Tag: Racing

In three of his five starts dating back to his debut in February, We the People was more than good. He not only won the three races, but the combined winning margin was 21 lengths.

We the People is one of seven 3-year-olds entered in Saturday's $500,000, Grade 3 West Virginia Derby Aug. 6 at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort and is listed as the 2-1 favorite in the morning line in what appears on paper to be a contentious event.

The colt by Constitution made his first two starts in Arkansas at Oaklawn Park where he broke his maiden by 5 3/4 lengths at one mile and followed up with a five-length score in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race. In May at Belmont Park, he led all the way in the one-turn G3 Peter Pan Stakes at the West Virginia Derby distance of 1 1/8 miles and gradually drew away to a 10 ¼-length victory.

His only losses came in two Grade 1 stakes—the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby and the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes, in which he finished fourth after leading for roughly 1 ¼ miles. The second-place finisher in the Belmont, the filly Nest, was second in the G1 Kentucky Oaks and after the Belmont captured the G1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Rodolphe Brisset, We the People is owned by WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH and Siena Farm. WinStar in Central Kentucky stands his sire and has a private training center where We the People has registered four workouts in July heading up to the West Virginia Derby.

“He is doing very well, and his works have been good, too,” Brisset said while on his way to Mountaineer Aug. 5. “We like the timing (of the West Virginia Derby) and we're hoping for a good effort. He also has a good draw (post position 6 in a field of seven), so we just pray everything goes well.”

There are six other stakes on the Saturday program at Mountaineer that gets underway at the special first post time of 2 p.m. The $75,000 West Virginia Legislature Chairman's Cup, a popular race for local connections given its distance of 4 ½ furlongs, has attracted Storm Boarder, a 6-year-old Chilean-bred gelding who is undefeated in four starts at Mountaineer.

Claimed by trainer Kevin Patterson for owner Robert Cole Jr. for $15,000 in March 2021, Storm Boarder won seven consecutive races for his new connections off the claim before a second-place finish on the turf in Maryland in May of this year. Four of the wins during the streak came at Mountaineer at distances from 4 ½ furlongs to 5 ½ furlongs; Charle Oliveros, who was aboard for all the local victories, is named to ride.

Storm Boarder is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line behind even-money favorite Hollis, who led late and just missed by a head in last year's Chairman's Cup for owners WSS Racing and 4G Racing and trainer John Ortiz. Hollis, a 7-year-old Street Sense gelding based in Kentucky, has won 11 of 27 starts and is a multiple stakes winner.

The post We The People Impressing Brisset Ahead Of West Virginia Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Walkathon, a Kentucky homebred for Whitham Thoroughbreds, brings a three-race win streak into Sunday's Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational, a 1 3/16-mile test for sophomore fillies over the Mellon turf at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, Walkathon didn't quite hit the ground running in her first four career outings, which were all contested over dirt. But the daughter of Twirling Candy displayed a strong turnaround in form when trying turf for the first time in her April 22 graduation at Keeneland.

Walkathon maintained her winning form on turf with a victory against winners on May 14 at Churchill Downs before taking the Grade 3 Regret three weeks later at the Louisville oval, recording a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure while besting McKulick, who exited that effort to win the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational.

“I freshened her up a little bit because she ran three times in six weeks,” Wilkes said. “She's found a home there on the grass. She's got a good way over the grass. She's not a big filly, but she strides long. That filly came back and won the Belmont Oaks and looked good in doing it. She's a nice filly and she's in pretty good form as well.”

Walkathon is the first offspring out of the graded-stakes winning Stroll mare Walkabout, who did all of her running over the main track.

“Two different types of horses,” Wilkes said. “This filly is like the Energizer bunny. She has a high motor and just keeps on keeping on.”

Walkathon's fourth dam is Hall of Famer Bayakoa, who was campaigned by the Whitham family to a dozen North American Grade 1 victories.

“The breeding operation and what the Whitham family has done is tremendous,” Wilkes said. “They only have about 8-to-10 broodmares but the quality of racehorses they keep producing is unbelievable.”

Breaking from post 4, Walkathon will be reunited with regular rider Julien Leparoux, who won the inaugural Saratoga Oaks in 2019 aboard Concrete Rose.

Klaravich Stables' McKulick displayed her presumptive capability of excelling at longer distances when taking the 10-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational on July 9, the first leg of the Caesars Turf Triple series for fillies.

The Chad Brown-trained filly will now attempt to keep her winning form afloat in the second leg of the series as one of three entrants for her four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer.

