Brittany Russell | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘He’ll Always Be Special To Us’: Russell Mulling Next Start For First Graded Winner Wondrwherecraigis

Coming off the first graded-stakes win for himself and his trainer, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Madaket Stables and Michael Caruso's Wondrwherecraigis is enjoying some down time while the connections mull his next race.

The 4-year-old Munnings gelding was a front-running winner of the seven-furlong Bold Ruler (G3) Oct. 31 at Belmont Park, his second career stakes victory and first in graded company from 10 starts.

Based at Laurel Park with trainer Brittany Russell, Wondrwherecraigis' triumph came seven weeks following his disqualification to second after finishing first in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) over his home track. It was also one day before Russell gave birth to a son, Rye, her second child with husband and jockey Sheldon Russell. They are also parents to 2-year-old daughter, Edy.

“I was disappointed not to be there, but, hey, we had another big thing going on,” Brittany Russell joked. “It was huge. It was so disappointing for him and the ownership group and everyone to see him disqualified that day. But, he came back and he showed that he is a graded-stakes winner.

“'Craig' is doing awesome. He hasn't missed a beat,” she added. “He thinks he's King Kong.”

Russell said they have yet to settle on a target race for Wondrwherecraigis. Among the options are $100,000 Dave's Friend, part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series, Dec. 26 at Laurel and the Toboggan (G3) Jan. 29 at Aqueduct. Both races are contested at seven furlongs.

“We're just sort of trying to give him some time now. I wouldn't say we're set on anything. There's a race in New York in January. There's the MATCH Series race at the end of December. Nothing's really set in stone,” Russell said.

“He'll get this next month. I just sort of backed off of him since he ran and we'll kind of start gearing him back up and let him tell us,” she added. “You have some ideas and goals in the back of your mind, but he doesn't owe us anything. If we keep him home, great. If we decide to take him somewhere else, that's cool, too.”

Russell credited her New York-based assistant, Amanda Olds, with playing a large part in Wondrwherecraigis' success. In addition to the Bold Ruler, his other stakes win came in mid-August in the Tale of the Cat at Saratoga.

“It's nice for us to be able to send him up and not worry about anything. There's no worry shipping him when you have someone like that to travel with,” Russell said. “When he was up at Saratoga, after he won he stayed with her for a while up there and, obviously, it was the right move. She did a great job with him. It's all the moving parts. We're lucky to have the team we have.”

Wondrwherecraigis owns six wins, one second and one third with $347,640 in purse earnings from 10 starts, making a successful debut last March at Laurel just before racing was paused amid the coronavirus pandemic. He has finished first in all five of his races in Maryland, four of them wins prior to the De Francis.

“He's cool. He's one of the original bunch from when we first started along with Hello Beautiful,” Russell said. “'Craig' was, at the end of that year, he was one of the horses that kind of came in and saved me. He just kind of keeps saving me. He got me that graded win, and he's just special. He'll always be special to us.”

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Wondrwherecraigis Gets First Graded Stakes Win In Bold Ruler

If you want to know where you can find Wondrwherecraigis, try the winner's circle. After his DQ to second for interference in his last graded stakes try in the Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park, the Munnings gelding stayed straight and true throughout to add graded stakes winner to his resume with his victory in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

With jockey Luis Saez aboard, Wondrwherecraigis was fastest out of the gate, going immediately to the lead with Wendell Fong in second and favorite Plainsman third. Around the far turn, Plainsman had to check in traffic, shuffled back to fifth, as Wondrwherecraigis maintained his lead over Continuation and Wendell Fong.

Into the stretch, Wondrwherecraigis powered through the slop to draw away and win by 2 1/4 lengths, completing the seven furlongs in 1:23.31 over the wet Belmont track. Plainsman took third while Drafted was fourth. Find this race's chart here.

Wondrwherecraigis paid $6.40, $3.70, and $2.60. Continuation paid $6.00 and $3.30. Plainsman paid $2.20.

