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Jerkens Marathon Asks Unique Question Of 11 Entrants Saturday At Gulfstream

Saturday's $75,000 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes at Gulfstream Park will be a journey into the unknown for the vast majority of its 11 entrants, who will be asked to run two miles for the first time in their lives.

The Jerkens, a two-mile turf marathon that honors the memory of the beloved Hall of Fame trainer, will highlight Saturday's 11-race program at the Hallandale Beach, Fla. track. The $75,000 Tropical Park Derby and the $75,000 Tropical Park Oaks and will kick off the sequence of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 that will offer a $400,000 jackpot guarantee.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will saddle High Noon Rider with the knowledge that the 8-year-old gelding has a two-mile victory on his 55-race resume, but he still has a big question heading into the Jerkens.

“He's won at two miles already at Presque Isle, but it was a much different class than he'll be running against Saturday,” said Joseph, whose trainee is rated second in the morning line at 9-2 in a most competitive renewal of the Jerkens.

GenStar Thoroughbreds' High Noon Rider, who has won 15 races and more than $600,000 in earnings, captured a two-mile starter optional claiming allowance by 2 ¼ lengths in October 2019. While the victory came over Presque Isle Downs' synthetic surface, the versatile gelding captured a 1 ½-mile starter handicap on turf at Laurel Park in his previous race.

“The owner wants to give him a shot in this race. I kind of believe he's best at a mile or a mile and an eighth, but he loves Gulfstream and he has won at two miles,” Joseph said. “We'll give it a try. He's in good form.”

High Noon Rider is coming off a fast-closing victory in the 1 1/16-mile victory in the Claiming Crown Emerald over Gulfstream Park's turf course, over which he has won six of 10 starts.

“He's coming off his best race and he loves Gulfstream,” Joseph said. “Those are the two reasons why I'm willing to give it a try.”

Edgard Zayas, who was aboard for the Emerald score, has the return call.

Goldigo Racing LLC, Rick Gold and Mark Mathiesen's Muralist is untested at two miles but will be saddled for the first time by a trainer with a record of marathon excellence. Among Brendan Walsh's growing list of accomplishments are victories in the Marathon (G2), a 1 ¾-mile race on dirt that was formerly a Breeders' Cup event but is still run on World Championships weekend. Walsh visited the Santa Anita winner's circle with Cary Street in 2014 and Scuba in 2016.

Muralist, a 4-year-old gelded son of Street Sense, won two of nine starts in Southern California before finishing a troubled fifth in the 1 5/8-mile Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G2) on Breeders' Cup Weekend at Keeneland. Trainer Dan Blacker returned to his Southern California base, while Muralist remained behind in Walsh's care.

Paco Lopez is scheduled to ride Muralist for the first tie Saturday.

West Point Thoroughbreds and partners' Focus Group enters the Jerkens as a graded-stakes winner over the Gulfstream Park turf course but will also be returning from a 10-month layoff. The 6-year-old Kitten's Joy gelding has been out of action since finishing seventh in the March 29 Pan American (G2), a race the Christophe Clement-trained gelding won the year before over the Gulfstream course.

Focus Group, who will return as a gelding, will be ridden by Junior Alvarado.

Trainer Michael Maker is represented by four horses in the Jerkens, including David Staudacher's Conviction Trade, the 4-1 morning-line favorite who will be ridden by defending two-time Championship Meet titlist Irad Ortiz Jr.; Michael Dubbs' Hieroglyphics, Paradise Farms Corp. and Staudacher's Treasure Trove, and William Butler's Dante's Fire.

Clear Vision, Tintoretto, Cowtown and Sir Anthony round out the field.

The post Jerkens Marathon Asks Unique Question Of 11 Entrants Saturday At Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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High Noon Rider Uncorks 60-1 Shocker In Claiming Crown Emerald

GenStar Thoroughbreds' High Noon Rider, having spent the summer and early fall on the road, returned home to register the biggest win of his 55-race career with a shocking 50-1 upset of the $95,000 Claiming Crown Emerald Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 1 1/16-mile Emerald on turf for 3-year-olds and up which have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less in 2019-20 was the fifth of nine starter stakes on the $835,000 Claiming Crown program.

This marked the ninth straight year at Gulfstream and 22nd overall for the Claiming Crown, created in 1999 to celebrate the blue-collar horses that are the foundation of the racing industry nationwide.

It was the first career Claiming Crown victory for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. The runner-up, 2-1 favorite Temple, was one of five horses in the field trained by Mike Maker, the event's all-time leader with 18 wins including seven in the Emerald.

“We're just thankful,” Joseph said. “We've claimed horses that won graded-stakes, but had never won a Claiming Crown race. It's good to get it done finally. He's a cool, old horse. To be honest, I didn't think he was coming in at his best so the confidence wasn't there. We're thankful and blessed. He stepped up and ran the race of his life today.”

