Tag: monmouth park

Jack Christopher to Cut Back in Distance for Allen Jerkens

Jack Christopher (Munnings), who suffered his first career loss when third in his two-turn debut in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park Saturday, is expected to cut back to one turn in the Aug. 27 GI H. Allen Jerkens S. at Saratoga next time out.

“The horse ran really well and I thought he had a good trip,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He got a little quick on the final turn when they moved from [the half-mile in] :46 into [three-quarters in] 1:09. That probably emptied him a little bit. But all in all, it looked like it was a little too far. I was a little disappointed that he couldn't kick on through the lane, but he tried hard. We just shipped him up to Saratoga. As long as he comes out of the race okay, I'll cut him back and point to a race like the Allen Jerkens.”

Despite the Haskell loss, Brown enjoyed a productive day at the Jersey Shore Saturday, winning four straight graded races on the card.

“I was proud of all the horses and my team to have them all ready on a big day like that,” Brown said. “There's a lot of moving parts to get it done and they did fabulous. I'm proud of them all.”

Adhamo (Ire) (Intello {Ger}) earned his first U.S. victory following a pair of Grade I placings in the GI United Nations S. and could make his next start in the Aug. 27 GI Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Invitational.

“He got the trip we were looking for and he's been a work in progress. He looks to be continually improving and he finished off his race well on Saturday,” Brown said. “He shipped up here today, so we'll see how he bounces out of it, but surely, I would like to point to [the Sword Dancer].”

Brown added that Search Results (Flatter), winner of the GIII Molly Pitcher S., could be “possible” for the Aug. 27 GI Personal Ensign S.

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Cyberknife Leads Home Gun Runner Exacta in Haskell

OCEANPORT, NJ – Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife (Gun Runner) led home a one-two finish for his sire when he charged up the rail in deep stretch to nip Taiba (Gun Runner) on the line while setting a new track record in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth Park Saturday. The victory gave trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux their second winner from as many starters in the Haskell following Mandaloun (Into Mischief)'s win via disqualification in the 2021 renewal of the race and put an end to a remarkable streak of four straight graded wins on the card by Chad Brown, who saddled favored Jack Christopher (Munnings) to a third-place finish.

Let go at 7-1, Cyberknife broke from the rail and was allowed to settle into stride as longshot Benevengo (Gormley) took the field through fractions of :23.50 and :46.96 while shadowed by Jack Christopher. The favorite moved to the lead after three-quarters in 1:09.93, while Geroux aboard Cyberknife was waiting for racing room and Taiba was rallying five wide into the lane. Taiba was first to overtake the tiring favorite, but Cyberknife was slicing through a narrow opening along the rail. The two sons of Gun Runner went head to head in the final strides with Cyberknife just getting the better of his foe in the last jump. The final time for the nine furlongs was 1:46.24, lowering the track record set just four races earlier when Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) won the GIII Monmouth Cup S. in 1:46.53. The previous nine-furlong record at Monmouth Park had stood since 1985 when GI Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck covered the distance in 1:46.80.

The win, which rewarded the victor with an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, was a hometown score for New Jersey native Al Gold of Gold Square LLC.

“This is a very big deal for me personally,” Gold said. “I started betting horses when I was a kid and have owned horses for 40 years. You always have fantasies. You want to win the Kentucky Derby and all the big races, but this is one of the ones I really wanted to win. We go to the [Aug. 27 GI] Travers next and we'll see where we are. And we're on our way to the Breeders' Cup.”

Cyberknife won the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby, earning a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby. The colt faded to 18th after chasing a hot pace in the Derby, but came back to outnose Howling Time (Not This Time) in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill Downs last time out June 12.

“I think this is his best race to date,” Cox said of Cyberknife's Haskell victory. “Throughout the race I thought he looked very professional with the way he handled himself. At the quarter-pole, Florent Geroux had a nice hold of him and he was loaded. He responded well when asked. He flew at the end. I am very proud of him. He was able to settle. Florent took a good hold of him and then made a run up the backside and got him in position along the rail. Florent looked like he had a lot of horse when he turned for home. He was just figuring out whether he was going inside or outside of the leader. It looked like he made the right decision staying to the inside and we were able to hold off Taiba. It was a big effort. I'm very proud of this horse and our whole staff. He's been a challenging horse at times. A lot of the good ones are.”

With his third-place finish, Jack Christopher was suffering the first loss of his career while making his first start beyond a mile. The loss put a stop to a streak of four straight graded tallies on the Haskell card by Brown, who won the Monmouth Cup with Highly Motivated, the GIII WinStar Matchmaker S. with Lemista (Ire) (Raven's Pass), the GIII Molly Pitcher S. with Search Results (Flatter) and the GI United Nations S. with Adhamo (Ire) (Intello {Ger}).

A crowd of 22,138 attended the races on a stifling hot day on the Jersey Shore Saturday, wagering $1,303,642 on track. All-sources handle totaled $19,896,954–up from the 2021 figure of $16,414,535, but off the record mark of $20,479,392 set in 2020.

Pedigree Notes:

Gun Runner, third in the 2016 GI Kentucky Derby, also came into the Haskell off a win in the Matt Win, but the champ was fifth in the Oceanport oval's signature race. Cyberknife is one of five Grade I winners for the Three Chimneys stallion, who has also been represented by this year's GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting and 2021 2-year-old filly champion Echo Zulu.

Cyberknife's dam Awesome Flower was a multiple stakes winner and three times graded placed for breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey. She has an unraced 2-year-old colt by Tapit named Tapit Shoes–who was purchased by the BSW/Crow Colts Group and trainer Brad Cox for $300,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale–as well as a weanling colt by Authentic. She was bred back to Gun Runner this year.

The Haskell winner's third dam, Well Dressed, produced G1 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed (Tiznow), Grade I placed Helsinki (Distorted Humor) and graded winner Witty (Distorted Humor), dam of graded winner Bombard (War Front) and multiple graded placed Amuse (Medaglia d'Oro). Also under the third dam is Grade I winner American Patriot.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
TVG.COM HASKELL S.-GI, $1,017,500, Monmouth, 7-23, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:46.24, ft.
1–CYBERKNIFE, 122, c, 3, by Gun Runner
   1st Dam: Awesome Flower (MSW & MGSP, $556,593), by Flower Alley
   2nd Dam: Formalities Aside, by Awesome Again
   3rd Dam: Well Dressed, by Notebook

($400,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Gold Square LLC; B-Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $600,000. Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-0, $1,596,520. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Taiba, 122, c, 3, Gun Runner–Needmore Flattery, by Flatter. ($140,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT; $1,700,000 2yo '21 FTFMAR). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Bruce C Ryan (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $200,000.
3–Jack Christopher, 119, c, 3, Munnings–Rushin No Blushin, by Half Ours. ($145,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $135,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud and Peter M. Brant; B-Castleton Lyons & Kilboy Estate (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $100,000.
Margins: HD, 2, 4HF. Odds: 7.80, 2.10, 0.70.
Also Ran: Howling Time, Benevengo, King of Hollywood, White Abarrio, One Time Willard.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Brown Win Streak Continues with Adhamo in United Nations

Adhamo completed a straight graded pick 4 for trainer Chad Brown and Flavien Prat while providing his conditioner with a fifth victory and second in a row in the U.N.

A winner of the G3 Prix la Force last April for Freddy Head and Wertheimer and Frere, the bay's final European start was an eighth in Longchamp's G2 Qatar Prix Dollar Oct. 2, but that didn't dissuade agent Hubert Guy from going to €250,000 to pick him up that same evening at Arqana's Arc sale.

He resurfaced and rallied from out of the clouds to miss by a head in the GIII Fair Grounds S. Feb. 19, was third as the favorite in Churchill's GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard May 7, and most recently finished second to speedy stablemate and defending U.N. champ Tribhuvan (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}) in the GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S. on Belmont S. day June 11.

Adhamo broke sluggishly but settled in midpack on the fence and traveled strongly as Tribhuvan took up his usual spot on the front end, doling out splits of :24.70, :48.86, 1:13.26 and 1:36.35. Adhamo was guided to the outside heading for home as the frontrunner continued on strongly like he might complete his Presious Passion impersonation. Adhamo bore down on his stablemate at the head of the lane and was met with momentary resistance, but he found a final burst leaving the sixteenth pole to settle the issue.

“He didn't break super sharp and I was a little worried with post one. But the pace was fair, a little slow but fair, and he relaxed well,” said Prat, who piloted Tribhuvan in this race 12 months ago. “When they slowed it down he was pulling me. I had to be patient and wait to get out. He made a great run in the stretch. When I tipped him out he was ready to go. I think I have won two or three stakes races in a row, but never four in a row like this.”

Brown said of the winner: “He's been a little unlucky this year. He's still a little bit of a work in progress. I'm still trying to figure out what his best distance is, and ground and such. I was pretty confident going in to today that if he was able to get out in the clear and with a little bit extra ground to work with that he could run down a horse as good as Tribhuvan, and he did. He's a pretty talented horse. We're still figuring the horse out.”

Saturday, Monmouth Park
UNITED NATIONS S.-GI, $618,000, Monmouth, 7-23, 3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:12.68, fm.
1–ADHAMO (IRE), 118, c, 4, by Intello (Ger)
1st Dam: Foreign Tune (GB) (SW & GSP-Fr, $161,614), by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
2nd Dam: Gwenseb (Fr), by Green Tune
3rd Dam: La Popesse, by St. Jovite
1ST GRADE I WIN. (€250,000 3yo '21 ARARC). O-Madaket Stables LLC, Michael Dubb & Louis Lazzinnaro LLC; B-Wertheimer et Frere (IRE); T-Chad C Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $360,000. Lifetime Record: 15-5-3-3, $755,090. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Epic Bromance, 118, g, 6, Kitten's Joy–Anura (Ire), by Giant's Causeway. ($50,000 Ylg '17 FTKTUR; $100,000 2yo '18 OBSAPR). O-Epic Racing LLC; B-Kenneth L & Sarah K Ramsey (KY); T-J Kent Sweezey. $120,000.
3–Temple, 124, g, 6, Temple City–Desant, by Quiet American.
1ST G1 BLACK-TYPE. ($19,000 RNA Wlg '16 KEENOV; $75,000 Ylg '17 FTKTUR; $75,000 RNA 2yo '18 OBSAPR). O-Paradise Farms Corp & David Staudacher; B-Mark Toothaker & Dan White (KY); T-Michael J Maker. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, HD, HD. Odds: 1.80, 72.70, 12.30.
Also Ran: Tribhuvan (Fr), Gufo, Carpenters Call, Kentucky Ghost, Glynn County, Mohs, He'spuregold. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Adhamo is the second highest-level winner for 2013 G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero Intello (Ger) (Galileo {Ire}) and, like 2018 G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Intellogent (Ire), he's out of a mare by a Green Desert stallion. Invincible Spirit is now the broodmare sire of four Grade I/Group 1 winners (three in the Northern Hemisphere).

Adhamo hails from a typically deep Wertheimer family. He's a half to a pair of stakes-placed runners in France, including 2-year-old and recent Prix Roland de Chambure third Neversay (Fr) (No Nay Never), and his dam is out of a group winner and kin to four stakes performers, including multiple Group 2-winning full-sister Impassable (Ire).

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Despite Heat, Monmouth Officials Confident Haskell Card Will be a Go

With temperatures set to reach the high nineties this weekend in the Mid-Atlantic region, a number of tracks have announced adjusted schedules, but Monmouth Park officials remain confident that the Saturday card featuring the GI Haskell S. will go off as planned.

“First and foremost, we are concerned about the safety of the horses and jockeys and want to make sure we do the right thing,” said Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team at the Jersey Shore track. “But we've been on top of it all week and right now nothing has changed. We think we will be ok.”

The heat was a factor for the running of the 2019 Haskell when temperatures flirted with the 100-degree mark. A decision was made to change the post time of the Haskell from 5:47 p.m. to 8:05 p.m in hopes that the temperatures would drop by the early evening. Six races on the card were cancelled

Drazin explained that the New Jersey Racing Commission rule calls for racing to be halted if the heat index reaches 105. A heat index takes into account the combination of high temperatures and humidity. The Saturday forecast for the Monmouth area is calling for a high temperature of 91 degrees. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the area through Wednesday of next week.

Drazin said that adjusting the schedule and times of the races Saturday would be a no-win proposition.

“The bottom line is that you put yourself in jeopardy no matter what you do,” he said. “If you  move post time until later and the heat index is still bad at 5, 6 o'clock, then you can't run. If you move it up to 9 o'clock in the morning, you might get some races in but I don't want to start our card at 9 on Haskell day or any other day.”

Post time for Saturday's first race at Monmouth is scheduled for 12:00 and post for the Haskell was listed as 5:45 p.m.

Drazin said the racing commission was monitoring conditions for Friday's card and gave the track the green light to run and hold the races at the regularly scheduled time. Temperatures Friday reached the low nineties.

“We were concerned about the heat index today,” Drazin said Friday. “I've spoken to the racing commission and have been in touch with them all day long. Their executive director has been on top of the weather and we got the blessing to go ahead and start the card. If the heat index ended up later in day to be dangerous, they would stop the racing. Looking at the week and looking at the forecast, we thought Friday and Sunday would be worse than Saturday. So we are hoping it will play out ok and that Saturday will be fine. We are a little concerned about Sunday. We may have to do something about Sunday.”

Meanwhile, tracks in the region were sent scrambling due to the excessive temperatures. The Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) has announced that the Sunday card at Laurel has been cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday. Post time for Saturday's races has been moved from a 12:40 start to 1:50. According to MJC Acting President Mike Rogers, the company uses a protocol called the WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measurement, which takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover to determine potential heat stress. It is different than the heat index, which takes into consideration temperature and humidity including for shady areas. Rogers said if the WBGT measurement is at 91.4, there is no choice but to cancel racing.

Colonial Downs has announced that Monday's card has been cancelled due to heat concerns. Their scheduled, featured stakes–the $150,000 Colonial Cup at 1 1/2m on turf–will now be run Wednesday, July 27 as originally drawn.

To the west, Ellis Park has announced that its races this weekend have been moved up to 10:30 a.m. local time because of the heat.

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