Tag: Racing

The long anticipated showdown between two of the nation's fastest racehorses, Flightline and Speaker's Corner, will take place in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap going a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and upward at Belmont Park in Elmont Park, N.Y.

The Metropolitan Handicap is a “Win And You're In” qualifier, offering an automatic entry into the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on November 5 at Keeneland Race Course.

Regarded as a “stallion-making race” due to its long history of producing winners who go on to highly productive stud careers, the Met Mile has been won by recent Grade 1-producing sires Honor Code [2015], Palace Malice [2014], and Shackleford [2012]. Recent Eclipse champion-producing winners of the Met Mile include Quality Road [2010], Divine Park [2008], Ghostzapper [2005], Langfuhr [1997], Honour and Glory [1996], and Holy Bull [1994]. Influential sires from decades past also have a Met Mile win on their resumes, including Native Dancer [1954], Sword Dancer [1959], and Buckpasser [1967] – whose sire Tom Fool also won the Met Mile in 1953.

A cumulative nine triple digit Beyer Speed Figures appear on the form of Flightline and Speaker's Corner, with both horses entering the Met Mile off open-lengths triumphs going one turn.

Flightline has displayed brilliance with an unbeaten record in three lifetime starts by a combined 37 1/2 lengths while garnering a triple digit Beyer each time. A 13 1/4-length maiden coup last April at Santa Anita had racing fans eager to see what else the son of Tapit had in store, but he did not return to action until September at the California oval, defeating winners under a hand ride by Flavien Prat.

In his first start at stakes level, Flightline delivered a late Christmas present to his connections with an effortless 11 1/2-length triumph in the Grade 1 Malibu on December 26 at Santa Anita. The in-hand score registered a 118 Beyer, the largest recorded figure by a horse last year.

Flightline will be making his first start past seven-furlongs but trainer John Sadler said added ground will benefit.

“I always thought he would be better as he goes further,” Sadler said. “He has a high cruising speed and when you look at some horses that have fast time, you wonder how that will project out. But if you watch his races, it projects out quite well. Since it's a longer than usual gap between races, we've made sure that he has a lot of good training in him. When you see a steady series of good works it's to make sure he's ready to go.”

Sadler said Flightline doesn't necessarily need the lead.

“We've been working hard with getting him to relax,” Sadler said. “He doesn't have to have the front, but he's naturally gifted with speed. He's a runner and he's a stone cold athlete. Ever since we've had him, he's looked like the big horse.”

Flightline is owned by the partnership of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing.

Prat retains the mount aboard Flightline, who breaks from post 1.

While Flightline makes his trek to the East Coast, Belmont-based Speaker's Corner will attempt to defend his territory for Hall of Famer Bill Mott.

“As far as I'm concerned, the Met Mile is a heavyweight championship type bout,” Mott said. “It should be a good race. If our horse shows up and the other horse shows up, it should be interesting.”

Speaker's Corner, a 4-year-old son of Street Sense, enters off a victory in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on April 9 at Aqueduct where he produced a 114 Beyer – the highest speed figure recorded this year. Attempting to become the 13th horse to sweep the Carter-Met Mile double in the same year, Speaker's Corner is unbeaten at a one-turn mile boasting a pair of graded stakes wins at Gulfstream Park going the distance in the Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper and Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile.

Mott said Speaker's Corner, who has been first at the half-mile call in each of his last five starts, won't necessarily concede the lead to Flightline.

“I don't know if anybody is going to beat him [Flightline] if you give him a six-length lead,” Mott said.

Speaker's Corner has shown ability to carry his speed further, staying on strong to the wire in a narrow half-length loss to Miles D in the nine-furlong Discovery in November at the Big A. Mott said he is hopeful that stamina can benefit Speaker's Corner late in the lane on Saturday.

“We didn't succeed at a mile and an eighth, but we've been successful at a mile. I think our horse gets more than a mile, but he was only beaten a head or a neck going a mile and an eighth by a good horse,” Mott said.

Godolphin, which owns Speaker's Corner, pursues a second win in the Met Mile after scoring a memorably emphatic victory in 2016 with Frosted.

Breaking from post 2, Speaker's Corner will be ridden by regular pilot Junior Alvarado.

Trainer Wayne Catalano will send up a formidable contender in Aloha West, the winner of last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners-owned 5-year-old Hard Spun dark bay was fifth behind Jackie's Warrior in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs last out on Kentucky Derby day.

