“I loved him because even as an early 2-year-old he looked like a 3-year-old,” Cosato said this morning of the horse that produced a 1 ¾-length victory in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. “So we were in right away, and some other partners eventually came in as well.”

Cosato did the naming honors, coming up with the surname of Manu Ginobili, the native of Argentina who was a four-time NBA champion while starring with the San Antonio Spurs.

Unlike his namesake, Ginobili the horse wasn't a consistent winner. He came into the Pat O'Brien with two wins from 12 lifetime starts, a maiden score here in August of 2019 and a mile allowance tally on July 17, the second day of the current meeting, by an impressive  9 ¾ lengths.

“The Munnings line is kind of curious,” Cosato said. “He throws a variety (of runners); they tend to be good on the turf but that's not true for all of them.”

So finding the right surface and distance took some doing. But input from jockey Joe Bravo following a fourth-place finish in a 6 ½-furlong race at Santa Anita on June 19 led to a 9¾-length victory in a mile event here on July 17 that generated thoughts of bigger things.

“Did the mile wake him up? Possibly, but I think adding blinkers and a couple other things contributed too,” Cosato said.

Following the July 17 race, the partnership was ready for a step up to stakes, but not unified on just which one and where. The TVG Pacific Classic, the Charles Town Classic, and the Pat O'Brien were discussed before settling on the latter, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar on November 6.

With Bravo committed to riding Flagstaff for trainer John Sadler, jockey Drayden Van Dyke got the call on Ginobili and executed a best-case scenario, positioning outside front-runner Brickyard Ride for the first half-mile, opening up 3 ½-lengths at the top of the stretch and holding on nicely from there.

Craig Lewis, trainer of Brickyard Ride, was disappointed that the stall gate, which should have been shut, was left open and his horse bolted through before the start. Brickyard Ride was reined in and deemed still worthy to race, but the premature exertion probably contributed to his tiring after a half-mile and finishing last.

“These are things we don't have any control over and you wish wouldn't happen,” Lewis said.

Ginobili reportedly came out of the race in fine fettle as did runner-up and 2-1 favorite C Z Rocket and third-place Flagstaff.

“The horse ran great, I have no fault with the horse or the rider,” said Peter Miller, trainer of C Z Rocket.  “Hats off to the winner.

“But I'd like to have seen what they could have done on a (different) racetrack. Hopefully, we get that for the Sprint Championship (Stakes) at Santa Anita and for the Breeders' Cup. More importantly for the Breeders' Cup.”

Sadler on Flagstaff: “We thought he ran a good race. He didn't win but he ran a good race. Props to the winner, who ran a great race. (Flagstaff) might run again at Santa Anita and then come back for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.”

The post Ginobli Win In Pat O’Brien A Slam Dank For Ownership Group appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Flagstaff, second choice in the wagering, finished third, with Eight Rings fourth in the field of nine sprinters going seven furlongs on dirt.

Ginobili, a 4-year-old gelding by Munnings out of Find the Humor, by Sharp Humor, completed the distance on a fast track in 1:22.36. He paid $12.80 for the win, his first in a stakes race in his 13th career start.

The win gave Ginobili an all fees paid spot in the starting gate for the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, as part of the Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Challenge Series. This year's Breeders' Cup world championships will be held Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar.

Owned by Slam Dunk Racing, Jerry McClanahan, Michael Nentwig and trainer Ricard Baltas, Ginobili was a $35,000 purchase by Baltas at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by his breeder, Hinkle Farms.

Brickyard Ride delayed the start by running off as horses were loading, then once loaded grabbed the early advantage, setting fractions of :22.05 and :44.38 for the opening half mile. Ginobili was on Brickyard Ride's right flank, then put that one away  on the far turn. Eight Rings pursued from third, with Flagstaff in fourth and C Z Rocket – the 2020 O'Brien winner – in seventh position with three-eighths of a mile to go.

Ginobili opened up a 3 1/2-length lead at the furlong pole, the six furlongs clocked in 1:09.36, and he was never seriously threatened down the lane.

