Tag: Godolphin

Mott Runners Tune Up at the Spa

Godolphin homebred Cody's Wish (Curlin) tuned up for the Aug. 5 GI Whitney S. with a five-furlong work over the Oklahoma dirt training track in 1:02.81 (10/12) Sunday in Saratoga.

Trained by Bill Mott, the 5-year-old was piloted through his breeze by assistant trainer Neil Poznansky, who guided the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner through splits of :26 2/5 and :38 2/5 before galloping out in 1:15 1/5, 1:27 1/5 and 1:41 3/5.

“He just let him off the bridle and he picked it right up,” said Mott.

Cody's Wish heads into the Whitney on a six-race win streak which has included victories in the GI Forego S. last August at Saratoga, the Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland, the GI Churchill Downs in May and the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. June 10 at Belmont. He will look to secure his first win beyond one mile in the Whitney, while making his first start at nine furlongs since a third-place finish in a maiden tilt at Saratoga two years ago.

Also Sunday, Mott sent out reigning champion sprinter Elite Power (Curlin) to work a half-mile in :51 1/5 over the Oklahoma training track in preparation for the six-furlong July 29 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.

Elite Power was clocked with an easy opening split of :24 and change by NYRA clockers Sunday in a breeze that Mott indicated was similar to the chestnut's half-mile work in :51.11 over the Oklahoma last October ahead of his score in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“That's him by himself,” Mott said. “He's run well off of those kind of works right before his races. He did that in Saudi. He was working :51 before he won the Breeders' Cup. He wouldn't wow anyone when he's working by himself.”

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Wet Paint Surges Late to Claim the CCA Oaks

Favored to earn her first taste of Classic glory in the GI Kentucky Oaks in May, Godolphin's Wet Paint (Blame) could only manage a fourth-place finish behind stablemate Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief). Fast forward through a runner-up effort in Ellis's Monomoy Girl S. last month followed by a trek to upstate New York, the bay finally bagged her own Grade I, taking Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga.

“She's a super consistent filly who always comes running,” said trainer Brad Cox, who won the 2018 renewal of the Oaks with subsequent champion Monomoy Girl. “Her run in the [Kentucky] Oaks was good and her last race at Ellis was probably better than it looked on paper running against a huge bias with no pace. I'm glad she stepped up and finally got that Grade I–that was big for her.”

GSW Southlawn (Pioneerof the Nile) stumbled dramatically leaving the innermost stall, spotting the field several lengths while 14-1 chance She's Lookin Lucky (Lookin At Lucky) and Sacred Wish (Not This Time) enjoyed cleaner starts and proceeded directly to the head of affairs. In the meantime, Wet Paint was unhurried in last, about four lengths off of She's Lookin Lucky, who registered a comfortable opening quarter in :24.67 as Sacred Wish and the awkward starting Southlawn pursued in second and third, respectively. Still content to linger out back through an equally modest half in :48.81, Wet Paint launched her bid heading to the quarter pole as Sacred Wish forged to the front and appeared to be en route to victory. Wet Paint, however, had other ideas. Fanned out several paths wide straightening for home, the 7-5 second choice slowly reeled in game leader in the final jumps and nailed her rival by a neck at the wire. Favored Gambling Girl was a long way back in third, finishing ahead of She's Lookin Lucky and Southlawn.

“She closes into soft paces like she did today, she closes into a fast pace,” said Cox. “This is her thing in regards to just kind of flopping out of the gate and finding her way and finishing up. I told Flavien [Prat] today, 'Just ride her like a turf horse.' He knows what to do and you don't have to tell him anything. That's really what it comes down to–just let her break and kind of find her way around there, and when she starts picking up, just keep her out of trouble.”

Added Prat, “Turning for home I thought I was going to win, at the eighth pole I was questioning it, and then she finally found another gear to get by that filly. We went slow and we really picked it up and the filly of George Weaver's kept on going, but she was able to get the win.”

Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) was scratched the morning of the race after sustaining a minor foot issue, via a Tweet posted by trainer Tom Amoss Saturday morning.

“Hoosier Philly was not herself this morning with a minor foot issue. Out of an abundance of caution, agreement with the state vets, & doing the right thing by her, she will be withdrawn from the CCAO. We look forward to getting back to the track in the future.”

On the board in two of three starts last season, Wet Paint kicked off the season with a win in Oaklawn's Martha Washington S. before adding wins in a sloppy renewal of the GIII Honeybee S. and GIII Fantasy S. ahead of her Classic bid.

