Many of the trainers and owners running horses in Saturday's eight Claiming Crown races already won a critical competition before the starting gate even opens at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: They got the horse at the claim box.

With shrinking foal crops and enhanced purses in areas such as Kentucky, New York and Arkansas, there has never been more demand for a competitive claiming horse, the backbone of American racing. The Claiming Crown was created 25 years ago by the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders of America (TOBA) to spotlight those horses with their own big-money day.

The 25th Claiming Crown–this year worth a total of $1 million and staged with support from the Louisiana HBPA–clearly has encouraged some owners to seek out horses with this day in mind.

“A lot of guys gear up for this day,” said trainer Robertino Diodoro, whose seven Claiming Crown entrants include three contenders for the $200,000 Jewel in Flying P Stable's Saqeel and Frosted Grace and Ken Ramsey's King's Ovation. “Two of my bigger guys, Flying P and Ken Ramsey, have had success at the Claiming Crown and just love it. Jason Provenzano has mentioned it to me at least once a week for four months about having Frosted Grace for the Claiming Crown. Flying P last winter would say, 'How about this horse (to claim)? He'd be eligible for the Claiming Crown next year.' It was nine or 11 months away, but it shows you how excited some of the owners are and how much pride they take in running in it.

“It's a big day and very important to a lot of owners. The blue-collar horses get to be the spotlight of the day and run for good money. You have to have blue-collar horses in this game, for sure, for spectators, owners and trainers. They're a big part of our game.”

Claiming a horse is one of the quickest and most effective ways to get new owners into the game–or to bring lapsed owners back. Claim a horse, and you could see it run back in your silks in a matter of weeks.

For example, owner Paul Parker and trainer/co-owner Jeff Hiles needed to win a 13-way shake to get Time for Trouble, the favorite in Saturday's $75,000 Ready's Rocket Express, for $8,000 on June 18, 2021 at Churchill Downs. He was one of five horses claimed out of the race. Time for Trouble has not run in another race since where he could be claimed, that includes winning last year's Ready's Rocket Express at Churchill Downs.

Starter-allowance races such as the Claiming Crown are restricted to horses that have started for a certain claiming price or cheaper in a specified time frame. But there is no claiming involved, making starter races attractive to those who don't want to risk losing their horse.

The complexities of the claiming game increase when horses' eligibility for starter races expires. If they're put in another claiming race to make them re-eligible for starter competition, there's a good chance they'll be claimed. On the other hand, horsemen need to run in spots where they can make money to stay in business. Running a horse over its head repeatedly just to hang on to it doesn't do the owner, trainer or the horse any good.

So it's one thing to claim a horse with the Claiming Crown in mind and another to still have it come Claiming Crown day.

Mike Maker, the all-time leading Claiming Crown trainer with 21 victories, and his fellow horsemen Diodoro, Chris Hartman and Joe Sharp are all over Saturday's Claiming Crown entries. Maker and Diodoro entered seven apiece, Sharp six and Hartman four.

Then there are all the horses racing Saturday that those guys used to train. Take Invaluable–and a lot of people did just that.

Now six, Invaluable won last year's Claiming Crown Glass Slipper for Maker but will start this year for Sharp, who claimed her two races ago. The Claiming Crown was only Invaluable's second start for Maker, who took the mare off Diodoro for $32,000 at Saratoga in a race where all four horses were claimed. The prior winter, Diodoro had taken Invaluable off Hartman for $30,000 at Oaklawn, a race in which five of eight starters changed hands.

“That one hurts,” Diodoro said of losing Invaluable, the 2022 National HBPA Claiming Horse of the Year. “I loved that mare. I didn't want to lose her. She's as honest as they come. We could have tried to hold her out for the Claiming Crown. But you get to Saratoga, the owners want to win, the purses are big. You can't just 'protect' these horses. You've got to run them where they can win–and there's a pretty good chance you're going to lose them at the claim box.”

The home run is getting a horse that improves to where it can run well in allowance and stakes races. That's the case with Frosted Grace, a $32,000 claim a year ago who has made $382,860 for Flying P in 2023, including winning Lone Star Park's GIII Steve Sexton Mile S.

Three other Diodoro-trained horses will make their first start for the barn Saturday, having been claimed specifically for the Claiming Crown. One, Pens Street in the Glass Slipper, has been claimed in three of her last four races.

The $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial will be the second start for Diodoro with $40,000 claim On a Spree, who changed hands six times in his prior seven starts, including spending one race apiece for Hartman and Sharp.

“The claiming game gives everyone a chance,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. “There's often not a lot that separates blue blood from blue collar. Horses every day outrun their pedigrees. High price tags bring high expectations, but sometimes those horses simply aren't good enough for top-level company. That doesn't mean they aren't still good, productive horses. And sometimes horses' form goes off to where they're put in a claiming race to get them back on track. Like Emerald favorite Therapist.”

That New York-bred gelding, an eight-time stakes-winner at the time, was claimed for $25,000 and then for $50,000 in his next start by Maker in January. Therapist now has won three races for new owner Michael Dubb, including the GI United Nations S.

Hamelback noted that Glass Slipper favorite Samarita was a $1,000 yearling who has won her past six races and that Claiming Crown Jewel favorite Money Supply cost $400,000 as a yearling but clearly didn't fit into his original owner's program geared toward the classic races.

“The same mare, Tokyo Time, produced $3-million earner Olympiad a year after she foaled Iron Horse contender Mau Mau,” Hamelback said. “He lost his first six starts, was put in a $30,000 claiming race, won that day and was claimed and has since raced successfully at his level for several different trainers. There are a lot more Mau Maus than Olympiads. They are good racehorses at their level and bring a lot of joy to their owners and barns. We celebrate them all with the Claiming Crown.”

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Lope De Vega Colt Strikes At Keeneland

Buffoon (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) put it all together at second asking at Keeneland for Pura Vida Investments and trainer Mike Maker on Saturday (video).

Bred by Ecurie des Monceaux and Rifa Mustang Europe, Ltd., the €175,000 Arqana August yearling selection of Deuce Greathouse is out of After Dawn (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), herself a half-sister to sires and Group 1 winners Ectot (GB) and Most Improved (Ire). He is followed by a yearling filly by Sottsass (Fr) who brought €130,000 at the Arqana October yearling Sale from Oceanic Bloodstock. Under the stakes-winning Danehill third dam Mahalia (Ire) is GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) among others.

Ballylinch's Lope De Vega has one of the best records of any European sire with his progeny in North America, and Buffoon is his 40th winner from 74 runners there (54%). Besides a pair of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroines in Newspaperofrecord (Ire) and Aunt Pearl (Ire), the stallion has five additional stakes winners in America.

#15 Buffoon draws in off the AE list and breaks his maiden at second asking in R2 at Keeneland for trainer Mike Maker with @jrosariojockey in the saddle!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/kkoIn86GRX

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) October 28, 2023

Night Of Thunder Filly Stars Beneath Twin Spires

Kick A Rhyme (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) was the second winner in less than a week for Pura Vida Investments and trainer Mike Maker when taking a Churchill Downs maiden on Nov. 1 (video). The filly was making her third start.

Bred by Irish National Stud Mare Syndicate II, the dark bay was picked up by BBA Ireland for €150,000 as a Goffs Orby yearling on the bid of Deuce Greathouse and Pura Vida. Out of the listed-placed Adhwaa (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the filly is a half-sister to multiple group winner Alflaila (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and is her dam's final foal.

The seventh winner from 13 runners (54%) for her Darley sire, Kick A Rhyme has a quartet of paternal half-siblings that have found black-type in the U.S. Night Of Thunder's best get there are Grade III winners Sopran Basilea (Ire) and Pocket Square (GB).

#8 Kick a Rhyme breaks his maiden in R6 at Churchill Downs under @tyler_gaff for trainer Mike Maker!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/oRzp7qtCV9

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) November 1, 2023

Markaz Filly Wins In Arcadia

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Yerwanthere (Ire) (Markaz {Ire}) rallied to win at Santa Anita for trainer Patrick Gallagher on Saturday (video).

Part of the Kilnamoragh Stud breeding programme, the 4-year-old filly won her first start in Ireland for owner/breeder Jim Browne and trainer Pat Foley. Eclipse purchased the filly after that start and moved her to Joseph O'Brien, and she took a Dundalk handicap in December of 2022. Sent to America after three more appearances, she debuted with a fourth at Del Mar in August prior to her win last weekend. A half-sister to the winning Listed Brigids Pastures S. third Special Wan (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}), Yerwanthere is also a half-sister to the unraced juvenile filly Over The Blues (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) and a yearling colt by Profitable (Ire). Second dam Slow Jazz (Chief's Crown) won two stakes, and she is also a half-sister to G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Blue Duster (Danzig).

Yerwanthere is one of two winners from three runners (66%) in the U.S. for Dark Angel's Markaz. On an international level, all three of his stakes winners have won at Group 3 level in Ireland (2) and France (1).

Repeat Winners

Klaravich Stables' Redistricting (GB) (Kingman {GB}) improved his record to two wins from three starts with a victory in New York on Saturday (video). The Chad Brown trainee was previously featured in Making Waves in June.

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The GII Miss Grillo S., a pathway to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, brings together a cast of 12. Only Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's Gala Brand (Violence) has graded experience. The chestnut filly delivered in her second start when she faced males and won the GIII With Anticipation S. Aug. 31 at Saratoga over next-out GI bet365 Summer S. hero Carson's Run (Cupid).

From the inside gates, Appellate (Constitution) from the Todd Pletcher barn and Hard to Justify (Justify) from Chad Brown's shedrow will tussle once again. The latter won on debut by a head over the former July 23 at Saratoga, but the Pletcher trainee made a start since Sept. 3 upstate and gained some valuable grass experience as a runner-up once again.

Meanwhile, Gainesway homebred Memorialize (Karakontie {Jpn}) for Graham Motion is looking to build on her own maiden victory, this one at second-asking, when the chestnut filly won confidently by three lengths Aug. 20 at Saratoga.

The boys get their chance later on the BAQ card when the GII Pilgrim S. goes off with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf implications at stake. Leading the way is 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road), who absolutely rolled from seemingly nowhere Sept. 2 at Saratoga to break his maiden by a neck at second asking.

“His last breeze was very good. He's training well and came out of his race in good order,” said the colt's trainer, Todd Pletcher. “He got a very wide trip, which maybe turned out to be a blessing with all that was going on at the eighth pole. Turning for home, I thought he had way too much to do, and he really kicked in late. He's had a little bit of experience, so hopefully that pays dividends.”

A pair of runners who might fly under the radar are Liam's Journey (Liam's Map) for Mike Maker and Fulmineo (Bolt d'Oro) for Arnaud Delacour.

The post Rescheduled Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Races Take To BAQ Turf appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Tyler Gaffalione capped off his third Kentucky Downs riding title in style, winning three races on Wednesday's closing-day card to finish with 12 victories for the FanDuel Meet, five more than 2021 riding champion and second-finisher Joel Rosario.

Brendan Walsh earned his second training title, and first outright, at the track with eight wins, three more than Kentucky Downs' all-time win leader Mike Maker, who had a meet-high 10 seconds and nine thirds.

Ken Ramsey, the winningest owner in Kentucky Downs history as well as Kentucky, won his ninth title at the track and his first since 2018 with three wins victories to edge the two wins of Three Diamonds Farm and Augustin Stables.

Gaffalione got off to a fast start, winning the meet's very first race and then taking the last of 76 races. He also won last year's riding title with nine wins and in 2020 with 11. Gaffalione started the day ahead 9-7 over Rosario, but had clinched the crown by mid-card.

Florent Geroux finished third with six wins but won the money title, $2,800,016 to $2,706,419 for Gaffalione. Both riders rode all seven days of the meet, while Rosario missed one day to ride at Saratoga.

Gaffalione was a workhorse, riding 71 of the meet's 76 races, compared with 51 for Rosario and 48 for Geroux.

“It's amazing,” Gaffalione said. “It was very competitive this year. It's world-class racing, and we enjoy being out there. We were very fortunate. We got a little bit of revenge this year (in stakes). Brendan Walsh and his team did a great job. I think we won five or six races for him. He sent his horses over ready to run this meet, and they fired big for us.”

Walsh tied for the 2021 title with Maker and Steve Asmussen with four wins apiece. He won with eight of 28 starters this meet (29 percent) and also led in purse earnings at $1,701,584. Jonathan Thomas, whose four wins included a pair of $1 million stakes, finished second in earnings at $1,487,443.

“It was a great meet,” said assistant trainer Paul Madden, who was at Kentucky Downs while Walsh was working the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. “Kudos to all the team. It was all the team and the effort they put in. It was a big deal for him (Walsh) to win this. To win eight races this meet–the prize money being so big–it's just a great place to win. He definitely points toward this meet.”

It was Ramsey's first since his last of six straight titles in 2018. He also won in 2010 and 2009. Ramsey's other titles were in the name of Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who died last year.

“It's like eating Cracker Jack,” Ramsey said. “The more you eat, the more you want. The more you win, the more you want to win. I'm inspired by winning. It motivates me to keep buying good horses and claiming good horses. I've got to pad my statistics, got to raise the bar a little higher. I can't look over my shoulder or they'll be gaining on me.”

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That's a fairly daunting stat considering how the match-up of the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. winners is essentially what the public wants to see.

It's also a little surprising because of the presence of several high-profile horses on that list of Travers losers: Two of them had even swept the Triple Crown before getting derailed at the Spa–one crossed the wire first but was disqualified for interference, while the other endured the roughest trip of his career in his only loss at age three.

Adding to this year's intrigue, none of the winners of this spring's Triple Crown races are likely to be favored in the Travers. Derby upsetter Mage (Good Magic), Preakness victor National Treasure (Quality Road), and Belmont bloomer Arcangelo (Arrogate) all figure to be eclipsed in the betting by last year's 2-year-old champ, Forte (Violence).

Turn the clock back to 2017 to find the last Travers that lured all three Triple Crown race winners. Always Dreaming, first in the Derby, finished ninth in Saratoga's showcase race. Cloud Computing, the Preakness winner, ran eighth. Tapwrit, the Belmont winner, finished fourth, eight lengths behind the 6-1, wire-to-wire Travers outsider West Coast, who had broken his maiden in March, passed on the Triple Crown, and prepped with a score in the GIII Los Alamitos Derby.

In 2015, American Pharoah looked like a Travers slam dunk at .35-1 odds after dominating the division with powerhouse performances in the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, and GI Haskell Invitational. But the champ was boxed in, bounced around, and knocked off stride by 7-1 pace-presser Frosted in the Travers, softening him up just enough for the 16-1 Keen Ice to prevail by three-quarters of a length.

Before that, there had been a 33-year gap back to the last Travers that featured all three winners of that year's Triple Crown races.

The 1982 renewal only drew five entrants, but it was headlined by speedy Belmont stayer Conquistador Cielo, the 2-5 chalk who was looking to extend a seven-race win streak. Derby winner Gato Del Sol and Preakness upsetter Aloma's Ruler were the second and third favorites. But Aloma's Ruler and Conquistador Cielo dueled themselves into defeat, allowing the overlooked Canadian-bred gray Runaway Groom to eke out a half-length victory at 12-1 after prepping for the Travers with a score in Fort Erie's Prince of Wales S. Behind him, the Preakness, Belmont and Derby winners had to settle for second, third, and fifth, respectively.

