New York has its own road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, but it seems to be running through Bensalem, Pa.
Tag: Racing
San Gabriel Likely Kicks Off Final Racing Season For 7-Year-Old Stakes Veteran Bowies Hero
Phil D'Amato had four horses nominated to Saturday's Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes but entered two in the 1 1/8-mile turf test for 4-year-olds and up at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.
They are Bowies Hero and Count Again.
The latter is far from the proverbial empty stall, a two-time graded stakes winner that only joined the D'Amato barn recently and won the G2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar, but Bowies Hero has a more intriguing story line.
The 7-year-old bay has a most remarkable record, a tale straight out of racing fiction.
Consider:
After winning a maiden special weight race by 5 ¾ lengths in his first start, going 7 ½ furlongs on turf at Lone Star Park on July 16, 2016, the son of outstanding turf miler Artie Schiller has run only in stakes, 26 in a row.
Artie Schiller defeated Leroidesanimaux in the 2005 Breeders' Cup Mile under the late Garrett Gomez, who would have turned 49 on Jan. 1.
However, Leroidesanimaux won the Eclipse Award that year as top turf horse by three votes over Artie Schiller, a 2001 foal who in 2007 was retired to stud in Kentucky but stood last year in Australia for $11,000.
The Brazilian-bred Leroidesanimaux (king of animals in French) died as a stallion at Newmarket, England, in 2016 at the age of 16.
Bowies Hero has won seven races since his debut victory, including two Grade 1's, the Kilroe Mile in 2018 and the Shadwell Turf Mile in 2019. He worked five furlongs on the training track last Sunday in 1:02.
Add to his remarkable achievement the fact that the Kentucky-bred owned by a partnership that includes Agave Racing Stable, ERJ Racing LLC and Madaket Stables LLC remains a full horse, meaning he still could one day serve at stud.
“Bowies Hero gives his best pretty much every time,” said D'Amato, who fell one victory shy (11-10) of tying Richard Baltas for the training title at the recent Del Mar meet.
Fans should enjoy Bowies Hero while they can because 2021 will probably be the unsung campaigner's final season of racing.
“He's a neat horse to have around the barn but this will probably be his last year of racing,” said D'Amato, who has trained Bowies Hero since just after his first race.
Bowies Hero fancies a stalking style, but has rallied from well off the pace to close with a rush, all save his first race coming at a mile or longer.
He has run in 17 races at a mile, winning six, compiling an enviable overall 8-2-3 record from 27 starts for earnings of $1,588,720.
“Who knows, maybe we can find a stud career for him, but he's doing really well and just a cool horse to train,” D'Amato continued. ”Right after his maiden victory he was bought privately and I've had him ever since.”
And it's been a match made in heaven.
The San Gabriel, race seven: Cleopatra's Strike, Kent Desormeaux, 15-1; Next Shares, Jose Valdivia Jr., 4-1; Bob and Jackie, Heriberto Figueroa, 4-1; Multiplier, Abel Cedillo, 12-1; Count Again, Juan Hernandez, 2-1; Anothertwistafate, Joel Rosario, 5-2; and Bowies Hero, Flavien Prat, 6-1.
The post San Gabriel Likely Kicks Off Final Racing Season For 7-Year-Old Stakes Veteran Bowies Hero appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Authentic’s Owners, Asmussen, Ortiz Jr. on Top in 2020
Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing – the ownership group that campaigned Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and Longines Breeders' Cup Classic winner
Baffert Has Four Of Seven Starters In Sunday’s Santa Ynez
In a race that as much as anything else underscores the depth of the Bob Baffert stable, his stakes winning Kalypso, who will shorten up out of a second-place effort in a Grade 1 stakes, appears the tepid choice among a field of seven sophomore fillies going seven panels in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.
Baffert, who will send out a total of four fillies in the Santa Ynez, has the one-two finishers from an oddly-run G1 Los Alamitos Starlet on Dec. 5, as his heavily favored Princess Noor, who appeared to be well on her way to victory, was suddenly pulled up at the top of the lane, leaving Kalypso on a lonely lead until rundown by stablemate Varda, who won by 1 ½ lengths at 18-1.
Kalypso, a $240,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky yearling purchase in July of 2019, was an impressive gate to wire winner of the ungraded Anoakia Stakes going six furlongs two starts back and will likely go favored in the Santa Ynez, despite the fact she was second to Varda in the Starlet. In what will be her fifth career start, Kalypso, a Kentucky-bred filly by Brody's Cause, will be ridden for the first time by Joel Rosario.
A handy 3 ¼-length first out maiden winner going six furlongs Aug. 30, Varda came back to be a well beaten second by Princess Noor in the G2 Chandelier Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth Sept. 26. In her second time around two turns, she lagged early in the Starlet prior to picking up the pieces late. Owned by Baoma Corporation, Varda, a New York-bred daughter of Distorted Humor, was purchased for $700,000 at the Ocala Breeders Sales Co.'s Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training in 2020. She has two wins and a second and will be ridden for the fourth consecutive time by Drayden Van Dyke.
Baffert's third entrant is the Gary and Mary West homebred Exotic West, who showed good speed, battled throughout and seemed to find her best stride late in breaking her maiden at Del Mar Nov. 21 going 6 ½ furlongs at first asking by a half length as the 2-1 favorite with Abel Cedillo up.
Although still a maiden following second-place finishes in all three of her previous starts, Baffert's Frosteria, a Godolphin homebred filly by Frosted, earned an 82 Beyer Speed Figure when second going a flat mile on Dec. 13 and thus holds the best last out Beyer in the field. With Cedillo riding Exotic West, Frosteria, who sprinted in her first two starts, will be ridden for the first time by Mike Smith.
John Sadler's Queengol, second as the 5-2 favorite to Kalypso two starts back in the Anoakia and most recently a well beaten second in a 6 ½ furlong stakes at Del Mar Nov. 14, rates a fighting chance with Flavien Prat aboard. Michael McCarthy's Nasreddine, third, beaten 5 ½ lengths in the Starlet, would appear to be a live longshot with Tiago Pereira up.
Claimed out of a half length win going six furlongs for a maiden $50,000 claiming tag Nov. 20 at Del Mar, Doug O'Neill will roll the dice with Brilliant Cut, a daughter of Champion Sprinter Speightstown.
G2 SANTA YNEZ WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 8 of 9 Approximate post time 4 p.m. PT
- Brilliant Cut—Ricky Gonzalez—120
- Nasreddine—Tiago Pereira—120
- Exotic West—Abel Cedillo—120
- Queengol—Flavien Prat—120
- Varda—Drayden Van Dyke—124
- Frosteria—Mike Smith—120
- Kalypso—Joel Rosario—122
The post Baffert Has Four Of Seven Starters In Sunday’s Santa Ynez appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