Cox said Wet Paint will likely target the 10-furlong GI Alabama S. Aug. 19 at the Spa.

“That's the logical spot moving forward,” Cox said. “We'll talk it over with the Godolphin team, but I think a mile and a quarter is definitely something she's going to be able to handle based off her running style and showing today that she likes Saratoga.”

 

Pedigree Notes:
Wet Paint is one of 21 graded winners and 45 black-type winners for Claiborne's Blame, who also has six winners at the highest level. Three of those six Grade I winners are out of Mr. Prospector-line broodmare sires, making them inbred to that prolific Claiborne stalwart. Wet Paint herself is 4×4 to Mr. Prospector and her damsire, Darley's late Street Cry (Ire), is responsible for 140 stakes winners out of his daughters. The CCA Oaks winner is Blame's second Grade I winner at the Spa following Marley's Freedom, who won the 2018 Ballerina S.

A second-generation Godolphin homebred after Darley acquired the family from Stonerside, Wet Paint has a yearling half-sister by Medaglia d'Oro. Dam Sky Painter, who hails from the same family as 2020 GII Del Mar Derby winner Pixelate (City Zip) and whose third dam is four-time GISW Nastique (Naskra), most recently produced a filly by Not This Time Apr. 26.

 

Saturday, Saratoga
COACHING CLUB AMERICAN OAKS-GI, $485,000, Saratoga,
7-22, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:50.68, ft.
1–WET PAINT, 121, f, 3, by Blame
                1st Dam: Sky Painter (GSP, $169,755), by Street Cry (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Skylighter, by Sky Mesa
                3rd Dam: Painted Lady, by Broad Brush
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-0, $1,057,175. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sacred Wish, 121, f, 3, by Not This Time– Indian Wish, by Indian Charlie. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $70,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP; $50,000 2yo '22 EASMAY). O-Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, Christopher T. Dunn and Anthony Spinazzola; B-John Penn (KY); T-George Weaver. $100,000.
3–Gambling Girl, 121, f, 3, by Dialed In–Tulipmania, by Empire Maker. ($200,000 Ylg '21 SARAUG). O-Repole Stable; B-Gallagher's Stud (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $60,000.
Margins: NK, 8HF, HF. Odds: 1.45, 10.80, 1.20.
Also Ran: She's Lookin Lucky, Southlawn. Scratched: Hoosier Philly.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Godolphin Homebred Proxy Back to Winning Ways in Monmouth Cup

Sometimes Proxy (h, 5, Tapit–Panty Raid, by Include), the GI Clark H. winner, shows up and sometimes Proxy, the last-place finisher in the GI Stephen Foster S., makes an appearance. Saturday in Monmouth's $400,000 GIII Monmouth Cup S., it was the former, as the gutsy bay and 2-5 choice called on his class to uncharacteristically set the pace and turn back stiff challenges from Whelen Springs (Street Sense)–the only horse in the field with a recent win over the surface–and last-out GII Brooklyn S. runner-up Calibrate (Distorted Humor).

“He really showed some guts,” said winning trainer Michael Stidham. “He's never been on the lead in his life. He's laid close early on in his career so we knew he could be close and still finish. But he was never on the lead so I didn't know what to think. I was hoping for the best, and then when they hooked him at the three-sixteenths pole, I thought, `Oh boy, here we go.' Then he dug in and class came through in the end.”

Proxy, who has been running with cheek pieces for his last couple of starts, took some bumping out of the gate, but shrugged them all off to emerge from the fray on top. After a first quarter in :23.80 and a half in :48.13, Calibrate tackled him from the outside while Wheelin Springs jumped in around the turn. With the trio heads apart coming into the stretch and well clear of the rest, Joel Rosario encouraged the winner with a couple of right-handed taps and he quickly put daylight on the interlopers to cross the wire 2 1/2 lengths the best. The final time for the nine furlongs was 1:49.99.

“I think it was just a case of too much class,” said Rosario. “He was the best horse in the race. He broke well and I just kind of let him go and do his thing. He's a little tricky sometimes to ride. You have to let him do the work. I know he always tries. He never gives up. He just does what he does. I was on the best horse and I rode him that way. They put some pressure on us but I was never worried. He has so much class. I just let him show the way.”

