With only four entered, this year's edition is highlighted by the Saratoga return of '21 champion 2-year-old filly and MGISW Echo Zulu (Gun Runner). The Steve Asmussen trainee won her juvenile debut at the Spa when she soared to become a 'TDN Rising Star' and followed that up with a 4-length win in the GI Spinaway S.

Second last fall in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint between Eclipse champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and stablemate MGSW &MGISP Wicked Halo (Gun Runner), who just won the Twin Bridges S. at Ellis Park on Sunday, Echo Zulu started her 4-year-old campaign by recording a 5 3/4 length victory in the GIII Winning Colors S. May 29 at Churchill Downs.

Facing her, will be MGISP Frank's Rockette (Into Mischief) from Bill Mott's shedrow. The 6-year-old mare (27-12-9-3) comes back to Saratoga riding a three-race win streak, which includes two Grade III victories at Gulfstream Park. Rounding out the field are a pair of runners who were beaten last time out by Goodnight Olive. Maryquitecontrary (First Dude), who has won six of eight career races, ran second to her in the GI Madison S. in April at Keeneland for new trainer Shug McGaughey, while Dr B (Liam's Map), trained by Butch Reid, was fourth behind her in the GII Bed o' Roses S. June 17 at Belmont Park.

The post Echo Zulu Returns To The Spa In Honorable Miss appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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For several seconds, the interviewee was the light-hearted interviewer.

Mott knows the drill. He has been training horses since he was a teenager in Mobridge, South Dakota, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame at the age of 45–the youngest flat trainer in history–in 1998 and in the 25 years since has further burnished his reputation as one of the Thoroughbred racing's all-time greats. Equibase stats show him ranked fourth in career purse earnings with $330,933,373 and eighth in victories with 5,323. The great Cigar delivered 19 of those wins–16 in a row–and $9,999,815 in earnings to those totals in the mid-1990s.

With a crew of accomplished stakes runners, Mott will once again be a major player during the 155th summer of racing in Saratoga that starts Thursday. While Cody's Wish (Curlin), who is being considered for the GI Whitney S. on Aug. 5, may have the highest profile at the moment, he is not the only star in Mott's barn located next to the Oklahoma training track. Also in residence along the shedrow are champion sprinter Elite Power (Curlin) and multiple graded stakes winners Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), Frank's Rockette (Into Mischief), War Like Goddess (English Channel), Art Collector (Bernardini), and Caramel Swirl (Union Rags). Graded stakes winners Poppy Flower (Lea) and Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}) are still at Belmont Park. Art Collector is the only one not being pointed to a Saratoga start.

After stepping back into his familiar role of talking about his horses and upcoming races, Mott acknowledged that he was upbeat and ready for the upcoming season.

“I am, all the time. I don't panic as much as I used to. I don't get the anxiety that I used to have,” he said. “I'm excited and I'm looking forward to it. There was a point when I thought I had to be leading trainer here. It's like, 'Oh, I was leading trainer last year. I've got to do it again.' I don't feel that. I just hope each individual horse does well.”

Mott saddled his first horse at Saratoga in 1984, has been at the meet every year since 1987 and won or shared the training title nine times between 1992 and 2007. These days he often finishes third behind the dominant duo of Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown.

“Naturally, I don't have quite as many as some of them,” Mott said. “I have a large stable. I have the same large stable, like I used to have, but some of these guys have got huge stables.”

Last year, he was fifth in wins with 16 from 114 starters. Brown snagged the title with 42 wins from 197 starts and Pletcher was next with 38 wins from 159 starters. With Olympiad (Speightstown)'s victory in the $1-million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, Mott finished third in purse earnings with his personal best of $3,262,117.

With Eddie Davis up, Cody's Wish gallops Wednesday morning | Sarah Andrew

Godolphin homebred Cody's Wish could give Mott his first victory in the $1-million Whitney. The 4-year-old colt has won six in a row and nine of 10 starts since breaking his maiden in October 2021. In his most recent start, Cody's Wish won the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Mile H. at Belmont Park. He has proved effective at two turns, winning the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in November. Mott said the challenge will be the distance, to see if he can stretch out a bit more and continue his dominant run at 1 1/8 miles.

