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Pennsylvania-Bred Beren Catches Candy Man Rocket At The Wire In Gold Fever

Susan Quick and Christopher Feifarek's Beren made up 5 1/2 lengths in the stretch, closing in on Candy Man Rocket with a strong outside move and gaining the edge in the final stride to win Sunday's $100,000 Gold Fever by a nose in a thrilling finish to the six-furlong sprint for sophomores at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The eighth running of the Gold Fever saw Beren earn his first career stakes win in dramatic fashion, running down graded stakes-winner Candy Man Rocket under coaxing from jockey Manny Franco in the feature for the nine-race card.

Beren broke sharp from the inside post, remaining unscathed as Roderick stumbled and unseated rider Joel Rosario coming out of the gate from post 3. Both horse and rider were uninjured, with the outrider picking up Roderick in the gallop out.

American Gentleman led what became a five-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.79 seconds on the fast main track, with Beren tracking in fourth position. Candy Man Rocket, under Junior Alvarado, overtook American Gentleman at the front with the half going in 46.07, and maintained the edge into the stretch.

But Beren rallied when straightened for home, as Franco gave strong left-handed encouragement. The Weigelia colt had plenty in reserve and closed the deficit in the final sixteenth before getting up in time to win the head bob in a final time of 1:11.25.

Beren, fourth last out after stumbling at the start in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Bay Shore on April 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack, notched his third win in his last four starts.

“The class relief helped. He ran with some tough horses in the Bay Shore,” Franco said. “I knew the horse belonged here. I just wanted to make sure he broke better than he did last time. Today, he broke a step slow again, but I put him in the clear and he was comfortable after that.

“He can go seven [furlongs], but I think the six furlongs made the difference today,” he added.

The Pennsylvania homebred made his first six starts in his native Quaker State before moving up to graded stakes competition last month by trainer Butch Reid.

“It was nerve-wracking, but Manny did a great job,” Reid said. “He got him straightened out and got him to switch leads and he finished really well.

“I've found with these Weigelias that they don't need to be on the lead and they really like a little bit of moisture in the racetrack,” he added. “I've had a lot of them to train and they are all game horses and have done very well for us.”

Beren, off at 3-1, returned $8.60 on a $2 win bet and improved his career earnings to $160,420.

“I love getting that New York money,” Reid said. “There's nothing quite like it. You know when you come here, you've beaten the best. It's a special treat to come up here and win a race.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott shortened Candy Man Rocket up for his first sprint since being placed on the Triple Crown trail. After winning the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Sam F. Davis in February at Tampa Bay Downs and finishing out of the money in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, the Candy Ride colt finished 6 1/2 lengths clear of Doubleoseven for second, earning a placing in his Belmont debut.

“I had a great trip, really no excuses,” Alvarado said. “When we got to the wire I thought we held on, but I guess we didn't. He ran great. I think he'll get better with experience. He'll probably do his better running going shorter distances.”

The Wolfman and American Gentleman completed the order of finish.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

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Preakness Notes: Concert Tour Breezes Amidst Storm Over Medina Spirit’s Failed Drug Test: Post Position Draw Delayed Until Tuesday

Gary and Mary West's Concert Tour worked five-eighths of a mile in 1:00.40 Sunday morning at Churchill Downs under jockey Martin Garcia, who frequently works horses for Baffert. Mike Smith is scheduled to be aboard in Saturday's Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore, Md.

Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit – the G1 Kentucky Derby winner who Baffert said has tested positive for betamethasone – open galloped at Churchill.

“He worked really well. He's been training really well,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “I'm happy with the way he went, so he'll definitely be going to the Preakness. Medina Spirit, we just gave him a stiff open gallop, sort of. We're happy with how he went. He came out of the race really, really well. So they'll both be going to the Preakness.”

Maryland Jockey Club released the following statement Sunday afternoon concerning the revelations of Medina Spirit's failed drug test.

