John Shirreffs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Express Train Derails Hot Rod Charlie In San Antonio

With a perfectly timed ride by Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza, CRK Stable LLC's Express Train was up in the final jump to defeat 1-5 favorite Hot Rod Charlie in Sunday's Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes on the opening day of the Santa Anita meet in Arcadia, Calif.

Eight Rings, who set the pace and gave way begrudgingly in the final sixteenth of a mile, finished third, with Go On fourth and Azul Coast fifth in the field of seven 3-year-olds and up.

Express Train paid $16.40 after covering 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.82.

This was the fifth win in 15 career starts for Express Train and third in a G2 race after victories earlier this year in the San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita and San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. A 4-year-old colt by Union Rags out of I'm a Flake, by Mineshaft, Express Train was bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farm LLC, Express Train was a $500,000 yearling purchase.

Express Train was entered in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 6 at Del Mar but scratched from the race after suffering a minor injury to his hock while schooling in the paddock earlier in the week.

In the San Antonio, Espinoza put Express Train in a good position down toward the inside while Eight Rings set fractions of :23.87, :47.37 and 1:11.89 for the opening six furlongs.

Doug O'Neill-trained Hot Rod Charlie, a 3-year-old by Oxbow who ran fourth in the Breeders' Cup Classic after winning the G1 Pennsylvania Derby, was pushed to challenge Eight Rings approaching the far turn. Espinoza took that move as a cue to switch Express Train to the outside and had dead aim on the leading duo as the field rounded the stretch turn.

Hot Rod Charlie put his head in front of Eight Rings after passing the furlong pole, covering a mile in 1:37.97, but Express Train and Espinoza, racing to their outside, had all the momentum and got up in the final yards.

“The last two races he did not break well,” said Lee Searing, who with wife Susan operates C R K Stable. Searing was referring to a sixth-place finish in the G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August and a third-place finish in the G1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita in October. “Victor did a great job. He's a really good horse when he's a stalker, when he gets to the outside.”

The post Express Train Derails Hot Rod Charlie In San Antonio appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Beyond Brilliant, Du Jour Square Off In Santa Anita Mathis Mile

Trainer John Shirreffs' Beyond Brilliant and Bob Baffert's Du Jour head a field of nine sophomores going a mile on turf in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Anita Mathis Mile, one of six graded stakes on an 11-race Opening Day card at The Great Race Place.

In what was the best race of his career, Beyond Brilliant controlled the pace throughout en route to taking the G1 Hollywood Derby at a mile and one eighth on turf Nov. 27 at Del Mar. Off at 10-1 in a field of 14, Beyond Brilliant, who was a close third two starts back in the G2 Twilight Derby here on Oct. 31, has now won two out of his last three races—all with Kent Desormeaux, who rides back on Sunday.

A bay colt by Twirling Candy, Beyond Brilliant is owned by Lee and Susan Searing's C R K Stable LLC and is 9-3-2-2 with earnings of $381,280.

Originally trained by Baffert, Du Jour was sent to trainer Bill Mott to run in the G1 Belmont Derby July 10, a race in which he finished fourth. Subsequently third in the G1 Saratoga Derby Aug. 7, he was most recently a dull eighth as the 9-5 favorite in the ungraded Dueling Downs Derby going 1 5/16 miles on turf Sept. 5 at Kentucky Downs. Following that race, Du Jour was returned to Baffert at Santa Anita and the bay colt by Temple City has a series of six drills, all on Santa Anita's inner training track, for his return.

Twin Creeks Racing's homebred Law Professor comes off a sharp off the pace win in a first condition allowance going one mile on turf Nov. 27 at Del Mar and appears to have found a home on the grass. Trained by Michael McCarthy, this gelding by Constitution earned an 85 Beyer in his most recent start and should get a lively pace to run at on Sunday.

THE GRADE 2 SANTA ANITA MATHIS MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGTHS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 11 Approximate post time 2 p.m. PT

None Above the Law—Joe Bravo—124
Tarantino—Juan Hernandez—120
Airman—Umberto Rispoli—120
Zoffarelli—Drayden Van Dyke–122
Cane Creek Road—Victor Espinoza—120
Flashiest—Abel Cedillo—122
Du Jour—Flavien Prat–122
Beyond Brilliant—Kent Desormeaux—124
Law Professor—Jose Ortiz—120

One of six graded stakes on Sunday, the Santa Anita Mathis Mile has been carded as the seventh race on an 11-race Opening Day program which gets underway at 11 a.m. Admission gates open at 9 a.m.

