Jerome Winner Courvoisier Tops 11-Strong Field For Withers

The Road to the Kentucky Derby will go through New York when a field of 11 sophomores assemble for Saturday's 148th running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The nine-furlong Withers is a qualifying event for the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs, offering 10-4-2-1 points to the top-four finishers in the two-turn test.

Courvoisier will look to build on a 10-point triumph last out in the Jerome on New Year's Day at Aqueduct. The regally-bred son of Tapit, out of 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, secured outside stalking position in the one-turn mile Jerome and matched strides with pacesetter Hagler around the far turn before pulling away to a 1 1/4-length triumph over the sloppy and sealed main track.

Courvoisier, currently 12th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, boasts winning experience at the Withers distance having graduated at 14-1 odds on December 2 in his first start at the Big A.

Trainer Kelly Breen said the sizable Courvoisier, who is owned by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and James Spry, will appreciate a return to two turns.

“He's always been a big boy. He was a big boy at birth and he's filling in,” Breen said. “He's a nice horse and I think that the longer the better for him. We have high hopes for him – let him show it on the track.”

Courvoisier will attempt to add his name to a list of a dozen horses that have captured both the Jerome and the Withers, including Hall of Famers Housebuster [1990], Hill Prince [1950] and Duke of Magenta [1878].

Ruben Silvera will pilot Courvoisier for the first time, breaking from post 5.

Looking to contest Courvoisier once more are Jerome second, third, fourth and sixth-place finishers Smarten Up, Cooke Creek, Unbridled Bomber and Mr Jefferson.

Trained by Alfredo Velazquez, the consistent Smarten Up was twice placed at maiden level before a nine-length romp on November 22 at Parx Racing. The son of American Freedom made his first venture away from Parx in the Jerome, launching a late turn-of-foot to finish second at 21-1 odds.

Smarten Up will be ridden by returning pilot Anthony Salgado from post 3.

Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek, a son of Uncle Mo trained by Jeremiah O'Dwyer, was in pursuit from the four path in upper stretch in the Jerome, but was passed up by Smarten Up's late kick, finishing two lengths behind Courvoisier.

Cooke Creek graduated at first asking in September sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs at Delaware Park. He is the only horse in the field with a stakes win at two turns, having captured the one-mile Rocky Run on October 16 at Delaware Park, three weeks before finishing second in the Grade 3 Nashua traveling a one-turn mile at Belmont Park.

“I was very proud of his run last time in the Jerome on a track I didn't think he'd like,” O'Dwyer said. “Pedigree-wise and the way he's built with his style of running, two turns is exactly what he wants. He won going five and a half the first time, but I think that was just his class showing through. When he ran in the Jerome, it was either that or going a one-turn mile at Laurel.

“He's just progressed from race to race and is getting bigger and stronger,” O'Dwyer added. “The owners are good people and have given me some nice horses. It's nice to see him do something nice for them on the track.”

Cooke Creek will break from post 11 under Manny Franco, a two-time Withers winner.

Unbridled Bomber, owned in partnership by Edward Potash, Brad Yankanich and trainer Jimmy Ryerson, finished fourth at second asking when traveling nine furlongs around two turns in August at Saratoga. He graduated two starts later traveling a one-turn mile on November 7 at Belmont.

Ryerson said he is looking forward to getting the dark bay Upstart colt back to two turns.

“We've always wanted to try him longer. When I ran him a mile and an eighth, he actually looked like he was going to do well and he got to lugging in that day,” Ryerson said. “He straightened that out and his last two have been good. He's definitely [going] in the right direction. He's a nice, big horse. He's attractive and has ability and we're excited about giving him a chance here. We'll see what happens.”

Jorge Vargas, Jr. will have the call from post 6.

R. L. Johnson's Mr Jefferson will make his third straight appearance at the Big A for trainer Michael Trombetta. The Maryland-bred Constitution chestnut finished a distant fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen on December 4 ahead of his sixth-place finish in the Jerome.

A two-time winner, Mr Jefferson broke his maiden going six furlongs at Colonial Downs in August two starts before defeating winners in November at Laurel Park.

Eric Cancel has the call from post 10.

Among the fresh faces is Klaravich Stables' Early Voting, who will see added ground following a triumphant career debut going a one-turn mile on December 18 at Aqueduct. Early Voting was forwardly placed from the outside down the backstretch and opened up in the stretch before fending off a late rally by Matt Doyle to win by 1 1/2 lengths as the heavy favorite.

“He had some quality going into the maiden,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “Win or lose, we thought the maiden race would move him up both physically and mentally, which I think it did. We saw glimpses of talent from him in the mornings. Fitness wise, he could have used a race to move him forward.”

A son of 2021 leading freshman sire Gun Runner, Early Voting will attempt to give trainer Chad Brown his second straight Withers win, a feat that has not been accomplished since the late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens saddled Spite the Devil [2003] and Medallist [2004]. Brown captured last year's Withers with Risk Taking, who also is owned by Klaravich Stables.

“It really seems like he's progressed well off his first race. His works have been excellent and I'm excited to see him run back,” Stupp said. “He's bred to run all day and we thought the longer the better since we've had him. He's coming off just a maiden win so it's a big ask first time against winners off one race, but he's given us every indication that he'll show up with a good effort.”

Purchased for $200,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Early Voting is out of the unraced Tiznow mare Amour d'Ete – a half-sister to 2004 Champion Sprinter and influential stallion Speightstown.

Jose Ortiz will ride Early Voting from post 9.

Constitutionlawyer will make his stakes debut following a nine-furlong maiden win on January 2 at Aqueduct. The Ray Handal-trained Constitution colt displayed frontrunning tactics for the first time in his maiden victory, which took place over a muddy and sealed track. Constitutionlawyer built on his advantage through every point of call to win by 3 1/2 lengths and registered a field-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure.

Jose Lezcano will ride Constitutionlawyer from post 1.

Hall of Famer Bill Mott will send out Grandview Equine and Don Alberto Stable's Gilded Age, who returns off a three-month respite following a two-turn maiden score on November 19 at Churchill Downs. Prior to distant efforts behind subsequent graded stakes winners Major General and Rattle N Roll, Gilded Age made a last-to-first move to graduate at fourth asking by 2 3/4 lengths.

Gilded Age, who attempts to give his influential sire Medaglia d'Oro a second straight Withers winner, will break from post 4 under Kendrick Carmouche.

Completing the field are Turfway Park maiden winner Grantham [post 2, Victor Carrasco], two-time Parx winner Noneedtoworry [post 7, Silvestre Gonzalez], and Un Ojo [post 8, Trevor McCarthy] – a narrow second in the NYSSS Great White Way.

The Withers honors David Dunham Withers, one of the most successful thoroughbred breeders of the 19th century. Withers was one of the founders of Monmouth Park in New Jersey, and was also a member of both the New York Jockey Club and the Coney Island Jockey Club. Throughout its rich history, the Withers has been won by 29 horses that have also won an American classic, including Triple Crown winners Sir Barton [1919] and Count Fleet [1943].

Source of original post

Cooke Creek On Target For Rematch With Courvoisier, Smarten Up In Feb. 5 Withers

Cooke Creek on target for G3 Withers; Undefeated Jet Force set for stakes debut

Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek breezed a half-mile in 50.58 over the Belmont dirt training track Jan. 19 in preparation for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 5 at Aqueduct in Ozone Park, N.Y. The nine-furlong test for sophomores offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Cooke Creek is one of three Jeremiah O'Dwyer trainees stabled in New York at the barn of Belmont-based trainer Natalia Lynch along with Jet Force and Sibelius.

A dark bay son of Uncle Mo, Cooke Creek finished third as the mutuel favorite last out in the one-turn mile Jerome, contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on New Year's Day.

“Cooke Creek came back here [to Laurel] after the Jerome and I sent him back up to Belmont last week and he breezed there Wednesday,” O'Dwyer said. “He'll have one more breeze at Belmont – I'd love it to be Saturday, but I'll have to see how the weather is going to be. If all goes well, he'll have a nice five-furlong breeze next week and then run in the Withers.”

Cooke Creek made his first two starts at Delaware Park, winning a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight in September ahead of a driving half-length score around two turns in the one-mile Rocky Run in October.

He entered the Jerome from a runner-up effort to Rockefeller in the one-turn mile Grade 3 Nashua on Nov. 7 at Belmont.

Cooke Creek will enjoy a rematch in the Withers with Jerome-winner Courvoisier and runner-up Smarten Up. Although Cooke Creek garnered two Kentucky Derby points for his third-place Jerome effort and is currently 24th on the leaderboard, O'Dwyer said he's not thinking about the first Saturday in May just yet.

“The Withers is going to be another test. You're always hoping you might have a Derby horse, but they have to progress along to get there,” said O'Dwyer, whose past Derby trail success includes a win in the 2019 Grade 2 Remsen with Shotski. “This is the path we're taking and I think it's a good spot for him, going two turns up there. He seems to be fit and well and I think the two turns will help him.

“But the first three that ran in the Jerome are all going to be thinking the same thing – the further they go, the better they'll be,” O'Dwyer added. “The winner of the Jerome broke his maiden going a mile and an eighth up there and the [connections of the] second horse are adamant their horse wants to go further as well, so we're all thinking along the same line. That's why we run them – to find out.”

Orpen Horses' Jet Force, a sophomore daughter of Jimmy Creed, boasts a perfect record through two starts at Penn National. She breezed a half-mile in 53.06 Jan. 19 over the Belmont dirt training track.

A $17,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the Pennsylvania-bred chestnut graduated sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs on December 8 and followed up nine days later with a 2 3/4-length score in a six-furlong allowance sprint.

O'Dwyer said Jet Force is nominated to Saturday's $100,000 Xtra Heat, a six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies at Laurel Park but could also consider the $100,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies on Feb. 6 at the Big A.

“She's going to sprint for now. She went an easy half and had a nice gallop out after,” O'Dwyer said. “We'll probably enter in the stakes at Laurel and see how it comes up and we have the Ruthless as a backup.”

Sibelius, a 4-year-old son of Not This Time owned by Jun. H. Park and Delia Nash, has made his last two starts at the Big A, winning a seven-furlong allowance sprint last out on Jan. 8.

“He's ran two nice races up there in New York,” O'Dwyer said. “We'll try and run him through his conditions first of all. There's one for him at the beginning of February going seven-eighths again.”

Bred in Kentucky by Taylor Brothers Properties and Pollock Farms, Sibelius graduated at second asking sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs in April at Keeneland ahead of off-the-board efforts in the off-the-turf Grade 3 Penn Mile in May, the six-furlong Concern in July over the Pimlico main and the seven-furlong Robert Hilton Memorial on August 27 at Charles Town.

O'Dwyer said Sibelius benefited from the more than three-month layoff out of the Charles Town effort.

“He was immature mentally more than anything else and a little bit physically, I guess,” O'Dwyer said. “When he threw in a couple of clunkers, there was nothing wrong with him physically and he was sound, but we just decided to take a step back. We gave him a little turn-out time and let him re-group. Thankfully, it worked. He came back really good and is after running two decent races off the layoff. We hope there's a bit more progression in him.”

The post Cooke Creek On Target For Rematch With Courvoisier, Smarten Up In Feb. 5 Withers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Top Three Finishers In Jerome Expected To Run Back In Feb. 5 Withers

Regally-bred Courvoisier rang in the New Year with authority, passing his first stakes test in Saturday's $150,000 Jerome at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., earning a 73 Beyer Speed Figure with a 1 ¼-length victory in the one-turn mile for sophomores.

Courvoisier, a son of multiple champion-producing stallion Tapit and out of 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, showed similar tactics from his maiden coup at Aqueduct one month prior.

Courvoisier pressured pacesetter Hagler from the outside down the backstretch over the sloppy and sealed main track, remaining in battle with his foe in upper stretch, ultimately coming out on top while fending off a late rally from Smarten Up. In capturing the Jerome, Courvoisier earned 10 qualifying points toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby.

Finishing in the money in his first three starts at the maiden level at Monmouth and Delaware Park, Courvoisier graduated at fourth asking going nine furlongs before turning back in distance for the one-turn mile Jerome.

Trainer Kelly Breen said Sunday morning that Courvoisier will most likely return to nine furlongs in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 5 at the Big A, which also offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

“That's the plan,” Breen said. “Right now, he seems to like the track and the Withers is there, so we're staying home with him for now.”

John Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale Farms, who owns Courvoisier in partnership with James D. Spry, expressed delight in seeing the newly turned 3-year-old chestnut win his stakes debut.

“It was very satisfying to see him win,” Sikura said. “It was rather frustrating in his initial starts. We went from having high hopes to moderate expectations, but he ran very determined yesterday. Now the question is will he continue to improve, and we hope that he will.

“We want to be realistic and not get too over the top too early. Every race is a new test,” Sikura added. “The water gets deeper and some 3-year-olds get better with each start. Everyone finds their level. We'll just let the horse do the talking and hope that he does so loudly.”

Sikura praised Breen for managing the horse effectively.

“Kelly has done such a great job with this horse,” Sikura said. “The best trainers are intuitive people that don't feel pressure from an owner or other things. So, I'll let Kelly map out the schedule, but the Withers would be the next logical step.”

