if you like. But call the TAA and the Goldikova highly competitive featuring the 4-year-old colt and 3-year-old filly Southern California fans have found very much worth watching. A capsule look:

Race No. 2: $250,000 TAA Stakes; Grade 3, 1 5/8 miles for 3-year-olds and up.

Lone Rock, a 6-year-old gelded son of Majestic Warrior trained by Robertino Diodoro is the 6/5 morning line favorite with Tizamagician, trained by Richard Mandella for MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, the second choice at 8/5 in a field of seven. It's easy to see why.

Lone Rock had a four-race winning streak snapped when second in his first try at this distance in the Jockey Club Grand Prix at Belmont Park on Sept. 18. One of the wins in the streak, however, was an 11 ¼-length romp in the 1 ½-mile, Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap in June at Belmont in which Tizamagician was the runner-up.

Tizamagician followed the Brooklyn with his summer assignments here then was fifth to Medina Spirit in the Grade 1 Awesome Again on Oct. 2 at Santa Anita.

Del Mar's leading jockey Flavien Prat has been aboard for the last five starts and will be again on Saturday.

“He ran a really good race last time here and he's been training well. He feels strong and I think he will be ready to run another good one,” Prat said. “When (Lone Rock) beat us (in the Brooklyn), we had a really bad break, so we had an excuse and I hope things will be different this time.”

The field of seven from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Mad Grace (apprentice Jessica Pyfer, 30-1); Lone Rock (Ramon Vazquez); Cupid's Claws (Luis Saez, 6-1); Tizamagician; Zestful (Florent Geroux, 8-1); Locally Owned (Tyler Gaffalione, 6-1), and Hapi Hapi (Tiago Pereira, 30-1).

Race No. 3: $300,000 Goldikova Stakes; Grade 2, one mile (turf) for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

Princess Grace, who made her summer mark here with a ship-in score in the Grade 2, 1 1/16-mile Yellow Ribbon on Aug. 7, is the 8/5 morning line favorite, barely ahead of 9-5 Going Global.

Trained by Michael Stidham and owned by Susan and John Moore, Princess Grace, a 4-year-old daughter of Karakontie, is on a four-race winning streak. She followed her Yellow Ribbon score with one in the Ladies Turf at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 11 to set her career record at six wins and a second from seven starts with earnings of $886,860.

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, whose services were called upon for the Yellow Ribbon, will be back in the irons.

Going Global, trained by Phil D'Amato since being imported, has been freshened since her Del Mar Oaks victory with five works at Santa Anita starting in late September and a finishing touch 1:01.80 for five furlongs here on Sunday.

“We've been planning for this race for the last month and a half and she's coming into it in really good shape,” D'Amato said. “This will be her first against older horses and we look at it as a good chance to see how we stand in that regard. Also it's a good prep for the Oaks at the start of the Santa Anita meet in December.

“I think there are a lot of contenders in there and Princess Grace is definitely the top one.”

The field of nine from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Zofelle (Tyler Gaffalione, 6-1); Princess Grace; Abscond (Irad Ortiz, Jr., 8-1); Glesga Gal (Florent Geroux, 15-1); Ippodamia's Girl (Luis Saez, 20-1); Bodhicitta (Joel Rosario, 12-1); Going Global; Warren's Showtime (Juan Hernandez, 12-1), and Constantia (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1).

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Golden Mile, Sen. Ken Maddy Top Friday’s Undercard Races At Del Mar

Four stakes with combined purses of $700,000 will lead up to the five Breeders' Cup races – three worth $1 million and two worth $2 million – on Friday's 10-race program at Del Mar.

Check out the four not-to-be-underestimated events on the undercard:

Race No. 2: $150,000 Qatar Golden Mile; one mile (turf) for 2-year-olds. Ready to Purrform didn't make the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf field, so the son of Kitten's Joy, owned by Donegal Racing and trained by Brad Cox, will seek a third straight win to start his career in this one as the 5/2 morning line favorite.

