Kaleem Shah | Horse Racing Free Tips

Bella Vita Gets Easy Win In Betty Grable At Del Mar

Wins don't come much prettier than this one for the aptly named Bella Vita, who took advantage of a fast track and an easy pace to take the Betty Grable Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

In the Cal-bred only stakes, Big Sweep got out to an early lead, with Fi Fi Pharoah and favorite Bella Vita pressing the pace. Through early fractions of :23.20 for the first quarter and :46.17 for the half-mile, Big Sweep maintained a short lead, as Bella Vita moved up to second approaching the far turn.

Bella Vita and jockey Flavien Prat pulled even with Big Sweep on the turn, taking over the lead as the field entered the stretch. At the wire, Bella Vita was 1 1/2 lengths to the good, with Warren's Showtime making her bad late to take second over Big Sweep.

The final time for the seven furlongs was 1:22.23. Find this race's chart here.

Bella Vita paid $3.20, $2.20, and $2.10. Warren's Showtime paid $3.00 and $2.20. Big Sweep paid $2.40.

“We had a good trip. I got a good spot and we were able to move when it was right. She ran well and we finished up well,” Prat said after the race.

“Nice bookends to the weekend. (Callaghan-trained Astronomer was a $62.60 winner in Friday's $150,000 Qatar Golden Mile). The two horses ran well. This looked like a good opportunity (for Bella Vita) back on dirt. She's definitely a dirt filly. We tried turf last time because it was a restricted Cal-bred race but she shows she's a decent dirt filly and this was a good spot for her,” Simon Callaghan told the Del Mar press office after the Betty Grable.

Bred in California by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings Inc., Bella Vita is by Bayern out of the Storm Cat mare Queenie Cat. Trained by Simon Callaghan, the 4-year-old filly is owned by Kaleem Shah Inc. Bella Vita was consigned by Harris Training Center and sold to KSI for $400,000 at the April 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sale Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds In Training. With her win in the Betty Grable, the filly has three wins in nine starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 13-4-5-1 and career earnings of $346,722.

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Friday Insights: $1.25M Quality Road Unveiled at Santa Anita

2nd-SAX, $61K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 4:31 p.m.
Kaleem Shah's THALES (Quality Road) gets his start for Simon Callaghan Friday. The half to SW and MGISP Standard Deviation (Curlin), who sold for $240,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October sale, realized a $1.25 million final bid following a :20.3 quarter at the OBS Spring sale last season. The ridgling was the highest-priced colt and the second highest priced offspring by the Lane's End stallion last term. Pegram, Watson & Weitman's Essential Wager (Honor Code) also represents a sale's coup for his sire. One of three Bob Baffert trainees in this seven-furlong test, the son of GSP Mr Hall's Opus (Officer) brought $300,000 at the OBS Spring, the second highest-priced offspring by his sire in 2020. Baffert is also represented by $360,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling buy Miacomet (Flatter) and Vetoed (Bayern). TJCIS PPs

5th-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1mT, 6:05 p.m.
Magnier, Tabor, Smith et al's BALLET DANCING (Medaglia d'Oro) makes her career bow in this test for conditioner Simon Callaghan. The $800,000 KEEESEP purchase is out of GSP Fully Living (Unbridled's Song), who is out of a half-sister to Champion juvenile filly Halfbridled (Unbridled). Don Alberto's Magical Sign (Gun Runner) kicks off for trainer Mike McCarthy. A half to MGSP Moraz (Empire Maker), the filly is a granddaughter of Macoumba (Mr. Prospector), the dam of the late leading sire Malibu Moon. TJCIS PPs

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Madone Ends Going Global’s Win Streak In San Clemente

Kaleem Shah's Madone saved ground early, then launched a strong outside bid from the three-eighths pole home to prove a half length best Saturday in the $202,500 San Clemente Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

The winner, a daughter of the Australian sire Vancouver though bred in Kentucky, covered a mile on turf in the Grade 2 feature in 1:35.28 and got the measure of race favorite Going Global, the 2-5 choice running in the silks of Dubb, Gevertz or Nentwig and partners. Finishing third was Slam Dunk Racing or Platts' Tetragonal.

Madone picked up a check for $120,000 for her fifth win – four of them in stakes — in seven starts and increased her earnings to $331,800. She now is three-for-three at Del Mar, all turf races. The dark bay or brown miss was purchased by her owner at a 2-year-old in training sale for $125,000 in March of 2020.

Madone paid $13.60, $4.00 and $3.00 across the board. Going Global, who had captured four straight stakes this year since coming over from her native Ireland, returned $2.20 and $2.10, while Tetragonal paid off at $3.80 for the show.

