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Temperence Hill or Isaac Murphy Up ‘Next’ for Streaking Marathon Man After 45-60 Days Off

After missing an intended start in the GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Santa Anita on Breeders' Cup Saturday due to a fever, the streaking marathon specialist Next (Not This Time) is currently being turned out for 45-60 days, according to trainer Doug Cowans.

“This fall, we were planning on going to California, but the Sunday before he was supposed to get on the plane, he got a little temperature,” Cowans said of Next missing the 1 5/8-miles event, a race he won at Keeneland in 2022.

“He was fine a couple of days later, but I tell 'ya, with flying and going out there I just said, 'Better not do it.' I scratched the whole idea. Everything had gone perfect all year and I wasn't gonna push the issue.”

Perfect, indeed.

Claimed by Michael A. Foster off owner/breeder Silverton Hill and trainer Wesley Ward for $62,500 at Keeneland last spring, the gelded 5-year-old has found his calling in the marathon division. He's won five out of his last six starts either on or just off the lead, including the GII Brooklyn S. going 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park June 10, the Birdstone S. going 1 3/4 miles at Saratoga July 27 and the GIII Greenwood Cup S. going 1 1/2 miles in the slop at Parx last time out Sept. 23. He's won his last two starts by a combined margin of a whopping 36 3/4 lengths.

“He'll go back into training Jan. 1,” Cowans said. “We're pointing towards either the ($200,000) Temperence Hill S. (at Oaklawn Mar. 29) or the Isaac Murphy (Marathon S. at Churchill Downs).”

He continued, “Everybody in the barn is excited. He brings a little bit of a different type of energy with his specialty of running in these marathon races. These kind of horses don't come along too often. He's a unique horse. Me and my assistant have both checked in on him at the farm once a week and he is doing great. We're excited to get him back in here in about three weeks.”

Next, one of 13 graded winners for Not This Time, was produced by the multiple stakes-placed Awesome Again mare Bahia Beach.

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Paco Lopez Suspended 30 Days for Greenwood Cup Ride

Jockey Paco Lopez, who pulled up his mount Ridin With Biden (Constitution) a few steps before the finish of last Saturday's GIII Greenwood Cup S. at Parx, likely costing the horse a second-place finish, was handed a 30-day suspension Thursday by the stewards at Parx.

In ruling, the stewards wrote that the suspension was “for failure to give his best effort and failure to use the proper diligence in Race 7 on September 23, 2023 while astride the horse Ridin With Biden…”

The suspension began Thursday and will conclude on Oct. 27. Lopez has waived his right to appeal.

“The penalty is justified,” said trainer Butch Reid. “We have to look out for our owners as well as the betting public. My concern was that the horse was sound and he is. He has been inspected by state vets three times since the race and is fine.”

In the Greenwood Cup, a mile-and-a-half race, Ridin With Biden chased the winner Next (Not This Time) for about 10 furlongs before that rival started to pull away to what would become a 25-length laugher. However, Ridin With Biden appeared to have second-place wrapped up as he was eight lengths clear of the rest of the field at the eighth pole. But when he pulled the horse up, he was caught for the place, losing out by a nose to 84-1 shot My Imagination (Lea).

Here's how the Equibase chart caller saw it: “Ridin With Biden prompted the winner to midway on the final turn, proved no match then was eased in the final stages costing the place.”

For third-place, Ridin With Biden earned $19,000 or $19,000 less than the second-place payout of $38,000. Lopez's move also, no doubt, costs plenty of bettors. The combination of Next over Ridin With Biden was the lowest payout among all exactas.

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The Week in Review: Next Deserves A Shot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic

There will no doubt be a tendency to dismiss Next (Not This Time) as a novelty act, even after his 25-length romp in Saturday's GIII Greenwood Cup on a sloppy, dreary day at Parx. That comes with the territory when your speciality is marathon-distance races of 12 furlongs or more. But to do so would be a mistake.

While it's true that he does not face the best of competition in these races, Next is obviously a seriously talented race horse. You have to be to win a graded stakes race by 25 lengths–no matter the distance or the level of competition.

Next was claimed for $62,500 by trainer Doug Cowans out of a seven-furlong race in April of last year, but the story really begins five months later. Cowans was running him on the turf, but stayed in when the Cape Henlopen S. at Delaware Park was rained off the grass and run at 12 furlongs on the dirt. He won by 18 1/4 lengths. Then it was the GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Keeneland, which he won by 6 1/4 lengths. He didn't run his race in his 2023 debut when third in the Isaac Murphy Marathon Overnight S. at Churchill Downs, but has been nothing short of sensational since. He won the GII Brooklyn S. by 2 1/4 lengths and then the Birdstone by 11 3/4. Then he turns the Greenwood Cup into a laugher.

Yes, comparing him to the top horses in training is somewhat a matter of apples-to-oranges, but the Beyer numbers indicate that he's fast enough. He got a 104 Beyer Saturday and has twice run a 105, in the Thoroughbred After Care Alliance and in the Birdstone. Arcangelo (Arrogate), who could be the favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, ran his top number in the GI Travers S., where he got a 105.