The win was Ginobili's third from 13 career starts. His connections said they would point the gelding to the Dirt Mile.

The post Ginobili Slam Dunks Pat O’Brien Foes, Earning Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Slot appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The TVG host, analyst and reporter was fascinated by horse racing when his family first took him to the Big Fresno Fair on the Northern California fair circuit as a child. It wasn't long before Jaime latched onto an uncle who taught him to read Daily Racing Form past performances and explain how pari-mutuel wagering worked.

Attending Saint Mary's College of California brought him closer to San Francisco and the Bay Area tracks of Golden Gate Fields, Bay Meadows and Pleasanton, and his first job out of college was as a researcher for TVG. He's been with the racing network now for 15 years.

Jaime is this week's guest handicapper in the Beat Ray Everyday Beach Boss competition, focusing on Saturday's Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar – a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Win and You're In event for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. While we both have respect for the two Pat O'Brien favorites, C Z Rocket and Flagstaff, each of us went in a different direction.

Beat Ray Everyday is a season-long online contest that is free to enter and calls for players to wager a mythical $100 each racing day at the seaside track. The player with the biggest bankroll at the end of the competition wins two VIP tickets to this year's Breeders' Cup world championships, to be held at Del Mar Nov. 5-6. It's not too late to enter. More details and registration can be found here.

The post Beat Ray At Del Mar: For Joaquin Jaime, It All Began At The Fair appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

How will the track be playing? Will it favor speed horses or come-from-behind types? Because one trainer's “too fast” is another's “not fast enough.”

Case in point, Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes, the seven-furlong follow-up to the Grade 1, $300,000 six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes four weeks ago in Del Mar's handicap division sprint graded event series.

The Crosby victory having assured a spot in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint here on Nov. 6, winner Dr. Schivel is not entered in the O'Brien. But three of the next four Crosby finishers are set to run, fully aware that the O'Brien is a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Big Ass Fan Dirt Mile on the same day.

And for two of them – defending race champion C Z Rocket trained by Peter Miller and California-bred speedster Brickyard Ride trained by Craig Lewis – how the track plays on Saturday is of foremost concern.

In the immediate aftermath of the Crosby, in which C Z Rocket closed from fifth to third in the stretch, nearly making up a four-length deficit to lose only by a neck, Miller said he'd pass on the O'Brien. Which, the trainer said this morning, could still happen.

“We're still not 100 percent sure,” said Miller, who has consistently expressed concerns over what he considers a speed-favoring track throughout the meeting. “We're going to keep an eye on the track and see how it's playing. The post (No. 9) is good. I just don't want to run him if it's not a fair track. I'm just trying to be fair to the horse, and the public, that's all.”

Claimed for $40,000 in April of 2020, the O'Brien win, followed by a victory in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship and runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Sprint were keys to a nine-race campaign in 2020 that produced $651,901 in earnings. The seven-year-old gelded son of City Zip has added $536,000 from four 2021 starts for career earnings of more than $1.4 million.

Brickyard Ride overcame a bobble at the break to go straight to the lead in the Bing Crosby through early fractions of :21.80 and :44.60 on a track that the Daily Racing Form analysts rated as favoring closers, before being passed by four horses in the stretch.

The 4-year-old son of Clubhouse Ride, an Alfred Pais homebred, has career earnings of $470,477. Of that, $300,200 has been accumulated via three wins in six starts this year, highlighted by a victory in the Grade II San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita in March.

“I'd like to see a little better start and a little more glib track (than the Crosby), but you can't control that,” Lewis said of his O'Brien hopes. “Certain horses like it certain ways and he (Brickyard Ride) wants to go the speed route. We'd like a quick track, that's the bottom line.

“Other than that, he's good to go. We just need things to go our way, which is asking for a lot. There's a lot of nice horses in a very competitive race.”

