John Velazquez | Horse Racing Free Tips

Venetian Harbor, Bonny South, Tonalist’s Shape Face Off In Grade 1 Ashland

Graded stakes winners Bonny South, Tonalist's Shape and Venetian Harbor headline a field of six 3-year-old fillies entered Wednesday for Saturday's 83rd running of the $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) going 1 1/16 miles on the main track at Keeneland.

The Central Bank Ashland offers 170 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the first four finishers. The $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks is limited to the top 14 point earners that pass the entry box for the Sept. 4 race.

Post time for the Central Bank Ashland, the seventh race on Saturday's 10-race program, is 4:24 p.m.

Juddmonte Farms' Bonny South, winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 21, has been working consistently at Keeneland since late April. Trained by Brad Cox, who won the 2018 Central Bank Ashland with champion Monomoy Girl, Bonny South is second on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 100 points.

John Velazquez, who rode Fleet Renee to an Ashland victory in 2001, has the mount on Bonny South and will break from post position three

Ciaglia Racing, Highland Yard, River Oak Farm and Dominic Savides' Venetian Harbor, winner of the Las Virgenes (G3) at Santa Anita, comes in from California for trainer Richard Baltas. Standing 11th on the Oaks leaderboard with 50 points, Venetian Harbor finished second behind Swiss Skydiver in the Fantasy (G3) in her most recent start finishing 10¾ lengths ahead of the third-place finisher.

Joel Rosario has the mount on Venetian Harbor and will break from post position two.

Slam Dunk Racing, Doug Branham and Legacy Ranch's Tonalist's Shape is seventh on the Oaks leaderboard with 60 points. A winner of six of seven career starts for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., Tonalist's Shape has victories this year in the Davona Dale (G2) and Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Tonalist's Shape and will exit post five.

The field for the Central Bank Ashland, with riders from the rail out, is: Alta's Award (Ricardo Santana Jr.), Venetian Harbor (Rosario), Bonny South (Velazquez), Envoutante (Jose Ortiz), Tonalist's Shape (Gaffalione), Speech (Javier Castellano). All starters will carry 121 pounds.

The post Venetian Harbor, Bonny South, Tonalist’s Shape Face Off In Grade 1 Ashland appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Tacitus Overpowers The Competition In Belmont’s Suburban

Juddmonte Farms' Tacitus rewarded the patience of Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott with a smashing return to the winner's circle in the 134th running of Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban for older horses over the Belmont Park main track.

The 1 1/4-mile event rounded out an action-packed program of five graded stakes on Runhappy Met Mile Day at beautiful Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., which was spearheaded by a wire-to-wire triumph from Vekoma in the Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile.

Tacitus, a gray or roan son of multiple champion-producing stallion Tapit, arrived at the Suburban off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on May 2, where he chased a leisurely pace over a speed-favoring track and made a four-wide move at the top of the stretch, closing enough ground to get fourth. Guided by Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who piloted E Dubai to a 2002 Suburban score, Tacitus broke sharply from his inside post and took back off a tepid pace set by 57-1 longshot Parsimony, who produced an opening quarter-mile in 24.68 seconds with eight-time stakes winner Mr. Buff just to his outside in second over the fast main track.

Parsimony and Mr. Buff raced alongside one another and extended their advantage to two lengths through a half-mile in 48.36 seconds with Tacitus in fourth just to the inside of Moretti. Around the far turn, Tacitus began making up ground under no urging from Velazquez and made a three-wide move through three-quarters in 1:10.82.

At the quarter-pole, Mr. Buff gave way while Parsimony was under an all-out drive by jockey Kendrick Carmouche. Velazquez remained cool, calm and collected aboard Tacitus who effortlessly went by the pacesetter around the three-sixteenths pole and glided home to a 8 ¾-length score in a final time of 1:59.51. Moretti closed to get second, a neck to the better of Parsimony in third.

Just Whistle, Mr. Buff and 2019 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston completed the order of finish. Forewarned was a late scratch in the post parade.

“He was going comfortable the whole way,” said Velazquez, who notched a fifth stakes victory this meet aboard Tacitus. “We had a little pressure in the first part of the race and little by little we kept reaching back and reaching back. I just wanted to be a little further back. Once we passed the five-eighths pole, I put my hands down and he got into a great rhythm. From there on, I knew he was comfortable, and in a position to win.”

The Suburban was a first trip to the winner's circle for Tacitus since taking the Grade 2 Wood Memorial in April 2019 at Aqueduct. He followed that victory with five straight placings against graded stakes company, including a third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and runner-up finishes in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 1 Runhappy Travers. Tacitus also owns a graded stakes triumph in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby last March at Tampa Bay Downs.

In his 4-year-old debut, Tacitus ran fifth in the inaugural edition of the Group 1 Saudi Cup on February 29 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.

“We've put a lot into this horse,” said Mott, who previously won the Suburban with Wekiva Springs (1996) and Flat Out (2013). “We took him to some big races, and he's run some good races. We took him halfway around the world earlier this year looking for something like that [winning effort] in Saudi and in Dubai before they canceled the race [Dubai World Cup].”

Perhaps it was a change of equipment that made a difference for Tacitus, who raced with blinkers on for Saturday's race.

“It seems to make him level off a little more and stay in the bridle a little more,” Mott said.

The win marked a second stakes triumph on Runhappy Met Mile Day for Mott and Velazquez, who teamed up earlier on the card with Frank's Rockette to a victory in the Grade 3 Victory Ride.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano had no complaints regarding his trip aboard runner-up Moretti.

“Beautiful trip. That's just where we wanted to be; behind the two speeds. The race set up beautifully. We were just second-best today. Tacitus is a great horse,” Castellano said.

