Tag: Dr Post

Connections Of Belmont Third Max Player ‘Leaning Towards’ Travers Rematch With Tiz The Law

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player, who ran third in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20, is being pointed towards the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers, trainer Linda Rice said.

Max Player, who finished only behind Dr Post and winner Tiz the Law in last month's first leg of the Triple Crown, registered his first breeze since the Belmont Stakes, going four furlongs in 49 seconds on Sunday over Belmont Park's dirt training track.

“He's doing very well. That was his first breeze since the Belmont and it was just a nice, comfortable breeze, and he's in good order,” Rice said.

Never off the board in four career starts, Max Player could next make his Saratoga debut by running in the “Mid-Summer Derby.” He made his first two starts at Parx, running second in his debut at one mile on November 12 before winning at the same distance at second asking on December 17.

In his sophomore debut, he bested an eight-horse field by 3 ¼ lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 3 Withers on February 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack. That was his previous start since the Belmont Stakes, which was shortened from its famed 1 ½-mile distance to a one-turn 1 1/8 miles to accommodate the revised schedule for 3-year-olds in training.

With the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby set for September 5 and serving as the middle jewel of the Triple Crown this year, Max Player can accumulate even more qualifying points, with the Travers offering a 100-40-20-10 scale to the top-four finishers.

Max Player has accumulated 40 qualifying points for the “Run for the Roses” and is 12th on the current leaderboard for a race that has traditionally taken as many as 20 entries.

Contested at 1 1/4 miles, the Travers would be the longest race Max Player has run, but Rice said she is optimistic the Honor Code colt could handle it.

“We're leaning towards running in the Travers,” Rice said. “We looked at some other options with the [Grade 1] Haskell [at Monmouth] or the [Grade 3] Peter Pan [July 16 at Saratoga], but we are going to point right to the Travers.”

Wicked Trick, who finished fourth in the Grade 2 True North on June 27 at Belmont, will be getting a freshening after three races to start his 5-year-old campaign. The Hat Trick gelding won his seasonal bow against allowance company on January 20 at Aqueduct before running fifth in the Stymie on March 7.

After stepping up to graded stakes company for the first time in 23 career starts in the True North, Rice said she decided to give the Kentucky bred who she co-owns with Stephen Cooper a respite.

“He's just been a little dull lately, so I just sent him to the farm to give him some time off,” Rice said.

Rice has saddled four winners during the Belmont spring/summer meet, which started June 3 and will conclude on Sunday, July 12. She will gear up for the Saratoga meet that runs from July 16 through September 7. Rice has enjoyed success at the Spa, highlighted by the 2009 meet in which she captured the training title.

“I think we were all very happy to just get back to racing in these unusual times,” Rice said. “It's given a lot of relief to the horsemen and the owners so that we can maintain these horses in our stables. Saratoga will be unusual this year as well for sure, but we're just all happy to be back to racing.”

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Aftermath: Pletcher, Rice Ponder Next Starts For Belmont’s Second- And Third-Place Finishers

Trainer Todd Pletcher reported that Dr Post emerged from his game runner-up effort in Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes in good order, and that the son of Quality Road could be slated for more Grade 1 action.

Pletcher, a three-time winner of the Belmont, said the Grade 1 $1 million Haskell Invitational on July 18 at Monmouth Park or the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on August 8 at Saratoga are both likely targets for the dark bay colt.

“Both of those races are in play. It just depends on how he bounces out of the race,” Pletcher said at his barn Sunday morning. “We were always confident that a route of ground will not be an issue for him. He finished up well. It was a very encouraging effort.”

Owned by Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stable, Dr Post arrived at this year's first leg of the Triple Crown off a stakes triumph in the Unbridled at Gulfstream Park on April 25 after breaking his maiden over the South Florida oval just one day after Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law picked up a second Grade 1 victory in the Florida Derby.

