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Haskell: O’Neill Hoping Removal Of Blinkers Makes The Difference For Hot Rod Charlie

He was third in the Kentucky Derby, then second in the Belmont Stakes. On Saturday, exactly six weeks after Hot Rod Charlie made his last start, the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park could be the breakout race where he crosses the wire in front the other six talented 3-year-old colts and notches his first Grade 1 victory.

“I sure hope so,” said Doug O'Neill, who trains the colt for the partnership of Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing and William Strauss. O'Neill was at the barn on the Monmouth Park backside with Strauss, the founder and CEO of Pro-Flowers.com, overseeing final preparations Friday morning after jetting in from his Southern California base.

Hot Rod Charlie is by 2013 Preakness winner Oxbow out of Indian Miss, making him a half-brother to champion sprinter Mitole. His pedigree is blessed with speed and the stamina to stay the 1 1/8 miles of the Haskell.

To give him an extra edge for this trip, O'Neill decided that an equipment change was in order.

The winner of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby has worn blinkers in six of his last nine efforts, but will not race with them Saturday when he and jockey Flavien Prat depart from post 4 as the 6-5 morning line favorite in the field that includes Kentucky Derby runner-up Madaloun, the 2-1 second choice on the morning line; 3-1 Following Sea; 9-2 Midnight Bourbon, the Preakness runner-up; and three locally-based horses in the New Jersey-bred Pickin' Time at 20-1 and co-longshots Antigravity and Basso at 30-1.

“This time we're pulling the blinkers off, which is kind of a chancy thing since his form is so strong and he's heading the right way and now we're tweaking his equipment,” said O'Neill. “We've been breezing him without blinkers and Flavien is real excited about what we could see without them. He's got that (Derby) third, and then the (Belmont) second, and hopefully, a win is right around the corner.”

In addition to pulling down a seven-figure purse and earning a Grade 1 victory, the Haskell winner is guaranteed an all-expenses-paid spot in the starting gate for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic as part of the “Win and You're In” Breeders' Cup Challenge Series presented by America's Best Racing. The 2021 Breeders' Cup on the first weekend in November is being contested at Del Mar, which is home for the O'Neill stable.

“That's a huge bonus as well. I hate to get too far ahead of us. It's a big day tomorrow and I couldn't be happier with the way he's coming into it,” he said.

Spendthrift Farm's homebred Following Sea was transferred to Todd Pletcher in May and he has turned heads by winning the last two of his three career efforts by a combined 12¼ lengths with Joel Rosario at the reins.

But the son of champion sprinter Runhappy is stretching out from 6½ furlongs and has never negotiated two turns. Moreover, he's taking a huge class jump from a first level allowance race all the way to this Grade 1 stakes.

“The rail horse (Following Sea) is a huge `X' factor,” said O'Neill. “It's his first time going this distance. He's been brilliant in his wins, and he's got Joel, who is a brilliant rider. I would think he'll make the pace and then it will be up to Flavien to judge where he wants to have Charlie.

“Midnight Bourbon is kind of an `X' factor, too, with Paco (Lopez) on him. I assume he'll be sent pretty hard, too. Even though it's a short field it's an interesting jockey race.”

While Hot Rod Charlie is looking for his first Grade 1 win, his trainer hopes to garner his first Haskell trophy in his fourth try. 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist was fourth in 2016, Handsome Mike finished fourth in 2012, and Excessivepleasure was seventh in 2003 for O'Neill.

“At this stage Charlie does seem like he's getting better and better and with a little bit of luck there are a lot of chapters left to be written in his book,” O'Neill said. “We're excited for the second half of the 3-year-old season, and the Haskell is a big test for us. It's an honor to be here, and I feel grateful that I'm here with this horse.”

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The Friday Show Presented By Monmouth Park: ‘Jersey Joe’ Bravo Tries A Different Shore

A 13-time riding champion at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., Joe Bravo has shifted his tack to Southern California in time for Friday's opening of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club meeting in Del Mar, Calif. For the first time in years, he'll be watching Haskell Stakes day at Monmouth Park from afar because of his unwillingness to ride under the rules imposed by the New Jersey Racing Commission banning the whip for anything other than safety.

Before getting legged up for his West Coast invasion, Bravo joined publisher Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills in this week's edition of the Friday Show to talk about what it takes to win at the track where he earned the moniker “Jersey Joe.” For example, Bravo said the speed of the racetrack and front-end or closing biases at Monmouth can be influenced by the tides of the nearby Atlantic Ocean. He suggests watching the color of the dirt track to see if it gets darker or lighter during a day's races as the tides go in or out. That can change how races are run, Bravo said.

Bravo is enthusiastic for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, a national oversight body for medication and safety regulations in horse racing scheduled to be in place in July 2022. Bravo is looking to HISA to bring uniform national rules for use of the riding crop – currently prohibited in New Jersey for anything other than safety – and medication.

Watch this week's show, presented by Monmouth Park, below:

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‘Remarkable’ Arklow Headlines Saturday’s United Nations

If ever the timeworn cliché about not getting older but getting better could be applied to a horse, it would be Arklow.

The son of Arch is now seven and has earned $2,750,746 in a 32-race career that dates to 2016. Even more impressive is that he has won a graded stakes race in each of the past five years.

He became a Grade 1 winner in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in the fall of 2019 and now, almost two years later, will be among the favorites at Monmouth Park for Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 United Nations Stakes, the supporting feature on the 14-race TVG.com Haskell Stakes card.

The United Nations will be contested at a mile and three-eighths on the grass, where Arklow excels.

“Winning a graded stakes five years in a row is a remarkable thing,” said Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, who saddled Arklow before his most recent victory in the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes at Churchill Downs in his only 2021 start. “I think it's a pedigree thing. He's an Arch. He felt like a horse that would always improve with age.”

Owned by Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger and the estate of Peter Coneway, Arklow is back for a second straight crack at the United Nations. Sent off as the 13-10 favorite in 2020, he finished fourth. Thereafter, Cox added blinkers and Arklow has posed for winner's circle photos in three of his next four contests, all graded stakes, including the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar in the final race of his 2020 campaign.

“He's really moved forward since we've added the blinkers,” Cox said. “His only defeat with them came in the Breeders' Cup. The blinkers seem to have picked his head up and are keeping him in the race mentally. I've always said I hate to put blinkers on a horse that's made a couple of million dollars, but once we did it he turned the corner.”

The horse's only loss in those four races after the equipment change was a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf in November.

“We give him time off,” said Cox when addressing Arklow's longevity and successes. “It had been somewhat of a long year and then he got a break. I think that plays a big role. The owners of this horse are always willing to give him time. Once he's done so much, he gets a little vacation. He's rewarded them in staying consistent.”

Another astounding thing about Arklow is that he's stayed as sound and as willing as a young colt.

“We see all the signs that he still loves to do it,” said assistant trainer Blake Cox, who is overseeing the contingent of five horses, including Mandoloun, which the stable will run in all five graded stakes on Saturday's Haskell Stakes card. “He does so much after the wire and it's the way he does it. He's a mile-and-a-half horse and he's a grinder. He picks up every pole and you can't even pull him up. It's crazy. He tells you when he's ready.”

Arklow put in the last of his serious work for the United Nations at Monmouth Park on July 11 with a four-furlong breeze and has been training forwardly since. On Thursday, he was out on the track for a routine morning gallop, went to the gate and backed out, and then visited the paddock for a lesson.

“You don't see horses like this one anymore,” said Blake Cox, Brad Cox's son and assistant. “He handles everything thrown his way. He's a tough horse, no question. I think he likes a little give in the ground. I really do. It can rain as much as it wants or not, and he'll be fine.”

The horse's connections will be in attendance on Saturday, rooting for their iron horse.

“Winning the United Nations would mean a lot for everybody. He's already got a Grade 1 and we'd like to get another one for him,” said Blake Cox. “If everything goes right, I really think he can get the job done.”

It will be a busy and potentially-lucrative day for the Cox team on Saturday. In addition to Arlow in the Grade 1 United Nations and Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun in the Grade 1 Haskell, they're sending out Grade 1 winner and Juddmonte Farms homebred Juliette Foxtrot in the Grade 3 WinStar Matchmaker Stakes, Grade 2 winner Vault in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher Stakes, and Grade 3 winner Night Ops in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes.

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NYRA Partners With Monmouth For All Graded Stakes Pick 6 On Saturday

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will offer a pair of unique wagering opportunities on Saturday featuring graded stakes action from Saratoga Race Course, including an all graded stakes $0.20 Pick 6 in partnership with Monmouth Park and a cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 in tandem with Meadowlands.

The $0.20 Saratoga/Monmouth Pick 6, which will feature a low 15 percent takeout and mandatory payout, will include Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford [Race 9, 5:40 p.m.], a six-furlong sprint for juveniles; and the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana [Race 10, 6:16 p.m.], a nine-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares from Saratoga.

FOX broadcast network (FOX) will present a special Opening Weekend show beginning at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, highlighted by the 83rd running of the Diana.

The $0.20 Saratoga/Monmouth Pick 6 Pick 6 will kick off with the Grade 3, $300,000 Monmouth Cup [Race 8, 3:29 p.m.] at nine furlongs for 3-year-olds and up; and include the Grade 3, $250,000 Molly Pitcher [Race 10, 4:38 p.m.], for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at 1 1/16-miles on the main track; the Grade 1, $500,000 United Nations [Race 11, 5:12 p.m.], an 11-furlong turf test for 3-year-olds and up; and featuring the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell [Race 12, 5:47 p.m.] at nine-furlongs for sophomores.

$0.20 Pick 6 for Saturday, July 17
Leg A – Monmouth Park – Race 8, G3 Monmouth Cup, 3:29 p.m.
Leg B – Monmouth Park – Race 10, G3 Molly Pitcher, 4:38 p.m.
Leg C – Monmouth Park – Race 11, G1 United Nations, 5:12 p.m.
Leg D – Saratoga – Race 9, G3 Sanford, 5:40 p.m.
Leg E – Monmouth Park – Race 12, G1 Haskell, 5:47 p.m.
Leg F – Saratoga – Race 10, G1 Diana, 6:16 p.m.

Also being offered on Saturday's wagering menu is a cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 in partnership with the Meadowlands, the harness racing track located in East Rutherford New Jersey.

Current New York State regulations allow NYRA to accept wagering only on standardbred races that take place in New York. As such, the cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 will not be available on-track at Saratoga or to NYRA Bets customers located in New York State. The cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 is available to NYRA Bets, LLC customers outside of New York State.

In addition to the Diana and Sanford, the cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 will feature the $450,000 William Haughton Memorial [Race 7, 8:37 p.m.] for free-for-all pacers ages four and older; the $400,000 Hambletonian Maturity for 4-year-old trotters [Race 8, 9:05 p.m.]; and the $700,000 Meadowlands Pace [Race 9, 9:38 p.m.] for 3-year-old pacers at the Meadowlands.

The Meadowlands Pace will be broadcast live on a special edition of America's Day at the Races on FS2 from 8-10 p.m. Eastern.

The cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5, which will have a mandatory payout, features a 15 percent takeout and $0.50 base.

Cross-breed Cross Country Pick 5 for Saturday, July 17
Leg A – Saratoga – Race 9, G3 Sanford, 5:40 p.m.
Leg B – Saratoga – Race 10, G1 Diana, 6:16 p.m.
Leg C – Meadowlands – Race 7, William Haughton Memorial, 8:37 p.m.
Leg D – Meadowlands, Race 8, Hambletonian Maturity, 9:05 p.m.
Leg E – Meadowlands, Race 9, Meadowlands Pace, 9:38 p.m.

Free Equibase past performances for both sequences will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

First post at Saratoga on Saturday is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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