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Full-Brothers Fill Out Exacta In Rowland Memorial Handicap At Thistledown

Buckeye Bullet won the Michael F. Rowland Memorial Handicap on Monday at Thistledown for a fourth time, which is remarkable in its own right. Almost as remarkable was the level of family dominance displayed in the order of finish.

Finishing three-quarters of a length behind the 8-year-old Buckeye Bullet was Midnight Mikey, a 6-year-old full-brother to the winner.

Both halves of the exacta are gelded sons of Dark Kestrel, out of the winning Concerto mare Buckler, each racing as Ohio-born homebreds for Louis Ruberto Jr.'s Ruberto Racing Stable. Ruberto also trains both horses.

Buckeye Bullet led at every point of call in the six-furlong race for Ohio-breds, under jockey Erik Barbaran, while Midnight Mikey was second past every pole under Ricardo Feliciano. The two battled within a head of each other for the bulk of the race, and Buckeye Bullet briefly let his stablemate by, but he regained the advantage late and kicked on to prevail.

Dark Kestrel, an 18-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic, stands at Ruberto's farm in Libson, Ohio. The stallion won once in two starts as a juvenile, taking his debut in an Ellis Park maiden special weight by 3 1/2 lengths.

He entered stud in 2005 as a research stallion for the University of Florida, residing at the school's equine centers in Gainesville and Ocala.

While under the University of Florida banner, he sired runners of note including Stormofthecentury, who won the Grade 3 Turf Monster Handicap at Parx Racing under Ruberto's tutelage. The stallion moved to Ohio in 2015, a year after Stormofthecentury's graded stakes triumph.

The dam, Buckler, has had four foals to race, all sired by Dark Kestrel. In addition to the top two in the Rowland Memorial, she has also had stakes-placed Roses for Sharon and Kingofthebuckeye, who won two of five starts.

On her own accord, the Illinois-bred Buckler won 10 of 48 starts over the course of five years, racing primarily in the claiming ranks in Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. She was also owned and trained by Ruberto, who bought the mare privately in 2009, and raced her for two more years. Buckler's foals have earned a combined $770,929 on the racetrack.

The Rowland score brings Buckeye Bullet's lifetime record to 11 wins from 24 starts, with earnings of $406,759. Monday's race was the gelding's fourth consecutive victory in the stakes event, after he won the previous renewals in 2017, 2018, and 2020.

In running second, Midnight Mikey improved his lifetime earnings to $296,376, with a record of seven wins in 28 starts. He finished second in the 2019 Rowland Memorial – the one that didn't feature his brother – and he ran sixth to Buckeye Bullet in 2020.

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Optimism High As Oregon’s Grants Pass Downs Begins 2021 Season

CEO Travis Boersma has plenty of reasons to be excited as Grants Pass Downs begins its spring/summer meet with eight-race cards Monday and Tuesday.

Entries for the first two days of racing are very healthy—128 total horses, an average of 8.0 per race. Both stakes races—Monday's $12,000 Caveman Stakes and Tuesday's $11,400 Daily Courier Stakes—drew deep and talented fields.

Moreover, the weather forecast is perfect, and last but certainly not least, fans will be allowed on-track for the races; advance tickets are available at gpdowns.com or at the gate.

“We've got up to 1,200 fans coming and that's a big step for us,” Boersma said. “We're ecstatic. It means energy around the grandstand. As far as an intimate track experience goes, I don't think anybody has something like we have.”

When Portland Meadows shuttered for good in 2019, it could have been ruinous to racing in Oregon. But Boersma, born and raised in the Rogue Valley, had a life-long enjoyment of racing in Grants Pass, stepped up big time. He secured a long-term lease for a commercial meet at the Josephine County Fairgrounds, and in the past two years has made numerous improvements to the facility.

“Here's the thing; I've gone to this track at Grants Pass since I was brought into this life, and so I've got these memories and experiences I'll take with me the rest of my life,” Boersma said. “To think that horse racing could go away in the state of Oregon seemed tragic to me.”

“And I really started to look at how we could save it, that was the first step. And then the second step: could horse racing live without having to be propped up, and the short answer was yes.”

The Flying Lark restaurant and entertainment venue is due to open later this year on the southwest corner of the facility. The state-of-the-art venue will help finance horse racing purses, which currently average over $60,000 daily. As for wagering, the 2020 fall meet averaged a record $377,789 including a blockbuster $868,632 on closing day.

“We are a fun-loving mind-blowing company here to build legacies one race at a time, those principles and values and philosophy of business carry over to (horse racing) for me,” Boersma said. “When we can make an impact in a community in a positive way, when we can take the Josephine County Fairgrounds and start to inject life into it and take care of deferred maintenance and figure out ways to bring jobs to our community and make a difference in agriculture, make a difference in equestrian, and be a draw for horsemen and horsewomen from all over the state, that's where my juices get flowing because that's what it's all about for me, quality of life and how we can live it.”

“We're well on our way to stabilizing horse racing in Oregon, “Boersma said. “Our goal is to have the fair meets rock solid and funded, and our commercial race meet in Grants Pass dialed in and drawing people from all over the western United States.”

Boersma also participates in the races at Grants Pass. He owns a stable of horses with trainers Emilio Guerrero and Quinn Howey including five runners entered opening week, and a band of five broodmares whose progeny begin racing next year.

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Hapers First Ride Returns With New Connections For 2021 Pimlico Special

His owner, trainer and jockey will be different, but the scenery will be the same for Harpers First Ride when the defending champion returns to the site of his biggest victory in the historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) Friday at Pimlico Race Course.

The 51st running of the Pimlico Special, on the eve of the 146th Preakness Stakes (G1), is one of six stakes, four graded, worth $1 million in purses on a spectacular 14-race card headlined by the 97th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) for 3-year-old fillies.

Other graded stakes on the program are the $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3) for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs, and $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/8 miles. Rounding out the stakes action are a pair of turf events, the $100,000 Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies at one mile, and $100,000 The Very One, a five-furlong dash for females 3 and older.

First race post time is 11:30 a.m.

Harpers First Ride had raced five straight times in Maryland with wins in the Deputed Testamony, Pimlico Special, Richard W. Small and Native Dancer to cap his 4-year-old campaign when he was sold by owner-trainer Claudio Gonzalez prior to a start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park, won by Knicks Go.

GTMP Stables, Arnold Bennewith and Cypress Creek Equine moved the Paynter gelding to trainer Robertino Diodoro in the Midwest, where he finished fourth in the March 13 Essex Handicap and third in a 1 ½-mile allowance April 11, both at Oaklawn Park under Diodoro's go-to rider, David Cohen.

“We had some issues with his feet, and we got those fixed up,” Diodoro said. “To be honest, this is the best he's been doing since we've had him. He's doing really well. He worked really good at Churchill. Ever since we got some different shoes on him, the last couple of weeks he's been like a completely different horse. We're actually pretty excited about next Friday.”

According to Diodoro, the 1:03 official time for Harpers First Ride's five-furlong work May 7 was misleading. The trainer said the horse actually worked seven-eighths of a mile, a move designed to continue past the wire and into the turn.

“David Cohen and I were talking that the time is definitely deceiving,” he said. “He did it very well. I would read absolutely nothing into the time.… I think we had the horse maybe 80, 90 percent the last couple of times. I feel like we've got him 100 percent now.”

Cohen will ride back from Post 7 in a field of 11 at 122 pounds.

Also returning from last year's Pimlico Special are Forewarned and Cordmaker.

Trin-Brook Stables, Inc.'s Forewarned, a 6-year-old Flat Out gelding, is a three-time stakes winner against fellow Ohio-breds who ran third in the Westchester (G3) last summer at Belmont Park and was fifth in the 2019 Whitney (G1) and Woodward (G1) as well as the Pimlico Special. He carries topweight of 126 pounds including 2020 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice Alexander Crispin from Post 3.

Hillwood Stable's multiple stakes-winning Maryland-bred Cordmaker is making his third straight appearance in the Pimlico Special, having run third by two necks in 2019 and 2 ½ lengths in 2020. Last year's race came during a career-long winless drought for Cordmaker of 10 races spanning more than 17 months. Second or third in six of those starts, all of them in stakes, he returned to the winner's circle with a front-running one-length triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Harrison E. Johnson Memorial March 13 at Laurel Park.

“It had to be good for him because it got him more confidence. He ran a really nice race. We hope between that and the way he's been training that he's up to this,” trainer Rodney Jenkins said. “He's doing really well. The horse is probably has never done better in his life than he's doing now … I hope he runs as good as he's training.”

Regular rider Victor Carrasco has the call from Post 8.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen won the 2019 Pimlico Special with Tenfold, who ran fourth last year in his title defense. Asmussen returns this year with George Hall and BLX Thoroughbreds Corp.'s Max Player, racing for the first time since running 11th in the $20 million Saudi Cup Feb. 20.

Max Player won the Withers (G3) in his third career start last February, then ran third in the Belmont (G1) and Travers (G1) and fifth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) during a Triple Crown trail reshuffled amid the coronavirus pandemic. He came to Baltimore for the Preakness (G1), where he rallied to be fifth behind filly Swiss Skydiver.

“Physically, he's as good as he's ever been,” Asmussen's assistant, Scott Blasi, said. “His works have been solid. It should be a good spot for him. And, the Special has been good to us.”