Returning $4.20 for a $2 win bet, Tacitus banked $110,000 in victory while enhancing his lifetime earnings to $2,817,500.

Named after an ancient Roman senator, the Kentucky homebred Tacitus is out of 2014 Champion Older Filly Close Hatches and is a direct descendant of 1982 Broodmare of the Year Best In Show.

Live racing returns on Sunday afternoon with a 10-race card. First post is 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

The post Tacitus Overpowers The Competition In Belmont’s Suburban appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Frank’s Rockette Just Misses Track Record In Victory Ride

Frank's Rockette fended off longshot Reagan's Edge by a head in an exhilarating stretch-drive finish in the Grade 3, $100,000 Victory Ride to start the stakes action on a packed Runhappy Met Mile Day at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The 18th running of the Victory Ride, contested at 6 1/2 furlongs on a fast main track for 3-year-old fillies, was carded as Race 3 on the Independence Day card.

Frank Fletcher Racing's Frank's Rockette, last year's runner-up in the Grade 1 Frizette over this track, went off as the 2-5 favorite by virtue of some strong sprint performances early in her sophomore year. Ridden again by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who was aboard her for the Frizette and her winning 2020 debut at Gulfstream Park, the daughter of Into Mischief broke well from the rail and allowed Reagan's Edge to set the tempo in the very early stages of the race.

Reagan's Edge, whose only wins came in a maiden race at Indiana Grand and an off-the-turf affair at Churchill Downs in her most recent outing, proved to be a stubborn foe at 13-1. She broke the sharpest of all under Jose Lezcano, and after briefly controlling the early lead ceded it to Frank's Rockette, who moved up the inside to gain control.

Trainer Chad Brown's Center Aisle, meanwhile, assumed a stalking position just to the outside of the top two, and the three fillies proceeded to run in carousel fashion around the racetrack. After a leisurely opening quarter-mile in 23.11 seconds, the pace picked up considerably with Frank's Rockette posting a half in 45.52, as the top trio continued to roll along around the turn.

In the stretch, Frank's Rockette's maintained the edge to the inside, with Center Aisle to the outside, and Reagan's Edge battling on between horses. In the final sixteenth, an intransigent Reagan's Edge was all out, but Frank's Rockette hit the wire in 1:14.47, just a hundredth of a second off the track record recorded by Bear Fan in June 2004.

Reagan's Edge bested Center Aisle by three-quarters of a length for second. Up in Smoke and Miss Peppina completed the order of finish.

“She broke well enough, but not as quick as I thought she would,” Velazquez said. “Little by little, she got into the battle and I let her do what she wanted to do. At the end, she put in a really good fight. At the wire, I thought I had it. But right before the wire, I wasn't sure we were going to hold on.”

With the victory, Frank's Rockette improved her lifetime record to 4-4-0 from eight starts and increased her earnings to $413,603. She returned $2.90 on a $2 win wager.

“When you looked at the race on paper, it looked like we'd be the clear speed and probably be a length or two in front on the backside,” said Frank Rockette's Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott. “There was a horse hanging right with her. She didn't break quite as sharp as I've seen her in the past, but she was able to open up a bit when she turned for home and had enough courage to hold them off. She had to work at it a little bit. It was not an easy win.”

While Mott added another graded stakes tally to his illustrious resume, he denied Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Reagan's Edge, her first. Despite the near miss, DeVaux was very pleased with the effort of her tenacious filly.

“She's just got a lot of fight in her. It's so nice to have a horse like this in the barn that goes out and just tries every time we ask her,” DeVaux said. “She just played the break. In her maiden, she broke on top and went with it. Jose [Lezcano] did the right thing. He didn't take it away from her, he didn't try to get her to do something else. I'm happy with him, he made a really good decision.”

Mott said he could target the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test on August 8 at Saratoga Race Course as Frank's Rockette looks to break through at racing's highest level. In 2019, Frank's Rockette finished second in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga before playing bridesmaid again in the Frizette.

“That's what I've had my eyes on,” Mott said of the Test. “It's a big challenge. The Test is a great race. We've won it a couple of times and it's a very important race for 3-year-old fillies. If she's doing well, I'd like to give her a try in there.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont Park with a 10-race card. First post is 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

The post Frank’s Rockette Just Misses Track Record In Victory Ride appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Keeneland and Maker’s Mark Team up to Help Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund

Keeneland and Maker’s Mark have announced the 2020 Maker’s Mark commemorative bottle, with all proceeds to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), an independent charitable organization that provides financial assistance to jockeys who have sustained debilitating on-track injuries.

Each Maker’s Mark bottle has been signed by the five leading active stakes-winning riders at Keeneland–Julien Leparoux, Robby Albarado, John Velazquez, Javier Castellano and Mike Smith–in addition to Maker’s Mark Managing Director Rob Samuels and Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason.

The bottle goes on sale July 3 in limited quantities around Kentucky.

“Jockeys are truly some of the best athletes in the world and put their lives on the line every time they mount a horse,” PDJF President Nancy LaSala said. “Because of this, we’re so thrilled that two of Kentucky’s great institutions–Keeneland and Maker’s Mark–have come together in such a creative way to help disabled jockeys who can ride no more.”

“I’ve been involved with several Keeneland and Maker’s Mark bottles that raise funds for worthy causes,” Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith said. “But this one really is where my heart is. Autographing a bottle is such a simple thing to do, and it’s great knowing that I’m playing a small role in helping other riders whose careers were cut short.”

Keeneland and Maker’s Mark formed a partnership in 1997 to create commemorative bottles each year for charitable organizations.

“We are always gratified by the enthusiastic public response to the Maker’s Mark commemorative bottle, and we are so pleased sales this year will benefit the critical work of the PDJF,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said.

The post Keeneland and Maker’s Mark Team up to Help Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post