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McGaughey Pointing Code Of Honor To Clark At Churchill Downs

W.S. Farish homebred Code of Honor, a last-out second to Complexity in the Grade 2 Kelso, breezed a bullet half mile solo in 47.66 Sunday on a fast main track at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trainer Shug McGaughey said the Noble Mission chestnut will target the Grade 1, $500,000 Clark, a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up on Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs -– although the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile for 3-year-olds and up on Dec. 5 at Aqueduct Racetrack remains under consideration.

“Code of Honor worked really good. I think the track pulled him along a bit but he's been doing good,” said McGaughey. “We'll see how he comes along in the next few weeks and then decide if we run here or go to the Clark, but I think the two turns and a mile and an eighth probably suits him better than the mile.”

A winner of last year's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Code of Honor is out of the graded stakes winning Dixie Union mare Reunited.

McGaughey is likely to target the Grade 1 Cigar Mile with Phipps Stable and Claiborne Farm's Performer. The 4-year-old Speightstown chestnut earned a 98 Beyer last out when capturing an optional-claiming mile on Oct. 17 at Belmont off an 11-month layoff.

“Performer is doing good. If the track is OK tomorrow he'll work here,” said McGaughey.

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Heavy Favorite Dreaming Of Drew Wires Princess Elizabeth Field At Woodbine

Odds-on favorite Dreaming of Drew delivered on her pari-mutuel promise with a dreamy performance in the 75th edition of the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes for Canadian-foaled 2-year-old fillies on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

With blinkers added, the Speightster miss set her sights on her first added-money score, leading all the way in 1 1/16-mile main track feature for jockey Patrick Husbands.

Dreaming of Drew set fractions of :24 to the quarter, :48.71 to the half and 1:13.42 to three-quarters with Bodacious Miss and Justin Stein applying pressure on the final turn and Il Malocchio moving into contention from mid-pack under Sahin Civaci.

As Dreaming of Drew turned back Bodacious Miss and floated away from her foes down the stretch, Il Malocchio came through to finish second with the stalking Emmeline and Kazushi Kimura rallying to finish third over Bodacious Miss.

The chestnut filly, who won by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:44.07, concluded her five-race freshman campaign with two wins and two seconds, plus a fourth-place finish when facing Grade 1 company in the Natalma last time out.

Sent postward as the 4-5 favorite, she returned $3.90 to win.

“She's a dream,” said Barb Minshall, who trains the promising youngster for Hoolie Racing Stable. “She's been a great filly for us and I'm really looking forward to the future with her.

“Hopefully, she'll be an Oaks contender next year.”

Among the past Princess Elizabeth winners that have gone on to take the Woodbine Oaks are Nipissing (2012), Roan Inish (2009), Ginger Gold (2001) and Dancethruthedawn (2000).

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Never Be Enough Rallies Late For Kathryn Crosby Score On Del Mar Opening Day

Ron Charles and Samuel Gordon's mare Never Be Enough, a shipper from Golden Gate Fields in the Bay Area making her first stakes start stateside, lagged early in the one-mile Kathryn Crosby Stakes on the Del Mar lawn Saturday, then came running hard through the lane to capture the overnight by a length as the seaside track opened its fall racing season.

Tiago Pereira rode the winner, a 5-year-old daughter of the British sire Sir Percy bred in England. Her trainer is Manuel Badilla, who shipped his chestnut mare south, then rooted her home from his Golden Gate base.

Finishing second in the $75,000 turf test for fillies and mares was Branham, Baltas and McClanahan's Colonial Creed, who had three-quarters of a length on Donnie Crevier's Cordiality. Deborah McAnally Trust's She's Our Charm, the race favorite at 19-10, led for much of the trip, but was outrun late and finished fifth.

Never Be Enough, who covered the mile distance in 1:33.87, paid $14.80, $7.40 and $5.20 across the board. Colonial Creed returned $8.20 and $5.40 and Cordiality paid $4.20 to show.

The winner picked up a check for $46,740, increasing her earnings to $147,425. She's now finished first in seven of 27 starts, including races in Europe where she went over the jumps and tackled the boys on more than one occasion.

Three riders won two races each on the nine-race card – Mike Smith, Juan Hernandez and apprentice Alexis Centeno. Nine different trainers had winners during the afternoon.

