Tag: Racing

Nasser Bin Omairah's Mo Strike attended a strong pace but had plenty of stamina to spare en route to an impressive score in Saturday's $175,000 Sanford (G3), a six-furlong sprint for juveniles at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Brad Cox, the Uncle Mo colt entered from a prominent three-quarter length debut win in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on June 19 at Churchill Downs.

Mo Strike exited post 6 under returning rider Florent Geroux in the 12-horse Sanford field and was again hustled into the midst of a sharp early pace as Curly Jack marked the opening quarter mile in :22.59 and the half-mile in :45.94 with Andiamo a Firenze in close attendance to their outside.

Curly Jack and Mo Strike battled through the turn with Andiamo a Firenze looming large to their outside before advancing into a narrow lead at the stretch call. The Jairo Rendon-piloted Great Navigator made strides along the rail out of the turn and was in need of racing room as Curly Jack persevered to the inside of Mo Strike and Andiamo a Firenze.

Mo Strike finally put away his rivals inside the final sixteenth and powered away to a 3 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:11.35 over the fast main track. Great Navigator, angled wide for racing room, found another gear once clear and reeled in Andiamo a Firenze to earn place honors by a head.

Forte, the 7-5 mutuel favorite, finished fourth followed by Curly Jack, Major Dude, Roman Giant, Prove Right, Valenzan Day, Boppy O, I'm Wide Awake, and Puttheblameonme.

Cox said he was pleased with how Mo Strike put away the impressive debut winner Andiamo a Firenze, a Speightstown colt who is a three-quarter brother to Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior).

“He definitely showed some ability and fought off a very good horse at the eighth pole,” said Cox. “That horse ran a big figure in his race at Belmont, I believe, and when Florent really asked him at the eighth-pole, he was able to get away.”

Cox said the debut score engineered from the outermost post 10 proved beneficial for Mo Strike against a double-digit Sanford field.

“He did run against a larger group at Churchill, he broke from the outside and did get a good trip that day, but obviously had to fight off some horses that day as well. It worked out well and he got a lot of experience and overcame some things.” Cox said.

Geroux said he felt comfortable being forwardly placed to the outside of Curly Jack and to the inside of Andiamo a Firenze.

“He broke super sharp. From there, I was in the clear right from the beginning,” Geroux said. “I let the inside horse go. I kept an eye on the nine [Andiamo a Firenze]. We were able to slow it down a little bit the second quarter and when the horse came to me down the lane, my horse was able to give me another gear and fight all the way to the wire. I was very pleased with his effort. The last eighth of a mile, I felt the race was pretty much over and he was just keeping along nicely. If someone else was going to attack me, I felt I had another gear to fight them down.”

Cox said he will now consider giving Mo Strike a potential start in the $200,000 Saratoga Special (G2) on August 13 but noted the $300,000 Hopeful (G1) on September 5 is more likely.

“We'll watch him – it would probably be a lot to ask him [to race] in the Special and the Hopeful, but we'll let him determine our plans, and once again how he comes out of it, and go from there,” Cox said. “I think the Hopeful is more likely being he's an Uncle Mo, it's a Grade 1, and it would take a lot of pressure off. He's a nice colt.”

Bred in Kentucky by Blue Heaven Farm and Ashford Stud, Mo Strike, out of the Smart Strike mare Featherbed, is a half brother to 2014 Illinois Derby winner and former classic starter Dynamic Impact.

Mo Strike, a $325,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase from consignor Gene Recio, banked $96,250 in victory. He returned $18.40.

The post Mo Strike Shakes Off Rivals, Powers Clear To Notch Sanford Win At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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St. Omer's Farm and Christopher Feifarek's Beren, second in each of his last three races but never by more than a length, stepped up and ran the biggest race of his life to put away a pair of graded-stakes winners and go on to a 2 ¾-length triumph in Saturday's $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park.

The 31st running of the six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up served to headline an 11-race program featuring four stakes worth $450,000 in purses that included the $100,000 Alma North and both the $100,000 Prince George's County and $100,000 Big Dreyfus on the grass. For a recap of those three stakes, click here.

