floral park stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Elkstone Group's Too Sexy rallied strongly down the lane to make her stakes debut a winning one in Sunday's $150,000 Floral Park, a six-furlong inner turf sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by Christophe Clement, the 4-year-old Quality Road bay entered from a similar closing effort in a six-furlong optional-claiming tilt on September 25 over a Belmont turf rated good.

Honey Cake, with Junior Alvarado up, took charge through splits of :22.57 and :46.22 over the firm going with 3-2 mutuel favorite Robin Sparkles, piloted by Jose Ortiz, tracking her early foot from second position.

The pacesetter led the field through the turn as a host of challengers, including the stalking duo of Introduced and Raven's Cry lined up outside bids with Gogo Shoes advancing up the rail.

But despite having only Secure Connection behind her as the field straightened for home, there would be no denying Too Sexy, who was tipped out wide into the lane and picked off her rivals one by one with a powerful turn-of-foot en route to a 3 1/4-length victory in a final time of 1:09.68.

Raven's Cry completed the exacta by one length over Introduced. Rounding out the order of finish were Secure Connection, Pacific Gale, Gogo Shoes, Honey Cake, and Robin Sparkles. Time Limit was scratched.

Too Sexy's victory came shortly before the Clement-trained duo of Mutamakina and La Dragontea ran one-two in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Clement said a patient approach works best with Too Sexy, who has won 4-of-7 starts this season, including a maiden score over good turf at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., in March and an allowance win at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in July.

“She has been an improving horse all along,” Clement said. “She seems to run better when you wait a little bit on her and twice she has won on ground with a little bit of give in it.”

Lezcano said he felt confident the speed would come back to him.

“I rode her like how Christophe told me, which was to break well, give her a chance to find her footing and make one run. Everything worked out,” Lezcano said.

Luis Saez, jockey aboard the runner-up, said Raven's Cry benefitted from the turnback in distance out of a fifth-place finish in the one-mile De La Rose in August at the Spa.

“She broke right there and was in a perfect spot. We just got beat by a good one,” Saez said. “I think cutting back made a difference, it was good for her.”

Bred in Kentucky by Burleson Farm and McKenzie Bloodstock, Too Sexy banked $82,500 in victory while improving her record to 12-4-4-1. She paid $7.90 for a $2 win wager.

Live racing returns Thursday at Belmont Park with a nine-race card. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Too Sexy Rallies To Win Floral Park At Belmont appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Graded stakes-winner Mitchell Road will get her first career test at Belmont Park when she competes as part of a full 13-horse field in Saturday's $80,000 Floral Park for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up contesting six furlongs on the Widener turf course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Mitchell Road enters off a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies on September 12, earning a personal-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure after finishing a neck behind Regal Glory on September 12.

Owned by Mrs. J.V. Shields, Jr. and E. J. M. McFadden, Mitchell Road won the 2019 Grade 3 Gallorette at Pimlico Race Course as a 4-year-old and also has compiled a stakes win in the current campaign in the Ellis Park Turf on July 5 going 1 1/16 miles.

Jockey Junior Alvarado will pick up the mount from post 6.

Athlone Racing's Rose Flower will look for class relief after running sixth in the Grade 3 Intercontinental on June 6 over a yielding Belmont turf. Trainer Christophe Clement said he's been looking forward to getting the German-bred daughter of Dabirsim back on the track.

“Everything is good and she's training forwardly,” Clement said. “I've been waiting to race her for quite a while. There's been no problems going forward.”

Rose Flower has gone 1-0-2 in four starts since arriving from Europe last year, showing a propensity to sit near the rear of the field before employing a late kick, which resulted in her first North American win in October 2019 at Belmont.

“She's fine on soft turf but she can run on anything, firm or soft,” Clement said. “She's mostly a come-from-behind-type filly, but the main thing is that she hasn't run for a while, so we want to get her going.”

Joel Rosario has the call from post 9.

Owned by VinLaur Racing Stables, Dark Horse Racing Stables and Taste of Victory Stables, I'llhandalthecash won her first career stakes in her last appearance on the Belmont grass, digging in after a three-wide move in the upper stretch before outkicking Dalika by a half-length to capture the License Fee, held at the Floral Park distance, on July 3.

Trainer Ray Handal, for whom the horse is named, ran the 4-year-old Point of Entry filly back in the 5 ½-furlong Caress on August 1 at Saratoga, where she ran sixth. Following a 12th-place effort last out in her graded stakes debut over a soft turf course at Kentucky Downs in the Grade 3 Kentucky Downs on September 12, Handal said he is excited to return to a venue where she has already achieved success, earning a career-best 90 Beyer in her last win.

“She's doing good; she didn't do a whole lot of running last time,” Handal said. “I think we got shuffled back a bit early and we weren't in the spot we wanted to be in and couldn't do much about it. She got stuck on the inside and the track that day wasn't good anywhere, but it was at its absolute worst at the rail. It was like a bog. So I just treaded lightly and I penciled this spot in and she came out of it really well and she's given me all the signs that she's ready to get back at it.”

Jockey Dylan Davis will pick up the mount for the first time, drawing post 3.

With the forecast calling for a chance of rain Saturday, Handal also entered Overheated for the main track only. The 5-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor, out of the multiple graded-stakes winning Malibu Moon mare Hot Summer, ran second on August 6 at Saratoga and mostly recently was fourth in a starter allowance on September 27 at Belmont.

“She always shows up and runs her race and it's all dependent on where she lands,” Handal said. “She's worth a lot of money as a broodmare, so we're picking our spots and placing her properly. She's always been in a little above her head because we don't want to put her in for a tag. But she's improved since she's been here and she doesn't mind a sloppy track.”

Barry Ostrager's Sunny Dale has run second in back-to-back races, starting with the Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial in September at Parx before another runner-up effort against allowance company on the same track on September 30. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Sunny Dale has finished second or third in her last five starts.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be in the irons from post 11.

VinLaur Racing Stables' Xanthique has one win and two second-place efforts in four starts of her 4-year-old year. The Tom Morley trainee bested allowance company in her previous Belmont start, winning at one mile on the turf on June 28.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano drew the assignment and will break from post 5.

Getmotherarose, winner of the Grade 3 Honey Fox in February at Gulfstream Park, will make her eighth consecutive stakes start and is looking to atone for an eight-place finish in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel going one mile on the Belmont grass on September 26.

Conditioned by Tom Bush, Getmotherarose has registered three of her five career wins at Belmont. Eric Cancel will ride from post 4.

Rounding out the field is Bohemian Bourbon, third in the Grade 2 Royal North on July 18 at Woodbine, for trainer Ian Wilkes [post 1, Jose Lezcano]; Saratoga Treasure, who ran third in both the Hessonite and Smart N Fancy in two of her last three starts [post 10, Jose Ortiz]; for conditioner David Donk; Lead Guitar, winner of two straight optional claimers, including on September 20 at Belmont, for George Weaver [post 8, Luis Saez]; My Sassy Sarah, an allowance winner on July 19 over Saratoga's turf before running seventh in the Grade 3 Lake George last out on August 28, for Jorge Abreu [post 2, Hall of Famer John Velazquez]; and Elle's Town, an allowance winner in her previous start for trainer Karl Broberg [post 7, Kendrick Carmouche].

The David Cannizzo-trained Slimey is also entered for the main track only.

Saturday's 10-race card will feature a 12:20 p.m. Eastern first post. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

The post Mitchell Road Headlines 13-Horse Field In Saturday’s Floral Park Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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