Tracking Let Them Watch (Maximus Mischief) from the second flight along the rail, the 3-year-old bided her time under a firm hold into the far turn. With a half-mile of :45.91, at the quarter pole the bay uncorked her speed and she celebrated with a professional performance by 1 1/4 lengths over Launch (Omaha Beach).

“I'm all about developing horses,” said trainer Ian Wilkes. “I like to use riders who'll stay with the horse. Julien [Leparoux] was quite happy and wanted to stay with her, and he was willing to come down, so that was the thing. It's all about developing horses and trying to win the right races.”

The winner's dam is responsible for a 2-year-old filly by Not This Time. Bedford Land initially sold to Three Chimneys Farm for $1.075 million at the '14 Fasig-Tipton Summer Horses of Racing Age Sale. She was then bought by Robert and Lawana Low while in-foal to Malibu Moon at the '16 Keeneland November Sale. Second dam GISW Pool Land (Silver Deputy) also produced her full-sister, SW Old Chestnut.

GLITTER WOMAN S., $100,000, Gulfstream, 1-7, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.58, sy.
1–INTO CHAMPAGNE, 118, f, 3, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Bedford Land, by Speightstown
                2nd Dam: Pool Land, by Silver Deputy
                3rd Dam: Slew City Slicker, by Slew City Slew
($300,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Six Column Stables, LLC, Randall L. Bloch, Jim Gladden, Mike Davis and Michael Steele; B-Robert Low & Lawana Low (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes; J-Julien R. Leparoux. $60,760. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $130,360.
2–Launch, 118, f, 3, Omaha Beach–Spark, by Speightstown. ($50,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Amo Racing USA; B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Jorge Delgado. $19,600.
3–Kissedbyanangel, 122, f, 3, Golden Lad–Angelinthemorning, by Street Sense. O-Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon; B-Super C Racing Inc (MD); T-Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon. $9,800.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1 1/4, NK. Odds: 0.70, 9.30, 12.10.
Also Ran: Let Them Watch, Indescriptable, Scootaloo, Caress.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

#1 INTO CHAMPAGNE ($3.40) rallies to a first stakes victory in Gulfstream Park's $100,000 Glitter Woman Stakes!

This is just the second start for the filly by @spendthriftfarm's Into Mischief. She was ridden by @JulienLeparoux for trainer @IanWilkesRacing. pic.twitter.com/Pohv9TUPk6

— TVG (@TVG) January 7, 2024

The post ‘TDN Rising Star’ Into Champagne Pops Cork On First Stakes Win In Glitter Woman appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Presented by Santa Anita Park, the Woolf Award, which itself is a replica of the life-sized statue which adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area, is determined by a vote of jockeys nationwide. It can only be won once. The winner of the 75th annual prize will be announced in February.

Named in honor of the legendary late jockey George “The Iceman” Woolf, this year's list of nominees were all prominent in various regions, ranging from California to the Midwest, Florida and New York.

Best known as the regular rider of Bill Mott's two-time GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hero Cody's Wish (Curlin), Junior Alvarado immigrated to America from Venezuela in 2007, established a permanent base in New York in 2010 and has 2082 wins to his credit through Dec. 3.

Alex Birzer is a five-time leading rider at Prairie Meadow in Des Moines, Iowa and a four-time leader at The Woodlands near Kansas City. Through Dec. 3, the son of a trainer has amassed 3,826 wins.

French native Julien Leparoux established a mark of consistently at Keeneland Racecourse. He has 2,956 wins through Dec. 3 and was voted Eclipse Champion Apprentice as well as Eclipse Champion Jockey.

Unusually tall for a jockey at five feet, eight inches, Columbus, Ohio native Edwin Maldonado has been a regular on the Southern California circuit since 2010. He has pocketed 1,532 career winners through Dec. 3.

Rodney Prescott is the Hoosier State's all-time leading rider and has been a consistent top 10 rider at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Prescott has 4,112 career wins through Dec. 3.

Javier Castellano took home last year's Woolf Award.

The post 75th George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award Finalists Named appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

You probably won't get 10-1 again on her anytime soon. Ridden by Julien Leparoux, Wonder Ride was never far back, but the jockey remained patient. She got rolling near the top of the stretch, split horses and then took over in the final yards to win by a half-length over race favorite Stellamaris (Catalina Cruiser). She covered the distance in 1:24.60.

“We weren't surprised at all,” McPeek said. “She's done everything from the beginning really well.”

That Wonder Ride was able to sit behind horses and allow her jockey to be patient was exactly what McPeek was expecting.