A five-time winner of ten starts, Aloha West won twice at Saratoga last summer at allowance optional claiming level. After a six-furlong victory last August at the Spa against non-winners of two, he garnered more Saratoga prosperity in the next condition up going seven furlongs.

Jose Ortiz will ride from post 3.

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher will seek his third Met Mile triumph when saddling Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver. The 5-year-old Super Saver chestnut has never finished worse than third in nine lifetime starts, including a victory in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2020, where he defeated the following year's Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide and millionaire Tacitus.

Happy Saver arrives off his 2022 debut, when finishing second in the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill Downs to Olympiad. Boasting a 9-5-3-1 record, Happy Saver has banked $803,300 in lifetime earnings.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride from post 4.

Completing the field is Uriah St. Lewis-owned and trained Informative, a 5-year-old dark bay son of Bodemeister. Last June, Informative won the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park in a 79-1 upset. St. Lewis is no stranger to springing major upsets at graded stakes level on the NYRA circuit, with the most notable being a triumph with Discreet Lover in the 2018 Jockey Club Gold Cup [Grade 1] at Belmont Park.

Dexter Haddock has the call from post 5.

The Met Mile is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 13-race card which features a first post of 11:20 a.m. Eastern.

National television coverage of Belmont Stakes Day will begin on FS2, where America's Day at the Races will air from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. before coverage shifts to CNBC from 3 to 5 p.m. and NBC from 5 to 7p.m. America's Day at the Races will then return to FS2 from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post ‘Heavyweight Championship Bout’: Flightline Vs. Speaker’s Corner In Met Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Mrs. Fitriani Hay's Highland Chief, a 19-1 upset winner of the Grade 1 Man o' War last out, returns to Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., for Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Manhattan, a 10-furlong inner turf test for older horses.

The 5-year-old Gleneagles bay launched his career in England with conditioner Paul Cole, winning the Golden Gates Handicap in June 2020 at Ascot ahead of placings later that year at York in the Group 2 Great Voltigeur and the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge. He raced just once as a 4-year-old, finishing fifth in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom, before being transferred to the care of trainer Graham Motion.

Highland Chief finished a troubled ninth in his seasonal and stateside debut in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming event in April at Aqueduct Racetrack before making the grade as the longest shot in a field of five led by the reigning Champion Turf Male in Yibir and returning rival and multiple Grade 1-winner Gufo.

He stalked the early foot of Abaan from second position in the 11-furlong Man o'War before jockey Trevor McCarthy gave Highland Chief his cue three furlongs out, taking command at the top of the lane en route to a one-length score over Gufo, who was a neck better than Yibir.

Motion said he wasn't completely surprised by the performance which provided McCarthy his first career Grade 1 win.

“I probably asked too much of him in that mile and a sixteenth race, but I really wanted to get him going and that race benefitted him to get him to the Grade 1,” Motion said. “If you go back through his form lines, it's not that crazy he was able to pull that off based on his Ascot form. He was a solid enough horse before he came to me and then he had throat surgery before he came to me which probably helped.”

Motion credited McCarthy for taking the initiative in the compact Man o' War field.

“I left it up to Trevor. He broke a step slow at Aqueduct and we talked about that, but we didn't see a whole lot of pace in there. We felt he could be forwardly placed but that was really Trevor's call,” Motion said. “I was glad we got the jump on those guys. Both Gufo and the Breeders' Cup winner [Yibir] have a tremendous turn of foot and I thought it was important he got the jump on them.”

McCarthy retains the mount from post 8 as Motion looks to add to past Manhattan success with Ascend [2017] and Spring Quality [2018].

Otter Bend Stables' Gufo will look to avenge his Man o' War defeat and improve on last year's third-place finish in this event when closing to finish four lengths back of the victorious Domestic Spending.

Trained by three-time Manhattan winner Christophe Clement, Gufo captured the 2020 Grade 1 Belmont Derby over 10 furlongs at Belmont and added the 12-furlong Grade 1 Sword Dancer to his ledger last summer at Saratoga Race Course.

The 5-year-old Declaration of War chestnut won the Grade 2 Pan American in his seasonal debut at Gulfstream Park ahead of the Manhattan.

Clement said Gufo is training well into Saturday's test.

“I'm excited to see him again. It's all good [with him],” Clement said. “I don't think the cutback is a bother to him. A mile and a quarter to a mile and a half is good for him.”

Gufo will exit post 2 under returning rider Joel Rosario as he looks to improve on a record of 16-8-3-4 for purse earnings in excess of $1.4 million.

Godolphin's Santin will look to double up in Grade 1 wins for trainer Brendan Walsh. The regally bred 4-year-old son of Distorted Humor, out of the multiple graded-stakes winning Medaglia d'Oro mare Sentiero Italia, enters from a hard-fought neck score over Mira Mission in the Grade 1 Turf Classic on May 7 at Churchill Downs.

The lightly-raced colt finished a close second in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby in November at Del Mar and opened his current campaign with a pair of starts at Fair Grounds, finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Fair Grounds in February ahead of a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic in March.

Walsh said Santin's effort from the outermost post 14 in the Hollywood Derby touted the horse's talent.

“At Del Mar, we ran him in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby in just his third start, so we obviously thought a lot of him,” Walsh said. “He had a next to impossible task from a very tough draw and was unlucky not to win it. I think he liked it out there on the firm turf.”

Walsh said the addition of blinkers last out in the Turf Classic proved beneficial for Santin.

“He had worked in blinkers at the Fair Grounds before his races there and I was always focused on waiting for the Turf Classic to be the first time we would use them. He's very laid back and they just help him concentrate a little more,” Walsh said.

Santin has made his last four starts at nine furlongs and Walsh said the additional furlong on Saturday won't be an issue.

“He's had a nice length of time between races and I think he'll like Belmont and that big galloping track,” Walsh said. “I have been pleased with him since Churchill and I don't think the 10 furlongs will be an inconvenience for him.”

Tyler Gaffalione retains the mount from post 9.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown has won the Manhattan a record seven times, including the last three in succession. He will send out L'Imperator [post 1, Eric Cancel], Rockemperor [post 6, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], Adhamo [post 4, Flavien Prat] and Tribhuvan [post 7, Manny Franco] as he looks to extend his record.

Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Robert V. LaPenta's L'Imperator made the grade last out in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy with a front-running score under Eric Cancel.

Brown said L'Imperator is likely to follow stablemate Tribhuvan on Saturday.

“I think L'Imperator probably only made the lead last time because it was so slow, but he ran very well that day,” Brown said. “I don't think he has more pace than Tribhuvan.”

The 5-year-old Holy Roman Emperor gelding won 2-of-5 starts last season, taking optional-claiming events at Saratoga and Aqueduct along with a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch at the Spa.

Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Wonder Stables, Michael Kisber and Michael Caruso's graded-stakes winner Rockemperor will achieve millionaire status with a placing on Saturday. The 6-year-old Holy Roman Emperor bay makes his third Manhattan appearance following a second in 2020 and a fifth-place finish last year.

Rockemperor, who won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational in October at Belmont, enters from a troubled fifth behind L'Imperator in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy on May 7 at Belmont. He posted a bullet five-eighths work in 1:01.80 Sunday over the Belmont inner turf.

“He worked well this week and he really didn't like the soft turf last time,” Brown said. “He likes Belmont and hopefully the ground will suit him.”

Dubb, Madaket Stables and Louis Lazzinnaro's Adhamo captured the Group 3 Prix la Force in April 2021 traveling nine furlongs over soft going at Longchamp for former conditioner Frederic Head.

The 4-year-old Intello colt finished second in the Grade 3 Fair Grounds in his stateside debut for Brown ahead of an even third last out in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill.

“He just didn't like the turf that day and if they don't like the ground, they're not going to run. It was just that simple. I think he's going to take to Belmont well and run well,” Brown said.

Dubb, Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables' multiple graded stakes winner Tribhuvan finished second in last year's Manhattan to stablemate Domestic Spending. Last year, the 6-year-old Toronado gelding pasted gate-to-wire scores in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy at Belmont and the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park. Tribhuvan finished off-the-board in both starts this year, including a distant fifth last out in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill.

“He didn't like the soft turf last time. He likes to be on the lead and I expect he will be,” Brown said.

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's multiple Grade 1-winner Channel Maker will be making his fourth appearance in the Manhattan after finishing eighth in 2018 and fourth in both 2019 and 2020.

The hard-knocking Ontario-bred earned Eclipse Award honors as Champion Turf Male in 2020 after posting Grade 1 wins in the Sword Dancer at Saratoga and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, a three-time Manhattan winner, the 8-year-old English Channel gelding opened his current campaign with a 1 1/4-length score in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Elkhorn on April 23 at Keeneland.

