Tag: Mertkan Kantarmaci

Twirling Candy’s Evvie Jets Upsets Ballston Spa at 29-1

She may not have been the longest shot on the board–that title fell to intent-on-the-lead pacesetter and 55-1 shot Sister Bridget (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB})–but Mertkan Kantarmaci's 29-1 trainee Evvie Jets (m, 5, Twirling Candy–Natchez Trace, by Consolidator) was still an afterthought in the public eye's at 29-1 behind a trio of Chad Brown entrants and one shipped stateside by Ireland's Joseph O'Brien in Saratoga's GII Mohegan Sun Ballston Spa S. Thursday. Longshot or not, Evvie Jets set the Spa lawn on its ear with a bold win up the rail as MGSW & MGISP Fluffy Socks (Slumber {GB}) and Ascot GSW Jumbly (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) followed in a tight finish.

Evvie Jets broke like a jet when the gates flew, but stepped aside as Sister Bridget and the accomplished Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB})–a 'TDN Rising Star', MGSW, and MGISP–fought for the lead. Those two pulled more than a half dozen lengths clear of the field with Sister Bridget getting the first fractions of :23.50 and :48.67 as Technical Analysis backed off. As the field closed in and swarmed the two leaders in the stretch, Evvie Jets snuck up the inside from fifth under Manny Franco and collared Technical Analysis, who had taken over from a tiring Sister Bridget as MGSW Gam's Mission (Noble Mission {GB}) attacked from the outside. It looked to be anyone's race a sixteenth from home, but Evvie Jets kept her head in front, despite being on her wrong lead, as Fluffy Socks and Jumbly closed in. Less than a length and a half covered the first seven under the wire in a wild blanket finish. Final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:43.06, a new course record.

Franco picked up the ride on Evvie Jets from Luis Saez, who was injured Wednesday and is out indefinitely.

“Manny [Franco] did the right thing–just save and save and our plan was only stick to the rail, and he did–and save in the second turn also,” said Kantarmaci. “She just made the stretch run today after the hot pace. She can do that. She showed that a long time ago already, but she ends up in fights in the slower pace. Today was the day for her to close.”

The winning trainer continued: “Since the first day, we took care of her like a stakes horse because I knew she was going to come to that level, but we wanted to go step by step with her. Now, of course, she's extra special after this race. Unbelievable she did that today.”

A winner two back of Belmont's July 2 Perfect Sting S. over Ballston Spa 6-5 favorite Technical Analysis, Evvie Jets was winning the second graded race of her career following a 2022 win in the GIII Noble Damsel S. She'd kicked off her 2023 campaign Apr. 16 at Aqueduct with a win in the Plenty of Grace S. and was last seen Aug. 2 in defeat to Technical Analysis in the De La Rose S. Originally trained by Anthony Dutrow until claimed for $80,000 in 2021, Evvie Jets has run exclusively in stakes company for the past 11 months and also placed in the GIII Athenia S. last fall.

 

Pedigree Notes:

Evvie Jets is one of 18 graded winners for Lane's End sire Twirling Candy, a son of fellow Lane's End stallion Candy Ride (Arg). With 43 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere and eight Grade I winners spread from coast to coast, Twirling Candy last had a graded winner at the Spa in 2018 with GII Honorable Miss H. scorer Finley'sluckycharm. Although Evvie Jets is his only stakes winner out of a Consolidator mare, Twirling Candy has a number of his top stakes winners out of mares by Consolidator's extended Storm Cat sire line. Consolidator himself was exported to stand in the Philippines ahead of the 2012 season and has 10 stakes winners out of his daughters.

From the family of MGISW and $1.85-million Keeneland broodmare Kalookan Queen (Lost Code), the Ballston Spa winner's dam was unraced and is, like her daughter, a Farfellow Farms-bred. Natchez Trace's 2-year-old colt by Catalina Cruiser was a $240,000 OBS March juvenile and has since been sent to Japan after being purchased by Katsumi Yoshida. With no foals in the meantime, Natchez Trace was bred to Airdrie's Upstart for next term.