The field for the Pat O'Brien from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Ginobili (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1); Howbeit (Kyle Frey, 6-1); Surfing Star (apprentice Jessica Pyfer, 30-1); Mo Mosa (Ramon Vasquez, 10-1); Eight Rings (Abel Cedillo, 6-1); Classier (Mario Gutierrez, 12-1); Brickyard Ride (Juan Hernandez, 8-1); Flagstaff (Joe Bravo, 3-1); C Z Rocket (Peter Miller, 5-2), and California Street (Wayne Barnett, 30-1).

The post Trainers’ Concerns ‘Surface’ On Eve Of ‘Win And You’re In’ Pat O’Brien appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Flagstaff (Speightstown) will be aiming to improve on his second in last year's Pat O'Brien for trainer John Sadler and jockey Joe Bravo. The 7-year-old gelding won the GIII Commonwealth S. at Keeneland in April and just got his head in front for a dramatic victory in the May 1 GI Churchill Downs S. He was most recently second in the June 4 GII True North S.

'TDN Rising Star' Eight Rings (Empire Maker), who captured the GI American Pharoah S. over the Del Mar oval as a 2-year-old in 2019, came up just a neck short when second in that blanket finish to the Bing Crosby. He comes into the Pat O'Brien off a pair of bullet drills, most recently going six furlongs in 1:11 4/5 (1/7) Aug. 22.

The post C Z Rocket Seeks O’Brien Repeat appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The Travers drew a field of seven headlined by last year's juvenile champion Essential Quality. The Brad Cox-trained 3-year-old was undefeated until he finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, but returned to win both the Belmont Stakes and the Jim Dandy.

Other top runners expected to compete on Saturday include champion female sprinter Gamine in the G1 Ballerina, division leader Letruska in the G1 Personal Ensign, and the highly-regarded 3-year-old Life Is Good returns in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens for new trainer Todd Pletcher.

On the West Coast, a Breeders' Cup berth is on the line in Saturday's G2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar, where C Z Rocket is the morning-line choice. On Sunday, Kentucky Derby first-place finisher Medina Spirit returns to the races in the listed Shared Belief Stakes.

Saturday

3:02 p.m. – $500,000 Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap at Saratoga

Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine, the Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter of 2020, will get another chance to flash her championship form over a track she dominated last summer when she heads a field of seven in Saturday's G1 Ballerina at Saratoga Race Course.

Also in from the West Coast is Bo Hirsch's 5-year-old homebred mare Ce Ce, who also shipped cross-country for her last start, the G2 Princess Rooney July 3 at Gulfstream Park, beating runner-up and fellow Ballerina entrant Estilo Talentoso.

Godolphin homebred Lake Avenue is chasing her second career graded stakes victory and first in a G1 after running second by a neck in each of her last two starts – the G3 Bed o' Roses June 4 at Belmont Park and G2 Honorable Miss July 28 at Saratoga.

Ballerina Entries

3:37 p.m. – $600,000 Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga

Calumet Farm homebred Lexitonian, a racing enigma who broke through with his biggest performance to date last month, goes after a second consecutive win for the first time in his career in Saturday's seven-furlong contest.

Five of the eight horses entered in the Forego are G1 winners, including Firenze Fire, Mind Control, Mischevious Alex, and Whitmore, the champion sprinter of 2020. Lexitonian joined the group with a half-length victory in the six-furlong Alfred G. Vanderbilt July 31, his 19th career start.

Also in the field, Yaupon won each of his first four career starts last year, two of them coming at Saratoga – an open allowance triumph over older horses and the G2 Amsterdam – as well as the Chick Lang. Following a troubled eighth in both the Breeders' Cup Sprint to end 2020 and the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen to open 2021, Yaupon returned to capture Pimlico's Lite the Fuse July 4 in his most recent outing.

Forego Entries

4:12 p.m. – $500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes at Saratoga

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior will seek to solidify himself as the nation's leading sophomore sprinter when taking on a compact field. Jackie's Warrior, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, has shown an affinity for Saratoga, having not come close to losing in three starts at the Spa.

