gamine | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ce Ce’s Success the Perfect Memorial

It had looked as though she had missed her cue. If the notoriously random behaviors of the Thoroughbred were really governed by some benign destiny, Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) would surely have recognized her prompt last year in the Grade I race named for the father of her owner-breeder Bo Hirsch. As it was, she was jostled leaving the gate in the Clement L. Hirsch S., took a wide trip and had to make do with third. So there you had it. We couldn't deceive ourselves that anybody up there was peering down with a Hollywood script in his hands.

How wrong we were, how gloriously wrong. For it turned out that Ce Ce's defining moment had been reserved for the arrival at the same track of the Breeders' Cup itself, when her shock success in the GI Filly & Mare Sprint saluted the memory of the man who bred her dam–and remains cherished as the modern architect of our sport in California. So it's no different from the movies: the best scripts aren't glib and schmaltzy, but true to life. Without moments of disappointment on the way, there would be no true fulfilment in the denouement.

“I do admit that to have won the Clement L. Hirsch would, for me, have been like winning the Kentucky Derby,” Hirsch says. “And I hope someday I'm lucky enough to win that race. But this was as good a day as I ever had in my life, one I'll never forget, and it's still soaking in. I can't tell you the amount of calls and emails I've had since. The whole experience was just wonderful: all these people coming up and rooting for you, Chris the barber at the track wearing a Ce Ce hat. Like most people, I thought no one was going to beat Gamine (Into Mischief) if she ran her race. But you know, it's a horse race. And I was full of hope that it might set up for Ce Ce to give her best shot.”

Whether by happy accident or thoughtful design, Hirsch found himself observing the race in a box adjacent to his trainer Mike McCarthy. Afterwards, McCarthy said that down the stretch he had “watched” Ce Ce's finish through his patron's expression, and judging from its growing euphoria what must be happening out there.

And if the celebrations brought together other joyous strands, notably the comeback of veteran rider Victor Espinoza, then there was no mistaking the principal toast. For Del Mar would not be Del Mar without the selfless dynamism and integrity of Hirsch's father, who was also the rock on which was founded the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita.

“I felt his presence there,” admitted Hirsch. “I'm 72 years old, and I've been coming here for 72 years. My father would always rent a house on the beach, we'd come down during the summer and I loved it. It was my second home, and it still is.”

Among the messages of congratulations received by Hirsch, few moved him more than one from a stalwart of the Californian Turf, Alan Balch, who recalled the time he was going to leave Oak Tree. It felt like they had achieved everything they could hope for: the Breeders' Cup for 1984; 86,000 people at the Big 'Cap; the Olympics. Balch felt it was time to move on.

But then Hirsch's father found out, and there was his head around his office door one day: very serious, shuts the door, asks if he might sit down. What kind of pay hike, he asked, would change his mind? “I'll get it for you,” he said. “You're worth it.”

“That's the kind of guy he was,” reflects Hirsch. “I remember him starting the Oak Tree meet, back in '69, and he had to go and get approval by the Governor. And the late Dr. Jack Robbins told me one day how they went in to see [Santa Anita chairman] Robert Strub to try and get this thing finalized. And at the end of the meeting Strub says, 'You know, we could lose $2 million, $3 million, $4 million if this doesn't work out.' And those were 1969 dollars! And my father looked at him and says, 'You're covered.' And Strub says, 'Let's do it.' No contract. That's just the reputation my father had. His word was golden.”

What makes Ce Ce so special, then, is that she represents such a direct legacy to this cherished patriarch.

“My father was at the track one day when they had the [2-year-old] sale on,” Hirsch explains. “And he just walked in and there was Mel Stute, whose brother Warren was his trainer for 48 years. And he said, 'Clement, bid on this colt–he's out of my range, but bid on him, he's worth the money!' So my father turned around and bid, and 30 seconds later he owned this colt.”

Named Magical Mile (J O Tobin), the $190,000 acquisition broke the Hollywood Park track record on debut and then won a Grade II at the same track. Thereafter Hirsch Sr. went back time and again for siblings out of the same mare. The next foal won five of eight starts, including a stake at Del Mar; and then came Magical Maiden, who cost just $26,000 but won the GI Hollywood Starlet and GI Las Virgenes S.

This family has been developed elsewhere to produce champion Good Magic (Curlin) among others, but Magical Maiden had made an unpromising start to her second career when her owner died in 2000. Nonetheless the filly she had delivered a few weeks previously would find her way into a group of five horses picked out from the dispersal by Kathy Berkey (who had worked for his father) for Hirsch to maintain a residue of the program.

