Tag: Kitten’s Joy

Therapist Upsets United Nations to Score First Grade I Victory at Eight

With the most starts in the field at 41 and the most claims under his girth in the last year with three, Therapist (g, 8, Freud–Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike) may not have appeared to be the one most likely headed back to the barn after Monmouth Park's GI United Nations S. as the winner. But like fine wine, he has improved with age, winning his first graded race earlier this year and adding his first Grade I score in Monmouth's Haskell undercard highlight. Therapist is 8-years-young.

Off at 12-1 in the $600,000 United Nations, Therapist broke cleanly from the inside and settled into a nice midpack spot as 58-1 longshot So High (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) showed the way through early :24.76 and :49.32 quarters. Unhurried, Therapist bided his time until the final turn, where he kicked on wide and rallied down the lane to reel in favored last-out GIII Monmouth S. winner Catnip (Kitten's Joy), who had tracked So High all the way before tackling him in the stretch. Therapist also held off a surging Red Knight (Pure Prize), a fellow older model who has had a resurgence of his own to win the GI Man o' War S. in May. Red Knight, like Therapist, hails from the barn of Michael Maker, who has now won this race three times since 2017.

“He's a really good horse,” said jockey Javier Castellano of the winner. “He's a long-distance horse. He seems to always maintain his rhythm. I knew that horse on the lead was going to stop. I just rode my race. I knew he was going to come back to us. I didn't want to chase him and not have anything left. It's a long distance. You have to have a lot of patience and have a lot of confidence in the horse. It's amazing that he won a Grade I race at 8-years-old. He's just a professional horse.”

Therapist has had a long career, breaking his maiden in 2017–three years before the competitors in the GI Haskell S., the next race on Monmouth's card–were even born. A multiple listed winner at two and winner of several black-type races in the ensuing years, he has clearly improved over time, adding his first graded win in Gulfstream's GII Pan American S. just this April. Last seen finishing second in the Chorleywood Overnight S. at Ellis Park June 17, Therapist was picked up by owner Michael Dubb for $50,000 at Gulfstream in January after he lost a $25,000 shake for him in December.

“I followed this horse throughout his career,” said Dubb, who was winning his third consecutive United Nations, although the last two were in partnership. “I knew the ability he had and that's why I claimed him.

“This is Mike Maker's sweet spot. When we got him the horse hadn't been racing this long and I asked Mike why he wanted to go this long. He said, 'I see it in the breeding.'”

Pedigree Notes:

Therapist is the fifth Grade I winner for New York's veteran star sire, Freud. The 25-year-old Sequel Stallions stalwart, a full-brother to the late Giant's Causeway, has 61 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere and 11 graded winners. Freud has three stakes performers out of Smart Strike mares, with two of those being Therapist and his younger full-sister, Fresco. Smart Strike currently sits second on the 2023 list of leading broodmare sires and has 164 black-type winners out of his daughters.

Now 20, Lady Renaissance has been sold since foaling Therapist and Fresco in the Empire State. She brought $52,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale from Dennis Yokum and was shipped to California. Her most recent produce is Seize the Derby (Carpe Diem), an unraced 3-year-old gelding. Lady Renaissance's lovely extended pedigree includes a granddam who is a half-sister to 1994 Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen (Pretense), whose influence is still felt today.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
UNITED NATIONS S.-GI, $612,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:14.50, fm.
1–THERAPIST, 124, g, 8, by Freud
               1st Dam: Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Artistic, by Pirate's Bounty
                3rd Dam: Paintbrush, by Bold Hour
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($8,000 RNA Ylg '16 SARAUG). O-Michael Dubb; B-Oak Bluff Stable, LLC & C. Clement (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Javier Castellano. $360,000. Lifetime Record: 42-13-5-8, $1,353,815. *Full to Fresco, SW, $125,350. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catnip, 124, g, 4, Kitten's Joy–Masquerade, by Silent Name (Jpn). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-John Moore & Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $120,000.
3–Red Knight, 124, g, 9, Pure Prize–Isabel Away, by Skip Away. O/B-Trinity Farm, LLC (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3/4, NO. Odds: 12.30, 1.20, 2.70.
Also Ran: Limited Liability, Planetario (Brz), Foreign Relations,
So High (GB), Yamato, Kygo (Ger). Scratched: Oceans Map.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV .

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Sophomore Turfers Take Centerstage at Belmont Saturday

A pair of Grade I events for 3-year-olds on grass will co-anchor a loaded 12-race program at Belmont Park Saturday.

European invader The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), a narrow winner of the G2 Dante S. May 18 and fifth-place finisher after stumbling at the start in the G1 English Derby June 3, will make the trip across the pond for trainer Andrew Balding for the GI Belmont Derby Invitational. The 7-2 morning-line favorite, drawn widest of all in post 11, will square off against 10 rivals, including GII Pennine Ridge S. one-two-three Kalik (Collected), 'TDN Rising Star' Far Bridge (English Channel) and narrow GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Silver Knott (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}); and GII American Turf S. winner Webslinger (Constitution).

“He's a high-class horse,” Balding said. “He won the (G2 Juddmonte) Royal Lodge last year and this year he won our main Derby trial at York. He ran a good race in the Derby, but we felt he didn't get the mile and a half. Obviously, the option to drop back to 10 furlongs was attractive. Hopefully, it's a good fit for him.”

A field of nine will line up in the female counterpart in the GI Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational. Trainer Graham Motion will saddle 2-1 morning-line favorite and GIII Regret S. June 3 heroine Mission of Joy (Kitten's Joy) and Irish Group 3 winner Speirling Beag (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who makes her U.S. debut following a fifth-place finish in the G3 Prix Penelope in France Apr. 1. Trainer Chad Brown will seek his seventh Belmont Oaks trophy via undefeated Hilltop S. May 19 winner Aspray (Quality Road) and GII Wonder Again S. June 11 heroine Prerequisite (Upstart).

