Tag: Racing

Bass Racing's Kentucky homebred Annapolis leads a talented field of five in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Saranac, a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the War Front bay made the grade at second asking with a head score in the G2 Pilgrim in October at Belmont Park to close out a 2-for-2 juvenile campaign.

Annapolis finished second in his seasonal debut in the G2 Penn Mile in June, which was contested over exceedingly soft going at Penn National, but returned to winning form one month later with a 2 3/4-length win in the one-mile Manila at Belmont.

The regally-bred colt, out of the Grade 2-winning Unbridled's Song mare My Miss Sophia, closed to finish second to Nations Pride last out on Aug. 6 in the 1 3/16-mile G1 Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational – the second leg of the Caesars Turf Triple series.

Pletcher said he was pleased with the effort from Annapolis, who has breezed back twice over the Oklahoma training turf, including a half-mile in :48.62 on Aug. 26.

“It was a very good race. He just couldn't quite get there but it was a good performance,” Pletcher said. “He breezed back well and seems to be in very good form.”

Pletcher said Annapolis should benefit from the cut back in distance as he maps a route to one-mile turf stakes at Keeneland rather than continuing on in the Turf Triple which concludes with the 12-furlong Grade 3, $1 million Caesars Jockey Club Derby on Sept. 17 at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

“We wanted to back him up a little bit and it's a better distance than the mile and a half at Aqueduct. He's doing well and ready to run,” Pletcher said.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. retains the mount from post 3.

Fuerteventura [post 5, Manny Franco], bred and co-owned by Brereton C. Jones with Robert V. LaPenta, captured the one-mile Jersey Derby on May 29 over firm footing at Monmouth Park to complete a hat trick of victories.

Trained by Jonathan Thomas, the Summer Front bay, a $190,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, graduated at second asking in March in a maiden claimer over the Gulfstream Park turf ahead of an off-the-turf optional-claiming score in April at the Hallandale Beach oval.

He enters from a sixth-place finish in the G3 Marine at 1 1/16-miles on July 2 over the Tapeta at Woodbine Racetrack.

Out of the Smart Strike mare Casanova Striker, Fuerteventura is a half-sibling to stakes-winners Midnight Soiree, Ciguaraya and Silver Time.

Stuart S. Janney III's Kentucky homebred Celestial City [post 1, Javier Castellano] enters from a close third-place finish in the one-mile G2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on Aug. 5, defeated 1 3/4-lengths by the victorious Ready to Purrform and a half-length back of next-out stakes winner Wit.

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said he was pleased with the last out effort from Celestial City, who will add blinkers.

“I hope he moves up a little bit. I thought he ran well last time,” McGaughey said. “He'll run with blinkers on and I think that will help him. We're looking forward to running him.”

The Uncle Mo bay graduated in March at Gulfstream Park and subsequently hit the board in a pair of stakes, including a runner-up effort to Fuerteventura in the Jersey Derby.

The well-bred bay is out of the Malibu Moon mare Lunar Evening, who is a half-sister to Janney's 2012 G1 Donn Handicap winner Hymn Book.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Albert Frassetto's Piqua [post 2, Junior Alvarado] graduated at second asking in July as a first-time gelding traveling 1 1/16-miles over firm turf at Laurel Park for trainer Graham Motion.

The Speightstown chestnut enters from a closing third in a one-mile optional-claiming test on Aug. 13 over firm Spa turf, finishing one-length back of the victorious multiple graded stakes placed Portfolio Company.

The $100,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Pivotal mare Pickaway, who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Silent Name.

Julie Gilbert and Aaron Sones' Ethereal Road [post 4, Luis Saez] made no impact in his turf debut when ninth last out from the outermost post 10 in the G1 Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

The Quality Road bay, a $90,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, contested the Road to the Triple Crown, finishing second in the G2 Rebel in February at Oaklawn Park and fourth in the G3 Lexington in April at Keeneland. He scratched from the G1 Kentucky Derby in May allowing Rich Strike to draw in and make history at odds of 80-1 in the Run for the Roses.

Ethereal Road secured his first stakes victory in May with a 4 3/4-length score in the Sir Barton on the Preakness Stakes undercard at Pimlico. He finished a distant sixth in June in the G3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown ahead of his turf debut.

The Saranac is slated as Race 4 on Saturday's 13-race card, which also features the Grade 2, $600,000 Flower Bowl in Race 10, offering a “Win and You're In” spot in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf; and the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup in Race 11, providing a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic. First post is 12:05 p.m. Eastern. Gates will open at 10:30 a.m.

