Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. made an unexpected visit to the Gulfstream Park winner's circle Saturday.
Not that Sister Lou Ann was a surprise winner of the $75,000 Martha Washington Stakes, but her trainer had planned on being at Belmont Park to saddle Skippylongstocking for the Belmont Stakes (G1). After experiencing flight delays and eventually a cancellation, Joseph decided to remain in South Florida to carry out his saddling duties at Gulfstream.
The winner's circle ceremony at Gulfstream turned out to be a memorable and emotional one following the Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred's front-running victory in the mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf. Sister Lou Ann's first stakes victory came less than two weeks after Sarah Ramsey's passing.
“To win for Mr. Ramsey after Mrs. Ramsey passed away, this is for her. This is a special win,” said Joseph, approximately two hours before the Belmont Stakes was scheduled to go to post. “Mr. Ramsey, the one thing he wants to do is to make sure to run as Ken and Sarah Ramsey, he told me. He was adamant about that happening. He wants to make sure to keep the tradition going on.”
Sister Lou Ann, the 2-1 favorite ridden by Leonel Reyes, went right to the front to set the pace before shaking off a mild challenge by Saturday Night Gal on the turn into the homestretch and drawing clear by 1 ¼ lengths. The daughter of Frosted ran the about 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:48.60 on good turf.
Saturday's victory was the first stakes success for Sister Lou Ann, who was making her first start since finishing a close second in the Wait a While Stakes at Gulfstream Dec. 3.
Saturday Nite Girl held second, a neck in front of Jan's Girl. The Joseph-trained Miss You Ella finished fourth after a troubled trip.
Sister Lou Ann, who is out of Granny Mc's Kitten, by Kitten's Joy, has a 2-2-0 record from four career starts.
French-bred Tribhuvan – one of four Chad Brown entries in a field of 10 older turf specialists – went to the front at the start under Manny Franco and led throughout en route to a 3 1/2-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Manhattan on the Belmont Stakes undercard at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Adhamo, another from the Brown stable, finished second, with 2-1 favorite Gufo rallying for third and Highland Chief fourth. Rockemperor, Santin, L'Imperator, In Love, Channel Maker and Tokyo Gold completed the order of finish.
Tribhuvan paid $40.20 after covering 1 1/4 miles on the firm inner turf course in 1:59.54. He set fractions of :24.78, :49.65, 1:13.24 and 1:36.18. The The 6-year-old gelding by the High Chaparral stallion Toronado, is owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso. He was winning for the sixth time in 23 career starts and is 4-for-10 since arriving in the U.S. from his native France.
A dyed-in-the-wool front-runner, Tribhuvan's dash to the lead was made all the easier when Channel Maker, another speed type, broke very slowly from the outside post and was no factor throughout.
This was four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brown's eighth Manhattan win and fourth in a row. Tribhuvan gave Brown a 1-2 finish in the 2021 renewal when he was overhauled in the final furlong by Domestic Spending to finish second.
“At Belmont Park, leave me out at your own risk,” the trainer told NBC's Kenny Rice after the victory. “This is my turf course here.”
Brown praised Franco for his ride, saying of Trihuvan, “He's better when he's completely loose (on the lead) and not around any horses.”
“I knew I was the only speed in the race,” Franco said. “I just wanted to make sure I broke good and put my horse on the lead. I was really comfortable with the way I was traveling and didn't want anyone to close to me and the horse responded really well. [This win] means a lot. Every Grade 1 is nice and I'm just glad to be part of it.”
This edition of the Manhattan came up strong, with seven of the runners having previously won at the Grade 1 level. Gufo won the Belmont Derby and Sword Dancer; In Love the Keeneland Turf Mile; Rockemperor the Turf Classic Invitational; Highland Chief the Man o' War in his last start; Santin the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby in his last start; and Channel Maker the Sword Dancer and Turf Classic.
Tribhuvan, whose previous G1 win was in the 2021 United Nations at Monmouth Park, set the pace in Santin's Turf Classic but tired in the stretch to be fifth, beaten 10 lengths, in his 2022 debut. He similarly tired to 13th in his final 2021 outing in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf won by Yibir.
“The turf course at Churchill that day just didn't suit the horse,” Brown said of Tribhuvan's prior start.
In the Manhattan, Franco secured an easy lead, with Tokyo Gold his closest pursuer rounding into the first turn. His second quarter mile of :24.87 was slightly slower than the opening quarter in :24.78, but he picked it up with a third quarter in :23.59 and a fourth quarter mile in a quick :22.94. As Tribhuvan increased his speed, he gradually opened up on the field, leading by five or six lengths down the backstretch, and no one ever mounted a challenge after that with a final quarter mile of :23.36.
“I was yelling from the box seats, 'Open up, open up,'” Brown said. “I know 49 [seconds for the half-mile] looks all cozy and all but I want this horse completely away from everyone else. He runs best that way.”
LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed launched a furious late rally past the front-runners and scored a repeat victory in the $400,000 Jaipur Stakes (G1) Saturday at Belmont Park.
A 6-year-old son of Jimmy Creed, Casa Creed won by a half-length from favorite Arrest Me Red while pacesetter True Valour was third. Under Luis Saez, he covered the six furlongs for 3-year- olds and older in 1:07.44 on firm turf. He returned $10.40.
With the victory, Casa Creed earned a fees paid, automatic starting berth in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) in November at Keeneland as the Jaipur is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge “Win & You're In” series.
Trained by Bill Mott, Casa Creed scored for the first time in six starts since storming from next to last to win last year's edition of the Jaipur by two lengths at 10-1 odds over stablemate Chewing Gum.
