Tag: Racing

Going to Vegas is back to defend her crown, but it's her stablemate, Going Global, that's expected to go off the favorite in the 65^th running of the G2 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar Saturday.

Going to Vegas came to trainer Philip D'Amato in the spring after a successful 2021 campaign under trainer Richard Baltas.

“Her goal has been for this race,” D'Amato says, “to have a nice two-race sequence with her, the Mabee and then the Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita.”

Going to Vegas won four of her seven starts last year including a stretch of three wins in a row that started with an allowance race at Del Mar, followed by her win in the Mabee, followed by another huge win in the G1 Rodeo Drive. That got her into the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar, though she finished 11^th of 12 horses.

The daughter of Goldencents returned in 2022 sharp as ever, tallying three straight runner-up finishes, all in graded stakes. There was the second to now stablemate Leggs Galore in her 5-year-old debut, the G2 Buena Vista at Santa Anita. She then ran second to Queen Goddess in the G3 Santa Ana in March and was runner-up to Ocean Road in the G1 Gamely in May. It was in that race she beat Going Global, who finished third.

“She's freshened up,” D'Amato says. “She's raring to go. “

Going to Vegas doesn't have to look far to find her chief competition. Just a glance down the shedrow and she'll see Going Global, who bounced back to win the G2 Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar last month.

“She's doing great,” D'Amato says. “She came out of her race in really good shape. Distance should be right up her alley and Umberto (Rispoli) has the ride back.”

Going Global won the G2 Royal Heroine at Santa Anita in her 2022 debut in April. This after a highly successful 2021 in which she won six of her eight starts. A first- or second-place finish in the Mabee would boost her career earnings over the $1 million mark.

A field of seven is entered for the 1 1/8 mile turf test. Avenue de France, from the Leonard Powell barn, will make her third start at the summer meet. She finished second to Going Global last out in the Yellow Ribbon after winning the $100,000 Osunitas Stakes on opening weekend. She's finished first or second in her last four starts.

Park Avenue will look to get back on track after running last in the Yellow Ribbon. The daughter of Quality Road, from the John Sadler barn, has finished off the board in all three of her starts in Grade 2 stakes this year, but in her other three races in 2022 she won twice and finished second to As Time Goes By in the G3 La Canada at Santa Anita on New Year's Day.

Bellamore and Eddie's New Dream are both running for the third time at Del Mar this summer. Bellamore won an allowance race on opening day and then ran third in the $100,000 CTT & TOC Stakes last month. The daughter of Empire Maker is trained by Simon Callaghan.

Eddie's New Dream got run down by Bellamore in the second-level allowance on opening day and then just missed in another runner-up finish, this time to Warrens Candy Girl, in the $150,000 Solana Beach on August 21.

The G2 John C. Mabee is named after the popular owner and breeder who, along with his wife Betty, founded Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona and bred Best Pal, the winner of the first Pacific Classic in 1991. John Mabee was also one of the original founders of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

Here's the field from the rail with the jockeys and odds: Going to Vegas (Flavien Prat, 5/2); Bellamore (Joe Bravo, 20-1); Avenue de France (Juan Hernandez, 6-1); Park Avenue (Hector Berrios, 6-1); Going Global (4/5); Burgoo Alley (Ramon Vazquez, 12-1), and Eddie's New Dream (Mario Gutierrez, 15-1).

The post Going To Vegas Faces Stablemate Going Global In John C. Mabee appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

This year's edition of the Canadian Triple Tiara concludes with Sunday's running of the $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, at Woodbine.

Set at 1 ¼ miles on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, the Wonder Where, for 3-year-old Canadian-bred fillies, drew six sophomores. Moira, who won the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser, went on to take the 163rd running of the Queen's Plate on August 21. Sister Seagull, in to contest the Wonder Where, captured the second jewel of the Triple Tiara, the Bison City, on August 14.

Whimsical Dance, a daughter of Distorted Humor-Danceforthecause, will make her first appearance in the series.

Trained by Gail Cox, the Sam-Son Farm homebred arrived in style, winning her career bow in impressive fashion on August 21.

Sent off at 20-1 in the 1 1/16-mile journey over the E.P. Taylor, Whimsical Dance, under Declan Carroll, rallied strongly down the lane to secure a 4 ½-length score in a time of 1:43.13 over firm ground.

