With no luck at the draw yet again, Pounce was wisely taken hold of by Javier Castellano and angled over to the inside to caboose the field–led by Mystic Lake (Mo Town)–into the first turn. Content to trail down the back, Pounce was quietly ridden through the middle furlongs as market leaders Life's an Audible (Audible) and Ozara (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) raced handier to the speed.

Pounce began to thread the needle three furlongs out, splitting horses on a couple of occasions before angling out for the drive under a full head of steam. Life's an Audible also kicked nicely as Ozara failed to go on, but Pounce sprinted slightly the better of the two and was home narrowly best.

“Last time she broke good and I sent her to the lead, wire-to- wire,” Castellano said. “It was a different ballgame today the way I handicapped the race. I was way outside with a lot of speed in the race. My goal was to save ground on the first turn but he didn't break good out of the gate and I used my best judgment to drop in and save all the ground I could on the first turn because in my mind I'd have to lose ground turning for home. It was a beautiful trip. [Life's an Audible] came out a little bit and my horse hesitated a little bit to go past, but I encouraged her and she responded really well.”

Pedigree Notes:

Pounce is the first foal and only starter for her winning dam, a $170,000 OBS April breezer, who was purchased by Joshua Deets for $37,000 with this filly in utero at the 2020 Keeneland November Sale.

A half-sister to a pair of black-type performers, including GIII Providencia S. third Gold Dragon Queen (Goldencents), Bouncy produced a filly by Hard Spun Feb. 25.

Pounce is the 50th worldwide graded/group winner for Lookin At Lucky and his 76th black-type winner overall. She is a sixth stakes winner and second graded winner out of a mare by Twirling Candy.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
HERECOMESTHEBRIDE S.-GIII, $200,000, Gulfstream, 3-2, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:33.17, fm.
1–POUNCE, 121, f, 3, by Lookin At Lucky
1st Dam: Bouncy, by Twirling Candy
2nd Dam: Water Park, by Strodes Creek
3rd Dam: Hope She's Bold, by Bold Forbes
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($22,000
RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP; $370,000 3yo '24 FTDFEB). O-Resolute
Racing; B-Bell, Rankin, VanMeter & Hancock (KY); T-Mark E.
Casse; J-Javier Castellano. $120,280. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0,
$216,324. Werk Nick Rating: First SW this cross. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com
catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Life's an Audible, 123, f, 3, Audible–Catkins, by Data Link.
($25,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $90,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $200,000
2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Repole Stable; B-Susan Moulton (KY);
T-Todd A. Pletcher. $38,800.
3–Ozara (Ire), 121, f, 3, Lope de Vega (Ire)–Cercle d'Or (Ire), by
Acclamation (GB). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. (350,000gns Ylg
'22 TATOCT). O-Cheyenne Stable LLC; B-Fleche D'Or
Partnership (IRE); T-Christophe Clement. $19,400.
Margins: NK, 1 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 9.00, 2.20, 1.10.
Also Ran: Crown Imperial, Mystic Lake, Time to Dazzle, Macanga, Show Off. Scratched: Agra, Dancing N Dixie, Irish Maxima. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

Just weeks after topping the @FasigTiptonCo Digital sale last month, POUNCE comes from the clouds to land straight back in the winners circle in the G3 Herecomesthebride @GulfstreamPark for new owner Resolute Racing & trainer @markecasse! https://t.co/TM00AZzgQU

— Highgate Sales (@Highgate_Sales) March 2, 2024

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“He's a great work horse,” trainer Brad Cox said Sunday. “He's continued to do the same here at the Fair Grounds in preparing for the Pegasus. He looked fantastic this morning. We actually took him to the track today [jogging a mile Sunday] because we're due some cold weather in the next few days and we may miss a day of training. But overall, super pleased with how he's moving and how he physically looks and how he is acting. I think he's set up for a big run to start his 4-year-old season.”

First Mission earned a spot in the GI Preakness S. last year with a win in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S., but missed the second leg of the Triple Crown due to injury. He returned with an allowance win at Keeneland in October and is coming off a narrowly beaten runner-up effort in the Nov. 24 GII Clark S.

The Cox-trained GI Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), another Pegasus invitee, also worked five furlongs at Fair Grounds Saturday, covering the distance in 1:00.20 (3/51). Owned by the Saudi-based FMQ Stables, the 4-year-old is entered in Saturday's GIII Louisiana S. as a prep for the Feb. 24 Saudi Cup in Riyadh, according to Cox.

Working for the Pegasus at Gulfstream Park Sunday, last year's GIII Smarty Jones S. winner Il Miracolo (Gun Runner) went five furlongs in 1:00.92 (5/11) with jockey Javier Castellano in the irons for trainer Antonio Sano.