“He has not won at nine furlongs,” Mott said. “We know what he can do at a mile. Now older and more experienced, seasoned, maybe the mile and an eighth is more within his reach.”

Mott is leaning toward the Whitney because he doesn't have any other options on the Saratoga schedule. He is not interested in running Cody's Wish in the six-furlong GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 29–his 70th birthday–as it is Elite Power's preferred distance. The more suitable seven-furlong GI Forego S., which Cody's Wish won last year, is on Aug. 26

“That's a long way, a long time to wait,” Mott said. “You kind of get forced into thinking about other things. If they had a flat mile race here that was a million dollars, we'd be looking at that but they don't have it. The Whitney is one of the two more prestigious races they run up here and he is a possible to run in it.”

Mott has won 464 races in 2,646 starts and earned $41,065,994 in purses at Saratoga. According to Equibase, he has 91 stakes victories at the Spa. Since he notched his first graded stakes win at Saratoga in 1990 with Chief Honcho in the GII Jim Dandy, his horses have prevailed in 29 different graded stakes with a total of 65 winners. Twenty-five have been in GI races.

Despite all that success in Saratoga, Mott has yet to win either the Whitney or the GI Travers S. He is 0-for-11 in the Whitney with three seconds. In the Travers, he has two seconds in 10 starts.

War Like Goddess trains Wednesday at the Spa | Sarah Andrew

Through the years he has won the GII National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame S. and the GII Glens Falls S. seven times each, the GI Fourstardave H. and the GII Bernard Baruch H. five times each and the GI Diana S. and the Jim Dandy four times. Since being hired as Bert and Diana Firestone's trainer in 1987, he has had at least one graded stakes win in 34 of 36 seasons at Saratoga.

Casa Creed will be Mott's first stakes runner of the meet in Saturday's GIII Kelso S., formerly run as the Forbidden Apple. He picked up his third Saratoga win last year in the Fourstardave. Mott said that Poppy Flower and Wakanaka could run in the GIII Caress S. on July 22. Frank's Rockette is preparing for the GII Honorable Miss H. on July 26. War Like Goddess is headed to the Glens Falls on Aug. 3, a race she has won the last two summers. Caramel Swirl may make her next start in the GI Ballerina on Aug. 26.

In the early 1980s, Mott was based at Churchill Downs and had emerged as a top, young trainer. He recalls that it took some courage to make his first venture to Saratoga in 1984.

“Absolutely,” he said. “It was to see the people that were here and who you're running against and everything. Yeah, it was a big deal to me. It was a big deal.”

That summer he picked up three seconds in seven starts. The next year, he brought four horses and each of them ended up second. He skipped 1986 and in 1987 made his first trip to the winner's circle.

For many years, Mott has been based in Saratoga from April to November when the training track is open. His main barn was once used by Hall of Famer MacKenzie Miller.

“This is actually home, and I wouldn't want to do it any other way,” he said. “At this moment. I think I've got the best of both worlds right now. I have no complaints.”

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Pegged at odds of 8-5 is Whisper Hill Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit), who will attempt to provide his sire with a fourth winner of the race since in its last 10 runnings (Ring Weekend, 2014; the Pletcher-conditioned Tapwrit, 2017; and Tacitus, 2019). A $1.3-million Keeneland September yearling, the gray colt has made each of his three career starts to date over a one-turn mile, and he could scarcely have been more impressive in running away from his surprisingly preferred stablemate Shesterkin (Violence) by some eight lengths in a Feb. 4 Gulfstream allowance.

“He's a colt we've had high hopes for all along,” said Pletcher following that test. “The exciting thing about him is the further he goes, the better he'll get.”

Should those words prove correct, they'll all be running for minor awards, as Tapit Trice owns the two best Beyer Speed Figures in the field, including a 92 last time that towers over his rivals.

