gainesway stable | Horse Racing Free Tips

Saturday Insights: Well-Bred Siblings to Graded Winners Debut

2nd-GP, $60k, Msw, 3yo, f, 7f, 12:40p.m. ET
This contest kicks off the first of two maiden special weights on the Hallendale card with smartly regarded firsters. Breaking from the far outside, Blini (Tapit) has graded stakes winning shadows to outrun: full-siblings Iron Fist, MGSW, $1,104,199; Anchor Down, GISP & MGSW, $734,254; and half-sister Sweet Lulu (Mr. Greeley), GISW, $693,600. Her dam Successful Outlook (Orientate) is a third generation graded stakes runner and producer. To her inside, there is a Calumet owned and bred half-sister to SW, $865,921, Pingxiang (Speightstown) named Peligroso (Honor Code) going for conditioner Jack Sisterson. The Albaugh Family Stables send out $500,000 KEESEP purchase Tiffany's Mo (Uncle Mo), a half to GSP Threes Over Deuces (Flat Out). Todd Pletcher conditions Falconet (Uncle Mo), the first foal for GISW Birdatthewire (Summer Bird) and the formidable partnership of Klaravich Stables and Chad Brow will unveil $280,000 KEESEP acquisition Signal from Noise (Arrogate). TJCIS PPs

4th-GP, $60k, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:40p.m. ET
OXO Equine's $675,000 KEESEP prize Mendenhall (Pioneerof the Nile) debuts under Bill Mott's tutelage. A half to stakes winners Balandeen (Bernardini) and Matwakel (California Chrome), this is the family of Canadian Champion 2-year-old filly Deputy Jane West (Silver Deputy). The royal blue silks of Godolphin are represented by their homebred Town Branch (Street Sense), a full sibling to GSW Speaker's Corner. A $300,000 OBSAPR (:20 3/5) buy, Super Quality (Competitive Edge), and $240,000 EASOCT graduate Hidden Plan (Street Sense), half to GSW Cordmaker (Curlin), round out the field. TJCIS PPs

8th-GP, $62k, Alw, 4yo/up, 1m, 3:40p.m. ET
Stage Raider (Pioneerof the Nile), half-brother to Triple Crown Champion Justify (Scat Daddy) and ill-fated GSW The Lieutenant (Street Sense), makes his return to the races here against an experience field. Second on debut to Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro), who's also in the field, the colt's 10 3/4 length maiden breaking Apr. 10 score at Keeneland earned him 'TDN Rising Star' honors. He punctuated that title with a three length win against allowance company May 14 at Belmont Park before being given a nine month freshening. He's been set at 7-2 morning line odds for his return. TJCIS PPs

2nd-SA, $67k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 3:28p.m. ET
The connections of Medina Spirit (Protonico) send out $1.7 million FTFMAR purchase (:10 1/5) Taiba (Gun Runner), the second most expensive to hail from the Gulfstream 2-year-old auction behind $2.6 million stablemate Bletchley Park (Nyquist). Taiba is MSW Needmore Flattery (Flatter)'s second foal to the races. The flashy Tenth Street Don (Practical Joke), $240,000 at OBSAPR (:10 1/5), goes to post for trainer Vladimir Cerin. TJCIS PPs

2nd-AQU, $80k, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 1:20p.m. ET
By far the most expensive horse in the race, $875,000 KEESEP procurement Don the Jeweler (Into Mischief) debuts in the colors of Peter Brant, and is conditioned by Chad Brown. He's out of a half-sister to MGISW Include Me Out (Include) and GISW & MGSW Check the Label (Stormin Fever), both of whom have produced winners. The female family claims at least 14 graded and stakes quality horses. TJCIS PPs

The post Saturday Insights: Well-Bred Siblings to Graded Winners Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Younger McGaughey ‘Has A Real Passion’ For The Horses

Less than two full years after striking out on his own, trainer Reeve McGaughey is keeping the family name alive and well by sending his first graded stakes winner across the wire at Aqueduct Racetrack.

A homebred for Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck) and Andrew Rosen, 3-year-old Bees and Honey (by Union Rags) sailed clear of her rivals by 2 3/4 lengths in the Comely Stakes (G3) on Nov. 26. The victory—while not entirely unexpected by McGaughey—helped end the month on a high note for the young trainer whose budding stable is already revving up for more in 2022.

