Tag: Racing

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse had high praise for D.J. Stable's juvenile filly Wonder Wheel, who took the listed Debutante at Churchill Downs by an impressive 6 3/4 lengths on July 4 following a debut maiden score a month earlier at the Louisville oval.

“You've only seen the beginning of her,” Casse said of the effort. “I think there's more to her. She seems to be very special.”

A daughter of Into Mischief out of the graded stakes-placed New York-bred Wonder Gal, Wonder Wheel's six rivals were no match for her in the six-furlong Debutante after she set the pace under Tyler Gaffalione and widened her margins at every point of call.

Casse said the impressive performance warrants a step up into top company in the $300,000 Spinaway (G1) on September 3 at the Spa.

“She hasn't shipped up yet, but she'll come up for the Spinaway,” Casse said. “I'm excited about her. I think she has to be one of the best in her class.”

Another “exciting” horse in Casse's barn is the graded stakes winner Pappacap, who has finished second to the undefeated Jack Christopher in his last two outings, most recently finishing 10 lengths behind his accomplished foe in the Woody Stephens (G1) on June 10 at Belmont Park.

Pappacap, who scored a Grade 2 win in the 2021 Best Pal and finished a game second to champion 2-year-old male Corniche in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), will likely make his next appearance in the $200,000 Amsterdam (G2) on July 31 at the Spa whilst Jack Christopher ventures to Monmouth Park for the Grade 1 Haskell.

Casse said he liked what he saw from Pappacap's five-furlong breeze in 1:01.10 over the main track Saturday.

“He breezed this morning and went really well. He hears the name Jack Christopher and he goes in the other direction,” Casse said, with a laugh. “He's exciting to have in the barn and he tries very hard.”

Other graded stakes performers this year for Casse include Frosted Over, who scored in the Dominion Day (G3) on July 1 at Woodbine, and Golden Glider, who finished second in the Peter Pan(G3) in May at Belmont.

Casse said Frosted Over will try for his fifth Woodbine victory in the 10-furlong Niagara on July 31 for his turf debut.

As for Golden Glider, the son of Ghostzapper will look to regroup in the restricted $135,000 Curlin on July 29 at the Spa after a distant eighth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 10.

“He worked well the other day and has been training very well since the Belmont,” Casse said.

The post Casse’s Impressive Debutante Winner Wonder Wheel Aimed For Spinaway, Pappacap On Point For Amsterdam appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Blue Grass (G1) winner Zandon worked on the main track at Saratoga Race Course for the first time Saturday morning for trainer Chad Brown.

With exercise rider Kriss Bon aboard, the Jeff Drown-owned Upstart colt worked four furlongs in :48.69 in preparation for the $600,000 Jim Dandy (G2), a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds on July 30.

“He worked super,” Brown said. “I wanted to get him out there to stretch his legs. He has been working along down at Belmont. I told Kriss to go in :48 and a couple [of fifths]. Kriss said he felt well. Our plan was to get him over the track and get him a good feel for it. He couldn't have went any better.

Zandon, who won the Blue Grass at Keeneland as part of his spring campaign, has not raced since finishing third in the Kentucky Derby (G1) May 7 at Churchill Downs. Brown said he has noticed some physical improvement in Zandon by giving him some time off from racing.

“I wanted to give him a breather from the racing end of it,” Brown said. “I'm really pleased with him. He put on some weight. He really looks better than ever right now.”

Brown also breezed sophomore stars Early Voting, winner of the Preakness (G1) in May at Pimlico, and unbeaten Grade 1 winner Jack Christopher.

Early Voting, owned by Klaravich Stables, also won the Withers (G3) and finished second in the Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct. He worked four furlongs in :49.25.

Jack Christopher, winner of the Champagne (G1) and the Woody Stephens (G1) Belmont Park, went in :49.80. He is targeting the Haskell (G1) on July 23 at Monmouth Park.

The post ‘He Worked Super’: Blue Grass Winner Zandon Pleases Brown In Saratoga Breeze Toward Jim Dandy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Bold and Bossy, the seemingly doomed filly whose career debut last summer at Ellis Park was stalled a year after a headline-making escape escapade and capture followed by her subsequent rescue from a barn fire at the Henderson, Kentucky, track the next day, made her long-awaited racing bow recently at Belterra Park.

Bantry Farm's 3-year-old Strong Mandate filly finished a tiring third July 5 in the eighth race, a $17,000 maiden special weight going six furlongs at Cincinnati track after pressing the pace.

Despite the filly's finish, the race was nothing short of a success for trainer Michael Ann Ewing and others who nurtured the filly back to racing fitness after her two perilous days that jeopardized her life last year.

“It's sort of like being a parent and you have a child that has a great difficulty or a sickness or injury,” Ewing told Thoroughbred Daily News. “You nurse them and you don't know what the outcome is going to be and then when it's really positive, there's a very big sense of, I guess, pride. There was a lot of commitment there, a lot of time and a lot of energy. I'm just happy to see her healthy and happy.”

As a temperamental 2-year-old, Bold and Sassy got loose from the post parade en route to her maiden debut last August at Ellis Park, dumped jockey Miguel Mena, jumped the rail in the barn area, and eluded pursuers for miles as she ran in traffic down a state highway then Interstate 69  before crossing into Indiana where she was eventually caught and returned to the track in a horse ambulance.

“Thank God she wasn't hit… For all that, and she ran a long way, she was just missing a couple of shoes,” Ewing said at the time. “She did 'grab a quarter' (where a hind hoof knocks some flesh off the heel of a front foot), but it's not bad. Most severely, she was 'tying up' (cramping) when they caught her, and she's really dehydrated.”

The following day the brother of a groom rescued her from a fire in the Ellis Park receiving barn, where she was stabled to rest after her return while awaiting shipment back to Ewing's base at the The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington. She was the only horse in the barn to be burned as she was the last one led out, losing some hair and skin on her withers. Ewing was also worried about smoke inhalation, but the filly had no lung damage.

“I thought that this filly was such a bad-luck horse,” Ewing told the publication. “But now, I think maybe she's a good-luck horse because she survived.”

Bold and Bossy is likely to make her second start in the next few weeks at Belterra Park.

To read the full story at Thoroughbred Daily News, click here.

To read more about trainer Michael Ann Ewing and Bold and Bossy's recovery at Paulick Report, click here.

The post ‘I Think Maybe She’s A Good-Luck Horse Because She Survived’: Runaway Filly, Fire Survivor Bold And Bossy Finally Makes It To The Races appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Almost 20 years after campaigning Grade 1-winning millionaire Forbidden Apple, trainer Christophe Clement picked up his second triumph in his former trainee's Grade 3, $175,000 namesake race at Saratoga Race Course with New York-bred City Man, who scored his fifth lifetime stakes win for owners Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Patty Searles and Peter Searles.

A stakes winner on the NYRA circuit for the past four years, City Man also picked up his first graded stakes victory in the one-mile inner turf test, entering from a troubled seventh against his state bred counterparts in the Kingston on May 30 at Belmont Park.

“It was very unlucky last time, he was trapped,” said Clement, who won the 2017 Forbidden Apple with New York-bred Disco Partner. “Today, it worked out. Great trip. He's been a bit unlucky lately, so it was fun to have a good trip and he won well. It's fun to win the Forbidden Apple, because I did train Forbidden Apple.”

City Man exited post 9 and was angled toward the rail by jockey Joel Rosario to settle in seventh position as a headstrong Yes and Yes led the field into the first turn through an opening quarter-mile in 23.31 seconds over the firm going.

Yes and Yes was joined by Get Smokin down the backstretch, who ran on even terms with the pacesetter through a half-mile in 47.23. Meanwhile, City Man maintained his inside position with Public Sector to his outside as the field approached the far turn.

Rosario moved his charge back to the outside as the field reached the quarter pole with Get Smokin as the new leader. But a tenacious City Man launched a devastating bid from the far outside and seized command inside the eighth pole to win by 2 3/4 lengths in a final time of 1:33.76.

Atone finished second, a nose ahead of the Chad Brown-trained Public Sector, a two-time graded-stakes winner last year at the Spa.

Rounding out the order of finish were Get Smokin, Set Piece, Mira Mission, Wolfie's Dynaghost, Sanctuary City, Scuttlebuzz, Clear Vision and Yes and Yes. Analyze It was scratched.

Now a six-time winner, City Man banked $96,250 in victory while enhancing his lifetime bankroll to $653,053 through a 22-6-4-3 record. He paid $26.60 for a $2 win bet.

The victory only solidified the chemistry between City Man and Rosario, who was aboard for four of the horse's five stakes conquests.

“I was very comfortable. For a second, I was between horses passing the three-eighths, but he was handling everything fine. He put in a good run today,” Rosario said. “Turning for home when we started moving, I got lucky and got out in front of them. Chad's horse was outside me and it looked like every time I asked him [City Man] to do something, he was moving forward.”

Three of City Man's five stakes wins have taken place against open company, including his 2022 debut in the Danger's Hour on April 9 at Aqueduct as well as the 2020 Gio Ponti at Aqueduct.

“He's a good New York-bred, but he's also a good horse. He won the open stakes at Aqueduct in April, so let's enjoy this and see what's next,” Clement said.

Bred in the Empire State by Moonstar Farm, City Man is out of the City Zip mare City Scamper and was bought for $185,000 out of the Off The Hook consignment at the 2019 OBS April Sale.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course with an 11-race card, featuring the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana in Race 8 and the Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford in Race 10. 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 Stakes Veteran City Man Gets First Graded Win In Forbidden Apple appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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