GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Lexitonian’s Spa Challenge: Back-to-Back Victories

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–When he goes to the post Saturday for the GI Forego S., Lexitonian (Speightstown) will try to do something new: follow a win with a win.

Lexitonian picked up his fifth victory in 19 career starts July 31 in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. as the longest shot in the field of nine at 34-1 and paid $70. It was his second graded stakes win and pushed the Calumet Farm homebred's earnings to $687,682, but was it just a one-off at the historic Graveyard of Favorites?

Trainer Jack Sisterson figures that even with his Vanderbilt score, Lexitonian will be price once again in the seven-furlong $600,000 Forego.

“He's got to prove himself that he can produce another performance like he did a few weeks ago,” Sisterson said. “As a barn, as a whole, we think he can do that. And we were just happy that he was able to show the public that he was capable of winning a race of that caliber because he's had some near-misses before in some Grade Is with maybe not the luckiest trips in those races. It was nice to finally win a Grade I with him and show the public that he is capable of winning a race like that.”

Sisterson said that he wasn't surprised that Lexitonian–who was put into the race early by jockey Jose Lezcano–was able to win the six-furlong Vanderbilt against a gang of graded stakes-winning veterans.

“If you really diagnosis his form–I'm obviously going to be biased–he should be a multiple Grade I winner,” Sisterson said. “It's unfortunate that he just missed in the Bing Crosby last year. He had everything going against him. He scratched in the Vanderbilt last year. We shipped him across country within a few days to Del Mar and he ran a great second in the Bing Crosby, just got beat a nose. Then in the Churchill Downs [a GI on the May 1 Derby program], he's horse 12 of 12, he's wide the whole way, he presses fast fractions and gets beat a head there.”

Following the Churchill Downs, where Lexitonian was 46-1, Sisterson tried him in the GI Met Mile June 5. He had a troubled trip and was eased.

Lexitonian was sent back to Sisterston's base at Keeneland, where he worked four times before being shipped to Saratoga. He turned in a very sharp half-mile breeze over the main track, :47.01, fourth-fastest of 113 at the distance, the weekend before the Vanderbilt. Sisterson decided it was time to try some different tactics training his 5-year-old.

“He's a horse that is very workmanlike in the morning. He knows what his job is and he knows to show up in the afternoons,” Sisterson said. “We've been working him down on the inside just to get a little bit more pressure to try and get a little bit more out of his workouts. It was actually the luck of the draw that we drew the one-hole because we've been working down on the inside.”

Lexitonian won the Vanderbilt from the inside | Sarah Andrew

Sisterson said that he broke from his normal policy and gave Lezcano some instructions before the race.

“I said to Jose, 'let's really change it up here and be aggressive and send him from the one-hole. Hopefully, somebody goes and engages with you. We really think that Lexitonian is a horse that when he feels pressure he will engage and respond,'” Sisterson said. “And he did, everything, that and more. When he was headed, he fought back. It couldn't have worked out any better.”

Lezcano will be back up for the Forego and Sisterson said they will stay with what was a winning formula.

“We'll definitely do the same tactics there on Saturday, be aggressive, jump out, go forward with the intentions of making the lead and see how the race turns out,” Sisterson said. “If anyone else wants to go with us they are more than welcome to. If no one wants to, we'll jump out and see how we go.”

Lexitonian won't surprise anyone this time and he and Lezcano are likely to have plenty of company up front. If form holds, he won't get much respect from bettors. He has never been the favorite in any of his races and the average of his odds in the five wins is 17-1.

“Yeah, I think he's always going to be a price,” Sisterson said. “People may say that was a fluke. He's obviously got to back up a performance like that, which he's never really done.”

The post Lexitonian’s Spa Challenge: Back-to-Back Victories appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Speightstown’s Lexitonian Upsets Vanderbilt

Lexitonian (h, 5, Speightstown–Riviera Romper, by Tapit), beaten just a nose in last summer's GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar, got his Grade I victory with a shocking, 34-1 upset in Saturday's GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga.

