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Refreshed Ax Man Set For Sprint Return In Palos Verdes

REFRESHED AX MAN COMES BACK IN PALOS VERDES

Ax Man, who has not raced since last July when he was fourth of five behind stablemate Maximum Security in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles, returns this Saturday in the G3 Palos Verdes Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

He also is nominated to next Sunday's $70,000 Clockers' Corner Stakes at six furlongs on turf. He was fourth in that race last year.

A 6-year-old gelded son of the Candy Ride stallion Misremembered, Ax Man has been firing bullets for his return, among them a five-furlong drill in 57.80 on Jan. 2 and another at that distance of 58.80 on Saturday.

Misremembered, trained by Bob Baffert for his wife, Jill, and George Jacobs, won the G1 Santa Anita Handicap in 2010.

“Ax Man lost interest, so I backed off and freshened him up,” Baffert said in explaining the absence of more than five months.

Owned by long-time Baffert clients Patti and Hal Earnhardt III, Ax Man, who was bred in Kentucky by Hal, has six wins from 14 career starts with earnings of $297,917.

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Chilean Star Brooke ‘Training Forwardly’ For U.S. Debut In Santa Anita’s Megahertz

Brooke, a Chilean-bred mare who was a monster in her native country, gong off as the odds-on favorite in six of her seven races while winning five, makes her United States debut in Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday feature, the Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

“She's been training very forwardly,” said Simon Callaghan, who conditions the 5-year-old chestnut for the Don Alberto Stable. “I've had her for three or four months. The owners thought she would like the firm turf in California, which is why they sent her here.

“Hopefully she can add to her resume.”

Brooke will once again be ridden by jockey Jeremy Laprida, who has been aboard in each of her eight career starts, including her most recent, a ninth-place finish in a field of 17 on a heavy turf course at one mile in Argentina's Group 2 Longines Cup last March 20.

“He's ridden her in Chile and the owners wanted him for her first race here,” Callaghan said of Laprida, who has ridden in the U.S. at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., 19 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

Megahertz was a diminutive chestnut mare bred in England who gained popularity with racing fans thanks her small size and big stretch runs against top company.

Trained by the late Bobby Frankel for owner Michael Bello, Megahertz was a multiple graded stakes winner on turf compiling a 14-6-5 record from 34 starts, earning $2,261,594.

The Megahertz is for fillies and mares four and up at one mile on turf. It is race seven of nine with a 12:30 p.m. Pacific first post time.

The field: Brooke, Jeremy Laprida, 4-1; $2,000 supplemental nominee Colonial Creed, Flavien Prat, 7-2; $2,000 supplemental nominee Lucky Peridot, Abel Cedillo, 8-1; Mucho Unusual, Joel Rosario, 9-5; Hippodamia's Girl, Juan Hernandez, 8-1; andSedamar, Umberto Rispoli, 5-2.

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Title Ready Notches First Stakes Victory, Upsetting Blackberry Wine And Wells Bayou In Louisiana

Spoiling the comeback of Wells Bayou, winner of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in 2020, the Charles Fipke homebred Title Ready kicked in with a strong stretch punch to win the G3 Louisiana Stakes for older horses at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., on Saturday.

Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., the Dallas Stewart-trained son of More Than Ready covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.27, winning by 1 1/4 lengths and paying $13 as the fifth choice in the wagering. Seven horses went postward, with Wells Bayou the 2-1 favorite and Blackberry Wine second choice at 3-1.

Blackberry Wine outhustled Wells Bayou – making his first start since a fifth-place finish in a division of the G1 Arkansas Derby last May 2 – taking the early lead under Adam Beschizza and setting fractions of :25.28, :49.53 and 1:13.91 for the opening six furlongs.

Wells Bayou, who won the 2020 Louisiana Derby alone on the lead, chased throughout, while Title Ready raced in fourth, about three to four lengths behind the leader.

As Wells Bayou tried to challenge the leader, Hernandez got Title Ready rolling on the outside into the stretch and had 1 1/2 lengths to make up with a furlong to run. He gained command in the final sixteenth after a mile time of 1:38.05 and pulled away for the victory.

The win was the fifth in 25 career starts for the 6-year-old Title Ready, who was coming off a 10th-place finish behind Bodexpress in the G1 Clark and before that was seventh to Authentic in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic. Produced from Title Seeker, an unraced daughter of champion Personal Ensign, Title Ready was graded stakes placed several times but the Louisiana was his first stakes victory.

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Apprentice Centeno Wins First Stakes Aboard Brickyard Ride In Cal Cup Sprint

Quick from the blocks and completely dominant thereafter, the Alfred Pais homebred Brickyard Ride made every pole a winning one as he registered an impressive 3 ¼-length win in Saturday's $150,000 Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Trained by Craig Lewis and ridden by Alexis Centeno, the 4-year-old chestnut colt by red hot California-based stallion Clubhouse Ride got six furlongs in a rapid 1:09.42.

Named in honor of the longtime owner/breeder Donald Valpredo, the Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint is part of the CTBA's lucrative Golden State Series for eligible California-bred or sired horses.

With a two-length advantage at the quarter pole over Jamming Eddy, Brickyard Ride widened late and easily prevailed over post time favorite Tigre Di Slugo.

“I felt pretty good about it because I thought we had them double teamed, we knew we were going to try to speed away with Brickyard because he's got wicked speed,” said Lewis, who had also ran late-running Club Aspen (who finished sixth) and trained the winner's sire, Clubhouse Ride. “We've learned now that he just watches (when running head and head), so we don't try to take him back, we just let him roll.”

Well beaten in an open classified allowance going five furlongs at Los Alamitos Dec. 12, Brickyard Ride, in his first stakes assignment, was off at 9-2 in a field of 11 older horses and paid $11.80, $6.60 and $5.00.

“I believed in my horse and just went to the lead and (didn't) look back, just go,” said Centeno, an apprentice who recorded his first-ever stakes victory and has now won three out of his four engagements with Brickyard Ride. “I love this horse.”

Out of the Southern Image mare Brickyard Helen, Brickyard Ride improved his overall mark to 12-6-0-2. With the winner's share of $90,000, he boosted his earnings to $260,277.

Tigre Di Slugo, who had to wait for racing room around the turn, finished well at the rail to be second by a nose over highly accomplished Fashionably Fast. Off at 2-1 with Joel Rosario, Tigre Di Slugo paid $3.80 and $3.20.

Ridden by Tiago Pereira, Fashionably Fast finished a neck in front of Loud Mouth and paid $3.40 to show while off at 3-1.

Fractions on the race were 21.63, 44.35 and 56.50.

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