Mike Repole | Horse Racing Free Tips

$40,000 Claim Devious Mo Makes Big Step Up In Class For Rodriguez And Repole

Repole Stable's Devious Mo made a triumphant stakes debut on Saturday, besting Sinful Dancer by three-quarters of a length in the $200,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series Times Square for sophomores at Aqueduct in Ozone Park, N.Y.

After needing seven starts to break his maiden, trainer Rudy Rodriguez has seen his charge now win two in a row, building on an 8 3/4-length score in a maiden contest going six furlongs in a $25,000 maiden claimer on March 13 at the Big A. That effort netted the Laoban colt a then personal-best 79 Beyer Speed Figure. He set a new high by garnering an 84 for his forwardly placed effort going 6 1/2 furlongs on Saturday, with Rodriguez saying on Sunday morning that he came out of it in good order.

“He looked good and comfortable this morning,” Rodriguez said.

Claimed for $40,000 out of a fourth-place effort in November at the Big A, Devious Mo has already made four starts at Aqueduct for Rodriguez to start his 3-year-old campaign. After his maiden-breaking effort, Rodriguez, with Repole's urging, decided to face him against more challenging competition, and he responded under a strong ride by Manny Franco to top a seven-horse field.

“We were just taking a chance since he was eligible for the race and it looked like it may have been a bit of a softer spot,” said Rodriguez. “We knew it was a big jump up to ask him to run in a stakes after being in for $25,000, and we were a little concerned breaking out of the one hole. But he did it the right way. Manny rode him great.”

Devious Mo, bred in New York by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, gave Rodriguez his second stakes win of 2021, adding to Pete's Play Call in the $100,000 Gravesend on January 2.

Rodriguez could be aiming for greater stakes glory during the upcoming Belmont Park spring/summer meet, with E.V. Racing Stable's Water White a possibility for the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian for older fillies and mares going one mile on Big Sandy Sunday, May 2.

Water White, who capped her 3-year-old campaign with a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Acorn on Belmont Stakes Day June 20, returned from a nearly 10-month layoff to best a five-horse optional claiming field by four lengths going a one-turn mile on a sloppy and sealed track on April 1 at Aqueduct.

Rodriguez said Water White could build off a successful sophomore effort, which saw her run second in the Busanda before winning the $250,000 Busher Invitational. In the Acorn, she earned in a black type in a race won by Gamine, the eventual Eclipse Award Champion Female Sprinter last year.

In January, Water White returned to the work tab for the first time in six months and took the next step with her victory earlier this month, earning a 72 Beyer. While Rodriguez doesn't have a definitive next spot picked out for the Conveyance filly, the Ruffian could mark her third career start at Belmont, with both previous efforts coming at the one-turn mile, including a runner-up effort in her second career start in October 2019.

“She looks good. She came back real nice,” Rodriguez said. “We worked her a half-mile the other morning. We'll nominate to the Ruffian but we'll keep our options open.”

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Record-Tying Six-Win Day Catapults Cancel To Jockey Title At Aqueduct; Rodriguez Leads Trainers

Jockey Eric Cancel tied a New York Racing Association single-day record with six wins, capturing his first career riding title on the circuit with a furious comeback in the standings on Sunday, closing day of the 2020-21 winter meet at Aqueduct racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Cancel entered the eight-race card trailing Kendrick Carmouche by four victories but made a strong proverbial stretch-drive rally by winning six races on a single card for just the 23rd time in NYRA's recorded history, ending his meet with 78 total victories. Cancel finished in the money in all eight races, adding a runner-up and a third-place finish in the finale in his bid to become the first jockey to win seven races in a single day at a NYRA track.

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez dominated the standings with 36 wins, capping the 54-day winter meet that ran from December 10 to March 28. Michael Dubb and Repole Stables [Mike Repole] each had 10 wins to lead all owners.

Cancel crafted a dramatic winter meet finale through rainy and foggy conditions, starting in the opener when Sono Grato won going a one-turn mile in a maiden tilt. Cancel rode Big Mountain to a runner-up effort in Race 2 but won five in a row, piloting Lobsta, Kith, City Temper, Make Mischief and My Boy Tate in the $100,000 Haynesfield for New York-bred 4-year-olds and up going one mile, sweeping Races 3-7.

The 24-year-old Cancel was the leading North American apprentice rider by earnings in 2015 and was the 2015 Eclipse Award finalist as Outstanding Apprentice. Cancel finished 78-63-53 in 361 mounts and earnings of just more than $4 million. Carmouche, the defending leading rider at the Aqueduct fall meet, was second with 76 wins while Manny Franco was third with 61.

“It's very meaningful,” Cancel said. “This is something I always wanted and I just want to continue to do better and better. I was just trying to win as much as I can and go home happy.”

Three of Cancel's five stakes wins this meet came in February, with Make Mischief winning the $100,000 Maddie May, Miss Brazil in the $100,000 Ruthless and Risk Taking highlighting his meet with a win in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers that earned Risk Taking 10 qualifying points for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. Cancel also guided Espresso Shot to victory in the $100,000 Biogio's Rose on March 7 before adding My Boy Tate to the ledger.

