Tag: Racing

California’s Reigning Horse Of The Year, Muco Unusual Headlines Saturday’s Santa Ana Stakes

George Krikorian's multiple graded stakes winning homebred Mucho Unusual heads a solid field of eight older fillies and mares going a mile and one quarter on turf in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ana Stakes at Santa Anita.

Voted California-bred Horse of the Year for 2020 by the CTBA, Mucho Unusual will be tackling sharp recent allowance winner Tapwater, promising French-bred Neige Blanche, Irish-bred Red Lark and long-fused French-bred Altea in what shapes up as a terrific betting race.

A two-time graded stakes winner at the current meeting for trainer Tim Yakteen, Mucho Unusual, a 5-year-old mare by Mucho Macho Man, out of the Unusual Heat mare Not Unusual, comes off a solid second going one mile on turf behind rising star Charmaine's Mia in the Grade 2 Buena Vista on Feb. 20 and will appreciate the additional quarter mile on Saturday.

A winner of the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes at a mile and one quarter on turf five starts back here on Sept. 26, Mucho Unusual also has a second place finish at the trip from three overall tries. Ridden by four different jockeys in her last four races, she'll handled by leading man Flavien Prat. The leading money earner in the field with $862,715, Mucho Unusual, a four-time graded stakes winner, has an overall mark of 20-7-4-4.

Trained by Richard Mandella, Tapwater, in her first start since Oct. 16, stalked the early pace and prevailed by a neck under Prat in a one mile turf allowance here on Feb. 12. Lightly raced, this 5-year-old LNJ Foxwoods homebred mare by Tapit has won two out of her last five starts, all at one mile on grass. With Prat opting to ride likely favorite Mucho Unusual, Mike Smith takes over as Tapwater tries a mile and one quarter for the first time in what will be her first stakes assignment. With three wins and two seconds from eight overall starts, she has earnings of $142,940.

One of two Leonard Powell-trained entrants, Neige Blanche has been idle since well beaten in the Grade 1 American Oaks at 1 ¼ miles on turf Dec. 26. A handy Group 3 winner going 1 3/8 miles on turf in her final French start on June 6, 2020, she showed ample promise in her first two stateside appearances, a close fourth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks Aug. 22 and a third place finish in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Sept. 19.

A maiden victress going a mile and one quarter on synthetic in her second start at age two, Neige Blanche is proven at the distance and would appreciate a fast pace when ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez on Saturday. Owned by Madaket Stables, LLC, Laura DeSeroux, Marsh Naify and Mathilde Powell, Neige Blanche, a 4-year-old filly, has three wins from nine career starts.

Trained by Paddy Gallagher and owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, 4-year-old Irish-bred Red Lark comes off an even fifth place finish in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Feb. 20. An upset winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks four starts back, she ran a solid fourth in the Grade 1 American Oaks on opening day and is another who would benefit from a lively pace. Handled in her last seven starts by Drayden Van Dyke, she'll be ridden by Ricky Gonzalez on Saturday.

Winless in five Irish starts, Red Lark has two wins from nine stateside starts as she seeks her second stakes victory in the Santa Ana.

Previously trained by eastern-based Chad Brown, French-bred Altea finished well when beaten 2 ¾ lengths by Mucho Unusual in her first start for Michael McCarthy, the Grade 3, 1 1/8 mile turf Robert J. Frankel Stakes on Dec. 27. Subsequently third going a mile and one half on turf in the Grade 3 Astra Stakes Jan. 17, Altea will be ridden for the third consecutive time by Abel Cedillo and is the only horse shortening up in distance on Saturday.

THE GRADE 3 SANTA ANA STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

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

  1. Mucho Unusual—Flavien Prat—124
  2. Silberpfeil—Tyler Baze—122
  3. Going to Vegas—Umberto Rispoli—120
  4. Tapwater—Mike Smith—120
  5. Red Lark—Ricardo Gonzalez—122
  6. Neige Blanche—Juan Hernandez—122
  7. Altea—Abel Cedillo—120
  8. Colonial Creed—Mario Gutierrez–120

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday is at 1 p.m. All of Santa Anita's races are offered free of charge at santaanita.com/live and fans can wager at 1st.com/bet. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post California’s Reigning Horse Of The Year, Muco Unusual Headlines Saturday’s Santa Ana Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Warrior’s Charge Makes His 2021 Debut In Thursday Allowance At Oaklawn

If Warrior's Charge wants to stick around for major stakes race next month at Oaklawn, he'll have to make his case Thursday for co-owners Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables and trainer Brad Cox.

The multiple graded stakes winner will make his 2021 debut in the eighth race, a one-mile allowance for older horses that carries a hefty $107,000 purse. The speedy 5-year-old son of Munnings hasn't started since finishing eighth in the $100,000 Ack Ack Stakes (G3) Sept. 26 at Churchill Downs.

