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Diabolic Gets Second Stakes Win in Catch A Glimpse At Woodbine

Diabolic, under a patient Antonio Gallardo, found daylight along the rail and took off in the stretch to win the $127,250 Catch A Glimpse Stakes, Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

The daughter of Dark Angel-Seafront arrived at the 6 ½-furlong turf event for 2-year-old fillies off two straight scores to launch her career, including an impressive effort in the My Dear Stakes on July 31 at Woodbine.

Despite acting up in the gate, Diabolic, at even-money, settled down to deliver trainer Mark Casse and owners D.J. Stable LLC & Nexus Racing Club, with a natural hat trick.

Silver Magnatized and Curlin Candy dueled for the early lead as Gallardo and Diabolic were an unhurried seventh of eight through a quarter in :23.19.

After Silver Magnatized took the field through a half-mile in :46.29, Gallardo roused Diabolic, and as the field straightened for home, the pair took aim at the frontrunners, steadily gaining along the inside to grab a one-length lead at the stretch call.

At the wire, Diabolic was a one-length winner in a time of 1:15.81 over firm going. Royal Engagement was second, while Miss Barbara, also a Casse trainee, finished third.

“She ran pretty good off the pace,” said Gallardo after the local prep for the $400,000 Grade 1 Natalma Stakes on September 19, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event. “I saw a couple of horses with speed today going a little longer distance than last time, so I settled down; tried to save some ground. She's a nice filly. I saw the inside hole and I only asked her a little bit and she just rolled.”

The grey, bred in Ireland by Yeomanstown Stud, paid $4.30 for the win.

“She's improved,” said Gallardo. “Every race, she tells you she's something, no matter if it's five furlongs, 6 ½, Polytrack, 6 ½ on the turf… she's classy. She can do everything all the time.”

It was a fitting victory for Casse, who conditioned Catch A Glimpse, Canada's Horse of the Year, Outstanding 2-Year-Old Filly, and Outstanding Turf Female of 2015 after winning Woodbine's Grade 1 Natalma and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland.

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First Empire Gives Classic Empire First Stakes Winner In Soaring Free At Woodbine

First Empire, prominent throughout, took charge around the final turn and held off Degree of Risk to score by 1 ¾-lengths in Saturday's $140,250 Soaring Free Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

The Soaring Free, a 6 ½-furlong turf race for 2-year-olds, attracted a field of six and kicked off the first of back-to-back four-stakes programs at the Toronto oval on Queen's Plate weekend.

First Empire, conditioned by Mark Casse, had finished a faltering fifth when debuting here on the Tapeta, but then was a game front-running winner over six furlongs of turf with returning rider Patrick Husbands in the irons.

“When I breezed him in the morning, he's okay, but on the grass, as he's shown in his last two races, he's a different horse,” said Husbands. “I had so much horse swinging for home. I knew it would take a real nice horse to beat him.”

In the Soaring Free, First Empire pressed Indiana invader Heaven Street while racing just outside through an opening quarter in :22.49 and led that one by a length as he got the half in :44.37.

Degree of Risk, invading from Illinois for trainer Eoin Harty, was making his turf debut and impressed, finishing second, despite racing greenly through the lane.

Heaven Street wound up third, 7 ¼-lengths behind the runner-up.

Twenty Four Mamba, who like First Empire is a son of the Casse-trained Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old Classic Empire, was another 3 ½-lengths back in fourth.

Concealed Carry never menaced in finishing fifth and Silent Farewell, a troubled second behind First Empire when debuting here August 1, failed to enter contention as the 9-5 favorite and checked in last.

The final time was 1:15.44.

Sent off as the 5-2 second choice, First Empire returned $7.80 and keyed a $53.70 exacta over 9-1 Degree of Risk. Heaven Street, at 5-1, completed a $97.05 ($1) trifecta and the superfecta with Twenty Four Mamba came back at $312.90 for $1.

First Empire, owned by Dick Bonnycastle's Harlequin Ranches, is out of the Macho Uno mare Silsita and is the first stakes winner for both his dam and his freshman sire. Bred by Saintsbury Farm, First Empire was a $60,000 yearling at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's October sale.

Casse won last year's Soaring Free with Gretzky the Great, who used the race as a stepping-stone to success here in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes and went on to be honored as Canada's Outstanding Male Two-Year-Old.

This year's $400,000 Grade 1 Summer Stakes, a “Win and You're In” for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, will be run at Woodbine on September 19.

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Eldon’s Prince Breaks Maiden In Proud Man Stakes At Gulfstream

Gentry Farm's Eldon's Prince ruled the Gulfstream turf course Saturday, scoring a thoroughly professional victory in the $75,000 Proud Man at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained son of Cairo Prince, the 2-1 second choice ridden by leading jockey Edgard Zayas, kicked in through the stretch to register a six-length victory over 6-5 favorite Winging It in the mile turf stakes for 2-year-olds.

Eldon's Prince, a $280,000 purchase at the OBS April sale for 2-year-olds in training, scored his maiden victory in the Proud Man while making a huge step forward from a second-place finish in his Aug. 1 debut.

“I know he was a maiden, but the race looked wide open. Most of them were maidens, and the ones who won weren't all that impressive,” Zayas said. “I had a lot of hope for this horse first time out and I think he ran a huge race. He was a little green. I thought he would be a little sharper today. I've had really high hopes for him from the beginning.”

Eldon's Prince settled in fourth entering the backstretch as Winging It, an unlucky second in his impressive June 23 debut, set a sensible pace. The Jenna Antonucci-trained favorite set fractions of :24.50 and :48.56 for the first half mile, stalked closely by Up Her Sleeve on the outside and Fulton Street along the rail. Zayas asked Eldon's Prince for some run entering the far turn, and the Ontario-bred colt responded with a three-wide sweep into contention. Winging It, who was making his turf debut following his sharp main-track debut, took a narrow lead into the stretch but was no match for Eldon's Prince.

Eldon's Prince ran the mile over a firm turf in 1:36.79. Winging It, ridden by Samy Camacho, held on to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Fulton Street and jockey Jesus Rios.

Eldon's Prince finished 5 ½ lengths behind Mark Casse-trained On Thin Ice after a stretch rally to finish second in his 7 ½-furlong debut on turf.

“The last race I was expecting a really big race from him. On the turn, he wasn't figuring out what he needed to do, and then, in the stretch, he figured it out,” Zayas said. “He was really running at the end, and the horse that beat him is a nice horse.”

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Somekindofmagician Best in Find Stakes At Pimlico

Bell Gable Stable's Somekindofmagician ran his win streak to three while earning the first career stakes win for himself and his owners with a last-to-first, 1 ¾-length victory in the $75,000 Find at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Rating well back of pacesetter Trifor Gold, who was in front through splits of :25.02, :50.72, and 1:15.40 before being reeled in by a group led by Nick Papagiorgio, Somekindofmagician trailed each of his six rivals midway around the turn. Jockey Angel Cruz moved the 7-year-old gelding off the fence approaching the stretch and set down for a stretch drive.

Nick Papagiorgio held on for second, a neck ahead of Alwaysmining, who rallied up the rail for third. Trifor Gold stayed up for fourth with 3-2 favorite Cannon's Roar checking in fifth followed by Benny Havens and Closer Look. The winning time was 1:48.13 over a turf course rated yielding.

Somekindofmagician entered the Find off successive $20,000 optional claiming wins at Delaware Park July 21 and Aug. 7, the latter at 1 1/16 miles. They were his first wins since a similar spot last summer at Parx for previous trainer Jamie Ness; he joined trainer Gary Ness this spring.

“He's showing us signs that he's doing very well. Honestly, his last two wins for like $20,000 claiming, but he's gotten so much better. I think he needed that,” Contessa said. “He went a long dry spell without winning a race, and each win I've watched him just improve drastically.”

Somekindofmagician had previously placed twice in stakes, running second in the 2017 and 2019 Maryland Million Turf at Laurel Park. He was also sixth in the race in 2018.

“We thought, 'Hey, let's take a shot at this stake.' It's a Maryland-bred, Maryland-sired race, which he fits,” Contessa said. “We just thought he was coming in on top of his game and we'd find out if the top of his game was good enough. Sure enough, he delivered.”

The Find is named for the Sagamore Farm homebred that raced through age 11, starting 110 times with 22 wins, 27 seconds, and 27 thirds and purse earnings of $803,615. He won or placed in 51 stakes, retired in 1961 as Maryland's all-time leading money winner and the second-richest gelding in history.

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