Private Mission | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Other Baffert,’ Kalypso, Takes La Brea As Odds-On Private Mission Fizzles

In a considerable upset, Bob Baffert-trained Kalypso burst upon the scene a furlong from home and motored to an authoritative 4 3/4-length win in Sunday's Grade 1, $300,000 La Brea Stakes, thus providing Baffert and John Velazquez with their third win in combination on Santa Anita's opening day in and for Velazquez, his fourth overall win on the day at the Arcadia, Calif., track.

With Livingmybestlife carving out the early pace from her outside post position, eventual runner-up Brilliant Cut engaged her at the top of the lane but neither were any match for the winner in the final furlong.

Third at the rail, about 1 ½ lengths off the lead at the quarter pole, Kalypso swung three-deep turning for home and seemed to re-break in deep stretch.

With Baffert's heavily favored Private Mission seemingly never getting untracked while finishing sixth at 3-5, Kalypso, idle since well beaten in a Grade II going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs April 30, was off at 8-1 in a field of seven sophomore fillies and paid $19.60, $9.00 and $5.00.

Owned by Rockingham Ranch, David Bernsen, LLC, Gainesway Stable and Chad Littlefield, Kalypso – a Kentucky-bred filly by Brody's Cause out of the Malibu Moon mare Malibu Cove – notched her second Santa Anita graded stakes win of the year and her third stakes victory from an overall mark of 9-3-3-2. With the winner's share of $180,000, she increased her earnings to $480,600.

Off at 20-1 with Jose Ortiz, the Doug O'Neill-trained Brilliant Cut paid $17.80 and $8.00.

Checking in third was the early pacesetter, Livingmybestlife, who finished a half length better than Eddie's New Dream. Off at 5-1 with Juan Hernandez, Livingmybestlife paid $4.80 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.11, 44.92 and 1:10.92.

“Bob and I talked about it. We thought there was a lot of speed in the race and we knew she had speed but I didn't want to be in a duel and not have anything to finish with,” said Velazquez. “I told Bob that if she has more speed, then I'm just going to let her go let her be in the lead. I wanted to give her a chance the first part of the race and everything was really easy until I got to the three-eighths pole. I kind of got on her a little bit and she bit into the bridle, so I said, 'alright we're going good'. At the quarter pole I pulled her to the clear and from then on it was pretty easy.”

“We turned her out after that Churchill Downs race (G2 Eight Belles in April, when she ran 12^th),” said Baffert. “We brought her back and she was fresh. That is what happens when you have two good fillies in the same race. The other didn't run good (Private Mission). She was not running at all. That's not her. Johnny V. got her (Kalypso) to relax. She has a tendency to go to fast. She was really relaxed today and she was one happy filly.”

The post ‘Other Baffert,’ Kalypso, Takes La Brea As Odds-On Private Mission Fizzles appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Formidable Pair Could Put Baffert Back in La Brea Winner’s Circle

Trainer Bob Baffert boasts a record seven victories in Santa Anita's GI La Brea S., and a winless drought since 2012 could come to an end for the Hall of Famer Sunday. Baoma Corp's $750,0000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga buy Private Mission (Into Mischief) cuts back after setting a supersonic pace in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 6. Prior to that she was an easy winner of Del Mar's GIII Torrey Pines S. Aug. 21 and the local GII Zenyatta S. Oct. 3. Both those victories came around two turns, but the bay is a two-time winner at distances shorter than this seven-furlong trip. Kalypso (Brody's Cause) gives Baffert a strong one-two punch. Victorious in the GII Santa Ynez S. over track and trip just over a year ago, she was bested at short odds in two consecutive route tries before bleeding and being eased in the GII Eight Belles S. at Churchill Downs on GI Kentucky Oaks day Apr. 30.

Missy P. (Into Mischief), a full to Grade I winner at this distance Mia Mischief, aired by 9 1/4 lengths on debut here in March–making her a shoe-in for 'TDN Rising Star'-dom–but she could only manage second at odds-on in the Angel Flight S. over track and trip May 1 and has been off since finishing fifth in the turfy Desert Code S. against the boys June 6.

Speedster Livingmybestlife (The Big Beast) annexed Los Al's Lucky Spell S. over six furlongs Sept. 24 and the restricted Seashell S. going a two-turn mile at Del Mar Nov. 3. A win by that Hronis Racing colorbearer would be trainer John Sadler's first in the La Brea since he won three out of four renewals from 2007 to 2010.

The post Formidable Pair Could Put Baffert Back in La Brea Winner’s Circle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Private Mission Shortens Up, Will Attempt To Rebound In La Brea

Two-time graded stakes winner Private Mission cuts back in distance and heads a field of seven sophomore fillies going seven furlongs in Sunday's Grade 1, $300,000 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita. One of six graded stakes, three of them Grade 1's, the La Brea will no doubt command considerable attention on Santa Anita's Winter Spring Opening Day card, which is comprised of 11 races. With admission gates opening at 9 a.m., first post time on Sunday is at 11 a.m.

Although she showed good early speed, Private Mission tired badly to be distanced by 37 ¼ lengths at odds of 10-1 in her most recent start, the G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff at a mile and one eighth on Nov. 6. A two-time winner sprinting, Private Mission, who is trained by Bob Baffert, was on a three-game roll heading into the Breeders' Cup, having won the G2 Zenyatta Stakes here on Oct. 3 and the G3 Torrey Pines at Del Mar Aug. 21.

Buy red-hot sire Into Mischief, Private Mission is owned by Baoma Corporation and will be ridden for the fourth consecutive time by Flavien Prat. A first-out winner sprinting at two, Private Mission has four wins from six starts and has earnings of $256,800.

John Sadler's Livingmybestlife is a front-running sort who comes off a pair of ungraded stakes wins, her most recent the one mile Seashell Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 3. Owned by Hronis Racing, Livingmybestlife registered an 88 Beyer Speed Figure in taking the six furlong Lucky Spell Stakes at Los Alamitos two starts back on Sept. 24 and earned an 85 Beyer in winning the Seashell.

A Florida-bred by the Yes It's True stallion The Big Beast, Livingmybestlife was claimed by Sadler out of her first start, a second place finish for maiden $50,000 at Oaklawn Park on April 8. With three sprint wins to her credit, Livingmybestlife has four wins and a two seconds from seven overall starts as she tackles graded company for the first time with regular rider Juan Hernandez up.

In addition to Private Mission, Baffert will also send out Kalypso, a winner of the G2 Santa Ynez Stakes here in her first start of the year four starts back on Jan. 3. Idle since well beaten in the G2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs April 30, this daughter of Brody's Cause will no doubt show good speed off the bench. Owned by David Bernsen, LLC and Gainesway Farm, Kalypso will be ridden for the first time by John Velazquez.

THE GRADE 1 LA BREA WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 11 Approximate post time 2:30 p.m. PT

Canoodling—Roimes Chirinos—120
Eddie's New Dream—Mario Gutierrez—120
Kalypso—John Velazquez—122
Private Mission—Flavien Prat—122
Missy P.—Mike Smith—120
Brilliant Cut—Jose Ortiz–120
Livingmybestlife—Juan Hernandez—120

First post time for an 11-race card on Opening Day, Sunday is at 11 a.m.

The post Private Mission Shortens Up, Will Attempt To Rebound In La Brea appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Baffert Back To Business In Juvenile Stakes At Del Mar

It may be easier for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to decompress and recover from last week's Breeders' Cup World Championships than the majority of Del Mar racing fans.

Last Saturday, Baffert was busy with five horses to saddle in four Breeders' Cup races. It began with Gamine finishing third as the 2/5 favorite in the Filly & Mare Sprint and continued with Eight Rings (4th) in the Dirt Mile, As Time Goes By (8th), and Private Mission (11th) in the Distaff and concluded with Medina Spirit (2nd) in the Classic at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

A day earlier his Corniche had triumphed in the Juvenile with Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst (5th) and Barossa (9th).

A lot to get the adrenaline flowing in a 68-year-old, even one of his experience and accomplishments. But, Baffert said, recovery time from the rigors of the Breeders' Cup was minimal for him.

“As soon as it goes official, I'm thinking about the next one (race or event),” Baffert said. “I'm proud of all my horses other than Gamine and I blame myself for that. I should have given her a prep race.”

Gamine came in with five straight graded stakes victories by a combined 23 ½ lengths, but hadn't raced since late August.

He considered Private Mission, winner of the Torrey Pines Stakes here during the summer meeting, and As Time Goes By to be victims of circumstance.

Private Mission, As Time Goes By and favored Letruska blazed early before occupying three of the last four finishing positions as longshot Marche Lorraine ($101.80) rallied to win.

“We thought nobody would go with Private Mission, and then they all did,” Baffert said.

The Breeders' Cup ended on something of a high note for Baffert when Kentucky Derby winner (pending a Kentucky Racing Commission ruling) Medina Spirit finished second to runaway winner Knicks Go, polishing off a strong case for an Eclipse Award as the top 3-year-old.

This weekend, it will be back to business as usual for Baffert. That is, looming large over and being positioned to dominate Juvenile stakes races. Baffert will saddle 6/5 morning line favorite Eda and Under the Stars in a field of five for Saturday's $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies. Sunday, he has three of the five entered, not coincidentally the top three choices on the morning line, in the seven furlong Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes – Winning Map (7/5), Messier (8/5), and Kamui (5/2).

First the fillies:

“Under the Stars is a maiden (0-for-1) but she ran well the first time out and we feel she fits in there,” Baffert said. “It's a short field and an opportunity to get black type (stakes placing) on her record.

“Eda we think will like that distance.”

Eda, runner-up by a head to Elm Drive in the six-furlong G2 Sorrento Stakes in August, was the 6/5 favorite in the $300,000 G1 Del Mar Debutante on September 5. But Eda was cooked in a speed duel with Elm Drive which saw them put up fractions of :21.78 and :44.37 for the first half-mile of the seven-furlong test and fade to fifth.

“They went so fast (in the Debutante) that everything fell apart, which happens,” Baffert said with a chuckle and nod to Gamine as well as the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

[Story Continues Below]

Now the colts in the Bob Hope:

“I hate to run them all together, but they're all doing well and deserve a shot,” the trainer offered.

Winning Map debuted with a 4 1/4-length victory in 1:10.20 for six furlongs at Santa Anita on October 3. Messier, is named after NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier. Messier was a teammate of the Empire Maker colt's co-owner Tom Ryan's father-in-law, Pat Hughes, along with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr on those legendary Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s.

Messier finished second in his first start on June 27 at Los Alamitos and came back on October 22 to win by 6 ½ lengths, matching the time over the same distance that Winning Map had produced three weeks earlier.

“We're taking the blinkers off Messier,” Baffert said. “He's not as quick as the others, but we think it's a good spot for him at a distance he'll like.”

Kamui was beaten a half-length by fellow Hope entrant Forbidden Kingdom at Del Mar on August 21 and came back to score by six lengths in a 5 ½-furlong sprint at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on September 11.

The field for the Bob Hope from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Messier (Flavien Prat, 8/5); Kamui (Abel Cedillo, 5/2); Winning Map (Mike Smith, 7/5); Rock N Rye (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1), and Forbidden Kingdom (Juan Hernandez, 9/2).

The post Baffert Back To Business In Juvenile Stakes At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post