Tag: Hopeful S.

Spa Notebook: Lovell Looking To Two Turns for Damon’s Mound

Trainer Michelle Lovell, who sent out 'TDN Rising Star' Damon's Mound (Girvin) to win Saturday's GII Saratoga Special S., said Sunday that she was not ruling out either the seven-furlong GI Hopeful S. Sept. 5 or the Oct. 5 GI Champagne S. at the Belmont at the Big A meet going a one-turn mile, but is more inclined to get the colt some two-turn route experience for his next appearance.

“Everything's on our radar,” said Lovell. “We'll see how he is. He's never had a bad day, so I don't expect him to.”

Damon's Mound was awarded an 86 Beyer Speed Figure for his defeat of fellow 'Rising Star' Gulfport (Uncle Mo) Saturday.

“He's been so great,” said Lovell. “Everything went to perfection. Even the way the race set up. We were really happy to track the frontrunners. [Jockey] Gabriel [Saez] put an excellent ride on him. The rest is history. It's in the history books.”

Lovell is a former jockey and posted three runner-up efforts at Saratoga during her time in the saddle, but was thrilled to finally have her picture taken Saturday.

“We celebrated at dinner,” said Lovell. “I took my groom and some friends and just had a nice dinner. I had so many congrats from so many people. Saratoga is super special, obviously, that's an understatement. Getting to [be in the winner's circle] was awesome.”

Breeders' Cup Mile Likely Plan For Casa Creed…

After finishing third in the GI Fourstardave H. in each of the past two seasons, LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) finally got over the hump Saturday with a last-to-first defeat of odds-on 'TDN Rising Star' Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) at the Spa. The 6-year-old was earning his third career top-level success on the weekend, having most recently successfully defended his title in the six-furlong GI Jaipur S. on the Belmont S. undercard June 11. But where it comes to a future appearance on Breeders' Cup weekend, part-owner Lee Einsidler is fairly certain of where the entire will end up.

“[The Turf Sprint] is only 5 1/2 [furlongs] sprinting at Keeneland, which is a little short for him,” Einsidler said. “From what we saw yesterday, if all goes according to plan, I'm sure we'll show up in the Mile as long as he's training great and feels great.”

Casa Creed has faced the starter in the Mile the last two years, finishing 12th to Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) at Keeneland in 2020 and eighth behind Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) last year at Del Mar. Einsidler, who owns Casa Creed in partnership with New York sports radio personality Mike Francesa, is confident his charge can go better this time around.

“[Trainer] Bill Mott and I were in his stall a few weeks ago and he said 'Lee, he's better today than he's ever been in his entire career.' He's just been flourishing,” Einsidler recalled. “They say a lot of horses are at their best at five. Yesterday was the best performance of his career and he's a 6-year-old. He's just amazing. I'd say right now, he's at the total top of his game.”

Casa Creed, who was just touched off in the G3 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia and was a sound fifth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint, could make one interim start prior to the Breeders' Cup, but could also be trained straight into the race, Einsidler said.

“If he's telling us he has to run, we'll run him there which is fine because you got four weeks to the Breeders' Cup and a trip over the course,” Einsidler said. “He's run there before, but now he's much better today than he was then. So, I think the idea of running him over there makes all the sense in the world, but if Mott wants to wait and train him up to the Breeders' Cup, that's why he's in the Hall of Fame. He makes those decisions.”

   And 2022 may not be the end of the road.

“If he stays sound and he's doing great, we'll run him next year,” said Einsidler. “There's a stallion career somewhere for him, but I'm all about racing so that's what we're going to do.”

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Blazing Sevens A Mix of Genius and Racing Luck

There are no bigger stages and brighter lights than Saratoga in the summer, and Blazing Sevens (Good Magic–Trophy Girl, by Warrior's Reward) showcased his razzle-dazzle with aplomb, blitzing a field of well-regarded debuters to loudly proclaim himself worthy of 'TDN Rising Star'-dom.

Beating out two others in the race by his freshman sire to become a fifth winner, and the first to get the TDN's stamp of approval, for Good Magic, Blazing Sevens added another layer of sheen to breeder Tracy Farmer's banner last Sunday. In addition to being represented by the talented juvenile, Farmer was also the owner and owner/breeder of the runner-up and third-place finishers in Woodbine's GIII Hendrie S.–Amalfi Coast (Tapizar) and La Libertee (Consitution), respectively–as well as the owner of GII Dance Smartly runner-up Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}).

Farmer purchased Blazing Sevens's dam Trophy Girl for $62,000 as a weanling at Fasig-Tipton November in 2013. The bay took a bit of time to get to the races, not debuting until Sept. 30 of her 3-year-old year, but managing to win twice in the opening months at four over Turfway's old synthetic track. She wouldn't hit the board again, and eventually retired due to injury after her final start in July of that year. Sporting a pedigree he really liked, Farmer retired Trophy Girl to his broodmare band, and she's fit into the operation like a well-tailored glove.

“He breeds, sells, races homebreds and buys yearlings, so when we do matings for him, we ultimately concentrate on planning matings that will work for his racing program if he decides to keep the resulting foals,” said TDN columnist and advisor to Farmer, Sid Fernando. “…In the case of Blazing Sevens, we recommended several proven stallions and only one unproven horse–Good Magic–for his dam. Tracy made the decision to use [the stallion].”

With only four on the ground so far, and two of racing age, the sampling is still small, but Team Farmer is happy with what they're seeing from Trophy Girl. The mare's first, an unnamed 3-year-old colt by Distorted Humor, did not reach his reserve at Keeneland September in 2020, so consigner Denali Stud took a different approach to Blazing Sevens, convincing Farmer to sell him in Keeneland's January sale last year. To their credit, the result was successful this go-around, with the colt bringing $140,000 from Chestnut Valley Farm. He would later sell again for $225,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale to Rodeo Creek Racing.

 

“He was a gorgeous yearling when we saw him at the sale,” said bloodstock agent Pete Bradley, who helped put together the Rodeo Creek Racing partnership on the colt. “We had a set price range and he fortunately fell into it. I wanted to buy him as a weanling but lacked the funds at the time.”

Blazing Sevens's score was well-timed as the focus now shifts to the yearling sales season, and this year's renewal of the Saratoga sale coming up shortly (Good Magic has two in the open sale and four more in the subsequent New York-bred auction). Breeding farms with young stallions will be eager to showcase early success, such as a 2-year-old winning at Saratoga and becoming a 'Rising Star' in the process. Good Magic also already has a stakes winner to his name in Vegas Magic, a filly who beat the boys in Pleasanton's Everett Nevin S. July 9.

As for their colt, Bradley says that if the horse is ready to go, and Chad Brown likes what he sees, the GI Hopeful S. at the end of the Saratoga meeting isn't out of the question, but he hesitates to make plans too far in advance. Whether or not it happens is a decision based on conditioner and charge, alone.

“The original plan was always to have him go longer. He's such a chill horse and he didn't look like he turned a hair after that debut,” he reported. “He's taken everything in stride.”

Tracy Farmer shares in the excitement, and is eager to see his stock continue to rise to the head of their class. He's even willing to put what he called 'a little peer pressure' into the universe.

“I hated to see [Blazing Sevens] go, but everything has worked out for the best,” admits Farmer. “And I would love to see him in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.” And there is perhaps no greater honor, and no more sought-after pressure, than a Derby dream fueled by early promise.

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Gunite Caps Grade I Double For Gun Runner in Hopeful

Gunite (Gun Runner) capped off a remarkable summer for both his freshman sire and his trainer on closing day Monday at Saratoga, shaking off pace pressure and kicking away in the stretch to an 11-1 upset of the GI Hopeful S. His well-earned victory made it a clean sweep of the Spa's annual marquee 2-year-old races for Three Chimneys Farm's freshman sensation Gun Runner after Echo Zulu dominated the GI Spinaway S. Sunday, and was the icing on the cake for Steve Asmussen, who had his most successful Saratoga season yet, highlighted by his becoming the all-time winningest trainer in North America earlier in the meet.