Thursday, Saratoga
MOHEGAN SUN BALLSTON SPA S.-GII, $300,000, Saratoga, 8-24, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.06 (NCR), fm.
1–EVVIE JETS, 120, m, 5, by Twirling Candy
                1st Dam: Natchez Trace, by Consolidator
                2nd Dam: Crystal Cream, by Secretariat
                3rd Dam: Clear Copy, by Copy Chief
($75,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-The Estate of Robert J. Amendola;
B-Farfellow Farms Ltd. (KY); T-Mertkan Kantarmaci; J-Manuel
Franco. $165,000. Lifetime Record: 22-7-6-2, $698,680. *1/2
to Forever Mo (Uncle Mo), MSP, $248,315. Werk Nick Rating:
A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Fluffy Socks, 122, m, 5, Slumber (GB)–Breakfast Time, by
Kitten's Joy. O/B-Head Of Plains Partners (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown. $60,000.
3–Jumbly (GB), 120, f, 4, Gleneagles (Ire)–Thistle Bird (GB), by
Selkirk. (1,250,000gns 3yo '22 TATMA). O-Doreen Tabor;
B-Emily Rothschild (GB); T-Joseph Patrick O'Brien. $36,000.
Margins: HD, HF, NK. Odds: 29.25, 6.30, 5.60.
Also Ran: Gam's Mission, Technical Analysis (Ire), Consumer Spending, Surprisingly, Sister Bridget (Ire). Scratched: Into Happiness, Speak of the Devil (Fr).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Twirling Candy’s Evvie Jets Upsets Ballston Spa at 29-1 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Under 20’s Claiming Challenge Returns to Big A

The New York Racing Association will once again conduct the Under 20's Claiming Challenge for its upcoming winter and spring meets at Aqueduct Racetrack. Introduced in 2018, the challenge is open to local conditioners with 20 or fewer trainees nationwide. Trainers will earn points based on their horses' performances in all winners' claiming races at Aqueduct from the start of the winter meet Dec. 9 through the end of the spring meet Apr. 24. The top eight trainers in the contest will split a price pool of $80,000, with the winning trainer receiving $16,000. Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci has won five of the past Under 20's challenges, while Eddie Barker has won twice, including tying with Kantarmaci for the 2019-20 Aqueduct winter challenge. Click here for more details on the contest structure.

The post Under 20’s Claiming Challenge Returns to Big A appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Kantarmaci Continues Dominance In NYRA’s ‘Under 20s Claiming Challenge’

Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci continued his strong showings in the New York Racing Association's “Under 20s Claiming Challenge” by capturing his fifth straight title in the series at the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Launched in 2018, the challenge is open to local trainers with 20 or fewer horses nationwide.

The top-eight trainers in the contest shared a prize pool of $80,000, with Kantarmaci earning the first-place prize of $16,000. It was the second time he's won the “Under 20s Claiming Challenge” at a Belmont meet, with the first coming in the 2019 spring/summer edition.

Kantarmaci tallied 85 points, besting second-place finisher Oscar Barrera, III [67.5 points, $14,000] during the 48-day meet that commenced April 22 and concluded July 11. Antonio Arriaga finished third with 47 points [$12,000], while Michael Miceli was fourth with 30 [$11,000.] Rounding out the top-eight were Randi Persaud [28.5 points, $9,000], Amira Chichakly [27.5 points, $7,000], Robert Klesaris [26.5 points, $6,000] and John Toscano [25 points, $5,000.]

“It feels great. We did really well the last couple of weeks,” Kantarmaci. “In the beginning of the meet, we ran a lot of horses maybe too high a level and high claiming prices, so we were having a hard time getting points. But the last week, we had a lot of main-track horses, and that helped to open up the point distances.”

[Story Continues Below]

For the 2021 Belmont spring/summer, Kantarmaci sent out 50 starters, compiling a 2-9-9 record with earnings of $299,018. He saddled a pair of winners of $45,000 claiming tilts, with Turn of Events on June 27 and Wicked Indeed on July 9.

“We are on the right track with claiming horses,” Kantarmaci said. “Hopefully, we can continue the success at Saratoga. It's a really good program. In the future, if it keeps going, I think it'll be hard for anyone to win it five times in a row like this. It's nice to see my name at the top.”

To retain eligibility, there can be no more than 20 horses on a trainer's roster at any given time, although a trainer's stable may grow above 20 horses through claiming activity. But only roster horses can earn points. A trainer may replace a claimed horse who was on their roster with another claimed horse. After a horse is claimed, it will be added to the trainer's roster only at the trainer's request.

Horses in for a tag in an allowance optional claiming race will qualify for contest points. Points are not earned in maiden, allowance, starter allowance or stakes races.

A horse that ends up on the stewards' list for poor performance [defeated 25 or more lengths] will not earn the trainer points for that race. Horses that are running for 50 percent or less of the claiming price from their most recent start will only be eligible to earn 50 percent of the typical points for that race.

In addition, horses can only earn contest points for two races within a given 30-day time period. A horse may enter in additional races during that timeframe but will not earn contest points for those additional races.

For more information, please contact the racing office at 718-659-4241.

Contest Point Structure:

Dirt Races – All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag:
1st Place – 6 points
2nd Place – 5 points
3rd Place – 4 points
4th Place – 3 points
5th Place – 2 points

Turf Races- All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag
1st Place – 5 points
2nd Place – 4 points
3rd Place – 3 points
4th Place – 2 points
5th Place – 1 point

Past winners of the Under 20s Claiming Challenge:
2021 Belmont spring/summer – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2020-21 Aqueduct winter – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2019-20 Aqueduct winter – Eddie Barker/Mertkan Kantarmaci (tie)
2019 Belmont spring/summer – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2018-19 Aqueduct winter – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2018 Belmont spring/summer – Eddie Barker

The post Kantarmaci Continues Dominance In NYRA’s ‘Under 20s Claiming Challenge’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Kantarmaci Continues Dominance Of NYRA’s ‘Under 20s Claiming Challenge’

Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci continued his domination of NYRA's “Under 20s Claiming Challenge” with another title for the concluded winter/spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, marking the fourth consecutive time he has finished atop the leaderboard.

The “Under 20s Claiming Challenge,” launched in 2018, is open to local trainers with 20 or fewer horses nationwide. The most recently completed challenge launched on December 10, Opening Day of the 56-day winter meet, and ran through the 11-day Big A spring meet that concluded April 18.

Kantarmaci topped the standings, racking up 133 points in the unique contest that highlighted horses' performances in winners' claiming races on the main track. Randi Persaud was second with 83 points, with Edward Barker [68] and A.C. Avila [65] rounding out the quartet who cracked the 60-point threshold.

The top-eight trainers in the contest shared a prize pool of $80,000, with Kantarmaci earning the first-place prize of $16,000.

The outright win for Kantarmaci followed a 2020 in which he tied Barker for the title during the Big A's winter meet. The Turkish-born conditioner was also the stand-alone challenge winner for the 2018-19 winter meet and the 2019 Belmont Park spring/summer meet.

“It's a great feeling and to get a title like this racing in New York, I'm really delighted with that,” Kantarmaci said. “It shows we can have consistent success with the claiming horses, and most of them have improved from when they were claimed, and some of them have gone on to allowance races. I couldn't get points with those, but of course, I made money with them by moving them up.”

When the winter and spring meets are factored in, Kantarmaci compiled a 10-12-9 record with 74 starters, finishing in the money 41.89 percent of the time and winning at a 13.51 percent clip, with his horses earning $600,617.

“I think I'm one of the best claiming trainers in New York right now,” Kantarmaci said. “I've won a few at Aqueduct and one Belmont. So, it shows we can do well at Belmont and at Aqueduct, which has a long winter meet. There aren't many young trainers in New York; just a few. It's hard to win that much with just claiming horses. But it's gotten people's attention and some owners have asked us if we're available to train their horses, so a claiming title like this in New York has been really helpful.”

Among Kantarmaci's highlights for the concluded Big A stint was the Chilean-bred Mi Tres Por Ciento in an $84,000 allowance optional claimer title on December 19 and an allowance optional claimer worth $84,000 on February 13. Reed Kan also won two of his four starts during the Claiming Championship period, while Dust Devil won a claiming title on January 18 and added another victory in a starter allowance race on April 1.

Looking to parlay that success to the current meet, Kantarmaci has two runners entered for Sunday's program, with Castagno entered for Race 4, a $55,000 claiming contest, and Front Man entered in a $55,000 starter allowance in Race 6.

Overall, Kantarmaci said he has 19 horses in his barn at Belmont and praised NYRA for continuing to sponsor the Claiming Challenge Series.

“We are really happy and thankful for the opportunities it gives to claiming trainers,” Kantarmaci said. “Maybe one day, I'll have high-class stakes horses and maybe some others will have the opportunity to take advantage of this claiming challenge as well.”

The Under 20s Claiming Challenge continues into the current spring/summer meet at Belmont Park, which started April 22 and runs through Closing Day of the 48-day meet on Sunday, July 11. This contest encompasses both main track and turf contests.

To retain eligibility, there can be no more than 20 horses on a trainer's roster at any given time, although a trainer's stable may grow above 20 horses through claiming activity. But only roster horses can earn points. A trainer may replace a claimed horse who was on their roster with another claimed horse. After a horse is claimed, it will be added to the trainer's roster only at the trainer's request.

Horses in for a tag in an allowance optional claiming race will qualify for contest points. Points are not earned in maiden, allowance, starter allowance or stakes races.

A horse that ends up on the stewards' list for poor performance [defeated 25 or more lengths] will not earn the trainer points for that race. Horses that are running for 50 percent or less of the claiming price from their most recent start will only be eligible to earn 50 percent of the typical points for that race.

In addition, horses can only earn contest points for two races within a given 30-day time period. A horse may enter in additional races during that timeframe but will not earn contest points for those additional races.

For more information, please contact the racing office at 718-659-4241.

Contest Point Structure:

Dirt Races – All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag:

1st Place – 6 points

2nd Place – 5 points

3rd Place – 4 points

4th Place – 3 points

5th Place – 2 points

Turf Races- All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag

1st Place – 5 points

2nd Place – 4 points

3rd Place – 3 points

4th Place – 2 points

5th Place – 1 point

The post Kantarmaci Continues Dominance Of NYRA’s ‘Under 20s Claiming Challenge’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights