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Heavily Favored Mo Forza Rolls To Another Victory In City Of Hope Mile Stakes

Heavily favored and on his way. That pretty much sums up the performance tendered by Mo Forza in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as the 4-year-old son of Uncle Mo rallied from off the pace to win by 1 3/4 lengths while in-hand under Flavien Prat. Trained by Peter Miller, Mo Forza got a mile on turf in 1:32.09 and he and his connections now eye an engagement in the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

Breaking alertly from the outside in a field of seven, Mo Forza rated kindly and settled into a fluid rhythm down the backside, about five lengths off pacesetting Blitzkrieg with a half mile to run. Three-deep turning for home, he was hand ridden while lugging in a bit through the lane and won with consummate ease over multiple graded stakes winner Sharp Samurai.

“He pretty much had the same trip as he did in the Del Mar Mile (G2, Aug. 23),” said Prat. “I think he's getting more professional, which is great. Today he showed up again. We can probably go further, but as of right now, he's running pretty well, so I wouldn't change anything.”

A 4 1/4-length winner of the Del Mar Mile Handicap on turf, Mo Forza was off as the 3-5 favorite and paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10.

“That's him,” said Ruben Alvarado, assistant to Miller. “He relaxes early and then you saw the way he finished up. He ran today just like he did at Del Mar. We're very happy and we're looking forward to the Breeders' Cup.

Bred in Kentucky by former trainer Barry Abrams' Bardy Farm and owned by Bardy Farm and OG Boss, Mo Forza, who is out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed, notched his fifth graded stakes win and he has now won five out of his last six races with four of them over the Santa Anita turf. With six wins from 12 overall starts, he's four for five at one mile on grass and with the winner's share of $120,000, has earnings of $734,460.

Sharp Samurai, who sat a close third behind Blitzkrieg and eventual third-place finisher Bob and Jackie, kept to his task to finish second by 1 1/4 lengths and paid $3.00 and $2.60 as the 7-2 second choice with Juan Hernandez up.

Off at 24-1 with Heriberto Figueroa, Bob and Jackie prevailed by a head over Blitzkrieg and paid $5.60 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.58, 45.61, 1:08.76 and 1:20.53.

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Mo Forza Breeders’ Cup Bound after City of Hope Win

The heavy chalk with an eye on the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile in five weeks, Mo Forza more than delivered in the GII City of Hope Mile S. As per his usual style, he wasn’t swift out of the gate, but settled confidently on the outside in fifth and had an air of controlled power as he let the race unfold. Blitzkrieg (War Front) was hustled to the lead as Bob and Jackie hounded him and Sharp Samurai threatened in third. The order remained the same as the first quarter passed in :22.58 and the half in :45.61, but the complexion of the race was clearly changing as six panels were recorded in 1:08.76. Mo Forza, under supremely confident handling, reeled in the four in front of him and slingshotted by under a hand ride. The 1 3/4-length margin belied the effortlessness of his win. The final time was just a couple of ticks off the course record.

“He pretty much had the same trip as he did in the Del Mar Mile ,” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “I think he’s getting more professional, which is great. Today he showed up again. We can probably go further, but as of right now, he’s running pretty well, so I wouldn’t change anything.”

Mo Forza was no overnight success, requiring six starts to break his maiden in 2019, which he finally did last September at a mile over this course and distance. Once he got the hang of winning, he was unstoppable for four straight starts, leapfrogging his conditions straight from the maiden to consecutive wins in the GII Qatar Twilight Derby, the GI Hollywood Derby, and the GII Mathis Brother Mile S. He rode that streak into the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S., his first start outside of California, but had a wide trip and finished a well-beaten ninth. Freshened for seven months, he reappeared with a vengeance in the Aug. 23 GII Del Mar Mile H., where he won for fun by 4 1/4 lengths and got a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, the best of his career.

Pedigree Notes:

Uncle Mo, currently the third-leading sire in North America by earnings, continues his stellar year with yet another graded score to his credit. The Coolmore sire has 19 individual black-type winners of 2020–second-best on the continent–to go with his 67 total stakes winners in six crops to race. Mo Forza is one of Uncle Mo’s 38 graded winners, but the first of his stakes winners out of an Unusual Heat daughter. Unusual Heat, who died at age 27 in 2017, stood his entire career in California and averaged only 44 foals a year. His daughters have produced 19 black-type winners to date. The unplaced Inflamed, a full-sister to GII La Jolla H. winner Burns and to SW & GISP Brushburn, produced Mo Forza as her first foal. She has a yearling colt by Munnings and produced a filly this year by Tapiture after selling with that one in utero for $525,000 at the Keeneland January sale. She has since been bred back to Uncle Mo for 2021.

Saturday, Santa Anita
CITY OF HOPE MILE S.-GII, $201,000, Santa Anita, 10-3, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:32.09, fm.
1–MO FORZA, 126, c, 4, by Uncle Mo
               1st Dam: Inflamed, by Unusual Heat
               2nd Dam: Little Hottie, by Afternoon Deelites
               3rd Dam: Mistrely, by Miswaki
O-Bardy Farm & OG Boss; B-Bardy Farm (KY); T-Peter Miller;
J-Flavien Prat. $120,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 12-6-3-1,
$734,460. Werk Nick Rating: F.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sharp Samurai, 122, g, 6, First Samurai–Secret Wish, by
Street Cry (Ire). ($85,000 Ylg ’15 KEESEP). O-Red Baron’s Barn
LLC, Rancho Temescal LLC & Mark Glatt; B-Cudney Stables
(KY); T-Mark Glatt. $40,000.
3–Bob and Jackie, 122, c, 4, Twirling Candy–Fateer, by
Eskendereya. O/B-Zayat Stables, LLC (KY); T-Richard Baltas.
$24,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 1 1/4, HD. Odds: 0.60, 3.90, 24.40.
Also Ran: Blitzkrieg, Majestic Eagle, Royal Ship (Brz), Restrainedvengence. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Sharp Samurai, Mo Forza Face Brazilian Royal Ship In City Of Hope Mile At Santa Anita

Trainer Mark Glatt's venerable 6-year-old gelding Sharp Samurai and Peter Miller's razor sharp 4-year-old colt Mo Forza head a field of seven 3-year-olds and up in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

A winner of the 2018 City of Hope Mile and most recently a solid second on dirt in the G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar Aug. 22, Sharp Samurai will also be cutting back in distance a quarter mile, while Mo Forza, a 4-year-old colt by Uncle Mo, comes off a stirring 4 1/4-length win on turf in the G2 Del Mar Mile Handicap Aug. 23.

Along with the top pair, Richard Mandella's promising Brazilian-bred Royal Ship and Val Brinkerhoff's hard knocking Restrainedvengence help make the City of Hope Mile a wide open affair on Saturday.

SHARP SAMURAI
Owner: Red Baron's Barn & Rancho Temescal
Trainer: Mark Glatt
Second, beaten three lengths by Maximum Security in the Pacific Classic, he returns to his preferred surface and retains the services of upstart Juan Hernandez. A huge second, beaten a half length by repeat winner United two starts back on turf in the mile and one eighth G2 Eddie Read Stakes July 26, Sharp Samurai has two seconds and a third from three starts this year and will hope to use the City of Hope Mile as a springboard to a berth in the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile Nov. 7 at Keeneland. A winner of five out of his nine starts over the Santa Anita lawn, Sharp Samurai is 8-2-2-2 at one mile on grass. With eight wins from 21 overall starts, he has earnings of $981,270 and will be seeking his fifth graded stakes victory.

MO FORZA
Owner: Bardy Farm & OG Boss
Trainer: Peter Miller
Idle since well beaten in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf at Gulfstream Park Jan. 25, Mo Forza came back ready for Miller on Aug. 23, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 101 in taking the G2 Del Mar Handicap. With top jock Flavien Prat set to ride him back, Mo Forza will be bidding for his sixth win from 12 overall starts. Three for five at one mile on turf at Santa Anita, Mo Forza has won five out of his last six starts, including the G1 Hollywood Derby four starts back on Nov. 30. Bred in Kentucky and owned in-part by former trainer Barry Abrams' Bardy Farm, Mo Forza is out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed and is a four-time graded stakes winner with earnings of $614,460.

ROYAL SHIP
Owner: Fox Hill Farms, Inc. & Siena Farm, LLC
Trainer: Richard Mandella
A Group 1 stakes winner two starts back in his native Brazil, this 4-year-old colt by Midshipman lagged far back early and closed with a rush to be third, beaten 4 1/4 lengths in the G2 Del Mar Mile Handicap Aug. 23 and he figures to improve by many in his second start with Mandella. With Mike Smith riding him back, Royal Ship seeks his sixth win from nine overall starts.

