Tag: Breeders’ Cup

Going into Friday's opening day of Keeneland's fall meet in Lexington, Ky., Todd Pletcher had won a remarkable 192 Grade 1 races since taking out his trainer's license in 1996. One race that had eluded him in his Hall of Fame career was the day's feature race, the Grade 1, $600,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

That box has now been checked.

Under confident handling from Luis Saez, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Candied made a powerful move on the stretch turn to inhale the front-runners and score by one length in her second career start and her first try around two turns. The win in the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series race secured the Candy Ride filly a spot in the starting gate for the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies to be run Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.  The Alcibiades is also an official points race on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, giving the top five finishers 10-5-3-2-1 points, respectively.

“I thought the filly had the talent to do it,” Pletcher said of Candied, who broke her maiden first out in a six-furlong test at Saratoga Aug. 20. “I was just concerned about her seasoning.”

As she did in her debut, Candied raced down the stretch on her left lead, though Saez said, “She ran a pretty professional race.”

Sent off at 4-1 odds, Candied paid $10.16 after covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.17. V V's Dream, the 7-5 favorite for Ken McPeek (a five-time Alcibiades winning trainer), finished second, with pace-setting Alys Beach third. Shimmering Allure, Brightwork, Creazy Cami, Alpine Princess, and Wine On Tap completed the order of finish.

Fractions in the race were :23.84, :48.25, 1:12.67 and 1:37.67.

“Several of the fillies in here that we had to beat today had good, solid campaigns and she was just making her second start,” said Pletcher. “But I'll tell you, she trained impressively before her debut and she then just kept getting better afterwards. She was finishing her works and galloping out like she wanted more ground. Like (jockey) Luis (Saez) said earlier, he's been pretty high on her since he first worked her at Saratoga, so we're happy to see her meet expectations.”

“She's a filly who keeps learning; she has a big future,” said Saez. “The first time I got on her in the morning, I knew she was pretty special.”

Bred by Buck Pond Farm and sold by her breeder for $165,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Yearling Sale, Candied was produced from the stakes-winning New York-bred mare Toni Tools, by Roaring Fever. Pletcher also trained Toni Tools.

The post Candied Gives Pletcher First Alcibiades Triumph On Keeneland’s Opening Day appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hoist the Gold soon will be making his fourth trip from Kentucky to California in the past year, but for the first time it will be as a graded stakes winner. Dream Team One Racing Stable's 4-year-old homebred son of Mineshaft earned his way to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint with a three-quarter length victory in the Grade 2, $350,000 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes on Friday's opening day of the Keeneland fall meet in Lexington, Ky.

Ridden by John Velazquez for trainer Dallas Stewart, Hoist the Gold broke smoothly from the rail post, then tracked early leaders Sibelius and Doctor Oscar in third before swinging off the fence at the three-eighths pole. He rallied past those two on the turn for home, then held off 5-2 favorite Nakatomi to score his first career stakes victory in the “Win and You're In” Challenge Series race for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

The win earned him a fees-paid slot in the Sprint and a travel allowance for the world championships to be held at Santa Anita Nov. 3-4. Hoist the Gold tries to become the first Phoenix Stakes winner to also win the Breeders' Cup Sprint in the same year since champion Runhappy in 2015, when Keeneland hosted the Breeders' Cup.

Hoist the Gold, winning for the fourth time in his 24th career start, covered the six furlongs on a fast track under sunny skies in 1:09.13 after chasing fractions of :21.79, :44.83, and :56.75. He paid $14.04 to win. Nakatomi finished a neck in front of 3-1 second  choice Bango. Necker Island was fourth in the field of 11, followed by Sibelius, Gulfstream Way, Manny Wah, Doctor Oscar, Top Gunner, Voodoo Zip, and Baytown Bear.

“(Trainer) Dallas Stewart and I talked in the Paddock and I watched his (Hoist the Gold's) races – seems like when he's close to the pace he's much better,” said Velazquez. “So I told him I'm going to come out of there and get him third at least and we'll have a really good chance. Once I got him back and got behind those two horses I was in a great position where I thought I wanted to be. But I almost messed up a little bit when I asked him a little too much the first sixteenth of a mile.”

Stewart hasn't been shy in pitching Hoist the Gold against some of the country's top horses.

Last December, Hoist the Gold made his first trip to California where he finished third to Taiba in the G1 Malibu. On Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs, he finished second to G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody's Wish in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes, then tired to be eighth behind Cody's Wish again when stretched out an extra furlong for the G1 Metropolitan Mile Handicap.

