Tag: Ohio Derby

$50,000 Claim Dean Martini Earns $300,000 For Ohio Derby Win

Under a heady ride by Ricardo Mejias, Raise the BAR Racing LLC's Dean Martini shot through an opening on the inside approaching the far turn, seized command from Lebda, then held off a late charge from South Bend to win Saturday's Grade 3 Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown in North Randall, Ohio.

Dean Martini, a 3-year-old gelding by Cairo Prince out of Soundwave, by Friends Lake, covered 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:51.60 and $31.20 for the win. He is trained by Tom Amoss.

South Bend held second ahead of 2-1 favorite Storm the Court in third, with Rowdy Yates fourth in the field of 13 following the scratches of Soros and Celtic Striker (who ran at Belmont Park on Thursday). Completing the order of finish were Sprawl (3-1 second choice), Lebda, Rogue Element, Unrighteous, Informative, Bear Alley, Code Runner, Established, and Dack Janiel's.

The Ohio Derby winner, who was bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones and Bret Jones, earned 20 qualifying points for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby.

Claimed for $50,000 two starts back from Brad Cox, Dean Martini earned $300,000 from the Ohio Derby's $500,000 purse. It was his second victory from 10 starts in a career that began last summer in the stable of Peter Miller, who raced the gelding once at Ellis Park in Kentucky and three times in California without a win.

Dean Martini surfaced in the Cox barn at Fair Grounds in December, where he finished third in a maiden special race on turf. Cox shipped Dean Martini to Oaklawn in Arkansas, where he ran second and third in maiden special weight races, then won for the first time when dropped in for a $50,000 maiden claiming tag at Churchill Downs on May 17. He drew out by 6 3/4 lengths that day and was claimed by Amoss.

Dean Martini made one start since then, finishing second to Man in the Can in a June 12 allowance/optional claimer at Churchill Downs.

Breaking from the rail post position in the Ohio Derby, Dean Martini grabbed an early lead, then sat just off the pace as Rowdy Yates and Lebda volleyed for command through fractions of :22.80, :47.22 and 1:11.88.

Mejias urged Dean Martini through an opening on the inside to tackle Lebda approaching the far turn, dispatched that rival, then held sway to the finish after a mile was clocked in 1:38.22 en route to his final time of 1:51.60.

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Brisnet.com Triple Crown Throwdown: Ohio Derby

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN’s Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins.

DeRosa – Belmont Stakes Result – Tiz the Law (+$325) proved too good for them. Bankroll: $3540.

GIII Ohio Derby – Awesome field lined up and no brainer to fade Storm the Court as ML favorite based on this year’s form. Hopefully last year’s champion Breeders’ Cup winner takes money though. On top it’s Sprawl for me. We won’t get 15-1 or even half that, but this colt is well meant for Mott and I think Paco is a good fit. Drew well and nine furlongs shouldn’t be an issue. Selection: #6 Sprawl (15-1).

Sherack – Belmont Stakes Result – Pneumatic got the right kind of trip, but ran out of gas once the real running began. Guess that’s why he was so chilly on the board. Bankroll: $2605.

GIII Ohio Derby – Sprawl won’t be anywhere near that 15-1 ML quote, but he should still offer nice value in this wide-open race. The well-bred son of City Zip from the family of Congrats, Flatter, et al, has taken a major step forward in his last two starts for Hall of Famer Bill Mott, turning in a huge third with a wide trip in a salty optional claimer at Gulfstream, then adding a first-level allowance in dominating fashion beneath the Twin Spires. Ready for a breakthrough performance. Selection: #6 Sprawl (15-1).

DiDonato – Belmont Stakes Result – Tiz the Law was too good, but landed on the right runner-up in Dr Post (+$290). The tri and super with suggested best alternatives didn’t pay too badly either. Bankroll: $3755.

GIII Ohio Derby – It feels like a thousand years ago at this point, but I remember sitting at the OTB in Hartford, CT on the Saturday after Thanksgiving with my dad and being impressed with Soros‘s win in the Smooth Air S. There were some other nice colts on that card, as Sole Volante and King Guillermo finished first and third, respectively, on the grass one race earlier. Eclipse bought into Soros off of that effort, but he finished off the board in his next two outings, including a sixth-place run last time in the Unbridled S. behind Dr Post. Pretty much everyone to run back from that race came back faster, so maybe that effort was stronger than it looks on paper, and he probably doesn’t want to be up on the pace like he was that day. This is a pretty aggressive spot considering his recent form, so he must be training well. He should get a set-up, and figures to appreciate the distance–his sire excelled at nine furlongs and farther. This is definitely a good spot to go longshot hunting. Selection: #11 Soros (15-1).

The post Brisnet.com Triple Crown Throwdown: Ohio Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Weekend Lineup: Breeders’ Cup Berths Up For Grabs In Stephen Foster, Fleur De Lis

The Grade 2 Stephen Foster is the headliner of a stakes quartet on Saturday's 11-race program at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., while the Grade 1 Just a Game, featuring the seasonal bow of champion Uni (GB), is one of four graded stakes on the Belmont Park lineup in Elmont, N.Y.

The Stephen Foster will be broadcast on NBC as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. The one-hour broadcast, which will begin at 5 p.m. ET, also will include the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis. The winner of the Stephen Foster will get an automatic berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic while the winner of the Fleur de Lis will receive a berth to the Distaff.

America's Day at the Races, produced by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) in partnership with FOX Sports, will air through Sunday on FS1, FS2 and MSG+. Also featured on Saturday's broadcast is the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown Racecourse for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles, which has been added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby series. The top-four finishers will receive points worth 20-8-4-2 for entry to the field for the Kentucky Derby, rescheduled for September 5 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday June 27 (all times Eastern)

4:22 p.m.—$500,000 Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on FS1

Reigning 2-year-old champion male Storm the Court seeks his first victory since taking the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile when he starts in the Ohio Derby against 14 challengers. Trained by Peter Eurton, Storm the Court is winless in three starts this season including his most recent run, a sixth-place effort in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. The son of Court Vision captured the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November at Santa Anita Park en route to earning the Eclipse Award for divisional honors.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/TDN062720USA8-EQB.html

4:32 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap at Belmont Park on FS1

Blue Devil Racing Stable's Grade 1-winner Come Dancing will look to rebound after a rare off-the-board performance last out when she headlines Saturday's Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap. Trained by Carlos Martin, Come Dancing finished 12th in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom going 1 1/16-miles at Oaklawn Park.The daughter of Malibu Moon now returns to sprinting, where she excelled in 2019, highlighted by a dramatic come-from-behind win in the Grade 1 Ballerina in August at Saratoga Race Course.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA7-EQB.html

4:42 p.m.—$175,000 Grade 2 Nassau Stakes at Woodbine on TVG

Malakeh, a 5-year-old daughter of Harbour Watch (IRE), goes after her third straight score in Saturday's Nassau Stakes. Bred by Gestut Gorlsdorf, the bay mare will make her first start in Canada when she goes postward in the one-mile E.P. Taylor Turf Course engagement that has drawn seven hopefuls. After a polished performance to close the curtain on her 2019 campaign last August at Saratoga, Malakeh opened up her current season with another win, a gutsy neck score over firm going at Churchill Downs on May 22.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO062720CAN8-EQB.html

4:43 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs on FS1

Stonestreet Stables' eye-popping 8 ¾-length maiden winner Cazadero leads a field of seven promising 2-year-olds in search of graded stakes glory in Saturday's 119th running of the Bashford Manor. Cazadero, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, dazzled in his debut on May 29 at Churchill Downs under Ricardo Santana Jr. Cazadero, a homebred son of Street Sense, sported an impressive work tab entering his maiden race which included a swift half-mile move in :46.40 from the gate at Keeneland. Since his debut, Cazadero has been stabled with Asmussen's string at Churchill Downs.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA8-EQB.html

5:04 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 2 New York Stakes at Belmont Park on FS1

Trainer Graham Motion will saddle a pair of graded stakes winners as part of a seven-horse field of older fillies and mares in the New York Stakes going 1 ¼ miles on Belmont Park's inner turf. Among Motion's trainees is Alex G. Campbell Jr.'s Mean Mary, who has started her 4-year-old campaign with consecutive graded stakes wins in front-running fashion. The Kentucky homebred went gate-to-wire to win the 1 ½-mile Grade 3 La Prevoyante in January over the Gulfstream Park turf and followed with another winning effort on the course by leading a 12-horse field through every point of call in the Grade 3 Orchid on March 28.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA8-EQB.html

5:15 p.m.—$200,000 Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs on NBC

Serengeti Empress, winner of the 2019 Kentucky Oaks, is ready for her showdown versus champion Midnight Bisou, the No. 1-ranked horse in the latest NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, in the Fleur de Lis – a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In Distaff Division” race. The speedy Serengeti Empress led every step of the way in last year's Kentucky Oaks and was a convincing 6 ¼-length winner of the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park March 14. Midnight Bisou, trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Steve Asmussen, has been nothing short of spectacular throughout her 20-race career. The now 5-year-old mare won seven straight graded stakes last year en route to earning the Eclipse Award for champion older dirt female and began her 2020 campaign by running second against males in the $20 million Saudi Cup on February 29.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA9-EQB.html

5:36 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 True North Stakes at Belmont Park on FS1

Robert Baron and WinStar Farm's Grade 1-winner Promises Fulfilled returns off a more than eight month layoff to headline the True North Stakes going 6 ½-furlongs. Promises Fulfilled, who will ship up to New York from Kentucky, has trained forwardly at Churchill Downs, including a bullet five-eighths breeze in 59 seconds flat on June 13 and a similarly speedy effort in 59.20 Saturday on the Churchill Downs main track. He sizzled to a front-running score in the 2018 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga Race Course and boasts a record of 17-7-0-3 with purse earnings of $1,455,530.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA9-EQB.html

5:47 p.m.—$500,000 Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs on NBC

G M B Racing's Grade 1-winner Tom's d'Etat will take on Allied Racing Stable's multiple-graded stakes winner By My Standards and recent Blame Stakes hero Owendale in Saturday's 39th running of the $500,000 Stephen Foster – the centerpiece of the penultimate day of Churchill Downs' 27-day Spring Meet. Tom's d'Etat has won four of his last five starts including a 3 ¼-length score in last year's Grade 1 Clark Handicap. The now 7-year-old son of Smart Strike enters Saturday's Stephen Foster following a hard-fought victory in the April 11 Oaklawn Mile. Another top older horse that entered the Stephen Foster is last year's Grade 2 Louisiana Derby hero By My Standards. Trained by Bret Calhoun, By My Standards returned as a 4-year-old in February at Fair Grounds with a convincing three-length victory in the Grade 3 New Orleans and he enters the Stephen Foster following a 1 ¾-length win in last month's Grade 2 Oaklawn Stakes.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA10-EQB.html

6:08 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes at Belmont Park on FS1

Trainer Chad Brown will bring a strong hand of cards to the table when he saddles turf champion Uni, Grade 1-winner Newspaperofrecord (IRE), and two-time graded stakes winner Regal Glory in pursuit of a fourth consecutive win in the 27th running of Saturday's Grade 1 Just a Game over the Widener turf course. Uni, the reigning champion turf female, will make her 2020 debut in the Just a Game, having not raced since taking last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita Park, where she became the sixth female to score a win in the race. Newspaperofrecord arrives at the Just a Game off a wire-to-wire victory in the Grade 3 Intercontinental on June 6 over the Widener turf, where she recorded swift fractions but still had enough left in the tank to draw off to a four-length victory.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL062720USA10-EQB.html

6:20 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs on FS1

Godolphin's two-time stakes-winning filly Micheline will be in search of her first graded stakes victory in Saturday's 51st running of the Regret Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile turf event for 3-year-old fillies. Micheline, trained by Mike Stidham and ridden by Joe Bravo, scored a 2 ¼-length victory in last month's $75,000 Honey Ryder Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old filly by Bernardini broke her maiden in her second-career start last year in the $106,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CD062720USA11-EQB.html

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Ohio Derby: Gonzalez Says Lebda ‘Feeling Really Good And He’s Ready’

Unbeaten as a 3-year-old with back-to-back stakes wins at Laurel Park in Maryland, Euro Stable's Lebda (by Raison d'Etat) will face his biggest challenge yet when he stretches out for his return to graded company in Saturday's $500,000 Ohio Derby (G3) at Thistledown.

Based at Laurel with summer meet-leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez, Lebda is listed as second choice on the morning line at odds of 7-2 in a field of 15 led by lukewarm 3-1 program favorite Storm the Court, the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner and subsequent 2-year-old male champion.

“We've been looking at races everywhere because here at Laurel we don't have anything right now, and this race came up,” Gonzalez said. “He needs to run. He's feeling really good and he's ready, that's why we decided to go over there. And he fits right in with the horses there.”

Contested at 1 1/8 miles, the Ohio Derby will be the Lebda's longest race to date and first since a convincing 4 ¼-length triumph in the Private Terms March 14 at Laurel, also around two turns at about 1 1/16 miles. He was a front-running three-quarter-length winner of the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 15 in his season opener.

Lebda raced twice in graded-stakes as a 2-year-old, running third in the 1 1/16-mile Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs before a ninth-place finish in the one-mile Nashua (G3) in November at Aqueduct – his only time off the board in eight career starts that include four wins.

“All the time he gets better and better. He's more mature now and he's concentrating more on his training,” Gonzalez said. “He won around two turns and he ran two turns before at Churchill Downs, too, and I don't think he ran bad.

“I really think he's going to like the track over there and he's going to run good. He's going to be right there,” he added. “We're going to try to get a good position going into the first turn and then we'll see what happens.”

Thistledown, located in North Randall, Ohio, outside Cleveland, will be the fifth racetrack for Lebda, having also romped by 11 lengths in a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming sprint last summer at Delaware Park.

Lebda was among the late nominees to the Triple Crown for a fee of $3,000, half of the original price tag before the deadline was extended to June 4 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which put Maryland's live racing on pause for 2 ½ months until May 30.

Maryland's leading trainer the past three years, Gonzalez has given Lebda nine timed works over Laurel's main track since the Private Terms, including three consecutive bullet five-furlong breezes – 59.20 seconds May 29, 59.60 seconds June 12 and 1:00.20 June 19, respectively the fastest of 26, 11 and 17 horses.

“The owner [Valter Ramos] is a really good owner, a really good person, and that's why I try to run in the big races because you never know, especially when they're doing good,” Gonzalez said. “He's doing really good. He's happy.”

Gonzalez has one graded-stakes victory on his resume, the 2017 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) at Laurel with Chublicious. Regular rider Alex Cintron will make the trip to ride with four previous graded wins, two of them coming last year – the Highlander (G1) on Wet Your Whistle and Honorable Miss (G2) aboard Minit to Stardom.

Cintron and Lebda will break from Post 4. Post time for the Ohio Derby, Race 8 at Thistledown, is 4:22 p.m. ET.

Other Ohio Derby horses with Maryland connections are stakes winner South Bend, owned by Sagamore Farm of Reisterstown, Md., and Trin-Brook Stables Inc.'s Informative, second by a nose in the James F. Lewis III last November at Laurel.

Magic Weisner, based in Maryland with his late breeder, owner and trainer Nancy Alberts, won the Private Terms and was second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2002 before capturing that year's Ohio Derby.

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