RESTRAINEDVENGENCE
Owner: Kelly Brinkerhoff & Bob Grayson, Jr.
Trainer: Val Brinkerhoff

Second, beaten 4 1/4 lengths by Mo Forza two starts back in the Del Mar Mile Handicap, this hard hitting 5-year-old gelding by the Giant's Causeway stallion Hold Me Back comes off a game head victory in a $200,000 stakes going a mile and one eighth on dirt at Albuquerque Downs as the 4-5 favorite on Sept. 19. Second, beaten a head in last year's City of Hope Mile, Restrainedvengence is equally as effective on turf and dirt and will be ridden back by Ruben Fuentes. With eight wins from 25 starts and earnings of $625,222, he seeks his first graded stakes win in his 26^th career start.

G2 CITY OF HOPE MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 10 Approximate post time 12:30 p.m. PT

Sharp Samurai—Juan Hernandez—122
Restrainedvengence—Ruben Fuentes—122
Majestic Eagle—Ricardo Gonzalez—122
Royal Ship—Mike Smith—124
Bob and Jackie—Heriberto Figueroa—122
Blitzkrieg—Abel Cedillo—122
Mo Forza—Flavien Prat–126

First post time for a 10-race card on Saturday is at 12:30 p.m. Santa Anita's races can be viewed live and free of charge at santaanita.com.

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Mo Forza Makes Sparkling Return In Del Mar Mile Handicap

Bardy Farm and OG Boss' Mo Forza, making his first start in seven months, looked like he'd never been away as he powered past a good field of turfers in capturing the $152,000 Del Mar Mile Sunday at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif.

The 4-year-old colt by top stallion Uncle Mo out of the Unusual Heat mare Inflamed, scored by 4 1/4 lengths under Flavien Prat in the good time of 1:33.27 for the mile and, as the 6-5 favorite, paid $4.40, $3.00 and $2.40 across the board. He is trained by Peter Miller.

This was the 34th running of the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile and it rewarded its winner with a purse of $90,000, pushing his bankroll to $614,460. The bay has now won five of his 11 starts, four of those victories coming in stakes races, including the Hollywood Derby last fall at Del Mar.

“Peter (trainer Miller) and I talked before the race and we noted that there looked like a lot of speed in the race,” said Prat. “That turned out true. He told me he took his blinkers off and he was hoping for the best. I had a good trip; my horse was relaxed. Then, when I say 'Go,' he had a really strong response.”

“That gave me goose pimples,” said Miller. “I was just hoping I had him tight enough and ready to perform. These were a good group of horses, but he's exceptional. To see this horse back in the winner's circle is really exciting. He had a tendency to get rank in his races last year and wanted to run over horses, so we thought we didn't want that problem this year so we took the blinkers off. He's been working without them and I thought that if it doesn't work out I'm going to look like an idiot, but thank goodness it worked out. We think the Breeders' Cup will definitely be the end of the year with one race in between.”

Bardy Farm is the nom du course for former trainer and breeder Barry Abrams, who raced horses for many years with great success on the Southern California circuit. He is home battling cancer these days but this horse – who Abrams also bred – had to pick his head up for sure. His partner in the colt is Onofrio Pecoraro of San Diego.

Finishing second in the feature was Kelly Brinkerhoff and Bog Grayson, Jr.'s Restrainedvengence and third was Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farm's Royal Ship.

The riding and training stars of the day were Prat and Miller, who combined to win three races on the 11-race card. Besides Mo Forza they also clicked with Querelle ($4.60) in the 2nd Race and Worthy Turk ($8.20) in the 7th. Prat is now second-leading rider at the meet with 34 wins after 19 days of racing. Miller leads the trainers' list with 18 firsts. Prat has been Del Mar's top rider on three different occasions, while Miller has been the leading conditioner seven times.

The stakes win was the 10th of the meet for rider Prat, but his first in the Del Mar Mile. He now has 54 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the third of the meet for trainer Miller, but his first in the Del Mar Mile. He now has 32 stakes wins at Del Mar.

Nobody could solve the Pick Six mystery on Sunday resulting in a $89,465 carryover and a $19,171 Jackpot carryover when racing resumes Friday at Del Mar starting at 2 p.m.

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