Little Red Feather Racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Russell Brings Wondrwherecraigis To Saratoga In Search Of First Stakes Win

Four-time winner Wondrwherecraigis will attempt to secure his first career stakes score in Friday's eighth running of the $120,000 Tale of the Cat at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Brittany Russell, Wondrwherecraigis enters the six-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and up who have not won a graded race in 2021 from a 5 3/4-length optional claiming score on July 18 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 4-year-old dark bay or brown son of Munnings, who garnered a 102 Beyer Speed Figure in his most recent effort, returns to stakes company on the NYRA circuit after being disqualified from second to third in the Gold Fever in July 2020 at Belmont Park ahead of finishing fourth behind three next-out winners in the Grade 2 Amsterdam last August at Saratoga.

Wondrwherecraigis is owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables.

“It was a big race. He's doing really well,” said Russell. “We figured we would take a look. It looks like the race will set up for him, so we're shipping him up and giving him a chance.”

Jockey Sheldon Russell will ride from post 5.

Trainer Ray Handal will saddle last-out stakes winner Foolish Ghost, who defeated his New York-bred counterparts in the John Morrissey on July 29. The son of Mineshaft was claimed by Handal and owner Ken Russell and Richard Newman Racing last August and has since won four times for his current trainer.

“He's doing well,” Handal said. “There aren't too many sprints for him in the northeast area. On his best day, he can run with some of the good ones, so we'll see.”

Jockey Joel Rosario retains the mount from post 6.

Daniel Alonso's Wind of Change arrives at the Tale of the Cat off a sharp win in the Mr. Prospector on May 29 at Monmouth Park for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. The Brazilian-bred Forestry bay seeks his sixth stakes victory, which include four triumphs at such level in his native land.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride from post 4.

My Boy Tate will seek a sixth stakes victory for Little Red Feather Racing and trainer, breeder, and co-owner Michelle Nevin. The 7-year-old son of Boys At Tosconova was second in the 2018 and 2020 Tale of the Cat.

Breaking from post 1, My Boy Tate will be ridden by Manny Franco.

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Multiple stakes-winner Bon Raison [post 3, Jorge Vargas, Jr.] seeks a non-consecutive win in the Tale of the Cat, previously scoring in 2019. Trained by Jack Sisterson, Bon Raison brags the highest bankroll in the field with $685,874.

Completing the field is David Bernsen's Shashashakemeup [post 2, Ricardo Santana, Jr.], a four-time winner for trainer Peter Walder.

The Tale of the Cat is carded as Race 9 on Friday's 10-race program at Saratoga Race Course. First post is 1:05 p.m. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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D’Amato Readies Two For Yellow Ribbon, Cathkin Peak For La Jolla

Trainer Phil D'Amato reported Saturday morning that 2-year-old filly Elm Drive came out of her victory in Friday's $200,000 Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes “really good” physically.

And if the Kentucky-bred daughter of Mohaymen, a $165,000 purchase at the Ocala sale in March who carries the colors of Little Red Feather Racing stays that way, she'll next be seen in the $300,000 Grade 1 TVG Del Mar Debutante on September 5.

“Yup, absolutely,” was D'Amato's response when the Debutante was mentioned in the winner's circle after she prevailed by a head over Baoma Corp's Eda in a stretch-long duel while covering six furlongs in 1:10.64.

“She broke on top then Juan (Hernandez) got her to rate, make a move and fight off a rival to her outside the length of the stretch. I just thought that's the epitome of class. Very professional, and I think she's the type of filly that the longer (the races) the better.”

Having chalked up one stakes victory for the weekend, D'Amato will send out Raymundos Secret (6-1) and Charmaine's Mia (4-1) in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon and narrowly favored (2-1) Cathkin Peak in Sunday's $150,000 Grade 3 La Jolla Stakes as a possible closer to three consecutive big days.

Irish-bred Cathkin Peak made his U.S. debut at Del Mar in late November a winning one and followed that with a December victory in the $80,000 Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Kicking off his 3-year-old campaign this year, Cathkin Peak was second to soon-to-be Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World in the $100,000 Pasadena Stakes in February and has gone unraced since.

“He had a couple of little things we needed to deal with, but he never left the barn and he has come back to train really well,” D'Amato said. Cathkin Peak will go 1 1/16 miles, the longest assignment of his career, in the La Jolla – second leg in the grass stakes series for 3-year-olds during the Del Mar summer. His previous starts were all at a mile.

“He's really tactical,” D'Amato said. “If there's not a lot of pace, he can be up close; if there is, he can sit back and make a late move. Juan can play the break and try to have him in the right spot.”

The field for the La Jolla from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parenthesis: Stilleto Boy (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1); Wyfire (Kyle Frey, 12-1); Hudson Ridge (Abel Cedillo, 5-2); Cathkin Peak (Juan Hernandez, 2-1); Zoffarelli (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1), and Sword Zorro (Umberto Rispoli, 4-1).

