Sole Volante Breezes On Grass In Advance Of Kentucky Derby

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone's Sole Volante breezed a mile Sunday morning on the turf at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, Florida, in preparation for a scheduled start in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby (G1).

The Patrick Biancone-trained son of Karakontie was timed in 1:40 in his first breeze since finishing off the board in the June 20 Belmont Stakes (G1).

Sole Volante breezed in company, sitting off stablemate Shrewdness into the stretch before drawing clear without encouragement from Luca Panici.

“He worked really well,” said Andie Biancone, her father's assistant trainer. “He's doing great.”

Sole Volante captured the Pulpit Stakes, in which he defeated Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner King Guillermo on turf, and finished third in the Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park before capturing the Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. He went on to finish second behind King Guillermo in the Tampa Bay Derby and win a stakes-quality allowance at Gulfstream before sustaining his first out-of-the-money finish in the Belmont.

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Sole Volante To Train Up To Kentucky Derby; Ete Indien Suffers Setback

Trainer Patrick Biancone spoke to Horse Racing Nation about his two Kentucky Derby hopefuls on Tuesday, laying out his decision to train Sole Volante up to the Sept. 5 race and revealing that Ete Indien had suffered a setback in his training.

Ete Indien, the 3-year-old Summer Front colt whose record includes a win in the G2 Fountain of Youth, is now “50-50” to make the Run for the Roses. Biancone said he would not rush Ete Indien, and the next 10 days will be vital to determining whether the colt remains on the Kentucky Derby trail.

Meanwhile, plans for Sole Volante will take advantage of the 2 1/2 months between the Belmont Stakes and the Derby. The Karakontie colt won the G3 Sam Davis before finishing second in the G2 Tampa Bay Derby, then won a Gulfstream allowance race over the favored Ete Indien in early June. Ten days later, Biancone sent Sole Volante to New York to run in the Belmont Stakes, only to see him finish a disappointing sixth.

“I got stupid to run him,” Biancone told Horse Racing Nation. “I misjudged the energy level and the inside nervousness. He's usually a very cool horse. So we took a shot. I made a wrong decision. We spent $30,000 on the plane to fly the horse (from Florida to New York). But anyway, it's done. What can I do? Nobody's perfect. I got it wrong that time.”

Sole Volante will now train up to the Kentucky Derby, and Biancone hopes that his 30 points will be enough to secure the colt a spot in the starting gate. As it stands, Sole Volante is 20th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, while Ete Indien is eighth with 74 points. Biancone said he would not chase more points with Sole Volante, and intends to bring him to the Derby fresh.

Read more at Horse Racing Nation.

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Luca Panici Feeling ‘Confident’ In Long-Time Partnership With Sole Volante

Luca Panici has maintained a somewhat low profile while establishing himself with Gulfstream Park horsemen as a solid, steady and smart jockey since leaving Italy for a new adventure in the United States.

The 46-year-old Milan native, however, will take Thoroughbred racing's center stage Saturday at Belmont Park, where he will compete in his first Triple Crown race while riding Sole Volante in the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes (G1).

“He's a tremendous horse. We have a lot of confidence. He's one of the best 3-year-olds in the USA,” Panici said. “It's very exciting. I'm going there to enjoy it.”

The son of a jockey, Panici grew up playing soccer with Frankie Dettori across the street from the local racetrack. Dettori, four years his senior, inspired Panici with his immediate success as a jockey at the age of 16, as well as the subsequent fame and fortune he earned in England and across the world. Panici went on to enjoy success while riding more than 500 winners in Italy, but racing in the U.S. first caught his attention in 1996, when he spent a winter in South Florida galloping for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott for free in exchange for one mount (fifth-place finisher Yokama in a Feb. 19, 1996 allowance at Gulfstream).

Panici, who returned to South Florida the following winter to gallop for trainer Gary Sciacca, rode sporadically at Calder Race Course and Gulfstream for the next several years before making a permanent move to the U.S. in 2009. He has won 677 races in the U.S., none more important than Sole Volante's triumph in the Feb. 8 Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. The late-closing 2 ½-length victory was the son of Karakontie's first on dirt and made him a 2020 Triple Crown player.

