Hot Rod Charlie | Horse Racing Free Tips

Whitney Win Vaults Knicks Go To Top Of Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go, dominant winner of last Saturday's Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, has vaulted to No. 1 in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38^th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Knicks Go, trained by Brad Cox, rose from fourth place to the top of the Classic Rankings, receiving 314 votes. Knicks Go led the 1 1/8-mile Whitney from start to finish, winning by 4 ½ lengths over Maxfield, who had been the top-rated horse in the poll for the first six weeks. Knicks Go has won three of five starts this year, which includes the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park in January and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) in July. Last year, Knicks Go won the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Keeneland.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, also trained by Cox, stayed in second place this week with 276 votes. Essential Quality, last year's TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner, won the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga and the Belmont Stakes (G1) in his last two starts. Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield dropped from first to third place this week with 269 votes. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield has won three races in 2021, including the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, in which he earned an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's 3-year-old Hot Rod Charlie, trained by Doug O'Neill, dropped one position to fourth place with 202 votes.

Juddmonte's 3-year-old Mandaloun, winner of the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) on July 17, remained in fifth place with 127 votes. Also trained by Cox, Mandaloun has been taken out of training for the remainder of the year due to a sore foot.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska rose one spot to sixth place with 96 votes. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska won the Ogden Phipps (G1) at Belmont Park and the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in her last two starts.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State dropped one spot to seventh place with 95 votes. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State finished third in the Whitney, suffering his first defeat of the year after four wins.

CRK Stable's 4-year-old Express Train, winner of the San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar, remained in eighth place with 85 votes.

George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.'s 4-year-old Max Player, winner of Belmont's Suburban (G2), is in ninth place. Also trained by Asmussen, Max Player has 70 votes.

Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver and Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farm's Royal Ship (BRZ) are tied in 10^th place with 53 votes apiece. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Happy Saver lost his first race in six starts when he finished third in the Suburban. Royal Ship won the Californian Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita in April and was recently third in the San Diego Handicap for trainer Richard Mandella.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Aug. 10, 2021*

Rank	Horse	Votes	First-Place Votes	Previous Week
1	Knicks Go	314	22	4
2	Essential Quality	276	4	2
3	Maxfield	269	6	1
4	Hot Rod Charlie	202	1	3
5	Mandaloun	127	0	5
6	Letruska	96	0	7
7	Silver State	95	0	6
8	Express Train	85	0	8
9	Max Player	70	0	9
10	Happy Saver	53	0	9
10	Royal Ship (BRZ)	53	0	0

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 11. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

The post Whitney Win Vaults Knicks Go To Top Of Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Maxfield Tops Essential Quality In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

For the sixth consecutive week, Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield is the No. 1 rated horse in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38^th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Maxfield, trained by Brendan Walsh, received 22 first-place votes and 280 total votes. Maxfield earned an automatic berth into this year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 26.

Godolphin's 3-year-old Essential Quality, last year's TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner, remained in second place with 273 votes. Trained by Brad Cox, Essential Quality won Saturday's 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga by a half-length over Keepmeinmind. The victory was Essential Quality's fourth in five starts this year and was his first start since winning the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 5.

Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss's 3-year-old Hot Rod Charlie, trained by Doug O'Neill, is in third place with 225 votes.

Korea Racing Authority's 5-year-old Knicks Go, winner of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park in January and the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) on July 2, moved up one spot to fourth place with 163 votes.

Also trained by Cox, Knicks Go is expected to face Maxfield and Silver State in this Saturday's Whitney (G1) at Saratoga, which is a “Win and You're In” for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

Juddmonte's 3-year-old Mandaloun drops one spot to fifth place with 161 votes. Also trained by Cox, Mandaloun finished a nose behind Hot Rod Charlie in the July 17 TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park, but was declared the race winner following the disqualification of Hot Rod Charlie for interference in the stretch.

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Silver State remained in sixth place with 105 votes. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State is unbeaten in four starts this year, which includes victories in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and Belmont's Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1).

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska stayed in seventh place with 85 votes. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska won the Ogden Phipps (G1) at Belmont Park and the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in her last two starts.

CRK Stable's 4-year-old Express Train, winner of the San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar, rose from 10^th to eighth place with 66 votes. George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp.'s 4-year-old Max Player, winner of Belmont's Suburban (G2), is tied in ninth place with Wertheimer and Frere's 4-year-old Happy Saver, who finished third in the Suburban. Max Player, also trained by Asmussen, and Happy Saver, trained by Todd Pletcher, have 59 points apiece.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Aug. 3, 2021*

Rank	Horse	Votes	First-Place Votes	Previous Week
1	Maxfield	280	22	1
2	Essential Quality	273	7	2
3	Hot Rod Charlie	225	1	3
4	Knicks Go	163	0	5
5	Mandaloun	161	0	4
6	Silver State	105	0	6
7	Letruska	85	0	7
8	Express Train	66	0	10
9	Happy Saver	59	0	9
9	Max Player	59	0	8

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

The post Maxfield Tops Essential Quality In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Prat Gets Seven-Day Suspension For Haskell Ride; Begins After Del Mar Meet Closes

Jockey Flavien Prat has been handed a seven-day suspension by the Monmouth Park board of stewards for his ride in the July 17 TVG.com Haskell Stakes that resulted in the disqualification of first-place finisher Hot Rod Charlie after Midnight Bourbon clipped heels in mid-stretch, unseating jockey Paco Lopez.

The suspension begins on Sept. 7, the day after the close of the Del Mar meet in California, where Prat is the runaway leader in the jockey standings. The suspension runs through Sept. 13.

Hot Rod Charlie, ridden by Prat, made a four-wide move into the stretch of the 1 1/8-mile Haskell. overtaking Midnight Bourbon to his immediate inside nearing the furlong pole. Hot Rod Charlie then drifted in to engage Mandaloun on the rail, but did so without sufficiently clearing Midnight Bourbon, who stumbled badly after Lopez appeared to attempt to swing his mount to the outside. Midnight Bourbon managed to stay on his feet, but Lopez was unseated as Hot Rod Charlie and Mandaloun raced as a team to the wire. Hot Rod Charlie won by a nose but was disqualified and placed last, giving Mandaloun the victory in the Grade 1 race and the winner's share of the $1,005,000 purse.

Neither Midnight Bourbon nor Lopez suffered serious injury and Lopez rode the following day.

The stewards conducted a hearing with Prat July 29 and issued the ruling on Sunday morning.

“Jockey Flavien Prat failed to make a reasonable effort to keep his horse from drifting in past the eighth-mile pole, allowing his horse to cross in front of Midnight Bourbon, which resulted in Midnight Bourbon clipping heels with Hot Rod Charlie, causing Midnight Bourbon to stumble badly, unseating his rider,” the ruling states.

“Mr. Prat's actions were in violation of NJAC 13:70-11.1 (crossing and weaving), which states: 'When clear a horse may be taken to any part of the course but no horse shall cross or weave in front of other horses in such a way as to impede them or constitute or cause interference or intimidation.'”

There was no immediate word on whether Prat would appeal the suspension.

Prat's suspension comes during the Los Angeles County Fair meet at Los Alamitos.

The post Prat Gets Seven-Day Suspension For Haskell Ride; Begins After Del Mar Meet Closes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Flavien Prat Suspended Seven Days for Haskell Ride

The Monmouth Park stewards have handed jockey Flavien Prat a seven-day suspension for his ride aboard Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the July 17 GI TVG.com Haskell S. The ruling was issued Sunday, three days after the stewards granted Prat a hearing.

The suspension runs from Sept. 7 through Sept. 13. The timing may not be a coincidence, as the suspension starts the day after the Del Mar meet closes. California racing then shift to Los Alamitos, where Prat doesn't normally ride on a regular basis. It will, however, keep Prat from riding the full meet at Kentucky Downs, which runs from Sept. 5 through 12.

The New Jersey Racing Commission prohibits its stewards from speaking to the press.

Via text, Prat said he will not appeal.

“Not much to comment. I will take the days and move on,” he texted.

The Haskell will go down as one of the more controversial races run this year. Prat positioned Hot Rod Charlie outside of Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) and Mandaloun (Into Mischief) in deep stretch. Hot Rod Charlie appeared to come over two or three paths in the stretch and impede Midnight Bourbon, who fell. Neither Midnight Bourbon nor his jockey, Paco Lopez, was seriously injured.

Hot Rod Charlie, who crossed the wire a nose in front of Mandaloun, was disqualified and place last. Mandaloun, who may yet be declared the official winner of this year's GI Kentucky Derby, was awarded the Haskell victory.

The spill gave critics of the New Jersey Racing Commission's whip ban plenty of ammunition as those opposed to the rule argued that had Prat used his whip, the spill would not have happened.

In the official ruling, the stewards stated that “…Prat failed to make a reasonable effort to keep his horse from drifting in past the 1/8th pole, allowing his horse to cross in front of #6 Midnight Bourbon, which resulted in Midnight Bourbon clipping heels with Hot Rod Charlie, causing Midnight Bourbon to stumble badly, unseating his rider.”

The ruling cited racing regulations under the category of “crossing and weaving.” It reads: “When clear, a horse may be taken to any part of the course but no horse shall cross over or weave in front of other horses in such a way to impede them or constitute or cause interference or intimidation.”

The post Flavien Prat Suspended Seven Days for Haskell Ride appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post