Jimmy Jerkens | Horse Racing Free Tips

Moretti Goes For Second Straight Birdstone At Saratoga

Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' multiple graded stakes placed Moretti will attempt to defend his title against a talented field of older horses in Thursday's $120,000 Birdstone, a 1 3/4-mile main-track marathon at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Medaglia d'Oro bay, out of the Grade 1-winning Concerto mare Rigoletta, is a half-brother to millionaire 2017 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway.

Purchased for $900,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, Moretti blossomed last season, posting a record of three wins and three seconds in six starts, including stakes scores in the Flat Out at Belmont Park and Birdstone at Saratoga to go along with a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont.

Pletcher, a five-time Birdstone winner, said Moretti is working well into Thursday's repeat bid, including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.88 on July 29 on the Spa main track.

“He's doing well. We know he likes the distance,” Pletcher said. “It's just a matter of keeping him happy and fit. He's coming off a couple of solid efforts and we're looking forward to giving it a try again.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be tasked with engineering the title defense from post 4.

“I think the main thing is to get into a comfortable rhythm rather than worry about who's on the lead or stalking,” Pletcher said. “In these types of races, you just want to get into a good rhythm. You don't get many opportunities at this distance, so we'll give it our best shot.”

Flying P Stable's Lone Rock made the grade last out, romping to an 11 1/4-length score in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Brooklyn presented by Northwell Health on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

Claimed back by trainer Robertino Diodoro for $40,000 out of a winning effort in November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Lone Rock captured a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer in February at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., in his next outing.

The 6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding has made his last four starts at 1 1/2-miles, finishing second in the Temperence Hill in March ahead of an optional claiming score on April 11, both at Oaklawn Park. He returned on short rest to capture the Isaac Murphy Marathon on April 27 at Churchill Downs ahead of an eye-opening effort in the Brooklyn that registered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Lone Rock posted a bullet half-mile on the main track in :46.60 on July 22 and worked an easy half-mile in :52.19 Friday over sloppy going on the Oklahoma training track.

“He's a horse that loves his job and he's training great. He bounced out of that race like it was nothing,” Diodoro said. “On Belmont day, it was a little warm, and to run that far, you'd think it would take a little bit out of him but he's come back like a monster.”

Ramon Vazquez retains the mount from post 3.

Centennial Farms' multiple graded stakes-winner Rocketry has finished third in the last two editions of the Birdstone.

Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the 7-year-old Hard Spun bay finished off-the-board last out in the Brooklyn and will look to return to the form that saw him capture the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in November at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

“That one horse [Lone Rock] looks like a standout in that category. If ever he's going to beat horses like that, it's going this distance,” Jerkens said. “That's what happened in Kentucky. The pace was just too sharp for going that far and they came back to him and he went by them in the very end.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. picks up the mount from post 7.

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Lothenbach Stables' Ry's the Guy, sixth last out in the Brooklyn, broke through at stakes level in September, taking the 12-furlong Champions Day Marathon at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, the 5-year-old Distorted Humor bay breezed a half-mile in :48.44 Thursday on the Saratoga main track.

“He came out of the last race good and I'm happy with him. It won't be an easy assignment; we'll be facing some of the same horses,” Wilkes said. “He has no problem with the track. He's trained here and got over it fine. His works have been solid. I'm very pleased with his breezes here. We've had a little bit of cool weather and that's helped.”

Ry's the Guy will exit the inside post under Chris Landeros.

Final Turn Racing Stable and Noda Brothers' You're to Blame, runner-up in last year's Birdstone, made an impressive first start Sunday for trainer Orlando Noda with a 9 1/2-length off-the-turf optional claiming romp traveling nine furlongs over a fast main track.

The 7-year-old Distorted Humor bay, a veteran of 37 career starts who captured the 2018 Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at Parx, will exit post 6 under Jose Ortiz.

Rounding out the field are graded-stakes placed He's No Lemon [post 2, Manny Franco], and stakes-placed Shooger Ray Too [post 5, Joel Rosario]

The Birdstone is slated as Race 9 on Thursday's 10-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Essential Quality To Face Five Rivals In Saturday’s Jim Dandy

The top contenders in the 3-year-old division usually sojourn to Saratoga Race Course in August for the Travers. But top-caliber sophomores will be competing at the historic racetrack in July, with Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy attracting a talented six-horse field headlined by Belmont Stakes-winner Essential Quality.

The 58th running of the Jim Dandy, contested at 1 1/8 miles, is slated as Race 9 and is one of three graded stakes on Saturday's 11-race card, joining the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs in Race 8 and the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf in Race 10.

The Jim Dandy, a prep race for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers at 1 1/4 miles on August 28, will mark the Saratoga debut of Godolphin's Essential Quality. The reigning Champion 2-Year-Old for trainer Brad Cox has already proved he was more than a talented juvenile, starting his sophomore campaign with wins in the Grade 3 Southwest and Grade 2 Blue Grass while on the Kentucky Derby trail this spring.

Following a competitive fourth in the “Run for the Roses” on May 1 in which he earned his first triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure, Essential Quality outdueled Hot Rod Charlie to post a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 5 at the Triple Crown race's famed 1 1/2-mile distance. The Tapit colt earned Cox his first career win in an American Classic and has registered three works at Saratoga since shipping from Churchill earlier this month.

“He likes it up here big time,” Cox said. “We take him out in the afternoons when it's not raining and let him graze. He's a lawnmower. He's real focused here. He's doing well.”

Essential Quality earned a 109 Beyer for his Belmont win and has posted six wins in seven career starts, with five of those victories in graded stakes, encompassing three winner's circle trips in Grade 1s after winning the Breeders' Futurity in his second career start in October at Keeneland before winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile over the same track in November to close out his 2020 award-winning campaign.

“I'm very anxious to see him race again just for the simple fact of how he's training and how he's filling out,” Cox said. “He's a very intelligent horse. He's been wanting to do more. He came out of last work great. He's been very sharp and his energy has been great. The cooler weather is playing a role in that. But he's ready to run. I'm very excited.”

Jockey Luis Saez, aboard for all six of Essential Quality's stakes races, will have the return call from post 5.

Chiefswood Stables' Weyburn, a resurgent winner of the Grade 3 Gotham going a one-turn mile in March at Aqueduct Racetrack, will be making his first start since running a game second to Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun by a neck in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus on June 13 at Monmouth Park.

The Jimmy Jerkens trainee's lone off-the-board finish in five starts since his debut in October was a fourth-place effort in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April going the Jim Dandy distance at the Big A.

Weyburn has worked three times at Saratoga this month since shipping from Belmont and will look to again show a competitiveness that has seen him demonstrate marked tenacity in the stretch run.

“He's a big dude; big and long,” Jerkens said. “He's a massive horse. When they come back fighting like that, that's what you want.”

After stepping up to two turns the last two races, Jerkens said Weyburn is learning how to navigate the longer distances.

“He still acts like he's a little confused by two-turn racing,” Jerkens said. “He breaks on his own and then gets on the bridle and then he was a little keen down the backside [in the Pegasus]. The pacesetter [Lugamo] stopped abruptly and he ended up on the lead by himself, and he looked like he spit the bit out a little bit Mandaloun made a big, sweeping move past him and then he went after him again. He did that in the Gotham, when he lost the lead, he came back on. I guess it's like a little game with him.

“I think the last race did him a lot of good,” Jerkens added. “His only two-turn race before that was the Wood Memorial and there was a big gap from that race. He should get better with more seasoning.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr., the defending three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey, will ride Weyburn for the first time, drawing post 3.

“Irad is going to have to figure it out. He's got enough natural speed to where you can pretty much put him wherever you want,” Jerkens said. “I just hope instead of running spotty like that, l just hope he runs a little more even all the way and still has it for the end.”

Harrell Ventures' Dr Jack was third in his stakes debut in the Pegasus and will now step up to graded stakes company for the first time. Dr Jack's conditioner is Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Jim Dandy six times, with his last victory with Palace Malice in 2013.

Dr Jack won his debut going 6 1/2 furlongs in April at Gulfstream Park and handled a stretch out to 1 1/16 miles by posting a three-length victory on May 14 at Pimlico. After competing in the Pegasus last month, the son of Pioneerof the Nile will again face talented competition, drawing post 1 with Jose Ortiz aboard.

“He's lightly raced, but he was able to break his maiden first time out and step up into an allowance,” Pletcher said. “I thought he ran a respectable race in the Pegasus and certainly Mandaloun coming back to win the Haskell makes that look to be a good race. It looks like a very competitive field, but not a large field, so we'll take a shot.”

Pletcher said Dr Jack, after facing a string of more seasoned horses, is looking to continue the improvement he's shown throughout his first three starts.

“For his third start and his first try in a stakes, to be beaten a little more than two lengths to a horse like Mandaloun, who has been through a good series of Derby preps, it was a tall ask and he ran credibly,” Pletcher said.

FTGGG Racing's Masqueparade handled the step up to stakes company with aplomb last out, posting a half-length win in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby going 1 1/8 miles at Thistledown on June 26. The Upstart colt has improved his speed figures in four consecutive starts, going from a 74 for a third-place maiden finish in February at Fair Grounds to a 98 for his last-out graded win.

Trainer Al Stall, Jr. said Masqueparade earned an opportunity to compete against the division's upper echelon.

“Our horse is on the upswing, so if he keeps improving, he could be there or thereabouts. He deserves a shot,” Stall said. “His last two races have been very good and he handled graded competition. The numbers are fine but stepping up to those proven competitors is more a test to me than running against the clock. I think he deserves a chance.”

Miguel Mena will ride from post 2.

Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking will be running for the first time since an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Preakness on May 15. After starting his sophomore campaign with a 3 3/4-length win in the Grade 3 Gotham in March at Aqueduct, Risk Taking will be competing at Saratoga for the first time.

Risk Taking, trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, ran a dull seventh in the Wood Memorial before the off-the-board Preakness effort in a 10-horse field. The Medaglia d'Oro colt has won twice in three starts at the Jim Dandy distance and will look to use that to his advantage with Manny Franco set to ride out of post 6.

Keepmeinmind competed in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, running seventh in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness, before garnering a 97 Beyer for a third-place finish in the Ohio Derby. Owned by Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm, the Laoban colt earned black type in two Grade 1s as a 2-year-old, running second in the Breeders' Futurity and third, two lengths back to Essential Quality, in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

Joel Rosario will be in the irons from post 4.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Thoroughbred Owner Conference Panel Discusses Importance Of Communication, Integrity

The 2021 Thoroughbred Owner Conference series reached the halfway mark with its fifth virtual session, which was held July 6 and featured the perspectives of leading owners and trainers. The conference series is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and Stonestreet Farm.

The session, “Owners & Trainers,” was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, Taylor Made Farm, and The Green Group. Moderated by Carolyn Conley, panelists included owners Len Green, D.J. Stable; Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga Stable; and Don Little Jr., Centennial Farms. They were joined by Mark Casse, who trains for D.J. Stable; Barclay Tagg, who trains for Sackatoga Stable; and Jimmy Jerkens, who trains for Centennial Farms.

Each member of the group discussed what makes a successful owner/trainer partnership and offered advice to new and prospective owners. Among the suggestions were to choose trainers who will make you a priority and know how to train the types of horses that you want to be racing, whether they are claiming horses or graded stakes horses.

“Try to find a trainer that you're important to and has time to talk to you,” Green said. “Being honest…everyone thinks that's for granted, but it isn't. You need to have common goals.”

“Horsemanship is a key element. I look for someone who doesn't have such a big stable that you're going to be lost,” Knowlton said.

The group also emphasized the importance of trainers who prioritize the welfare of the horses in their care, both on the racetrack and in terms of aftercare.

From the trainers' perspective, the group expressed appreciation for their current owners. They echoed the owners' sentiments of wanting honesty, integrity, and trust as well as owners who encourage them to give horses time off when necessary.

“For the most part, I like giving horses a break. It's something I like doing. You have to have owners who will let you do it,” said Casse.

Don Little pointed out that the racehorse ownership experience should be a positive one. “This is a fun investment. People need to look at this as entertainment.”

He also stressed the importance of aftercare.

“All owners should know that [aftercare] is part of your responsibility if you get in this business,” he said. “Don't just get in to be an owner and win big races; you've got to be conscious about the end result for those horses that aren't at the top level. It's a priority.”

The sixth session of the series, “Jockeys,” will be held on Tuesday, August 3, at 2 p.m. ET. It is sponsored by Airdrie Stud, Starlight Racing, and The Green Group. It will be moderated by former track announcer Tom Durkin, and panelists will include retired jockeys Donna Barton Brothers, Chris McCarron, and Gary Stevens.

All sessions will be recorded and made available to registered guests. There is no registration fee for the live or recorded virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, including the full schedule of panels and registration, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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Weyburn To Skip Kentucky Derby, Point For Belmont Stakes

Gotham Stakes winner Weyburn will not contest the Kentucky Derby on May 1, racing manager Robert Landry told the Daily Racing Form on Monday. Instead, the 3-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile will start in the G3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on May 8 as a prep for the Belmont Stakes on June 5.

“The right thing for the horse is to miss the Derby,” Landry told DRF. “I think (trainer) Jimmy (Jerkens) and I are on the same page with that. I think this horse is going to mature a lot more. The family history is they get better with age.”

Fourth last out in the G2 Wood Memorial, Weyburn is a homebred for Chiefswood Stables. He is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, also the dam of multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Yorkton and mulitple stakes-placed Nipigon.

Jerkens had suggested Weyburn would be a better fit for the Belmont Stakes even before the horse contested the Wood.

“We kind of have that in the back of our head that we'd more apt to aim for something like that than the Derby,” Jerkens told NYRA publicity. “He's a horse that takes some time to get used to new places. He's high maintenance in that regard. We'd like to stretch the year out a little more.”