Tag: Racing

A devastating winner of the Grade 2 Californian April 30, trainer Ed Moger's front-running Stilleto Boy looms a solid favorite to win the 84th running of the Grade 1, $400,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on Monday at Santa Anita. Won by the legendary Seabiscuit in its inaugural running at Hollywood Park, the Gold Cup will be contested by a field of five 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one quarter.

Stilleto Boy, a 4-year-old gelding by Shackleford, will be making his fourth start of the meet and he's never been better, evidenced by his lofty 108 Beyer Speed Figure in the mile and one eighth Californian. A well beaten third by superstar sprinter Flightline in the opening day Grade I Malibu going seven furlongs on Dec. 26, Stilleto Boy was subsequently a huge third, beaten 4 ¼ lengths by Breeders' Cup Mile winner Life Is Good in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 29.

A disappointing third, beaten nine lengths in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap March 5, Stilleto Boy, ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, employed much more aggressive tactics in the Californian and was thus never seriously threatened by Big 'Cap winner Express Train, who has opted to skip the Gold Cup.

“I thought he ran a winning race in Florida and I think he ran just as good today,” said Moger following the Californian. “He beat a good horse today. We've been thinking about the Hollywood Gold Cup as long as he ran good here.”

Owned by Moger's brother, Steve Moger, Stilleto Boy, who will try a mile and one quarter for the third time, is 15-3-3-6 overall with earnings of $1,031,175.

Richard Mandella's Brazilian-bred Royal Ship, second beaten a head in last year's Gold Cup, comes off a five length win in the ungraded John Shear Mile April 10 and will likely try to ensure Stilleto Boy doesn't get away with soft early fractions on Monday.

Ridden exclusively in nine North American starts by Mike Smith, Royal Ship, who earned a 103 Beyer in the Shear Mile, will again get the services of one of America's greatest big money riders as both Mandella and Smith seek their third victories in the Gold Cup.

A 6-year-old gelding, Royal Ship is owned by Fox Hill Farms, Inc. and Siena Farm, LLC and will be bidding for his first stateside Grade 1 victory, With an overall mark of 16-7-2-3, he has earnings of $342,405.

Originally trained by Bob Baffert, Defunded, in his first start for Sean McCarthy, pressed the early pace en route to a big 3 ½ length score going one mile in a second condition allowance here May 8, his first race since Aug. 8 of last year at Del Mar. With Abel Cedillo back aboard, look for Defunded to be ridden aggressively in the early going.

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Defunded, a 4-year-old gelding by Dialed In, will be trying a mile and one quarter for the first time in what will be his ninth career start. With three wins, two seconds and one third, he has earnings of $257,100.

McCarthy will also saddle another Baffert alum, Spielberg, who was distanced by Stilleto Boy in the Californian, finishing third by 24 ¼ lengths. Well beaten in both the G2 San Pasqual Feb. 5 and in the Big 'Cap, Spielberg, a 4-year-old colt by Union Rags out of the Smart Strike mare Miss Squeal, will be ridden by Flavien Prat, who won two races with him, including the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity, before shifting his tack to Kentucky and New York.

Owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, LLC, et al, Spielberg is 13-3-3-2 with earnings of $538,900.

A sharp horse trying graded stakes competition for the first time, There Goes Harvard comes off a pair of allowance wins, the most recent at one mile on turf here May 14. A 4 ¾ length winner going 1 1/16 miles on the main track April 17, his chances are bolstered by the fact he'll be ridden for the first time by three-time Eclipse Award winning Irad Ortiz, Jr. Owned and bred by Cannon Thoroughbreds, LLC, There Goes Harvard is trained by Michael McCarthy.

A 4-year-old colt by Will Take Charge out of the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Soul Crusader, There Goes Harvard is 11-3-5-2 with earnings of $215,090.

THE GRADE 1 HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 4 of 10 Approximate post time 2:30 p.m. PT

1. There Goes Harvard—Irad Ortiz, Jr.—122
2. Royal Ship—Mike Smith—122
3. Spielberg—Flavien Prat—122
4. Defunded—Abel Cedillo—122
5. Stilleto Boy—Juan Hernandez–124

First post time for a 10-race card on Monday is at 1 p.m. Providing there is no Single Ticket winner in Friday or Saturday's 20 cent Rainbow Pick Six Jackpot, track officials project there could be a total Rainbow Six pool, with a mandatory payout, of $5 million on Monday. Free Equibase past performances will be available for Monday's races at santaanita.com.

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A total of 88 horses are entered for Holiday Monday's special 10-race all New York-bred card at Belmont Park to celebrate the best of New York racing, featuring five stakes for the annual Big Apple Showcase Day.

“Big Apple Showcase Day on the Memorial Day holiday at Belmont Park shows the strength and value New York's breeding industry has on racing in our state and beyond,” said Najja Thompson, Executive Director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. “Working in partnership with NYRA, we have created a tradition featuring marquee New York-bred days, showing why it's lucrative to breed, own and race state-breds in New York.”

Hidden Brook Farm, Joseph G. McMahon and Anne McMahon's Bank Sting, a 5-year-old Central Banker bay will look to defend her title in the featured $200,000 Critical Eye [Race 6], a one-turn mile handicap for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

Trained by John Terranova, Bank Sting launched her current campaign with a pair of narrow neck wins at Aqueduct Racetrack, capturing the seven-furlong La Verdad against fellow state-breds in January ahead of a hard-fought score in the one-turn mile Heavenly Prize Invitational in March against open company. She enters from a distant fourth in the Grade 2 Ruffian on May 8 at Belmont.

Bank Sting, assigned a field-high 124 pounds, will exit post 4 under Joel Rosario.

Steep opposition will be provided by Gary Barber's multiple graded stakes placed Make Mischief [post 7,122 pounds, Dylan Davis] for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay, bred by Avanti Stable, enjoyed a lucrative 2021 campaign, posting a record of 10-3-1-3, including a score in the state-bred Maddie May last February at Aqueduct, as well as graded placings when third in both the Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs and the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont.

A talented field includes multiple stakes winners Maiden Beauty [post 2, 122 pounds, Kendrick Carmouche] and Laobanonaprayer [post 6, 118 pounds, Luis Rodriguez Castro]; stakes winner Secret Love [post 1, 119 pounds, John Velazquez]; as well as Mashnee Girl [post 5, 118 pounds, Luis Saez], and Love and Love [post 3, 120 pounds, Trevor McCarthy].

The stakes action kicks off in Race 2 with the $125,000 Mount Vernon for fillies and mares 4-years-old and upward travelling one mile over the Widener turf. Christophe Clement will saddle two-time stakes winner Classic Lady [post 6, Joel Rosario] and the consistent She's the One [post 3, Trevor McCarthy].

Michael Dubb and Michael J. Caruso's Classic Lady, bred by Seth Gregory and Robert Barney, will make her seasonal debut after finishing tenth in the Grade 3 Suwannee River in December at Gulfstream Park in her graded stakes debut. A close second in the 2020 Mount Vernon, the veteran Jimmy Creed mare captured that year's Dayatthespa at Saratoga and the 2021 Ticonderoga two starts back.

Merrylegs Farm homebred She's the One has never been worse than second in five lifetime starts, winning three times and finishing a head shy of victory in her other two outings. The 4-year-old Macho Uno filly enters off two straight wins, including a last out allowance triumph on April 23 at Aqueduct in her first start off a four-month layoff.

Steep opposition will be provided by Lawrence Goichman homebred Runaway Rumour [post 1, Jose Lezcano], a multiple graded stakes placed daughter of Flintshire, who will face state-breds for the first time since last June for trainer Jorge Abreu. She captured last year's Wild Applause at Belmont before earning graded black type when second in the Lake Placid at Saratoga and the Sands Point at Belmont, both Grade 2 events.

Rounding out the field are Bond Racing Stable's stakes-winning Giacosa [post 2, Luis Saez], three-time winner Silky Blue [post 4, Manny Franco] and two-time winner Pop the Bubbly [post 5, Kendrick Carmouche].

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will send out Dream Maker Racing's three-time stakes winner Yo Cuz [post 2, Jose Ortiz] in the $125,000 Bouwerie, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies over the main track in Race 7.

Bred by Seidman Stables, Yo Cuz arrives off a distant fourth-place finish in the NYSSS Park Avenue on April 24 at Aqueduct where she stalked the pace but never fired, finishing 10 1/4 lengths behind upset winner Galaxina.

The daughter of Laoban broke her maiden in December in the NYSSS Fifth Avenue before stringing together two more stakes triumphs in the one-mile Maddie May and seven-furlong East View. She boasts field-best earnings of $399,800.

Mark T. Anderson's Sterling Silver [post 3, Trevor McCarthy] returns to state-bred company after a pair of fifth-place finishes in the Busher Invitational at Aqueduct and Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland. The Cupid filly, bred by Mallory Mort and Karen Mort, was a 2 1/4-length winner of the Franklin Square in her stakes debut in December at the Big A.

Rounding out the field are November Rein [post 1, Joel Rosario], Adversity [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche], Captainsdaughter [post 5, Javier Castellano], Kisses for Emily [post 6, Dylan Davis], Liberty Flame [post 7, Manny Franco] and True Empress [post 8, Eric Cancel].

Peter Kazamias' Kazmike [post 7, Trevor McCarthy] will look to win his second stakes in a row in the $125,000 Mike Lee for sophomores sprinting seven furlongs over Big Sandy in Race 8.

Trained by Dimitrios Synnefias, Kazmike broke his maiden in style in the $200,000 NYSSS Times Square sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs on April 23 over the main track at Aqueduct Racetrack. The homebred son of Bank Heist finished second in his first two starts at the maiden special weight level and was beaten a nose on debut by returning rival Hot Rod Rumble [post 8, Joel Rosario].

Hot Rod Rumble, a gelded son of Midnight Storm, enters on a two-race win streak that includes his maiden-breaking score over Kazmike and a last-out allowance victory on April 24 at Aqueduct where he defeated fellow Mike Lee aspirant Who Hoo That's Me [post 9, Dylan Davis] by three-quarters of a length. He earned a field-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. Hot Rod Rumble, bred by Stephen Crestani Jr., is owned by Rockingham Ranch and trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen.

Completing the field are Rebel Empire [post 1, Kendrick Carmouche], Best Idea [post 2, John Velazquez], Agility [post 3, Jose Ortiz], Tin Pan Alley [post 4, Manny Franco], Rotknee [post 5, Luis Saez] and Salute to America [post 6, Javier Castellano].

Trainer Mike Maker will send out multiple graded stakes winning millionaires Cross Border and Somelikeithotbrown in the $125,000 Kingston [Race 9], a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test for older horses.

Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border [post 5, Luis Saez], bred by Berkshire Stud and B. D. Gibbs, boasts a record of 41-11-8-5 for purse earnings in excess of $1.1 million led by back-to-back scores in the Grade 2 Bowling Green in 2020-21 at Saratoga Race Course. The 8-year-old English Channel ridgling finished a close fifth in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January at Gulfstream Park and enters from a distant fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Cup Classic on April 2 over the Turfway Park synthetic.

Skychai Racing and David Koenig's Somelikeithotbrown [post 7, Jose Ortiz], bred by Hot Pink Stables and Sand Dollar Stables, was last seen posting a gate-to-wire score over returning rivals Sanctuary City and City Man in the 1 1/16-mile Mohawk in November at Belmont. The 6-year-old son of Big Brown, who captured the 2019 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park, added graded turf wins to his ledger in the 2020 Grade 2 Bernard Baruch at the Spa and last year's Grade 2 Dinner Party at Pimlico Race Course.

A talented field includes the Christophe Clement-trained pair of City Man [post 2, Joel Rosario] and Therapist [post 3, Eric Cancel], along with Ocala Dream [post 1, Javier Castellano], Advanced Strategy [post 4, Trevor McCarthy], Sanctuary City [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche], and Step Dancer [post 8, Dylan Davis].

First post on Monday's 10-race card is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Led by multiple Group stakes-winning filly Nenufar Azul (CHI) and defending Champion Succeso (CHI), a field of 17 has been entered for Sunday's 1 ¼-mile Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella (G1) on the turf at Club Hipico de Santiago. The winner of the Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella will receive an automatic starting position in the US$2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 82 stakes races whose winners receive free berths and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on Nov. 4-5.

Nenufar Azul, a Stud Haras Don Alberto homebred 3-year-old, has won both her starts this year. A daughter of two-time Eclipse Award winner Lookin at Lucky out of Nadie Como Ella (CHI) by Rock of Gibraltar (IRE), Nenufar Azul, which means blue water lily in English, won the 1 ½-mile Clasico El Derby (G1) at Valparaiso Sporting against males on Feb. 6, defeating Y Nada Mas (CHI) by a nose at 7-1. Trained by Juan Cavieres, the win was her first since breaking her maiden in April last year. She stayed on form after the Clasico El Derby by capturing the Group 2, 1 ¼-mile Gran Clasico Coronacion Pablo Baraona at Club Hipico by 6 lengths on March 6. Joaquin Herrera has the mount, breaking from post nine.

Haras Don Alberto is also the breeder of the 4-year-old Succeso, who won last year's race by 1 ¾ lengths at 9-1. Succeso is owned by Stud Don Mario and trained by Patricio Baeza, who is saddling six runners in this year's edition. Following the 2021 Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella, Sucesso finished in the money in four of his five next starts, including a victory on Feb. 28 by a nose over El Expreso (CHI) in the 1 ¼-mile Verano Arturo Cousino (G2) at Club Hipico. He started next in the Otono Pedro Garcia de la Huerta Stakes (G2) on April 29 at Club Hipico. Off as the 5-2 favorite, he saved ground along the rail to the top of the stretch, then angled toward the center of the course but could not gain on the leaders and finished sixth, 2 ½ lengths behind All Knights (CHI). Starting from post 13, Kevin Espina has the ride aboard Succeso.

Stud Drope's All Knights, also trained by Baeza, is one of six horses coming out the Huerta Stakes to compete on Sunday. A winner of six races in 21 starts, including his last two efforts, All Knights captured the Huerta by a nose in a blanket finish over Savitar (CHI) for his first Group stakes win. A 5-year-old gelded son of Mastercraftsman (IRE), All Knights captured a 1-mile handicap prep by 3 ½ lengths prior to the Huerta on Feb. 18. Oscar Ulloa will ride All Knights from post two.

Another son of Lookin at Lucky entered is El Tata's 3-year-old Gamberetti (CHI), who has run consistently well in his last three Group stakes starts on turf. Trained by Julio Orellana, Gamberetti finished second to Balio (CHI) by three-quarters of a length behind in the 1 ½- mile La Copa (G3) at Club Hipico on Dec. 3. He followed up that performance with a 3 1/4-length win in the 1 1/8-mile Copa Juan J. Jackson (G2) at Valparaiso Sporting on Jan. 22. Next came the Clasico El Derby, in which he battled in between Nenufar Azul and Y Nada Mas in the final yards, finishing third, a half-length behind Nenufar Azul. Gamberetti, who will be ridden by Rafael Cisternas from post five, tried dirt for the first time in the Longines Gran Premio Latinoamericano at Hipodromo de Chile on April 2, but finished 14th.

Breaking from the rail is the 5-year-old gelding War Breeze (CHI), who won the Clasico El Derby in 2020. Owned by Identic and trained by Patricio Baeza, War Breeze, a gelded son of War Command out of the Pulpit mare Summer Breezy, has run twice this year. He finished fourth, beaten a length in the Huerta and came back to win a 1 1/8-mile handicap by three-quarters of a length at Club Hipico on May 13. Gonzalo Ulloa will ride War Breeze.

Hara Don Luis's El Expreso finished fifth, just behind War Breeze in the Huerta. A 6-year-old son of Tumblebrutus, El Expreso has won twice this year in seven starts, taking a 7-furlong race in February, and the 1 1/8-mile Municipal de Vina del Mar (G3) on March 16 at Valparaiso by 2 ¼ lengths. In between those victories, he finished second to Succeso in the Verano Cousino. El Expreso will be ridden by Hugo Ochoa from post 11.

Los Leones's Savitar finished fourth in the Municipal de Vina del Mar prior to his second-place finish in the Huerta. A 5-year-old son of Daddy Long Legs, Savitar, trained by Ximeno Urenda, is seeking his fifth win. He captured the listed 1-mile Copa El Mercurio by 2 ¾ lengths at Valparaiso on Jan. 16. Ignacio Valdivia will ride, breaking from post eight.

Starting from the extreme outside post 17 is Xeneixe's Balio, trained by Carlos Urbina. Defeated by just a neck in the Huerta in his second race of the year, Balio's victory in last December's La Copa was his third in his last five starts. He will be ridden by Jorge A. Gonzalez.

As a part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner of the Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella to start in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile. Breeders' Cup will also provide a US$40,000 travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 24 to receive the rewards.

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