julien leparoux | Horse Racing Free Tips

Woolf Award Finalists Announced

Jockeys Joe Bravo, Glenn Corbett, Julien Leparoux, Rodney Prescott and Tim Thornton make up the list of finalists for the prestigious 2022 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, the award–named for the legendary and highly respected George “The Iceman” Woolf–“recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character garner esteem for the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing.” Voted on by jockeys nationwide, the Woolf Award winner will be announced in February.

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Make It Big Battles Osbourne Through Stretch To Take Springboard Mile

Make It Big earned 10 qualifying points in the 2022 Kentucky Derby standings Friday night, winning the $401,200 Springboard Mile for 2-year-olds at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

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.

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Velazquez, Smith Re-Elected to Jockeys’ Guild

Hall of Fame riders John Velazquez and Mike Smith were re-elected as co-chairmen at the Jockeys' Guild's annual meeting, which was held virtually Dec. 7. The riders in attendance also re-elected Javier Castellano and Julien Leparoux, along with newly elected Quarter Horse jockey James Flores, as vice-chairs; Joel Campbell as treasurer; and Rodney Prescott as secretary. In addition, Alex Birzer, Joe Bravo, and Drayden Van Dyke were re-elected to the board of directors.

The members reviewed 2021 financials and the 2022 budget and had a variety of speakers including Senator Damon Thayer (KY-R); Dr. David Lambert B.V.Sc. (Hons.), M.R.C.V.S, president and founder of Equine Analysis; Ann McGovern, director of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)'s Racetrack Safety standing committee; and Nancy LaSala, Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) president, as well as PDJF board member Paul Braverman.

The Jockeys' Guild Senate members voted to adopt a new policy, whereby winning Jockeys' Guild members of races with purses over $70,000 will contribute 0.005% of their earnings, capped at $200, to the PDJF Riders Up initiative. This would be a separate program from the “one dollar program” that is already in place and would continue to be offered at the tracks that do not offer purses of $70,000 or more.

For more information, visit the Guild's website.

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Park On The Nile, Golden Sights Lead Field For Friday’s Trapeze At Remington

Trainer Ken McPeek has stamped his ticket in the Triple Crown races, winning the Preakness in 2020 with the filly, Swiss Skydiver, beating the boys.

McPeek, who regularly races at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.; Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.; Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.; and Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., now ships Park On the Nile, one of his promising fillies, into Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the $100,000 Trapeze Stakes, at one mile, on the season's closing night, Friday, Dec. 17. McPeek will be trying to win this race for the second year in a row and third time overall. He won last year with Oliviaofthedesert. He also won the Trapeze with Perfect Wife in 2016.

Park On the Nile, a 2-year-old daughter of Cairo Prince, out of the Majesticperfection mare Park in Back, has been made the lukewarm 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Trapeze after breaking her maiden at Churchill Downs by 7 1/4 lengths on Nov. 27, in a race at 1 1/16 miles.

Park On the Nile had been working forwardly for her career debut, putting up a 1:00.80 breezing at Churchill before shocking her competition with a daylight victory at 21-1 odds. Jockey Corey Lanerie was up for that victory, but it is Julien Leparoux who has been named for the mount in the Trapeze. Leparoux is a multiple graded stakes-winning rider whose horses have earned just shy of $180 million in his career. He rode Tepin to victory in the 2015 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile on the turf. He also rode Classic Empire to the win in the 2016 G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. In all, Leparoux has seven Breeders' Cup wins.

McPeek's claim to fame came in the early 2000s when he won the Belmont Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown in 2002 with Sarava, the longest shot ever to win the Test of a Champion. He went off at 70-1 odds with Medaglia d'Oro at 16-1 in second. That $2 exacta was worth $2,454.

Park On the Nile's sire, Cairo Prince, currently sits seventh among top sires for 2-year-olds. Cairo Prince was precocious early as a racehorse, winning his first two starts, and Park on the Nile will try to emulate that effort. Cairo Prince won the G2 Nashua Stakes in his second start. Park on the Nile will try to add the black type to her resume if she can repeat her father's effort.

