Tag: Racing

‘She’s A Monster’: Monomoy Girl On Target For Feb. 15 Bayakoa At Oaklawn

Champion Monomoy Girl remains on track to make her 2021 debut in the $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older females Feb. 15 at Oaklawn Park, trainer Brad Cox said Thursday.

Monomoy Girl is based at Fair Grounds, where she has recorded two workouts since completing an unbeaten 2020 campaign (4 for 4) with a 1 ¾-length victory in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

Spendthrift Farm, Kentucky's famed racing/breeding operation, purchased Monomoy Girl for $9.5 million the following day at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale and opted to keep her in training with Cox in 2021, with the 1 1/16-mile Bayakoa now her first confirmed target.

“Honestly, with her breeze this past weekend, she's probably a little ahead of schedule, as far as where I thought she would be,” Cox said. “We never took her out of training. We just backed off of her. She's as good as ever, to be honest with you. She's a monster.”

A 6-year-old daughter of Tapizar, Monomoy Girl has won 13 of 15 lifetime starts and bankrolled $4,426,818. She was the country's champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, and after missing 2019 with injury and illness, likely clinched her second Eclipse Award, this time as champion older dirt female, with a second Breeders' Cup Distaff victory in November.

Monomoy Girl returned to the work tab Dec. 27 at Fair Grounds, covering 3 furlongs in :37. She breezed a half-mile in :48.80 over a fast track Sunday morning.

“She's really training well,” Cox said. “Looks amazing. Her weight's great. Her breeze this weekend was spectacular. If we can continue to see that throughout the year, we're going to have a great year again.”

The Bayakoa is Oaklawn's second of three preps for the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17. The final stepping stone is the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 13. A seven-time Grade 1 winner, Monomoy Girl has never raced at Oaklawn or faced males. The Apple Blossom will be run the same day as the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses.

Cox said the Azeri could be a loose comeback target for Monomoy Girl's younger stablemate, Shedaresthedevil, who is scheduled to return this month to Hot Springs to continue preparations for her 4-year-old campaign.

Shedaresthedevil, who was based last winter and spring at Oaklawn, was among the country's top 3-year-old fillies after winning four races, including the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) in March at Oaklawn and the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs.

Shedaresthedevil, in her first start against older horses, completed 2020 with a third-place finish in the $400,000 Spinster Stakes (G1) Oct. 4 at Keeneland. Shedaresthedevil then received a 60-day break, co-owner Staton Flurry of Hot Springs said, before resuming training in mid-December in Kentucky.

“Just kind of knocking the dust off of her,” said Cox, Oaklawn's third-leading trainer last year. “She got a good break, a well-deserved break. No physical issues. Just thought she deserved some time. There was no sense going into the Breeders' Cup. That was really the only thing left. I thought it was a wise decision by the ownership group to just give her the break. Our goal this year is to get her to the Breeders' Cup in San Diego, at Del Mar. We'll work our way back from that.”

Cox has divisions at Oaklawn and Fair Grounds and in New York and Florida.

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Jolie Olimpica, Oleksandra Prepare For Rematch In Las Cienegas

Separated by a half length when they last met in May, Brazilian-bred Jolie Olimpica and Australian-bred Oleksandra head a field of seven older fillies and mares going six furlongs on turf in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes at Santa Anita.

Originally run at about 6 ½ furlongs down the track's Camino Real Hillside Turf Course, the 47th edition of the Las Cienegas will be contested for the first time ever out of Santa Anita's all-new turf chute.

Idle since running a big second in the G1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland going a mile and one sixteenth on turf July 11, the Richard Mandella-trained Jolie Olimpica took last year's Las Cienegas at 5 ½ furlongs on turf in her U.S. debut four starts back on Jan. 11, 2020 and is a two-time graded stakes winner over the Santa Anita lawn.

A Group 1 winner in her native Brazil, Jolie Olimpica, in her third start for Mandella, held off a late surge from Oleksandra to prevail by a half length in the G2 Monrovia Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on turf here May 25. Although Oleksandra had a full head of steam, she never got by Jolie Olimpica on the gallop-out in what was a very impressive win.

Trained by Neil Drysdale, Oleksandra was most recently ninth in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint versus males on Nov. 7 and returns to her home turf with the services of regular rider Joel Rosario. A winner of the G1 Jaipur Stakes going six furlongs on the Belmont Park turf two starts back, she rallied from far back to be second, beaten a half length by Jolie Olimpica in the Monrovia.

In what will be her first stakes assignment, veteran trainer Art Sherman's Acting Out will be bidding for her third consecutive win with regular rider Abel Cedillo up. Forwardly placed in all three of her wins to date, this 4-year-old Kentucky-bred filly by Blame seems to relish a fight and has won her last two allowance sprints by a combined 10 ¼ lengths. A maiden 5 ½ furlong turf winner here in her second start, Acting Out has three wins from five starts.

THE GRADE 3 LAS CIENEGAS WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 9 of 10 Approximate post time 4 p.m. PT

  1. Bohemian Bourbon—Juan Hernandez—120
  2. Charmaine's Mia—Drayden Van Dyke—120
  3. Acting Out—Abel Cedillo—120
  4. Lighthouse—Umberto Rispoli—122
  5. Superstition—Flavien Prat—120
  6. Oleksandra—Joel Rosario—122
  7. Jolie Olimpica—Mike Smith—122

Early first post time for a 10-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon. All of Santa Anita's races are offered free of charge at santaanita.com/live and fans can watch and wager at 1st.com/Bet.

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Admission Office Returns From Six-Month Layoff In Saturday’s Tropical Turf

Amerman Racing LLC's Admission Office will return from a six-month layoff in Saturday's $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3) at Gulfstream Park. In a perfect world, the 6-year-old son of Point of Entry would be bypassing the mile turf stakes to prepare for a second straight start in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) Jan. 23.

“We would have loved to run in the Pegasus Turf again, but he hasn't run since June. He needed some time off after his last race and the Pegasus Turf comes up too soon,” said trainer Brian Lynch, noting a prep race would have been needed to make it back to the Pegasus Turf.

Admission Office, who is coming off a victory in the 1 ½-mile Louisville (G3) June 13 at Churchill Downs, is scheduled to meet eight other older horses in the Tropical Turf.

'He's coming back at a distance that isn't really ideal for him, but it's a good starting point,” Lynch said. “The good thing about this race is there's plenty of pace, which ideally suits Gulfstream. But if they get going too fast up front, it could set up for someone to come off the pace.”

Admission Office is a drop-back-make-one-run closer who has finished in the money in six of eight graded-stakes starts. In addition to his victory in the Louisville, he has finished second or third in five graded-stakes races, finishing a half-length behind the winner four times and losing the other race by a length.

“He's his own worst enemy. He gives himself too much to do,” Lynch said. “He needs the ideal trip and the heavens to open up. He needs a clean path. He's such a big horse, when you get him stopped, it's hard to get him started again. He can be his own worst enemy the way he takes himself out of it, but we've been seeing a lot of maturity in him.”

In his first start during Gulfstream's 2019-2020 Championship Meet, Admission Office finished second in the Fort Lauderdale (G2), beaten a half-length by Instilled Regard, earning a chance to run in the Pegasus World Cup Turf, in which he raced in traffic while finishing eighth.

“We took him out of his game and asked him early. He was in traffic and never got the chance to run,” said Lynch, whose stretch-runner finished 5 ½ lengths behind winner Zulu Alpha.

In his next outing, Admission Office came within a length of upsetting Zulu Alpha in the Mac Diarmida (G2), finishing second after taking the lead in mid-stretch. He raced evenly through the stretch to finish fourth after uncharacteristically stalking the early pace in the Sunshine Forever at Gulfstream in May. He finished his 2020 campaign on a winning note at Churchill in June.

Julien Leparoux has the return call aboard Admission Office.

William Lawrence's Analyze It, who is on Reserve List of Invitees for the Pegasus Turf, was entered in the Tropical Turf by trainer Chad Brown. The 6-year-old son of Point of Entry raced twice last year, winning the Red Bank (G3) at Monmouth in September, after being out of action for 22 months.

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the call on Analyze It, who was multiple Grade 1 stakes-placed in 2018.

Jordan Wycoff's Tusk is scheduled to defend his title in the Tropical Turf, which he captured by two lengths last season. The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained gelding went to the sidelines following the race for 11 months, before returning Dec. 6 to finish a tiring eighth after setting the pace in the Claiming Crown Emerald at Gulfstream.

“He was coming off a long layoff. He got an easy lead and stopped but he got tired,” Joseph said. “He's been training forwardly since that race. He won this race last year, so we're going to give him a chance to win it again”

Luis Saez is scheduled to ride the son of Tapit for the first time Saturday.

John Oxley and My Meadowview Farm LLC's Ride a Comet, who captured the 2019 Del Mar Derby (G2), returns to turf after winning both of his 2020 starts, including the Kennedy Road (G2), over Woodbine's synthetic surface.

Tyler Gaffalione is scheduled to ride the Mark Casse-trained 6-year-old son of Candy Ride.

LRE Racing LLC and JEH Stable LLC's Casa Creed will seek to rebound from an 12th-place finish in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland in his return to Gulfstream Park, where he captured the Kitten's Joy and finished second in the Palm Beach (G3) in 2019. The Bill Mott-trained 5-year-old son of Jimmy Creed was winless in 2020 but finished third the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga.

Junior Alvarado has the call aboard Casa Creed.

Larry Pratt and Dave Alden's Doctor Mounty, Calumet Farm's Flying Scotsman, Green Lantern Stables LLC's Frostmourne, and Michael Hui's Hay Dakota round out the field.

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