“He went really good. I liked the way he did it today,” Castellano said. “He did it in good time and galloped out beautiful.”

Il Miracolo was third in the Pennsylvania Derby, a narrowly beaten second in the Oct. 28 GII Fayette S. and third in the Clark.

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The TDN and other news outlets received an email from New York Gaming Commission Director of Communications Brad Maione that included six screen shots from the race taken at the point where there was contact and horses were steadied. One of the shots included arrows pointing to four jockeys, Ruben Silvera, Manny Franco, Junior Alvarado and Jose Lezcano. Alvarado was aboard Brick Ambush, who, though disqualified after crossing the wire second and placed last, appeared to be free of the trouble while racing outside and clear of the horses who were bothered. The arrow pointing to what was supposed to be Alvarado's mount was instead The Big Torpedo (Big Brown), who was ridden by Javier Castellano.

When the TDN notified Maione that there was an error concerning the identification of the horses and their riders, he sent a new version of the original statement that fixed the mistake. However, with Alvarado now properly identified, the pictures offered no evidence that he was at fault.

The second version of the statement included the following explanation: “Please note the first screenshot in the previous version incorrectly identified the riders on specific horses. Please disregard those reference screenshots. Corrected versions are attached and included below. The narrative remains unchanged.”

Misidentified image of the Great White Way S. sent to the media | NYSGC

The disqualification set off a controversy that has yet to die down and the consensus in the sport is that, for whatever reason, the stewards simply DQ'd the wrong horse by mistake. Many believe that the horse that caused the bumping and deserved to come down was actually the race winner, Antonio of Venice (Laoban).

The statement made the case that the stewards carefully reviewed the race after the decision was made to disqualify Brick Ambush and that they stood by their decision. The stewards officiating the race were Braulio Baeza, Jr. (N.Y.S. Gaming Commission), Juan Dominguez (The New York Racing Association, Inc.) and Samantha Randazzo (The Jockey Club).

“The three Stewards' attention was focused on the field as it arrived near the quarter-pole, where several horses converged and were in close contact,” the statement read. “As evident in the below/attached screenshots, horse Brick Ambush (#12), ridden by Junior Alvarado, came up on three horses that were crowded together–Antonio of Venice (#1) ridden by Manuel Franco, The Big Torpedo (#7) ridden by Javier Castellano, and Solo's Fury (#11), ridden by Jose Lezcano–and made disruptive contact. The Stewards were concerned that Castellano's contact with the other horses and their riders could have impacted the results of the race.”

According to the statement, the stewards examined six separate camera views of the area of concern and conducted telephone interviews with Franco, Castellano, Lezcano and Alvarado. Castellano told reporters after the race that he attempted to claim foul, but the stewards have said they were unaware that he wanted to file an objection.

“After review of the footage and interviews with the jockeys, the Stewards unanimously concluded that Alvarado's movement of Brick Ambush to the inside at quarter-pole pole caused a chain reaction that impacted the race. Accordingly, the Stewards disqualified Brick Ambush for interference,” the statement continued.

Alvarado was hit with a three-day suspension for careless riding.

“The following morning, all four jockeys were required to participate in a film review of the race and discussed the event with all three Stewards,” the statement continued. “At the conclusion of the review, State Steward Baeza issued a 3-day careless riding suspension to Mr. Alvarado, to be effective January 1 through January 5, 2024. Mr. Alvarado accepted the penalty and declined to appeal.”

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A pair of Breeders' Cup wins at the 2019 Championships put an exclamation point on the Hall of Famer's eighth straight season with more than $20 million in earnings. But, the year 2020, like it was for so many, was more about overcoming adversity for the native of Venezuela.

Castellano was the first jockey to test positive for COVID-19–he wasn't symptomatic, thankfully–during the beginning of the pandemic in March and was on the sidelines again after undergoing hip surgery at the end of the year.

“It was tough, not just for myself, but for everybody in the world in 2020,” Castellano said. “I only missed three months. And it seemed like it was forever.”

Castellano returned to action in 2021, but wasn't exactly welcomed back with open arms. Competing in pound for pound the deepest jockey colony in the nation in New York, Castellano rode 105 winners that season, good for $9,804,024 in earnings. After going just 13-for-142 at the prestigious Saratoga meeting, Castellano's career was suddenly at a crossroads.

Javier Castellano entered the Hall of Fame in 2017 | Horsephotos

“I was devastated. I was ready to give up,” said Castellano, a winner of four straight Eclipse Awards as Outstanding Jockey between 2013-16. “I just came back from everything and people didn't give me an opportunity. One moment I thought, 'I think this is it. I can't keep doing what I'm doing.' I was really really depressed.”