Park On the Nile was purchased in the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase Sale of 2020 for $110,000 by current owners Bret Jones and Cold Press Racing. She was bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones and had earned $69,460 in her only race.

The second choice in the Trapeze morning line odds is Golden Sights out of the barn of the country's leading trainer, Brad Cox. This 2-year-old daughter of Goldencents, out of the Eskendereya mare Celestial Sighting, took four tries to win for the first time, but when she did last time out it was by 5 1/2 lengths over a sloppy track at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. Chris Landeros rode her that day, but Florent Geroux will get a leg up from Cox for the Trapeze. Geroux is seventh in the country among jockeys with his horses pocketing $18,377,044 this year. Geroux has ridden Horse of the Year Gun Runner and multiple G1 winning mare Monomoy Girl.

Golden Sights' record is four starts, one win, two seconds, and $99,880 earned. She was bred in Kentucky by Taylor Made Stallions and is owned by September Farm, Union Park Thoroughbreds, Jonathan Wilmot, Rick Howard, and Black Fern. She was purchased for $100,000 by September Farm at the Ocala (Fla.) Spring Breeders Sale of 2-year-olds in training.

Cox currently sits atop the nation's earnings standings with $30,929,031 in his bankroll this year. Trainer Steve Asmussen, who sits behind Cox nationally with $30,426,747 earned, has two fillies entered in the Trapeze. He has Optionality, a Gun Runner filly, out of the Pulpit mare Simplify as the third choice in the morning line at 5-1 odds. She has won her last two in a row, including her first stakes win in the $50,000 Zia Princess Stakes on Nov. 23 at Zia Park in Hobbs, New Mexico. She drew off to win by 6 1/2 lengths with Irad Ortiz in the irons, the second-leading rider in the country. It will be his brother, Jose Ortiz, however, riding for Asmussen in the Trapeze. Optionality is owned and was bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds (Ron Winchell of Las Vegas).

Asmussen's other filly is Morning Twilight, who has won two and run second in the other. An Oklahoma-bred, she won the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie Stakes at Remington on Oct. 15, then ran second to another filly in this field, Hits Pricey Legacy, the winner of the $75,000 Slide Show Stakes on Nov. 12. The latter is 8-1 in the morning line and Morning Twilight is 10-1. That Asmussen filly, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds (Terrence Finley), Edwin Barker, and Titletown Racing (Paul Farr of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) was a $310,000 buy for West Point at the same Ocala sale from which Golden Sights came.

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Here's a look at the Trapeze filed from the rail out with post position, horse, jockey, trainer, and odds:

Lilly's Bidness, Lane Luzzi, Ronnie Cravens III, 30-1
Brodie Baby, Leandro Goncalves, Ray Ashford, Jr., 15-1
Point Two, Ken Tohill, Don Von Hemel, 12-1
Rollin Chrome, Luis Quinonez, Alejandro Baldillez, Jr., 20-1
Ring Me Darling, Iram Diego, Genaro Garcia, 10-1
Park On the Nile, Julien Leparoux, Ken McPeek, 3-1
Hits Pricey Legacy, Jose Alvarez, C.R. Trout, 8-1
Holy Justice, Carlos Montalvo, Genaro Garcia, 12-1
Golden Sights, Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 7-2
Morning Twilight, Stewart Elliott, Steve Asmussen, 10-1
Diamonds N Aces, Weston Hamilton, Michael Whitelaw, 20-1
Optionality, Jose Ortiz, Steve Asmussen, 5-1

There are four other stakes races on Dec. 17, including the cornerstone 2-year-old race of the meeting, the $400,000 Springboard Mile which includes Kentucky Derby points toward the 2022 run for the roses:

Race 8, $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes, 3 year olds, 1 mile (Oklahoma-breds)

Race 9, $70,000 Useeit Stakes, 3 year old fillies, 1 mile (Oklahoma-breds)

Race 10, $100,000 She's All In Stakes, fillies and mares, 3 and older, 1 mile-70 yards

Race 12, $400,000 Springboard Mile, 2 year olds, 1 mile

The total closing day card will have 13 races, beginning at 5 pm and ending around 11 pm. All times are Central.

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