michael mccarthy | Horse Racing Free Tips

Solid Field of Nine Set for Twilight Derby

A field of nine, topped by 5-2 morning-line favorite Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute), will line up for Sunday’s GII Twilight Derby at Santa Anita.

Smooth Like Strait, winner of Del Mar’s GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. last December and GIII La Jolla H. in August, raced three deep on a hot pace and understandably tired to fourth as the favorite in the GII American Turf S. at Churchill Downs last time Sept. 5. The Cannon Thoroughbreds homebred worked five furlongs in 1:00 (5/37) for trainer Michael McCarthy at Santa Anita Oct. 9.

Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid), meanwhile, sat a dream trip back in fourth in the American Turf, and, after leading in the stretch, settled for third. The 2020 GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks and GIII Kentucky Utilities Transylvania S. winner ships in from Kentucky for Mike Maker.

Farmington Road (Quality Road), runner-up in the Oaklawn S. and fourth in the split-division GI Arkansas Derby this spring, switched to grass with an allowance win when last seen at Colonial July 29.

The highly regarded Express Train (Union Rags), a double-digit length maiden winner at Del Mar last summer, makes his turf debut for John Shirreffs. He was second as the favorite in a Santa Anita optional tagger last time Sept. 26.

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Smooth Like Strait, Field Pass Face Off In Sunday’s Grade 2 Twilight Derby

Cannon Thoroughbreds homebred Smooth Like Strait returns to Southern California and will try to stretch his speed to a mile and one eighth on turf as he heads a field of nine sophomores in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita.

A resounding 2 ½ length winner of the Grade 2 La Jolla Handicap two starts back, Smooth Like Strait, who is trained by Michael McCarthy, finished fourth as the 6-5 favorite in a Grade 2 stakes at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5 and will likely vie for favoritism with midwestern invader Field Pass, who he faced on Sept. 5.

A two-time Grade 3 winner in Kentucky, trainer Mike Maker's Field Pass was a close third in the same race Smooth Like Strait was favored in Sept. 5 and he's won four out of his seven starts this year.

C R K Stable's Express Train, who showed much promise at age two, will be trying turf for the first time on Sunday in what will be his third start of the year for John Shirreffs and rates a big chance in what appears to be a wide open Twilight Derby.

SMOOTH LIKE STRAIT

Owner: Cannon Thoroughbreds, LLC

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

A Kentucky-bred colt by Midnight Lute, he made the lead turning for home in the Grade 2 American Turf on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, but tired late to be beaten four lengths. A gutty one mile minor turf stakes winner three starts back at Churchill Downs on May 23, he's won two out of his last three starts and was also a winner of the Grade 3 Cecile B. DeMille Stakes six starts back on Dec. 1, 2019. Smooth Like Strait is four for nine lifetime with earnings of $277,823 and he'll be reunited with Umberto Rispoli, who pointed him to victory in the La Jolla Handicap as the 4-5 favorite.

FIELD PASS

Owner: Three Diamonds Farm Trainer: Mike Maker

A Grade 3 winner going a mile and one eighth on synthetic Polytrack at Turfway Park on March 14, he notched his second Grade 3 win over a “good” turf three starts back at Keeneland on July 12. Most recently third, beaten 1 ¾ lengths in the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs Sept. 5, a race in which he rallied to wrest command from Smooth Like Strait in mid-stretch, he was a gate to wire winner of an ungraded stakes going 1 1/8 miles on turf four starts back on June 20 at Churchill. Field Pass, who defeated Smooth Like Strait by 2 ¼ lengths on Sept. 5, has demonstrated ample versatility and the ability to get the Twilight Derby distance. With an overall mark of 13-5-2-2, he's the leading money earner in the field with $472,610 and he'll no doubt vie for favoritism when ridden for the first time by Drayden Van Dyke.

EXPRESS TRAIN

Owner: C R K Stable, LLC Trainer: John Shirreffs

A $500,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, this colt by Union Rags broke his maiden going one mile on dirt in his second start by 14 ¼ lengths and in his final start at age two, was a well beaten fourth at 5-2 in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth on Sept. 27, 2019. An impressive two length winner of a 6 ½ furlong allowance on Aug. 23, a race in which he overcame a stumble at the start, he flattened out a bit late when second, beaten three quarters of a length as the 4-5 favorite in a one mile allowance here Sept. 26. In what will be his third start off a long layoff, Express Train should be a tighter horse on Sunday as he tries turf for the first time in his sixth career start with regular rider Mike Smith aloft.

THE GRADE 2 TWILIGHT DERBY WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 9 of 10 Approximate post time 5 p.m. PT

Farmington Road—Flavien Prat-124
Express Train—Mike Smith—124
Margot's Boy—Tiago Pereira—124
Kiss Today Goodbye—Victor Espinoza—124
Dominant Soul—Edwin Maldonado–124
Smooth Like Strait—Umberto Rispoli—124
Scarto—Juan Hernandez—124
K P All Systems Go—Abel Cedillo–124
Field Pass—Drayden Van Dyke—124

First post time for a 10-race card on Sunday is at 1 p.m. Santa Anita's races can be viewed live and free of charge at santaanita.com.

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Déjà Vu: Shedaresthedevil Springs 15-1 Upset For Cox, Geroux In Kentucky Oaks

Nothing is quite the same in 2020, and horse racing has been no exception. Churchill Downs' cavernous, nearly empty grandstands stood watch over Friday's Kentucky Oaks, delayed from the first Friday in May to September by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Fans may not have been present this year, but trainer Brad Cox must have felt a strong sense of déjà vu when he saddled Staton Flurry and Qatar Racing's Shedaresthedevil to post a 15-1 upset in the 3-year-old fillies' classic. Just one race prior, Cox had sent out his 2018 Kentucky Oaks winner Monomoy Girl to win the Grade 1 La Troienne.

“This is why you wake up every morning to get to win races like this,” Cox said. “This filly has been really impressive coming into the race and when she breezed with Monomoy Girl a couple weeks ago, we knew how well she was training. There were some tough fillies in the Oaks this year with Swiss Skydiver and Gamine. We are so thrilled to win a race like this, again, in our backyard. This has been a phenomenal day with Monomoy Girl winning the La Troienne then winning the Oaks with Shedaresthedevil. These are the days you dream of.”

Jockey Florent Geroux rode both champion Monomoy Girl and Shedaresthedevil to victory on Friday, and booted home a total of four winners on the Kentucky Oaks card.

“She had a great trip,” said Geroux. “She broke very sharp and I was able to stalk Gamine all the way. That was the plan, but sometimes plans don't always work out. Perfect plan today. The only question was whether or not I was going to be able to run her down. My filly ran an amazing race. It's been an amazing day.”

Shedaresthedevil came into the Oaks with wins in three of her five starts this year, but her long odds reflected the fact that she hadn't been successful against the division's top contenders. Her wins came in the G3 Indiana Oaks, an allowance race, and the G3 Honeybee, while she'd been beaten 13 1/4 lengths by Kentucky Oaks rival Swiss Skydiver in Oaklawn's G3 Fantasy Stakes back in May.

“We've taken the conservative route with this filly, kind of dodged the bullets,” Flurry explained. “We did that with the hope that we'd have a fresh horse for this.”

The strategy seems to have worked out, as Shedaresthedevil pulled away to win the Kentucky Oaks by 1 1/2 lengths. It was also the fastest Kentucky Oaks in history as Shedaresthedevil ran 1 1/8 miles over the fast main track in 1:48.28, besting Bird Town's 2003 time of 1:48.64.

A total of nine 3-year-old fillies lined up for the nine-furlong contest, including the supremely talented Gamine, who'd won her last two races by a combined total of over 35 lengths. Gamine went off at odds of 3-5, while G1 Alabama winner Swiss Skydiver, who'd also earned 40 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby by facing males in the G3 Blue Grass Stakes, was the second choice at 5-2.

As expected, the speedy Gamine went straight to the lead from post position five, and Swiss Skydiver pushed through from her position on the rail to try to be second. Shedaresthedevil broke to her left, and muscled her way over to keep pace pressure on Gamine through the early stages, keeping Swiss Skydiver boxed in on the inside.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez kept a tight hold on Gamine through a first quarter in 23.39 seconds, but Geroux also had Shedaresthedevil under a good hold just a length off the leader. Swiss Skydiver and Tyler Gaffalione were at the rail in third, while Donna Veloce tried to push her way into contention between rivals in fourth.

Just after the half-mile in :47.92, Velazquez left the rail open for a few strides and Gaffalione tried to send Swiss Skydiver on through. He didn't make the gap and Velazquez aimed Gamine back at the rail, causing Gaffalione to check and wait for the overland route along the outside.

That veteran move by Velazquez gave Geroux an opportunity with Shedaresthedevil, and he took full advantage, getting first run on Gamine around the far turn. Swiss Skydiver ended up swinging three-wide at the head of the lane, but Shedaresthedevil had already set her sights on the passing Gamine and hitting the wire first.

Shedaresthedevil dug in to put away Gamine by the three-sixteenths pole, then held of the late bid from Swiss Skydiver on her outside to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Gamine checked in third, while Speech got up to finish fourth. The remaining order of finish was: Tempers Rising, Hopeful Growth, Bayerness, Donna Veloce, and Dream Marie.

Trainer Ken McPeek wasn't displeased with the effort from runner-up Swiss Skydiver.

“She ran super,” McPeek said. “That other filly (Shedaresthedevil) has been training extremely well. I've been watching her. Tyler (Gaffalione) rode her good. That's horse racing. There's no guarantees. She's been training super. I actually wasn't as worried about Gamine as I was about another filly running a bang-up race. That's what happened.”

Meanwhile, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert had been hoping for a stronger return to two-turn racing for the super-talented Gamine.

“She hadn't gone long and we can always second guess ourselves,” Baffert lamented. “Maybe I should have run her longer or whatever. But the winner was tough, you have to give her credit.

“(Gamine) just didn't have it. Turning for home, she was in a good spot and she was late switching leads and she never does that. I don't know if she just got tired or whatever. But down the backside he couldn't have been any better, he was in the perfect spot. She just didn't have it there.”

Shedaresthedevil (center, maroon cap) out-finishes both Swiss Skydiver (left) and Gamine (right) to win the Kentucky Oaks

Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Shedaresthedevil is out of the winning Congrats mare Starship Warpspeed. Initially sold for $100,000 as a weanling at the Keeneland November sale, the filly returned and did not meet her reserve when bidding stopped at $20,000 at the following year's Keeneland September sale.

Entered in race training with Norm Casse, Shedaresthedevil won on debut and was the first winner for her freshman sire, Daredevil, in June of 2019 at Churchill Downs. Qatar Racing purchased an interest in the filly and she was sent to west coast trainer Simon Callaghan, for whom she ran third in the G2 Sorrento, fourth in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf, and second in the Anoakia Stakes.

Sent back through the Keeneland November sale at the end of her juvenile season, Shedaresthedevil brought a final bid of $280,000 from Staton Flurry, and Qatar Racing stayed in for the ride. The filly was sent to trainer Brad Cox, and kicked off her sophomore year with a second-place finish to stablemate Bonny South in an allowance at Oaklawn Park. She added the pair of graded stakes wins to her resume over the course of 2020, and the Kentucky Oaks win improves her overall record to 5-2-2 from 10 starts for earnings of over $1.2 million.

“As bad as 2020's been for everybody, this makes it a little bit better, for us,” Flurry said from the winner's circle.

Co-owner Staton Flurry celebrates with friends after Shedaresthedevil brings home the Kentucky Oaks trophy

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Kentucky Oaks Notes: Gamine Gets First Look At Churchill, Swiss Skydiver ‘Just So Hickory’

A field of nine sophomore fillies will contest Friday's 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Eight of the fillies have now arrived at the Louisville, Ky. track, and each trained over the surface Tuesday morning.

BAYERNESS – Belladonna Racing's Indiana Oaks runner-up Bayerness returned to the track Tuesday following her half-mile move in :48.80 Sunday morning.

Rafael Bejarano has the call in the Oaks.

DONNA VELOCE – Kaleem Shah, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Donna Veloce had a get-acquainted jog around the main track at Churchill Downs Tuesday morning a day after arriving from her Southern California base.

John Stack was aboard the Simon Callaghan trainee who has compiled a 4-2-2-0 career mark that includes a runner-up finish in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI).

“Everything is good here,” said Callaghan's assistant Carlos Santamaria, who accompanied Donna Veloce on her morning jog on a pony. “We plan to take her to the gate and paddock Wednesday.”

Santamara said Callaghan would not be coming to Louisville for Friday's Oaks.

DREAM MARIE – Miracle's International Trading Inc.'s Dream Marie made a more settled impression Tuesday on her second morning at Churchill Downs since arriving from South Florida Sunday and galloped once around under exercise rider Ian Cravens.

“Yesterday, she had to look at the Twin Spires, today she was more relaxed,” trainer Matthew Williams said.

On Monday, the Graydar filly drew post position nine of nine.