Lagging back early in his first two starts before rallying to finish third and then second, Gunite found his early foot third out June 26 at Churchill, dueling through a :21.68 quarter and edging away to a 1 1/2-length graduation. Going toe to toe with favored Doctor Jeff (Street Boss) in the GII Saratoga Special S. here last out Aug. 14, he won the battle with that rival fading to fifth, but lost the war, as he proved no match in the final furlong for re-opposing High Oak (Gormley).

Let go as the fourth choice in this Labor Day feature as the money poured in on 3-5 GIII Sanford S. romper Wit (Practical Joke) and 5-2 High Oak, Gunite was sent through a rail opening by Ricardo Santana, Jr. to be part of a three-way pace battle through a :22.23 quarter. Meanwhile, High Oak found a perfect spot tracking that trio in fourth while Wit landed in midpack after stumbling at the start. Getting rid of his pace rivals past a salty :44.46 half, Gunite arrived at the top of the lane in command, but appeared ripe for the picking as Wit navigated into the clear after saving ground on the bend. But the favorite could never muster a serious threat to the Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer, and Gunite kept to his task past the teeming Saratoga stands to finish the meet's stakes schedule with an exclamation point. Wit was able to hold second over 28-1 longshot Kevin's Folly (Distorted Humor), while High Oak checked in a disappointing fourth.

“I loved how he went through the wire,” said Asmussen, who won his third straight Hopeful. “He didn't get away great today. Ricardo said there was just a little bit of bumping. Going 22 and 1 to 44 and 2, and to look how he did it to the wire, it's going to be exciting going forward. I was concerned we weren't where we expected to be in the first hundred yards. But I watched the race from up the stretch and Ricardo, coming into the stretch, moved his hands a bit but had him plenty gathered up. I felt really good then. It's state of mind. We've been aggressive with him and he's put on weight and gotten stronger the whole time. We've been through the roof with how well he's doing.”

“He's a really nice horse,” said Santana. “He can go to the lead, he can come from behind. He can do whatever you want. Today, I decided to take him back. [Early leader Defend] tried to blow the turn a little bit, so the rail opened. I made my move, and he was making his move by himself. I was really comfortable with him the whole race. He's getting better and better and better.”

The win gave Santana, who spends most of the year in Kentucky and is one of the last remaining Kentucky riders to summer in Saratoga, a fifth Grade I score at the meet.

“It's special,” he said. “Saratoga is one of the best tracks in North America. I'm really blessed. Five Grade I wins in one meet is unreal.”

Asmussen added that Gunite's next target will be the one-mile GI Champagne S. Oct. 2 at Belmont, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, saying, “I love him for more 2-year-old races this year. We know what we want his next two races to be and we feel really good about them. The Champagne and the Breeders' Cup are what we're hoping his next two races are. I love his style for the Juvenile. He's going to travel and we'll try to take it. We're very proud of him.”

Pedigree Notes:

Not only the second Grade I winner already for 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, Gunite is also a remarkable fourth graded stakes winner already for the chestnut, following aforementioned Echo Zulu, GII Adirondack S. heroine Wicked Halo and GII Best Pal S. victor Pappacap. He is the first foal to race out of Simple Surprise, who annexed the Bolton Landing S. for these connections over the local turf as a juvenile in 2015 and later added two stakes placings sprinting on the Fair Grounds lawn. Second dam Simplify captured the restricted Loudonville S. on the Saratoga dirt in 2009 and placed in six other black-type events. Gunite has a yearling full-sister and produced a filly by Copper Bullet this season before being bred to Tapiture.

Monday, Saratoga
HOPEFUL S.-GI, $300,000, Saratoga, 9-6, 2yo, 7f, 1:23.08, gd.
1–GUNITE, 120, c, 2, by Gun Runner
          1st Dam: Simple Surprise (SW, $185,446), by Cowboy Cal
          2nd Dam: Simplify, by Pulpit
          3rd Dam: Classic Olympio, by Olympio
   1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
   WIN. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen; J-Ricardo Santana, Jr. $165,000. Lifetime Record:
5-2-2-1, $293,988. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click
   for eNicks report & 5-cross catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wit, 122, c, 2, Practical Joke–Numero d'Oro, by Medaglia
d'Oro. 'TDN Rising Star' ($575,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Repole
Stable, St. Elias Stable & Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck);
B-Rosilyn Polan (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $60,000.
3–Kevin's Folly, 120, c, 2, Distorted Humor–Santa Vindi, by
Vindication. ($80,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Michael McLoughlin;
B-Stonehaven Steadings (KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss. $36,000.
Margins: 5 3/4, 3, HF. Odds: 11.60, 0.65, 28.75.
Also Ran: High Oak, Power Agenda, Big Scully, Volcanic, Headline Report, Kitodan, Defend, Street Fight. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Hopeful Could Be Next For Defend

The connections of Defend (American Freedom), a romping winner in his Aug. 5 debut at Delaware Park, have yet to pick out his next race, but they aren't afraid to tackle a tough spot, including the GI Hopeful S. It's clear to see why.

“His race was phenomenal. It looked like he was on cruise control,” Susan Montanye said of his debut. Montanye bought the colt as a yearling and still owns a small percentage in partnership with Nick Sanna.

Montanye was among the first to discover his potential talent. She bought the colt in October of his yearling year, paying just $16,000 for him at OBS. She then entered him into this year's Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic 2-year-old sale, where he RNA'd at $72,000. Shortly after the sale, she sold a majority interest in the horse to Sanna, who sent the horse to trainer Cal Lynch.

Early on, Lynch also saw that there was some talent there.

“My son, Anthony, had him at Fair Hill and he was very keen on him,” Lynch said. “We worked him on the Tapeta there and he worked really well over it. I brought him to Delaware and worked him out of the gate and he worked really well. We loved the way he went and thought he did everything right. He was very professional. For a young horse, he had a great mind and that's what sets him apart. I never breezed him super fast. He does everything easily.”

Sent off at 4-1 in his debut, Defend went right to the lead and soon sprinted clear of his seven rivals. Under wraps through most of the stretch run, he won by eight lengths and covered the 5 1/2 furlongs run over a fast track in 1:04.27. The race was split and the other half went in 1:06.68. Defend earned a 75 Beyer figure.

Lynch is optimistic that Defend will be even better in his next start.

“We were optimistic that he would run a good race,” he said. “He had trained really well. So we thought he'd run well. But I don't think I've ever taken a 2-year-old over there for their first start and thought they were really ready or cranked. He surprised us a little bit, but we knew he was talented.”

Defend's win was just the latest for the Airdrie stallion, American Freedom, who has gotten off to a fast start with his first crop. He's had five 2-year-old winners so far, including American Bound, a filly who won a maiden special weight race at the Keeneland spring meet. The list also includes American Sanctuary, who, after breaking his maiden at Prairie Meadows, came back to finish second in the Prairie Gold Juvenile S., also at Prairie Meadows.

With his horse having a promising pedigree and coming off an impressive win, it's no surprise that Sanna's phone has been ringing from prospective buyers. Lynch said that, for now, his owner prefers to enjoy what he has.

“We are getting calls,” Lynch said. “Nick Sanna is a good sport and he really likes him. He wants to take a ride and see where it leads. He's had some good horses over the years but nothing like this.”

In the meantime, Sanna and Lynch will try to figure out what's best for their horse. It looks like he can handle a race like the Sept. 6 Hopeful, but that would mean taking on divisional leader Wit (Practical Joke). After breaking his maiden by six lengths, Wit won the GIII Sanford S. by eight lengths.

“The Hopeful is a logical spot, but we're just going to see how he trains,” Lynch said. “He worked good Saturday. After another couple of works we will decide. We always let the horse dictate things. The Hopeful is a spot we'd like to go in. There are a bunch of other2-year-old dates for him. I'm not sure we want to go up there and take on Wit. But it's a definite possibility.”

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