“We want them to sit behind horses and learn to relax,” he said. “I think Julien had the chance to take the bait and send her up in there but he stayed steady and relaxed. That's my typical instructions to my riders. Be patient with young horses and teach them to finish. She's learned her lessons and she's fast and smart. I think she wants to go longer than this.”

Wonder Ride is owned by Scott Leeds's Walking L Thoroughbreds. Leeds is the co-breeder along with Fest Miles. Leeds owned and McPeek trained Wonder Ride's dam, Wonderment (Cosmonaut), the winner of the GIII Bourbonette Oaks.

“Scott has put a lot of heart, energy and money into this game and now he has this filly who has been training like a really good thing,” McPeek said. “I really need to get him a Grade I winner. Fingers crossed, maybe this one is the one. He puts a lot of energy into this game.”

Just a week earlier, Leeds sold Wonder Ride's full sister at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale for $650,000.

1st-Saratoga, $111,300, Msw, 8-13, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:24.60, ft, 1/2 length.
WONDER RIDE (f, 2, Gun Runner–Wonderment {GSW, $394,870}, by Cosmonaut) went off as the 10-1 shot in this debut and though she bobbled at the start, the first timer rated along the rail just off the speed up the backstretch. Rounding the far turn, the gray filly built a head of steam, was initially in tight at the eighth pole, but once she tipped to the outside, she ran on nicely to win by half a length over the favorite Stellamaris (Catalina Cruiser). The winner, whose yearling full-sister was bought for $650,000 by Barstool's Dave Portnoy at last week's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, is out of a GIII Bourbonette Oaks winning dam who visited Medaglia d'Oro for next year. Third dam SP Video Babe (T.V. Commercial), a half-sister to GII Forego H. hero Ziggy's Boy (Danzig), is responsible for MGISW Videogenic (Caucasus). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $57,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC; B-Walking L Thoroughbreds LLC & Fest Miles (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek.

The post A Winning Ride For Wonder Ride In Spa Maiden appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Drawn wide for the debut, the $300,000 Keeneland September yearling showed enough speed to sit close to a good early pace and traveled strongly while traveling comfortably for Julien Leparoux. Going ominously well behind the leaders on the turn while still on hold, the bay filly pushed away from the inside part of the track, raced up three wide while under her own courage and turned it on through the final eighth of a mile to graduate by 6 3/4 convincing lengths.

The late Eugene Melnyk acquired the winner's second dam for $475,000 at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and raced her to seven wins from 11 starts for Todd Pletcher, including the 2006 GI Ruffian H. Melnyk sold Pool Land, then 11 years of age, to Live Oak for $900,000 in foal to Smart Strike as part of the owner's dispersal of racing stock at Fasig-Tipton February in 2013. For Charlotte Weber, Pool Land bred 2-year-old stakes winner Old Chestnut (Speightstown) before she sold to SF Bloodstock in foal to Munnings for $57,000 at Keeneland January in 2019. The winner's dam is also responsible for a yearling Not This Time filly, but unfortunately delivered a dead foal by Practical Joke this season.

A 38th 'Rising Star' for Into Mischief, Into Champagne is bred on the exact same cross responsible for the stallion's Grade I winners Mia Mischief and Mischievous Alex and on the cross over Gone West that yielded champion and Horse of the Year Authentic. Others of Into Mischief's graded winners from Speightstown dams include GII Phoenix S. and GIII Futurity S. hero Engage and G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint victor Man of Promise.

8th-Ellis, $120,000, Msw, 6-16, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.18, ft, 6 3/4 lengths.
INTO CHAMPAGNE, f, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Bedford Land, by Speightstown
2nd Dam: Pool Land, by Silver Deputy
3rd Dam: Slew City Slicker, by Slew City Slew
Sales history: $300,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $69,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Six Column Stables, LLC, Randall L Bloch, Jim Gladden, Mike Davis & Michael Steele; B-Robert & Lawana Low (KY); T-Ian R Wilkes.

#10 Into Champagne wins on debut for fun in R8 at Ellis Park under @JulienLeparoux for trainer @IanWilkesRacing!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/6mx351wngf

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) June 16, 2023

The post Into Champagne Delivers ‘Brut’ Force in ‘Rising Star’-Worthy Display appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Beholder's (Henny Hughes) career-capping victory by a nose over the previously unbeaten champion Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) in the 2016 GI Breeder's Cup Distaff was nearly as gripping on the big screen at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion as it was live at Santa Anita Park. For sheer drama it ranks with the finish of the 1988 Distaff when Personal Ensign (Private Account) rallied to overtake Goodbye Halo (Halo) and GI Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors (Caro) to complete her career unbeaten.

With a slew of impressive statistics, Beholder and the seven other members of the Class of 2022 joined Personal Ensign in the Hall of Fame, which fittingly is located across Union Ave. from historic Saratoga Race Course. Beholder and Tepin (Bernstein) were elected by Hall of Fame voters in the contemporary division; Hillsdale (Take Away), Royal Heroine (Ire) (Lypheor {GB}) and trainer Oscar White were selected by the Historic Review Committee; three were honored in the Pillar of the Turf category: James Cox Brady, Marshall Cassidy and James Ben Ali Haggin.

This year's event had a smaller crowd than usual, possibly because there were no contemporary trainers or jockeys inducted. All four of the people who received racing's highest honor for their distinguished careers, have been dead for decades. Haggin, a remarkable owner and breeder, who at one time owned 1,500 broodmares, was born 200 years ago.

Beholder, owned by the late B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm and trained by Richard Mandella, completed her brilliant career with a record of 18-6-0 from 26 starts and earnings of $6,156,600. She was a four-time champion, won three Breeders' Cup races and a total of 11 Grade I races. She won at least one Grade I in each of her five seasons on the track.

“It's an amazing and humbling honor for us to see our greatest race-mare, our once-in-a-lifetime horse enshrined next to the many others that came before her,” said Eric Gustavson, Hughes's son-in-law and the president of Spendthrift. “Beholder is already in the Hall of Fame now, so what you're getting feels like I'm lobbying for her to get in.”

Gustavson cited some of the high points of Beholder's career and acknowledged by name the people who worked with her, starting with the breeders, Fred and Nancy Mitchell of Clarkland Farm. He said Mandella, who had to miss the ceremony because he had tested positive for Covid-19, deserved credit for Beholder's success, “for his masterful horsemanship, patience and judgment, and managing Beholder's incredible career. Thank you, Richard.”

“I once heard Richard say, 'I can't get out of the horses what God didn't put in,'” Gustavson said. “Well, thank you God for giving Beholder so much talent. And thank you Richard for getting it all out of her.”

As he began to talk about Hughes, who died in August 2021, Gustavson paused for nine seconds to regain his composure.

“You should be standing here right now instead of me,” Gustavson said. “And while we're sorry, he didn't get to see Beholder win her final honor. We take solace in remembering how much Beholder meant to Wayne. You see, Wayne never got too attached to his race horses. They meant a lot to him, but he just wasn't the type to allow his emotions to come along for the ride. Until Beholder that is. She changed him in that regard. Following Beholder's impressive win against the boys in the 2015 [GI] Pacific Classic, Wayne said 'I've had a few good horses in the past, but she's the first horse that makes me feel lucky to be the owner. I've never had that feeling before. I think it's called pride.'”

Owner Robert Masterson saluted Tepin's Hall of Fame induction at the venue where he purchased her for $140,000 just over a decade ago. She emerged as a champion turf horse as a 4-year-old, winning 11 of her last 15 races, including the G1 Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, the second of her three victories over males, and won two division titles.

“The one thing about Tepin that I really admired was the more she raced and the more success she had, the greater the following she seemed to get from the people,” Masterson said. “The fans seemed to start to really love her. The first time I recognized it was when she overcame a 13-length deficit to win a Grade II [Hillsborough S.] at Tampa Bay Downs. When she crossed the finish line, there was just as an eruption of applause. It was like a crescendo at the end of a concert that was so good. And when she won up in Woodbine in Canada when she beat the boys in the Grade I [Woodbine Mile S.], we're having the trophy presentation, and we stopped the trophy presentation to recognize the fans who shouted loudly, 'Tepin. Tepin. Tepin.' It was such an appreciation from the Canadian fans.”

He continued, “Then again when she finished second in the Grade I at Santa Anita at the Breeders Cup [2016 Mile], when she was leaving, to go back to the barn, the grandstand started going, 'Tepin. Tepin. Tepin.' I think that was because she finished the last quarter of that Breeders Cup, the fastest quarter ever recorded on the grass at Santa Anita. And the fans really appreciated that even though she came up half a length short.”

Masterson told a story about seeing a family at Saratoga wearing homemade Tepin shirts and said she had a bar named for her at the track after her score at Royal Ascot.