Shesterkin is also a candidate to appreciate extra real estate, as his dam Freedom Star (Street Cry {Ire}) was a five-time winner at a distance of ground, including the 2010 GIII Azeri S.

While GIII Sam F. Davis S. hero Litigate (Blame) is passing on a return to Oldsmar in favor of the GII Louisiana Derby in two weeks' time, those that finished behind him that day are not without their chances. Groveland (Street Sense) rallied up the rail after encountering a bit of traffic to round out the Davis exacta ahead of Classic Car Wash (Noble Bird), who came from far back to photo the comebacking Classic Legacy (Into Mischief) out of third. The latter, a homebred half-brother to MGISW Art Collector (Bernardini), is intriguing at a price with a race under his belt.

'Justify'-able Optimism In Florida Oaks

The Pletcher barn also has claims in the afternoon's co-featured event, the GIII Florida Oaks. Don Alberto's Alpha Bella (Justify) graduated in her first start on the turf down at Gulfstream Dec. 11 and was relegated to second last time behind a rabbit-out-of-the-hat victory by her stablemate Cairo Consort (Cairo Prince) in the GIII Sweetest Chant S. three races after Tapit Trice's romp. Alpha Bella is a half-sister to Andina del Sur (Giant's Causeway), who caused a 13-1 upset in this race for trainer Tom Albertrani in 2018 after finishing third in the Sweetest Chant.

Chad Brown has won the last two runnings of the Oaks and three overall and is represented by Klaravich Stables' morning-line favorite Free Look (Tapit), runner-up in the GII Miss Grillo S. at Aqueduct ahead of an even fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November.

Tampa also stages the 3-year-old turf colts' counterpart, the Columbia S., the GII Hillsborough S. and the GIII Challenger S.

Azeri Lures A Pair Of Top-Level Winners

Saturday's GII Azeri S., a final course-and-distance prep for next month's GI Apple Blossom H., has attracted a cracking field of eight dirt distaffers, led by returning Grade I winners Clairiere (Curlin) and Secret Oath (Arrogate).

Save for an off day when down the field in last year's GI Personal Ensign S., Stonestreet Stables' Clairiere was a model of consistency in 2022, with a record of 3-1-1 from her five other runs, including a thrilling defeat of champion Malathaat (Curlin) in the GI Ogden Phipps S. in June. The homebred took down that one's colors yet again in the GII Shuvee S. the following month, but had to settle for third to Malathaat in a memorable renewal of the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Reigning GI Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath is perfect in three starts against her own sex over the Oaklawn main track, having annexed the Martha Washington S. and GIII Honeybee S. ahead of a third in the GI Arkansas Derby. The chestnut was soundly defeated by Eclipse Award winner Nest (Curlin) in the GI CCA Oaks and GI Alabama S. and led into the final eighth of a mile in the Distaff before weakening into fifth.

Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) won last year's GII Black-Eyed Susan S. and GIII Indiana Oaks, but makes her first start since being upset in the Aug. 23 Cathryn Sophia S. at Parx.

Fun To Dream Goes For Five Straight In Beholder

Cal-bred Fun to Dream (Arrogate) is a deserving favorite heading into Saturday's GI Beholder Mile S. at Santa Anita, but has some questions to answer in what is clearly her stiffest test to date. An allowance winner in her only effort going long last October, she stretches out off three consecutive scores at seven furlongs, having bested the reopposing Awake At Midnyte (Nyquist) in the GI La Brea S. Dec. 26 and GII Santa Monica S. Feb. 4.

Standing in her way is Stonestreet's Pauline's Pearl (Tapit), already proven at the Grade I level after upsetting Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) in the La Troienne S. last May. The gray resumed from a near seven-month absence with a smooth success in the GIII Houston Ladies' Classic Jan. 28.

A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo) is unbeaten in two starts since being purchased for $400,000 at Fasig-Tipton November and swerves the Azeri despite winning Oaklawn's GIII Bayakoa S. Feb. 4.

Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) looms the one to beat in Saturday's GIII San Carlos S. at the Great Race Place, while 'TDN Rising Star' Frank's Rockette (Into Mischief) looks a handful in the GIII Hurricane Bertie S. at Gulfstream.

The post Tapit Trice Tries Two Turns In Tampa Bay Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“I thought the race set up for today, especially drawing the outside,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “It gave Joel [Rosario] a nice easy run down the backside with no opposition as far as maneuvering to try to get there. He was already there when they opened the gates. That was a key. It just worked out great, and it's always great to stand in the winner's circle for a graded race at Saratoga. There's nothing like it.”

As for what's next, the conditioner said, “Our ultimate goal would be the [GI] Breeders' Cup [Filly and Mare Sprint in November at Keeneland] because it's my home track and her home track. So we'll work backwards from there and get together with Coolmore and give them a few options.”

“She ran good,” Rosario said. “She's a nice horse and always tries hard. I'm glad we got the win today. It looked like there was going to be so much speed and she [Kimari] can be up closer, but we kind of were in a good spot and she did great and responded to everything I asked her to do. I thought for a second the leader might get away, but she kept fighting and got the job done.”

Kimari captured the GI Madison S. at Keeneland last April and was subsequently sent to the sidelines. Resurfacing in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar seven months later, she checked in seventh behind stablemate Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and went through the ring at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale two days later, summoning $2.7 million from Coolmore's M. V. Magnier. Returned to Ward's care, Kimari made her seasonal bow in a main track event at Gulfstream Mar. 3, romping by 5 1/4 lengths. The bay was third when attempting to defend her title in this year's Madison Apr. 9 and was fifth last time in the GI Derby City Distaff S. at Churchill Downs May 7.

Wednesday, Saratoga
HONORABLE MISS H.-GII, $186,000, Saratoga, 7-27, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.78, ft.
1–KIMARI, 123, m, 5, by Munnings
1st Dam: Cozze Up Lady (GSW, $407,169), by Cozzene
2nd Dam: The White Lady, by Johannesburg
3rd Dam: Maha Al Iman, by Pulpit
($152,000 Ylg '18 FTKJUL; $2,700,000 4yo '21 FTKNOV).
'TDN Rising Star' O-Westerberg Limited, Mrs. John Magnier,
Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith & Michael B. Tabor; B-China
Horse Club International Limited (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward; J-Joel
Rosario. $110,000. Lifetime Record: GISW-US & G1SP-Eng,
15-8-2-2, $981,327. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Frank's Rockette, 121, m, 5, Into Mischief–Rocket
Twentyone, by Indian Charlie. 'TDN Rising Star' O-Frank
Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc.; B-Frank Fletcher (KY);
T-William I. Mott. $40,000.
3–Bella Sofia, 125, f, 4, Awesome Patriot–Love Contract, by
Consolidator. ($20,000 2yo '20 OBSOPN). O-Michael Imperio,
Medallion Racing, Sofia Soares, Vincent S. Scuderi & Parkland
Thoroughbreds; B-Two Tone Farms (KY); T-Rudy R. Rodriguez.
$24,000.
Margins: HF, 5 3/4, 40HF. Odds: 3.05, 2.90, 0.70.
Also Ran: Amadevil. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Kimari Returns to Winning Ways in Honorable Miss appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The broad-bodied bay lends speed to nearly any mating, whether it's a distinguished family or not, but Into Mischief's contribution seems particularly effective with good lines that have just gotten stale, or faintly lacking in speed for the finish.

Bred in Kentucky by Breffni Farm, Center Aisle is out of a mare of distinguished pedigree that had produced modest results until this filly came along. The marketplace knew it immediately, paying $165,000 for her as a weanling at the Keeneland November sale in 2017. The emerging excellence of Center Aisle brought a bigger price of $450,000 at the September yearling sale, and her final presentation at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Florida March auction realized another major adjustment upward to $1.5 million from OXO Equine, which races the new G3 stakes winner.

