Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Aunt Pearl Runs Juvenile Fillies Turf Rivals Off Their Feet

Jockey Florent Geroux hustled Aunt Pearl out of the gate to secure the early lead, then cruised to an easy 2 1/2-length victory in Saturday's $1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland, covering one mile on good turf in 1:35.71 and paying $7.20 as the betting favorite.

The Juvenile Fillies Turf was the fourth of five Future Stars Friday races for 2-year-olds that kicked off the two-day Breeders' Cup world championships at the Lexington, Ky., track.

Aidan O'Brien-trained Mother Earth finished second, with another European-based runner, Miss Amulet, third. She was followed by Campanelle, the Wesley Ward-trained filly who won the Group 2 Queen Mary at Ascot and Group 1 Prix Morny in Deauville.

Aunt Pearl, trained by Brad Cox, is a 2-year-old Irish-bred filly by Lope de Vega out of Matauri Pearl, by Hurricane Run. She was bred by Ecurie Des Charmes and Ballylinch Stud and races for the partnership of Michal Dubb, Madaket Stables, Peter Deutsch, Michael Kisber, The Elkstone Group and Bethlehem Stable.

Geroux, one of the best front-end jockeys in the sport, was intent on putting Aunt Pearl on the lead, and the opening quarter mile in :22.55 suggested he might be asking the filly to go too fast too early. But he managed to slow things down, getting the second quarter mile in :24.75 for a half-mile time of :47.30. The third quarter was slower still – :24.91 – for an opening six furlong time in 1:12.21.

Despite those progressively slower fractions, no one was gaining on Aunt Pearl, who cruised past the furlong pole in 1:23.84 en route to her final time of 1:35.71 Her final quarter mile was :23.50.

Aunt Pearl debuted at Churchill Downs on Sept. 1, winning a mile maiden race by five lengths, then came back five weeks later to win the G2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland by 2 1/2 lengths in similar front-running fashion.

The Juvenile Fillies Turf was the fourth Breeders' Cup winner for Cox, a 40-year-old native of Louisville, Ky. For Geroux, it was the sixth Breeders' Cup win for Geroux, a native of France who won the Juvenile Fillies Turf with Catch a Glimpse in 2015.

The post Aunt Pearl Runs Juvenile Fillies Turf Rivals Off Their Feet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Rosario Takes Inside Route To Victory Aboard Vequist In Juvenile Fillies

Scoring over the same track where her sire, Nyquist, won the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable's Vequist came up the rail under Joel Rosario to win Friday's $2-million, Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile by two lengths at Keeneland.

The Juvenile Fillies was the third of five Future Stars Friday races for 2-year-olds that kicked off the two-day world championships at the Lexington, Ky. track.

Dayoutoftheoffice, who defeated Vequist last out in the G1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 10, finished second, a nose ahead of Girl Daddy, who edged Simply Ravishing for third. Princess Noor, the 9-5 favorite, finished fifth in the field of seven, with Crazy Beautiful sixth and Thoughtfully trailing the field.

Trained by Robert E. “Butch” Reid Jr., Vequist paid $15.20 for the win, her second in four lifetime starts. She covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.30.

Bred by Swilcan Stables, Vequist was produced from the Mineshaft mare, Vero Amore. She is from the first crop of foals by Nyquist, who won the Eclipse Award as outstanding 2-year-old male in 2015 and then went on to capture the G1 Kentucky Derby the following year. Nyquist stands at Darley's Jonabell in Lexington, Ky.

Vequist was offered as part of the Brookdale Sales consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale but bought back for $120,000. She debuted for Swilcan Stable with a good second-place finish in a July 29 maiden race at Parx, where her trainer is based, after which Barber and Adam Wachtel bought in to the filly. Vequist then shipped to Saratoga to win the G1 Spinaway by 9 1/2 lengths on Sept. 6. She was the 9-10 favorite when beaten two lengths by Dayoutoftheoffice in the Frizette.

