Tag: Racing

In his six previous wins in the United States, Golden Pal led at every call, but in Friday's Grade 3, $300,000 Troy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the 4-year-old Uncle Mo colt had to really work to put his nose in front of Irish-bred True Valour in the final yards.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., the Wesley Ward-trained Golden Pal hit the wire a head in front of True Valour and Feargal Lynch, stopping the timer in 1:00.92 for 5 1/2 furlongs on firm turf. He paid $2.60 to win while recording his seventh career victory from 10 starts. The two-time Breeders' Cup winner (G2 Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2020 and G1 Turf Sprint in 2021) races for Westerberg Ltd., Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith. He's likely headed to another try in this year's Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.

Larry Johnson's True Valour, trained by Graham Motion, led every step until the last one, recording fractions of :21.93 for the opening quarter mile, :44.25 for the half and :55.20 for five furlongs. The 8-year-old by Kodiac is a well-traveled stakes veteran who came into the race with seven wins from 33 starts, including a Group III triumph in Ireland two graded stakes at Santa Anita (the G2 City of Hope Mile and G3 Thunder Road) in 2019.

Thin White Duke flew late from last under Jose Ortiz to finish just a neck behind the top pair in third, with Arzak also closing fast to be fourth, another half length further back. Yes and Yes, Spycraft and Carotari completed the order of finish.

Golden Pal, coming off a disastrous 16th-place finish in the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot when Ortiz wasn't prepared for the start, broke a step slow again in the Troy. He sat third off True Valour and Carotari and made a three-wide move toward the lead rounding into the stretch.

Carotari backed out at the top of the lane and Ortiz allowed Golden Pal to drift toward the rail to tighten things up on True Valour as the two raced through the stretch. Ortiz slapped Golden Pal a couple times with his crop, then showed it to him the rest of the way while aggressively hand-riding the colt to the wire. True Valour was game under left-hand pressure from Lynch but just failed to last.

G3 Troy Quotes

Wesley Ward, winning trainer of Golden Pal (No. 5, $2.60*): “He's got a brilliant mind this horse and takes everything in, but he knew it was race day. The plan was, unless he broke super sharp, that I'd like him to come from behind. Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] worked him from behind the last few times, so he knew he could do it. Julio Garcia, our main rider at home, works him from behind every week. I'm glad he showed a little versatility today. When you get to the Breeders' Cup there's so many fast horses – 14 of them in the race – and you just want to be able to be tactical and not have to be in front. I think we showed that today.

“I'm glad Irad gave him a couple of reminders on the shoulder and got him going the last little part. Right after the race he gave him a little pet and a tap and he said there was a lot more left in him.

“You're always concerned [about the close finish], but I have a of confidence in this horse. He's certainly the best horse I've ever had. Every time you lead him over he proves more and more what a joy [it is] to be around a special horse like this. It would make every single trainer get up in the morning. He's a once in a lifetime horse and I've been blessed to have a few of them, but this guy is certainly the best.

“With how he breaks so fast it's tough to make a plan, but he [Irad Ortiz, Jr.] said his first step away from there he kind of stumbled and he took advantage of that. We got to the outside. A lot of times you stumble and you get behind horses and stuck in a trap and then you're in trouble. But we were fortunate when that happened we drew an outside post like that and there was nothing in front of him.”

On a potential dirt start in the six-furlong Grade 2 Phoenix on October 7 at Keeneland: “We'll talk it over with everyone involved in the ownership of the horse and see which direction they want to go, but it's important to them to show what the horse can do on the dirt as well.

“Through all these issues he's had throughout his career – minor issues – I've kept him on the grass to keep him sound, but he's never been as sound as he is now. It would be a good time to try him and it would be a good time to try him on his home track.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr., winning jockey aboard Golden Pal (No. 5): “He moved a step right when they opened the gates. When they opened the gate he was moving at the same time and they outbreak me. They were in front of me and that's not his style. He's always in front of everyone the first couple of jumps. We've been working covered up in behind horses, that was how Wesley wanted me to work the horse, and today when that happened I wasn't afraid to take a hold or drop in and sit and wait because I was working with the horse.

“I'd worked him twice and it was no problem in the morning. He relaxed well and he finished good, so I wasn't afraid. Thankfully, Wesley let me work the horse and know him a little more. I've never worked him too much but the last couple weeks I've been working with him.

“Wesley is the one who told me, 'I want to take back' but I said, 'Wesley we can't,' but today was the day. It worked out good. He's pretty fast out of there; probably the fastest horse I ride on the turf in my whole career. He's so fast. He just moved to the right when they opened the gates so I had to go to plan B.

“Last time didn't work out, honestly, he missed the break. I was a little aggressive and he stopped bad, so we didn't want the same thing to happen. Wesley let me do whatever, he didn't say instructions or anything. I love riding for him. I felt somebody was coming [No. 7, Thin White Duke], but my horse was fighting with the other horse [No. 6, True Valour] but my horse was responding well, so I know he's going to be there if I ask him too.”