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Annapolis Cuts Back In Distance For Saturday’s Saranac appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Graded-stakes winners Grand Sonata and Ready to Purrform head an overflow field for Sunday's $750,000 Big Ass Fans Dueling Grounds Derby on the third day of racing at the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs. The 1 5/16-mile turf race will be run as a Grade 3 stakes for the first time.

Churchill Downs' Grade 2 Edgewood winner New Year's Eve, a good third in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks in her last start, and Turnerloose, a stakes-winner on turf and dirt, headline the co-featured $500,000 Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks on the 11-race card. Also in the Dueling Grounds Oaks is California Angel, who won her debut at Kentucky Downs last year and went on to take Keeneland's Grade 2 Jessamine.

First post Sunday is 12:25 p.m. Central, with the DG Oaks carded as the ninth race (4:57 p.m. CT approximate post) and the DG Derby the 10th (5:31 p.m. CT).

Trainer Todd Pletcher will try to win the Dueling Grounds Derby for the third time with Whisper Hill Farm's Grand Sonata, winner of the Grade 3 Kitten's Joy and another turf stakes at Gulfstream Park over the winter. While he didn't fare well in his last start in the Saratoga Derby (G1), Grand Sonata finished fourth – losing by a total of a length at 32-1 odds — in the Belmont Derby (G1) the race before.

Donegal Racing's Ready to Purrform, trained by Brad Cox, comes into the Dueling Grounds Derby off victory in Saratoga's Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes.

Others in the overflow field of fourteen 3-year-olds: Churchill Downs' Audubon winner Kitodan; stakes-placed Double Clutch, a competitive fifth in the Hall of Fame; Running Bee, winner of a 1 3/16-mile maiden race at Saratoga in his last start; Texas Turf Mile winner Red Run, who was fourth in last year's Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile; Dripping Gold, coming out of a narrow allowance defeat at 1 3/16 miles at Saratoga; stakes-placed Speaking Scout; Mountaineer Park allowance winner Russian Tank; and maiden winners Tallahatchiebridge (owned by Kentucky Downs' all-time win leader Ken Ramsey and Sarah Ramsey Stable), Always Above and Mount Rundle.

Western River, winner of a 1 1/2-mile Churchill Downs allowance on dirt, and Camp David, an Indiana allowance winner on dirt, need defections by 9 a.m. CT Sunday to run.

The 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Oaks attracted the capacity field of 12 in the body of the race, with the maximum four more horses on the also-eligible list needing scratches by 9 a.m. Sunday to compete. Two other entries were excluded and did not make the overnight sheet when entries were taken and post positions drawn Tuesday.

The Cox-trained Turnerloose won last year's Exacta Systems Juvenile Fillies by five lengths, then finished third as the heavy favorite in Keeneland's Jessamine. She started her 3-year-old season on dirt in New Orleans' prep series for the Kentucky Oaks, winning the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra and finishing fourth in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) before taking seventh in the Kentucky Oaks. Back on turf after a freshener, Turnerloose was a close and fast-flying second in Ellis Park's Centennial Turf Distaff against older fillies and mares in a change of plans after Churchill Downs canceled a scheduled turf stakes.

New Year's Eve, trained by Brendan Walsh, was a good third in the Saratoga Oaks (G3) two races after taking the Edgewood. The George Leonard-trained California Angel competes for the first time since she was second in the March 12 Black Cat Lacombe Memorial at the Fair Grounds.

Others: Canterbury Park's Curtis Sampson Oaks winner Schlofmitz, Ken and Sarah Ramsey Stable's Beechnut Trophy (a daughter of the Ramseys' Kentucky Downs stakes-winner Real Solution); Indiana Oaks (G3) third-place finisher Silverleaf; Woodbine's Colleen (G2) runner-up Vergara; Indiana's Horseshoe Indianapolis Stakes winner Heavenly Hellos; Woodbine's Selene (G3) runner-up Catiche; Alcibiades (G1) runner-up Sequist; and Grade 2 stakes-placed Skims. Allowance winners Fancy Martini, Princess Pauline and Therearenorules, along with maiden-winner She's Gone are on the also-eligible list.

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CSLR Ranch Partners' Awesome Strong has been so awesome and so strong in his two career starts that the undefeated son of Awesome Slew has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday's $200,000 Affirmed at Gulfstream Park.

The Affirmed, the seven-furlong second leg of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series, will co-headline Saturday's program with the $200,000 Susan's Girl, a seven-furlong sprint for fillies in the lucrative series for 2-year-old offspring of accredited stallions standing in Florida.