Panici has been involved in Sole Volante's development right from the start, breezing him for trainer Patrick Biancone prior to riding him to victory in his debut over Gulfstream Park prWest's turf course last October.

“I used to work him before he ran. I worked him a couple of times on the grass and he was amazing,” Panici said. “Mr. Biancone, from the first day, was sure he would handle both grass and dirt. When we worked him on the dirt, he showed the same ability. We figured we had a really good horse.”

Due to injury, Panici had to sit out Sole Volante's victory in the Nov. 30 Pulpit Stakes, in which future Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner King Guillermo finished third, but he was back aboard for a third-place finish in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man in his first start on dirt. After breaking through with a victory in the Sam F. Davis, Sole Volante staged an impressive rally from 11th to finish second behind King Guillermo in the Tampa Bay Derby, before the coronavirus pandemic halted racing at most racetracks and forced the postponement of the Kentucky Derby (G1) to Sept. 5 and the Preakness Stakes to Oct. 4, making Saturday's Belmont the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown.

Sole Volante continued to train at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County before returning to action in a stakes-quality optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream June 10. Rating kindly for Panici, Sole Volante trailed his five rivals as stablemate Ete Indien set a contested pace, made a wide sweep into the stretch and got up to win by three-quarters of a length under a hand ride.

“There was a lot of pace which is very good for him. Even at Tampa, when we won the Sam Davis, there was a lot of pace where he could relax behind. Last time, it was the same way. I got lucky there was only a six-horse field, so I didn't have any kind of trouble. He has a very, very professional mind. It was a nice finish, beating the horse that ran second in the [Curlin] Florida Derby,” said Panici, referring to Shivaree, who pressed Ete Indien before weakening late.

Panici's successful association with Biancone hasn't been limited to Sole Volante's exploits. The veteran jockey has become a trusted member of the Biancone team, breezing and regularly riding Ete Indien, whom he rode to an allowance win and a second-place finish behind subsequent Florida Derby (G1) winner Tiz the Law in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull (G3) during the Championship Meet, and Kelsey's Cross, whom he guided to an eye-catching triumph in the $100,000 Ginger Punch Stakes June 6.

“Mr. Biancone has won two or three Arc de Triomphes. Winning two or three Arc de Triomphes is like winning two or three Kentucky Derbies, here. It's the most difficult race in Europe,” Panici said. “When you ride for the best, it's pretty easy. I'm confident in him and he's confident in me. We're doing pretty good together.”

Sole Volante has been rated second in the Belmont Stakes morning line at 9-2 behind Tiz the Law, the 6-5 favorite in a field of 10 3-year-olds.

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Belmont Stakes: Sole Volante ‘The Best He’s Ever Been’ Off 10-Day Turnaround

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone's Sole Volante will be coming off the shortest turnaround of any of the 10 contenders in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, but his connections said having a prep race before starting the Triple Crown series provided a much-needed boost.

The ultra-consistent Sole Volante stalked the early speed and used his late-closing turn-of-foot to post a three-quarters of a length victory against allowance company at one mile on June 10 at Gulfstream Park. The victory netted the Karakontie gelding a 95 Beyer Speed Figure – exceeding 90 for a fourth consecutive race – and marked his first race in three months since running second to King Guillermo in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 7.

The Patrick Biancone trainee shipped to Belmont, where he alertly schooled in the paddock Wednesday mere hours before he drew post 2 and was listed as the 9-2 morning-line second choice behind 6-5 favorite Tiz the Law.

“He just came out of that allowance race so well and we did an open gallop with him on Monday,” said Andie Biancone, assistant trainer for her father in addition to being Sole Volante's co-owner. “We really waited for him to do the talking. He's behavior is great, and he came out of it so fresh and so happy and so well, we couldn't not go to this race.”

Sole Volante is 4-1-1 in six career starts. He began his career 2-for-2 on turf, including a win in the Pulpit in November at Gulfstream Park to cap his juvenile year. The elder Biancone moved him to dirt to commence his sophomore campaign and never looked back, with Sole Volante running third in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man before registering a 2 ½-length score in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis in February at Tampa Bay Downs, earning a personal-best 96 Beyer.