“Integrity in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing is the ultimate priority for 1/ST Racing and the Maryland Jockey Club (MJC). 1/ST Racing has been an industry leader instituting processes and protocols that have led to nationwide medication reform and increased accountability. We are committed to achieving the highest level of horse care and safety standards, and we have a proven track record of pushing those standards forward.

“1/ST Racing and MJC intend to review the relevant facts and information relating to the reported medication positive as a result of the post-race blood sample testing completed by Churchill Downs following the 147^th Kentucky Derby involving Medina Spirit trained by Bob Baffert. We are consulting with the Maryland Racing Commission and any decision regarding the entry of Medina Spirit in the 146^thPreakness Stakes will be made after review of the facts.”

The post-position draw for the Preakness, originally scheduled Monday, will now be held Tuesday at approximately 4 p.m. at Pimlico Race Course. It can be viewed at Facebook.com/Preakness.

Baffert has denied that Medina Spirit was ever treated with betamethasone, a corticosteroid typically injected into joints to relieve inflammation.

Medina Spirit and Concert Tour are scheduled to leave Churchill Downs Monday afternoon to van to Baltimore, arriving at Pimlico about 3 or 4 Tuesday morning.

Crowded Trade, Risk Taking Due at Pimlico Tuesday
Trainer Chad Brown reported Sunday that Klaravich Stables Inc.'s Crowded Trade and Risk Taking emerged well from their five-furlong breezes Saturday and are headed to the 146th Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course May 15.

The Brown trainees worked in company at Belmont Park in 1:01.76, the third-fastest clockings of 18 recorded at the distance. Brown's horses will ship from Belmont Park to Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday.

Brown, who won the 2017 Preakness with Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Cloud Computing, had announced Friday that Risk Taking would join stablemate Crowded Trade in the Preakness. Crowded Trade was third in the Wood Memorial (G2) in his third career start. Risk Taking finished seventh as the 2-1 favorite in the Wood Memorial after winning the Withers (G3) by 3¾ lengths. He was the morning line-favorite for Saturday's Peter Pan (G3) at Belmont Park, but owner Seth Klarman opted to scratch from the race and try the $1 million Preakness, which is run around two turns.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the mount on Crowded Trade, while Jose Ortiz has the assignment on Risk Taking.

Rombauer Exits Preakness Breeze in Good Order
Trainer Michael McCarthy reported Sunday morning that his Preakness Stakes (G1) candidate Rombauer came out of his workout Saturday morning at Santa Anita in good shape. The Twirling Candy colt is scheduled to ship from McCarthy's stable at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. to Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday.

Rombauer, bred and owned by Diane and John Fradkin, earned a guaranteed berth in the Preakness with his victory in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields on Feb. 13. In his most recent start, the Kentucky-bred was third in the April 3 Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, 5 3/4 lengths behind Essential Quality. His five-furlong work in 59.80 seconds Saturday was his fourth since the Blue Grass.

Jockey Flavien Prat was up for the work Saturday and will ride Rombauer for the first time in the Preakness.

McCarthy, 50, a longtime assistant to recently elected Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, will make his Triple Crown series debut in the Preakness with Rombauer. He saddled his first starter for his public stable in January 2014.

Unbridled Honor Ready to Go following Preakness Tune-up
Whisper Hill Farm's homebred Unbridled Honor will ship to Pimlico Race Course from Belmont Park in New York Tuesday for a scheduled start in Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1), trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday.

Pletcher confirmed that Unbridled Honor looked good the morning after his timed half-mile work in 49.75 seconds Saturday. Unbridled Honor broke his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 6 in his third career start and has since finished fourth in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and second in the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland on April 10.

The son of Honor Code will be Pletcher's 10th Preakness starter. The 1 3/16th-mile classic is the only Triple Crown race missing from the resume of the newly elected member of racing's Hall of Fame.

Jockey Luis Saez will ride Unbridled Honor for the first time in the Preakness. Saez is taking over from Julien Leparoux, who was up for the gray colt's last two starts.