“We always felt confident that a lot of ground won't be an issue for him. It was a very encouraging effort,” Pletcher said. “Considering he broke his maiden the day after Tiz the Law won the Florida Derby, that's a lot of progress to make in short period of time. Hopefully he keeps improving.”

Bred in Kentucky by Cloyce C. Clark, Dr Post is out the graded stakes-winning Hennessy broodmare Mary Delaney and was a $400,000 acquisition from the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm.

Pletcher also debuted a potential rising star on Saturday afternoon in Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver, who graduated at first asking by 5 ½ lengths under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“He had been training well,” Pletcher said. “We were looking forward to getting him started. I have to admit, the win was more impressive than I could have hoped for. It's always exciting when you have that. It surprised me when he showed as much as he did.”

The winning effort garnered an 89 Beyer Speed Figure.

Pletcher is not in any hurry to run the talented son of Super Saver against stakes company.

“There are plenty of options, so we'll let him take us where we need to go,” Pletcher said.

In the Belmont Stakes, Pletcher also saddled stakes-placed Farmington Road who finished a distant eighth and said that the track was tough to make up ground on Saturday.

“We'll have to find a track that's more kind to closers,” Pletcher said.

 

Third-Place Finisher Max Player Gains Valuable Experience

George E. Hall's Max Player rallied from second-last in the 10-horse field to finish third in the Belmont. Trainer Linda Rice said the Honor Code colt came out of his first race in four months in good order on Sunday morning.

“He came out good and looked good this morning; no problems,” Rice said.

Max Player, with Joel Rosario aboard, tracked in ninth position as Tap It to Win led the field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.11 seconds an the half in 46.16. While Tiz the Law made a strong move out of the turn that propelled him to his 3 ¾-length victory, Max Player went seven-wide from the upper stretch but kicked on impressively, besting Pneumatic by 2 ½ lengths to finish on the board.

“He was a little further back than I hoped,” Rice said. “I was hoping we'd have been a little closer early in the midpack. He had a lot to do because of that. He ran a little green into the kick-back once again. Joel had to circle pretty wide, but he was running at the end of it.”

Though showing some signs of inexperience, Max Player has been consistent, with a career record of 2-1-1 in four starts. The Kentucky bred ran second in his debut in November at Parx before ending his juvenile campaign with a maiden-breaking win at second asking in December at the same track.

In his stakes debut, he topped an eight-horse field to win the Grade 3 Withers by 3 ¼ lengths on February 1 at Aqueduct, registering an 86 Beyer for his victory in the Kentucky Derby prep race.

Making his first start off the layoff, Max Player earned a personal-best 92 Beyer for his effort in the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile Belmont Stakes.

“Coming off a 4 ½-month break, I thought it was a very creditable effort,” Rice said. “You can build on this going forward. Going a mile and a quarter shouldn't be a problem as well.”

Rice said she had no confirmed next steps yet for Max Player but will talk with Hall and come up with a plan. The Saratoga summer meet runs Thursday, July 16, through Monday, September 7, and includes multiple options for 3-year-olds on the main track, led by the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers at 1 ¼ miles on August 8 and also including the Grade 2, $150,000 Jim Dandy at 1 1/8 miles on September 5.

“We'll keep all the options open for now and sort it out when we get him back to the track in a week to 10 days,” Rice said.

Rice saddled her first Belmont Stakes entrant in 17 years, when Supervisor finished fifth in 2003. Already just one of 10 women to train a Belmont Stakes runner, Rice had the second-best finisher from that group, with only the Dianne Carpenter-trained Kingpost coming closer when second to Risen Star in 1988.

Despite being run at a shorter distance and without spectators, Rice said earning the black type in a Triple Crown race for the first time in her career was special. He also said Max Player showed the potential to possibly run in the Kentucky Derby on September 5 at Churchill and the Preakness on October 3 at Pimlico if things continue to go well.

“It was pretty exciting, it would have been more exciting if we had our typical crowd that could join us, but it was great and I think he ran well enough to show that he could possibly win a Classic in his future,” Rice said.

