joel rosario | Horse Racing Free Tips

Heavily Favored Performer Edges Eye Of A Jedi In Fred W. Hooper

Phipps Stable and Claiborne Farm's Performer returned to winning form in Saturday's $125,000 Fred W. Hooper (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., rebounding from a third-place finish that had snapped a five-race winning streak.

The Hooper, a mile event for 4-year-olds and up, was the first of seven stakes on Saturday's program that was headlined by the $3-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1).

Performer, who had finished third over a sloppy Aqueduct track in the Cigar Mile (G1) in his previous start, had to work for his second career graded-stakes victory. Sent to post as the 4-5 favorite in a field of eight, the Shug McGaughey-trained 5-year-old broke from the rail post position, but jockey Joel Rosario deftly eased the son of Speightstown off the rail while chasing Shivaree and Dream Maker as they dueled along the backstretch during a 23.20-second first quarter of a mile. Performer advanced on the tiring pacesetters on the turn into the homestretch with an outside run as Eye of the Jedi split horses to his inside to take a narrow lead into the stretch.

Eye of a Jedi put up a battle to the wire under Marcos Meneses but was unable to hold off the favorite, who prevailed by a neck. Avant Garde closed from last to finish third, 1 ½ lengths farther back.

Performer ran a mile in 1:35.49

Fred W. Hooper (G3) Quotes

Winning Trainer Shug McGaughey (Performer): “It looked like [he broke a step slow} but he got him in the right spot. He did say, 'I've got to go along. I'm looking at the two horses on the lead and they're going along pretty easy too. I better get busy here.' I was glad when he got him to the outside. He looked like he wanted to hang with that horse on the lead a little bit, but he was able to finish up.”

“That's way was in my mind, the Gulfstream Mile [Feb. 27], but after watching him today, I might be looking for something to stretch him out around two turns.”

Winning Jockey Joel Rosario (Performer): “He broke well and it really looked like [Shivaree] was going to take the lead and the other horse on the outside, so I kind of just let him be in that spot. I didn't want to fall too far back but be there in the race, because he broke good and he got the job done. He's a nice horse.”

“The other horse ran good, he was right there. For a second, I thought he was going to come back and beat me but my horse kept fighting, and all the credit to him.”

“It feels good to be back, even for one day. I'm glad to be here.”

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Mucho Unusual Handles Compact Field In Megahertz Stakes

Although spring training in Arizona and Florida is a month and a half away, George Krikorian's homebred Mucho Unusual nonetheless took a base on balls Monday at Santa Anita, as she powered to a three-quarter-length win at odds of 2-5 in the Grade 3, $100,000 Megahertz Stakes. Trained by Tim Yakteen and ridden by Joel Rosario, the 5-year-old California-bred mare by Mucho Macho Man got one mile on turf and thus became the Arcadia, Calif., track Winter Meet's first two-time stakes winner in the process.

With a pair of program scratches reducing the field of older fillies and mares to four, Mucho Unusual broke alertly from her number three post and was immediately lapped on Chilean import Brooke, who went straight to the lead from her rail post.

Second, while a measured three quarters of a length off the leader at the three-furlong pole, Mucho Unusual drew alongside leaving the quarter pole and was carried out to the four-path by Brooke at the top of the lane. From there, Mucho Unusual leveled nicely, put away the pacesetter leaving the furlong pole and easily held sway near the wire as Sedamar mounted a late rally.

An impressive three-quarter-length winner of the G3 Robert J. Frankel Stakes going 1 1/8 miles on turf here on Dec. 27, Mucho Unusual paid $2.80 and $2.10, with no show wagering.

“She's super honest, we're excited to have her in the stable, (it's been) just a great ride,” said Yakteen, who saddled Mucho Unusual for the 19th time on Monday. “We were thinking about keeping her at a mile and one eighth, mile and a quarter, unfortunately, there really wasn't anything coming up until the end of March, so we thought we would take advantage of a lighter field.”

Out of Krikorian's Unusual Heat mare Not Unusual, Mucho Unusual, a winner of the G1 Rodeo Drive Stakes three starts back at a mile and one quarter on turf Sept. 26, registered her fourth graded stakes win (fifth overall) and improved her career mark to 19-7-3-4. With the winner's share of $60,000, she increased her earnings to $822,715.

