Breeders' Cup Win and You're In | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gear Jockey Ridden to Perfection in Turf Sprint

Gear Jockey (Twirling Candy), third at 67-1 as a maiden in the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, delivered a career high while punching his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

The Calumet Farm homebred sat just off the pacesetting Bombard (War Front) in second, took over under confident handling as they hit the quarter pole and took care of business from there to win for fun.

Longshot Diamond Oops (Lookin At Lucky) nosed out Bombard for second.

Gear Jockey, a maiden winner at ninth asking at Gulfstream Jan. 21, was a close third in the GIII Canadian Turf S. going 1 1/16 miles Feb. 27. A Keeneland allowance winner going a mile this spring, he cut back to a pair of 5 1/2-furlong turf sprints in his last two, scoring in an optional claimer at Saratoga July 17, then rallying for third in the GIII Troy S. Aug. 6.

Trainer Rusty Arnold has also enjoyed success with Twirling Candy's GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. heroine Concrete Rose and MGSW Morticia.

“He's been working good,” winning jockey Jose Lezcano said. “He felt very good. He broke right on top and I let him follow [Bombard] and when I asked him at the three-sixteenths, he took off again. At the quarter [pole] he had already taken me there, but at three-sixteenths, I had to ask him because no one was coming and he might hang and fool around. The whole way he gave me the feeling that I had so much horse. When I asked, him he really kicked on.”

Favored two-time GI Fourstardave H. heroine Got Stormy (Get Stormy) was a disappointing sixth.

“You've always heard me say that she likes hard ground,” trainer Mark Casse said. “I think when she's sprinting she probably would actually like it a little softer. Today they were just a little too fast for her. But she's fine. We knew this was a tall task, but this will get us ready for the Breeders' Cup.”

Pedigree Notes:

Gear Jockey, whose granddam is a half-sister to GISW Stroll (Pulpit), has effectively salvaged the last two generations of his female family from a scarcity of black-type. Gear Jockey's dam spent her early producing years delivering foals by obscure stallion Calimonco until being purchased for $20,000 by Calumet with the Turf Sprint winner in utero at the 2017 Keeneland January sale. Her most recent foals–2-year-old colt Double Clutch (Optimizer) and yearling colt Keen to Go (Keen Ice)–are by resident Calumet stallions. She has been bred back to Calumet's Bravazo for next term. Gear Jockey became the 50th black-type winner out of a Tapit mare with the Kentucky Downs score and the second by Twirling Candy out of a Tapit mare, joining Venezuelan MSW Believe (Ven). Twirling Candy is having a fabulous year, with Gear Jockey his eighth black-type winner of 2021 and joining the ranks of GI Preakness S. winner Rombauer, as well as last week's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst. Gear Jockey marks Twirling Candy's 12th graded winner and 31st stakes winner in seven crops.

Saturday, Kentucky Downs
FANDUEL TURF SPRINT S.-GIII, $995,500, Kentucky Downs, 9-11, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:07.90 (NCR), fm.
1–GEAR JOCKEY, 121, c, 4, by Twirling Candy
                1st Dam: Switching Gears, by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Pace, by Indian Ridge (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Maid for Walking (GB), by Prince Sabo (GB)
   1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-George R. Arnold, II; J-Jose Lezcano.
$576,600. Lifetime Record: GISP, 15-4-2-5, $902,875. Click for
   eNicks report & 5-cross catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Diamond Oops, 121, g, 6, Lookin At Lucky–Patriotic Viva, by
Whywhywhy. ($42,000 RNA Wlg '15 KEENOV). O-Diamond 100
Racing Club, LLC, Amy Dunne, D P Racing LLC & Patrick L.
Biancone Racing LLC; B-Kin Hui Racing Stables LLC (KY);
T-Patrick L. Biancone. $186,000.
3–Bombard, 125, g, 8, War Front–Witty, by Distorted Humor.
O/B-Raydelz Stable (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $93,000.
Margins: 2HF, NO, HD. Odds: 5.70, 21.90, 6.30.
Also Ran: Fast Boat, Casa Creed, Got Stormy, Front Run the Fed, Chewing Gum, Stubbins, Imprimis, Siem Riep, Born Great. Scratched: Johnny Unleashed. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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‘Stormy’ Forecast at Kentucky Downs

After annexing her second career win in the GI Fourstardave H. at Saratoga this summer, Got Stormy (Get Stormy) will take on males once again in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GIII Fanduel Turf Sprint S. going six furlongs at Kentucky Downs.

