Tag: Racing

Campaign Aiming For Repeat In Sunday’s Cougar II Stakes At Del Mar

Six well-seasoned racehorses with large, full lungs will run a testing mile and one half at Del Mar Sunday in the 70th edition of the Cougar II Stakes. The race carries a Grade 3 enhancement and has a purse of $100,000.

Though the Cougar II has a relatively short field, it doesn't lack for solid stakes horses. Four of the runners are stakes winners, including the defending Cougar II champion – Woodford Racing's Campaign, who captured the race in 2019 when it was last run.

The Cougar II — named for the South American racehorse who came north and into the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham where he went on to a Hall of Fame career that included being named U.S. grass champion in 1972 – is not for the faint of heart at its 12-furlong distance, and the majority of the half dozen who'll give it a go Sunday have shown an affinity for marathons.

Campaign, as noted, has won at a mile and one half. Flawless Racing, Masino Racing Stable or Flanagan, et al's Cupid's Claw has done likewise. Same same for MyRacehorse or Spendthrift Farm's Tizamagician. And Little Red Feather Racing, Jacobsen or Belmonte's Red King has won at a mile and three quarters. Hronis Racing's Heywood Beach has “only” won at a mile and a quarter, while Gary Barber's Contagion is coming off three mile wins in his last five starts.

Here's the lineup from the rail out with riders and weights: Heywood Beach (Tyler Baze, 121); Contagion (Juan Hernandez, 121); Campaign (Trevor McCarthy, 121); Red King (Umberto Rispoli, 123); Cupid's Claws (Kent Desormeaux, 123), and Tizamagician (Flavien Prat, 123).

Tizamagaician, a 4-year-old colt by Tiznow who races out of the Richard Mandella barn, shows four wins and seven seconds from 17 starts and a bankroll of $367,851. He was second most recently in the venerable Brooklyn Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park going 12 furlongs when he was shipped east for the June 5 tilt.

Red King, a 7-year-old entire horse by English Channel, sports seven wins and career earnings of $483,755. Among his victories was a score in last summer's mile and three eighths Del Mar Handicap on the local Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

Cupid's Claws captured the mile and one half Tokyo City Cup Stakes at Santa Anita last September. The 6-year-old Kitten's Joy gelding has earnings approaching $200,000.

The Cougar II is the 10th of 11 races on the Sunday card that begins at 2 p.m. and closes out the first week of Del Mar racing. Also on the program is a nice $80,000 overnight race called the Wickerr Stakes that has drawn eight runner for a mile on the turf and is offered as Race 7.

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Colonial Downs’ Opening Day Card Draws 111 Entries Over Nine Races

Opening day of the third Colonial Downs racing season under ownership of the Colonial Downs Group attracted a full entry box when the draw for Monday's (July 19) card was conducted Wednesday afternoon.

A total of 111 horses are slated to compete in nine pari-mutuel races, five of which feature 14-horse fields and another with 13. Of the nine, all but one will be contested over the Secretariat Turf Course including four $100,000 stakes. Post time is 1:45 PM. A pair of non-betting steeplechase races will kick off festivities at 12:15 PM prior to the pari-mutuel program.

The Meadow Stable and M. Tyson Gilpin Stakes, both Virginia-restricted, boast fields of 14 and will run at 5 1/2 furlongs. The stakes are open to Virginia-bred, sired and certified horses.

Lothenbach Stables' Elusive Mischief, winner of the 2019 Meadow Stable Stakes during Colonial's “Racing Revival” campaign, looks to make it two straight in the event, which was not run in 2020. The 6-year-old Into Mischief gelding sports a bankroll of $214,409 and will be ridden by Chris Landeros. Ed and Susie Orr's Boldor is a three-time stakes winner with earnings of $360,517. The 5-year-old Steve Asmussen trainee captured the 2019 Punch Line Stakes for Virginia-breds. Paco Lopez will ride. Louis Ulman & H. Neil Glasser's Kenny Had a Notion also is a three-time stakes champ and is 4-for-8 lifetime.

Virginia-Certified and Maryland-bred sensation Street Lute headlines the Gilpin field. The 3-year-old Street Magician filly is 8-for-11 with seven stakes wins on her resume. The John Robb trainee, owned by Lucky 7 Stables, has yet to race on turf. She will be ridden by Xavier Perez. 2020 Gilpin winner Virginia Beach will try to defend her title. Country Life Farm's 4-year-old Twirling Candy filly is conditioned by Michael Trombetta and will have Julian Pimentel up top. A pair of Kentucky-breds — Sally Thomas & Olga Payne's Momentous Miss and David Ross's Larimar — are in as well. The former has raced only twice, but had a successful career debut in a maiden special weight at Keeneland last fall. The latter, who broke her maiden last summer in New Kent, invades from Charles Town fresh off back-to-back allowance wins.

A third Virginia-restricted stakes showcases 5-year-old Into Mischief horse, Chess Chief. The Dallas Stewart trainee has amassed $688,920 in earnings and plans to use the Bert Allen Stakes as a prep for the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The Virginia-bred won the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic Stakes in March and finished fifth most recently in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill. Jockey Florent Geroux will direct Chess Chief from post five in a field of seven. Troy Johnson, Charles Lo and Jagger Incorporated's Forloveofcountry brings an impressive four-race win streak into the Allen, though all have come on dirt. The Jamie Ness trainee will be ridden by Jaime Rodriguez.

The Nellie Mae Cox finishes off the stakes four-pack and is open to Virginia-bred and sired fillies & mares. Newtown Anner Stud Farm's Tasting The Stars, 4-for-6 lifetime and 2-for-3 on grass, leads the field of 11. The 5-year-old Bodemeister mare started her career with three straight wins in 2019, finished sixth in the Virginia Oaks that year, then raced twice in 2020. Her most recent out was a triumph in the Brookmeade Stakes last October at Laurel. Winchester Place Thoroughbreds' Urban Fairytale is fresh off a pair of respectable third place finishes in the Lady Canterbury Stakes and a turf allowance at Churchill. Florent Geroux will be in the irons.

“We're thrilled with the enthusiastic response and support from the horsemen,” said Jill Byrne, Colonial Downs VP of Racing Operations. “The entry box was overflowing for the opener and we look forward to offering full fields for fans to wager. Kudos to Allison DeLuca and her race office staff for doing such a great job.”

The Colonial Downs season will continue through September 1 with racing every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1:45 PM. All races during the summer meet will be broadcast on TVG. Highlight of the meet is the $250,000 New Kent County Virginia Derby (Gr. 3), scheduled for Tuesday August 31.

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Pretty Birdie Carries Marylou Whitney Stables Silks To Opening Day Schuylerville Victory

Marylou Whitney Stables' Pretty Birdie rocketed to a lead that she never relinquished, fending off 6-5 favorite Mainstay's stretch-drive challenge to win the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville for juvenile fillies by two lengths on Thursday, Opening Day, at Saratoga Race Course in  Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 103rd edition of the six-furlong Schuylerville fittingly saw the ownership group of the late Saratoga icon and philanthropist capture a graded stakes during the lid-lifter of the 40-day meet. To accomplish the feat, Pretty Birdie wasted no time breaking sharply from the inside post under Luis Saez, leading the seven-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.29 seconds, a half in 45.82 and three-quarters in 58.40 on the fast main track.

Mainstay, who broke from post 2 under Frankie Pennington and tracked in second position in every point of call, made a late bid out of the turn, but Saez kept his charge to task, completing the course in a 1:12.32 final time.

“This is where she felt the most alive,” said owner John Hendrickson, who was married to Whitney until her passing in July 2019. “This is the way she is alive and she has a win on opening day. It's pretty special. This is a dream come true for me and Marylou. Things getting back to normal and winning on Opening Day, she's throwing a party. She said 'I want to race, get back to work.'

“It means so much,” Hendrickson added. “The smiling faces and having Saratoga back the way it should be and having a win. It's very special.”

Pretty Birdie's gate-to-wire score was the second career graded stakes win for trainer Norm Casse and his first in New York. The Kentucky homebred, a daughter of Bird Song, improved to 2-for-2 following her debut win in June at Churchill Downs.

“I feel like she was a little more green today. She didn't want to switch leads down the lane,” Casse said. “I was a little bit concerned about that as she was finishing, but I think that was just her seeing a new place. This was the first time she had even come over here. I kept her on the Oklahoma [training track] side the entire week she's been here.”

Off at 5-2, Pretty Birdie returned $7.60 on a $2 win wager. Casse said the next target for her is the Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 5 at Saratoga.

“I think she was just gawking around and maybe even waiting on the other horse,” Casse said. “Those are things we'll fix before we run her in the Spinaway next.”

Saez won his second career Schuylerville, joining Off the Tracks in 2015.

“She's very fast,” said Saez, who finished the day with three wins. “I could feel it. She was on her toes. She broke from there pretty quick and we controlled the pace. When we came to the top of the stretch, she was running. I was pretty happy with her.

“She was a little tired [late in the lane] but she was go,” he added. “Nice filly.”

Mainstay, a half-sister to reigning 2-year-old champion filly Vequist trained by Butch Reid, Jr. was a 7 3/4-length first-out winner in June at Monmouth Park. Making her Saratoga bow, the Astern filly finished 5 1/4 lengths clear of Saucy Lady T for second.

“I think she ran well,” Reid, Jr. said. “It was a quality horse that beat her. My jockey was a little upset that she wasn't standing quite right in the gate and they snapped it before she was really ready. She had one leg that was underneath the next stall. I think maybe if she breaks a little better, who knows, but she didn't get away from the gate clean.”

Velvet Sister, Cartel Queen, Eagle Express and Queen Camilla completed the order of finish. Pipeline Girl and Happy Soul, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, scratched.

Live racing resumes Friday with a 10-race card highlighted by the Grade 3, $150,000 Forbidden Apple for 4-year-olds and up going one mile on the inner turf in Race 9 at 5:39 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:05 p.m.

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