Sacred Life Swoops In Late To Take Knickerbocker At Belmont

Field Pass took the lead in the opening strides of the Grade 3 Knickerbocker and looked poised to take the field gate to wire when Sacred Life powered down the stretch to nip Field Pass at the wire at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Breaking from the rail, Field Pass took the lead at the start, moving out to a one-length advantage around the first turn and into the backstretch. Sacred Life hung out toward the back of the pack, next to last in front of only Corelli early. Around the far turn, Temple moved up on the outside to challenge Field Pass, but the leader dug in, maintaining his one-length lead as the field approached the wire.

Trapped behind horses on the rail, Jose Ortiz took advantage of an opening at the top of the stretch to move between horses and find an opening running lane. Once clear, Sacred Life poured on the speed, boldly moving down the center of the track as the wire approached, catching Field Pass in the final jumps. The final time for the 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf was 1:46.66.

Sacred Life paid $12.80, $5.40, and $4.60. Field Pass paid $7.40 and $5.30. Temple paid $6.80. Find this race's chart here.

“He's [Sacred Life] trained well. He's an honest horse. It just hasn't worked out for him in some of his races and he clicked with Jose [Ortiz] today and got a great trip. He got some pace to run into and made a late run and was able to get up at the wire. It was an exciting finish. It looked a little more fun for Jose than it did for me,” Dan Stupps, assistant to trainer Chad Brown, said after the race.

“He has no speed early on and I had to ride him from early. At the six furlongs, I started pushing on him and he was coming little by little. I knew sooner or later he would pick it up and he picked up nicely around the half-mile and then I just wanted for Rosario [Joel, aboard No. 2, Breaking the Rules] to go and I followed him,” jockey Jose Ortiz told the NYRA Press Office after the Knickerbocker. “I had a lot of room to work with [moving inside of Manny Franco aboard No. 4, L'Imperator in the stretch run] so I decided to do it. He was flying late. I just had to keep him straight.”

Bred in France by Viktor Timoshenko and Andriy Milovanov, Sacred Life is by Siyouni (FR) out of the Montjeu mare Knyazhna (IRE). He is owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Caruso. Consigned by Quesnay, Sacred Life was sold for $55,925 to Chantilly Bloodstock Agency at the 2016 Arqana Deauville August Yearlings Sale. The G3 Knickerbocker is the 6-year-old ridgling's first win of 2021, for a lifetime record of seven wins in 21 starts and career earnings of $616,768.

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Royal Flag Tops the Beldame

W.S. Farish's ascending homebred Royal Flag rallied to a convincing win in Sunday's GII Beldame S. at Belmont, her third graded stakes conquest in her last five starts.

Graduating second out by eight lengths in the Aqueduct mud in December of 2019, the chestnut repeated by nine lengths in a Gulfstream allowance/optional claimer and made it three straight with a score in a similar spot last May at Churchill. Disappointing somewhat with a distant third in the GIII Molly Pitcher S., she was a close runner-up in the GIII Shuvee S. and Lady's Secret S. before breaking through with her first black-type success in the GIII Turnback the Alarm H. at the Big A. Second by a head in the GIII Baird Doubledogdare S. making her 5-year-old debut Apr. 16 at Keeneland, she flew late to capture the Shuvee July 25 at Saratoga before running a narrow third in the GI Personal Ensign S. there Aug. 28.

Pounded down to odds-on here, Royal Flag settled in fifth as second choice and 2020 Beldame heroine Horologist dictated terms through comfortable splits of :23.97 and :48.54. Creeping closer while tipping into the clear as three-quarters went up in 1:13.03, she drifted to the center of the track as heads pointed for home, swept past Horologist just inside the eighth pole and drew clear under hand urging for a much-the-best triumph. Horologist dug in to hold off pace rival Miss Marissa for second.

“She broke really well. We were up a little bit in the race today,” said winning rider Joel Rosario. “Sometimes, when there's no speed, she can be up a little bit. It looked like she was very comfortable, and we were just waiting for the time to come out and let her do her thing. I wanted to be out [wide]. When she passes horses she can hang a little bit. I feel like if I get her away from them, she's more focused at that point. So, I stayed out there. If she has another horse there [beside her], she'll just stay there.”

“This year she's obviously taken a big step forward,” added Dan Stupp, assistant to winning trainer Chad Brown. “She's trained better than ever and she's been to all of our divisions. Everyone has done a great job of developing her. She's in peak form and Rosario gets along quite well with her. I'm sure the Farishes are thrilled with her progress as well and the black type that Chad has been able to develop into her. We'll see what's next for her. Off that race, I'm sure Chad and Mr. Farish will consider the Breeders' Cup [Distaff]. We'll get her back and see how she comes out of it, and they'll come up with a plan.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of 100 stakes winners and 50 graded stakes winners for Lane's End 22-year-old star Candy Ride, Royal Flag is the third black-type winner out of her dam, following full-brother Eagle and half-brother Catalina Cruiser, who entered stud at Lane's End last year. Sea Gull, a $270,000 purchase by Farish at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga in 2007, has an unraced juvenile full-sister to the winner named Song of the Sea and produced a colt by Quality Road this term before being bred to Into Mischief.

Sunday, Belmont Park
BELDAME S.-GII, $250,000, Belmont, 10-10, 3yo/up, f/m,
1 1/8m, 1:50.02, gd.
1–ROYAL FLAG, 123, m, 5, by Candy Ride (Arg)
                1st Dam: Sea Gull, by Mineshaft
                2nd Dam: Exclusive Bird, by Storm Bird
                3rd Dam: Exclusive Moment, by Exclusive Native
O/B-W. S. Farish (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Joel Rosario.
$137,500. Lifetime Record: GISP, 12-6-3-3, $573,020. *Full to
Eagle, GSW & GISP, $754,186; 1/2 to Catalina Cruiser (Union
Rags), MGSW, $711,100. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple
Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Horologist, 123, m, 5, Gemologist–Cinderella Time, by
Stephen Got Even. O-There's A Chance Stable, Medallion
Racing, Abbondanza Racing, LLC, Parkland Thoroughbreds,
Paradise Farms Corp. & David Staudacher; B-Holly Crest Farm
(NJ); T-William I. Mott. $50,000.
3–Miss Marissa, 123, f, 4, He's Had Enough–Ardara, by Arch.
($11,000 Ylg '18 OBSOCT). O-Cammarota Racing LLC;
B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-James T. Ryerson.
$30,000.
Margins: 4 1/4, HF, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.70, 2.70, 17.60.
Also Ran: Gold Spirit (Chi), Zaajel, Thankful, Spice Is Nice. Scratched: So Darn Hot. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Blowout Becomes Brown’s Fifth First Lady Winner Saturday At Keeneland

Trainer Chad Brown continued his dominance of the Grade 1 First Lady Presented by UK HealthCare with the 1-2 finish by owner Peter Brant's Blowout (GB) and Regal Glory.

Brown has won the past four runnings of the 1-mile race and five overall. The only other trainer with multiple wins in the race was Brown's mentor, Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel. Brown's other winners are Dayatthespa (2014), A Raving Beauty (GER) (2018), and Uni (GB) in 2019 and 2020.

Both fillies came out of the race well along with sixth-place finisher Viadera (GB), according to Baldo Hernandez, Brown's assistant at Keeneland.

With the victory, Blowout received a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Grade 1 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf to be run Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Beaten a length for the $240,000 winner's share was Empress Josephine (IRE) for trainer Aidan O'Brien and the ownership group of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith.

“She was very encouraging,” said Kieran Murphy, O'Brien's assistant. “The plan is to run her back Saturday (in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana) and I think the extra furlong should benefit her.”

Godolphin's Althiqa (GB), fourth as the favorite after a rough trip, is scheduled to begin her journey back to Europe Monday night.

“You just can't be that far back (early) at Keeneland,” said Christopher Durham, assistant to trainer Charlie Appleby.

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Blowout Outlasts Regal Glory To Win First Lady, Earn BC F&M Turf Spot

Blowout may not have blown the field away, but she did have plenty of gas for a gate-to-wire win in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., earning a spot in the starting gate for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

The Chad Brown-trained mare broke from post nine and jetted out to the lead in the opening strides of the one-mile stakes, drawing out to a two-length advantage entering the first turn. La Signare and Regal Glory trailed her within striking distance down the backstretch, but Blowout was able to run easily on the lead, setting fractions of :23.76 for the first quarter and :47.75 for the half mile.

Around the far turn, jockey Jose Ortiz made a bold move with Regal Glory, sending her zipping up on Blowout's outside, nearly on even terms entering the stretch. On the good Keeneland turf, the two entered the stretch dueling, with Ortiz and Regal Glory trying to get past Blowout in the race's final furlong. Under jockey Flavien Prat, Blowout was able to hold on, winning the G1 First Lady by a half-length. Empress Josephine was third. The final time for the one-mile stakes was 1:34.86.

Find this race's chart here.

Blowout paid $12.60, $6.40, and $4.80. Regal Glory paid $7.40 and $5.00. Empress Josephine paid $8.20.

The First Lady Stakes is a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding Breeders' Cup race, to be held Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“She's a really special filly for us, for my boss, Chad Brown. She does everything we ask. She's improving a lot. She came here to Keeneland and gave a really good performance. She's as good as she can be. She tries every time she runs,” assistant trainer Baldo Hernandez said after the First Lady.

“As usual she showed a lot of speed out of the gate, and I was able to get myself comfortable on the lead where I didn't have too much pressure. She relaxed well down the backside. She fought really hard down the lane because she lost the lead for a little bit, but she dug in and fought back and really made a great stretch run,” jockey Flavien Prat told the Keeneland Communications Office after the race.

Bred in England by Dayton Investments Ltd., Blowout is a 5-year-old mare by Dansili (GB) out of the Deep Impact (JPN) mare Beauty Parlour (GB), winner of the 2012 French One Thousand Guineas. She is owned by Peter Brant and trained by Chad Brown. Blowout was consigned by The Castlebridge Consignment and sold for $481,095 to Whitebirch at the 2016 Goffs November Foals Sale. With her win in the G1 First Lady, she has two wins in three starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 14 starts and career earnings of $988,600.

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