This feature provides a capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Triple Crown trail and three horses whose stock has fallen since the 147th edition of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs May 1.
Tag: Racing
Cordmaker Returns To Pimlico Special For Third Straight Year
Hillwood Stable's multiple stakes winner Cordmaker, third in each of the past two years, is headed for a third straight trip to the historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) May 14 at Pimlico Race Course.
Trainer Rodney Jenkins said Monday that plans call for the gelded 6-year-old son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin to make his 29th career start in the 1 3/16-mile Special on the undercard of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2).
“We're going to give it a shot. He's run great the past two years,” Jenkins said. “We're going to give it a chance to see if we can be something besides third this time.”
Bred in Maryland by the late Bob Manfuso and trainer Katy Voss, Cordmaker was beaten two necks when third behind Tenfold and You're To Blame in the 2019 Special. Harpers First Ride was a two-length winner in 2020 when the race was delayed from mid-May to early October amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Cordmaker a half-length behind runner-up Owendale.
Last year's Special came during a career-long winless drought for Cordmaker of 10 races spanning more than 17 months. Second or third in six of those starts, all of them in stakes, he returned to the winner's circle with a front-running one-length triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Harrison E. Johnson Memorial March 13 at Laurel Park.
“It had to be good for him because it got him more confidence. He ran a really nice race,” Jenkins said. “We hope between that and the way he's been training that he's up to this.”
Cordmaker has breezed twice since the Johnson, both times bullet five-furlong moves at Pimlico. He went in 1:00.20 April 18, the fastest of 33 horses, and returned to go in 59.40 seconds April 27, the best of 15 horses.
“He's doing really well. The horse is probably has never done better in his life than he's doing now,” Jenkins said. “He seems to be interested in everything. We took him to Pimlico to work him and he worked good there, so I hope he runs as good as he's training.”
Purchased for $150,000 as yearling in 2016, Cordmaker has nine wins, four seconds and six thirds with purse earnings of $588,640. He won the Jennings for Maryland-bred/sired horses as a 3-year-old in 2018 and the Johnson and Polynesian at Laurel and DTHA Governors Day Handicap in 2019 at Delaware Park.
The Pimlico Special for 3-year-olds and up was created in 1937 by Alfred Vanderbilt, the master of Sagamore Farm, as the first major stakes in the United States set up as an invitational, and was won by Triple Crown champion War Admiral. The following year, War Admiral was upset by Seabiscuit in what Sports Illustrated has called the “Race of the Century.”
Revived in 1988 by the late Maryland Jockey Club president Frank J. De Francis, the Special's illustrious roster of winners also includes Triple Crown winners Whirlaway, Citation and Assault and modern-day Horses of the Year Criminal Type, Cigar, Skip Away, Mineshaft and Invasor.
A total of 16 stakes, 10 graded, worth $3.25 million in purses will be contested over Preakness weekend, May 14-15, at Pimlico, highlighted by the 146th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
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A Closer Look at Derby Winner Medina Spirit and His Preakness Chances
Making the Grade, which will run through the 2021 Triple Crown races, focuses on the winners or top performers of the key races, usually from the previous weekend, who could make an impact on the Triple Crown. We’ll be taking a close look at impressive winners and evaluating their chances to win classic races based upon ability, running style, connections (owner, trainer, jockey), and pedigree.
O’Brien, Dettori Team Up To Win 1,000 Guineas With Mother Earth
Frankie Dettori celebrated winning the 20th Classic of his career with victory on Mother Earth in the QIPCO 1,000 Guineas – then joked he has “plenty of time” to beat the legendary Lester Piggott's record of 30.
It was a fourth victory in the race for the 50 year old Italian jockey and a seventh for trainer Aidan O'Brien.
Taking the lead just inside the final quarter mile, Zoffany filly Mother Earth, a 10-1 chance, kept on finding more and at the finish had a length to spare over the staying on Saffron Beach (9-1). A futher neck back in third was 22-1 chance Fev Rover.
Speaking after the race Dettori said: “I was super excited to win that! I didn't have the pressure to ride the favorite and had a very willing partner on a filly who I knew would give me everything.
“Aidan gave me a lot of confidence this morning and said to forget about (favored) Santa Barbara and just ride my own race. He told me to get cover and I did and like I said I forgot about the favorite and just kicked at the top of the hill.
“I knew she'd stay really well and I won – it's as simple as that! It's my 20th Classic (in Britain) at 50 years old. I'm only 10 behind Lester now so I've got plenty of time!
“It's great to do it at Newmarket. I'm extremely happy and I got lucky to get that ride. Lester was 56 so I've got six years left and Kevin (Manning, 54, winner of Saturday's 2,000 Guineas with Poetic Flare) won yesterday – come on the oldies!”
Before the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, many had expected an O'Brien victory in the race to come via his 5-2 joint favorite Santa Barbara, who finished fourth under Ryan Moore.
But O'Brien said of Mother Earth: “She's a very good filly and always was. It was unfair to the favorite (Santa Barbara) to come but we had to come with the view to coming back over here for the Oaks.
“Santa Barbara is only a baby and Ryan said that he'd liked to have waited longer but he saw Frankie coming down his outside and he had to come then and she was just green in the dip, but after having one easy run it was a great run.
“Mother Earth is a very consistent filly – she had a great run in America last time out last year and that was very professional. She relaxed and quickened and did everything really well, so we're delighted. I think Mother Earth will stick to a mile and we'll step Santa Barbara up in trip – the latter was always going to go to the Oaks next time and this filly was always going to go to the Irish Guineas next. That was the plan.
“We won't go again with Santa Barbara (before the Cazoo Oaks). We felt that she would learn as much coming here as she would for three runs, but it was a risk doing it that she was going to get beaten.
“She'll be fine, she's classy and she would have learnt a lot today and she has plenty time to get over that. Ryan was very happy and he said to me that in an ideal world he didn't want to commit as early.
“But with Frankie coming he had to keep going then and she was a little bit unbalanced going into the dip, which is understandable as we've never taken her off the bridle at home. Hopefully she'll come out of it ok and it will do her good.
“I didn't ask Frankie anything afterwards – I just listened. I'm sure you could hear it all as well! It's great to have him and he's an unbelievable rider.”
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