Preakness Day | Horse Racing Free Tips

Juliet Foxtrot, Varenka Trying To Get 2020 Seasons Back On Track In Saturday’s Gallorette

Juliet Foxtrot and Varenka, graded winners in 2019, will seek their first stakes score this season in the $150,000 Gallorette (G3) Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

A field of eight fillies and mares was entered in the 1 1/16-mile Gallorette on grass, the second on a 12-race all-stakes Preakness Day program, and the first of seven graded events. First race post time is 11 a.m.

The Gallorette honors the Hall of Fame mare bred in Maryland, who was the leading money-winning female in history when she retired in 1948. During her five seasons of racing she often competed against the top male handicap runners in the country. She won 21 of 72 starts, including the Whitney and the Carter.

Augustin Stable's homebred filly Varenka showed so much promise as a 2-year-old that she raced in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) as a maiden and won three of five starts last year, topped by a dead-heat victory in the Lake Placid (G2) at Saratoga.

The daughter of Hall of Famer Ghostzapper is winless in three tries in 2020. In her most recent outing, she was fifth, beaten 2 ¼ lengths, as the 3-1 favorite in the One Dreamer on Sept. 7 at Kentucky Downs.

“She's been a little disappointing this year, I would say,” trainer Graham Motion said. “She won a stake last year as a 3-year-old and I think she's found the step up to older horses a little bit tougher. Having said that, she hasn't been beaten very far in her races this year. I thought she was a little unlucky last time at Kentucky Downs. She didn't have a great trip and she was only beaten two lengths. In three times year this year she's been beaten two, three lengths each time. She's right there she just has to step up a little bit.”

Varenka will race in blinkers for the first time. She will start from the outside post under jockey Trevor McCarthy.

Juddmonte Farm's British homebred Juliet Foxtrot had a very strong 2019 season after being imported and turned over to trainer Brad Cox. The daughter of Dansili capped a three-race win streak with a front-running score in the Modesty Handicap (G3) at Arlington Park. She just missed by a nose to Vasili in the John C. Mabee (G2) at Del Mar, then was second to champion Uni in the First Lady (G1).

Juliet Foxtrot finished the season with a third, beaten 1 ½ lengths, in the Matriarch (G1). This season, the speedy 5-year-old mare, who drew the inside post in the Gallorette under Florent Geroux, has not been able to find the same type of success.

Robert and Lawana Low's 4-year-old homebred She'sonthewarpath has thrived this year for trainer Steve Margolis, winning three of five starts, all in stakes company. With Gabriel Saez taking over for regular rider Chantal Sutherland, the Declaration of War filly will be making her first start since finishing second on Aug. 2 in the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Stakes. She'sonthewarpath's third dam is the Lows' standout sprinter Capote Belle.

Storm the Hill will make her first start since January and debut for top turf trainer Mike Maker. The 6-year-old Get Stormy mare, owned by Alastar Thoroughbred Company and Michael Valdes, is the most seasoned of the Gallorette runners with 29 starts. The Gallorette will be her 11th straight graded-stakes. Her most recent victory was in the Senator Ken Maddy (G3) at Santa Anita in November 2018. Horacio Karamanos as the mount from Post 3.

Not in Jeopardy, third by a half-length in the 2019 All Along at Laurel Park; No Mo Lady and Jabuticaba, respectively second and fourth in the 2020 All Along Sept. 7; and Wicked Awesome are also entered, the latter for main track only.

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‘Maturing’ Bonny South Headlines Field Of 11 In Black-Eyed Susan

An evenly-matched field of 11 fillies, led by graded-stakes winners Bonny South, Hopeful Growth, Perfect Alibi and Project Whiskey, are set to gather for the 96th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

The 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan for 3-year-old fillies will be Race 10 on an all-stakes Preakness Day program, immediately preceding the 145th edition of the Preakness Stakes (G1). Post time for the Black-Eyed Susan is 4:41 p.m., and will be part of NBC's national television coverage from 4:30-6 p.m.

First run in 1919 as the Pimlico Oaks, the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan was originally scheduled for May 15 in its traditional spot on Preakness eve, but both races were subsequently rescheduled amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Black-Eyed Susan repositioned on the Preakness undercard.

Nine horses to win the Black-Eyed Susan have gone on to be named champion 3-year-old filly including Hall of Famers Twilight Tear, Davona Dale, Serena's Song, Silverbulletday and Royal Delta. Among other prominent winners are Hall of Famer Gallorette; Nellie Morse, the only filly to also win the Preakness, in 1924; High Voltage, Caesar's Wish and Wide Country.

Post time for the first of 12 races Preakness Day is 11 a.m.

Juddmonte Farms homebred Bonny South was rerouted to the Black-Eyed Susan following the announcement in mid-August that it was to join the Preakness lineup. The chestnut daughter of multiple graded-stakes winning sprinter Munnings tuned up for the race with a five-furlong work in 1:01 Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

Winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in March, Bonny South was a closing second behind Swiss Skydiver in the 1 ¼-mile Alabama (G1) last out Aug. 15 at Saratoga and then bypassed the Kentucky Oaks (G1) Sept. 4. Swiss Skydiver is entered to face the boys in the Preakness.

