Tag: Racing

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will be in search of a record-extending seventh triumph in the Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack when he saddles maiden winner Naughty Gal for her stakes debut in Sunday's 6 1/2-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies at Saratoga Race Course.

A daughter of Into Mischief, Naughty Gal was an eye-catching winner of a July 4 maiden special weight at Churchill Downs where she battled for the lead for the first half-mile in the six-furlong sprint and then easily took control to skip away to a 9 1/4-length score under Rafael Bejarano. The effort earned her a field-high 75 Beyer Speed Figure.

Owned by Holy Cow Stable, Naughty Gal has had three works at Saratoga since the middle of July, most recently drilling a half-mile from the gate in 49.93 seconds over the Oklahoma training track on July 31.

Lukas said he has had the Adirondack in mind for Naughty Gal for some time.

“She's doing fine. She broke her maiden by a lot, so she'll get some attention,” said Lukas. “She has targeted this race from the beginning.”

Lukas' Adirondack accolades date back to the 1980s, when the veteran horseman captured four straight editions of the race from 1985-1988, including with eventual champion Sacahuista in 1986.

Luis Saez picks up the mount from post 2 as Naughty Gal looks to give her owners their first stakes win.

Gary Barber's Janis Joplin may still be a maiden, but she enters the Adirondack as the lone entrant with a graded placing on her resume. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Janis Joplin was a closing third last out in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on July 14 at Saratoga.

Janis Joplin has been away slow from the gate in both her debut when third in a June 29 maiden at Churchill Downs and the Schuylerville, something Casse said will get better with experience.

“It's a greenness thing. When I ran her at Churchill, she was probably a couple works short of running, but we were getting towards the end of the meet,” Casse said. “If I didn't run her there then I'd have to run her as a first time starter at Saratoga and I just felt like she'd trained enough to run decent and she actually ran better than I expected.”

The daughter of California Chrome was able to improve position in the Schuylerville after Summer Promise and subsequent winner Just Cindy set strong fractions up front.

“We knew there was a fair amount of speed in the Schuylerville and closers often do well in that race, so we put her in there hoping for a decent effort and she did,” said Casse. “She now has something very few horses have and that is Saratoga graded black type.”

Janis Joplin breezed a half-mile in 49.11 seconds on July 30 over the main track. Casse said he expects another good showing from the bay filly as she stretches out another half-furlong from the Schuylerville.

“She worked really well. Our feeling has always been the farther they go the better, so she gets another half furlong,” said Casse.

Flavien Prat is tasked with the ride again from post 5.

Michael Dubb's homebred maiden winner Apple Picker will make her stakes debut for trainer Rudy Rodriguez after a frontrunning score at first asking on July 2 at Belmont Park.

A dark bay Connect filly, Apple Picker led every step of the way in the 5 1/2-furlong event under Hall of Famer John Velazquez and maintained a one-length advantage over her six rivals before she opened up down the stretch and notched a four-length victory. The effort garnered a 61 Beyer.

Rodriguez said Apple Picker and returning rider Velazquez work well together.

“I really like how she's progressed since Day One,” Rodriguez said. “Every time she goes to the track, she seems more mature. She's learning more about the game. She's a very smart filly. Johnny breezed her a couple times and he really likes her and is familiar with the filly.”

Apple Picker put in a half-mile work Thursday over the main track in 51.66 seconds, the latest of four breezes at the Spa since moving up from Belmont Park in early July.

“She's been training very good. Sometimes she gets a little spooky, but she's been very, very happy in Saratoga,” Rodriguez said. “We just breezed a half-mile nice and easy. She went very nice and we'll see what the competition is.”

Apple Picker will emerge from the inside post.

J S Stables' Promise of Hope, the other debut winner in the field, won her first outing by 3 1/2 lengths for trainer Tom Amoss in a maiden special weight on July 1 at Churchill. A bay Ghostzapper filly, Promise of Hope took charge of the field of eight just past the first quarter-mile and never looked back, completing the five furlongs in 58.18 seconds.

“She ran a good race when she won first out at Churchill, but it's a graded stake at Saratoga so that's a big step forward,” said Amoss.

Amoss said he is excited to see what's next with Promise of Hope, who is a full sister to graded stakes-placed Gal in a Rush.

“She's a promising young filly and I really think Saratoga is a great testing ground to see where you stand early on in these horses' careers and how to move forward with them,” Amoss said.

Promise of Hope will emerge from post 3 with Jose Ortiz in the irons.

Completing the field are the Dallas Stewart-trained Sabra Tuff [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], who finished second in the Debutante behind the well-regarded Wonder Wheel; and maiden winner Damaso [post 6, Junior Alvarado], who was last seen finishing third in the My Dear over synthetic at Woodbine Racetrack for conditioner Timothy Hamm.

The Adirondack is slated as Race 4 on Sunday's 10-race card, which also features the Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational in Race 7 and the $135,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose 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.

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Gilbert and Aaron Sones' Ethereal Road will try to transfer his dirt talents to turf in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational at Saratoga Race Course for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

A son of Quality Road, Ethereal Road was last seen seen finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 25 at Thistledown where he tracked in the rear of the field the entire way and made little improvement. The distant effort came on the heels of a strong 4 3/4-length victory in the Sir Barton on May 21 at Pimlico Race Course, a breakout race that showed what the bay colt is capable of.

Lukas said the Ohio Derby is a race he'd rather forget.

“I don't remember that at all,” Lukas joked. “That was really bad. It just started out bad and got worse. It was a hot day and the track was loose. Every step he made was an effort for him and it was hard to believe it was even him. I'd throw that race right out.”

Despite running his entire career on dirt, Ethereal Road will now try the grass for the first time, something Lukas said he's been wanting to do for some time with the son of the War Front mare Sustained, who was Grade 3-placed on turf.

“I don't have any grandiose idea that we're going to all of a sudden find out that we've got a superstar, but I do want to see how he handles the turf and what he does,” Lukas said.

The unassuming Ethereal Road first flashed his talents with a four-length maiden score at fourth asking in January at Oaklawn Park. He quickly became a buzz horse on the road to the Kentucky Derby when a close second to upset winner Un Ojo in the Grade 2 Rebel at the same track, but followed that effort with a distant seventh in the Grade 2 Blue Grass in April at Keeneland. He returned to his best form with his Sir Barton romp two starts later.

When asked if Ethereal Road seemed like a top stakes performer early on, Lukas responded with a straightforward, “no,” and added the colt has continued to prove himself each step of the way.

“He had to convince us and sell himself to us every day. He was never one that we thought there was brilliance to,” said Lukas. “But he got better and better and more focused, and he's been an overachiever.”

Lukas said he is cautiously optimistic that Ethereal Road will take to turf as his half-brother Turned Aside did when he won the 2020 Grade 3 Quick Call over the Spa turf.

“He's got that pedigree. He's out of a War Front mare – the dam was a turfer and produced a turf horse,” said Lukas. “Pedigree-wise, we have a tendency as trainers to think we can predict turf or dirt, and we can to some degree, but people have opinions and horses have the facts.”

Lukas will be represented in Sunday's Grade 3, $200,000 Adirondack by Naughty Gal as his other nominee, Summer Promise, will not run and will await another race down the line. Summer Promise was last seen finishing second to Just Cindy in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on Opening Day at the Spa where she battled for the lead with the subsequent winner and was overtaken at the stretch call.

“Summer Promise is doing well. She's a good one and she was a little bit short though,” Lukas said. “I underestimated the surface and I think she just came up a little short. She had her [Just Cindy] right where she wanted her and she let her off the hook.”

As for the star of Lukas' barn, Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath, plans for a next start in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama on August 20 at Saratoga are still on track after she exited her runner-up finish to Nest in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 23 to post a solid five-furlong work over the Oklahoma training track in 1:00.29 on Tuesday.

“Secret Oath's works have gotten better and better, and I think it's because she's getting used to the surface. She's getting better all the time,” said Lukas. “I was looking at her this morning out there grazing and her coat has turned a deeper red and she's enjoying it here. She's had a great two weeks and she came out of [her last race] really well. She's been a favorite in the barn and done everything right. She's a perfect child and comes right along. Everything we ask her to do, she does it well.”

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Six of Europe's top 2-year-olds will line up in the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes this Saturday at The Curragh.

A strong British trained challenge for the Group 1 race includes Coventry Stakes winner Bradsell trained by Archie Watson and the Richard Hannon-trained Persian Force, who recently landed the July Stakes in Newmarket.

Trainer Aidan O'Brien has two runners with Jebel Ali Racecourse and Stables Anglesey Stakes winner Little Brown Bear and Blackbeard recent winner of the Prix Robert Papin.

GAIN Railway Stakes winner Shartash will represent trainer Johnny Murtagh, while Apache Outlaw will represent Joseph O'Brien.

There are 12 runners in the Rathasker Stud Phoenix Sprint. The Group 3 has attracted a strong British trained team including Go Bears Go, Wings of War and Dubawi Legend. Other notable contenders including Moss Tucker, Power Under Me, Teresa Mendoza, Castle Star, Ano Syra, Gustavus Weston, Scared Bridge and New York City.

There are 9 runners for the Sheehy Motors Volkswagen Handicap, 14 runners for the Donohue Marquees Handicap, 11 in the Loder EBF Race, 15 runners in the John Ormonde Gallop and Arena Construction EBF Maiden, 9 runners in the AK Bets Higher Limits Better Prices Handicap and 13 runners in the opening John Ormonde Wexford Sand EBF Maiden.

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Godolphin homebred Matareya has answered every question asked of her with aplomb this year, finding her best stride around one turn and posting a perfect 4-for-4 record that she will put on the line against six rivals in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

The Test is one of three Grade 1 events on Saturday, led by the nine-furlong $1 million Whitney for older horses over the main track and the 1 3/16-mile $1 million Caesars Saratoga Derby for sophomores on the Mellon turf. The lucrative card also features the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares over the lawn; and the $135,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure, a restricted stakes for older horses travelling 1 1/16 miles over the turf.

Matareya has flourished this year under the care of conditioner Brad Cox after going 1-for-4 in her juvenile campaign. The bay daughter of the late Pioneerof the Nile has won her four outings this season by a combined 22 1/4 lengths, most recently scoring her first Grade 1 victory in the $500,000 Acorn on June 11 at Belmont Park.

“She's doing really good,” said Cox. “She's had four works here and she's moving great. She's happy. She's a very low-maintenance filly to be honest. She's quiet and really easy to train. She's been very consistent this year, so I'm looking forward to the race on Saturday.”

Matareya flashed her talents around one turn early on, graduating on debut in August at Ellis Park in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden by 4 1/2 lengths. The rest of the year saw her unable to find the winner's circle again, stretching out to 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland and finishing an even fifth behind stablemate Juju's Map. She closed out the year with a pair of runner-up finishes in the Fern Creek in November at Churchill Downs and a one-mile allowance in December at Oaklawn Park.

“We really liked her last year. We thought she was one of our better fillies,” said Cox. “I thought originally she would maybe stretch [out] just based off pedigree and how she trained, but we kind of see in her races that she wasn't finishing up quite like we were hoping around two turns. We did ask her to run around two turns in two very good races with the Alciabiades and the allowance race at Oaklawn, which had [Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner] Secret Oath in it. So, it was quality fields, but once we cut her back to one turn, she seemed to be a different horse.”

This year has been a turning point for Matareya, who commenced her season with a strong 5 1/4-length win in a second-level allowance in February at Fair Grounds Race Course. She made the grade in her next outing with an 8 1/2-length romp in the Grade 3 Beaumont where she stalked a length off the pace and took command at the stretch call to draw away to her powerful score under Flavien Prat and earn a career-high 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

Each start in 2022 has been a step up from the last for Matareya, who reached Grade 2 success in her third start of the year over stakes winner Pretty Birdie and graded stakes-winner Wicked Halo in the Eight Belles on May 6 at Churchill Downs. The bay filly reached the pinnacle of success in her most recent outing, proving much the best in the Acorn and dazzling with a 6 1/4-length advantage over subsequent stakes winner Divine Huntress over a fast Big Sandy.

“It was huge,” Cox said of the Acorn effort. “Godolphin will add her to their broodmare band and that's very powerful. It's big for us and them to have these fillies with big pedigrees to perform in the afternoon at the graded stakes level.”

Flavien Prat, who has piloted Matareya to each of her three graded wins this year, retains the mount from the inside post.

“She's very quick from the gate. She could break and show the way or she could break and sit off,” said Cox. “She's very versatile and listens to exactly what the rider wants from her. Flavien has done a good job on her in the last three starts and we're looking for more this time.”

The Rudy Rodriguez-trained Hot Peppers is also enjoying a steadier ascent to the top after showing a great step up in form since joining Rodriguez this spring. The daughter of Khozan is 2-for-2 for her new conditioner, with both wins coming in stakes company, and will look to give Rodriguez a repeat victory in this event after he took last year's edition with Bella Sofia.