“I love it, I'm very happy,” Williams said. “She'll be the last to load, which is one reason I love it. She had the one in the Monmouth Oaks (when fourth Aug. 1) and that hurt her chances in that race.”

GAMINE – Gamine, the even-money, morning line favorite for the Kentucky Oaks, took to the Churchill Downs track Tuesday morning for a jog alongside assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes having arrived in Louisville late Monday afternoon.

Owned by Michael Lund Petersen, Gamine has yet to be headed in of her four career starts with her only defeat coming when she was disqualified for a medication overage in winning an allowance optional claiming race at Oaklawn Park on May 2. The daughter of Into Mischief elicited a final bid of $1.8 million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds Training Sale and if she were to prevail Friday, she would become the highest-priced Oaks winner sold at public auction since Rags to Riches — a $1.9 million yearling purchase — was victorious in 2007.

“The two turns that's the whole thing with her, but we know she's fast and she's done (two turns) before so it's not like it's new,” trainer Bob Baffert said of Gamine. “We're just blessed we have a filly like this. We gave a lot of money for her and it's worked out. A lot of times you do that and they don't work out. We're just enjoying her.”

HOPEFUL GROWTH – St. Elias Stable's Monmouth Oaks (GIII) winner Hopeful Growth galloped 1 5/8 miles Tuesday at her Monmouth Park base and was scheduled to leave New Jersey at 5:30 p.m. for the overnight trip to Kentucky. She is scheduled to arrive between 7 and 8 a.m. Wednesday and will be staying with trainer Dale Romans, a longtime friend of trainer Anthony Margotta who will saddle the Tapiture filly.

“She's training very well,” Margotta said via phone. “She had a nice solid gallop. Dale (Romans) is a great, great friend and I feel very comfortable with him taking care of her.”

SHEDARESTHEDEVIL – Qatar Racing, Flurry Racing Stable and Big Aut Farms' Shedaresthedevil galloped about 1 ½ miles Tuesday with Edvin Vargas up for trainer Brad Cox.

SPEECH – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables' Speech was on the track at her usual 5:30 time Tuesday morning, galloping about a mile and half under exercise rider Osman Cedeno.

The 5-1 third choice on the morning line, Speech drew post position four for the 1 1/8-mile Oaks on Friday.

“I think the draw was good for everybody,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “Swiss Skydiver is naturally fast so the one hole should not bother her. And Gamine (from post five), she's going to do her thing.”

Swiss Skydiver taking everything in ahead of her Tuesday morning gallop at Churchill Downs.

SWISS SKYDIVER – Trainer Kenny McPeek sent Peter J. Callahan's multiple graded stakes winner Swiss Skydiver to the track for her regular morning exercise designed to keep her happy and allow her to “just stretch her legs” ahead of Friday's race.

On Monday, the Daredevil filly drew post position one of nine and was installed as the 8-5 second choice on the morning line.

“I'll have to study the pace, but all it takes is one horse to get off a little awkward to change everything, so we'll leave that up to Tyler (Gaffalione),” McPeek said. “I have seen the other horses train and there are some that are training really well. We'll have our work cut out for us either way.

“Nine horses, it's a good number. It's tough race to win. I learned that with Take Charge Lady. She was 4-5 several years ago and she got upset by Farda Amiga, who ran the race of her life. So there are no guarantees. Our filly is doing super.”

Swiss Skydiver has won four stakes this year between 1 1/16 miles and 1 ¼ miles, while her main rival Gamine, the even-money favorite, has only raced beyond a mile once in her four-race career.

“Her form is pretty well proven, so we've done our job. I think the question mark with Gamine is that she hasn't done two turns on a regular basis. When she did, she had to fight for it. We ran on the same racetrack that weekend at Oaklawn and I don't think there's a lot separating them. It's going to be fun to watch. That's what makes me confident. (Bob Baffert's) filly is going to have to do something she hasn't experienced and it's something we've done over and over all year.”

Although she is a lightly framed filly, McPeek says Swiss Skydiver always has distinguished herself from other top fillies he has had.

“They're all different. My filly is just so hickory. All week she's done nothing but dive into the feed tub. The biggest problem we have is keeping her settled when we don't feed her right away. That's a real rarity. Most fillies aren't this sturdy. She loves what she does and eating is her number one thing to do. It makes a trainer's job really easy.”

TEMPERS RISING – Mark and Nancy Stanley's Tempers Rising galloped about 1 3/8 miles Tuesday morning for trainer Dallas Stewart.

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