Welcome to 2022 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we’ll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the race horses earn points toward qualifying. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 7, 2022, at Churchill Downs.
Tag: Racing
Zero Tolerance Outlasts Fast-Closing Tapwater In Las Cienegas
Zero Tolerance stalked favored Hear My Prayer to the top of the lane en route to a hard fought head victory over late-closing Tapwater in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., thus providing trainer Ruben Alvarado with his first career stakes win. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Zero Tolerance, a 4-year-old grey daughter of Mizzen Mast, got about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course in 1:13.26.
Drawn on the far outside, Zero Tolerance fell into a perfect trip as speedy Hear My Prayer went to the lead, maintaining a one-length advantage past the half mile pole, but the winner gained the advantage at the dirt crossing at the top of the stretch and was all out to hold off the runner-up.
“Unbelievable, I don't have the words to say,” said Alvarado, a longtime assistant to Peter Miller, who has taken a hiatus from training, handing over his stable to Alvarado. “I remember I had this moment when Roy H won the Breeders' Cup (Sprint, in 2017 and 2018). That was a moment I would never forget…
“That's her (Zero Tolerance), I knew she could run. She's a horse that can come off the pace or be on the lead. … She loves six and a half, so I knew she was going to run huge for me. She was a little fresh, so that was what we expected from her.”
A winner of a five-furlong turf allowance at Del Mar on Nov. 20, Zero Tolerance was off as the second choice at 2-1 in a field of seven older fillies and mares and paid $6.00, $3.80 and $2.60.
Owned by Custom Truck Accessories, Jason Hall, Joe Kelly and Michael Riordan, Zero Tolerance, who is out of the El Prado mare Torreadora was a winner of Santa Anita's ungraded Unzip Me Stakes two starts back on Oct. 3 and she is now a two-time stakes winner with four wins from six overall starts. With the winner's share of $60,000, she increased her earnings to $215,000.
“She was traveling super relaxed and it does help to have a target, I think it helped her to relax,” said Prat, who although he didn't ride her in her most recent start, has now won three of his four engagements with her. “She can be a little on her toes sometimes, but she was relaxing well today and when it was time to make a move, she responded well.”
Ridden by Joe Bravo, Tapwater was unhurried from her rail post position, running next to last after the first quarter mile. In her first try down the hillside, the 6-year-old mare, who was shortening up out of a series of two turn races, rallied impressively while trying to drift in and just missed. Off at 10-1 Tapwater paid $10.00 and $5.00 while finishing 1 ½ lengths better than a tiring Hear My Prayer.
The 8-5 favorite with Juan Hernandez, Hear My Prayer paid $2.40 to show.
With the win, Prat notched his third on the day and he went to get his fourth victory of the afternoon in the next race, making 21 for the meet, four better than runner-up John Velazquez. The Las Cienegas also marked Prat's meet-leading sixth stakes win as well.
Fractions on the race were 21.99, 44.16 and 1:06.92.
Racing resumes with a special four-day holiday week on Friday, with first post time for an eight-race card at 12:30 p.m.
The post Zero Tolerance Outlasts Fast-Closing Tapwater In Las Cienegas appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Barese Returns From Layoff To Win Aqueduct’s Rego Park
Paradise Farm and David Staudacher's Barese came home the best of nine state-bred sophomores to win his first stakes in Sunday's 6 1/2-furlong $100,000 Rego Park at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.
Trained by Mike Maker, the son of Laoban was making his first start since a debut maiden special weight win at Belmont Park on May 21, taking a five-furlong sprint for state-breds by a half-length under Irad Ortiz, Jr. from just off the pace.
Eight months later, Barese, piloted by Dylan Davis, was kept a bit farther off the pace than in his debut, breaking last in the field of nine and unhurried by Davis to track in sixth behind pacesetter Unique Unions through an opening quarter-mile in 22.64 seconds over the good and harrowed main track.
Barese continued to hold in fourth going four-wide down the backstretch as Unique Unions held his lead a length the better of Daufuskie Island and 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Agility with Kendrick Carmouche up.
Barese began to kick into gear entering the turn with slight urging from Davis, who was still content to bide his time with plenty of horse underneath him. Swinging wide to the center of the racetrack, Davis showed Barese a right-handed crop and gave him one tap as the field straightened for the drive to the wire, grinding away to the outside of Agility as Unique Unions began to toil along the rail.
Matching strides with Agility and Daufuskie Island just before the sixteenth pole, Barese pulled away under left-handed encouragement from Davis and secured the second win of his career by 2 3/4 lengths, stopping the clock in 1:19.13. Agility held on to finish second by a neck over Daufuskie Island.
Davis, who rode Barese for the first time in the Rego Park, said the bay colt was full of run.
“He's a big boy and coming off the layoff, I was just trying to get a nice, comfortable break and that's what he got,” Davis said. “They ran away from him which I thought would happen, but he was handling the kickback well.
“Nearing the five-eighths pole, he started getting a little aggressive with me and I thought it was better to not keep him behind those horses,” Davis added. “I gave him a nice, clear spot in the four-path and just let him do his thing into the turn. Turning for home, he had plenty left and his big stride was able to keep going and going. He might want to handle more distance, but he handled this great.”
Davis, who currently sits in second behind Carmouche [22 wins] in the jockey standings at the Big A winter meet with 19 wins, gave credit to agent Mike Migliore for his success this meet.
“I'm doing the best I can. I want to win this title,” said Davis. “I've been top-three or top-four for the past five years and I really want to get this title. It would be a real accomplishment for me. Mike has been working really hard behind the scenes.”
The Jorge Abreu-trained Agility stayed on well for place honors, holding off a stubborn Daufuskie Island, who finished third a head in front of Unique Unions in fourth.
“The horse ran a great race,” Carmouche said of Agility. “He lugged in a little, but I think he needs blinkers. Maybe that will straighten him up and get him going, but I thought he ran a game race. The whole way I was in good position, just second best today.”
Completing the order of finish were Cut the Cord, Doin'ittherightway, G Munning, Always Charming, and Bali's Shade.
Bred in New York by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Lakland Farm, Barese earned $55,000 in victory and improved his record to a perfect 2-2-0-0. A $2 wager on Barese returned $11.
Live racing returns to the Big A on Thursday with a nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.
America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
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Pegasus World Cup Invitations Point To Knicks Go, Life Is Good Showdown
Defending champion and projected 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go, Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Life Is Good, and undefeated Malibu (G1) winner Flightline highlight a list of 19 horses invited to compete in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Saturday, Jan. 29, at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
A total of seven graded stakes worth $5.2 million in purses will be offered on Pegasus Day, led by the return of the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) and the debut of the $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3).
All three races are for 4-year-olds and up. The Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus Turf are both contested at 1 1/8 miles while the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf, previously run as the Marshua's River, will be run at 1 1/16 miles.
Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go ended 2021 on a four-race win streak, all in graded-stakes, including the Whitney (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Winner of the 2020 Dirt Mile, he began last year with an emphatic 2 ¾-length triumph in the Pegasus World Cup and is seeking to become its first repeat champion.
Also among invitees to the Pegasus World Cup from the barn of trainer Brad Cox are Concert Tour and Mandaloun. Gary and Mary West homebred Concert Tour won the San Vicente (G2) and Rebel (G2) in 2021 but has not raced since finishing ninth in the Preakness (G1), all for previous trainer Bob Baffert. Juddmonte homebred Mandaloun ran second to Medina Spirit in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and is also coming off a layoff following his triumph in the Haskell (G1).
WinStar Farm's and CHC Inc.'s and Life Is Good was dominant in a front-running 5 ¾-length victory in the Dirt Mile Nov. 6 at Del Mar, his fifth win from six career starts and first Grade 1 after triumphs in the Kelso (G2), San Felipe (G2) and Sham (G3) last year. He has been breezing regularly since mid-December in South Florida for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
“Life Is Good we've been pointing for the Pegasus since the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. He got a short freshening at WinStar and he's come in with that as our goal,” Pletcher said. “Everything has gone according to plan. He's never run at Gulfstream, but he's the kind of horse where his style should suit Gulfstream well.”
Other Pletcher-trained horses on the Pegasus World Cup invite list are Dr Post, Fearless and Happy Saver. St. Elias Stable's Dr Post is a two-time Grade 3 winner that is 2-0 at Gulfstream including the 2020 Unbridled; Repole Stable's Fearless exits a victory in Gulfstream's Harlan's Holiday (G3) Dec. 18; and Wertheimer and Frere homebred Happy Saver won the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) as a 3-year-old in 2020 then ran second in defense of his title as well as the Nov. 24 Clark (G1).
The $150,000 Fred W. Hooper (G3) for 4-year-olds and up going one mile on the main track as part of the undercard is also an alternative.
“Not sure who else we could potentially have for it. We're kind of waiting to see how Dr Post and Happy Saver and Fearless train. We also have the mile race that day on the dirt as an option for those horses,” Pletcher said. “We're also considering maybe Happy Saver going to Saudi, so we're just kind of, as always, seeing how everyone's training and how they're coming up to these.”
Undefeated Malibu (G1) winner Flightline, trainer by John Sadler, has raced only three times but has won those races by a combined 37 ½ lengths while being hand ridden to the finish line in each. Sadler has not announced any plans for Flightline's next race.
Completing the Pegasus World Cup invitations are 2019 American Pharoah (G1) winner Eight Rings; multiple graded-stakes winner Express Train; 2021 Pat O'Brien (G2) winner Ginobili; millionaire 2021 Lecomte (G3) winner Midnight Bourbon; 2019 Belmont (G1) winner Sir Winston and 2021 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Super Stock.
Concert Tour, Endorsed and Fearless are among the invitees on the also-eligible list, along with Chess Chief, Officiating, Stilleto Boy and Title Ready.
$3 MILLION PEGASUS WORLD CUP (G1) INVITATIONS
Dr Post
Eight Rings
Express Train
Flightline
Ginobili
Happy Saver
Knicks Go
Life Is Good
Mandaloun
Midnight Bourbon
Sir Winston
Super Stock
AE – Chess Chief
AE – Concert Tour
AE – Endorsed
AE – Fearless
AE – Officiating
AE – Stilleto Boy
AE – Title Ready
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