All four races were part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Overlooked at odds of 6-1 in a field of eight, Beren ($15) raced in between graded winners Special Reserve and Wondrwherecraigis before taking command nearing the stretch and drawing off to win in 1:09.66 over a main track turned muddy following a mid-afternoon thunderstorm to earn his fifth career stakes victory.

“He came into the race great,” winning trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said. “We wouldn't be here if he were any other way, and he's a game horse. All you have to do is point him in the right direction and get out of his way.”

Beren, a 4-year-old Pennsylvania-bred son of Weigelia, drew Post 7 in the De Francis flanked by Special Reserve to his inside and Wondrwherecraigis on the far outside. The three broke together but it was Special Reserve that found himself in front after running :22.10 for the opening quarter-mile in his first start since finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) last November.

Pennington settled Beren between horses as Wondrwherecraigis, racing for the first time since running 10th in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) March 26 in Dubai, pressed on the outside. The half went in :44.78 when Beren found himself in front and Special Reserve dropping back.

“He's a very quick horse and he doesn't have to be on the lead. He broke sharp and the horse to the inside went to the lead, so I sat off,” Pennington said. “He was pulling me the whole way. At the top of the stretch when I asked him, he took off for me and I knew we were pretty good.”

Beren straightened for home on top but still had to contend with Wondrwherecraigis, who was taken down from first to second in last year's De Francis – then a Grade 3 run in the fall – for drifting out late in the stretch. Jockey Sheldon Russell kept the 5-year-old gelding on a straight path but they were unable to catch the winner.

“I was watching it closely and Frankie looked like he was very confident. He sat off the inside horse a little bit and fortunately the outside took back a hair so he had some breathing room, and it worked out perfect,” Reid said. “We did get a break with that little bit of rain. This is his favorite kind of track, with a little bit of moisture and sealed like this.”

Wondrwherecraigis was two lengths ahead of Grade 3 winner Pickin' Time in third, with another length back to 30-1 long shot War Tocsin in fourth. Threes Over Deuces, Royal Urn, Special Reserve and Karan's Notion completed the order of finish.

Like Special Reserve, last year's winner of the Maryland Sprint (G3) at historic Pimlico Race Course as well as the Phoenix (G2) at Keeneland, Wondrwherecraigis was also returning to action following his 10th-place finish in the $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1) March 26 in Dubai.

“We caught them both off layoffs, so that's the right time to run against them, I guess,” Reid said. “He doesn't have to prove anything. He owes us nothing. He's a very tough runner. I wish they were all like him. He's a total class act. He ships perfectly and stood in the paddock perfectly today. Nothing bothers this horse.”

First run in 1990 and named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course, the De Francis' illustrious roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster; fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull; and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner (1995-1996).

The post Beren Upstages Favorite Wonderwherecraigis To Win De Francis Dash At Laurel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Chad Brown brought a quartet of talented fillies to the $500,000 Diana (G1) Saturday, with the undefeated Bleecker Street looking to pounce upon a hot pace set by stablemate In Italian. But In Italian's course-record performance proved too much for even her talented stablemates as she led gate to wire to give Brown his seventh victory in the turf test for older fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course.

“I'm just so lucky to have so many great horses in the division,” said Brown. “When you can work them together and put them into different situations in their morning drills, I can really see when they're in peak form and I can identify their preferred way to run.”

Owned by Peter Brant, In Italian, a daughter of Darley sire Dubawi, was making her seventh start for Brown and arrived from a game third-place effort behind stablemate Regal Glory in the Longines Just a Game (G1) on June 10 at Belmont Park. The Diana was the first Grade 1 triumph for In Italian, whose previous best score was in the Honey Fox (G3) in March at Gulfstream Park.

In Italian broke sharply from the outermost post 6 under Joel Rosario and sprinted to the front of the compact field, while the Brown-trained Technical Analysis flashed speed but was held tightly by Jose Ortiz and taken back to fourth as the field rounded the first turn over the firm going.