“I gave Kathy a budget,” recalls Hirsch. “And if I remember right, this filly took probably about half of it. I said, 'Boy, I'm not too interested in doing that. I'd rather get a few more mares to breed than start with a baby. My father bred to A.P. Indy with Magical Maiden and got nothing.' But Kathy said: 'This one is different.' So I said, 'You're the pro, let's go.'”

Warren Stute didn't think much of Miss Houdini, either, at first. “I hope you didn't pay too much for that!” he exclaimed. But she won the GI Del Mar Debutante S. and, while her track career was curtailed, went on to give Hirsch and his family a memorable ride with her second foal Papa Clem (Smart Strike), named for the affectionate way Hirsch's children had addressed his father. Papa Clem, aptly conditioned by Gary Stute, won the GII Arkansas Derby in 2009 and was just nosed out of the frame on the first Saturday in May.

“All my life, whenever friends asked did I ever go to the Derby, I had said: 'No, and I'm not going until I get a horse in there',” Hirsch recalls. “Expecting that never to happen. What an experience that week was! We took a big gang down there and just had a wonderful time. And we would have run second but for those two [Musket Man and Pioneerof the Nile] bumping us back and forth all the way down. By that time, I knew enough about the business to know that if you get a good one, you enjoy the moment–because it's going to be a long time, if ever, before you get another.”

And yet Papa Clem turned out only to be a pathfinder: Ce Ce, his half-sister, had already given their dynasty a rare distinction with her two Grade I wins last year, becoming the third consecutive elite winner along the bottom line. Hirsch stresses that he's fully alive both to the rarity of that achievement, and to its source in the combined perspiration and inspiration of his team: Berkey herself; Columbiana Farm, where he boards half a dozen mares; and, of course, the horsemen who produced her on the day.

“If you think of what Victor Espinoza has gone through, that there was a time he wasn't even sure he'd be able to lift a cup of coffee again, and now he's come back riding as good as ever,” Hirsch says. “And, like I said after the race, if there's a trainer out there who works harder than Mike McCarthy, they're working on a day that's longer than 24 hours. He is so dedicated, he eats and sleeps horses–yet also finds the time to be a wonderful family man.

“I realize how lucky I am to have that Magical Maiden line. I'm no expert, first to admit it, but Kathy spends so much time studying what sires to breed to these mares. Sires that keep us just the right size: they all look alike in the family, a little mean, a little light-bodied. I realize we're always rolling the dice, with horses, but these people have done a pretty darned good job.”

They don't have far to seek for a model. In fact, the more we look at the problems besetting our industry today, the more we need to invoke the spirit of Clement L. Hirsch. With leaders of his caliber, perhaps, we would be able to avoid the kind of trauma lately endured at Arlington.

“I agree,” says his son. “I'd love to see more people coming to the plate and doing things like that. It's not easy, of course. Both [Oak Tree and Del Mar] were done without owning the land. It would be wonderful if racetracks could be purchased by states, and leased back so that it can be profitable both for them and the industry. I can't think anything's better than the way they ran Oak Tree, and the way they run Del Mar now. How do you compete against an organization that's not doing it for profit: some of the money going to charity, the rest back into the horse business?”

As it is, the community often finds its most public-spirited, far-sighted endeavors sabotaged by factional self-interest. Do we still have leaders of this caliber? Clement Hirsch fought with the Marines on Guadalcanal. He started his sporting career when buying a greyhound threatened with euthanasia, for $2.50, and nursing him back to health and success–an experience that led incidentally to selling pet food door-to-door. Here was a man, right from the beginning, who always walked the walk.

“Well, my father was the most honorable man I've ever known,” Hirsch reflects. “And that's what he tried to teach his children, that honesty is the only policy. Be up front. And listen. Don't make decisions until you've heard both sides of the story. He was a very generous, very thoughtful man. The bottom line was always to ask what was the right thing to do?”

Whether or not our community as a whole can measure up to that legacy, at least the Hirsch equine program remains in the best of hands. Miss Houdini is entering the evening of her breeding career, but her daughter will probably have only one more season on the track before embarking on the quest for a fourth-generation Grade I winner.

“Well, Ce Ce is five years old,” Hirsch notes. “If she can produce as long as her mother, that would take us forward 15 years. And I'm 72. So who knows? We could just finish this thing off together! But whatever happens, I look forward to breeding Ce Ce to some top sires over the coming years. There's a lot more fun ahead.”

The post Ce Ce’s Success the Perfect Memorial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Baffert Back To Business In Juvenile Stakes At Del Mar

It may be easier for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to decompress and recover from last week's Breeders' Cup World Championships than the majority of Del Mar racing fans.

Last Saturday, Baffert was busy with five horses to saddle in four Breeders' Cup races. It began with Gamine finishing third as the 2/5 favorite in the Filly & Mare Sprint and continued with Eight Rings (4th) in the Dirt Mile, As Time Goes By (8th), and Private Mission (11th) in the Distaff and concluded with Medina Spirit (2nd) in the Classic at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

A day earlier his Corniche had triumphed in the Juvenile with Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst (5th) and Barossa (9th).

A lot to get the adrenaline flowing in a 68-year-old, even one of his experience and accomplishments. But, Baffert said, recovery time from the rigors of the Breeders' Cup was minimal for him.

“As soon as it goes official, I'm thinking about the next one (race or event),” Baffert said. “I'm proud of all my horses other than Gamine and I blame myself for that. I should have given her a prep race.”

Gamine came in with five straight graded stakes victories by a combined 23 ½ lengths, but hadn't raced since late August.

He considered Private Mission, winner of the Torrey Pines Stakes here during the summer meeting, and As Time Goes By to be victims of circumstance.

Private Mission, As Time Goes By and favored Letruska blazed early before occupying three of the last four finishing positions as longshot Marche Lorraine ($101.80) rallied to win.

“We thought nobody would go with Private Mission, and then they all did,” Baffert said.

The Breeders' Cup ended on something of a high note for Baffert when Kentucky Derby winner (pending a Kentucky Racing Commission ruling) Medina Spirit finished second to runaway winner Knicks Go, polishing off a strong case for an Eclipse Award as the top 3-year-old.

This weekend, it will be back to business as usual for Baffert. That is, looming large over and being positioned to dominate Juvenile stakes races. Baffert will saddle 6/5 morning line favorite Eda and Under the Stars in a field of five for Saturday's $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies. Sunday, he has three of the five entered, not coincidentally the top three choices on the morning line, in the seven furlong Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes – Winning Map (7/5), Messier (8/5), and Kamui (5/2).

First the fillies:

“Under the Stars is a maiden (0-for-1) but she ran well the first time out and we feel she fits in there,” Baffert said. “It's a short field and an opportunity to get black type (stakes placing) on her record.

“Eda we think will like that distance.”

Eda, runner-up by a head to Elm Drive in the six-furlong G2 Sorrento Stakes in August, was the 6/5 favorite in the $300,000 G1 Del Mar Debutante on September 5. But Eda was cooked in a speed duel with Elm Drive which saw them put up fractions of :21.78 and :44.37 for the first half-mile of the seven-furlong test and fade to fifth.

“They went so fast (in the Debutante) that everything fell apart, which happens,” Baffert said with a chuckle and nod to Gamine as well as the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

[Story Continues Below]

Now the colts in the Bob Hope:

“I hate to run them all together, but they're all doing well and deserve a shot,” the trainer offered.

Winning Map debuted with a 4 1/4-length victory in 1:10.20 for six furlongs at Santa Anita on October 3. Messier, is named after NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier. Messier was a teammate of the Empire Maker colt's co-owner Tom Ryan's father-in-law, Pat Hughes, along with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr on those legendary Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s.

Messier finished second in his first start on June 27 at Los Alamitos and came back on October 22 to win by 6 ½ lengths, matching the time over the same distance that Winning Map had produced three weeks earlier.

“We're taking the blinkers off Messier,” Baffert said. “He's not as quick as the others, but we think it's a good spot for him at a distance he'll like.”

Kamui was beaten a half-length by fellow Hope entrant Forbidden Kingdom at Del Mar on August 21 and came back to score by six lengths in a 5 ½-furlong sprint at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on September 11.

The field for the Bob Hope from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Messier (Flavien Prat, 8/5); Kamui (Abel Cedillo, 5/2); Winning Map (Mike Smith, 7/5); Rock N Rye (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1), and Forbidden Kingdom (Juan Hernandez, 9/2).

The post Baffert Back To Business In Juvenile Stakes At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Breeders’ Cup Sunday Notes: Connections Look To What’s Next in 2022

Knicks Go/Essential Quality – Trainer Brad Cox extended his Breeders' Cup streak to four straight years with at least one Breeders' Cup World Championships win when Knicks Go put an exclamation point on the 2021 event at Del Mar with a 2 ¾-length victory in the $6 million Grade 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. His stablemate Essential Quality, the post-time favorite, finished third.

When asked about his thoughts on the race and if he was nervous when he saw the half-mile time of :45, Cox said, “You know, not a whole lot because he wasn't being pressed. He'd kind of cleared off at that point, and established maybe a two-length lead, so I felt comfortable about that. It's one thing being pressed. It's one thing going fast and being pressed, but it's different when you're going fast and you're kind of doing it by yourself. The opening quarter was on a straightaway, so I felt like it was relatively reasonable. I was almost thinking he wasn't going fast enough. Then I think Joel (Rosario), may have let him out a notch around the turn because like I said, he always runs around turns really well. I felt like he was in pretty good position.

