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Red River Rebel Breaks Maiden In Frost King Stakes At Woodbine

Two-year-old Red River Rebel defied his odds in the featured $100,000 Frost King Stakes, scoring a maiden-breaking victory on Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada.

Steve Bahen worked out the winning trip aboard the homebred Reload gelding in the 6 1/2-furlong Ontario Sired Stakes event, which was rescheduled after Sunday's Thoroughbred racing program was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions.

Red River Rebel tracked a trio of early leavers in fourth-place while Forest Survivor established the lead through a :22.76 quarter-mile and was pressed by All Canadian into the turn. Red River Rebel chased along the rail into the stretch and took the inside path to victory, surging by despite Forest Survivor drifting in down the lane.

Making just his second career start, Red River Rebel was victorious in 1:16.05 for trainer Rachel Halden and owners Denny Andrews and Northern Dawn Stables. Forest Survivor finished 2 1/2 lengths behind in second, with Candy Overload overtaking All Canadian, who edged out Bull Page Stakes winner Avoman in a photo finish for fourth-place. The popular Simcoe Stakes champion, Dragon's Brew, finished sixth, followed by Souper Classy, De Only Solution and Blind Trust.

Sent postward at odds of 6-1 after finishing third in his October 23 debut, Red River Rebel returned $14.90 to win.

“He ran real good his first start, but he did get a little tired,” said Bahen. “He came back and he trained real good. I've been galloping him and he's been training really well so I knew he was good today.

“I think he can be any kind of horse; he's just learning now,” added the veteran reinsman. “He was kind of a little silly guy and he's learned a lot since we've had him and he's doing well. He's moving forwardly and hopefully he gets even better.”

In other Friday night action, favorite The Boss Factor ($5.70) was no match for his grey rivals, winning the 2020 edition of the $50,000 Grey Handicap in rein to Patrick Husbands, and giving trainer Martin Drexler back-to-back victories in the event.

Owned by Bruno Schickedanz, the four-year-old gelded son of The Factor opened up an insurmountable 10-length lead down the backstretch in the 1 1/16-mile main track race and cruised home to score in 1:44.26. His leading margin diminished to one length near the wire with Coleyville closing from the backfield in second. Suitedconnected checked in third, another 3-1/4 lengths behind.

The Grey Handicap is for registered grey and roan horses, 3-year-olds and up, that have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less in 2019-20.

Live Thoroughbred racing continues at Woodbine Racetrack with a super Saturday stakes program, featuring the $175,000 Kennedy Road Stakes (Grade 2), $175,000 Bessarabian Stakes (Grade 2), $125,000 Ontario Derby (Grade 3) and $150,000 Ontario Damsel Stakes. All the action begins at 1:25 p.m.

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Galilean Looking To Add Cary Grant Stakes To Growing Résumé

West Point Thoroughbreds, Denis Barker and William Sandbrook's Galilean will attempt to win the seventh stakes race of his brief career Sunday when he takes on nine rivals in the seventh running of the Cary Grant Stakes at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif.

The seven-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up bred in California carries a purse of $100,000 and is part of the year-long Golden State Series that provides approximately $4.6 million in purses to Cal breds at racetracks throughout the state.

Galilean is a son of the prolific Kentucky sire Uncle Mo out of the El Prado mare Fresia who was foaled in the Golden State. He was a $60,000 yearling purchase initially, but he became much more than that when he was offered for sale at the Barretts Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in 2018. He was far and away the sales topper at that event as he was hammered home at $600,000 at the behest of West Point Thoroughbred's Terry Finley.

The bay colt was trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer for his 2- and 3-year-old seasons and captured the Barretts Juvenile Stakes at Los Alamitos in the first start of his career. He went on to win two more stakes and place in two others for Hollendorfer before going on the shelf, then being moved to the barn of conditioner John Sadler for his 4-year-old season where he's managed to win a trio of Cal-bred stakes. His current record stands at 12 starts, six wins and $577,098 in purses.

Galilean will be ridden by Umberto Rispoli Sunday under top weight of 124 pounds and has been pegged as the 5/2 favorite in the Cary Grant lineup.

Here's the full field for the feature in post position order with riders and morning line odds:

Newfield Farm or Martin's Appreciated (Tiago Pereira, 20-1); Alfred Pais' Brickyard Ride (Alexis Centeno, 6-1); Jay Em Ess Stable's Take the One O One (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 3-1); Barnhart, Foxx or Naify, et al's Surfing Star (Jessica Pyfer, 12-1); William Peeples' Oliver (Juan Hernandez, 20-1); Slam Dunk Racing or Nentwig's El Tigre Terrible (Flavien Prat, 7/2); Oetman or Pagano's Bettor Trip Nic (Drayden Van Dyke, 15-1); Galilean; Thomsen Racing's Loud Mouth (Abel Cedillo, 12-1), and Reddam Racing's Rookie Mistake (Mario Gutierrez, 8-1).

El Tigre Terrible, a 3-year-old by Smiling Tiger, has won four of nine starts including a pair of stakes tallies, most recently at Del Mar this past summer in the Real Good Deal run under similar conditions as the Cary Grant. Peter Miller trains the bay gelding.

Take the One O One shortens up after a series of two-turn races. The 5-year-old by Acclamation didn't race at all in 2019, but is a double winner this year. The Brian Koriner-trained horse has a bankroll that reads $447,326.

Rookie Mistake has been stakes-placed on four different occasions. The Square Eddie colt is trained by Doug O'Neill.

Both Brickyard Ride and Surfing Star are being ridden by apprentices, an unusual occurrence in a stakes race where their apprentice allowances do not apply. In both cases it has to be seen as a tip of the cap to Centeno and Pyfer and their riding abilities.

First post Sunday for the nine-race card is 12:30. The Cary Grant is the eight race on the program and should go off around 4 p.m.

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Familiar Stables, And A Few Newcomers, Converging At Fair Grounds This Winter

A deep and competitive backstretch will be that much tougher this winter when Fair Grounds opens their 149th meet Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, as several new trainers will make their presence felt for the first time. The who's who list is led by reigning four-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, who will have 24 stalls and joins two-time defending champion Brad Cox, along with perennial powers Ron Faucheux, Tom Amoss and Steve Asmussen, in making up one of the most talented and well-stocked group of conditioners to have ever descended on Fair Grounds.

Brown, based primarily in New York for the first decade of his career, has branched out in recent years and put down roots in Kentucky this year for the first time, which created a natural progression towards Fair Grounds.

“Being in the Midwest at Churchill Downs, and with things going well, we felt it made a lot of sense to bring a division to Fair Grounds and try to establish a year-round circuit,” Brown said. “We're optimistic that we can be competitive down there this winter.”

Brown, who has long had the deepest and most talented grass horses in the country, is familiar with Fair Grounds' biggest turf stakes, the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2), as he shipped Bricks and Mortar in to win the race in 2019, in what helped kickstart a Horse of the Year campaign that ended with a win in the Breeders' Cup Turf. While he plans on taking advantage of the local turf course, he expects to be well represented on all levels.

“Right now, we're still finalizing who we're going to bring down there and what kind of horses fit best, regardless of what class or division it might be,” Brown said. “We'll look over the condition book and see, on a horse-by-horse basis, what makes the most sense. If we have a lot of horses for the same condition it makes sense to separate them. And certainly, we'll keep our clients in mind as well, as some like to race in certain spots, based on where they are located.”

Brown is based at Palm Meadows in South Florida during the winter and will still call that home, which means Whit Beckman, a Louisville native who oversaw the Kentucky division this year, will be running the shedrow at Fair Grounds.

“Whit has been with us a few years now and has done a terrific job with the Kentucky string this year,” Brown said. “He's proven himself to be an excellent horseman and will be familiar with a lot of the horses we send to Fair Grounds.”

Though the list of newcomers is clearly led by Brown, there are several other nationally recognized trainers who will have a string at Fair Grounds this winter, including Norm Casse, who will have 21 stalls, while Ignacio Correas (26), Cherie DeVaux (22), Tommy Drury (6), Austin Gustafson (22), Anthony Quartarolo (14), Kelly Rubley (15), and Shane Wilson (40) are all new faces.

A smaller presence at Fair Grounds in recent years, Keith Desormeaux (25) has upped the ante for 2020-21. He's enjoyed local success in the past, winning the Risen Star (G2) in 2013 with 135-1 longshot Ive Struck a Nerve, while Drury could bring G2 winning 3-year-old Art Collector to run in next season's handicap division.

Cox, who pulled clear late last year and won the trainer's title with 40 wins, is the favorite to win it this year and will have the maximum allotted 44 stalls, as will Faucheux, who ran second with 34 wins. Amoss (29 wins) and Asmussen (26) also have 44 stalls, as do top-10 trainers Bret Calhoun, Joe Sharp, Al Stall, and Mike Stidham.

The jockey's race was a meet-long battle last year, as James Graham booted home 63 winners to outlast Mitchell Murrill by one and Colby Hernandez by three, and the trio will again lead the way this year. Florent Geroux (56 wins), Brian Hernandez Jr. (44), Adam Beschizza (44), Shaun Bridgmohan (38), Gabriel Saez (35), and Miguel Mena (32) were all in the top-10 and will be back this winter as well.

Opening Day marks the first of 76 racing days as Fair Grounds will run through March 28. There will be over $7 million in stakes races, highlighted by the March 20, $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. A pocket schedule, along with a complete list of the stakes schedule, can be found here: https://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-2021-THOROUGHBRED-RACING-AND-STAKES-CALENDAR.pdf

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After First Graded Stakes Win As Owner, Egan Sees Big Things Ahead For Red Knight

Tom Egan of Trinity Farm said he was delighted to score his first graded stakes victory as an owner when watching Red Knight capture the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland last month. On Saturday, Egan hopes to see his New York homebred double up in the Grade 3, $100,000 Red Smith going 1 3/8-miles over the inner turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Conditioned by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Red Knight received a well-executed ride by jockey James Graham, sitting in eighth and weaving his way through traffic around the far turn to roll home a two-length winner over pacesetter and fellow Red Smith aspirant Postulation.

Affectionately known as “Red,” the 6-year-old Pure Prize chestnut is out of Isabel Away, a gray daughter of Skip Away purchased by Egan for $60,000 at the recommendation of his late wife Jaye at the 2003 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

“My wife saw the mare and said that we just had to have her, so she was really the genesis of all that,” Egan recalled. “I think the first thing she liked was the color, but upon closer examination, she really liked her an awful lot. When I saw her in the back walking ring before she went out to the sales ring, she was just very classy and composed. At that point I said, 'Yeah, sounds good.'”

While Isabel Away was unplaced in both of her starts against graded stakes company and found the winner circle only once in 11 lifetime starts, her progeny have found success at a high level.

In addition to Red Knight, who has earned $732,158 from a career record of 21-8-6-1, Isabel Away has produced three-time stakes winner Macagone and Birchwood Road, a full-brother to Red Knight, who amassed over a quarter-million dollars in a 46-race career.

But Red Knight has proven to be the most superior of her offspring. In addition to his last out win in the Sycamore, Red Knight won the two-mile H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in December 2018 at Gulfstream Park and the Point of Entry last October at Belmont Park.

Additionally, Red Knight has placed three other times against graded stakes company, including a runner-up effort in last year's Red Smith to Sadler's Joy and a second to Arklow in the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup under Luis Saez one start prior to his Sycamore triumph. Last April, he was second to Bigger Picture, winner of the 2016 Red Smith, in the Grade 2 Elkhorn at Keeneland.

“Red ran very well last April in the Elkhorn,” Egan said. “We put away Zulu Alpha but couldn't quite hold off Bigger Picture. Almost every time he's been beaten in a graded stakes race, it's been by a Grade 1 winner. I liked the way Luis rode him at Kentucky Downs. He had him a little closer to the pace that day, but Red is versatile. He doesn't need to be too far back. He'll close ground readily. I think the field came up tougher this year than it did last year.”

Red Knight will be ridden by Jose Ortiz on Saturday from post 10.

“I'm glad that we got Jose aboard the horse. I think he's a terrific person and a really good rider,” Egan said

Egan said he has high hopes heading into 2021 for Red Knight, listing the Grade 1 Man o' War at Belmont Park and Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga Race Course as long-term targets.

While the Grade 1 Pegasus Turf Cup on January 26 at Gulfstream Park could be an option, Egan said the Grade 3 W.L. McKnight at the South Florida oval on the same day would be a more logical spot.

“Those are races we would be interested in,” Egan said. “The W.L McKnight is the same day. The Pegasus is a mile and three-sixteenths, which is a little short for him. It would be better for him to face tough horses going a longer distance.”

Egan described Red Knight as a high-energy, good-feeling horse and said that not a whole lot has changed in terms of temperament since he was a yearling.

“I don't think he's calmed down much,” Egan said.

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