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Successful Claim Last Judgment Leads Every Step Of Pimlico Special

The run of successful claims by trainer Mike Maker continued on Friday at Pimlico Race Course when Last Judgment, picked up for $62,500 last October, led at every point of call to win the Grade 3 Pimlico Special.

The 5-year-old Congrats gelding was taken straight to the lead from the outside post by jockey Jose Ortiz, and he crossed the wire for the first time a length and a half ahead of closest challengers Modernist, Cordmaker, and Treasure Trove. Last Judgment took the field into the first turn through an unrushed and untested opening quarter in :23.83 seconds, while the challengers continued to wait their turn.

Longshots Cordmaker and Treasure Trove started to draw closer to the leader on the outside through the first turn, but they soon retreated as they entered the back straightaway through a half in :47.60 seconds.

Ortiz continued to stand calmly in the irons across the backstretch as he was tracked by Treasure Trove and Modernist, and Cordmaker started to weaken, replaced by favorite Fearless.

Ortiz looked behind him started to ask for a little more with his hands as he entered the final turn with Last Judgment after six furlongs in 1:11.54. Modernist and Fearless remained as the only viable challengers as the field turned for home, and Ortiz brought out the crop for some mild urging in the final eighth of a mile, but it was hardly a panicked maneuver.

Neither of the challengers were able to find enough momentum to approach Last Judgment, and the gelding kicked on under a hand ride to win by 1 3/4 lengths. Modernist carried on for second, a neck ahead of Fearless, while Cordmaker continued on to finish fourth, 4 1/4 lengths further back.

Last Judgment completed the 1 3/16-mile Pimlico Special in 1:54.37 over a fast main track, paying $11.80 to win.

Maker saddled Last Judgment for the partnership of Michael Dubb, Steve Hornstock, Bethlehem Stables, and Nice Guys Stables. The Pimlico Special was Last Judgment's fifth start for his new owners since being claimed last October at Belmont Park. Since then, he's tallied wins in the Sunshine Classic Stakes, and the G3 Challenger Stakes, while also finishing second in the G3 Ghostzapper stakes at Gulfstream Park prior to the Pimlico Special.

Friday's race improved Last Judgment's record to eight wins in 18 starts for earnings of $502,965.

Last Judgment was bred in Florida by Woodford Thoroughbreds, out of the Forestry mare Fantasy Forest.

To view the race chart, click here.

$250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) Quotes

Winning Trainer Mike Maker (Last Judgment): “Very classy horse. We like the way he's responded on that stretch out. Fabulous [claim] by these guys (co-owners Steve Hornstock and Steve Spielman).”

“He's run well for us going a mile and an eighth. I was glad to stretch him out and hoped to get a softer pace going longer.”

“I was a little concerned about the outside post, but he doesn't care for the dirt in his face, so he was going to be in the clear anyway. If someone was hell-bent on the lead, so be it.”

“To be honest, I've never really thought about anything further than today. But with a nice horse, you always have a lot of options.”

Winning Jockey Jose Ortiz (Last Judgment): “I thought I was going to get [to the lead], but I knew that if somebody else wanted to get there, I could sit off him, too. It was not like the last time, I cooked in front in 46 [seconds] and that cost me the race for sure. I had a good position. I knew that if he broke well from the gate I could get to the lead nicely. Or if he didn't break well I could sit second. But he broke really good.”

“It was a nice job by Mike [Maker]. He had him ready. The horse relaxed well. When I asked him he was there for me. That's all you can ask for.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado (Modernist; 2^nd): “I had a beautiful trip. The horse that won the race was the only one with the speed, and I was tracking behind him the whole way. Turning for home, I took my shot at it, but that horse in front just kept going. I was in a beautiful spot. If I had to do it 100 times, I would have picked the same spot I was in. I was traveling very beautifully. The horse in front got away with a nice pace and he kept going.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher (Fearless; 3^rd): “I thought he ran well. He got shuffled back a bit. He tried to move him outside into the clear, but it's tough when there's no pace to try to close much ground. I thought he put in a long sustained run. They just didn't come back.”

