Tag: Racing

Somelikeithotbrown took charge soon after the start and was never headed en route to victory in the $1-million WinStar Mint Million (G3) Saturday at Kentucky Downs.

Skychai Racing LLC and  David Koenig's New York-bred six-year-old son of Big Brown turned back a strong challenge from runner-up Atone and third-place finisher Mr Duman to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths. Mr Dumas was a nose behind Atone.

Ridden by Jose Ortiz for Kentucky Downs' current leading trainer Mike Maker, Somelikeithotbrown covered the one-mile test on firm turf for 3-year-olds and older in 1:33.88, improving on his runner-up finish in last year's edition of the race. He came into to this year's race following a six-length win in the  West Point Stakes August 26 at Saratoga.

Sprinting to the clear lead early, Somelikeithotbrown laid down opening fractions of :23.48 and :46.93 for a half mile while Atone chased from second about 1 1/2 lengths back while Mr Dumas rated in fifth. Atone unleashed a determined outside rally into the stretch and loomed threateningly with a furlong to run, and Mr Dumas bid along the rail gaining ground with every stride, but the winner was too strong.

Somelikeithotbrown, who returned $6.60, has won two of five starts this year and improved his overall record to 10-6-4 from 28 career starts. His resume includes a trio previous graded stakes wins in the  2019 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park, 2020 Bernard Baruch Handicap (G2) at Saratoga, and 2021 Dinner Party Stakes (G2) at Pimlico. The $330,770 winner's share of the Mint Million purse elevated his lifetime  bankroll to $1,647,018

He was bred by Hot Pink Stables and Sand Dollar Stables from the Tapit mare Marilyn Monroan.

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Trainer Kari Craddock won the $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes' colts and geldings division for the third consecutive year on Friday night at Remington Park, scoring with her third different owner.

When Kaleo smoked the field by 13 3/4 lengths at the seven-furlongs distance under a confident Leandro Goncalves in the saddle, Craddock had clamped down on the ownership of this race.

In the past two years, she had won with Ninethirtyturbo for Kirk Thoroughbreds of Luther, Okla., in 2020 and with Number One Dude for Terry Westemeir of Broken Arrow, Okla., in 2021. She had a third different owner this year: herself. Craddock owns, trains, and bred Kaleo in Oklahoma.

Goncalves won for the second straight year while jockey Lane Luzzi was aboard Ninethirtyturbo two years ago.

“He made me look good,” Goncalves said of Kaleo after the race. “I liked his chances, but I really didn't expect to win by this much.”

Kaleo, a 3-year-old gelded son of Foreign Policy out of the Election Day mare Beuna Fortuna, was unraced as a 2-year-old and didn't win a race until his third start at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., this spring on May 11. He followed that up with a near win in the Will Rogers Stakes at the same track. He ran second in that event, losing by only three-quarters of a length. After an uneventful try at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, on the turf for the first time (eighth-place finish), he was given a rest from June 26 until Friday night.

Kaleo was certainly unrushed as four horses went to the front ahead of him on the backstretch. He dropped back five lengths behind, running fifth at the half-mile pole before blowing by the front runners like a category five hurricane.

“I just let him travel the first half of the race,” said Goncalves. “When he finally kicked in, I just hoped he wouldn't stop and he sure didn't.”

Little Drama, who went off the same odds as the winner at 5-2, held on for second in a different county, but he finished second easily ahead of Lava Bomb (4-1), who was 16-1/2 lengths back of the winner.

Rowdy Rascal, the 3-2 wagering favorite, could do no better than fourth, a head behind the third-place finisher.

Kaleo covered the seven furlongs in 1:24.04 over the fast main track and cut into early fractions of :22.09 for the first quarter-mile, :45.24 for the half-mile, and 1:10.99 for three-quarters of a mile.

The winner, who returned $7.20, took home $30,000 and the trophy, improving his career record to six starts, two wins, two seconds and earnings of $61,112.

Hits Pricey Legacy Rolls To Victory In Fillies Division

C.R. Trout of Edmond, Okla., does it all as owner-breeder-trainer with most of his racehorses but he gave most of the credit Friday night to his top man in the barn for a third win in the $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes Fillies Division as the filly Hits Pricey Legacy rolled to victory.

“I can't take much credit for this win,” Trout said after watching Hits Pricey Legacy cruise to a 4-1/2 length victory. “Daniel Ortiz has been really patient with her and got her to where she is right now.”