“He had been doing extremely well. Both horses had been doing extremely well. Obviously, I do think the race, as it unfolded, played to Knicks Go's advantage, just the way it unfolded into the first turn. And, up the backside, I felt pretty confident that he would have enough to finish with. Obviously, the mile and a quarter is not an issue. I've never really thought it would be just based on his mile and an eighth performances this year. Just a huge performance.”

“Essential Quality, I thought he ran huge. I kind of thought we were in a little bit of a tough spot just with the fact that you know there was Knicks Go obviously, then everyone else was battling for position up the backside. The next group of horses were well bunched and we had some very good horses in front of us and he was able to pass several of them. He ran extremely well. We did a good job of saving ground to stand on the inside. At the three-eighths pole, I really thought he had a shot at winning, but Knicks Go and Medina Spirit just weren't backing up. I was very proud of what he was able to accomplish over the last year and a half and I'm looking forward to training his babies.”

Knicks Go, who could make at least one more start in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park, is all but assured himself Champion Older Dirt Male and Horse of the Year honors with his victory in the Classic, but there will likely be a tight race between Classic runner-up Medina Spirit, winner of the Kentucky Derby, and Essential Quality for Champion 3-Year-Old Male honors.

“I think he deserves to be champion 3-year-old,” Cox said. “He has two big Grade 1s, two very prestigious wins in the Belmont and Travers. He was able to have a campaign all year. It started in the Southwest, he ran a big one in the Blue Grass. The Derby, obviously didn't work out quite the way we would have liked, but he was able to follow it up with a spectacular summer at Saratoga. And, then to come in here and I really think he performed very well. I thought about this this morning when I woke up. 'Is there anything I could have done different with him to prepare for this?' I wouldn't have prepared him any different.”

While Knicks Go and Essential Quality remained in California Sunday morning, their stablemate Shedaresthedevil was already en route to Kentucky after her sixth-place finish in the G1 Longines Distaff. She is scheduled to be sold Tuesday night at the Fasig-Tipton sale.

“I thought she was in a fantastic spot at the half-mile mark,” Cox said. “I thought we looked like a winner, although the fractions were incredibly hot. It was hard to believe that any of those horses could keep going with those fractions. I thought she ran a good race. I guess you could say she ran the best race of the speed horses. She was the one that faltered the least amount. I do feel like she was really ready to run.

“We're excited about going to the sale with her. It's a possibility, you know, someone could purchase her and she could return to racing. She has no issues and is a very sound filly. We'll see how it plays out on Tuesday for her.”

On Friday, Juju's Map finished second in the G1 NetJets Juvenile Fillies (G1) and will now set her sights on the G1 Kentucky Oaks next May.

“We're excited about her,” Cox said. “We'll take her to the Fair Grounds and run in either the Fair Grounds or Oaklawn series for 3-year-old fillies. We'll probably run where (Juvenile Fillies winner) Echo Zulu doesn't. But, a huge congratulations to her team. They did a fantastic job.”

Medina Spirit/Gamine – Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit and Michael Lund Petersen's once-beaten Gamine emerged from their respective races fine, trainer Bob Baffert reported Sunday morning.

“I was really proud of his race,” Baffert said about his Kentucky Derby-winning Medina Spirit, who was runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Classic behind Knicks Go. “We just got beat by a better horse. We hadn't planned to be as far back early, but he did kind of a stutter step just after the break and it cost us position. He ended up having a rough, wide trip. That's horse racing. He tried to make a run at the winner through the stretch, but that's a really nice horse that beat him

“He was best of all the others and he beat those same 3-year-olds (alluding to both Hot Rod Charlie and Essential Quality) again by about the same margin.”

Baffert indicated that while no specific plans had been mapped out for Medina Spirit for 2022, he mentioned that the horse's owner was keen on potentially running in the Saudi Cup next February.

No decision has been made about Gamine's racing future in the wake of a disappointing third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) for which she was the defending champion. The brilliant daughter of Into Mischief suffered only her second career defeat and first around one turn.

“I probably should have given her a prep race before the Breeders' Cup. She just got tired.” Baffert said. “We knew there was a lot of speed in the race and we thought about taking her back, but when she broke great, we had no choice.”

Hot Rod Charlie – Roadrunner Racing, William Strauss, Boat Racing, and Gainesway Stable's Hot Rod Charlie came out of his fourth-place Classic finish in good order according to trainer Doug O'Neill.

“He came out of the race fine and scoped clean,” said O'Neill, who has no immediate plans for Hot Rod Charlie. “We will sit down and discuss it, but right now nothing is targeted. He's only 3 and it is very exciting to think about the possibilities for him.”

