Tom Pedulla presents five key takeaways from the $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational at Belmont Park, the Ricoh Woodbine Mile at Woodbine Racetrack, and other major developments this past weekend:
Tag: Racing
Albahr, Wild Beauty Complete Incredible Weekend for Godolphin and Appleby by Earning Breeders’ Cup Bids
Owner Godolphin and British trainer Charlie Appleby sent three horses to Woodbine for Grade 1 assignments over the weekend, on Sunday 2-year-olds Albahr and Wild Beauty
Manhattan Up Takes Los Alamitos Special, Samurai Charm Best In Dark Mirage
Manhattan Up, an $80,000 claim Aug. 22 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., paid immediate dividends for KAM Racing Stable and trainer Jonathan Wong Sunday at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif.
Adding blinkers for his new connections, the 5-year-old Street Boss gelding responded with a 1 ½ length victory over 14-1 shot Sash and four others in the $100,000 Los Alamitos Special.
Well placed throughout by jockey Tiago Pereira, Manhattan Up, who is out of the Service Stripe mare In the Frame, ranged up alongside Sash, who showed the way under Kyle Frey, and went on to prevail in 1:42.87 for the 1 1/16 miles.
The $60,000 payday increased Manhattan Up's earnings to $246,467 and it was his fourth win in 22 starts. He paid $10.80, $6.40, and $3.60 as the 4-1 fourth choice.
Sash, who was seeking his first win of 2021 for trainer Mark Glatt, returned $13.60 and $5 while finishing 2 ½ lengths clear of stablemate and 5-2 second choice Bold Endeavor. The show price on Bold Endeavor was $2.60.
Magic On Tap, the 17-10 favorite, Leading Score, and Border Town completed the order of finish.
“The owner (Brent Malmstrom's KAM Racing Stables) picked (Manhattan Up) with this race in mind,'' said Wong. “They wanted to run him here. They thought he would fit well and would stretch out.
“We put some blinkers on him and sent him up north and he trained very well over the (Tapeta surface at Golden Gate Fields). He came into the race really good and Tiago gave him a perfect ride.''
This wasn't Pereira's first victory aboard the Kentucky bred. He won an optional claimer going seven furlongs Feb. 8, 2020, at Santa Anita for former trainer Phil Oviedo.
“He's a very nice horse,'' said Pereira. “He raced between horses and relaxed nicely. When I asked him in the stretch he gave me a really strong finish.''
Later in the afternoon, Samurai Charm, the 2-1 second choice, led throughout, holding off 3-1 third choice Velvet Slippers by a head to win the $75,000 Dark Mirage Stakes.
A 4-year-old First Samurai filly out of the Silver Charm mare Back Seat Charm owned by Downstream Racing LLC and trained by Peter Miller, Samurai Charm is now 5-for-6 lifetime with four of those wins coming in succession in 2021. She hasn't lost since finishing third in her career debut Aug. 17, 2019. Her bankroll is $146,760.
She's also 3-for-3 at Los Alamitos after her third consecutive victory at one mile, prevailing despite doing some zig-zagging in the stretch under jockey Kyle Frey.
“She relaxed perfectly up front, and then I angled her out a bit coming into the stretch because she had a habit of lugging in,'' said Frey, who tripled Sunday, also taking the second – for Miller – aboard Finglas Lad and the seventh with Cowboys Daughter.
“She's never done anything like that in and out, though, and I just kept trying to straighten her. When she saw (Velvet Slippers) come to her inside the sixteenth pole, she dug back in and was real game.''
Samurai Charm, who completed the distance in 1:36.67, paid $6.40, $3.60, and $2.40. Velvet Slippers, who trailed early, rallied strongly along the inside to just miss while finishing two lengths in front of 7-5 favorite Paige Anne. Velvet Slippers returned $4.40 and $2.40 while the show price on Paige Anne was $2.20. Harper's Gallop and Candura completed the order of finish. Big Sweep was scratched earlier in the day.
The Dark Mirage win capped a triple for Miller. In addition to the victory with Finglas Lad, he also won the first with Miss Reno.
Racing resumes Friday at Los Alamitos. Post time is 1 p.m.
The post Manhattan Up Takes Los Alamitos Special, Samurai Charm Best In Dark Mirage appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Diamond City Best In Ontario Racing Stakes, Derrynane Gets Woodbine Cares Win
Diamond City, under Emma-Jayne Wilson, took the $130,750 Ontario Racing Stakes, while Derryane, with Joel Rosario in the irons, won the $126,750 Woodbine Cares Stakes Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
The Ontario Racing, for two-year-olds, and the Woodbine Cares, for two-year-old fillies, were each contested at five furlongs on the Inner Turf.
A chestnut son of Shackleford, Diamond City, trained by Mark Casse for D.J. Stable LLC, was the 4-5 choice in the Ontario Racing.
The Kentucky-bred settled just off the early pace before taking a narrow lead at the stretch call.
Diamond City, who came into the race off a pair of third-place finishes to launch his career, drew away in the late going to win by 1 ¾-lengths in a time of :57.68 over firm ground.
Bred by Canvasback Thoroughbreds, he paid $3.60 for the win.
Derrynane, sent on her way as the 8-5 choice, powered by the leaders in mid-stretch to record an impressive 2 ¾-length triumph for trainer Christophe Clement and owner-breeder Waterville Lake Stable.
The daughter of Quality Road was patiently handled by Rosario as Fulminate set the early tone, but Derrynane loomed a major threat as the field made the turn for home.
Once the bay filly struck front, it was simply a question of what the margin of victory would be.
The final time over firm going was :57.04. Derrynane returned $5.50.
It was the second win from three starts for the New York-bred, who won her debut this July at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Former champion jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva, who was feted early as the recipient of this year's Avelino Gomez Memorial Award earlier in the afternoon, made the trophy presentation.
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