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Vigilantes Way, Half Sister To Mr Speaker, Takes Tropical Park Oaks On Front End

Phipps Stables' Vigilantes Way stole away to victory in Saturday's $75,000 Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., after jockey Julien Leparoux took things into his own hands with a well-judged front-running ride.

The Tropical Park Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies, highlighted Saturday's 11-race program along with the $75,000 Tropical Park Derby, a 1 1/16 turf stakes for 3-year-olds, and the $75,000 H. Allen Jerkens, a two-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds and up.

The Shug McGaughey-trained Vigilantes Way ($7), by Medaglia d'Oro, broke alertly to take the lead heading into the first turn and never looked back, resisting mild early pressure from longshot Blue Mistress and pulling away to a 2 ¼-length victory in 1:40.61 built on fractions of 23.91 and 47.66 seconds for the first half-mile.

A half-sister to Mr Speaker, who captured the 2013 Dania Beach (G3) over the Gulfstream turf, Vigilantes Way was the second stakes winner of the day for Julien Leparoux, who guided Sir Anthony to an upset victory in the Jerkens.

“Nice day today, beautiful to win two stakes. The horses ran great, so we're happy with that, it's been a great day,” Leparoux said. “I was not expecting to be on the lead, but she broke very sharp and she was doing it very nicely. She relaxed for me on the backside and from there she was very comfortable the whole time. When I asked her in the stretch, she won nicely.”

Ask Bailey closed to finish second, a nose ahead of Speaktomeofsummer.

Vigilantes Way registered her first stakes victory Saturday in four starts on turf, which include an allowance win and two stakes placing.

“She's a half-sister to Mr. Speaker and he liked the grass, so we always had that in mind,” McGaughey said. “She's been a pleasant surprise. As a yearling, she was a little bit of a small, immature filly, and she's still small. But she's matured out and her races have all been very good.”

McGaughey said Vigilantes Way would be pointed toward another stakes at Gulfstream.

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Harty Outdoes Former Boss in La Brea

For 14 years, Irishman Eoin Harty worked as the right-hand man to trainer Bob Baffert, helping oversee the careers of the dual Classic-winning duo of Silver Charm (1997) and Real Quiet (1998) among many other luminaries. For the last two decades, Harty has served as an American-based conditioner for Godolphin, having developed the likes of Street Cry (Ire), champion Tempera–whom he trained to a victory in the 2001 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies–and Dubai Escapade. Now 58 and a decade removed from his most recent Grade I success, Harty was back in the spotlight following a 20-1 upset by Fair Maiden (Street Boss) in Saturday’s GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita. Golden Principal (Constitution) and Merneith (American Pharoah) completed a 2-3 finish for the Baffert barn.

The La Brea field was caught in a nice line and Fair Maiden raced prominently early before drifting back to the latter half of the field as Biddy Duke (Bayern) poked through to take up the running down the backstretch. Ridden quietly by Northern California import Ricky Gonzalez, while racing three or four off the rail in the slipstream of the Chad Brown-trained Motivated Selller (Into Mischief) around the turn, Fair Maiden edged into the four path to follow the move of Golden Principal into the stretch. Pulled out into the clear to lay down her challenge shortly thereafter, Fair Maiden hit high gear at the furlong grounds and raced away to a convincing success. Favored Finite (Munnings) settled well back in the field and made mild late progress into fourth. It was a first Grade I winner for jockey Ricky Gonzalez, who shifted his tack from up north for the winter.

“Eoin [Harty] said she was doing really, really well, to just put her in the race,” he explained. “There were quite a few speeds. ‘Just put her in the race, get her clear and get her to the outside.’ We hit the stretch and as soon as we hit the stretch, she went on the outside and was just full of run.”

It was the first Grade I for Harty since Victor’s Cry, a son of the aforementioned Street Cry, took out the 2010 Shoemaker Mile.

An Arlington maiden romper at second asking last season, Fair Maiden won the grassy Catch a Glimpse S. at Woodbine and was a narrowly beaten third in the GI Natalma S. before finishing well-beaten behind Sharing (Speightstown) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The chestnut resumed to post a 2 1/4-length allowance when trying dirt for the first time in her career at Churchill Sept. 19 and was a troubled fourth to Merneith and Motivated Seller in the Qatar Fort Springs S. on Breeders’ Cup Saturday at Keeneland Nov. 7.

Pedigree Notes:

Fair Maiden is the seventh Group 1/Grade I winner for her sire and is one of two winners from three to race from her dam, an $875,000 graduate of the 2009 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. Fair Maiden’s third dam won the 2000 GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Mother Goose S. before going on to produce MGISP Dunkirk (Unbridled’s Song). Shieldmaiden, the 10th daughter of the late Smart Strike to produce a top-level winner, was sold for $30,000 in foal to Animal Kingdom at Keeneland November in 2017 and produced colts by Passion For Action in each of the last two seasons before being covered by the same son of Speightstown last year.

