Tag: Racing

Well supported and well spotted, Richard Mandella's Sumter, who has found a home on grass, stretched out for the first time and rewarded his backers with an authoritative three-quarter-length win while dictating terms throughout in Saturday's $100,000 Pasadena Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.  Ridden by Flavien Prat, who registered his third consecutive win to close out the afternoon, Sumter, a 3-year-old colt by War Front, got one mile on turf in 1:34.77.

Freshened since rallying for an impressive 3 ¼-length maiden score going five furlongs on turf Nov. 14 at Del Mar, Sumter went to the front and was immediately engaged to his outside by Barbasas, who shadowed him by a half length to the far turn and nearly got on terms at the top of the lane, but Prat had a full tank of gas and in an instant, opened up three lengths en route to holding a late running Handy Dandy safe at the wire.

“He was traveling super,” said Prat, the meet's runaway leading rider with 55 wins, 11 of them in stakes.  “He broke good, got some speed from the sprint, but then settled in nice and was relaxing well.  He responded well when I asked him to make a move.  I think (this) was as impressive as (his win) last time.

“Especially given there was a question mark on the distance.  He actually ran the distance well so, it was a good race today.  I think the distance was perfect for him, he may even try further.”

Beaten 22 ¾ lengths in his 5 ½ furlong debut on dirt four starts back on July 25, Sumter then posted a pair of seconds going short on turf prior to the maiden win Nov. 14.  Off as the 8-5 favorite in a field of 11 sophomores, he paid $5.20, $3.40 and $2.80.

Owned by Perry R. Bass II and Ramona Bass and bred in Kentucky by their Bass Stables, LLC, Sumter is out of the More Than Ready mare A Little Bit Sassy.  With his first stakes win in-hand, Sumter now has earnings of $129,600 courtesy of the winner's share of $60,000.

“Yes, we felt good about his chances today,” said Mandella.  “His last couple works were pretty impressive.  He's always shown a lot of talent and I thought he might do well on the dirt (July 25) but he surely didn't.  Today, he was on the lead, but he was pretty relaxed doing it and that's always the key.”

As for Handy Dandy, he appeared unlucky, as he got shuffled back while in tight quarters heading to the far turn and then unleashed a furious stretch rally to come up a diminishing three quarters of a length shy on the money.

Ridden by Edwin Maldonado, Handy Dandy was off at 5-1 and paid $5.40 and $3.60.

Mid-pack about six lengths off the lead at the half mile marker, Crosby Beach saved ground to the top of the lane, altered course a sixteenth out just out-sprinted Don't Swear Dave by a head for third money while finishing 1 ½ lengths behind Handy Dandy.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Crosby Beach was off at 11-1 and paid $5.80 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.17, 47.70, 1:11.49 and 1:23.06.

Racing resumes with a nine-race card on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.  Admission gates open at 10:30 a.m.

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Ike and Dawn Thrash's Turnerloose moved to the top of the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard on Saturday with a 17-1 upset of the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. Ridden by Florent Geroux for trainer Brad Cox, the 3-year-old filly by Nyquist earned 50 qualifying points for the G1 Kentucky Oaks, assuring her a spot in the Lillies for the Fillies race on May 6 at Churchill Downs.

Turnerloose closed from just off the pace to win by a half length, with Goddess of Fire second, Awake At Midnyte third and 2-1 favorite Hidden Connection fourth in the field of 11. The second, third and fourth finishers received 20-10-5 qualifying Kentucky Oaks points.

Following the top four across the wire were Miss Mattie B, Dream Lith, North County, Candy Raid, Divine Huntress, California Angel and La Crete.

Updated Kentucky Derby/Oaks leaderboard

Time for the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track was 1:44.22 after fractions of :23.94, :48.18, 1:13.07 and 1:27.86. Turnerloose paid $37 on a $2 win bet.

Stonestreet Stables LLC's previously unbeaten La Crete led early but was expertly pulled up midway down the backstretch by jockey Joel Rosario and was vanned off in the equine ambulance.

A Tweet from Stonestreet updated her condition.

La Crete is comfortable and weight bearing. She has a condylar fracture that is a good candidate for repair. She will be monitored through the night and we will update tomorrow. #GirlsinGold

— Stonestreet (@StonestreetFarm) February 20, 2022

Turnerloose, bred in Kentucky by William Humphries and Altair Farms LLC, was produced from Goaltending, a daughter of A.P. Indy. She was purchased by the Thrashes for $50,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Woodford Thoroughbreds consignment.

The Rachel Alexandra was the first dirt race for Turnerloose, who won her first two starts at two at Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs, then was third, beaten a neck by California Angel, in the G2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland. She closed out her juvenile campaign with a last-place finish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf won by Pizza Bianca.

“To be honest I didn't know if she could handle the dirt,” said after Turnerloose's victory. “She worked well enough last fall. I gave her a little bit of a break. She worked well enough here at Fair Grounds. She tries hard. Always tries hard. We saw a better version of her today than we did in California (at the Breeders' Cup).”

Cox said the “two logical spots” for the filly's next start are either the G2 Fair Grounds Oaks on March 26 or the G1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on April 8.

“I expected her to be forwardly placed,” Geroux said of his trip aboard Turnerloose. “She broke really good. I was in a good spot but there were two horses in front of me going into the first turn, so I sat chilly, kept her in a nice rhythm. I wasn't going to force the pace if I didn't have to. When La Crete moved out of the way, I came inside. When I got my window, I fit her in and coming down the lane. I tipped her outside and I continually kept on. She was getting brave and went on to catch a nice filly.”

Hidden Connection was tracking La Crete in second when Rosario pulled his filly up and to the outside, then led the way to the top of the stretch, when Goddess of Fire moved to the top, putting her head in front at the eighth pole. Turnerloose uncorked her rally, taking command in the final sixteenth of a mile.

Bret Calhoun, trainer of Hidden Connection, the beaten favorite said: “You're always disappointed when you don't win. I think it was a good race for her to move forward. Reylu (Gutierrez) had to use her some out of the gate being stuck in the 11-post. He worked out a good trip going into first turn and it went smooth from there. She fought hard but just got a little empty on us. She's been off a good while and her works coming back were subpar until that last work which was good, so I think we gave up a little fitness there. If we could have got that last work two weeks ago I think we would've been where we needed to be. We were just a little short today.”

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Brian Hernandez Jr. engineered a $72.60 front-end surprise aboard Cavalry Charge in Saturday's Grade 3 Fair Grounds Stakes on the New Orleans, La., racetrack's turf course, holding off a late run by Jose Ortiz and Adhamo to win by a head. Halo Again, ridden by Joel Rosario, finished another head back in third and it was a neck to Santin, the 5-2 favorite who finished fourth in the field of 11.

Time of the nine-furlong race on firm turf was 1:53.06.

A 5-year-old gelding by Honor Code trained by Dallas Stewart, Cavalry Charge is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, William Sandbrook and Robert Masiello. Bred in Kentucky by Glencrest Farm LLC, the Fair Grounds Stakes winner was produced from the Candy Ride mare, Sweet Talkin. He was a $375,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase from the Four Star Sales consignment.

Breaking from the inside post, Cavalry Charge was joined on the front end by Two Emmys, the 3-1 second betting choice who broke from the 11 post under James Graham. Those two raced as a team through fractions of :24.79, :49.70 and 1:14.10 through the first six furlongs. Cavalry Charge got stronger as the field turned into the stretch as Two Emmys began to retreat, eventually finished 10th.

The bay gelding passed the furlong grounds with a 2 1/2-length advantage after a mile in 1:40.10 and looked home free. That was until Chad Brown-trained Adhamo – 13 lengths behind in the early going while trailing field and 4 1/2 lengths back with an eighth to go – came flying late on the far outside and just missed in his American debut. Adhamo is an Irish-bred who raced in France until being imported late last year.

The win was the fifth in 16 starts for Cavalry Charge, who was coming off a ninth-place finish in his stakes debut in the Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes at Fair Grounds on Jan. 22.

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Now in his sixth season of racing, there is little that Cordmaker hadn't done. On a chilly Saturday at Laurel Park in Maryland, the 7-year-old gelding put the exclamation point on what has been a stellar career with a popular three-quarter-length victory in the $250,000 General George (G3).

The 46th running of the General George for 4-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs was the last of six stakes worth $900,000 in purses on a rich winter program co-headlined by the 70^th renewal of the $250,000 Barbara Fritchie (G3) for fillies and mares 4 and up.

Earlier in the day, Local Motive won the $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds, Luna Belle captured the $100,000 Wide Country for 3-year-old fillies, Galerio edged Forewarned in the $100,000 John B. Campbell for 4-year-olds and up and Kiss the Girl took the $100,000 Nellie Morse for fillies and mares 4 and older.

Owned by Ellen Charles' Hillwood Stable and trained by Laurel-based Rodney Jenkins, Cordmaker had to wait out an objection from the jockey of runner-up War Tocsin before registering his 14th career win, 10th in a stakes and first against graded company. He also extended his career-high win streak to four races and approached $1 million in lifetime earnings.

It was the first graded-stakes win for both Hillwood and Jenkins since they teamed up to capture the 2014 General George with Bandbox. Cordmaker had twice been graded-stakes placed, finishing third in the historic Pimlico Special (G3) in 2018 and 2019.

“It's very special, very special. We did it once before with Bandbox in this very race, and it was a cold day just like today,” Charles said. “He's a horse that, with age, he doesn't seem to want to stop doing this. He gets better with age.”

War Tocsin, longest shot in the field at 48-1, broke running from his rail post and rolled through a quarter-mile in 22.77 seconds with Sir Alfred James in closest pursuit. Cordmaker and jockey Victor Carrasco, aboard for the 26^th time and 11^th in a row, were pinned in along the inside but had moved up to second after a half in 45.33.

The even-money favorite in a field of seven, Cordmaker got an opening on the rail and put War Tocsin a length behind him straightening for home and turning into a strong headwind. Cordmaker began to drift out slightly inside the final furlong and Dexter Haddock aboard War Tocsin ultimately dropped back inside to continue the chase but ran out of real estate. It was 3 ½ lengths back to Sir Alfred James in third.

“When I came back and they showed the replay, I said, 'There's not going to be a change,' because I was pretty much in front of him. The jockey on [War Tocsin], he never steadied or stopped riding or anything. He just kept running with me, and then he decided to duck in,” Carrasco said.

“My plan with this horse is always to give him some daylight around horses, because I feel like he's a better horse outside. I got the two hole and I have guys on the outside of me that aren't going to let me out when you're on the favorite,” he added. “I was patient and when we passed the five-sixteenths [pole] I saw [War Tocsin] drifting out a little bit I said, 'It's now or never.' I took advantage of that. When I asked him he responded well, and we got our picture taken.”

Carrasco's mind briefly flashed back to mid-September when Cordmaker ran second by a length in the one-mile Polynesian at Laurel but was taken down and placed sixth for drifting out in the stretch. It is Cordmaker's only loss in the last six starts.

“This is amazing. I don't even know how to feel,” Carrasco said. “I was nervous because a couple starts back I got disqualified and I didn't want the same thing to happen in a big race like this one. It's very special, and I'm very thankful to Mr. Rodney and Mrs. Charles, who have always been very loyal to me. I'm out of words.”

Shackqueenking finished fourth, followed by Air Token, Threes Over Deuces and Timeless Bounty.

“He's a lovely horse,” Jenkins said. “This horse always shows up. That's what I love about him. He's all racehorse.”

A Maryland-bred son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin, Cordmaker has now earned $989,640 in purse earnings from 36 lifetime starts.

“We'll give him a little time off now. He's been running pretty hard and doing very well,” Charles said. “You can't push it too far, nor do we want to.”

Said Jenkins: “He deserves a rest. He's given us a lot of fun this year. All his life, actually.”

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