Junior Alvarado | Horse Racing Free Tips

Rocket Can Gives Red Hot Into Mischief Win in Holy Bull

A major stepping stone to the GI Curlin Florida Derby, Saturday's Holy Bull appeared on paper at least, to be a competitive affair. Leading the fray was two-time winner Cyclone Mischief (Into Mischief), a $450,000 KEESEP purchase, trained by Dale Romans. Also gaining respect at the window at 5-2 was Frank Fletcher's Rocket Can, who drew the less-than-ideal outside draw in the 8 1/2-furlong test. Hustled along off the blocks and unable to make any real headway, he was fanned out several paths wide going into the first turn as Mr Bob (Practical Joke) took control. Eagerly pulling Tyler Gaffalione along during a solid opening quarter, Cyclone Mischief found himself boxed as Rocket Can loomed to his outside. As the pacesetter continued to show the way through a :48.84 half, Rocket Can continued to bide his time in fourth, although only about two lengths behind the pace. Picking up the tempo around the far turn, Rocket Can soon pushed his head in front approaching the home turn, responded to a swift right-handed reminder by Alvarado in early stretch and dug in late as stable-mate Shadow Dragon (Army Mule) closed from behind to grab the runner-up spot, only 3/4 of a length adrift of the winner. West Coast Cowboy (West Coast) was a clear third. Favored Cyclone Mischief faded to seventh.

“The horse broke sharp, and I hustled out of there just to make sure I'm forwardly placed and he was there for me,” explained Alvarado. “I couldn't really save much ground the first part because everybody had the same idea to get out of there running. I ended up being a little bit wide, but he was very kind. He was nice and relaxed the whole way around, so I was very pleased with what I had under me. By the three-eighths pole I started picking it up little by little knowing that it's the first wire. I had a great feeling going all the way around.”

Rocket Can finished off the board in a pair of sprints at Saratoga last summer before stretching out around to turns to graduate at Churchill Downs Oct. 30. The colt rounded out his juvenile campaign with a close up second-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance at Churchill Downs Nov. 26.

“It was a little worrisome on the first turn-he was four-wide,” said Mott. “It's a short run to the first turn and he had the outside post. He was four-wide in the first turn and then three-wide. The good part about all that is you have a clear trip. You're running farther than everyone else, but he got a nice clean trip and maybe that's what he needed today.”

Asked whether either of his top two finishers might contest th Mar. 4 GII Fountain of Youth S., he added, “I think we'd want to do that with one of them, for sure.”

Pedigree Notes:
The third graded winner of Saturday and the 62nd graded winner for his sire, Rocket Can is out of the win-less Tension, who is out of Dual Grade I winning Tough Tiz's Sis (Tiznow). After dropping a City of Light colt in 2021, the half-sister to GSW and GISP Tiz Midnight (Midnight Lute) was barren last season and was bred back to Collected.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
HOLY BULL S.-GIII, $250,000, Gulfstream, 2-4, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.97, ft.
1–ROCKET CAN, 118, c, 3, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Tension, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Tough Tiz's Sis, by Tiznow
3rd Dam: Leaseholder, by Taylor's Falls
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($245,000 RNA Ylg '21 FTSAUG). O-Frank Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc.; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $150,350. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0, $249,738. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Shadow Dragon, 118, c, 3, Army Mule–Fire Assay, by Medaglia d'Oro. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($105,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $375,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Peachtree Stable; B-AJ Suited (NY); T-William I. Mott. $48,500.
3–West Coast Cowboy, 118, c, 3, West Coast–Coco's Sweetie, by Tenpins. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($35,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $170,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Gentry Farms (A.P. Gentry); B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc. (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.. $24,250.
Margins: 3/4, 2 1/4, 4 1/4. Odds: 2.60, 34.10, 58.10.
Also Ran: Legacy Isle, Il Miracolo, Lord Miles, Cyclone Mischief, Mr Bob.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Cody’s Wish Wins 2022 Secretariat Vox Populi Award

Edited Press Release

Cody's Wish (Curlin), this year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner who shares an endearing bond with Cody Dorman, has been voted the winner of the 2022 Secretariat Vox Populi Award. Created by Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery, the annual award recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing.

Owned by Godolphin, trained by Bill Mott, and ridden throughout the year by Junior Alvarado, Cody's Wish and his special story have gained affection and admiration that transcend the sport of racing. On the track, Cody's Wish's 2022 accomplishments featured four victories in five starts, including impressive performances in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and GI Forego Stakes. In addition to his racing success, it was his continuing connection with his now 16-year-old namesake Cody Dorman, who lives with a rare genetic disorder, that captured fans' hearts and an abundance of Vox Populi votes.

In 2018, Richmond, Kentucky native Dorman was offered a tour of Godolphin's Gainsborough Farm as part of Keeneland's Make-A-Wish Day. Dorman's condition, Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, renders him unable to speak and relegates him to a wheelchair. During Dorman's visit to the farm, an inquisitive six-month-old foal walked over to young Cody and put his head in the boy's lap. And with that, the bay colt earned his name: Cody's Wish. Nearly four years later, the special bond and sweet interactions between the two continue, including just days before this year's Breeders' Cup when the horse reconnected with his longtime pal.

“Cody's Wish and his namesake Cody Dorman forged an instant bond that would grow to connect millions of fans to their inspiring story of hope and determination,” said Kate Chenery Tweedy, daughter of Penny Chenery. “Not only did Cody's Wish win the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, as Cody predicted, but both Cody's won the hearts of people everywhere. Their uplifting story exemplifies the best ideals of the Vox Populi Award, just as Mom wished.”