Drawn on the fence, he was hustled to the front by Jose Lezcano. The chestnut was pressed through an opening quarter of :22.04 and appeared to be in deep water as streaking former claimer and two back GIII Maryland Sprint Match Series S. winner Special Reserve (Midshipman) loomed large at the top of the stretch and hit the front. Lexitonian never quit, however, and battled back gamely in the lane to turn that one back and win by a half-length. The classy 8-year-old defending sprint champion Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) was third. Favored GISW Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) was a no-show eighth.

Scratched at the gate in this race last year and re-routed to the aforementioned Bing Crosby, Lexitonian was a close fifth in a saturated renewal of last summer's GI Forego S. at the Spa. He finished second, beaten only a head at 46-1, in this term's GI Churchill Downs S. May 1. Eased in the GI Metropolitan H. at Belmont last time June 5, Lexitonian geared up for the Vanderbilt with a sharp, four-furlong breeze in :47 (4/113) at Saratoga July 24.

His resume also includes wins in the 2019 GIII Chick Lang S. and Concern S. in Maryland, respectively.

Trainer Jack Sisterson won the first Grade I of his promising career with Vexatious (Giant's Causeway) in last summer's GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga.

“Growing up, this sport was a passion of mine and now it's a livelihood,” Sisterson said. “I'm speechless. To be up here on a stage like today and even to compete in a race like this is very humbling.

He continued, “I said to Jose [Lezcano], he's a horse who fights. Please get him out of the gate and engage him early. I believe if you engage him early, he will feel the pressure and respond to that. At the half-mile pole if he comes off the bridle, perfect. That's him and he will respond. It's even better if a horse heads him because he'll fight on again, which happened. He stuck his head out in front today.

“I have to give Lexitonian a ton of credit. He ran in the Met Mile and he was eased. You'd think a horse that was eased and thrown in some clunkers, you'd sit back and think let's drop him down a grade and give him a confidence builder. But I've run him in every Grade I and been hard on him and this is how he responds today.”

Pedigree Notes:

Lexitonian is the 22nd GISW for Speightstown and the sixth GISW out of a daughter of Tapit (Gran Alegria, Harvey's Lil Goil, Qafila, Halladay and Carta Embrujada).

Lexitonian's 2-year-old half-sister Miss Raison (Raison d'Etat) debuted for Sisterson with a fifth-place finish at Arlington earlier this month.

Progeny in the pipeline for Riviera Romper — a daughter of 2006 GI Darley Test S. heroine Swap Fliparoo (Exchange Rate) — include a Keen Ice colt of 2020 and a Speightstown filly of this year.

My Meadowview Farm homebred Riviera Romper, a winner of one of seven career starts, brought $310,000 from Calumet carrying her first foal Lexitonian at the 2015 KEENOV sale.

Saturday, Saratoga
ALFRED G. VANDERBILT H.-GI, $350,000, Saratoga, 7-31, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.38, ft.
1–LEXITONIAN, 118, h, 5, by Speightstown
                1st Dam: Riviera Romper, by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Swap Fliparoo, by Exchange Rate
                3rd Dam: Fliparoo, by Buckaroo
   1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Jack Sisterson;
J-Jose Lezcano. $192,500. Lifetime Record: 19-5-2-2, $687,682.
Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Special Reserve, 119, g, 5, Midshipman–Love Spun, by Hard
Spun. ($60,000 Ylg '17 FTKJUL; $140,000 2yo '18 OBSMAR).
O-Paradise Farms Corp. & David Staudacher; B-Russell L.
Reineman Stables Inc. (KY); T-Michael J. Maker. $70,000.
3–Whitmore, 123, g, 8, Pleasantly Perfect–Melody's Spirit, by
Scat Daddy. O-Robert V. LaPenta, Ron Moquett & Head of
Plains Partners LLC; B-John Liviakis (KY); T-Ron Moquett.
$42,000.
Margins: HF, 1 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 34.00, 3.35, 4.30.
Also Ran: Montauk Traffic, Firenze Fire, Strike Power, Three Technique, Mischevious Alex, Miles Ahead.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Speightstown’s Lexitonian Upsets Vanderbilt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Mischevious Alex Back Sprinting in Vanderbilt

Undefeated as a sprinter this season, Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) will turn back to six furlongs after being defeated in the one-mile GI Runhappy Metropolitan H. as a likely favorite in Saturday's GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga.

