Tag: Racing

Tightly Twisted Holds Off Counterparty Risk In Big Dreyfus At Pimlico

Trainer Juanita Bennett admitted when she saw the entries for the $100,000 Big Dreyfus, including Klaravich Stables Inc.'s 4-5 favorite and stakes-placed filly Counterparty Risk, “I was like 'Oh my gosh.' “

But Bennett's 5-year-old mare Tightly Twisted, owned by Fiasco Farms, Ltd and ridden by Jhonatan Mendoza, proved every bit up to the task by defeating Counterparty Risk by a half-length Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. while covering 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.05. It was another 5 ¾ lengths to pacesetter Sailingintothewind in third.

A daughter of Hard Spun, Tightly Twisted came into the Big Dreyfus off a two-length win at Delaware Park June 28. A winner of five of 21 starts, Tightly Twisted had finished second in the Robert Dick Memorial last year and won the George Rosenberger in 2019.

“It's a family and group effort,” said Bennett. “We bought her out of the Keeneland sale, one of the few we could afford, and she's just performed for us, and we hope we keep going on this ride. It's been a great ride this month.”

Mendoza rated Tightly Twisted a length in front of Counterparty Risk in fourth along the inside while Sailingintothewind set fractions of :24.52, :47.96, and 1:11.44. Around the far turn, Mendoza continued to save ground while moving into second while Counterparty Risk followed. But, inside the final eighth, Tightly Twisted took a clear lead from Sailingintothewind and had plenty left to hold off Counterparty Risk.

“She broke a little bit slow, and I put her in the race,” Mendoza said. “She was traveling good right into the stretch, and she kicked on. I was worried a little bit when [Counterparty Risk] was coming but she just kept going. I knew I had a nice filly, too.”

Tightly Twisted, bred by Normandy Farm, returned $21.20.

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Maracuja Upsets Malathaat In CCA Oaks At Saratoga

In her much-anticipated return to the races after her April 30 victory in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, Malathaat battled Maracuja down the stretch and found herself on the losing end of a close finish for the first time in her six starts. Maracuja, who finished seventh behind Malathaat in the Oaks, came away with the upset and the first stakes victory of her career, winning the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks by a head at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Facing only three others, Malathaat, trained by Todd Pletcher, broke cleanly from post position one, taking a short lead over Clairiere around the first turn. John Velazquez kept the Shadwell filly on the lead throughout the race, setting early fractions of :23.38 for the first quarter and :47.13 for the half-mile. Clairiere settled in a half-length back, with Maracuja and Rockpaperscissors lingering close on the backstretch.

Around the final turn, Clairiere challenged Malathaat's lead, Irad Ortiz, Jr. keeping pressure on the Pletcher trainee. On their outside, Maracuja accelerated, Ricardo Santana, Jr. positioning his filly for their stretch run. Into the Saratoga straight, Malathaat maintained her short lead on the rail, Clairiere unable to catch her while Maracuja moved up to confront the leader. Malathaat and Maracuja dueled through the last half of the stretch, Maracuja showing a head in front as they hit the wire. Clairiere was third and Rockpaperscissors fourth. The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.29.

Find this race's chart here.

With only four horses in the field, the G1 Coaching Club American Oaks had no show betting. Maracuja paid $31.40 and $6.00. Malathaat paid $2.10.

“She broke really sharp, which I was happy with, and she was kind of right there. They all seemed like they were coming and I thought Ricardo [Santana, Jr.] made a smart move by backing off and coming around the outside. What a race.” said trainer Rob Atras after the race. “She loves the two turns. She puts a lot into her gallops every day. The further, the better for her.”

“The trip was perfect. She broke really well today. She was running comfortably. Rob liked the filly a lot and I was happy with her. There wasn't much pressure in this race.” Jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. said after the CCA Oaks.  “He told me, 'Just do what you have to do' and we took the victory today. I had some pressure on the side from the 4 [Clairiere] and I just let my filly take a deep breath. As soon as I took her back out, she came rolling. She ran a great race today.”

