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Uni Upsets Stablemate Newspaperofrecord In G1 First Lady, Gets Entry To Breeders’ Cup Filly And Mare Turf

Uni (GB) returned to her winning ways at the right time to take her second Grade 1 First Lady, turning the tables on accomplished stablemate Newspaperofrecord (IRE) at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

The First Lady is a Win and You're In Challenge Series race for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, meaning Uni will get an automatic berth in the race.

Crystal Lake took the early lead from Newspaperofrecord going into the first turn, with Uni sitting third off the early leaders. Uni and rider Joel Rosario followed Newspaperofrecord when the fellow Chad Brown filly drew alongside Crystal Lake going into the final turn. Uni took a wide route to the outside of her stablemate and shadowed her throughout the stretch, wearing her down in the final strides.

Uni had been the second betting choice at 2-1 behind even money favorite Newspaperofrecord. She paid $6.80 to win. Newspaperofrecord was third, and Beau Recall (IRE) was second.

The final time for the mile was 1:34.90.

Uni is owned by Michael Dubb, Head of Plains partners, Bethlehem Stables, and Robert LaPenta. She was bred in Great Britain by Haras D'Etreham. Uni is the daughter of More Than Ready out of Dansili (GB) mare Unaided (GB). She is also a past winner of the G1 Matriarch, the G3 Noble Damsel, and the G2 Sands Point. She came to this race with two other starts this year, finishing off the board both times after winning last year's Breeders' Cup Mile.

See the full chart here.

Quotes from the $350,000 First Lady (G1) Presented by UK HealthCare, courtesy the Keeneland press office

Sol Kumin of Head of Plains Partners (winning co-owner of Uni [GB] via telephone)

“I was so stressed out. If she doesn't run well here, you couldn't run her back in the Breeders' Cup after the year she had. Now you run her back, same track, four weeks and you feel like she might be back. (Trainer) Chad (Brown) said her last two breezes, he felt like she was circling back to the form she had last year so we were hopeful. But until you see it, you just don't know. Just an incredible filly.

“Her last race for us will be the Breeders' Cup (Mile-G1) against the boys and if she is able to do it again, it would be Hall of Fame good.

“I'm just so happy. This year was tough. When you bring these horses back at this age, you sort of question yourself of 'did we do the right thing?'. She seemed like she had been doing well the last couple of months so we felt like we did the right thing. Today obviously you feel like we did right by her. Hopefully she can give us one more big effort. If not, she's given us everything we could have ever asked for.”

Baldo Hernandez (assistant to winning trainer Chad Brown)

“This filly is really nice. Every time we come this way, to Kentucky – she trains really well, and she loves the track (turf course).”

Joel Rosario (winning rider)

“I was close (to the pace). She was comfortable there, a couple of lengths behind Newspaperofrecord (IRE) and the other horse (Crystal Lake) in front of me, She's nice to ride, she's easy. Thanks to Chad Brown and all his people for the opportunity.”

Julien Leparoux (rider of runner-up Beau Recall [IRE])

“She came running at the end and ran a very big race. Just could not catch the winner. A very nice filly won the race.”

Brad Cox (trainer of Beau Recall)

“Breeders' Cup will still be under consideration. We are very pleased with the effort. She is a nice filly and she showed it again today. We have just had a little trouble getting her into the winner's circle for a Grade 1. We definitely will entertain the idea of the Breeders' Cup.”

The post Uni Upsets Stablemate Newspaperofrecord In G1 First Lady, Gets Entry To Breeders’ Cup Filly And Mare Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Uni Numero Uno Again in First Lady

Uni (GB) (More Than Ready), the “other” Chad Brown trainee here despite garnering champion turf mare honors last season, ran down her more fancied stablemate Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) to defend her title Saturday in Keeneland’s GI First Lady S., a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the GI Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Given a 2-1 chance to atone for a pair of disappointing efforts as the chalk this term, the chestnut broke alertly and settled into third as her stablemate was forced to rate when longshot Crystal Lake (Distorted Humor) zipped off to lead. The Brown runners were both asked to quicken slightly after a :47.92 half, and Newspaperofrecord took the turn for home very wide, forcing her stablemate even further out into the course. A sprint for home figured to favor Uni over the typically front-running Newspaperofrecord, and the former kicked to the front in midstretch and widened her margin of victory to a length at the line. Beau Recall (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) tagged the favorite for second, just like she had for the win in the GII Distaff Turf Mile S. last month.

“I was close,” winning rider Joel Rosario noted. “She was comfortable there, a couple of lengths behind Newspaperofrecord and the other horse in front of me, She’s nice to ride, she’s easy. Thanks to Chad Brown and all his people for the opportunity.”

Saturday, Keeneland
FIRST LADY S. PRESENTED BY UK HEALTHCARE-GI, $343,000, Keeneland, 10-3, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:34.90, fm.
1–UNI (GB), 124, m, 6, by More Than Ready
                1st Dam: Unaided (GB), by Dansili (GB)
                2nd Dam: Wosaita (GB), by Generous (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Eljazzi, by Artaius
(€40,000 Ylg ’15 ARAUG). O-M. Dubb, Head of Plains Partners
LLC, R. LaPenta & Bethlehem Stables LLC; B-Haras d’Etreham
(GB); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Joel Rosario. $210,000. Lifetime
Record: Ch. Turf Female-US, SW-Fr, 21-11-3-4, $2,590,880.
Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Beau Recall (Ire), 124, m, 6, by Sir Prancealot (Ire)
                1st Dam: Greta d’Argent (Ire), by Great Commotion
                2nd Dam: Petite-D-Argent (GB), by Noalto (GB)
                3rd Dam: Honey to Spare, by Track Spare (Ire)
(€17,000 Ylg ’15 TISEP; $385,000 RNA 5yo ’19 KEEJAN).
O-Slam Dunk Racing & Medallion Racing; B-Tom Wallace (IRE);
T-Brad H. Cox. $70,000.
3–Newspaperofrecord (Ire), 124, f, 4, by Lope de Vega (Ire)
                1st Dam: Sunday Times (GB), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Forever Times (GB), by So Factual
                3rd Dam: Simply Times, by Dodge
(200,000gns Ylg ’17 TATOCT). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Times
of Wigan Ltd (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown. $35,000.
Margins: 1, NO, 4. Odds: 2.40, 3.20, 1.00.
Also Ran: Dalika (Ger), Crystal Lake. Scratched: Daddy Is a Legend. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

A stakes winner in France as a sophomore, Uni was a graded winner Stateside at three, but blossomed and the end of her 4-year-old campaign when stringing together her fourth straight in Del Mar’s GI Matriarch S. She picked up where she left off in Belmont’s Perfect Sting S. last June, and was third behind fellow female Got Stormy (Get Stormy) and stablemate Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the Spa’s GI Fourstardave H. that August. She flew home from far back to take last year’s First Lady, and duplicated that performance in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita while leading home a one-two for the fairer sex ahead of Got Stormy.

Third in the GI Just a Game S. at Belmont June 27 behind Newspaperofrecord and Beau Recall, she left wondering if she was the same horse at six when seventh in the Fourstardave over yielding sod Aug. 22.

Co-owner Sol Kumin confirmed after the race that Uni would now attempt to defend her Mile title Nov. 7.

“I was so stressed out,” he admitted. “If she doesn’t run well here, you couldn’t run her back in the Breeders’ Cup after the year she had. Now you run her back, same track, four weeks and you feel like she might be back. [Trainer] Chad [Brown] said her last two breezes, he felt like she was circling back to the form she had last year, so we were hopeful. But until you see it, you just don’t know. Just an incredible filly.

“Her last race for us will be the Breeders’ Cup against the boys and if she is able to do it again, it would be Hall of Fame good.

“I’m just so happy. This year was tough. When you bring these horses back at this age, you sort of question yourself of ‘did we do the right thing?’. She seemed like she had been doing well the last couple of months so we felt like we did the right thing. Today obviously you feel like we did right by her. Hopefully she can give us one more big effort. If not, she’s given us everything we could have ever asked for.”

Uni is slated to be offered by ELiTE Sales at Fasig-Tipton’s “Night of the Stars” on the day after the Breeders’ Cup.

Pedigree Notes:
It has been a productive weekend at Keeneland for international super sire More Than Ready, who was also responsible for the dam of Friday’s GI Darley Alcibiades S. heroine Simply Ravishing (Laoban). Uni has a yearling half-brother by Almanzor (Fr).

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Inthemidstofbiz Upsets Thoroughbred Club Of America Stakes, Clinches Breeders’ Cup Filly And Mare Sprint Berth

Inthemidstofbiz made her graded stakes debut a winning one on Saturday at Keeneland Race Course, with a 13-1 upset of the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes. The victory also ensured her next graded stakes start, earning a “Win and You're In” berth for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

The 4-year-old Fed Biz filly was part of a large, tight group of runners to vie for the lead out of the gate, with outside-breaking runner Lady's Island assuming command over Palace Avenger, with Inthemidstofbiz tracking in third. Lady's Island set the opening quarter in :22.12 seconds, while keeping her two closest trackers at bay. However, jockey Martin Garcia started to ask Inthemidstofbiz for some run on the outside, and the filly caught the leader in the turn and ran past her.

