paco lopez | Horse Racing Free Tips

Four Claiming Crown Wins Net Paco Lopez Jockey Of The Week Title

Paco Lopez started the 2021-2022 Gulfstream Park Championship Meet in style with a five-win day on Saturday including four stakes races in the Claiming Crown Series. Lopez's achievements earned Jockey of the Week for Nov. 29 through Dec. 5. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

For the 10th consecutive year, Gulfstream Park hosted the Claiming Crown, a series of nine starter stakes races celebrating the blue-collar horses that are the back-bone of racetracks around the country.

Lopez was aboard Blue Steel for trainer Jeff Hiles in the Claiming Crown Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial to start the series. The pair took over the lead around the turn and kicked clear to win the race by a half-length in 1:44.61 for 1 1/16 miles.

Lopez also won the next race, his third on the card, the Claiming Crown Distaff Dash for trainer Jane Cibelli aboard Payntdembluesaway. Off as the favorite in the field of 12, Payntdembluesaway scored a four-length victory in :55.31 for the five furlong turf test.

Trainer Eddie Plesa, Jr. gave a leg up to Lopez on Miles Ahead in the Claiming Crown Rapid Transit, a seven furlong race on the dirt. Off as the favorite in the field of 10, Miles Ahead tracked the leaders outside and up the backstretch wearing down his rivals to pull clear by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:21.99.

The Claiming Crown Emerald was the last of the starter series. Riding for trainer Luis Carvajal, Jr., Lopez took Mid Day Image straight to the lead from the inside post, maintained a clear lead at the top of the stretch and went on to post a 1 1/4-length win in 1:39.82 for 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

“Not too bad a day,” said Lopez to the Gulfstream Park Publicity team. “We had five wins and a couple of seconds. My horses ran very well today.”

A multiple graded stakes winner and the 2008 Eclipse Award winner as leading apprentice, Lopez shares the Gulfstream Park track record with seven wins on a single day.

Lopez's weekly statistics were 35-8-6-3 and total purse earnings of $371,525.

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Arnaldo Bocachica with 10 wins, Juan J. Hernandez who won the G1 Starlet, Sonny Leon also with 10 wins and Luis Saez who won the G1 Cigar Mile.

The post Four Claiming Crown Wins Net Paco Lopez Jockey Of The Week Title appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Payntdembluesaway Sprints To Victory In Claiming Crown Distaff Dash

All My Hart Racing, Inc.'s Payntdembluesaway dueled with 46-1 long shot Cat's Astray for a half-mile before putting that rival away and sprinting clear to a popular four-length victory in the $90,000 Claiming Crown Distaff Dash at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Distaff Dash was the third straight victory on the program for jockey Paco Lopez including the $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial with Blue Steel. Payntdembluesaway ($5.60), favored at 9-5 in a field of 12, covered the distance in :55.31 over a firm course.

“She runs the way she runs. There is no tactics or anything. She just breaks and runs. She's really, really fast, and she just loves to run,” winning trainer Jane Cibelli said. “Paco and I talked in the paddock and he said, 'What do you think? There's some speed in there.' I said, 'Paco, you've ridden her how many times? You know her better than anybody. Just when the gates open, see what she does.'”

Lopez has been aboard Payntdembluesaway for six of her eight career victories, including five straight from November 2019 to Jan. 28, part of the 5-year-old mare's six-race win streak. They broke alertly and immediately hooked up with Cat's Astray, going a quarter-mile in :21.67 and the half in :43.85, taking over the lead for good in mid-stretch and drawing away.

“That's exactly how she likes to run. She likes to sit on the outside of the speed and she was just running easily,” Cibelli said. “Paco wasn't asking her at all. She's just fast.”

Drop a Hint, at 19-1, emerged from a tight trailing pack to be second, with Beantown Baby third, Cat's Astray fourth, and Odramark fifth, separated by a head and two necks.

Payntdembluesaway returned to her winning ways after two consecutive off-the-board finishes, eight months apart. She was fourth after forcing the pace in the five-furlong Lightning City Feb. 24 at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, Fla., returning to be eighth following a wide trip over a yielding course in a 5 ½-furlong optional claimer Oct. 28 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

“You look at her previous races, and you think if she runs back to her races of last year then she wins the race,” Cibelli said. “But, that last race was disappointing. It was yielding turf and she was on the outside, but it was still disappointing. You [wonder], is she going to come back? She did.”

The post Payntdembluesaway Sprints To Victory In Claiming Crown Distaff Dash appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jockey Paco Lopez Posts Five-Win Day Saturday At Gulfstream Park

Jockey Paco Lopez put the finishing touches on a five-win afternoon by guiding Patricia Generazio homebred Mid Day Image to a front-running 1 ¼-length triumph in the $95,000 Claiming Crown Emerald Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 1 1/16-mile Emerald was the last of nine starter stakes worth $810,000 in purses on the 23rd Claiming Crown program, being held at Gulfstream for the 10th consecutive year. For 3-year-olds and up which have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less in 2020-21, the Emerald was the last of four turf stakes.

Created by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Claiming Crown rewards and pays tribute to the horses and horsemen that provide the foundation for day-to-day racing programs at tracks around the country.

Lopez, who shares the Gulfstream track record with seven wins on a single card, notched four of his wins in the Claiming Crown. He had consecutive victories with Joe Di Baggio ($6) in Race 2, Blue Steel ($9.40) in the $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial, and Payntdembluesaway ($5.60) in the $90,000 Distaff Dash, and captured the $85,000 Rapid Transit with Miles Ahead ($4.60). He also finished second with Xy Speed in the $90,000 Canterbury and Hanalei's Houdini in the $125,000 Jewel, beaten less than two combined lengths.

“Not too bad a day. We had five wins and a couple seconds,” Lopez said. “My horses ran very well today.”

Mid Day Image entered the Emerald off back-to-back wins at Monmouth Parkin in Oceanport, N.J., the most recent coming Sept. 12, both in gate-to-wire fashion. The 5-year-old Midshipman gelding went straight to the lead from his rail post, posting fractions of :23.39, :47.73, and 1:11.22 chased by Clear Vision with 9-5 favorite Max K.O. looming in the clear in third.

Lopez and Mid Day Image maintained a clear advantage at the top of the stretch and continued on once set down for the drive, with Clear Vision unable to make up ground. Attentive came on late to get third, with Light Fury fourth and Max K.O. fifth. The winning time was 1:39.82 over a firm course.

“[Mid Day Image] has a lot of speed. Max K.O., I was scared of that horse because he's fast, too. I know that horse,” Lopez said. “I give credit to my horse. He's very, very good. He put me right there and [trainer Luis] Carvajal [Jr.] told me, 'Paco, that horse is ready today.'”

The post Jockey Paco Lopez Posts Five-Win Day Saturday At Gulfstream Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Blue Steel Holds On To Win Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial At Gulfstream

James Woodruff's Blue Steel showed his mettle while holding on to win Saturday's $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile starter stakes for 3-year-olds and up that have run for a claiming price of $8000 or less in 2020-2021.

Trained by Jeff Hiles in Kentucky, Blue Steel ($9.40) had won his last four starts on dirt by a combined 22 ¼ lengths at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Ind., Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., and Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, held on to win by a half-length after leading most of the way under jockey Paco Lopez. The 5-year-old gelding ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.61 to prevail over Zanesville, who finished 2 ½ lengths clear of Brasstown.

The post Blue Steel Holds On To Win Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial At Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post