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Pyledriver Gets Gutsy Win In Churchill Stakes At Lingfield Park

Pyledriver was the headline act at Lingfield Park in Lingfield, England, this afternoon and duly delivered with a gutsy success in the Listed Betway Churchill Stakes over 10 furlongs, one of two Fast-Track Qualifiers on the card.

Joint-trainer William Muir had urged caution in the build-up to the race given it was Pyledriver's first outing since winning the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs in early June.

Sent off the 6/4 favorite under Martin Dwyer, Pyledriver raced enthusiastically behind front runner Fox Tal before launching a strong challenge on the home turn. The four-year-old held a slender advantage passing the furlong pole and stayed on gamely to repel Harrovian by half a length. Felix was a neck further back in third.

This success sets up Pyledriver for an international campaign, with next month's G1 Hong Kong Vase his next port of call, and also guarantees his place in the £200,000 Betway Easter Classic on Finals Day.

Muir said: “Pyledriver has never let anybody down. He wasn't fit today and we brought him here purposely to improve from it.

“Silvestre [de Sousa, rider of Fox Tal] wanted to go on and we got the perfect sit behind him. Martin said the gears our lad showed when they turned in…he was gone, and then he just got tired late on.

“He was 12 kilograms over his racing weight coming here today. It was the same at Newmarket at the start of the season, but I wasn't worried he got beat that day because I knew he would improve. He has just given 7lb to race-fit horses and he wasn't fit. It was a hell of a performance.

“Hong Kong is our main target and then beyond that, we are looking at the Saudi Cup and the Dubai Sheema Classic. Why not have a go at the Saudi Cup? They reckon it is the nicest dirt track in the world. Ted Voute said it's a fantastic surface and reckons this horse will love it.”

Dwyer said: “Pyledriver was a bit full of himself but that is to be expected after a lay-off. I was delighted with him. He traveled lovely and showed a good turn of foot off the bend.

“It worked out nicely with Silvestre making the pace and going a pretty decent lick. He is an exuberant runner this fella and I preferred to sit a few lengths off the leader rather than right behind him.

“He had a bit against him today, down in trip under a penalty. I think he was only 80 percent fit, but this is a great stepping-stone to the big races.

“I chased him round the bend after the line because I wanted him to get something out of it. He has to go a mile and a half on the turf next in a month's time. I wanted him to take his jacket off and do a bit of work today, so it means we don't have to do tons with him between now and his next race.

“He is a Group 1 winner and a Group 1 horse. A lot of people have been following this horse over the last couple of years. He won on his debut at 50/1 and has been a real success story for his owner-breeders and the whole team.”

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Sconsin Scratches From Dream Supreme, Will Return In 2022

Lloyd Madison Farm's multiple graded stakes winner Sconsin, the 9-5 second choice in Saturday's $300,000 Dream Supreme (Listed) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., has been scratched from the race and will get time off before her 5-year-old campaign.

“This race was going to be her last start of the year before a little winter vacation,” trainer Greg Foley said. “She wasn't acting like herself the last couple mornings so we didn't want to chance anything. She'll get a break and get ready for a 2022 campaign.”

Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One is expected to be the heavy favorite in the six-furlong affair. The Dream Supreme is Race 10 on Saturday with a post time of 5:36 p.m.

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National Steeplechase Season Closes With Steeplechase of Charleston Sunday

After nearly eight months and 23 meets in 10 states, plus a dozen race dates at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., the 2021 National Steeplechase season comes to a close on Sunday with the Steeplechase of Charleston at Stono Ferry Race Course in Hollywood, S.C.

In a year that began under stormy skies — both literal and figurative — at the Cheshire point-to-point in March amid uncertainty due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it ends on an optimistic note, with fans back in attendance, tailgating parties in full swing, and family-friendly activities once more part of the experience that all contribute to the “thrill of the 'chase.”

Five races, four over jumps, are on tap for Sunday's card, which has a first-race post time of 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. They include a $15,000 maiden claimer; $25,000 maiden special weights event; $20,000 handicap for horses rated at 110 or less; $25,000 allowance; and a training-flat race for amateur riders. You can watch via live stream from the NSA website. The live stream is sponsored by Brown Advisory, the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation, Charleston's Post & Courier, and the Virginia Equine Alliance.

What the meet lacks in stakes competition, it makes up for in high-stakes drama in the thrilling race to the wire for leading jockey and trainer, both nail-biters that will be determined by day's end.

Among conditioners, Leslie Young and Jack Fisher are knotted at 15 wins. Fisher, who was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs this summer, has won 13 training titles. Young, who began training in 2007 and recently recorded her 100th win, is seeking her first championship. Keri Brion, who trains the sport's leading contender for the Eclipse Award, Buttonwood Farm's The Mean Queen, is two behind with 13 victories. Brion has all but locked up the award for purse earnings. Neil Morris, who has had a remarkable year considering he's saddled only half the number of starters as the top two, has 12 victories. At Charleston, Brion and Young have entries in all four hurdle races; Fisher and Morris have entries in two.

In the duel for top jockey, Graham Watters and Tom Garner, each of whom is seeking his first NSA title, have 19 wins each. Both Garner and Watters have earned about triple the purse money of their nearest rival, Skylar McKenna. Going into Sunday, Garner has collected $619,800, about $30,000 more than Watters. Garner and Watters are scheduled to ride in three of the four hurdle races.

The NSA spoke with the leading title contenders in advance of the Charleston meet and here's what they had to say:

Graham Watters: “I have three rides this Sunday and the three have equal chances. Make a Stand for Mark Beecher is in good form coming off two flat runs, Gostisbehere has good form and should like the track and Ghostlighter is improving with every run and should also like the track. Winning the jockey's title would mean a lot to me but not the be all and end all. At the end of the year I had a fantastic season, winning my first Grade 1 at the Iroquois and a number of stakes races, and creating a strong partnership with the Fisher stable and his owners. Competing for the title with a close friend Tom Garner has been fun also, giving each other some stick all season.”

Tom Garner: “They've all got chances. They wouldn't be in it if they didn't. Don't Shout, in the ratings handicap, has been knocking on the door ; I think he's probably my best shot. If Duckett's Grove can get his jumping together he's going to be very tough. Twentyoneguns has got a chance. I'm grateful to be in the position I am. It's an honor. Growing up you dream of being champion jockey. I didn't think I'd be in this position in America, and I would take a lot of pride in it if it did work out.”

Leslie Young: “I feel I have had some exciting things happen in my life. In high school, I was a field hockey and lacrosse all-star team member. In college, I was a lacrosse regional all-American and North\South all-stars member. I was pony racing champion back in the day for small and large ponies and even was nationally ranked in Pony Club Tetrathlon. I grew up working for Jonathan Sheppard and Jack Fisher, two of the greats whom I still look up to today. They were my heroes growing up. So I feel leading trainer would be my greatest accomplishment.”

Jack Fisher: “I feel the most important title, for the sport itself, is the leading trainer in races won. To be leading money earner takes one horse to get you there, which is a great accomplishment. But leading trainer in races run takes multiple good horses. I also feel for the sport it's great to have someone else win the leading trainer titles. To have Keri win the leading trainer in money earned is great; The Mean Queen is good for the sport. And if Leslie takes home the leading-trainer-by-wins title, that's great for the sport.”

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Hits Pricey Legacy Gives Trout Another Stakes Win In Slide Show

When Hits Pricey Legacy hit the wire 5-1/4 lengths in front in the $75,000 Slide Show Stakes on Friday at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla. The victory gave owner-trainer-breeder C.R. Trout his second stakes win of the night.

Jockey Richard Eramia gave Trout, an Edmond, Okla., resident, his first of the night aboard Fast Breakin Cash in the $70,000 Silver Goblin Stakes. Jockey Jose Alvarez was aboard Hits Pricey Legacy for her victory in the Slide Show. She went off the second favorite in the race at 6-5 odds.

Morning Twilight, a $310,000 purchase by West Point Thoroughbreds at the Ocala Breeders Sale in Florida this year, was sent off as the 4-5 wagering favorite after beating Hits Pricey Legacy by 7-1/2 lengths at six furlongs in the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie on Oct. 15. The extra distance, stretching to a mile for the Slide Show and another race under her belt, gave Hits Pricey Legacy the edge she needed to shine.

Morning Twilight was 1-3/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Circle Back Girl (18-1). Hits Pricey Legacy paid $4.60 to win, $2.40 to place, and $2.10 to show. She is a juvenile daughter of Den's Legacy, out of the Concord Point mare High Price Hit, and a Trout homebred.

Alvarez kept Hits Pricey Legacy in mid-pack in the early going and took over dominantly at the top of the stretch, ahead by two lengths. She then pulled away without much asking to score the one mile in 1:40.34 over a fast track.

Hits Pricey Legacy earned $45,000 for the trip to the winner's circle and she improved to four starts with two wins and two seconds. Her bankroll bulged to $97,255. It was the first win in the Slide Show stakes for all the connections.

The Slide Show is named in honor of the Oklahoma-bred filly who was near perfect in her career at Remington Park, winning 11 consecutive starts from 1993 to 1995, eight of them stakes events. Her only local defeat came in her final start, when she was third in an allowance event.

The early fractions for the mile race were :24.84 for the quarter-mile, :49.97 for the half-mile, 1:15.71 for three-quarters of a mile, and 1:28.02 for seven eighths. In her four starts, Hits Pricey Legacy broke her maiden on Aug. 27 at first asking at Remington Park. She then was the bridesmaid in the $50,000 E.L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes on Sept. 26 and in the $100,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie.

Remington Park racing concludes this week with a Saturday night card of nine races. First post time is 7:07 pm Central.

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