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Always Shopping Defends Via Borghese Title; Miss J McKay Best In Abundantia

Repole Stable's Always Shopping, without a victory in six straight starts, ended her 5-year-old season the way it began – on a winning note – with a determined nose triumph over Harajuku to defend her title in Friday's $100,000 Via Borghese at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 1 3/8-mile Via Borghese for fillies and mares 3 and up was the second of three $100,000 turf stakes on the New Year's Eve program, preceded by the Janus for 3-year-olds and up and followed by the Abundantia for females 3 and older, both sprinting five furlongs.

Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Always Shopping ($7) completed the distance in 2:13.86 over a firm course to earn her eighth career victory, fourth in six tries on the Gulfstream turf and sixth against stakes company.

Breaking from the far outside in a field of nine as the narrow 5-2 favorite, Always Shopping raced in the clear two wide on the hip of Candy Flower, who broke alertly and set an easy pace. Always Shopping moved up to challenge for the lead once straightened for home while Harajuku continued a sustained run on the far outside. They pulled away from the field and dueled through the lane, with Always Shopping digging in again after losing the lead approaching the wire.

“I think [Harajuku] put a nose to a head in front of her, and she fought back. It was a determined effort,” Pletcher said. “I was so proud of her. She fought hard today. She got in a good stalking position from an outside post and stalked the pace. I thought they had her surrounded at the top of the stretch, but you could see her dig in and fight for the win.”

Harajuku was three lengths clear of Beautiful Lover in third. It was a neck back to Onyx, sent off at 111-1, who edged Hungry Kitten by a half-length for fourth.

Always Shopping passed the $600,000 mark in career purse earnings with the win, her first since the Jan. 23 La Prevoyante (G3). Other stakes victories have come in the 2019 Gazelle (G2) at Aqueduct and 2020 Monroe and Via Borghese at Gulfstream.

“She's had a great career and she seems to really love Gulfstream. It's great to see her come back,” Pletcher said. “I'll talk to Mike [Repole] and see what the plan is. She's probably going to be off to stud here at some point, but we might have time to run her one more time. We'll see what Mike wants to do.”

Miss J McKay Sprints to $100,000 Abundantia Victory
Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, Tony Weintraub and Brandon Dalinka's Miss J McKay overcame some traffic trouble at the top of the stretch to sweep past her rivals through the lane and capture Friday's $100,000 Abundantia.

It was the second straight win for the 4-year-old Hangover Kid filly in three starts since joining trainer Christophe Clement earlier this summer, and her second career stakes win following the 2019 Anne Arundel County at Laurel Park.

The win also allowed jockey Tyler Gaffalione to sweep the two stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up, having previously won the $100,000 Via Borghese aboard Always Shopping for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Miss J McKay ($8.20) rated in mid-pack as 45-1 long shot Cat's Astray was sent to the lead chased by Beautiful Grace. Gaffalione was able to split horses on the far turn and get in position, had to swing wide around Luis Saez and 7-5 favorite Miss Auramet straightening for home, and closed with a steady run to nail Drapes (14-1) nearing the wire. Strong Odor finished third while Miss Auramet wound up sixth.

The winning time was 55.86 seconds over a firm turf course.

“The filly broke well and the speed went on. It set up exactly as we thought it would. She settled nicely and coming into the stretch I was able to follow Luis out. Once she got clear run, she kicked it in nicely,” Gaffalione said. “We got fanned out a little bit, but she was much the best today.”

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Horse For The Course Carotari Scores Janus Win On Gulfstream Turf

William A. Branch's multiple stakes winner Carotari made a triumphant return to his favorite course, cruising to a front-running 1 ¾-length victory in the $100,000 Janus at Gulfstream Park to open Friday's New Year's Eve program at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track.

The Janus for 3-year-olds and up sprinting five furlongs on the grass was the first of three $100,000 stakes on the card, followed by a pair of turf events – the 1 3/8-mile Via Borghese and five-furlong Abundantia, both for fillies and mares 3 and older.

Sent off the even-money favorite in a field of eight that featured four other stakes winners including Group 1 winner Extravagant Kid, Carotari ($4) broke from outside each of his seven rivals but was outrun early by 45-1 longshot Breakthrough until taking over the top spot after a quarter-mile in 23.22 seconds.

Championship Meet-leading jockey Luis Saez was able to steer Carotari toward the rail leaving the turn and set him down for a drive through the stretch as Extravagant Kid launched his bid on the outside of Yes I Am Free, with Smokin' Jay rallying up the inside. After running a half in 47.38 seconds, Carotari finished up in 59.07 over a firm course.

Extravagant Kid held on for second by a head over Smokin' Jay, with Yes I Am Free another neck back in fourth and Laurel Dash winner Xy Speed fifth. Carotari came into the Janus having snapped a four-race losing streak with a three-quarter-length allowance triumph Oct. 22 at Keeneland.

“It's good to get him back down here. It's a track he really seems to do well over during the winter,” winning trainer Brian Lynch said. “It's nice to get him back rolling. He came out of a good race at Keeneland. This was an ideal distance for him, ideal timing, so it's just neat to have him back on track. Now we've got a loaded horse for the winter down here.”

In five career tries over the Gulfstream turf, Carotari now owns four wins including prior stakes victories in the 2020 and 2021 Silks Run and a second in the 2020 World of Trouble Turf Sprint, beaten a neck by Grade 2 winner Texas Wedge.

Overall, the gelded 5-year-old son of 2005 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner Artie Schiller has eight wins from 24 career starts and topped $500,000 in purse earnings with the Janus victory.

“I think as he's gotten older he's getting better and better,” Lynch said. “I think this year coming up could be his best year. We're pretty excited about him.”

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Maiden Beauty Scores Fifth Win Of 2021 In Thursday’s Bay Ridge

John Grossi's Racing Corp.'s Maiden Beauty rounded out a five-win year with a gate-to-wire conquest in Thursday's $100,000 Bay Ridge for New York-bred fillies and mares going nine furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 5-year-old Revolutionary bay mirrored her last winning effort from 11 days ago, where she defeated open company at a one-turn mile at Aqueduct.

Despite the short rest, Maiden Beauty still displayed winning ways with Kendrick Carmouche aboard for the fourth straight time.

“She came back out of the race really good,” trainer Robert Falcone, Jr. said. “The way she ran, that's how she acts around the barn – she's laid back and relaxed, but once she gets the lead just goes around there. That's how she acts. She wasn't blowing after that race, cooling out. She actually had more energy than she usually does the next few days when we took her back into training. We knew this race was coming up light and we decided to take a shot.”

Maiden Beauty broke sharp from post 2, leading the five-horse field through opening fractions of 24.74 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 49.76 for the half-mile with stakes-winner Ice Princess tracking to her outside in second.

Around the far turn, Jose Lezcano started to get busy aboard Ice Princess while Carmouche remained patient. In upper stretch, Carmouche asked his filly for more run with Ice Princess looming to her outside. Maiden Beauty never relinquished in the stretch drive, crossing the wire a 3 ¾-length winner in a final time of 1:51.76 over the sloppy and sealed main track.

Ice Princess finished three-quarter lengths to the better of third-place finisher Sharp Star. Byhubbyhellomoney and Amity Island completed the order of finish.

Maiden Beauty scored her first stakes triumph since taking the Lynbrook at Belmont Park in July 2018 in her career debut when trained by Gary Contessa.

This year proved to be Maiden Beauty's most successful season in racing, sporting a consistent ledger of 10-5-3-1, which included a second-place finish in the Saratoga Dew in August at the Spa. She now brags an overall record of 35-9-6-4 with a bankroll of $628,912.

Maiden Beauty returned $8.60 for a $2 win wager as the third choice in the field.

“That filly always runs one way for me – she runs really good on the lead,” Carmouche said. “The question today was going to be the mile and an eighth coming back so quick, but with a short field I pretty much dominated the race from the beginning. She did most of the work. She ran awesome. I'm just glad she got to repeat that effort off of the flat mile race [on December 19]. Rob brought her into the race good and I'm very happy that we went in this spot and made us all a winner before the first of the year.”

Falcone, Jr. tipped his hat to owner John Grossi, and said he had considered waiting a few more days to race Maiden Beauty in Sunday's seven-furlong $100,000 La Verdad for New York-bred fillies and mares.

“John Grossi is a really great owner. I said we could run in this race after she came back good, but she may not run until February after this. I don't like running horses back that quick, usually,” Falcone, Jr. said. “He's an amazing owner and I'm happy he won this race. He puts money into the game. He breeds horses. He has horses in Florida and he sent horses out to California last year. He's into claiming and a really good guy for the game to have. I'm happy to win a stakes with him.

“We were thinking about the La Verdad as well, but she's just completely different on the lead,” Falcone, Jr. added. “It's just that simple with her. If you look at her past performances – and now you can add this one on – the last five times she won, she's on the lead.”

Bred in New York by Sandy Glenn Stables, Maiden Beauty is out of the Eddington mare Alpha Charlie.

Live racing resumes on December 31 at the Big A with an eight-race program, featuring the $100,000 Alex M. Robb [Race 7, 3:36 p.m.] for New York-bred 3-year-olds and upward travelling nine furlongs over the main track. First post is 12:50 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.

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Honor Roll: The Best On Turf Went Through Kentucky Downs In 2021

The status of Kentucky Downs as one of North America's elite turf meets has done little else but rise over the past decade, and that upward trajectory continued in 2021, both in the prestige of the races on its stakes calendar and that of the horses that filled the starting gate.

Kentucky Downs hosted six graded stakes races during its six-day 2021 meet, and those races served as both a destination and a launching pad for some of the season's most exciting runners.

The growth that Kentucky Downs has experienced in relation to the short duration of its meet puts the track in the same stratosphere as the game's most recognizable venues.

Since the 2017 racing season, stakes races at Kentucky Downs have received seven individual graded upgrades by the American Graded Stakes Committee, meaning a race either received graded status or was promoted to a higher grade. This trails only Belmont Park (15) and Saratoga (11) in that span of time, and leads Churchill Downs at six.

The most recent boosts to that number for Kentucky Downs came this year with the Calumet Turf Cup and the Franklin-Simpson Stakes, which were both upgraded to Grade 2 status. Only one other North American graded stakes race was upgraded to Grade 2 status in 2021: The Red Smith Stakes at Aqueduct.

While the track's unique layout and undulating surface are unlike any other major track in the country, the results following this September's meet have shown that Kentucky Downs graduates are not strictly horses for courses.

Six horses that ran at Kentucky Downs' 2021 meet won stakes races at Keeneland's fall meet a month later, taking home half of the track's turf stakes during the boutique season.

The biggest triumph among that group was In Love, the Brazilian-bred gelding who parlayed a victory in the listed TVG Stakes at Kentucky Downs into a driving 1 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile Stakes.

It was the second consecutive year in which owner Bonne Chance Farm and trainer Paulo Lobo used a race at Kentucky Downs to prep for an eventual victory in the biggest turf race of Keeneland's fall meet. In 2020, Bonne Chance and Lobo saw Brazil native Ivar finish third in the listed Tourist Mile Stakes (which has since been upgraded to Grade 3 status and renamed the Mint Million Mile) before upsetting what was then the G1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland.

Looking ahead to the future, Tiz the Bomb proved that Kentucky Downs can serve as a launching pad for a prominent fall campaign for juveniles.

The son of Hit It a Bomb was a determined winner in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes, then stood toe-to-toe with the best youngsters on the grass with a next-start victory in the G2 Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland and a runner-up effort to Modern Games in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar, where he paid out as the winner after Modern Games was declared to be running for purse money only.

On the fillies side, California Angel exited Kentucky Downs with a maiden special weight victory, and went on to take the G2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland, leading to one of the most beloved underdog stories of this year's Breeders' Cup, where she contested the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

While these horses are recent examples of the “Kentucky Downs-to-Keeneland” angle in 2021, successful runners passing through Southern Kentucky as part of a high-end campaign or career is not isolated to a particular year or racetrack angle.

From 2019 to 2021, 105 individual horses made starts at Kentucky Downs with a prior graded stakes win on their record over the past two years. That group includes 18 Grade or Group 1 winners.

Kentucky Downs grads have also proven to be winners at the highest level after racing at the track as well. From 2019 to 2021, 10 horses have gone on to win Grade 1 races at some point in their careers after racing at Kentucky Downs.

Naturally, that list of Grade 1 triumphs includes some of the most notable grass races in the country. Four months after running in the Calumet Farm Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes, Zulu Alpha found himself in the winner's circle in the 2020 G1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park. A month after finishing second in the 2020 Dueling Grounds Oaks, Harvey's Lil Goil usurped the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland.

Then, there is the mighty mare Got Stormy, who was a multiple Grade 1 winner against both males and females prior to a win in the G3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint Stakes in 2020. A year later, she beat the boys once again in the G1 Fourstardave Handicap in Saratoga.

However, the list of elite graduates from Kentucky Downs is not strictly limited to turf specialists. A trio of horses that previously raced at the track earned Grade 1 victories on the dirt in 2021, with Art Collector taking the G1 Woodward Stakes, Kimari winning the G1 Madison Stakes, and Lexitonian taking the G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap. A year earlier, Combatant added his name to that list with a win in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap.

With a diverse group of world-class horses entering and graduating from its races, and running for one of the nation's strongest purse structures, Kentucky Downs stands poised and deserving to host a Grade 1 race of its own, fitting of the high standard of quality it has established.

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