The Monmouth Cup was Proxy's third win at the distance. After knocking at the door with five graded placings from 2021-22, he finally broke through last November, getting his first graded score in a big way with a 101 Beyer Speed Figure and a visit to the winner's circle in the aforementioned Clark at Churchill Downs. He kicked off 2023 by missing the superfecta in the GI Pegasus World Cup, rebounded with a game second by just a neck to Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) in the GI Santa Anita H. prior to a GII Oaklawn H. win, then threw in the towel last out in the July 1 Stephen Foster.

Pedigree Notes:

Gainesway's remarkable Tapit, an annual fixture on the leading sires list, is the sire of Proxy and exactly 100 other graded winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere. His 159 black-type winners include the likes of Horse of Year Flightline, a number of champions including Godolphin's Essential Quality, and four GI Belmont S. winners. Both Proxy and MGSW Pink Sands are by Tapit and out of Include mares. Airdrie's late Include, a son of Broad Brush who passed away last summer due to complications from a heart condition, has 29 stakes winners out of his daughters.

Godolphin bred Proxy out of 2007 GI Juddmonte Spinster S. and GI American Oaks winner Panty Raid after John Ferguson purchased her for $2.5 million at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The full-sister to GSW and 2011 GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up St. John's River has also produced GSW & GISP Micheline (Bernardini) and has an unraced 2-year-old gelding named Out in Force (Frosted). Her most recent offspring is a yearling filly by Into Mischief.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
MONMOUTH CUP S.-GIII, $400,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:49.99, ft.
1–PROXY, 124, h, 5, by Tapit
               1st Dam: Panty Raid (MGISW, $1,052,380), by Include
               2nd Dam: Adventurous Di, by Private Account
               3rd Dam: Tamaral, by Seattle Slew
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham; J-Joel Rosario.
$240,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 18-6-6-2, $2,024,970. *1/2
to Micheline (Bernardini), GSW & GISP, $695,103. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report &
5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com
catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Whelen Springs, 118, c, 4, Street Sense–Holy Nova, by Pure
Prize. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Shortleaf Stable (AR);
T-Lindsay Schultz. $80,000.
3–Calibrate, 122, g, 5, Distorted Humor–Glamour and Style, by
Dynaformer. ($340,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Josh Engel, Rick
Engel, Greg Armatys and Chelsey Badura; B-Don Alberto
Corporation (KY); T-Jamie Ness. $40,000.
Margins: 2HF, 4 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 0.40, 6.90, 4.00.
Also Ran: Antigravity, Fowler Blue, Forewarned, Higher Quality.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.
VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Nest Tunes Up for Shuvee, Pretty Mischievous on Track for Test

Nest (Curlin), last year's Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly, tuned up for her expected seasonal debut in the July 23 GII Shuvee S. with a four-furlong work in :50.00 (13/38) in company with unraced stablemate Onlooker (Street Sense) over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Sunday.

“It was a good work and a nice, strong gallop out. She seemed to keep going,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, Nest has been off since finishing fourth in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. During her championship campaign, she won the GI Alabama S., GI Ashland S. and GI Coaching Club American Oaks. She was also second in the GI Belmont S.

Nest was initially targeting the GI Ogden Phipps S. at Belmont Park in June for her 4-year-old debut, but Pletcher said he is confident the filly is ready to run off the long layoff.

“We expect big things from her always,” Pletcher said. “It's a lot to ask of her, but she ran well in her debut going a mile and a sixteenth and she's basically run well pretty much every start of her career. Hopefully, we have her fit enough to perform well and this is the first step towards big goals.”

Also working at Saratoga Sunday, GI Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) went four furlongs in :49.00 (11/91) over the Oklahoma training track for trainer Brendan Walsh and owner/breeder Godolphin.

“She worked great and I'm very happy with her,” said Walsh. “It was just a half and we'll do more with her next week–she doesn't need to overdo it. She's doing good.”

Following her win in the nine-furlong Oaks, Pretty Mischievous cut back to 1 1/16 miles to win the GI Acorn S. last time out June 9. She will shorten up even further for her next start, the seven-furlong GI Test S. Aug. 5.

“She's got bags of natural speed, so I think the timing is very good,” Walsh said of the cut-back. “We were able to give her a little more time between races and we've always kicked around the idea of shortening her up, so this seems like a good opportunity. She's a good horse, and most of them when they're that good can go two turns or shorten up. She's just got that natural speed, so why not try to utilize it? We can always go back to two turns if it doesn't work.”

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