Over the summer, Stewart sent Hoist the Gold to Del Mar twice, finishing eighth to The Chosen Vron in the G1 Bing Crosby and sixth behind Anarchist in the G2 Pat O'Brien. He's  hoping for bigger things in the Breeders' Cup.

“When you show up with a nice horse and a jock (John Velazquez) that's won five Grade 1s for you, you got a lot of confidence,” Stewart said. “I didn't worry about a thing down the backside. It played out perfect. He got him out. The horse loves this track. He came home good, so we know where we're going November 4: back west (for the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint-G1). It's great to be here. It's a great day. We got a great thing going with horse racing; we just gotta keep rolling.”

The post Hoist The Gold Breeders’ Cup Bound After Earning Initial Stakes Victory In Keeneland’s Phoenix appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Peter Eurton could be poised for a big weekend at Santa Anita.

On Saturday, Eurton will saddle morning-line favorite Laurent in the Grade 2 Chandelier for 2-year-old fillies and also Dark Vintage, the 4-1 second choice on the morning line in the Speakeasy Stakes for 2-year-old going five furlongs on turf. On Sunday, Eurton will start Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Flattery, a top contender in the G3 Surfer Girl for 2-year-old fillies at a mile on turf.

“Everyone seems to be doing well and hopefully we'll get lucky,” Eurton said of the weekend ahead.

Like most in the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier, which attracted a competitive field of 10, Laurent will be trying two turns for the first time on Saturday. Laurent debuted going 5 ½ furlongs at Del Mar Aug. 13 and won by a nose when mounting a furious last-to-first rally under Juan Hernandez.

The Practical Joke filly returned in the G1 Del Mar Debutante going seven furlongs Sept. 5. She again was near the back of the pack early before rallying to be a distant second behind budding star Tamara.

Laurent, a $185,000 auction purchase as a yearling, is out of the two-time winner She Rocks the Look, herself a daughter of Grade 2-winning sprinter Trappe Shot.

“She acts like a filly that may desire two turns, but you really don't know,” Eurton said. “People often think that about a late-closings sprinter. Our thoughts are she'll take to it as long as she gets in a nice rhythm and doesn't have to do too much early. Just like any horse.”

Eurton has also decided to add blinkers for Laurent's two-turn bow.

“I think there's still a lot of maturing that needs to still continue,” Eurton said. “She's still a little green, that's why we're putting the blinkers on her. I can't afford to go five wide on both turns. Hopefully she'll show a little more speed and get the right trip.”

Laurent's chief rivals in the Chandelier appear to be Dua, the 3-1 second choice on the morning line for Bob Baffert; Chatalas (4-1) for trainer Mark Glatt and Gate to Paradise (5-1) for trainer John Shirreffs.

Dua won her bow going five furlongs at Del Mar July 23 then was a distant third in the G3 Sorrento going six furlongs at Del Mar Aug. 12. The daughter of Arrogate, a $400,000 auction buy earlier this year for Zedan Racing, worked a bullet six furlongs in 1:12 for her two-turn bow on Monday.

Chatalas won her debut going 5 ½ furlongs at Del Mar July 30 then was a well-beaten fourth in the G1 Del Mar Debutante. By Gun Runner out of the Indian Charlie mare Indian Safari, Chatalas could move forward with added distance. The same can be said for Gate to Paradise, a $950,000 daughter of Arrogate. She was third in her bow going 5 ½ furlongs at Del Mar and was third again in the Del Mar Debutante.

The Chandelier goes as Saturday's third race on a 10-race card with post time scheduled for 2:03 p.m. Pacific.

The field in post position order:

1. Chatalas, Antonio Fresu (4-1);
2. Scalable, Mike Smith (5-1);
3. Pacific Rose, Ramon Vazquez (20-1);
4. Pink Whitney, Tiago Pereira (20-1);
5. Autumn Chill, Hector Berrios (8-1);
6. Gate to Paradise, Kent Desormeaux (5-1);
7. Dua, Juan Hernandez (3-1);
8. Laurent, Edwin Maldonado (5-2);
9. Motet, Edgar Payeras (50-1);
10. Next Right Thing, Emily Ellingwood (30-1).

The post ‘She’s Still A Little Green’: Eurton Adds Blinkers For Laurent’s Two-Turn Debut In Chandelier appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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