Saturday’s $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course is shaping up to be a terrific race and perhaps the most important of the summer with a chance to go a long way toward determining this year's champion 3-year-old male.
Tag: Racing
‘Once In A Lifetime Opportunity’: Iowa-Bred Ain’t Life Grand Heads To Travers
The two early season stars of the 2022 Thoroughbred meet at Prairie Meadows, Iowa Derby (listed) winner Ain't Life Grand and two-time juvenile stakes winner Tyler's Tribe, are both scheduled to make their next starts on Saturday, Aug. 27.
For 3-year-old Ain't Life Grand (Not This Time-Cat d'Oro by Medaglia d'Oro), the waters will get much deeper in the G1 $1,250,000 Travers Stakes at Saratoga in New York.
The Iowa Derby winner is expected to face the likes of G1 Kentucky Derby hero Rich Strike, G1 Preakness winner Early Voting, G1 Haskell champion Cyberknife, and G2 Jim Dandy winner Epicenter.
Ain't Life Grand, owned by RPM Thoroughbreds of Prairie Meadows Hall of Famers Peggy and Ray Shattuck and trained by Prairie Meadows Hall of Famer Kelly Von Hemel, takes a two-race winning streak, five lifetime victories in eight starts, and earnings of almost $400,000 into the marquee stakes race of the summer season at Saratoga.
“It's a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Ray Shattuck. “I can't wait to get there. I've got a group of 15 heading with me to Saratoga to cheer him on!”
Von Hemel was on hand at Saratoga on Saturday morning August 20 when Ain't Life Grand got in a final workout one week ahead of the Travers, logging the best drill of 80 runners at four furlongs in 45.88b.
“It was a bit faster than we wanted it to be,” noted Von Hemel. “But the clockers told me the track was very fast and there were a lot of quick workouts on the tab.”
“Tammy Fox, who works a lot of horses for trainer Dale Romans, told me he did it easily and comfortably,” added Von Hemel. “She said he was fantastic and did it all on his own. He came back and he wasn't breathing hard at all.”
Von Hemel reported that jockey Tyler Gaffalione will pick up the mount when Ain't Life Grand makes his New York debut.
Gaffalione replaces Elvin Gonzalez, the Prairie Meadows-based jockey who has ridden Ain't Life Grand in all eight of his lifetime races.
Meanwhile, Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca-Impazible Woman) will continue to test the local juvenile stakes ranks in the 14th running of the $100,000-guaranteed Prairie Meadows Freshman at six furlongs.
The precocious gelding owned by Prairie Meadows Hall of Famer Tom Lepic and trainer Tim Martin is a perfect three-for-three, including a pair of double-digit margin wins, under talented apprentice jockey Kylee Jordan.
“He's doing great!” That was the latest from Lepic. “He's coming into the race as ready as he could be.”
Tyler's Tribe debuted against Iowa-bred maidens on June 20, breaking from the outside post position at 4 ½ furlongs, grabbing an early lead, and going on to win by 16 lengths.
On July 9, the gelding stretched out to 5 ½ furlongs, faced open company for the first time, and again led every step of the way as he won the $122,000 Prairie Gold Juvenile by over eight lengths.
In his most recent start, Tyler's Tribe scored a third straight wire-to-wire tally on July 30 as he won the $94,000 Iowa Stallion Futurity by a dozen lengths.
“He makes it look easy,” said trainer Tim Martin after the race. “He's behaved like a professional since the first day he came to the barn. It looks like the sky's the limit!”
Tyler's Tribe also puts an emotional “back story” in the spotlight as the gelding is named after Lepic's grandson who is battling childhood leukemia.
The Lepic family and friends have had a large contingent representing “Tyler's Tribe” in the winner's circle after each of the gelding's victories.
“Tyler has been such a trooper throughout his illness,” said Lepic. “We wanted to give him some fun and excitement this summer and we couldn't have asked for anything better!”
“You never know how these young horses are going to turn out,” Lepic added. “But I told Tyler I really thought we'd found 'a racehorse' for him and, so far, so good!”
Tyler's Tribe drew the outside post position in a field of six for his first try at six panels. The field for the 2022 running of the Prairie Meadows Freshman, carded as the 9th race on Saturday August 27, will be: 1) Dixiemagic, 2) Echo Canyon, 3) Succession, 4) Runtoday, 5) Mister Sharpie, and 6) Tyler's Tribe.
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Least Experienced In Field, Our Bab Kicks Clear In Randolph Rouse Stakes
Leipers Fork Steeplechasers' Our Bab, the least experienced runner in the field of seven, made a wide sweeping move turning for home and opened up through the lane to score by three lengths in the featured $100,000 Randolph D. Rouse stakes for fillies and mares. For the 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Walk In The Park, it was a monumental start to a career that began just last month with a sixth-place finish in a maiden special weights contest at Colonial Downs.
The 2 1/4-mile race began with Mimi Voss' Bella Coola, ridden by Barry Foley, scooting off to an uncontested seven-length advantage heading up the backside in the first of two loops over the Colonial Downs turf course.