“She's doing good. She's doing everything that was asked of her here at Saratoga,” said Rodriguez. “She's comfortable and eating good, so that's a plus. The competition will be tough – in a Grade 1 it's not easy. But she seems like she can make the next step.”

Owned by Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso, Hot Peppers was purchased privately from trainer Ronald Spatz after her second-out graduation at second asking in January at Gulfstream Park. Spatz continued to train the filly through her next three outings, picking up an allowance against fellow Florida-breds and an optional-claiming score against open company before completing her tenure with Spatz with an off-the-board finish in the Sophomore Fillies in March at Tampa Bay Downs for her stakes debut.

The consistent Hot Peppers would not be denied in her next try at the stakes level, coasting to a facile score in the Jersey Girl on June 12 at Belmont in her first outing for Rodriguez.

She made the grade in the Grade 3 Victory Ride on July 2 over Big Sandy, fighting each step of the way to hold onto a slim lead and ultimately prevailing by three-quarters of a length over Half Is Enough in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

“When I got her and she started working, I always thought she could step up to the plate, and so far, she has not disappointed us,” Rodriguez said. “She's been doing everything that we ask and we just are happy for [the owners] to let her be in the barn.”

Rodriguez said he has full confidence in jockey Luis Saez to engineer another winning ride aboard Hot Peppers from post 6.

“I'm not going to change tactics. We know she wants to be in control, and she's been doing that since Day One, so I'm not ready to change it,” Rodriguez said. “If something happens in the race, I'll let Luis decide what to do. I don't want to get in her way. We're going to have a good idea of what we need to do.”

Castleton Lyons homebred Chi Town Lady will look to strike in stakes company again at Saratoga after taking last year's Bolton Landing over the turf for trainer Wesley Ward.

A chestnut daughter of Verrazano, Chi Town Lady won on debut last April sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs on the dirt at Keeneland before trying turf for her next two outings that included her Bolton Landing victory and an even sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 Futurity facing males in October at Belmont Park. She closed out her juvenile season back on the main track with a closing fourth-place effort in the Myrtlewood 19 days later at Keeneland.

Chi Town Lady began this year with a well-beaten seventh behind Matareya in the Grade 3 Beaumont before improving to earn a runner-up finish in an optional claimer on May 19 at Churchill Downs. There, she showed her usual off-the-pace tactics and closed from 11 lengths off the pace to come up 3 1/4 lengths shy of the victorious Parlance.

“We're going to try and get her to come from way, way back and utilize the style that she's been telling me that she wants to run,” Ward said. “She always gets away a little slow and last time she sat back there and made one big run. We're going to try that and hopefully get a placing in a Grade 1 for the owners.”

Joel Rosario will pilot Chi Town Lady from post 7.

Mark Anderson's New York-bred Sterling Silver earned her first graded placing last out when third behind Hot Peppers in the Grade 3 Victory Ride. Trained by Tom Albertrani and bred in the Empire State by Mallory Mort and Karen Mort, Sterling Silver won her first two outings that included a stakes coup again fellow state-breds in the Franklin Square in January at Aqueduct Racetrack. She finished fifth in both the one-mile Busher Invitational at Aqueduct and 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland before returning to winning ways with a strong 4 1/4-length win in the Bouwerie on May 30 at Belmont.

Albertrani said returning to sprinting has helped the grey daughter of Cupid.

“We stepped her up into some open spots and tried her long. I don't think she really wants to go too much further than maybe seven-eighths,” said Albertrani. “I think the cutback in distance was good. We'll be going seven-eighths again this weekend which might give her a little bit more advantage maybe going into the Test.”

Trevor McCarthy has the call again from post 2.

The New York-bred November Rein will step up to the graded ranks for the first time after a last-out allowance victory facing open company on July 9 at Belmont Park. Trained by Kelly Breen and owned by breeder Ron Lombardi's Mr. Amore Stable, November Rein was a stakes winner at Saratoga last summer in the restricted Seeking the Ante and was third in the Bouwerie against fellow state-breds in May.

The daughter of Street Boss will exit post 5 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard.

Completing the field are the lightly-raced Wish You Well [post 4, Tyler Gaffalione] for trainer George Weaver and Grade 2-winner Elm Drive [post 3, Manny Franco], who makes her first start for trainer Michelle Nevin.

The Test is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 12-race card. First post is 12:35 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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