laura wohlers | Horse Racing Free Tips

Stakes Winner Runup Headlines Field Of 12 In Friday’s Alcibiades

A field of a dozen 2-year-old fillies, headed by Sorority winner Runup, was entered Tuesday for the 70th running of the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1) that serves as the centerpiece of Friday's opening program of the Fall Meet at Keeneland.

The 1 1/16-mile main track test is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race with the winner earning a fees-paid berth into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to be held Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

The Darley Alcibiades will go as the ninth race on Friday's 10-race program with a 5:45 p.m. ET post time. First post is 1 p.m.

Owned and bred by James McIngvale, Runup has won both of her starts on dirt highlighted by the three-length victory at Monmouth in the one-mile Sorority in her first two-turn test. Trained by Laura Wohlers, Runup will be ridden by Joseph Ramos and leave from post position 12.

Another entrant with two-turn experience is Mama Rina, runner-up in the Pocahontas (G3) last month while going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs. Owned by the partnership of Harold Lerner, AWC Stables, Nehoc Stables, Scott Akman and Paul Braverman et al, and trained by five-time Alcibiades winner Kenny McPeek, Mama Rina will be ridden by Julien Leparoux from post position six.

Three runners coming out of Grade 1 tests are in the field: Sequist and Dream Lith, the fourth- and fifth-place finishers in the 7-furlong Spinaway Sept. 5 at Saratoga, and Myfavoritedaughter, fourth in the 7-furlong TVG Del Mar Debutante Sept. 5.

Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Lori Gervais, Charles Pigg, Tom Andres and Karen Kraft and trained by Dallas Stewart, Sequist won on debut at Colonial Downs before going to the Spinaway. Junior Alvarado has the mount from post position three.

Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith's Dream Lith won her debut outing by 2¼ lengths at Saratoga prior to the Spinaway. Robertino Diodoro trains Dream Lith, who will exit post position four under Adam Beschizza.

Average Joe Racing Stables' Myfavoritedaughter took three tries to notch her first victory, which came by 25 lengths over a sloppy track going 7 furlongs at Gulfstream Park prior to going to Del Mar. Trained by Jeff Engler, Myfavoritedaughter will be ridden by Corey Lanerie out of post position five.

The field for the Darley Alcibiades, with riders from the inside, is:

Juju's Map (Florent Geroux)
Miss Interpret (Jose Ortiz)
Sequist (Albarado)
Dream Lith (Beschizza)
Myfavoritedaughter (Lanerie)
Mama Rina (Julien Leparoux)
Matareya (Joel Rosario)
Distinctlypossible (Tyler Gaffalione)
Pipeline Girl (James Graham)
Penny Saver (Brian Hernandez Jr.)
Diamond Wow (Mike Smith)
Runup (Ramos).

All starters carry 122 pounds.

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Runhappy Filly Runup Upsets Sorority Stakes At Monmouth

Runup, a James McIngvale homebred 2-year-old filly by his heavily promoted stallion Runhappy, posted a front-running $31 upset in Monday's $200,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Trained by Laura Wohlers and ridden to victory by Joseph Ramos, Runup outhustled Jumeirah to her immediate outside to grab the early lead, cruised through fractions of :23.73, :47.69 and 1:12.74 en route to an unchallenged three-length victory clocked in 1:39.82 on a fast main track.

Jumeirah held second, with 6-5 favorite Gimmick third and Microbiome fourth, You Look Cold fifth and Kingdom Queen rounding out the field of six juvenile fillies. Maestria was scratched.

Produced from the Street Cry mare Up the Street, Runup was bred in Maryland and began her racing career on turf at Colonial Downs in Virginia, finishing third in a maiden race behind Cavalier Cupid. who came out of that race to win the Keswick Stakes at Colonial.

Runup graduated next out in a $40,000 maiden claiming event at Pimlico on Aug. 13, going wire to wire to win by 6 1/4 lengths. She is from the second crop by sprint champion Runhappy, who stands at Claiborne Farm.

“She ran a big race,” said Wohlers. “She's still a little green and she has a lot of improvement to make but she ran a nice race. I really didn't worry about her trying two turns. She's one of those fillies that, in the morning, in her gallops or at a clip, she's still in the bridle at the end. So I really wasn't worried about the distance. I was more concerned about her stepping up into this company with her still being green. She's a little hard to gallop. She's always on the go, like her dad (Runhappy) was. I think she is going to improve the more she runs. We're really happy today. Of course, we're happy for Runhappy. He's our boy.

“She's very fast,” Wohlers added. “You always wonder if they're going to be able to convert that into a distance and going two turns. With the exception of her dad she probably has more speed than any horse we've had in our barn since then. I think she does want to go long and I think she showed today she can do it.”

