Tag: Racing

The Phil D'Amato barn has been hitting on all cylinders this summer at Del Mar and he plans to bring the same cast of horses that dominated the G2 San Clemente last month to the G1 Del Mar Oaks Saturday.

Benowitz Family Trust, et al's Bellabel, Michael House's Sixteen Arches and R Unicorn Stable's Island of Love crossed the finish line one, two, three in the San Clemente and D'Amato says Bellabel appears to have improved since that race.

“Just the ease at which she does everything,” D'Amato says. “She just does things so effortlessly, especially in the last two grass works. Just displays her turn of foot on cue rather than having to niggle on her and ask her. She's just much more push button.”

Sixteen Arches was runner-up to Bellabel in the San Clemente.

“She's another filly that's on the improve,” D'Amato says. “She finally got a nice clean trip the other day, came running late and I expect a similar race from her.”

D'Amato says it wouldn't surprise him if Island of Love steals the Oaks on Saturday.

“She's just ultra consistent,” D'Amato says. “She's a filly that can strike at any time.”

For good measure, D'Amato is running a fourth filly, Rockingham Ranch or Talla Racing's Rhea Moon who, like her three stablemates, is also an Irish-bred. She's coming off of a third-place finish in an entry level allowance at Del Mar on opening weekend.

Having four horses in the same race will keep any trainer on his toes and D'Amato remembers the advice given to him by a Hall of Fame trainer several years ago.

“When I first started training, I asked Richard Mandella about this,” D'Amato said. “How do you handle multiple horses in one particular race? And he told me 'You tell your owners, if you're not training the horse, someone else is and it's going to be in the race, too. So you just treat them all as individuals and bring them to the race to the best of your ability and may the best horse win.'”

While it appears D'Amato has his bases covered in the Del Mar Oaks, there are challengers that could keep him out of the winner's circle beginning with the shipper and favorite, Gainesway Thoroughbreds' Spendarella. She has won three of her four career starts and comes off of an impressive runner up finish in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. Trainer H. Graham Motion has brought her across the country for this one.

There's also Schroeder Farms or David Bernsen's Cairo Memories, who won back-to-back Grade 3 races at Santa Anita before shipping back east and running fifth in the G1 Belmont Oaks at Belmont Park.

“It's a deep and competitive field,” trainer Bob Hess, Jr. says, “but we have a good post and she loves the distance, loves the surface here so I'm expecting a top effort.”

Tina and Jerome Moss' Lady T ran fourth behind the D'Amato trio in the San Clemente but before that she broke her maiden by 14 lengths followed by a runner up finish in the G2 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita. Trainer John Shirreffs thinks with a good trip, she could pull off the upset.

“We like the post position that we got (post #13),” Shirreffs says. “Hopefully she can get a nice stalking position.”

Shirreffs says he throws out the effort in the San Clemente.

“She never got to relax,” Shirreffs says. “She was pressured the whole way. Usually she runs her best if she just lays a little off of it and gets comfortable.”

A full field of 14 is expected for the 1 1/8 mile turf race. It goes as race eight on the 10-card program.

Here's the field from the rail out with jockeys and morning line odds. Rhea Moon (Ramon Vasquez, 30-1); Bellabel (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Island of Love (Juan Hernandez, 12-1); Lucky Girl (Ryan Curatolo, 30-1); Cairo Memories (Mike Smith, 3-1); Tezzaray (Hector Berrios, 20-1); Sixteen Arches (Abel Cedillo, 12-1); Gracelund Gray (Joe Bravo, 15-1); Txope (Florent Geroux, 5-1); Gold Dragon Queen (Armando Ayuso, 50-1); Spendarella (Tyler Gaffalione, 8/5); Ballet Dancing (Drayden Van Dyke, 20-1); Lady T (Victor Espinoza, 20-1), and Lady Clementine (Mario Gutierrez, 30-1).

The post Phil D’Amato Stacks The Deck For ‘Deep And Competitive’ Del Mar Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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RED TR-Racing's Rich Strike breezed five-eighths in 59.82 seconds Friday over the main track under exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes in preparation for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Eric Reed, the Keen Ice chestnut arrived at Saratoga on Sunday afternoon.

“He worked really good. He worked faster than we thought he would, but he did it easily,” Reed said. “I think my question on him liking the track was answered this morning. He came home well. It is probably as good as he worked, even since before he did going into the [Kentucky] Derby. He was supposed to go :49 or :50. He did it all on his own. He was galloping over the track.”

Rich Strike was claimed for $30,000 out of a maiden claiming score in September at Churchill Downs and found his best form at Turfway Park, finishing third in the Leonatus in January, fourth in the John Battaglia Memorial in March, and third in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks in April to land on the precipice of the Kentucky Derby field.

When Ethereal Road scratched from the Kentucky Derby, Rich Strike drew in and shocked the world with an 80-1 upset victory from the outermost post 20, besting Travers rivals Epicenter and Zandon, who finished second and third, respectively.