“Since the Alabama she's done really, really well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She's maturing. She's still somewhat lightly raced, only run six times in her life. I think we have yet to see the best of her. Hopefully, she'll take a step forward.”

Florent Geroux, up for both her recent work and the Fair Grounds Oaks, will ride Bonny South from Post 5 at 124 pounds, sharing topweight with Project Whiskey and Perfect Alibi.

Tracy Farmer's Perfect Alibi won the Schuylerville (G2) and Spinaway (G1) at 2 but has gone winless in five tries since, including a second in the Alcibiades (G1) and a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to cap her rookie season. She didn't get started this year until June and finished off the board in the one-mile Acorn (G1) and seven-furlong Test (G1) before running third by a length in the Sept. 7 Weber City Miss at Laurel, an automatic qualifier for the Black-Eyed Susan.

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Perfect Alibi drew outside Post 11 with jockey Paco Lopez.

St. Elias Stable's Hopeful Growth was fifth to Project Whiskey in the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Oaks (G3) July 4, but avenged that loss with a four-length triumph in the Aug. 1 Monmouth Oaks (G3). Most recently she was sixth to Bonny South's stablemate Shedaresthedevil in the Kentucky Oaks.

Hopeful Growth will carry 122 pounds including jockey Trevor McCarthy from Post 8.

Cash is King and LC Racing's Project Whiskey, who captured the Parx Juvenile Fillies last fall, was a determined half-length winner of the Delaware Oaks at odds of 38-1. She ran well to be a decisive second in the Monmouth Oaks and got within four lengths of the lead midway through the Weber City Miss before tiring to be last of nine.

“She hasn't run well at Laurel, so we're not sure if she just doesn't like the surface too much,” trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said. “She didn't get away clean and got back a little further than she normally is and had to eat some dirt, and it wasn't to her liking.

“She came out of her race like she never even ran,” he added. “We're going to give her a mulligan on that one and look for better things because she's training perfectly. So, we're going to take another shot.”

Victor Carrasco has the call on Project Whiskey from Post 1.

Three horses – Landing Zone, Miss Marissa and Mizzen Beau – enter the Black-Eyed Susan off victories. Alfonso Cammarota's Miss Marissa has won two straight including a front-running optional claiming allowance going 1 1/8 miles Aug. 13 at Saratoga, while Mizzen Beau captured the 1 1/16-mile Bison City over Woodbine's all-weather surface Sept. 12.

BB Horses Landing Zone takes a three-race win streak into the Black-Eyed Susan for Maryland's three-time defending leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez. The Morning Line filly has stretched out from 5 ½ furlongs to a mile to one mile and 70 yards in each of her victories, which have come by 16 ¾ combined lengths.

“The last two races have been really big and we decide with the owner to take shot in the big race,” Gonzalez said. ““I believe the longer races, she's more relaxed and she likes it more. In the morning when she breezes, she looks good. Sometimes she beats the good fillies and in the afternoon she wasn't showing what she was in the morning. That's why I told the owner I want to figure out what is the best I can do to change something and when we did, she likes it.”

Landing Zone went gate to wire to win by 11 lengths at Delaware Park Aug. 31, following up with a 3 ½-length triumph over Black-Eyed Susan rival So Darn Hot Sept. 10. Gonzalez claimed her for $25,000 out of a runner-up finish sprinting six furlongs last November at Laurel.

“I claimed her last year and she was very nervous for everything. Now she's more mature and she looks better and not nervous like before, even in the paddock,” Gonzalez said. “That's why she improved a lot. Now we can train her different and she likes it. She's showing me now in her last few races. Her last few races have been really good.”

Angel Cruz will ride Landing Zone for her stakes debut from Post 10.

“It's very exciting for me. Horses [that cost] a lot of money, I don't have horses like that. But I try to claim horses with back class or something like that and try to improve them,” Gonzalez said. “Now I have horses in the stakes races and I believe that's good not only for me but for everybody. They can see we're doing something good and doing good work.”

Trainer George Weaver captured last year's Black-Eyed Susan with Point of Honor, who would go on to run second in the coaching Club American Oaks (G1) and Alabama at 3 and the Ogden Phipps (G1) in June. Weaver returns to defend his title with Stetson Racing, Lanni Donato and Rita Riccelli's So Darn Hot, owner of a six-length maiden win June 18 at Belmont Park from just four lifetime starts.

Completing the field are Sharp Starr, most recently third in the Fleet Indian against fellow New York-breds Sept. 4 at Saratoga; Truth Hurts, third in the Bison City; and Delaware Oaks runner-up Dream Marie.

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‘Yet To See The Best Of Her’: Cox Sending Bonny South To Black-Eyed Susan

Trainer Brad Cox said Juddmonte Farms' homebred Munnings filly Bonny South was rerouted from the Kentucky Oaks (G1) once it was announced in mid-August that the $250,000, Black-Eyed Susan (G2) would be on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico racecourse in Baltimore, Md.

“That was the spot that made the most sense, against 3-year-olds fillies, he said.

Cox won the Kentucky Oaks anyway with 15-1 shot Shedaresthedevil upsetting Swiss Skydiver and odds-on favorite Gamine. He said the fact that he had the Indiana Oaks (G3) winner in the Churchill Downs race had no bearing on Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) winner Bonny South, who was coming off a second behind Swiss Skydiver in Saratoga's Alabama (G1) at 1 1/4 miles on Aug. 15.

“The biggest thing with her not running in the Kentucky Oaks was coming back in 20 days, the quality of the race. It was a very, very good race,” Cox said. “Ultimately they made the decision to not run. The timing wasn't quite there. Since the Alabama, she's done really, really well.”

Bonny South worked five-eighths of a mile in 1:01 under jockey Florent Geroux Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. Cox timed her galloping out six furlongs in a strong 1:13 4/5, saying afterward, “She went fantastic. She's doing great. She's maturing. She's still somewhat lightly raced, only run six times in her life. I think we have yet to see the best of her. Hopefully she'll take a step forward. I don't know what's running in there yet, but I'd have to think she's one of the top choices.”

Cox edged two-time defending champion Steve Asmussen to collect Preakness weekend's trainer participation bonus last year, collecting $50,000. The bonus, which totals $100,000 is offered to trainers based on horses' performances in stakes races. Cox earned top prize by winning the Miss Preakness (G3) with eventual 3-year-old filly and female sprint champion Covfefe, the Allaire duPont Distaff (G3) with Mylady Curlin, second in the Black-Eyed Susan with Ulele, as well as third (Owendale) and fourth (Warrior's Charge) in the Preakness in the trainer's Triple Crown debut.

Cox has some excellent horses under consideration this year but said no final decisions have been made beyond Bonny South. The possibilities from his barn include Juliet Foxtrot for the Gallorette (G3), Mundaye Call for the Miss Preakness, and Landeskog in the Frank DeFrancis Memorial Dash (G3).

“I don't know if I'll have as many this year as last year,” he said, adding that the bonus doesn't impact running horses “but once you start running, you start watching. That's how it works out. But really, it comes down to whether the horse fits or not. We just had a really good weekend last year.”

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Preakness To Highlight All-Stakes Program At Pimlico On Oct. 3

Highlighted by the $1 million Preakness (G1), presented this year as the final jewel in a refashioned Triple Crown, the Maryland Jockey Club will serve up a total of 16 stakes, nine graded, worth $3.35 million in purses over Preakness weekend at Pimlico Race Course.

The 145th running of the 1 3/16-mile Preakness for 3-year-olds will anchor an all-stakes program of 12 races, seven graded, worth $2.7 million on Saturday, Oct. 3. It will be joined this year by the 96th renewal of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2), one of the country's premiere events for 3-year-old fillies, contested at 1 1/8 miles.

Turf runners 3 and up will travel 1 1/16 miles in the $250,000 Dinner Party (G2), previously run as the Dixie, now in its 119th year. Pimlico's oldest stakes race and the eighth-oldest in the country, it was named the Dinner Party for its 1870 debut and run at two miles.

Other grass stakes on the Preakness program are the $150,000 Gallorette (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up, $150,000 Laurel Futurity for 2-year-olds and $150,000 Selima for 2-year-old fillies, each going 1 1/16 miles; and $100,000 James W. Murphy for 3-year-olds and $100,000 Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies at one mile.

Joining the Preakness Day lineup this year is the $200,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up. Other sprint stakes on the card are the $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs and $100,000 Skipat for fillies and mares 3 and up.

Rounding out the Oct. 3 stakes lineup is the $100,000 UAE President Cup (G1) for Arabians, contested at 1 1/16 miles for 4-year-olds and up.

The historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) for 3-year-olds and up, returned to 1 3/16 miles after being contested at 1 ¼ miles in 2019, is the centerpiece of a Friday, Oct. 2 card that also serves as Claiming Crown Preview Day.

Each winner of the nine Claiming Crown Preview Day races will earn automatic entry and a stipend toward travel costs to the annual Claiming Crown Day program being held for the eighth consecutive year at Gulfstream Park. A similar preview was hosted at Laurel Park in 2015.

Preakness weekend will kick off Thursday, Oct. 1 with three stakes led by the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) for 3-year-olds at six furlongs. It will be joined by a pair of five-furlong turf sprints, the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint for 3-year-olds and up and $100,000 The Very One for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Live racing will be conducted at Pimlico this year from Sept. 24-26 and Oct. 1-3.

Nominations for all Thoroughbred stakes, excluding the Preakness, close Thursday, Sept. 17. Nominations for the UAE President Cup for Arabians close Saturday, Sept. 19.

All nominations can be forwarded to Racing Secretary Jillian Tullock at Pimlico Race Course, Hayward & Winner Aves., Baltimore MD 21215, e-mailed to stakes coordinator Coley Blind at cblind@marylandracing.com, or by calling 410-542-9400 or 800-638-1859.

For more information go to: https://www.pimlico.com/sites/www.pimlico.com/files/PDF/2020_Preakness_Stakes_0.pdf

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