“On behalf of Tepin and myself, I want to thank all the fans who came out and reacted positively to her and loved to watch her race,” Masterson said. “I want to thank Mark Casse and his son Norm for the excellent training job they did on her. I want to thank Julien Leparoux for the rides. I want to thank [David] Greathouse for helping me find her right here at the Fasig-Tipton yearling sale. And I want to thank the Hall of Fame committee for recognizing her accomplishments and voting her into the Hall of Fame. It's such an honor.”

The post Leading Ladies Inducted Into Hall of Fame appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The Mike Venezia Memorial Award is presented annually to a jockey who displays the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that personified Venezia, who died as the result of injuries suffered in a spill in 1988. Venezia, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., won more than 2,300 races during his 25-year career.

“The Venezia Award is a unique honor because it's about so much more than simply winning races on the track,” said Leparoux. “I am humbled and thankful to be selected as this year's winner and look forward to thanking the Venezia family here at Saratoga Race Course on August 12.”

“Julien is richly deserving of this honor as a great professional both on and off the track,” said Terry Meyocks, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Jockeys' Guild. “For years, he has represented our sport with distinction. We welcome him to the ranks of distinguished riders who have previously won the Venezia Award.”

During his career, Leparoux has amassed 2,880 wins and more than $183 million in earnings. Those victories include seven Breeders' Cup races, among them the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Mile aboard champion and newly inducted Hall of Famer Tepin (Bernstein). At the 2009 Breeders' Cup, Leparoux won the Shoemaker Award as the winningest jockey with three wins.

Previous Venezia Award winners include Bill Shoemaker, Angel Cordero, Jr., Jerry Bailey, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens, Richard Migliore, Patti Cooksey, Edgar Prado, Ramon Dominguez, Joe Bravo, Javier Castellano and DeShawn Parker.

The post Leparoux Wins Venezia Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The 44th running of the one-mile Tropical Turf for 4-year-olds and up on the grass served as the headliner on an 11-race program that was capped by a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6.

Clear Vision ($23.40) completed the distance in 1:35.36 over a firm course under jockey Julien Leparoux to give O'Connor, a native of New Hyde Park, N.Y., his first graded-stakes victory with his first starter of 2022.

It was also the first graded triumph for MeB Stables, the nom de course for Mary Ellen and Anthony Bonomo, fellow native New Yorkers who got into racing in 2006. Though not related by blood, O'Connor has considered the Bonomos family since a young age as his father and Anthony are best friends.

“It means the world to me. I've been working since I've been 8, 9 years old just to follow the path to here,” O'Connor said. “To do it for my Uncle Anthony and Aunt Mary Ellen, it means a lot.”

Clear Vision is one of four horses O'Connor has stabled at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. O'Connor claimed the gelded 6-year-old son of Grade 1 winner Artie Schiller for $25,000 out of an Oct. 16 win at Belmont Park, and ran him for the first time in the Claiming Crown Emerald Dec. 4 at Gulfstream, finishing second.

Leparoux had Clear Vision on the lead quickly from Post 2 in the field of seven, where he ran an opening quarter-mile in 23.62 seconds pressed by Belgrano on the outside and Flying Scotsman between horses. Belgrano forged a short advantage over Clear Vision, racing on the inside, as Flying Scotsman checked back to third after a half in 46.97.

“I told Julien to just play the break. We thought Flying Scotsman would go and it looked like he broke a little slow. We wound up on the lead and Julien went on with it,” O'Connor said. “That's the way he runs his best races. Those two wins he had in New York back-to-back he got loose on the lead. He just got brave out there and kept going.”

Clear Vision ran six furlongs in 1:10.94 to take the lead back and straightened for home in front as Value Proposition and 3-5 favorite Largent rolled into contention. Leparoux kept Clear Vision to task through the lane and he was able to edge clear to win by two lengths, while Value Proposition rallied up the rail to take second over Belgrano.

Largent, a Grade 2 winner making his first start since being beaten a neck in last January's Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) by stablemate Colonel Liam, wound up fourth followed by Call Curt, Flying Scotsman and Phat Man.

“When they came to the quarter pole I saw Largent making his run,” O'Connor said. “[Clear Vision] is a gritty horse. He knows his job, he loves what he does and he dug in and turned away the competition.”

O'Connor credited his former boss, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, with giving him the confidence to run Clear Vision. O'Connor worked two years for Zito before going out on his own in 2020, and he won his first race with Duellist April 4 of that year at Gulfstream.

“I have to thank Nick Zito. He's known for winning big races with long shots and he always told me, 'If you think you can run fourth in a stake, take the shot,'” he said. “We followed that method here today, and it worked.”