He continued, “They didn't care about who you are or what you did in the past. It's amazing. I was a Hall of Fame rider, a four-time leading jockey in the nation in back-to-back years, had six Travers then, 12 Breeders' Cups and won more than 5,000 races. And it didn't mean anything. You have to prove yourself and that you belong.”

Castellano picked himself up off the mat and hired longtime former racing official P.J. Campo to handle his book. He began to right the ship with 163 victories in 2022. By comparison, Castellano rode a total of 212 winners combined the previous two years.

How did he power his way through?

“Mentally, I had to be strong,” said Castellano, a married father of three. “A lot of discipline and dedication. Do the homework every single day. Regroup and try to be very positive.”

The momentum began to build for Castellano after he won three races on Saratoga's opening day card that summer.

“In 2022, we started rolling a little bit in Saratoga,” Castellano said. “I also went out of town for the right people and won some races. I knock a little bit and the door began to open a little here and there.”

Castellano is no longer the one doing the knocking this year.

He put to bed an 0-for-15 mark on the first Saturday in May with a 15-1 upset aboard Mage (Good Magic) in the GI Kentucky Derby, and, just five weeks later, secured his first GI Belmont S. victory with Arcangelo (Arrogate). Castellano became the first jockey to win two Triple Crown races on two different horses in the same year since Calvin Borel did so in 2009. He's won 16 graded races so far this year, including seven at the top level.

“Thank God, I've been very blessed and very fortunate to have one of the best years of my career,” Castellano said. “It was a great achievement to win the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, two Triple Crown races in the same year. I was always missing something on my resume.”

With Castellano's two Classic winners on a collision course this summer, he stuck with the recently retired Arcangelo, who followed up with a convincing win in the GI Travers S., the rider's record seventh victory in the 'Mid-Summer Derby.' The gray, unfortunately, was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Classic–a race Castellano won aboard the sensational Ghostzapper in 2004–earlier this week after developing a foot issue.

Javier Castellano celebrates aboard Ghostzapper following the 2004 Classic | Horsephotos

“He gave me an opportunity to regroup in my career, and, in my life, and enjoy these beautiful moments with my family,” Castellano said.

As for Arcangelo missing the Classic and now off to begin his career at stud at Lane's End, he said, “This is hard, but one decision I fully support. Arcangelo is safe and sound and that's all I can really think about. He has given me so much and I'm so blessed to have been part of the team.”

Castellano's mounts on Saturday's Championship program at Santa Anita include: GI Beverly D. S. winner and E.P. Taylor S. winner Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf; GII American Turf S. winner and narrow GI Saratoga Derby Invitational S. runner-up Webslinger (Constitution) in the GII Twilight Derby; and Time for Trouble (English Channel) in the 1 5/8-mile GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S.

“It could be a good example for anybody,” Castellano concluded. “You never give up. When you want something in life, you have to work for it. When you work for it, you get it.”

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“I like the way he did it,” said Javier Castellano, who also had won the GI Woodward with the horse the month before. “He had missed the break. [Todd] Pletcher told me, 'Make sure he breaks good and get a good position,' but when the gate opened, he missed the break. He had to find the best spot and show he was an amazing horse the way he did it behind horses. It was in the way he did it that was very special. When I asked a little bit, he took off, and I just hand rode him. So amazing, very professional. He was very unique. I don't have any words to say how happy I was. He was just the right horse.”

Liam's Map (2011 gray or roan horse, Unbridled's Song–Miss Macy Sue, by Trippi)

Lifetime record: MGISW, 8-6-2-0, $1,358,940

Breeders' Cup connections: B-Albaugh Family Stable LLC (KY); O-Teresa Viola Racing Stables and West Point Thoroughbreds; T-Todd Pletcher; J-Javier Castellano.

Current location: Lane's End Farm, Versailles, Ky.

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Javier Castellano was aboard Ghostzapper for every one of those remarkable performances.

“He was one of the biggest horses and one of the best in my career,” said Castellano. “I say that because you don't see too many horses that do what he did. This horse was particularly diversified at distances. From sprint to long distances, he did everything. He won the sprint races, he won at 1 1/4 miles, he won at a mile, at all the distances. It's hard to stretch out a horse from six furlongs to long and back again, but he did it and he won. He did everything.

“He still has [the Breeders' Cup] record. We're talking about 19 years ago and nobody has broken that record. It was against all the best horses in the world at the time: Funny Cide, Azeri, Pleasantly Perfect.

“He's pretty amazing, such a special horse. He put me on another level in my career. People didn't know who Javier Castellano was at the time and for me to ride the best horse, he opened the door for myself and my family. He opened the door for my career. He's such a special horse. I love him.

