Gulfstream | Horse Racing Free Tips

TVG Plans Expanded Coverage Of Coast-To-Coast Sophomore Prep Races

TVG's Road to the Triple Crown and Kentucky Oaks presented by Spendthrift Farm will feature prep races from across the country this weekend with full coverage from Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita highlighted by the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) and the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis (G3) along with the $250,000 Withers Stakes (G3) from Aqueduct.

There will be expanded coverage at Gulfstream Park presented by Runhappy with expert analysis and interviews from Todd Schrupp, Larry Collmus, Britney Eurton, Joaquin Jaime and Andi Biancone. The twelve-race card includes five stakes races with the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) the main event with 10-4-3-1 Kentucky Derby points on the line. The race has drawn a field of nine with Mo Donegal tabbed as the morning line favorite at odds of 3-1 for trainer Todd Pletcher. Purchased for $250,000 by Donegal Racing, the bay son of Uncle Mo ended his juvenile campaign with a win in the Remsen Stakes (G2) and will have Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons.

Santa Anita has a stakes-laden weekend of action on tap and Christina Blacker, Mike Joyce, Simon Bray, Scott Hazelton and Kurt Hoover will be trackside with exclusive interviews and insights. On Saturday, the $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes (G2) highlights a nine-race card that includes two additional graded stakes – the $100,000 Thunder Road Stakes (G3) and the $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes (G3). In the San Pasqual Stakes (G2), the 2021 winner Express Train will take on five rivals as he tries for a repeat for trainer John Shirreffs.

On Sunday, the road to the Kentucky Derby runs through California with the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis (G3) featuring a field of five contenders. Happy Jack will step up to stakes company for trainer Doug O'Neill after breaking his maiden in January at Santa Anita. The Calumet Farm homebred will have Abel Cedillo aboard.

TVG will also be broadcasting the $250,000 Withers Stakes (G3) from Aqueduct which offers up 10-4-3-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers.

In addition to racing from Gulfstream and Santa Anita, TVG will be featuring racing from Oaklawn, Tampa Bay Downs, Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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Derby Trail Heats Up in South Florida

Led by last term's hard-fought GII Remsen S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), a deep field of nine will line up for Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park.

Owned by Donegal Racing and trained by Todd Pletcher, Mo Donegal outslugged Zandon (Upstart) by a nose after a roughly run stretch drive while making his stakes debut in that aforementioned 1 1/8-mile affair at Aqueduct last time Dec. 4.

“We decided that the Holy Bull was the right starting point,” Pletcher said. “It gives us plenty of options. If he were to run well, we still have the [GII Fasig-Tipton] Fountain of Youth [Mar. 5] to come back in if we wanted to or we could train up to the [GI Curlin] Florida Derby [Apr. 2] like we did with Audible. We kind of felt like it put us in a position to have the most options.”

Pletcher added of the 5-2 morning-line favorite, “I'm really pleased with his training since he came here after the Remsen. We targeted this right away and, knock on wood, thankfully everything has gone according to schedule. He has not missed a beat since he's been here.”

Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) outran his 21-1 odds to complete the trifecta in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar most recently Nov. 5. He previously defeated subsequent GIII Lecomte S. upsetter Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) by three lengths in his Keeneland maiden breaker at this same 1 1/16 miles distance Oct. 9.

Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) returns to dirt after rallying from far back to cross the line a troubled second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Last term's GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. and Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S. winner graduated by 14 1/4 lengths in his most recent attempt on dirt in an Ellis Park off-the -turfer last July.

“I thought it was somewhat of an unlucky trip, but he still ran well,” trainer Ken McPeek said of Tiz the Bomb's Breeders' Cup effort. “It was a respectable run. He ran a good race; he split horses and came flying late. The other horse got a little bit of a jump on him.”

The Florida-bred Simplification (Not This Time) could have things his own way on the front end in his two-turn debut here after wiring the one-turn mile Mucho Macho Man S. Jan. 1.

The Holy Bull offers 10-4-2-1 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby.

The post Derby Trail Heats Up in South Florida appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Friday’s Racing Insights: $1.2M Curlin Debuts at Gulfstream

6th-GP, $60K, Msw, 4yo/up, 7f, 3:05 p.m.
Fresh off a big win in last weekend's Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf, Robert and Lawana Lowe are represented here by PIGOTT (Curlin), who makes his belated debut for trainer Todd Pletcher. A $1.2 million KEESEP yearling purchase, the chestnut is a half-brother to GI Hollywood Derby winner Mo Town, who showed versatility winning the GII Remsen S. on the dirt. The trainer-jockey combo of Pletcher and Luis Saez have been deadly at the meet, connecting at a 30% clip. TJCIS PPs

9th-GP, $61K, $75K Opt. Clm., 3yo, 8f, 4:42 p.m.
WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's AMERICAN ICON (Gun Runner) marks his return to Gulfstream following a sparkling TDN Rising Star-earning 8 1/2-length win going seven furlongs Dec. 26. The $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select yearling purchase has been firing bullets ever since that gaudy win, including his latest going four furlongs in :48 2/5 (1/16) at Palm Beach Downs Jan 28. Also returning off an impressive first-out win is Iron Works (Distorted Humor), who scored by four lengths while trying six panels in his Jan. 8 debut. A $550,000 OBSAPR purchase, the colt will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., who partnered with Pletcher last weekend to win the GI Pegasus World Cup with Life Is Good (Into Mischief). TJCIS PPs

The post Friday’s Racing Insights: $1.2M Curlin Debuts at Gulfstream appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Just One Time Delivers Gamely In Inside Information

Warriors Reward LLC and Commonwealth New Era Racing's Just One Time made a successful jump from Pennsylvania racing to the Championship meet at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. this Saturday. The 4-year-old daughter of Not This Time, making her first start for new trainer Brad Cox, dug in gamely as the 3-2 favorite to win the Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes by a half-length over 3-1 second choice Four Graces. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Just One Time ran seven furlongs over the fast main track in 1:23.81.

“She was in a state-bred program, mostly in Pennsylvania,” said Cox. “Once you come out of that environment, the water is going to get deeper on our circuit. And bottom line she was able to swim on this circuit. It was a Grade 2 and she was able to pick it off. We schooled her. She loads with quarter pads. And she's been great in the mornings. She obviously wasn't great [in the gate] today. Horses sometimes know the difference between the mornings and the afternoon. There's a lot of talent there, no doubt about it. I don't watch a lot of racing here. I watch some. And where she was on the track kind of seems like a spot where horses kind of get out there and flounder and tire down the lane. For her to be able to stay on, shows her grit, determination and class.”

Very unsettled in the starting gate, Just One Time broke a half-step slow and was in the back half of the field down the backstretch. Rosario kept the filly out wide, allowing her to find her stride on her own time, and she began inching toward the leaders as she neared the far turn.

Jakarta was the quickest off the blocks, though Dance d'Oro took command for the first quarter mile in 22.45 seconds. Jakarta regained her lead to mark the half-mile in 45.77 seconds, chased by Starship Nala into the turn.

Steering his filly very wide heading into the lane, Rosario allowed Just One Time to catch sight of the frontrunner just as Four Graces found room to run along the inside. Just One Time put away Jakarta, then battled gamely to the wire fending off Four Graces to win by a half-length. Frontrunner Jakarta finished third, while Starship Nala was fourth. Last year's winner, Pacific Gale, checked in fifth.

“Turning for home she was reaching out and I could feel her confidence,” Rosario said. “I felt pretty good at that point that she was going to run big. With the slow break and [going wide], she was the best horse in the race.”

Bred in Pennsylvania by Warrior's Reward LLC, Just One Time is out of the Speightstown mare Ida Clark. Trained through her first five starts by Michael Salvaggio, Jr., Just One Time won a pair of state-bred races in Pennsylvania last year. She was purchased privately after winning four of five starts in her native Pennsylvania for Warrior's Reward breeder Donald Brown Jr.

The Inside Information win improves the filly's record to five wins from six starts for earnings of nearly $300,000.

The post Just One Time Delivers Gamely In Inside Information appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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