With two Grade 1 wins from as many starts this year, Cody's Wish may make his next start around two turns, trainer Bill Mott told the Daily Racing Form on Tuesday. The 5-year-old son of Curlin could appear on the entry list for the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes on Aug. 5 at Saratoga, contested over 1 1/8 miles, a distance Cody's Wish has yet to attempt.
“If you're going to reach out and take a shot, you might as well do it where it counts,” Mott told DRF. “I don't want to waste a race with him anywhere, but the bottom line is with any of them you don't know they're going to get the distance or not get the distance until you actually try it.”
Cody's Wish has only lost once in his past 10 starts, when trying 1 1/16 miles during the Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in March of 2022. Since that neck loss, Cody's Wish has put together six straight victories, including four consecutive Grade 1 wins: the Forego, Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Churchill Downs Stakes, and the Met Mile.
“He's won several races at the mile distance,” Mott told the NYRA press office on Sunday. “He's won at the one-turn mile and at a two-turn mile. He's never won beyond a mile. Those are some of the challenges that we face now with where we go and what race we're going to run in. That will be under discussion over the next month.”
Just like the fine wine she is named for, Clairiere gets better with age.
The Stonestreet Stables homebred Clairiere, whom Barbara Banke named after the lush pinot noir produced at one of the 40 wineries she owns in the Jackson Family Wines portfolio, on Saturday won the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps for the second straight year with a courageous late rally to get up just in time.
“We've been very blessed to have her and have had extraordinary fillies and mares like [Champions] Rachel Alexandra, Untapable and Midnight Bisou over the years, but you cannot compare racehorses because what defines them is how they step up to their competition and who they are on the racetrack,” Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen said of the 5-year-old mare. “The uniqueness about Clairiere is her pedigree. For her to win the Ogden Phipps two years in a row, and that being a race that her mother Cavorting won [2016], wow. The uniqueness of that speaks volumes.”
Clairiere is by Curlin, whom Asmussen trained to back-to-back Horse of the Year Honors in 2007-08.
“What Curlin represents in horse racing, the durability and the excellence is unmatched. It's impossible for me to put into words what Curlin means to me,” he said. “It's all in the family, absolutely. It makes it that much more special.”
Asmussen said the long-term goal is to bring Clairiere back to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff in November at Santa Anita, which she qualified for with the Phipps win through the “Win and You're In” Challenge series, in hopes of improving upon her third-place finish behind eventual Champion Older Dirt Female Malathaat last year.
The mid-range goal is the Grade 1, $500,000 Personal Ensign on August 25 at Saratoga, a race in which she ran fifth to Malathaat last year.
The short-term plan has yet to be formulated.
“I would expect her to have another run before the Personal Ensign. I will discuss it with Barbara and the whole Stonestreet team once we get her moved to Saratoga and into her regular training regimen we will make that decision,” said Asmussen, who reported that the mare was came back from her race in fine form.
Caravel's undefeated 2023 season continued on the Belmont Stakes undercard as she turned back challengers to win the Grade 1 Jaipur under jockey Tyler Gaffalione. The Brad Cox-trained filly is no stranger to facing the boys on the grass, having capped off last season with a win in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.
Gaffalione and Caravel tucked back confidently behind early pacesetter Nothing Better, who was hustled out of the gate by rider Manuel Franco. When Nothing Better began to weaken coming out of the turn, Caravel was there to pick up the pieces and took the lead confidently in early stretch. Casa Creed and Big Invasion made late charges at her in the stretch, but soon flattened and Caravel prevailed by 3/4 of a length at the wire.
Big Invasion was second, with Casa Creed a determined third just behind him. The final time was 1:07.93 for the six furlongs.
Caravel paid $7.80, $4.80, and $3.40.
Caravel came to the race off a win in the listed Unbridled Sidney Stakes at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Oaks undercard. Prior to that, she opened this season with a victory in the G2 Shakertown.
Cox traines Caravel for owners Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel, and Madaket Stables. The 6-year-old mare was bred in Pennsylvania by Elizabeth Merryman and is by Mizzen Mast out of Congrats mare Zeezee Zoomzoom.
She went through the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November Sale as a 4-year-old, where she was consigned by ELiTE and purchased by agent Fergus Galvin for $500,000. Her lifetime earnings are now over $1.7 million.
The Jaipur is a Win and You're In race for this year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.
Stonestreet homebred Clairiere is making her case for this year's Older Dirt Female Eclipse Award. The 5-year-old Curlin mare put in an impressive performance to defend her title in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park, making up nearly five lengths in the final sixteenth of a mile to hit the wire a half-length better than Search Results.
Sent to post as the 8-5 favorite under Joel Rosario, Clairiere ran the one-turn 1 1/16-mile course over Belmont's fast main track in 1:43.40. It is already the second Grade 1 win from just three starts on the year for the Steve Asmussen-trained mare, who won the G1 Apple Blossom in April after finishing second in her 2023 debut (the G2 Azeri in March).
The victory, her second straight in the Ogden Phipps, earned Clairiere an expenses-paid berth to this fall's Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita Park. It will be Clairiere's third start in the World Championships race: she finished fourth in 2021 and third in 2022.
Bred in Kentucky by her owner Barbara Banke, Clairiere is out of the three-time Grade 1-winning Bernardini mare Cavorting. Clairiere now owns four Grade 1 wins, overtaking her dam's statistics and improving her overall record to 8-5-3 from 19 career starts for earnings of over $3 million.
In this year's edition of the Phipps, Clairiere faced familiar rival Secret Oath as well as Grade 1 winners Played Hard and Search Results and the G1-placed Pass the Champagne. As expected, Rosario allowed Clairiere to settle at the back of the six-horse field while last-out La Troienne (G1) winner Played Hard rushed up to take the early lead.
A 42-1 longshot, Gamestonks made an early move to take that lead before the first quarter mile had been completed, leaving Played Hard nearly three lengths second down the backstretch through fractions of :24.32 and :48.63. Search Results was settled in third, while Pass the Champagne and Secret Oath were together just ahead of the trailing Clairiere.
Midway through the far turn, Played Hard took back the lead from Gamestonks while Search Results went three-wide to mount her challenge. Pass the Champagne tried to get through at the rail, but wound up having to swing wide into the stretch for clear racing room. Moving together from the rear of the field, Secret Oath and Clairiere bided their time until the field straightened for home.
Search Results skipped away from Played Hard to grab the lead at the eighth pole, but Clairiere caught sight of that leader and began gaining with every stride. A visually-impressive late run saw Clairiere chase down Search Results to win by a half-length at the wire. Played Hard had to settle for third, while Pass the Champagne was fourth. Secret Oath finished fifth, while Gamestonks faded to finish sixth and last.
Clairiere (Curlin) and jockey Joel Rosario win the Ogden Phipps (Gr I) at Belmont Park 6/10/23. Trainer: Steve Asmussen. Owner: Stonestreet Stables