A winner of the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint S. at an additional half of a furlong here last term, Got Stormy narrowly captured the GIII Honey Fox S. at Gulfstream Feb. 27 before rolling a pair of fives in the GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. May 1 and GI Jackpocket Jaipur S. at Belmont June 5.

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) was given the nod on the morning-line at odds of 7-2 in this wide-open affair. A flashy come-from-behind upset winner in the Jaipur on the GI Belmont S. undercard two back, he rallied for third in the Fourstardave last time.

Last year's narrow Turf Sprint winner Imprimis (Broken Vow), drawn widest of all in post 12, and dead-heat second-place finishers Bombard (War Front) and Front Run the Fed (Fed Biz) will renew acquaintances again here.

Save a disappointing sixth in the Jaipur, Fast Boat (City Zip) has won three out of his last four, led by a sharp win in Saratoga's GIII Troy S. last time Aug. 6.

Saturday's loaded program at Kentucky Downs also features: the 'Win and You're In' GII Calumet Turf Cup; the GII Franklin-Simpson S., led by GI Bruce D. winner Point Me By (Point of Entry); the GIII Mint Ladies Sprint S., featuring the speedy Venetian Harbor (Munnings); and the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S.

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Max Player Powers Clear in Jockey Club Gold Cup

George Hall and SportBLX's Max Player (Honor Code) proved his bounce-back GII Suburban S. score in July was no fluke as he again showed more speed and pulled away to an emphatic victory in the repositioned GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga. A fringe player on last year's Triple Crown trail, the Steve Asmussen trainee has stamped himself as a legitimate GI Breeders' Cup Classic threat in two strong efforts at 10 furlongs, and earned an automatic berth into the year-end championship event Saturday as part of the “Win and You're In” series.

Scrubbed on by adept gate rider Ricardo Santana, Jr. from the blocks, 7-2 Max Player locked on to even-money Forza Di Oro (Speightstown) through a half in :48.70 and six panels in 1:13.14. The dark bay cranked up the pressure heading for home as last year's Jockey Club winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Happy Saver (Super Saver) loomed a threat just in behind. Forza Di Oro cut the corner and briefly looked like he might open back up, but Max Player hit his stride by midstretch and powered away from there, relishing the real estate, to post the four-length victory. Happy Saver picked off the chalk late for second.

“It was beautiful,” said Asmussen, who took this historic event in both 2007 and 2008 with fellow Hall of Famer Curlin and again in 2010 when it was contested at Belmont Park. “Max, in the Suburban, ran that race under different circumstances on an off track. For him to do this on a fast track in the Jockey Club Gold Cup here at Saratoga, it is very satisfying. This is who he is, and I thought it was a dominating win.”

Saturday, Saratoga
JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP S.-GI, $955,000, Saratoga, 9-4, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:02.49, ft.
1–MAX PLAYER, 126, c, 4, by Honor Code
                1st Dam: Fools in Love (SW, $240,746), by Not For Love
                2nd Dam: Parlez, by French Deputy
                3rd Dam: Speak Halory, by Verbatim
   1ST GRADE I WIN. ($150,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-George E.
Hall & SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.; B-K & G Stables (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Ricardo Santana, Jr. $535,000.
Lifetime Record: 11-4-1-2, $1,252,500. *1/2 to Seahenge (Scat
Daddy), GSW & G1SP-Eng, SP-Ire, $228,295; Urban Bourbon
(City Zip), GSP, $113,381. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Happy Saver, 126, c, 4, Super Saver–Happy Week, by
Distorted Humor. 'TDN Rising Star' O/B-Wertheimer Et Frere
(KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $185,000.
3–Forza Di Oro, 126, c, 4, Speightstown–Filare l'Oro, by Hard
Spun. ($325,000 RNA Ylg '18 FTSAUG). O-Don Alberto Stable;
B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-William I. Mott. $100,000.
Margins: 4, HF, HF. Odds: 3.80, 2.10, 1.10.
Also Ran: Night Ops, Chess Chief, Forewarned. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

“I was happy with him. Today, he broke good, so I was really happy with it. The trainer is doing all the [work],” said Asmussen's go-to rider Santana.

