Mike Puhich | Horse Racing Free Tips

Street Sense Filly Tops Todd Dispersal

An unraced 2-year-old filly by Street Sense (hip 1) topped the first phase of the dispersal of the Estate of the late Glen Todd–conducted on Fasig-Tipton's Digital Platform–when selling for $200,000 to NJP Racing. Named Adiva, the dark bay filly is out of Black Diamond Girl (Hard Spun), a half-sister to graded winner Big Truck (Hook and Ladder) and graded placed Logic Way (Freud). She was purchased by Todd's North American Thoroughbred Horse Company for $230,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Adiva has been working up to two furlongs at the Washington-based Pegasus Training Center, which consigned the dispersal horses.

“She was a rock star. She acted like it and trained like it and she sold like one,” said Pegasus Training Center trainer and director of horse operations Mike Puhich. “I am glad she sold for what I thought she was worth. I was kind of afraid, with as little exposure as she might get, that people might not see it, but everybody who saw her in person and saw her online saw that she looks kind of special. She is a very classy filly. One of the nicest that we have broken at the farm.”

NJP Racing also purchased the dispersal's second-highest priced offering, the multiple stakes-winning 5-year-old mare Princess of Cairo (Cairo Prince), for $115,000, as well as the unraced 3-year-old gelding Call Me Fast (Dialed In) for $60,000. All three will be joining Puhich's Kentucky string.

“It's a syndicate group,” Puhich said of NJP Racing. “They are from all over the place–a few of them are from New Zealand–and they are big clients of ours. They are going to our division in Kentucky and will be in my barn at Churchill Downs. It's kind of cool to be able to keep part of Glen's legacy going, too.”

Rounding out the trio of six-figure offerings at the dispersal was Five Star General (Distorted Humor). The 6-year-old, a multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed, was purchased for $110,000 by Kenny Alhadeff's Elttaes Stable.

During week-long bidding conducted online by Fasig-Tipton, 10 horses of racing age, 14 2-year-olds in training and seven yearlings sold without reserve. The group grossed $1,197,500, for an average of $38,629 and a median of $24,000.

“We were absolutely thrilled with the results,” said Puhich. “Fasig-Tipton did an amazing job getting it out there. This digital sale is the wave of the future. It's unbelievable. We had people from all over the country calling with interest and bidding. It was a shocking surprise.”

A longtime owner and breeder and pillar of the British Columbia Thoroughbred industry, Todd passed away Mar. 27.

“It was bittersweet,” Puhich said of the dispersal. “Mr. Todd was a very good friend and one of our best clients. We are very happy for the family that the horses did so well, but on the other side, the circumstances just takes it away.”

A total of 250 registered bidders cast 1,305 bids, with each horse receiving an average of 42 bids.

“We had four open houses for people to make an appointment and come in and we were booked full for four days in a row,” Puhich said of pre-sale interest in the dispersal. “There were a lot of people from Canada and local people, but we had interest and calls from all over the country. The way that Fasig-Tipton outlined it for us and recommended how we do the videos, the platform we were on took it to another level.”

Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales Leif Aaron was also pleased with the results of the dispersal.

“We are very appreciative of Glen Todd's family for entrusting Fasig-Tipton Digital with this piece of their father's legacy,” Aaron said. “We were able to move quickly to get a lot of horses sold in a short amount of time with a very strong result. Mike Puhich of Pegasus Training Center did a great job helping to facilitate the sale. It was a win for all parties.”

Fasig-Tipton is now accepting nominations for its May Digital Selected Sale, which will be open for bidding from May 12 through May 17. Entries close May 8.

The post Street Sense Filly Tops Todd Dispersal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bullet Drill for Secret Oath

Briland Farm's Secret Oath (Arrogate), preparing to take on the boys in the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby, worked a bullet five furlongs in :59.40 (1/34) Thursday at Oaklawn Park. Clockers caught Secret Oath covering her first eighth of a mile in :12, a quarter-mile in :23.80 and three furlongs in :36 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.40.

“The filly, that's a running machine, man,” said jockey Geovanni Franco, who was aboard for the work. “She was nice. That's a great experience for me. I was the work rider for [D. Wayne] Lukas and I'll do it again if he needs me. She felt good. That's a good feeling, man.”

Franco was deputizing for Secret Oath's regular rider Luis Contreras, who was out of town.

“Luis went home for a couple of days to be with his family and I know he'll be sick that I worked her without him,” Lukas said. “But having said that, the day came up and I thought he was going to be back, but he doesn't get in until 10 o'clock this morning. Geovanni did a beautiful job. He did a good job. He filled in nicely. I told Franco, I said, 'Luis owes you one now.'”

The five-furlong drill marked the second work for Secret Oath since her 7 1/2-length victory in the Feb. 26 GIII Honeybee S.

“We let her finish a little bit,” Lukas said. “I think she went the last quarter in :23 and change, so you know we saw her skip through there. But she did it the right way. It was a really solid work. These are ways of measuring where you're at and it's a measuring stick, these works. We're not concerned at this point on conditioning. We're trying to find out how sharp we've got her and everything showed up that way. So, now we just have to keep her happy.”