The post Beyond Brilliant, Du Jour Square Off In Santa Anita Mathis Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Resurgent Kent Desormeaux Voted Jockey Of The Week

Veteran jockey Kent Desormeaux closed the Del Mar Bing Crosby meet on a high note by winning two graded stakes during the track's turf festival. His achievements earned the title of Jockey of the Week for Nov. 22 through Nov. 28. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

The holiday weekend card featured seven stakes races on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Riding for trainer Phil D'Amato on Friday, Desormeaux was aboard the stretch-running Say the Word for the first time in the G2 Hollywood Turf Cup. Say the Word was last in the field of seven for the first mile of the 1 1/2-mile contest for 3-year-olds and up. Desormeaux swung Say the Word to the outside at the top of the stretch and in a drive to the wire overtook his stablemate Acclimate to win by a length in 2:27.62. The win was Desormeaux's first in the Hollywood Turf Cup.

Trainer John Shirreffs gave a leg up to Desormeaux on Beyond Brilliant in Saturday's G1 Hollywood Derby. In the field of 14, Desormeaux was riding Beyond Brilliant for the third time. From an inside post, the duo made every pole a winning one finishing the nine furlong test over Santin by a neck in 1:48.84.

“All the credit for this win goes to the barn,” said Desormeaux to the Del Mar publicity office. “They've done wonders with this horse the past month. When I rode him last time (10/31) at Santa Anita, he was a handful to control. Today he was easy.”

The victory was the first for Desormeaux in the Hollywood Derby. He has 87 stakes wins at Del Mar, ninth most of all riders.

After a slow start to the meet, Hall of Famer Desormeaux came on strong to finish 4th in the Del Mar standings with 10 wins and $1,153,196 in purses.

Desormeaux outpolled Tyler Gaffalione who was the leading rider in wins for the week, Jose Lezcano who won three stakes races, Jose Ortiz with two Grade 1 stakes and one Grade 3, and Irad Ortiz, Jr. who won four stakes races.

The post Resurgent Kent Desormeaux Voted Jockey Of The Week appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

All Three Stakes Winners Doing Well After Saturday Scores

The three stakes-winning horses from Saturday at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., showed no ill effects from their efforts and will be given some well-earned rest before “to be determined” next assignments.

Taken in order in which they were achieved:

Three Diamond Farm's Field Pass, a 4-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid, recorded career win number eight in his 23rd career start in the $250,000 Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap and the $150,000 winner's share of the purse boosted his career earnings to $913,143. Nolan Ramsey is trainer Mike Maker's assistant in charge of West Coast operations.

“Everybody's happy for the horse,” Ramsey said this morning. “He's a hard-trying horse and it's nice to see him punch his ticket. As far as what's next, the San Gabriel at Santa Anita (Park in Arcadia, Calif.) is an option but we have options back east as well.

“As of right now, he's booked on a flight to go back east Tuesday, but we'll find out today what we're going to do.”

The win by Tezzaray in the $100,000 G3 Jimmy Durante was the second in as many starts for trainer Peter Miller since being imported from England last summer. Ruben Alvarado, who is taking over as Miller takes a step back from training, said all three of the stable's Durante entrants – Liam's Dove (5th) and Travel Smart (6th), in addition to Tezzaray, were fine.

“I thought all three of my fillies ran very well and were given great rides,” Miller said after the race. “It's nice to win a stakes race on the way out.”

Trainer John Shirreffs said by text that Beyond Brilliant, winner of the $400,000 G1 Hollywood Derby was looking very good Sunday morning. “He had his head out waiting for his early morning feed. That's always a good sign.”

It was the third victory in nine starts for Beyond Brilliant, owned by the C R K Stable of Lee and Susan Searing of Arcadia. The $240,000 winner's share of the purse, earned via a masterful wire-to-wire guidance by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, raised the son of Twirling Candy's earnings to $381,280.

The post All Three Stakes Winners Doing Well After Saturday Scores appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post