Tag: Luis Saez

Opalina Gives Optimizer a First Stakes Winner in Sweetest Chant

Opalina (Optimizer), the third choice in a wide-open pari-mutuel affair, took the overland route into the final furlong and a half of Saturday's GIII Sweetest Chant S. at Gulfstream Park, but stayed on gamely late to become the first black-type winner for her Calumet Farm-based stallion.

One of the first to break the line from her low draw, Opalina ultimately settled just ahead of centerfield and raced with cover down the backstretch as longshot Myfavoritedaughter (Carpe Diem) galloped them along at a decent clip. Given her cue with a bit more than three furlongs to race, Opalina was left with no choice but to circle horses into the stretch, rallied four wide under a full head of steam and looked to be idling a bit late, but was home comfortably in front.

Opalina defeated state-bred maidens by a dozen lengths in a hand-timed affair over yielding Gulfstream turf Sept. 17 and was a sneaky good fifth, beaten a length and a half, behind California Angel (California Chrome) in Keeneland's GII Jessamine S.

Oct. 13. Given some time off thereafter, Opalina came to win the Jan. 1 Ginger Brew S. at the eighth pole, but couldn't finish the job and settled for third as the even-money pick.

“When she took the lead in the stretch she kind of waited for the other ones, but when she got on the left [lead] she gave me another gear,” Saez said of Saturday's effort. “Last time, she needed a race and she didn't want to be too close. Today, we wanted to race a little bit from behind and make one move with her. Everything turned out like we were expecting.”

Pedigree Notes:

In addition to being the first black-type winner for Optimizer, Opalina is the 24th stakes winner (11 graded) out of daughters of Kitten's Joy, who have produced the likes of Grade I winner Channel Cat and other graded winners Spooky Channel, English Bee and Admiralty Pier to the cover of Optimizer's late sire English Channel.

Bernardo Alvarez-Calderon purchased Opalina's dam with the filly in utero for the upset price of $1,000 at Keeneland November in 2018. Calderon, who also bred GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational hero Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) and last year's GII Tampa Bay Derby upsetter Helium (Ironicus), passed away in August 2020 at the age of 78.

Opalina, also a half-sister to the stakes-placed Red Hornet (English Channel), is the last listed produce for Go Kitten Go.

 

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
SWEETEST CHANT S.-GIII, $100,000, Gulfstream, 2-5, 3yo, f,
1 1/16mT, 1:41.56, fm.
1–OPALINA, 118, f, 3, by Optimizer
                1st Dam: Go Kitten Go, by Kitten's Joy
                2nd Dam: Go Cherokee Go, by Cherokee Run
                3rd Dam: First Flyer, by Riverman
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Teneri
Farm & J Stables LLC; B-Teneri Farms Inc. & Bernardo Alvarez
Calderon (FL); T-Roderick R Rodriguez; J-Luis Saez. $59,520.
Lifetime Record: 6-2-2-1, $135,770. *First stakes winner for
second-crop sire (by English Channel). Werk Nick Rating: A++.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ambitieuse, 118, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Lucky Folie, by
Distorted Humor. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE.
O/B-Wertheimer and Frere; T-H Graham Motion. $19,200.
3–Miss You Ella, 118, f, 3, Declaration of War–Newstouse, by
Unbridled's Song. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE.
($135,000 Ylg '20 EASOCT). O-Wonder Stables, Madaket
Stables LLC & Golconda Stable; B-Equivine Farm (PA); T-Chad
C Brown. $9,600.
Margins: 3/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.30, 4.80, 5.80.
Also Ran: Myfavoritedaughter, Battle Charge, Ocean Safari, Roughly a Diamond, Hal's Dream, Nostalgic. Scratched: Running Legacy. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Opalina Makes The Grade In Sweetest Chant

Teneri Farm and J Stables' Opalina (Optimizer) came with a steady run around the far turn and powered through the stretch to reel in 25-1 long shot leader Myfavoritedaughter and win Saturday's $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The 27th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sweetest Chant for fillies and mares on turf was the fourth of five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on the program, immediately preceding the 33rd edition of the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Opalina ($10.60) hit the wire in 1:41.56 over a firm turf course to give jockey Luis Saez his third graded-stakes win on the card, following My Prankster in the Claiborne Farm Swale (G3) and Girl With a Dream in the Forward Gal (G3), both on the main track.

“When she took the lead in the stretch she kind of waited for the other ones, but when she got on the left [lead] she gave me another gear,” Saez said. “Last time, she needed a race and she didn't want to be too close. Today, we wanted to race a little bit from behind and make one move with her. Everything turned out like we were expecting.”

Myfavoritedaughter, sent off at the longest odds in a field of nine at 25-1, sped through fractions of 23.16 and 46.88 seconds to lead the group by open lengths with Ocean Safari, runner-up in the one-mile Ginger Brew Jan. 1 at Gulfstream, a distant second. Saez, meanwhile, had Opalina – third as the favorite in the Ginger Brew – settled in fourth.

“She ran great, and that's the way she runs her best, coming off the pace a little bit,” winning trainer Roderick Rodriguez said. “The last time she was anxious in the receiving barn, but today she was perfect. She was relaxed. She broke alertly, but she settled back and just made one big run, and that's the way I want her to run.”

Saez gave Opalina her cue leaving the backstretch, swinging out three wide to launch their bid. They quickly passed Ocean Safari and straightened for home with their sights set on Myfavoritedaughter, who dug in determinedly but could not hold off the closers.

Opalina earned her first career stakes victory by three-quarters of a length over late-running Ambitieuse, making just her third career start and first in a stakes. Miss You Ella came on for third, another 1 ¼ lengths back. Myfavoritedaughter, Battle Charge, Ocean Safari, Roughly a Diamond, Hal's Dream and Nostalgic – narrowly favored over Opalina and Ocean Safari – completed the order of finish.

“I felt good, because I know Luis can get the horse going,” Rodriguez said. “She was coming on really nice. I felt really confident at the top of the stretch.”

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Girl With A Dream Shows The Way In Forward Gal

Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Girl With a Dream provided trainer Brad Cox with a little bit of consolation Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

One week after the Cox-trained Knicks Go was denied a repeat victory by Life Is Good in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream, Girl With a Dream led throughout the seven furlongs of the $100,000 Forward Gal (G3) to notch her first graded-stakes success by a length.

“There just aren't a lot of graded stakes opportunities where we run, at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn, so we had targeted this race after her last start. She was doing good and came out of her last race strong, so we shipped her over Tuesday,” Cox said from Fair Grounds. “We thought we'd let her do her thing and go to the front and try and make them catch us and it worked out great.”

The Forward Gal was among five graded stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday's program that was headlined by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the first graded stakes on the Road to the Curlin Florida Derby (G1).

Girl With a Dream ($12.80) went right to the lead under Luis Saez to show the way along the backstretch as favored Radio Days dropped well off the pace. The Cox trainee set fractions of 22.85 and 45.73 seconds for the first half mile with graded stakes-placed Diamond Wow in close pursuit entering the turn into the homestretch. Radio Days launched a wide sweep into contention entering the stretch but was unable to catch the loose-on-the-lead daughter of Practical Joke.

“She broke from there pretty sharp. She went and she was pretty comfortable all the way,” Saez said. “We came to the top of the stretch and I felt like I had a lot of horse. She kept battling, and she beat them. She felt pretty big in front. I felt like every step when the other filly came close to her, she responded more. I was pretty happy to be on top of her.”

Girl With a Dream ran seven furlongs in 1:23.42. Radio Days, who entered the Forward Gal 2-for-2, finished second under Dylan Davis, 6 ¼ lengths ahead of Last Leaf and jockey Miguel Vasquez.

Girl With a Dream won her debut at Ellis Park in July before finishing far back in the Spinaway at Saratoga in September. The Kentucky-bred filly rebounded to finish second at Keeneland next time out before winning her last two starts of 2021 at Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds.

“She was really impressive in her Ellis win and I liked her in the Spinaway but she was inside and she didn't get away great and then didn't run her race,” Cox said.

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Juvenile Third Giant Game ‘Looking Good, Feeling Good’ Ahead Of Holy Bull

West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stable LLC's Giant Game is set to make his 3-year-old debut in Saturday's $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park a bigger and, hopefully, better racehorse.

“Like we say every year, this is the time for the 2-year-olds to turn into men and grow up,” trainer Dale Romans said. “I think he's made a good turn. He had a little freshener. He had a few weeks off after the Breeders' Cup and has gone right back in training.”

If Giant Game, who finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) in only his third career start, returns to action just a little bit better Saturday, the son of Giant's Causeway should be expected to be a major factor in the 1 1/16-mile prep on the Road to the Curlin Florida Derby (G1).

“He's gotten a lot thicker. He's not the tallest horse in the world. He's a more racier Giant's Causeway than you usually see. He has started to thicken up and start to look like the rest of them,” Romans said.

“I think this is the best place to winter to make them good horses later. That's what I'm seeing from him. He's looking good, feeling good. This warm salty air is good for him.”

Giant Game made a late run to finish third in his Sept. 18 six-furlong debut at Churchill Downs before stretching out to 1 1/16 miles to graduate going away by three lengths at Keeneland next time out. The performance encouraged Romans to ship him to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup.

“I put my neck on the line there, coming off a maiden race at Keeneland. But when you have a horse with his pedigree, looks like him, acts like him, and runs like he did, you expect him to perform at the highest level, so you put them in the highest-level races,” Romans said.

Leading jockey Luis Saez will ride Giant Game for the first time in the Holy Bull.

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