O'Neill also did not have a target in mind for ERJ Racing, Madaket Stables, and Dave Kenney's Mackinnon, who finished third, beaten less than 2 lengths, in Friday's G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“He's got a lot of options,” O'Neill said of the three-time winner on grass. “He has shown a lot this year and he will get a little time off.”

Stilleto Boy – Steve Moger's Stilleto Boy, who finished fifth in the Classic at 51-1 odds, came out of the race well according to trainer Ed Moger Jr.

“Everything is good,” Moger said of the 3-year-old who finished ahead of three Grade 1 winners, earned a $180,000 check Saturday and has made back more than half of his $420,000 purchase price in four starts for the Mogers. “We are pointing for the Malibu (Dec. 26 at Santa Anita).”

Letruska – Though St. George Stable's 5yo filly ended her outstanding season on a down note as the 8-5 favorite in the Longines Distaff, trainer Fausto Gutierrez said Sunday that she came out of the race fine and will stay in training in 2022.

After attending a torrid early pace, Letruska ended up 10th of 11 under Irad Ortiz Jr. She was second to Private Mission through opening fractions of :21.84, :44.97, and 1:09.70.

“That race was very, very fast in the beginning,” Gutierrez said, “and we saw the result. The five horses that were in the back were the five horses that arrived in the front. That's what happened.”

Letruska won six of eight starts in 2021, four of them Grade 1 races, and is the leading contender for the Older Dirt Female Eclipse Award. Gutierrez said the mare will have some time to recover from her busy campaign and that he will develop a schedule for next year.

Life Is Good/Malathaat – Life Is Good, whose 5 ¾-length victory in the Dirt Mile was the biggest winning margin of the 14 Breeders' Cup races, will get a vacation at WinStar Farm in Kentucky before launching his 4-year-old campaign.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said the Into Mischief colt was fine Sunday morning and that a start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park could be on the schedule.

“That's what we'd spoke about prior to the race that our sort of two-race plan was the mile and then stretch him out further in the Pegasus,” Pletcher said Sunday. “He certainly ran well enough to proceed in that direction if everything goes smoothly, but we haven't really had any time to really firmly discuss our entire plans yet. I'm sure once everybody gets back to their headquarters, we'll have that conversation.”

Life is Good came into the Dirt Mile with a big reputation and he delivered a strong performance, leading from gate to wire under Irad Ortiz Jr. He completed the mile in 1:34.12 after opening fractions of :21.66, :44.94 and 1:08.76.

“It was everything that we were hoping for and then maybe even more,” Pletcher said. “The horse had trained spectacularly coming into the race and I felt like he was sitting on a big race. When he broke cleanly, you could tell they were going quickly and there was some other horses trying to be involved. My first concern was just, hopefully, he hadn't gone too fast, but it seemed like he was relaxed and settled. In spite of the fact that he was rolling right along, he was doing it comfortably. I think that's kind of what we've come to expect from him. It's one of those horses that's extremely fast, has a very high cruising speed and the ability to continue doing it. What was even more impressive to me than, than the :21 and four and 44 and change and 1:08 and change, is that he essentially won geared down. Then Irad had to reach up and grab a hold of him in the middle of the turn. Galloping out, he was still full of horse. I don't think he could have been any more impressive.”

Pletcher said that Shadwell Stable's 3-year-old filly Malathaat came out of her third-place finish in the Distaff in good order and will continue racing in 2022. The winner of the Ashland, Kentucky Oaks, and Alabama is a top contender for the Eclipse Award.

Malathaat was a half-length back at the wire of the Distaff, which had extremely fast early fractions of :21.84 and :44.97 that ultimately melted the speed horses.

“I thought she ran a great race,” Pletcher said. “She, unfortunately, didn't come out on the winning side, which is frustrating when you have one as talented as she is, and you're not able to win. It was really a strangely run race. There was such a blazing opening quarter and half and things got kind of tricky for the closers in the far turn, because the pack was coming back so rapidly as the closers were starting to build up momentum.”

Malathaat, the 7-2 second choice in the wagering, was well off the pace early, and rallied with the other closers.

“Being on the inside, she kind of had to encounter some traffic there and got in some tight quarters, turning for home” Pletcher said. “She bumped with the runner-up (Dunbar Road) a little bit. And then finally regained some momentum late and was only beaten a nose and a half a length. Maybe with a slightly different trip, it could have altered the outcome. As always, she showed up and ran a big race and I think proved that she's the best 3-year-old filly in her crop.”

Pletcher said that Malathaat will ship to Shadwell Farm in Kentucky for a rest and rejoin his stable in Florida this winter.

Spendthrift Farm's homebred Following Sea emerged from this third-place finish in the Sprint under John Velazquez in good order, Pletcher said, and will ship back to Belmont Park this week.