“I've had some nice older horses before, but he's been a real warrior,” Mott said. “He's made 3.5 million dollars. He's a good old gelding and he's run in a lot of stakes – it's amazing.”

Luis Saez will pilot Channel Maker from post 10.

Rounding out the field is Grade 1-winner In Love [post 5, Alex Achard], who captured the Keeneland Turf Mile in October for trainer Paulo Lobo; and Group 2-winner Tokyo Gold [post 3, Cristian Demuro] for conditioner Satoshi Kobayashi.

The Manhattan is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's 13-race card. First post is 11:20 a.m. Eastern with the Belmont Stakes slated as Race 11 with a post time of 6:44 p.m.

National television coverage of Belmont Stakes Day will begin on FS2, where America's Day at the Races will air from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. before coverage shifts to CNBC from 3 to 5 p.m. and NBC from 5 to 7p.m. America's Day at the Races will then return to FS2 from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Grade 1 Talent Runs Deep In Manhattan Field; Highland Chief, Gufo Among 10 Turf Aces appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Saturday's Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun drew a field of six swift sophomores to sprint seven furlongs over Belmont's main track, topped by undefeated rising star Jack Christopher.

Named for the iconic New York-based trainer who won five consecutive Belmont Stakes from 1982-86, the Woody Stephens has been won by subsequently crowned champion sprinters Smoke Glacken and Lost in the Fog, as well as Breeders' Cup winners Bayern, Fly So Free and Is It True. Last year, a thrilling renewal saw Drain the Clock outlast eventual Champion Sprinter Jackie's Warrior.

Owned by Jim Bakke, Gerry Isbister, Coolmore Stud and White Birch Farm, Jack Christopher has yet to be tested in a trio of tries, winning by a combined total of 15 1/4-lengths. A romping winner of his six-furlong debut in August at Saratoga, the son of Munnings then won the Grade 1 Champagne as a prep for the Breeders' Cup. Unable to contest the World Championships, he returned on the Kentucky Derby undercard in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile, where he ran away from Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Pappacap by 3 3/4-lengths.

Jose Ortiz, aboard for all three of his starts, will ride the Chad Brown-trained charge from the inside post.

“He's doing fine right now,” Brown said. “He's trained super at Belmont. I wasn't looking to cut him back in distance, but that's what is available right now. He's a tough-minded horse and a smart horse. He takes his races and works very well.”

Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway Stable's Todd Pletcher-trained Wit was third in the Champagne, but boasts two New York graded stakes on his resume. The winner of last summer's Grade 3 Sanford at The Spa opened his 3-year-old account with a determined win in the Grade 3 Bay Shore on April 9 at Aqueduct Racetrack. Twice placed in Grade 1 company, he seeks to break through at the top level when he leaves post 3 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“He's been sharp,” Pletcher said. “He broke great in the Bay Shore and broke well in his two gate works we've had this year, so hopefully he's got that behind him. We just want to make sure he breaks with the field and not compromise his chances like he did a couple of times last year. Jack Christopher is an awfully good horse at any distance, but we're happy with our horse.”

Pletcher has also entered a second son of Into Mischief in My Racehorse Stable and Spendthrift Farm's Provocateur. To be piloted by Luis Saez from post 6, the dual winner from six tries won the Hutcheson in March at Gulfstream Park and was second as the favorite in Belmont's six-furlong Gold Fever last out on May 15 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

“It was a ground-saving trip in kind of an intimidating spot,” Pletcher said of the Gold Fever effort. “Irad said he just got in there and was a little reluctant to punch his way through. He just couldn't quite get there in time.”

Mark Casse-trained Grade 2 winner Pappacap reopposes on Saturday for owner-breeder Rustlewood Farm, breaking from post 2 under Flavien Prat. The Steve Asmussen-trained duo of Grade 3 Gotham winner Morello [post 4, Joel Rosario] and Oaklawn allowance winner Chasing Time [post 5, Tyler Gaffalione], who adds blinkers, complete the lineup.

The Woody Stephens is slated as Race 6 on Saturday's 13-race card which features a first post of 11:20 a.m. Eastern with the Belmont Stakes slated as Race 11 at 6:44 p.m.

National television coverage of Belmont Stakes Day will begin on FS2, where America's Day at the Races will air from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. before coverage shifts to CNBC from 3 to 5 p.m. and NBC from 5 to 7p.m. America's Day at the Races will then return to FS2 from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Will Unbeaten Jack Christopher Finally Be Tested In Woody Stephens? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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