Tag: Racing

Graded stakes winners Emmanuel and Annapolis breezed a half-mile in company in 48.04 seconds Friday over the inner turf in preparation for the Grade 1, $1 million Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational on July 9 at Belmont Park.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said he was pleased with the work for both horses, who were making their first breeze back from starts in graded stakes.

“It was a good work. They went in 48 and change, finished up nicely and galloped out well. I was happy with it,” Pletcher said.

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Emmanuel captured the nine-furlong Grade 2 Pennine Ridge last out on June 4 at Belmont in his first start on grass, besting Napoleonic War by one length with Limited Liability a further length back in third.

The top-three finishers of the Pennine Ridge earned an automatic invite to the 10-furlong Grade 1 Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational, the first leg of the Caesars Turf Triple series for sophomores.

The Turf Triple continues with the Grade 1, $1 million Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational on Aug. 6 at Saratoga Race Course, and concludes with the $1 million Caesars Jockey Club Derby Invitational in September at Belmont.

Emmanuel, a three-time winning sophomore son of More Than Ready, was previously third in the Grade 1 Blue Grass in April at Keeneland.

Bass Stables homebred Annapolis was defeated for the first time last out while making his seasonal debut over soft going in the Grade 3 Penn Mile on June 3 at Penn National, finishing second to 83-1 upset winner Wow Whata Summer. The son of War Front had won his two previous starts last year, including the Grade 2 Pilgrim at Belmont.

“I thought he ran well. Unfortunately, we caught a lot of rain, and it was an extremely heavy track,” Pletcher said. “It was tough to do that off that layoff, I thought he gave us a good effort. He just couldn't accelerate that last part with the boggy ground.”

Pletcher captured two editions of the Belmont Derby when it was run as the Jamaica, winning with Take the Points [2009] and Finality [2002]. He expressed a sense of optimism in Emmanuel getting the Belmont Derby's 1 1/4-mile distance.

“We were encouraged with the way he handled the mile and eighth, the way he finished and how he's handled the turf,” Pletcher said. “With the way he breezed this morning, all indicators are that he's in good form.”

Bred in Kentucky by Helen K. Groves Revocable Trust, Emmanuel is out of the unraced Hard Spun mare Hard Cloth, who is a half-sister to multiple Group 1-winning multi-millionaire Hawkbill and North American graded stakes winner Free Drop Billy. Emmanuel was purchased for $350,000 out of Gainesway's consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Annapolis is out of My Miss Sophia, a graded stakes winner and dual-surface-winning daughter of Unbridled's Song who captured the 2014 Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct. Annapolis is a full-brother to stakes-placed Nevisian Sunrise.
Pletcher said he plans on running Shahama, who finished sixth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, in the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose on June 25 at Belmont. The Munnings bay was unbeaten in four starts in the United Arab Emirates, where she raced for former conditioner Fawzi Nass and captured the Group 3 UAE Oaks in February at Meydan Racecourse.

Pletcher will pursue a seventh Mother Goose triumph, having won with Jersey Girl [1998], Octave [2007], Devil May Care [2010], Buster's Ready [2011], Off the Tracks [2016] and Zaajel [2021].

“We zeroed in on the Mother Goose after the Kentucky Oaks and we felt like the mile and a sixteenth suited her a little better than the one-mile Acorn. I'm happy with the way she's doing,” Pletcher said.

Shahama, owned by KHK Racing, is out of the Belong to Me mare Private Feeling, making her a half-sister to dual champion and champion producer Lookin At Lucky.

Probable starters for the Mother Goose are Favor [Pletcher], Gerrymander [Chad Brown], Juju's Map [Brad Cox], Midnight Stroll [John Terranova] and Venti Valentine [Jorge Abreu]. Both Nostalgic [Bill Mott] and Radio Days [Shug McGaughey] are listed as possible.

The post Pletcher Pointing Emmanuel, Annapolis To Belmont Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Roger Attfield thought he'd found a nice, cushy spot to fulfill a request by owner Charles Fipke to add a graded stakes win on the dirt to the already-impressive accomplishments of turf specialist Shirl's Speight.

Little did he know he would be hooking up with two other Grade 1 winners in Saturday's Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park, one of four stakes races on TVG.com Haskell Stakes Preview Day.

“It came up pretty tough for a Grade 3, didn't it?” said the legendary Canadian conditioner. “It will be a tremendous dirt test for him.”

Shirl's Speight, who won the Grade 1 Makers Mark Mile on the grass at Keeneland on April 15, then was fourth in Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on May 7, has five wins from 10 career starts. Four of those victories have come on the grass, the other over the synthetic.

In his only dirt race to date, the 5-year-old son of Speightstown-Perfect Shirl by Perfect Soul, was a well-beaten fifth. That was in an optional $62,000 claimer at Gulfstream on Jan. 10, 2021.

“The owner is very keen on him winning a stakes race on the dirt with his pedigree,” said Attfield, a member of both the Canadian and U.S. Racing Halls of Fame. “There wasn't much in June and I thought the race at Monmouth Park would be a nice place to see if he can do that.

“The race just came up a bit tougher than I thought. But he's a special horse.”

The seven-horse field for the Salvator Mile includes Mind Control and Hot Rod Charlie, both Grade 1 winners on the dirt. Hot Rod Charlie has shipped in from California for trainer Doug O'Neill to launch the start of a campaign that has the Breeders' Cup Classic as the ultimate goal.

It was in last year's TVG.com Haskell Stakes that Hot Rod Charlie was able to grind out a nose victory over Mandaloun, only to be placed last for interference with Midnight Bourbon, causing that one to clip heels.

Hot Rod Charlie is coming off a second place finish in the Dubai World Cup on March 26.

The Salvator Mile field also features Grade 2 winner Helium and Grade 3 winner Phat Man.

“I'm very keen to see how Shirl's Speight does against these horses on the dirt,” said Attfield. “I know how well he goes over the dirt when he works. I'm not sure how the track at Monmouth Park will play. I haven't been there for years. But it looks like the weather will cooperate so there are not going to be any excuses. We're going to get a true picture of how he stacks up on the dirt for future reference.”

Attfield arrived in New Jersey from his Toronto base on Friday. He is bringing in Emma Jayne Wilson, one of the top riders at Woodbine, for the race.

The 14-race card will also feature the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth for 3-year-olds, the local prep race for the July 23 TVG.com Haskell Stakes; the Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth on the grass for fillies and mares, 3 and up, and the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes at a mile and an eighth on the turf for 3 year olds and up.

The post Grade 1 Winner On Turf, Shirl’s Speight Ready For ‘Tremendous Dirt Test’ In Salvator Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Inspiral took her career record to five wins from five starts with a spectacular four-and-three-quarter-length success in the G1 Coronation Stakes under Frankie Dettori.

Last year's champion 2-year-old filly was forced to miss the 1,000 Guineas after being slow to come to hand and had not raced since annexing the G1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket in October.

Ridden with stacks of confidence by Dettori despite his luckless week so far, Inspiral took off when angled out in the straight, quickening clear to mark herself down as an outstanding filly.

US challenger Spendarella grabbed the runner-up spot for Graham Motion, a short-head in front of Discoveries, who just pipped fellow Irish raider Tenebrism for third place.

It was the first winner of what has been a frustrating week for John and Thady Gosden's Clarehaven Stables, and John Gosden said: “There was an element of relief at the furlong pole and surprise at the line.

“I asked Frankie coming in. I like the jockey's first reaction before they have time to think on what they feel, and I think you could go a mile and a quarter with her. This is a stiff mile here.

“Frankie didn't over complicate, which he did yesterday. A jockey must never be tied down to instructions. It is like a blank canvas. If something happens in a race, just ride the way you feel. Our hero overcomplicated it yesterday. It's over, it's the past and we move on.

“You have races like the Nassau at Goodwood or you could go for the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville. You have those sort of races. We have a nice series of races. Remember, you will meet the older horses now, but she does get weight from them which helps.”

Dettori said: “”You have to put it [yesterday] behind you. This morning I was still thinking about it, but then I opened the Racing Post and I thought it is time to concentrate. You have to cancel it out, you can't read too much into it, things people are saying, it is gone now.

“It took a long time for Inspiral to come to hand. John gave her the time she needed and, in her last couple of works, she told us she was good to go. It was a question mark if she trained on. She had pleased us, but we were still unsure.

“It has been a very difficult week; it did not work out on Lord North, things did not go right for Stradivarius, we were touched off in the Britannia and the colt [Reach For The Moon] after was odds-on. It was tough.

“When Inspiral fell out of the stalls, I thought 'here we go again'. Then the big outsider was in front of me, so I was trying to avoid her. Then I took the chance with the split. But you need the horse to do that, and she really took off, to the point that I was able to enjoy the last 50yds for once! She has put some good fillies to bed in great style.

“We have had a tough week, everyone at Clarehaven has been a bit down, but racing is like that. It is good for the team to get one on the board.”

Richard Thompson of winning owner/breeder Cheveley Park Stud said: “Inspiral has been off the track since last October. We missed the English and Irish Guineas, but patience is a virtue and we have got to see her win like that!

“She won the Fillies' Mile and has won the Coronation Stakes here in the style of a true champion. The Guineas is a long time ago now, but the Coronation Stakes is here and we have won it!

“For Cheveley Park Stud to win a Group 1 like this today is marvellous; she can go over a mile or a bit further, she is unbeaten, she is by Frankel, and she has won us two Group 1 races. It doesn't get much better.

“Coming out of the stalls, I thought she is not going to get the right position and is going to be a bit far behind coming around the bend, but goodness me!”

Spendarella's trainer Graham Motion said: “She ran great – I could not be more proud of her. William [Buick] had her in the perfect spot; she was very brave to hang on for second, I thought. The winner's very good.

“I think Spendarella is a Grade 1 filly and she proved that today. She'll go back to the States now. I don't come over here just for the hell of it. I have to feel good about it to come. We've run second a couple of times now [in this race], so I feel like I know what it takes. We don't have many opportunities in the States, which is kind of why this race made sense, this early in the season, and I think she's really a miler, so we didn't miss out on much in the States.”

Jessica Harrington said of the third: “I am absolutely thrilled with Discoveries. She reversed the form from the 1,000 Guineas and ran a great race. The winner is obviously a very special filly, but I am delighted with our filly.”

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