The 1981 Travers also featured a Triple Crown triumvirate, consisting of Derby and Preakness winner Pleasant Colony, sent postward as the 8-5 fave, and Summing, who had beaten him in the Belmont. They were second and ninth, respectively, behind the 24-1 Travers party crasher Willow Hour, who splashed home by a head after refusing to get hooked into running too fast too early by a rabbit entrymate of Pleasant Colony's.

You have to go all the way back to 1978 to find the last time the Travers drew the winners of all three spring Classics and the first horse across the line was a winner of one of those races. But even that apparent victory was fleeting.

In this case it was the Triple Crown champ Affirmed, who was sent off the 7-10 favorite over the even-money Alydar, whom he had defeated in Louisville, Baltimore and New York. Yet in one of the most dramatic renewals in Travers history, Affirmed's 1 3/4-length victory was erased by a disqualification because he had dropped down near the rail nearing the far turn, cutting off his arch-rival and forcing Alydar into the fence. The stewards' reversal of the order of finish based on the foul elevated Alydar to the win.

Big effort from 'Cody's' Lil Bro

Hunt Ball (Into Mischief), the 2-year-old little brother of multiple Grade I-winning miler Cody's Wish (Curlin), didn't win his sprint debut Saturday at Saratoga. But his second-place effort in the first race Aug. 19 behind wire-to-wire favorite Risk It (Gun Runner) stamps him as a horse of interest moving forward.

The Godolphin homebred for trainer Bill Mott got pinballed at the break then rushed up into contention, losing momentum several times while trying to find a comfortable stalking spot chasing a well-meant winner over six furlongs. He leveled off with purpose under coaxing and was drawing a bead on Risk It in upper stretch before the favorite kicked clear by 4 1/2 lengths.

Keep an eye on Hunt Ball with a little bit more real estate to work with in start No. 2, whenever and wherever it comes.

Hunt Ball's dam, Dance Card, lost her sprint debut back in 2012 before racking up four straight wins over 1 1/16 miles and nine furlongs, including a Grade I win in that year's Gazelle S.

And Cody's Wish himself required four initial starts to find winning form in 2021, including twice being a beaten favorite as a juvenile at Saratoga before blasting through with three straight wins over one-turn miles at Churchill Downs.

Axel on a roll

If you have the drive and the talent, the mid-Atlantic region is a great region to launch a racing career as an up-and-coming jockey, because it affords opportunities to ride at both day and evening tracks.

Right now the 18-year-old apprentice Axel Concepcion is making the most of the roughly 75-mile commute between Laurel Park and Charles Town Races. In a span of just under 48 hours between Friday night and Sunday afternoon, he rode nine combined winners at those two tracks.

The weekend spree included the first stakes score for Concepcion, who turned pro Jan. 1 in his native Puerto Rico. He won 21 races there before earning his first mainland U.S. victory Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds. He shifted his tack to Laurel a week later. Riding with a five-pound allowance, he's currently Maryland's leading apprentice this year and is represented by agent Tom Stift.

Concepcion rode two winners at Charles Town Friday, Aug. 18. The next afternoon at Laurel he scored in four, including one aboard an 11-1 shot and another on the 4-1 Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid) in the $75,000 Find S. for owner Three Diamonds Farm and trainer Mike Maker. Back at Charles Town under the lights Aug. 19, Concepcion made two more visits to the winner's circle. On Sunday, Aug. 20, he rode one winner at Laurel.

In between, he's at Laurel for morning training, honing his skills while trying to get noticed and pick up business on an ultra- competitive circuit.

“He's got to be there in the morning at 6 a.m.,” Stift said. “He's been doing it for months now. He's on a mission. Obviously, Mike [Maker]'s been watching the races and watching Axel ride. You don't put a bug boy on a [stakes] horse like that unless you've been paying attention.”

The post The Week in Review: When Derby, Preakness, Belmont Winners Meet at Spa, History Says Someone Else Will Steal Travers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“[Therapist] finished strong, and I loved his gallop-out,” said Maker, who has won the race on five prior occasions since 2015. “Red Knight would appreciate a faster pace, and he had a pretty wide trip as well. But both horses ran very well.”

In related news, U.N. runner-up Catnip (Silent Name {Jpn}) is likely to contest the $2-million GIII Mint Millions at Kentucky Downs Sept. 2, according to trainer Michael Stidham. The 4-year-old took the June 17 GIII Monmouth S. prior to his UN appearance.

The post U.N. Top Three Target Kentucky Downs Features appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Off at 12-1 in the $600,000 United Nations, Therapist broke cleanly from the inside and settled into a nice midpack spot as 58-1 longshot So High (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) showed the way through early :24.76 and :49.32 quarters. Unhurried, Therapist bided his time until the final turn, where he kicked on wide and rallied down the lane to reel in favored last-out GIII Monmouth S. winner Catnip (Kitten's Joy), who had tracked So High all the way before tackling him in the stretch. Therapist also held off a surging Red Knight (Pure Prize), a fellow older model who has had a resurgence of his own to win the GI Man o' War S. in May. Red Knight, like Therapist, hails from the barn of Michael Maker, who has now won this race three times since 2017.

“He's a really good horse,” said jockey Javier Castellano of the winner. “He's a long-distance horse. He seems to always maintain his rhythm. I knew that horse on the lead was going to stop. I just rode my race. I knew he was going to come back to us. I didn't want to chase him and not have anything left. It's a long distance. You have to have a lot of patience and have a lot of confidence in the horse. It's amazing that he won a Grade I race at 8-years-old. He's just a professional horse.”

Watch this remarkable win by #1 THERAPIST ($26.60) and @jjcjockey in the (GI) United Nations Stakes at @MonmouthPark. Congratulations to Michael Dubb and @trainerMMaker!

The https://t.co/nBYFHiPrdh Haskell Stakes is NEXT! Watch on @FanDuelTV. Bet at https://t.co/nBYFHiPrdh. pic.twitter.com/xzZV3PoIwJ

— TVG (@TVG) July 22, 2023

Therapist has had a long career, breaking his maiden in 2017–three years before the competitors in the GI Haskell S., the next race on Monmouth's card–were even born. A multiple listed winner at two and winner of several black-type races in the ensuing years, he has clearly improved over time, adding his first graded win in Gulfstream's GII Pan American S. just this April. Last seen finishing second in the Chorleywood Overnight S. at Ellis Park June 17, Therapist was picked up by owner Michael Dubb for $50,000 at Gulfstream in January after he lost a $25,000 shake for him in December.

“I followed this horse throughout his career,” said Dubb, who was winning his third consecutive United Nations, although the last two were in partnership. “I knew the ability he had and that's why I claimed him.

“This is Mike Maker's sweet spot. When we got him the horse hadn't been racing this long and I asked Mike why he wanted to go this long. He said, 'I see it in the breeding.'”

Pedigree Notes:

Therapist is the fifth Grade I winner for New York's veteran star sire, Freud. The 25-year-old Sequel Stallions stalwart, a full-brother to the late Giant's Causeway, has 61 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere and 11 graded winners. Freud has three stakes performers out of Smart Strike mares, with two of those being Therapist and his younger full-sister, Fresco. Smart Strike currently sits second on the 2023 list of leading broodmare sires and has 164 black-type winners out of his daughters.