Pletcher said the Cigar Mile and the Malibu are being considered for the son of Runhappy.

“I thought he ran a terrific race,” Pletcher said. “Drawing the rail in the Sprint you're always concerned and I think that that ended up perhaps costing us the race. He was making a really good move at the top of the stretch and for a brief moment, there was a hole open that closed before he could get there. He had to check lost all of this momentum and then re-rallied to be third. Johnny (Velazquez) felt pretty strongly that if he had gotten through, when that gap was open, that he could have won. A little frustrating with the outcome, but very, very pleased with his performance. I think we made the right decision to bring him because he ran a winning race. We just didn't quite get the job done, but he proved that he belongs with that group.”

Pletcher said that his two Juvenile runners, Commandperformance, who was fourth, and Double Trouble, who was eighth, will be prepared for their 3-year-old seasons.

CeCe/Smooth Like Strait – Bo Hirsch's Ce Ce and Cannon Thoroughbreds' Smooth Like Strait, who combined to give trainer Michael McCarthy a memorable Breeders' Cup Championship afternoon, were vanned back to the McCarthy's main stable operation at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., Saturday night. Ce Ce was the upset winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, while her barnmate Smooth Like Strait was a strong runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Mile five races later. For CeCe, a daughter of Elusive Quality, the victory marked her fourth in six starts and third stakes triumph this year. Smooth Like Strait has been a gem of consistency, finishing first or second in five consecutive graded turf stakes races.

Aloha West – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' G1 Qatar Racing Sprint winner Aloha West exited his 11-1 victory in fine order, per trainer Wayne Catalano.

“He looks great to me,” Catalano said Sunday morning. “He's some horse. He's a monster. We'll chill out for a little bit after this and get him back to Lexington. We'll put him in the hyperbaric chamber for a few days and then I'll talk to Aron Wellman and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and make a plan for him for next year.

“Everybody keeps bringing up that I got a good Breeders' Cup record, but all I know is I've won four,” he continued. “We have been fortunate enough to have some runners who could get the job done. It really is satisfying to win with an older horse. With the younger horses, they come along and do their thing and the other horses aren't quite caught up to them. That's the way that works. But I'm just very grateful for the opportunity to develop this horse and run in and win another Breeders' Cup race. It's unbelievable.”

The dark bay 4-year-old colt became the sixth Maryland-bred to win a Breeders' Cup race, joining Cigar, Safely Kept, Knicks Go, Concern, and Sharing. Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go would go on to add a seventh trophy to the Free State mantle when taking the Classic later Saturday afternoon.

“My assistant trainer Lacy Pierce got on him when he first came to us off the farm and she said 'this is a runner.' She really liked him immediately,” Catalano continued. “He kept getting better. The other day after his breeze for the race when he came home in 22 and change and came back like he had a morning jog, I told Aron (Wellman, principal of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners) that this horse was training unbelievable and just might be the best horse I've ever had my hands on. He was blown away by it. This horse should have won the Phoenix, but was slammed out of the gate and went wide around.

“Yesterday, when he started down the backside and passed a couple of horses, I thought 'OK he's putting in his run and we might have a chance,' and then I thought as he's coming down the lane that he could maybe get there, but at the wire, I wasn't too sure. Then they showed (the finish replay) three times – the first time I thought we didn't get there; second time I wasn't sure; third time I thought 'maybe I got there!'

“He was closing so fast and Jose (Ortiz) rode a great race. He did the job you're supposed to do. Once he leveled off, it was 'Katy bar the door.' I was not worried about the race until they hit the wire. At my age, having to sweat those things out, that was a little hard – but we got the nod. Obviously, we all knew how good Jackie's Warrior and the others were, but like I say, they don't give you these races. They line them up in the gate and you have to go get them.”

Aloha West is the second Breeders' Cup winner for Darley stallion and 2007 Classic runner-up Hard Spun, following 2019 Dirt Mile winner Spun to Run, and improved Catalano's record to four wins from 15 starters, amassing just short of $4 million in prize money. Aloha West improved his own record to 9-5-2-0 with a career bankroll of $1,311,068 and won his first graded stakes in his second try, following a runner-up effort in October's G2 Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. He is Catalano's first older horse to win a Breeders' Cup, as his previous three were in 2-year-old races.

“We have wound it down a bit with my barn, but I'm hoping I get another couple of horses like him and win a couple more Breeders' Cups – but this is the one right now,” Catalano concluded. “I'm looking to have some good ones and enjoy my family and my grandkids – three boys and one baby girl on the way. Life is shorter than you think.”

