Midnight Bourbon | Horse Racing Free Tips

Triple Crown Heavy Hitters Reconvene in Haskell

The runners-up in all three Triple Crown races—though one of them may be promoted to winner at a later date—will clash along with a very intriguing stretch-out sprinter Saturday at Monmouth in a quality renewal of the GI TVG.com Haskell S., a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

Pegged as the 6-5 morning-line favorite is Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), who ran the best race of the three Triple Crown returnees when finishing a hard-luck second to division leader Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GI Belmont S. June 5. Pushed through a scorching early pace of :22.78 and :46.49, the $110,000 Fasig-Tipton October bargain buy improbably fought on with tenacity until deep stretch, just being overtaken late for a 1 1/4-length defeat while finishing 11 1/4 lengths clear of GI Preakness S. hero Rombauer (Twirling Candy) in third. The two horses who fought him for the early lead finished sixth and eighth, beaten 22 and 81 lengths, respectively. Prior to that, Hot Rod Charlie had annexed the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, run third in the GI Kentucky Derby and GIII Robert B. Lewis and second at 94-1 in the GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Mandaloun (Into Mischief) is likely to be declared the Derby winner after running a half-length second to Medina Spirit (Protonico), who later famously tested over the limit for betamethasone. That was a bounce-back effort for the 'TDN Rising Star' after he was a badly-beaten sixth as a 13-10 favorite in the Louisiana Derby. Earlier the winner of the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds, the Juddmonte homebred was last seen holding on by a neck in the local Pegasus S. June 13.

“What this would do for this colt moving forward would be huge,” said trainer Brad Cox of winning the Haskell. “It would give him an opportunity to stand at Juddmonte, which is the goal, and when you win that first Grade I, it takes the pressure off of what you do moving forward. This would be huge for the whole Juddmonte team. It would mean the world to me. I love this colt, he's been one we've thought a lot of since late summer/early fall, and when you watch him train and you think they're good and then they show up, it's very rewarding. For him to accomplish what he has to date is amazing, but there are definitely some more hurdles to jump and we think he's capable of doing it.”

Winless since capturing the GIII Lecomte S. Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) was third to Mandaloun in the Risen Star and second to Hot Rod Charlie in the Louisiana Derby. Sixth with a wide trip in the Run for the Roses, the $525,000 Keeneland September buy held the place after pressing Medina Spirit through quick splits when last seen in the May 15 Preakness S.

The clear wild card in the race is immensely talented 'Rising Star' Following Sea (Runhappy), who will make his two-turn debut while breaking from the tricky rail draw. A runner-up, later demoted to third via disqualification debuting at 9-10 over six furlongs Mar. 6 at Santa Anita, the Spendthrift Farm earned his 'Rising Star' nod with a dominant graduation over the same trip Apr. 10 at Oaklawn. Transferred from Bob Baffert to Todd Pletcher at the outset of the Medina Spirit controversy, Following Sea overwhelmed an allowance field June 3 at Belmont with an easy 6 1/2-length romp.

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Equibase Analysis: Midnight Bourbon Poised To Upset Haskell

This Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park drew a field of seven, led by Grade 1 Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun and third place finisher Hot Rod Charlie, both of whom have run well since then. Mandaloun won the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth since the Derby, while Hot Rod Charlie finished second in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, so both enter the Haskell in top form.

Midnight Bourbon finished sixth in the Derby before a second place finish in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, so also fits the bill of a horse that has been competitive at the top level for 3-year-olds. Following Sea is the unknown factor in the race, having won his last two races by an average of six lengths and in powerful fashion, but he is racing in a stakes and running in a route race for the first time. Antigravity, Basso, and Pickin' Time round out the field, the latter the only stakes winner among the three as he captured the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes last November before three much poorer efforts.

Midnight Bourbon intrigues this handicapper in this year's Haskell Stakes. Midnight Bourbon got the jump on many a Kentucky Derby contender when winning the Lecomte Stakes in January following three months off, easily beating Mandaloun by a length. Following that, he finished third behind Mandaloun in the Risen Star Stakes then second behind Hot Rod Charlie in the Louisiana Derby, a race in which Mandaloun checked in sixth. In the Kentucky Derby, Midnight Bourbon was bumped early and four wide on both turns but managed to rally from 12th to sixth at the end while his two foes each got much better trips. Returning two weeks later in the Preakness, which both the other two passed, Midnight Bourbon stalked the pacesetter in second before making the lead and opening up with an eighth of a mile to go before being run down by Rombauer.

Still, Midnight Bourbon was two lengths clear of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit and much further ahead of the other seven horses. Considering his breeding, it is no surprise Midnight Bourbon fits at the top level and two of his half-brothers (same dam) have had tremendous success at Monmouth. One of those is Pirates Punch, who won both the Iselin Stakes and Salvator Mile Stakes last year. More importantly, the other is 2017 Haskell winner Girvin, who earned more than $1.6 million in his career. With consistent ™ Equibase® Speed Figures going back to the Lecomte of 99, 95, 96, 99 and 98, it is conceivable Midnight Bourbon could be that much more mature with two months off and can turn the tables on both Hot Rod Charlie and Mandaloun to win this year's Haskell Stakes.

Mandaloun really needs no talking up as his 4-1-1 record in seven career starts speaks for itself. Ignoring the Louisiana Derby where he finished sixth and considering he rebounded nicely for second in the Kentucky Derby following that race, Mandaloun has showed up every time he has run. Following the Derby, Mandaloun was very game in securing a neck victory last month in the local prep for the Haskell, the Pegasus Stakes, and certainly familiarity with the track has its benefits. Having earned a 110 ™ Figure in the Derby then following that up with a 109 figure in the Pegasus, Mandaloun should be expected to run another “A” race good enough to win in this race.

Hot Rod Charlie has a tremendous competitive spirit as evidenced by finishing no worse than third in all seven route races in his career, the last five of those graded stakes. After proving his runner-up effort at 94 to 1 odds in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last fall was no fluke when winning the Louisiana Derby two races later this past March, the colt was third in the Kentucky Derby (109 figure) before his runner up effort in the Belmont Stakes (108 figure) last month. The one knock Hot Rod Charlie may have, however, is he doesn't have any type of explosive kick. In the last quarter mile of his past six races, he has not really passed a horse. For example, in the Derby he was third for the last part of the race and in the Belmont he was second for the last quarter mile. Blinkers are removed for the Haskell which may help him find that added kick in the stretch when he sees his opponents better and certainly Hot Rod Charlie has earned his place among the top 3-year-olds of 2021 and might make his mark in this year's Haskell.

Honorable mention goes to Following Sea, who finished second in his debut in March before authoritatively winning his other two races. Earning a 110 figure competitive with the top contenders in this race while geared down to a five and three-quarter length win in April, in only the second start of his career, Following Sea won just as easily by 6 1/2 lengths last month with a 105 figure effort. Going from a sprint (6 1/2 furlongs) to a nine-furlong race is a tall order, but Following Sea is now in the hands of Todd Pletcher so there is no question he is ready for this test. As to pedigree, sire Runhappy's progeny have won 11 of 55 route races to date, though few have contested stakes. If not for the lack of experience in route races, Following Sea might have been my top choice to win this race.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase® Speed Figures, is Antigravity (97), Basso (82) and Pickin' Time (91).

Win Contenders:
Midnight Bourbon
Mandaloun
Hot Rod Charlie

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Hot Rod Charlie Installed As 6-5 Favorite In Seven-Horse Haskell

Belmont Stakes runner-up Hot Rod Charlie has been installed as the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ. The Doug O'Neill-trained colt will exit post position four under regular rider Flavien Prat.

Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun is the second choice on the morning line at 2-1 for trainer Brad Cox, and will exit post three teamed with jockey Florent Geroux.

The third choice at 3-1 is Following Sea for trainer Todd Pletcher. Joel Rosario will ship in to ride the speedy son of Runhappy.

At 9-2 on the morning line is Preakness runner-up Midnight Bourbon, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Monmouth regular Paco Lopez is scheduled to ride from gate six.

The full field for the Haskell, a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Classic, is as follows:

Following Sea, Todd Pletcher, Joel Rosario, 3-1
Antigravity, Jerry Hollendorfer, David Cohen, 30-1
Mandaloun, Brad Cox, Florent Geroux, 2-1
Hot Rod Charlie, Doug O'Neill, Flavien Prat, 6-5
Pickin' Time, Kelly Breen, Nik Juarez, 20-1
Midnight Bourbon, Steve Asmussen, Paco Lopez, 9-2
Basso, Gregg Sacco, Isaac Castillo, 30-1

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Haskell Contender Mandaloun Penciled In For Saturday Work At Monmouth

Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun will work Saturday at Monmouth Park – weather permitting – according to Blake Cox, the son of trainer Brad Cox, as the 3-year-old son of Into Mischief continues to move forward with his preparations for the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 17.

Mandaloun was part of a contingent of Cox runners that arrived at Monmouth Park on Tuesday, a group that included four horses entered for the four other graded stakes races on the Haskell Day card.

Arklow (Grade 1 United Nations), Juliet Foxtrot (Grade 3 WinStar Matchmaker), Night Ops (Grade 3 Monmouth Cup) and Vault (Grade 3 Molly Pitcher) accompanied Mandaloun on the van from Kentucky.

“Everyone shipped in very well,” said Blake Cox. “All of them galloped Wednesday and today.

“Mandaloun is doing very well. We'll probably point for a work on Saturday, weather dependent. It will be a nice, easy half. He's ready to go.”

Mandaloun already has a race over the track, having won the TVG.com Pegasus Stakes on June 13.

The list of possible starters for the 54th edition of the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes includes Belmont Stakes runner-up Hot Rod Charlie; Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer; Preakness runner-up Midnight Bourbon; Following Sea; Pickin' Time; Basso and Antigravity.

Pickin' Time, trained by Kelly Breen, Basso (trained by Gregg Sacco) and Antigravity (trained by Jerry Hollendorfer) are stabled at Monmouth Park.

Blake Cox said the Grade 1-winning Arklow, coming off a victory in the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 15 in his seasonal debut, “might work an easy half” on Sunday in preparation for the mile and three-eighths United Nations on the turf.

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