“Going into the race everyone was pretty confident because she was doing well,” said McGaughey. “We had a good feeling that she would like the distance and the racetrack. The way the race shaped up it looked like we had a chance to get black type on her and we would see what happened from there.

“It was fun, but it was almost a little bit of a relief. I certainly enjoyed it. Hopefully, there will be more wins behind it, but it was really nice to get that one.”

From an early age, there was never any real doubt that McGaughey would choose a career that led him too far from the backside. The son of Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and the nephew of Charlie LoPresti, who trained two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, McGaughey's life has always been inextricably tied to Thoroughbred racing.

“He is my nephew, but in the years he worked for me I don't think I had anybody that worked as hard in the barn as he did,” said LoPresti, for whom McGaughey worked as an assistant for five years. “He has a real passion for it. All the help respected him so much because he is the first one to jump in and helped. He's an incredible horseman and I was proud for him to be with me. He was like my right and left arms to tell the truth.”

After leaving LoPresti, McGaughey worked in his father Shug's barn until 2020. His decision to strike out on his own came within months of the announcement that LoPresti would retire from racing after almost 30 years—a move that would prove fortuitous for both uncle and nephew.

“It worked out well when I retired that he wanted to go out on his own, so he took most of everything that was in my barn,” said LoPresti. “The horses went, and the help went too because they respected him so much.

“His dad being a Hall of Fame trainer gave him a lot of advice, but I think the advice I had for him was to not get too big and to really concentrate on the horses. But I didn't need to tell him that. He's a hands-on horseman. That's the way he is and the way he's always been. It was a perfect fit and we're so proud of what he's accomplished.”

McGaughey's first win came July 25, 2020, when Nathan Detroit (Union Rags) broke his maiden on debut at Ellis Park. The horse was bred and owned by Joe Allen, a client of his father.

“A good portion of my clients are ones I knew from working with my dad who have also been clients of his, but I also work for a fair amount of people I didn't have a previous relationship with until I started out,” said McGaughey, who continues to build out his stable. “A couple people I work the sales for and a few just send me the horses that they have. It's a mix.”

These days, McGaughey has 25 horses in his barn split between Kentucky and Florida. Ten of those horses currently reside at Tampa Bay Downs with his assistant, while the other 15 remain at Keeneland with him. His statistics through Dec. 17 stand at 24-23-23 from 172 starts with $1,188.054 in earnings.

While Bees and Honey might be his only stakes winner to date, McGaughey feels he has plenty of promising runners to keep him busy on and off the track in the coming months. While he's happy to revel in his recent success, he has no plans to rest on his laurels.

“We have a nice 3-year-old filly who will turn 4 named Texas Shuffle (War Front). We've also got a 3-year-old turning 4 named Charles Chrome (California Chrome), he's stakes-placed and he's coming back off a freshening this winter. He's just now starting back. We also have a few young ones that haven't run yet that we're just getting going with, but they look like they'll have talent.”

“He (Reeve) knows how hard the game is. It has its ups and downs,” said LoPresti. “He's had some tough times and now he's having good times but that is the way the business is. He knows the game because he's been around it since he was a little boy, so he knows how it all works.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Younger McGaughey ‘Has A Real Passion’ For The Horses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Hot Rod Charlie Wins 2021 Vox Populi Award

Horse racing fans have spoken, and they have chosen Hot Rod Charlie, the gutsy 3-year-old colt who was a force along the Triple Crown trail, as the winner of the 2021 Secretariat Vox Populi Award. Created by Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery, the award annually recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing.

Emerging as the favorite among the thousands of fans who voted in the year-end online poll, Hot Rod Charlie started the season as a long shot but consistently showed speed and determination that carried him through the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Hot Rod Charlie is owned in a partnership with Boat Racing LLC, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss. Trained by Doug O'Neill and piloted by Flavien Prat, he was a surprise winner of the Louisiana Derby and later finished third in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes, where his blistering fractions in the first quarter-mile rivaled the record-setting pace set in 1973 by Secretariat. Later in the year, Hot Rod Charlie answered an infamous disqualification in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes with a breathtaking comeback in the Pennsylvania Derby, his first graded stakes win.