Courvoisier hails from the prestigious Take Charge Lady broodmare line, a family which also includes 2013 Champion 3-Year-Old Will Take Charge, as well as Grade 1-winners Take Charge Indy and Omaha Beach. A multiple Grade 1-winning multimillionaire in her own right, Take Charge Lady also produced As Time Goes By, who captured her fourth graded stakes win in the Grade 3 La Canada at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Smarten Up's Bad Start Changed Jerome Tactics
Trainer Alfredo Velazquez said Happy Tenth Stable's Smarten Up, a rallying second behind Courvoisier, will also return to Aqueduct from his Parx Racing base.

With regular pilot Anthony Salgado up, Smarten Up was bumped leaving the gate – hampering an expected prominent trip – and forced to track behind horses near the back of the pack over the sloppy and sealed main track, before rallying six-wide down the lane to complete the exacta,  1 1/4 lengths behind Courvoisier.

“We were supposed to be two-to-three lengths off the pace, but when he got bumped leaving the gate, he got cut on his left front and that backed him up,” Velazquez said. “He had never had mud in the face before and that intimidated him for a little while. The jockey had to get after him a little bit because when the mud hit the face, he didn't want any part of that. But as soon as he took him outside, he started to run. He's a nice horse.”

Smarten Up, who boasts a perfect in-the-money record of 4-1-2-1, made his first three starts at Parx, finishing second on debut sprinting seven furlongs in September. He followed with a pair of two-turn starts, pressing the pace in a one-mile event in October when third in a race won by Eloquist, who exited that effort to run fifth in the Grade 2 Remsen in December at the Big A.

Smarten Up entered the one-turn mile Jerome from a romping nine-length score traveling one mile and 70 yards on November 22.

Velazquez said he is looking forward to stretching Smarten Up back around two turns at the Big A in the Grade 3 Withers.

“The longer he goes the better it is for him. I can't wait to run him two turns. If everything goes good, I'll be there,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez said Salgado is also likely to return for the Withers aboard Smarten Up, who earned 4 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Jerome.

“He rides the horse good. It's better to take the guy that knows the horse,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez conditioned the Canadian-bred Private Zone to Grade 1 wins on the NYRA circuit in 2014, capturing the Vosburgh Invitational at Belmont and the Cigar Mile Handicap at the Big A.

“We were lucky to win the Cigar Mile and Cigar was my favorite horse,” Velazquez said.

The veteran conditioner said he is hopeful of another graded stakes win at the Big A when Smarten Up returns in February.

“He's going to be tough in that race. If everything goes well, they're going to have to run to beat him,” Velazquez said.

By American Freedom and out of the stakes-winning Smarty Jones mare Sarah Cataldo, Smarten Up is a half-sibling to multiple sprint stakes winner Tiger Blood. Smarten Up, who matched a career-best 71 Beyer in the Jerome, was purchased for $50,000 from the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Cooke Creek Looking For Fast Track After Third In Slop In Jerome
Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek will hope for a fast track when he makes his next start in the Grade 3 $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct on February 5. Trained by Jeremiah O'Dwyer, the 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo finished third as the post-time favorite in Saturday's Jerome going a one-turn mile over the sloppy and sealed Big A main track.

Cooke Creek wrapped up his juvenile campaign with a runner-up effort to Rockefeller in the Grade 3 Nashua at Belmont Park on November 7, ridden from off the pace by Manny Franco to be beaten 2 ¾ lengths.

In Saturday's Jerome, Franco was forced to keep Cooke Creek closer to the pace than the dark bay colt typically prefers.

“We had to take him out of his comfort zone after watching the earlier races,” O'Dwyer said. “It was very hard for horses to close over that track and the surface became faster and harder throughout the day. We decided that we had to put him closer to the lead to have a chance to win.”

Despite less-than-favorable track conditions and needing to adjust his running style, Cooke Creek was beaten just two lengths in the Jerome.

“He's got a ton of class and he wasn't tired afterwards,” said O'Dwyer. “He's a very honest horse. He did not disappoint us – he ran really well. I just think he'd be better on a fairer track and also going two turns.”

Cooke Creek, who won the Rocky Run around two turns in October at Delaware Park, will again have the chance to run two turns in the nine-furlong Withers, a race O'Dwyer hopes will offer more favorable conditions.

“The extra furlong in the Withers will help him,” O'Dwyer said. “The pace of the race and the dynamic will be different compared to a one turn mile. They go a little steadier and he'll get a chance to settle in. We can just let him break and get a little time to find his rhythm. Hopefully, it's just a regular fast track and we see him in a better light.”

O'Dwyer said Cooke Creek, who picked up 2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Jerome, will make his preparations for the Withers at his home base of Laurel Park.

“He might have one or two breezes at the most,” said O'Dwyer. “He just needs maintenance and a light couple of weeks to freshen up and enjoy himself. He's happy and he knows his job. He's a forward training horse and we have to be careful he doesn't overdo it. He'll do what you want and is a very good horse.”