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Nevin Sends Our Last Buck, My Boy Tate In John Morrissey

Trainer Michelle Nevin will send out stakes-winning veterans Our Last Buck and My Boy Tate in Thursday's $100,000 John Morrissey, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for New York-breds 3-years-old and up, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

My Boy Tate, bred, trained, and co-owned by Nevin with Little Red Feather Racing boasts a ledger of 24-9-5-2 with purse earnings of $584,988. The Boys At Tosconova gelding is a five-time stakes winner at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., including scores in the Hollie Hughes and Haynesfield earlier this year.

The hard-knocking 7-year-old has also enjoyed success at Saratoga, posting a perfect in-the-money record of 4-1-2-1, including a third-place finish in last year's Morrissey.

Last seen finishing fourth in an open allowance sprint at Parx in May, My Boy Tate has reeled off six weekly works dating to June 13, including a five-eighths effort in 1:01.54 on July 20 on the Saratoga main track.

“He's doing good. He had a little bit of a freshening and he's right on track,” Nevin said. “I would say Aqueduct is his favorite track, but Saratoga is a track he's shown an affinity for, too.”

Nevin said that My Boy Tate, who has finished no worse than fourth in his last nine starts dating back to running third in last year's Morrissey, continues to thrive.

“He seems like he's still the same old fella,” Nevin said. “He's definitely a barn favorite. He always tries. We've had him since he was two and he's seven now and is just a great horse to have.”

J and N Stables' Our Last Buck, a 7-year-old Courageous Cat gelding bred by Gerardus S. Jameson, enjoyed a productive 2020 campaign with a record of 8-4-2-0. The success continued into January with a first stakes score in the seven-furlong Say Florida Sandy last out at the Big A.

Our Last Buck has breezed weekly at Belmont dating back to June 3, including a five-eighths effort in 1:02.23 on the dirt training track on July 20.

Nevin said the lengthy freshening was by design.

“He had plenty of races last year and we were looking to give him a little break,” Nevin said. “After his big win, we decided to give him some time and he's been back on the track getting ready and we finally feel like we're ready to go.

“He got very good last year and was running very consistently,” Nevin continued. “He was showing up every time. He's definitely improved as he's gotten older.”

Manny Franco will guide My Boy Tate from post 3, while Our Last Buck will emerge from post 4 under Luis Saez.

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Charles Hallas' Morning Breez sports a ledger of 42-5-12-11 with purse earnings of $569,929, but has yet to secure an elusive first stakes win.

The 6-year-old Morning Line gelding, bred by Hart Farm and Rhapsody Farm, has flourished in his last three starts sprinting six furlongs in open allowance company, including a last-out half-length score on May 13 at Belmont that garnered an 87 Beyer.

Transferred to the care of trainer Pat Reynolds, Morning Breez will be piloted by returning rider Jose Lezcano from post 6.

Team Hanley's multiple stakes-winner Captain Bombastic, bred by Chester and Mary Broman, won a pair of stakes last season, including the seven-furlong Mike Lee at Belmont and the 6 1/2-furlong NYSSS Times Square in August at Saratoga for former conditioner Jeremiah Englehart.

Transferred to Chad Brown to launch his 4-year-old campaign, the Forty Tales chestnut finished off-the-board in a pair of state-bred stakes at Belmont and will now race for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen from post 2 under Ricardo Santana, Jr.

Rounding out a competitive field are Wow Brown [post 1, Michael Davila, Jr.], Wudda U Think Now [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], Foolish Ghost [post 7, Joel Rosario], Jemography [post 8, Dylan Davis] and Runningwscissors [post 9, Tyler Gaffalione].

The John Morrissey is slated as Race 9 on Thursday's 10-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Fenton Elected Chairman Of Thoroughbred Owners Of California

The Thoroughbred Owners of California board of directors unanimously elected Gary Fenton to serve as the new chairman of the organization replacing outgoing chairman Nick Alexander, who stepped down after five years in the role. Fenton has been on the TOC board since 2016 and has served as chairman of the TOC Racing Committee since 2018 and TOC vice chairman since 2019.

Fenton is the managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing (LRF), California's largest syndicate with over 85 horses and over 400 owner/partners. LRF has campaigned Breeders' Cup Mile winner Singletary as well as Grade 1 winners Egg Drop, Midnight Storm, Secret Spice, Fault and Mirth. LRF has the fifth most starts of all owners in Southern California since 2010.

Fenton grew up in Beverly Hills, Calif., and caught the horse racing bug at an early age attending races at Hollywood Park, Santa Anita and Del Mar, including the first Breeders' Cup in 1984. He began his career as an entertainment attorney working for the William Morris Agency and media companies including ATG, Carsey-Werner, and AMC before transitioning to LRF full time in 2005. Fenton will be the 11th chairman of TOC following most recently the five-year terms of Nick Alexander (2016 – present) and Mike Pegram (2011-2015).

“Mike Pegram and Nick Alexander are giants in our industry who successfully steered this organization through unprecedented times and left the TOC in a strong operational and financial position,” said Fenton. “It is an honor for me to step into their big shoes at a very exciting time for California Thoroughbred racing. I have great respect for the hard work of TOC staff members and my fellow TOC board members who have each worked tirelessly over the past few years to achieve the TOC's core mission “to maximize purse revenues and preserve the long-term viability of our sport in California.”

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