Fate had to work overtime to put a longshot named Weyburn in the winner’s circle after the March 6 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Tag: Racing
Micheline Scores First Graded Triumph In Hillsborough Stakes
Making her first starting since a second-place finish to Harvey's Lil Goil in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland last Oct. 10, Godolphin LLC's homebred Micheline recorded her first graded stakes victory in Saturday's Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.
Ridden for the first time by Luis Saez and trained by Michael Stidham, the 4-year-old filly by Bernardini out of the multiple G1 winning Include mare Panty Raid, was clocked in 1:47.19 for 1 1/8 miles on firm turf. She paid $11.20 for the victory.
Morning Molly finished second, with New York Girl third and La Signore and Miss Teheran dead-heating for fourth in the field of 10. Magic Attitude, the 3-1 favorite, breaking from the inside post, had some early traffic troubles, didn't get untracked until late and was never a factor.
Myhartblongstodady went to the front under Daniel Centeno, setting fractions of :24.23, :48.80 and 1:12.41 for the first six furlongs. Morning Molly raced in second, with Micheline, who broke from the outside post position, just behind the top pair and in the clear to the outside.
Approaching the stretch, Morning Molly turned up the heat on the front runner, but Saez and Micheline had them both measured, swinging to the outside and moving to the lead in the stretch. Passing the mile marker in 1:35.74, they cruised to the victory, Micheline's fifth in 13 starts.
“That was the spot I was trying to get, and we got lucky,” said Saez. “She broke good and we were right there. At the half-mile pole, when I started asking her, she started to pick it up, and when we got to the straight everything was about battling, and she did that pretty well. She gave me her kick and it was super. Watching her replays, I knew she could win this race, and it's great when everything comes together so well.”
Micheline broke her maiden in Monmouth Park's Sorority Stakes at 2 in 2019, adding a late December allowance victory at Tampa Bay Downs. As a 3-year-old she won Gulfstream's Honey Ryder and the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs.
“She is definitely a fighter,” Stidham's assistant, Ben Trask, said after the Hillsborough. “She is kind of a silly filly – she's a bad stall walker, so she lives in a little tent behind the barn. She is definitely a unique filly with a lot of talent. I was a little concerned with the outside post and whether she would overcome it. Luis put her in a great spot the whole time and when he called on her, she was there.”
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Maker Records Another Claiming Success With Last Judgment In Challenger
Trainer Michael Maker has a history of turning mid- to high-priced claiming acquisitions into graded stakes winners and Last Judgment is just the latest to join that roll of success stories. The 5-year-old gelding by Congrats, claimed for $62,500 last October at Belmont Park, registered a 2 3/4-length wire-to-wire victory in Saturday's Grade 3 Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, the first of four graded stakes at the Oldsmar, Fla., track culminating with the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby.
Ridden by Daniel Centeno, Last Judgment was never headed, setting fractions of :23.29, :47.41, 1:11.37 and 1:35.62 en route to a final clocking of 1:41.98 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track.
Last Judgment paid $4.80 as the 7-5 co-favorite in the field of five older runners. Modernist finished second, with the other 7-5 co-favorite, War Stopper, 1 3/4 lengths behind in third. War Stopper was followed across the finish by Letmeno and Jungle Fighter.
“It looked like he should be forwardly placed and that's how the race was run,” said Maker. “He seemed to be well within himself the whole way. He got into a nice rhythm and kept it going. We tried to chase Knicks Go in the Pegasus. I'll try to spot him more appropriately the rest of the year.”
Last Judgment won one of three starts since Maker haltered him for Michael Dubb, Steve Hornstock, Bethlehem Stables and Nice Guys Stables but was coming off a 12 3/4-length drubbing at the hands of Knicks Go as a 41-1 outsider in the Pegasus. He raced second behind the frontrunning winner that day before tiring in the stretch.
“Mike's instructions were to take the lead and he broke really sharp and made an easy lead all the way to the wire,” said Centeno. “(Letmeno) got a little close to me past the half-mile pole, but my horse grabbed the bit again and I knew I had plenty of horse left. It looks like he can run all day. It's nice when you get a lead like that and the horse is enjoying being out there all by himself.”
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Fonner Files: The Satellite And Simulcast View Of Fonner Park
Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak shares slices of life from the Grand Island, Neb., racetrack throughout the 2021 meet in the Fonner Files.
The view of Fonner Park from a satellite is quite impressive as an ever-evolving, 240-acre campus of arenas, livestock and expo buildings, restaurants, home of the Nebraska State Fair and Hall County Fair, our racing facility and a casino in the plans.
Who knew? It turns out the current simulcast view of Fon is quite popular too. A peek into the last three years is worth a look.
In 2020, when all the world began watching “the little track that could,” we had four $6-million Saturdays in handle. A year before in 2019, average out-of-state handle on a Saturday was $125,000.
However, last Saturday, out-of-state handle was $634,580. That number is a tenth of some of the wildest days in our 68-year history, but it nearly quadrupled what was previously the norm.
We obviously aren't as necessary now as we were in the depths of a global pandemic. But, the point is, in 2021, bettors are back and watching – and wagering on Fon. Thank you!
The post Fonner Files: The Satellite And Simulcast View Of Fonner Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