O'Connor grew up five miles from Belmont Park, where his father owned horses with trainer Dennis Brida, and knew early on that he wanted to make a career with horses. He now has four wins from 57 lifetime starters.

“From the time I was an infant even before I could walk I was in the barn area. My Uncle Anthony got into racing in 2006 and at that point I was more into it,” O'Connor said. “Crazy as it sounds, at that young an age I knew I wanted to train or do something like that. I started working for Dominic Schettino, where my uncle had his horses, and went from there.

“I worked for Robert Falcone Jr. for a year before going to Nick Zito,” he added. “While I was working with Nick I went to the University Racetrack Program at the University of Arizona and kind of plotted the course to get to where we wanted to be, and here we are.”

The post Clear Vision Gives 23-Year-Old Trainer First Graded Stakes Win In Tropical Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jockeys Joe Bravo, Glenn Corbett, Julien Leparoux, Rodney Prescott and Tim Thornton, riders who have plied their trade with distinction nationwide, comprise a select group of 2022 finalists.

Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, the Woolf Award recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character garner esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The trophy is a replica of the life-sized statue of legendary Hall of Fame jockey George Woolf which adorns Santa Anita's Paddock Gardens area.

Regarded as one of the greatest big-money riders of his era, Woolf was a household name by virtue of winning the inaugural Santa Anita Handicap aboard Azucar on Feb. 23, 1935 and for his association with the immortal Seabiscuit, whom he rode to victory over Triple Crown Champion War Admiral in a mile and three sixteenths match race at Pimlico Race Course on Nov. 1, 1938.

Affectionately known as “The Iceman,” Woolf was revered by his fellow riders, members of the media and millions of racing fans across America as a fierce competitor and consummate professional.

In a move that had national implications, Joe Bravo, a dominant force in the Mid-Atlantic and in particular at Monmouth Park since the early 1990's, announced that he would be shifting his base of operations to Southern California on a full-time basis this past summer and hired locally-based agent Matt Nakatani. Long known as “Jersey Joe,” Bravo caught on immediately at Del Mar, winning 21 races, three of them stakes while finishing fifth in the Summer Meet standings.

A great judge of pace and conditions, Bravo, 50, won 13 riding titles at Monmouth and through Dec. 19, has 5,523 career victories dating back to his debut at age 17 in 1988. A third generation rider, Bravo's biggest career win came at Santa Anita aboard Blue Prize in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Hard work has been the hallmark of Glenn Corbett's career, which began in May of 1985 at Penn National. Corbett, 55, was born in Georgia and soon after graduating high school, set upon a career in racing that has seen him ride at 36 different racetracks in 18 states while riding more than 1,000 races annually a total of four times. A mainstay at Prairie Meadows in Des Moines, Iowa since its opening in 1989, he's also ridden at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz. since 1992. A member of the Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame, Corbett, who considered a career in Professional Rodeo while in high school, notched his 4,000th career win at Turf Paradise on March 8.

Roundly considered one of the top riders in the world, French native Julien Leparoux, the son of a jockey who was born July 15, 1983 in Senlis, France, is a truly dominant force at Keeneland Racecourse. A leading rider at Keeneland 12 times, dating back to 2006, Leparoux ranks second by stakes wins with 66 and is Keeneland's fourth all time leading jockey with 507 wins. At age 38, Leparoux has 2,840 wins through Dec. 19 and has amassed $179,307,259 in career earnings.

Born March 8, 1974 in Portland, Ind., Rodney Prescott is the Hoosier State's all-time leading rider and once again ranked among the top 10 jockeys at the recently concluded Indiana Grand race meeting. After a stint as a groom after graduating high school, Prescott broke his maiden at age 20 at River Downs, near Cincinnati. A three-time leading rider at Indiana Grand (2004, 2005 & 2018), Prescott registered his 4,000th career winner there on Nov. 4.

A native of Lake Charles, La., Tim Thornton is very much a rider on the ascendency, evidenced by the fact he set a single day record this past Oct. 23 by winning seven races at Delta Downs. Formerly a regular at Chicago-area tracks, he broke his maiden on June 13, 2003 and registered his 2,000th career victory this past Feb. 16 at Delta Downs and notched his third consecutive Delta riding title in April. In 2018, he ranked second to Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz with 286 wins and was 40th nationally in purse money-won with $4.9 million.

With Gordon Glisson winning the inaugural Woolf Award in 1950, DeShawn Parker won the 2021 Woolf Memorial Award, thus becoming its 72nd recipient.

