Tag: Preakness

Forte Works At Belmont, Takes Step Closer To Belmont S.

Eclipse Award winner Forte (Violence) worked a half-mile in :50.31 breezing Sunday morning at Belmont Park, which has him back on a path to make it to the GI Belmont S. It was his first work since he was scratched the morning of the GI Kentucky Derby by a state veterinarian due to a foot bruise.

After the scratch, Forte was placed on the vet's list in Kentucky for 14 days, which meant he could not run in the GI Preakness S.

“He looked very good in this work and everything is pointing in the direction of the Belmont,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.

There is one more hurdle to be cleared before he can became eligible for the race. Pletcher said that Forte will work again on Friday and will do so before a veterinarian. If the vet is satisfied with the work he will be officially cleared.

When asked if he thought Forte would pass that test, Pletcher replied: “Knock on wood, but I am super happy with him right now.”

It will be a less-than-ideal scenario for Forte coming into the Belmont. His work Sunday was his first in 22 days and he will be entering a mile-and-a-half race off a 10-week layoff. His last race was the win in the GI Florida Derby on April 1.

Pletcher doesn't think those obstacles are insurmountable.

“I think we have a chance to have him at his best,” said Pletcher, a four-time Belmont Stakes winner. “He's got a high degree of natural fitness. This morning he did everything very effortlessly and galloped out nicely and wasn't blowing at all. He pulled up and came back to the barn. And we still have time for two more good, solid works which I think would have him ready to go. It will be 10 weeks between races and it's a mile-and-a-half, but he gives me the impression, despite missing that little bit of training, that he's retained his fitness very well.”

It's been a tough few weeks for Forte and his connections, who had to watch a horse in Mage (Good Magic) that Forte beat twice go on to win the Kentucky Derby.

“It's been very frustrating and very disappointing,” Pletcher said. “Most of all I'm disappointed for the owners, the connections and especially for the horse. He seems to be the most talented colt in the group and for him to not get that chance to run was frustrating. I probably jinxed this horse when I talked about how perfectly everything was going during the winter and early spring. Thankfully, it was just a foot bruise. He's fully recovered from it now and is training the way we've grown accustomed to seeing him train.”

Pletcher said he could have as many as four horses in the Belmont. Tapit Trice (Tapit), who was seventh in the Derby, is a definite go. He said he will consult with the owners of Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo), who was 14th in the Derby, before making a decision regarding his Belmont status. Prove Worthy (Curlin), a recent maiden winner at Churchill, is also under consideration.

Though Tapit Trice didn't run his best in the Derby, he could be among the favorites in the Belmont. Pletcher has a history of taking horses who didn't bring their “A” game to the Derby and, after passing the Preakness, having them ready to go for a big effort in the Belmont. It's a pattern he followed last year with Belmont winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), who was fifth in the Derby.

“This path has worked well for us in the past,” Pletcher said. “He's a horse that I've always felt would suit the Belmont very well. He's by Tapit, who has had a lot of success in the Belmont. He's out of a Dunkirk mare and we finished second in the Belmont with him.  He's a big, long-striding colt and I think the big, wide sweeping turns at Belmont will suit him very well. We've seen in a couple of his races, including the Tampa Bay Derby, that he doesn't run tight turns really well. The bigger oval at Belmont will really suit him.”

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Street Sense’s Never Explain Proves Hungriest In Dinner Party

Hoping that the GIII Dinner Party S. might be a sampling of things to come later on the Preakness Day card, Never Explain came from off the pace to collect his first black-type victory for trainer Shug McGaughey. Handily away from gate 6, the dark bay settled back off the pace in fourth as GI Pegasus World Cup Turf winner Atone (Into Mischief), sent off at 5-2, strode to the front with MGSW Emmanuael and Rising Empire (Empire Maker) in hot pursuit rounding the first turn. With the top running order relatively unchanged following a half in :47.40, Never Explain continued to bide his time along the inside while working his way up to third as the leading two continued to exchange blows turning for home. Taking the final turn a bit wide, Never Explain nonetheless appeared to have the most momentum late, bearing down on the game but tiring leaders. With a gaggle of horses giving it their all late, including favored Hurricane Dream (Fr) who finally got going after lingering near the back early, it was the Courtlandt Farm runner with Flavien Prat that timed it best, winning by 1/2 length over the French bred. Emmanuel rounded out the trifecta.

“It looked like the pace was honest, and I tucked myself in,” said Prat. “I tipped him out turning for home and he really dug in and was game. On the form, it felt like anybody could win. Turning for home, I thought I had a chance. But I felt I wasn't the only one. It seemed like the horse coming outside of me helped me and pushed my horse. It was great. He was really great.”

