Grand Sonata Continues Pletcher Parade In Kitten’s Joy

Whisper Hill Farm homebred Grand Sonata (Medaglia d'Oro) found racing room when he needed it, surging through an opening in deep stretch to run down stablemate Royal Spirit and win Saturday's $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) by a neck at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 10th running of the 1 1/16-mile Kitten's Joy on turf was the second of five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on a program highlighted by the 33rd edition of the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Winner of the one-mile Dania Beach Jan. 1 at Gulfstream in his previous start, Grand Sonata ($13.60) completed the distance in 1:41.53 over a firm course under jockey Tyler Gaffalione to give Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher his second stakes win of the day following My Prankster in the Claiborne Farm Swale (G3).

It was the fifth graded-stakes win over the last two Saturdays for Pletcher, including last weekend's $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1). Overall he has 12 stakes wins at the 2021-2022 Championship Meet, seven of them in graded company.

“I thought he was a little bit overlooked today,” Pletcher said of the winner, sent off as the co-third choice in a field of eight with Royal Spirit. “All his turf races have been good. He had a really tough trip at Aqueduct and didn't get the win but he's a really nice colt, very professional.”

Coinage, winner of the With Anticipation (G3) last summer in his turf debut, was sent to the front by jockey Luis Saez and ran a quarter-mile in 24.03 seconds and a half in 48.22 pressed by Royal Spirit on his right hip. Gaffalione had Grand Sonata settled in third along the rail, with 40-1 long shot Red Knobs on his outside.

“We were concerned there wasn't much pace on paper and Coinage can be tough when he gets loose, so we wanted to be aware of that. The fractions were pretty modest. I thought both horses were in good spots and both finished up well,” Pletcher said. “Actually I thought Royal Spirit might have it for a second, but this horse has a big turn of foot and Tyler knows that. Once he got him in the clear they finished in a rush.”

Royal Spirit moved up to even terms with Coinage exiting the far turn with Gaffalione still looking for room in behind. A couple of openings closed quickly in the stretch before Grand Sonata was able to tip out around Royal Spirit and came with a dramatic late burst to get the edge.

“I had a ton of horse. I had to be patient to wait for a spot. A little crack opened and he hesitated just a little bit, but I had so much horse, he wound up getting through and finished the job nicely,” Gaffalione said. “Mr. Pletcher and I spoke before the race. He said he didn't see much speed in the race and to just follow [Coinage] around there and wait for a spot. When he got out, he really finished well.”

Coinage stayed on for third, 1 ¼ lengths behind Royal Spirit, followed by Eldon's Prince, Red Danger, Speaking Scout, Father Glado and Red Knobs.

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Medaglia d’Oro Colt Gets Out in Time to Take Kitten’s Joy

Whisper Hill Farm homebred Grand Sonata (Medaglia d'Oro) got out of a jackpot just in time Saturday to come out on top of Gulfstream's GIII Kitten's Joy S. exacta for the en fuego Todd Pletcher barn. Royal Spirit (Into Mischief) was second best, while favored Coinage (Tapit)–making his first start since finishing ninth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf–settled for third after showing the way.

Second in his Belmont unveiling to next-out GIII Futurity S. winner Slipstream (More Than Ready) in October, Grand Sonata donned cap and gown around two turns in a Keeneland off-the-turfer Oct. 16. He was a close-up fifth with some trouble in the Big A's Central Park S. Nov. 27, and showed good determination to take the Dania Beach S. by a head here on New Year's Day.

Off at nearly double his 3-1 morning line quote as Coinage took significantly more action that predicted, Grand Sonata broke well from the rail and settled into a good pocket spot behind Coinage and inside of Royal Spirit. Grand Sonata clearly had run after six panels in 1:11.88, but Tyler Gaffalione had to sit patiently and wait for daylight. Boxed in by Speaking Scout (Mr Speaker) when he tried to tip out, Grand Sonata had to hit the brakes, but once Speaking Scout could no longer keep pace, he was free to lengthen his stride and he quickened resolutely to get up by a neck.

“I thought he was a little bit overlooked today,” Pletcher, who saddled the one-two finishers in last Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf S., said of the winner. “All his turf races have been good. He had a really tough trip at Aqueduct and didn't get the win, but he's a really nice colt; very professional.”

Pletcher continued, “We were concerned there wasn't much pace on paper and Coinage can be tough when he gets loose, so we wanted to be aware of that. The fractions were pretty modest. I thought both horses were in good spots and both finished up well. Actually, I thought Royal Spirit might have had it for a second, but this horse has a big turn of foot and Tyler knows that. Once he got him in the clear they finished in a rush.”

Gaffalione said, “I had a ton of horse. I had to be patient to wait for a spot. A little crack opened and he hesitated just a little bit, but I had so much horse, he wound up getting through and finished the job nicely. Mr. Pletcher and I spoke before the race. He said he didn't see much speed in the race and to just follow [Coinage] around there and wait for a spot. When he got out, he really finished well.”
Saturday, Gulfstream Park
KITTEN'S JOY S.-GIII, $100,000, Gulfstream, 2-5, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:41.53, fm.
1–GRAND SONATA, 123, c, 3, by Medaglia d'Oro
                1st Dam: A. P. Sonata, by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Moonlight Sonata, by Carson City
                3rd Dam: Wheatly Way, by Wheatly Hall
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($125,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O/B-Whisper Hill Farm, LLC; T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Tyler
Gaffalione. $60,140. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $193,920. Werk
   Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Royal Spirit, 118, c, 3, Into Mischief–Don'tforgetaboutme, by
Malibu Moon. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($450,000 Ylg '20
FTKSEL). O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable; B-Claiborne Farm
(KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $19,400.
3–Coinage, 123, c, 3, Tapit–Bar of Gold, by Medaglia d'Oro.
($450,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-D. J. Stable LLC, Broman, Sr.,
Chester and Broman, Mary; B-Chester Broman & Mary R.
Broman (NY); T-Mark E. Casse. $9,700.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, HF. Odds: 5.80, 5.20, 1.80.
Also Ran: Eldon's Prince, Red Danger, Speaking Scout, Father Glado, Red Knobs. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
Pedigree Notes:
Grand Sonata is the 86th graded winner by Darley stalwart Medaglia d'Oro–seven of which are out of A.P. Indy mares, including GISWs Plum Pretty and Bolt d'Oro. A.P. Indy is the broodmare sire of an incredible 116 graded/group winners overall.

Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill paid $1.1 million for dam A. P. Sonata, a daughter of GSW Moonlight Sonata and half to Grade II winners Wilburn (Bernardini) and Beethoven (Sky Mesa) as a KEESEP yearling. The late-debuting filly's best finish was a third-place finish going nine furlongs on the Keeneland dirt.

Grand Sonata's full-sister of 2017 died in 2019, as did A. P. Sonata.

The post Medaglia d’Oro Colt Gets Out in Time to Take Kitten’s Joy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Casse Looking For Better Racing Luck For Coinage In Kitten’s Joy

Winless in two tries since finding graded-stakes success last summer in his turf debut, D.J. Stable and Chester and Mary Broman's Coinage will launch his sophomore season in Saturday's $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 10th  running of the 1 1/16-mile Kitten's Joy on turf is among five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on a 12-race program highlighted by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Post time is noon.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse is hoping to find better racing luck for Coinage, a chestnut son of Tapit bred in New York by the Bromans. He ran third after getting bumped and being forced to steady early in the Nownownow at Monmouth Park, then tired to ninth after pressing the pace from Post 12 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). Both races came at one mile.

“At Monmouth, he had some trouble at the start. He kind of stumbled and didn't get away from there,” Casse said. “In the Breeders' Cup, it was probably just more about post position. When you go around at Del Mar going a mile and you draw outside, it's kind of brutal. He just had a tough trip. We're just trying to get him back and, hopefully, he'll have a little luck this time.”

With his sire, the mare Bar of Gold and grandsire Medagila d'Oro all Grade 1 winners on the dirt, Coinage began his career sprinting on the main track, breaking his maiden second time out and running third in the Rick Violette, the latter at Saratoga. In an effort to stretch him out, Casse put Coinage on turf for the 1 1/16-mile With Anticipation (G3), and he responded with a front-running two-length triumph.

“We kind of felt like, just the way he moved, that he would like the grass. We worked him on the grass a couple times at Saratoga before we ran him on it and he just loved it,” Casse said. “He was impressive that day. I know that he's more than capable, it's just about having a good trip. He's been compromised in his last two starts.”

Casse, winner of the 2018 Kitten's Joy with Flameaway, enlisted Championship Meet leading Luis Saez to ride Coinage, who drew Post 2 in a field of eight.

“I think he's doing well. He's grown up a little bit over the wintertime,” Casse said. “He's training well. We're just trying to get him going and get him back started.”

Fellow Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher entered the pair of Grand Sonata and Royal Spirit. Whisper Hill Farm homebred Grand Sonata exits his first career stakes victory, a head decision over stablemate Chanceux in the one-mile Dania Beach Jan. 1 at Gulfstream.

“It was a pretty gutsy effort,” Pletcher said. “He had to kind of make up some ground off a slow pace and was able to get rolling late and get up in time. He was coming off kind of a tough trip in his prior race at Aqueduct so we were hoping to get a cleaner trip and we were able to do that. He's pretty much shown up and run well every time.”

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Royal Spirit will make his graded debut in the Kitten's Joy. The Into Mischief colt broke his maiden by 1 ¼ lengths sprinting 7 ½ furlongs on the Gulfstream turf Jan. 2, after ending his juvenile season running second in the Nownownow – six lengths ahead of Coinage – and fourth in the Awad at Belmont Park.

“He'd already had some stake experience. He was second in the stake at Monmouth so we were looking to get him in the winner's circle. We were happy to get the job done there and we've been focusing on this since then,” Pletcher said. “He's got tactical speed. I think he's capable of putting himself in a good spot and go from there. He seems like he's coming into it the right way.”

Tyler Gaffalione is named on Grand Sonata from Post 1 and Paco Lopez will ride Royal Spirit from Post 6 for Pletcher, who won the 2013 Kitten's Joy with Charming Kitten.

Gentry Farms' Eldon's Prince had a two-stakes win streak snapped last out in the 7 ½-furlong Pulpit on the Gulfstream turf Dec. 3. Prior to that he won the one-mile Proud Man on the grass at Gulfstream and an off-the-turf edition of the seven-furlong Armed Forces, the latter Sept. 18.

“The last race was off a little layoff and I thought he was a little flat training in his works for the race. It was a bit shorter, which wasn't ideal, but we needed to get started back anyway,” Championship Meet-leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “Toward the latter part of the race he stayed on steadily. He was never going to win, but I thought it was a race to build on. Since that race he's trained forwardly. I put some blinkers on him and I feel like he's going into this race with a very good chance.”

Eldon's Prince will wear blinkers for the first time and have the services of Irad Ortiz Jr. from Post 5. Joseph won the 2020 Kitten's Joy with Island Commish.

“I toyed with the idea of putting him back on the dirt. The main thing, I think, with him is distance. He needs longer distances. That's his main attribute, that he has a lot of stamina,” Joseph said. “We'll try and get through this race first and then we'll decide whether to give him a try on the dirt. For right now, we're going to stick to the turf.”

Speaking Scout returns to Gulfstream after being beaten a head in the Pulpit for trainer Graham Motion and owner Aron Wellman's Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. He has run second in back-to-back starts after breaking his maiden in an off-the-turf maiden special weight last fall at Delaware Park.

“He's a horse that Aron Wellman bought privately after his debut at Colonial [Downs]. Aron is someone that has a knack for finding these horses that are under the radar,” said Motion, who won the inaugural Kitten's Joy with Howe Great. “He really hasn't done anything wrong since we've had him. I thought he was a bit unlucky last time not to win. It was a matter of a head bob. He's a nice, hard-trying horse.”

Junior Alvarado rides Speaking Scout from Post 4.

Completing the field are Silverton Hill's Pulpit winner Red Danger; ProRacing Stable's Father Glado, third in the Dania Beach; and Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Red Knobs, third in the Iroquois (G3) on the dirt last fall.

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Chess’s Dream Takes Kitten’s Joy, Giving Sire Jess’s Dream First Stakes Winner

Michael Dubb, Steven Bouchey, Bethlehem Stables and Chester Bishop's Chess's Dream got a ground-saving trip under Tyler Gaffalione and slipped through an opening along the rail in mid-stretch to upset Saturday's $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The ninth running of the Kitten's Joy for 3-year-olds going a mile on the grass was the first of five graded-stakes worth $600,000 in purses on a 12-race program highlighted by the $200,000 Holy Bull (G3), Gulfstream's next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the March 27 Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1).

Fresh off his maiden triumph in a 7 ½-furlong turf sprint Dec. 13 at Gulfstream, Chess's Dream ($18.60) completed the distance in 1:35.18 over a firm course to become the first stakes winner for sire Jess's Dream, a son of Hall of Famers Curlin and Rachel Alexandra.

Based at Gulfstream with trainer by Mike Maker, Chess's Dream is also a half-brother to 2019 Kitten's Joy winner Casa Creed. He was cross-entered in Sunday's Texas Turf Mile at Sam Houston.

“It's very nice when you make the right decision. It's definitely a 50-50 proposition,” Dubb said. “I held my breath and made sure he'd be able to get through. He got through and he was much the best, so we're just over the moon.”

Flanked by 1-5 favorite Never Surprised, making his sophomore debut after going unbeaten at 2 capped by a victory in Aqueduct's Central Park, Chess's Dream settled in third as Original, a 12-1 long shot shipping in from New York, ran a quarter-mile in 23.30 seconds and a half in 47.54 pressed by Kentucky Pharoah, a winner of his last two starts over the same course and distance, including the Dania Beach Jan. 2.

Gaffalione stayed patient as he remained in striking position on the turn awaiting room, which materialized once the field straightened for home. Gaffalione sent Chess's Dream through and the Florida-bred colt sprinted clear to win by two lengths as Never Surprised emerged from a three-way photo finish with Original and Sigiloso for second. Kentucky Pharoah and It's a Gamble completed the order of finish.

“I knew there was going to be a lot of speed. It kind of surprised me when Johnny [Velazquez on Original] committed early, but I had the perfect position down on the fence. I was able to save ground,” Gaffalione said. “On the far turn, in looked like Johnny's horse was trying to get out a little bit on him. I didn't panic and a hole opened up and when I asked him he really accelerated. He's a long-striding colt. He'll just get better the longer he goes.”

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