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Fearless; 3^rd): “On the backside, I knew the other horse [Last Judgment] was in control, so I started letting my horse pick it up. He made a long run. It was hard to get there. On the backside, he [Last Judgment] was running comfortable. I knew he was going to be hard to catch, so I started moving. It was a long run.”

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‘Rising Star’ Stage Raider Makes It Two Straight at Belmont

8th-Belmont, $89,240, Alw (NW1$X), Opt. Clm ($80,000), 5-14, 3yo, 1m, 1:38.22, ft, 3 lengths.
STAGE RAIDER (c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Stage Magic {Broodmare of the Year, GSP, $133,981}, by Ghostzapper) would have given those who backed him into 1-20 favoritism a bit of a scare in upper stretch, but he rallied through a tight spot at the fence to clear his first allowance condition Friday at Belmont. The half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy, Horse of the Year, Ch. 3yo Colt, MGISW, $3,798,000); and to The Lieutenant (Street Sense), GSW, $345,882, was popped away from the stalls by Eric Cancel, but then was eased back and rated along from fourth. A joint-last passing halfway, the Gunther homebred was slipped a bit of rein at the three-eighths and was just off the leaders' heels nearing the stretch. Though there appeared to be an option to ease back and around pacesetting Purple Hearted (Normandy Invasion) with a furlong and a half to travel, Cancel gambled up the paint, and though it took a few strides, Stage Raider hit the gap and kicked home to score by three lengths. A $950,000 buyback out of the 2019 Keeneland September sale, Stage Raider was a distant second to 'TDN Rising Star' Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) in a seven-furlong Gulfstream maiden Jan. 23 before earning the 'Rising Star' nod for a 10 3/4-length defeat of Harvard (Pioneerof the Nile) in the Keeneland slop Apr. 10. The latter, a full-brother to champion Classic Empire, returned to graduate easily at Indiana Grand May 13. Stage Magic, a Grade III-placed daughter of GI CCA Oaks third-place getter Magical Illusion (Pulpit), is the dam of a yearling filly by Curlin and was most recently bred back to thatstallion. Sales history: $950,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $106,170. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O/B-John D Gunther (KY); T-Chad C Brown.

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Red Ghost Wins Head Bob Battle Over Euphoric In Miss Preakness Stakes

Horse racing loves a comeback story, and Red Ghost was a tweet-length version of just that on Friday afternoon in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness Stakes, sneaking a nose ahead at the wire after appearing to be defeated.

The 3-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper was hurried out of the gate by jockey John Velazquez, and was challenged on the inside by Abrogate, who tumbled rider Ricardo Santana Jr. out of the back of the starting gate prior to the start of the race.

As Abrogate faded, Euphoric moved up to challenge Red Ghost on her outside, after taking a sharp left turn out of the gate. Those two were practically even after the opening quarter, clocked in :22.88 seconds, and they remained head-to-head as they entered the turn.

Euphoric got a head in front throughout the turn, and carried that small advantage through a half-mile in :45.80 seconds under jockey Javier Castellano. Meanwhile, Joyful Cadence began to approach the lead duo on the far outside, and she entered contention with about a furlong to go.

This set up a hardscrabble three-way battle in the deep stretch, but it was one that it appeared Red Ghost was not going to win. Euphoric fought doggedly against Joyful Cadence on her outside, and it appeared that Euphoric would have enough to stave off that rival. But, Velazquez continued to grind from the rail, and got into head-bob contention with the leader.

The lead changed with each stride, but Red Ghost managed to have her neck out at the right time when the finish line went by. She finished a nose ahead of Euphoric, who was a neck in front of Joyful Cadence. Then, it was three lengths back to Juror Number Four in fourth.

Red Ghost stopped the clock in 1:10.53 in the six-furlong race over a fast main track. She paid $6.20 to win as the 2.10-to-one post time favorite.

Friday's Miss Preakness was a successful step-up for Red Ghost, who made her graded stakes debut after winning a six-furlong Keeneland allowance by two lengths on April 16. Her earnings now total $182,200.

It was her third career victory, after also winning on debut in a off-the-turf maiden race at Saratoga Race Course. Her only career defeat came in her lone try on turf in the Untapable Stakes last September at Churchill Downs.

