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Verbal Rallies To Win Cecil B. DeMille Stakes At Del Mar

Verbal made the trip from New York to California a winning one, the son of Flintshire's stretch drive putting him on the wire first in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

On the final day of the Bing Crosby season at the Del Mar, Calif., racetrack, the field of 10 broke evenly from the starting gate, Groovy Huey showing his head first with Get Back Goldie second as they approached the first turn. The two leaders put seven lengths between them and the field on the backstretch, with Barsabas third and Cabo Spirit in fourth.

Approaching the far turn, Get Back Goldie assumed the lead, with Barsabas and Cabo Spirit back in second and third as Groovy Huey fell out of contention. Jose Ortiz moved Verbal from midpack on the backstretch to fourth on the far turn, going four-wide into the stretch. Cabo Spirit took the lead in the stretch, with Barsabas and Verbal driving down the center of the track. The favored Verbal hit the front in the last strides before the wire, taking the G3 by a half-length. Barsabas was second, with Cabo Spirit third. Lottery Pick, Optimising, Derecho Dandy, Khantaro d'Oro, Stotland, Get Back Goldie, and Groovy Huey rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the one-mile Cecil B. DeMille was 1:36.16. Find this race's chart here.

Verbal paid $4.00, $3.20, and $2.60. Barsabas paid $31.20 and $12.80. Cabo Spirit paid $5.00.

“He won easy last time, but that was against maidens. He was running against winners today, much better horses. I knew there would be speed in the race so, even though I had the outside post, I was able to drop over and save some ground. He came running when it counted. The boss (trainer Chad Brown) knows how to spot a horse. He had it right today,” jockey Jose Ortiz told the Del Mar Press Office after the race.

“I liked the way he was coming into this race, he's been training well. It worked out like we thought. He's got a really good turn of foot and he got there. We didn't have much luck yesterday, but this is a really good start for today,” Juan Hernandez, assistant to trainer Chad Brown, said after the Cecil B. DeMille.

Bred in Kentucky by owner Juddmonte Farms, Verbal is out of the Bernardini mare Endless Chat. The G3 Cecil B. DeMille is Verbal's second win in two career starts for career earnings of $109,500.

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Change Of Control Rides Rail To Victory In Autumn Day At Aqueduct

Perry Harrison's Change of Control overtook pacesetter Athwaaq when straightened for home and repelled 6-5 favorite Too Sexy's deep-stretch bid to post a victory by three-quarters of a length in Sunday's $150,000 Autumn Days for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going six furlongs on the outer turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Change of Control, who already registered a pair of graded stakes wins in her 5-year-old campaign, including a last-out score in the Grade 3 Franklin County in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., made a successful debut at the Big A, tallying her fourth stakes win of 2021 for trainer Michelle Lovell.

The fifth running of the Autumn Days saw Athwaaq break on top from post 6, leading the eight-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in :23.26 and the half in :46.28 over firm going. Jockey Colby Hernandez tucked Change of Control in third position near the rail, with the pocket position enabling her to move up to second out of the turn.

Once straightened for home, Change of Control capitalized with the open seam from the inside, overtaking a tiring Athwaaq. Hernandez kept his charge to task as Too Sexy rallied to pass three rivals, gaining in the shadow of the wire before Change of Control completed the course in a 1:09.14 final time to improve to 4-2-3 in 10 starts this year.

Hernandez's rail-riding trip earned Change of Control, off at 7-2, a winner's circle trip, returning $9.90 on a $2 win bet. She improved her career earnings to $739,257.

“She gave us a good break and I was right there,” Hernandez said. “I tried to pop out and run second but they weren't letting me out. I saw the horse on the front looked like she was going to come out at the top of the stretch and we stayed there and it ended up working out perfect.

“Every single time she runs, it's like she gets better,” he added. “She's just a cool horse, does nothing wrong, and anything you ask her, she does. She's a very cool horse to ride.”

Change of Control, bred in Kentucky by John O' Meara, is 2-for-2 at NYRA-operated tracks this year after winning the G3 Intercontinental in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“Colby rode her perfect. He never panicked,” Lovell said. “He stayed right there on the inside and she just looked awesome. She did well in New York when we sent her up to Belmont in the summer, so I just thought this race was a really good spot. The owner gave us a lot of time finding the best races for her. She's really thriving and coming into her own.”
Lovell said Change of Control will now winter in Louisiana in preparing for her 6-year-old year in 2022 before embarking on the next phase of her career.

