Pudding Much The Best In Handicap At Gulfstream

During her five-plus years of training on her own, Elizabeth Dobles has demonstrated a deft hand in bringing out the best in old-warrior Thoroughbreds.

The proof was in Pudding Sunday at Gulfstream Park, in Hallandale Beach, Fla., where she saddled the 6-year-old gelding for late-rallying victory in the featured $60,000 handicap for older horses, three weeks after claiming him for $25,000 for herself.

Pudding's upset victory over odds-on favorite Double Crown in the six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up was Dobles' second high-profile success of the weekend with a recent claim. Saturday, Dobles saddled Harry's Ontheloose for a triumph in Saturday's $60,000 Miami Beach Handicap at Gulfstream three starts after claiming the 5-year-old campaigner for $35,000 for Imaginary Stables LLC.

“Pudding caught my eye. He had won a couple in a row, and he had some back class. Those are the ones that I really get attracted to,” said Dobles, who has enjoyed success with veteran performers, War Story, Royal Squeeze and My Point Exactly, among others, in the past.

Pudding broke from the No. 1 post position and saved ground under Chantal Sutherland along the backstretch, as One Fast and Jackson contested the pace during the first quarter of a mile in :22.26 seconds. Double Crown, a multiple-stakes winner who has been graded stakes-placed twice, raced a few lengths behind the pace into the far turn before making a three-wide sweep to the lead on the turn into the homestretch, as Pudding remained trapped behind the tiring pacesetters at the top of the stretch.

Just as Double Crown appeared on his way to victory, Sutherland sent Pudding through an opening that had developed inside the 1/8th-pole, and the son of Two Step Salsa accelerated quickly to catch the favorite by three-quarters of a length.

“I thought we were in a horrible spot to be in, but when it opened up, it was heaven,” Dobles said.

Pudding ran six furlongs in a swift 1:09.94 to win his fourth straight race. Double Crown, who was ridden by Luca Panici, finished 2 ½ lengths clear of third-place finisher Tonalism.

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Double Crown Denies Chance It In Gulfstream Feature; Friday’s Rainbow 6 Guaranteed At $400,000

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Double Crown rallied from last to edge heavily favored Chance It in Sunday's feature race at Gulfstream Park, setting up a likely rematch in the $200,000 Smile Sprint (G3) on the July 3 Summit of Speed program.

Double Crown, who finished third in last year's Smile Sprint, had been idle since finishing second in the Chick Lang (G3) at Pimlico Oct. 1. Shooting Star Thoroughbreds LLC's Chance It, the hero of the 2019 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series and winner of the 2020 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream, had been out of action since finishing fifth in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) March 7, 2020.

Both horses were clearly ready for their long-awaited returns to action.

Trained by Kathy Ritvo, Double Crown ran six furlongs in 1:10.10 while prevailing over a very game Chance it by three-quarters of length.

“Kathy's done a fabulous job. Her staff, they always have these horses look good,” said Dean Reeves, who operates Reeves Thoroughbred Racing with his wife, Patti. “Kathy gets them ready for certain spots and you know when they go in there, they're going to run good. He was off a little while. We gave him time to grow a little, and now we're ready to go. It's hard sometimes as an owner to be that patient, but Kathy makes me be patient.”

Double Crown was also the recipient of a patient ride by Luca Panici, who notched his first victory since recently returning to the saddle following a three-month recovery and rehabilitation of a back injury sustained in a February accident.

“Luca rode a great race. He was patient and they finished up great,” Ritvo said. “Luca said the horse has a great mind.”

Double Crown dropped to the back of the five-horse field as Inter Miami outsprinted Chance It to grab the lead along the backstretch and went on to set fractions of 22.64 and 45.64 seconds for the first half-mile of the six-furlong optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up. The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Chance It advanced on the leader between horses on the turn into the homestretch and took the lead at the top of the stretch as Double Crown launched a four-wide drive that would carry him to his fourth victory in seven career starts. Chance It, the even-money favorite ridden by Edgard Zayas, finished 3 ½ lengths clear of Inter Miami.

Double Crown's victory was his fourth in seven career starts. The 4-year-old gelded son of Bourbon Courage won back-to-back stakes at Gulfstream last year before his graded-stakes placings in the Smile and Chick Lang.

Dean and Patti Reeves and Ritvo campaigned Mucho Macho Man, the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner.

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool will be guaranteed at $400,000 when live racing resumes Friday at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved for the fifth consecutive racing day Sunday, when multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $8,382.04.

The jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover of $41,456.72 heading into Friday's program.

Friday's card kicks off a four-day Memorial Day Weekend at Gulfstream that will offer three stakes – Saturday's $75,000 Musical Romance, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for fillies and mares; Sunday's $60,000 Biscayne Bay, a five-furlong overnight handicap on turf for fillies and mares; and Monday's $75,000 Soldier's Dancer, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up on turf.

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Chick Lang Stakes On Thursday Kicks Off Preakness Weekend At Pimlico

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Double Crown and Euro Stable's Lebda, both two-time stakes winners, are both set to go after their first graded triumph in the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) Thursday, Oct. 1 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 45th running of the six-furlong Chick Lang for 3-year-olds helps launch a spectacular Preakness weekend program of 16 stakes, nine graded, worth $3.35 million in purses over three days featuring the 145th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) Oct. 3.

Also on Thursday's card are a pair of five-furlong turf sprints for 3-year-olds and up, the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint and $100,000 The Very One for fillies and mares. Post time for the first of 10 races is 12:40 p.m.

Bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman and Rebecca Davis, Double Crown returns to his home state for the first time since breaking his maiden at first asking over Ournationonparade in a six-furlong maiden special weight last September at Laurel Park. Following the race, Dean Reeves purchased both horses and relocated them to South Florida with Breeders' Cup Classic (G1)-winning trainer Kathy Ritvo.

A minor foot issue kept Double Crown away from the races until April, where he overcame traffic trouble caused by Ournationonparade midway through the maiden special weight sprint at Gulfstream Park to get up for second, beaten only a length.

“If he doesn't get bothered by my own horse I think he'd have won that race, too, so he certainly could be undefeated since we got him and before we ran last time,” Reeves said. “He has definitely reaffirmed that I think he's going to be a player as he gets older, and being a gelding he should really strengthen up and be a factor.”

Double Crown reeled off impressive wins in the 6 1/2-furlong Roar and seven-furlong Carry Back this spring at Gulfstream, the latter earning him a short break prior to taking on older horses in the six-furlong Smile Sprint (G3) Sept. 5. He raced in contention along the rail and settled for third, 3 ¾ lengths behind winner Cool Arrow.

“He came out of the last race real good. Obviously it was tough against older horses, but I thought he showed himself well. He put up a good effort, we're just not at those times yet,” Reeves said. “I think he'll get there. We think this race fits him real well. He worked the other day, just a light maintenance work, and he's good to go so we'll take a shot at it.”

Double Crown, a gelded son of Bourbon Courage, has only been favored once in five starts, the Carry Back, going off at 7-1 in debut against his future stablemate, who would go on to win the Maryland Million Nursery.

“He showed a lot of tenacity to get up and win the race at Laurel and he also showed that he could sit a little off the pace. It just looked like a good strong horse and then when I went up to see him after I bought him I was really happy,” Reeves said. “I thought he really had some size and scope to him and was well-muscled. He has certainly done everything we thought he could do at this point.

“This is his first real on the road test. We leave Sunday and we'll get in there on Monday. I think he'll like the track,” he added. “He'll get around there that week and be ready to go Thursday. I'm hopeful that he takes to the track. I think he fits and so does Kathy. We all kicked it around and thought it would be a good spot.”

Gulfstream-based rider Cristian Torres will be in town to ride from Post 6 of 10.

A second-out maiden winner last spring at Laurel Park before running third in the Iroquois (G3) at Aqueduct, Lebda has been well-traveled with 11 starts including four wins, one second and three thirds. He captured the one-mile Miracle Wood and 1 1/16-mile Private Terms at Laurel prior to live racing being paused in Maryland for 2 ½ months amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Lebda has gone winless since his return, finishing sixth in the Ohio Derby (G3) and Haskell (G1) – the latter behind Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic – before the connections cut the 3-year-old colt back to sprints. Last out, he ran third after setting the pace in the seven-furlong Robert Hilton Memorial Aug. 28 at Charles Town.

“I didn't like how the jockey rode him because they went four lengths in front and waited for the others to come and then he started to move,” trainer Claudio Gonzalez said. “[Alex] Cintron is coming back with him and he knows him, so that's going to be better for the horse.

“It's not like he needs the front,” he added. “The only thing I try to tell Alex all the time is to be in the clear. I don't like him to be between horses because when it comes time to run, he has to check. He doesn't like that. I want him to break good and be in the clear.”

Gonzalez said Lebda's future will be sprinting, where he has two wins, a second and two thirds in distances ranging from 4 1/2 to seven furlongs. Cintron and Lebda will break from Post 5.

“He ran in some big races,” Gonzalez said. “I talked with the owners and, to me, he doesn't want to run long. He runs good because he's a good horse, but for me he wants no part of the long distances. I believe he's going to be OK.”