Red Ghost races as a homebred for Douglas Scharbauer, and she is trained by Wesley Ward. She is out of the Elusive Quality mare Better Than Most.

After the field crossed the line, there was a fairly lengthy jockey's objection lodged by Xavier Perez abiard Street Lute against Castellano and Euphoric, after the Euphoric ducked in at the break and appeared to cut off multiple competitors. However, the stewards elected to leave the result unchanged.

To view the race chart, click here.

$150,000 Miss Preakness (G3) Quotes

David Flores, Assistant to Winning Trainer Wesley Ward (Red Ghost): “John [Velazquez] said she was backing up a little bit when the horses went by her. When he got after her she looked like she was not done. He felt like he had horse. She is very competitive and she was able to make a comeback.”

Winning Jockey John Velazquez (Red Ghost): “She got passed, almost a length. She was looking to the inside and the other horses passed her. She didn't even care. She kept looking to the inside and leaning out and I got after her. I got after her at the three-sixteenths pole and she came back.”

Jockey Javier Castellano (Euphoric; 2^nd): “I had a good trip. I thought I was going to win. To be honest with you, I thought I won the race. You never know. Unfortunately, I lost the bob. I saw [winner Red Ghost] coming back on the inside, but there is nothing that you can do. [John Velazquez]was already there. I just got beat. She ran really well, I am disappointed we lost but very satisfied with the way she did it. She ran a great race.”

Trainer John Ortiz (Joyful Cadence; 3^rd): “Tough beat, but I couldn't be any more proud of what she did today. She showed guts. Her last stakes race (second in the Purple Martin at Oaklawn) we saw that she had a little fight. Today, I thought we were the winner. She's still learning. When she got in front, she probably waited up a little bit and got just a little tired. But she ran a heck of a race for sure.”

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Joyful Cadence; 3^rd): “She got the perfect trip, can't complain, no excuses. She just got beat. Once she got the lead, she thought it was over. She was looking around a little bit but no excuses.”

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Agreement To Allow HKJC To Host Racing at Conghua

An agreement executed Friday by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) with the Guangzhou Municipal Government is set to strengthen the Club's foothold on the Chinese Mainland, with the prospect of staging “international-standard' racing at Conghua Racecourse (CRC), heretofore known as the Conghua Training Centre (CTC).

Located about 200 kilometres and approximately a three-hour car trip (four hours by horse float) from Hong Kong, Conghua was opened to great fanfare in 2018. Built on 150 hectares on a site that hosted the equestrian events at the 2010 Asian Games, the state-of-the-art facility presented an opportunity to ship horses away from the rugged, concrete environment of Sha Tin Racecourse into a more serene and remote location, with stabling for over 600 horses, training tracks and accommodations for staff. Horses routinely return from a spell at Conghua refreshed and revived.

The HKJC successfully staged five exhibition races (non pari-mutuel) at Conghua in March 2019, the first time Hong Kong horses had raced competitively on the Mainland. The HKJC reported that some 1,700 Mainland residents were on hand. A similar event was scheduled to take place in 2020, but those plans were scuppered by the coronavirus outbreak.

The agreement signed Friday allow for the HKJC to conduct racing at CTC “under the Club's racing rules and regulations based on international best practices.” A regular racing programme could commence as soon as 2025.

The Club also announced plans to upgrade the infrastructure at CTC, including the construction of a “new and iconic grandstand” in addition to extra stabling, training facilities and expanded staff accommodations. The municipal government has agreed to build an additional access road to the facility.

A third key component of the agreement is the development of an “equine value chain,” including an international equine quarantine facility and other equine-related initiatives, such as veterinary professional development and the exploration of a Thoroughbred trading centre and the promotion of equestrian sports in Guangzhou.

“Building on our respective strengths, this Agreement will substantially deepen the Club's strategic cooperative partnership with the Guangzhou Municipal Government with the aim of achieving our shared vision of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Racing Economic Cluster,” said HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. “Since its opening in 2018, CRC has become an integral part of Hong Kong's world-class racing. We will fully leverage CRC's world-class facilities and talent within the Club to implement this exciting, but challenging initiative.”

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