The post Top Three Finishers In Jerome Expected To Run Back In Feb. 5 Withers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Equibase Analysis: Hagler Could Throw Knockout Punch In Jerome Stakes

Eight horses are entered in Saturday's $150,000 Jerome Stakes, which kicks off the Road to the Kentucky Derby for 2022 in New York. The rest of the series consists of the Withers Stakes on Feb. 5 and the Gotham Stakes on March 5 before culminating in the Wood Memorial Stakes on April 9.

Leading this field is a pair of recent stakes placed runners in Cooke Creek and Ohtwoohthreefive. Cooke Creek won the Rocky Run Stakes in October and was most recently second in the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes in November, while Ohtwoohthreefive missed by a nose in the Central Park Stakes on turf near the end of November and tries dirt for the first time for his seventh career start.

Mr Jefferson also enters the Jerome off a stakes try, as he was fourth of eight in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Belmont four weeks ago. Rumble Strip Ron finished second in the Best of Ohio Stakes in October which was a race restricted to horses bred in Ohio, and he enters the race off a claiming race in November so this will be a big test.

Then there are a quartet of recent winners, including Hagler, who broke his maiden in October and then bested allowance company on Dec. 16. The other recent winners, Courvoisier, Smarten Up and Unbridled Bomber, all enter the Jerome Stakes off maiden wins and will attempt to prove they belong at this level.

Top contenders:

Hagler gets a great outside post for this one-turn mile trip at Aqueduct and appears to be the type who can be on the lead or just off the pace from the start, which is an advantage in many ways. He and jockey Jorge Vargas, Jr. can wait a few strides to see if another horse wants the lead at the start, at that point taking up a stalking position, or if no other horse wants the lead Hagler can take command. The latter is exactly what he did in his most recent race on Dec. 16 at Aqueduct where he led from start to finish.

Prior to that, on Oct. 29, Hagler stayed in second for the first half-mile before drawing off to win by four and one-half lengths. Both victories came with Vargas, Jr. in the saddle, and the first of the two earned an 84 ™ Equibase Speed Figure which, if logically improved on in the colt's third start off a layoff, puts him in range of the top horse's figures in the field.

Those top figures belong to the other two main contenders: Ohtwoohthreefive (93) and Cooke Creek (89). Trainer Rudy Rodriguez has a very good 20 percent win rate when stretching a horse out in distance at Aqueduct (per Race Lens) over the last two years, with a +38 percent return on investment and a median win payoff of $13. As such, I expect Hagler to win his third race in a row and put his name squarely into the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a big effort in the Jerome Stakes.

Ohtwoohthreefive has raced exclusively on turf to date, with a record of 1-2-2 in six races. His best effort came in his most recent race on Nov. 27 in the Central Park Stakes, where he rallied to lead with an eighth of a mile to go then battled nose-and-nose down to the wire, losing by inches at the finish. Nevertheless, the 95™ figure he earned is the best by any horse in the field. Whether that type of effort is transferrable to dirt does not appear to be a question as his sire is Union Rags, himself a talented colt on dirt including a win in the 2012 Belmont Stakes. Additionally, trainer George Weaver has a creditable five-for-16 record when moving a horse from turf to dirt over the last 12 months. Jockey Kendrick Carmouche rode Ohtwoohthreefive for the first time that day and rides back in the Jerome, and if the early pace is hotly contested this colt could be the one to get up in time and win.

Cooke Creek is the only horse in the Jerome Stakes field with a stakes win, and that win came at the same mile trip as this race. He won his debut when sprinting easily in September with a 76 figure then stretched out to a mile and won the Rocky Run Stakes in October, earning an 89 figure. Trying much tougher foes in the Nashua Stakes in November, Cooke Creek was no match for winner Rockefeller when second the entire length of the stretch but he was nearly three lengths clear of the next horse, earning an 86 figure in the process. With jockey Manuel Franco riding back after getting familiar with the colt in the Nashua, Cooke Creek certainly can win this race with just slight improvement off his Rocky Run effort.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Courvoisier (85), Mr Jefferson (82), Rumble Strip Ron (77), Smarten Up (71) and Unbridled Bomber (82).

Win contenders, in preference/probability order:
Hagler
Ohtwoohthreefive
Cooke Creek

Jerome Stakes
Race 8 at Aqueduct
Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 – Post Time 3:50 PM E.T.
One Mile
Three Year Olds
Purse: $150,000

The post Equibase Analysis: Hagler Could Throw Knockout Punch In Jerome Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights