Midnight Bourbon | Horse Racing Free Tips

Tiznow’s Midnight Bourbon Coast-To-Coast in the Lecomte

Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) put himself on the GI Kentucky Derby trail with a tenacious, one-length front-running score in Saturday’s GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds. Proxy (Tapit) was second; 4-5 favorite and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mandaloun (Into Mischief) was third after a wide trip in his two-turn debut.

The 7-2 shot left the gate running from his rail draw and led the scratched-down field of eight into the clubhouse turn. Midnight Bourbon cruised along on the front end beneath Joe Talamo through fractions of :24.68 and :48.99, while Proxy, a winner of two straight at Fair Grounds, and Juddmonte’s highly regarded unbeaten Mandaloun, began to swarm in as they approached the quarter pole. Midnight Bourbon still had plenty left, however, and kept finding in the stretch as Proxy outgamed Mandaloun for second.

Midnight Bourbon, a $525,000 KEESEP yearling purchase for Winchell Thoroughbreds, meant business at second asking for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, winning for fun going a mile at Ellis Park Aug. 22. Second after leading in the stretch in Churchill’s GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 5, he was last seen finishing a distant third behind stablemate and Eclipse Award finalist Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) in the GI Champagne S. at Belmont Oct. 10.

“Lovely horse, he’s a beautiful individual,” Asmussen said. “Obviously, he had run some solid races, but we were very much looking forward to getting him into two-turn races. His pedigree, we think that going further will help him. He’s got a beautiful stride to him. He was away nice and cleanly and Joe gave him a nice trip. He’s going to develop into an excellent 3-year-old.”

The GII Risen Star S. Feb 13 will be next for Midnight Bourbon.

“We were very excited to get him down here and get him in this series,” Asmussen continued. “With him being capable of what he is away from there, the ground that he covers, I think it’s a natural fit.”

Pedigree Notes:

Midnight Bourbon became the 46th graded winner and 82nd black-type winner for his recently pensioned and leading 24-year-old WinStar sire, Tiznow. Other spring sophomore winners by Tiznow have included GI Santa Anita Derby and GIII Sham S. winner Colonel John, GI Wood Memorial S. victor Gemologist, GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Irap, and GI Belmont S. upsetter Da’ Tara.

The unraced dam of Midnight Bourbon, Catch the Moon, has an unblemished record, with all four of her foals to race–or 100%–now graded stakes winners, making her singlehandedly responsible for four of Malibu Moon’s 48 black-type winners out of his daughters. Girvin (Tale of Ekati), winner of the 2018 GI Haskell Invitational S., GII Louisiana Derby, and GII Risen Star S., is the best, followed by additional graded winners Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John) and Pirate’s Punch (Shanghai Bobby). The mare also has a 2-year-old colt by Curlin, who hammered for $500,000 last September at Keeneland, plus a yearling colt by Quality Road and she was bred back to Curlin for 2021.

Catch the Moon’s first two dams were Florida-breds for John Franks and her fifth through seventh dams were California-breds for Rex Ellsworth. She last sold for $240,000 carrying Pirate’s Punch in 2015 at Keeneland November and is now part of the powerful Stonestreet broodmare band. Catch the Moon’s dam, Catch My Fancy, is inbred 3×2 to Louisiana star Monique Rene (Prince of Ascot), whose descendants of the last 25 years include Canadian champion Kiss a Native (Kissin Kris), GISWs Yes It’s True (Is It True) and Silver Max (Badge of Silver), as well as recently retired GSW & MGISP Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby).

Saturday, Fair Grounds
LECOMTE S.-GIII, $200,000, Fair Grounds, 1-16, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.41, ft.
1–MIDNIGHT BOURBON, 122, c, 3, by Tiznow
1st Dam: Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon
2nd Dam: Catch My Fancy, by Yes It’s True
3rd Dam: Walk Away Rene, by Gold Alert
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($525,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen; J-Joseph Talamo. $122,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-2, $221,420. *1/2 to Girvin (Tale of Ekati), GISW, $1,624,392; Pirate’s Punch (Shanghai Bobby), GSW, $332,751; and Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John), GSW, $497,660. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Proxy, 122, c, 3, Tapit–Panty Raid, by Include. O-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $40,000.
3–Mandaloun, 122, c, 3, Into Mischief–Brooch, by Empire Maker. O-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $20,000.
Margins: 1, HD, 8 3/4. Odds: 3.70, 8.90, 0.80.
Also Ran: Santa Cruiser, Arabian Prince, Game Day Play, Regular Guy, Red N Wild. Scratched: Beep Beep, Dyn O Mite, Manor House. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Equibase Analysis: Regular Guy With Fancy Pedigree Ready To Excel

