Tag: Racing

The question facing Calumet Farm's Tango Tango Tango in Saturday's $250,000 Dinner Party (G2) at Pimlico Race Course is whether the 4-year-old colt ready to win, win, win a graded stakes?

The bay son of Tourist showed ability last year, finishing second in the Bruce D (G1) at Arlington Park. He steps back into graded company in the 121st running of the 1 1/16-mile Dinner Party for 3-year-olds and up on the grass off victories at Churchill Downs and Belmont Park. Tango Tango Tango drew the rail in the field of seven that was entered Monday.

The historic Dinner Party is part of a spectacular 14-race program featuring 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million in purses headlined by the 147th renewal of the Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

Other graded-stakes on the card are the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) for 3-year-olds and $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) for 3-year-olds and up, both going six furlongs; $150,000 Gallorette for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/16 miles on the grass; and $100,000 UAE President Cup (G1) for Arabian horses.

First race post time is 10:30 a.m.

Pimlico's oldest stakes race and the eighth-oldest in the country, the Dinner Party was contested at two miles for its 1870 debut – on opening day of the new Pimlico course – and won by the Hall of Famer Preakness. Long called the Dixie and returned to its original name in 2020, the Dinner Party has been won by 10 other horses that are in the Hall of Fame. That distinguished group includes Triple Crown winners Whirlaway and Assault as well as Lure, Fort Marcy and Equipoise. The distance has changed eight times over its history, settling at the current distance in 2014.

Tango Tango Tango is the leading performer from the first crop by Tourist, whose time of 1:31.71 is the stakes record in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1). Calumet purchased him as a yearling for $35,000 in 2019. He did not race as a 2-year-old and in his fourth career start last year, wearing blinkers for the first time, he broke his maiden with a victory in the American Derby. A month later, he ended up second by 2 ¾ lengths to Point Me By following a troubled trip in the one-mile Bruce D for trainer Jack Sisterson. The blinkers were off for his last-place finish in the Jockey Club Derby Invitational on September 18, but they are back on again this season.

Sisterson said that Tango Tango Tango did not grow much but filled out over the winter.

“A bit of time off after the race at Belmont did him a world of good,” Sisterson said. “We just felt as a 3-year-old, he was a bit on the lighter side. We thought he was going to be a better older horse, so we give him time off and he's sort of paying us back.”

Tango Tango Tango is 2-for-2 in 2022. He returned six months after his Belmont fade to capture a 7 ½-furlong optional claimer at Gulfstream Park on March 27.

“We can't complain of what he's done so far. Winning off a layoff, we rarely do as a barn,” Sisterson said. “I don't get them 100% fit to win off a layoff. I like them to improve with the run. He obviously overcame that to win at Gulfstream going seven and a half, and a wide trip as well, which I thought was convincing.”

On May 1, Tango Tango Tango was game in a half-length victory going 1 ¼ miles in an optional claimer on turf at Belmont.

“That wasn't the original plan,” Sisterson said. “He didn't get into the two-other-than at Keeneland so I had to scramble for Plan B because he was ready to run again. We sent him up there and, obviously, going from seven and a half to a mile and a quarter was a question mark. He had never won over that distance, but I think Flavien Prat helped us out, as well. He put him in the right spot.

“It was pleasing for me to see his versatility over different distances,” he added. “He's a horse that can be forwardly placed if the pace is slow and get him to relax if the pace is quick up front. He's doing great at the moment.”

Among the veteran turf stakes horses Tango Tango Tango will face in the Dinner Party is English Bee, also owned by Calumet Farm, but who is trained by Graham Motion. The 6-year-old English Channel horse will be making his 27th career start. He won the James W. Murphy for 3-year-olds in 2019 and was seventh, beaten 2 ½ lengths in the Dinner Party last year. In four starts during the winter in Florida, English Bee was third in the Fort Lauderdale (G2), fourth in the Tampa Bay (G3), third in the Canadian Turf (G3) and fifth by two lengths in the Appleton (G3).

Three Diamonds Farm's Atone has been very competitive in the seven races he has run since being purchased at auction from breeder Godolphin last summer and switched to trainer Mike Maker's care. The 5-year-old Into Mischief gelding has yet to score in a graded stake.

“He was a good fourth in the Pegasus Turf [G1] and the Maker's Mark Mile [G1], so hopefully some class relief will be what the doctor ordered,” Maker said. “He shows up every time. No complaints. He's kept the best company and held his own.”

