G. Watts Humphrey | Horse Racing Free Tips

Connect Colt Romps on Debut

2nd-Santa Anita, $67,500, Msw, 3-26, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:16.48, ft, 10 lengths.
HIGH CONNECTION (c, 3, Connect–Forest Legend, by Forest Camp), sent off at 7-5, was hustled out of the gate from his rail post and took the early lead. Setting the pace through a quarter in :21.86 and a half in :44.96, he skipped away in upper stretch and powered home a 10-length winner. Pioneering Papa (Classic Empire) chased throughout and was second. High Connection was a $75,000 KEESEP yearling and a $290,000 OBS March juvenile (:10 flat). Forest Legend, who produced a filly by Tonalist last year, sold for $16,000 while in foal to Summer Front at the 2021 Keeneland November sale and was exported to Turkey. The mare is a half-sister to graded winner Silver Reunion (Harlan's Holiday), who produced graded winner Speaktomeofsummer (Summer Front). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $40,200.
O-HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud; B-G. Watts Humphrey (KY); T-Bob Baffert.

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Trainer Oliver, Jockey Bejarano Celebrate Multi-Win Day At Ellis Park Saturday

Trainer Vicki Oliver and jockey Rafael Bejarano proved the stars of Saturday's first day of Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend at the RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., teaming for three victories, with the rider winning four overall.

Oliver brought two 3-year-old fillies from her Keeneland base. But instead of running both Flippant and Core Values in the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks, she opted to put Core Values in against boys in the $100,000 Kentucky Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby. That resulted in a nose victory over favored Royal Prince, with Flippant winning the $100,000 Kentucky Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks two races later by a half-length over Caldee.

The trainer and jockey also teamed to take the third race, a $52,000 turf allowance sprint, with the 4-year-old filly Never Forget, who is out of the same mare (Frivolous) as Flippant. Both fillies are owned by breeder G. Watts Humphrey, the trainer's dad.

Bejarano's big day started with victory in the second race aboard Casino Star in an optional claiming $40,000 allowance race.

Oliver said it was only the second time in her career that she'd won three races on a card, the last time coming in June 19, 2006, at The Meadowlands' all-grass meet. She said it was her first time winning two stakes.

Oliver said she's hoping to run all three winning fillies in stakes at Kentucky Downs' meet in early September.

“I love Kentucky Downs. Love Ellis Park, and it's fun to be here supporting them,” she said. “I think it's fantastic they have this day. It's great for all of us who stay here and support the Kentucky circuit. It keeps us staying here. And we get a leg up to get into Kentucky Downs for that.”

Meet-leading trainer Brad Cox — who was busy winning Saratoga's Grade 1 Whitney Stakes with Knicks Go (an Ellis Park 2-year-old winner and runner-up in the Ellis Park Derby) — won the first of the stakes quartet as Shared Sense took the $65,000 Tri-State Overnight Stakes under Brian Hernandez Jr. Trainer Brendan Walsh — at Saratoga, where he was second in the Whitney with Maxfield, who trained all summer as a 2-year-old at Ellis Park — captured the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint with favored Born Great, ridden by Adam Beschizza.

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Flippant Gives Vicki Oliver Another Saturday Stakes Win At Ellis

In the first running of the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks, Flippant and jockey Rafael Bejarano upset the field to give trainer Vicki Oliver yet another win at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., Saturday.

“I know Flippant was taking a step up off a maiden race, but she was experienced enough to run against this kind of company,” said Oliver, referring to the filly's five prior starts. “We trained the mare (Frivolous), she was a really classy mare. She (Flippant) deserved to be in stakes company, and she proved it.”

After stumbling at the start, Flippant steadied and settled well off the pace, leaving Stillchargingmaria to set a representative pace followed loosely by Takntothecleaners. By the top of the stretch, Caldee and Flippant engaged each other with Flippant gaining the ultimate advantage by a half-length.

“This horse ran a tremendous race today,” said Bejarano, who was aboard on Flippant's three-length maiden victory at 1 1/4 miles. “Today, there was a lot of speed. The track played really fair today for horses that came from behind. We had a beautiful trip after having a bad break from the gate. I just got her set and tried to get her relaxed. She did good and kept running in the end. Definitely, she was the best horse today.”

Owned and bred by G. Watts Humphrey, the daughter of Tapit improved her record to two wins in five lifetime starts and increased her earnings to $115,109. Flippant went off 3-1 paying $8.20 to win while covering the distance in 1:39.56.

Asked about winning three races, Oliver said: “Oh, it's unbelievable. The last time I won three in a day was at The Meadowlands a long, long time ago (2006), when they had one of those all-day turf days.”

She said winning two stakes in a day was a first.

“Never done that, so that's exciting,” she said. “But these two fillies are really, really nice fillies and so is the filly who won earlier, which I think is a stakes horse as well. So it's fun being loaded-up for Kentucky Downs.”

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Navratilova Lands A Winning Shot In Tepin Stakes

G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s Navratilova held off the late challenge of Tobys Heart and New Boss to win Saturday's second running of the $150,000 Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Rusty Arnold II and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Navratilova completed one-mile on the firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:35.56. The Tepin was the final race that will be held over the current turf course before a $10 million renovation this summer at Churchill Downs.

Navratilova set early quarter-mile fractions of :24.35 and :48.99. Around the far turn, Adam Beschizza aboard New Boss ranged alongside Navratilova. The duo battled for nearly a quarter-mile when the highly-regarded Tobys Heart and jockey Javier Castellano ranged alongside the two fillies. Navratilova dug in gamely at the rail for a half-length victory.

“She relaxed well up front and had her ears up,” Hernandez said. “Down the stretch, she really had to dig in to hold off those challengers. She ran well and handled the distance like we thought she could.”

Navratilova rewarded her backers at odds of 9-1 and paid $20.80, $9.40, and $7. Tobys Heart finished a head in front of New Boss to return $4.80 and $4.20. New Boss paid $5.80.

Town Avenger, Adventuring, Arm Candy, Invincible Gal (GB), Bullseye Beauty, Commanders Palace, Barista, and Fairchild completed the order of finish.

With her win Saturday, Navratilova improved her record to 5-2-0-2 with purse earnings of $136,340. She was bred in Kentucky by her owner.

“Her dam (Centre Court) was a Grade I winner going 1 1/16 miles so we thought she'd like the distance today,” Arnold said. “She was sprinting in her last start which she didn't handle as well but did much better today.”

The Tepin is named after the brilliant two-time Eclipse Award-winning turf mare in 2015-16.

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