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Zero Tolerance Will Head Down The Hill In Sunday’s Las Cienegas

A stakes winner over the course, Zero Tolerance heads a field of eight older fillies and mares going 6 ½ furlongs down Santa Anita's hillside turf in this Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes.

Vladimir Cerin's Hear My Prayer and Bob Baffert's Ginja, a pair of distaffers in good recent form, also rate big chances in what will be their initial tries down Santa Anita's unique hillside layout. Throw in Baffert's classy comebacker Beautiful Gift and John Sadler's newcomer, Gold for Kitten, as well as his veteran stakes winner Constantia, and the Las Cienegas has the look of a wide open affair.

A Kentucky-bred 4-year-old filly by Mizzen Mast, Zero Tolerance stalked the pace and rallied impressively to take the ungraded Unzip Me Stakes over the course three starts back on Oct. 3 and was subsequently a close fourth going one mile on turf in the G3 Autumn Miss Stakes on Oct. 30.

Ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli, she sped to a 1 ¼ length win at 3-5 in a second condition allowance on Nov. 20 at Del Mar. Originally trained by Peter Miller, she'll be saddled by Ruben Alvarado on Sunday as she seeks her first graded win and her fourth overall from six starts. Owned by Custom Truck Accessories, Jason Hall, Joe Kelly and Michael Riordan, Zero Tolerance will be reunited with Flavien Prat, who was aboard for the Unzip Me win as well as a maiden score four starts back on Aug. 20.

Owned by Holly and David Wilson, Hear My Prayer has been idle since rallying for a solid third place finish, beaten three quarters of a length in the five furlong turf Senator Ken Maddy Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 5. Originally based at Gulfstream Park, Hear My Prayer made her first start for Cerin two starts back in five furlong turf classified allowance Aug. 26, a race in which she pressed the pace and prevailed by a half length.

A two-time ungraded stakes winner sprinting on turf at Gulfstream, Hear My Prayer enters the Las Cienegas as a fresh commodity with a solid resume and will be ridden for the third consecutive time by Juan Hernandez. A 5-year-old Florida-bred mare by the Yes It's True stallion The Big Beast, Hear My Prayer is 11-5-0-3 overall with earnings of $218,975.

Idle since well beaten as the 2-1 favorite in the G2 Black Eyed Susan May 14 at Pimlico, Baoma Corporation's Beautiful Gift, who was a close second in the G2 Santa Anita Oaks April 3 and a game head winner of the G3 Santa Ysabel three starts back on March 7, should be attentive to the pace coming off the bench in what will be her first try on grass.

Although ridden by John Velazquez in her last three starts, Beautiful Gift will be handled for the first time by Drayden Van Dyke on Sunday. Favored in three out of her five starts, Beautiful Gift has the class to rate a major contender.

Perhaps the biggest question mark in the field due to the fact she'll be trying turf for the first time, Ginja nonetheless is in solid form and with Mike Smith riding her back, well-spotted. In a gutty effort, she was pressed every step of the way when second, beaten a neck by her stablemate Velvet Slippers in a one mile first condition allowance Nov. 19 at Del Mar.

Owned by Jill Baffert, Ginja is a 4-year-old filly by Quality Road, out of the Forestry mare Sequoia Queen. With an overall mark of 9-1-5-1, she'll be looking for her first graded stakes win.

Idle since a close third in an ungraded stakes going a mile and one sixteenth on synthetic at Woodbine Oct. 31, Gold for Kitten, who was claimed five starts back for $50,000 at Churchill Downs May 6, has never been worse than third in six starts—winning four, and she'll get the first time services of a red hot John Velazquez. A 4-year-old filly by Kitten's Joy, she's owned by DARRS Inc.

With her last win coming five starts back in the ungraded Mizdirection Stakes going six furlongs on turf here April 17, Sadler will also be well represented by Constantia, who takes a significant drop in class off a sixth place finish going one mile on grass in the G2 Goldikova Stakes at Del Mar Nov. 6. A 5-year-old mare by Munnings, Constantia was bred in Kentucky by her owner, Keith Abrahams. Although second going 6 ½ furlongs in the G2 Monrovia Stakes four starts back on June 5, Constantia, who has four wins from 16 starts, will be making her first start down the hillside turf course.