A spent Lady's Island gave way in the middle of an emerging battle between Inthemidstofbiz and Palace Avenger, following a half in :45.17 seconds. The challenger was game for about a sixteenth of a mile, but ultimately relented to Inthemidstofbiz with plenty of stretch to go, and the winner drew off to prevail by three lengths.

A late move from post time favorite Sneaking Out earned her a runner-up finish, a half-length ahead Palace Avenger.

Inthemidstofbiz won the six-furlong race in 1:09.84 over a fast main track, and she paid $28.20 to win. She was trained by Cipriano Contreras, who earned his second career graded stakes victory in the Thoroughbred Club of America. His first came in the G3 Hanshin Cup Stakes in 2018 with Matrooh. The winning owners were Contreras Stable and Andrew Knapczyk.

Inthemidstofbiz was bred in Kentucky by J D Stuart and Mueller Farms, Inc., out of the stakes-winning Closing Argument mare Midst.

To view the race's chart, click here.

Quotes from the $200,000 Thoroughbred Club of America, courtesy of the Keeneland notes team

Cipriano Contreras (winning trainer of Inthemidstofbiz)

“We got lucky today. She's getting better and better. We claimed this filly (for $20,000 at Keeneland during the 2019 Fall Meet) and ran her for (a $16,000 claiming price) at Oaklawn. She started running better, and we took a shot. It worked out.”

Martin Garcia (winning rider)

“She's a great filly. I had a really good position. When I asked her to go, she made it really easy.”

Umberto Rispoli (rider of runner-up and beaten favorite Sneaking Out.

“My trip was OK. She is the kind of filly who can have the lead if there is no one faster, but that was not the case today. I believe if she had drawn an outside (post position), the race definitely would have changed. She finished off pretty strong and I am pretty sure if I had been on the outside, the race (outcome) would be different. Post 1 is always a gamble. Outside she could dominate the other horses. Inside she was not happy.”

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Leinster Has Girth Troubles, Kicks Off Anyway In Woodford Stakes At Keeneland

Leinster had a more eventful trip than it might appear in Saturday's Grade 2 Woodford Stakes, owing to the strap from his over girth coming loose from its keepers, but it didn't hinder what was otherwise a stellar performance in the turf sprint.

The 5-year-old son of Majestic Warrior carried on what has already been a successful 2020 at Keeneland, after winning the track's marquee turf sprint race of the July meet, the G2 Shakertown Stakes, in track-record time. Adding another Keeneland win puts him in a strong position to carry that home-course advantage into the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at the same track.

On Saturday, Leinster broke sharply under jockey Luis Saez, and stayed within striking distance of leader Just Might. The strap on Leinster's girth was already loose and swinging by the time the field got through an opening quarter in :21.90 seconds, but Saez remained secure in the irons throughout the trip.

Just Might led the field through the turn and held on to the advantage, but Leinster gradually drew even with the pace setter approaching the final eighth, and he kicked on to win by a half-length over a late-gaining Extravagant Kid. Just Might continued on for third.

Leinster stopped the clock in the 5 1/2-furlong race in 1:01.59 over a fast turf course, a tick slower than his course-record time at the same distance in the Shakertown, which he completed in 1:00.86. He won the race for owners Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley, Westrock Stables, and Jean Wilkinson, and he was trained by Rusty Arnold. Leinster paid $7.80 to win as the favorite.

To view the full race chart, click here.

Quotes from the $150,000 Woodford Presented by TVG, courtesy of the Keeneland notes team

Rusty Arnold (winning trainer of Leinster)

“We had a little setback – he had a foot problem. We actually were going to run him at Kentucky Downs. We didn't get to run. Maybe it's a blessing because he stayed right here on his home track. He got to work on this turf course a couple of times – I think that's a big edge. Worked out good.”

Luis Saez (winning rider)

“He broke pretty sharp. He put me on the lead, but we didn't really want to be there. We wanted to track somebody. We had a perfect position, and I had a lot of horse. He just took off.”

Tyler Gaffalione (rider of runner-up Extravagant Kid)

“I am very pleased with his effort today. He has a tendency to kind of wait on horses when he makes the lead, so I was trying to time it right. We got beat by a really nice horse. I am pleased with what my horse gave today and I am looking forward to next time.”

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