A field of 11 is entered to run in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes, the stepping stone to the Risen Star Stakes and to the Louisiana Derby, all run at Fair Grounds on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby.” As is usually the case for newly turned 3-year-olds in early Kentucky Derby prep races, few have run in stakes at this point in their careers. Of those with stakes credentials, Midnight Bourbon might be most notable as he finished second in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes last September then third in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes in October. Game Day Play won the Clever Trevor Stakes in October and is trying two turns for the first time. Red N Wild missed by a head in the Clever Trevor then two races later was third, beaten nine lengths, in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes.

Arabian Prince is another who has made a mark in stakes races, albeit a small one, when finishing third in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at the end of November. Lastly among those with stakes experience, Dyn O Mite finished fifth in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes and Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity last summer as a maiden. He has won two races in a row since then.

Among the horses which are stepping into the stakes ranks for the first time are Beep Beep, Manor House, Regular Guy and Santa Cruiser, who exit maiden races all won in visually impressive fashion. Mandaloun and Proxy earned wins in their most recent starts in first level allowance races.

I'm going to start my list of horses I think can win the Lecomte Stakes with Regular Guy. This colt didn't run well at all in his first two starts, both sprints and both last summer, finishing ninth then sixth. Given two months off to mature and stretching out to a mile, Regular Guy finished second behind Santa Cruiser (who is also entered here) and earned a stellar 96 Equibase Speed Figure, which is the second best figure earned by any horse in this field. Making his first start at Fair Grounds and first start around two-turns four weeks ago, Regular Guy didn't run as fast but he won fairly easily in a field of nine.

Besides logical improvement in his second two-turn race and second at the meeting, Regular Guy also put in a very strong five furlong workout in 100.4 which was the third best of 37 on the day and that total likely included a number of older and more seasoned horses. Even better, Regular Guy has the breeding to be something special as a STATS Race Lens pedigree query yields his dam (the Unbridled's Song mare Rebridled Dreams) has produced two exceptional 3-year-olds in her short breeding career. One was Farrell, who earned over $1 million and won the 2017 Fair Grounds Oaks, and the other was Carpe Diem, winner of $1.5 million including the Tampa Bay Derby and Blue Grass Stakes in 2014. As such, I expect Regular Guy to take a big step forward just as his siblings did during their 3-year-old campaigns and post the upset win in this year's Lecomte Stakes.

Santa Cruiser hasn't been seen since winning at a mile in November and beating Regular Guy by a length and one-half. That effort earned a 98 Equibase figure, which is the best earned by any horse in the field. I don't think the time off is of any concern particularly as Santa Cruiser has put in three straight workouts at Fair Grounds in preparation for this race. Trainer Keith Desormeaux (who also saddles Dyn O Mite) has had his share of success on the “Road to the Derby,” sometimes at high odds (Sonneteer at 99/1 in the 2017 Rebel Stakes). Therefore if Desormeaux thinks Santa Cruiser is ready for this level of competition, as well as if I think Regular Guy is a contender – as he was beaten by Santa Cruiser the only time they met, then improved to win – I must give Santa Cruiser a strong look as a contender in this race.

Mandaloun is two-for-two in his career to date, winning with a nice rally from ninth in his debut in October then improving to win a first level allowance race at seven furlongs in late November. Improving to a 94 figure with that win, the third best figure in the field, Mandaloun is on a pattern for even better in the Lecomte, provided he runs as well in his first route. That shouldn't be an issue as a son of Into Mischief, who has produced some top 3-year-olds in recent years including Authentic, Audible and Owendale. Trainer Brad Cox is already off to a sparkling start at the Fair Grounds meeting, winning 24% (13 of 55) races through last weekend, and jockey Florent Geroux rides Mandaloun again after being aboard for his first two wins.

Midnight Bourbon, like Santa Cruiser, has “Road to the Derby” breeding to go along with stakes quality form. His dam, the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon, produced 2015 Iroquois Stakes winner Cocked and Loaded as well as one of the top 3-year-olds in 2017, Girvin, who won the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby leading to $1.6 million in career earnings. Midnight Bourbon finished second in last year's Iroquois Stakes after making the lead and opening up with an eighth of a mile to go, earning a 91 figure which, if improved upon, is definitely competitive with the main contenders. Getting the ground saving rail and moving to trainer Asmussen's number one jockey in Ricardo Santana Jr. for the first time, Midnight Bourbon absolutely rounds out a strong quartet of win contenders in the Lecomte Stakes.

The rest of the Lecomte Stakes field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures: Arabian Prince (87), Beep Beep (91), Dyn O Mite (84), Game Day Play (80), Manor House (87), Proxy (85) and Red N Wild (91).

Win Contenders, in preference order:
Regular Guy
Santa Cruiser
Mandaloun
Midnight Bourbon

$200,000 Lecomte Stakes – Grade 3
Fair Grounds
Saturday, January 16, 2021 – 13th Race. Post Time 6:49 PM E.T.
Three Year Olds

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Jackie’s Warrior Puts His Undefeated Record On The Line In Champagne

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior is a standout in the juvenile division with an unblemished record and will put his perfect resume on the line in Saturday's 148th running of the Grade 1, $300,000 Champagne going a one-turn mile at Belmont Park for 2-year-old colts.

The Champagne is one of four Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” qualifying events slated for Saturday's action-packed 11-race program and offers an automatic entry towards the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 6 at Keeneland. Other “Win And You're In” events scheduled for Saturday include the Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup for older horses going 1 ¼ miles on the main track [Classic]; the Grade 1, $250,000 Frizette for juvenile fillies going one mile on the main track [Juvenile Fillies]; and the Grade 1, $250,000 Flower Bowl Invitational for fillies and mares going 1 ¼ miles over the inner turf [Filly and Mare Turf]. Also featured on the card is the Grade 2, $150,000 Sands Point for sophomore fillies going one mile over the Widener turf.

Inaugurated in 1867, the Champagne has been a prominent event for young horses having seen a handful of Kentucky Derby winners score in the race during their 2-year-old season dating all the way back to Azra in 1891. Riva Ridge [1971], Foolish Pleasure [1974], Spectacular Bid [1978] as well as Triple Crown winners Count Fleet [1942] and Seattle Slew [1976] won the Champagne before becoming household names. The great Secretariat won the 1972 Champagne but was disqualified for interference with Stop the Music, who was subsequently awarded the victory. The Champagne has also been used as a steppingstone to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with horses like Fly So Free [1990], Timber Country [1994], War Pass [2007], Uncle Mo [2010] and Shanghai Bobby [2012] notching the Champagne-Breeders' Cup Juvenile double.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Jackie's Warrior arrives at the Champagne off a 2 ¼-length victory in the Grade 1 Runhappy Hopeful on Sept. 7 at Saratoga, where he registered a 95 Beyer Speed Figure – the highest number recorded by a 2-year-old this year. In his prior effort, the bay son of Maclean's Music won his stakes debut in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Aug. 7 at the Spa by three lengths after displaying stalking tactics in his debut at Churchill Downs, which he won by 2 ½ lengths.

Jackie's Warrior has been getting acclimated to Belmont Park, recently breezing a half-mile in 50.54 over the Belmont training track on Oct. 4.

“He handles everything well,” said Asmussen's Belmont Park-based assistant trainer Toby Sheets. “Just like his races are, that's how he is. He's done everything very professionally and he's very straightforward. I don't see the mile being an issue at all.”

Jockey Joel Rosario, who guided Practical Joke to a 2016 Champagne win, will return to the saddle from post 4.

Asmussen also will be represented by Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, who was a recent second in the Grade 3 Iroquois on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs going a one-turn mile.

“He came in on Saturday, had a little [three-furlong] blowout [in 39.22 seconds] here on Tuesday,” Sheets said. “He's another well-built, big horse. He's figuring it out a little bit, but he's been doing really well.”

The well-bred Midnight Bourbon is the fourth offspring out of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon, whose other progeny are Grade 1-winner Girvin and graded stakes winners Pirate's Punch and Cocked and Loaded.

“Let's hope that trend continues,” Sheets said.

Midnight Bourbon will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 6.

Hopeful runner-up Reinvestment Risk will try and turn the tables on Jackie's Warrior while attempting to give trainer Chad Brown and owner Klaravich Stables their third Champagne victory.

The son of freshman sire Upstart dazzled in his career debut with a 7 ¾-length victory at the Spa over next-out winner Olympiad. He recorded a 90 Beyer in his debut, a figure which he replicated in his runner-up finish to Jackie's Warrior in the Hopeful.

“He's doing super. I'm looking forward to getting him out another furlong. He'll have no problem with more distance,” Brown said.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. has been the pilot in both of the bay colt's lifetime starts and will return to the saddle from post 5.

Reddam Racing's Ambivalent is the lone maiden in the field but boasts stakes experience on the west coast for trainer Doug O'Neill.

The dark bay son of leading second-crop sire Constitution was recently third beaten a length over the grass in the one-mile Del Mar Juvenile Turf on Sept. 7.

Following a runner-up effort on debut on June 21 at Santa Anita, Ambivalent was beaten 1 ¼ lengths before being disqualified from third to fourth in the Grade 2 Best Pal on Aug. 8 at Del Mar.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez has the mount from post 1.

Rounding out the field are Run Casper Run [post 2, Jose Lezcano] and Civil War [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche].

The Champagne is slated as Race 4 on Saturday's 11-race program, which offers a first post of 12:20 p.m. Eastern. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Brody’s Cause Colt Sittin On Go Rallies Late To Win Iroquois

Albaugh Family Stables' Sittin On Go roared past Midnight Bourbon at the sixteenth pole en route to a 2 1/2-length victory on Saturday in the 39th running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Iroquois Stakes for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Corey Lanerie, Sittin On Go covered the mile on a fast main track in 1:35.

In addition to picking up 10 points toward the 2021 Kentucky Derby, the winner also earned a fees-paid berth into the $2-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) at Keeneland on Nov. 6.

Favored Therideofalifetime led the field of 10 through uncontested fractions of :23.04, :45.64 and 1:10. At the top of the lane, Midnight Bourbon made the first move at Therideofalifetime and opened a daylight advantage that evaporated at the sixteenth pole.

The victory, the second in two starts for Sittin On Go, was worth $117,800 and boosted Sittin On Go's earnings to $145,520.

Sittin On Go is a Kentucky-bred son of Brody's Cause out of the More Than Ready mare Set'n On Ready.

Sittin On Go returned $50, $18.60 and $9. Midnight Bourbon, ridden by Gerardo Corrales, returned $6 and $4 and finished 1 ¾ lengths in front of Super Stock who paid $5.20 to show under Ricardo Santana Jr.

It was another 5 1/4 lengths back to Therideofalifetime who was followed in order by Pico d'Oro, Notary, Ultimate Badger, Crazy Shot, Drop Anchor and Belafonte.

“He broke really good and put me right where I thought he would be after watching his replay from Ellis Park,” said Lanerie. “Down the backside, he was trying to get out on me. I don't know why, but he settled in real nice. I was actually going to follow Dale's (Romans) other horse (Ultimate Badger), but I had so much horse, I went to the outside and let him come on. Watching the races, it looked like the outside is the best place to be. I didn't want any excuses for getting him stopped. I put him in the clear and he was just like his daddy (stakes winner Brody's Cause).”

“We're having ourselves a great weekend,” said Romans, who on Thursday saddled Girl Daddy to win the Pocahontas, a Win and You're In for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. “This horse reminds us a lot of his father (Brody's Cause). We were pretty confident he'd be able to stretch out from his training and this race set up perfectly for us. We're on to the Breeders' Cup.”

“Man, to pick up the Pocahontas (with Girl Daddy) and then follow it up with the Iroquois two days later is unreal,” said Dennis Albaugh. “We couldn't be happier. That's why we're in the racing business. That horse was unbelievable coming around the turn. I was like, 'Man, he's moving.' ”

Steve Asmussen was positive about the performances of his two runners, Midnight Bourbon and Super Stock. “Both of them are solid colts, good finishing times,” Asmussen said. “Just another step in the development of 2-year-olds that we hope end as good 3-year-olds. Super Stock, he kind of stumbled just a tad away from there. He wasn't exactly where we expected him to be early but I thought he adjusted and ran a solid race considering. And Midnight Bourbon ran really well. I thought he should have won from the position he was in but he was back on short rest and has room to improve.”

Florent Geroux, aboard favored Therideofalifetime, the beaten favorite who finished fourth, said: “Disappointed. He broke sharp and made the lead very easily. He did not finish for some reason. I don't know if it was too far for him or if it was too soon after the Saratoga race.”

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