Justify’s Hard to Justify Punches Breeders’ Cup Ticket in Miss Grillo

Hard to Justify (f, 2, Justify–Instant Reflex, by Quality Road) punched her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with a 7-1 upset in Wednesday's rescheduled 'Win and You're In' GII Miss Grillo S. at the Big A.

She sat a stalking trip in second and turned up the heat on the far turn. The bay stuck her head in front in the stretch and dug down deep to get the money by 3/4 of a length. Life's an Audible (Audible) was second; Whimsically (Uncle Mo) was third.

Hard to Justify, a narrow debut winner after overcoming a troubled trip in her unveiling over the Saratoga lawn July 23, becomes the 13th graded winner for Justify and ninth Miss Grillo winner for trainer Chad Brown.

Wednesday, Aqueduct
MISS GRILLO S.-GII, $200,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-4, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.92, fm.
1–HARD TO JUSTIFY, 120, f, 2, by Justify
                1st Dam: Instant Reflex (GSP), by Quality Road
                2nd Dam: Without Delay, by Seeking the Gold
                3rd Dam: Slow Down, by Seattle Slew
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($190,000
Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Wise Racing LLC; B-Yeguada Centurion S.L.
(KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $110,000. Lifetime
Record: 2-2-0-0, $167,750.
2–Life's an Audible, 120, f, 2, Audible–Catkins, by Data Link.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($25,000 Wlg '21
KEENOV; $90,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR).
O-Repole Stable; B-Susan Moulton (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$40,000.
3–Whimsically, 118, f, 2, Uncle Mo–Coming Attraction, by
Tapit. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($180,000
Ylg '22 FTSAUG). O-Haymarket Farm LLC, Ingordo, David,
Manganaro Bloodstock, LBD Stable LLC & Diamond T Racing;
B-Audley Farm Equine, LLC (VA); T-Cherie DeVaux. $24,000.
Margins: HF, 1, 2 3/4. Odds: 7.30, 12.70, 59.75.
Also Ran: Gala Brand, Memorialize, Gold Lightning, Later Darling, Sierra Sky, Steel Lute, Dancing Spirit, Camila T (Ire). Scratched: Appellate. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Justify’s Hard to Justify Punches Breeders’ Cup Ticket in Miss Grillo appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Hail To Will Try To Carry On Family Tradition In Miss Grillo

Woodslane Farm homebred Hail To will attempt to carry on a family tradition of performing at a high level on grass when the juvenile daughter of Kitten's Joy makes her graded stakes debut in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo going 1 1/16 miles over the inner turf course at Belmont Park.

Hail To, a chestnut filly, is a full-sister to four-time graded stakes winning multi-millionaire Sadler's Joy, who captured the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga in 2017. She is also a half-sister to stakes-placed Dyna Passer, third in the 2019 Jockey Club Oaks, as well as Lunaire and Wolfie's Dynaghost, who also are stakes-placed. All are out of the unraced Dynaformer mare Dynaire.

Hail To arrives at her first stakes engagement off a 20-1 upset maiden victory over Miss Grillo-rival Kinchen over a firm inner turf at Saratoga, where she settled in fifth nearly six lengths off the pace down the backstretch and rallied in deep stretch with a powerful run to win by three-quarters of a length.

On debut, Hail To was more forwardly placed over a good Saratoga inner turf, and faded to fifth, finishing 7 ¾ lengths behind subsequent Grade 1-placed Pizza Bianca.

“I didn't want her to be out as close to the front end as she was, especially with the turf course that day being very boggy,” Albertrani said. “I think she just got tired from her early efforts that day and also probably just needed a race under her belt. Second start, the plan was to be patient with her, and it worked out well. We're hoping to see a similar scenario this time around, although it doesn't appear that there's a whole lot of pace in the race. We just want to see a more patient ride.”

Albertrani expressed hope that Hail To will establish herself as a quality stayer, much like her accomplished older brother Sadler's Joy.

“I would imagine that she will stretch out with time,” Albertrani said. “What's nice about her is that in her two starts, it looked like she has a little more tactical speed than he did. With him, it was always a matter of always being dropped back and often having difficult trips and always barely getting there. She seems quite a bit like him and hopefully she'll prove to be as nice a horse as he was.”

Albertrani added that Hail To and Sadler's Joy convey a similar physical resemblance.

“They look very much alike,” Albertrani said. “The only difference is that she might be a little smaller. Body wise, they have the same frame and almost the same markings on their heads, so very similar all around.”

Hail To will be piloted by returning rider Ricardo Santana, Jr.

While the two full siblings look alike, the same cannot be said for their half-brother Wolfie's Dynaghost, who was third two starts back in the Better Talk Now on the turf at Saratoga.

“They're complete total opposites. Different coloring,” Albertrani said.

Despite boasting a strong turf pedigree, Wolfie's Dynaghost, a sophomore son of Ghostzapper, secured his two lifetime wins on the main track. But following a lackluster sixth in the seven-furlong Harrods Creek on September 25 at Churchill Downs, Albertrani said he will eye a return to grass for the colt.

Albertrani said Wolfie's Dynaghost could target the $100,000 Carle Place on October 22 at Belmont Park.

“It comes up a little quick from the time we travelled to Kentucky and back with him, so we may wait for Aqueduct,” Albertrani said. “When we shipped him to Kentucky for the Harrods Creek we were still optimistic that he might handle the dirt because he won twice on the main track, but they were on good and sloppy surfaces. We were trying to take another try and see how he would handle a dry track and I just don't think he really handled it. We'll just look at keeping him on the grass.”

Wolfie's Dynaghost has a yearling full-brother by Ghostzapper, who was bred back to Dynaire this year. Hail To has a younger full-brother by Kitten's Joy born this year.

On Sunday, Albertrani will saddle Elizabeth Mateo's Lovely Lucky, a three-time winning daughter of Lookin At Lucky, who seeks her first graded stakes score in the Grade 3, $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya.

Victorious against winners in July at Saratoga the past two years, Lovely Lucky has run four times at graded stakes level, with her best finish taking place in last year's Grade 2 Glens Falls at Saratoga, where she was fourth beaten 1 ½ lengths to Civil Union.

Lovely Lucky emerged triumphant off a six month layoff in an 11-furlong allowance optional claiming tilt on July 22 over Saratoga's inner turf course and enters from a distant fourth in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational on September 4 at the Spa.

“She definitely likes the longer distances,” Albertrani said. “She came back off the layoff in good form. It was soft ground at Saratoga that day and I really liked the way she handled herself. It's a pretty competitive race. She ran well last time and hopefully she can take a step forward off that.”

After racing on dirt in her first three starts, Lovely Lucky saw turf for the first time last May at Gulfstream Park when fourth going one mile. Following a next out narrow triumph on grass for a $75,000 tag at Belmont, she was a 6 ¾-length winner of her 1 3/8-mile debut against winners at Saratoga.

“When we first started her off, she ran on dirt and we didn't see a lot of effort out of her in those few races,” Albertrani said. “We put her on the grass and I actually thought she ran well in her first start on turf. It wasn't until we stretched her out when we saw the best come out of her. I think she has a nice future in some of these longer route races. We just hope to get some racing luck with her.”

Albertrani has entrusted jockey Dylan Davis with engineering the trip aboard Lovely Lucky for the Waya.

The post Hail To Will Try To Carry On Family Tradition In Miss Grillo appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Brown Double-Fisted for Miss Grillo

Trainer Chad Brown will have two chances–led by even-money morning-line favorite McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB})–for his ninth GII Miss Grillo S. victory Saturday.

McKulick, named for the late Mary McKulick, a longtime office manager and bookkeeper for Brown, kicked home nicely from fifth to graduate over three next-out winners, including runner-up stablemate Consumer Spending (More Than Ready), at the Spa on debut Aug. 8. She is drawn widest of all in post six for the Miss Grillo.

Brown will also saddle Kinchen (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who finished an unlucky second behind Hail To (Kitten's Joy)-a full-sister to GISW Sadler's Joy–in her grassy unveiling at Saratoga Aug. 29.

“I felt if she could have got out to the clear, she probably would have won,” Brown said of Kinchen, who is named in honor of the late Ralph Kinchen, father of popular America's Day at the Races analyst Jonathon Kinchen.

“The break dictated to settle–which most of my horses will do– and she kicked on nicely. She just found herself with some traffic inside and she probably would have been a little braver if we could have got her clear, but that happens in maiden races. We'll turn the page and hopefully she gets a better trip in this.”

McKulick and Kinchen worked five-eighths in company around the dogs over the Belmont inner turf in 1:02.09 (9/16) Sept. 26.