The victory represented the fifth win for McGaughey in the Dinner Party. He previously won with Lure (1993), Parading (2009), Ironicus (2015) and Fire Away (2018).

Having recorded his sole 2022 victory at Pimlico exactly one year ago, Never Explain didn't show much when sixth going a mile at Gulfstream Jan. 1 but seemed to enjoy the change of venue when winning next time in a nine-panel Tampa allowance Jan. 18. Despite a tardy start in his latest while cutting back a furlong in Oldsmar Mar. 1, the 5-year-old came back to make it two straight under Sammy Camacho.

The win represented the third straight win for Never Explain after removing the blinkers.

“Even without the blinkers he wants to pull a little bit,” said McGaughey. “That was one of the good things about today. [Flavien] got him to relax really well, where he had horse at the finish.”

Pedigree Notes:
With the victory Never Explain becomes the 40th graded winner for Darley American sire Street Sense. A $87,000 KEENOV purchase by Hidden Brook Farm in 2014, the 13-year-old mare Black Oak produced Never Explain in a foal-sharing arrangement between Hidden Brook Farm and Godolphin. A $155,000 KEENOV weanling in 2018, he flourished into a $475,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Courtlandt Farm.

Black Oak has an unraced juvenile filly by Palace Malice and a yearling colt McKinzie. This is the family Grade I sprinter Richter Scale.

Saturday, Pimlico
DINNER PARTY S. PRESENTED BY BULLEIT BOURBON-GIII,
$200,000, Pimlico, 5-20, 3yo/up, 1 1/8mT, 1:46.14, fm.
1–NEVER EXPLAIN, 120, h, 5, by Street Sense
                1st Dam: Black Oak (SP), by Forestry
                2nd Dam: More for Me, by More Than Ready
                3rd Dam: Velvet's Pie, by Native Prospector
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($155,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $475,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald Adam); B-Hidden Brook Farm & Godolphin (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III; J-Flavien Prat. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 15-5-1-2, $242,062. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Hurricane Dream (Fr), 120, g, 6, Hurricane Cat–Shalimara (Fr), by Siyouni (Fr). O-Team Valor, et al; B-Marie Laurence Oget & Andre Brakha (FR); T-H. Graham Motion. $40,000.
3–Emmanuel, 122, c, 4, More Than Ready–Hard Cloth, by Hard Spun. ($350,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC; B-Helen K. Groves Revocable Trust (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $20,000.
Margins: HF, HD, NK. Odds: 15.20, 1.20, 3.40.
Also Ran: Speaking Scout, Atone, Easter (Fr), Rising Empire.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.
VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Justify’s Arabian Lion Romps In The Sir Barton

'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Lion (Justify) was sent off the 2-5 jolly for Saturday's Sir Barton S. at Pimlico and came away in the final 150 yards to become the 11th worldwide stakes winner (sixth in the U.S.) for his outstanding young stallion.

Off extremely alertly in a scratched-down field of five, the $600,000 OBS April breezer led through a leisurely opening quarter in :24.47 under an easy John Velazquez hold, but was forced to pick it up some in the middle stages, as second choice Tapit's Conquest (Tapit) went for a middle move three off the inside in an attempt to apply bit of pressure to the leader. Arabian Lion still held the call after three-quarters in 1:11.22 and when Tapit's Conquest gave it one final crack entering the final furlong, the burly chestnut hit another gear after a right-handed reminder from Velazquez and ran out a facile winner over a track that has been yielding quick times.

Named a 'Rising Star' for a three-length debut success at Santa Anita Oct. 9, Arabian Lion nearly overcame a bobbling start in a Breeders' Cup Friday allowance at Keeneland, setting for a close second behind next-out Springboard Mile runner-up Giant Mischief (Into Mischief). Inexplicably last of five when heavily favored in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity, he was fourth of four in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. Feb. 4 before just getting run down by would-be GI Preakness S. second favorite First Mission (Street Sense) in Keeneland's GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Apr. 15.

“I should have run him in the Preakness!” said trainer Bob Baffert. “I didn't think he could lose in the Lexington. I was just, 'How did he get beat?' I think that race sort of helped him, and I wanted to give him one more time around two turns. He is such a beautiful horse. He is like a smaller version of Justify and I think he is just starting to wake up. What I saw today, and that time was pretty impressive, I think he [belonged] in the Preakness the way he ran today. The Belmont is a possibility with him.”

