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Summertime Oaks: McPeek Hoping For Cleaner Trip For Crazy Beautiful

Kenny McPeek, who captured the 2020 Santa Anita Oaks with that year's Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver, seeks another Oaks victory at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., on Sunday in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks with Crazy Beautiful, who, like Swiss Skydiver, will be ridden by Mike Smith.

Crazy Beautiful, a gray daughter of Liam's Map, is coming off a disappointing but eventful 10th-place finish against 12 rivals in the G1 Kentucky Oaks on April 30, when she was seriously impeded at the start.

“It was a pretty good case of bumper cars,” McPeek said by phone from Churchill Downs. “She got kind of mangled leaving there and again in the middle of the race. It seemed like nothing went right.

“Obviously, there will be a lot less traffic on Sunday (with five horses going 1 1/16 miles) than her last race. She's a classy filly who's already won a Grade 2 (the Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 27, prior to the Kentucky Oaks), so we felt like this was a good spot for her. We're excited to hopefully getting her back to her winning ways.”

With McPeek busy back east with the likes of Swiss Skydiver, who runs in the G1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park on June 5, Crazy Beautiful is being cared for at Santa Anita by trainer Karen Headley.

“Bruce (Karen's late father) and Karen are longtime friends,” McPeek said. “I've shipped into their barns for years. She'll saddle her and handle all the details.”

Bruce Headley was a charismatic and colorful trainer whose most accomplished runner was Kona Gold, Eclipse Award champion sprinter of 2000. He set a six-furlong track record of 1:07.77 that year winning the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs.

“The old man was a great guy,” McPeek said. “I always had a lot of respect for him as a horseperson.”

The Summertime Oaks is race eight of nine with a 1 p.m. first post time: Lady Aces, Umberto Rispoli, 4-1; Crazy Beautiful, Mike Smith, 6-5; $4,000 supplemental entry Plum Sexy, Abel Cedillo, 20-1; Soothsay, Flavien Prat, 4-5; and Absolute Scenes, Trevor McCarthy, 50-1.

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Streaking Charmaine’s Mia Bidding For First Grade 1 In Gamely

Phil D'Amato's streaking Charmaine's Mia, in search of her fourth consecutive graded stakes win, heads a field of nine fillies and mares 3 and up in Monday's Grade 1, $300,000 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. To be contested at 1 1/8 miles on turf, the Gamely, originally held at Hollywood Park, will be run for the 58th time on Monday.

One of three Grade 1 stakes, the Gamely could be the best betting race on a nine-race Memorial Day program, which kicks off with first post time at 1 p.m. PT.

The Richard Baltas-trained Going to Vegas and Brendan Walsh's French-bred La Signare lend considerable depth to the Gamely, which was won last year by Jonathan Wong's longshot Keeper Ofthe Stars, who will also suit up for this year's renewal.

A 2 ½-length winner of the G3, six-furlong turf Las Cienegas Stakes in her first start for D'Amato three races back on Jan. 9, Charmaine's Mia stretched out to victories going a mile on grass in both the G2 Buena Vista Stakes Feb. 20 and Royal Heroine on April 3. Off as the 3-5 favorite in the Royal Heroine, Charmaine's Mia was in complete gate to wire control, winning by a half length.

A 5-year-old mare by top sprinter The Factor, Charmaine's Mia, who had been based at Woodbine Race Course prior to joining D'Amato's stable late last year, had only been around two turns once prior to winning the Buena Vista in what was her 26th career start.

Owned by Agave Racing Stable, Medallion Racing and Rockin Robin Racing Stables, Charmaine's Mia, who will be ridden for the third consecutive time by Flavien Prat, has earned three consecutive Beyer Speed Figures of 99, an overall mark of 28-7-4-2 and earnings of $472,976.

Ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli and a runaway 3 ¾-length winner of the G3 Santa Ana Stakes at a mile and one quarter on grass March 27, Going to Vegas appears to be in the best form of her career for Baltas and owners Abbondanza Racing, LLC, Medallion Racing and MyRacehorse.

With Rispoli set to ride her back, Going to Vegas, a 4-year-old filly by Goldencents, was claimed for $50,000 nine starts back, seeks her second stakes victory in the Gamely. With an overall mark of 18-4-8-2, she has earnings of $283,751.

Third, beaten 2 ¼ lengths over a yielding turf in the G1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland April 10, 6-year-old La Signare seeks her first graded stakes win since taking a G3 at 1 1/8 miles on grass at Belmont Park on June 7, 2018. Often close but a winner of just one out of 13 starts since then, La Signare appears to be a dedicated deep closer that would certainly benefit from a lively pace. Owned by Madaket Stables, LLC, Tim and Anna Cambron and Bradley Thoroughbreds, La Signare, who will be ridden for the first time by Mike Smith, is 17-3-2-4 overall with earnings of $345,576.

GRADE 1 GAMELY STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS
IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 9 of 9 Approximate post time 5 p.m. PT

La Signare—Mike Smith—122
Charmaine's Mia—Flavien Prat—124
Raymundos Secret—Mario Gutierrez—124
Going to Vegas—Umberto Rispoli—122
Red Lark—Ricardo Gonzalez—124
Keeper Ofthe Stars—Abel Cedillo—122
Maxim Rate—Juan Hernandez—124
Stela Star—Jose Valdivia, Jr.—122
Bodhicitta—Trevor McCarthy—124

First post time for a nine-race card on Monday is at 1 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Gershwin Scores Over Sloppy Main Track In Penn Mile

Getting a perfect set-up behind dueling front-runners for the first six furlongs, Godolphin homebred Gershwin – a half-brother to Grade 1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide – scored a two-length victory under Joe Bravo in Friday evening's $300,000 Penn Mile Stakes, a one-mile race originally scheduled on turf at Penn National race course in Grantville, Pa., but was transferred to a sloppy main track because of heavy rain.

The Penn Mile is designated as a Grade 2 race on turf by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's American Graded Stakes Committee, but was automatically downgraded to Grade 3 because of the surface switch. The AGS Committee will review this year's running and decide whether to reinstate it to Grade 2.

The King Cheek finished second after dueling with Sibelius through fractions of :24.66, :49.13, and 1:13.75. It was 6 1/4 lengths farther back to Chess's Dream in third, with 9-5 favorite Annex fourth and Sibelius retreating to the back of the field of five 3-year-olds at the wire. Original and Outadore were scratched.

Gershwin, a Distorted Humor colt out of G1 winner and producer Music Note, by A.P. Indy, is trained by Michael Stidham, who also trains Mystic Guide (by Ghostzapper) for Godolphin. He ran the mile on a sloppy track in 1:39.24 and paid $6.80 to win.

The quality in Gershwin's female family goes well beyond Music Note, whose second dam is the Harbor View Farm filly It's In the Air, co-champion 2-year-old filly in 1978 and winner of four G1 races the following year.

The victory was the second in five lifetime starts – all in 2021 – for Gershwin, who left the maiden ranks sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs ver a muddy track in his second start on Feb. 6 at Fair Grounds. He finished a well-beaten third next out on a good track at Oaklawn on March 25, then lost by a neck on a sloppy track at Churchill going a one-turn mile. The Penn Mile was the first stakes attempt.for Gershwin, who trained up to the race at Fair Hill training center in Maryland.

Gershwin broke well from the rail post but Bravo allowed The King Cheek and Sibelius to gain the advantage in the early going. He kept Gershwin well off the rail throughout and swung even wider into the stretch to make his winning move.

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It’s A Gamble Overtakes Indian Lake To Win Off-The-Turf Jersey Derby

Even though It's A Gamble had tried the dirt just once in his eight-race career prior to Friday night, trainer Kelly Breen said he wasn't concerned when the Jersey Derby was moved from the grass to the main track at Monmouth Park due to rain.

It's easy to see why.

It's A Gamble found a seam along the rail and was able to reel in loose frontrunner Indian Lake at the sixteenth pole, going on to a 1 ¾-length victory in the 78th running of the Jersey Derby, the $100,000 feature race at the Oceanport, N.J., track's opening card.

Sent off at 9-2 in a field of seven 3-year-olds, It's A Gamble covered the mile over a fast-sealed track 1:40.70.

Indian Lake, who looked to be on his way to victory in mid-stretch, was 8 ¾ lengths in front of third-place finisher Spectatorless.

“Even though this was just his second start on the dirt he has trained well on it,” said Breen, who captured his third Monmouth Park training title last year. “So I wasn't all that concerned when it came off the turf. Everything set up for him. The rail opened up and he was able to find his way through.

“Since we shipped him from Florida to New York — his last race on the grass at Aqueduct was really nice — he has been training well. I believe that he's a nice horse – dirt, turf, whatever.”

A son of English Channel–Yes It's Pink by Yes It's True was bred and is owned by Ron Lombardi (Mr Amore Stable). The New York-bred colt was ridden by Jose Baez.

“The rail really opened up for me,” said Baez. “I was just sitting there waiting to see what was going on. I waited long enough that the rail opened and I didn't have to go around horses. I was a little worried about (Indian Lake) getting away from me. That's probably why I asked my horse to go when I did.”

It's A Gamble paid $11.20 to win in recording his third victory in nine career starts. Seven of those starts have been on the turf.

Racing resumes at Monmouth Park on Saturday with a 12-race card. First race post time is 12:15 p.m.

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