But Next's connections remain committed to a schedule that includes only more of the same. When asked after the Greenwood Cup if they might try to drop back in distance and try tougher competition, Cowans said that wasn't the plan.

“It has not been a thought process up to this point,” he said. “At the beginning of the year there was a five-race plan for this horse and we have made every one. Lucky enough, he has stayed sound and healthy and has made every race.”

He said the plan is to run again in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which will be run this year at Santa Anita.

That certainly makes sense and you can't really fault Cowans and owner Michael Foster to sticking to what has worked so well since the Cape Henlopen. With $915,672 in career earnings he is closing in on the $1-million mark. Not bad for a horse who was claimed for $62,500.

But what if? Could Next duplicate his form in a mile-and-a-quarter race? Is that type of race, just two furlongs shorter, really that different than what he's been running in? It's certainly not out of the question that he could be competitive in some of these races, maybe even in the Classic. Even if he were to run second or third, that would be a huge accomplishment, result in a payday much bigger than anything available to him in the marathon races and open up all sorts of doors. A 5-year-old gelding, if he stays sound he has a lot of racing in front of him.

So why not run in the Classic? There is absolutely nothing to lose, especially when you consider that the alterative, the Thoroughbred After Care Alliance, is worth only $250,000. If he doesn't run well, you can always go back to Plan A.

“We've got a hell of a horse,” Foster said.

He's right. They do. Now let him go out and prove it–in the Classic.

Parx Stewards Need to Come Down Hard on Paco

The other story in the Greenwood Cup was Paco Lopez's ride aboard Ridin With Biden (Constitution), who finished third as the 7-2 second choice. He chased Next for the first nine furlongs or so and was obviously going to lose and lose by a wide margin. But it looked like the horse was going to be second and easily so as he was eight lengths clear of everyone else in the field at the eighth pole. But in the final 40 yards or so, Lopez just gave up.

Here's how the Equibase chart caller saw it: “RIDIN WITH BIDEN prompted the winner to midway on the final turn, proved no match then was eased in the final stages costing the place.”

That's exactly what happened as Ridin With Biden wound up finishing third, beaten a nose by 84-1 shot My Imagination (Lea). The difference between the place and show money was $19,000. Then, of course there's all the money that went down the drain in the exactas, where the Next-Ridin With Biden combo was the favorite. The irony is that Lopez is often accused of being too aggressive.

Maybe he thought he had the place position wrapped up, but that's no excuse. His job was to ride the horse out to the wire and he didn't. The Parx stewards shouldn't take this lightly. An appropriate suspension and fine is called for. Send a message.

Turf Paradise's Demise

It's sad, but hardly surprising to see that Turf Paradise will not re-open. The sport keeps losing racetracks and now will no longer have a track in another major market. With a population of 1.6 million, Phoenix is the fifth biggest city in the U.S.

But this is also a story of how casino gaming has changed the sport. I don't know what the bottom line details were at Turf Paradise, but trying to make a racetrack go without help from casino revenue is a battle that few tracks can win. That's especially true at a place like Turf Paradise, where the handle is small. And there was nothing on the horizon in Arizona in the way of the track getting help from Historical Horse Racing Machines (HHR) or anything else.

It's no coincidence that the other track about to close, Golden Gate Fields, was also trying to get by without help from a casino, slots or HHR. The list of places where there is an operating racetrack that gets nothing in the way of casino revenues or a subsidy from the government has dwindled to just a handful. Of all the U.S. tracks racing over the weekend, Los Alamitos was the only one. Even Monmouth, which has been fighting a losing battle against the Atlantic City casinos for decades, gets $10 million a year from the state to fatten the purse account.

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Wolfie’s Dynaghost Heads Field For National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes At Saratoga

Woodslane Farm homebred Wolfie's Dynaghost, a half-sibling to millionaire Grade 1-winning turfer Sadler's Joy, will make his grass debut in Friday's $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, a one-mile inner-turf test for sophomores at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 37th edition of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, slated for Race 7, is part of a loaded Friday card that includes the $120,000 Alydar in Race 8, a nine-furlong test for older horses who have not won a sweepstakes in 2021 other than state-bred; and the $200,000 Grade 3 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older horses in Race 9.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, Wolfie's Dynaghost graduated at first asking at odds of 33-1 in a seven-furlong maiden special weight in November over a good main track at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. The Ghostzapper bay, out of the Dynaformer mare Dynaire, returned to action in May when running a distant fifth in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Peter Pan over a Belmont Park main track rated fast.

Last out, in an off-the-turf optional-claiming event at 1 1/16-miles on July 3 at Belmont, Wolfie's Dynaghost relished the sloppy and sealed surface, bounding away to a two-length front-running score.

Wolfie's Dynaghost posted his first recorded breeze on turf Sunday, covering a half-mile in :51.10 on the Oklahoma training turf in company with older allowance winner Duress [:52.65].

With Irad Ortiz, Jr. up, Wolfie's Dynaghost tracked outside Duress before advancing through the turn and powering to the inside of his workmate for the stretch run, finishing up his breeze with vigor.

“It looked like he was really striding out well over it and it looked like he got a good hold of it. Irad was really happy with the work,” Albertrani said. “He galloped out strong, too. It was a really good work.”

“He showed a great turn of foot when Irad asked him. He responded really quickly,” Albertrani continued. “When he gave him his cue, he quickened up nicely and galloped out good. I got him in :51 and he galloped out in 1:02 and change.”

Albertrani said he is hopeful that Wolfie's Dynaghost will show the same affinity for turf as his half-sibling and stablemate Sadler's Joy, a Grade 1-winner on turf with more than $2.6 million in earnings through 37 career starts.

“He has a lot of turf pedigree to him and if he's anything like his half-brother, we're optimistic that he'll run well,” Albertrani said. “He's run well on two wet tracks. The Peter Pan was a bit of a head-scratcher. It could have been a combination of maybe he wasn't 100 percent tight that day or the dry track, too. Maybe he was looking for turf all along.

“We came back and tried him on the grass and it came off so we ran him anyway, and he was really impressive,” Albertrani added. “I think we're still in a phase with him and learning more about him, but I think this distance is perfect for him, and if the grass moves him up a step or two, even better.”

Wolfie's Dynaghost will exit post 8 under Ortiz, Jr.

Trainer Mark Casse, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday, will saddle Breeze Easy's Easy Time.

“I can't think of anything better than to get inducted in the morning and win it in the afternoon,” Casse said with a laugh.

Easy Time, by Not This Time, graduated at first asking, sprinting seven furlongs on Woodbine's Tapeta main track in October, but didn't resurface until January when off-the-board in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man on dirt at Gulfstream.

The dark bay, purchased for $250,000 at the OBS July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, tried the Gulfstream turf in February when second by a neck in a one-mile optional claimer.

Last out, Easy Time returned to synthetic and made the grade with a two-length win in the Grade 3 Marine at 1 1/16-miles on July 11 at Woodbine.

“Easy Time is a nice horse. He broke his maiden impressively,” Casse said. “We tried him on the dirt at Gulfstream and he probably wasn't ready to do that. He came back and had a troubled trip over the grass at Gulfstream and came out of it with a minor setback, so we gave him some time at our training center in Ocala. He was impressive last time.

“I think he's a pretty good horse,” Casse continued. “Judging by his only performance on the grass at Gulfstream, I don't think grass is an issue.”

Easy Time will exit post 4 under Tyler Gaffalione.

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Trainer John Terranova entered a strong one-two punch in Eric Fein's Original and Ranger Fox but said it's possible one of his entrants could scratch in favor of a start in the $120,000 Better Talk Now on August 29 at one-mile on the Spa turf.

Both horses worked a half-mile solo on the Oklahoma training turf Saturday with maiden winner Ranger Fox clocked in :51.66 and graded-stakes placed Original in :51.23.

“I'm not sure that both will run, but both worked very well,” Terranova said. “I thought Ranger Fox breezed really well yesterday and he's really stepping forward, so I figured we'll put him in there and take a look at the race.”

Ranger Fox, a Nyquist bay, is out of the Quality Road mare Xtra Spice, whose dam is Hall of Famer Xtra Heat.

Purchased for $310,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Ranger Fox graduated last out at fourth asking in a seven-furlong maiden special weight against older horses over good Belmont turf.

With Joel Rosario up, Ranger Fox tracked in third before taking command at the stretch call en route to a 5 1/2-length score, garnering a career-best 85 Beyer.

“He's a colt with talent. He just needed a little time to mature,” Terranova said. “There's a lot of room to go forward with this guy. He's doing really well right now and he's trained on forward since his maiden win at Belmont.

“He's matured quite a bit,” added Terranova. “It was nice to see it set up last time and that he handled it without issue. He was real handy and it gives us options going forward as far as stretching out when he's able to relax early.”

Original, a Kentucky-bred son of Quality Road with Luis Saez up for the second time following a third in an optional claimer on June 4 at Belmont Park, set a moderate pace over good going in the Manila, kicking two lengths clear of the field at the stretch call en route to a head score in the one-mile Widener turf test.

“Luis got to know him the first time he rode him and it worked out last time,” Terranova said. “He handled the softer ground last time too which is encouraging. Both horses have handled softer going which is good given what we've seen with the weather so far up in Saratoga. We couldn't be in better hands with Luis and Joel on our horses.”

Ranger Fox was assigned post 3 under Rosario, while Original would exit post 6 under Saez.

Rounding out the field are multiple stakes winner Annex [post 1, Junior Alvarado]; graded-stakes placed Public Sector [post 2, Flavien Prat]; maiden winner In Effect [post 5, Jose Lezcano]; and Next [post 7, John Velazquez], last-out winner of the one-mile War Chant on the Churchill Downs turf.

First post on Friday's 10-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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