Danny Gargan | Horse Racing Free Tips

Second Chances: James Aloysius

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

It was a tale of two trips with James Aloysius (c, 2, More Than Ready–Olorda {Ger}, by Lord of England {Ger}) having to settle for an educational second on debut behind the well-meant firster Portfolio Company (Kitten's Joy) going 1 1/16 miles over the Saratoga lawn on opening weekend (video).

Off at 4-1, the rail-drawn dark bay brushed with a rival just after the start, and, after slightly tapping on the brakes in some early traffic passing the stands for the first time, settled in sixth beneath Luis Saez as the aforementioned favorite stalked in second behind easy fractions of :25.15 and :50.86 over the “good” going.

James Aloysius began to launch a flashy, three-wide blitz on the far turn as the Chad Brown-trained Portfolio Company enjoyed first run and hit the front at the top of the stretch. James Aloysius continued to rally nicely in the lane despite repeatedly getting in and cut the final margin to 3/4 of a length. He earned a 71 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“He's a nice colt, just a little green,” trainer Danny Gargan said. “I'm not really a first-time starter kind of person. We told the jock to break and get a good position and just make sure that he's running turning for home. Luis said if he had hit him left-handed instead of right-handed, he would've won the race. He just shied from it, and got on top of those other horses for a minute. He's a pretty talented colt.”

He continued, “Chad told me probably six weeks before the race that the Kitten's Joy was a nice horse and that he thinks he's gonna be a really good horse. He's really high on him. So, hopefully we'll be around somewhere in the fall.”

Bred in Kentucky by Martin Schwartz, James Aloysius is the first foal out of Olorda, a two-time Grade III winner in the U.S. and a Group 3 winner in France. She was also third in the 2015 G1 Pour Moi Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary. James Aloysius brought $200,000 from Oracle Bloodstock, agent, on behalf of West Paces Racing LLC at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“He's named after the owner [Larry Connolly]'s brother who passed away and another friend of theirs,” Gargan said. “One of them was named James and the other's last name was Aloysius.”

As for what's next for the equine James Aloysius, Gargan said, “I don't run back fast–I run every seven-eight weeks. We're probably gonna aim to get a race into him towards the end of the meet. Hopefully, if everything goes as planned, that's what we're shooting for.”

Gargan concluded, “We like him a lot. I'm pretty lucky this year. We have a little better stock than we normally do baby wise, so that's exciting.”

Previous standouts featured in 'Second Chances' include: GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (Honor Code), GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner and Royal Ascot G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GIII Las Virgenes S. heroine Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner and MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), and MSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}).

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Venezuelan Hug Finds Room Late To Capture Canadian Turf

Spedale Family Racing and R. A. Hill Stable's Venezuelan Hug, racing on the inside throughout, found a seam between horses nearing the wire and got his nose down to edge Olympic Runner in Saturday's $125,000 Canadian Turf (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 55^th running of the 1 1/16-mile Canadian Turf for older turf horses was the fourth of nine stakes, eight graded, worth $1.475 million on a blockbuster 14-race program headlined by the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) for 3-year-olds on the road to the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa March 27, and $200,000 Davona Dale (G2) featuring the seasonal debut of 2-year-old filly champion Vequist.

A 4-year-old by Constitution, Venezuelan Hug ($11) improved to 5-0 lifetime at the distance and gave jockey Junior Alvarado his second stakes win on the card, following Annex in the $100,000 Palm Beach. The winning time was 1:40.42 over a firm course.

Bizzee Channel, sent off at 25-1, set fractions of 23.69 seconds for a quarter-mile and 48.48 for the half under moderate pressure from Winters Back to his outside, with Fancy Liquor and Gear Jockey racing in behind and Alvarado saving ground along the rail in fifth to the inside of Olympic Runner.

Winters Back moved up and took a short lead over Bizzee Channel once straightened for home, while Olympic Runner swung to the outside to launch a bid while Alvarado bided his time on Venezuelan Hug. Olympic Runner appeared on the way to victory until Venezuelan Hug split Winters Back on his inside and Gear Jockey to earn his third consecutive win, all in stakes.

Olympic Runner edged 25-1 long shot Gear Jockey for second, with Winters Back fourth and 5-2 favorite Eons fifth.

$125,000 Canadian Turf (G3) Quotes

Winning trainer Danny Gargan (Venezuelan Hug): “I got a little concerned when he got stuck down in there. He's such a big horse, I was a little worried he wouldn't be able to get through. The only instructions I gave Junior was that he likes to make his run on the outside, but he's won a couple times on the inside now so he's maturing. He does really well pretty much everywhere we've had him, but he does love it down here. He likes two turns. He really digs in and gives you a big effort every time.”

“He's a really big horse, he's almost 17 hands, and I said just try to keep him out of trouble and when you ask him, he'll come running for you. I expected a big performance from him. I told [co-owner] Randy [Hill] to book his flight and come down here because he'll have a lot of fun today. He was lucky enough to win two today. It's kind of exciting when your owners can come to town and have a big day.”

Winning jockey Junior Alvarado (Venezuelan Hug): “That's what happens on the turf. Sometimes you get lucky and you get through it and you look like a hero. Sometimes you don't get through it and you look like the bad guy. I just was glad that I had the horse today. He pushed through it and made my job easier. I just had to go with him. He's such a cool horse.”

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Encore Performance?

The highly regarded Performer (Speightstown), a hard-fought neck winner over Eye of a Jedi (Eye of the Leopard) in the GIII Fred W. Hooper S. Jan. 23, will look for his second straight tally over track and trip in Saturday's GII WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile S. The 2019 GIII Discovery S. winner was a disappointing third as the 4-5 favorite in the slop in the GI Cigar Mile H. two starts back Dec. 5.

“He gutted it out pretty good,” trainer Shug McGaughey said of Performer's Hooper win. “He was down on the inside. Joel [Rosario] looked up and saw those horses on the lead were going easy, so that's when he eased him to the outside. I don't think it killed him to win, but that horse that finished second is a pretty darn horse.”

Tax (Arch), a good second as the favorite behind Performer in the Discovery during his 3-year-old campaign, returned from the shelf with a razor sharp, front-running victory over the aforementioned Eye of a Jedi in the local GIII Harlan's Holiday S. Dec. 12, good for a gaudy 105 Beyer Speed Figure. The 2019 GII Jim Dandy S. and GIII Withers S. winner, however, failed to build on that effort in his next start, reporting home a disappointing 10th at 5-1 in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. Jan. 23. Trainer Danny Gargan adds blinkers for this cutback to one turn.

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Knicks Go Headlines Pegasus World Cup

Knicks Go (Paynter) rides a red-hot streak, including a career high in the Breeders' Cup, into Saturday's $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream, in which he was installed as the morning-line favorite. An upset winner of the GI Breeders' Futurity S. back in 2018, the gray was transferred from trainer Ben Colebrook to Brad Cox at the end of a disappointing 2019 season. Romping by 7 1/2 lengths in his debut for Cox in an Oaklawn optional claimer Feb. 22, the Korea Racing Authority colorbearer was sidelined with a knee chip following that effort and underwent surgery. Knicks Go returned to the track better than ever, demolishing a Keeneland optional claimer by 10 1/4 lengths Oct. 4, earning a 107 Beyer Speed Figure, and followed suit with a decisive score in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 7, for which he registered a 108 Beyer.

“I'm a big believer that speed is good at a mile and an eighth and beyond–obviously it depends on how much other speed is in the race,” said trainer Brad Cox. “But I think he can get it. I think he's a horse that once he gets free and loose, he runs with a lot of confidence. I'm excited. I really do think he'll handle a mile and an eighth. In his three races with us last year, there was horse left. In the Breeders' Cup, Joel [Rosario] reached up and grabbed him four or five jumps from the wire, so he was still going.”

Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) looks to return to winning ways in this event after several on-the-board efforts. Victor of the 2019 GI Runhappy Travers S., the WS Farish homebred kicked off 2020 with a victory in the GIII Westchester S. June 6 and rallied for third next out in the GI Runhappy Metropolitan H. July 4. Fourth in the GI Whitney S. Aug. 1, the chestnut checked in second in the Oct. 3 GII Kelso H. at Belmont and the Nov. 27 GI Clark S. last time at Churchill Downs.

Tax (Arch) will try to make amends for a sub-par effort in last year's Pegasus. Capturing the 2019 GII Jim Dandy S., he was benched after a seventh in Code of Honor's Travers. Returning with a second behind that rival's barnmate Performer (Speightstown) in the GIII Discovery S. at the end of 2019, the gelding failed to fire in last term's Pegasus, finishing a non-factor ninth. Fifth when next seen in the May 2 GII Oaklawn H., the dark bay hit the sidelines again and returned with a dominant victory in this venue's GIII Harlan's Holiday S. Dec. 12.

“He's better now than he's ever been,” said trainer Danny Gargan. “We always knew he was a really good horse. He's grown and developed into a better horse than he was last year. I think with age he's getting better and getting stronger, healthier. He has a few little issues we had to work through, and he's gotten through them. I'm expecting a big performance.”

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