The post Five Finalists Announced For 2022 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The post Woolf Award Finalists Announced appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The top 2-year-old race of the Remington Park season provided the stage for the third win in a row to start the career of Make It Big, who has never raced on Lasix. Kentucky Derby points are awarded to horses only if they have not raced on the diuretic during the qualifying races. The other horse earning points in the Springboard was runner-up Osbourne, who gets four in the Derby standings. The third and fourth place finishers, Concept and Classic Moment, both from trainer Steve Asmussen's barn, competed with Lasix on Friday night.

Rick Sacco, racing manager for Make it Big's owner, Red Oak Stable in Ocala, Fla., was non-committal on where Make It Big's first start as a 3-year-old will be in 2022, but the dark bay colt by Neolithic, out of the Congrats mare Ruby on My Mind, won his first two races at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. The $120,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders Sale Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training has quickly earned his keep. He won $240,000 from the purse Friday and is now undefeated through three attempts with total earnings of $303,828.

“Yes, we will enjoy these Kentucky Derby points,” said Sacco, “but we will have to discuss where we send him next.”

Sarah Shaffer, trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.'s assistant, was on hand for the victory, just having met the horse for the first time this week. She stables at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La.

“He has a personality and a half,” she said. “We expected the cold weather to sharpen him up here.”

Temperatures were brisk in the high 40s when seven horses broke from the gate for the Springboard. Make It Big was feeling his oats in the warmup. Jockey Jose Ortiz was putting everything he had to keep the colt in his skin before the race.

“We really wanted to get him warmed up,” said Shaffer. “He's very smart. He knew what he was here for. Nice horse.”

Make It Big broke his maiden on Oct. 9 at Gulfstream, winning by 8 1/2 lengths at first asking. He then took down the $60,000 Ocala Stud Juvenile Sprint Stakes for Florida-breds at Gulfstream by 2 1/4 lengths on Oct. 30. Both of those wins came at seven furlongs and with jockey Edgard Zayas in the saddle. Friday night's Springboard was his first trip around two turns.

“The horse was two-for-two with Edgard,” said Ortiz, who shipped in from the East Coast for the mount. “Unfortunately, Edgard couldn't ride because he had to have surgery on his shoulder.”

Ortiz, the No. 4 rider in the country with his horses earning more than $24 million in 2021, wasn't a bad substitute and he rode Make It Big to perfection. He took the winner's circle photos with the garland of flowers wrapped around his shoulders from head to near his feet.

Ortiz let Make It Big settle in fifth down the backstretch and then asked for a run at the top of the stretch. By that time the colt was rolling and he engaged Osbourne who took the lead before the field left the final turn. Make It Big battled neck and neck with Osbourne throughout the length of the stretch, gaining a half-length win at the finish.

Osbourne is trained by Ron Moquett of Breeders' Cup Sprint winner fame, Whitmore. Osbourne, a 2-year-old gelded son of Tapiture, out of the Rock Hard Ten mare Planet Rock also has not raced on Lasix in three tries. He broke his maiden in his last start at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 17 at seven furlongs. Julien Leparoux, his regular rider, fought gamely from the outside post position in the field of seven. He was three lengths ahead of third-place finisher Concept, winner of the $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes on Sept. 26 at Remington.

The remaining order of finish in the Springboard was Classic Moment (4th), Rowdy Rascal (5th), Revenir (6th), and Bye Bye Bobby (7th).

Make It Big was sent off at 6-5 odds as the betting favorite and paid $4.60 to win, $3.40 to place, and $2.60 to show. The winner cut into early fractions of :24.77 for the first quarter-mile, :49.22 for the half-mile, 1:14.94 for three-quarters of a mile, and 1:27.86 for seven furlongs. His winning time at the mile was 1:41.23 over the fast main surface.

Make It Big is doing his best to put his young sire, Neolithic, on the map. That stallion went to stud in 2018 and Make It Big was foaled in 2019. Neolithic has some classic bloodlines, being a son of Harlan's Holiday, and his stud fee might soar if this horse proves to be worthy on the Kentucky Derby trail. Neolithic's stud fee for 2022 is $5,000 for a live foal. Harlan's Holiday won $3.6 million in his racing career, including Grade 1 wins in the Florida Derby, the Blue Grass Stakes, and the Donn Handicap.

Make It Big is easily Neolithic's top earner among his progeny.

The post Make It Big Battles Osbourne Through Stretch To Take Springboard Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post