Jockey Edgard Zayas settled High Noon Rider well behind Grade 3-winning stablemate Tusk, racing for the first time in 11 months, who posted fractions of 25.10 and 48.77 seconds pressed by Maker-trained Hieroglyphics and Over the Channel three wide. Hierolyphics assumed the top spot on the turn and went six furlongs in 1:11.74 with Over the Channel poised to strike, but Zayas worked his way outside and High Noon Rider powered through the stretch once in the clear.

“Saffie told me before the race this horse had a really good kick on him,” Zayas said. “Once on the turn, I cut the corner and I was following Temple through the corner. I knew Tyler had a lot of horse and he was the horse to follow, really. I was just trying to save enough until I got into the stretch and once he got into the clear he kicked on really hard from there.”

It was the sixth win with one second and one third from 10 lifetime tries at Gulfstream for High Noon Rider, an 8-year-old Distorted Humor gelding whose last victory came in a 1 1/8-mile optional claimer June 28 over the course. The victory pushed his career bankroll over the $600,000 mark.

“He's just a horse for course, honestly. If you see his numbers before he left Gulfstream this year, they were good. Then we got ambitious. We went all around with him and he kind of lost his way. Today, he ran back his best race,” Joseph said. “I got so excited jumping up, my chest was hurting me after. Edgard gave him a dream trip, saved every kind of ground and got him out when he needed to.”

Maker-trained horses finished second through fifth, as Temple and defending champion Muggsamatic dead-heated for second with Artie's Rumor fourth and Hieroglyphics fifth.

Defending Riding Champ Ortiz, Krsto Skye Claim Express
Krsto Skye, second in September in the Smile Sprint (G3) and third last time out in the De Francis (G3), led gate-to-wire under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. to win the $75,000 Express, covering six furlongs in 1:10.14.

Owned by Daniel Feit and Carlos David and trained by David, Krsto Skye broke from the rail and set fractions of :22.35 and :45 before driving home 1 1/4 lengths in front of Whyruawesome. for his 14th victory in 61 starts. David claimed the 8-year-old gelding in February for $16,000 out of a five-furlong turf race at Gulfstream.

For Ortiz, it was his first win of the Championship Meet. He is the two-time defending riding champion.

“It feels great to be back at Gulfstream,” Ortiz said. “It feels great to have the support from the owners and trainers here. This is a nice horse. Carlos told me to let him do his thing in you can control the pace from the inside post. He put me in a good position, so I just held it there and when it was time to go he responded very well.”

The race was for horses that have started for an $8,000 claiming price at any time during their careers.

Avant Garde Gets Up in Time for Rapid Transit Win
Gelfenstein Farm LLC's Avant Garde, a 3-year-old gelded son of Tonalist, drove up the rail under jockey Leonel Reyes to win the $85,000 Rapid Transit by a half-length over Town Classic.

Trained by Jesus Lander, Avant Garde's only loss since claimed by Lander for $10,000 in June was a fourth-place finish Sept. 27 in the Oklahoma Derby (G3).

Avant Garde broke second to last but was moved up quickly to fourth by Reyes down the backstretch while Fix Me a Sandwich was taking the field through the opening quarter in :22.14. Entering the stretch, Town Classic took the lead after moving three-wide around the turn, but Reyes and Avant Garde drove to the front in the final 50 yards along the rail for the win, covering seven furlongs in 1:21.98.

The Rapid Transit was open to horses who had started for a claiming price of $16,000 or less over the last two years.

Frost of Frippery Takes the Iron Horse
Frost or Frippery, a 7-year-old gelding trained by Brad Cox, shipped in from Kentucky to win the $75,000 Iron Horse over a late-closing Bobby G. The victory was jockey Luis Saez's sixth of the afternoon. The victory for the son of Lewis Michael was No. 21. The gelding has now placed first, second or third in 46 of 66 career starts.

Frost or Frippery, owned by Steve Landers Racing LLC, covered the 1 1/16 mile in 1:44.57.

The Iron Horse was open to horses who had started for $8,000 or less during their careers.

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Solid Cast of Overachievers Shines in Claiming Crown

Short-money favorites getting class relief while dropping out of graded stakes company set the tone in the nine-race Claiming Crown (CC) series Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Luis Saez won six races overall (five in CC stakes), and trainer Mike Maker was one of nine separate trainers to hit the winner’s circle in the CC races, posting his 18th career CC win to lead the series that began back in 1999 as a blue-collar version of the Breeders’ Cup.

Conducted under starter-allowance conditions pegged to previous-race claiming prices, the CC is designed to honor and reward horses who compete in the types of races that form the backbone of day-to-day American racing. The annual event is a partnership between the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA), and Gulfstream has evolved into the host track over the past nine years while slotting the series as the opening-weekend focal point of its championship winter meet.

As usual, many of Saturday’s CC winners could have been had at the claim box earlier in their careers for relatively low asking prices prior to rounding into higher-profile overachievers.

