carlos martin | Horse Racing Free Tips

Top Indiana-Bred Piedi Bianchi To Face Males In Belmont Turf Sprint

Jay Oringer, Jack Bick, Al Bianchi Racing, Adam Bayroff and Mike Maturo's multiple graded-stakes placed Piedi Bianchi will look to continue her recent good run of grass form when facing males for the first time in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational at six furlongs on the inner turf for 3-year-olds and up at Belmont Park.

A pair of Grade 1, $500,000 stakes highlight Saturday's card at Belmont with the Woodward for 3-year-olds and up going a one-turn 1 1/8 miles on Big Sandy; and the Champagne for 2-year-olds running one mile in a prestigious race, affording a spot in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile to the winner. The lucrative card is bolstered by the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational along with the Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for juvenile fillies.

Trained by Carlos Martin, Piedi Bianchi was named the 2020 Indiana Horse of the Year for a campaign that included a runner-up effort in the Merrillville and a second career score in the Frances Slocum at Indiana Grand. The versatile mare also posted a win in the six-furlong Correction last March on the Big A main track.

The now 6-year-old Indiana-bred daughter of Overanalyze, who is multiple Grade 1-placed on dirt, has re-focused on turf racing in her current campaign, posting a game second to Change of Control in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Intercontinental in June at Belmont.

The talented grey, a four-time winner on the main track, finished second in the off-the-turf Perfect Sting at one-mile on a sloppy and sealed Belmont main track in July ahead of a 2 1/2-length score over multiple stakes winner Lead Guitar and graded-stakes placed Robin Sparkles last out in the 5 1/2-furlong Smart N Fancy over yielding turf at Saratoga Race Course.

Martin credited Oringer with the change of direction for Piedi Bianchi.

“She's really stepped up her game and Jay had emphasized to me her numbers on the turf and the way she gets into a race, it seems like she does it so easily,” Martin said. “She's so tactical. She doesn't have to be too far away. She breaks out of there and gets a good spot and places herself accordingly. She has a good kick, which you need in these turf sprints. She really finishes off her races.”

Piedi Bianchi was sent to post as the third choice in a compact field of four in the Smart N Fancy, tracking the early speed of Robin Sparkles from second position before taking control inside the eighth-pole en route to a 2 1/4-length score.

“She did it quite convincingly. We had got some rain on the turf course and it seems like she handles any type of turf, so it's a big advantage to have,” Martin said. “She's one of those Rodney Dangerfield types. I think she just doesn't get the respect she's due. But she showed it on the racetrack and won easy. She beat a nice field of mares and did it on the biggest stage at Saratoga on Alabama Day. I was very proud of her.”

Martin said Piedi Bianchi will be cross-entered in the $150,000 Cardinal, a 1 1/16-mile main track event for Indiana-bred fillies and mares slated for October 6 at Indiana Grand. The connections will examine both options before making a final decision where to run.

“She's doing great. She's come out of her last race really well,” Martin said. “Jay has been great helping me manage the filly and she's ready to go either way.

“She's really been flourishing on the turf,” Martin added. “I think she deserves a chance to run against the best, so if she stays here I'm fine with that.”

Charles Roberts is named to ride from the inside post.

Lael Stables' Arrest Me Red won the 5 1/2-furlong Mahony last out by a neck over firm Saratoga turf while making her debut for trainer Wesley Ward. The 3-year-old Pioneerof the Nile bay won the six-furlong Atlantic Beach in November on the Big A turf for former conditioner Arnaud Delacour.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will pilot Arrest Me Red from post 3.

Christophe Clement saddled the winner of three of the previous five runnings of the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational, scoring with Pure Sensation [2016] and Disco Partner [2017-18].

He will be represented Saturday by Oak Bluff Stables' Therapist, a stakes winner at state-bred and open company, who was scratched out of Friday's off-the-turf Ashley T. Cole.

The 6-year-old Freud chestnut, bred in the Empire State by Oak Bluff Stable and Clement, will be in search of his first win since the Artie Schiller in November 2020 at Aqueduct. The ultra-consistent gelding, who boasts a record of 26-9-3-6, has won at least one stakes race every year since his 2-year-old season in 2017.

Therapist enters from a game runner-up effort in the restricted West Point, rallying to finish a nose back of stablemate City Man in the 1 1/16-mile turf test on August 27 at Saratoga.

Tyler Gaffalione has the call from post 5.

Gatsas Stables' Backtohisroots stumbled at the start of last year's Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational, unseating Jose Lezcano. The 5-year-old Mark Valeski gelding returned to action off nearly a one-year layoff last out with a runner-up effort to returning rival Pulsate in the 5 1/2-furlong Lucky Coin on September 3 at the Spa.

