medallion racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Going to Vegas Going to Del Mar After Frontrunning Rodeo Drive Victory

In their respective most recent trips to the post, Going To Vegas (Goldencents) was ridden by Flavien Prat to a popular victory in the GII John C. Mabee S. while stablemate Luck (Kitten's Joy) had Umberto Rispoli in the irons for a first-level allowance tally at Del Mar Aug. 7. The preeminent turf riders on the circuit swapped mounts for Saturday's GI Rodeo Drive S., and at the end of a very entertaining 10 furlongs, it was the Italian and Going To Vegas who proved narrowly best over the French reinsman and Luck, locking up a trip to the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in the process.

Rispoli, who had ridden Going To Vegas in her three starts prior to the Mabee, kicked the 4-year-old straight into the lead from gate four and controlled the pace through an opening quarter in :24.35 and a steady half-mile in :48.72. Prat had Luck settled worse than midfield and on the back of longshot Rideforthecause (Candy Ride {Arg}), but asked her for some acceleration with a little less than five-eighths of a mile to race after Mike Smith clicked up Red Lark (Ire) (Epaulette {Aus}) to Luck's outside. Luck was all the way up into a three-wide third and within striking distance as they raced around the second turn and the stage was set when Prat asked his mount to take it to the pacesetter in upper stretch. Benefitting from the easy tempo, Going To Vegas responded to his rider's urgings and sprinted the final two furlongs in a slick :22.49 to just hold Luck at bay.

“I'm thrilled with both horses' performances,” said trainer Richard Baltas of the 1-2 finishers. “Going to Vegas has the tactical speed and loves going a mile and a quarter and she showed it. It was a great ride by [Umberto]. My other horse, Luck, really moved up in class. I was really happy with her performance, she really improved in a Grade I, I'm looking forward to the future with her.”

Going To Vegas is not yet nominated to the Breeders' Cup and would have to be supplemented for $100,000.

Claimed from her breeders and trainer Peter Miller for $50,000 out of a victory at Santa Anita in June 2020, Going to Vegas halted a seven-race skid that included four consecutive runner-up efforts with a 3 3/4-length tally in the GIII Santa Ana S. over a mile and a quarter at Santa Anita Mar. 27, with Rispoli at the controls for the first time. An alibi-free fifth to Maxim Rate (Exchange Rate) in the GI Gamely S. in Arcadia May 31, the bay added a popular 3 1/2-length allowance victory at Del Mar July 16 before doubling her graded-stakes grab with a 2 1/4-length defeat of Dogtag (War Front) in the Sept. 4 Mabee.

Pedigree Notes:

With the victory, Going To Vegas becomes the first Grade I winner for two-time GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hero Goldencents. Going to Vegas is inbred 5×4 to Storm Cat and is kin to the yearling filly Brand Loyalty (Grazen) and a colt foal by Munnings. Hard to Resist went back to Grazen this past breeding season.

Saturday, Santa Anita
RODEO DRIVE S.-GI, $302,000, Santa Anita, 10-2, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, 1:58.84, fm.
1–GOING TO VEGAS, 124, f, 4, by Goldencents
               1st Dam: Hard to Resist (SW, $284,538), by Johannesburg
               2nd Dam: Anja, by Gulch
               3rd Dam: Knoosh, by Storm Bird
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Abbondanza Racing, LLC, Medallion
Racing & MyRacehorse; B-J. Kirk Robison & Judy Robison
(KY); T-Richard Baltas; J-Umberto Rispoli. $180,000. Lifetime
Record: 22-7-8-2, $634,151. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Luck, 122, f, 4, by Kitten's Joy
               1st Dam: Gold Round (Ire) (GSW-Fr), by Caerleon
               2nd Dam: Born Gold, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
               3rd Dam: Riviere D'or, by Lyphard
O/B-LNJ Foxwoods (KY); T-Richard Baltas. $60,000.
3–Dogtag, 122, m, 5, by War Front
               1st Dam: Diamond Necklace (SP-Ire), by Unbridled's Song
               2nd Dam: Helsinki (GB), by Machiavellian
               3rd Dam: Helen Street (GB), by Troy (GB)
O/B-LNJ Foxwoods (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $36,000.
Margins: HD, 1HF, 3HF. Odds: 1.10, 2.40, 5.40.
Also Ran: Neige Blanche (Fr), Rideforthecause, Magic Attitude (GB), Red Lark (Ire), Crystalle, Fast Jet Court (Brz).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Going to Vegas Going to Del Mar After Frontrunning Rodeo Drive Victory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bella Sofia Dominant In Gallant Bloom At Belmont Park

In her first four lifetime starts, Bella Sofia had been victorious three times. In her fifth start in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., the 3-year-old filly had no trouble with the field of older fillies, taking the lead early and going gate-to-wire to get her second graded stakes win.

Bella Sofia took the initiative at the start, darting out to a one-length lead over Lady Rocket, who was able to take up second position despite stumbling at the break. The 3-year-old filly went :22.46 for the first quarter and then :45.40 for the half-mile, her lead three-quarters of a length going into the far turn, with Lady Rocket still second.

Into the stretch, jockey Luis Saez gave Bella Sofia the cue to go, the filly putting five lengths between her and the closest contender before Saez powered her down. At the wire, she was 3 1/2 lengths in front of Lady Rocket, traveling the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.69. Lake Avenue and Don't Call Me Mary rounded out the field.

Find this race's chart here.

Bella Sofia paid $2.80 and $2.10. Lady Rocket paid $3.90.

“Luis [Saez] and I talked before the race and if someone else wanted the lead we'd let them go, but she's so quick out of the gate. The one time we got beat [in the Jersey Girl] she stumbled out of the gate bad. I don't think she necessarily needs to be on the lead, but when you have this type of horse you have to take advantage of it” trainer Rudy Rodriguez said after the race.

“She's very special. From Day One when I rode her and broke her maiden here, she gave me a feeling she's a Grade 1-winner. In the Test, she proved she can really run and today was easy for her, ” Saez told the NYRA Press Office after the Gallant Bloom. “She finished up strong and did it easy. I had a lot of horse.”

Bred in Kentucky by Two Tone Farms, Bella Sofia is by Awesome Patriot out of the Consolidator mare Love Contract. She is owned by Michael Imperio, Medallion Racing, Sofia Soares, Vincent Scuderi, and Parkland Thoroughbreds. The filly was consigned by Grassroots Training and Sales at the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company July Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale and purchased by Sallusto and Albina, agent, for $20,000. With her win in the G2 Gallant Bloom, Bella Sofia has career earnings of $542,600.

The post Bella Sofia Dominant In Gallant Bloom At Belmont Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Going To Vegas Pointed To Rodeo Drive Stakes After John C. Mabee Win

Soon after Going to Vegas crossed under the finish line 2 ¼-lengths in front to win the $200,000 Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Ca., on Saturday, what seemed like a tsunami of humanity descended from the grandstand to engulf the winner's circle for the picture and trophy ceremonies.

It was estimated that around 250 people – owners or friends of owners of the three partnership groups involved with the 4-year-old daughter of Goldencents — whooped, hollered, and smiled for the camera.

Bing Bush, founder and manager of Abbondanza Racing, figured that his 14-member group accounted for about 50 of the crowd, Medallion Racing about four, and the rest from MyRacehorse, the micro-shares organization that has had a large impact on racing in a short time.

There was plenty of joy to go around, and Bush, a Del Mar resident, was still savoring it this morning when he checked in at trainer Richard Baltas' barn to get the good news that Going to Vegas had come out of the race fine.

The Mabee victory, her sixth in 21 career starts, fueled thoughts of a Breeders' Cup start at Del Mar, where Going to Vegas has two wins and has only been out of the money once in seven starts on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

“We can always dream and this made that dream seem a step closer to reality,” Bush said. “We're going to be aiming her for the Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita. I think she'll like the distance.”

The Rodeo Drive, on October 2, is 1 ¼ miles, an eighth of a mile longer than the John C. Mabee but a distance at which the 4-year-old daughter of Goldencents won the Santa Ana there in March and was second in the Santa Anita Oaks last December.

A victory in the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive carries with it a berth in the 1 3/8-mile, $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar on November 6. Otherwise, a six-figure supplemental entry fee would be necessary for Going to Vegas, who was not made Breeders' Cup eligible as a foal.

“To win here is so wonderful and to win the John Mabee Stakes, a man who was such an iconic figure here and such a major figure in the racing industry, is just great,” Bush said.

The post Going To Vegas Pointed To Rodeo Drive Stakes After John C. Mabee Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Horologist Goes Wire to Wire In Summer Colony At Saratoga

There's A Chance Stable, Medallion Racing, Abbondanza Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Horologist made every pole a winning one in Sunday's $120,000 Summer Colony, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

A multiple graded-stakes winner – and the 2020 New Jersey-bred Horse of the Year – Horologist broke sharply under Junior Alvarado and never relinquished in the nine-furlong event for older fillies and mares that have not won a graded race in 2021.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Horologist set splits of :23.66, :47.34, and 1:11.77 with Gibberish tracking her early foot in second position over a good and sealed main track. The pacesetter took the field into the final turn with stalkers So Darn Hot and Gold Spirit inching closer with Gibberish failing to pester.

Out of the turn, Horologist widened her advantage to seven lengths and stayed on strong to the wire for an authoritative 8 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:51.57. Gold Spirit completed the exacta by 3 3/4-lengths over So Darn Hot with Gibberish and Thankful, who stumbled at the start, completing the order of finish. Dunbar Road was scratched.

Mott said he wasn't concerned about the off going.

“She hadn't had any previous form on an off track, but she seemed to me that she would be a horse who would handle it fine. I wasn't concerned about that,” Mott said.

Horologist entered from a hard-fought second to Royal Flag after setting the pace from the inside post in the Grade 3 Shuvee on July 25 at the Spa. Two starts back, Horologist was boxed in after exiting the inside post in the Lady Jacqueline on June 26 at Thistledown in North Randall, Ohio.

“She was inside and stuck down in there the last two races,” Mott said. “We let her bounce out of there [today] and do her thing without getting in her way. I think we've kept her from winning on a couple of occasions. A win does everyone some good.”

Alvarado said he rode the even-money favorite with confidence.

“It was simple. I rode her like the best horse and she showed it out there,” Alvarado said. “Once she put herself on the lead, she took me all the way around. She's very quick and is a good gate filly. If she wanted, she could go faster without using much.”

A three-time graded stakes winner, the New Jersey-bred daughter of Gemologist captured the 2019 Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks and last year added the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., and Grade 2 Beldame at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., to her ledger in her award-winning season.

Mott said he will again point Horologist to the nine-furlong $250,000 Grade 2 Beldame, which is slated for October 10 at Belmont.

Horologist banked $66,000 in victory while improving her record to 25-9-3-4. She returned $4.20 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $120,000 John's Call, a 1 5/8-mile stamina test on the Mellon turf course for 4-year-olds and up who have not won a graded stakes this year. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

The post Horologist Goes Wire to Wire In Summer Colony At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post