Where she is right now is one of the top fillies in the Trout barn and his third winner in this race. Trout had hit a bit of a rut in the past four meets after winning this race in back-to-back years with Euro K Shotgun in 2016 and Sunday Night Miss in 2017, but he appears back on track with Hits Pricey Legacy. She is a 3-year-old homebred daughter of Den's Legacy out of the Concord Point mare High Price Hit, owned by Trout.

Jose Alvarez was the third jockey to win this race for Trout as Luis Quinonez and Richard Eramia have also done their part. Quinonez rode Euro K Shotgun in 2016 and Eramia booted home Sunday Night Miss in 2017. Trout has been owner-breeder-trainer for all three of his winners.

“I really think Hits Pricey Legacy is going to want more distance, maybe a mile and a sixteenth,” he said. “We're going to shoot for the Oklahoma Classics (Friday, Oct. 21) with her I believe.”

It was Alvarez's first win in this series and he was highly impressed with his winner.

“She ran great today,” he said. “I put her right behind the speed and she gave me everything she had when I asked her to run. How she ran today makes me believe she will be even better next time.”

The winning time for seven furlongs was 1:23.54 on the fast track, a faster clocking than the colts and geldings ran in their division. Hits Pricey Legacy was sent off the 1-2 favorite and returned $3 to win. She pocketed $30,000 from the purse and improved to six starts, three wins, two seconds and one third for $139,355 in earnings.

Hits Pricey Legacy ran just behind interior fractions of :22.98 for the first quarter-mile, :46.40 for the half-mile, and 1:11.18 for three-quarters of a mile. Plenty of Vision (8-1) finished second and was  1 1/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Kachina.

It was the second stakes win for Hits Pricey Legacy as she also won the Slide Show Stakes at Remington Park on Nov. 12 last year in her 2-year-old campaign. The most impressive thing about her win Friday night is that it came off a nine-month layoff. She hadn't raced since Dec. 17 when she ran third in the $100,000 Trapeze Stakes.

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Top stayer Kyprios heads a field of 11 for the Comer Group International Irish St Leger, the final Classic of the season and one of four Group 1 races on a magical day at the Curragh on Sunday.

The race is just one of the highlights on the second day of Longines Irish Champions Weekend with Aidan O'Brien's 4-year-old chasing down a hat-trick of top-flight success after thrilling wins at Royal Ascot and at Goodwood.

Heading the opposition is the Joseph O'Brien-trained Curragh specialist Raise You which notched up his fourth course success in the Comer Group Irish St Leger Trial Stakes a month ago and the Paddy Twomey-trained Rosscarbery, added to the field only 72 hours ago.

Twice a winner of the Comer Group International Irish St Leger, Search For A Song represents Dermot Weld, Comer Group International Curragh Cup winner Camorra runs for Ger Lyons, Tony Mullins has his star Princess Zoe, with William Haggas, already a Group 1 winner at the Curragh this year, sending out Ormonde Stakes winner Hamish.

Representing the race sponsor is Seattle Creek with Henry de Bromhead going with Jason The Militant, Karl Thornton has Shanroe and Jim Bolger runs Manu Et Corde.

Nineteen horses will line up for the Group 1 Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Flying Five Stakes and the bumper field is headed by the John Quinn-trained Highfield Princess, the clearcut winner of the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at York. A strong British challenge also features the Michael Appleby-trained Raasel, Flotus, trained by Simon & Ed Chrisford, and Ebro River, last season's Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes winner at the Curragh, which was supplemented on Tuesday by trainer Hugo Palmer.

Edward Lynam's Romantic Proposal, the winner of this race a year ago, leads the Irish challenge with fellow Group 1 winner A Case Of You, trained by Ado McGuinness and the Johnny Murtagh-trained Ladies Church and Jack Davison's Mooneista, separated by just a short-head in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes over this course and distance in July, very much in the mix.

Twelve two-year-old fillies go forward for the 50th running of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and setting the standard is the Aidan O'Brien-trained Meditate, unbeaten in four starts to date. The big Curragh hope is Tahiyra for Dermot Weld with the Charlie & Mark Johnston-trained Lakota Sioux and Charlie Hills' Sydneyarms Chelsea making up the oversea challenge.

The Charlie Fellowes-trained Marbaan is the raider from across the Irish Sea in the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes and he takes on a couple of potential stars from the Aidan O'Brien yard, Aesop's Fables and Hans Andersen. Joseph O'Brien supplemented course and distance winner Al Riffa for the race on Tuesday and his brother Donnacha O'Brien runs his two-time winner, Proud And Regal with Johnny Murtagh's Shartash making up the six-runner field.

Another intriguing contest will be the Group 2 Moyglare “Jewels” Blandford Stakes with Group 1 Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly Stakes winner La Petite Coco topping the 13-runner line up. Her trainer Paddy Twomey also runs Rumbles Of Thunder with further opposition coming from Joseph O'Brien's top-flight scorer Above The Curve and the Willie McCreery-trained Insinuendo.

Unbeaten in three starts, Eve Johnson Houghton's Streets Of Gold heads a three-strong British challenge for the 11-runner Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sale Stakes with dual winner As It Was looking like the top Irish contender for Andy Oliver.

A field of 22 gets the day up and running in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF 'Bold Lad' Sprint Handicap where recent course winners Mr Wagyu, Big Gossey, Gordon Bennett, Ice Cold In Alex and Coumshingaun are among the leading contenders while the maximum 26 runners take their chance in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF 'Northfields' Handicap with the chances of Tom Mullins' Star Image, Noel Meade's Joe Masseria and the Joe Murphy-trained Celtic Crown well respected.

Brian Kavanagh, CEO of the Curragh Racecourse, said, “We are delighted with the declarations for Sunday's racing and the four Group 1 races look particularly competitive. It is very pleasing to see 17 UK-trained runners as international competition is a key part of Longines Irish Champions Weekend. There is a full programme of entertainment on offer on Sunday, including the Moyglare Kidzone and we are looking forward to a great days racing.”

Click here for the declared runners for Sunday's Curragh card

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Trainer Doug O'Neill hopes to deprive Bob Baffert of his fourth consecutive G1 TVG Del Mar Debutante. Nothing personal, you know. It's just that he has a pair of talented 2-year-old fillies that have shown they have what it takes to win a prestigious race like the one on Saturday.

A field of eight is expected for the 72^nd running of the Debutante. O' Neill has two of them, Vegas Magic and Satin Doll. The former is coming to the party off of her impressive victory in the G2 Sorrento last month.

“She came out of her last in great shape,” O'Neill says. “She's training well and we're excited about her chances. She seems like a better version of herself every day.”

Vegas Magic, a daughter of Good Magic, is undefeated after three starts, including a victory in the $75,000 Everitt Nevin up at Pleasanton in July which followed her maiden win at Santa Anita in June.

“The water definitely gets a little deeper in a race like this but we're optimistic she's got a big chance to improve and get it done,” O'Neill said.

His other entry is Satin Doll, who finished fourth to Vegas Magic in the Sorrento last out. He's confident of an improved effort this time around.

“We're hoping to get her back to her maiden win,” O'Neill says. “It was on this track, she has Kyle Frey back on her and she's training well. She's going to have to step up her game from the last race but we're optimistic she will.”

Trainer Bob Baffert matches O'Neill's pair of aces with a two gems of his own in the Debutante. Home Cooking won by nine lengths to break her maiden at Del Mar last out and Baffert is hoping for something similar on Saturday.

“She sat off the pace and they went really fast early,” Baffert says, “and that had a lot to do with it. A lot of horses look better when there's a speed duel and you can sit off of it. She can go to the lead, but she can sit off, too. And going 7/8's, if you go too fast, you break :22, you're not going to get there.”

The other Baffert horse is Fast and Shiny, a first-out winner by Bernardini.

“The distance should help her,” Baffert says. “She'll be coming from off the pace. We just got to get the trip; it's all about the trip and how you break and all. I think the race is wide open, there are some nice horses in there.”

The Debutante is run at seven furlongs, the farthest any of the eight fillies have run so far in their young careers. All have broken their maidens with the exception of Kissed by Fire, who ran second to Justique in her debut at Del Mar in July and Ice Dancing from the Richard Mandella barn. She ran third in her debut behind And Tell Me Nolies, who is also running in the Debutante.

The TVG Debutante goes off as the eighth race on the 11-race Saturday program.

Here's the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning line odds: Vegas Magic (Abel Cedillo, 3-1); Kissed By Fire (Joe Bravo, 8-1); And Tell Me Nolies (Ramon Vazquez, 3-1); Satin Doll (20-1); Fast and Shiny (Juan Hernandez, 8-1); Home Cooking (Mike Smith, 9/5); Arella Star (Hector Berrios, 15-1), and Ice Dancing (Flavien Prat, 8-1).

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