micheline | Horse Racing Free Tips

Harvey’s Lil Goil Becomes First GISW for American Pharoah in QEII

Versatile Harvey’s Lil Goil (American Pharoah) turned the tables on Micheline (Bernardini)–who defeated her by a neck last time in the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs–to become the first Grade I winner for Triple Crown-winning sire American Pharoah in Saturday’s GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland. Off at 7-2 bidding to become Hall of Famer Bill Mott’s second winner in this prestigious event, the grey employed her good cruising speed to chase Sweet Melania (American Pharoah) through honest enough fractions of :23.89, :47.75 and 1:12.16. She poked a head in front midway around the turn for home, kicked clear in midstretch and held off the cavalry charge to prevail.

“She has a lot of natural speed,” said winning rider Martin Garcia. “She’s fast–you can do whatever you want. After the break, I moved outside and she was really comfortable by herself. When it was time to go, I asked and she responded.”

Mott’s assistant Kenny McCarthy added, “We were pretty confident with her. She ran a super race for us at Kentucky Downs in her last out and had trained really well in between. She’s a little superstar. She pretty much goes on any surface for us. At least in my mind, I think the turf probably is a little bit easier for her to handle.”

A six-length, second-out graduate going turf to dirt at Aqueduct in December, Harvey’s Lil Goil turned heads when making a big turn move en route to a dominant victory in Aqueduct’s Feb. 2 Busanda S. over nine panels on the dirt. She was 11th in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn behind heavy hitters Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), Venetian Harbor (Munnings) and Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), but bounced back to narrowly annex the GIII Regret S. on the Churchill turf going this same distance. Third behind Swiss Skydiver in the 10-panel GI Alabama S. on the Spa main track Aug. 15, she led late in the uphill Kentucky Downs stretch Sept. 10 only to be run down in the waning stages.

Saturday, Keeneland
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP S. PRESENTED BY DIXIANA-GI, $500,000, Keeneland, 10-10, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:48.72, gd.
1–HARVEY’S LIL GOIL, 121, f, 3, by American Pharoah
1st Dam: Gloria S, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Arch’s Gal Edith, by Arch
3rd Dam: Force Five Gal, by Pleasant Tap
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Estate of Harvey A. Clarke & Paul
Braverman; B-Harvey A. Clarke (KY); T-William I. Mott;
J-Martin Garcia. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-1, $561,529.
Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Micheline, 121, f, 3, by Bernardini
1st Dam: Panty Raid, by Include
2nd Dam: Adventurous Di, by Private Account
3rd Dam: Tamaral, by Seattle Slew
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $100,000.
3–Magic Attitude (GB), 121, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Margot Did (Ire), by Exceed And Excel (Aus)
2nd Dam: Special Dancer (GB), by Shareef Dancer
3rd Dam: Caraniya (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
(€850,000 RNA Ylg ’18 ARAUG). O-Lael Stables; B-Katsumi
Yoshida (GB); T-Arnaud Delacour. $50,000.
Margins: 3/4, HF, HF. Odds: 3.60, 11.00, 1.60.
Also Ran: Red Lark (Ire), California Kook, Hendy Woods, Sweet Melania. Scratched: Antoinette, Lucky Betty.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:
Harvey’s Lil Goil is from a family developed by her breeder, the late Harvey A. Clarke. Her dam, the unraced Gloria S., is a half-sister to the Clarke-bred champion I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley), best known as the winner of the 2012 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. Clarke also bred the same family’s Golden Award (Medaglia d’Oro), a dual graded stakes winner last year. Gloria S. produced fillies by Cairo Prince the last two breeding seasons and most recently visited Twirling Candy. Harvey’s Lil Goil is one of 11 black-type winners (seven graded) for American Pharoah. She is the fourth of what figures to be many more Grade I/Group 1 winners out of Tapit mares.

The post Harvey’s Lil Goil Becomes First GISW for American Pharoah in QEII appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Special Accommodations: QEII Entrant Micheline Prefers To Stay In Unique Outdoor Stall

With their superior intelligence, Thoroughbreds are as capable of training their people as much as their people train them. Such is the case with Godolphin's homebred Micheline, who is entered in Saturday's $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Presented by Dixiana.

The 3-year-old filly by Bernardini out of 2007 Juddmonte Spinster (G1) winner Panty Raid convinced her connections early on that she requires special accommodations to lessen her claustrophobia, and she has thanked them by earning $445,978 with four wins, including the Sept. 10 Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs.

Micheline and her companion horse, Colonel, arrived at Keeneland early Thursday morning from trainer Mike Stidham's base at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland with some unusual baggage: a portable stall. The housing of four wood-lined farm gates and fitted gray tarp for a ceiling soon was assembled outside the Stidham barn, and Micheline took up residence inside with Colonel in the main barn.

“Whenever she ships to another track, that stall goes with her,” Stidham said.

During her early training in Florida, Micheline was so claustrophobic that she was turned out in a paddock instead of residing in a stall. Before she relocated to Fair Hill, an outdoor stall was built.

“She lived there for the summer and then last winter when we went to Tampa Bay Downs, Godolphin bought her a portable stall so she could live just outside the barn,” Stidham said.

While Micheline's situation is unusual, horsemen routinely conjure up clever methods to manage racehorses' individual behaviors. Some horses relax with a goat, small pony or donkey as a companion. Others enjoy a window in the stall between themselves and their next-door neighbor. Inquisitive types like to see plenty of activity, while introverts are more comfortable in a quiet section of the barn.

Micheline has excelled with her special treatment. Third in her career debut last year, she next won the Sorority at Monmouth Park. She opened 2020 with a runner-up effort in the Feb. 1 Sweetest Chant (G3) at Gulfstream Park, and she won Gulfstream's Honey Ryder on May 2. Overall, she has a 4-1-1 record from 11 starts.

“She has been at Fair Hill since her last race and has been training well,” Stidham said. “We are happy that we were invited to the Queen Elizabeth II.”

Florent Geroux will ride Micheline in Saturday's race. Stidham and Geroux won the 2015 QE II with Her Emmynency.

The post Special Accommodations: QEII Entrant Micheline Prefers To Stay In Unique Outdoor Stall appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Magic Attitude, Antoinette Rematch Set For Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup

Lael Stables' Magic Attitude (GB) headlines a field of nine 3-year-old fillies entered Wednesday for Saturday's 37th running of the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Presented by Dixiana at Keeneland.

The 1 1/8-mile grass test will go as the ninth race on Saturday's 10-race program with a 5:30 p.m. ET post time. First post Saturday is 1:05 p.m.

Trained by Arnaud Delacour, Magic Attitude comes to Keeneland off a 2¼-length victory over Antoinette in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) in her U.S. debut.

Javier Castellano, a three-time winner of the QE II, retains the mount on Magic Attitude and will break from post position four.

Antoinette, owned and bred by Godolphin, won the Saratoga Oaks in her start prior to the Belmont Oaks. Trained by Bill Mott, who won the QE II in 2014 with Crown Queen, Antoinette will be ridden by James Graham and break from post position three.

Godolphin will have another homebred in the gate in Micheline. Trained by Mike Stidham, who won the QE II in 2015 with Her Emmynency, Micheline won the Exacta System Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs in her most recent start. She will be ridden by Florent Geroux and break from post position seven.

Mott will have a second starter in Harvey's Lil Goil. Second to Micheline in the Dueling Grounds Oaks, Harvey's Lil Goil races for the Estate of Harvey Clarke and Paul Braverman. Martin Garcia has the mount and will break from post position one.

One other trainer with past success in the QE II will be represented Saturday.

Mark Casse, trainer of 2017 winner La Coronel, will send out Stonestreet Stables' homebred Hendy Woods. Second to Sharing in the Edgewood (G2) Presented by Forcht Bank in her most recent start, Hendy Woods will be ridden by Julien Leparoux and break from post position six.

The lone entrant to have run on the Keeneland turf course is Robert and Lawana Low's Sweet Melania. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Sweet Melania won last year's JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2) by 5½ lengths and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) at Santa Anita in her next start.

Winner of the Wonder Again (G3) in her 2020 debut and second beaten a nose in the Lake George (G3), Sweet Melania will be ridden by Flavien Prat and break from post position two.

Invading from California are the 1-2 finishers from the Del Mar Oaks (G1): Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Red Lark (IRE) and Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber's homebred California Kook.

Trained by Paddy Gallagher, Red Lark notched her first stakes win with the 19-1 upset in the Del Mar Oaks. Drayden Van Dyke will have the mount and break from post position nine.

Following her runner-up effort at 27-1 in the Del Mar Oaks, California Kook came back two weeks later to run fourth against the boys in the Del Mar Derby (G2). Trained by Peter Miller, California Kook will break from post position eight and be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione.

The field for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, with riders from the inside, is: Harvey's Lil Goil (Garcia), Sweet Melania (Prat), Antoinette (Graham), Magic Attitude (GB) (Castellano), Lucky Betty (Declan Cannon), Hendy Woods (Leparoux), Micheline (Geroux), California Kook (Gaffalione) and Red Lark (IRE) (Van Dyke). All starters will carry 121 pounds.

The post Magic Attitude, Antoinette Rematch Set For Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Micheline Seeks First Graded Stakes Win In Regret

Godolphin's two-time stakes-winning filly Micheline will be in search of her first graded stakes victory in Saturday's 51st running of the $100,000 Regret (Grade III), a 1 1/8-mile turf event for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

The Regret, part of a stakes quartet on Saturday, was carded as Race 11 with a post time of 6:20 p.m. (all times Eastern). The other stakes on Saturday are the $500,000 Stephen Foster GII), $200,000 Fleur de Lis (GII) and $100,000 Bashford Manor (GIII). First post is 1 p.m.

Micheline (8-3-1-1—$147,578), trained by Mike Stidham and ridden by Joe Bravo, scored a 2 ¼-length victory in last month's $75,000 Honey Ryder Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old filly by Bernardini broke her maiden in her second-career start last year in the $106,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth. Following an unsuccessful try on dirt in the $400,000 Alcibiades (GI) and an enigmatic eighth-place effort in the $100,000 Chelsey Flower Stakes at Aqueduct, Micheline returned to form in a first-level allowance race at Tampa and a near miss in the $100,000 Sweetest Chant (GIII).

Micheline drew post No. 6 for Saturday's Regret.

Among her rivals in the 13-horse field is The Estate of Harvey Clark and Paul Braverman's $100,000 Busanda Stakes winner Harvey's Lil Goil (4-2-0-0—$97,489); Stonestreet Stables' undefeated Hendy Woods (2-2-0-0—$54,600); Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables' recent allowance winner Crystal Cliffs (FR) (3-2-0-1—$41,543); and Don Alberto Stable's stakes winner Dominga (6-3-1-0—$137,220).

The Regret field from the rail out (with jockey and trainer): Dominga (Shaun Bridgmohan, Brad Cox); His Glory (Brian Hernandez Jr., Joe Sharp); Stunning Sky (Tyler Gaffalione, Mike Maker); In Good Spirits (Miguel Mena, Al Stall Jr.); Crystal Cliffs (John Velazquez, Graham Motion); Micheline(Bravo, Stidham); Edgee Angel (Corey Lanerie, Garry Simms); Wexx (Adam Beschizza, Larry Jones); Eve of War (Florent Geroux, Todd Pletcher); Harvey's Lil Goil (Martin Garcia, Bill Mott); Witez (Chris Landeros, Ian Wilkes); Pass the Plate (Julien Leparoux, Paul McGee); and Hendy Woods (Declan Carroll, Mark Casse).

All fillies will carry 118 pounds.

The post Micheline Seeks First Graded Stakes Win In Regret appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post