Bred in Kentucky by River Bend Farm and Austin and Janie Musselman, Maracuja is a 3-year-old daughter of Honor Code out of the Unbridled's Song mare Patti's Regal Song. She is owned by Beach Haven Thoroughbreds. Maracuja was consigned by Buck Pond Farm at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Sale and was purchased by Jason Servis for $200,000. The G1 Coaching Club American Oaks is Maracuja's second victory in five starts in 2021. Her record is two wins in six lifetime starts for career earnings of $407,100.

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Indian Lake Gets Easy Win In Bald Eagle Derby At Pimlico

Gap View Stables and Jagger, Inc.'s Indian Lake, having only run twice previously on turf and never farther than a mile and 70 yards in 16 starts, conquered both the course and distance with a front-running, three-quarter-length triumph over favored Experienced in Saturday's $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The third running of the 1 ½-mile Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds was the first of four grass stakes worth $500,000 in purses, anchored by the $200,000 Grade 3 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup. In between were a pair of $100,000 stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up, the five-furlong Sensible Lady Turf Dash and the 1 1/8-mile Big Dreyfus.

Jockey Ruben Silvera, leading the rider standings at Parx with 132 wins since Jan. 1, gave Indian Lake ($8.60) an ideal trip, establishing a comfortable early lead with plenty left for a drive to the wire in the Daredevil gelding's first stakes victory.

In fact, Indian Lake hadn't won since Silvera was last aboard in an April 12 optional claimer at Parx, having gone winless in four subsequent starts, three of them in stakes. He ran fourth in the one-mile James W. Murphy May 15 on the Pimlico turf, second in an off-the-grass Jersey Derby May 28, and third in the Sussex July 8 at Delaware Park.

“He rides all my horses at Parx; I told him absolutely nothing. Sometimes I feel when I have a good rider, that's best. Just get the feel of the race and do your best,” winning trainer and co-owner Jamie Ness said. “Great race. Lot of fun.”

Silvera was able to get away with easy splits of :24.59 for the opening quarter-mile and :50.83 for a half, tracked by Shackled Love, a stakes winner on dirt making his turf debut, and 56-1 long shot Hanford along the rail. The main challengers didn't get any closer as Indian Lake went six furlongs in 1:17.51 and a mile in 1:44.09.

“[Shackled Love] had the speed, so it all depended on how I break. He broke pretty good and nobody went, so I tried to control the pace in the beginning. I won the race in the beginning,” Silvera said. “Jamie is a good guy, a good trainer. He never gives me instructions. He trusts me. He says, 'You are the jockey, you know what you're doing.'

“I know the horse. He's a good horse. He likes to run in front,” he added. “Every time when he feels a horse behind him, he's a different horse. He was really relaxed all the way around.”

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Experienced, racing for just the second time off a gutsy maiden special weight triumph June 21 at Delaware Park in debut, swung wide at the top of the stretch after racing near the back of the field to make a run, but was unable to catch the winner. It was three-quarters of a length back to Wootton Asset, who edged Take Profit by a nose for third. Hanford and Shackled Love completed the order of finish.

“When I saw 1:17, and this is a good horse, I thought it's going to take a pretty good horse to catch him. We were stretching our distance, but he's a good horse,” Ness said. “He galloped out good. You can't let a good horse go that slow and expect to beat him. I give all the credit in the world to Ruben on that one.”

The Bald Eagle honors Harry Guggenheim's two-time winner of the Washington D.C. International. His first victory, in 1959, came in a course-record 2:28 for 1 ½ miles and his second, in 1960, helped clinch champion handicap horse honors. Bald Eagle also set track records at Aqueduct and Hialeah and retired with 12 wins, all in stakes, and $692,122 in purse earnings from 29 lifetime starts.

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