Racing resumes at Del Mar on Sunday with first post at 12:30 p.m.

TIAGO PEREIRA (Never Be Enough, winner) – “My agent (Patty Sterling) spoke to the trainer (Manuel Badilla) this morning about this horse. He said she's got lots of speed and could go to the front. But if you go to the front, she's not going to finish. He said take a hold of her and get her to relax. Then get them in the straight. That's just what I did and when I asked the horse in the lane she had a great kick. Really good way to start the meet for me.”

MANUEL BADILLA (Never Be Enough, winner) – By phone from Golden Gate Fields: “I was a little nervous when she was last at the half-mile pole. Then I saw the fractions and I wasn't as nervous. This mare has a turn of foot and she's a real runner. The last race up here she beat a horse of mine (Blue Diva) I've won a couple stakes with. Back in Europe she ran against boys and in hurdles and on the flat. Talk about an iron horse. She'll ship back here Tuesday and we'll decide what's next from there.”

FRACTIONS: :22.59 :45.94 1:10.08 1:22.11 1:33.87

The stakes win was the first in the Kathryn Crosby for rider Pereira and his first of the meet. He now has nine stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first ever at Del Mar for trainer Badilla.

The winning owners are Ron Charles of Sunland, Calif., and his partner Samuel Gordon.

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Majestic Dunhill Takes Bold Ruler On Penultimate Day Of Belmont Fall Meet

R.A. Hill Stable's Majestic Dunhill, under a confident ride from Joel Rosario, made the grade with a smart head score over multiple graded-stakes placed Share the Ride in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Bold Ruler, a seven-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by George Weaver, the 5-year-old Majesticperfection gelding started a step slow but tucked into second position as Share the Ride, third last out in the Grade 2 Vosburgh Invitational, marked off splits of 23.37 and 47.13 seconds on the muddy main track.

Share the Ride, with Manny Franco up, maintained the lead through the turn as Arch Cat threatened to the outside with Rosario opting for an inside run with Majestic Dunhill. A game Share the Ride stayed on strong down the lane, but the patient Rosario angled Majestic Dunhill off the rail late in the lane and surged outside his rival to secure the narrow score in a final time of 1:22.48.

Share the Ride completed the exacta four lengths in front of Arch Cat, with Mihos completing a compact running order. Wendell Fong and Phat Man were scratched.

Rosario said he was pleased with the effort from the hard-trying Majestic Dunhill, the regular workout partner for Breeders' Cup-bound Vekoma.

“He ran really well,” said Rosario. “I thought the Franco horse would have a little bit of speed. Going seven furlongs, I thought I would be laying second behind him and see where we go from there. He broke a little bit slow but he got going right away and I was able to find my spot where I wanted to be.

“When it was time to go, I asked him and he really moved nice and went on.”

Blair Golen, Weaver's Belmont-based assistant, praised Majestic Dunhill's versatility.

“This horse has been good for us from when he was 2 to now. He's won races on the turf and dirt and always runs his best race even when we put him in a tough spot,” said Golen. “We got fortunate here today and he really deserved a graded stakes win.

“Joel is a great rider,” added Golen. “He has great hands and he's very smart. He knows when to let a horse run and he's good at feeling in the bridle where the horse is at and in a race like this closing and pace are important, he fits this horse well.”

Majestic Dunhill, bred in Kentucky by Hargus Sexton, Sandra Sexton and Silver Fern Farm, banked $55,000 in victory while improving his record to 21-5-4-4. He paid $5.90 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont with a nice-race card to close out the fall meet featuring the $80,000 Pumpkin Pie, a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up; and the $80,000 Chelsey Flower, a 1 1/16-mile turf route for juvenile fillies.

Closing Day will also be highlighted by a mandatory payout of the Empire 6, which boasts a jackpot of $419,254 heading into Sunday's racing action. The Empire 6 sequence kicks off in Race 4 with an approximate post time of 1:45 p.m. The card will also feature mandatory payouts for both the Early Pick 5 and Late Pick 5 wagers. First post is 12:15 p.m.

Live racing will then move to Aqueduct Racetrack for the 18-day fall meet, featuring 29 stakes, including 11 graded events, worth $3.41 million in purse money, which will kick off on Friday, November 6 and run through Sunday, December 6.

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