His come-from-behind running style was on full display in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby, where he was 11th at the half-mile mark before rallying second. With restrictions in place nation-wide to mitigate risk and combat the spread of COVID-19, Sole Volante continued to train in Palm Meadows, Florida awaiting his next start.

Andie Biancone said that next spot finally came last week. That victory at Gulfstream Park will now be used as a springboard to the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes.

“We wanted to run him before the Belmont,” Andie Biancone said. “To go almost 100 days without a race, they're itching for it. They're athletes. Mentally, he wanted to do more. Once he got that race him, it was like he said, 'I'm all right, everything is OK.' They love to run. Mentally and physically, he's just perfect right now. We couldn't be happier.

“I think the rest did him well at the end of the day,” she added. “He's put on a lot of weight and grown. For any young horse, I think some time off can do them well. This situation hasn't been done before, but he came out of it well.”

This year's Belmont Stakes will be held at a one-turn 1 1/8 miles, marking the first time since 1925 the American Classic will not be held at its traditional 1 ½ miles. After posting wins at one mile and 1 1/16 miles, Biancone said the Kentucky-bred's late-closing speed could set up well down the stretch on Big Sandy.

“I think he's a closer. With a lot of speed in the race, hopefully he can sit back comfortably and pick his route from there,” she said. “Also, this is the best he's ever been right now, both fitness-wise and mentally.”

After making all six of his starts in Florida, Patrick Biancone said his charge shipped in well to New York and was getting comfortable in New York.

“So far, so good,” Patrick Biancone said. “He's very talented. He's been very good for us and trains his best all the time. We'll see how good he is Saturday. No question, Tiz the Law is the horse to beat, but he totally [deserves] this opportunity.”

Andie Biancone echoed that sentiment after riding Sole Volante under the sunshine in the Belmont paddock Wednesday.

“He was alert but not nervous,” she said. “I think that's something good to look for.”

Andie Biancone, a fourth-generation horsewoman, is the youngest of Biancone's four children. For her 22nd birthday last April, Patrick Biancone bought an interesting gift, purchasing the 2-year-old Sole Volante for $20,000. She now shares ownership with Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, headed by Dean and Patti Reeves, who campaigned Mucho Macho Man, who ran third in the 2011 Kentucky Derby and was the stable's only previous Belmont Stakes entrant, finishing seventh that year.

“When I first heard that Dean Reeves wanted to buy a part of Sole Volante, I was star-struck,” she said. “I was such a huge fan of Mucho Macho Man growing up. They are great ambassadors of the sport. To be partners with them is great. They are great people and great horsemen. His best interests is always with the horse. I admire that. They are fun to work with.”

If there's one thing New Yorkers appreciate, it's authentic Italian, and Andie Volante said in that spirit, the pronunciation of Sole Volante's name was authenticated by a stellar source: jockey Luca Panici, who was born in Milan and began his racing career in Italy before expanding into North America, where he's won more than 600 races multiple graded stakes, including the Sam F. Davis.

Sole Volante, Italian for “Flying Sun,” is a nod to his sire's name, with Karakontie Mohawk for “Flying Sun.”

As the exclusive broadcast partner of the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown, NBC Sports will present live coverage from Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day beginning at 2:45 p.m. Eastern.

Belmont Stakes Day June 20 will feature six graded races including four Grade 1 events led by the historic Belmont Stakes, which will offer 150-60-30-15 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Rounding out the Grade 1 entertainment on Belmont Stakes Day are the $300,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies going one mile; the $250,000 Woody Stephens presented by Claiborne Farm, a seven-furlong sprint over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds; and the $250,000 Jaipur, presented by America's Best Racing, for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on turf, which offers a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. A pair of one-mile turf races for sophomores, previously contested at nine furlongs, completes a stakes-laden card with the Grade 2, $150,000 Pennine Ridge and the Grade 3, $150,000 Wonder Again for fillies.

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