“The seven furlongs was a question, but it's nice to find out he can do it. Luis [Saez] did a beautiful job. He jumped out of there and slowed it down the best he could and didn't take anything away from the horse either. He's sat on him so he knows he can get that drift, but that's just him. I don't know that he's necessarily getting late – in some of his other races, he's just had to go faster early. It's the race on the day and how it sets up,” trainer Brittany Russell said after the Bold Ruler.

“I took him away from the pony and when he was in his stall, he broke pretty well. He controlled the pace and when we came to the top of the stretch, I felt like I had a lot of horse to finish with and he responded really well,” jockey Luis Saez told the NYRA Press Office after the race. “He was handling it pretty well. The plan was to try to slow the pace early so everything went according to plan.”

Bred in Kentucky by Fleur de Lis Stables, Wondrwherecraigis is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Social Assassin. The gelding is owned by Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Madaket Stables, and Michael J. Caruso. Wondrwherecraigis was a $210,000 RNA consigned by ELiTE at the 2020 Keeneland Horses of Racing Age Digital Sale. With his win in the G3 Bold Ruler, the 4-year-old gelding has four wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 10-6-1-1 and career earnings of $347,640.

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Hello Beautiful “Awesome” After Historic Win In Maryland Million Distaff

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful was doing “awesome” on Sunday following her history-making victory in the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 4-year-old filly dispatched her six rivals by 3 ½ lengths to become just the seventh horse to win three Maryland Million races since its inception in 1986, joining Ben's Cat, Countus In, Docent, Eighttofasttocatch, Mz. Zill Bear, and Hall of Fame mare Safely Kept.

“She looks awesome this morning,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “[She's] pleased with herself.

“She's been good to us. She kind of has this cocky attitude about her,” she added. “When you walk into the barn, she doesn't greet you. You walk in that first stall, her bum's getting you at the door. She has an air about her. She's very straightforward to train, knock on wood.”

Hello Beautiful won the 2019 Lassie as a 2-year-old and 2020 Distaff among her eight career stakes wins. She didn't break sharply in Saturday's race but quickly inherited the lead and was left alone up front despite the presence of speedy eight-time stakes winner Street Lute, who figured to pose an early challenge.

“It sort of the same thing it always is. I feel like there's speed in the race and she's the fastest horse. If they want to go with her, go with her,” Russell said. “It's not like she jumped out of there and had the lead from the first jump. She ran a little faster probably that first part and they sat off of her.”

It was fellow stakes winner Malibu Beauty who stayed closest to Hello Beautiful, getting to within 1 ½ lengths after a half mile, before the 1-5 favorite steadily gained separation on the field and pulled away through the lane as Street Lute mounted her bid, only to get nosed at the wire for second by Malibu Beauty.

Street Lute's former Jerry Robb-trained stablemate, 11-time stakes winner Anna's Bandit who was retired in August, was honored between races prior to the Distaff, which she won in 2019, adding to the significance of Hello Beautiful's subsequent victory.

“This is special. There's been a lot of good fillies. You saw Anna's Bandit walk over here [yesterday]. Hello Beautiful, she's won three Maryland Millions, she's won open races. It's that graded race that's missing on her resume,” Russell said. “Unfortunately, she probably won't be able to get it because of the Lasix situation, but that's OK. She keeps doing her thing and we're having fun with her.”

All graded stakes in Maryland are contested without Lasix. Riding a three-race win streak, Hello Beautiful ran fifth in the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie Feb. 20 at Laurel in her most recent graded attempt.

“It's disappointing, I think, more because she's a filly that has the ability to do it. You see her numbers and you see how she runs,” Russell said. “Maybe her 3-year-old year wasn't the year to try it. She didn't have luck with shipping and all those things, but I think now, as a mature horse, you wish you had the chance.

“Maybe if she runs as a 5-year-old next year knowing that she'd be retired as a 6-year-old [we'd try again],” she added. “I'm not saying it's completely out of the question but at this stage to keep her where she is and keep her healthy and do the right thing by her, it sort of all makes sense.”