Ricardo Santana Jr. will be aboard from Post 5 for Asmussen, who also won the then-Grade 1 Pimlico Special with Student Council in 2008.

Newly elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, trainer Todd Pletcher will be going after his third Pimlico Special victory after winning previously in successive years with Revolutionary (2014) and Commissioner (2015). His candidate this year is WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Fearless, winner of the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) Feb. 27 in his first start in eight months. Last time out, he rallied to be second by a half-length to Silver State in the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 17.

“[He's doing] very good,” Pletcher said. “He was very good in his first start and just missed in his second. He seems to be in good form.”

Three-time defending Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. has the assignment from Post 2.

Trainer Mike Maker will send out the pair of Last Judgment and Treasure Trove. Michael Dubb, Steve Hornstock, Bethlehem Stables and Nice Guys Stables' Last Judgment has two wins from four starts this year, both in Florida – the 1 1/8-mile Sunshine Classic Jan. 16 at Gulfstream and the 1 1/16-mile Challenger (G3) March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs. Most recently he was second after setting the pace in the 1 1/8-mile Ghostzapper (G3) March 27 at Gulfstream.

Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Treasure Trove was claimed for $40,000 out of a win last fall at Indiana Downs. Though he has gone winless in five tries since, three of his losses have been by less than three lengths including a three-quarter-length loss when fifth in the 1 1/8-mile Ben Ali (G3) April 10 at Keeneland, his most recent start. He was fourth by 2 ¼ lengths in the 1 ½-mile Temperence Hill March 13 at Oaklawn.

“We should be well-represented there,” Maker said. “Treasure Trove got beat maybe three-quarters of a length in the Ben Ali and ran last, had a wide trip … He ran fourth in the mile-and-a-half at Oaklawn, got beat a couple of lengths. The race before in an allowance race there, he came up the rail and had to take up a little and wait and just got beat.”

Jose Ortiz will ride Last Judgment from outside Post 11, while Luis Saez has the call on Treasure Trove from Post 9.

Pam and Martin Wygod's Modernist is a two-time graded-stakes winner, having taken the 2020 Risen Star (G2) and the 1 1/8-mile Excelsior (G3) April 3 at Aqueduct last time out. Junior Alvarado rides from Post 1 for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, whose lone previous Pimlico Special victory came with Hall of Famer Cigar in 1995.

Completing the field are multiple stakes winner Alwaysmining; 2020 Lecomte (G3) winner Enforceable, third by a half-length in the New Orleans Classic (G2) March 20; and Prioritize, third in the 2020 Woodward (G1) and unraced since running fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) last October.

The Pimlico Special was created in 1937 by Alfred Vanderbilt, the master of Sagamore Farm, as the first major stakes in the United States set up as an invitational, and was won by Triple Crown champion War Admiral. The following year, War Admiral was upset by Seabiscuit in what Sports Illustrated called the 'Race of the Century.'

Revived in 1988 by late Maryland Jockey Club president Frank De Francis, the Special's illustrious roster of winners also includes Triple Crown winners Whirlaway, Citation and Assault, and modern-day Horses of the Year Criminal Type, Cigar, Skip Away, Mineshaft and Invasor.

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Midnight Bourbon Breezes For Preakness

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) tuned up for Saturday's GI Preakness S. Monday morning at Churchill Downs, working an easy half-mile in :50.20.

A $525,000 Keeneland September yearling, Midnight Bourbon won the GIII Lecomte S. in January and earned additional points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a third in the GII Risen Star S. and a runner-up effort in the GII Louisiana Derby. Unable to go forward after taking a bump at the start of the GI Kentucky Derby May 1, the strapping bay colt raced farther back in the field than connections wanted, but made some late ground to finish sixth, beaten just over eight lengths.

“He's doing great, wonderful physically,” said trainer Steve Asmussen, who saddled Curlin (Smart Strike) to win at Old Hilltop in 2007 and Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro) two years later. “This morning, I watched Midnight Bourbon work. He's just such a beautiful specimen and he goes over the racetrack so pretty. Driving back to the barn from the grandstand, I was thinking how crazy we are as horsemen. It's only less than two weeks from the disappointment of the Derby, and here I am, thinking I'm going to win a Classic again and I get all giddy. Here we are less than two weeks later and we're all jazzed up, ready to go to Baltimore and we love our chances. Very fortunate to have these chances and horses of this caliber. I'm very optimistic going to Baltimore.”

Midnight Bourbon was a handful when schooling in the Churchill paddock in the days leading up to the Derby, to the point where Asmussen inserted himself into the situation. He plans to be on the shank again this weekend.

“Yeah, I'm going to lead Bourbon over,” he said. “He's just a lot of horse, and I'm probably the biggest guy in the barn.”

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