Tag: Racing

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Dakota Gold made his seasonal debut a winning one in Sunday's $150,000 Spectacular Bid division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, a seven-furlong Widener turf test for eligible New York-sired 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.

Dakota Gold, who finished fifth last out in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) in November at Del Mar, was the heavy 1-2 favorite at post time.

Despite getting a run for his money from a stubborn Surprise Boss in the stretch run, Dakota Gold was able to shake off seven months' worth of rust, pulling away by three-quarters of a length to secure his second stakes victory in four lifetime starts.

Leaving from post 2 under Irad Ortiz Jr., Dakota Gold angled a path wide and rated a close second to the outside of Surprise Boss, who marked the opening quarter-mile in :23.66 over the firm going.

With a half-mile elapsed in :48.40, Ortiz coaxed Dakota Gold slightly and found himself on even terms with Surprise Boss in upper stretch. The two engaged in battle throughout the stretch drive with Dakota Gold gaining a slight advantage just outside the sixteenth pole. He extended his lead in the final strides to the wire, winning in a final time of 1:21.50.

Surprise Boss finished second, another 3 1/4 lengths ahead of Marinara Sauced. Rounding out the order of finish were One Time Willard, who checked approaching the far turn, Buckortwo and Barrel of Quests. Maseta and Mo Dancin were scratched.

Dakota Gold, a chestnut son of New York breeding stalwart Freud, previously captured the open-company Nownownow Stakes in September at Monmouth Park. But trainer Danny Gargan said he plans on sticking to state-bred company for now, targeting the one-mile $150,000 NYSSS Cab Calloway division August 17 at Saratoga Race Course.

“I was using this as a springboard to Saratoga. There's a Stallion Series race there that we're aiming for,” Gargan said. “It's good to have him back. It took a while to get him back, so it's fun to have a nice horse like this.”

Gargan said he envisioned a swifter pace upfront.

“That horse [Surprise Boss] got an easy lead and obviously we want to run further. Irad said he had a lot of horse and he was just playing with the others,” Gargan said. “I was hoping the one horse [Buckortwo] would get out at some point, but he got stuck down in there. I wanted two of them in front of us. I thought they'd go [three-quarters in] 1:09 and change. They came home in :11. I've only had two or three horses in my life run that fast.”

Gargan said Dakota Gold touted his talent when working in company.

“When he was a baby, no one knew he could run this well,” Gargan said. “Then I worked him on the grass in company and I was like, 'Oh my God.' ”

Despite getting tested in the stretch, Ortiz said Dakota Gold was full of run throughout.

“He broke good and was right there. So, I sat and I waited until it was time to go. By the time I turned for home, it was time to ask him a little bit and he responded really well,” said Ortiz, who earned his seventh stakes win of the Belmont spring/summer meet. “He made the lead and stayed on. He was fighting with the other one [Surprise Boss], but I could feel he had something left. I didn't panic and he got there. He's a nice horse.”

The win also provided Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing with their third stakes win of the meet. They previously secured victories with the Christophe Clement-trained Big Invasion [Paradise Creek on May 29] and Senbei [Gold Fever on May 15].

Dakota Gold banked $82,500 in victory, enhancing his earnings to $467,500 while returning $3.10. His record now stands at 4-3-0-0.

Bred in the Empire State by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Ron Bowden, Dakota Gold is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Dakota Kid, who is a half sister to Grade 1-winning millionaire Dakota Phone. He was bought for $83,000 from the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Sale, where he was consigned by The New Hill Farm.

The post Dakota Gold Shows No Signs Of Rust In NYSSS Spectacular Bid Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Beach Haven Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, and Barry Fowler's Grade 1 winner Maracuja will be pointed to the nine-furlong $250,000 Lady Jacqueline Stakes on June 26 at JACK Thistledown after an off-the-board finish last time out in the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 23 at Oaklawn Park.