Franco was also aboard Call Me Jamal (Malibu Moon), who worked five furlongs in 1:00.00 (7/34) Thursday and is under consideration for the Arkansas Derby.

“I think he keeps improving and today I felt like he worked good,” said Franco, aboard for both of the gelding's victories at the meeting. “Hopefully, he keeps improving and keeps on getting his heart bigger.”

Trained by Mike Puhich, Call Me Jamal was a maiden winner over the Oaklawn oval last December and, after finishing eighth in the Jan. 29 GIII Southwest S., won a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer Feb. 26.

Moments after the work, Puhich said that Call Me Jamal remains under consideration for the Arkansas Derby and the Apr. 9 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland.

“I'm leaving the door open both ways, but I'm probably leaning more towards here,” Puhich said. “The Blue Grass is going to come up just as tough. I think Lukas's filly is the best 3-year-old I've seen run all year, in my opinion, from a fan's standpoint.”

The post Bullet Drill for Secret Oath appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Maiden Winner Call Me Jamal Bringing Veteran Trainer Puhich To Southwest Stakes

Recent Oaklawn maiden special weights graduate Call Me Jamal is pointing for Oaklawn's $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 29, the gelding's trainer Mike Puhich said Friday morning.

Owned by prominent Pacific Northwest heart surgeon Mark Dedomenico, Call Me Jamal was a front-running winner Dec. 18 under Geovanni Franco. In the 1 1/16-mile race, Call Me Jamal surrendered the lead in deep stretch before battling back to win by a head. It was his third career start and first around two turns.

“If he's as good in two weeks as he is today, he's definitely going,” Puhich said, referring to the Southwest. “He's ready.”

A chestnut son of the late Malibu Moon, Call Me Jamal is named after Seattle Seahawks All-Pro safety Jamal Adams.

The Southwest is Oaklawn's second of four Kentucky Derby points races. The series began with the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 1.

Other locally based horses pointing for the Southwest include Dash Attack for trainer Kenny McPeek, Barber Road (John Ortiz), Ben Diesel (Dallas Stewart) and Osbourne (Ron Moquett).

Dash Attack, Barber Road and Ben Diesel finished 1-2-7, respectively, in the 1-mile Southwest. Osbourne finished second in the $400,000 Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 17 at Remington Park in his last start.

All four horses recorded workouts over a fast track Friday morning. Dash Attack (:49.80), Ben Diesel (:49) and Osbourne (:49.20) went a half-mile. Barber Road (1:03.60) went 5 furlongs.

Smarty Jones third-place finisher Ignitis is under consideration for the Southwest, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said.

Like the Smarty Jones, the Southwest will offer 17 points to the top four finishes (10-4-2-1) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. Post positions for the Southwest will be drawn Jan. 24.

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‘Still Doesn’t Feel Like It’s Real’: Bowen Riding High After Longacres Mile Win

The morning after the biggest victory of his riding career, jockey Rocco Bowen was still on an emotional high.

“It still doesn't feel like it's real,” Bowen said. “This is home for me. Being back at Emerald Downs and riding for guys like Alan Bozell and Tom Wenzel, seeing Sally (Steiner) in the kitchen, getting a big cheer from fans in the jockey introductions. And then winning the (Longacres) Mile, it's unbelievable.”

The only jockey to win three straight riding titles at Emerald Downs, Bowen rode three winners in his first appearance here since 2018. The biggest victory, of course, was a desperate head triumph aboard 2 to 1 favorite Background in the 86th running of the $100,000 Longacres Mile (G3).

Showing resilience and tenacity in a grueling stretch run, Background nailed long shot Windribbon in the final jump, completing the mile in 1:36.67.

With the victory, Bowen, a 32-year-old native of Barbados, became the first black jockey to win the Longacres Mile. It also was his first graded stakes victory.

While the post-race winner's circle scene with trainer Mike Puhich, owners Bob and Molly Rondeau and a tearful Bowen was exuberant, the rider said he spent a quiet Sunday evening dining at Applebee's. Rocco plans to trail-ride around Enumclaw with friends the next couple days before returning to Chicago to finish out Arlington Park and ride the first two weeks at Hawthorne. After that comes vacation with family in Barbados and then back to Oaklawn Park for that track's earliest ever opening Dec. 3.

Background, meanwhile, was relaxing at Pegasus Training and Rehabilitation Center in Redmond, where he was about to enjoy a salt-water spa.

“We'll give him a little break at Pegasus,” Puhich said. “(Background) hasn't had an easy race all year, so he deserves a little time off. We'll get him ready for the same program next year, starting off at Oaklawn Park.”

A 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding by Khozan, Background is 3-2-1 in seven starts this year with earnings of $208,536. With Bowen riding, Background won two rich allowance races at Oaklawn Park ($106,000 and $88,000) and the $100,000 Longacres Mile. Background has an overall mark of 4-2-4 in 14 starts with earnings of $287,532.

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