The filly's first two dams were bred and raced by Juddmonte Farms; the third and fourth dams were bred and raced for Christiana Stables.

Both operations were known for an insistence upon quality of pedigree and performance, and it is no surprise that the fifth dam, Enchanted Eve (Lovely Night), was a high-class racemare who finished second in the 1952 Alabama Stakes and became the dam of Tempted (Half Crown), the champion older mare of 1959.

A winner of the Alabama Stakes, Tempted won the Beldame and Maskette (twice), plus a half-dozen other stakes in a distinguished career for earnings of $330,760 when that was real money.

Tempted's younger sibling Instant Sin (Restless Native) was born a decade after the older filly's championship season and had only a maiden victory from three starts, earning $3,024.

Retained by Christiana and bred to the famed breeder's Futurity Stakes winner Cyane (Turn-to), Instant Sin produced the unraced Nimble Folly, who was unable to have a racing career but proved to be the jackpot at stud.

Sold to Derry Meeting Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale for $285,000, Nimble Folly promptly produced G1 winner Contredance (Danzig). Sold to Henryk de Kwiatkowski at the 1983 Saratoga select sale for $175,000, Contredance won the Arlington-Washington Lassie and Adirondack, finished third in the Spinaway, and later won the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland before it became a G1.

Acquired subsequently by Juddmonte, Nimble Folly then produced three more stakes winners, including G2 winner Skimble (Lyphard), a lovely chestnut who won the G2 Dahlia and Wilshire handicaps. Retired to the elite broodmare band at Juddmonte, Skimble produced the notably inbred Skimming (Nureyev), thus 2×3 to Northern Dancer. Racing for Juddmonte, Skimming twice won the G1 Pacific Classic at his beloved Del Mar, where he was unbeaten, and earned more than $2.2 million.

Intriguingly, Skimming was Skimble's first foal, and she was thereafter sent almost exclusively to stallions from the Mr. Prospector line. Toward the end of that sequence of minor performers was Specification (Empire Maker), who was unplaced in a pair of starts in Ireland.

With a list of duds from Skimble and that piddling race record, Specification was surplus to requirements for Juddmonte's splendid broodmare band, and the bay daughter of Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker was sent to the 2011 December mares sale at Tattersalls, where she sold to Mick Shannon for 48,000 guineas (about $78,000). The price suggests that she was a respectable specimen, and there wasn't much to quibble about in the racing class of the dam and sibling.

Brought to Kentucky, Specification proved a dam of winners. Sent through the Keeneland November sale in 2017 in foal to the quick sire Kantharos, she brought $37,000 from Todd and Shawn Hansen. The foal that followed her into the ring was a bay filly by Into Mischief.

Now we know her as Center Aisle.

Frank Mitchell is author of Racehorse Breeding Theories, as well as the book Great Breeders and Their Methods: The Hancocks. In addition to writing the column “Sires and Dams” in Daily Racing Form for nearly 15 years, he has contributed articles to Thoroughbred Daily News, Thoroughbred Times, Thoroughbred Record, International Thoroughbred, and other major publications. In addition, Frank is chief of biomechanics for DataTrack International and is a hands-on caretaker of his own broodmares and foals in Central Kentucky. Check out Frank's lively Bloodstock in the Bluegrass blog.

The post Bloodlines Presented by Caracaro: Into Mischief Works His Magic With Sugar Swirl 1-2 Finish appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Perched four-wide beneath Luis Saez as four of them lined up–including favored MGSW & MGISP Frank's Rockette who was racing under fire in between runners–through an opening quarter in a sharp :21.72, Center Aisle poked a head in front approaching the quarter pole.

The classy duo emerged clear from the field of eight as they straightened for home, and, after putting on a nice show down the lane, the 2-1 second-choice Center Aisle edged clear late from her ultra-game rival in a race that didn't deserve a loser.

