Mike Repole | Horse Racing Free Tips

Repole Stable's Backsideofthemoon went nearly 12 months between victories. But after earning a winner's circle trip last out going 1 1/8 miles on November 13, the Rudy Rodriguez trainee capped his 2020 with a second straight score, leading gate-to-wire to win Saturday's $100,000 Queens County for 3-year-olds and up at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Backsideofthemoon broke sharp from post 4 under Jose Lezcano, surging to the front and angled near the rail with even-money favorite Musical Heart in close pursuit with the opening quarter-mile in 24.18 seconds, the half in 48.39 and three-quarters in 1:13.17 on the fast main track.

Out of the final turn, Lezcano kept Backsideofthemoon to the inside and opened up in the final furlong to draw away a six-length winner. The 8-year-old son of Malibu Moon completed the 1 1/8-mile course in 1:52.94, earning his first stakes win in 11 attempts dating to the Jazil in January 2018.

“He broke very well,” said Lezcano, who registered his third win of the day. “I sent him a little bit and after that he just jumped right in the bridle. He seemed very confident the whole way around. When I asked him, he gave me everything he had and just kept on going.”

Off at 7-2, Backsideofthemoon returned $9.20 on a $2 win wager for winning the 115th edition of the Queens County. He improved his career earnings to $722,216.

The Kentucky bred won for the sixth time in 19 starts over the Big A main track.

“All the credit goes to [owner] Mike [Repole]. We were going to scratch and run tomorrow,” Rodriguez said. “I called Mike and he said, 'You know what, Rudy? Just leave him there. I think he'll be good in there.' So, I have to give the credit to Mike. He plays the game very aggressively. We'll see what he wants to do next out.”

After winning last month at the same distance in a race moved off the turf, Rodriguez said Backsideofthemoon handled the return to stakes company with aplomb. Rodriguez is 2-for-2 with his charge after claiming out of a second-place effort on September 24 at Belmont Park.

“We never expected to see him on the lead, but Jose said he broke so sharp and was really in the bridle,” Rodriguez said. “He just left him alone. He always tries; that's why we claimed him.”

Musical Heart, trained by Rob Atras and ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, cruised to a second-place finish, 12 ¼ lengths in front of Empty Tomb. Mirinaque, Danny California and So High completed the order of finish. Forewarned was scratched.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Aqueduct with a 10-race card. First post is 11:50 a.m.

The post Backsideofthemoon Shines Bright In Aqueduct’s Queens County appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The bar is set high for the 11th annual New Vocations Breeders’ Cup pledge drive. Last year’s fundraiser for the nation’s largest retired racehorse rehabilitation and placement program netted $130,000 from owners and trainers of Breeders’ Cup entrants. The exclamation point on that record amount was provided by Vino Rosso (Curlin) winning the GI Classic, because the colt’s two ownership partners–St. Elias Stable and Repole Stable–plus trainer Todd Pletcher, all pledged their support.

Over the last decade New Vocations has raised $650,000 with its annual Breeders’ Cup funding drive, which asks the connections of entrants to voluntarily pledge from one-half of 1% to 10% of purse earnings over the two-day championships. This model is unique because it has zero overhead costs, so 100% of the money raised goes straight to aftercare efforts.

But the industry’s need for New Vocations’ non-profit services grows each year, and re-homing equine athletes got quite a bit more challenging in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A click right here will take you straight to the online pledging page.

St. Elias Stable is the racing operation of Vincent Viola, the founder and executive chairman of the electronic trading firm Virtu Financial and former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange. He graduated from West Point Academy and served in the U.S. Army Reserves. Viola also owns the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

“After meeting the principals at New Vocations, we just felt very, very comfortable that they put the horse before themselves, quite frankly,” Viola told TDN. “They’ll find the right second career for a horse [according to its] disposition. They go the extra mile, and we’ve been trying to support them consistently ever since. That pledge is one of the things you can do in our great sport where you know you are providing a substantial return on investment.”

Repole Stable is owned by Mike Repole, who parlayed a zeal for playing the ponies at Aqueduct as a teenager into becoming a high-profile Thoroughbred owner after selling his company Glaceau, maker of Vitaminwater and Smartwater, to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion in May 2007.

“Usually I’m not vocal about my charity giving. I like to give behind the scenes,” Repole said. “But I think being an owner, and probably one of the biggest-spending owners in the country, I want to make sure that people know that people like Vinnie Viola and people like Mike Repole are firm believers in making sure our horses get great homes post-racing. So I do think that owners need to take more responsibility.

“Sometimes it just surprises me how owners are willing to pay $500,000 for a horse but are not willing to make a $10,000 donation to an agency that makes sure their horses eventually get a proper home and the proper care that they truly deserve,” Repole continued. “I get disappointed when I hear that owners haven’t stepped up.”

Pletcher’s support for New Vocations as a trainer also goes far back.

“First and foremost, it’s paramount that we take care of horses not only during their racing careers, but, just as importantly, after their racing careers are over,” Pletcher said. “The Repoles and the Violas understand how important aftercare is. [With Vino Rosso] those are the situations you love to be in. When you get to win a race of the magnitude of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, you’re more than happy to make those contributions.”

Although the concept of aftercare has progressed markedly since the first New Vocations Breeders’ Cup pledge drive in 2009, Viola underscored there is still more that needs to be done to help Thoroughbreds on a longer-term arc.

“We have come a good way in a short amount of time with aftercare,” Viola said. “But we have to be much, much better than we are. For the sportsmen and women who participate, I consider it a fundamental responsibility to make sure those equine athletes live out a natural life. I won’t be satisfied until we’re monitoring and watching the natural lifespans of the entire foal crop every year.”

Repole is not only a New Vocations donor. He’s watched some of his own horses go through and benefit from the program, and he added that the payback in terms of good karma endures long after those Thoroughbreds left his stable.

“It’s great to get the updates and photos of where my horses have been,” Repole said. “It makes me feel really, really good to know that my horse that won at both Belmont and Gulfstream is now a jumping horse in Pennsylvania for some smiling 13-year-old girl.

“It feels like a win when you get a report like that,” Repole continued. “Maybe not like a Breeders’ Cup Classic win with Vino Rosso. But a definite, good win that makes you feel really happy–and it didn’t come with any anxiety or stress of a big race.”

The post Sparked by Winning Vino Rosso Pledge, Bar Now Higher For New Vocations BC Pledge Drive appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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