Jackie's Warrior's biggest obstacle could come from the presence of returning graded stakes winner Life Is Good, who arrives off a five-month hiatus and makes his debut for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. The highly-regarded son of leading sire Into Mischief, owned by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm, is unbeaten in three starts on the West Coast and has never been behind horses at any point of call, when racing from the barn of Bob Baffert.

Jerkens Entries

4:47 p.m. – $600,000 Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga

Despite Letruska's imposing presence, a field of nine top-class older fillies and mares will line up to go 1 1/18 miles at Saratoga. Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, the dual G1-winning Letruska will be attempting her fourth consecutive graded stakes score. She has already secured her Breeders' Cup Distaff spot with a dominating gate-to-wire 2 ¾ lengths victory in the G1 Ogden Phipps, also a “Win and You're In” event, two starts back at Belmont Park on June 5.

Kenny McPeek is returning Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver to the distaff division. After circumstances forced his hand earlier in the Saratoga meet, he ran her in the G1 Whitney against the boys last out on Aug. 7, and she finished fourth.

Bonny South will try to turn the tables on Letruska after a runner-up finish in the Ogden Phipps. The 4-year-old filly was a well-beaten fifth in her last start in the G2 Delaware Handicap as the odds-on favorite, but has been breezing impressively with stablemate, G1 Runhappy Travers Stakes 4-5 favorite [and Belmont Stakes-winner] Essential Quality.

As Time Goes By runs for the Coolmore connections and has been sent from the Southern California base of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. She ran second to Swiss Skydiver in the G1 Beholder Mile and then racked up a pair of G2 wins, taking the Santa Margarita by 9 ¼ lengths and the Santa Maria by a nose, both at Santa Anita.

Personal Ensign Entries

5:25 p.m. – $750,000 Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes at Saratoga

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle a pair of strong contenders in Tribhuvan and Rockemperor, who will square off against a talented field of G1 winners in the 1 1/2-mile turf contest, which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the winner for the Breeders' Cup Turf.

With seven wins and more than $3.2 million in purse earnings, Channel Maker will make his fourth straight Sword Dancer appearance following a second in 2018, a fourth in 2019, and a win last year to highlight his championship campaign that also included a score in the G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont.

Japan, trained by Aidan O'Brien, will make his first start in North America. The 5-year-old, who boasts a record of seven wins and four thirds from 18 starts with purse earnings in excess of $2.1 million, posted consecutive G1 wins in 2019 in the 12-furlong Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp and the 1 5/16-mile Juddmonte International at York. Japan has notched a pair of G3 wins in four starts this campaign, taking the 1 11/16-mile Ormond in May at Chester and the nine-furlong Meld last out on July 15 at Leopardstown.

Sword Dancer Entries

6:12 p.m. – $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga

Juvenile champion Essential Quality overcame Hot Rod Charlie's blistering fractions to run down his rival in the G1 Belmont Stakes on June 5 and followed that 109 Beyer Speed Figure effort with a half-length win over Travers rival Keepmeinmind in the G2 Jim Dandy going 1 1/8 miles.

Keepmeinmind competed in the Triple Crown's second leg, running fourth in the Preakness before earning additional black type with a third place G3 Ohio Derby performance in June. Keepmeinmind matched his career-best 97 Beyer for closing on Essential Quality in the Jim Dandy last month, finishing second and 2 1/4 lengths ahead of fellow Travers foe Masqueparade.

Midnight Bourbon, the runner-up to Rombauer in the Preakness, has not raced since clipping heels with Hot Rod Charlie and unseating rider Paco Lopez in the G1 Haskell in July at Monmouth Park. Masqueparade bested King Fury by a half length in the Ohio Derby, extending his winning streak to three, before finishing third in a Jim Dandy contest that will see the trifecta rematch in the Travers.

King Fury, runner-up in the Ohio Derby, trained at Saratoga through an EHV-1 quarantine, causing him to miss the G2 Jim Dandy and instead return in the G1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on Aug. 7. He finished 10th after a wide trip in his turf debut.