Atone was beaten 1 ¾ lengths in the Pegasus Turf. Wearing blinkers for the first time, he was in the thick of it in the Maker's Mark and was a length behind the winner Shirl's Speight.

“We put the blinkers on because a couple of the jockeys said when they went to hit him or something that he'd lose focus and swap his leads back and forth,” Maker said. “I think he was more worried about the stick than anything. I thought he ran his race [with the blinkers] and did his job.”

Runnymoore Racing's Beacon Hill will be making his graded debut in the Dinner Party, just his second stakes attempt following a runner-up finish in last fall's 1 ½-mile Point of Entry, where he was beaten a half-length. He has raced once this year for trainer Michael Matz, closing to be second by a nose to Camp Hope in a 1 1/16-mile third-level allowance April 20 at Keeneland.

Daniel Alonso's Brazilian-bred Novo Sol won his stateside debut for trainer Saffie Joesph Jr. on Jan. 5 and was third behind Gufo and Abaan in the Pan American (G2) on April 2 at Gulfstream Park. The 5-year-old is twice Group 1-placed in his native country.

Built Wright Stable's Nathan Detroit, trained by Norman Cash, will try turf stakes company for the first time. The 4-year-old son of Union Rags won a one-mile turf allowance at Laurel Park on April 29.

Juddmonte's Set Piece won three of seven starts with two seconds last year for trainer Brad Cox. In his 2022 debut he was seventh, beaten two lengths in the Maker's Mark.

“He didn't fare very well last time, probably a little close to the pace at Keeneland,” Cox said. “Hopefully he can rebound. We won the race with Factor This a couple of years back. It will be his second run off a layoff, and he's trained real well all winter and spring. I'm excited about getting him back. He just wasn't quite up to the Grade 1 caliber and didn't have the greatest trip last time. Hopefully he can get back on the winning track.”

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After meeting twice on dirt, round three of the Joe vs. Shake Em Loose series will take place on turf Saturday in the $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes on the Preakness (G1) undercard at Pimlico Race Course.

The one-mile test for 3-year-olds, which drew a field of 11, is part of a spectacular 14-race program featuring 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million in purses headlined by the 147th renewal of the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

The race was first run in 1966 as the Woodlawn Handicap then as the Woodlawn Stakes from 1967 in honor of the Woodlawn Vase, the trophy presented to the winner of the Preakness Stakes. It was renamed in 2010 for the late trainer James W. Murphy, who was a stalwart in Maryland racing.

First race post time is 10:30 a.m.

Joe and Shake Em Loose could be running in the Preakness, but they are meeting earlier in the program, Race 10, on grass where both are winless in one start each. J R Sanchez Racing's Stable's Shake Em Loose, owned and trained by Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon, won the first meeting with Joe, edging the Maryland-bred even-money favorite by 1 ¾ lengths in the Private Terms on March 19 at Laurel Park. Joe took the rematch in the Federico Tesio there on April 16 by head or his stablemate Mr Jefferson, with Shake Em Loose third.

The Tesio is a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the Preakness, but Joe's owner-breeder Stuart Grant, who races as The Elkstone Group, opted not to supplement into Maryland's signature race. Sanchez-Salomon did consider the Preakness, but after working his gelding Sunday said he would enter the Murphy.

Sanchez-Salomon claimed Shake Em Loose for $16,000 on Nov. 19 and he has won three of five starts. The son of Shakin It Up sold for $1,000 as a yearling in 2020. He drew Post 8 and will be ridden by Jevian Toledo.

“He's a horse that's still learning a lot,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “He's doing better and better, day by day, training-wise and everything. He's mentally still growing up a lot. Knock on wood, nothing happens to him. He's very sound, very clean everywhere. You never know from one day to the next but he is good now.”

In his only try on turf on Oct. 8 at Laurel, Shake Em Loose found trouble leaving the gate and finished 11th in the field of 12, more than 15 lengths behind the winner. Sanchez-Salomon said it's time for another race on grass.

“I'm pretty excited to run him on the turf,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “He's got a lot of pedigree for it. I think the competition will be softer, too.”

Grant had degree of difficulty in mind when choosing a path for Joe, who is trained by Michael Trombetta. Joe debuted with a loss on turf on Oct. 24 then reeled off three straight solid wins, ran second in the Private Terms and won the Tesio. He was named Maryland's champion 2-year-old male of 2021.

“We're very happy with Joe,” Grant said. “He's training really well. He's developing as a horse. I guess our view is, he's going to be a good, fun horse. He'll be really competitive on overnight stakes, he should be competitive at a Grade 3 level. Frankly, right now. I just don't think he's a Grade 1 horse. And I don't want to, just for my own ego, throw him in a place where he doesn't belong.”

Though Joe has a turf pedigree as a son of Declaration of War out of an Arch mare, he had trouble in the career-opening grass sprint. It was the only time he has finished off the board.

“Mike swears that he trains like a turf horse, and he's certainly bred like a turf horse,” Grant said. “The question is, does he step up as a turf horse? If he steps up he could be a graded-stakes horse. If the change of surface really lets him pick up. We just felt that this was the time. We're Maryland-based, it's good race in Maryland, so we're going to give him a shot. If he likes the surface, he's going to be really, really tough in there. If he doesn't like the surface, we're going to look pretty stupid to do that. I don't know what's going to happen.”

Still, Grant said that going into the Murphy is a logical play. He will be ridden from Post 10 by Victor Carrasco and is rated the 3-1 second choice on the morning line.

“You'd like to think that you do some of your homework and you look at breeding and if they've got no turf pedigree whatsoever, that may be grasping at straws,” he said. “This one's got a turf pedigree. Yes, we're experimenting, but not without some foundation.”

Sanchez-Salomon said he is looking forward the next round of the series with his in-state rival.

“That will be fun, to compete against Joe again,” he said. “Hopefully, we'll have a better trip this time [than the Tesio], and we'll see.”

Donegal Racing's Ready to Purrform, a son of Kitten's Joy trained by Brad Cox, has won two of his three starts, including the Laurel Futurity on Oct. 2. The 5-2 favorite on the morning line, he will be ridden from Post 5 by Florent Geroux.

Epic Luck, co-owned by Mark Ashby and William Gotwals, won the Kitten's Joy on grass last year at Colonial Downs in his second career start.

Bird Mobberley LLC's Local Motive has wins in a pair of dirt stakes and returns to grass for the first time since his victory in the Hickory Tree on Aug. 2 at Colonial Downs.

Also entered in the Murphy are Tag Stables' Uncaptured Spirit, Hickory Made Stables' World of Fools, Jeremy Brooks' homebred Wow Whata Summer, two-time turf winner Determined Kingdom, Charles Blanford's Crabs N Beer, and the Danny Gargan-trained Riot House, who enters the Murphy off a pair of turf wins at Gulfstream Park.

Multiple Stakes Winner Carotari Tops $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint

With four stakes wins and 17 in-the-money finishes in 24 starts, William Branch's Carotari is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the 17th running of the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint Saturday on the Preakness (G1) program at Pimlico Race Course.

Named for the late Hall of Fame sportscaster Jim McKay, an important figure in Maryland racing, the Turf Sprint is for 3-year-olds and up going five furlongs.

Carotari, trained by Brian Lynch and to be ridden by Luis Saez, will be making his 2022 debut in the Jim McKay. He completed last year's campaign with an allowance victory at Keeneland going 5 ½ furlongs and scored under Saez in the five-furlong Janus on the New Year's Eve card at Gulfstream Park. The 6-year-old son of Artie Schiller drew Post 2 in the 10-horse field.

Living The Dream Stables' 6-year-old Seven Scents, trained by Brad Cox, will be making is 40th career start in the Jim McKay. A five-time winner at the distance, he drew Post 3 and is the 4-1 second choice on the morning line.

“He's a horse we claimed and won at Keeneland,” Cox said. “Five-eighths, I think that will suit him well.”

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will saddle Bank, a son of Bernardini for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong. Bank drew the rail and is rated at 12-1 under Joel Rosario.

“We have Bank trying the turf for the first time, who pedigree-wise should excel,” Asmussen said. “He's coming off a solid comeback race at Oaklawn.”

Gordon Keyes' homebred Grateful Bred ran second to fellow comebacker True Valour in the April 23 King T. Leatherbury at Laurel, his first race since his popular front-running triumph in the Maryland Million Turf Sprint last October. He is 2-for-2 at five furlongs on grass, including a restricted allowance win at Pimlico in his 2021 season opener in June.

The McKay also drew Raul DelValle's 8-year-old Arthur's Hope; Paradise Farm Corp.'s Mr. Hustle; Crown's Way Racing's Smokin' Jay; The Wolfman, making his turf debut; Hollis, the beaten favorite in the Whitmore (G3) on March 19; and C.L. Hess Jr.'s Concrete Glory.

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Trainer Brett Brinkman overcame a severe bout of COVID that landed him in the hospital not long ago. Fully recovered, the Louisiana-based horseman now hopes to wind up in the Pimlico Race Course winner's circle Saturday with what would be his first “official” graded-stakes victory when he sends out Marablue Farm and Pegasus Stud's Old Homestead in the $200,000 Chick Lang (G3).

The 47th running of the six-furlong Chick Lang for 3-year-olds is among 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million in purses on a spectacular 14-race program headlined by the 147th renewal of the Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

Other graded-stakes on the card are the $250,000 Dinner Party (G2) for 3-year-olds and up and $150,000 Gallorette (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and older, each at 1 1/16 miles on the grass; $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3), a six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up, and $100,000 UAE President Cup (G1) for Arabian horses.

First race post time is 10:30 a.m.

Brinkman will be on hand Saturday at Pimlico to saddle undefeated Old Homestead in the Chick Lang and, as trainer of record, try to register his first graded-stakes win. A filly developed and trained by Brinkman, Cilla, won the Prioress (G2) at Saratoga last September. But, since Brinkman chose not to travel to New York and turned the filly over to trainer Charlton Baker for that one race, did not receive credit for it.

He will if Old Homestead prevails in the Chick Lang.

“That would be great,” said Brinkman, who has saddled more than 600 winners. “It's why you get up early every morning and put in the hours we put in. Branching out from Louisiana has always been a goal of mine, and wanting to climb up that ladder in the industry, it would mean a ton.”

Old Homestead easily won his first two races against overmatched company at Delta Downs earlier in the year before heading to Keeneland and successfully taking a step up in class, winning the seven-furlong, $400,000 Lafayette by 3 ¾ lengths.

“It's always a question coming off that sandy bullring [at Delta Downs] whether they're going to make the next step,” Brinkman said. “Running against horses that had won multiple races, there was a little anxiety, and I was pleasantly surprised with how easy he did it.”

And “a little anxiety” is nothing compared to the scare Brinkman experienced when he came down with COVID in September 2020.

“Anytime you can't walk 15 feet without running out of air, you tend to get concerned,” Brinkman said, recounting the experience. “When you're in a hospital bed and they've got IV's in you, and people in hazmat suits coming in to take care of you, it changes your whole perspective on things.”

Brinkman recovered. But he said two close family members weren't as fortunate and died from the virus.

Old Homestead, a Florida-bred son of Overanalyze, will be ridden by regular jockey Thomas Pompell and will face eight challengers, including a pair of Steve Asmussen-trained colts – Chasing Time and Cogburn – as well as recent stakes winners Whelen Springs and Lightening Larry.

Cogburn is emerging from a close second-place finish behind Whelen Springs in the six-furlong Bachelor at Oaklawn Park while Chasing Time is cutting back in distance following two off-the-board finishes in the Rebel (G2) and Arkansas Derby (G1).

“We're shortening Chasing Time back up, which he needs,” Asmussen said. “Cogburn is coming off a second in the Bachelor in a very fast time [1:09.68].”

Lightening Larry won the Limehouse in January at Gulfstream Park before running second in his most recent race, the Sophomore Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Jorge Delgado.

Others entered in the Chick Lang are Alottahope, Doctor Jeff, Little Vic and My Handsome Man.

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Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas isn't afraid to swing for the fences. But he also knows sometimes it's best to take the base on balls when presented the opportunity.

Not that Saturday's $100,000 Sir Barton, sponsored by Brandon and Diannah Perry to benefit the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, is a gimme for the Lukas-trained Ethereal Road. But with the 1 1/16-mile race restricted to 3-year-olds that have never won an open stakes, it's certainly a less formidable assignment than the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1) that is the centerpiece of the blockbuster 14-race program at historic Pimlico Race Course.

“We'll run him in the Sir Barton, maybe build his confidence, try to get a win,” Lukas said, “If he does really well in there, then we'll jump into the Belmont Stakes [G1]. I think the Belmont would be a good fit.”

The 24th running of the Sir Barton is among 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million in purses on Saturday's card. Besides the 147th running of the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, the other graded-stakes are the $250,000 Dinner Party (G2) for 3-year-olds and up and $150,000 Gallorette (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and older, each at 1 1/16 miles on the grass; $200,000 Chick Lang (G3) for 3-year-old sprinters; $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3), a six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up; and $100,000 UAE President Cup (G1) for Arabian horses.

First race post time is 10:30 a.m.

Lukas has taken some shots with Ethereal Road, the 3-1 second choice in the Sir Barton's field of 10, for which B Dawk is the 5-2 favorite. Ethereal Road jumped from a maiden victory into Oaklawn Park's Rebel (G2), finishing second. After a disappointing seventh in Keeneland's Blue Grass (G1) April 9, Lukas wheeled the Quality Road colt back a week later in the Lexington (G3) to try to get additional qualifying points and secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby (G1) starting gate.

Ethereal Road finished fourth in the Lexington but squeaked into the 20th spot in the Derby field after a couple of horses were withdrawn from consideration. However, Lukas wasn't satisfied with how Ethereal Road was doing and scratched him out of the Derby the day before – paving the way, as it turns out, for Rich Strike to draw in off the also-eligible list at the last possible minute, then rallying to win at 80-1.

A strong five-eighths of a mile work in a minute flat at Churchill Downs had Lukas beaming – though not quite enough to put Ethereal Road in the Preakness, for which he has Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Secret Oath.

“Boy, he's having a great week,” Lukas said, adding of the decision to go in the restricted Sir Barton rather than the Preakness. “I wonder if I really screwed up there. But he's going in the Sir Barton.”

B Dawk was named by owner Joseph Besecker for Brian Dawkins, the former Philadelphia Eagles star defensive back who was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

It took five starts – and the blinkers coming off in the fifth – for B Dawk to win a race. But then he did so by 11 ¼ lengths at Keeneland. Tyler Gaffalione, up that day, has the return mount as B Dawk stretches out to race around two turns for the first time.

“He ran super with blinkers off,” said trainer Doug O'Neill. “We're optimistic that two turns will do him well. He continues to train and work well.”

The 4-1 shot Unikee, a Gulfstream Park maiden winner who was a good second in a Keeneland allowance, likewise will tackle two turns for the first time for trainer Teresa Pompay.

The Sir Barton horse with the biggest following likely is The Elkstone Group's The Addison Pour, a Maryland-bred 15-1 shot whose prior four races have been at Laurel for trainer Brittany Russell. That includes a nose victory in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race.

The Addison Reserve is the part of Delray Beach, Fla., where owner-breeder Stuart Grant lives.

“They have a couple of bars there,” he said, explaining The Addison Pour's name. “And unlike most bars, where they pour you like 30 milliliters or one finger or whatever, this is a super-healthy pour, like an ice cube and then the top of the glass. It's referred to as the 'Addison Pour.' A good friend of mine said you should name a horse that and I said, 'Yes, we should.' So we did.

“He won first time out. We told everyone and everyone came to the bar. I think it was a Saturday afternoon, his first run and everyone was going crazy,” he added. “Now every time he runs, it goes out in the community newsletter. And he's got this gigantic following. It fills the bar every time he runs.”

Grant noted that the gelding, a son of Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, could have run in a second-level Maryland-bred allowance race.

“But then you have to run against older horses,” Grant said. “So the question is, do you sort of keep them with your own age group, but step them up in class? Or do you sort of not jump up to the stakes category, but then he's got to run against older horses. Just on balance, we thought he's been competitive in all four of his races, let's give him a shot. And what a great spot.

“He's sort of running on his home dirt. And it's a race for non-winners of a stakes, so it seems like a really good place to try him,” he added. “But he's going to have to step up. This is going to be a tougher race than he's ever run before. But he has sort of met every challenge we've thrown at him, so we're excited about him.”

The Mike Trombetta-trained Mr Jefferson, a Maryland-bred son of Constitution with odds of 6-1, comes into the Sir Barton after dropping a head decision in Laurel's Federico Tesio.

Ruggs (10-1) comes in from Kentucky to take on stakes company after winning an Oaklawn Park allowance race at the Sir Barton distance.

“He's a nice 3-year-old that's putting it all together,” said trainer Ron Moquett. “We're still tweaking about the distance. We don't know for sure if he's seven-eighths or a mile and a sixteenth yet. We still trying to put it all together. But he's a very athletic and talented horse.”

The Rodolphe Brisset-trained Brooklyn Diamonds (10-1) also comes to Baltimore by way of Kentucky and Oaklawn, his last start being a second-place finish in a different 1 1/16-mile Oaklawn allowance race.

The Maryland-bred, Laurel-based Goldenize (20-1) has a 2-2-1 mark in five starts, all in sprints, as he makes his stakes debut after an allowance victory for trainer Timothy Keefe and jockey Forest Boyce.

Also entered are Writeitontheice, who shipped from trainer Rudy Rodriguez's New York base to win a mile Laurel maiden race in front-running style; and Good Skate, third in an Aqueduct mile allowance.

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