Feargal Lynch, jockey aboard runner-up True Valour (No. 6): “He got the lead. I was expecting Golden Pal to go, but when I saw I cleared him out of the gate I wasn't going to disappoint the horse in his grind. He got it very easy in front and when we kicked I thought we'd won it. For an 8-year-old, we're two old men in the twilight of our career and we're just enjoying it.”

David Donk, trainer of third-place Thin White Duke [No. 7] and fifth-place Yes and Yes [No. 2]: “He [Thin White Duke] ran huge. It was a big effort. That's what he wants to do, is sprint on the grass.”

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Donegal Racing's Ready To Purrform and jockey Joel Rosario led all the way in Friday's Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga, defeating what his trainer Brad Cox called a “good group of horses” by 1 1/4 lengths at the wire. Sent off as the co-second choice at odds of 7-2, the sophomore son of Kitten's Joy ran out fractions of :23.66, :47.17, and 1:10.72, completing one mile over the firm inner turf course in 1:33.99.

“He showed up and put them away turning for home and he really ran well,” Cox said. “It didn't look like there was much speed on paper. It looked like the one [No. 1 Chanceux] would go and maybe we could track that colt, but he didn't get away quite as well as we did. Joel [Rosario] did take this colt away and let him warm up a bit because that was the intent on being forwardly placed with the lack of speed on paper. Overall, I'm very proud of the performance. I thought it was a big race.”

Bred in Kentucky by Bonne Chance Farm, Ready To Purrform was a $150,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September sale. He is out of the winning More Than Ready mare Elementar, a half-sister to Sovereign Award winner Grand Adventure. Ready to Purrform won the Laurel Futurity last fall just after breaking his maiden, and has not finished off the board in three stakes starts this year.

Trying turf for the first time in his career, Todd Pletcher trainee Wit ran on well to finish second, closing from sixth with a four-wide run under Jose Ortiz.

“I thought he [Wit] ran really well,” Pletcher said. “He closed super-fast, we just didn't get it. He handled it [turf] really well, just closed too late and had a little too much to do turning for home.”

Celestial City got up for third, while post-time favorite Tiz The Bomb finished fourth. The remaining order of finish was: Double Clutch, Wow Whata Summer, Stolen Base, and Chanceux.

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Bruce Lunsford's Kentucky homebred Art Collector returned from a five-month layoff in style, garnering a 101 Beyer Speed Figure while defending his title in the $135,000 Alydar at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 5-year-old Bernardini horse entered the restricted nine-furlong test for older horses from an off-the-board effort over a tiring track in the Group 1 Saudi Cup on February 26 at King Abdulaziz Race Course.

Luis Saez guided Art Collector to the point from post 4 and maintained a moderate tempo through three-quarters in 1:13.77 with Masqueparade on his flank. Art Collector was travelling comfortably through the turn and opened up a 2 1/2-length advantage at the stretch call, finding the wire in hand for a two-length score in a final time of 1:51.84.

Mott said he was pleased with the return to form by Art Collector, who ended his 2021 campaign with a sixth-place effort in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.

“The last two weren't his best races, so it was nice to see him come back,” Mott said. “He looked great this morning.”

Art Collector will now look for another title defense on August 26 in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic, a race he won last year by 1 1/2-lengths with a prominent effort.

“We'll go to Charles Town next,” Mott said. “One race at a time. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods' Olympiad brings a five-race win streak – the last four in graded events – into Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Whitney, a nine-furlong test for older horses offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 4-year-old Speightstown colt will square off against Life Is Good, last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile champ, for the first time. Olympiad has tracked in second and drew off in each of last five wins and Mott said he is looking forward to the challenge on Saturday.

“Every race and every situation is new and different. You can never compare two races – they're never identical. That's the interesting thing about horse racing,” Mott said. “We're facing a horse called Life Is Good which is a good horse. He's accomplished and very fast, we know that. It's a matter of who is going to be the best when they come down to the wire.”

The Mott-trained Speaker's Corner, winner of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in April at Aqueduct Racetrack, finished second to Life Is Good last out in the Grade 2 John A. Nerud in July at Belmont on the heels of a third-place finish to the undefeated Flightline in the Grade 1 Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap in June.

Mott said he is relishing a chance to see Olympiad take on some of the top older horses in the country on Saturday, including Life Is Good and Grade 1-winner Hot Rod Charlie. Saturday's challenge will mark Olympiad's second foray in a Grade 1 following his fourth-place finish to Whitney-rival Americanrevolution in the Cigar Mile Handicap in December at the Big A.

“You never know how good you are until you try the best, so I guess it's time to step up to the plate. He's 5-for-5 this year and we've got to take them on,” Mott said. “Everybody is talking about Life Is Good and Flightline and they're great horses, but the only way we can reverse that conversation and get included in that conversation is by running against them.”

Olympiad will exit post 4 in the Whitney under regular pilot Junior Alvarado.