A decision has yet to be made whether Hello Beautiful returns to race in 2022. There are two upcoming spots for her in Maryland this year, the $75,000 Politely for Maryland-bred/sired horses Nov. 26 and $100,000 Willa On the Move Dec. 26, both for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting six furlongs.

“I don't know when we're going to come to that decision. We have time. There's still two potential spots this year,” Russell said. “It just depends on how things shake out. If she keeps winning, I think they'd probably rather keep her racing, but that's just me. You have a horse who's winning, and winning stakes, she can be a broodmare next year. If she stubs her toe by the end of the year, maybe we make a different decision but if she stays healthy …”

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Hello Beautiful Gets Her Third Maryland Million Win With Distaff Victory

It took just over 82 seconds for 4-year-old filly Hello Beautiful to race her way into Maryland Million history.

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful rolled to her second consecutive front-running victory in the $100,000 Distaff Saturday at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., becoming just the seventh horse in event history with three Maryland Million wins.

The seven-furlong Distaff for fillies and mares 3 and older was among eight stakes and four starter stakes on the 36th Jim McKay Maryland Million program, 'Maryland's Day at the Races' celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state.

Hello Beautiful ($2.40) also won the 2019 Lassie as a 2-year-old among her eight career stakes victories and joins Ben's Cat, Countus In, Docent, Eighttofasttocatch, Mz. Zill Bear, and Hall of Fame mare Safely Kept in the exclusive three-win club. She was greeted with a large round of applause from fans as she returned to the winner's circle.

“It's so special, especially with her. It's a tough game, and to have a filly like her she just kind of keeps you up there. She gives you confidence. She shows you that you can do it. She makes you want to wake up in the morning and do it all over again on the bad days,” winning trainer Brittany Russell said. “I have a barn full of horses because of her, and many clients because of her. She's been so good to us.”

Favored at 1-5 in a field of six that included eight-time stakes winner Street Lute, a 3-year-old facing older horses, and Aug. 21 Miss Disco winner Malibu Beauty, Hello Beautiful broke alertly and quickly inherited the lead, going the first quarter-mile in :22.59 with Malibu Beauty giving closest chase and Street Lute settled in third on the inside.

Jockey Jevian Toledo, subbing for the injured Sheldon Russell, Brittany Russell's husband, had yet to move as Hello Beautiful rolled through a half-mile in :45.65. They drifted out to the two-path once straightened for home when Toledo shook the reins and the daughter of Golden Lad steadily pulled clear of her rivals to win by 3 ½ lengths in 1:22.22.

Malibu Beauty nosed out Street Lute for second, followed by Coconut Cake, Whispering Pines, and Street Lute's stablemate Fille d'Esprit, a winner of three straight making her first start since Dec. 18.

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“She's a really nice horse. She's just a special filly. You can do anything you want with her,” Toledo said. “She's got the speed, so we used her speed to our advantage because the track is pretty fast today. When I asked her, she just took off in the stretch. She just put her head in front and she wouldn't let them go by.”

Sheldon Russell had surgery last week on his right foot, injured in a pre-race spill Sept. 9 at Laurel. He joined his wife, who is expecting the couple's second child, and members of the ownership group in the winner's circle.

“He's the one that made me all emotional. He was screaming like a crazy man in there,” Brittany Russell said. “I felt confident, and he kept going, 'Turn her loose! Turn her loose!' He and Toledo are tight, so Toledo picking up the mount is the next best thing.”

A $6,500 purchase in December 2018, Hello Beautiful earned her third straight win following the July 31 Alma North at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and Sept. 18 Weather Vane at Laurel, and 10th from 18 career starts, pushing her career bankroll near the $600,000 mark. She is 9-for-11 lifetime over Laurel's main track.

“The way she bounced out of her last one, it didn't seem like a hard effort for her. She just responds,” Russell said. “When we walk her over, she's ready to go. She's been touting herself.”

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