Call On Mischief | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hello Beautiful Rounds Out 2021 Season With Willa On The Move Try

Though her career has been one with far more successes than failures, Hello Beautiful has also shown a resilience to match her talent. Trainer Brittany Russell will be hoping for more of the same from the history-making filly when she caps her 4-year-old season in the $100,000 Willa On the Move Dec. 26 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful had a three-race win streak snapped when she finished last of five as the favorite in the six-furlong Politely Nov. 26 at Laurel. Russell said the Golden Lad filly came back well, if agitated, from the performance.

“She was very unhappy after the race, in a just [ticked] off kind of way. She knew that it wasn't supposed to go like that,” Russell said. “When I went back to check on her, it wasn't her normal munching her hay. It was like, 'Get away from me.' The important thing is she's doing well, and she's still Hello Beautiful.

“She's been fine. She really only ran about a quarter of a mile, if you really look at how it went down,” she added. “She came back no worse for the wear. She's doing fine, and she's trained well since.”

Prior to the Politely, Hello Beautiful was a front-running winner of the Alma North at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and the Weather Vane and Maryland Million Distaff to put her career win total at 10, eight of them in stakes. She is one of only seven horses in event history with three Maryland Million victories.

Hello Beautiful broke from the rail and found herself atypically behind horses in the Politely, outrun to the lead by Princess Kokachin, another speedy type that drew the post just outside the favorite. Jockey Jevian Toledo opted to drop back and then make a run that never materialized.

“I probably should have been a little more clear with Toledo to just kind of stay on that filly. We know our filly. She was a step slow that day, but you've got to go. You've got to go with her,” Russell said. “They were moving, they were going quick, but that's our game, too. When she kind of got checked out of there, it was over.”

Toledo climbs back aboard for the fourth straight race in place of Russell's husband, injured jockey Sheldon Russell, and they drew Post 6 in a field of eight at 124 pounds, a topweight she shares with Call On Mischief and Jakarta.

“You can look at it all different ways, but had our filly drawn outside that filly that day, it might have been a different outcome, too. It's fine. It happens,” Russell said. “You better learn how to lose races, because we lose a lot more than we win. Just be a good loser and hopefully, she bounces back next time.”

Eric Rizer's homebred Princess Kokachin will break inside Hello Beautiful from Post 3 under regular rider Xavier Perez, looking to extend her win streak to six races. The Politely marked the stakes debut for the Jerry Robb-trained 3-year-old Graydar filly, with all of those victories coming against older horses. She set testing fractions of :21.98 and :45.12 before finishing up in 1:11.22 to win by 5 ½ lengths.

[Story Continues Below]

Beaten in the Alma North and May 15 Skipat, also at Pimlico, in two previous trips to Maryland this year, Down Neck Stables' Call On Mischief is set to make her Laurel debut. She prevailed by a half-length after a prolonged drive to win the six-furlong Mahoning Distaff Nov. 22, and was most recently second in the Garland of Roses Dec. 11 over a sloppy surface at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya captured last year's Willa On the Move to cap her 3-year-old campaign on a five-race win streak. Winless in her first four starts to open 2021, she went three months between the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie Feb. 20 and Skipat, and returned to the winner's circle with a popular 6 ¼-length optional claiming allowance triumph in front-running fashion sprinting six furlongs Nov. 5 at Laurel.

Also entered are Three Diamonds Farm's Jakarta, a stakes winner making her first start for trainer Mike Trombetta and first dirt start since running fourth in the June 2020 G3 Vagrancy at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.; Kaylasaurus, racing first off the claim for Penn National-based trainer Tim Kreiser; Kentucky shipper Miss Mosiac; and multiple stakes-placed Paisley Singing.

The post Hello Beautiful Rounds Out 2021 Season With Willa On The Move Try appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Glass Ceiling Gets First Stakes Win In Garland Of Roses At Aqueduct

Glass Ceiling came home 2 ¼ lengths clear of Call On Mischief to take the $100,000 Garland of Roses at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., on Saturday, giving trainer and co-owner Charlton Baker back-to-back victories in the stakes. A six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, the Garland of Roses was the first stakes win of Glass Ceiling's career.

The 8-5 post-time favorite in the field of seven, Glass Ceiling broke from post position 6 with Dylan Davis up and settled at the back of the pack, racing three-wide as Sadie Lady led the field through an opening quarter-mile in :22.27 over the sloppy and sealed main track. Inching a bit closer at the half-mile pole, Glass Ceiling was swung to the outside and came under a ride from Davis rounding the turn to try and catch Sadie Lady.

Driving down the lane to the finish, Davis kept busy on the daughter of Constitution, rousing her to find more at the end and overtake the lead at the furlong pole. Glass Ceiling drew away from runner-up Call On Mischief at the sixteenth-pole and stopped the clock in a final time of 1:11.19.

Davis said the track condition led him to choose an outside path for the filly.

“The kickback was really bothering her,” said Davis. “I just tried to get on heels behind the four [Just Read It] and the three [Letmetakethiscall] and save some ground, but she just wasn't handling it. I just opted to come outside. She's way better than what she was doing down the backside and I was able to get her in the clear. I had to sacrifice some ground for her to have some clean air and once she came out, she came with a full run.”

Davis guided Glass Ceiling to an allowance score in September ahead of a runner-up effort to Lady Rocket last out in a division of the Pumpkin Pie in October, both at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“She's nice to ride and she does everything well,” Davis said. “Charlie does a good job with her and I think we're going to have a good time this winter.”

Baker echoed Davis' sentiments about the off-track.

“She didn't handle the kickback very well,” Baker said. “Once she turned for home and got clear, it seemed like she was doing it well. She's a nice filly and she tries all the time. She's getting there. She's definitely on the improve. Hopefully, she has more in the tank to go forward. That's what we're gambling on.”

Runner-up in the faster division of the seven-furlong Pumpkin Pie in her prior start, Baker said the cutback in distance did not benefit Glass Ceiling.

“Seven-eighths might be a little more her distance, but I think she's sharp enough where she's comfortable with six furlongs,” Baker said.

Call On Mischief, who exited the inside post under Jose Lezcano, saved ground in fourth and raced along the rail up the backstretch and into the turn before being swung to the center of the racetrack. Under a strong ride, she made her bid for Glass Ceiling but could not match her foe and settled for second.

“She ran a huge race,” Lezcano said. “The winner has just been running so well lately. My filly gave me her race, she did nothing wrong.”

The New York-bred Letmetakethiscall finished third, 2 ½ lengths the better of fellow state-bred Sadie Lady, who tired and held on to fourth over Song River by a nose to round out the superfecta.

Starfront and Just Read It completed the order of finish.

Now with a stakes victory to her credit, Baker says a start in the $100,000 Interborough on January 15 at Aqueduct may be on the table for Glass Ceiling.

“I think we're going to go until February and then give her a break until the spring and then get her back,” Baker said. “That's my plan right now. I'm looking at the [Interborough] and then maybe Maryland in February.”

Glass Ceiling banked $55,000 for her Garland of Roses victory, increasing her total purse winnings to $332,612 and improving her record to 5-6-4 from 23 starts. A $2 win wager on Glass Ceiling returned $5.30.

Glass Ceiling's victory was the third Garland of Roses win for Baker, who took down last year's running with Honor Way and the 2014 edition with Expression.

Live racing resumes Sunday with a nine-race card to wrap up week one of the winter meet at the Big A. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Glass Ceiling Gets First Stakes Win In Garland Of Roses At Aqueduct appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Russell Rides Hello Beautiful To Alma North Victory, Gets 1,500th Winner

Jockey Sheldon Russell celebrated his 1,500th career victory in style Saturday, guiding Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful to a popular 3 ¾-length score in the $100,000 Alma North at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The fifth running of the Alma North for fillies and mares 3 and older was the first of three $100,000 stakes on the final program of July, followed by the Challedon, also sprinting six furlongs, and 1 1/8-mile Deputed Testamony, both for 3-year-olds and up.

All three races are part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

It was the eighth career win and sixth in a stakes for Hello Beautiful ($2.20), who is trained by Russell's wife, Brittany. The final time of 1:09.63 was the fastest of two runnings at the current distance.

“It's always anxious because she means so much to us and she's been so good,” Sheldon Russell said. “As soon as she got the first quarter, I knew that she was in her happy place and it was cruise control from there. The final time was extremely impressive. She's a good filly.

“I'm just very happy that we got it out of the way, and for it to happen on Hello Beautiful. She's been a great filly throughout my career, she's given me some great wins,” he added. “She was mine and Brittany's first stakes winner together, so for me to reach a milestone on one of our favorite fillies, it's something I'll never forget.”

To commemorate the milestone, Russell teamed with agent Marty Leonard to gift Hello Beautiful's groom, Luis Barajas, with $1,500. It was a gesture Russell began with $1,000 for his 1,000th winner on March 7, 2015, with Shayjolie in the Cat Cay at Aqueduct.

“Luis has been with us for about a year now. He's a key role behind the scenes at the barn and he takes care of some really, really nice fillies,” Russell said. “He's got years of experience, so when they come with that kind of background, straight away when he came into Brittany's barn she gave him the best five horses pretty much that she has.

“It's good that the money's coming home. I see these guys on a daily basis and for them to make the extra money is always great,” he added. “Just finally to have gotten the 1,500, we can start moving forward now. I was starting to feel the pressure there. I had a couple of close finishes [Friday] and then today. It takes the pressure off.”

Beaten at the wire in his first mount of the day, 3-5 favorite Make It a Double in Race 2 for trainer Anthony Farrior, Russell and Hello Beautiful quickly established command as the 1-9 choice in a field of five. They rolled through a quarter-mile in :23.41 and a half in :45.84 with mild pressure from Call On Mischief.

Hello Beautiful straightened for home in front and shook loose through the stretch from Call On Mischief, who stayed up for second by a neck over Precious, followed by Bluefield and Paisley Singing. Club Car was scratched.

[Story Continues Below]

It was the first win in three tries at Pimlico for Hello Beautiful, having run third in her May 10, 2019 unveiling and second by a neck to undefeated Chub Wagon in the June 13 Shine Again. Bred in Maryland by Ellen Charles' Hillwood Stable, Hello Beautiful was picked out and purchased by Brittany Russell for $6,500 at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic December 2018 mixed sale.

“The question was always is she a horse for the course at Laurel and she's run two big races at Pimlico now so it's good that she can run on a different surface, as well. It feels great,” Brittany Russell said.

Hello Beautiful won the Jan. 16 What A Summer, 2020 Safely Kept and Maryland Million Distaff, and 2019 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship and Maryland Million Lassie, all with Sheldon Russell aboard at Laurel Park. She now has earnings of $464,610 from 16 lifetime starts and a milestone win for husband and wife, who are parents to daughter, Edy, who turns 2 next month, and are expecting a second child in November.

“It's really incredible it worked out that way, especially because [Sheldon] was on a very live horse of Farrior's in the second race and they're very good friends of ours,” she added. “I would have been just as happy to see him do it on his horse, but then when the horse got nailed on the line, selfishly I thought, 'Ok. It's going to be the big filly.' She means so much to us. It's very special.”

Russell was Maryland's overall leading rider in 2011 and has won eight career meet titles, the most recent coming at Laurel Park's calendar year-ending 2020 fall stand. He has battled various injuries over the course of his career and currently ranks second to Charlie Marquez for the state's most wins in 2021.

“In this game, you've got to stay healthy. The wins will always come. Knock on wood, we've been on a bit of a roll here and not been injured for a while,” Sheldon Russell said. “Just very fortunate. I'm happy to get to this milestone; hopefully, we can get to 2,000.”

The Alma North is named for the Maryland-bred champion 3-year-old filly and Horse of the Year in 1971 and Maryland-bred champion older filly of 1972. Owned by the late Eugene Mori's East Acres Stable, Alma North won 23 of 78 career starts with $513,597 in purse earnings from 1970-74. Her victories included graded-stakes scores in the Grade 1 Matchmaker and Grade 2 Vineland, Grade 3 Margate, and Grade 3 Betsy Ross handicaps in 1973.

The post Russell Rides Hello Beautiful To Alma North Victory, Gets 1,500th Winner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post