“It's obviously the starting point for the year,” Clay Sanders, a founding partner in Ten Strike, said Tuesday morning. “Probably not exactly the distance or race we wanted, but if we could get a stake race at Oaklawn the two options were the Oaklawn Mile or the Oaklawn Handicap. If we want to consider the Oaklawn Handicap, we didn't want to run him not having a prep race. Going a mile and an eighth off the bench is pretty tough. We'll give him a start and kind of see where he is fitness-wise. He's not 100 percent cranked, but we'll see where we're at.”

The $400,000 Oaklawn Mile is April 10. The $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) is April 17.

Warrior's Charge was among Oaklawn's leading two-turn older horses last year after winning the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) at 1 1/16 miles and finishing second in the $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2). Following a subpar performance in the Ack Ack, Warrior's Charge was sent to Florida horseman Paul Sharp for a break. Sharp's farm is the go-to vacation spot for horses connected to noted bloodstock agent Liz Crow, who is also Ten Strike's stable manager. Ten Strike privately purchased then-unraced Warrior's Charge from his breeder, Al Shaquab Racing, after Crow watched the horse train at McKathan Brothers Training Center in Florida.

In 12 career starts, the consistent Warrior's Charge has compiled a 5-1-3 record and bankrolled $836,310. Warrior's Charge also finished fourth in the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1) – beaten 2 ½ lengths – in 2019 and fourth in the $500,000 Met Mile (G1) – beaten two lengths – July 4 at Belmont Park. Warrior's Charge faded to eighth in the Ack Ack after dueling through a demanding :44.85 half-mile.

“We think he was a little over the top, as far as he'd been in training for over a year,” Sanders said. “Obviously, we wanted to go to the Breeders' Cup with him. Obviously, off that result we didn't feel confident going into the race and even at that point, we didn't know Brad had Knicks Go. Exit an allowance race and then kind of showed himself (winning Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile). Probably in hindsight, it (Ack Ack) wasn't the right spot because it was a one-turn race and there was a ton of speed in the race. He went out crazy fast and just didn't have anything left in the tank. Brad had kind of mentioned after the race that he wasn't training as sharply as he was earlier in the year. We wanted to give him a break there so we would have at least some shot of making Oaklawn.”

Warrior's Charge rejoined Cox's Fair Grounds division in January and has had seven published workouts there since Feb. 5, including three 5-furlong moves this month. Warriors Charge arrived Monday in Hot Springs.

“We'd liked to have made the Essex or the Razorback, but time just got a little short on us and didn't get him ready in time,” Sanders said.

The Razorback and Essex are two major local steppingstones to the Oaklawn Handicap, a race Cox said he covets. Cox has never won the Oaklawn Handicap.

Memphis, Tenn.-based Ten Strike offers fractional ownership on its syndicate side (founding partner Marshall Gramm and Sanders are the claiming arm) and “probably 35 to 38” have a share in Warrior's Charge, Sanders said. The majority of the owners are from Arkansas, Sanders said, meaning a victory in the Oaklawn Mile or Oaklawn Handicap would be a big deal for them, too.

“But then you include family and spouses and friends – you saw the winner's circle for the Razorback,” Sanders said. “It gets pretty big pretty quick in Arkansas.”

Sanders, a Mountain Home, Ark., native, said adding a Grade 1 victory to the resume of Warrior's Charge is a goal this year since it would boost his value as a stallion prospect.

“The tricky part with this horse is that probably a mile and a sixteenth is like his optimal distance,” Sanders said. “They don't have any Grade 1's at a mile and a sixteenth, so a mile and an eighth is probably at the tail end of his. But it wouldn't even be crazy at maybe a mile and a quarter, if he could get out on a slow pace, some of these five-horse fields, maybe he could walk the dog on the front end. Those are the things we'll kind of explore.”

In addition to the Razorback and powerful front-running maiden- and first-level allowance victories at the 2019 Oaklawn meeting, Warrior's Charge (via disqualification for stretch interference) captured the $200,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes (G3) Aug. 22 at Monmouth Park.

Warrior's Charge is the 8-5 program favorite Thursday, with Florent Geroux named to ride from post 6. Also entered are Mailman Money, My Sixth Sense, Home Base, Guest Suite and Final Jeopardy.

Probable post time is 4:40 p.m. (Central).

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Dubai World Cup Notes: Jesus’ Team, Mystic Guide Take It Easy After Paddock Schooling

The following notes detail contenders in Saturday's $12 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse, and were provided by members of the Dubai Racing Club media team:

Ajuste Fiscal – Had an easy workout on the Meydan dirt track at 5am on Wednesday.

“He is fit and well and really just having a leg stretcher before the big day,” said trainer Antonio Cintra.

Chuwa Wizard – The Japanese challenger was hand-walked for 60 minutes at the quarantine stable area and did not come out on the track this morning.