Maracuja breezed a half-mile in :48.98 Sunday over the Belmont main track in company with unraced 2-year-old War Prince, posting an easier work than her half-mile drill in :48.72 last week.

“She breezed well,” said trainer Rob Atras. “It was kind of just a maintenance breeze this weekend. She put in a pretty serious work last week, so we were just going easy today. We're on target for the Lady Jacqueline. We missed a few spots we were targeting and this race came up – the timing is good. We thought we'd take a shot and try to get her back in form.”

Maracuja provided a stunning upset in last year's Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, defeating eventual champion 3-year-old filly Malathaat by a head at odds of 14-1 to give Atras his first career Grade 1 triumph.

The daughter of Honor Code finished her sophomore campaign with a pair of off-the-board finishes in Grade 1 company, finishing seventh the Alabama at the Spa and an even fourth in the Cotillion at Parx. She returned to winning ways in her 4-year-old debut with a two-length optional claiming score on April 1 at Oaklawn Park and followed with a distant fourth-place finish behind champion older dirt female Letruska in the Apple Blossom.

“She was real flat that day and it was a pretty tough race. Those fillies all showed up,” Atras said. “She ran kind of unusually flat that day, so we gave her a little time after that to get straightened out and then brought her back to Belmont. She seems like with every work she's gotten better and stronger. She's coming around and is back to her old self again.”

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Jockey Hollie Doyle posted the first classic win of her career Sunday at Chantilly when guiding Nashwa to victory in the 173^rd edition of the Prix de Diane Longines (French Oaks) (G1).

Doyle's victory in the race was the first in a French classic by a woman rider.

Nashwa, who was third in the Oaks (G1) at Epsom earlier this month, won by a short neck from La Parisienne, with Rosacea another 4 1/2 lengths back in third in the field of 17 3-year-old fillies.

A daughter of Frankel, Nashwa covered 2,100 meters (about 1 3/8 miles) in 2:06.63 on good to soft turf.

Breaking from post 2, John and Thady Gosden's runner took the lead alongside race favorite Agave with La Parisienne in a handy position behind them by the rail. With her post 17 draw, Rosacea could only travel at the rear.

Going off the final turn, the two leaders took off and it seemed for a moment that they would go on their own to the finish, but about 300 yards out, Nashwa and Doyle took the upper hand on their rival, and it was then La Parisienne's turn to challenge the British duo.

The duel that followed remained uncertain for some time, but Nashwa stayed for the narrow victory. Rosacea, who came from far away by the rail with Christophe Soumillon, snatched third place from Agave while at more than 100-1 odds, Fall in Love finished very well in fifth.

Third in her only 2-year-old race last year, Nashwa won for her comeback before going for the Oaks Trials in Newbury, over 1 ¼ miles, which she dominated easily. She didn't seem to stay the trip in the Epsom Oaks and on Sunday she showed that the 2,100 meters at Chantilly were spot on for her.

Nashwa was homebred in Britain by Imad Al Sagar's Blue Diamond Stud. She did not go to the sales, unlike her older brother Louganini (by Zoffany), a gelding who sold for £60,000 last year at Tattersalls. Their dam, Princess Loulou (by Pivotal), won at the listed level in England and took second place in the Prix Jean Romanet (G1) at Deauville.

Doyle, who is no relation to sibling jockeys James Doyle and Sophie Doyle, is married to fellow jockey Tom Marquand.

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Reddam Racing's Absolutely Zero opted to take on the boys Saturday at Santa Anita and she answered the call, turning back a determined effort from her stablemate Tahoma to take the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Futurity Stakes by one length.

The race was one of a pair of black-type races for 2-year-olds, including the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Debutante Stakes, won by Stone Silent.

Absolutely Zero, a Nyquist filly, covered the Futurity's five furlongs in :59.09 under Mario Gutierrez.

Trained by Doug O'Neill, who was out of town to saddle Hot Rod Charlie to a second-place finish in the TVG.com Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park, Absolutely Zero could have run earlier in the day against fillies in the Fasig-Tipton Debutante, but the decision was made to face males at the same distance.

Quick from gate and head and head into and around the far turn with Midnight Lightning, Absolutely Zero showed tremendous heart as she repelled a stiff challenge to her outside from Tahoma the final furlong.

“She's not the fastest out of the gate (but) today, she broke really well,” said Gutierrez.  “She broke with them and I tried to maintain my position and find my way to keep her in there (and) she responded really well.

“She's very gutsy. She definitely is a fighter and showed big improvement. She can only get better. The fact that she's running with the boys, you know that's what is impressive about her right now. …”

A 1 ¾-length first-out maiden winner versus open company going 4 ½ furlongs May 21, Absolutely Zero was off as the 4-5 favorite against eight males and paid $3.80.

“Nyquist is top five in the country, no doubt, if not top three,” said O'Neill assistant Steve Rothblum in regard to the winner's sire, who won the 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) for Reddam and O'Neill. “I know we've had quite a few by him and every one of them can run. There's no bums in the group, which is amazing for a sire to consistently reproduce really nice horses and he's doing that now. Not just with us, he's doing it all over the country.

“I know we really regard (runner-up) Tahoma very highly.  When they turned for home and he came at her, I thought that was a really good test and she responded so well.  I mean, she dug in, not an ounce of quit in her and just kept on going on about her business and galloped away.  I think it's a testament to her quality.”

Out of Reddam's multiple stakes-winning Square Eddie mare How About Zero, Absolutely Zero, now perfect in two starts, picked up $60,000 for the win, increasing her earnings to $112,260.

Tahoma, who was 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify's first North American foal to race when he broke his maiden going 4 ½ furlongs at Santa Anita on May 22, improved markedly today but was second best. Ridden by Juan Hernandez, he was the second choice at 3-1.

Florida-Bred First Time Starter Stone Silent Leads Throughout In Debutante

With heavily favored Tom's Regret stumbling badly at the start, John Sadler's first time starter Stone Silent speed to the lead and never looked back, taking the Debutante by 3 ¼ lengths.

Ridden by Ramon Vazquez, Stone Silent, a $410,000 OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training sale purchase, got five furlongs in :58.28.

Tom's Regret, never headed in a pair of dazzling wins, was a joint fourth heading to the half mile pole and rallied from six lengths back turning for home to be second in a big effort under Tyler Baze.

With three gate drills on her tab, her most recent a half mile in :48 flat on June 13, Stone Silent was off as the second choice at 3-1 in a field of six juvenile fillies and paid $8.00.

“I think some of the commentators picked up on the fact that she worked (a quarter mile) in :20 (and 2/5) in the sale, so she's very quick,” said Sadler. “Ramon was good, he came out and worked her three times and knew her. We hadn't really pressed her hard in the morning.  We just got her fit because we knew the speed was in there.

“She'll go into the stake program for 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar. We have a couple of other ones coming along behind her, so it's good to have the first one out and get one under our belt.”

A Florida-bred daughter of Adios Charlie out of the A.P. Jet mare Travelator, Stone Silent is owned by Talla Racing LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Edwin Baker and picked up $60,000 for the victory.

“I knew she was a nice filly,” said Vazquez.  “She broke good and got a good position and she responded really well.  I wasn't surprised to be on the lead because she's a first timer and nobody knew this filly could run.”

Trained by Jorge Periban, Tom's Regret a California-bred filly by Tom's Tribute, broke a bit inward and stumbled out of the gate with regular rider Baze doing well to remain aboard.

Most recently victorious in versus 11 males in an ungraded stakes going five furlongs at Churchill Downs, she was off at 3-5 and finished 4 ¾ lengths in front of E Z Pharis.

Ridden by Kyle Frey, E Z Pharis broke well from the rail, was head and head with Golden Gate shipper Rousing Jewel to the top of the lane, but never threatened the winner while finishing a half length in front of longshot Dancing Mo.

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