“I've been trying to take everything in a good way and try to make every step better and better,” Cancel said. “I think right now, I'm on my top game. I know the guys are coming back from Florida and it'll be a little tough because a lot of mounts will go back to them. But I'll just keep on grinding. Nothing is going to stop me and I'll just keep on doing my best.”

Rodriguez paced all conditioners, finishing 10 wins ahead of second-place finisher Linda Rice. The effort marked Rodriguez's first training title since the 2019 Aqueduct spring meet. Ten of his 12 total meet titles have come at Aqueduct, with the other two during the Belmont fall meet [2010 and 2016].

Rodriguez, assisted by his brother, Gustavo, sent out a meet-high 181 starters, compiling a 36-26-26 record with earnings of more than $1.6 million. His runners finished in the money 48.62 percent of the time and posted a 19.89 winning percentage.

“I'm just very happy for everyone in the barn,” Rodriguez said. “My brother, my whole family, all the grooms and hotwalkers; they all work so hard. It's a team effort. They all know what to do, and I'm very happy to have all of them around me and help me. We don't have too many stakes-winning horses, but we try to make the best of it and we had a solid meet. We'd like to get even better horses and hopefully one day we'll get there. We're trying to build on the success and keep working hard and hopefully the big owners will send us some new stock.”

Among Rodriguez's meet highlights was Pete's Play Call's 2 1/2-length win in the $100,000 Gravesend on January 2 and Backsideofthemoon's victory in the $100,000 Queens County on December 19. Ryan's Cat won the Peeping Tom during Saturday's New York Claiming Championship Day.

Dubb saw his starters finish in the money in 72.5 percent of his 40 races, with his runners going 10-13-6 in winning a quarter of the races. Dubb's runners earned $727,674, tops among all owners, with Chateau's victory in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap on March 6 marking the highlight. Dubb, a member of NYRA's Board of Directors, won a share of his first meet title since the 2019 Aqueduct Winter.

Repole Stable, led by Mike Repole, saw a nice mix of quality and quantity to earn a share of the title, with his starters going 10-11-6 in 43 races, posting earnings of $582,675. Backsideofthemoon's win in the Queens County on December 19 provided an early highlight, and Devious Mo closed the meet for the stable with a maiden claiming score on March 13 to allow Repole to hit double digits.

Thoroughbred action continues at Aqueduct Racetrack for the 11-day spring meet that will run from Thursday, April 1 through Sunday, April 18. The meet will include 13 stakes worth $2.7 million in purses highlighted by the 96th running of the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on Saturday, April 3. Live racing will be conducted on a Thursday-Sunday schedule with a 1:20 p.m. Eastern first post.

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Cancel Clinches First Meet Title After Six-Win Sunday at Big A

Jockey Eric Cancel tied a NYRA record with six wins Sunday to propel himself to a first riding title on closing day of Aqueduct's 2020-21 Aqueduct winter meet. The 24-year-old finished the meet with 78 winners–two ahead of Kendrick Carmouche.

“I've been trying to take everything in a good way and try to make every step better and better,” said Cancel, who was 2015's leading apprentice by earnings and a finalist for that year's Outstanding Apprentice Eclipse Award. “I think right now, I'm on my top game. I know the guys are coming back from Florida and it'll be a little tough because a lot of mounts will go back to them. But I'll just keep on grinding. Nothing is going to stop me and I'll just keep on doing my best.”

Rudy Rodriguez dominated the trainer standings with 36 wins, 10 ahead of Linda Rice.

New York and national fixtures Michael Dubb and Mike Repole's Repole Stables shared the owner title with 10 wins apiece.

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Always Shopping Prompt Favorite In La Prevoyante

Even-money favorite Always Shopping made it look easy, winning the La Prevoyante (G3) by three lengths Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 51st running of the La Prevoyante for fillies and mare at 1 ½ miles on turf was the third of seven stakes on Saturday's program that was headlined by the $3-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) and the $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1).

Always Shopping, Repole Stable's 5-year-old homebred daughter out of Stopchargingmaria, the 2015 Breeders' Cup Distaff winner, picked up her third stakes victory in four starts since trainer Todd Pletcher added blinkers and moved her to the turf. She came to the La Prevoyante from a three-length victory in the Via Borghese Stakes on December 19 at Gulfstream Park.

Longshots Aunt Hattie and Court Return set the early pace, carrying the field of 12 through an opening half-mile in :47.63. Always Shopping was never far away under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and had no trouble getting to the lead when asked by Ortiz. She completed the race in 2:25.38 and paid $4.00 to win.

Delta's Kingdom was second and Iron of Reality ended up third.

$125,000 La Prevoyante (G3) Quotes

Winning owner Mike Repole (Always Shopping): “Blinkers. Back to turf. Todd does an amazing job. I kind of like to bust his chops once in a while and ask him why it took so long to put blinkers. She's figured it out and Irad has done an amazing job with her, too.”

Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Always Shopping): ““I got a perfect trip. I can't complain. The filly put me in a good position. I tried to settle down and she settled down and she came back to me, and whenever I asked her she responded very well.”

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