“It's great to get back-to-back wins in the Jaipur with him,” Mott said. “He's a neat horse. He's a real warrior who's gotten better with age. We finally found out what he wants to do. He wants to run in the Jaipur every year.”
Breaking from post 4, Casa Creed settled in midpack for Saez, saving ground along the fence while relaxing in ninth in the field of 13 as True Valour was clocked in :22.36 and :44.94 for a half mile with Arrest Me Red just to his outside.
As True Valour and Arrest Me Red set sail for the finish line at the quarter pole, Casa Creed cut the corner beautifully into the stretch and quickly found himself on the heels of those two. On the rail in upper stretch, Saez angled his horse to their outside at the eighth pole, and Casa Creed responded with a powerful rally for the narrow win.
“His trip was beautiful,” Mott said.”I couldn't have drawn it up any better. He was down in there and saved all the ground and then it cleared enough for him to tip out. When he gets to the outside he flies.
“He really needs more than five, 5 1/2 furlongs. Six and seven is better so we'll see what's next for him [at Saratoga].”
Saez said Casa Creed had a good trip Saturday.
“This horse is a pretty nice horse, he can really run. He just has to have the right trip. Today, we had a good trip. When he ran in Saudi Arabia [second to Songline in the Group 3 Turf Sprint Cup in February at King Abdulaziz], the track was soft. It didn't help him that much but he still ran well and finished second a neck. I'm pretty happy for the trainer and owner especially, they're like family so I'm blessed to be a part.
“I had a little room on the rail but it was tricky because the favorite [No. 5, Arrest Me Red] was outside. I just went to the best path and went to the outside and he got the job done.”
Irad Ortiz Jr., aboard runner-up Arrest Me Red, said: “We just got beat. He beat me fair and the winner ran his race.”
Casa Creed, bred in Kentucky by Silver Springs Stud, has a 6-4-4 record from 26 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,428,308. His dam is the Bellamy Road mare Achalaya.
Despite a slow break and being boxed in early, 2-5 favorite Flightline remained undefeated with a six-length runaway victory in Saturday's $1 million, Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park. Owned by Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing, the 4-year-old son of Tapit ran a mile over the fast main track in 1:33.59.
“A great horse overcoming adversity,” said trainer John Sadler. “It didn't go really the way we thought it would. It's the thrill of a lifetime; he's a one-time horse for me. I've never seen one like him.”
“He proved himself,” echoed co-owner Kosta Hronis. “It really shows what a nice horse he is for him to swing out and do something new on a new track, travelling and everything that was involved. He overcame a lot of obstacles today and still won by five or six lengths. We're proud of our horse.”
The victory earned Flightline an expenses-paid berth to the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in November at Keeneland, though connections are hoping to point the colt to the 1 1/4-mile Classic.
Handled by regular jockey Flavien Prat, Flightline left the gates slowly and leaning to the left, giving up approximately three lengths at the start. Speaker's Corner, the clear second wagering choice, broke better and grabbed the early lead under Junior Alvarado.
Alvarado moved Speaker's Corner over to the inside, boxing Flightline in behind the leader and inside Happy Saver. Flightline remained calm, however, and despite Alvarado crowding the favorite, Prat was able to maneuver Flightline to the outside after a first quarter in 22.78 seconds. Speaker's Corner led by just over a length through a half-mile in 45.01 seconds, with Flightline trailing him on the outside in second.
Flightline inched toward the leader on the far turn, and though Alvarado guided Speaker's Corner a bit wide, Flightline blew by that rival with ease to be a length in front after three-quarters of a mile in 1:08.54. The battle was on for second between Speaker's Corner and Happy Saver, but Flightline was all alone through the length of the stretch to cross the wire six lengths the best.
Happy Saver nabbed second over Speaker's Corner, while Aloha West finished in fourth.
“The way he handled himself once I was behind horses, he was comfortable and I was happy where I was,” Prat said of Flightline. “It feels great [when he hits his best stride]. It seems the sky is limitless and its been a real pleasure.”
Bred in Kentucky by co-owner Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, Flightline is out of the multiple Grade 1-placed, graded stakes-winning Indian Charlie mare Feathered. Lyon purchased Feathered for $2.35 million at the 2016 Keeneland November sale with a daughter of War Front in utero, and bred her back to Tapit on the cover that produced Flightline in 2018.
The colt went through the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling sale, bringing a final bid of $1 million from West Point Thoroughbreds. On debut, Flightline broke his maiden by 13 1/4 lengths, which he followed up with a 12 3/4-length triumph in an allowance race at Del Mar.
For his first start in graded stakes company, Flightline dominated the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes by 11 1/2 lengths and registered a 118 Beyer, the largest recorded figure by a horse last year.
Sadler was forced to a planned start in March's Grade 2 San Carlos with Flightline earlier this year when colt strained a hock, but everything got back on track and Flightline was as impressive as ever in the Met Mile. The colt has won all four of his lifetime starts for earnings of $794,800.
“When I saw him behind early, I wanted to throw up on myself,” Sadler admitted. “But you've got to watch and see what happens. I thought when he [Prat] got him going clear in the turn when he went up in that horse I thought we'd be in good shape. Flavien says distance is no issue and we want to try two turns. That's in the plans. But we go one step at a time. He's lightly raced. This is his first start this year.
“It's really gratifying to get here after the hiccup we had with him. We weren't rushed. We had plenty of time to train him for this. To his credit he's a very good trainer. He's such an athlete. Winning the Met Mile is so gratifying. It's such a historic race and a stallion-making race and he's all of those things. He's the whole package.
“He'll go back to California Tuesday. Ask me what we're going to do from there and I don't know.”
Hronis suggested that the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 3 could be the next target for Flightline.
Flavien Prat gives a thumbs-up after Flightline's win in the Met Mile