“She'll go to Fair Grounds for the winter. We'll try to map out her races really well over the winter, spring, and summertime, and then she'll go to the breeding shed,” Lovell said. “I'm not really sure what our plan is from here, but she'll come back to Churchill and come to Fair Grounds with the rest of my barn.”

Too Sexy, trained by Christophe Clement, topped the slow-starting Love And Thunder by one length for second. Jockey Jose Lezcano, who was aboard for Too Sexy's last-out win in the Floral Park in October at Belmont, said the outcome might have been different with a slightly more advantageous trip.

“She broke well and I had to wait a little bit until the eighth pole,” Lezcano said. “She gave a very good race and ran strong. She did everything right, the winner is just a very good horse. I think she also got a better trip than I got. I had to go between horses and she got through on the inside.”

Miss Majorette, Piedi Bianchi, Athwaaq, Raven's Cry, and Secure Connection completed the order of finish.

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Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A 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 fall 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 fall 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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Change Of Control Rides Rail To Victory In Autumn Days At Aqueduct

Hernandez's rail-riding trip earned Change of Control, off at 7-2, a winner's circle trip, returning $9.90 on a $2 win bet. She improved her career earnings to $739,257.

“Every single time she runs, it's like she gets better,” he added. “She's just a cool horse, does nothing wrong and anything you ask her, she does. She's a very cool horse to ride.”

Change of Control, bred in Kentucky by John O' Meara, is 2-for-2 at NYRA-operated tracks this year after winning the G3 Intercontinental in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Lovell said Change of Control will now winter in Louisiana in preparing for her 6-year-old year in 2022 before embarking on the next phase of her career.

Miss Majorette, Piedi Bianchi, Athwaaq, Raven's Cry, and Secure Connection completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with a nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

The post Change Of Control Rides Rail To Victory In Autumn Days At Aqueduct appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hopeful Treasure Passes Chateau Late To Win Fall Highweight Handicap

Hopeful Treasure shipped in from Parx Racing in Bensalem, Penn., for the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack and he made the van ride north worth it with a narrow victory over a surging Green Light Go and a tiring Chateau.

Out of the gate in the six-furlong stakes, the favored Chateau, carrying 131 pounds, grabbed a two-length lead, with Rough Entry, War Tocsin, and Hopeful Treasure stalking the pace down the backstretch. Hopeful Treasure, carrying 128 pounds, moved up to second after a first quarter-mile in :22.51, maintaining his second-place position around the far turn as Chateau continued to lead by two lengths. Fifth early, Green Light Go, carrying 129 pounds, switched from the rail to the outside on the turn, with Chateau going into the stretch still on the lead, Hopeful Treasure and Green Light Go chasing.

Down the stretch at the Ozone Park, N.Y., racetrack, Chateau dug in, trying to hold onto the lead, but Hopeful Treasure's closing bid gave him enough to catch the former frontrunner in the last sixteenth. Green Light Go was able to get by Chateau in the waning strides before the wire, but was too late to catch Hopeful Treasure, who won by a head.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:11.19. Find this race's chart here.

Hopeful Treasure paid $38.00, $11.40, and $6.30. Green Light Go paid $5.90 and $5.40. Chateau paid $3.50.

“The horse is a nice horse. He ran a monster race last out and he was just starting to come into himself. He was feeling great, and this was his owner's [Tony Como] idea. He said, 'Let's give this horse a shot'. Tony has had the confidence in him from Day One. He ran a couple of good races in his past, he just needed some time to mature into himself and grow. He got a great ride from his jockey in his last start and today, he got the same ride. It just worked out,” trainer Michael Catalano Jr. said after the race.

“I know him really well even though it's only been my second time riding him. I've worked him since he was a baby. I told the trainer and owner that he was going to compete and run his best race. They just had him ready,” jockey Mychel Sanchez told the NYRA Press Office after the Fall Highweight. “I broke awesome and got in good position early in the race. I was always confident. I knew I could go by the one horse [Chateau] any time. I was only concerned if anyone else was going to close better than him, but he got it done.”

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, Hopeful Treasure is by Oxbow out of the Giant's Causeway mare Elle Special. He is owned by Just In Time Racing. The 4-year-old ridgling was consigned by Ballysax Bloodstock and purchased by Mike Pino, agent, for $6,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. With his win in the G3 Fall Highweight, Hopeful Treasure has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in 14 starts and career earnings of $282,402.

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