Jesus’ Team (Tapiture), the grind-it-out 2-5 winner of the featured $150,000 CC Jewel S. over nine furlongs, is the prime example. The 3-year-old colt broke his maiden for $32,000 at Gulfstream last March and was then dangled for a $25,000 tag with no takers when airing at the NWL2 level. He consistently punched above his weight during 2020 while earning top-four placings in Grade I and II stakes, including a 40-1 third in GI Preakness S. and second at 62-1 in the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Saez kept Jesus’ Team parked at the rail behind legitimate splits, tipping out at the head of the lane for a length-of-stretch reeling in of the pacemaker and a three-quarters of a length score.

Trainer Jose D’Angelo said post-win that the Grupo 7C Racing Stable color bearer will now target the Jan. 23 GI Pegasus World Cup over the same Gulfstream surface that has accounted for all three career wins for Jesus’ Team.

Jakarta (Bustin Stones), the 4-5 victress of the $90,000 CC Distaff Dash S. over five furlongs on the turf, is another admirable rise-through-the-ranks tale. She toiled at the $16,0000 claiming ranks at Penn National as recently as 15 months ago, then improved enough to take a crack at tougher graded company in New York, Kentucky, and Canada during most of 2020.

Jakarta customarily heads straight to the front (on top at first call in 13 of 17 lifetime races), but she came away tardily on Saturday before rallying behind a 23-1 sacrificial speedster to open up late and win by 2 1/4 lengths for owner Three Diamonds Farm, trainer Maker, and jockey Saez.

Krsto Skye (City Zip) wired the $75,000 CC Express S. over six furlongs as the 3-5 favorite, continuing Saturday’s “dominant dropping faves” trend after second- and fourth-place efforts in two recent Grade III sprints. He registered a 1 1/4-length win for owners Daniel Feit and Carlos David, with David training and Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the saddle. That’s a sharp score for a gelding who started 2020 claimed in back-to-back $16,000 races.

While the above winners all represented bygone chances on the part of rivals who missed out on claims at lower asking prices, several CC winners on Saturday were the products of bigger-ticket purchases after initially racing for more modest claiming prices.

Fiya (Friesan Fire) began his career in November 2019 as a $25,000 maiden-claimer in Maryland but was purchased for $400,000 at the Wanamaker’s July 2020 online sale after a sizzling 98-Beyer win that was .25 seconds off the Laurel turf course record. He has since won three straight turf sprints, including an allowance, a division of the Maryland Million stakes, and now the $90,000 CC Canterbury S. at 1-2 odds for owner Robert Masiello and trainer Tom Albertrani. Saez was up for the 1 1/2-length wire job, which ran Fiya’s record to five-for-five in 2020.

The win by Queens Embrace (Real Solution) in the $95,000 CC Tiara S. also had an “immediate return on investment” ring to it. The 3-year-old filly broke her maiden for a $16,000 tag Jan. 1 at Tampa Bay Downs. Four additional wins and eight months later, she was claimed for $80,000 at Belmont Park by the partnership of Spedale Family Racing LLC and Flying P Stable. It appears as if the CC was the optimal target for trainer Danny Gargan, and Queens Embrace delivered as the 23-10 second choice with a four-wide late kick under Saez that put her 2 3/4 lengths clear at the wire.

Earlier this year, Avant Garde (Tonalist) required five starts to break his maiden for a tag, and he was claimed along the way for $10,000 by trainer Jesus Lander on behalf of owner Gelfenstein Farm. That change of barns ignited a five-of six win streak, during which the gelding’s only loss was a fourth in the GIII Oklahoma Derby. Back to the track where he now owns a five-for-six record, Avant Garde shot up the rail in deep stretch on Saturday to earn a half-length win at 6-1 odds under Leonel Reyes in the $85,000 CC Rapid Transit S. over seven furlongs.

Descente (Bodemeister) was the only CC stakes winner cut from the mold of being claimed repeatedly while earning her oats with gaudy, open-length victories at the lower end of the totem pole. Since Dec. 4, 2019, the 4-year-old filly has been claimed no fewer than six times, including for $6,250 in her most recent start at Gulfstream Park West 48 days ago.

Her 4 1/2-length win at 7-2 odds in the $80,000 CC Glass Slipper over a mile for Walder Racing and trainer Peter Walder marked the second consecutive victory in that stakes for Walder, who has now won five CC races during the 22-year run of the series. Miguel Vasquez rode.

High Noon Rider (Distorted Humor) was the bomb-thrower of the CC bunch. He orchestrated a 55-1, half-length upset of the $95,000 CC Emerald S. for lifetime win number 15. GenStar Thoroughbreds owns, Saffie Joseph, Jr. trains, and Edgard Zayas rode. This 9-year-old gelding had never gone off at odds that high in 55 career tries (34-1 previous high), and had recently been sent postward favored or close to it while competing in the starter-allowance ranks.

The nose win by Frost or Frippery (Lewis Michael) in the finale on the card, the $75,000 CC Iron Horse S., was the tightest finish on the day, barely earning jockey Saez his six-pack of victories. The 3-1 shot owned by Steve Landers Racing LLC and trained by Brad Cox registered lifetime score number 21 and win number eight during this calendar year, which puts Frost or Frippery in a three-way tie for most victories in North America in 2020.

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