Proving himself as an exciting sophomore prospect last season with back-to-back open-lengths scores in the GIII Swale S. and GIII Gotham S., but missed the triple Crown and failed to crack the trifecta in his last two starts for John Servis when fourth in the GI Woody Stephens S. and sixth in the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. Transferred to Saffie Joseph and laid up for over five months, the $75,000 Keeneland September bargain came back with three straight dominant victories, culminating with a 5 1/2-length score in the GI Carter H. that earned a field-best 109 Beyer. He was unable to quite stick it out in the Met Mile though, flattening out late to be third after contesting the pace.

Hard-knocking 14-time winner Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior) will also try to rebound after suffering a rare defeat over his favorite track at Belmont. The victor of a remarkable 11 stakes races, he was last of four in last summer's Vanderbilt and again could see them all at the finish in the local GI Forego S., dropping his record to just one win in seven starts lifetime at the Spa. He's picked up three graded stakes trophies since though, all at Belmont, before being narrowly outdueled by Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) in the GII John A. Nerud S. last out July 4.

The ever-popular Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) is back for another bite at the apple after running a strong second in last year's Vanderbilt. Out of the top three in his next two outings, he unleashed a powerful stretch run to upset the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint by 3 1/4 lengths, locking up champion male sprinter honors. He's yet to find the mark in three tries as a 7-year-old, however, running second in the Hot Springs S. and GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. and most recently a close third in the GI Churchill Downs S. May 1.

The 'now' horse may be improving 5-year-old gelding Special Reserve (Midshipman). Haltered by Mike Maker for $40,000 out of an allowance/optional claiming spot Feb. 6 at Oaklawn, the bay has gone three-for-four since, with his only loss coming when second in the GIII Commonwealth S. Apr. 3 at Keeneland. When last seen, he dueled through a jaw-dropping :43.35 half-mile split and kicked away in the final furlong to a 2 3/4-length conquest of the Iowa Sprint S. July 3 at Prairie Meadows.

The post Mischevious Alex Back Sprinting in Vanderbilt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Gritty Whitmore ‘Still There Being Honest’

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–To illustrate his point about Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), trainer Ron Moquett stepped into the Eclipse Award winner's stall Sunday morning saying, “This is not the time to do this,” and rubbed his star's coat with a small towel. Showing his displeasure, Whitmore promptly kicked the wall. Hard.

“He is as consistent as the day is long,” Moquett said, smiling. “He will do everything the exact same way. Our job is to get done, working with him, knowing his idiosyncrasies.”

Moquett and his staff live in Whitmore's world, ruled by the 8-year-old gelding who is scheduled to make his 42nd career start–the 13th in a Grade I–in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Dependable as he is gritty and irascible, Whitmore, who was 19th in the 2016 GI Kentucky Derby, has flourished in the sprint division and was the 2020 champion. Overall, during his career, he won 15 times and has finished in the money in 78% of his races while earning over $4.4 million in purse money.

In the seven years since Moquett purchased the 2-year-old named Pleasant Mel in a private sale for $37,000, he and his staff have learned how to keep Whitmore in balance. Carlos Monroy has been his groom since he arrived. Moquett's wife and training partner, Laura, is his exercise rider. Moquett repeats a word to describe Whitmore's personality and his competitive nature, which is why he is catered to every morning and afternoon.

“I'm amazed all the time, just in his consistency,” Moquett said. “The thing is Whitmore doesn't owe us anything. So he gets to do what he wants to do every day of his life. If he wants to stay in the barn and do nothing, that's what he gets to do. His honesty and loyalty has been there and we owe him.”

Whitmore's Breeders' Cup Sprint | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire

It's fair to say that Whitmore reached another level of popularity with his victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint last November at Keeneland. As he had done so many times in the past, the big chestnut came from far off the early pace to beat C Z Rocket (City Zip) by 3 1/4 lengths. After two rare off-the-board finishes prior to the Sprint, he was 18-1 in the wagering.