Rich Strike skipped the Grade 1 Preakness in favor of the 12-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 11, finishing a distant sixth in a key race that runner-up Nest exited to win the Grade 1 CCA Oaks at Saratoga and third-place finisher Skippylongstocking departed to win the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby.

Reed said Rich Strike has settled in well to his new surroundings at Saratoga.

“Everything is in good shape. All we have to do is do some paddock schooling and keep him happy and healthy,” Reed said. “He'll go to the paddock Sunday morning after he gallops. He will walk through it on Monday. Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, we'll plan on taking him there in the afternoon.”

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, Rich Strike is out of the graded stakes winning Smart Strike mare Gold Strike, who was named Canada's Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2005.

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Despite Vedareo's disappointing and trouble-filled effort in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga in her last start on July 14, trainer Butch Reid remains as confident as ever that the 2-year-old filly will be able to follow in the footsteps of her champion half-sister Vequist.

Vedareo, like Vequist, is out of the mare Vero Amore. And, like her half-sister, she has talent and speed aplenty.

The road toward approaching her elder sibling's accomplishments – Vequist won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 2020 and posted two Grade 1 wins among her five career starts for Reid – will begin anew in Sunday's $200,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park. The 67th edition of the Sorority, at a mile for freshman fillies, has attracted a field of eight.

“She's a very fast filly and she showed talent from day one,” said Reid. “She has the pedigree for it. We trained her big sister to a championship. We're hoping for the same for her little sister.”

After winning at first asking on Jun 14 at Parx, Vedareo was fifth in the Schuylerville – with plenty of excuses. She will be trying to go beyond six furlongs for the first time in her career in the Sorority.

“She stumbled really badly coming out of the gate in the Schuylerville and that really put her out of position,” said Reid. “She got flustered too. It knocked her off her game.

“At the beginning of the Saratoga meet the track was very deep. I don't think she got enough out of her training down here to transfer it there. She got up there and it was a deep track and she wasn't ready for it and didn't handle it well at all.”

A Swican Stables homebred, the Kentucky-bred Vedareo is by Daredevil (Vequist was by Nyquist). Reid is expecting a big bounce back on Sunday, with Parx regular Frankie Pennington coming in for the ride.

“We wouldn't be showing up if we didn't expect a big race from her,” said Reid. “We still have high expectations for her. We wanted to try her long just like her sister, so the Sorority fit perfectly into her schedule.”

The Sorority field features four unbeaten horses, including the Norm Casse-trained Devious Dame, who is 2-for-2 lifetime,

“There are some good-looking horses in this race, which you would expect for $200,000,” said Reid. “This is when they start separating themselves. Hopefully we'll fit in with that group.”

The post Reid Has High Hopes For Vequist’s Half-Sister Vedareo In Sorority Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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In horse racing it's always a thrill when the girls take on the boys, and lately the fillies who have competed in the Queen's Plate have been very successful.

Six Queen's Plate winners this century have been fillies, a trend that has accelerated in recent years, with four of the last 11 Plate winners being female. In the 163rd Queen's Plate, Moira, the 5-2 morning-line choice, will look to add her name to this list of accomplished ladies.

Moira is trained by prominent Woodbine conditioner Kevin Attard and arrives at the Plate on the heels of a 10 ¾-length romp in the Woodbine Oaks. The result solidified the connections' decision to run her against the boys on Aug. 21.

“Typically, when you win the Oaks, depending on how impressive they are doing it, you always have to think of the Queen's Plate,” said Attard. “It's something we have always had in the back of our minds, and we geared her campaign so the Plate would be her third race of the season and she'd be fresh.”

Five of the six fillies who have won the Plate since 2000, have also won the Woodbine Oaks. The only one who didn't was Wonder Gadot, who finished second by a head after breaking awkwardly from the gate.

One thing Moira will have in common with her male counterparts in the Plate is that it will be her first time stretching out the classic distance of 10 furlongs. Considering how the filly looked coming down the stretch in the Oaks, that extra furlong shouldn't be an issue.

“I don't see the distance being a problem for her,” offered Attard. “I think she has a great running style for this type of race. She is very tactical. We are getting five pounds less than the boys and she's bred to handle the distance and runs like she can handle the distance.”

Her sire Ghostzapper won the Breeders' Cup Classic, and three other times at a mile or more, and her dam Devine Aida was graded stakes placed at over a mile.

So, Moira – owned by X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and SF Racing LLC – comes in on form and has the pedigree to give the boys a run for their money, $1 million to be exact.

But it's a horse race and a lot must go right to find the winner's circle. A fact Attard is familiar with, as the winner of over 600 races is still seeking his first Queen's Plate crown.

“It's a very difficult race to win. There's always a big, competitive field, and this year is the same,” said Attard. “It's eluded a lot of big-time Canadian trainers but we're fortunate enough to have a good filly that is going to be participating in it, and I am very excited. It's a race I covet and really want to win.”

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