The post Brown Double-Fisted for Miss Grillo appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Brown Duo Of McKulick, Kinchen Top Miss Grillo

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle a formidable duo in McKulick and Kinchen for Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo, a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test for juvenile fillies, at Belmont Park.

A pair of Grade 1, $500,000 stakes highlight Saturday's card at Belmont with the Woodward for 3-year-olds and up going a one-turn 1 1/8 miles on Big Sandy; and the Champagne for 2-year-olds running one mile in a prestigious race, affording a spot in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile to the winner. The lucrative card is bolstered by the Miss Grillo along with the Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on the grass.

Brown, who recently secured his 100th graded stakes win at Belmont Park, is vying for his ninth Miss Grillo score following past success with Maram [2008], Watsdachances [2012], Testa Rossi [2013], Lady Eli [2014], New Money Honey [2016], Significant Form [2017], Newspaperofrecord [2018], and Selflessly [2019].

Klaravich Stables' McKulick and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Kinchen worked five-eighths in company Sunday over the Belmont inner turf in 1:02.09.

“We're very pleased with her,” Brown said regarding McKulick. “It was a very good work.”

The filly is named for the late Mary McKulick, a longtime office manager and bookkeeper for Brown and the first person the trainer hired when he launched his operation in 2007.

McKulick, by Frankel and out of the Makfi mare Astrelle, graduated on debut in a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden on August 8 at Saratoga with Irad Ortiz, Jr. up. The victory garnered a field-best 73 Beyer Speed Figure.

Kinchen, by Lope de Vega and out of the Galileo mare Miss Nouriya, rallied to finish second in her August 29 debut at 1 1/16 miles on the Saratoga inner turf under Tyler Gaffalione.

Exiting post 3 in her maiden voyage, Kinchen was off slow and took up an inside position. Gaffalione angled the filly three-wide into the stretch run before dropping back inside and then shifted outside again to split rivals inside the final sixteenth, missing by three-quarters of a length to Miss Grillo rival Hail To.

“I felt if she could have got out to the clear, she probably would have won. The break dictated to settle – which most of my horses will do – and she kicked on nicely,” Brown said. “She just found herself with some traffic inside and she probably would have been a little braver if we could have got her clear, but that happens in maiden races. We'll turn the page and hopefully she gets a better trip in this.”

Kinchen is named in honor of the late Ralph Kinchen, father of America's Day at the Races analyst Jonathon Kinchen.

Ortiz, Jr. will pilot McKulick from the outermost post 6, while Gaffalione has the call aboard Kinchen from post 4.

Woodslane Farm's Hail To, a full sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Sadler's Joy, lit up the tote board when breaking her maiden at second asking at 20-1 odds for trainer Tom Albertrani. The Kitten's Joy chestnut, out of the Dynaformer mare Dynaire, settled in fifth position under Ricardo Santana, Jr. before rallying six-wide down the lane to best Kinchen.

Hail To has breezed four times since her maiden score, including a half-mile work in 50.03 on Big Sandy on Tuesday. Santana, Jr. retains the mount from post 3.

Tracy Farmer's Philly Eagles was a half-length victor in a maiden weight-for-age contest going seven furlongs on June 26 at Doncaster with Alice Haynes as her conditioner.

The daughter of Havana, now in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, was slated to make her North American debut in the P.G. Johnson on September 2 at Saratoga but scratched when the race came off the turf.

The Irish-bred bay breezed five-eighths in 1:01.75 on September 19 over the Belmont inner turf in preparation for her belated debut. Dylan Davis has the call from post 5.

Treadway Racing Stable's multiple stakes placed Sail By graduated in June at first asking in a six-furlong maiden special weight on the Belmont turf. The Astern bay, bred in Kentucky by Jeff Treadway, followed with a runner-up effort in the five-furlong Colleen on August 1 at Monmouth Park. She enters from a pace-setting third in the P.G. Johnson, contested at seven furlongs on a fast main track.

Junior Alvarado retains the mount from the inside post.

Rounding out the field is Judy Hicks' homebred Charlee O, a maiden winner at first asking sprinting six furlongs over the Belmont turf on July 11. The Tourist bay followed with a sixth in the 5 1/2-furlong Bolton Landing, contested over yielding Saratoga turf on August 18.

Manny Franco has the call from post 2.

The Miss Grillo is slated as Race 4 on Saturday's 11-race card. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

The post Brown Duo Of McKulick, Kinchen Top Miss Grillo appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights