Quality Road ‘Rising Star’ Makes Amends in Gun Runner

'TDN Rising Star' Jace's Road (Quality Road) took advantage of a bit of a stumbling start from favored Determinedly (Cairo Prince) to lead past every pole for a maiden stakes success in Monday's Gun Runner S. at the Fair Grounds.

Sent off the 14-5 second favorite off a forgettable and forgivable eighth-place effort as the favorite in a sloppy renewal of the GIII Street Sense S. at Churchill Downs Oct. 30, the $510,000 Keeneland September graduate found his way to the front as Determinedly–off at 4-5–bobbled slightly and though pressured, was able to race well within himself for the opening three-quarters of a mile. Narrowly in front as they reached the long Fair Grounds straight, he responded to a vigorous Florent Geroux drive from and kept finding through the final furlong to score nicely by five lengths. Raise Cain (Violence) was up on the line to touch the odds-on pop out of second.

Named a 'Rising Star' on Ellis debut back in August, Jace's Road was an educational third in the GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 17, but was reportedly out of sorts from as early as the paddock prior to the Street Sense, was rambunctious and dropped Geroux at the gates pre-start, caught a sloppy track to boot and did no running whatsoever.

The 65th stakes winner for Quality Road, Jace's Road hails from the female family of champion Silverbulletday (Silver Deputy) and GISW Forest Secrets (Forest Wildcat) and has a weanling half-sister by Curlin. Out Post was barren to Quality Road for 2023. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

GUN RUNNER S., $98,000, Fair Grounds, 12-26, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.85, ft.
1–JACE'S ROAD, 122, c, 2, by Quality Road
1st Dam: Out Post (MSP, $203,690), by Silver Deputy
2nd Dam: Secret Wildcat, by Forest Wildcat
3rd Dam: Garden Secrets, by Time for a Change
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($510,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-West Point Thoroughbreds & Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Colts Neck Stables LLC (KY); T-Brad H Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-1, $126,800.
2–Raise Cain, 122, c, 2, Violence–Lemon Belle, by Lemon Drop Kid. ($180,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $65,000 RNA 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Andrew N & Rania Warren; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Ben Colebrook. $20,000.
3–Determinedly, 122, c, 2, Cairo Prince–Bailzee, by Grand Slam. ($80,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O-John C Oxley; B-Bedouin Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Mark E Casse. $10,000.
Margins: 5HF, HD, 3. Odds: 2.40, 23.60, 0.90.
Also Ran: Hayes Strike, Andthewinneris, Old Alliance, Mazing Mark.

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Into Mischief Filly Stays Unbeaten with Fair Grounds Stakes

Dazzling Blue (Into Mischief–Blue Violet, by Curlin) came into the Letellier Memorial S. as the 1-2 favorite and ran to her odds, securing her second daylight score in two tries to remain unbeaten. The Juddmonte runner–a $500,000 purchase as a Keeneland September yearling from WinStar–rushed up to take the lead under Florent Geroux after being bumped by her inside rival out of the gate and giving ground as she found her stride. She found it quickly and had measured control of the pace while registering a :22.18 first quarter and a :46.45 half. The bay drew clear in the lane for a commanding and frontrunning win as previously unbeaten three-time winner Condensation (Frosted) closed to trail her home three lengths in arrears.

Trainer Brad Cox and Geroux had also teamed up to win the Sugar Bowl S. earlier on the Fair Grounds card with Corona Bolt (Bolt d'Oro).

The Letellier winner's only previous start was in a Nov. 16 maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, where she turned in a similar effort, also under Geroux, to score by 4 1/2 lengths as the favorite.

Dazzling Blue's dam has slipped the last two years, but was bred to current leading freshman sire Bolt d'Oro for next term.

LETELLIER MEMORIAL S., $99,000, Fair Grounds, 12-26, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:11.59, ft.
1–DAZZLING BLUE, 116, f, 2, by Into Mischief
               1st Dam: Blue Violet (SW & MGSP, $237,356), by Curlin
               2nd Dam: Gasia, by Silver Deputy
               3rd Dam: Gaslight, by Theatrical (Ire)
($500,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN.
O-Juddmonte; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox;
J-Florent Geroux. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,
$129,000.
2–Condensation, 118, f, 2, Frosted–Tiz Briska, by Tiznow.
($40,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Pravin A.
Patel; B-William Humphries & Altair Farms LLC (KY); T-Chris
Hartman. $20,000.
3–Miss Shipman, 118, f, 2, Midshipman–Kalistoga Girl, by
Tapit. ($10,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $100,000 RNA 2yo '22
OBSMAR; $75,000 2yo '22 OBSOPN). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-Norman Stables, LLC; B-University of Kentucky (KY);
T-Lonnie Briley. $10,000.
Margins: 3, NO, NO. Odds: 0.50, 14.00, 29.60.
Also Ran: Twice as Sweet, Promise of Hope, Neutralize, Flamand, Gavinera.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Corona Bolt A Sixth SW for Bolt d’Oro in Sugar Bowl S.

Off as the heavy chalk in Monday's $97,000 Sugar Bowl S., Stonestreet Stables LLC's Corona Bolt (Bolt d'Oro) led not long after the start and kicked away in the final furlong to become a sixth black-type winner for his leading freshman sire (by Medaglia d'Oro).

Adding Lasix off strong one-length debut score at Churchill Downs Nov. 19 (82 Beyer Speed Figure), the $225,000 Keeneland November weanling speared through from between rivals to lead and covered the opening couple of furlongs :22.24 under an easy Florent Geroux hold and turned them in after a half in :45.92. Slipped a bit of rein as Toddchero (Bucchero) loomed a momentary threat at midstretch, Corona Bolt opened up while scarcely asked and came home 6 3/4 lengths to the good. Minnesota-bred Distorted Pro (Distorted Humor) was up for second ahead of Toddchero, who was earning black-type for the fifth time in his young career.

Summerfield Sales acquired Corona Bolt's dam for $16,000 at Keeneland January in 2016 and she was bred to Sky Mesa for a foal carrying the wonderfully productive cross of A.P. Indy and Quiet American. The result was Proven Strategies, a stakes winner and twice graded-placed on the turf with earnings in excess of $355,000. The mare, a half-sister to Canadian Classic winner Cool Catomine (Spring At Ladt) and SW Wild Catomine (Milwaukee Brew), is represented by a yearling filly by the late Flatter that fetched $90,000 at this year's Keeneland September sale. Her weanling colt by War at Will was a $70,000 buyback at Keeneland November last month and she most recently visited Yaupon. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

SUGAR BOWL S., $97,000, Fair Grounds, 12-26, 2yo, 6f, 1:09.96, ft.
1–CORONA BOLT, 116, c, 2, by Bolt d'Oro
1st Dam: Stormbeforethecalm, by Quiet American
2nd Dam: Smart Catomine, by Smart Strike
3rd Dam: Gather the Storm, by Storm Cat
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($225,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV). O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Summerfield Sales Agency Inc & Etarip Stables (FL); T-Brad H Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $102,000. *1/2 to Proven Strategies (Sky Mesa), SW & GSP-Can, GSP-USA, $355,787. **Sixth stakes winner for freshman sire (by Medaglia d'Oro).
2–Distorted Pro, 118, c, 2, Distorted Humor–Pro Pink, by Touch Gold. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O/B-Novogratz Racing Stables Inc (MN); T-Brad H Cox. $20,000.
3–Toddchero, 116, c, 2, Bucchero–French Politics, by Political Force. ($77,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Mark Norman & Norman Stables LLC; B-GDS Racing Stable (FL); T-Jayde J Gelner. $10,000.
Margins: 6 3/4, NO, 4HF. Odds: 0.50, 5.30, 16.10.

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Week In Review: Racing On Christmas A Thing of the Past, But Legend Lives On

The annual Dec. 26 start of the Santa Anita season has a natural, anticipatory, turn-the-page vibe to it. But this mark-your-calendar Opening Day mainstay hasn't always been a post-holiday tradition. Although Santa Anita has kicked off its winter/spring meet on the day after Christmas every year since 1977, the track originally opened in 1934 on Christmas Day itself, and did so for the first four years of its existence.

“Filmdom entirely forgot its world of make-believe to migrate to the Santa Anita track yesterday for the renewal of horse racing in Los Angeles,” the Los Angeles Times gushed when reporting on the huge turnout of Hollywood movie stars and celebrities when Santa Anita held its first-ever races on Dec. 25, 1934.

“They rubbed elbows with Angelinos and society folk, and jostled through the crowd of 30,000 spectators to get a hot dog or place a bet, and joined in the cheer that swept over the giant racing plant as the horses left the barrier for the first race,” the front-page spread stated.

History tells us that way back when, Santa Anita wasn't alone in racing on Christmas Day.

Thumb through chart books and old newspaper clippings, and you'll get a flavor of when Christmas in North America was more of a social holiday than a commercial one; when going to the races on Dec. 25 was a festive outing centered on celebrating with friends and strangers alike.

As far back as the 1880s and early into the 20th Century, Christmas Day racing was routine at major warm-weather North American venues such as Oakland, California; Havana, Cuba; Juarez and Tijuana in Mexico, plus at other, long-gone Thoroughbred outposts like Jefferson in Louisiana and Savannah, Georgia.

There is even evidence that “outlaw” Thoroughbred tracks in bone-chilling climes like New Jersey, Illinois, and Missouri raced on Christmas through roughly 1900, purely because people would turn out to bet on the low-level unsanctioned racing those venues offered. Action, after all, was action.

By 1938 though, Santa Anita opted to switch off of Christmas Day racing in favor of opening on New Year's Eve. That experiment didn't last, and for the better part of the next 15 seasons or so, the SoCal track's start date fluctuated within the last week of December depending on how the calendar fell.

The first Dec. 26 Santa Anita opener was not until 1949, according to a retrospective the Los Angeles Times ran in 2012: “Since 1952, the day after Christmas has been Santa Anita's opening day in all but five seasons, and all seasons since 1977. Now to open any other day would seem sacrilegious.”

The Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Tropical Park in Florida were the two main tracks on the continent that continued to card Christmas Day racing through the middle of the 20th Century.

Eventually, Florida's tracks became the only torch-carriers for Christmas Day racing in America. Calder Race Course embraced the tradition after Tropical closed in 1972, and Hialeah Park even briefly gave it a go when it reopened from closure in 1991.

Yes, Virginia, There Is…

The now-defunct Calder also often raced on Christmas Eve, too. The finale on Dec. 24, 1992, was a $7,500 claimer in which an aptly named mare called Silent Knight got pounded in the betting to 7-5 favoritism. She won, of course. The margin was a nose (presumably red).

You'd think Silent Knight's victory might go down in history as the all-time holiday hunch play.

It isn't.

That distinction belongs to a 9-year-old Canadian-bred named Santa Claus, who romped home first in a Christmas Eve claimer at the Fair Grounds in 1976, delivering a $7.20 win mutuel to his merry backers.

After arriving in the paddock with his tail tied in red and white ribbons and a festive stocking cap perched atop his head, Santa Claus trailed until the final turn in a 1 1/16 miles route race, then rushed up the rail with a flourish turning for home.

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus…” the track announcer began crooning, with the crowd laughing and joining in to sing the carol, according to the Associated Press account of the race.

The Grinch Known as Simulcasting…

You can bet that Hall-of-Fame jockey Mike Smith remembers the Christmas Day he spent at Calder in 1993.

Smith, 28 at the time and just emerging as a top New York-based rider, flew to Florida because he had a chance to tie Pat Day's then-record of 60 stakes wins in a calendar year. Smith caught a big break when the holiday feature, the Tropical Park Oaks, got split into two divisions at entry time. He landed on the two favorites-and in the winner's circle-with both mounts.

“Someone up there must be looking out for me, and these horses must know,” Smith said after the wins.

Five days later, back at Aqueduct, Smith would win his 61st stakes of the year, giving him sole possession of the record (which has since been Scrooged by several other riders). The feat helped him earn his first Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding jockey.

The following year, the 1994 Christmas Day program at Calder would turn out to be its last.

While the holiday cards were considered decent on-track days in terms of attendance and handle (6,473 people turned out to bet $925,632 on-track in 1994), by 1995 Calder management decided that it would rather forego racing on the holiday to be open the day after, when more off-track betting parlors and simulcast tracks nationwide would be open to import the signal.

Today, Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico is the only North American track with regular racing on Christmas Day.

At all the stateside venues, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.

Yet it turned out that a sizable chunk of customers cried “Humbug!” when Calder pulled the plug on Christmas Day racing.

As Calder president Ken Dunn told the Miami Herald in 1995, for many people, the racetrack was a refuge (fast-forward to 2022: it still is). Particularly for the elderly who might not have family, going racing was a way to fill the hours.

Plus, Dunn added, “There are a lot of people who don't celebrate Christmas.”

Dunn's predecessor, the late Kenny Noe, who oversaw Calder during its decades-long run of holiday racing, told the Herald in that same article he had a different theory about why Christmas was so popular with racegoers.

“A lot of men would show up at the track and tell me their wives had told them to get the hell out of the house but be home by 4 o'clock for dinner,” said Noe, an old-school track exec who was never one to mince words.

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