Eoin Harty-trained Degree of Risk, Grade 1-placed at Woodbine, is the 4-1 second choice and has Del Mar's leading rider Flavien Prat in the saddle. Michael McCarthy-trained Optimising, with John Velazquez, is third at 5-1.

Optimising, owned by Red Barons Barn and Rancho Temescal, was fourth, beaten two lengths by McKinnon in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf on closing day of the summer meeting in his last start.

“He's only run once for us and we're still trying to figure him out, but he has been training well and we're glad to get him back down here,” McCarthy said.

Race No. 3: $175,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies; 7 furlongs for 2-year-old California-bred fillies. George Krikorian's Big Novel, trained by John Sadler, is the 3-1 morning line favorite off a third-place finish in the Generous Portion on Sept. 3 and a maiden win at Santa Anita on Oct. 2.

“Joe (jockey Joe Bravo) knows her well having ridden her twice already and working her in the mornings,” said Sadler assistant Juan Leyva. “Joe has been really happy with the way she has worked so I think she's just going to move forward off that.”

CTBA Stakes winner At the Spa and supplemental entry Vivacious Vanessa are the co-second choices at 4-1. Jorge Periban trains At the Spa, Gary Mandella has Vivacious Vanessa, a first-out winner on the turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 16.

“She won impressively, but there's no grass race for her until January, so we're going to try her on the dirt,” Mandella said. “She's fit enough because she just ran a mile.”

Race No. 4: $200,000 Senator Ken Maddy; 5 furlongs (turf) for fillies and mares.

Superstition, a winner of the Daisycutter Stakes here on July 25 over the same course, is the 3-1 morning line favorite. The 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper, owned by Ramona or Perry Bass, trained by Richard Mandella and ridden by Prat, was third in a Grade 3 event a Kentucky Downs on Sept. 11 in her last start.

Hear My Prayer, one-for-one at Del Mar in a 10-race career, is 4-1 from the inside post for owners Holly and David Wilson and trainer Vladimir Cerin. Third choice at 5-1 is Doug O'Neill-trained A G Indy at 5-1. The 4-year-old daughter of Take Charge Indy owned by R3 Racing won twice over the course at the summer meeting.

“She's training well, has good speed and I've got Umberto Rispoli on her (for the fourth straight time) so I give her a good chance in there even though it is a very tough race,” O'Neill said.

Race No. 5: $175,000 Golden State Juvenile; 7 furlongs for California-bred 2-year-olds.

Joker Boy, trained by Brian Koriner, is the 7-2 morning line favorite based on a wire-to-wire win in the six-furlong I'm Smokin Stakes at Del Mar on Sept. 4. Finneus, Walther Solis' Del Mar Futurity runner-up, is next at 4-1 and Reddam Racing's Slow Down Andy third on the morning line at 5-1. A son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, Slow Down Andy, trained by O'Neill, was a debuting winner by 4 ¾ lengths at Santa Anita on Oct. 9.

“His first start was really impressive and he landed a really good outside post (No. 11) for this, so we're optimistic he can repeat his debut,” O'Neill said.

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Koriner Will Aim Joker Boy For Golden State Juvenile At Del Mar

Trainer Brian Koriner reported that Joker Boy, winner of Saturday's I'm Smokin' Stakes for California-breds came out of the race in good shape and will be aimed for the Golden State Juvenile Stakes on the Breeders' Cup undercard here Friday, November 5.

Billed as “Future Stars Friday,” the five $1-$2 million Breeders' Cup races will be preceded by four stakes with purses of either $175,000 or $200,000. The $175,000 Golden State Juvenile Stakes at seven furlongs is an eighth of a mile longer than the $100,000 I'm Smokin' which Joker Boy negotiated wire-to-wire in winning by 3 ½ lengths.

“We may run him once at Santa Anita before that,” Koriner said. “We're just going to go day by day and let the horse tell us what to do.”

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