Overcoming a tendency to start slow in his early outings, Max Player finished fast to take the GIII Withers S. third out last February for then conditioner Linda Rice. He finished well-beaten thirds behind Tiz the Law (Constitution) in both the GI Belmont S. and track-and-trip GI Runhappy Travers S. over that summer, but was transferred to Asmussen ahead of a fifth-place GI Kentucky Derby run. Fifth in the GI Preakness S. in October, he was shelved until the lucrative Saudi Cup Feb. 20, but that long journey proved fruitless as he checked in a distant 11th.

He once again found himself too far back when sixth in the

GIII Pimlico Special S. May 14, but looked like a different horse from start to finish last time when belying 11-1 odds in defeating subsequently sidelined G1 Dubai World Cup hero Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) in the July 3 Suburban over a sloppy track.

“I really thought we had a chance with him at Churchill [in the 2020 Kentucky Derby], the way he was training over the track,” Asmussen said. “He lost so much ground early in the race and then fought the dirt from where he was. He didn't even begin to level off until the last eighth of the race and still ended up fifth.

“He likes good spacing between his races. Ricardo has done a tremendous job of putting him into the race, so he can actually perform.

“We went back with him to the gate and started from a hand open, just to leave the gates. Ricardo did a tremendous amount of work with him there and knows the horse really well. It took some riding from Ricardo today in the first three or four jumps but immediately, when he got him going, 50 yards from the gate [I thought] 'you get your chance, I'm glad to see this.'

This has certainly been a meet to remember for Asmussen, who became the all-time winningest trainer in North America last month. He and Santana took both the GI Forego S. and GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. a week ago, and have live chances in both the GI Spinaway S. and GI Hopeful S. during the final two days of the meet.

“It's been a dream meet. It really has,” he said. “With achieving the record here. With the fans coming back. With how it felt. At Saratoga–not only do you have fans–you have educated fans. They're aware of racing. To set the record here and this is the third Grade I win of the meet. It's been a dream meet and it will be beautiful to reflect on, but we have two Grade Is left before we're there.”

As for the beaten favorite, trainer Bill Mott said, “I'm disappointed that he didn't get the 10 furlongs. I just didn't think he had any excuse. We've got to see. There's another race; the [Oct. 2 GI] Woodward could be a possibility [at 1 1/8 miles], I suppose. But it's a little early to commit to anything.”

Pedigree Notes:

Sire Honor Code displayed his own affinity for the Spa, earning 'TDN Rising Star' status for a debut score on the closing Saturday card in 2013 before adding the GI Whitney S. here two years later. He has added a second and third highest-level winner to his CV as a stallion at the stand, having also been responsible for Santana-piloted GI Coaching Club American Oaks upsetter Maracuja. All three of his graded winners have won at the Grade I level, and he has seven stakes winners overall.

Dam Fools in Love was an $80,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic yearling who racked up a sizable bankroll herself on the track, but has proven even more valuable in the breeding shed. The half-sister to MGISW International Star (Fusaichi Pegasus), from the deep family of Halory Hunter, Van Nistelrooy, et al, produced black-type earners with each of her first three foals, including $750,000 KEESEP yearling and Group 2-winning juvenile Seahenge (Scat Daddy). After foaling Max Player, Fools in Love was put in foal to Speightstown and brought $1 million from Cheveley Park Stud at KEENOV '17. She did not produce a foal in 2018, but is responsible for Ulysses (Ire) colts of 2019 and 2021 and a yearling filly by Frankel (GB).

Not For Love is the broodmare sire of four Grade I winners (10 graded and 63 black-type overall), including dual Horse of the Year California Chrome, a fellow A.P. Indy line product who sired his first graded winner on Saturday's card in GII Prioress S. heroine Cilla.

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War Like Goddess Rolls to Fourth Straight in Flower Bowl

The meteoric ascent of George Krikorian's War Like Goddess (English Channel) continued in Saturday's GI Flower Bowl S., contested at Saratoga for the first time and lengthened to 11 furlongs. Coincidentally, the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf will be contested over that exact trip the first weekend of November and with the victory, the 4-year-old has earned an all-expenses-paid trip to Del Mar, where she figures to take plenty of beating.