Heading up the backside the second time, Bella Coola maintained her lead as the field began to bunch up. The International Venture's Magical Charm, under Bernie Dalton, who had been stalking in second, inched up to challenge the leader, while Carrington Holdings' Cainudothetwist and Graham Watters made an even bigger move on the inside.
As Bella Coola tired, Magical Charm snatched the lead, but was quickly confronted by Cainyoudothetwist and Our Bab, who revved up on the outside under Tom Garner.
Turning for home it was a two-horse race, with Our Bab on the outside and Cainudothetwist on the inside. Maintaining a slight advantage, Our Bab cut toward the rail with about a sixteenth of a mile to go, and was fully extended to win by about three lengths. Cainudothetwist was clearly second best, with Magical Charm holding for third.
Our Bab's win was the second of the day for both trainer Leslie Young and jockey Tom Garner, who took the opener with Cause For Pardon. For trainer Young, it was her NSA-leading 24th win this season. And for Garner, it was his 11th score of the year.
Cause for Pardon makes it look easy in $35,000 handicap
Ballybristol Farm's 7-year-old son of Creative Cause followed up his maiden score at the Radnor Hunt Races in May with a runaway victory in today's handicap for horses rated at 115 or less at Colonial Downs.
Ridden patiently by Tom Garner for leading trainer Leslie Young, Cause For Pardon sat off the pace for most of the 2 1/4 miles before unleashing a lightening quick move in the field of six entering the stretch on the last loop.
Until that time, Clarke Ohrstrom's Mr. Bridger had pretty much controlled the pace from the drop of the flag, fending off challenges at one time or another from Atlantic Friends Racing's Peat Moss, Sonny Via's Welshman, and Upland Flats Racing's Pleasecallmeback.
Entering the lane for the race to the wire, Mr. Bridger, under Jamie Bargary, still looked strong, but Cause For Pardon mounted a rally on the outside, surging quickly to the lead, and extending that advantage to more than 10 lengths at the wire. Welshman, ridden by Graham Watters, was second, while Mr. Bridger was third.
For Cause For Pardon, it was his fourth top-two finish in four 2022 starts.
The replay of both races can be watched here: https://youtu.be/uj-wVpSBEzg
Full results can be found here: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/racing/
The post Least Experienced In Field, Our Bab Kicks Clear In Randolph Rouse Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
NSA: Monday’s Rouse Stakes At Colonial Draws Eight Entrants
The centerpiece of the summer steeplechase season at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., takes place Monday with the running of the $100,000 Randolph D. Rouse hurdle stakes for fillies and mares at 2 ¼ miles.
The Rouse, named after the legendary Virginia horseman who died in 2016 at age 99, will be the second of two hurdle races on the card, with a 12:50 p.m. post time. The first contest over jumps, a $35,000 handicap also at 2 ¼ miles, for horses rated at 115 or less, has drawn a field of seven. Post time is 12:15 p.m.
Eight horses have been nominated to the Rouse, including a pair of runners from Ashwell Stable LLC, Cup of Aiken and Eponine, both trained by Leslie Young. Cup of Aiken, 4-year-old bred in Pennsylvania by Jonathan Sheppard, makes her fourth start of the year, her lone top-three finish coming in her maiden score at the Carolina Cup Races in the spring. Eponine, a 4-year-old Maryland-bred, made her debut over jumps at Colonial on July 11, finishing a good third of nine to New Appointment in a maiden special weights event.
Young also saddles National Steeplechase Association newcomer Our Bab, an Irish-bred 4-year-old owned by Leipers Fork Steeplechasers. Our Bab made her career debut at Colonial on July 11, finishing sixth in a maiden hurdle after starting strong before tiring.
Trainer Keri Brion has entered a pair, including Paul and Molly Willis' New Appointment and the International Venture's Magical Charm. New Appointment, an Irish-bred, followed up her maiden score with a third, beaten nine lengths, in an open hurdle for horses rated at 115 or less at Colonial on Aug. 8. Magical Charm, lightly raced over hurdles, is a maiden with two third-place finishes.
Carrington Holdings' Cainudothetwist, a 5-year-old New York-bred maiden trained by Arch Kingsley, makes her third start at Colonial this summer, with two fourths. She was also fourth in last year's Rouse.
Mimi Voss' Bella Coola, trained by her daughter, Elizabeth, enters the Rouse off of a strong second to Atlantic Friends Racing's Peat Moss in a 110 handicap at Colonial on July 26. The 5-year-old Maryland-bred broke her maiden at Foxfield last fall.
Eve's City, who races for Beverly Steinman, finished third in the 2021 Rouse. Trained by Doug Fout, the 6-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Temple City is a two-time allowance winner over hurdles. She wasn't a factor against eventual Grade 1 winner Down Royal in the Margaret Currey Henley filly-and-mare stakes at Iroquois in May.
For full entries, click here: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Colonial-August22-WedEntries.pdf. You can watch the races via live stream from the National Steeplechase Association home page, www.nationalsteeplechase.com.
The post NSA: Monday’s Rouse Stakes At Colonial Draws Eight Entrants appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