“She comes from a really nice family,” noted Cox. “She's a half to Say the Word and Rideforthecause, so she's related to some very nice horses, who I was also lucky to have trained. I had taken a very long time to run her because I didn't think she was ready. She was quite immature, mentally and physically. I just didn't want to run her until I thought she had a good chance to win or at least run really well. She just started to work better and better and learned how to be more independent. I wouldn't say that I thought she was definitely going to win, but I did think she would run well just based off pedigree. David said that down the lane she was just gawking at everything. But she ran great and she's pretty talented.”

Now, the filly, unraced at 2, will step up to the stakes ranks and tackle a longer distance of ground.

Cox, seeking her first Oaks crown, expects Whimsical Dance to be up for the challenge.

“She came out of the race really well. Three weeks is a short time between races, but she had a nice breeze on Sunday [4 furlongs, breezing, in :50.00 on the dirt training track] and I think we have to take a shot at this race. I think it's the perfect race for her. Distance isn't going to be an issue and I don't think she'd care what kind of turf it is on Sunday.”

Swoop to Finish, a daughter of American-Pharoah-Swoop and Strike, will return to the turf after a sixth-place finish in the Woodbine Oaks.

Also a Sam-Son homebred, the dark bay has a career record of 1-1-0 from five starts, including a 1-1-0 record from three turf appearances.

She made her debut last July, finishing second in a 6-furlong E.P. Taylor Turf Course maiden special weight event, putting in a strong rally down the lane to secure the runner-up spot. Swoop to Finish closed out her rookie year with a fifth in a 7-furlong race over the E.P. Taylor one month later.

Finishing seventh in her sophomore curtain raiser, Swoop to Finish broke her maiden next time out, a 2 ¼-length win over 1 1/16 miles on the Woodbine Inner Turf.

“She won on the turf this year and then we made the decision to run her in the Oaks. She just doesn't like the main track as much as she does the turf. She's not the same on it. She ran not so great on it [Tapeta] once, but the race she won, we put blinkers on and thought that might really help her out. So, we had to try the Oaks, but she's not the same on the Tapeta. She's been working along since that race and she's doing really well. She's very nice and she's a more aggressive filly than Whimsical Dance. When she won, she was close to the lead. She's a big filly with a huge, long stride, and came to hand very quickly.”

A win by Whimsical Dance or Swoop to Finish would give leading Oaks' owner Sam-Son Farm its ninth victory in the preeminent race for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.

“Having two chances to win – they both have different running styles – is a nice position to be in,” said Cox.

The race has also attracted the aforementioned Sister Seagull, who brings a record of 2-1-1 from seven starts, the two victories coming in her past three starts, which also includes the runner-up performance in the Oaks. The daughter of Hard Spun-Sweet Kitten, trained by Catherine Day Phillips, is a homebred for Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry.

The race is named after champion filly Wonder Where, Canada's 1959 Horse of the Year and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee.

Sealy Hill, Canada's Horse of the Year in 2007, took all three Triple Tiara races in that same year.

First post on Sunday's 10-race card is 1:00 p.m. The Wonder Where goes as the eighth race. The second leg of the Woodbine Turf Endurance Series is slated as race seven. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

FIELD FOR THE $250,000 WONDER WHERE STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Swoop to Finish – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Gail Cox

2 – Strega – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard

3 – Sister Seagull – Antonio Gallardo – Catherine Day Phillips

4 – Devil's Bit – David Moran – Roger Attfield

5 – Whimsical Dance – Declan Carroll – Gail Cox

6 – Keep It Neat – Kazushi Kimura – Barbara Minshall

The post Whimsical Dance, Swoop To Finish Give Gail Cox Two Good Chances As Canada’s Triple Tiara Concludes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The instructions were simple enough for jockey Joel Rosario.

The Eclipse Award-winning rider was climbing aboard Private Creed for the first time in the fifth running of the $500,000 Global Tote Juvenile Sprint at Kentucky Downs Thursday afternoon in Franklin, Ky.

When he met trainer Steve Asmussen in the paddock, Rosario said Asmussen only told him one thing.

“Go win the race,” Rosario said with a smile.

Mission accomplished.

Private Creed, owned by Mike McCarty, ran down the favored Sharp Aza Tack to win the 6 1/2-furlong sprint by three-quarters of a length.

