Navratilova | Horse Racing Free Tips

Navratilova Gives Humphrey Milestone Win In Keeneland’s Valley View

G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s homebred Navratilova dug down deep for a front-running one-length victory in Friday's featured $150,000 Rubicon Valley View (G3) on the penultimate day of Keeneland's 17-day Fall Meet in Lexington, Ky. The win marked the eighth graded stakes victory for Humphrey and earned for him a Keeneland Tray, part of Keeneland's unique Milestone Trophy Program.

Humphrey is the 23^rd owner to receive the Keeneland Tray, first awarded to Hasty House Farm during the 1955 Spring Meet. On Oct. 23, Godolphin earned the Keeneland Tray following Caramel Swirl's win in the Lexus Raven Run (G2).

Navratilova, trained by Rusty Arnold and ridden by Colby Hernandez, covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.57 over a turf course listed as yielding.

She and Hernandez broke sharply and secured the early lead heading into the first turn through an opening quarter-mile fraction of :23.82. Crazy Beautiful and Brian Hernandez Jr. broke sharply but settled in second up the backstretch while favored Toby's Heart and Joel Rosario kept to the inside in fourth behind Arm Candy and Ricardo Santana Jr.

Following a half-mile time in :49.06 and 6-furlong mark of 1:14.02, Navratilova continued to cruise on the lead while Crazy Beautiful and Tobys Heart maintained second and third, respectively. Inside the eighth pole, Navratilova was able to hold off Crazy Beautiful for the victory.

Sent off at odds of 25-1, Navratilova returned $53.80, $20.60 and $10.20. Crazy Beautiful paid $8.40 and $5.40 while Adventuring and Florent Geroux closed late for third and returned $5.60.

Navratilova is a 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro out of the Grade 1-winning mare Centre Court, by Smart Strike. With today's win, the Kentucky-bred earned $90,000 to increase her career earnings to $241,465 with a record of 9-3-0-3.

Tobys Heart was able to hold fourth and was followed by Core Values, Breaker of Chains, Oliviaofthedesert, Saranya, Queenship (IRE), Arm Candy and Princess Theorem. Oyster Box, Lady Speightspeare, Flown, Gam's Mission and Wait for Nairobi were scratched from the over-subscribed field.

Sweet Dani Girl Wins Myrtlewood
J & J Stables and Nicholas Vaccarezza's Sweet Dani Girl made a bold three-wide rally to win the $150,000 Myrtlewood, named for the Hall of Famer and influential broodmare who won three races during Keeneland's nine-day opening meet in October 1936, in the race before the Rubicon Valley View.

Trained by Vaccarezza's father, Carlo Vaccarezza, and ridden by Martin Garcia, Sweet Dani Girl covered 6 furlongs in 1:10.36 over the track rated fast.

Kant Believe It and Verylittlecents dueled on the lead throughout much of the Myrtlewood through a quarter-mile fraction of :22.16 and half-mile time of :46.14. Garcia and Sweet Dani Girl tracked just to the outside of the pacesetting duo and was able to surge to the lead in the final strides for a three-quarter-length victory.

Sweet Dani Girl, the 2-1 favorite, paid $6, $4.20 and $3.40. Kant Believe It held second to return $7.20 and $5 under Jose Ortiz, while Verylittlecents finished third under Joe Talamo and returned $6.40.

Chi Town Lady finished fourth and was followed by Jester Calls Nojoy, Jumeirah, Towser, Majestic d'Oro, She's Pure Silver and You Look Cold. Blazing Summer was scratched.

Sweet Dani Girl Martin Garcia up, wins the Myrtlewood Stakes

With Sweet Dani Girl's victory in the Myrtlewood, she earned $90,000 and remained perfect in two career starts. The daughter of Jess's Dream out of the Scat Daddy mare My Sweet Dani Girl was bred in Florida by her owners.

Saturday is closing day of the Fall Meet with 10 races beginning at 1 p.m. ET. The card includes three stakes: Race 7 (4:12 p.m.) — $150,000 Bowman Mill, Race 8 (4:44 p.m.) – Bryan Station and Race 9 (5:16 p.m.) – Hagyard Fayette (G2).

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Illegal Smile Takes Siena Purse At Keeneland

Hat Creek Racing's Illegal Smile (IRE) surged to the lead at the head of the stretch and cruised to a 1¼-length victory over Bullseye Beauty to win the $90,000 Siena Purse allowance for 3-year-old fillies at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Ridden by Gerardo Corrales and trained by Wesley Ward, Illegal Smile covered the 5½ furlongs on a turf course labeled as good in 1:02.94.

Illegal Smile is an Irish-bred daughter of Camacho (GB) out of the Iffraaj (GB) mare Fine If (IRE). Now boasting a record of 10-2-4-1, Illegal Smile has earnings of $186,556.

Illegal Smile returned $7.80, $4.20, and $3.20 as the favorite in the field of nine. Bullseye Beauty, ridden by James Graham, returned $5 and $4.20 with Navratilova paying $3.80 to show under Julien Leparoux.

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Navratilova Lands A Winning Shot In Tepin Stakes

G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s Navratilova held off the late challenge of Tobys Heart and New Boss to win Saturday's second running of the $150,000 Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Rusty Arnold II and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Navratilova completed one-mile on the firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:35.56. The Tepin was the final race that will be held over the current turf course before a $10 million renovation this summer at Churchill Downs.

Navratilova set early quarter-mile fractions of :24.35 and :48.99. Around the far turn, Adam Beschizza aboard New Boss ranged alongside Navratilova. The duo battled for nearly a quarter-mile when the highly-regarded Tobys Heart and jockey Javier Castellano ranged alongside the two fillies. Navratilova dug in gamely at the rail for a half-length victory.

“She relaxed well up front and had her ears up,” Hernandez said. “Down the stretch, she really had to dig in to hold off those challengers. She ran well and handled the distance like we thought she could.”

Navratilova rewarded her backers at odds of 9-1 and paid $20.80, $9.40, and $7. Tobys Heart finished a head in front of New Boss to return $4.80 and $4.20. New Boss paid $5.80.

Town Avenger, Adventuring, Arm Candy, Invincible Gal (GB), Bullseye Beauty, Commanders Palace, Barista, and Fairchild completed the order of finish.

With her win Saturday, Navratilova improved her record to 5-2-0-2 with purse earnings of $136,340. She was bred in Kentucky by her owner.

“Her dam (Centre Court) was a Grade I winner going 1 1/16 miles so we thought she'd like the distance today,” Arnold said. “She was sprinting in her last start which she didn't handle as well but did much better today.”

The Tepin is named after the brilliant two-time Eclipse Award-winning turf mare in 2015-16.

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Rusty Arnold Plans Full Slate Of Stakes, Return to Saratoga For Barn

Reiko and Michael Baum's Illiogami, trained by Rusty Arnold, will make her stakes debut in Saturday's $250,000 Grade 2 Mother Goose Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile test for sophomore fillies at Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny.

The Tapit grey, a $400,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, is out of the multiple Group 1-winning Falco mare Odeliz.

The sizable filly made her first two starts traveling one mile on the turf in Kentucky, finishing fifth on debut in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. and second in November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Illiogami closed out her juvenile campaign with a closing second on November 28 on the Churchill Downs main track.

Illiogami has thrived at 1 1/16-miles on the dirt to start her 3-year-old campaign, notching a maiden score at Keeneland on April 2 and a similar late-moving score at Churchill on April 30.

“She's a vastly improved 3-year-old. We're very excited about her and think she has a big future,” said Arnold. “We started her on turf and she ran well. We decided to give her a try on dirt and she breezed good on it and then ran good on it.”

Arnold said he wanted to give Illiogami some time between starts after winning races 28 days apart.

“We ran her back pretty quick and then started trying to map out where we wanted to go and there wasn't anything here for her,” said Arnold. “I think she'll like Belmont. She's a big filly and I think the turns will help her. We've aimed at this the whole time.”

Her dam, Odeliz, ran second to Just the Judge in the 2014 Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine and the following year captured the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville and the Group 1 Lydia Tesio at Rome.

Given the impressive pedigree, Arnold said he hasn't ruled out a return to turf for Illiogami.

“She may be back to the turf at some point, but right now it's hard to move her off the dirt when she's won two in a row,” said Arnold.

Julien Leparoux will retain the mount on Illiogami for the Mother Goose, which is expected to attract a classy field that includes graded-stakes winner Clairiere and the undefeated Always Carina.

Arnold said Calumet Farm homebred Cellist, a Big Blue Kitten colt, will make his next start in the $1 million Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational. The first leg of the Turf Triple series for sophomores is contested at 10 furlongs on the Belmont turf on July 10.

A winner at second asking traveling 1 1/16-miles on the turf at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. in February, Cellist followed with a close second in a nine-furlong Keeneland turf allowance on April 23.

Last out, Cellist made every call a winning one in the nine-furlong Audubon over good turf on May 29 at Churchill.

“We're really high on him and we're bringing him up for the Belmont Derby,” said Arnold. “He has a lot to learn but I think the distance will help him. The purse is really good, and, hopefully, he'll handle the jump up.”

Arnold said he plans to have his usual string of 16 horses at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, Ny. this summer after missing the meet last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last year was the first year I hadn't been at Saratoga since '85,” said Arnold. “We love Saratoga and we've been there for a long time. You like it on the years when you have good horses better than when you don't and we're excited to get back.”

Among the good horses to be part of Arnold's Saratoga contingent is A. Dunne, P. Harlow, B. Miley, and J. Wilkinson's Artos, who finished fourth in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes on June 16 at Ascot.

“She ran very well. We wish we'd been third but she had a tough go on her side of the course. She ran very credible,” said Arnold.

The Irish-bred Kodiac filly graduated at second asking in a 5 1/2-furlong Churchill turf sprint by a nose over Overbore, who exited that effort to win the Tremont on the Belmont main track.

Arnold said Artos will target the $120,000 Bolton Landing Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for juvenile fillies on August 18 at Saratoga.

“We'll play it by how she comes back, but that's two months off and will give her a lot of time to recover,” said Arnold. “She gets back to Kentucky on Friday and we'll ship to Saratoga soon after that.”

G. Watts Humprey's stakes-placed Navratilova will make her next start in the one-mile Tepin Stakes for sophomore fillies on the Churchill turf on June 26 before making her way to Saratoga.

The well-bred Medaglia d'Oro bay is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Smart Strike mare Centre Court, who won the 2013 Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland.

Arnold said the filly's moniker is a nod to the strong family line, including the second dam, Let, who was second in the 1998 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland and won the 1999 Grade 2 Churchill Downs Distaff for the veteran conditioner.

“We had bought the mare, Let, who placed in a Grade 1 for us and one of her foals was Centre Court, who was a Grade 1 winner, and this [Navratilova] is her foal. The theme comes from the female line,” said Arnold. “Navratilova will run in the Tepin on the last day at Churchill and hopefully move on to the end of the stakes schedule at Saratoga.”

Notable turf route options for sophomore fillies at Saratoga include the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational, second leg of the Turf Triple series for females, at 1 3/16-miles on August 8 and the $200,000 Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes at 1 1/16-miles on August 21.

Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley, Westrock Stables, and Jean Wilkinson's multiple graded stakes winner Leinster is enjoying a freshening at Wavertree in Ocala, Florida. The 6-year-old Majestic Warrior bay captured the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint on February 13 in his most recent effort.

“He won well at Gulfstream but came out of it with some issues,” said Arnold. “All the turf races for him are in the fall so we sent him to the farm down at Wavertree and we expect him back for the Saratoga meet. I'm not sure if he'll run there or not, but we'll have him back in training for the fall.”

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