“He's been impressive. He surprises me every day with his training. He is a very smart horse,” trainer Jorge Delgado said. “He's ready for a race. It's hard for me to keep him settled because he wants to do so much every day. Thank God, we don't have any more breezes before the race. My job is just to keep him happy.”

Awesome Strong offered an attention-grabbing debut May 6 at Gulfstream Park, breaking free of traffic on the turn to score going away by six lengths, completing 4 ½ furlongs in a swift 51.62 seconds. CSLR Ranch Partners' Bill Childs and son Alex Childs were so impressed with the performance that they proceeded to purchase him for $500,000, agreeing to the steep price tag knowing that the son of Awesome Slew was eligible for the lucrative FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series.

They were hardly stricken by buyer's remorse when Awesome Strong came back to dominate Florida-sired rivals Aug. 5 in the $100,000 Dr. Fager at Gulfstream. Away from the gate alertly, he set a solid pace along the backstretch and far turn before drawing clear in the stretch by 4 ¾ lengths under returning rider Miguel Vasquez in the six-furlong first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes. Although it was his first start for his new owners, it was his second start for trainer Jorge Delgado.

“The owners were new in the game. They didn't know many people in the game, so they said, 'Let's just call the trainer who trained the horse and see if he wants to train the horse.' I said, 'Of course, I want to train the horse,'” Delgado recalled. “I was very sad when the owners sold the horse but very happy when the new owners said I was going to keep training the horse.”

Awesome Strong didn't exactly take Delgado by surprise with the sensational start of his career.

“My exercise riders who have been with me from the beginning loved him. They said, 'He's smart. He's very professional in his training,” Delgado said. “Every time he breezed, he showed a lot of talent, so the first time he ran, we were expecting big things out of him.”

Vasquez, Gulfstream's leading rider who has been aboard for both victories, has the return mount aboard Awesome Strong.

Arindel's Turbo, who finished a clear second behind Awesome Strong in the Dr. Fager, is scheduled to return in the Affirmed. The son of Brethren had previously captured his June 19 debut by 2 ¾ lengths over a next-out winner.

Arindel will also be represented by Maximo, another homebred son of Brethren who graduated by 10 ½ lengths in a two-turn race on Tapeta.

Edwin Gonzalez has the call on Turbo, whom he rode in his debut victory, while Emisael Jaramillo is scheduled to ride Maximo.

Stonehedge LLC's This Run's for You will seek to rebound from an off-the-board finish as the favorite in the Dr. Fager. The Kathleen O'Connell trainee attended the pace into the stretch before fading to seventh in the first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes just 11 days after producing a brilliant debut performance. The gelded son of Khozan scored a front-running 11-length victory in a six-furlong maiden special weight race for state-breds.

Edgar Perez will return aboard the Stonehedge LLC homebred.

Gary Barber and D J Stable LLC's Bouncer, a son of Adios Charlie who was purchased for $190,000 in June at the OBS horses of racing age sale, enters the Affirmed off an impressive debut victory Aug. 20. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Bouncer rated off the pace before making a three-wide sweep into the stretch and edging away to a one-length victory in the 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight race for Florida-breds.

Sonny Leon has the return call.

Magic Cap Stables' Apocalypso is also scheduled to make his stakes debut in his second start Saturday. The son of red-hot freshman sire Girvin debuted in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight race for Florida-breds, in which he raced four-wide before taking the lead on the turn into the homestretch and resisting late pressure to prevail by a neck.

Edgard Zayas will be back aboard the Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained colt.

William Churly and Shadowbrook Farm Inc.'s Cajun Hope will be a popular upset pick for many trip handicappers after performing gamely in the face of adversity in his last three starts. The Michael Yates-trained son of Cajun Breeze most recently hit the gate at the start of the Dr. Fager and raced extremely wide but ran gamely in the stretch to get up for a third-place finish behind Awesome Strong and Turbo.

Marcos Meneses has the return mount board Cajun Hope, who previously graduated in a six-furlong open maiden special weight race despite bobbling at the start.

Champion Equine LLC's Commandant will attempt to rebound from sixth-place finish in the Dr. Fager that followed an impressive debut victory in which the son of Girvin surged in the stretch to prevail over Cajun Hope after racing eight-wide into the stretch.

Luca Panici has the mount on the David Braddy trainee, who was purchased for $300,000 at the OBS April sale.

Corinne and William Heiligbrodt's Undalay, Robyn Kaiser's Ensign Skip and Granpollo Stable's Gran Slash round out the field.

The Affirmed will be followed Oct. 1 by the $400,000 In Reality.

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