In Italian marked an opening quarter mile in :22.45 while Creative Flair skimmed the rail in second with Dalika a half-length back from her in third. It was a long gap behind Technical Analysis to Rougir and post-time favorite Bleecker Street, who bided her time under patient handling from Irad Ortiz Jr. through a half-mile in 45.83.

Dalika and Creative Flair could not keep up with In Italian's quick fractions up front and faded in the turn whilst Technical Analysis was full of run from fourth, quickly overtaking second from her fading rivals and looming to the outside of In Italian. Irad Ortiz got to work on Bleecker Street but was left with considerable ground to make up as In Italian and Technical Analysis moved away from their rivals in the stretch.

In Italian kept finding more with steady urging from Rosario, turning back the challenge from Technical Analysis and completing the nine furlongs in 1:45.06, a record time on the Mellon course. Bleecker Street suffered her first career defeat and finished 1 1/2-lengths behind Technical Analysis, holding onto show honors by a neck over Rougir. Dalika and Creative Flair completed the order of finish.

Brown said he knew In Italian was sitting on a big performance after showing her mettle against her multiple Grade 1-winning workmate Regal Glory in the mornings.

“We had a plan. She was training super in the morning. She's been the lead horse in the works for Regal Glory two or three weeks in a row at Belmont,” said Brown. “I've been so impressed with her not letting Regal Glory by her, who I regard as the top mare in the division just slightly over Bleecker Street. So, her not letting her by in the work and finishing up right on even terms and not giving an inch showed me that's really the way she wants to run, and she's ready for a top effort.”

Rosario, who rode In Italian for the first time, said the filly ran her race with ease.

“It looked like she had the speed on paper. It looked like there were other horses with speed too on paper, but Chad told me to let her break and go on into the first turn and she put herself forwardly placed,” said Rosario. “She was nice and relaxed in front and ran a big race.

“It looked like she was going very easy. It looked like she was enjoying everything and it was easy for her,” he added. “She was able to turn loose going for home and just took off again.”

Brown said that while confident In Italian would give a good account of herself, he was still expecting Bleecker Street and Rougir to come running at the end.

“I was looking towards the rear. I know Technical Analysis was in a cozy spot, but I figured the two horses chasing her couldn't sustain in their form,” said Brown. “I felt good about Technical Analysis maybe getting a jump on Rougir and Bleecker Street, but sure enough In Italian found another gear, much like she has in the mornings recently.”

Brant, who also owns Bleecker Street and co-owns Rougir with Michael Tabor, said he had faith In Italian would deliver.

“I just think she's a terrific filly and she wouldn't be in here if we didn't think she had the ability to win,” said Brant. “The instructions to Joel were ride this race like you can win, not just for pace, and he did it.”

Jose Ortiz echoed Rosario's praise for the way In Italian rebroke, but added that Technical Analysis gave it her best.

“She was a little keen going into the first turn. Other than that, she relaxed well after. I came home running. I'm very proud of my horse,” he said. “She ran an amazing race. I'm very proud of her. She got beat by a horse than ran very hard and went fast early and re-broke. That's very hard to do, but In Italian did it.”

Brown added that he was pleased to see four of his top turf fillies prove their class out on the track.

“They separate each other when you run them together. My approach is, I would rather run them against each other and settle it on the track than start to cherry pick who's running and who's not and a bunch of “What Ifs” if I ran the one I didn't run,” said Brown. “I like to run the horses against each other, settle it out on the track, and this day it worked out this way. We'll see if they meet in the future and maybe someone turns the tables, we'll see.”

Bred in Great Britain by Fairway Farm, In Italian was purchased by Brant as a yearling for over $600,000 at the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Her dam is Australian Group 3 winner Florentina, by Redoute's Choice. She boasts a perfect on-the-board record of 4-2-1 from seven starts and total purse earnings of $591,220. The longest odds of Brown's four runners at 8-1, In Italian returned $18.60.

The post ‘It Was Easy For Her’: In Italian Leads In Her Three Brown-Trained Stablemates With Gate-To-Wire Course-Record Performance In Diana At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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