Tag: Racing

Noble Drama, Caribou Club Make Victorious Returns At Gulfstream

Harold Queen's Noble Drama made a triumphant return from a four-month layoff, closing from last to eke out a victory in Saturday's $60,000 The Name's Jimmy Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Out of a half-sister to 2010 Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Big Drama and full sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Sheer Drama, Noble Drama showed his class while rallying off a pedestrian early pace to prevail by a nose over Glory of Florida in the mile overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up.

“He gives you 150 percent every time,” said trainer David Fawkes, who conditioned Big Drama and Sheer Drama, both Queen homebreds.

Unraced since finishing second in the Jan. 16 Sunshine Classic at Gulfstream, the homebred 6-year-old gelding dropped back to trail the six-horse field as Pro Quality showed the way during a first quarter of a mile in 24.59 seconds on his way to half-mile in 47.85. Emisael Jaramillo asked Noble Drama for some run leaving the backstretch and the son of Gone Astray responded with a four-wide rally to enter contention at the top of the stretch. The Florida-bred veteran kicked in through the stretch to narrowly prevail over a rail-rallying Glory of Florida.

“Emisael said it took him a little time to get him moving, but where he was sitting going into the turn, I was comfortable, although he did have to go four wide,” Fawkes said. “I wasn't so comfortable right there [at the finish line].”

Noble Drama, the 6-5 favorite who carried highweight of 122 pounds, ran a mile in 1:36.39 to claim his sixth career stakes victory and boost is career bankroll over $700,000.

“Look at the weight he's gained. We gave him three months off, brought him in and breezed him four times, and he won,” Fawkes said. “He's such a neat horse.”

Glory of Florida, who was ridden by Samy Camacho, finished a neck in front of pacesetter Pro Quality and jockey Miguel Vasquez.

Caribou Club Returns a Winner in Sunny Isles
Glen Hill Farm's Caribou Club, coming off a year layoff, drove to the lead down the stretch to win Saturday's $60,000 Sunny Isles over Harry's Ontheloose. Tiger Blood was third.

Winner of the 2019 Baltimore-Washington International Turf (G3) in 2019, Caribou Club, a 7-year-old gelding by City Zip trained by Thomas Proctor and ridden by Edwin Gonzalez, covered a firm five-furlong turf course in :55.01.

Caribou Club, who raced only three times in 2020, has now won 10 of 26 starts on the turf.

The post Noble Drama, Caribou Club Make Victorious Returns At Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Front-Running Get Smokin Takes Seek Again Foes Wire To Wire

Entering the $100,000 Seek Again for 4-year-olds and up going one mile on Belmont Park's Widener turf course, trainer Tom Bush said he was optimistic Get Smokin would benefit from a more compact schedule between starts. The ability to get in a rhythm paid off, as the Get Stormy gelding led the eight-horse field through every point of call and held off 9-5 favorite Flavius to post a three-quarters of a length score on Saturday at the Elmont, N.Y., track.

Get Smokin, who won the Grade 3 Tampa Bay going 1 1/16 miles on the Tampa Bay Downs turf on February 6, ran eighth after a nearly two-month respite in the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile on April 9 at Keeneland. Bush said Get Smokin can better demonstrate his ability when wheeling back in just five or six weeks, and the schedule adjustment resulted in his second win in three starts of his 4-year-old campaign.

Get Smokin broke sharp under jockey Junior Alvarado, leading the field through the opening quarter-mile in 24.25 seconds and the half in a moderate 48.61 over the firm turf as the Chad Brown-trained Flavius pressured the pacesetter from the second position.

Out of the turn, Alvarado kept his charge alert, maintaining the edge as Flavius made a stretch-drive bid from the outside. But Get Smokin did not wilt under pressure, finishing strong to the wire in a final time of 1:33.96.

“He's very quick,” Alvarado said. “If anyone else wants the lead, they have to work very hard. He broke sharp today again, which makes my job easy. I just had to nurse him along. Turning for home, I knew I had plenty of horse left and he gave me that nice kick that he has.

“You can never get too excited until you cross the wire first, but I was very happy with the pace I was going with him,” he added. “He was traveling comfortable enough that I knew he'd have a kick at the end.”

Bush, who also trained Get Stormy to nine stakes wins from 2009-'12, said the pace scenario set up well for Get Smokin.

“He's dangerous on the front end, that's for sure,” Bush said. “When they're loping along like that and they aren't using themselves too much, you're always happy to see that. I knew they'd be laying a little closer, too, since we were the only speed, but they couldn't get by him. It was a terrific effort.”