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“I rode a filly at Indiana Grand for Laura and she told me she had another filly she liked and asked me if I would go to Monmouth Park to ride her,” said Ramos. “That's how I wound up getting the mount. I came in just for this race. It's my first time at Monmouth Park. There was a lot of speed in this race but my filly also has good speed and they felt she would have no trouble going long. She broke out of there so sharp. I kept her relaxed and started talking to her at the quarter pole and she responded for me. I was thinking then that maybe I had this race because they were not coming at me. She's a nice filly. She loves to run. I was a little worried about the two turns because she had only sprinted in her two races before this one. But she went right to the front and just kept going.”

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Gun Runner Filly Makes It Two-For-Two at Indiana

3rd-Indiana Grand, $36,000, Alw, 8-23, (NW2L), 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10.89, ft, 8 1/4 lengths.
JOYRUNNER (f, 2, Gun Runner–Joy {MSW, $250,544}, by Pure Prize) passed five of her eight rivals in the final furlong to annex her July 8 debut going a sloppy 5 1/2 furlongs and was the 11-10 chalk to put them back-to-back. The McIngvale colorbearer hopped a bit at the break, but was patiently handled and raced three wide into the turn. Roused to the front nearing the quarter pole, the Maryland-bred drifted out off the home corner and raced a bit greenly inside the final furlong, but ran out a facile 8 1/4-length winner. Inbred 4×3 to Storm Cat, Joyrunner is out of a multiple stakes-winning half-sister to MSW O Dionysus (Bodemeister) and hails from the deeper female family of champion Safely Kept. Joy is the dam of a yearling colt by Union Rags, a colt foal by City of Light and most recently returned to the Lane's End stallion barn for a date with Gift Box. Sales history: $145,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $42,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
O-James McIngvale; B-Dark Hollow Farm (MD); T-Laura Wohlers.

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First Winner For Claiborne Farm’s Runhappy Comes At Indiana Grand

Runhappy, the most heavily-promoted stallion in America, sired his first winner as the 2-year-old Libertyrun rolled to a 6 1/4-length victory in Wednesday's fourth race at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino.

James McIngvale — the Houston furniture magnate and philanthropist known as Mattress Mack — has invested mightily to advertise Runhappy, his 2015 champion sprinter who is a stallion at famed Claiborne Farm. As it turns out, McIngvale got a little piece of his investment back as the owner and breeder of Libertyrun.

“That's the first Runhappy winner, and in Mack's silks as a matter of fact,” said Kelly Wohlers, who serves as assistant to trainer Laura Wohlers, McIngvale's sister in law. The Wohlers oversee McIngvale's racing operation and were very involved in training Runhappy. “So, we're very proud of him. Very happy for Mack.”

Libertyrun — carrying McIngvale's blue, white and red silks to victory four days after Independence Day — was exceedingly professional in his racing debut, breaking from post 12 to press the early pace from the outside and then cruising away in the stretch.

“He's not a very big horse, but he is very professional,” said jockey Miguel Mena. “He came out of the gate great. When we got to the stretch, he had his ears pricked and I hit him once and he took off running. I hit him one more time and he continued on again. I think he is a very nice horse.”

There have been four other 2-year-olds to race so far from Runhappy's first crop, which has 69 named foals.

McIngvale is known for his Texas-sized promotions and charitable works. For instance, he opened up his Gallery Furniture showrooms as shelters in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey. He also received worldwide publicity with his “Win It All” promotion where customers who had purchased mattresses or bases totaling at least $3,000 would get their money back if the Houston Astros won baseball's World Series. Those Gallery Furniture consumers cashed in on the Astros' 2017 championship and lost in seven games last year. (Mattress Mack made headlines there by wagering millions through sports books to hedge his bet.)

McIngvale is every bit as enthusiastic in promoting Runhappy by sponsoring stakes and race meets around the country. There also is a $100,000 bonus if a horse sired by Runhappy wins an open maiden race at Belmont Park, Saratoga, Del Mar or Kentucky Downs this summer.

Asked how much his boss has put into promoting Runhappy, Kelly Wohlers said, “Tons. I'm very emotional right now. It's absolutely wonderful.

“He loves to train,” he said of Libertyrun. “He's a very nice athlete. He's got Runhappy's mind, but he's got a little more pep in his step. Runhappy had pep in his step when he got to the paddock. But this horse is all the time on go. He loves what he does.”

Libertyrun, who was born in Louisiana, likely will be pointed to a stakes for Louisiana-bred 2-year-olds, Kelly Wohlers said, though he didn't rule out Ellis Park's $100,000 Runhappy Juvenile on Aug. 9.

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