Tag: manny franco

American Pharoah’s Ghalia Princess A Smooth Winner of the Cicada

Sumaya US Stable homebred Ghalia Princess (American Pharoah) made light work of three rivals to post a first black-type success in Saturday's $100,000 Cicada S. at Aqueduct.

Cutting back a furlong after finishing runner-up in the Feb. 17 Ruthless S., the bay was away from stall one without incident, but was beaten for speed by Reconcile (War Front). Manny Franco elected to take a tug on Ghalia Princess, easing her back and into the two path to do the chasing through an opening quarter in :22.15. Content to race with that target ahead of her rounding the turn, Ghalia Princess began to pour on the pressure into the stretch, claimed the front-runner for good with about a furlong and a half to travel and was punched out hands and heels to take it by six lengths in a sharp clocking.

“They broke good and I thought it was the right call to let [Reconcile] go on,” said Dustin Dugas, assistant to trainer Brad Cox. “I thought she [Ghalia Princess] ran on and let her big stride kind of unfold the way it does and [didn't] press her too much. It kind of went the way we thought. I didn't think she'd be quite as quick to keep up with these guys, but she could if she was pressed. I think Manny [Franco] made the right call by just letting the race unfold the way it did.”

Oussama Aboughazale's International Equities Holdings acquired the winner's dam for $600,000 as a weanling at the 2014 Keeneland November sale and she became a three-time winner at the races, including the 2017 Sunland Park Oaks. Ghalia is a daughter of Grade III winner Verdana Bold–also the dam of the multiple stakes-placed Copperplate (Curlin)–and is represented by a yearling colt by Constitution. She visited Not This Time for her most recent covering.

CICADA S., $93,000, Aqueduct, 3-16, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:09.85, ft.
1–GHALIA PRINCESS, 118, f, 3, by American Pharoah
                1st Dam: Ghalia (SW, $168,800), by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Verdana Bold, by Rahy
                3rd Dam: True Legacy (GB), by A.P. Indy
($575,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN.
O-Sumaya U.S. Stable; B-International Equities Holding, Inc.
(KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Manuel Franco. $55,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-2-1-0, $111,000.
2–Reconcile, 118, f, 3, War Front–Welcoming, by Tapit.
O/B-Robert S. Evans (KY); T-Adam Rice. $20,000.
3–Anna's Wish, 118, f, 3, Dialed In–I'm Cozy, by Grand Slam.
($14,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $45,000 RNA 2yo '23 OBSMAR).
1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Triple M Racing Stable LLC; B-Pope, Marc,
& Pope McLean Jr. (KY); T-George Weaver. $12,000.
Margins: 6, 6 3/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 5.50, 10.90.
Also Ran: Miss Harriett. Scratched: Value Area.

 

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Vino Rosso’s Tuscan Sky Airs At First Asking at the Big A

1st-Aqueduct, $80,000, Msw, 1-13, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.51, my, 5 1/4 lengths.
TUSCAN SKY (c, 3, Vino Rosso–South Andros {SW, $207,125}, by Sky Mesa), a clear 7-2 second choice on debut taking on the three-start maiden, but 3-4 chalk Have You Heard (Hard Spun), found his best stride entering the final furlong and streaked home to open his account impressively at first asking in the Saturday opener from Aqueduct. Tuscan Sky won the break and took his four rivals along through the opening furlong, but Have You Heard wrested command before the half-mile marker as the debuting Ambition (Street Sense) tried to press the pace around the turn. Tuscan Sky traveled with a bit of a high head carriage down the backstretch and was third into the turn, but didn't look to be loving the rain-affected conditions under foot and was one-paced three wide nearing the stretch. But produced wide into the lane by Manny Franco, the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton July purchase jumped into the bridle and quickened up nicely to report home by a convincing 5 1/4 lengths. Sierra Farm acquired the stakes-winning South Andros for $85,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale and the mare is best know as the dam of Private Creed (Jimmy Creed), GSW & GISP, $1,329,166, third in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and victorious in last year's GII Franklin-Simpson S. at Kentucky Downs. A half-sister to SW Lunar Mist (Malibu Moon), South Andros foaled a Complexity colt in 2022 and a full-brother to Private Creed last year before visiting Jackie's Warrior. Sales history: $200,000 Ylg '22 FTKJUL. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $44,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Sierra Farm (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher.

 

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Aqueduct Winter Stakes Schedule Out

The New York Racing Association released the stakes schedule for the 2024 winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, the organization said in a release Friday.

The 47-day Big A winter meet, which will feature 26 stakes races worth $3.5 million in purses, begins Monday, Jan. 1 and runs through Saturday, Mar. 30. Live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday for the first three weeks of January and Friday-Sunday from Jan. 26 through the first week of March. Aqueduct will host a Presidents' Day card on Monday, Feb. 19. Four-day race weeks resume on March 7.

A total of six stakes received a purse increase at the winter meet, topped by the Listed $150,000 Interborough, which saw it's purse improved by $50,000. Five other featured events received an increment of $25,000 in the GIII Toboggan and GIII Tom Fool H. along with three Listed stakes now worth $150,000, including the Heavenly Prize, Stymie and Excelsior.

The centerpiece of the March stakes calendar is the one-mile Grade III, $300,000 Gotham March 2, providing 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The Gotham Day card includes the Listed one-mile $200,000 Busher for 3-year-old fillies, offering 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.

Click here for a complete stakes list.

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Implicated ‘Connect’-s In the Pebbles

Chad Brown had three chances to record a sixth victory in the last eight runnings of the GIII Pebbles S., and it was the 10-1 longest priced of the trio Implicated (Connect) who parlayed a perfect trip into a first black-type success Saturday at the Big A.

Drawn the fence with Manny Franco at the controls for the first time, the $125,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling purchase was away without incident and raced a touch keen into the first turn as 53-1 Precious Avary (Divining Rod) showed the way at a moderate pace. Saving every inch of ground down the back, Franco went for Implicated midway on the turn and rode for some luck as Precious Avary was still going well enough up front. But the pacesetter rolled away from the fence in upper stretch, giving Implicated the room she required and she punched through before holding Sacred Wish (Not This Time) at bay. Startup Mentality (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) was second-last to make the stretch and might have caught Sacred Wish for second but for having to steady when off that one's heels a sixteenth of a mile from home.

A distant third on main-track debut at Saratoga last August, Implicated won her maiden in her grass debut and closed the season with a victory in this track's Chelsey Flower S. Oct. 28. Away nearly a year thereafter, the gray ran out of fitness late when fourth in a nine-furlong allowance Oct. 19.

“Last year when she ran covered up, she was better,” said Brown. “I told Manny in the paddock, 'You drew a nice, cozy post here. If you can get a pocket trip, let's test her out.' I thought I had her ready last time but sure enough, a covered trip worked for her and Manny did a great job.”

Pedigree Notes:

Implicated is the third graded winner for Connect, who has now been represented by graded scorers on dirt (Rattle N Roll), synthetic (Witwatersrand) and now the grass.

Somewhere Stable Kentucky paid $200,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale for Wysteria, a half-sister to Kallio (Scat Daddy), a Grade III winner on turf, SW Clear the Runway (Broken Vow) and MSP Sallisaw (Exchange Rate). The mare is represented by a yearling The Factor colt that sold for $155,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale, and her weanling colt by Knicks Go was bought back for $75,000 Friday at KEENOV. Wysteria was most recently bred to Golden Pal.

Saturday, Aqueduct
PEBBLES S.-GIII, $200,000, Aqueduct, 11-11, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:35.82, fm.
1–IMPLICATED, 120, f, 3, by Connect
1st Dam: Wysteria, by Tale of the Cat
2nd Dam: Smokey Diplomacy, by Dynaformer
3rd Dam: Attractive Missile, by Relaunch
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($125,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT).    O-Bradley Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and Breeding, LLC,  Cambron Equine, LLC and Laura Leigh Stable; B-Somewhere  Stables KY, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Manuel Franco.  $110,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-0-1, $246,970. Werk Nick  Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sacred Wish, 122, f, 3, Not This Time–Indian Wish, by Indian  Charlie. ($80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $70,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP; $50,000 2yo '22 EASMAY). O-Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, Christopher T. Dunn and Anthony Spinazzola; B-John R. Penn (KY); T-George Weaver. $40,000.
3–Startup Mentality (Ire), 118, f, 3, Kingman (GB)–Fine Time  (GB), by Dansili (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK  TYPE. (300,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.;  B-Mount Armstrong Stud. (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown. $24,000.
Margins: HF, NK, NO. Odds: 10.80, 3.25, 3.80.
Also Ran: Silver Skillet, Rhiannon, On the Shortlist, Plentitude, Precious Avary, Stephanie's Charm. Scratched: Just Katherine.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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