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My Boy Tate Capitalizes On ‘Perfect Setup’ To Win Hollie Hughes

My Boy Tate, perfectly piloted by Manny Franco, saved ground before tipping out and rallying for a 1 1/4-length score in Monday's $100,000 Hollie Hughes, a six-furlong sprint for state-breds 4-years-old and up at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained, bred and co-owned by Michelle Nevin with Little Red Feather Racing, the 7-year-old son of Boys At Tosconova was making his third Hollie Hughes appearance, which included a win in 2018 and a runner-up effort last year to returning foe Amundson.

Tribecca, the 7-5 mutuel favorite, was hustled out of the inside post by Trevor McCarthy to take command in the compact four-horse field but Amundson, off a step slow under Jorge Vargas, Jr. from the outside post, was quickly asked to engage and marked the opening quarter-mile in 22.98 seconds on the main track rated fast.

Tribecca got the better of a pace battle that resulted in a 46.71 half-mile with My Boy Tate content to save ground inside of Big Ticket. The field traveled two-by-two into the turn with just two lengths covering the field at the quarter pole as Tribecca put away Amundson and prepared for a test from the rallying Big Ticket, who was looking to get the jump on My Boy Tate.

But it was My Boy Tate, angled off the rail and outside rivals, who was full of run late to secure a comfortable score in a final time of 1:10.85. Big Engine earned place by three-quarters of a length over Tribecca. Amundson completed the order of finish. The Nevin-trained Our Last Buck was scratched.

Nevin was full of praise for My Boy Tate, who also owns stakes triumphs in the 2018 Say Florida Sandy and the 2019 NYSSS Thunder Rumble.

“It's great to see him run,” said Nevin. “He's been a fun horse since he was a baby. He keeps showing up for me and keeps trying.”

My Boy Tate entered the Hollie Hughes from a disappointing fourth of five in the Say Florida Sandy on January 9 at the Big A.

“I was mad at myself last month, but the temptation of coming back against a small field made me come back too quick,” said Nevin. “The scenario of the race looked like it was void of speed and he has speed. But as he has gotten older, he's changed his ways. He's happier to let them go a little bit, settle in, and then come with a run.

“It was the perfect setup,” added Nevin. “Manny did the right thing. He sat chilly and let them come back to him.”

It was the third stakes win of the Big A winter meet for Franco, who captured the Rego Park with Perfect Munnings and the Busanda with The Grass Is Blue last month.

“I had the perfect pace scenario in front of me,” said Franco, who was aboard for My Boy Tate's Thunder Rumble score. “I just took my time with him. I've been riding him and I'm usually close to the pace, but today, with a short field, I just let them go to the front and the move worked out because they came back to me. It settled perfect and we got it done.”

Bred in the Empire State by Nevin, My Boy Tate banked $55,000 in victory while improving his record to 22-8-5-2. He returned $6 for a $2 win wager.

Live racing will continue Thursday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:20 p.m. Eastern.

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Mardi Gras Stakes Highlights Fair Grounds’ Fat Tuesday Card

If trainer Chris Hartman had his way, the $75,000 Mardi Gras would be run over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course. But if you've been in New Orleans the past week, you know Mother Nature hasn't been too cooperative with afternoon plans at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Regardless, Hartman's Elle Z figures to be in front from the opening bell in the $75,000 Mardi Gras, which is scheduled for 5 ½ furlongs on the turf, and is once again the centerpiece on the Fat Tuesday nine-race card.

M Bar O's Elle Z (post 2 at 7-2 on Mike Diliberto's morning line with Mitchell Murrill) has been a blur early in a pair of turf stakes at the meet, wiring the Pan Zareta in December and leading early before finishing second to fellow rival Into Mystic in the January 9 Nelson J. Menard Memorial. The 4-year-old daughter of City Zip has run just twice on the main track, but one of those was a win in her debut in the slop at Will Rogers Downs in May of 2020. Elle Z is 4-for-8 lifetime and Hartman knows, whether it's turf or dirt, he won't have to look too hard to find Elle Z.

“She's going to be on the lead regardless,” Hartman said. “Either way (turf or dirt), unless something crazy happens, she's the fastest one in there. I'd prefer turf but it is what it is.”