Luis Saez retains the mount from post 2.

Rounding out the field are Lucky Coin-winner Pulsate [post 7, Manny Franco]; 2019 Awad victor Buy Land and See [post 4, Jose Ortiz]; Guildsman [post 6, Ricardo Santana, Jr.], winner of last year's Grade 3 Franklin Simpson at Kentucky Downs; Grade 1 Jaipur runner-up Chewing Gum [post 9, Eric Cancel], and Belgrano [post 8, Junior Alvarado], last-out winner of the Rainbow Heir at Monmouth.

The Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 11-race card. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

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

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Piedi Bianchi Gets First Career Turf Win In Smart N Fancy At Saratoga

Jay Oringer, Jack Bick, Al Bianchi Racing, Adam Bayroff, and Mike Maturo's Piedi Bianchi notched her first career turf win in Saturday's $120,000 Smart N Fancy, a 5 ½-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Carlos Martin, the 6-year-old Overanalzye mare, making just her fifth appearance on turf in 26 starts, demonstrated a strong turn-of-foot under Tyler Gaffalione down the lane to overtake pacesetter Robin Sparkles and post a 2 1/4-length score.

Robin Sparkles, with Jose Ortiz up, surged to the lead with Piedi Bianchi tracking in second position as Lead Guitar saved ground under Luis Saez in third through a quarter-mile in :23.09 seconds on the yielding turf.

Piedi Bianchi edged closer to the pacesetter late in the turn as Lead Guitar waited patiently for racing room along the hedge through a half-mile in :46.93. Robin Sparkles, the 4-5 mutuel favorite, attempted to open up on her rivals once straightened for home but was soon overtaken by Piedi Bianchi, who powered home in a final time of 1:04.95.

Lead Guitar squeezed up the rail to complete the exacta by 2 1/4-lengths over Robin Sparkles with Hydra, who leaped at the start and trailed throughout, completing the field. Pacific Gale was scratched.

Piedi Bianchi made a pair of starts on turf last year, including a fourth-place finish in the My Charmer in December at Gulfstream Park. She finished a prominent second in the Grade 3 Intercontinental sprinting seven furlongs over the Belmont grass in June.

Martin credited his owners for persisting with turf ambitions in Piedi Bianchi's 2021 campaign.

“I give the owners credit. When she went to Florida last year, I asked 'Do you really want to run this mare on the turf? She's so good on the dirt',” Martin said. “We got back together and we ran her on the turf and she ran a big second in the Intercontinental. Today, she just loved the going. It made a big difference. The other horses are great horses. I'm not taking anything away from our victory, but it worked out perfectly for us today.”

Gaffalione secured his fifth stakes score of the meet, adding to a ledger that includes wins in the Coronation Cup [Goin' Good], Grade 3 Troy [Fast Boat], Grade 1 Fourstardave [Got Stormy], and Skidmore [Averly Jane].

“Out of the gate, I took a nice hold and was getting over the ground well,” Gaffalione said. “Coming into the stretch, when I asked her, she gave me everything she had. She really relished the course today.

“It was a nice tempo in front of us,” he added. “It gave us a nice target, and when I asked, she finished up well.”

The victory marked the fourth career stakes win for the Indiana-bred, who previously captured the 2018 and 2020 editions of the Frances Slocum at Indiana Grand and last year's Correction at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Out of the Tactical Cat mare Adore You, Piedi Bianchi is a half-sibling to 3-year-old colt Outadore, by Outwork, who is a stakes winner on turf and synthetic and finished third in last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland.

Piedi Bianchi banked $66,000 in victory while improving her record to 26-7-6-5. She returned $11.80 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $120,000 Summer Colony, a nine-furlong main track event for older fillies and mares who have not won a graded stakes race in 2021. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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‘Grit And Toughness’ Have Propelled Come Dancing To Breeders’ Cup Swansong

Ending a career by winning a championship is a goal for many athletes, though only a select few have been able to conclude their career with a historic effort.

The ones who do stand out. Joe DiMaggio ending his career after winning his ninth World Series with the Yankees in 1951 is near the top of any going-out-on-top moments. Rocky Marciano capped his career the way he ended every single one of his professional bouts, with the then 32-year-old walking away after posting a 49-0 record and holding the heavyweight championship for nearly four years. Across other sports, from NFL Hall of Famer John Elway winning back-to-back Supers Bowls to NHL superstar Jean Béliveau winning his 10th Stanley Cup and taking off the sweater in 1971, there have been special finales.

On Saturday, Blue Devil Racing Stable's Come Dancing will run the 19th and final race of a storied career that has already featured five graded stakes wins. The Carlos Martin trainee will look to give her connections one final memory when she competes in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint going seven furlongs on Keeneland Race Course's main track.

The 6-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon has given owner Marc Holliday, and New York racing fans, plenty of thrills, starting with her 7 ¾-length romp in the 2019 Grade 3 Distaff at Aqueduct Racetrack, earning a 114 Beyer Speed Figure. From there, she dominated the Grade 2 Ruffian, winning the one-mile contest over a sloppy track by 6 ¾ lengths in May 2019. Her next start saw her run second to eventual Eclipse Award Champion Older Dirt Female Midnight Bisou in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on Belmont Stakes Day.

Not to be deterred, Come Dancing then rattled off back-to-back wins in the Grade 1 Ballerina in August 2019 at Saratoga Race Course before winning the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom back at Belmont. She capped her campaign with a sixth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita. In this year's edition, she will face divisional contenders Gamine and Serengeti Empress among a formidable nine-horse field.

Martin said she handled the ship well from New York to the Bluegrass State, where she posted a three-furlong blowout in 36 seconds flat over Keeneland's main track on Sunday.

“She seems like she's handling her time at Keeneland and she's enjoying herself. Her coat looks great,” Martin said. “My team has done a great job helping me to get her to this point, so I'm really happy about everything.”

A great career almost was derailed after her winning debut as a juvenile in November 2016 at the Big A. Working toward her potential stakes debut in the Grade 2 Demoiselle she suffered a fractured pastern in her right front leg. Come Dancing did not race again until 13 months later, when she bested allowance company in December 2017 at Aqueduct.

That came as a relief to Holliday, who is a NYRA Board Member and the Chairman and CEO of SL Green Realty Corp, a New York City commercial real estate firm.

“I was fairly optimistic that she would race again,” Holliday said to the Thoroughbred Daily News last year. “The question was would she race up to her potential because we knew she had a ton of potential. She had a brilliant first race. To do what she's done since the injury is a testament to her grit and toughness and her ability to rebound from that injury.”

Come Dancing not only rebounded from that setback, she thrived, and that success continued in her current campaign, which included a second-place effort in the Grade 3 Vagrancy over a Belmont track rated good on Belmont Stakes Day in June and her first win of 2020 last out with a three-quarter-length score in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap over Lady's Island in the six-furlong sprint at Saratoga on September 6.

The millionaire mare will retire to become a broodmare following Saturday's race, but she has one more chance to compete at the highest level during the Breeders' Cup World Championships. She drew post 3 with jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was aboard for the Honorable Miss, back in the irons. She is listed at 8-1 on the morning line with Gamine from post 2 the 7-5 favorite.

“It's bittersweet because it's her last dance, but she's been so good to us, so we just want to see her go off on a high note and show the world what she can do on the biggest stage, so we're excited for the opportunity,” Martin said. “I think the post should be fine. She usually breaks pretty well. With Serengeti and Gamine going out there, she should be able to find a spot. I don't think there's a chance of us going up there with them [as a pacesetter], but I'll let Irad ride the race and hopefully have them set the table for us.

“We have a champion jockey and I think the instructions kind of go out the window in a race like this,” he added.

A victory would give both Martin and Holliday their first respective career wins in a Breeders' Cup. It would also allow Come Dancing to follow in the path of past champions with a sunset ride enmeshed in glory.

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Breeders’ Cup Buzz Presented By Del Mar Ship & Win: Taking The Breeders’ Cup Global

The Breeders' Cup is a traveling show, usually changing locations on a yearly basis, but what if the event cast a wider net?

In the Breeders' Cup Buzz, we're asking some notable Thoroughbred industry names about their experiences with the event and a few hypothetical questions tied to the races.

This time around, we asked Breeders' Cup participants to name their preferred destination if the event were ever held outside of North America. For the purposes of the exercise, it would be assumed that the tracks would install whatever surfaces would be needed to card all of the Breeders' Cup's main track and turf races, if necessary.

To view previous editions of the Breeders' Cup Buzz, click here.

Jack Wolf – Starlight Racing

“Meydan Race Course. As much as Sheikh Mohammed has put into the game, and the show he's put on there, at his expense, I think that would be a pretty cool place to have one, once we get back to normal.”

Doug Cauthen – Three Chimneys

“Longchamp. It's such an iconic and historic place. I think everyone wants to see that facility anyway, and it would be a good reason for more Americans to go see it.”