Gonzalez also entered MCA Racing Stable's Pitching Ari, second by a half-length to Relentless Dancer in the Robert Hilton Memorial Aug. 28 at Charles Town in his most recent start. Pitching Ari put together a three-race win streak over the winter but has gone winless in three starts since returning from the coronavirus break. Angel Cruz rides from Post 8.

Someday Farm's Dreams Untold hails from the same connections as his sire, 2004 Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones, trained by John Servis for Roy and Pat Chapman. In his previous trip to Maryland for the Miracle Wood, Dreams Untold was unruly at the gate and stumbled badly spotting the leader 15 lengths. He recovered to make a bold move into second and then tired to fifth, beaten 11 lengths as the favorite.

“He's a horse I've been very excited about from Day 1,” Parx-based Servis said. “His third start down there at Laurel he just completely lost all chance leaving the gate. Then he kind of rushed up there real quick and just burned out. It was just one of those throwout races.”

The nationwide pause in racing provided Servis an opportunity to give Dreams Untold a chance to recover from the Miracle Wood. He returned with a front-running allowance triumph going six furlongs June 17 at Delaware Park and will return to straight 3-year-olds after back-to-back tries against older horses, a second July 28 and a 2 ¾-length win Sept. 7 at 6 ½ and seven furlongs, respectively, against fellow Pennsylvania-breds.

“I wanted to give him plenty of time off of that race and make sure that he had recuperated. For a young horse like that to have to go through what he went through, mentally I just wanted to get that out of his system,” Servis said. “We've been working with him at the gate and he's been doing much better. His first race back after COVID at Delaware, he ran really good.

“His next race back at Parx actually came up really tough. He got hooked up in a speed duel and it set up for the winner. He ran a good race that day and then came back and won pretty easy, and he's trained really good since then,” he added. “I think it's time. There's not a lot around, especially now that we're getting to the end of the 3-year-old year … so we're going to take a shot.”

Trevor McCarthy has the call on Dreams Untold from Post 7.

William and Corinne Heiligbrodt's Yaupon is undefeated in three starts, all since June 20, capped by a front-running two-length triumph in the six-furlong Amsterdam (G2) Aug. 29 over a muddy Saratoga surface. The son of champion Uncle Mo is one of two Chick Lang contenders trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen along with Phoenix Thoroughbred's Little Menace, winner of the Grand Prairie Derby June 28 at Lone Star.

Also entered are Arkaan, third behind Preakness contender Pneumatic in the Aug. 15 Pegasus at Monmouth Park; Blackberry Wine, a 13-length maiden winner in March making his first start since mid-April; two-time New York-bred stakes winner Captain Bombastic; and Relentless Dancer, last out winner of the Robert Hilton Memorial for trainer Mike Maker.

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Favored Double Crown Holds Off With Verve To Take Carry Back At Gulfstream

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Double Crown lived up to his 3-5 favoritism in Saturday's $75,000 Carry Back at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., where the Kathy Ritvo-trained gelding won his second straight stakes race with a thoroughly professional performance.

The Carry Back, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds co-headlined Saturday's Fourth of July program with the $75,000 Azalea, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies.

Double Crown, who captured the 6 ½-furlong Roar at Gulfstream Park May 16, rated just behind dueling Cajun Brother and Poe, who set fractions of 22.59 and 45.42 seconds for the first half mile, before making a sweep to the lead on the turn into the homestretch. The son of Bourbon Courage opened up a clear lead under Cristian Torres in mid-stretch and continued gamely to hold off Hutcheson Stakes winner With Verve by three-quarters of a length.

“He's tough. He has just enough speed to stay off the pace early and he closes well,” said Dean Reeves, who owns the Maryland-bred filly with his wife Patti.

Double Crown ran seven furlongs in 1:22.37 to with his third race in four career starts. With Verve finished 1 ¾ lengths ahead of late-closing Ournationonparade.

Double Crown and Ournationonparade were privately purchased by the Reeves following a Sept. 19 maiden special weight race, in which the former defeated the latter in their respective debuts at Laurel Park.

Ournationonparade came right back to win the $100,000 Maryland Million Nursery in his next start, while Double Crown went to the sidelines. Double Crown returned to action for Ritvo with a late-closing second-place finish in an April 26 allowance at Gulfstream before capturing the Roar Stakes.

“He's come around great. Kathy's done a great job with him. She gave him some time at the end of his 2-year-old year and let him grow into himself, because he's a good-size horse,” Reeves said. “It's amazing when you give them some time, they pay dividends for you,”

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