Four of the bay filly's prior starts had come at a mile and three furlongs and farther, as she graduated by a convincing 3 1/4 lengths at Churchill last October before getting some time off. A better-than-it-might-look fifth from after trying to make a run from last in the GIII The Very One S. at Gulfstream first off a four-month layoff Feb. 27, War Like Goddess came with a furious stretch rally to make the grade by a nose in the GIII Orchid S. in Hallandale Mar. 27. She handled the extra furlong of Keeneland's GIII Bewitch S. Apr. 23 with consummate ease, scoring by 3 3/4 lengths, and made this track's GII Glens Falls S. her third straight graded conquest with a 3 1/4-length defeat of My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}) Aug. 7.

La Signare (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) hit the ground running and set a reasonably strong pace for the distance as Great Island (Scat Daddy), extremely impressive in winning the GIII WinStar Matchmaker S. over nine panels at Monmouth July 17, was ridden much handier. War Like Goddess settled just behind midfield, with the white-capped My Sister Nat content to caboose the field. War Like Goddess, a bit headstrong through the lane for the first time settled much more kindly down the backstretch, but it was Joel Rosario who was first to play his hand, as he sent Great Island after her front-running stablemate, in an attempt to get first run on the heavy favorite. Great Island claimed La Signare in upper stretch, but Julien Leparoux had yet to move a muscle atop War Like Goddess, and the duo hit the front, felt one left-handed crack of the crop and pulled confidently clear. Great Island drifted a bit in upper stretch and was home a half-head better than My Sister Nat.

“She's a classy filly,” said Leparoux. “You can do whatever you want and she'll still give you that punch in the end. It's nice. It's a sign of the good ones, for sure. Bill Mott knows how to get them to these Grade 1s. They took their time with her and it has paid off. For sure, the Breeders' Cup is the goal, so if she gets there healthy, she'll be going in with a big chance.”

Pedigree Notes:

The 12th worldwide Group 1/Grade I winner for Calumet's under-appreciated English Channel, War Like Goddess is the ultimate rags-to-riches story. With no black-type to be found in her first couple of dams, War Like Goddess attracted a couple of $100 bids at Keeneland November in 2017, but two fewer bids at the September sale, when she was led out unsold for the upset price of $1,000. She had a few admirers at OBS June in 2019, selling for $30,000. War Like Goddess is one of two of her sire's 32 graded/group winners worldwide to be produced from a Danzig-line dam (Irish Strait).

The dam of the 3-year-old gelding Market Economy, by English Channel's son Optimizer, Misty North is responsible for the 2-year-old filly Thecradlewillrock (Red Rocks {Ire}). She was sold in foal to Calumet's Bal a Bali (Brz) for $1,000 at the 2019 November Sale and produced a colt last May now named North of Bali.

Saturday, Belmont Park
FLOWER BOWL S.-GI, $600,000, Saratoga, 9-4, 4yo/up, f/m,
1 3/8mT, 2:13.07, fm.
1–WAR LIKE GODDESS, 122, f, 4, by English Channel
                1st Dam: Misty North, by North Light (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Misty Gallop, by Victory Gallop
                3rd Dam: Romanette, by Alleged
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($1,200 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $1,000 RNA Ylg
'18 KEESEP; $30,000 2yo '19 OBSOPN). O-George Krikorian;
B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-William I Mott; J-Julien R Leparoux.
$330,000. Lifetime Record: 7-6-0-0, $713,684. Werk Nick
Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Great Island, 120, m, 5, by Scat Daddy
                1st Dam: Voyage, by Rahy
                2nd Dam: Matlacha Pass, by Seeking the Gold
                3rd Dam: Our Country Place, by Pleasant Colony
($160,000 Wlg '16 KEENOV; $300,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Alpha
Delta Stables, LLC; B-Ben P Walden Jr & Larry Taylor (KY);
T-Chad C Brown. $120,000.
3–My Sister Nat (Fr), 118, m, 6, by Acclamation (GB)
                1st Dam: Starlet's Sister (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Premiere Creation (Fr), by Green Tune
                3rd Dam: Allwaki, by Miswaki
(€20,000 Ylg '16 ARQFEB). O-Peter M Brant; B-Ecurie Des
Monceaux (FR); T-Chad C Brown. $72,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, NO, 6 3/4. Odds: 0.40, 6.50, 8.00.
Also Ran: Lovely Lucky, American Bridge (GB), La Signare (Fr). Scratched: Coastana. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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