Arabian Lion is one of four winners from five to race out of a full-sister to the stakes-placed Mary Rita (Distorted Humor), whose multiple graded stakes-winning son Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro) was a bang-up third in the GII American Turf S. on the Kentucky Derby undercard. The colt, who counts the legendary Personal Ensign as his third dam, has a foal half-sister by Frosted. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

SIR BARTON S. SPONSORED BY BRANDON AND DIANNAH PERRY TO BENEFIT THE THOROUGHBRED AFTERCARE ALLIANCE, $99,000, Pimlico, 5-20, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:41.13 (NSR), ft.
1–ARABIAN LION, 118, c, 3, by Justify
1st Dam: Unbound (SP, $359,826), by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Possibility, by A.P. Indy
3rd Dam: Personal Ensign, by Private Account
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($600,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-Bonne Chance Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-John R Velazquez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: GSP, 6-2-2-0, $217,600.
2–Tapit's Conquest, 118, c, 3, Tapit–Conquest Lil Miss, by Horse Greeley. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. ($350,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Robert V LaPenta, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds & Madaket Stables LLC; B-WinStar Farm LLC & Tapit Syndicate (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $20,000.
3–Denington, 118, c, 3, Gun Runner–Stronger Than Ever, by Congrats. O/B-Fern Circle Stables & Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek) (KY); T-Kenneth G McPeek. $10,000.
Margins: 4, 6HF, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 3.00, 3.50.
Also Ran: Sheriff Ronnie, Feeling Woozy. Scratched: Masterwork.

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Preakness 148: Could It Be Magic?

Continuing on the heels of a stacked card Friday, Pimlico offers a robust eight-stakes offering Saturday, led by the $1.5 million GI Preakness S. With GI Kentucky Derby winning Mage (Good Magic) looming as the one to beat, the race suffered a notable blow Friday with the defection of Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense), shaving the field back to seven. Having not only showed a recency in form but also the ability to win at the highest level, none of the chestnut's rivals can really make the same claim. The lightly raced colt ran three times at Gulfstream Park this winter, culminating with a runner-up finish behind 'Rising Star' Forte (Violence) in the Apr. 1 GI Curlin Florida Derby. Sent off at 15-1 odds in the Run for the Roses, the Gustavo Delgado-trained colt came from well off the pace to win by a length, propelling his entire team into a ride of a lifetime.

“I think he came back from [the Derby] better than he did from the [Florida Derby] to be honest,” confirmed Gustavo Delgado Jr., his father's assistant

Throughout the week at Pimlico, Mage went through his paces like an old pro, never turning a hair despite the throng of spectators and media turning out to the see the reigning Derby winner.

“Professional, that's the best way to describe [his demeanor],” said Delgado, Jr. “[He's] very quiet. The track being so quiet with only a few horses at the same time [during the Preakness training period], that helps too.”

Added Ramiro Restrepo, who owns the 3-year-old with OGMA Investments LLC, Sterling Racing LLC and CMNWLTH, “He's so smart. I can't overstate that. He's a really intelligent horse. Not only does he take care of himself during his races, but he knows when to commence.

“The races are developing him race by race. We're just waiting to see how much he has in the well of talent. Every day, he's showing more and more signs of maturation and understanding his job as a racehorse. It's great to see it happening.”

GI Champagne S. winner Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) is winless in three starts this season, finishing a solidly beaten third last time out in the Apr. 8 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. Despite some of the shortcomings, the colt's trainer Chad Brown has already tasted victory on two prior occasions in the Preakness with 'fresh' horses–Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) and Early Voting (Gun Runner). Additionally, he is responsible for guiding Good Magic through his championship juvenile season in 2017 before finishing runner-up in the Kentucky Derby the following spring. Fourth in that year's Preakness, Good Magic also won the GI Haskell Invitational S.

Setting up the race for a possible 'Magic' trifecta, Perform offers trainer Shug McGaughey the opportunity to win his first Preakness. At Pimlico's annual Alibi Breakfast Thursday morning, McGaughey took to the podium following an enthusiastic round of applause to discuss the chances of the Federico Tesio S. winner. Somewhat stayed while assessing his chances in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Hall of Famer spoke with the confidence of somebody who knows they have a legitimate contender. And supplementing the horse for $150,000 seemed to underscore that belief as well.

“If he hadn't run well [in the Tesio] we wouldn't be running here,” said McGaughey. “Although we didn't go into the Tesio thinking we'd run here if he ran well. He was not nominated to the Preakness. After the way he ran..[jockey] Feargal [Lynch] said he thought it was too bad the horse wasn't nominated because he thought he was a Preakness-type horse.”

You don't know if you're good enough until you try them. I've never won the Preakness and I won't win the Preakness if they're standing there in the stall.”

Trainer Bob Baffert is also represented with National Treasure (Quality Road) a first-out winner who has hit the board in four of five career starts. Third in the GIII Sham S. in January, he was last seen finishing fourth in the GI Santa Anita Derby. Baffert is bidding for his record-breaking eighth victory in the Preakness. His most recent victory was in 2018 with Triple Crown winner Justify.

Rounding out the field are a trio of stakes winners, Chase the Chaos (Astern {Aus}), Coffeewithchris (Ride On Curlin) and Red Route One (Gun Runner).

East vs. West in Chick Lang
It's East versus West in the six-furlong GIII Chick Lang S. Saturday afternoon. Representing the left coast is Havnameltdown (Uncaptured), a three-time graded stakes winner trained by Bob Baffert. Runner-up in last season's Del Mar Futurity, he finished a close-up second his latest start in the G3 Saudi Derby.

“He ran a great race,” Baffert said of the Saudi Derby. “A mile is a little bit too far for him. He's a sprinter. That's his distance, six to seven furlongs.”

Also having shown his affinity for three-quarters of a mile, four-time stakes winner Super Chow (Lord Nelson) enters the Chick Lang off an impressive 5 1/4-length score in Gulfstream's Hutcheson S. in March.

“The horse hasn't done anything wrong since he came to the barn as a 2-year-old,” said Jorge Delgado, who is based at Monmouth Park in the summer and Gulfstream Park in the winter. “His record is magnificent. In his eight starts he has run at [five] different racetracks with six wins, one second and one third. The last time he got beat [GIII Swale Feb. 4], he got beat by a horse that won at Churchill [Downs] on Derby Day [General Jim, GII Pat Day Mile]. So, he's been competing against real quality horses. I do know the race is going to be very competitive, but my horse is 100% ready to run this race.”

Never to be discounted on te big days, trainer Steve Asmussen saddles Ryvit (Competitive Edge), who rides a three-race winning skein. In his latest start, the colt took a muddy renewal of Oaklawn's Bachelor S. Apr. 29.

Motion Well Armed on Turf
Trainer Graham Motion once again presents a customary strong hand in Pimlico's graded turf features. Motion is represented by a trio of runners in the GIII Galorette S., headed by dual stakes winner Vergara (Noble Mission {GB}). Off since a runner-up finish in last fall's GII Sands Point S. at Aqueduct, the bay is reunited with Joel Rosario. The trainer also offers up Italian import Sopran Basilea (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) and MSW Bipartisanship (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), runner up in a Keeneland allowance in her sole race in 2023.

Hoping to get a win early in the day is Chad Brown, who saddles SP Whitebeam (GB) (Caravaggio) in addition to SW Eminent Victor (Mr. Z), making her 2023 debut under Flavien Prat.

One race later in the nine-furlong GIII Dinner Party S., Motion returns with another three runners, including last out Keeneland winner Hurricane Dream (Fr) (Hurricane Cat). The French import will be accompanied by GI Hollywood Derby scorer Speaking Scout (Mr Speaker) and Easter (Fr) (Exosphere {Aus}), a winner going a mile in a Big A allowance Apr. 7.

Todd Pletcher brings to the fore 'TDN Rising Star' Emmanuel (More Than Ready), victorious in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby and GIII Canadian Turf earlier this winter. Most recently, he was seventh after a tardy start in the GI Maker's Mark Mile Apr. 14.

This winter's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational winner Atone (Into Mischief) tries to bounce back following a lackluster ninth in the Muniz Memorial Classic S. Mar. 25.

Rounding out Pimlico's graded action is the GIII Maryland Sprint S. Trying to recapture their winning form are Grade III winners 'Rising Star' Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) as well as Willy Boi (Uncaptured). Likely to take much of the money at the windows, Straight No Chaser (Speightster) and GSW Wonderwherecraigis (Munnings) will try to successfully take the next step up to graded company following last out allowance wins. Wesley Ward returns with Nakatomi (Firing Line), winless in his last three starts, including a fourth-place finish in Keeneland's GIII Commonwealth S. Apr. 8.

Churchill offers it's solitary graded test of the day, the card's anchor the GIII Louisville S. Mike Maker offers a strong pairing led by last out GII Pan American winner Therapist (Freud). He also takes a shot with former claimer turned recent Gulfstream allowance winner Yamato (Artie Schiller).

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