Nominees for the award were submitted by the Vox Populi Committee, comprised of distinguished personalities from within and outside the racing industry. Voters also had the option to write in their own favorite candidate to recognize other exceptional horses.

The Vox Populi trophy presentation is scheduled to take place at Santa Anita Park Jan. 14. For more information about the award, visit Secretariat.com.

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Speightstown’s Olympiad Triumphs in JCGC

Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods's Olympiad (Speightstown), a head-scratching fourth in the GI Whitney S., bounced back with a powerful performance in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga.

The 8-5 favorite jumped well from his inside draw and sat a perfect, stalking trip in second behind longshot pacesetter Tax (Arch) through fractions of :24.54 and :49.70. Racing in between rivals as last year's GI Cigar Mile H. winner Americanrevolution (Constitution), one of four entered for Todd Pletcher, continued to draw closer heading into the far turn, Olympiad struck the front as Tax was the first to blink approaching the quarter pole.

Olympiad turned for home as the clear cut one to beat, was still going strong three-sixteenths from home while Americanrevolution remained one paced in an all-out second and sailed home two lengths clear over that rival in his first career attempt at the Classic distance. First Captain (Curlin) was up for third.

Olympiad, a $700,000 Keeneland September Yearling graduate, opened 2022 with five straight wins, including the GII New Orleans Classic Mar. 26, GII Alysheba S. May 6 and GII Stephen Foster S. July 2. He finished 9 1/4 lengths behind the ultra-talented Life Is Good (Into Mischief) on a very hot and humid day in upstate New York last time Aug. 6.

“It's gratifying to see him come back,” said winning Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who captured previous runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup with Hall of Famer Cigar (1995), Flat Out (2012), and Ron the Greek (2013). “The [performance] the other day [in the Whitney] was almost too bad to be true considering the form he had been in the previous five races. It was just good to see him bounce back. He's a Grade I winner, he's won six out of seven races this year and he's got a pretty good record for himself.

Mott continued, “I liked the way he looked [in the paddock]. After we put the saddle on him, he was walking around on his toes. He was a little quiet the other day when it was so hot–he kind of had his head down a little bit and looked a little too quiet. I think everyone was moving a little slow. But today, he looked like he had a little extra energy and like he had a little extra bounce in his step just before we put the jocks on. He looked good.”

Pedigree Notes:

Olympiad's win was another Grade I breeding for the coffers of Emory Hamilton and the legacy enjoyed by her family's King Ranch. For more on both Hamilton's family and their connection with Olympiad's family, as well as what was behind his mating, click for a recent story that appeared in TDN.

Olympiad represents six generations of King Ranch/Emory Hamilton breeding. His dam, who is a half to the dam of 2019 GI Woodward S. winner Preservationist (Arch), has a 2-year-old filly by War Front (who sold for $450,000 at Keeneland September to Larkin Armstrong), a yearling colt by American Pharoah, and is reported to be carrying a full-sister to Olympiad for 2023.

WinStar stallion Speightstown has 129 black-type winners from his 15 Northern Hemisphere crops of racing age, which also include 62 graded winners. Remarkably, seven of those stakes winners are out of Medaglia d'Oro mares. Other than Olympiad, the others include MGISW Rock Fall, GISW Competitionofideas, SW & MGISP Dawn the Destroyer, GSW & GISP Souper Stonehenge, and GSW Strike Power. He is now the sire of 25 Grade I winners.

Saturday, Saratoga Racecourse
JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP S.-GI, $1,000,000, Saratoga, 9-3, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:02.11, ft.
1–OLYMPIAD, 126, c, 4, by Speightstown
                1st Dam: Tokyo Time (GSP, $249,177),
                                by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Flying Passage, by A.P. Indy
                3rd Dam: Chic Shirine, by Mr. Prospector
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($700,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Grandview
Equine, Cheyenne Stable, LLC and LNJ Foxwoods; B-Emory A.
Hamilton (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $535,000.
Lifetime Record: 12-8-1-1, $2,007,560.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Americanrevolution, 126, c, 4, Constitution–Polly Freeze, by
Super Saver. ($275,000 Ylg '19 SARAUG). O-CHC Inc. and
WinStar Farm LLC; B-Fred W. Hertrich III & John D. Fielding
(NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $185,000.
3–First Captain, 126, c, 4, Curlin–America, by A.P. Indy.
'TDN Rising Star' 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($1,500,000 Ylg '19
FTSAUG). O-West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm LLC, Bobby
Flay & Woodford Racing, LLC; B-B. Flay Thoroughbreds (KY);
T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $100,000.
Margins: 2, 1 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 1.70, 2.35, 5.20.
Also Ran: Untreated, Keepmeinmind, Dynamic One, Chess Chief, Tax. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Saturday Racing Insights: $1.25-Million American Pharoah Colt Debuts

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

3rd-AQU, $80K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:58 p.m. ET

CORTON CHARLEMAGNE, a well-bred son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah out of the winning Victory Gallop mare Swingit, debuts for Speedway Stables LLC and trainer Christophe Clement. Purchased for $1.25 million from the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase, he is a half-brother to five winners from six to race, including current Pleasant Acres stallion GSW & GISP Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday), who earned over $2.2 million, as well as $850k Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase GSW & GISP Travel Column (Frosted). The dark bay has been preparing for this with several five-furlong works on the Payson turf, including a pair of 1:02 2/5 breezes Mar. 26 (9/12) and Apr. 1 (6/18). He gets Lasix for his first start and picks up jockey Junior Alvarado. TJCIS PPs

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