“We were very excited about this opportunity,” Hall of Famer Asmussen said. “Joel gave him a dynamite trip. The horse excelled today and, obviously, a very good finish. We love the outcome.”

Private Creed was making his third career start. He broke his maiden at Ellis Park and headed to Saratoga, where he was third in the Skidmore Stakes on Aug. 19. Both those races were 5 1/2 furlongs.

Asmussen then pointed him to Kentucky Downs and the son of Jimmy Creed answered the call.

“That was fabulous, to win a race of this stature at Kentucky Downs with a long time owner like Mike McCarty,” Asmussen said. “Very special. This was our target. This was extremely important to us and we're very proud of this.”

Sharp Aza Tack, trained by Doug O'Neill and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., was the 2-5 favorite after winning both of his career starts in front-running fashion by a combined 9 1/2 lengths. Both of those races – his maiden at Santa Anita and the Tyro Stakes at Monmouth – were at five furlongs.

Sharp Aza Tack broke alertly but conceded the early lead to 50-1 longshot Revere Note and jockey Rene Diaz. He set the early fractions of 22.13 and 46.54 with Sharp Aza Tack looming boldly right to his outside.

When Revere Note retreated, Sharp Aza Tack took over and Private Creed began his challenge. After racing four wide, he moved to the inside of Sharp Aza Tack, who had drifted in the stretch and the two battled it out to the wire. The final time for Private Creed, who was sent off as the 4-1 second choice, was 1:18.19.

“The one horse (Sharp Aza Tack) had so much speed,” Rosario said. “My horse was comfortable, he was happy where he was. He settled nicely going into the turn. For a second, I didn't know, as it took him a little time to get going. He just found another gear.”

Private Creed paid $7.58 to win and earned $310,000. Bred in Kentucky by Sierra Farm, Private Creed was a $155,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale.

“Bought off Mason Springs (at) Timonium,” Asmussen said. “Just a lovely individual, great mind about him. And he has improved in all three of his races.”

Asmussen put blinkers on the colt for the first time.

“I thought the addition of blinkers moved him up,” he said. “He's a horse that Keith, my son, normally gets on and has gotten on him here, so it was quite the family win.

Asmussen said the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at 5 1/2 furlongs and $1 million Juvenile Turf at a mile will be considered for Private Creed.

“In every one of his races, he has settled a little bit better,” Asmussen said. “He had a very good finish today. So, taking him a mile is a possibility.”

This was the first trip to Kentucky Downs for owner McCarty.

“I'm really happy about the present,” McCarty said. “And I hope I get happier about the future.”

Accident and jockey Isaiah Wiseman finished third followed by Bourbon Therapy and Gerardo Corrales and Revere Note.

Racing resumes Saturday with a 12-race card featuring six graded stakes. First post is 11:30 a.m. Central.

The post Private Creed Rallies Past Sharp Aza Tack To Win Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Michael A. Foster's Next romped to an easy victory in the $150,000 Cape Henlopen Stakes at Delaware Park today.

The Cape Henlopen was originally scheduled to be run at the about distance of mile and a half on the grass, but was transferred to the wet fast main track due to the soaking rains in the region on Monday and Tuesday.

With Luan Machado aboard, the 4-year-old son of Not This Time won by 18 1/4-lengths and lowered the track for a mile and a half on the main track to 2:30.25. The previous record was held by Bam who covered the distance at Delaware Park in 2:31 on June 26, 1948.

Next, a Kentucky-bred trained by William D. Cowans returned $8.40 as the third choice in the field of five.

Vance Scholars, with Jorge Ruiz, finished second. It was another 3 3/4-lengths farther back to the 4-to-5 favorite Alex Joon, with Forest Boyce, in third.

“He is an extremely nice and easy horse to ride,” said winning rider Luan Machado. “I thought we could have been on the front, but I did not get the break. He broke good but not as fast as I thought he could be, so I just took a hold on him and let him settle into a nice pace. When I asked him, he responded so quick, fast and easy, it was something. He really exploded in the stretch, but he was just breezing.”

Next raised his career record to five wins from 14 starts with earnings of $360,844. The Cape Henlopen is his second career stake victory. Last year, he won the $150,000 War Chant Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The post Next Lowers Track Record In Off-Turf Cape Henlopen appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post