'TDN Rising Star' and last year's runaway GIII Dwyer S. winner Charge It (Tapit), meanwhile, headlines a five-horse field in the GII Suburban S. Unbeaten sophomore fillies Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) and Dazzling Blue (Into Mischief) and GII Eight Belles S. winner Red Carpet Ready (Oscar Performance) will do battle in a fantastic renewal of the GIII Victory Ride S.

Derby Day at the Shoe…

Verifying (Justify), second in both the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. Apr. 8 and GIII Matt Winn S. June 11, will be favored to break through at the graded level in the GIII Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He dueled through a wicked early pace and paid the price, fading to finish 16th in the GI Kentucky Derby.

“He's doing really well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I love how he came out of the Matt Winn. It will be back in 27 days, but he's a horse we felt we needed to get a race under his belt. He's run really well, just was narrowly defeated in the Matt Winn and the Blue Grass. His Derby was a throw out with the pace, going too quick too early. But he's a nice horse, he's doing well physically, looks amazing.”

The nine-horse field for the Indiana Derby also includes GIII Gotham S. winner Raise Cain (Violence), grassy Hawthorne Derby winner Act a Fool (Oscar Performance) and the highly regarded Cagliostro (Upstart), a strong second behind the talented Scotland (Good Magic) in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 3.

Taxed (Collected), an 11-1 upset winner of the GII George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. at Pimlico May 19, looks for her second straight win in the GIII Indiana Oaks. She'll face the Ken McPeek-trained GI Central Bank Ashland S. heroine Defining Purpose (Cross Traffic), purchased privately by Northern Farm since finishing seventh in the GI Kentucky Oaks.

Curlin Filly Headlines Delaware Handicap…

Juddmonte homebred Idiomatic (Curlin), a well-beaten second in the GII Ruffian S. at Belmont May 6 and wire-to-wire winner of the GIII Shawnee S. at Churchill June 3, is the clear cut one to beat in the GII Delaware H. The field of six also includes: Morning Matcha (Central Banker), second in last term's GI Cotillion S. and the local prep Obeah S. last time May 27; and GIII Royal Delta S. heroine Classy Edition (Classic Empire).

Graded Duo Beneath the Lights at Prairie Meadows…

Imonra (Violence) will make her stakes debut in the GIII Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows Saturday evening. The card also includes the GIII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. for older horses and the $250,000 Iowa Derby.

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Twirling Candy Colt Victorious Over Elders in Maiden Score

1st-Keeneland, $100,000, Msw, 4-14, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.94, ft, 2 3/4 lengths.
SWEET CHERRY PIE (c, 3, Twirling Candy–Sweet Cat {MGSP, $232,950}, by Kitten's Joy) clearly had no qualms about facing older horses in just his second start off a troubled fourth-place debut at Gulfstream Park six weeks ago, checking in behind the highly regarded winner Scotland (Good Magic). Cutting back a furlong off his Florida debut at seven-eighths, the Kentucky-bred showed early speed right out of the gate and raced closest to the rail as he battled with Cape Trafalgar (Lord Nelson) for the early lead up the backstretch, with Nasty Habit (Violence) and the 4-5 favored Global Stage (Street Sense) up close and pressing the two early leaders. The winner took the lead around the bend and posted the half-mile in :45.78 as he straightened out for the drive, and despite not swapping leads down the lane, pulled away to the handy 2 1/4-length victory over the favorite at odds of 4-1. Sweet Cherry Pie's dam, Sweet Cat, sold for $45,000 in 2019 while carrying him just yards from the Keeneland winner's circle and he is her last reported foal. Sales History: $32,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $175,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $62,475. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-BBN Racing, LLC; B-Theta Holding I, Inc (KY); T-George R. Arnold, II.

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English Channel’s Far Bridge Earns ‘Rising Star’ Nod at Gulfstream

Calumet Farm's unbeaten homebred Far Bridge (c, 3, English Channel–Fitpitcher, by Kitten's Joy) kicked home impressively for 'TDN Rising Star' honors in a grassy optional claimer at Gulfstream Park Saturday.

The bay was a head better than the promising Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) over the same course and distance on debut Jan. 21. Carl Spackler returned to earn a 'Rising Star' tag of his own with a smashing, 8 3/4-length maiden victory here Feb. 25.

Hammered down to 1-2 here, Far Bridge raced under cover passing the grandstand for the first time. He was in no hurry racing toward the rear through an opening quarter in :22.99 and had his work cut out for him entering the far turn. All dressed up with nowhere to run at the top of the stretch, he knifed his way through rivals in the stretch and unleashed an explosive turn of foot to score by 3 1/2 lengths over Harry Time (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}).

This is the second 'Rising Star' for the late, perennial leading turf sire English Channel. The English Channel over Kitten's Joy cross is also responsible for GISW Channel Cat; MGSW Spooky Channel; Canadian champion 2-year-old colt, GSW & MGISP Admiralty Pier; and GSW English Bee.

Far Bridge is the most recent produce for winning Calumet homebred Fitpticher, who died in 2021.

9th-Gulfstream, $72,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 3-11, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:41.14, fm, 3 1/2 lengths.
FAR BRIDGE, c, 3, by English Channel
                1st Dam: Fitpitcher, by Kitten's Joy
                2nd Dam: Teenage Temper, by A.P. Indy
                3rd Dam: Pleasant Temper, by Storm Cat
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $85,200. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Christophe Clement.

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