Now 20, Lady Renaissance has been sold since foaling Therapist and Fresco in the Empire State. She brought $52,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale from Dennis Yokum and was shipped to California. Her most recent produce is Seize the Derby (Carpe Diem), an unraced 3-year-old gelding. Lady Renaissance's lovely extended pedigree includes a granddam who is a half-sister to 1994 Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen (Pretense), whose influence is still felt today.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
UNITED NATIONS S.-GI, $612,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:14.50, fm.
1–THERAPIST, 124, g, 8, by Freud
               1st Dam: Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Artistic, by Pirate's Bounty
                3rd Dam: Paintbrush, by Bold Hour
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($8,000 RNA Ylg '16 SARAUG). O-Michael Dubb; B-Oak Bluff Stable, LLC & C. Clement (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Javier Castellano. $360,000. Lifetime Record: 42-13-5-8, $1,353,815. *Full to Fresco, SW, $125,350. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catnip, 124, g, 4, Kitten's Joy–Masquerade, by Silent Name (Jpn). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-John Moore & Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $120,000.
3–Red Knight, 124, g, 9, Pure Prize–Isabel Away, by Skip Away. O/B-Trinity Farm, LLC (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3/4, NO. Odds: 12.30, 1.20, 2.70.
Also Ran: Limited Liability, Planetario (Brz), Foreign Relations,
So High (GB), Yamato, Kygo (Ger). Scratched: Oceans Map.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV .

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Friday, July 14, 2023
Saratoga 1, $88k, 2yo, f, (S), 5 1/2f, 1:10 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Astoria Park (Destin), OBSAPR, 37,000, click
C-Goldencents Thoroughbreds; B-Nova Stables LLC

Ellis 4, $70k, 2yo, 1mT, 2:13 p.m. ET
Company You Keep (Audible), OBSMAR, 170,000, click
C-Randy Miles, Agent; B-Michael Maker

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With a maiden-breaking score by 6 lengths against New York state-bred company May 28 at Belmont Park, the Mike Maker trainee shipped to Kentucky. Off at odds of 2-1, the bay colt chased leaders Go Otto Go (Bolt d'Oro) and Call Me Andy (Midshipman) to the outside of the second flight. Rounding the far turn, the $340,000 OBSMAR buy went three-wide with good energy and he put away his rivals past the eighth pole to win by 2 3/4 lengths over Wilson Q.

Out of a female family which includes MGSW Isotherm (Lonhro {Aus}), GISP Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) and GSW Skelly (Practical Joke), the winner is his dam's first offspring. She has also produced a yearling colt by Authentic and she foaled a filly by Curlin Mar. 6.

#5 The Wine Steward spurts away to take the Bashford Manor S. at Ellis Park for trainer Mike Maker!

This is a riding triple for jockey @luissaezpty!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/KwPDClqRvh

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) July 2, 2023

BASHFORD MANOR S., $208,000, Ellis, 7-2, 2yo, 6f, 1:10.06, ft.
1–THE WINE STEWARD, 120, c, 2, by Vino Rosso
                1st Dam: Call to Service, by To Honor and Serve
                2nd Dam: Game for More, by More Than Ready
                3rd Dam: Ermelinda, by Sea Hero
($70,000 Ylg '22 SARAUG; $340,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher; B-Sequel Thoroughbreds LLC, Lakland Farm & Mark Toothaker (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Luis Saez. $122,760. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $164,010.
2–Wilson Q, 120, c, 2, Constitution–Margate Gardens, by Speightstown. ($100,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-The Del Mar Group; B-Runnymede Farm LLC & Peter J. Callahan (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $45,100.
3–Call Me Andy, 120, c, 2, Midshipman–Di's Delight, by French Deputy. ($145,000 Wlg '21 FTKNOV; $260,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Andrew Farm, Mountmellick Farm, Ocean Reef Racing, White Mountain Stables and Stonecrest Farm; B-Barlar, LLC (MD); T-Brendan P. Walsh. $19,800.
Margins: 2 3/4, 3 1/4, 3HF. Odds: 2.22, 1.35, 6.07.
Also Ran: Go Otto Go, Magical Mark, Unified Point. Scratched: Lou's Legacy.

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