Tag: Racing

Pocket Aces Racing's Temple City Terror is back to defend her crown in Saturday's featured eighth running of the $160,000 Keertana Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The 1 ½-mile Keertana, run on the Matt Winn Turf Course, was carded as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 5:26 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 12:45 p.m. Turf racing this week at Churchill Downs will be conducted in Lane 4, 36 feet from the inside rail.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Temple City Terror was the mild 5-1 upset winner of last year's Keertana over Dalika. Following her Keertana victory, Temple City Terror finished third in the $150,000 Robert Dick Memorial at Delaware Park and the $250,000 Glen Falls (G2) at Saratoga. After the Glen Falls, Temple City Terror was off until mid-April when she finished fifth in a conditioned allowance race at Keeneland. The 6-year-old mare will be ridden by Adam Beschizza from post position No. 7.

Chief among Temple City Terror's competition is Catherine Willis' multiple graded stakes placed Luck Money. Trained by Arnaud Delacour, Luck Money made her 5-year-old debut three weeks ago at Belmont Park where she finished a distant second to Virginia Joy in the $200,000 Sheepshead Bay (G2). As a 4-year-old, Luck Money finished second in the $150,000 Dowager (G3) at Keeneland and the Robert Dick Memorial. Luck Money's last win came in the $80,000 Zagora Stakes on Oct. 31, 2020 at Belmont. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the call from post 8.

Here's the complete field from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Stand Tall (Florent Geroux, Rusty Arnold)
2. Disappearing Act (Tyler Gaffalione, Richard Baltas)
3. Go Big Blue Nation (James Graham, Graham Motion)
4. La Lune (GB) (Julien Leparoux, Ed Vaughan)
5. Federalist Papers (Ricardo Santana Jr., Chad Brown)
6. Malibu Marlee (Mitchell Murrill, Barry King)
7. Temple City Terror (Beschizza, Walsh)
8. Luck Money (Hernandez, Delacour)
9. Undisturbed (Chris Landeros, Ian Wilkes)

Churchill Downs will run a five-day race week this week starting Thursday for Twilight Thursday. First post on Thursday is 5 p.m. with $2 domestic canned beer, live music from Dusty Bo and local food trucks Sweet N Savory, Crave a Go Go, Copper Kitchen, 502 Kitchen and Flavorville. Monday is a special Memorial Day program and also Military Appreciation Day. Active and retired military members, with a valid I.D., will receive free general admission or a discounted ticket ($29) to Millionaires Row. First post Friday-Monday is 12:45 p.m.

For more information about the Spring Meet, visit www.churchilldowns.com.

The post Temple City Terror Takes Center Stage In Saturday’s Keertana Overnight appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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It was shortly after trainer Jimmy Toner nominated Hawkish to Saturday's $100,000 Cliff Hanger Stakes at Monmouth Park that he happened to see a picture of the horse winning that exact same race hanging in his office.

But he said he never noticed the date on the photograph. Told it was May 4, 2019, he was surprised.

“Was it really three years ago? That's hard to believe,” said Toner. “I don't think he's won since then either.”

For a variety of reasons, that's true. Hawkish, who owns a Grade 2 victory from the 2018 Penn Mile, enters the 42nd running of the Cliff Hanger off a winless drought that has stretched 13 races now.

But that hasn't diminished Toner's confidence in the Kentucky-bred 7-year-old when it comes to Saturday's mile and a sixteenth turf feature that kicks off a busy three-day Memorial Day weekend of live racing.

“He's a tough old pro and he shows he still wants to do it,” said Toner. “We've just gone through so many different issues with him. It seems like every time we have him ready he comes up with a new issue. It's nothing ever too serious. Just enough to that you have to give him time.

“It takes a lot to get him ready and have him right. That's the whole thing.”

In addition to the Cliff Hanger – which will be followed by Sunday's $100,000 Jersey Derby and Monday's $100,000 Miss Liberty Stakes as the racing highlights of the holiday weekend – the three-day Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival will mark its return with 35 trucks.

As for Hawkish, the son of Artie Schiller, owned by A J Suited Racing Stable and Madaket Stables, will make his third start of the year on Saturday. His seasonal debut on Jan. 16 at Gulfstream resulted in a solid second-place finish but Toner then had to wait until April 16 before Hawkish was ready again. He finished eighth in a deep allowance race at Keeneland that day.

“I wanted to run him back before that but he had another little issue and he needed a race so we sent him there,” said Toner. “He needed that race. We're hoping the race at Monmouth is the right spot for him.

“When he's right he can be good. It's just a matter of getting him right. He's acting good right now and he's as good as he can be so we'll see how he does.”

Hawkish sports a 4-4-1 line from 20 career starts with earnings of $539,390.

A victory in the Cliff Hanger includes a free entry and start fees to the $600,000 Grade 1 United Nations on July 23.

The post ‘Tough Old Pro’ Hawkish Will Try To Regain Winning Ways In Cliff Hanger Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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California-based trainer Leonard Powell hopes to make it two stakes victories in a row with Golden Poppy Stakes winner Avenue de France (FR) as she takes on multiple-graded stakes placed Park Avenue in the $200,000 Ouija Board Distaff at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, on the upcoming Lone Star Million Day card on Memorial Day.

Avenue de France, the three-time stakes winning French bred mare by Cityscape, put in a gutsy performance to come home a winner by a nose at the wire last time out at Golden Gate Fields in the $75,000 Golden Poppy Stakes on the turf. The Powell trainee also was victorious in the $65,900 Luther Banks Stakes in August of last year, as well as showing her versatility in winning on the all weather track on Golden Gate Fields in December of 2021 in the Miss America Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.

Breeders' Cup Classic winning trainer John Sadler ships into Lone Star Park with 4-year old Quality Road filly Park Avenue, to take on eight rivals in the Ouija Board Distaff. In January of this year, Park Avenue was soundly beaten in her second-place effort to As Time Goes By in the La Canada Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita, before finishing fourth in her next start on the dirt in the Santa Monica Stakes (G2) in February.

In an allowance optional-claiming event in March on the turf at Santa Anita, Sadler watched Park Avenue go wire-to-wire to record a three-length victory in her first and only attempt on the turf. After putting out a solid 5-furlong work at Santa Anita on May 21, Sadler decided to ship the Hronis Racing LLC owned filly to take on eight other rivals in stakes company on the grass in the Ouija Board Distaff. Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza has the riding assignment aboard Park Avenue.

The field for the 2022 $200,000 Guaranteed Ouija Board Distaff:

1. PRETTY IN PINK – Kelsi Purcell – H. Ray Ashford – 30/1
2. SHIRLEY'S TEMPLE – Stewart Elliott – Mindy J. Willis – 5/1
3. BRANDONS BABE – Iram Vargas Diego – Karen E. Jacks – 20/1
4. LAVENDER (IRE) – Jose L. Alvarez – Shawn H. Davis – 15/1
5. IT'SFIFTYSHADETIME – Leandro D. Goncalves – David C. Gomez – 30/1
6. ISLAND HIDEAWAY (GB) – Ry Eikleberry – Karl Broberg – 8/1
7. AVENUE DE FRANCE (FR) – Florent Geroux – Leonard Powell – 5/2
8. QUINN ELLA – Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez – Cesar Govea – 8/1
9. PARK AVENUE – Victor Espinoza – John W. Sadler – 7/5

The $200,000 Ouija Board Distaff is scheduled as the tenth race on the Memorial Day card with an approximate post time of 6:30 p.m. CST. The remainder of the Lone Star Million Day card on Memorial Day at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas contains five additional stakes events worth a combined purse of $1,000,000. The $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile (G3) headlines the card of stakes events that also includes the $300,000 Texas Derby for 3-year-olds going 8.5f on the dirt. The three other stakes events on the card are the $100,000 Chamberlain Bridge Stakes, the $100,000 Memorial Day Sprint, and the $100,000 Speightstown Sprint.

The first post-time of the twelve-race Memorial Day card at Lone Star Park is 1:40PM CST, with a vehicle giveaway of an all-new 2022 Ford Escape, as well as live music on the Courtyard of Champions stage from 1pm to 6pm, featuring Emerald City's Party Machine.

The post California Shippers Headline Memorial Day’s Ouija Board Distaff At Lone Star appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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