Golden Pal – On Sunday morning, Wesley Ward was pleased with how star pupil Golden Pal exited his second Breeders' Cup victory. Last year's G2 Juvenile Turf Sprint winner doubled up by taking the G1 Turf Sprint in brilliant gate-to-wire style under Irad Ortiz Jr. Ward confirmed that the Coolmore-owned 3yo colt will ship out late Monday night and focus on two major goals in 2022, Royal Ascot and a Breeders' Cup return.

“He's great. He's ready to go home,” Ward said. “I'm feeling good. I'm happy this horse won. I've been singing his praises for a long time and he's the best one we had running. I'm excited to run him in the Breeders' Cup next year at Keeneland. He's going to be a four-year-old and faster. We'll point to Royal Ascot with him and the (Group 1) King's Stand (Stakes) and prep at Keeneland in April in the Shakertown. If he can win in England, he can really stamp himself as a stallion, hopefully.

“He's a lot like (former trainee and current Coolmore stallion) No Nay Never, who would have won (the Turf Sprint) if it were a five-furlong race, instead of down the hill,” Ward continued. “They're both mentally so composed and never turn a hair. Yesterday, you could see him in the paddock just getting himself prepared mentally and getting focused.”

A son of 2010 G1 Juvenile winner Uncle Mo and 2015 Turf Sprint runner-up Lady Shipman, Golden Pal earned a third Breeders' Cup trophy for his sire, who also begat 2015 Juvenile winner Nyquist. Ward earned his sixth Breeders' Cup trophy and second of the weekend, following his third consecutive Juvenile Turf Sprint victory with Twilight Gleaming (IRE). It was his first win in the Turf Sprint after 11 losses.

[Story Continues Below]

Foreign Horse Report

The Breeders' Cup World Championships lived up to its name with a phenomenal weekend of racing. Japan and England led the way for the international challengers.

Trainer Charlie Appleby, jockey William Buick, and owners Godolphin were the stars of the show over the weekend recording three wins.

Space Blues (IRE) (Mile) won in impressive fashion and will now finish his career on a high and be retired to stud.

Yibir (GB) (Turf) completed a hat trick of winners for team Appleby after Modern Games' (IRE) (Juvenile Turf) big win Friday.

Yibir stayed on strongest to hit the wire hard and win by half a length. He will now have a break before connections map out a campaign for next year.

Loves Only You (JPN) (Filly & Mare Turf) recorded a win for Japan in the hands of Yuga Kawada. Marche Lorraine (JPN) (Distaff) completed the Japanese double on the day when causing a shock for U.K. champion jockey Oisin Murphy. Future plans for both horses are yet to be decided, but a trip to Keeneland next year for the Breeders' Cup looks high on the agenda.

Arguably the most impressive winner of the day was Golden Pal (Turf Sprint) who showed electric speed from the gates. In behind were Emaraaty Ana (GB) and who were the nearest international challengers finishing fourth and fifth A Case of You (IRE). Emaraaty Ana is finished for the season, but connections of A Case of You are considering a trip to Hong Kong in December for the Hong Kong Sprint. Trainer Adrian McGuinness stated he would see how A Case of You travels home before firming up a trip to Sha Tin.

Teona (IRE) (Turf) ran a huge race to finish third for trainer Roger Varian and jockey David Egan who was having his first Breeders' Cup ride. She will now have a break and be aimed at the major races in Europe next season before a possible return to the Breeders' Cup Turf. Aidan O'Brien drew a blank this year, but hit the cross bar with Broome (IRE) (Turf) finishing second. He has been invited to run in the Hong Kong Vase and that trip looks to be a big possibility after yesterday's big run.

Plans for Tarnawa (IRE) (Turf) who was disappointing are still not confirmed. Irish champion jockey Colin Keane reported she ran flat with her previous run in the Prix de l'Arc Triomphe taking its toll.

It was also a good day Saturday morning at Del Mar for international runners the day after Modern Games (IRE) led the way by winning the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Albahr (GB) was scratched after going to the ground in the gates but he was fine Saturday morning. Both horses will have a break now with big plans ahead of next season.

Go Bears Go (IRE) who finished a gallant second in the G2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint also has come out of his race well according to trainer David Loughnane.

“It's a dream come true even though we didn't win,” Loughnane said. “To have a horse perform like that in a race as big as Friday is just amazing. He's a real star who has a huge heart and he'll be back next year when we'll have big plans. Hopefully, he travels home well.”

Malavath (IRE) second in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf also came out of her race well. Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard said, “All is good. I'm very proud of her performance and it's exciting times ahead.”

Cachet (IRE) who led most of the way in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf looked the winner for a long time but couldn't quite last home. Trainer George Boughey said, “She ran a massive race. She did us all proud. She's as tough as they come and has a big future. The Saudi Derby could be her next target in February.”