Midnight Bourbon Seeking Rebound in Preakness with Good Start
Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Midnight Bourbon will try to become the sixth horse in 12 years to win the Preakness (G1) after being beaten in the Kentucky Derby (G1). The colt raced on or near the lead in his prior starts, including taking the Fair Grounds' Lecomte (G3) and finishing second in the Louisiana Derby (G2). But in the Kentucky Derby, he didn't get out of the gate cleanly and found himself in 12th and well off the pace. Forced to race wide on both turns, Midnight Bourbon closed to finish sixth.

“We weren't where we wanted to be, that's for sure,” Scott Blasi, who runs Steve Asmussen's Churchill Downs division, said of Midnight Bourbon's Derby. “But just circumstances: the horse slipped behind and didn't get away well. At the end of the day, he might actually benefit from taking dirt. There's plenty of speed in this Preakness. Hopefully he gets away cleaner. It probably adds a new dimension to him, the fact that he made up ground in all that traffic. He didn't do a lot of running early. I think he's pretty fresh coming out of it. But I think he fits well with those horses.”

The son of Tiznow galloped Sunday morning at Churchill Downs and is scheduled to have an easy half-mile workout Monday morning before shipping to Pimlico Tuesday.

Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith and Spendthrift Farm LLC's Keepmeinmind (seventh in the Derby) and Christina Baker and William Mack's Ram, an allowance winner last time out, also had routine gallops Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.

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Harvey’s Lil Goil Holds Off European Import Lemista In Beaugay

Following a wildly successful sophomore campaign that saw her finish third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Harvey's Lil Goil made a successful return to the races on Saturday, holding off European import Lemista to take the Grade 3, $150,000 Beaugay for older fillies and mares at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., by a half-length in her seasonal debut.

Winner of last year's Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, Harvey's Lil Goil hadn't run since her surprise third-place finish in the 2020 edition of the Filly & Mare Turf in November at Keeneland, where she missed by just a neck to Audarya. As a 3-year-old, the daughter of American Pharoah also took the Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs and finished second in the Dueling Ground Oaks at Kentucky Downs in a productive year that commenced on dirt for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Breaking from the rail in the Beaugay, run at 1 1/16 miles on Belmont's inner turf course, Harvey's Lil Goil was clearly fresh as she bounded out of the gate under Junior Alvarado, who reined her in to sit in second while longshot Platinum Paynter assumed control of the early lead and proceeded to set glacial splits of 26 seconds flat for the opening quarter-mile, 50.93 for the half, and 1:15.28 for three-quarters over the turf listed as good.

The tempo quickened appreciably as the compact field of six rounded the far turn, with the stalking Harvey's Lil Goil putting her neck in front of Platinum Paynter by the time they completed the bend, as Nay Lady Nay and Civil Union, fifth in last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, lined up to take their shots on the outside.

Lemista emerged from cover along the inside and threatened to spoil Harvey's Lil Goil's comeback party in the stretch. With an eighth of a mile to go Harvey's Lil Goil had inched away to establish a sizable advantage, but Lemista cut into that margin with every stride, making incremental progress throughout the final furlong before she ran out of ground late and had to settle for second behind her classy foe.

“There was a point around the half-mile pole where I checked to see where I was with my filly,” said Alvarado. “At that point, I figured out when I was going to pick it up. If I was going to be worried, it was going to be from someone from behind. This was a nice race for her comeback.

“She's one of those fillies that I've been waiting for this whole winter,” added the winning rider. “I'm glad she's back and that she pulled out the win today. I still feel that she wasn't 100 percent, but she was good enough to beat this group today. She's an awesome filly to have back again and I'm looking forward to this year with her.”

Owned by the Estate of Harvey Clarke and Paul Braverman, Harvey's Lil Goil notched her fifth win from 10 career starts, in the process bumping her bankroll over the $800,000 mark. She returned $4.30 on a $2 win wager as the favorite and completed the distance in 1:43.44, an effort that could set her up nicely for a prospective start in the Grade 2, $750,000 New York on the week of the Belmont Stakes, Mott said.

