Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Cody’s Wish Pleases Mott In Tune-Up For Whitney

Godolphin's Kentucky homebred Cody's Wish worked five-eighths solo in 1:02.81 Sunday over the Oklahoma dirt training track in preparation for the $1-illion Whitney (G1) going 1 1/8 miles on August 5 at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 5-year-old Curlin bay was piloted through his breeze by assistant trainer Neil Poznansky, who guided the reigning Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner through splits of :26 2/5 and :38 2/5 before galloping out in 1:15 1/5, 1:27 1/5, and 1:41 3/5.

“He just let him off the bridle and he picked it right up,” said Mott

Cody's Wish, a nine-time winner from 13 starts, heads into the Whitney on a six-race win streak led by Grade 1 scores in the Forego in August at Saratoga, the Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland, the Churchill Downs in May and the Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 10 at Belmont. He will look to secure his first win beyond one mile, while making his first start at nine furlongs since a third-place finish in a maiden tilt in July 2021 at Saratoga.

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Mott Runners Tune Up at the Spa

Godolphin homebred Cody's Wish (Curlin) tuned up for the Aug. 5 GI Whitney S. with a five-furlong work over the Oklahoma dirt training track in 1:02.81 (10/12) Sunday in Saratoga.

Trained by Bill Mott, the 5-year-old was piloted through his breeze by assistant trainer Neil Poznansky, who guided the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner through splits of :26 2/5 and :38 2/5 before galloping out in 1:15 1/5, 1:27 1/5 and 1:41 3/5.

“He just let him off the bridle and he picked it right up,” said Mott.

Cody's Wish heads into the Whitney on a six-race win streak which has included victories in the GI Forego S. last August at Saratoga, the Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland, the GI Churchill Downs in May and the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. June 10 at Belmont. He will look to secure his first win beyond one mile in the Whitney, while making his first start at nine furlongs since a third-place finish in a maiden tilt at Saratoga two years ago.

Also Sunday, Mott sent out reigning champion sprinter Elite Power (Curlin) to work a half-mile in :51 1/5 over the Oklahoma training track in preparation for the six-furlong July 29 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.

Elite Power was clocked with an easy opening split of :24 and change by NYRA clockers Sunday in a breeze that Mott indicated was similar to the chestnut's half-mile work in :51.11 over the Oklahoma last October ahead of his score in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“That's him by himself,” Mott said. “He's run well off of those kind of works right before his races. He did that in Saudi. He was working :51 before he won the Breeders' Cup. He wouldn't wow anyone when he's working by himself.”

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Mandella Keeping Options Open For Haskell Victor Geaux Rocket Ride

By Lynne Snierson

On Sunday morning, trainer Richard Mandella was a man with a lot to think about.

Though his charge Geaux Rocket Ride decisively won Saturday's $1-million TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park going 1 1/8 miles, earning a guaranteed spot in the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at 1¼ miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 4 via the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series “Win and You're In”, the pathway to get him there remains undecided.

“We'll be making plans as he tells us,” the Hall of Famer said in the immediate aftermath of Geaux Rocket Ride's 1¾-length victory over Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage.

After the long flight home to Southern California and in the light of day, nothing had changed.

Nevertheless, the $1-million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles at Parx Racing on Sept. 23 and two Grade 1s open to 3-year-olds and older are in the mix: Del Mar's $1-million Pacific Classic at 1¼ miles on Sept. 2 and Santa Anita's $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 30.

“I'll think about all of those races and about running against older horses,” said Mandella, who reported that Pin Oak Stud's Geaux Rocket Ride came out of the Haskell in good shape.

Nonetheless, the $1.25-million Travers Stakes (G1) at 1¼ miles for 3-year-olds at Saratoga on Aug. 26 remains a non-starter.

“I think it's too much to think about, taking him to Saratoga,” Mandella said. “He's young and he's not raced very much and we've pushed him along to get to this point.

“I don't like the idea of bringing him to Monmouth, bringing him back to California, and then coming back for the Travers. We pushed him to this point and we don't want to keep pushing. The Travers doesn't seem like the right thing to do.”