Moquett said he was overwhelmed by who responded to the decisive score in the Sprint.

“The thing that will always be what touched me the most was other trainers' and competitive owners' and jockeys' reactions,” he said.

Among those who reached out to Moquett, 49, were Hall of Fame trainers Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert and Richard Mandella, who developed his sire, Pleasantly Perfect, into a major star.

“Here's the thing that people have got to realize,” Moquett said. “One, I like horses more than your average person likes horses. Two, I love horse racing. So I'm still a fan, even though I'm in the business. So when you get a text from Pletcher, you get a text from Asmussen or Asmussen cheers for your horse…”

Moquett didn't complete the sentence, but finished the thought.

“I get people coming up to me and they don't know me from a load of hay,” he said. “I could have been the leading trainer at Oaklawn or Churchill or Ellis by 50-whatever and they might not say hi to you. But they relate to him and they're like, 'Man, congratulations. I was really cheering for your horse.' That's something for a guy that grew up just a huge fan of all things racing.”

Moquett started with Quarter Horses and moved to Thoroughbreds in 1997. He has a solid stable that is nearing $32 million in career earnings, but Whitmore is by far the most successful of his runners. It took an interesting twist of fate for Moquett to land Whitmore. Shut out at the 2015 June Ocala sale, Moquett asked his friend, the agent Jeff Mackor, to send him some pictures of horses that had not sold and were still available. One of the dozen images Mackor sent him prompted a reaction.

Whitmore in his stall at Saratoga this week | Mike Kane

Moquett made it clear that he liked what he saw: “I sent him back a two-word text that said, 'Buy him.'”

Mackor made the deal and Pleasant Mel joined the Moquett stable.

“That's a running joke, too,” Moquett said. “People that knew when I bought him I just despised the name. I know it's named after a lady named Melody and his mother's name was Melody [Melody's Spirit, by Scat Daddy]. And the daddy is Pleasantly Perfect. They combined it, but he was neither a Mel or pleasant.”

Moquett renamed the horse for Wilbur Whitmore, his high school basketball teammate in Pocola, Okla.

“I changed his name after him because he kind of reminded me athletic-wise of Whitmore,” Moquett said. “Whitmore is just a natural athlete that could do anything better than you.”

Moquett had two partners in Whitmore when he ran in the Derby: Robert LaPenta and Harry Rosenblum. Sol Kumin's Head of Plains Partners purchased Rosenblum's stake in the horse in April 2017.

Whitmore came out of the Derby with a chip in his knee that had to be removed by surgery. Moquett said his partners never quibbled about the surgery but he fretted about how it would affect the horse.

“That was the time where I went, 'Man. I hope we can 'cause a lot of horses don't come back,'” he said. “That's the reason why a lot of horses retire whenever they have a little bit of something wrong with them is because they come back a dimmer version of what was so bright.”

Whitmore promptly answered the question when he returned to competition in December 2016 with the first of five straight victories. He's been a serious player in the sprint division ever since. He was second in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Sprint and third in 2019.

From Moquett's perspective, Whitmore has remained successful into racing's geezerhood because he loves to run and the stable knows how to treat him. That includes flying in his farrier from Louisville, Ky., to deal with his tender feet.

“There's not a big turnover in our barn for employees. There's a familiarity that allows us to know the subtle things,” Moquett said. “And we use that as an indicator. We're going too far. We're not going far enough. We're going too hard. We're not pushing. We take in all that. I think it's kind of like cooking with the same skillet. You know what you're doing after that.”

With his compelling back story and his strong performances in graded stakes after graded stakes, Whitmore has become an inspiring horse.

“This has nothing to do with me. A lot of people that cheer for Whitmore can't tell you my name,” Moquett said. “They liked the fact that he ran in the Kentucky Derby. Everybody else is going to make babies and whatever and he's just still there being honest. And he wins. He wins when he's supposed to. He tries. From that point on, that's all anybody wants is honesty. They want to know that they got a fair shake.

“The thing about 'Whit' is you can never guarantee a win or whatever, but you can guarantee that he'll give you what he's got. I think that makes people like him.”

The post Gritty Whitmore ‘Still There Being Honest’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post