“He's just amazing. I'm blessed, thankful, grateful to have ridden such a special horse. Mr. Frankel told me Ghostzapper was the best horse he'd trained in all his life. For him to say that, with all those good horses he had, was pretty amazing.”

Ghostzapper (2000 bay horse, Awesome Again–Baby Zip, by Relaunch)

Lifetime record: Horse of the Year, Ch. older male, MGISW, 11-9-0-1, $3,446,120

Breeders' Cup connections: B-Adena Springs (KY); O-Stronach Stables; T-Robert Frankel; J-Javier Castellano.

Current location: Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, Paris, Ky.

The post Catching Up with 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic Winner Ghostzapper appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Entering the stretch, Fev Rover got the jump several paths to the inside of battling Charlie Appleby trainee With The Moonlight (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), a MGSW/MGISP Godolphin homebred, and last year's Queen's Plate winner Moira (Ghostzapper), the reigning Canadian Horse of the Year. She swapped to her wrong lead about a furlong from home, but had the race in hand, prevailing by 2 1/4 lengths while With The Moonlight outgunned Moira. The latter had beaten Fev Rover in their respective last outs, the GII Canadian S. Sept. 9.

Final time for the 1 1/4 miles over the good course was 2:04.20.

“I expected it to be my horse in the lead,” said Castellano. “I felt a lot of pressure outside. I tried to ride a smart race.”

Fev Rover was no slouch before being imported to North America last year. Under the tutelage of Richard Fahey, she had raced in England, Ireland, France, and Bahrain, with her scores including the G2 Ghadwell Prix du Calvados at two and her placings including the G1 QIPCO One Thousand Guineas at three. Fahey, under Musley Bank Stables, consigned her to the 2021 Tattersalls December Mare Sale, where Tracy Farmer picked her up for 695,000gns. Shipped to North American and Mark Casse in 2022, she made just three starts at four, all at Woodbine, defeating Moira in the GII Canadian S. and finishing third via DQ in that year's edition of the E.P. Taylor. She opened her 2023 campaign with guns blazing, starting her year with three consecutive 99 Beyer Speed Figures. With the E.P. Taylor, Fev Rover was adding her second Grade I score following a victory over Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), winner of Saturday's GI First Lady S. at Keeneland, in the GI Beverly D. S. Aug. 12 at Colonial Downs, where she had earned a fees-paid berth to the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. She also has captured the GII Nassau S. and finished third in the GI Diana S. at Saratoga this summer.

Casse had indicated prior to the E.P. Taylor that Fev Rover was indeed being pointed to the Filly & Mare Turf, which will be contested Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

#1 FEV ROVER (IRE) ($10.10) led early and was passed on the turn, but rebroke in the stretch to win @WoodbineTB's GI $750,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes!

This is the second top-level success for the 5yo mare, who was ridden by @jjcjockey for @markecasse and Tracy Farmer. pic.twitter.com/wUVZdypQTD

— TVG (@TVG) October 8, 2023

Pedigree Notes:

Fev Rover is the first top-level winner for Gutaifan (Ire), who stands at Haras des Faunes in France. The MGSW & G1SP stallion has four black-type winners total, with Fev Rover the only one venturing to this side of the pond. The Dark Angel (Ire) sire raced solely at two.

The late Epsom Derby and Breeders' Cup winner High Chaparral (Ire), sire of Fev Rover's dam, has 69 stakes winners out of his daughters. Laurelita (Ire)'s last reported foal is a yearling colt by Gutaifan's sire, Dark Angel. From the extended family of GISW Seek Again (Speightstown), she also has a 2-year-old filly named Leveret (Ire) (Invincible Army {Ire}), who has placed in one start in England this year.

Sunday, Woodbine Racetrack
E.P. TAYLOR S.-GI, C$766,000, Woodbine, 10-8, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, 2:04.20, gd.
1–FEV ROVER (IRE), 124, m, 5, by Gutaifan (Ire)
                1st Dam: Laurelita (Ire), by High Chaparral (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Chervil (GB), by Dansili (GB)
                3rd Dam: Nashmeel, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
(£20,000 Ylg '19 GOFFPR; 695,000gns 3yo '21 TATMA). O-Tracy Farmer; B-Manister House Stud (IRE); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Javier Castellano. C$450,000. Lifetime Record: GISW-U.S., SW & G1SP-Eng, GSW-Fr, GSP-Ire,19-6-4-3, $1,286,834. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–With The Moonlight (Ire), 124, f, 4, by Frankel (GB)
                1st Dam: Sand Vixen (GB) (GSW-Eng, $119,931), by Dubawi (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Fur Will Fly (GB), by Petong (GB)
                3rd Dam: Bumpkin (GB), by Free State (Ire)
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charles Appleby. C$150,000.
3–Moira, 124, f, 4, by Ghostzapper
                1st Dam: Devine Aida (MSW & GSP, $273,215), by Unbridled's Song
                2nd Dam: Passion, by Came Home
                3rd Dam: Rajmata, by Known Fact
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($150,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and SF Racing LLC; B-Adena Springs (ON); T-Kevin Attard. C$90,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1 3/4, 3 1/4. Odds: 4.05, 2.70, 1.55.
Also Ran: Skims (GB), Kalifornia Queen (Ger), Aspen Grove (Ire), Amazing Grace (Ger), Atomic Blonde (Ger), Consumer Spending, Rocky Sky (Ire).

Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Heiberger was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and that meant having Aqueduct as a beacon of fun and excitement just a few miles away. As a teenager in the late 70s, he and his friends would put forward the $1 it cost to take the Express Bus east to Queens to take in an afternoon at the races. The gang of wide-eyed neophyte gamblers would pool their money in the hope of making a score just like their seasoned counterparts. However, more often than not, Heiberger and his young Brooklynites would end up having to take the subway home, which only cost 35 cents since the bus fare was long gone.

Heiberger has spent the last 20 years building a successful catering and event center business in Freehold, New Jersey. The success of his Aurum Events and Exquisite Caterers now means he doesn't need to take the bus any more, but the memories of Aqueduct have never left. Always a casual horseplayer, Heiberger decided to dip his toe into the ownership game and began buying into partnerships about 10 years ago. Owning 3% to 5% of different horses made it clear to him that you did not have to own the whole horse to enjoy the total experience. That revelation inspired him to start In Front Racing Stables in June 2021.

Howie Heiberger | Howie Heiberger

Within weeks of getting the stable set up, Heiberger, some family and a few close friends dropped a claim slip on a 4-year-old mare named Tenderness (Medal Count). The $20,000 claimer would be the start of a long eight months of frustration for the new partnership group. In Front Racing Stables had 14 starts and waited eight months before they finally visited the winner's circle with one of their horses. Not everything was dark clouds for the new stable though, prior to their first win they were able to hit the board with their horses 50% of the time, so money was coming in and the bills were getting paid. With exactly 100 starts, as of the writing of this article, you can now find 15 winning photos on the wall and the group sporting an in-the-money strike rate of 46%. The success of the stable is a team effort. In Front Racing Stables currently employees the services of trainers Linda Rice, Jose DeAngelo and John Toscano to train and race their horses.

Heiberger also works with Larry Kaufman who is on the ground at the NYRA tracks to find the right horses to claim and add to their stable. Claiming is the name of the game with In Front and it has become their bread and butter.

In Front Racing Stable offers a unique proposition to its current and future partners: No bills. Once a partner decides to invest in a racehorse, there are no cash calls for training, vet work, transportation, etc. The ability to offer partners this unique opportunity is achieved through a formula that gives trainers 60% of the In Front horse's net purses earned and the partners 35%. Heiberger retains 5% of the net purses to cover the costs of running the operation. As the general partner, Heiberger also marks up all claims 15%. “Our partners really like the model we have established because they know what they want to invest and that is it,” he said. “No cash calls or bills. I have been in business a long time and you have to believe in the product that you are selling. I believe in this model.”

So do his partners, who now exceed 75 participants. Active partners number around 45 and 25 partners are in on almost every horse claimed. Most are from the East Coast, but In Front has partners that live in Arkansas, Oklahoma and as far away as Arizona. “We primarily race in New York and Florida, but I have the Oaklawn Park condition book in my hands now, so we may be expanding west,” he added.

In Front Racing Stable | Howie Heiberger

In Front partner Michele Farina had the same experience of sneaking off to the track while still in school. “We talked about experiences having grown up around the game and had things in common,” said Farina. “Besides being such a nice man, I respect how he has established and grown the stable. Also, meeting the other partners has been great and we basically all hang out together when we're at the track whether we're running a horse or not and that is what I really enjoy.”

One of those other partners Farina referred is Joey Zayas. “Howie ensures you are part of everything, from your thoughts on the horses they select as a possible claim to the race selections when that flexibility arises. I started with MyRacehorse, and even though they provide a great experience for the new, perhaps inexperienced horse owners, you are not that engaged with the day-to-day operations like In Front.”

In Front partner Steven Rapoport also has had experience with other partnerships. “I was a member of Karakorum Farms, Drawing Away Stables and Top Hat Thoroughbreds in the past,” he said.

“We have a group of 60 or so partners here who can look at claims. evaluate horses and try to make intelligent claims. The no-bills aspect makes it affordable.”