All international horses seem to have come out of their races in good shape before they embark on their journeys back to England, France, Germany, Ireland, and Japan.

The post Breeders’ Cup Sunday Notes: Connections Look To What’s Next in 2022 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Ce Ce Upsets Heavily Favored Gamine In Breeders’ Cup Filly And Mare Sprint

With just four rivals facing her in the gates and a five-race winning streak where she took no prisoners, there was perhaps no surer thing on the Breeders' Cup menu than Gamine defending her title in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Saturday at Del Mar.

In horse racing, though, there's no such thing as a sure thing.

After relentless pressure throughout the race, Gamine ultimately relented to finish third, while Ce Ce drove past the 2-to-5 favorite to earn the biggest win of her career.

Ce Ce, a 5-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality kept about three lengths back from the pace out of the gate, as Gamine took the early command in her usual fashion, pressed hard to the outside by Bella Sofia. Gamine clocked the opening quarter-mile in :22.31 seconds, a half-length ahead of Bella Sofia, with Edgeway looming closely behind on the rail.

Ce Ce crept up closer to the lead pack under jockey Victor Espinoza as the field approached the turn. As Gamine clicked a half-mile in :44.92 seconds, Bella Sofia drew up closer to the leader on the outside, and jockey Joel Rosario brought Edgeway up an open spot on the rail to pose a threat.

Those three set themselves up on even terms through the turn, as Espinoza took Ce Ce four-wide and entered the conversation at the top of the stretch. With the inside path, Edgeway took control of the lead from Gamine as they entered the straightaway, and Ce Ce accelerated from the outside at the six-furlong mark, run in 1:08.66.

With all the momentum on the outside trip, Ce Ce carried on past Edgeway, and kicked clear under a hand ride to win the Filly and Mare Sprint by 2 1/2 lengths. Edgeway continued on for second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Gamine.

“I had a lot of horse,” Espinoza said. “She bounced out of the gate, but I decided to sit back and she was nice and relaxed. When I shook the reins at her at the five-eighths pole, I got a little excited. I wanted to go inside, but that spot was taken. But it worked out pretty fine.”

Ce Ce stopped the clock in 1:21 flat in the seven-furlong race over a fast main track. She paid $14.40 to win as the field's third betting choice.

“Around the turn she put in her run and she was very good,” said trainer Michael McCarthy. “It's a proud moment for (Bo Hirsch and I). I wish I would have shaved a little more this morning. Such a fantastic day and fantastic event. Just happy for everybody. She's been very consistent. I think last year I decided that this year we would go one turn with her. She's been touting herself this week that she was going to run a big one. I'm just glad she did on a stage like today.”

Saturday's Filly and Mare Sprint was Ce Ce's fifth win in her last six starts, and her eighth total career victory, compiling lifetime earnings of $1,753,100. McCarthy trains the homebred mare for Bo Hirsch.

Ce Ce's 2021 campaign has been a dramatic reversal from her 2020 season, when she notched a Grade 1 victory in the Beholder Mile, then stretched out to 1 1/16 miles to take the G1 Apple Blossom Handicap, before eventually finishing fifth in that year's Breeders' Cup Distaff. She was moved back to one-turn races in 2021 to astounding success, coming into this year's Breeders' Cup with wins in the G2 Princess Rooney Stakes and a five-length dismantling of the G3 Chillingworth Stakes.

The only time Ce Ce faced defeat in a sprint race this season was the G1 Ballerina Handicap, where she finished third to Gamine.

Quotes from other connections:

Jockey Joel Rosario (second with Edgeway) – “I was on the inside and I had the room to run, but I was probably just second best today.”

Trainer Bob Baffert (third with 2-5 favorite Gamine) – “She was out there and she just got tired at the end. The winner ran a great race. I really can't make a lot of excuses. She just got tired. I blame myself with the preparation. She had some time off and I think a race in between probably would have helped her. I think I made a mistake there. Now, she'll be ready. Going in, I was hoping I was okay here. The winner is a good filly. She looked great in the paddock. I knew she was the one to beat.”

Jockey John Velazquez (third with 2-5 favorite Gamine) – “When you go that fast early, it's hard to keep up the whole way around when you are pressed all the time. At the quarter pole, I thought she was going to have it, but as soon as I moved my hands and she didn't respond the way I thought, I knew I was in trouble.”

Trainer Rudy Rodriquez (fourth with Bella Sofia) – “We tried to go with Gamine and we set up the race for the third-best horse. I thought we were running good. We got bumped a little bit in the stretch, but I think we were done already at the time. This is what you expect in these big races. They went pretty fast and came home fast and that's what it is.”

The post Ce Ce Upsets Heavily Favored Gamine In Breeders’ Cup Filly And Mare Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post