Dayoutoftheoffice jumped out to an early lead in the Juvenile Fillies, with Vequist tucked in behind her and unbeaten Bob Baffert-trained Princess Noor to the outside. The opening quarter mile was clocked in :23.30 and the half in :47.12. Unbeaten Simply Ravishing, the 2-1 second choice and coming off a wire-to-wire victory at Keeneland in the G1 Alcibiades on Oct. 2, stumbled at the start and was behind the leading trio and alongside another unbeaten filly, Girl Daddy.

Approaching the far turn, after six furlongs in 1:11.32, Princess Noor tried to press on the leader but was unable to sustain a bid. When jockey Junior Alvarado allowed Dayoutoftheoffice to drift off the rail turning into the stretch, Vequist commenced her rally while hugging the inside and took dead aim on the leader. She was in front after a mile in 1:36.01 and drew away for the win.

“I tried to save ground,” said Rosario. “It was hard for her in the turn because I had a horse outside me. But she did great. I never gave up my position. As soon as I asked her she went on with it. It was a very good performance.”

The victory was the second in a Breeders' Cup race for Reid in just four starts, his previous win coming in the 2011 Marathon with Afleet Again. It is 12th Breeders' Cup victory for Rosario and second in the Juvenile Fillies, having won with Jaywalk at Churchill Downs in 2018.

“My wife (Ginny) did a sensational job with her all week,” said Reid. “She really thrived on this air and the weather. She looked great coming in. I knew we would be laying up close. She's a sharp filly. She doesn't mind the inside obviously. I don't know that you ever have that kind of feeling but we knew she was doing very well and we know she's a very talented filly.”

Other comments after the Juvenile Fillies:

Second-place trainer Tim Hamm (Dayoutoftheoffice) – “She ran really hard, we're proud of her. No complaints. We had a decent trip on the front end. Not a ton of pressure, no excuses. We talked about the race earlier and we said if no one goes I didn't mind seeing her on the lead. She has a lot of natural speed and does it fairly easy so it didn't shock me.”

Second-place jockey Junior Alvarado (Dayoutoftheoffice) – “I thought there would be more speed but nobody seemed to want the lead. I sort of made the lead by default. She never seemed to settle on the lead and I think that made the difference.”

Third-place trainer Dale Romans (Girl Daddy) – “She ran super. I thought we had a chance (to win) turning for home. She ran a big race. She didn't have the cleanest trip but I am happy with her. She got hung a little wide; it wasn't anyone's fault, it is just the way the race unfolded.”

Fourth and sixth-place trainer Kenny McPeek (Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful) – “(Simply Ravishing) broke bad, stuck in traffic, nowhere to go and couldn't get there. The one hole is kind of tough and like I said, (Simply Ravishing) broke bad. Crazy Beautiful, we might need to regroup altogether. I think she might be a sprinter.”

Fourth-place jockey Luis Saez (Simply Ravishing) – “The filly stumbled in the gate. They grabbed her tail and they never have done that before. I don't know why. I had to grab her and that cost us a little bit because we were supposed to be right there, one or two. That didn't happen.”

Fifth-place trainer Bob Baffert(Princess Noor) – “She was in a good spot, he had her in a perfect spot there but she just didn't kick on. I'm pretty disappointed. She just came up empty. I had a lot of confidence in her but the winner ran a big race. They were going pretty fast. She just didn't have it.”

Fifth-place jockey Victory Espinoza (Princess Noor) – “She broke out of the gate nice. Everything was working perfectly fine for me, but I knew we were in trouble when we hit the five-eighths pole because she was kind of having a hard timing running on the track. She was kind of slipping around. As long I got her in the bridle, she was running but she was forcing herself too much and she was wasting a lot of energy. The minute I started riding her that was it. She backed up and started lugging in. That was it.”

The post Rosario Takes Inside Route To Victory Aboard Vequist In Juvenile Fillies appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

‘Such A Great Tribute To The Whole Staff’: Pletcher Records 5,000th Win At Aqueduct

While he was at Keeneland for Friday's first day of the 37th Breeders' Cup World Championships, trainer Todd Pletcher earned the 5,000th victory of his career at Aqueduct when Repole Stable's Microsecond captured the seventh race

“It's such a great tribute to the whole staff, the whole team,” said Pletcher, who has sent out the earners of more than $395 million. “A lot of people are dedicated and put in a lot of hard work. But mainly it's about the horses. We've just been blessed to have so many good clients providing us with horses that are capable of performing well, and I'm proud of our team for developing them the best we can.”

