Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Letruska Puts In Final Preparations For Sunday’s Spinster At Keeneland

St. George Stable's Letruska jogged once around the main track at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., Saturday morning as she readied herself for a run in Sunday's $500,000 Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster.

A winner of four consecutive races, including three Grade 1s, Letruska schooled in the Paddock during Friday afternoon's third race and was a bundle of energy.

“That is normal for her,” trainer Fausto Gutierrez said. “We like to school two or three days before a race and on race day, she is good.”

Since winning the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Presented by Lia Infiniti on Aug. 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Letruska has recorded two bullet works here in preparation for the Juddmonte Spinster. The stakes will serve as her final prep race for the $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on Nov. 6.

“I like to spend a lot of time here, and she knows this track very well,” said Gutierrez, who initially brought Letruska to Keeneland in May after she defeated champion Monomoy Girl in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Letruska did the bulk of her work here prior to winning the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., in June and the Personal Ensign.

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Newspaperofrecord’s Dam to Sell at The Tattersalls December Mares Sale

Group 3 winner Sunday Times (GB) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}–Forever Times {GB}, by So Factual), the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), will be offered at the upcoming Tattersalls December Mares Sale from Nov. 29-Dec. 2. Carrying a full-sibling to the GI Just a Game heroine, Sunday Times will be consigned by Richard and Sally Aston's Goldford Stud on behalf of Allan Belshaw.

A winner of the G3 Sceptre S. and second in the G1 Cheveley Park S., Sunday Times will be joined by her fourth foal in the Goldford Stud consignment at Tattersalls, the winning Daily Times (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who is also in foal to Lope de Vega (Ire).

“Sunday Times is a truly outstanding broodmare with a great future,” said Richard Aston. “She was a very smart race filly, she has produced a champion 2-year-old, she has a current Classic pedigree which will appeal to breeders from all over the world and she is gorgeous. It is a rare combination and Mr. Belshaw will be racing Newspaperofrecord's yearling own sister and this year's Kingman (GB) filly foal which is why he has decided to sell both Sunday Times and Daily Times.”

A half-sister to the dam of Group 1 winner Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), stakes winner and multiple Group 1-placed Pink Dogwood (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and group winner Diamond Fields (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), Sunday Times's first foal was the listed winner Classical Times (GB) (Lawman {Fr}), who was also third in the G3 Chipchase S., while Newspaperofrecord was her third. The latter, who sold for 200,000gns out of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, also won the GII Miss Grillo S., GIII Intercontinental S., and was third in the GI First Lady S. for owner Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown. The latest produce for Sunday Times is a yearling full-sister to Newspaperofrecord and a weanling filly foal by Kingman (GB).

After Newspaperofrecord's Breeders' Cup victory, Brown said, “Today she showed how good she really is and for her to win as easy as she did is remarkable.”

TDN columnist Bill Finley wrote that, “her performance might well be regarded as one of the best in the history of the series.”

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Juju’s Map Earns Juvenile Fillies Spot With Darley Alcibiades Victory

Albaugh Family Stables LLC's Juju's Map, narrowly favored over her Brad Cox stablemate Matareya, tracked pacesetter Runup through the initial stages of Friday's Grade 1, $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes, took command on the stretch turn and drew off to a 4 1/4-length victory under Florent Geroux in the 1 1/16-mile main track contest for 2-year-old fillies on the opening day card at the Lexington, Ky., oval.

The Darley Alcibiades is a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Challenge Series race, giving the winner a fees-paid berth to the G1 Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar on Nov. 5, along with a travel allowance to California for the horse.

Distinctlypossible, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, finished second, a neck in front of a fast-finishing Sequist and jockey Junior Alvarado in third. Mama Rina was fourth, followed by Dream Lith and Matareya in a dead heat for fifth, then Penny Saver, Miss Interpret, Runup, Myfavoritedaughter and Pipeline Girl in the field of 11. Diamond Wow was scratched.

The Liam's Map filly out of Nagambie, by Flatter, bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich III, covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:43.52. She paid $6.80 on a $2 mutuel.

