Tag: Breeders’ Cup

Million Rematch: Santin, Smooth Like Strait Head Full Field For Coolmore Turf Mile

Godolphin's Santin and Cannon Thoroughbreds' Smooth Like Strait, the 1-2 finishers in the Arlington Million (G1) at Churchill Downs in August, head a field of 12 plus four also-eligibles entered Wednesday for Saturday's 37th running of the $1 million Coolmore Turf Mile (G1).

In addition to the Coolmore Turf Mile, Saturday's 11-race program will offer two other Grade 1 tests: the 25th running of the $750,000 First Lady Presented by UK HealthCare for fillies and mares going a mile on the turf and the 109th running of the $600,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity for 2-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the main track

The Coolmore Turf Mile is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race that awards the winner a fees-paid berth into the 39th running of the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) to be run here Nov. 5. Two Turf Mile winners have gone on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile: Wise Dan in 2012 and Steinlen (GB) in 1989.

The Coolmore Turf Mile will go as the 10th race on Saturday's 11-race program with a 5:45 p.m. ET post time. First post is 1 p.m.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Santin is a two-time Grade 1 winner this year with his other Grade 1 triumph also coming at Churchill in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic on Kentucky Derby Day, May 7. In his lone Keeneland start, Santin was an allowance winner last fall in his second career race. Tyler Gaffalione will ride Saturday and exit post position seven.

Smooth Like Strait, who has finished in the top three in all eight of his starts in Grade 1 stakes, is trained by Michael McCarthy. In his lone Keeneland race, Smooth Like Strait finished third this spring beaten a nose and a neck in the Maker's Mark Mile (G1). John Velazquez has the mount Saturday and will break from post position two.

In addition to Santin and Smooth Like Strait, four other Grade 1 winners are in the field: Classic Causeway (2022 Belmont Derby), Order of Australia (IRE) (2020 Breeders' Cup Mile), Ivar (BRZ) (2020 Shadwell Turf Mile) and Casa Creed (2022 Fourstardave and 2021-2022 Jaipur).

The field for the Coolmore Turf Mile, with riders and weights from the rail out, is:

  1. Classic Causeway (Julien Leparoux, 123 pounds)
  2. Smooth Like Strait (Velazquez, 126)
  3. Order of Australia (IRE) (Christophe Soumillon, 126)
  4. Gray's Fable (Brian Hernandez Jr., 126)
  5. Masen (GB) (Flavien Prat, 126)
  6. Ivar (BRZ) (Joe Talamo, 126)
  7. Santin (Gaffalione, 126)
  8. Annapolis (Irad Ortiz Jr., 123)
  9. Casa Creed (Luis Saez, 126)
  10. Somelikeithotbrown (Jose Ortiz, 126)
  11. Emaraaty (GB) (Florent Geroux, 126)
  12. Set Piece (GB) (Joel Rosario, 126)

Also-Eligibles: Atone (Ricardo Santana Jr., 126), Dark Shift (GB) (Vincent Cheminaud, 126), Natural Power (IRE) (Adam Beschizza, 126), Greyes Creek (Gerardo Corrales, 126).

The post Million Rematch: Santin, Smooth Like Strait Head Full Field For Coolmore Turf Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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RTCA to Host Faith, Hope and Love Night at Keeneland During Breeders’ Cup Week

Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) will kick off the Breeders' Cup World Championship week with the Night of Faith, Hope & Love, which will take place Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Keeneland in the Silks Lawn Chalet.

All who are in town for the Breeders' Cup, along with area horsemen and horsewomen are invited to enjoy a great meal, a powerful message by guest speaker, the University of Kentucky's unanimous national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, and music. The Chaplaincy will also be celebrating it's 50th anniversary that evening and honoring this year's RTCA White Horse Award winner.

A meal will be served starting at 5:00 p.m., with the program immediately following dinner. The evening is free for all backstretch workers and Breeders' Cup teams, with shuttle services available from the dorms to the chalet beginning at 4:45 p.m. A limited number of tickets will also be made available to the public. Sponsors for the event include Breeders' Cup, WinStar, Spendthrift, Taylor Made, Woodford Thoroughbreds, Keeneland, Edwards Moving & Rigging, and the Jockey Club Safety Net. Click here for more information.

The post RTCA to Host Faith, Hope and Love Night at Keeneland During Breeders’ Cup Week appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Epicenter Rises To Second In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Winchell Thoroughbred's Travers Stakes (G1) winner Epicenter moved into second place, and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Rich Strike entered the top 10 for the first time, while the undefeated Flightline retained his overall lead in this week's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings is a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 5.

Flightline, owned by Hronis Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Summer Wind Equine LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing, LLC, received 290 votes. Trained by John Sadler, Flightline has won both the Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) and the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) this year. Flightline worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.04 at Santa Anita Park on Saturday in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 3-year-old Epicenter, trained by Steve Asmussen, hopped over Life Is Good and into second place this week with 281 votes. The 4-year-old Life Is Good, making his first start since winning the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 6, won Saturday's 1 1/8th-mile Woodward (G1) at Aqueduct by 1 ¼ lengths. Owned by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC, and trained by Todd Pletcher, Life Is Good earned 217 votes.

Zedan Racing Stable's Taiba, winner of the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) for trainer Bob Baffert, rises one spot to fourth place with 188 votes. Olympiad, owned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable LLC, and LNJ Foxwoods, dropped one position to fifth place with 181 votes. Olympiad, trained by Bill Mott, has won six of seven races this year, including Saratoga's Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).

Boat Racing, LLC, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss' Hot Rod Charlie, who defeated Rich Strike by a head in Saturday's Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, is in sixth place with 164 votes. Country Grammer, who finished second in the Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, is in seventh place with 97 votes.

Rich Strike, owned by RED TR-Racing, LLC, and trained by Eric Reed, enters the top 10 at No. 8 with 61 votes after his hard-fought runner-up spot in the Lukas Classic. Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife, winner of the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1), is in ninth place with 46 votes.

Another horse joining the top 10 for the first time, following his frontrunning victory in the Awesome Again Stakes, is Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman's 4-year-old Defunded. Also trained by Baffert, Defunded is 10th place with 30 votes.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 11. consisting of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Oct. 4, 2022*

Rank Horse Votes First Place Votes Previous Week
1 Flightline 290 29 1
2 Epicenter 217 0 3
3 Life Is Good 217 0 2
4 Taiba 188 0 5
5 Olympiad 181 0 4
6 Hot Rod Charlie 164 0 7
7 Country Grammer 97 0 6
8 Rich Strike 61 0 16
9 Cyberknife 46 0 9
10 Defunded 30 0 Not Rated

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2022 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track at Keeneland, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The post Epicenter Rises To Second In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Towhead Tops Overflow Field For Friday’s Jessamine

Deuce Greathouse's Towhead, who just missed breaking her maiden by a nose in the Aristocrat Gaming Juvenile Fillies (L) at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 3, headlines a field of 12 2-year-old fillies plus four also-eligibles entered Tuesday for the 32nd running of the $350,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2) going 1 1/16 miles on the Keeneland turf course.

The JPMorgan Chase Jessamine is a “Win and You're In” race with the winner earning a fees-paid berth into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) to be run here Nov. 4. Two JPMorgan Chase Jessamine winners have come back to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Aunt Pearl (IRE) in 2020 and Rushing Fall in 2017.

The JPMorgan Chase Jessamine will go as the eighth race Friday with a 4:44 p.m. ET post time.

Towhead, trained by Mike Maker, has a 4-0-2-2 record although she crossed the finish line first at Saratoga July 24 in a race that was declared a no contest because of issues in removing the starting gate from the course. Tyler Gaffalione has the mount Friday and will start from post position 12.

Towhead finished 9 lengths in front of third-place runner C C Cruise Control at Kentucky Downs with Knockyoursocksoff another three-quarters of a length back in fourth.

David Menard's C C Cruise Control, trained by Kenny McPeek, is a maiden winner on grass at Ellis Park. Corey Lanerie retains the mount and will break from post two.

Town and Country Racing's Knockyoursocksoff won at first asking on the turf at Colonial Downs for trainer Chris Block. Flavien Prat has the mount and will exit post 11.

The field for the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine, with riders and weights from the rail out, is:

  1. Sabalenka (Jose Ortiz, 118 pounds)
  2. C C Cruise Control (Lanerie, 118)
  3. Delight (Luis Saez, 118)
  4. Promise of Hope (Edgar Morales, 118)
  5. Blind Spot (Edgard Zayas, 120)
  6. Happy Gal (Joel Rosario, 118)
  7. Bling (Rafael Bejarano, 118)
  8. Dulcia (Joe Talamo, 118)
  9. Recognize (Junior Alvarado, 118)
  10. Stephanie's Charm (Inoel Beato, 118)
  11. Knockyoursocksoff (Prat, 118)
  12. Towhead (Gaffalione, 118).

Also-Eligibles: Tax Implications (GB) (Irad Ortiz Jr., 118), Southlawn (Joe Talamo, 118), Play the Music (Joel Rosario, 118), Aztec Nights (Ricardo Santana Jr., 118).

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