With his Haskell score under Mike Smith, Geaux Rocket Ride became a graded stakes winner and improved his record to three wins and one second in four starts and $780,200 in earnings.

The Kentucky-bred Candy Ride colt also gave Mandella his second win in the Haskell – 23 years after his first one in his only other appearance. He won the 2000 edition with Dixie Union.

Geaux Rocket Ride, who was bred by OXO Equine LLC from the Uncle Mo mare Beyond Grace, had been on the Triple Crown trail via the Santa Anita Derby (G1) in early April. But when he came up with a fever and a high white cell count on the morning of the race, it was back to the drawing board.

The bay colt won the June 4 Affirmed Stakes there, which set him up perfectly for the Haskell.

“He had us dreaming pretty high and still does,” said Mandella.

Having the Breeders' Cup right in the stable's backyard at Santa Anita could give Geaux Rocket Ride homefield advantage.

“It does if you're fast enough,” Mandella said. “We think he's fast enough, and so far he's passed every test. But that's another step up to get to the Classic and it's against older horses, so we'll just have to wait and see if he leads us there.”

Geaux Rocket Ride and the Bob Baffert-trained Arabian Knight, the third-place Haskell finisher, were scheduled to be flown back to Southern California on Tuesday.

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Caravel on Track for Troy

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On the Whitney Day card with three Grade I races, the GIII Troy S. is pretty easy to overlook.

Last year, though, two-time Breeders' Cup race winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) drew attention to the 5 1/2-furlong turf test, which he won by a head. On Aug. 5, Caravel (Mizzen Mast) will be the headliner in the 20th running of the Troy and, if the 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint upsetter prevails, will be its first female winner.

Caravel prepped for the race Saturday on the Oklahoma turf training track with a half-mile in :48.88 under Kelvin Perez. It was the sixth-fastest of the 20 at the distance.

Trainer Brad Cox gave the breeze a solid review.

“Very good. She's always a great workhorse,” he said. “Great work this morning, so very pleased with what we saw out there.”

The gray 6-year-old Pennsylvania-bred mare brings a five-race unbeaten streak into the Troy. Starting with her victory at 42-1 in the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, three of those wins have come against males.

While she was a very accomplished runner for breeder-owner-trainer Elizabeth Merryman winning seven of nine starts–topped by the GIII Caress S. in 2021 at Saratoga–and finishing third in the other two, she has really blossomed since last summer. Merryman sold a 75% stake to Bobby Flay in 2021 and they sold her for $500,000 to Qatar Racing and Marc Detampel at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale. Madaket Stables subsequently became a partner. The 5-year-old was turned over to Cox, who tried her once against males without success in the GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the Kentucky Derby program.

Cox said he had no idea that Caravel was capable of what she has accomplished.

“She got really good starting last fall,” he said. “She's always been good, but she became dominant maybe.”

After Caravel won the GIII Franklin S. at Keeneland on Oct. 16, Cox and the owners decided to try her in the Breeders' Cup over the same course. She handled pace pressure throughout, won by a half-length and paid $87.78. This year she is three-for-three and has beaten males in the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland and the GI Jaipur S. at Belmont Park.

“She stepped up. She's been able to defeat them three times now within the last nine months,” Cox said. “She's really good. She's happy. She likes Saratoga. I'm looking forward to getting a run into her here the first part of August.”

Cox said entering Caravel in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint was a gamble.

“We were taking a shot,” he said. “She had just come off a win at Keeneland in a Grade III. It was a big run. We were asking her to run back in three weeks. We were taking a shot. She was 40-something to 1 or whatever she was. When you run horses in races and when you're that price there's really no pressure. There was no pressure and obviously the favorite that day [Golden Pal] missed the break. I don't know how things would have played out, but she's gone on to capture another Grade I since that against the boys and is undefeated since. She's got a nice win streak going and she gives us a lot of confidence throughout the entire year, really.”

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