Tag: Racing

The Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve will begin Saturday at Churchill Downs where eight 2-year-olds, including impressive maiden winner Echo Again, were entered to face undefeated Grade 2 winner Damon's Mound in the 41st running of the $300,000 Iroquois (Grade 3).

The Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of select races that award a sliding scale of points to the top finishing positions, has determined preference for its 20-horse Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) field since 2013. The 1 ¼-mile classic for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds will be run at the historic Louisville, Ky. racetrack for the 149th consecutive year on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

The 1 1/16-mile Iroquois was carded as Race 9 of 11 with a post time of 4:55 p.m. The race shares the Saturday spotlight with the $300,000 Pocahontas (G3), $400,000 Locust Grove (G3), $300,000 Open Mind (Listed) and $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society. The five stakes will be run as the last five races on the card and comprise an all-stakes 50-cent Pick 5.

Cliff and Michele Love's homebred Damon's Mound, the headliner in the Iroquois, is trainer Michelle Lovell's first starter in a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying race. The Florida-bred son of Girvin dominated in his debut at Churchill Downs on July 2 where he demolished a field of 10 rivals by 12 ½ lengths. In his second start, Lovell shipped the homebred to Saratoga where he defeated a compact field of four in the Saratoga Special (G2) by 3 ¼ lengths.

“He's done everything right since we got him into our barn this spring,” Lovell said. “He has the mind of an older horse and that's what makes him so special. The Loves have been in this game for a very long time and it's very rewarding they are able to have a horse like him, especially being a homebred. The two-turns in the Iroquois is obviously a test but he's passed his others we've given him with flying colors. I think this is the next progression to take.”

Damon's Mound has done the majority of his training this summer at Colonial Downs but shipped back to his home base of Churchill Downs on Tuesday to continue preparing for the Iroquois. Jockey Gabriel Saez will have the return mount from post No. 3.

The top rival to Damon's Mound in the Iroquois is Winchell Thoroughbreds highly-touted Saratoga maiden special weight winner Echo Again. The son of former Horse of the Year Gun Runner cruised to a 6 ¾-length debut score on Aug. 20 under jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., who was filling in for regular pilot Joel Rosario.

“We're extremely excited about who this horse is,” Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said. “It's a family affair. He came from mom and dad's farm in Laredo, Texas. He was my son Erik's favorite horse all winter and Keith's favorite all summer. He gets on him regularly. It was a very meaningful victory.”

Rosario will be back aboard Echo Again and break from post 9.

Another 2-year-old with potential star power that was entered in the Iroquois is West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables' Jace's Road. The son of Quality Road was a first-out winner on Aug. 6 at Ellis Park under jockey Joe Talamo. Trained by Brad Cox, Jace's Road was a $510,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase in 2021. Horses campaigned by Dennis Albaugh's Albaugh Family Stables have won three runnings of the Iroquois: Not This Time (2016), Dennis' Moment (2019) and Sittin On Go (2020). Jace's Road will be ridden by Florent Geroux from post 6.

Here's the complete filed for the Iroquois from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Hayes Strike (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek);
2. Zaici (David Cohen, Ricky Courville);
3. Damon's Mound (Saez, Lovell);
4. Jin Tong (Rafael Bejarano, Doug O'Neill);
5. Curly Jack (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss);
6. Jace's Road (Geroux, Cox);
7. Honed (Julien Leparoux, Kenny McPeek);
8. Confidence Game (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux); and
9. Echo Again (Rosario, Asmussen).

The post Undefeated Damon’s Mound Faces Echo Again In Saturday’s Iroquois appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

When the marathon was done at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., late Tuesday afternoon, the two horses most everybody expected to be right there at the end, were right there.

On this day, Adventuring, the 5-2 second choice in the field of nine, was just a little bit better than Family Way, the 4-5 favorite.

The 11th running of the Grade 3, $550,000 AGS Ladies Marathon for fillies and mares aged 3 and up, went to Adventuring and jockey Joel Rosario, who finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of Family Way and Tyler Gaffalione in the 1 5/16-mile race.

“Perfect trip. The filly did all the work,” Rosario said. “You can see the way she runs that if someone challenges her, she keeps moving forward.”

Adventuring, owned by Godolphin and trained by Brad Cox, went straight to the lead over the firm course and carved out fractions of :25.38 for the first quarter, :49.90 for the half and 1:14.24 for six furlongs.

Family Way was never far off, tracking the leader in fourth and then third. With an eighth of a mile to go, Adventuring was still strong and Family Way, who won this race a year ago, was gathering momentum. They just could not get past the winner.

“We had everything our way, we just couldn't catch the leader,” Gaffalione said. “I'm proud of her. She never disappoints me.”

Adventuring, a 4-year-old daughter of Pioneerof the Nile, won for just the second time in four career starts on the grass. This was just her second start of 2022; the first came at Mountaineer Park on Aug. 6 when she won by 2 1/2 lengths over a sloppy track in a stakes that was taken off the grass.

That was her first start since December.

“She had a long break over the winter time,” said Michael Banahan, the director of bloodstock for Darley America/Godolphin. “We got her back going again. Brad and his team have done a great job. Distance of ground is what's key for her.”

Getting Adventuring back to Kentucky Downs was the obvious play for the Cox barn. Last year, she won the $500,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks in similar fashion, going to the lead and drawing off to win by 1 3/4 lengths.

“She's a horse for the course,” Cox said by phone. “She obviously had success here last year. We zeroed in on this race, came up with a game plan. We were hoping to get a similar trip to what she got last year. Joel did a great job and left something for the finish up the hill and she responded when asked.”

“She gets very competitive when she gets the lead,” Rosario said. “She keeps galloping and galloping. She looked like she was really relaxed.”

Family Way had earned favoritism after her last two starts, even though they did not produce wins.

She ran in a pair of G1 stakes, finishing third in the $500,000 Beverly D. at Churchill Downs on Aug. 13 at 1 1/2 miles and second in the $750,000 New York Stakes at Belmont Park on June 10 at 1 1/4 miles.

“She has come up big in some really good spots,” Gaffalione said. “She has gone up against some of the best fillies in the country and has held her own pretty well. She shows up every time.”

“We felt that horses that perform well on this track come back and do it again,” Banahan said. “The two fillies that had the form here ended up 1-2 again.”

Family Way, who was once owned by Godolphin, is a daughter of Uncle Mo and owned by Fergus Galvin's Hunter Valley Farm, Debra L. O'Connor and Marc Detampel.

“The winner is a nice filly, too,” Family Way's trainer Brendan Walsh said. “She's the one filly I was afraid of. Hats off to her. Listen, I'm not disappointed. She ran her race. You can't ask for more than that.”

Adventuring's final time was 2:08.28 and she returned $7.80.

Luck Money finished a neck behind Family Way in third and was followed home by Stand Tall, Viburnum, Oliviaofthedesert, Flippant, Disappearing Act and Core Values.

The post ‘Horse For The Course’ Adventuring Wires AGS Ladies Marathon Field appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post