Mott will saddle George Krikorian's War Like Goddess and Juddmonte Farm's British homebred Petricor in Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls, a 12-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares.

War Like Goddess, a 5-year-old English Channel mare, was a decisive winner of this event last year with a trademark last-to-first brush. She attended closer to the pace last out in the 12-furlong Grade 3 Bewitch on April 29 at Keeneland in which Breeze Rider loped through splits of 53.77 and 1:19.88 before Joel Rosario gave War Like Goddess her cue and split rivals at the eighth pole en route to a 1 3/4-length score.

“She's fast. When she turns it on turning for home she's got a good turn of foot and that's what it takes to be a good turf horse,” Mott said. “You have to be able to sprint for three-sixteenths of a mile or a quarter of a mile and she's shown the ability to do that. An honest pace will always help but she's adapted. Keeneland was probably the slowest pace I've ever seen in a graded stakes race and she was able to overcome that.”

Petricor launched her career in France with trainer Andre Fabre, graduating in her August 2020 debut at Deauville before running a close second in the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux in April 2021 at Longchamp. She made a winning debut for Mott in April traveling 1 1/16-miles in a Keeneland allowance but was off-the-board in her most recent two starts, while traveling well late on.

“We've tried to run her at shorter distances which hasn't worked out, and I think we just felt it was time to try her at this distance and see where she fits in,” Mott said. “She's a nice filly and she should be a contender in the race.”

Petricor, a 4-year-old daughter of Frankel, is out of the Dansili mare Ruscombe, who is a half-sister to Brian Boru, who won the 2003 Group 1 St. Leger at Doncaster; and Sea Moon, a multiple Group 2 winner.

War Like Goddess will leave post 6 in rein to Rosario, while Jose Ortiz picks up the mount on Petricor from post 3.

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed, winner of the Grade 1 Jaipur last out on June 11 at Belmont, will breeze Sunday over the Oklahoma training turf in preparation for his third attempt in the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave on August 13 which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Mile in November at Keeneland. The 6-year-old Jimmy Creed bay finished third in both 2020-21.

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Whisper Hill Farm's homebred Charge It took another step forward for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers with a half-mile breeze Friday at Saratoga Race Course.

The graded stakes-winning son of Tapit was amongst the first horses to greet the Saratoga main track and completed his four-furlong move in 48.77 seconds under exercise rider Hector Ramos.

The work was Charge It's second serious work since an emphatic 23-length romp in the Grade 3 Dwyer on July 2 over a fast main track at Belmont Park for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

“He went really well, five-eighths by himself in 1:01 and change. He had a super strong gallop out, pulled up the mile in 1:42,” Pletcher said. “Essentially, we're trying to follow the same program we did leading up to the Dwyer and he seems to be doing everything the right way.”

A distant 17th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby two starts back, Charge It will stretch back out to two turns for the August 27 Runhappy Travers, where he will likely face as many as four Kentucky Derby alumni. Prior to the Run for the Roses, he was a game second to White Abarrio in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in April at Gulfstream Park.

“He gives me every impression that two turns and a mile and a quarter is right within his wheelhouse,” Pletcher said.

Hailing from the influential bloodlines of 2014 Broodmare of the Year Take Charge Lady, who was a Grade 1-winner in her own right, Charge It is out of the Indian Charlie mare I'll Take Charge – a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Take Charge Indy and champion Will Take Charge. Other prominent members of the family include 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, multiple Grade 1-winner Omaha Beach and Grade 1-winning mare As Time Goes By.

Later that morning, Pletcher sent Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House's Nest to work in company with Shadwell Stables' Malathaat for a half-mile breeze at 8:45 a.m.

Piloted by exercise rider Amelia Green, Nest worked to the outside of the John Velazquez-piloted Malathaat, completing a half-mile work in 49.78 seconds over the main track.

The move was Nest's first breeze since capturing the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 23 at the Spa.

Nest, a dual Grade 1 winner who captured the Ashland at Keeneland before finishing second in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, is on target for the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama on August 20 at Saratoga. But Pletcher said the current leader of the sophomore filly division is still possible for the Runhappy Travers.

“She worked well this morning and we're targeting the Alabama at the moment,” Pletcher said. “We haven't ruled anything out yet but right now we're leaning towards the Alabama.”

Through a productive 8-5-2-1 record, Nest has amassed earnings of $1,405,550. She is a full-sister to Idol, a Grade 1-winner going ten furlongs, and a half to Lost Ark, a juvenile who won his debut by 5 1/2 lengths last month at Belmont.

Malathaat, winner of last year's Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks and the reigning Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, finished second last out in the Grade 2 Shuvee on July 24 at Saratoga.

Pletcher added that no decision has been made yet regarding Grade 1 winner Americanrevolution, who is one of three Pletcher-trained entrants in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Whitney. The connections indicated that the son of Constitution could scratch out of the race depending on weather.

“We won't decide until tomorrow. We'll just see what the weather does with the track conditions,” Pletcher said.

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