“It's the way we thought it would play out on paper,” said Mott. “The horse that was on the lead figured to be on the lead. When she felt those horses coming from behind her, she held them safe. It looked like she still had something in the tank.”

Making her North American debut for Brown and owner Peter Brant, Lemista ran lights-out in defeat as she nearly overcame a dawdling early pace beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. to add to her growing trophy case, which already includes a pair of graded wins in Ireland. She finished three lengths to the good of Platinum Paynter, who continued her good run on the NYRA circuit with another on-the-board finish at long odds, this time in a graded stake.

Platinum Paynter checked in a nose ahead of Nay Lady Nay on the wire, who was followed home by Civil Union and Thankful.

Claimed for just $12,500 last fall by trainer Juan Vazquez and owner Just In Time Racing, Platinum Paynter missed by a length when fourth in the Forever Together at 82-1 to close out her 2020 campaign at Aqueduct, then came back with a second-place finish at 21-1 in the Plenty of Grace on April 11 at the Big A before she outran her odds yet again in the Beaugay.

“She always tries hard,” said Luis Rodriguez Castro, jockey aboard Platinum Paynter. “We got a good second last time and now she finished third. I thought she did everything right. The other horses just fired up. I'm really happy with the way she ran. The trainer did a great job with her. She's running really well and I think she can win one of these races.”

Live racing continues Sunday at Belmont with a nine-race card highlighted by the $100,000 Gold Fever for 3-year-olds going six furlongs on the main track. First post is 1 p.m.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

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Victim Of Love Goes Back-To-Back In Vagrancy Handicap

Tommy Town Thoroughbreds' Victim of Love made it back-to-back victories in the Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., sitting just off pacemaker Sadie Lady and wearing that rival down in the final furlong to win the 71st running of the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares by 2 1/4 lengths.

Sadie Lady nosed out 3-2 favorite Pacific Gale for second, with Piedi Bianchi and Honor Way completing the order of finish.

A 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare by Speightstown trained by Todd Beattie, Victim of Love was ridden to victory by Joel Rosario, who was scoring his fourth win of the day. She ran 6 1/2 furlongs on a fast track in 1:17.27 after chasing Sadie Lady through fractions of :23.01, :45.64 and 1:10.50.

Victim of Love paid $6.30 as the second choice in the wagering. She carried 121 pounds, one less than Honor Way and Pacific Gale. The latter, coming off back-to-back graded stakes victories this winter at Gulfstream Park, hopped in the air at the start under John Velazquez, breaking behind the field and then rushing up to each contention in the run down the backstretch.

“She came home really nicely and exploded at the end and I was really proud of that effort,” said Rosario. “She put in a really nice race. She's fast and it was a very good performance.”

Victim of Love began her career for Tommy Town and trainer Henry Dominguez as a 2-year-old in New Mexico, racing first at Zia Park and then at Sunland Park where she broke her maiden in her third start and earned black type next out in the Island Fashion Stakes.

Sent east to Beattie after her sixth start, Victim of Love added the What A Summer Stakes in January 2020 at Laurel, finished second in the G3 Barbara Fritchie and then took the Vagrancy in a 27-1 shocker over odds-on favorite Come Dancing.

She's now won six of 18 starts at seven different racetracks.

“Last year when she came here, she was a big price because she ran badly in the Nellie Morse [going one mile in March 2020 at Laurel Park] when we tried her going longer,” said Beattie. “I tried to rate her, but she wasn't happy about that. She wants to be up there and involved early. That's her number. The distance is perfect. Six and a half or seven furlongs is ideal. She can go a mile, but not at this level.”

Beattie said the Grade 3 Bed O' Roses on June 4 was a possibility but noted that Victim of Love was running without Lasix for the first time in the Vagrancy. “This was new territory for us,” said Beattie. “We're going to figure it out together.”

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