Cyberknife | Horse Racing Free Tips

Heavy Hitters Work in Preparation for Runhappy Travers Card

A host of probable starters for the GI Runhappy Travers S. at Saratoga recorded works at the Spa Saturday as they each turn their attention to the 1 1/4-mile historic test for sophomores Aug. 27.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher watched runaway GIII Dwyer S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Charge It (Tapit) soar through an “awesome” five-furlong breeze over the main track, completing the solo exercise in 1:01.01 (5/27).

“Super work. Loved the way he did it, moving great and galloped out really strongly on a track that's not real fast,” said Pletcher.

“I don't think he's going to win by 23,” said Pletcher, with a laugh. “[But] I think he's very confident and he's doing well. Mentally, he's made big strides, so he's a horse that I think has continued to develop and get better and better. This morning's work was another indication of that.”

Also on the tab for Pletcher was GI Alabama S. probable Nest (Curlin), who Pletcher had considered for the Travers but ultimately said the Alabama Aug. 20 is the more likely target. The dual Grade I winner and GI Belmont S. runner-up breezed a half-mile in :50.60 (71/86) in company with Saratoga debut maiden winner Up to the Mark (Not This Time) (:50.02; 53/86).

“I thought she did very well. [She] went a little bit easy the first part and picked it up at the finish and galloped out really well,” said Pletcher. “She seems to be holding her form. We did talk about it [the Travers], but we just felt like as long as she was ready to run back in the Alabama, a mile and a quarter was perfect for her. We felt like it was too good of a spot to pass up.”

Chad Brown breezed several Runhappy Travers Day hopefuls over the main track Saturday led by GISW Zandon (Upstart), who covered a half-mile in :49.77 (44/86), while GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) drilled a half-mile in :49.78 (47/86) in company with GII Amsterdam S. runner-up Accretive (Practical Joke), who is targeting the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial. Runhappy Travers contender and Curlin S. winner 'TDN Rising Star' Artorius went an easy solo half-mile in :50.09 (56/86).

“It went great. They all worked good. Zandon went first and he went a half of a mile in :49 and change, out in 1:01 and change. He looked really good,” Brown said. “Early Voting went a half of a mile outside of Accretive, who will run in the H. Allen Jerkens. They went excellent. I thought Early Voting was really moving over the track today. He is very much in consideration for the Travers after this work today.”

Brown also breezed GISW and Haskell third 'TDN Rising Star' Jack Christopher (Munnings) five-eighths in 1:00.80 (3/27) in company to the outside of allowance-winning 3-year-old colt Key Point (Into Mischief). He is targeting the seven-furlong GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on the Runhappy Travers undercard.

“Jack Christopher really picked it up this week. I was very pleased with that because he worked a little slow last week with some traffic and stuff,” Brown said. “That kind of got botched a little bit. So, he needed to do a stronger piece of work today and I thought we went super.”

The Iowa-bred Travers hopeful Ain't Life Grand (Not This Time) had his first work on Saturday over the Saratoga main track since arriving from Prairie Meadows. The Iowa Derby winner coasted through a half-mile in :48.23 (13/86).

“He's settled in and doing really good. He worked good this morning, so, so far so good,” said trainer Kelly Von Hemel. “I'm not there, but everybody that was there was happy with the work. It was a solid time and everything was good.”

Cyberknife (Gun Runner), a narrow winner of the GI TVG.com Haskell S., worked five-eighths in 1:01.05 (8/27) over the main track Saturday in company with the 4-year-old Supremacy (Constitution) (1:01.90) for trainer Brad Cox.

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Spendthrift Acquires Cyberknife’s Breeding Rights

Spendthrift Farm has acquired the breeding rights to recent GI TVG.com Haskell Invitational S. winner and GI Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife (Gun Runner–Awesome Flower, by Flower Alley). The Gold Square LLC colorbearer will stand at the Lexington, KY farm at the conclusion of his racing career.

“We are grateful to [owner] Al Gold and his team for allowing us to acquire the stallion rights to such an exciting horse as Cyberknife,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “Gun Runner has certainly asserted himself as a serious sire with his first crop, and Cyberknife is his only multiple Grade I-winning son, having impressively won two of America's biggest million-dollar Grade Is for 3-year-olds–the Arkansas Derby and Haskell.”

Toffey added, “Cyberknife is a very good-looking, very athletic colt, and I know their team believes that he is only getting better. He will be a wonderful addition to our roster when his racing career is over. In the meantime, we very much look forward to seeing what Cyberknife can accomplish on the track.”

Conditioned by Brad Cox, the $400,000 FTKSEL yearling scored a breakout victory in the Apr. 2 Arkansas Derby, and bounced back from a wide trip in the GI Kentucky Derby to annex Churchill's Matt Winn S. June 12. He set a Monmouth track record of 1:46.24 for nine panels when besting highest-level winners Taiba (Gun Runner) and Jack Christopher (Munnings) in the July 23 Haskell.

“I'm excited about teaming with Spendthrift on Cyberknife, and I look forward to watching him have a productive stallion career,” said Gold. “Cyberknife is a very athletic, tractable colt. You saw [jockey] Florent [Geroux] use him at multiple points to be able to make the winning move in the Haskell, which produced one of the fastest Ragozin numbers by any 3-year-old. We are very excited about him in the [Aug. 27 GI Runhappy] Travers and further down the road in the Breeders' Cup Classic.”

Cyberknife returned to the worktab Saturday, breezing a half at Saratoga in :49.96 (73/104).

“Cyberknife has always been a tremendous talent from day one, and he's continued to get better as a 3-year-old,” said trainer Brad Cox.

One of five Grade I winners from the potent first crop of Horse of the Year Gun Runner, Cyberknife is out of MSW/MGSP Awesome Flower and hails from the family of GISWs Well Armed (Tiznow) and American Patriot (War Front).

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Cox Talks Haskell, Jim Dandy, San Diego H. on Writer’s Room

Fresh off his win in the GI Haskell S. with Cyberknife (Gun Runner), trainer Brad Cox joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week. There was plenty to talk about as Cox's stable remains one of the hottest in the sport and he will send out GIII Ohio Derby winner Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) in Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga and 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun (Into Mischief) in Saturday's GII San Diego H. at Del Mar.

Cox was understandably proud of the win by Cyberknife in the Haskell, who is the only 3-year-old dirt male in the country to have won two Grade I races this year. It was the trainer's second straight victory in the signature race of the Monmouth Park meet, but his first in which his horse crossed the wire first. In 2021, Mandaloun was placed first via disqualification after Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) was taken down because of interference.

“It was a big performance for Mandaloun last year,” Cox said. “He was battling back and we were very proud of his effort. But, in the moment, it's it feels a little better to cross the wire first as opposed to having to wait for the stewards' decision, to say the least.”

Cyberknife will go next in the GI Runhappy Travers S., where he could be joined by Tawny Port. But first, Tawny Port, will have to tackle a tough assignment in the Jim Dandy.

“He's a good colt and I know he's improving physically,” Cox said of Tawny Port. “He looks amazing. His color's good. Like I said, he's moving great. I think he likes Saratoga. I'm hoping that there's some sort of pace presence. Oftentimes, we don't get that in a short field. But I'm hoping that there's some pace and those horses can work on each other early. He's the type of horse who will definitely like the mile and an eighth and should like the Saratoga surface.”

Mandaloun, coming off a fourth-place finish in the GII Stephen Foster S., has headed west to join a field in the San Diego that is topped by GI Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer.

“Hopefully, this race can jump start what will be a great second half for him,” Cox said.

Cox is coming off a sensational 2021 in which his stable earned $31,715,312, won 30 graded stakes races and campaigned the Horse of the Year in Knicks Go (Paytner) and the 3-year-old male champion in Essential Quality (Tapit). But, by no means, was Cox ever prepared to rest on his laurels.

“Our horses performed extremely well last year,” he said. “So that was something that we're hoping we can build off of and continue to move forward. You just want to be relevant and be competitive at the graded stakes level. Hopefully, some of these horses are developing and we can be a factor in the Breeders' Cup. You just try to increase your numbers every year. I'm not certain we can eclipse the earnings mark that we had last year, but we're working every day in order to try to achieve that.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds, The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers took a look at the latest developments concerning the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority, which lost a round in court this week, the future of TVG now that it is reportedly about to be renamed FanDuel TV and the robust business thus far at the Del Mar meet.

To view the latest episode of Writer's Room, click here and for the audio only version, click here.

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Cyberknife Leads Home Gun Runner Exacta in Haskell

OCEANPORT, NJ – Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife (Gun Runner) led home a one-two finish for his sire when he charged up the rail in deep stretch to nip Taiba (Gun Runner) on the line while setting a new track record in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park Saturday. The victory gave trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux their second winner from as many starters in the Haskell following Mandaloun (Into Mischief)'s win via disqualification in the 2021 renewal of the race and put an end to a remarkable streak of four straight graded wins on the card by Chad Brown, who saddled favored Jack Christopher (Munnings) to a third-place finish.

Let go at 7-1, Cyberknife broke from the rail and was allowed to settle into stride as longshot Benevengo (Gormley) took the field through fractions of :23.50 and :46.96 while shadowed by Jack Christopher. The favorite moved to the lead after three-quarters in 1:09.93, while Geroux aboard Cyberknife was waiting for racing room and Taiba was rallying five wide into the lane. Taiba was first to overtake the tiring favorite, but Cyberknife was slicing through a narrow opening along the rail. The two sons of Gun Runner went head to head in the final strides with Cyberknife just getting the better of his foe in the last jump. The final time for the nine furlongs was 1:46.24, lowering the track record set just four races earlier when Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) won the GIII Monmouth Cup S. in 1:46.53. The previous nine-furlong record at Monmouth Park had stood since 1985 when GI Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck covered the distance in 1:46.80.

The win, which rewarded the victor with an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, was a hometown score for New Jersey native Al Gold of Gold Square LLC.

“This is a very big deal for me personally,” Gold said. “I started betting horses when I was a kid and have owned horses for 40 years. You always have fantasies. You want to win the Kentucky Derby and all the big races, but this is one of the ones I really wanted to win. We go to the [Aug. 27 GI] Travers next and we'll see where we are. And we're on our way to the Breeders' Cup.”

Cyberknife won the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby, earning a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby. The colt faded to 18th after chasing a hot pace in the Derby, but came back to outnose Howling Time (Not This Time) in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill Downs last time out June 12.

“I think this is his best race to date,” Cox said of Cyberknife's Haskell victory. “Throughout the race I thought he looked very professional with the way he handled himself. At the quarter-pole, Florent Geroux had a nice hold of him and he was loaded. He responded well when asked. He flew at the end. I am very proud of him. He was able to settle. Florent took a good hold of him and then made a run up the backside and got him in position along the rail. Florent looked like he had a lot of horse when he turned for home. He was just figuring out whether he was going inside or outside of the leader. It looked like he made the right decision staying to the inside and we were able to hold off Taiba. It was a big effort. I'm very proud of this horse and our whole staff. He's been a challenging horse at times. A lot of the good ones are.”

With his third-place finish, Jack Christopher was suffering the first loss of his career while making his first start beyond a mile. The loss put a stop to a streak of four straight graded tallies on the Haskell card by Brown, who won the Monmouth Cup with Highly Motivated, the GIII WinStar Matchmaker S. with Lemista (Ire) (Raven's Pass), the GIII Molly Pitcher S. with Search Results (Flatter) and the GI United Nations S. with Adhamo (Ire) (Intello {Ger}).

A crowd of 22,138 attended the races on a stifling hot day on the Jersey Shore Saturday, wagering $1,303,642 on track. All-sources handle totaled $19,896,954–up from the 2021 figure of $16,414,535, but off the record mark of $20,479,392 set in 2020.

Pedigree Notes:

Gun Runner, third in the 2016 GI Kentucky Derby, also came into the Haskell off a win in the Matt Win, but the champ was fifth in the Oceanport oval's signature race. Cyberknife is one of five Grade I winners for the Three Chimneys stallion, who has also been represented by this year's GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting and 2021 2-year-old filly champion Echo Zulu.

Cyberknife's dam Awesome Flower was a multiple stakes winner and three times graded placed for breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey. She has an unraced 2-year-old colt by Tapit named Tapit Shoes–who was purchased by the BSW/Crow Colts Group and trainer Brad Cox for $300,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale–as well as a weanling colt by Authentic. She was bred back to Gun Runner this year.

The Haskell winner's third dam, Well Dressed, produced G1 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed (Tiznow), Grade I placed Helsinki (Distorted Humor) and graded winner Witty (Distorted Humor), dam of graded winner Bombard (War Front) and multiple graded placed Amuse (Medaglia d'Oro). Also under the third dam is Grade I winner American Patriot.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
TVG.COM HASKELL S.-GI, $1,017,500, Monmouth, 7-23, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:46.24, ft.
1–CYBERKNIFE, 122, c, 3, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Awesome Flower (MSW & MGSP, $556,593), by Flower Alley
2nd Dam: Formalities Aside, by Awesome Again
3rd Dam: Well Dressed, by Notebook

($400,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Gold Square LLC; B-Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $600,000. Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-0, $1,596,520. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Taiba, 122, c, 3, Gun Runner–Needmore Flattery, by Flatter. ($140,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT; $1,700,000 2yo '21 FTFMAR). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Bruce C Ryan (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $200,000.
3–Jack Christopher, 119, c, 3, Munnings–Rushin No Blushin, by Half Ours. ($145,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $135,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud and Peter M. Brant; B-Castleton Lyons & Kilboy Estate (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $100,000.
Margins: HD, 2, 4HF. Odds: 7.80, 2.10, 0.70.
Also Ran: Howling Time, Benevengo, King of Hollywood, White Abarrio, One Time Willard.
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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