Center Aisle, a sharp debut winner at Gulfstream for Chad Brown last March, completed the trifecta behind Frank's Rockette in last term's GIII Victory Ride S. at Belmont as well as the GII Prioress S. at Saratoga. Transferred to Paulo Lobo for her 4-year-old campaign, the bay scored in front-running fashion in her first two tries this season–a sloppy Keeneland allowance Oct. 15 over a next-out winner and an optional claimer at Churchill Downs last time Nov. 20, respectively.

Lobo said that the plan is to send Center Aisle back to Kentucky for a freshening before returning to South Florida for the seven-furlong GII Inside Information S. at Gulfstream Jan. 29.

“She was coming into this race ready from two very nice races,” Lobo said. “She's a very special mare. I think she has a bright future. I felt good because the body language of Saez, she looked very comfortable outside and when they came home, my feeling was very good.”

Saez added, “The other filly was running pretty fast. But I had a lot of horse, and we came to the top of the stretch, she gave me another kick. At that point, we knew we had horse to fight, and she did it. She did it pretty impressively.”

Pedigree Notes:

Center Aisle, a $1.5-million FTFMAR purchase by Larry Best's OXO Equine and the highest-priced filly out of that sale after breezing a quarter in a powerful :20 3/5, becomes the 105th stakes winner/46th graded stakes winner for her all-conquering sire Into Mischief. She becomes the 65th stakes winner/29th graded winner for her late broodmare sire Empire Maker.

The Into Mischief/Empire Maker cross is also responsible for GI TVG.com Haskell S. winner via disqualification and GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun.

Juddmonte homebred Specification, a maiden of two career starts, produced a colt by Goldencents this year and was bred back to Vino Rosso.

The winner's dam is a half-sister to dual GI Pacific Classic winner Skimming (Nureyev). She is out of five-time graded stakes victress Skimble (Lyphard).

Specification was a $37,000 Keeneland November purchase by Todd and Shawn Hansen in 2017 when followed into the ring by then-weanling Center Aisle.

Saturday, Gulfstream
SUGAR SWIRL S.-GIII, $100,000, Gulfstream, 12-18, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:09.54, ft.
1–CENTER AISLE, 120, f, 4, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Specification, by Empire Maker
                2nd Dam: Skimble, by Lyphard
                3rd Dam: Nimble Folly, by Cyane
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($165,000
Wlg '17 KEENOV; $450,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $1,500,000 2yo
'19 FTFMAR). O-OXO Equine LLC; B-Breffni Farm (KY);
T-Paulo H. Lobo; J-Luis Saez. $60,140. Lifetime Record:
8-4-0-3, $263,190. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Frank's Rockette, 122, f, 4, Into Mischief–Rocket
Twentyone, by Indian Charlie. 'TDN Rising Star' O-Frank
Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc.; B-Frank Fletcher (KY);
T-William I. Mott. $19,400.
3–Bronx Beauty, 120, m, 6, Liaison–Forever Sunshine, by
Rockport Harbor. ($250,000 6yo '21 KEENOV). O-Breeze
Easy, LLC; B-Blackstone Farm LLC (PA); T-Anthony R.
Margotta, Jr. $9,700.
Margins: 1, 5, 2. Odds: 2.10, 1.10, 6.40.
Also Ran: Music City Star, Loriloupies, Sosua, Quinoa Tifah, Compensate. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Into Mischief Fillies Put on a Show in Sugar Swirl appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Loriloupies was quickest out of the gate at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track, setting early fractions of :21.72 for the quarter mile and :44.18 for a half mile. She was part of a four-across quartet of Frank's Rockette, Center Aisle, and Quinoa Tifah down the backstretch and into the race's only turn. As they straightened for home, Center Aisle and Frank's Rockette began to separate themselves from the field, dueling down the Gulfstream straight.

The two fillies were head to head throughout the stretch run, but Center Aisle was able to pull away from Frank's Rockette to win by a length. Bronx Beauty was third.

The final time was 1:09.54. Find this race's chart here.

Center Aisle paid $6.20, $2.80, and $2.60. Frank's Rockette paid $2.60 and $2.20. Bronx Beauty paid $2.80.