“I just got a good break and see what I had,” said Rosario. “I went to the first turn and it looked like the one horse (Brooke) really wanted to go to the lead, so I just waited behind (her) a little bit. This horse is really good…Thank you to the team and to George (Krikorian) for the opportunity.”

Sedamar, like the winner, a Cal-bred, was an attentive fourth early and was carried five wide turning for home while rallying as second-best. Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Sedamar was off at 7-2 and paid $2.60 to show while finishing a half length in front of Brooke.

Ridden by her regular rider in Chile, Jeremy Laprida, Brooke, who was off at 4-1 in her U.S. debut, came back to the rail after drifting out at the top of the stretch, taking the path of Colonial Creed and Flavien Prat a furlong out. As a result of this interference, Brooke was disqualified by the stewards and placed last.

Fractions on the race were 23.78, 48.00, 1:12.55 and 1:24.43.

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Pegasus Turf Is Another Twist In The Story For Anothertwistafate

Both the blinkers and the man who suggested them – jockey Joel Rosario – will be on Anothertwistafate Saturday in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

Following Anothertwistafate's fourth-place finish in the Seabiscuit Handicap (G2) on Nov. 28 at Del Mar, Rosario recommended adding blinkers to the horse's new trainer, Peter Miller. Five weeks later, with blinkers in place, Anothertwistafate and Rosario rolled to a 2 ¼-length victory in the San Gabriel (G2) at Santa Anita.

Miller chuckled as he told the story about his conversation with Rosario after the Seabiscuit.

“When he tells you something you listen,” Miller said. “He's one of the jocks that I really respect his opinion. When he tells you something he's right most of the time.”

The San Gabriel victory was the first on turf for the 5-year-old owned by Peter Redekop and gave him stakes wins on all three surfaces: synthetics, dirt and grass. It was another significant step forward for the Anothertwistafate, who was away from the races for 16 months following the 2019 Preakness (G1), and earned him invitations to both of the major races on the Pegasus program. His connections opted for the 1 3/16 miles Turf.

Redekop purchased Anothertwistafate for $360,000 as a 2-year-old in 2018 and sent him to trainer Blaine Wright, who operates stables at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California and Emerald Downs in Washington state. Wright developed the colt into a stakes winner and guided him to the Preakness, where he finished 10th. Following the extended layoff to recover from surgeries and setbacks, Wright prepped him on works to win the Longacres Mile (G3) on Sept. 10 at Emerald Downs. With the graded stakes on dirt on his resume, Anothertwistafate was part of a group of a half-dozen Redekop horses moved to Miller's barn on the more-lucrative Southern California circuit.

“Mr. Redekop and his racing manager, Dr. Bryan Anderson, wanted to try him on the grass because he's got a grass pedigree being by Scat Daddy,” Miller said. “He also was 3-for-3 on synthetic, which can portend to success on the grass. When they sent him to me they wanted to try him on the grass and it's been so far, so good.”

Right from the start of the experiment, Miller was confident that Anothertwistafate could handle the surface switch.

“Once we breezed him on the grass at Del Mar you could tell that he dug it,” Miller said.

Redekop was born in a Mennonite colony in 1935 in what is now the Ukraine. The family faced oppression for its religious beliefs and was displaced to Germany at the end of World War II. After spending some time in the Netherlands, the family emigrated to Canada, arriving in Winnipeg in December 1948. Four months later, Redekop and his family moved further west to British Columbia. In partnership with his cousin, Peter Wall, Redekop became a very successful real estate developer in Vancouver. Redekop and Wall purchased their first race horses in 1968 and Redekop has been so successful in the sport in the province that he is a member of British Columbia's racing Hall of Fame.

When Justify, bred by Vancouver resident John Gunther and his daughter Tanya, won the 2018 Triple Crown, Redekop decided to buy a horse by Justify's late sire, Scat Daddy. Thirteen days after Justify won the Belmont Stakes, Redekop purchased his Scat Daddy at the Ocala Breeders' Sale.