Saturday, Santa Anita
LA BREA S.-GI, $302,500, Santa Anita, 12-26, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:22.69, ft.
1–FAIR MAIDEN, 120, f, 3, by Street Boss
1st Dam: Shieldmaiden, by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Code Book, by Giant’s Causeway
3rd Dam: Secret Status, by A.P. Indy
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Godolphin
(KY); T-Eoin G. Harty; J-Ricardo Gonzalez. $180,000. Lifetime
Record: 8-4-1-1, $321,278. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Golden Principal, 120, f, 3, by Constitution
1st Dam: Gold D’ Medaglia, by Medaglia d’Oro
2nd Dam: Lemon Twist, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Danzig Island, by Danzig
($35,000 RNA Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo ’19 OBSAPR).
O-Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram & Paul Weitman; B-CESA
Farm (FL); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Merneith, 120, f, 3, by American Pharoah
1st Dam: Flattermewithroses (SW), by Flatter
2nd Dam: Rosella, by Grindstone
3rd Dam: Fluttery Danseur, by Wavering Monarch
($350,000 Wlg ’17 FTKNOV; $600,000 2yo ’19 OBSMAR).
O-HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud; B-China Horse Club
(KY); T-Bob Baffert. $36,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1HF, 3/4. Odds: 20.60, 12.80, 3.60.
Also Ran: Finite, Secret Keeper, Provocation, Himiko, Biddy Duke, Motivated Seller, Princess Mo. Scratched: Stellar Sound.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Gulfstream Park: Sir Anthony Posts Jerkens Upset; Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Has $550,000 Guarantee

Déjà vu at Gulfstream Park.

Richard Otto Stables Inc.'s Sir Anthony, winner of the 2018 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at odds of 25-1, ran down the pacesetter Conviction Trade to win Saturday's $75,000 H. Allen Jerkens at two miles at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Odds for Sir Anthony in the Jerkens? 25-1.

A 5-year-old by Mineshaft winless in four previous attempts on the turf, Sir Anthony covered the rare, two mile distance in a track record 3:19.48 under jockey Julien Leparoux. The Jerkens was Sir Anthony's first victory since winning the 2019 Cornhusker (G3).

“We've been trying for a race for him on the dirt and it's been a while since he won. I was really looking for a confidence race for him and to get a race past a mile, which is tough to do,” said trainer Anthony Mitchell. “The opportunities out there were really for longer races on the turf, so we gave him a couple of runs on the turf in Arlington and it looked like he was OK on it, so we had that in the back of our mind. Moving forward we were looking for a race past a mile and an eighth. The opportunity to go two miles was out there and we presented it to the owner. He agreed, so we took a crack at it.”

Conviction Trade and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. took the field of 11 through fractions of :26.06, 51:57, 1:17.05 and 1:41.81 and held the lead entering the stretch before Sir Anthony and Leparoux took over inside the eighth pole.

“I said it after he won the Harlan's Holiday, they don't give him the respect he deserves,” Anthony said. “The owner is a pure champion of a man. He's been good to me and our relationship has been 26 years now. He bred this horse, along with a lot of other graded stakes winners that I've had. Full credit to Mr. Otto.”

Sunday's Rainbow 6 Guarantee $550,000
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have a guaranteed pool of $550,000 when racing resumes Sunday with a 12:05 p.m. first race post.

Multiple winning tickets in Saturday's Rainbow 6 returned $24,981.16.

The jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover Sunday of $5,069.17.

Sunday's Rainbow 6 sequence begins in the sixth race, post time 2:38 p.m., with a claiming event at 1 1/16 mile on the turf. Four of the six races in the sequence will be contested on the turf.

The third leg, an allowance optional claimer for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 mile on the turf, features an intriguing cast including Gary Barber's Declarationwarrior, making her first start since in 10 months since finishing third in the Herecomesthebride (G3), Princesa Caroline, graded-stakes placed at Del Mar as a juvenile and making only her second start in 13 months, Mimina's Team, making her first start since May when finishing fifth in the Honey Ryder here at Gulfstream, and Setting the Mood, making her first start since finishing fourth in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) in September.

Who's Hot: Irad Ortiz Jr. had three winners Saturday with Amount ($5.20) in Race 5, Colonel Liam ($4.40) in Race 8 and the Tropical Park Derby, and What's to Blame ($23.80) in Race 9. Jockey Julien Leparoux won two stakes, taking the Jerkens with Sir Anthony and the Tropical Park Oaks with Vigilantes Way ($7).

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Santa Anita Debuts New 6 1/2-Furlong Turf Course Chute

A project that was undertaken with great urgency this past Aug. 17 came to fruition on opening day as Santa Anita's turf chute was utilized for the first time as Saturday's sixth race at 6 ½ furlongs attracted a field of 12 allowance horses aged three and up. Under sunny, blue skies, the race was taken by trainer Mike Puype's Highly Distorted, who got the distance in 1:14.85 while winning by three quarters of a length under jockey Juan Hernandez.

Breaking from post position four, Highly Distorted, idle since breaking his maiden going 5 ½ furlongs on the Del Mar turf July 25, showed good speed out of the gate and controlled the pace throughout through splits of 22.64, 44.72 and 1:08.64.

“Everything looked good,” said Santa Anita track surfaces consultant Dennis Moore, who oversaw the entire project from conception to sixth race post time. “It's nice to see it all come together from beginning to end.”

For Hernandez, it was his second win through six races. Highly Distorted, off at 11-1, paid $24.80 to win.

Anaconda, ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, checked in sixth as the 5-2 favorite.

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