Trainer Simon Callaghan saddled Madone and indicated that his filly would next be pointed to the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks, the championship race for sophomore fillies at the shore track's summer meet. That race is part of a five-stakes card on Saturday, August 21.

JUAN HERNANDEZ (Madone, winner) – “That was the plan, to lay back then come running. Simon (trainer Simon Callaghan) said to keep her covered up and save ground. That's what I did. On the turn (for home), I took her out and she gave it to me. She really came running. Nice win for sure.”

SIMON CALLAGHAN (Madone, winner) – “We were able to save ground and they were going quick early, so I was happy with our spot early. He (jockey Juan Hernandez) made a wide early move but it was the right one. She's got a nice turn of foot and she's such a good filly. I blame myself (for sixth-place result in the G3 Honeymoon on May 22 at Santa Anita); I ran her back too quickly. She bounced, it's as simple as that. We'll now look to the Del Mar Oaks.”

FRACTIONS: :22.26 :45.86 1:11.12 1:35.28

The stakes win was the second of the meet for rider Hernandez, but his first in the San Clemente. He now has nine stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for Callaghan, but his second in the San Clemente (Up In Time, 2011). He now has 15 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owner is Kaleem Shah of San Diego and Vienna, VA.

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Madone Makes Impressive Return In Senorita Stakes

In a roughly run race, jockey Juan Hernandez orchestrated a picture-perfect trip for comebacking Madone, as she saved ground throughout and unleashed an impressive turn of foot to take Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Senorita Stakes by one length at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Owned by Kaleem Shah, Inc. and trained by Simon Callaghan, Madone got a flat mile on turf in 1:35.17.

With favored Closing Remarks shuffled to the rear of an 11-horse field after clipping heels shortly after the start, longshots Stressed and Nimbostratus slugged it out on the front end, with Nimbostratus fairly running off with Heriberto Figueroa leaving the half mile pole.

All the while, Hernandez had Madone, idle since the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Juvenile Turf Nov. 6 at Keeneland, under a snug hold at the rail while a joint third around the first turn with Sensible Cat.

Heading to the far turn, Hernandez was patient and when Nimbostratus drifted out turning for home, he shot the gap between her and Stressed and Madone responded with a solid late kick that kept both the original second place finisher Golden and Closing Remarks at bay late.

“I was telling Simon that this filly came to run today because she broke really sharp out of the gate,” said Hernandez, who collected his second stakes win on the day. “She actually put herself in a really good position, behind the speed and then I was saving ground.

“Around the quarter pole, I was loaded. I had a (lot of) horse and I was just waiting for some space to open and come through. I found a spot and then I asked her, she kicked really well…She is a nice filly.”

Unbeaten in three starts at one mile on turf, two of them in ungraded stakes, Madone tasted defeat for the first time when eighth, beaten 5 ½ lengths at Keeneland on Nov. 6. Ridden for the first time today by Hernandez, she was off as the 5-2 second choice among 11 sophomore fillies and paid $7.80, $4.00 and $3.20.

“We thought she was ready although, you never quite know,” said Callaghan. “It's just easier to get them ready to run on turf than it is on dirt. So we were confident her fitness level was where it needed to be and Juan gave a perfect ride. She broke well, put herself in a good position, and she had a good turn of foot when it was needed, that was fun.”

A Kentucky-bred filly by the Medaglia d'Oro stallion Vancouver, Madone is out of the Cherokee Run mare Indian Love Call. In notching her first graded stakes win, Madone is now four for five and with the winner's share of $60,000, increased her earnings to $211,300.

Ridden by Jose Valdivia, Jr., Golden was full of run while in behind horses at the top of the lane and finished very well to be second, a half length in front of Closing Remarks, but Golden was disqualified for taking the path of the original sixth place finisher, Javanica, a sixteenth of a mile out and was placed sixth.

An unlucky Closing Remarks, who rallied six-wide under Victor Espinoza turning for home, was moved up to second and paid $3.00 and $2.80 while off as the 9-5 favorite.

Wide throughout, Sweetest Angel, originally fourth, was moved up to third and paid $5.80 to show while off at 11-1 with Edwin Maldonado.

Fractions on the race were 23.85, 47.05, 1:10.88 and 1:23.08.

With the Senorita carded as the 10^th and final race, a Kentucky Derby Day on-track crowd of 9,659 wagered $1.8 million, contributing to a robust Derby Day handle of $15,490,702.

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 1 p.m.

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