Pletcher had horses entered in five Friday races at Keeneland, including three races in the Breeders' Cup.

“It would have been kind of cool to do it in a Breeders' Cup race,” he said about reaching the milestone. “But we've always said that our goal when we get a horse in is to do the very best we can. So every win counts, and we're happy to get it.”

The 53-year-old Pletcher, a seven-time Eclipse Award-winner, has saddled winners of five American Classics and 11 Breeders' Cup races as part of 161 total Grade 1 wins.

Read more on Pletcher's accomplishments, including quotes from Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and longtime owners Mike Repole and Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing here: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/news/each-and-every-win-matters-pletcher-closing-in-on-5,000th-career-victory

The post ‘Such A Great Tribute To The Whole Staff’: Pletcher Records 5,000th Win At Aqueduct appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Fire At Will Runs Down Outadore In Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf

Fire At Will defied his 30-1 odds to establish himself as North America's top 2-year-old on the grass Friday with a powerful stretch drive to win the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland.

The Declaration of War colt left the gate forwardly placed, and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. acted quickly to get him on the rail from the seven post. Fire at Will and Gretzky the Great tracked early leader Outadore heading into the first turn, avoiding the congested traffic that plagued many of the runners behind them.

Outadore led the field through an opening quarter in :23.64 seconds, with Gretzky the Great pressuring him on the outside. The top three remained in the same position at the half-mile point, crossed in :48.12 seconds, and Outadore appeared to be in a good position to sustain his lead entering and exiting the final turn under Jose Ortiz.

All the while, Santana sat patiently on the rail path, and when Gretzky the Great faltered at the top of the stretch, Fire At Will ran through the seam, and came face-to-face with Outadore with an eighth of a mile to go. Under a hard drive and left-handed urging, Fire at Will kicked away in the stretch, and hit the wire three lengths ahead of middle-moving Battleground, who passed Outadore by a neck in the final jump.

Fire At Will covered the mile on a turf course rated as good in 1:35.81.

The victory was worth $550,000 and increased Fire At Will's earnings to $687,932 with a record of 4-3-0-0 with all three victories coming in stakes. Mike Maker trained the colt for owner Three Diamonds Farm.

Fire At Will paid $62.40 to win, which was a massive price, considering he came into the race off a two-length win in the G2 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont Park. Prior to that, he won a rained-off-the-turf edition of the With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga Race Course by 1/2 lengths.

Bred in Kentucky by Troy Rankin, Fire at Will is out of the unplaced Kitten's Joy mare Flirt. He sold to Three Diamonds Farm for $97,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Race Quotes courtesy of the Breeders' Cup Notes Team:

Winning trainer Mike Maker (Fire At Will) – “I tell you, we have been high on him since day one and with each race he's got better. It's very satisfying to get Three Diamonds Farm their very first Breeders' Cup win.”

Winning jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. (Fire At Will) – “I got a beautiful trip. I had plenty of horse in the tank. Thank God everything played out perfect.”

On timing: “He put me where he wanted to be and that's why we won.”

Second-place jockey Ryan Moore (Battleground) – “My horse ran super. Very happy with him.”

Third-place trainer Wesley Ward (Outadore) – “He ran great. I thought that the fractions were decent to where he could kick on. Talking to Jose, he said when he turned for home he dropped into another gear as we expected. But, take nothing away from that winner. He ran away from us. (The winner) ran a big, big race.”

Third-place jockey Jose Ortiz (Outadore) – “He got a little tired the last sixteenth, but he ran a helluva race. He was ready 100 percent. Wesley had him ready.”

Fourth-place trainer Jessica Harrington (Cadillac) – “He ran a great race. Shane said he got into a bun fight early on which pushed him back to eighth and messed the race up for him. But I'm really pleased with his run and especially the way he stayed on to the line.

Fourth-place jockey Shane Foley (Cadillac) – “He had a bad trip after the first bend. He then got a nice run later on and he hit the line really well.”

The post Fire At Will Runs Down Outadore In Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post