Owned by Mary Abeel Sullivan Revocable Trust, Get Smokin won for the third time in four career Belmont starts, going 2-for-2 in stakes at the Elmont-based track after winning the Grade 2 Hill Prince in October. Bred in Kentucky by Hurstland Farm and James Greene, Jr., Get Smokin improved to 4-3-2 in 14 career starts and increased his career earnings to $376,040.

“Junior was saying after the race that he would love for this horse to have a target and just lay second or third, but he's so good leaving the gate that you can't take the gate away from him,” Bush said. “This is what we were looking for today. That's the class of the horse. He didn't get discouraged and that's what good horses do.”

Off at 9-2, Get Smokin returned $10.80 on a $2 win wager in the Seek Again's inaugural edition. Bush said the effort could set him up for a start in the Grade 3, $250,00 Poker going one mile on June 20 at Belmont.

Flavius, a close fourth last out in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita, was making just the second start of his 6-year-old year after ending 2020 with a second in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap in November at Del Mar. Flavius edged the Tom Morley-trained Tell Your Daddy by a nose for second on Saturday.

“It was a fun race because the two best horses fought all the way from the beginning to the finish,” said Flavius' Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano. “There was no pace in the race and he [Get Smokin] had pace and went pretty slow. With no pace and the winner being able to go 24 and 48, that probably cost us the race.”

Fellow Brown trainee Delaware finished fourth, with Grade 1-winner Decorated Invader running fifth. Tiberius Mercurius, Olympic Runner and Epic Dreamer completed the order of finish.

Main track-only entrants Danny California and Yankee Division were scratched.

Live racing continues Sunday with a nine-race card and a 1 p.m. Eastern first post.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

 

The post Front-Running Get Smokin Takes Seek Again Foes Wire To Wire appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Odds-On Favorite As Times Goes By Noses Out Longshot This Tea In Santa Maria

A runaway 9 ¼-length winner of her most recent Grade 2 stakes assignment, As Time Goes By was all-out to prevail by a nose over 23-1 longshot This Tea in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Maria Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.  Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, As Time Goes By stalked the early pace and got 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.77.

Breaking from the outside of a four-horse field of fillies and mares, 3 and up, As Time Goes By was content to track speedster Miss Stormy D to the far turn, where she took charge by a neck at the three-furlong pole.  From there, she had to work to shrug off Miss Stormy D to her inside and then faced the challenge of This Tea to her immediate outside, with well regarded Ce Ce unable to mount a challenge four-deep turning for home.

“I told Mike, we've been going easy on her, not too hard for this race,” said Baffert, who registered his meet-leading 14th stakes victory.  “Today, this is the first time she's come back really blowing.  That filly that ran second, ran a big race.  “(My filly's) heart and true grit made her hang in there.  We knew Miss Stormy D was quick, and you could tell turning for home that my filly wasn't doing it that easily.”

When asked what might be next for As Time Goes By, Baffert responded, “Right now, with the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar, we wanna keep her here and run her here in the fall.”

A scintillating gate to wire winner of the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes going a mile and one eighth on April 24, As Time Goes By was off at 2-5 and paid $2.80 and $2.10 with no show wagering.

“They ran good, you know, my hat's off to the filly that finished second, she ran a huge race,” said Smith.  “The Lakers don't always blow every team out, every now and then you gotta fight it out, and that's what she had to do today.

“She'll get more out of this race.  After she ran the last time out, they kind of backed off her a little bit.  She's a big mare with a big frame and she'll tend to gain some weight and I could tell she was a little more stocked today.  She got a little tired, but she'll get a whole lot out of that.”

Owned by Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith, As Time Goes By, a 4-year-old filly by Baffert's 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, out of the Dehere mare Take Charge Lady, notched her second stakes win and improved her overall mark to 7-4-2-1.

With the winner's share of $120,000, As Time Goes By increased her earnings to $380,600.

Ridden by Kent Desormeaux for trainer George Papaprodromou, This Tea, who was second by 9 ¼ lengths to As Time Goes By in the Santa Margarita, came within a nose of turning the tables in a huge effort.  The longest shot in the field at 23-1, she paid $6.60 to place while finishing eight lengths clear of Miss Stormy D.

Ce Ce, ridden by Victor Espinoza, was off at 3-2 but tired badly through the lane while never threatening.

Fractions on the race were 23.83, 47.12, 1:10.95 and 1:36.98.

The post Odds-On Favorite As Times Goes By Noses Out Longshot This Tea In Santa Maria appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights