butch reid | Horse Racing Free Tips

Friday Winners in Good Order

The winners of Friday’s juvenile races at the Breeders’ Cup were reported in good order Saturday morning. Trainer Brad Cox celebrated two winners on the championship card when Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) captured the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf S. and Godolphin homebred Essential Quality (Tapit) won the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

“It was a fantastic day,” Cox said. “Both came out of their races really well. So far so good. Both are a little tired, but they have a right to be. They both appear to have bounced out of the races very well. We’ll see how things go moving forward. We don’t have anything picked out as far as races, but we’re looking forward to coming up with a game plan for next year.”

Aunt Pearl, purchased for 280,000gns at last year’s Tattersalls October sale, won the GII JPMorgan Chase Jessamine S. and is now unbeaten in three starts. Essential Quality, also three for three, added his Breeders’ Cup win to a victory in the GI Claiborne Breeders Futurity.

“These are both horses that have shown us a lot since we picked them up in the spring,” Cox said. “It’s a long process getting to a point like this and it’s just a testament to the help, the assistants, the foremen, the exercise riders, the hotwalkers, the grooms, everyone we have in place. I’m just really proud of our staff and really appreciative of the opportunities owners have given us with really nice horses. Aunt Pearl was an expensive purchase out of Tattersalls last year and fortunate to have been given her. Obviously, Godolphin has a very well-bred homebred. Sometimes that’s what it takes to get to a stage like this. It’s very rewarding and we’re very fortunate.”

Trainer Butch Reid was also pleased with GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Vequist (Nyquist).

“When I saw her in the morning jogging and stuff, I thought she looked really good but then when she got over there into the paddock in the afternoon, I thought she looked spectacular,” said Reid. “In my mind, I thought she won the paddock show. She looked good, calm, relaxed. We felt pretty good.”

Reid added that Vequist, campaigned by Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable, will now head to Barry Eisaman’s farm in Florida for a freshening to prepare for a sophomore campaign he hopes will include the 2021 GI Kentucky Oaks.

“Four starts as a 2-year-old is plenty for me and we got her stretched around two turns, which is what I wanted,” Reid said. “She’ll soak up some sun and pick on some grass.”

Ranlo Investment’s Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) will also be getting a break following his win in Friday’s GII Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

“He’s doing great this morning,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “He’s a champion. He’s going to hang out here at Keeneland and let down until about Christmas. Usually Keeneland has a turf sprint for 3-year-olds on opening day that we’ll point for and then point to the G1 King’s Stand at Royal Ascot with him.”

The post Friday Winners in Good Order appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Vequist To Get Time Off After ‘Spectacular’ Breeders’ Cup Win, Then Aim For 2021 Kentucky Oaks

There were good vibes all around the far end of Barn 66 at Keeneland Saturday morning as the connections of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Vequist basked in the achievements of the dark bay daughter of Nyquist.

Trainer Butch Reid reported that all was well with his charge in the aftermath of her 2-length triumph over budding rival Dayoutoftheoffice in the Juvenile Fillies, an effort that now puts Vequist in position to take home an Eclipse Award for divisional honors. While horses can sometimes fool their caretakers by flaunting one kind of form in the morning only to give off an entirely different impression in the afternoons, Vequist more than backed up the serious tout she had made for herself this week as one of the best looking horses during training hours.

“When I saw her in the morning jogging and stuff, I thought she looked really good but then when she got over there into the paddock in the afternoon, I thought she looked spectacular,” said Reid, who previously won the 2011 Breeders' Cup Marathon with Afleet Again. “In my mind, I thought she won the paddock show. She looked good, calm, relaxed. We felt pretty good.”

Vequist now has two wins from four career starts with both of her triumphs coming in top-level races. She broke her maiden by a jaw-dropping 9 ½ lengths in the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 6 but was beaten in the Grade 1 Frizette by Dayoutoftheoffice.

Under heady handling from Joel Rosario Friday, Vequist used an inside trip to turn the tables on her rival and make her sire Nyquist one of now 24 stallions to win a Breeders' Cup race and sire a Breeders' Cup winner.

“We figured she would be laying close and it seemed like the inside was good all day,” Reid said. “And we had Joel in the irons. We had full confidence in the horse and the rider. This is my second Breeders' Cup win but this was really a special one because she's a homebred and I was able to do it for Tom McGrath and Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel. It makes it extra special.”

Vequist was bred by McGrath's Swilcan Stables with McGrath selling an interest in the filly to Barber and Wachtel after she finished second in her career debut at Parx on July 29. To Reid's delight, the new addition to the ownership had no intention of taking the filly out of his care.

“That's something rare in this business that something like that happens. Normally that's it and the horse is gone,” Reid said. “I didn't know them (Barber and Wachtel) until I talked to them on the phone. In fact I met Gary Barber for the first time yesterday.”

Reid added that Vequist will now head to Barry Eisman's farm in Florida for a freshening to prepare for what he hopes is a successful trip down the Kentucky Oaks trail in 2021.

“Four starts as a 2-year-old is plenty for me and we got her stretched around two turns, which is what I wanted,” Reid said. “She'll soak up some sun and pick on some grass.”

Trainer and co-owner Tim Hamm reported all was good with Dayoutoftheoffice the morning after her gutsy runner-up finish in the Juvenile Fillies.

Dayoutoftheoffice set a quick pace in the 1 1/16m Juvenile Fillies, throwing down the first quarter in 23.30 and an opening half mile in 47.12 before being caught by race-winner Vequist in the late stages. That loss marked the first defeat in four starts for Dayoutoftheoffice, but the daughter of Into Mischief figures to be in play for Eclipse Award honors with her prior wins in the Grade 1 Frizette — in which she bested Vequist — and Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes.

“She'll take a little break and get ready for a 3-year-old campaign,” Hamm said.

The post Vequist To Get Time Off After ‘Spectacular’ Breeders’ Cup Win, Then Aim For 2021 Kentucky Oaks 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

‘Breeze Really Woke Her Up’: Juvenile Fillies Contender Vequist Full Of Herself Monday

Exercise rider Teresa Hagemeier had to work to keep Vequist on the ground Monday morning as the Grade 1-winning filly was more than happy to go back to the track two days after completing her last serious breeze in advance of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

With trainer Butch Reid overseeing his string at Parx, his wife and assistant Ginny got an eyeful as Vequist was full of herself while galloping about 1 5/8 miles over the Keeneland main track.

“She was ready to do this today,” Ginny Reid said. “The breeze really woke her up. Every time you do something strong with her, she gets that much better. I'm really pleased with the way she went and how nice and relaxed she is after the gallop. She's doing very well.”

Owned by Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable, Vequist most recently finished second to fellow Juvenile Fillies contender Dayoutoftheoffice in the Frizette Oct. 10. Prior to that outing, the dark bay filly broke her maiden and became the first Grade 1 winner for her sire Nyquist when she blitzed the field by 9 ½ lengths in the seven-furlong Spinaway on Sept. 6.

The decision to go in the Spinaway off a runner-up outing in her career debut at Parx on July 29 was spurred in part by new additions to her ownership, but also by Reid's faith that the filly would get better as the distances got longer.

“Early on, there was a deal made where Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel bought into her and it was kind of their push to go ahead and get her in a Grade 1,” said Butch Reid, who won the 2011 Breeders' Cup Marathon with Afleet Again. “And we knew the further distances were what she was looking for. We ran her 4 ½ furlongs first time out and she wanted no part of that. At seven-eighths, she's just starting to get warmed up. I think it was more the distance than a lot of other things.”

The post ‘Breeze Really Woke Her Up’: Juvenile Fillies Contender Vequist Full Of Herself Monday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post