 

 

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Tiz The Law Delivers Redemption For New York Connections In 152nd Belmont Stakes

A deluge of rain at Belmont Park derailed the Triple Crown dreams of the gutsy gelding, Funny Cide, in 2003, but 17 years later Sackatoga Stable and trainer Barclay Tagg finally captured the elusive Belmont Stakes with a decisive four-length victory by Tiz the Law. Their triumph in the 152nd running came in front of a nearly-empty grandstand and over a shortened distance of nine furlongs, punctuating an unprecedented year in which the Belmont has been run as the first of the three-race classic series.

The 2020 Belmont Stakes awards 150 Kentucky Derby points to the winner, virtually ensuring Tiz the Law a spot in the starting gate for the Run for the Roses, rescheduled for Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.

A New York-bred son of Constitution, Tiz the Law completed the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile contest in 1:46.53 over Belmont's fast main track, becoming the first New York bred to win the Belmont in over 100 years. The 4-5 post time favorite gave New York-based jockey Manny Franco his first win in the Triple Crown series.

Unbridled Stakes winner Dr Post finished second, about four lengths behind the winner, while Withers winner Max Player closed from near the rear of the field to check in third. Pneumatic, also up close early, finished fourth.

Tagg had been preparing Tiz the Law for the Belmont since the colt won the G1 Florida Derby in late March, making the goal official as soon as the new Triple Crown dates were announced. The trainer worked his charge regularly at Palm Meadows in South Florida through the end of May, shipping him up to New York in early June and recording two local breezes over the Belmont main track.

When the gates opened for the first major sporting event since the coronavirus shutdowns, Tiz the Law was right up with the frontrunners but sensibly allowed Franco to ease him back into third position for the long run up the backstretch. As expected from his inside post position, the speedy Tap It To Win went straight to the front with a one-length advantage over Fore Left. Franco kept Tiz the Law in the clear three-wide, biding his time and watching the race unfold.

Tap It To Win set fractions of :23.11, :46.16, and 1:09.94, the Mark Casse-trained allowance winner looking comfortable under Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez. However, when Franco sent Tiz the Law after the leader with a three-wide bid in the far turn, Tap It To Win faltered.

Tiz the Law galloped by that rival and easily cleared the rest of the field, leaving the hard-charging Dr Post in his wake as he stretched toward the wire. Franco took a peek under his arm near the eighth pole to make sure no one was coming, then hand-rode his charge through the finish to win decisively by about four lengths.

Dr Post had been mid-pack early in the race, and moved into third around the far turn but was no match for Tiz the Law in the lane. Max Player, second-last of the 10-horse field up the backstretch, closed well to finish third, just a half-length behind Dr Post. Pneumatic threatened briefly around the far turn, but couldn't keep pace when the others accelerated and had to settle for fourth.

The remaining order of finish was: Tap It To Win, Sole Volante, Modernist, Farmington Road, Fore Left, and Jungle Runner.

Bred in New York by Twin Creeks Farm, Tiz the Law is out of the Grade 2-winning Tiznow mare Tizfiz. Her 2014 daughter by Tapit, Awestruck, was placed in multiple stakes races and ran out earnings of over $350,000, so the result of the mating to freshman stallion Constitution, by Tapit, drew some attention at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearling sale.

Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga principle, secured the colt with a final bid of $110,000, and he rewarded the stable's faith with a debut victory and a second-out win in the G1 Champagne. Tagg and Knowlton opted to skip the Breeders' Cup with Tiz the Law, and brought him to Churchill Downs for the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club in late November only to see him finish third after being blocked in for part of the run around the turn.

Rested until February, Tiz the Law returned with a bang when he won the G3 Holy Bull by an easy three lengths over eventual Fountain of Youth winner Ete Indien. A rematch in the Florida Derby saw Tiz the Law successful once again, winning by 4 1/4 lengths this time.

Overall, the colt has won five of his six starts to earn just shy of $1.5 million.

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Vincent Viola: ‘The Belmont Is Absolutely The Race That I Covet The Most’

As a horse racing enthusiast, owner, and a native New Yorker, Vincent Viola holds the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes in the highest of regards. When asked by friends and family which race he most wants to win, he said he holds the American Classic at Belmont Park in the same regard as the Kentucky Derby.

Viola was able to cross the “Run for the Roses” off the checklist when Always Dreaming took him and numerous other owners, including wife Teresa Viola and fellow Brooklynite Anthony Bonomo, on a memorable ride in winning the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Two years later, the successful businessman again found himself heading to the winner's circle on one of the racing's biggest days when Vino Rosso, whom he co-owned with Repole Stable, captured the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita en route to earning the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Male.

But when Dr Post goes into the starting gate for Saturday's 152nd edition of the Belmont Stakes, he'll be attempting to give his owner a victory in the race that he holds the nearest and dearest to his heart.

“The Belmont is absolutely the race that I covet the most,” Viola said. “The race has a fantastic tradition. It's a different race this year given the circumstances at hand, but it still carries the history and memories of fantastic editions in the past. I've always put the Belmont right up there with the Kentucky Derby.”

Owned by Viola's St. Elias Stable, which is a nod to his father's middle name, Dr Post will be a second Belmont Stakes contender for Viola, who launched the electronic market making company Virtu Financial in 2008, five years before becoming owner of the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers.

Frequent visits to Belmont Park and Aqueduct as a child with his father piqued Viola's interest in the sport of kings.

“I went to the racetrack as a young man with my dad regularly,” Viola recalled. “My dad taught me how to calculate odds, watch odds and figure out the impact of money in the mutuel pools, so from a mathematics and handicapping standpoint he taught me a lot about the game. I've been a real fan of the sport, but I never imagined that I would own a horse or help manage horses at this level. I would say it was a childhood romance. It's a heart and soul sport, I just wish more people would be blessed with opportunity to be introduced to it.”

Viola got his first taste of being a part of the Belmont Stakes when Vino Rosso ran fourth to Triple Crown-winner Justify in 2018.

Though light on experience, Dr Post gives his connections reason to believe a celebration could be imminent as he enters this year's Belmont Stakes – his graded stakes debut – having demonstrated noticeable progression in each of his three career starts.

Highly regarded early on, the dark bay son of Quality Road was fourth as the favorite on debut at Belmont Park in July, where he finished behind subsequent stakes winners Green Light Go and Another Miracle.

“We were very excited about Dr Post's maiden opportunity. He didn't run to his form and was training a lot better than he ran that day,” Viola said. “He may have hung a little bit but when we did work on him. We saw he was a little banged up. He's always been mature, easy to train, very professional. He's almost so talented that he measures up to the challenge at hand and taking our time with him proved to be the right thing to do.”

Since returning off the bench, the lightly raced Dr Post has rewarded that patience by scoring two victories this year at Gulfstream Park. After breaking his maiden on March 29 following a nearly nine-month layoff, he handled his first two-turn test with aplomb, capturing the Unbridled Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on April 25.

“If you watch his maiden win, he was really perfectly mature in the race,” Viola said. “If you watch the Unbridled Stakes, which was a decent field, he did not have an easy time and he displayed a tenacity and a real champion's heart that I hope carries him forward. People are down on the quality of the field this year, but I think these are some good horses. It's a well-stocked race. I'd love to run against [Grade 1 winners] Maxfield and Charlatan for sure, but it wasn't meant to be.”

Dr Post is named after Viola's family doctor, for whom his father was a patient, and has become close to Viola's family over the years.

“He really was a saving grace in my father's life. He had heart disease and he kept him healthy for 20 years. He became my doctor and he's really become more than just a doctor for me,” Viola said.

Dr Post , listed at 5-1 on the morning line, will attempt to make Viola's dream a reality when breaking from post 9 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

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