The Oxbow colt's thrilling performances and his tenacity on the track endeared him to racing fans. Finishing in the money for five of his seven 2021 starts, Hot Rod Charlie tallied more than $2 million in earnings in 2021 and is poised for a sensational 4-year-old season in 2022. Off the track, his owners have donated a portion of Hot Rod Charlie's earnings to causes such as the Melanoma Research Alliance to honor O'Neill family members who had succumbed to the disease, as well as the Folds of Honor Foundation and the Jake Panus Walk-On Football Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of South Carolina.

“Hot Rod Charlie represents the heart and purpose of the Secretariat Vox Populi Award, and his feel-good story and grit as a competitor remind us why we love racing,” said Kate Chenery Tweedy, family historian and daughter of Penny Chenery. “Traditional awards may overlook his accomplishments, but this award celebrates his endearing connection with fans.”

Greg Helm of Roadrunner Racing, representing Hot Rod Charlie's ownership interests, expressed gratitude for the honor, given the talented field of nominees.

“This colt has given our team such an incredible ride this year, and we are overjoyed he has been recognized as the winner of the Vox Populi Award,” Helm said. “We saw something special in him early on, and 'Charlie' has validated that time and time again. It means so much to us that fans have connected with him too.”

Hot Rod Charlie was one of a select group of six nominees submitted by the Vox Populi Committee and presented to thousands of voters in all 50 states and more than 40 countries who spoke as the “Voice of the People” in the Secretariat.com online poll. Other nominees were Echo Zulu, Essential Quality, Knicks Go, Letruska, and Life is Good. Voters also had the option to write in their own favorite candidate to recognize other exceptional horses.

Hot Rod Charlie now joins a list of cherished racing stars who have also received the Vox Populi Award: Authentic (2020), Bricks and Mortar (2019), Winx (2018), Ben's Cat (2017), California Chrome (2016 and 2014), American Pharoah (2015), Mucho Macho Man (2013), Paynter (2012), Rapid Redux (2011), and Zenyatta (inaugural 2010).

The trophy presentation for Hot Rod Charlie's connections is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2022, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., where race fans can also enjoy the official Vox Populi winner's print giveaway and special autograph appearances.

The post Hot Rod Charlie Wins 2021 Vox Populi Award appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Bees And Honey Gets A Break Following Comely Victory

For the second straight year, someone with the last name McGaughey captured the $200,0000 Grade 3 Comely at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. This year, it was not Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, but rather his son and former assistant J. Reeve McGaughey capturing his first graded stakes victory with Bees and Honey.

Owned by Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen, Bees and Honey, a chestnut Union Rags sophomore filly, registered a 96 Beyer Speed Figure for her effort in the Comely, which last year was won by the Joseph Allen homebred Mrs. Danvers for the elder McGaughey.

“It's pretty exciting,” said Reeve McGaughey. “I certainly appreciate the owners giving me the opportunity. This is my first horse for Gainesway, but I've had one or two for Mr. Rosen. He's always been very fair and a good owner for me.”

McGaughey, who went out on his own in 2020, expressed pride in capturing his first graded stakes race on the NYRA circuit.

“It's exciting to win a graded race in New York like the Comely which has a long history behind it,” McGaughey said. “The filly seems like she came out of the race in good shape. She'll come back down to Lexington on Sunday and from there we'll see where she goes next.”

McGaughey said he learned a number of valuable lessons during his time spent working with his Hall of Fame father.

“Just that you can't control everything – they're horses,” McGaughey said. “As long as you believe in what you're doing, you'll be alright.”

McGaughey said his belief in what he thought was a strong work last Saturday over the main track at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., prompted him to ship Bees and Honey to Aqueduct for the Comely.

“It was in the back of our minds, but we didn't decide to go until her last work,” McGaughey said. “She's not an overly exciting work horse and she put in what I consider a really good work, so it was a race worth trying and it paid off.”

McGaughey, who will have 15 stalls at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, Fla., said his newly crowned graded stakes-winner will receive a freshening with a spring and summer campaign in mind.

“She's probably getting a bit of a break now,” McGaughey said. “She wants to run a mile and an eighth or further and there aren't many options over the winter. She's had a pretty busy half of the year from July on and handled it all well. We'll freshen her up a bit. She may go to Ocala or straight to Tampa with me.”

The post Bees And Honey Gets A Break Following Comely Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post