Bred in Kentucky by Breffni Farm, Center Aisle is by Into Mischief out of the Empire Maker mare Specification. She is owned by OXO Equine LLC and trained by Paulo Lobo. The filly was consigned by Tom McCrocklin and purchased by her owners for $1.5 million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale. With her win in the G3 Sugar Swirl, the 4-year-old filly has three wins in three starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of four wins in eight starts and career earnings of

The post Center Aisle Much The Best In Sugar Swirl, Earns First Stakes Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A wire-to-wire winner of the Go for Wand, Lady Rocket set quick fractions with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard, coasting through an opening quarter in :23.22 and a half-mile in :46.54. Geared down in the final sixteenth, Lady Rocket crossed the wire nine lengths the better of Bella Vita in second, stopping the clock in 1:36.52. She earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure for her impressive effort.

Racing at a mile for the first time in the Go for Wand, going longer was a question for the 4-year-old filly, who had to dig down and fend off a late bid from Glass Ceiling to win her division of the seven-furlong Pumpkin Pie at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., by a neck in her last start.

With her hard-earned Pumpkin Pie victory in mind, Fletcher, who co-owns the daughter of Tale of the Cat with Ten Strike Racing, said he watched the Go for Wand with bated breath.

“I was really nervous because of the mile,” Fletcher said. “Her best distance was seven furlongs coming into this race and that was a really close race. We were scared to death of the mile. When she won as well as she did, we were shocked and surprised. I'm very pleased with how she ran. We watched it on the TV dumbfounded.”

With her first graded stakes victory now on her resume, Lady Rocket will be given time off to prepare for her 2022 campaign. Both Fletcher and trainer Brad Cox hope her performance Saturday is the start of a successful journey to Grade 1 glory.

“She'll be at Belmont for a bit before getting some time off,” Fletcher said. “Brad [Cox] said he thinks she needs a little break; she's been racing once a month for a while. She'll be on the farm for two or three months and then we'll point her to a Grade 1. She's becoming a lot stronger and is finding a new gear. I think she could even go beyond a mile now seeing how well she handled it.”

Along with Lady Rocket, Fletcher also owns multiple graded stakes winner Frank's Rockette and G3 winner Candy Man Rocket, who are both stabled with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Frank's Rockette, who finished third in the listed Dream Supreme at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in her last start on November 13, has now joined Mott's Florida string of horses after spending the fall in Kentucky.

“She was training at Churchill and is in Florida right now,” Fletcher said of the Into Mischief mare. “We'll point her to a nice race there. She came out of her last race well.”

Candy Man Rocket made an appearance on the road to the Kentucky Derby this spring when he won the G3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, Fla., and finished off the board in the G2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct.

Away from the races since a runner-up effort in the six-furlong Gold Fever at Belmont in May, the 3-year-old son of Candy Ride is working his way back to a campaign that will see him sprinting going forward.

“He's down at Payson Park (in Indiantown, Fla.) right now working on getting his feet a little better,” Fletcher said. “We found out in his last race that he didn't want to go long. He ran a great race at six furlongs and got caught at the wire. We think he'll be hard to beat at the sprint distance. He'll come back in a race down in Florida; we aren't sure where yet.”

As for next year's Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Fletcher shared his excitement for recent maiden special weight winner Rocket Dawg, who was a debut winner going seven furlongs at Churchill on November 19 by 5 ½ lengths. After flashing his talent in his debut, a step up to graded stakes company could be in the Classic Empire colt's future.

“He was very impressive in that debut. He's got a ton of potential and we're excited about him,” Fletcher said. “We'll run him back in an allowance and if he can hold the form from his maiden win in allowance company, we'll point him to the Southwest at Oaklawn. We think he'll do well.”

Rocket One, another impressive maiden winner for Fletcher this fall, will be returning to turf after giving the dirt a try with a pair of sixth-place finishes in the G2 Castle and Key Bourbon at Churchill on October 10 and an optional claimer in his most recent start on November 27.

A 1 ½ length winner of a maiden special weight at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., in his third career start, Fletcher said switching back to the turf makes the most sense for the 2-year-old Into Mischief colt.

“He's down at Payson Park right now and we'll get him back on the grass at Gulfstream Park this winter,” Fletcher said. “He showed us his potential and talent in that turf maiden and we know that's where he wants to be. I would like to have dirt horses since I prefer to run at Oaklawn, but I also want to win. So we'll get him where he needs to be to win.”

J L's Rockette, who finished seventh in the G2 Adirondack at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and ninth in the Ainsworth at Kentucky Downs in her last start on September 12, will be turned out and freshened for a few months before making her return to the races.

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Elle Z darted out of the gate to log quick fractions of :21.54 for the first quarter and :45.24 for the half-mile. Vintage Ready and Frank's Rockette were second and third early, but Elle Z could not hold on in the stretch, fading as Frank's Rockette came on to take the lead briefly before Club Car made her late move for the front. On her outside, Bell's the One and Corey Lanerie came running in the race's final yards, passing Club Car just before the wire to win by a length. Frank's Rockette held on for third.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:10.02. Find this race's chart here.

Bell's the One paid $3.60, $2.20, and $2.10. Club Car paid $2.80 and $2.20. Frank's Rockette paid.

Bred in Kentucky by Bret Jones, Bell's the One is a 5-year-old mare by Majesticperfection out of the Street Cry (IRE) mare Street Mate. Trained by Neil Pessin, she was consigned by Brereton Jones and sold to her owner Lothenbach Stables for $155,000 at the July 2017 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Sale. With her win in the Dream Supreme, Bell's the One has four wins in seven starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 11 wins in 22 starts and career earnings of $1,520,275.

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Run at 6 furlongs on the main track, the Thoroughbred Club of America is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race with the winner earning a fees-paid berth to the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) to be held Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

The Thoroughbred Club of America is scheduled as the seventh race on Saturday's 11-race program with a 4:12 p.m. ET post time. First post Saturday is 1 p.m.

Inthemidstofbiz, who has won one of two starts in 2021, comes into Saturday's race off a fourth-place finish in the Satin and Lace (L) at Presque Isle Downs, the same race she used as a prep for her TCA victory last year. Emmanuel Esquivel has the mount and will exit post position three.

Only Excitable Lady in 1982 and 1983 has posted victories in the TCA in consecutive years.

Favoritism figures to be divided among multiple graded stakes winners Bell's the One, Frank's Rockette and Estilo Talentoso. Estilo Talentoso was runner-up in the Madison (G1) here in the spring.

Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One has won two of five starts in 2021 highlighted by a triumph in the Honorable Miss (G2) at Saratoga in July. Trained by Neil Pessin, Bell's the One finished second in the Open Mind at Churchill Downs in her most recent start.

Regular rider Corey Lanerie has the call Saturday and will exit post position six.

Frank Fletcher Racing Operations' Frank's Rockette is a three-time graded stakes winner whose lone off-the-board finish in her 16-race career came against the males in last fall's Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland.

Trained by Bill Mott, Frank's Rockette enters Saturday's race off a third-place finish in the Seeking the Pearl Stakes at Colonial Downs on Aug. 23. Junior Alvarado has the mount from post position one.

Estilo Talentoso, owned by the partnership of Medallion Racing, Barry Fowler, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Little Red Feather Racing and BlackRidge Stables and trained by Juan Arriagada, also has been off the board only once in her 16-race career. That came in her most recent start against champion Gamine in the Ballerina (G1).

Jose Ortiz, who was aboard for the first time in the Ballerina, has the mount Saturday and will leave post position four.

The field for the Thoroughbred Club of America, with riders and weights from the inside, is:

1. Frank's Rockette (Alvarado, 120 pounds)
2. Club Car (Tyler Gaffalione, 120)
3. Inthemidstofbiz (Esquivel, 120)
4. Estlio Talentoso (Ortiz, 122)
5. Miss Mosaic (Colby Hernandez, 120)
6. Bell's the One (Lanerie, 123).

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