THE GRADE 3 LAS CIENEGAS WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 9 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

Tapwater—Joe Bravo—120
Hear My Prayer—Juan Hernandez–120
Constantia—Umberto Rispoli—122
Quiet Secretary—Tyler Baze—120
Beautiful Gift—Drayden Van Dyke—122
Ginja—Mike Smith—120
Zero Tolerance—Flavien Prat—122
Gold for Kitten—John Velazquez–120

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 12:30 p.m., admission gates will open at 10:30 a.m.

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‘Old-School Racehorse’ Snapper Sinclair Preps For Oaklawn’s Fifth Season Stakes

Snapper Sinclair has returned to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., and the popular, well-traveled millionaire could make his 7-year-old debut in the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses at one mile Jan. 15, co-owner Jeff Bloom said Tuesday afternoon.

The Fifth Season is the first major 2022 local steppingstone toward the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 23, a race Steve Asmussen, Snapper Sinclair's Hall of Fame trainer, won last year with Silver State.

“We're strongly leaning toward running in the Fifth Season,” Bloom said. “Of course, would love to get a victory in that race, having lost it in 2020 by, I think, a whisker.”

The accomplished Snapper Sinclair, who worked five furlongs Thursday in 1:01 2/5 over a fast track, has bankrolled $1,856,292 in a 36-race career highlighted by a record three stakes victories at Kentucky Downs, the European-style all-grass venue about 35 miles north of Nashville.

Bloom said one reason for keeping Snapper Sinclair in training, rather than begin a stud career in 2022, is to try and grab an elusive first stakes victory on dirt.

Snapper Sinclair boasts several near misses on the main track, including runner-up finishes in the first division of the $100,000 Fifth Season (beaten a neck) in 2020 and $350,000 Essex Handicap (beaten a head) in 2019 at Oaklawn. Snapper Sinclair was beaten a nose in the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds in 2018 at Fair Grounds. He also ran second in the $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) in 2020 at Aqueduct.

“He's doing so well and there was no real consideration about retiring him, considering the fact that as long as his health and soundness stay consistently solid and he's happy, we fully intended to have another campaign with him,” Bloom said. “Obviously, Snapper has been so good to us and he really enjoys his job. That being said, we figured: Here comes 2022 for Snapper.”

Known for his large white face, Snapper Sinclair had another productive season in 2021. The bay son of the late City Zip had a 2-2-0 record from seven starts and earned $418,032. Snapper Sinclair became the first horse to win three stakes races at Kentucky Downs in the second division of the $400,000 TVG Sept. 8.

Sandwiched around a one-mile allowance victory in February at Oaklawn and the TVG Stakes was a fourth-place finish in the $750,000 Godolphin Mile (G2) in March in the United Arab Emirates. He was also a fast-closing second in the $200,000 Eddie D Stakes (G2), a downhill turf sprint Oct. 1 at Santa Anita, and sixth in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

“He's just an incredible old-school racehorse,” Bloom said of Snapper Sinclair. “He's one of those horses that, he brings his track with him. And no matter what you throw at him, he responds. Whether you're talking sprinting down the hill, on the turf, at Santa Anita or going two turns on the dirt against the best horses in the country, he's never dodged a tough spot. To say that he's fine is an incredible understatement. He's just such a pleasure to be around and so fun to have in our portfolio.”

Bloom purchased Snapper Sinclair for $180,000 at the 2017 OBS April Sale of 2-year-olds in training and campaigns the horse in partnership with Chuck Allen and Andrew Yaffe.

Post positions for the Fifth Season will be drawn Monday. Snapper Sinclair also won an allowance race in 2019 at Oaklawn.

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Tough Tropical Turf Field Awaits Largent In Gulfstream Park Comeback

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Twin Creeks Racing Stable's Grade 2 winner Largent, unraced since being beaten a neck in last year's Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), returns to Gulfstream Park to launch his long-awaited comeback in Saturday's $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3) at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., racetrack.

The 44^th running of the one-mile Tropical Turf for 4-year-olds and up serves as the headliner on an 11-race program that begins at noon.

Largent, a newly turned 5-year-old son of Into Mischief, owns six wins and four seconds in 10 career starts, with Virginia-bred stakes victories in the Edward P. Evans and Bert Allen prior to a two-length upset of the 1 1/8-mile Fort Lauderdale (G2) in 2020, the latter at 16-1 odds in his graded debut.

“He's a really cool horse that we're thrilled to have coming back with Twin Creeks,” said Eclipse managing partner Aron Wellman. “You don't see too many records like his, where he's never been worse than second in any of his lifetime races. Multiple stakes winner. Graded-stakes winner. Second by a neck in last year's Pegasus Turf. He's an awesome horse who's a model of consistency at a very high level, and those are very hard to come by.”

Largent, named for the Seattle Seahawks' Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent, forged a short lead entering the stretch of the Pegasus Turf last January, only to be passed late by stablemate Colonel Liam. Colonel Liam would go on to win two more graded-stakes, including the May 1 Turf Classic (G1).

Following two subsequent works at Palm Beach Downs for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Largent went to the sidelines and did not have another timed breeze until mid-November over the all-weather surface at WinStar Farm's training center. He returned to South Florida in late November and has worked steadily since, including a bullet five-furlong move in 1:02.01 Dec. 31.

“We've given him a lot of time since last year's Pegasus. Twin Creeks had him out at their farm and treated him like a king, then he went over to WinStar to get legged up. They always do a phenomenal job,” Wellman said. “Todd's been very pleased with him since he came back to Palm Beach Downs.”

The Tropical Turf would be Largent's first race in 351 days, but comes over a course where he has raced six times with four wins and two seconds. He broke his maiden in debut at Gulfstream in March 2019, won a pair of allowance races during the 2019-2020 Championship Meet as well as the Fort Lauderdale.

“He's been sensational at Gulfstream since Day 1,” Wellman said. “It's definitely a very appealing scenario that, if he's going to come back, to do it here on what has been his most successful sort of home turf, so to speak.”

Wellman said the connections are approaching the Tropical Turf with both optimistic and realistic expectations ahead of the $1 million Pegasus Turf on Jan. 29.

“I'd be lying to you if I said we thought we had him 100 percent cranked up off such a long layoff,” Wellman said. “But, this race is coming up in such a way that the timing is right and the distance is probably right to get him going. While we're certainly not, by any means, trying to get too far ahead of ourselves, it's not out of the question that if he were to run very well and emerge from this race well, that in three weeks' time the Pegasus could come back into play.

“We're not going to call our shot by any stretch of the imagination,” he added. “The main thing is that this is probably the most logical launching point for him, even though he's probably not entirely tight for this outing.”

Championship Meet-leading rider Luis Saez has the call on Largent from the rail in a field of seven.

“We felt like we're cutting it a little close in terms of how cranked up he is, but with this race being three weeks before the Pegasus Turf it could put us in a position to have some options, so we decided to give it a go,” said Pletcher. “He's been training well like he always does and he's always shown an affinity for the Gulfstream course. He's always seemed to do well over it. I think it's a good starting point. He's shown he's pretty versatile and can handle multiple distances.”

Klaravich Stables' Value Proposition is a British-bred ridgling that won three of his first four career starts and has matched that total over his last nine, including victories in the one-mile Red Bank and seven-furlong Oyster Bay last fall. The 5-year-old was second in the 2021 Forbidden Apple (G3) and third in the 2020 Poker (G3), and enters the Tropical Turf having finished fifth in the six-furlong Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship Nov. 27.

Irad Ortiz Jr. is named to ride from Post 4 at co-topweight of 122 pounds.

Another graded winner in the field is Marianne Stribling, Force Five Racing and Two Rivers Racing Stable's Phat Man, who captured the 2020 Fred W. Hooper (G3) at Gulfstream. The 7-year-old gelding has two seconds in five lifetime tries on grass, but was last on the surface in the October 2017 Hawthorne Derby for previous connections.

Shaun Bridgmohan gets the assignment from Post 3 at 120 pounds.

Calumet Farm homebred Flying Scotsman will be making his second start off a layoff in the Tropical Turf. He ran fifth in a one-mile, 70-yard optional claiming allowance Dec. 19 that was moved off the Gulfstream turf to its Tapeta surface. Promoted winner of the 2019 Woodchopper at Fair Grounds, it was his first race since setting the pace before finishing sixth by 2 ¼ lengths in the Dinner Party (G2) at Pimlico Race Course.

“He's doing well. His last run was off the turf and on the Tapeta. It was his first run in probably six or seven months so he needed that run,” trainer Jack Sisterson said. “He's run well second off a layoff at Gulfstream. He won a nice allowance race last year in a quick time, so we expect sort of a performance like that this weekend.”

Flying Scotsman was fifth in last year's Tropical Turf after being unable to get to the early lead. It was his first race in nearly seven months, and he came back with a front-running optional claiming allowance triumph in mid-February.

“That's typically how we train. We don't win first time out or off a layoff. We like to let them improve with races. He did that last year and we expect him to do the same this weekend,” Sisterson said. “He definitely has the talent to win a race like this, it's just whether the race will set up for him. I think his best races are when he's on the front end.”

Corey Lanerie will ride Flying Scotsman from Post 5.

Peace Sign Stables' stakes winner Belgrano, most recently seventh in the Claiming Crown Canterbury Dec. 4 at Gulfstream; MEB Stables' Clear Vision, runner-up in the 1 1/16-mile Claiming Crown Emerald; and Vicente Stella Stables' Call Curt, eight-for-10 in the money lifetime, complete the field.

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Champion Jockey Irad Ortiz Set To Return Thursday At Gulfstream Park

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Gulfstream Park's record-setting leading rider the past three years, is entered to make his 2021-2022 Championship Meet debut Thursday.

Ortiz is named in six of 10 races starting with Macedonian in Race 2 for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who leads the Championship Meet with 21 wins through the first 23 days including Unsociable ($6.80) and Novo Sol ($23.80) Wednesday. Ortiz also has mounts in nine of Friday's 10 races.

Last winter, Ortiz set a Championship Meet record with 140 wins, breaking the mark of 137 set by Luis Saez in 2017-2018. Ortiz reached the milestone by riding Known Agenda to victory in the Curlin Florida Derby (Grade one) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa.

Only Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who did it a record five times between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016, has won as many as four consecutive Championship Meet titles. Ortiz spotted his competition a sizeable head start while serving a 30-day suspension for careless riding aboard Gran Casique Dec. 3 at Aqueduct.

Ortiz has not ridden since notching three victories on the Dec. 5 Clasico Internacional del Caribe program at Camarero Racetrack in Puerto Rico. He also finished second in the Copa Invitacional de Importados (G1) with Luna Fortis.

Saez, Gulfstream's leading rider in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, led the Championship Meet with 40 wins, 145 mounts and more than $1.4 million in purse earnings through Wednesday's card.

Thursday's Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Guaranteed at $1.2 Million

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $1.2 million for Thursday's 10-race program at Gulfstream Park.

Multiple tickets with all six winners were sold Wednesday, each worth $3,635.62. The popular multi-race wager was last solved for a $407,067.66 jackpot payout Dec. 11, a span of 16 racing days.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Thursday's Rainbow 6 sequence begins in Race 5, a maiden special weight for 3-year-olds scheduled for one mile where the narrow 3-1 program favorite is Fiery Heart. West Point Thoroughbreds, St. Elias Stable and Repole Stable's Fiery Heart, purchased for $475,000 last Mach as a 2-year-old in training, will be racing with Lasix for the first time after finishing third in his Dec. 4 debut Dec. 4 on the Aqueduct turf for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Race 7 is a maiden special weight for Florida-bred 3-year-old fillies sprinting 5 ½

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