George Chris Coleman and Brad King's Into Mystic (post 1 at 9-5 with Adam Beschizza) turned the tables on Elle Z in the Menard after running second to her in the Pan Zareta. The 5-year-old daughter of Into Mischief has been one of the better filly and mare turf sprinters in the country over the past year for trainer Brandan Walsh, though she too has proven main track form. Into Mystic is 4-for-10 on the dirt, and would likely still be favored should she start if the Mardi Gras is moved off the turf.

Two Delta Downs invaders with proven main track stakes form could be potential upsetters, as Dale F. Taylor Racing's She's My Gem (post 7 at 15-1 with James Graham) won the Orleans January 5 for trainer Todd Fincher, while Misty Day (post 10 at 20-1 with Dean Saenz) was 3 lengths behind in second for trainer Victor Arceneaux. The former, a 5 -year-old daughter of Into Mischief who has never tried the turf, is 9-4-4-0 in her career, while the latter, a 4-year-old daughter of Race Day, is 4-for-8 and won an optional-claimer at Delta on the dirt two-back by 5 ¼ lengths.

Lothenbach Stables' Winning Envelope (post 5 at 10-1 with Marcelino Pedroza) was third in the Pan Zareta and fourth in the Menard for trainer Chris Block but the 5-year-old daughter of More Than Ready is just 0-for-1 on the main track, while Change of Control (post 6 at 12-1 with Colby Hernandez) was third in the Menard for trainer Michelle Lovell but is just 1-for-8 on the main track.

With the Mardi Gras potentially coming off the turf, trainer Al Stall Jr. indicated Bal Mar Equine's In Good Spirits (post 9 at 8-1 with Miguel Mena) would scratch, while Dalika (Ger) (post 3 at 6-1 with Gerard Melancon) won Saturday's Albert M. Stall Memorial for the same connections. Lothenbach Stables' homebred Ready for Change (post 4 at 10-1 with Florent Geroux) is going to scratch to run in an optional-claimer here February 20 according to trainer Neil Pessin. CJ Thoroughbreds' stable manage C. J. Johnsen indicated that the Mark Casse-trained Jeanie B (GB) (post 8 at 8-1 with Brian Hernandez Jr.) will also scratch if the race comes off the grass.

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Bahrain International Trophy Winner Simsir Takes On Bigger Challenge In Saudi Cup

Ground-breaking trainer Fawzi Nass is preparing an assault on the $20 million Saudi Cup with Bahrain International winner Simsir.

Nass made history at the inaugural Saudi Cup meeting last year when his Port Lions pulled off a shock win by defeating Japan's star mare Deirdre in what is now called The Neom Turf Cup, the first turf race ever held in Saudi Arabia.

Now he has the world's most valuable race in his sights with Simsir. The 5-year-old will take on some of the world's best dirt horses, including Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go and rising star Charlatan, in the 1800m (nine furlongs) contest on Feb. 20.

Bahrain-based Nass will also aim a three-strong challenge at the first running of the Al Rajhi Bank International Handicap on Feb. 19, the day before The Saudi Cup.

He is targeting last month's Crown Prince Cup winner New Show, as well as stablemates Desert Lion and What A Welcome, at the 2100m contest, which is open to horses trained in countries not included in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities' Part One nations.

Nass said: “Simsir is doing well. He's had an easy time since winning the Bahrain International Trophy in November, so we thought, if we're going to go to Saudi, we needed to get a run into him. We had the Crown Prince Cup, which was a hot race over 2000m (1 1/4 miles), and he finished a close fourth. Things didn't go his way, he missed the break and he had to come from behind, which doesn't suit a galloping horse like him. He didn't disgrace himself and we're happy with that being his prep run for The Saudi Cup.

“Desert Lion, What A Welcome and New Show, the winner of the Crown Prince Cup, are all going for the Al Rajhi Bank International Handicap, which is over 2100m on the turf. I'm not sure what the competition will be like but I'm happy with them and their preparation.

“Simsir and What A Welcome will be ridden by Adrie de Vries, who won on Port Lions at the meeting last year for us, so we'll stick with the same luck. Desert Lion will hopefully be ridden by Paddy Mathers, who gets on well with him here in Bahrain, and New Show will hopefully be ridden by David Egan.”

The return to King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh will obviously bring back happy memories for Nass after last year's famous victory.

He remembered: “It was an amazing experience. We went there knowing that we had a chance to nick a place but, obviously, everyone thought Deirdre had the race done and dusted. Overall, it was an amazing day and the feeling was good.