Heiberger is appreciative of the owner perks NYRA offers and one of the reasons he strongly recommends partners own at least five percent or more, so they can get licensed. “When you are a New York licensed owner, you get free admission for yourself and immediate family, free programs and owner's parking,” he said. “They even have an owner's lounge area. These things bring value to horse ownership.”

Teaching novices about ownership, introducing them to trainers, jockeys and others in the game is what drives Heiberger to grow In Front Racing Stables. “I want to give our partners a great experience just like with my businesses,” he said. “I also want them to learn, and interact with all aspects of the game, and most of all I want them to have a shot at making some money.”

This may seem like a lot to offer to small percentage owners, but that is simply what a mensch, like Howie Heiberger, does.

Joe Scurto is the principal at Horseshoe Marketing. His Twitter is @RacingHorseshoe.

Editor's Note: Partnerships, presented by Taylor Made Partnerships, is a new TDN feature which explores different partnership groups at different investment levels across the country. Each month, we will choose a different group to profile.

The post Partnerships: In Front Racing Stables Personifies Integrity Through Partnerships appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Sometimes no plan ends up being the best plan, as demonstrated by Arcangelo's artful dissection of a “loaded” Midsummer Derby that brought together not only the winners of this year's three Triple Crown races, but also the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion colt from last season.

Yet while Arcangelo's team–owner Blue Rose Farm, trainer Jena Antonucci, and the now seven-time winning Travers jockey Castellano–deservedly basked in the glory of the colt's well-improvised, 105 Beyer Speed Figure score that came 11 weeks after a 7-1 upset of the GI Belmont S., the connections of the high-profile Travers also-rans might have been rightfully questioning how their own pre-race strategies also seemed to disintegrate shortly after the starter sprung the latch for Saratoga's annual showcase race.

Take 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), for example. The reigning 2-year-old champ and winner of three of five graded stakes at age three was favored to win the Travers at 1.75-1 odds. But I wouldn't bet that too many people expected him to outbreak the field, especially considering he was fractious in the gate from post one and that he had never led at the first call in any of his previous nine races. Yet he popped out on top and spearheaded the pack for the first 100 yards before jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. decided he wanted Forte back in his comfort zone of targeting pacemakers and not being one himself.

At the same time, GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Mage (Good Magic) also broke with more early energy than usual, leaving Flavien Prat with an unexpectedly hard-to-handle, keyed-up colt as the field scrambled for position into the clubhouse turn.

With both Ortiz and Prat committed to conceding their positions in efforts to get their colts to settle, Castellano had to adjust his own rhythm and cadence in their wake, dropping back to fifth while securing a rail spot for Arcangelo.

The two colts who projected to be the main speeds on paper–the GI Preakness S. wire-to-wire victor National Treasure (Quality Road) and the all-the-way Curlin S. winner Scotland (Good Magic)–then came around Forte and Mage while Arcangelo, taking the shortest route at the fence, edged up into second.

Onto the backstretch, the Travers pack sorted itself into a more logical procession after opening quarter-mile splits of :23.46 and :24.54.

But then the 12-1 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit) surged up with an early bid for third behind Scotland and National Treasure, and these tactics, too, were out of the ordinary for a colt who has historically lagged and had to be scrubbed on in the early stages.

But on Saturday, Tapit Trice was newly adorned with blinkers for the first time in a race, and jockey Jose Ortiz had already started nudging him for run at the mile pole to see if the equipment change would produce a prolonged bid that would be able to sustain giving up five paths of real estate through the initial turn.

By the time the field crested the half-mile marker through a third-quarter split in a speeded-up :23.63, the body language of the contenders was telling: Scotland was all-out under pressure, with National Treasure being pushed along but not making headway while three-quarters of a length behind. Tapit Trice continued his wide journey three deep through the second turn, while Arcangelo fluidly clicked into a higher cruising gear, with Castellano tipping him out to the four path and appearing primed to pounce turning for home.

Forte at this point was rallying admirably considering his dire, self-inflicted circumstances, but the favorite's wide move from last under Irad Ortiz was accompanied by a whiff of too-little-too-late desperation. The punchless Mage dropped back to trail the field and was not hammered on for run by Prat when it was evident he was in no way in it to win it.

Banking off the bend through a fourth-quarter split in :24.65, Arcangelo drew abreast with what had essentially been a six-furlong middle move by Tapit Trice and the stubbornly staying-on Scotland.

Castellano gave one cursory look over his right shoulder to size up the threat from Forte, and he saw enough to know he wouldn't have to glance back in that direction again while hustling his colt with a vigorous hand ride in upper stretch.

