Doug O'Neill | Horse Racing Free Tips

Rising Star Jack Sisterson Brings Fond Memories Back To Gulfstream Park

Trainer Jack Sisterson will participate in the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park for the first time this season, but he certainly is no stranger to the historic Hallandale Beach track.

The 35-year-old former assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill will bring fond memories of his 2016 travels with Nyquist to Gulfstream Park, where Reddam Racing's colt captured the $1 million Florida Derby (G1), as well as a $1 million bonus, on his way to winning the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs six weeks later.

“That was a start of a long successful happy journey. I traveled everywhere with him — thanks to Doug and Paul and Zilla Reddam for the opportunity. The goal was the Florida Derby all along because he was in the Florida Sale the year before and Fasig-Tipton offered a $1 million bonus,” Sisterson said. “The whole plan was to focus on the Florida Derby and prep him at Keeneland for the Kentucky Derby.”

Sisterson, who was also a member of 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness (G1) winner I'll Have Another's travel team for O'Neill and the Reddams, was hired as a private trainer for Calumet Farm in 2018 and has returned to South Florida with a stable of 20 horses at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.

“We've grown as the years go on with slightly better stock. We're bringing some nice 2-year-olds-turning-3-year-olds that we'd like to put on the Triple Crown trail, as well as some nice grass horses that Palm Meadows gives you options to train on the grass,” Sisterson said. “We put those things together and decided to try Florida this year.”

The 2020-2021 Championship Meet will get under way Wednesday, and Sisterson is scheduled to saddle his first official Gulfstream starter, Everfast, for Thursday's featured Race 6, a mile starter allowance for 3-year-olds and up. Everfast, who finished second in the Holy Bull (G2) at Gulfstream and second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico in 2019 while trained by Dale Romans, is rated second in the morning line at 7-2 behind West Will Power, the 8-5 favorite who is coming off back-to-back victories at Monmouth for trainer Kelly Breen.

“We're hoping to get off to a fast start,” Sisterson said.

Since saddling his first starter for Calumet in July 2018, Sisterson has won 41 races from 331 starters.

“I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Calumet. It's humbling to be able to train for an outfit that's so historically well known in the industry and all the success that they've had,” Sisterson said. “We'd like to get Calumet back to where they once were back in the prime days. I think we definitely have the stock this year to have our best year yet with the likes of Vexatious. We've got a couple of unraced 2-year-olds that we think are potential Derby types for next year. It's definitely a program that I'm very fortunate and humbled and honored to be involved with.”

Sisterson's career highlight thus far came during the 2020 Saratoga meeting when Vexatious provided him with his first Grade 1 success by capturing the Personal Ensign (G1).

“I can't give enough credit to the staff that I have in the barn because they are the ones who do all the hard work,” he said. “Just winning a race anywhere is a thrill, let alone a race at Saratoga, let alone a Grade 1 at Saratoga. That was pretty special.”

Sisterson maintains a year-round stable at Keeneland, and the native of Durham, England now considers Kentucky home. He first ventured to Kentucky after receiving a soccer scholarship from the University of Louisville.

“I was fortunate to be offered a scholarship and being able to do two things I loved. One thing was soccer and one was horse racing. I started hot-walking for Todd [Pletcher] in the summers,” Sisterson said. “That was my introduction to the racing side in America, working for Todd.”

In addition to some promising young stock, Sisterson's stable at Palm Meadows will include several veterans of the racing wars. True Timber, who finished eighth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) last year while trained by Kiaran McLaughlin; Bon Raison, who finished off the board in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland; Bandua, a graded-stakes winner who is scheduled to make a comeback after a year's absence, as well as Vexatious, will be based at Palm Meadows.

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Strongconstitution Completes Five-Win Day For Cedillo At Del Mar

Abel Cedillo said he was feeling “lucky” when racing began Sunday afternoon at Del Mar. He had nine races to ride on the nine-race card at the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif., and when he won the first one, he said his confidence went up.

By the time the day was done, the 31-year-old Guatemalan was brimming with conviction after he finished first five times, including a daring ride in the day's feature – the $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes aboard Roadrunner Racing or Sayjay Racing's Strongconstitution that got him home by a head.

The mile grass race for 3-year-olds unfolded well enough for Cedillo as he lay up close along the rail, but heading home he had to step on the brakes as the field bunched at the head of the stretch. The rider looked outside, but quickly wheeled his Constitution colt alongside the fence where there was the smallest of holes. But both rider and horse were game and they dove on through and then held off Hronis Racing's Heywoods Beach for the score.

Finishing third three-quarters of a length farther back was MyRacehorse.com or Spendthrift Farm's Lane Way.

Strongconstitution ran the mile in 1:34.09 and returned $7.20, $4.20 and $2.80. Heywoods Beach paid $7.60 and $4.60 and Lane Way returned $2.80.

Cedillo's earlier winners on the card were 1st Race – Speilberg ($3.80); 2nd Race – War Path ($8.60); 4th Race – Freedom Lass ($13.00), and 5th Race – Chollima ($5.40).

The victory run puts Cedillo on the lead in the local jockey standings after two days of racing to start the 15-day Bing Crosby Season at Del Mar.

Racing returns to the seaside oval Friday with an eight-race card around five Breeders' Cup Championship races from Keeneland in Lexington, KY.

ABEL CEDILLO (Strongconstitution, winner) – “Five wins today, wow. I was feeling lucky and when I won a close one with that first one (Spielberg by a neck in the first race), I had lots of confidence. Then I rode with that confidence from there on out. I'd won five races on a single day once before up at Golden Gate Fields, but this is a first down here. My horse (Strongconstitution) ran strong in the stakes. We got through inside and he got it done.”

LEANDRO MORA, assistant to Doug O'Neill (Strongconstitution, winner) – “He was training really nice up to the race and that told us he was ready. We got pretty worried up to the last quarter mile because he got blocked pretty good. But when he got through on the rail we were praying for the other one (stablemate Rookie Mistake) get up there too, and it almost happened. Two winners, one a day (on opening weekend for Team O'Neill), which is nice and keeps everybody smiling”

FRACTIONS: :22.32 :45.62 1:10.16 1:22.45 1:34.09

The stakes win was the first in the Let It Ride for Cedillo and his first of the meeting. He now has nine stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the in the Let It Ride for trainer O'Neill and his first of the meeting. He now has 39 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Greg Helm ((Roadrunner Racing) of La Quinta, CA and Stephen Young (Sayjay Racing) of Baldwin Park, CA.

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Likley Favorite Wildman Jack Back On Turf For Eddie D Stakes

A graded stakes winning turf sprinter who was most recently a close fourth in a Grade I sprint on dirt, trainer Doug O'Neill's Wildman Jack looks like the horse to beat among a field of seven 3-year-olds and up in Friday's Grade II, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita. The Eddie D, to be run at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, will serve as the main event on a 10-race Autumn Meet opening day card.

A W.C. Racing homebred 4-year-old gelding by O'Neill's 2013 Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents, Wildman Jack was last seen at Santa Anita winning the Grade III Daytona Stakes three starts back on May 23.

Fresh off the best race of his career, California-bred El Tigre Terrible returns to turf for trainer Peter Miller and retains the services of Flavien Prat, who comes off another meet-leading performance at Del Mar this summer.

Named in honor of the retired all time great Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, the Eddie D was run as the Morvich Stakes prior to being renamed in 2012. Delahoussaye won the 1984 Morvich aboard the Eddie Gregson-trained Tsunami Slew.

WILDMAN JACK

Owner: W.C. Racing, Inc.

Trainer: Doug O'Neill

Head and head for the lead throughout, Wildman Jack, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding, had to settle for fourth money when beaten 1 ½ lengths going six furlongs in the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes on Aug. 1. Following his win in the Daytona here in May, Wildman Jack was off as the 3-1 favorite in a Grade II turf sprint going 5 ½ furlongs at Keeneland, but trailed throughout, finishing last by 7 ¾ lengths. With his performance in the Crosby serving as notice he's back to his best, he should be tough to beat in Friday's Eddie D.

EL TIGRE TERRIBLE

Owner: Slam Dunk Racing & Michael Nentwig

Trainer: Peter Miller

Off as the even money favorite in the state-bred Real Good Deal Stakes going seven furlongs at Del Mar July 31, this 3-year-old gelding by Smiling Tiger rallied four-wide turning for and won going away by 4 ¾ lengths. Well beaten at 7-2 two starts back in the one mile turf Oceanside Stakes July 10, he was a close second in the Desert Code Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on turf here June 6—which was his first start of 2020. A winner versus open company of the 2019 Speakeasy Stakes going five furlongs on turf here on Oct. 6, El Tigre Terrible, who was purchased for a bargain $18,000 out of the 2018 Barretts October Yearling Sale, has won four out of his eight starts and has banked $210,510.

THE GRADE II EDDIE D STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 10 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

Wildman Jack—Abel Cedillo—126
Give Me the Lute—Drayden Van Dyke–124
Mr Vargas—Tyler Baze—126
Grit and Curiosity—Luis Saez—124
Sparky Ville—Mike Smith—126
El Tigre Terrible—Flavien Prat—120
Big Runnuer—Juan Hernandez—124

With the Grade II Eddie D and the Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes serving as co-feature, first post time for a 10-race card on opening day, Friday, is at 12:30 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Kentucky Downs Smashes Handle Record, Total Wagering Goes Over $59 Million

Even before Saffie Joseph won Wednesday's eighth race with Sugar Fix on closing day of the RUNHAPPY Meet at Kentucky Downs, the trainer's thoughts had turned to next year.

“First meet here. I love it,” said Joseph, one of America's fast-rising trainers who this summer expanded his East Coast base to include Kentucky. “It's a cool setting, different from what you're used to seeing in America. It's kind of like a European track. I'm coming back every year. As long as we have the owners providing the horses, we hope to make this an important part of our year.”

Fergus Galvin, a representative for Qatar Racing's Sheikh Fahad al Thani, said that Guildsman's victory in the Grade 3 Franklin-Simpson Stakes on the closing card “certainly made Sheikh Fahad a big fan of Kentucky Downs. He's already wanting to stock up the stable to point to the meeting next year.”

Kentucky Downs smashed its betting records at the six-date meet with total wagering of $59,828,444 on 62 races, including $9,487,705 on Wednesday's 10-race finale. The previous record was last year's $41,239,699 for 50 races over five days.

This meet was run without spectators, with horse owners and a limited number of their guests attending the races under social-distancing protocols.

“We love it here,” Kentucky-based trainer Brendan Walsh said before saddling Guildsman to victory in the Franklin-Simpson. “It's been good to us. We always enjoy coming here. It's always a nice atmosphere. It's a shame we don't have the people this year, but hopefully next year will be different.”

Walsh sent out the meet's only two-time winner, Born Great. He had a trio of wins, seconds and thirds and noted that just being close can be lucrative at Kentucky Downs.

“Absolutely. We ran second in the 2-year-old stakes and got $94,000 with a 2-year-old filly,” Walsh said, referencing Flown's finish in the $500,000 The Mint Juvenile Fillies on opening day. “It's fantastic.”

Purses paid out to horse owners totaled a record $12,337,000 spread over the six days, topping last year's record total of $11,520,380 paid out over five days. Overnight races (maiden, allowance and claiming) continued to be among the most lucrative in the world, even with a moderate per-race purse reduction forced by the COVID-related two-month shutdown during the spring of the Historical Horse Racing gaming operation

“It's a great set-up,” said California-based trainer Doug O'Neill. “Purses are insane. They take care of you. I'd love to see them add a few days to this meet. Sometimes with such a short meet, it's hard to bring them from California for fear that you won't get in (your targeted race); there's not a Plan B. But if they were to have say three weeks of three days a week or something like that, it would open up the door more for people to ship in. Or two weeks, four days a week. The horses are there, and the purses are here. The set-up is here. The management's here. A few more days would be helpful for the horsemen.”

With the leading riders from both coasts and Kentucky convening at Kentucky Downs, the meet assembled the season's strongest group of riders at one track outside the Breeders' Cup. Among those riding at the track for the first time were New York-based reigning Eclipse Award champion Irad Ortiz and California budding superstar Umberto Rispoli. Ortiz's six wins included three stakes: Imprimis in the $700,000, Grade 3 RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint, Theodora B. in the $500,000 TVG and Outadore in the $500,000 Bal a Bali Juvenile Turf Sprint.

“I really like it,” said Ortiz, the brother of two-time Kentucky Downs leading rider Jose Ortiz. “It's different than all the other tracks I've been riding. It's not like a regular track, just two turns. This is uphill, downhill, tight turn. I like it. I just have fun. I'm glad I'm able to ride some horses here.”

Rispoli had only two mounts at the meet but one was Lighthouse's victory in the inaugural $400,000 Music City for California trainer Simon Callaghan.

Tyler Gaffalione added his first Kentucky Downs riding title to his recent meet crowns at Keeneland and Churchill Downs, winning 11 races including stakes on Guildsman, Got Stormy ($500,000, Grade 3 Real Solution Ladies Sprint) and Plum Ali ($500,000 The Mint Juvenile Fillies).

“This is such a fun place to ride,” Gaffalione said. “Great venue. I look forward to coming here every year. It's a blast. The atmosphere, the people. There's nowhere else like it. And the money is an extra bonus.”

Mike Maker won a record fifth training title with eight victories, while his client Three Diamonds Farm earned its first owner's title at the track with four wins.

Donegal Racing's Arklow, with Florent Geroux riding for trainer Brad Cox, came away with the meet's richest race, taking the $1 million, Grade 3 Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup for the second time in three years. The Maker-trained Zulu Alpha, last year's winner, finished third.

Breeze Easy's Imprimis, trained by Joe Orseno, earned a fees-paid spot in the $1 million, Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint Nov. 7 at Keeneland by virtue of winning the RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series race.

Four-time defending Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown's deep stable was a presence at the meet for the first time, his three wins including Flavius in the $750,000 Tourist Mile and Regal Glory in the $500,000, Grade 3 English Channel Ladies Turf. Brown previously had raced only one horse at Kentucky Downs.

Field sizes, for which Kentucky Downs has led America for the past few years, averaged 9.98, down from last year's eye-catching 11.26 with 12 horses being the maximum that can run. The better races this meet drew exceedingly well, with the 16 stakes races averaging 10.25 horses, including 11.17 for the six sprint stakes. Also notable: The nine first-level allowance races averaged 11.11 horses per race and the 18 non-claiming maiden races 10.33 per race.

Also this meet, Kentucky Downs for the first time utilized Equibase Co.'s Gmax timing and tracking system based on GPS technology, which along with additional high-definition cameras made the broadcast viewing of races much better. Previously, all of Kentucky Downs' races were hand-timed.

Because the new system had some different and more standard starting positions based on GPS measurements, race times varied significantly and generally were faster from past meets. While the hand-timing continued from the new starting positions as part of Kentucky Downs' testing, the technology-generated times were the official clockings for the Equibase race charts.

“We can't thank the horsemen and the horseplayers enough for their support this meet,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs' senior vice president and general manager. “The numbers speak for themselves. We appreciate the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission giving us an additional day this year, and the horsemen took full advantage of it. We had some mishaps and glitches, and each will be scrutinized whether they resulted from human error or were beyond our control. Through it all, our racing was spectacular, which is a credit to our owners, trainers and jockeys and to which bettors across the country enthusiastically responded.

“As far as times and course records, we are going to study the data before making a final determination. But in all likelihood, 2020 will become the baseline year going forward as far as course records. With any new technology, there is a learning curve and hiccups. But we believe the new system is a big step toward addressing the challenges of timing such a unique course as Kentucky Downs.”

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