“I think the track is second to none really – up there with the best of the turf tracks. There was an amazing cushion and cover on the grass. Knowing that they had laid it so close to the race, all the jockeys obviously loved it. It's a very, very nice turf track.

“The Saudi Cup meeting is very important, especially for us in Bahrain, as we look at Saudi Arabia as the mother country. It's always a pleasure to participate in those events in Saudi Arabia, so it would be nice if we can win another race again.”

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‘Prancing Around The Barn’: Millionaire Mr. Buff Targets Feb. 27 Stymie

Chester and Mary Broman's long-time New York-bred veteran Mr. Buff has shown no signs of slowing down, winning his 7-year-old debut with a seven-length romp in the Jazil on Jan. 23 at Aqueduct Racetrack. On Saturday, the John Kimmel trainee recorded a strong showing in the morning, putting in a bullet five-furlong breeze in 1:00.40 over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

Mr. Buff, a homebred who has produced a 16-8-4 record in 43 career starts with earnings of nearly $1.3 million, will next target the $125,000 Stymie for 4-year-olds and up going one mile on Feb. 27 at Aqueduct.

“My assistant says he's acting like a 2-year-old; he's got a great look in his eye and his energy level is high,” said Kimmel, who is currently working with his contingent at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida. “He's been prancing around the barn.”

Mr. Buff has found a comfort zone running in listed stakes, finishing in the money in his last 13 appearances with a gaudy 10-2-1 record dating to the Alex M. Robb in December 2018. Since that victory at the Big A, the only times Mr. Buff has not earned black type have been in graded stakes efforts, which included respective fifth-place efforts in last year's editions of the Grade 1 Whitney, Grade 1 Cigar Mile and Grade 2 Suburban.

The Friend Or Foe gelding has been a force with Kimmel crediting finding the right riders to coax the most out of him. Kendrick Carmouche has been aboard Mr. Buff's last two starts, including a runner-up effort in the Alex M. Robb on Dec. 12.

“I'm sure he'll break through sooner or later [in graded stakes] and I think it's going to come down to having the right guy riding him and not taking him out of his comfort zone,” Kimmel said. “He has good tactical speed and in those races, there's other horses who have that speed and they don't give up quite as easily. I think the main thing is to let him find his own rhythm and don't push him out of his comfort zone. That's what's going to be the riding rule for anyone who gets on him. Kendrick did a great job on him.”

Mr. Buff has historically fared well at Aqueduct, compiling a 9-4-0 record in 13 starts, including last out when he earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for his Jazil victory.

“Last time, he stayed in his rhythm and went comfortably and he switched leads on a dime at the top of the stretch and you knew it was over from there,” Kimmel said.

While Kimmel has plans for a consistent presence on the stakes circuit, a pair of talented sophomore fillies will look to make their mark at a higher level as Frost Me and Secret Love breezed in company on Saturday ahead of expected starts in the $100,000 Maddie May for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies on Feb. 20 at the Big A.

Nedlaw Stable and Tobey Morton's Secret Love has a pair of wins and a runner-up effort to her credit through three career starts, including a triumphant stakes debut last out when she outkicked Laobanonaprayer by 1 1/2 lengths in the 6 1/2-furlong Franklin Square on Jan. 16 at Aqueduct.

Whisper Hill Farm's Frost Me is also 2-1-0 in three starts, winning her debut on a race moved off the turf on Oct. 12 at Belmont before running second next out to Laobanonaprayer in the Maid of the Mist at one mile over Big Sandy on Oct. 24. The daughter of Frosted bested optional claiming company by a length in her Aqueduct debut on Jan. 8 going a one-turn mile.

The stablemates were each clocked going four furlongs in :50.85 over the Belmont dirt training track Saturday.

“I've worked them in company many times and I think Secret Love may just be a little quicker than the other, so that might spill out to the race where she goes and the other one might be sitting back,” Kimmel said. “We'll see what happens.”

Kimmel said Frost Me could eventually project as a turf contender later in the year.

“I always wanted to try Frost Me on the grass; I think she might jump-up her ability level when we try her there,” Kimmel said. “She's been putting in the effort, but I think she'll even improve when she gets to the grass.”

The Maddie May, contested at one mile, will mark the first time Secret Love will be tested in a non-sprint.

“I think she can run on anything. She's a nice mover and tries hard,” Kimmel said.

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