One of two daughters of Frankel in the Saratoga Oaks, McKulick finished second in her seasonal debut in the Grade 2 Edgewood on May 6 at Churchill Downs before completing the exacta behind Walkathon in the Regret.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride McKulick from post 2.

Brown will also saddle Little Red Feather Racing's Oakhurst, who was a late closing second last out in the Wild Applause which was won by stablemate and next out Grade 3 Lake George runner-up Eminent Victor.

Oakhurst, a daughter of 2014 Belmont Derby winner Mr Speaker, broke her maiden at third asking in February over the all-weather surface at Gulfstream Park before capturing a first-level allowance over the Keeneland lawn two months later. She will stretch out in distance from the one-mile Wild Applause, which was her shortest contested distance to date.

Joel Rosario has the call from post 6.

Contemporary Art will make the jump up in class from maiden to graded stakes company for Brown. Owned and bred by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, the Dubawi filly finished a neck in arrears of Canisy at first asking on May 1 over Belmont's Widener turf before breaking her maiden over the inner turf at Belmont on June 17. The 4 1/2-length victory garnered an 86 Beyer.

Returning rider Flavien Prat has the call from post 5.

Godolphin's Irish homebred With The Moonlight will attempt to turn the tables on McKulick following a runner-up finish in the Belmont Oaks. The Frankel bay was second down the backstretch before gaining narrow command from pacesetter Cairo Memories approaching the top of the stretch. Leading the way down the lane, she was unable to ward off a late rally from McKulick in deep stretch, finishing 1 3/4 lengths behind the winner.

With The Moonlight, a three-time winner in England, will try to add to trainer Charlie Appleby's recent Spa accolades, which include a one-two finish in last year's Grade 1 Diana with Althiqa and Summer Romance. The two fillies also ran one-two in last year's Grade 1 Longines Just a Game at Belmont.

“Hopefully, she'll settle a little more into the race,” said Appleby's travelling assistant Chris Connett. “She jumped real handy last time and just was a little bit on the muscle going into the first turn and might have done just a little too much, but she still ran hard. If she can reproduce that, she should be right there.”

With The Moonlight is out of the stakes-winning Dubawi mare Sand Vixen and is a full-sister to Dream Castle, a Group 1 winner going nine furlongs on the turf.

William Buick will ship in to ride With The Moonlight, who leaves from post 3.

Rounding out the field is Marc Detampel and Fergus Galvin's New Year's Eve, who will seek to regain her winning form from the Edgewood two starts ago, which she won at 14-1 odds. The Kitten's Joy chestnut was a distant eighth in the Belmont Oaks last out for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Tyler Gaffalione will pilot New Year's Eve from post 1.

The Saratoga Oaks Invitational is carded as Race 7 on Sunday's 10-race program, which also includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack and the restricted $135,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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.

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Bruce Lunsford's Kentucky homebred Art Collector proved to be too much for his four rivals as he successfully defended his title in the $135,000 Alydar, a nine-furlong test for older horses who have not won a stakes other than state-bred in 2022, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Art Collector has been on quite a journey since the last time he won the Alydar, making trips to West Virginia, California and a last out trip to Saudi Arabia in February when off-the-board in the Group 1 Saudi Cup before ultimately returning to the scene of his 3 1/2-length score last year.

Art Collector delivered a similar performance to last year, taking his place at the front of the field and never looking back. Despite two off-the-board finishes in his last two outings, Art Collector returned to run as strong as ever as Luis Saez sat motionless aboard the son of Bernardini down the lane and cruised home to a two-length victory.

Breaking from post 4, Art Collector held a comfortable advantage entering the first turn with Masqueparade being asked to take up second position under Joel Rosario through an opening quarter-mile in 24.60 seconds over the fast main track. Bal Harbour tracked in third along the rail with Chess Chief to his outside and Mystic Night bringing up the rear.

Positions remained unchanged down the backstretch until Reylu Gutierrez asked Chess Chief for more to the outside of rivals and Rosario shook the reins aboard Masqueparade. Meanwhile, Saez remained cool aboard Art Collector as the field moved through the turn with three-quarters elapsed in 1:13.77.

Masqueparade continued to chase to the outside of Art Collector with Chess Chief digging in down the center of the racetrack, but Art Collector maintained his advantage with little urging from Saez as he approached the wire. His margin diminished as Masqueparade made up late ground, but Art Collector was geared down at the finish and was never threatened by his rival's bid, stopping the clock in 1:51.84.

Masqueparade completed the exacta 7 1/2 lengths ahead of Chess Chief with Mystic Night and Bal Harbour rounding out the order of finish. King Fury was scratched.

Mott, who scored his first stakes win of the meet, said the effort was just what he hoped to see.