Dynamic One – second in the G2 Wood Memorial – showed his affinity for the Saratoga track last out, rallying from last-of-seven to close strong, besting Miles D by 1 3/4 lengths in the Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga for his first stakes victory.

Travers Entries

9:35 p.m. – $200,000 Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar

A field of 10 stout sprinters will travel seven furlongs the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge race funneling into the Dirt Mile.

Morning-line choice C Z Rocket, a veteran gelding who found a new lease on life when he was haltered for $40,000 16 months ago and took up residence in the barn of trainer Peter Miller. The 7-year-old has since won seven races, four of them stakes, and placed in three other added-money tests to bank more than $1.1-million for his new connections.

Chief threat to C Z Rocket appears to be another classy veteran, the 7-year-old Flagstaff, a winner of seven races and $1,011,585. The gelding by sprint champion Speightstown has made five starts this year, but this will be his first in his California home base.

Trainer Bob Baffert has a pair in the dash in Eight Rings and Classier. The former, a 4-year-old colt by Empire Maker, was second beaten only a neck in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs earlier in the meet. Classier, a 3-year-old colt also by Empire Maker, shortens up off a score in the Los Alamitos Derby at nine furlongs on July 4.

O'Brien Entries

Here's a look at the remainder of the weekend's graded stakes, courtesy of NTRA:

The post Weekend Lineup Presented By NYRA Bets: Big Travers Card Features Six Grade 1 Races appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The 6-year-old gelded son of City Zip won his fourth race in a row since the claim, the previous three having come against claiming and allowance company in Kentucky. He picked up a check for $90,000 from the $150,000 purse in the Grade II stake that pushed his bankroll up to $431,641.

The bay ran the seven furlongs in 1:22.25 and, as the 11-10 favorite, paid $4.20, $2.60 and $2.20 across the board. Finishing second was Lane's End Racing and Hronis Racing's Flagstaff, while Dan Agnew, Gerry Schneider and John Xitco's Law Abidin Citizen ran third.

“We saw that he'd been breaking slow in his races, so we were prepared for that,” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “But he broke well today and we were right in the race. Then the pace wasn't that fast (:23.10  :46.04  1:10.06), so we were right there. When I asked him, he was good. He's a willing horse.”

The victory added more accolades to an accolade-filled summer for his rider and trainer. Prat registered his 12th stakes win of the meet, just one away from the Del Mar record of 13 set by Rafael Bejarano in 2012. Miller picked up his fifth stakes win of the session and his meet-leading 22nd tally in the 21st day of racing.

“He broke well and usually he doesn't,” said Miller. “The pace was slow and Flavien had him in the perfect spot. Tom Kagele (owner) actually called me (about claiming the horse) and I said, 'His form is bad right now, but he's a runner.' You could see he had run some really fast races. I like old class horses that have shown talent. If you can get them going in the right direction they can run back to

The O'Brien was a Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” race guaranteeing the victor entry into the $2-million BC Dirt Mile with all fees paid. That race will be run on Saturday, November 7, at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

In the day's Pick Six bet, a two-day $247,091 carryover stirred the pot and drew $1,167,066 in “new” money to the pool. After Facts Matter paid $9.00 for winning the 11th and final race on the card, there were 147 tickets with all six winner, each paying out $5,941.60.  There will be a “Jackpot” carryover into Sunday's card of $186,553.

Racing resumes Sunday starting at 2 p.m. PT. There also will be a Monday racing card this week with the same 2 p.m. post.

The post C Z Rocket Rolls To Fourth Straight In Pat O’Brien Stakes At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

But can he Beat Ray at Del Mar in the seaside track's Beach Boss competition?

Mayne is no Johnny-come-lately to horse racing. Growing up around Seattle, Wash., he started tagging along with a horseplayer uncle at the age of 8 to the old Longacres racetrack in Renton, learning to read the Daily Racing Form and cheering on his favorite horses and jockeys.

