Michelle Lovell Celebrates ‘Very Special’ New York Win From Louisville

Trainer Michelle Lovell is hoping Griffon Farm's homebred Just Might can return to his top form and cap a 72-hour stakes double in Saturday's $110,000 Mighty Beau Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Lovell made the difficult decision to stay in Louisville on Thursday and continued to oversee her stable at Churchill Downs while assistant Chad Mouton traveled to New York with her fellow turf sprint specialist Change of Control to compete in the $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes (Grade 3). The classy 5-year-old mare rallied from just off the pace for a 1 ½-length victory.

“This mare has been incredibly special to us,” Lovell said. “She tries so hard every time she runs and has been in top form this year. Colby (Hernandez) got her into a great spot early and she was able to relax behind the pace. Into the stretch, it looked like Colby had a ton of horse and when she was able to get outside, she really showed her stride late. That was a great win for everyone involved.”

Just Might, a four-time winner from 25 starts, who is also co-owned and bred by Lovell, was installed as the 9-2 third choice on Mike Battaglia's morning line odds for Saturday's Mighty Beau.

“He ran some of his best races over the winter at Fair Grounds,” Lovell said. “We've run him the last couple years against some graded-type fields, including in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1). I think he matches up well with Saturday's field and hopefully this race gives him a confidence boost heading into the summer.”

Hernandez, who collected his first career graded stakes win aboard Change of Control in the Intercontinental, returned to Kentucky on Friday and is slated to ride Just Might in the Mighty Beau from post No. 2.

Just Might won the last two runnings of the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes at Fair Grounds. Typically run at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, this year's edition was switched to the dirt due to inclement weather. The son of Justin Phillip entered the Mighty Beau with solid career record of 25-4-7-6 with purse earnings of $333,533.

“I've been partners with Dr. (Robert) Griffon for many years and this horse is very special to us,” Lovell said. “He's like family to me and I've trained for him nearly my entire career.”

The complete field from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Smart Remark (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver, 15-1); Just Might (Hernandez, Lovell, 9-2); Carotari (Julien Leparoux, Brian Lynch, 4-1); Johnny Unleashed (Gerardo Corrales, Eric Foster, 12-1); High Crime (James Graham, Darrin Miller, 10-1); The Connector (Francisco Arrieta, Mark Hoffman, 12-1); Classy John (Corey Lanerie, Dallas Stewart, 4-1); Verb (Mitchell Murrill, Keith Desormeaux, 10-1); Elusive Mischief (Chris Landeros, Ian Wilkes, 15-1); and Totally Boss (Brian Hernandez Jr., Rusty Arnold, 3-1).

The Might Beau, run at five furlongs on the Matt Winn Turf Course, is slated as Race 11 with a post time of 5:58 p.m. First post for the 11-race program is 12:45 p.m. Fans are invited to stay after the finale to watch the 153rd running of the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1) on the Big Board. Post time for the Belmont is 6:49 p.m.

The post Michelle Lovell Celebrates ‘Very Special’ New York Win From Louisville appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Change Of Control Splits Horses To Capture Intercontinental

Struggling to find racing room around the far turn, Colby Hernandez managed to guide 7-5 second choice Change of Control to a small seam between horses and was rewarded with a drawing away victory in Thursday's Grade 3, $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes at Belmont Park. It was the first graded stakes win for the 5-year-old daughter of Fed Biz, trained by Michelle Lovell on behalf of owner Perry Harrison.

Change of Control ran seven furlongs over the “good” turf in 1:22.07, defeating Piedi Bianchi by 1 1/2 lengths on the wire.

“This mare has been incredibly special to us,” Lovell said. “She tries so hard every time she runs and has been in top form this year. Colby [Hernandez] got her into a great spot early and she was able to relax behind the pace. Into the stretch, it looked like Colby had a ton of horse and when she was able to get outside, she really showed her stride late. This is a great win for everyone involved.”

I'llhandalthecash was quickest out of the gate to lead by just over a length down the backstretch, with Piedi Bianchi hovering on the outside in second through fractions of :23.64 and :49.40. Change of Control stayed on the inside in third, while favored Publication broke a step slowly and was last early.

Change of Control was shuffled back a bit around the far turn, behind a three-way battle for the lead, but the eventual winner was loaded for bear and hunting room to run.

Hernandez finally saw the seam between rivals and swung Change of Control toward the outside. Change of Control responded gamely and dug in toward the wire, pulling away to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Piedi Bianchi. Madeline Must ran third over I'llhandalthecash, with 6-5 favorite Publication finishing fifth and last.

“When she broke, she broke sharply,” said Hernandez, who was celebrating his first graded stakes win. “She left there well, and I had to get on her a little bit. After that, I was just able to sit on her. All I needed was daylight and she kicked on.”

Bred in Kentucky by John O' Meara, Change of Control is out of the stakes-placed Quiet American mare America's Blossom. A $95,000 yearling at OBS, Change of Control has accumulated a record of 7-6-5 from 27 starts with earnings of over $550,000.

The post Change Of Control Splits Horses To Capture Intercontinental appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights