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Tampa Bay Downs: ‘Plan B’ Helps Chenvert Win High Rollers Contest

When he crunched the numbers for the last race of Saturday's High Rollers Handicapping Contest at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., Bill Chenvert determined 6-year-old mare Pugilist was the horse to beat in the one-mile claiming event on the turf.

Quick math also revealed Chenvert could not make enough money on the even-money favorite to win the contest. So he turned to his second choice, 4-year-old filly Caribbean Kitten, who had won her previous race and carried more generous odds of 9-2. After placing his contest wager of $100 to win, Chenvert, along with his son Brian and grandson Will, watched things unfold in the Skye Terrace Dining Room.

Pugilist moved first, but Caribbean Kitten was flying on the outside. Her 1 ¾-length victory from 12-1 shot Shes Dynomite added $570 to Chenvert's contest bankroll, giving him $2,090 and enabling him to edge past Greg Lewis by $30 for the top spot and first prize of $17,000.

Lewis won $6,800 for second. Both men also won seats in either of the next two National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas. There were 83 entries in the High Rollers contest.

“We were making a little bit of noise in the restaurant” (during the last race), said Chenvert, a 70-year-old resident of The Villages in central Florida. “It's exciting when you win any tournament, but that was kind of an unbelievable finish. It's just a thrill when you compete against that quality of players.”

Success in the world of big-money Thoroughbred handicapping contests is nothing new for Chenvert. He finished second to Brian, his son, in last year's Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship at Gulfstream Park and was second in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Handicapping Tournament at Santa Anita. On top of that, he is competing this weekend in the Flo-Cal Faceoff and the HorsePlayers BCBC contest.

Chenvert, who owns a nursery and landscaping company in The Villages with his wife, said the High Rollers Handicapping Contest more than meets his competitive instincts. “Tampa Bay Downs is kind of close by, and I enjoy the track,” he said. “The contest is easy to enter and they do a good job running everything. We look forward to playing it again.”

Chenvert got off to a rip-roaring start, collecting $1,520 in contest cash on his first wager of the contest, a $100 bet on 14-1 shot Blueyed Princess in the fourth race on the turf. He chose the first-time starter based on her bullet five-furlong workout of 1:02 from the gate on New Year's Day at Classic Mile Training Center in Ocala.

Lewis, a Columbus, Ohio, resident who finished fifth in last year's High Rollers, also had $100 to win on Blueyed Princess (are these guys lucky or just dang good?). Lewis said the High Rollers Handicapping Contest – which required a $1,000 buy-in – is a great option for handicappers ambivalent about paying a five-figure entry fee to chase six-figure prizes.

“It's a good contest for the medium-to-small player,” Lewis said. “It's well-organized, you don't have to be a heavy player to have a shot and all the money goes back to the players. I'm extremely happy with what happened. I got more than I deserve.”

Finishing third with a final bankroll of $1,987.50 was John Kaiser of Krotz Springs, La. He earned $5,100. Fourth was Scott Prestridge of Euless, Texas, who finished with a bankroll of $1,750 to collect $3,400. Fifth was John Fisher of Leesburg, Fla., whose bankroll of $1,595 was worth $1,700.

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Noble Mission’s Jouster Says Good ‘Knight’ to Gulfstream Rivals in Rising Star Romp

Jouster (Noble Mission {GB}), a beaten favorite twice on dirt to start her career, took to the turf with dazzling aplomb in the Sunday finale at Gulfstream, running away to a devastating maiden romp and ‘TDN Rising Star’ honors. Unveiled over six furlongs in the Saratoga slop Aug. 29, the $360,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga buy showed big speed before fading to finish second, and again retreated after setting the pace stretching out to a mile Sept. 26 at Belmont. Freshened up since then for a barn that has, as per usual, run roughshod over the Gulfstream Championship Meet thus far, she returned with a sharp Palm Beach Downs worktab capped by a bullet half-mile in :48 1/5 (1/25) Jan. 3. Backed as the fractional 5-2 favorite here, the bay quickly established command and led comfortably through splits of :23.36 and :48.01. Well held as her nearest pursuers were driven approaching the lane, Jouster opened up five lengths by the time heads pointed for home and poured it on down the stretch under mild urging, gliding home 8 3/4 lengths to the good in a sizzling final clocking. Champagne Ivy (Shackleford) was second. The winner is the first foal to race out of a daughter of the Phipps family’s 2002’s champion 2-year-old filly Storm Flag Flying, herself a daughter of the Phippses’ My Flag. Also residing under the third dam on Jouster’s pedigree are MGSWs Parading (Pulpit) and Teresa Z (Smart Strike) and GSW Performer (Speightstown), recently third as the favorite for the Phippses and McGaughey in the GI Cigar Mile H. Playtime produced a filly by West Coast last spring and has an unraced 4-year-old Liam’s Map filly named Dressed Up Gypsy.

11th-Gulfstream, $40,000, Msw, 1-10, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:39.92, fm, 8 3/4 lengths.
JOUSTER, f, 3, Noble Mission (GB)
1st Dam: Playtime, by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Storm Flag Flying, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: My Flag, by Easy Goer
Sales History: $360,000 Ylg ’19 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: 3-1-1-0, $40,920. Click for the Equibase.com chart, VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Starlight Racing; B-St. Elias Stables, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.

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Martin Garcia Preparing To Return From Collarbone Fracture At Oaklawn Meet

Jockey Martin Garcia never really left, but his riding resurgence in 2020 abruptly ended when he fractured his collarbone in an Oct. 18 spill at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. Garcia got on horses for the first time since the accident Dec. 27 at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., where he made a huge splash last year in his debut as a regular, tying for second in the standings with 53 victories.

“I've had 2 ½ months,” Garcia said. “I'm not 100 percent yet, but I will be. The bone doesn't hurt, so I think that's the main thing.”

Garcia, 36, has been working horses for trainers like Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Brad Cox and Steve Hobby in preparation for the 2021 Oaklawn meeting that is scheduled to begin Jan. 22. Once an A-lister in Southern California, breezing or riding many of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's elite runners, Garcia relocated to the Midwest in late 2019 because of dwindling business on the West Coast.

Garcia finished his abbreviated 2020 season with 73 victories and $4,180,401 in purse earnings, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. The win total was Garcia's highest since 2015. Garcia's purse earnings were his highest since 2016.

“I had a great year,” Garcia said. “I rode a lot of nice horses. Besides riding good horses, I was winning. I was very happy.”

Garcia pushed perennial champion Ricardo Santana Jr. for the Oaklawn riding title, trailing 54-51 entering the final three days of the 57-day season. Garcia finished with 53 victories, after losing two wins via disqualifications, from 285 mounts and purse earnings of $2,472,702.

Joe Talamo, in his first season as an Oaklawn regular after previously being based in Southern California, also rode 53 winners. Santana wound up with 61.

Garcia had opened the 2020 Oaklawn meeting by winning the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds aboard Gold Street for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and added the $125,000 Spring Fever Stakes for older female sprinters about a month later aboard Midnight Fantasy for trainer Joe Sharp.

“I think it would be good if you win the title, but if you're winning the big races like those, that's where it counts,” Garcia said.

Garcia's post-Oaklawn highlight was a three-quarter length victory aboard Harvey's Lil Goil in the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1) Oct. 10 at Keeneland for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. After running 11^th in the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) May 1 at Oaklawn, Harvey's Lil Goil flourished in her return to turf.

In addition to the grassy QE II, Garcia also guided the daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to a head victory in the $100,000 Regret Stakes (G3) on the turf June 27 at Churchill Downs. Harvey's Lil Goil finished third, beaten a neck, in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

After missing the Breeders' Cup because of injury, Garcia will now try to build on his Oaklawn resume, which features 59 victories, including six stakes, since 2010.

“Just keep riding for, I hope, everybody,” Garcia said. “I hope whoever gives me a chance, I'll take advantage of it.”

A native of Mexico, Garcia has amassed 1,632 victories and $91,615,021 in purse earnings since launching his career in the United Stakes in 2005, according to Equibase. He won the 2010 Preakness aboard the Baffert-trained champion Lookin At Lucky and is a four-time Breeders' Cup winner. All four of Garcia's Breeders' Cup victories (Drefong, Bayern, New Year's Day and Secret Circle) have been for Baffert.

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Perfect Munnings Leads Pletcher Exacta In Aqueduct’s Rego Park

Trainer Todd Pletcher sent out a trio of contenders in Sunday's $100,000 Rego Park Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.. While Pletcher conditioned the favorite in Uno, his other two entries completed the exacta, with Perfect Munnings besting Storm Shooter by two lengths.

Owned by JP Racing Stable, Perfect Munnings shined in his main track debut, building on his two-length debut score on November 29 over the Big A turf. The Munnings sophomore broke well from the outermost post and was forwardly placed by jockey Manny Franco in third position as stablemate Storm Shooter led the eight-horse field through a contested opening quarter-mile in 23.35 seconds and the half in 47.81 on the fast track under pressure from Lookin for Trouble.

In the final furlong, Franco kept Perfect Munnings to task, overtaking Lookin for Trouble to his immediate inside and Storm Shooter along the rail and completed the 6 1/2-furlong sprint in a final time of 1:20.24.

“We were pretty optimistic because of the way he breezes on the dirt,” Pletcher assistant Byron Hughes said. “He showed that ability today. He had a good post and Manny [Franco] kept him in the clear and he ran well. Obviously, he's won on turf and dirt. We'll keep him up here for now and then we can go back to turf if we have to.

“I told Manny before the race that we probably should use the post to our advantage,” he added. “He got a clean trip and Manny did a good job keeping him out there.”

Perfect Munnings, bred by Tammy and Robert Kilmasewski, improved to 2-for-2 overall. The $50,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Sale, more than doubled his career earnings to $93,500.

Franco said he has benefitted from the brisk pace battle.

“I was really happy stalking the two horses and when I asked my horse to go before the quarter-pole, he started running for me,” Franco said.

My RaceHorse Stable's Storm Shooter, bred by Dr. Jerry Bilinski and ridden by Dylan Davis, bested Lookin for Trouble by 1 ¼ lengths for second.

“It was contentious, but I wanted to lead here. He does well on the lead,” Davis said. “I had to get into him early around the three-eighths pole. I didn't want to get him collared too early because he doesn't like too much company early.

“He keep finding more and more and for a second I thought we were going to get there but the other Pletcher horse had to come and grab me,” he added. “He ran a great race.”

Said Hughes: “He keep finding more and more and for a second I thought we were going to get there but the other Pletcher horse had to come and grab me,” he added. “He ran a great race.”

Uno gave Pletcher three-quarters of the superfecta with his fourth-place effort.

“He broke just a tick slow and looked like he got shuffled back,” Hughes said. “He also made a good run and I thought he got third when I first saw it. I thought he ran a big race, considering the start.”

Windy Nations, Blue Gator, New York One and Halpert completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Friday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday card is slated for Monday, January 18 and features the $100,000 Interborough for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up. There will be no live racing on Thursday, January 14 to accommodate the special holiday card.

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