Since becoming a mainstay on ESPN, he's been a great ambassador for racing, bridging the gap between the old-school horseplayer and the modern-day sports fan who may not fully appreciate or understand what it is about our game that is so appealing.

Bottom line is, the way my luck and picks have been performing, all he has to do is show up to win.

Kenny will join fellow handicapper Michelle Yu and me on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT on Del Mar's social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) to handicap the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes, a Win and You're In Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race for the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile division. Tune in to hear our handicapping strategies and bets for the contest.

Beat Ray Everyday is an online contest offered every racing day of the Del Mar summer meet. It's free to play and you can sign up here. Bet a mythical $100 each day on the selected contest race in win, place or show bets on any horse or horses.  At the end of the meet, the player with the highest bankroll from those wagers becomes the “Beach Boss” and wins two VIP tickets to the 2021 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. Other prizes are available to top finishers and anyone who finishes ahead of me is entered in a drawing for even more prizes.

The post Beat Ray At Del Mar: The Beach Boss Mayne Event appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The O'Brien, a seven-panel spin for 3-year-olds and up, carries a purse of $150,000 and Grade II status. It also is a Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” race that guarantees the victor entry with all fees paid to the $2,000,000 BC Dirt Mile to be run on Saturday, November 7 at Keeneland in Kentucky.

Flagstaff, the horse, is a 6-year-old gelding by 2004 sprint champion Speightstown who has been judiciously spotted and raced by trainer John Sadler for the Kentucky-bred's owners — Lanes End Racing or Hronis Racing. He didn't make it to the races until his 4-year-old season and only shows 13 starts in total. Five of them have been wins, though — the last two coming in stakes at the O'Brien's seven-furlong distance — and he sports earnings that read $485,785.

The chief treat to Flagstaff is likely to be the comebacking Giant Expectations, a 7-year-old horse by Frost Giant who races for the partnership of David Bernsen and Exline-Border Racing and is trained by Peter Eurton. The winner of $1,336,600 will be making his first start in nearly 10 months and gets Del Mar's leading rider, Umberto Rispoli, along for the outing.

Giant Expectations has a history with both the Pat O'Brien and the BC Dirt Mile. He won the former back in 2017 as a 4-year-old, then ran second in it last year. He's run in the BC Dirt Mile the last three years, though he hasn't had much success in the race. The 2019 BC Dirt Mile on November 2 at Santa Anita was his most recent start.

Here's the full O'Brien field from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Agnew, Schneider or Xitco's Law Abidin Citizen (Abel Cedillo, 5-1); Little Red Feather Racing and Vanderslice's P R Radio Star (Juan Hernandez, 6-1); Gust or Warren's Manhattan Up (Tiago Pereira, 15-1); Flagstaff (5/2); Tom Kagele's C Z Rocket (Flavien Prat, 4-1); Slam Dunk Racing or MyRacehorse.com's Vertical Threat (Heriberto Figueroa, 8-1); Giant Expectations (7/2), and Doubledown Stables' Blameitonthelaw (Drayden Van Dyke, 12-1).

C Z Rocket is the lone out-of-towner to tackle the local sprinters. California trainer Peter Miller claimed the City Zip gelding for $40,000 at Oaklawn Park this past April and subsequently won three straight races with him in Kentucky. He was shipped to Monmouth Park in New Jersey in July, but never started there. He's won seven races and $341,641.

Law Abidin Citizen was the third-place finisher in the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes earlier in the Del Mar meet. The 6-year-old gelding by Twirling Candy has won seven races and more than $500,000, all out of the barn of trainer Mark Glatt.

P R Radio Star will be trying to win his first stakes race in his 31st start. The 5-year-old gelding by Warrior's Reward has won twice already at the current Del Mar meet, taking a pair of allowance sprints.

First post for the 11-race Saturday card is 2 p.m.

The post Flagstaff Faces Giant Expectations In ‘Win And You’re In’ Pat O’Brien Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post