“He's fine with the distance, he likes the track and it was a good comeback race for him since he hasn't been out since February,” said Mott.

Art Collector has shown versatility in his nine wins and has won from off the pace as well as on the lead. Mott said he was prepared for a potential challenge up front.

“We thought maybe if the outside horse [Masqueparade] wanted to go to the lead, we'd let him go and we'd have a target,” said Mott. “But as it worked out, he was on the lead by himself. It looked like he was going easily enough and it looked like every time that horse ran to him, he just maintained the same advantage.”

Saez echoed Mott's sentiments.

“He's a pretty cool horse to ride. He's pretty smart,” Saez said. “He broke and controlled the pace. He switched leads at the point he's supposed to by himself, and he did everything beautiful. My plan was to break from there and if he took the lead I know he's pretty fast, so if he gets the lead we'll take it. If not, we'll track somebody. He's a horse that you can ride any way you break.”

Art Collector used his previous Alydar win as a springboard to graded stakes success in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic and Grade 1 Woodward later that fall at Belmont Park. Mott said it is likely he will continue on to defend his titles in those races as well on August 26 at Charles Town and October 1 at Aqueduct Racetrack, respectively.

“We might go to Charles Town, back in the Woodward. Short term, we're definitely thinking of going to the Charles Town Classic with him,” said Mott. “That could change, I'll talk to Bruce and see what he wants to do. He was excited to go there last year, he might want to go back.”

Lunsford and Mott have shared some memorable moments together, including a close second in the 1999 Belmont Stakes with his homebred Vision and Verse. Lunsford went on to own and breed a graded stakes-placed half-sister to Vision and Verse named Distorted Legacy, who produced Art Collector.

“He is a special horse. I love the horse. I love his rider,” said Lunsford. “Luis and I go way back with his ex-agent [Richard DePass] and his current agent Kiaran [McLaughlin]. It's just a great thrill for me to have a horse of this quality and the brothers and sisters and the mother.

“Bill and I go way back. We were together in the Belmont Stakes. I'm watching it with him, and I said, 'We're going to win, we're going to win.' But he barely got beat, it was a lot of fun,” Lunsford added as he recalled Vision and Verse.

Art Collector increased his total purse earnings to $1,729,555 and improved his record to 18-9-1-0. He returned $3.60 for a $2 win wager as the 4-5 post time favorite.

Rosario said Masqueparade did his best behind the slow fractions set by Art Collector.

“The trip was good. It was a little on the slow side at the beginning and I had to get after him a bit to get him going,” said Rosario. “The horse in front was going easy. He ran his race.”

Live racing resumes on Friday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in Race 8 and the Grade 3, $300,000 Troy in Race 9. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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 Art Collector Geared Down Defeating Four Rivals In Alydar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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StarLadies Racing, LNJ Foxwoods and Gainesway Stable's 2-year-old filly Prank has big shoes to fill after her half-brother, Mo Donegal, took the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in June.

But the daughter of Into Mischief showed that she may be able to rise to the levels of her famous sibling after she posted a brilliant debut in Race 6 on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

“She's all Into Mischief when you look at her,” said Pletcher. “She looks like her stallion and she's been a consummate pro since Day One.”

Prank, who emerged from post 6 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons, was hurried to the front to dictate the pace and was briefly held to a half-length lead by High Class at the half-mile call. She quickly shook off her rival and widened her margins at each point of call, pulling away easily with a few shakes of the reins and one right-handed tap of the crop.

Ortiz, Jr. peeked back just before the sixteenth pole and eased up on the filly to coast under the wire 9 3/4 lengths the best, completing the 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight in 1:03.94.

Pletcher said he was expecting Prank to give a strong performance after showing her maturity in a series of workouts that included a five-furlong breeze over the main track in 1:01.66 on July 11.

“I always try to underplay it, but I'll put it this way – it did not surprise me,” said Pletcher. “She caught onto everything first time and learned quickly. She's done everything right.”

Pletcher added that Prank could potentially make her next appearance in the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 4 at the Spa.

Ortiz, Jr., who worked the filly once from the gate prior to her debut, said he was also expecting a good effort from her.

“She did it very nicely. She's a nice filly,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “I worked her in the morning from the gate and she was very nice. She gave me a good feeling – she broke sharp, I took ahold of her and never let her run and she went in 48 or 47 [seconds], so I was excited. I wanted to see what she would give me, and obviously she was nice.”

Out of the Pulpit mare Callingmissbrown, Prank was a $500,000 purchase from the Ashview Farm consignment at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She was bred in Kentucky by Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stable.

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