Work rider Kota Kato said: “He has settled well and is physically fit. He weighed 490kg today, about the same as when he won the Group 1 Champions Cup, which means he is in really good form. He will have a piece of work on the dirt track at 5am and will have a gate schooling tomorrow.”

Jesus' Team – A couple of new experiences characterized the last 24 hours for Jesus' Team and Venezuelan trainer Jose Francisco D'Angelo.

Around 6pm on Tuesday night the colt was able to familiarize himself with the Meydan paddock.

“He looked a little sharp, a little nervous because all of it is new for him. It's a long walk and the transportation from the barn is in a truck. So that is new for him,” said D'Angelo.

“He will be more focused and more professional for the race because Jesus is always better the second time around.”

The following morning Jesus' Team took two turns around the dirt, followed shortly by a first look inside the starting gates.

D'Angelo said: “Today he improved on the track, every day he is going better. He did two laps, slow to a bit faster. Similar to how we are going to run [in the race]. He's doing perfectly. We went to the starting gate today with him and he looked very professional, very focused, not nervous. I like what I see.”

The Claiming Crown Jewel victor has quite the character, with D'Angelo having many a tale to tell.

“Yesterday before he was working, he put his feet on my back,” he said. “Before the Preakness one day he tried to escape when he was being hand-grazed. Jesus is a very delicate horse. You have to be able to deal with him.”

Magny Cours – The André Fabre-trained contender made his first appearance on the dirt track at Meydan on Wednesday morning where he cantered on the back stretch before going a bit quicker in front of the grandstand.

Richard Lambert, the travelling head lad who looks after the son of Medaglia d'Oro, said: “His rider was very happy with him this morning. Everything went well and he looks in good form. He will not come back to the dirt track but will remain on the training track.”

Mystic Guide – Godolphin's Mike Stidham-trained Mystic Guide did not come to the track on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday evening, the son of champion Ghostzapper and five-time Grade 1 winner Music Note went through the schooling process at Meydan, which involves vanning over from the international quarantine barn to the receiving barn, walking the 800m tunnel, saddling, parade-ring walking and then returning.

“Based on the schooling process we gave him the morning off,” Stidham said. “He had trained in the morning and then went over there for two hours of schooling, so we just felt like it would be best to give him an easy day. We walked and grazed him. Tomorrow he will gallop and stand in the gate.

“It's a lot different; the total opposite of what we do in the States,” he continued. “Doing all this in a week's time is very demanding on a horse and their routine, so you have to adapt your training with this extra activity and that's what I'm doing. He's plenty fit. I don't want to put him over the top and have a flat horse on race day.”

Salute The Soldier – Jockey Adrie de Vries had a positive bulletin on the Fawzi Nass trainee.

“He is a very exciting horse and we are all really looking forward to Saturday,” he said. “If you remember, this time last year he was favorite for the Godolphin Mile, now he has a live chance in the big race. His final work was very good and he seems in great form. Fawzi and his team have done very well keeping him fresh and happy. I am really looking forward to Saturday.”

Sleepy Eyes Todd – To the joy of the media, Sleepy Eyes Todd posed for the cameras after gate schooling, followed by an easy gallop. Trainer Miguel Angel Silva watched intently from the rail.

“This is the first time [in the gates]. They told me the gates are different than the ones in America. We just wanted to make sure he's OK in there, because they said they are smaller,” Silva elaborated.

“He was a gentleman like always, he was perfect. Today he just galloped around to stretch his legs. The job is done. We just keep him happy. We will continue with the easy canters, easy gallops over the next few days,” Silva continued.

Regular rider Jose Sandoval was aboard Sleepy Eyes Todd, the pair having been travelling everywhere together.

As for Saturday, Silva is ready to roll.

He continued: “I have been saying this a lot, we just need racing luck. We had a few issues with other horses in Saudi Arabia, they cut us off. All of a sudden, we were 15 lengths behind. Ideally, I would like to see him four or five lengths off the speed. And in front at the wire!”

Thegreatcollection – Continued his preparation at the Doug Watson stable with jockey Pat Cosgrave excited about his chances.

He said: “I am delighted be back on him and have a decent record on the horse this season. Look, I am not saying we are going to win but I certainly think he will run a big race.”

Title Ready – Charles Fipke's homebred Title Ready came to the dirt track at 7am and had an easy hack around with his owner in town to watch. Trainer Dallas Stewart was also on hand for the first time this week.

“The horse looked great,” Stewart said. “He's doing well. The horse came in good and we're excited to see what he can do on Saturday. He looks like he's getting over the track good. Like any of them, he's going to have to step his game up. It's a good race. He's a very nice horse who's six now and he's training well and coming off his best race. His best races might be ahead. Hopefully he'll step up to this level.

“I think the competition is solid. Mystic Guide is a wonderful horse coming off a win and you have to worry about him. The other American horses are really solid, as well.”

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