Tag: mike pegram

Not This Time Colt Caps Speedy Week for GOP Racing Stable

A colt by Not This Time (hip 654) equaled the fastest-furlong time of the week when covering the distance in :9 3/5 during the final session of the under-tack show for next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Friday in Central Florida.

The chestnut colt is consigned by trainer Gerard Ochoa's GOP Racing Stable.

“I was hoping for a :9 4/5,” Ochoa said through an interpreter Friday. “I wasn't expecting a :9 3/5. So, of course, I was very, very happy with the work.”

Ochoa purchased the Iowa-bred, who is out of multiple stakes winner Meadow Bride (Runaway Groom), for $50,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“Of course the pedigree was a good thing,” Ochoa said of the colt's appeal last fall. “I paid attention to that, but also I liked the conformation.”

In addition to Friday's bullet worker, GOP was also represented by a trio of juveniles who worked the week's second fastest furlong time of :9 4/5.

“I am very happy with this week's results,” Ochoa said. “These horses have been working for months and these results couldn't have happened without the work of the whole team.”

GOP Racing Stable has 18 horses slated to sell at next week's OBS sale, none of the group was purchased for more than $55,000 last year.

“Last year when I was planning to buy, I was looking for very good horses who would train on well and would sell well this year,” Ochoa said.

Ochoa has been consigning under the GOP Racing Stable banner since 2018. His 2022 March consignment was led by Hard to Figure (Hard Spun), a $40,000 Keeneland September purchase who sold for $200,000. Trained by Bob Baffert on behalf of Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, the sophomore was a narrowly beaten runner-up in the Feb. 4 GIII Robert B. Lewis S.

Asked if he had another graded stakes performer in his 2023 consignment, Ochoa said, “It could be similar,” before quickly adding, “Or it might be even better.”

A filly from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Enticed (hip 631) equaled the week's fastest quarter-mile time when she worked in :20 3/5 Friday for Omar Ramirez Bloodstock. The gray filly is out of Love's Illusion (Tapit), a half-sister to graded winner Unchained Melody (Smart Strike) and the dam of stakes-placed J C's a Legend (Lea).

The OBS March sale will be held next Monday through Wednesday with bidding beginning each day at 11 a.m.

The post Not This Time Colt Caps Speedy Week for GOP Racing Stable appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Havnameltdown Wires the San Vicente

Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's Havnameltdown set all the fractions and held stablemate and co-favorite Faustin at bay to the wire to win the GII San Vicente S. by 1 1 /2 lengths at Santa Anita Sunday. Off a tad awkwardly from his inside post, Havnameltdown recovered quickly to pull himself to the early lead and was in control after a quarter in :22.46, with longshot Man Child (Creative Cause), the lone non-Baffert runner in the four-horse field, in close attendance. The bay colt inched further clear entering the far turn as the half went up in :45.46. Faustin, making his first start since a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut at Santa Anita Dec. 26, loomed a threat nearing the stretch, but Havnameltdown scampered clear into the lane and maintained his advantage to the wire as his stablemate tried in vain to reel him in down the length of the stretch.

“I felt out of the gate with the first jump, he broke really fast and strong then after that I felt like I was just cruising,” said winning jockey Juan Hernandez. “He was having fun out there.  He was kind of waiting for horses, I was doing the same thing, I was just waiting for him and waiting for the competition to get close to me so I could start making my horse run. At the three-eighths, I felt the pressure a little bit and I asked him and he responded really well. Turning for home he switched leads and he picked it up by himself.”

Havnameltdown will likely stay at one-turn distances, while Baffert is looking forward to stretching Faustin out.

“This horse is built for this distance that's him, one turn,” Baffert said of the winner. “He will stay one turn. Faustin, he was kind of a grinding slow, he wants to go longer, the other horse [Fort Warren] wants to go longer. You try to get outs into them so they'll learn and you'll figure [them out]. The other two are ready to go long.

“The problem is that if you break your maiden first time out, you have to run in stakes. It is that way all over the country. Just getting these races into them is important. Faustin, you can tell he is not there yet, once he goes two turns, you'll see a big difference in him. He wat trying to get there but he was running against a top-class sprinter.”

Havnameltdown was a $16,000 OBSOCT purchase by pinhooker Blas Perez, who resold the colt for $200,000 following a :9 4/5 work at last year's OBS April sale. The colt graduated on debut at Del Mar last July and added a win in the Aug. 14 GIII Best Pal S. in his second outing. He suffered his first loss when second behind stablemate Cave Rock (Arrogate) in the Sept. 11 GI Del Mar Futurity, but returned to the winner's circle with a 1 1/4-length victory in the Nov. 20 GIII Bob Hope S. last time out.

Pedigree Notes:

Havnameltdown is one of six graded winners for his sire Uncaptured. The Canadian champion 2-year-old, who began his stud career at Ocala Stud, relocated to South Korea for the 2020 breeding season.

The winner's dam, Ashley's Babe, in foal to Maximus Mischief, RNA'd for $170,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale. She has a 2-year-old Tapiture colt who RNA'd for $4,500 earlier this month at the Keeneland January sale.

Sunday, Santa Anita
SAN VICENTE S.-GII, $196,000, Santa Anita, 1-29, 3yo, 7f, 1:22.29, ft.
1–HAVNAMELTDOWN, 124, c, 3, by Uncaptured
                1st Dam: Ashley's Babe, by Put It Back
                2nd Dam: Charms Way, by Salt Lake
                3rd Dam: Remember Midnight, by Cure the Blues
($16,000 Ylg '21 OBSOCT; $200,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR).
O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman;
B-Katherine S Devall (FL); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez.
$120,000. Lifetime Record: GISP, 5-4-1-0, $408,000. Werk Nick
Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Faustin, 120, c, 3, Curlin–Hard Not to Like, by Hard Spun.
'TDN Rising Star'. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($285,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP; $800,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR).
O-Michael Lund Petersen; B-Dattt Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob
Baffert. $40,000.
3–Fort Warren, 120, c, 3, Curlin–La Appassionata,
by Bernardini. 'TDN Rising Star'. 1ST BLACK TYPE,
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($550,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP).
O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert
Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay A. Schoenfarber,
Waves Edge Capital LLC & Catherine Donovan; B-Stonestreet
Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $24,000.
Margins: 1HF, 8 3/4, 4 3/4. Odds: 1.00, 1.00, 4.90.
Also Ran: Man Child. Scratched: Gilmore.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Havnameltdown Wires the San Vicente appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Defunded is Dominant in Native Diver

Sunday, Del Mar
NATIVE DIVER S.-GIII, $150,500, Del Mar, 11-27, 3yo/up,
1 1/8m, 1:50.12, ft.
1–DEFUNDED, 125, g, 4, by Dialed In
                1st Dam: Wind Caper (MSP, $194,286), by Touch Gold
                2nd Dam: Wind Tunnel, by Summer Squall
                3rd Dam: Tivli, by Mt. Livermore
($210,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson
& Paul Weitman; B-Athens Woods LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert;
J-Edwin A. Maldonado. $90,000. Lifetime Record: GISW,
13-5-3-1, $608,100. *1/2 to Lookin At Roses (Lookin At Lucky),
SP, $251,910. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree
or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Azul Coast, 121, h, 5, Super Saver–Sky Treasure, by Sky Mesa.
($150,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $320,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP).
O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman; B-SF
Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $30,000.
3–Newgrange, 120, c, 3, Violence–Bella Chianti, by Empire
Maker. ($125,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $325,000 3yo '22 FTKHRA).
O-David A. Bernsen, LLC, Little Red Feather Racing &
Rockingham Ranch; B-Jack Mandato & Black Rock
Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Philip D'Amato. $18,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, 3/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 0.70, 8.30, 4.90.
Also Ran: Go Joe Won, Tizamagician, Parnelli. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Grade I winner Defunded, who skipped a shot at the Breeders' Cup, kept it rolling with a popular score in the GIII Native Diver S. Sunday at Del Mar.

A second-out graduate last March at Santa Anita, the gelding was fourth in both the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and GIII Pat Day Mile S. before running second in the GIII Affirmed S. and GIII Los Alamitos Derby. Scoring a pair of blowout allowance/optional claiming victories, he was a hard-fought runner-up in the GI Hollywood Gold Cup S. May 30, but finished off the board in the GII San Diego H. and GII Pat O'Brien S. here this summer.

Going wire to wire to capture the GI Awesome Again S. last out Oct. 1 in Arcadia, the chestnut was knocked down to odds-on in this spot and broke awkwardly. Soon rushing up to press the pace three wide, Defunded moved into second past a :23.62 quarter and drew alongside the longshot pacesetter through a sharp half in :46.41. Poking his head in front five-sixteenths out, the favorite kicked clear into the lane and bounded away to score as much the best, well ahead of stablemate Azul Coast.

“He came away from there a little bit slow, but I wasn't concerned. This horse doesn't need to be in front,” said winning rider Edwin Maldonado. “He's won from off the pace before. I rode him with confidence all the way. On the [far] turn he wanted to lean on the horse inside us, but I got him going straight and it all worked out from there.”

“Edwin said Defunded was kind of wanting to sit back and when that happens and they sit back when the gate opens, then you're going the wrong way,” added Jimmy Barnes, assistant to winning trainer Bob Baffert. “Luckily they were going slow enough he was able to recover and get back in a good position. He's always had talent. It's just that he's been a little aggressive in the paddock on us at times. But he went through the paddock good, he went to the gate good so maybe we've got him straightened out.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of 22 stakes winners, eight graded stakes winners and three Grade I winners for Darby Dan's Dialed In, Defunded is the third black-type performer out of her four-time stakes-placed dam, a daughter of a SW Wind Tunnel. That mare is a half to GSW Reunited (Dixie Union), who produced MGISW Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}). Bought by the winner's breeder for $37,000 at Keeneland November in 2016, Wind Caper has an unraced 3-year-old Maclean's Music filly, an unraced juvenile Lookin At Lucky filly named Capital Lights and a yearling full-sister to the winner named Ringy Dingy who sold to Oracle Bloodstock for $200,000 at Fasig-Tipton October.

The post Defunded is Dominant in Native Diver appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bayern’s Speed Boat Beach Motors Home to New Track Record

6th-Del Mar, $82,500, Msw, 9-10, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:01.86, ft, 1 1/4 lengths.
SPEED BOAT BEACH (c, 2, Bayern–Sophia Mia, by Pioneerof the Nile) stepped out in sharp fashion on unveiling here, taking a field of 10 gate to wire and establishing a new track record of 1:01.86 in the process as the 2-1 second choice behind even-money Hejazi (Bernardini). The latter was the $3.55 million EASMAY topper this season, purchased by Zedan Racing. The $700,000 FTKOCT firster Fort Bragg (Tapit) picked up the final place spot, and completed Bob Baffert's sweep of the board. Speed Boat Beach, a $12,000 OBSOCT yearling turned $200,000 OBSMAR pinhook (:9 3/5) is the first to the races for Sophia Mia. He has a pair of half-sisters, a yearling by Distorted Humor and a 2022 foal by Volatile. The dam visited Army Mule for 2023. Sales history: $12,000 Ylg '21 OBSOCT; $200,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $48,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman; B-Caperlane Farm (FL); T-Bob Baffert.

 

The post Bayern’s Speed Boat Beach Motors Home to New Track Record appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights