paco lopez | Horse Racing Free Tips

Golden Brown Again Finds Winner’s Circle At Monmouth Park

Put Golden Brown in the familiar surroundings of Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., and then against Jersey-breds, and good things tend to happen for gritty 6-year-old gelding.

They did again on Sunday, when Golden Brown showed good early speed to work his way into contention and then flashed his strong closing kick as he added to his impressive career credentials with a 2¾-length victory in the $75,000 John J. Reilly Handicap for state-breds.

Though trainer Pat McBurney remains unconvinced that six furlongs is the best distance for the son of Offlee Wild, it was hard to make that case after he covered the six furlongs in 1:09.

Jockey Paco Lopez hustled Golden Brown out to a stalking third-place position early behind speedster Optic Way and Prendimi and moved to pass Prendimi midway through the backstretch. Through a :44.72 first half, Golden Brown then set his sights on Optic Way, collaring the frontrunner in mid-turn and then pulling away as he came out of the turn into the stretch. Optic Way held on for second, 1½ lengths ahead of Prendimi.

“He was very good today,” said Lopez. “He broke well this time. But he always runs good, always has heart. (His) last race in Delaware he wasn't comfortable with the track. But we know he likes Monmouth Park. I had a feeling he would be good today.

“I was able to break third and keep the other two close and when I asked him he gave me everything he had. As he gets older I think he can handle the shorter distances. I just had to get him in position after he broke so well. He knows what to do.”

McBurney missed the race because he was saddling Sweet Sami D in the Caesar's Wish Stakes at Pimlico (she finished third), and what he missed was this: Golden Brown's fifth stakes win at Monmouth Park. In 16 career starts at Monmouth, Golden Brown has six wins, five seconds, and a third.

Overall, he sports a record of 9-6-4 from 29 starts in a career that has seen him win going long, short, in the slop, on the grass, and on fast tracks. He has a 3-1-1 record in five career sprints as well.

“I did not get to see the race. I was putting a saddle on Sweet Sami D at Pimlico and I looked in my phone and I was getting congratulations so that's how I knew he won,” said McBurney. “I tried to catch the replay and it never came up and then the race down here ran.

“I was surprised he was as close as everyone said he was. When I looked at the speed figures, it looked like we would be in fifth early and have a wide trip, so it's great that he broke so alertly. That's two bang-up sprints he has run this year and I'm still not sure six furlongs is what he likes best.”

Golden Brown, who boosted his career earnings to $673,620, paid $6 to win in the field of seven that was reduced by two scratches.

Owned by ABL, Bossone, Donnelly, and Schnorr, Golden Brown will go next in the Irish War Cry on July 24 on the turf at Monmouth Park, McBurney said. That race is also against state-breds – and one Golden Brown won a year ago.

The post Golden Brown Again Finds Winner’s Circle At Monmouth Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Vigilantes Way Finds Path To Winner’s Circle In Eatontown At Monmouth Park

Even after 11 career starts, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey has been saying that the best is yet to come for Vigilantes Way.

Sunday's Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. may be the start of that for the 4-year-old filly.

Perfectly positioned to chase soft early fractions by jockey Paco Lopez despite leaving from post position 12, Vigilantes Way showed an impressive closing kick to win the $150,000 G3 Eatontown Stakes by 2¼ lengths before a season-high crowd of 12,562 on Father's Day.

It marked the first graded stakes victory for the Phipps Stable homebred, a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro out of Salute by Unbridled.

“I thought Paco rode a good race,” said McGaughey. “He got her away from there from the outside and had her in good position. I knew she would finish. She had trained very well before she went down there. It was just a matter of whether she would take the shipping on a hot day like today. She obviously did. I'm very proud of her.”

Able to break alertly with Vigilantes Way, Lopez sat behind pacesetter Valletta through tepid fractions of :24.54, :48.70, 1:12.12, and 1:35.87 for the opening mile of the mile and a sixteenth race on a turf course that has been playing fast. Lopez asked his filly coming out of the final turn, and she responded in a big way, easily surging past Valletta, who held on for second. Crystal Cliffs and Counterparty Risk finished in a dead heat for third, another half-length back, in the full field of 12 fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

The winning time for the race was 1:41.90.

“Sometimes this horse has speed, sometimes not,” said Lopez. “The post position (12) is something I usually don't like but today it worked to our advantage. I was able to get out there and get in a good position behind (Valletta). It set up nicely for us.

“Shug told me to do whatever I felt I needed to do. She is usually in the top three early and I knew she would finish. She has a strong kick. It looked like there was a lot of speed in the race but they went kind of slow so I was happy with the position I was in throughout the race. I didn't have to make up a lot of ground.”

McGaughey was especially encouraged by Vigilantes Way's prospects for the Eatontown Stakes off her last race, when she closed into slow fractions on the Preakness Day undercard at Pimlico, falling a half-length short to multiple-graded stakes winner Mean Mary.

“I thought her last race in Pimlico was a really good race because she kind of got jumbled up at the start and got out of position,” said McGaughey. “She only got beat a half-length by Mean Mary, a multiple-graded stakes winner. Now maybe we can go on and get her stretched out, maybe to a mile and an eighth. She's handy. She might be able to get it. When that will be, I don't know. But today I am very pleased with the way she ran and very proud of her.

“Getting a graded stakes win is important, especially for a filly with a pedigree like hers. It's as good a pedigree as you are going to find. So now she's a graded stakes winner. Hopefully, it might lead to something even better.”

Vigilantes Way returned $9.20 to win for her fifth lifetime victory in 12 starts. She has failed to hit the board only twice in her career.

The post Vigilantes Way Finds Path To Winner’s Circle In Eatontown At Monmouth Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Delgado Has Visions of Breeders’ Cup For The Critical Way

Trainer Jose Delgado was so impressed by what he saw from his speedy grass sprinter The Critical Way on Saturday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. that he immediately began plotting out a schedule that would get the 7-year-old gelding to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 6.

It wasn't just that The Critical Way won the $75,000 Get Serious Stakes with ease, pulling away for a three-length victory. It was how he won the five-furlong grass feature.

Known for his blazing early speed, The Critical Way sat off the flanks of an even speedier French Reef, doing so through an opening quarter in a dazzling :20.11 and through a half in :43.34. Jockey Paco Lopez eased The Critical Way around French Reef entering the final turn and the son of Tizway took off, showing a finishing kick that can sometimes elude him when he is on the front end.

Final time for the five furlongs on a turf that was listed as “firm” was :55.19.

“We always think of this horse as being in front right out of the gate because he has a lot of speed,” said Delgado, who tops the Monmouth Park trainer standings with 11 wins. “But Paco Lopez told me he was very comfortable coming off the pace. That's a new dimension for him. We always think he's one way and it's go, go, go. Now we've seen he can sit behind the speed and make one move and he can win that way. I like that.

“We saw he can sit comfortably. That gives us a lot of options. He is very consistent. He gives you everything he has. We'll look at some serious things for him now. Maybe we'll try something in Saratoga, then one or two races at Parx and then if everything goes right we will try to take him to the Breeders' Cup. That's the plan. That's the hope.”

Lopez said The Critical Way “didn't break like he usually does.”

“Usually he is right out of the gate and on the lead,” said Lopez. “I think he got scared a little bit and jumped behind (French Reef). I know that horse from seeing him in Florida. That's a very fast horse. So I was behind that one but he was very comfortable, which surprised me because it is something new for him.

“I came in thinking I would make the lead but I had to go to Plan B. But the horse made it easy for me with how comfortable he was. He was close. It's not like he was far back. So when I did ask him he just took off.”

After being caught at the wire in his last start in the Turf Sprint Stakes at Pimlico on the Preakness Stakes card, The Critical Way notched his fourth stakes victory and eighth win overall in 25 career starts for Monster Racing Stables. He paid $3.80 to win.

French Reef held second, 1¼ lengths ahead of Francatelli.

The post Delgado Has Visions of Breeders’ Cup For The Critical Way appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

McGaughey Confident About Vigilantes Way In Sunday’s Eatontown Stakes

Even after 11 career starts, six of them wins or runner-up finishes, Shug McGaughey believes the best is yet to come for the 4-year-old filly Vigilantes Way.

Her last race underscored that belief for the Hall of Fame trainer.

The regally-bred Vigilantes Way was able to close into slow early fractions before just missing by a half-length in the Grade 3 Gallorette Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth on the grass on Pimilco's May 15 Preakness card. The horse that held on to beat her? Mean Mary, a five-time graded stakes winner and millionaire who is 7-for-11 lifetime, including a win in the Grade 2 New York Stakes in her next start.

Now Vigilantes Way, a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro – Salute by Unbridled, will look to build off that effort in Sunday's Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth Park. The $150,000 feature, which drew a full field of 12 (plus four alternates), is also scheduled for a mile and a sixteenth on the turf.

“We didn't get the position out of the gate that we wanted to in (her last race),” said McGaughey. “She had a little trouble early and we were further back than we wanted to be. But I was pleased with the way she closed. She got beat a half-length by a very good filly.

“That gives us some more hope that the future is bright for her.”

After a solid 3-year-old campaign in which the Phipps Stable homebred won 4-of-7 starts, Vigilantes Way is 0-for-3 this year. But two of her losses have come in Grade 3 events.

“I think she has come back this year even better than I expected her to,” said McGaughey. “She has been a bit of a surprise. She was small as a yearling and she would not have been one that you picked out in the field for her pedigree. But everything she has done so far has been right.

“I think she still has a pretty good future in front of her.”

McGaughey said that adding a graded stakes win to her credentials would be significant for Vigilantes Way but that it's not something he is obsessed with.

“With her pedigree, it is something we're looking to get,” he said. “Basically, I'm just looking to win a race with her, whether it's graded or not. I thought this race was a good spot on the calendar. It gave her plenty of time from Pimlico to here. We'll see what happens.”

Paco Lopez has the mount.

The post McGaughey Confident About Vigilantes Way In Sunday’s Eatontown Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post