Three-sixteenths out, Arcangelo put away both pacemakers, then braced for a fresh challenge from the late-striding Disarm (Gun Runner). A bit of judicious right-handed stick work outside the eighth pole elicited just enough torque from Arcangelo to keep Disarm at bay, with the final margin between them a length at the wire and Tapit Trice 2 1/2 lengths farther back in third.

In order, Forte, National Treasure, Scotland and Mage rounded out the finish.

Although Arcangelo's winning Beyer represents a three-point bump over his 102 for the Belmont S. and continues the colt's upward arc of always running a faster figure than his previous race over six lifetime starts, his final time of 2:02.23 for 10 furlongs was the slowest winning time for the Travers since V.E. Day stopped the timer in 2:02.98 back in 2014.

Arcangelo also made his winning move through a final quarter- mile clocked in :25.85, which is the slowest final split for the Travers since Keen Ice required :26.49 to upset American Pharoah in the 2015 edition.

Your Travers takeaway will depend upon how much emphasis you put on each of the above-mentioned factors.

On one hand, the winner looked visually impressive, and resonates as a colt who doesn't need to have everything go his own way to run his “A” race.

Arcangelo's speed figure came back more than respectable, but when the raw times get compared to the race's recent history, they're only so-so.

You also have to factor in that the next time Arcangelo meets Grade I competition, three of his main contenders are probably not going to suffer the disadvantageous types of trips that skewed the efforts of Forte, Mage, and (to a lesser degree) Tapit Trice.

On Sunday, the connections of the Travers top four reported all colts emerged from the race in decent shape. Mage's team posted on Twitter that he was doing well after “a bad day at the office.”

Antonucci was non-committal about a next start for Arcangelo. The GI Breeders' Cup Classic, though, would afford the same 11-week spacing as the colt's wins between the Belmont S. and the Travers.

That time frame would also match the same 11 weeks that Arcangelo's sire utilized when he won the Travers and the Classic in succession in 2016.

And let's not forget that Arrogate then parlayed those emphatic wins at age three into a sweep of the GI Pegasus World Cup and G1 Dubai World Cup early in his 4-year-old season.

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Having added a maiden success in the GI Kentucky Derby to his Hall of Fame resume at long last aboard Mage (Good Magic) in early May, jockey Javier Castellano continued a magical ride when teaming with Jena Antonucci to make history in the GI Belmont S. on the progressive Arcangelo (Arrogate), as the connections of Mage turned their collective attention to the second half of the season.

Mage resumed with a very good runner-up effort when reportedly not fully fit for last month's GI TVG.com Haskell S., a steppingstone to the GI Travers S., and a burning question over the next three weeks or so revolved around which colt would be the apple of Castellano's eye come the final Saturday in August. For her part, Antonucci always expressed confidence that Arcangelo would win out at the end of the day, and so it proved, as Luis Saez was named on Mage when Castellano declined to commit in a manner deemed timely enough.

A decision–or non-decision, as the case was–having been made, Castellano was now locked into the son of the late 2016 Travers romper Arrogate for a race he'd won a record six times previously, most recently with Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) in 2018. Deftly handled on an afternoon that was crying out for something–anything, really–resembling a happy ending, Arcangelo proved equal to the task under an A-plus steer from his 45-year-old reinsman.

“I never give up,” Castellano said. “I always work hard for moments like this. I've been up and down and thank God I've been lucky enough to win my seventh Travers. It's like the Super Bowl for Tom Brady. I'm so blessed to have people supporting me. When people support your career, it's great.”

Scotland (Tapit) won the break from his outside draw and led them past the winning post for the first time, as 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), a bit toey in gate one, a keyed-up Mage and GI Preakness S. hero National Treasure (Quality Road) raced handiest to the speed. Arcangelo was fifth of the seven as he hugged the rail, and he was followed by the newly blinkered Disarm (Gun Runner) and, unsurprisingly, the perpetually slow-starting 'Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit).

Castellano made a key move entering the clubhouse turn, allowing Arcangelo to improve inside of Forte, and when National Treasure rolled forward to prompt Scotland, it left the gray colt with the run of the race from the box seat. Traveling beautifully in midpack passing the midway point, Arcangelo needed next to no encouragement to keep pace with the leading group, and, once eased out into the four path, made ominous progress outside the typically one-paced Tapit Trice approaching the five-sixteenths marker. Spun out five or six wide into the stretch as Forte began to wind up with a bit of a run from behind, Arcangelo struck to the front with a furlong and a half to race and stayed on nicely for the victory. Joel Rosario rolled the dice up the fence with Disarm and was in tight inside of a weakening Scotland in upper stretch, then flew home to be runner-up in a case of what might've been. Tapit Trice plugged on for third, ahead of his favored stablemate Forte in fourth. National Treasure, Scotland and a disappointing Mage completed the order of finish.

“I feel like on the backside I had so much horse, I could blow by and open up by 10 and I just took my time and let him develop,” Castellano added. “I put him outside, enjoyed my ride and very lucky and thankful and blessed you guys gave me the opportunity and a lot of confidence to ride the horse and working together every single step. It seems to me he's a super horse. Keep our fingers crossed, keep him sound. All the credit to Jena. She does such a good job with the horses.”

It was another feather in the cap of Antonucci, the first of her sex to train a Belmont winner and the second to saddle a Travers winner, joining Mary Hirsch (1938).

“The significance of accomplishing anything in any gender at the top of any sport or industry is a gift,” she said. “It doesn't come without the team and without every single person on our team. The significance of this is hard to put into words right now.

“Anyone that wants something bad enough, you just have to work your tail off for it. It doesn't matter–man, woman, boy, girl–that's just white noise. If you want it, go fight for it and make it happen for yourself.”

It had been 77 days since the Belmont, but Antonucci had no problem whatsoever bringing Arcangelo into the Travers off works.

“It just never was a layoff in my mind with this horse,” she explained. “I understand the traditionalists of this sport are always going to view gaps in that manner. This horse has had his entire career that way because [owner] Jon [Ebbert] wants this horse to be brought along slowly, correctly and be given the time he needs to grow up. I feel we have respected that with the horse and Jon has respected that in the horse.”

A debut second sprinting in the Gulfstream slop last December, Arcangelo was fourth to future GII Louisiana Derby hero Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) over a mile Jan. 14 before graduating with Castellano at the controls Mar. 18. The ridgling battled hard in taking the May 13 GIII Peter Pan S. to earn his way into the Belmont, and, with Antonucci riding as hard as anyone from the Belmont boxes, easily defeated Forte at Big Sandy.

What once was an open question is no longer, as put succinctly by Forte's part-owner Mike Repole.

“I'm not afraid to say it; that's the top 3-year-old in the country. No doubt.”

Pedigree Notes:

Arcangelo is one of four stakes winners–all graded–from the second of what will be just three crops for the late Arrogate and is one of his five Grade I winners to date. To date, Arcangelo has been represented by a total of nine stakes winners, seven at the graded level. From a family with tremendous depth and influence in the stud book, it is remarkable that he was purchased by Ebbert for just $35,000 at Keeneland September in 2021.

A May 11 foal, Arcangelo is out of the unraced Modeling, a half-sister to GISW Streaming (Smart Strike), SW Treasuring (Smart Strike) and SW Cascading (A.P. Indy), who was acquired by Don Alberto Corporation for $2.85 million in foal to Distorted Humor at the 2014 Keeneland November Sale.

Given the black-type in his third dam, it's hardly surprising Arcangelo might have been cut out for a race like the Belmont. Better Than Honour fetched an eye-watering $14 million from Southern Equine Stables at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, some 17 months after her daughter Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy) duplicated her half-brother Jazil (Seeking the Gold)'s feat in annexing the final leg of the Triple Crown. Better Than Honour was also responsible for U.S. Grade II winner and Japanese Group 1-placed Casino Drive (Mineshaft); Breeders' Cup Marathon hero Man of Iron (Giant's Causeway); and the dam of MGSW & GISP Greatest Honour (Tapit). Tapit himself played a large role in Saturday's outcome as the broodmare sire of the first two home and the sire of the third.

Modeling has not produced a live foal since Arcangelo and was most recently covered by Munnings.

Saturday, Saratoga
TRAVERS S.-GI, $1,250,000, Saratoga, 8-26, 3yo, 1 1/4m, 2:02.23, my.
1–ARCANGELO, 126, r, 3, by Arrogate
1st Dam: Modeling, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Teeming, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister
($35,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Blue Rose Farm; B-Don Alberto
Corporation (KY); T-Jena M. Antonucci; J-Javier Castellano.
$687,500. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0, $1,754,900.
Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Disarm, 126, c, 3, Gun Runner–Easy Tap, by Tapit.
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. 'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Winchell
Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $250,000.
3–Tapit Trice, 126, c, 3, Tapit–Danzatrice, by Dunkirk.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($1,300,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Whisper Hill
Farm, LLC and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); B-Gainesway
Thoroughbreds Ltd. (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $150,000.
Margins: 1, 2HF, 4HF. Odds: 2.70, 12.20, 13.50.
Also Ran: Forte, National Treasure, Scotland, Mage.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

Arcangelo wins the G1 Travers for @jenaantonucci and @jjcjockey! pic.twitter.com/b5x50BT2Gc

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) August 26, 2023

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