The colt was named after the song “Simple Twist of Fate” from Bob Dylan's 1975 album Blood on the Tracks. Redekop's racing manager Bryan Anderson, his wife Carol and their daughter Victoria collaborate on the naming of the horses in the stable. Anderson said that Simple Twist of Fate was a name already registered with The Jockey Club. Since Redekop prefers that his horses have names that start with the letter “A”, making them easier to find on the workout lists, the Anderson team developed a variation to Simple Twist of Fate.

Anothertwistafate had a troubled trip in his career debut on Nov. 3, 2018 at Santa Anita and ended up a well-beaten ninth. Wright took him back to Golden Gate Fields, where he won his next three starts on the synthetic track by a combined 16 lengths. The third of those wins, the El Camino Real Derby, earned him an automatic berth in the Preakness. He ran second by a neck in the Sunland Park Derby (G3) and second by a 1 ¾ lengths in the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland and ended up short of qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.

After the Preakness, he did not compete again until his facile score in the Longacres Mile.

“He's traveling great right now,” Miller said. “He came to me in great shape from Blaine Wright. He's maintained that level of health and soundness.”

Anothertwistafate has won five of 10 lifetime starts and has earned $490,505 in a career spread over four seasons.

“He's really a talented horse,” Miller said. “If he continues to put it together, like he did in his last race, I can certainly see, if he stayed sound, some big races in his future. Hopefully, maybe, the Breeders' Cup at the end of the year.”

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Sadler-Hronis Racing Run 1-2 In Astra Stakes With Quick, Hermaphrodite

In the midst of a four-day riding suspension, Umberto Rispoli had but one mount on Sunday at Santa Anita and he made it count. In a furious stretch drive aboard the 9-5 favorite Quick, he held off her stablemate Hermaphrodite and Joel Rosario by a nose, giving Hronis Racing, LLC and John Sadler a one-two finish in the marathon Grade 3, $100,000 Astra Stakes. Rispoli was eligible to compete during his suspension as it is a designated race by the California Horse Racing Board.

With a hillside start, the Astra, at a mile and one half on turf, was run in 2:27.71.

In-hand while a joint third outside of her stablemate as the field came out of the clubhouse turn for its run up the backside, Quick was about two lengths off pacesetter Aunt Lubie. At the 3 ½-furlong mark, Rispoli stepped on the gas and was three-wide turning for home outside Aunt Lubie and Carpe Vinum. From there, English-bred Quick gained the advantage, while French-bred Hermaphrodite had to wait for room at the rail.

This proved the difference, as Quick survived by a diminishing nose right on the money.

“Pace was not that fast, so I had to make a decision to move,” said Rispoli, who is now tied with Rosario with a meet-leading four stakes wins through 12 racing days. “I knew where I sat and I know her, she could go through. She's a galloper, when she moved again, I got lucky it was by the wire. Sometimes you need luck in these things.

“…It's always a pleasure, it's probably not nice for him to hear it, but it's always a pleasure to beat a jockey like (Rosario). He's so respectful, so nice. I asked him after the wire, 'Did you get me?' because my head was down, and I was just focusing to try to win the race. He said 'No, no, you got it.'”

A solid third going a mile and three eighths on turf in the G3 Red Carpet Handicap at Del Mar Nov. 26, Quick, a 5-year-old mare by Olympic Glory, broke through the starting gate prior to the break but she remained the favorite in a field of nine older fillies and mares, returning $5.80, $3.60 and $2.80.

“She got the trip she needed today,” said Juan Leyva, assistant to Sadler. “She got to relax, not be on the front end. She settled well and got a perfect trip. I think our other filly (runner-up Hermaphrodite) might have been a little better, but it worked out great, we ran one-two.”

In garnering her first graded stakes win, Quick, who made her US debut here on Feb. 1, 2020, has now won two of her nine starts with Sadler and is 16-4-5-3 overall. With the winner's share of $60,000, she increased her earnings to $172,935.

Hermaphrodite saved ground at the rail throughout, but lacked room when it counted, from the quarter pole to the eighth pole, and indeed finished as though she may've been best. The 4-1 second choice, she finished 2 ¼ lengths in front of a late running Altea and paid $4.80 and $3.20.

Ridden by Abel Cedillo, Altea outran Lucky Peridot by a half length and paid $3.80 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.98, 48.25, 1:13.59, 1:39.18 and 2:03.40.

First post time for a nine-race holiday card on Monday is at 12:30 p.m. PT.

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