Racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Essential Wager Wins Palos Verdes In Stakes Debut

In his initial stakes engagement, Essential Wager showed tremendous heart in choreographing a gate to wire victory in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes at Santa Anita. Ridden for the first time by Abel Cedillo, the 4-year-old Honor Code colt got six furlongs in 1:09.95.

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Essential Wager notched his third consecutive win and, according to trainer Bob Baffert, will make his next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 San Carlos Stakes going seven furlongs on March 5.

With his well fancied stablemate Cezanne a non-factor, Essential Wager enjoyed a length advantage over Team Merchants turning for home and held off determined longshot Shooters Shoot late for the victory.

“This horse is getting better and better,” said Baffert. “With Cezanne, I think it was a little too short for him…All of Essential Wager's races have been pretty impressive and actually, he's bred to not be a sprinter. Abel did a great job, got him outta there and held off those horses pretty well. You know, he took a lot of heat early and kept going.”

A two-length first condition allowance winner going the same distance at Los Alamitos Dec. 11, Essential Wager was the second choice in a field of five older horses at 9-5 and paid $5.60, $3.60 and $2.20.

“We started together and it's always special to come back to Santa Anita,” said longtime Baffert client Pegram, who flew in from northern Nevada. “This is my first time back in two years and we know why we call it The Great Race Place. It's very special and we always love to come back to Santa Anita.”

In his fourth career start, Essential Wager, who is out of the Officer mare Opus, picked up $120,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $207,200 while improving his overall mark to 4-3-1-0.

Claimed for $50,000 on Jan. 2, Shooters Shoot had two lengths to make up at the furlong pole and came up a neck short in a big effort. Trained by Richard Baltas and ridden by Victor Espinoza, he was the longest shot in the field at 20-1 and paid $9.80 and $3.60.

Cezanne, who finished another 2 ¾ lengths back, had been idle since winning the Grade 3 Kona Gold Stakes here in April of last year, kept to his task to run third, 3 ½ lengths in front of Team Merchants. Off at 3-5, Cezanne paid $2.10 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.21, 45.17 and 57.41.

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

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Chirinos Guides Canoodling To $47.40 Megahertz Upset

Fifth on dirt going seven furlongs on opening day, Dec. 26, the Mike Puype-trained Canoodling was able to set slow fractions and steal Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Megahertz Stakes at Santa Anita, as she held Con to win by half a length while getting one mile on turf in 1:37.30 under New Mexico-based Roimes Chirinos, who notched his first-ever win and graded stakes win at The Great Race Place.

Off at 22-1 in a field of seven older fillies and mares, Canoodling broke from the far outside and seemed to relish the change in surface and stretch out.

“There wasn't much speed in this race, but her pedigree is set right to do this today, she's by Pioneerof the Nile,” said Puype, who saddled Canoodling to a fifth place finish in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes on Dec. 26. “We felt she could route on the turf. Todd Fincher (New Mexico-based trainer) had left her with me and this is where he wanted to run right after that last race and I just got her ready the best we could.

“The jock did a good job. He nursed the fractions along good and we had no pace pressure. The fractions were slow and when they came to get her, she had plenty left.”

A winner of one of four races on turf, Canoodling paid $47.40, $12.40 and $5.80.

“What a great day for me,” said Chirinos, a 38-year-old native of Venezuela. “It's my first graded stakes win in this beautiful country and at Santa Anita. It is unbelievable. She's a tiny, little filly but she's got a really, really big heart and she always tries hard. Today they made it easy for me because they let me walk the first half and I thought wow, if they let me go like this, they will never pass me.”

Owned by Lori Owens' B-4 Farms, Canoodling, a 4-year-old filly by Pioneerof the Nile out of the Harlan's Holiday mare Miz Kella, notched her third stakes win and improved her overall mark to 14-7-1-2. With the winner's share of $60,000, she increased her earnings to $278,023.

The 8-5 favorite, Warren's Showtime lacked room at the rail heading into the far turn and again in deep stretch and finished second in a huge effort. Ridden by Juan Hernandez, she paid $3.40 and $2.80 while finishing a game nose better than Avenue de France.

Ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, French-bred Avenue de France rallied from last to finish third by a head over second choice Bodhicitta. Off at 24-1, Avenue de France paid $5.40 to show.

Fractions on the race, all set by the winner, were 25.30, 49.87, 1:14.51 and 1:25.87.

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Life Is Good Runs Knicks Go Off His Feet In Pegasus World Cup

Saturday was a huge day for jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. Just after repeating in the Pegasus Turf with Colonel Liam, the pair repelled Knicks Go's chance to defend his title in the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup with a dominating victory by China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Life Is Good. The 4-year-old son of Into Mischief led from the start and was truly never challenged, defeating co-favorite Knicks Go by about three lengths and finishing nine furlongs in 1:48.91.

The race certainly did not play out as it appeared on paper. Knicks Go, drawn toward the inside and well-known for his early speed, was shuffled back to third around the clubhouse turn as Life is Good and Ortiz kicked away from the rest of the nine-horse field. Life Is Good extended his lead down the backstretch to nearly six lengths, never challenged out in the center of the racetrack, while Joel Rosario and Knicks Go were simply left with too much to do.

After early fractions of :23.12 and :46.35, Life is Good continued to maintain a five-length lead over his rivals while Knicks Go tried to make up ground alongside Endorsed. Life is Good was never threatened through the stretch run, and Ortiz eased him down with a couple of pats in the final sixteenth of a mile to hit the wire three lengths ahead of Knicks Go. Stiletto Boy checked in third, and Endorsed was fourth.

Bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West, Life is Good is out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk. A $525,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling sale, Life is Good impressed from the start when winning his first three races for trainer Bob Baffert. Taken off the Derby trail by injury, Life is Good returned in the barn of Todd Pletcher 5 1/2 months later with a second-place finish in the G1 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes. He won the G2 Kelso ahead of an easy win in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. The Pegasus win improves the colt's overall record to six wins from seven starts with earnings of over $2 million.

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Colonel Liam Goes Back-To-Back For Emotional Irad Ortiz In Pegasus World Cup Turf

Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam became the first back-to-back winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf this Saturday, getting a good trip from Irad Ortiz, Jr. to defeat his stablemate Never Surprised by just over a length. It was the second year in a row that Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher saddled the top two finishers in the $1 million contest at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Sent off as the 6-5 favorite despite not running in 239 days, Colonel Liam completed nine furlongs over the firm turf course in 1:49.95. The 5-year-old son of Liam's Map has now won seven of his 10 career starts for earnings of over $1.8 million.

Ortiz was emotional after the victory, his third win in the Pegasus Turf (he won it in 2018 with Bricks and Mortar). The jockey acknowledged that January had been “a tough month” for him, personally. After returning from a 30-day suspension, Ortiz suffered a knee injury at Gulfstream that initially looked as though it may force him to miss Pegasus day. Instead, the faith of his doctor got Ortiz back in the saddle and Colonel Liam carried him to the winner's circle.

Never Surprised broke on top of the 12-strong Pegasus Turf field, pulling away to lead by as much as two lengths through early fractions of 25.43 and 49.39 seconds. Colonel Liam was in the clear while three-wide for most of his trip, and Ortiz allowed him to join his stablemate on the far turn.

Battling through the length of the stretch, Colonel Liam prevailed in the final sixteenth and pulled away to win by about 1 1/2 lengths. Never Surprised had to settle for second, while Space Traveller came flying up the inside late to nab third.

Bred in Kentucky by the Phillips Racing Partnership, Colonel Liam is out of the unraced Bernardini mare Amazement, herself out of two-time G1-winning millionaire Wonder Again. Purchased for $50,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling sale, Colonel Liam commanded $1.2 million as a 2-year-old at OBS April the following year.

Though he didn't debut until his 3-year-old season, Colonel Liam won at first asking. That year, he won the listed Tropical Park Derby in December and finished fourth in the Saratoga Derby Invitational. In 2021, Colonel Liam kicked off the season with a win in the Pegasus Turf, then added wins in the G2 Muniz Memorial and the G1 Turf Classic before finishing off the board in the G1 Manhattan. Pletcher trained him up to the Pegasus off that long layoff, and the horse improved his overall record to seven wins from 10 starts to earn over $1.8 million.

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