The win was the ninth Grade 1 victory of 2021 for Cox and it was his second in the Alcibiades, the first coming in 2019 with British Idiom. It was the first Alcibiades for Geroux and the Albaugh Family Stables headed by Dennis Albaugh of Ankeny, Iowa.

Juju's Map was a $300,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase. She was winning for the second time in three starts, having broken her maiden in front-running fashion in her second outing at Ellis Park on Sept. 3.

In the Alcibiades, Geroux saved ground after breaking from the No. 1 post position and was content to sit in second while Runup set fractions of :22.75 for the opening quarter and :46:00 for the half mile. Geroux moved Juju's Map to the front through six furlongs in 1:11.23, and she was never seriously threatened thereafter, clicking off a mile split of 1:36.93 en route to her final time.

Cox said if Juju's Map exited the win in good order it would be on to the Breeders' Cup.

“She sat close to a hot pace and was still able to finish, and I thought, 'That's what good horses do,'” said Cox. “She broke running, Florent (Geroux) put her in a good position and she finished up well. I'm very proud of her performance. We'll obviously talk it over with the Albaugh team, and as long as she comes out of it in good order I think we'll march on toward California (and the Nov. 5, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies-G1). It was a good trip last time and hopefully she can show up and run her race and be very effective.”

“She's very talented to start with, but today it was tricky because there were a couple other speed horses,” said Geroux. “From the one hole, you have to use speed to your advantage, to make sure they don't cross over and slow it down too fast. So I just wanted to break ahead so if they wanted the lead they would have to work for it, and that's what they did.

“I was able to ease her back in the first turn. From there she took a nice breather with me down the backside and from there I knew she was going to be pretty tough. Turning for home I saw (Matareya) coming up and she's pretty talented too, but when I asked her down the lane she gave me another gear, the kind of effort you want to see, and hopefully she's going into the Breeders' Cup in the right way.”

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Favored Special Reserve Delivers In Phoenix

Despite not making his stakes debut until his 5-year-old son, Paradise Farms and David Staudacher's Special Reserve has proven he deserves a chance against the world's best sprinters next month at Del Mar. This Friday, the son of Midshipman delivered as the 6-5 favorite in the Grade 2 Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland, earning an expenses-paid berth for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Jockey Joel Rosario never panicked when losing the early lead, and kept Special Reserve driving through the finish line to hold off the late charge of Aloha West by a neck. Special Reserve completed six furlongs over the fast main track in 1:08.54, giving trainer Mike Maker his first victory in the Phoenix.

Special Reserve was very quick out of the gate, leading for the first sixteenth of a mile until Quick Tempo rushed up the inside to take command by a length. Quick Tempo led through fractions of :21.90 and :44.69, with Rosario waiting patiently in second on Special Reserve. Just Might was close up in third, while Mucho stayed near the rail in fourth.

Rounding the turn, Rosario allowed Special Reserve to take over and set him down for the stretch run. Just Might went three wide but failed to sustain his bid. Mucho had to wait for racing room as he moved by the tiring Quick Tempo, while Aloha West began to unleash his rally way out in the center of the course.

Special Reserve was kept to task through the wire, and had just enough left to fend off the challenge from Aloha West, winning by a neck at the wire. Mucho checked in third, while Endorsed closed to fill out the superfecta.

Bred in Kentucky by Russell L. Reineman, Special Reserve is out of the Hard Spun mare Love Spun. He commanded $60,000 as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale, and later brought a final bid of $140,000 at the OBS March 2-year-old sale. Special Reserve began his career in the barn of Randy Mores. He required six starts to break his maiden, and ran in the claiming ranks for a tag as low as $25,000.

Maker claimed Special Reserve for $40,000 in February of this year, and the horse has not finished worse than second since. He was second in the G3 Commonwealth at Keeneland in April, then won the G3 Maryland Sprint at Pimlico in July. Next out Special Reserve won the listed Iowa Sprint Stakes on July 3 at Prairie Meadows, and followed up that effort with a second in the G1 Vanderbilt at Saratoga on July 31, beaten just a half-length by Lexitonian.

Overall, Special Reserve's record stands at eight wins from 22 starts, with earnings of $638,647.

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