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Get Smokin Turns Tables On Decorated Invader In Hill Prince Upset

Mary Abeel Sullivan Revocable Trust's Get Smokin made every call a winning one to turn the tables on familiar foe Decorated Invader in Sunday's Grade 2, $150,000 Hill Prince, a one-mile Widener turf test for sophomores at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by Tom Bush and expertly piloted by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, Get Smokin ensured his fourth attempt versus Decorated Invader was successful after finishing third in the Cutler Bay in March at Gulfstream Park and second in the G2 Hall of Fame in July at Saratoga in races won by his Christophe Clement-trained rival. Both Get Smokin [8th] and Decorated Invader [5th] entered the Hill Prince from off-the-board efforts in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby Invitational on Aug. 15.

The free-wheeling Get Smokin once again broke sharply Sunday and led the field of seven through splits of 24.25 seconds and 49.52 over the yielding turf, with Assiduously tracking in second. Decorated Invader, the prohibitive 2-5 mutuel favorite, raced from sixth position under Joel Rosario as Get Smokin continued to dictate a moderate tempo into the turn.

Bodecream advanced along the rail late in the turn with Starting Over following suit to his outside as Decorated Invader was roused into action racing inside of Buy Land and See. Get Smokin maintained a two-length advantage at the stretch call, as Decorated Invader surged beyond Starting Over and angled outside of Assiduously and the stubborn Bodecream to take dead aim at the leader.

Decorated Invader continued to find more inside the final sixteenth under urging from Rosario, but there was no reeling in Get Smokin who held on for a head score in a final time of 1:36.95.

It was a further two lengths back to Bodecream in third with Buy Land and See, Starting Over, Glynn County and Assiduously rounding out the order of finish. Chocolate Bar and main-track only entrant Money Moves were scratched.

Castellano, who guided Get Smokin to a second-out maiden score in September 2019 on the Belmont turf, secured his third win in the Hill Prince following scores with Rey de Café [2005] and Outperformance [2006].

“The way I handicapped the race, I felt the horse would fit the mile perfectly,” said Castellano. “The last race was a little longer. The last time the horse won, I was on him when he broke his maiden last year.”

Get Smokin is by the Bush-trained multiple Grade 1-winner Get Stormy, who Castellano piloted to six wins in prominent fashion.

“When I got to the paddock, the first thing he [Bush] told me was, 'ride him like Get Stormy,' and that's what I did,” said Castellano. “I rode his father at Keeneland and New York, too. Today, he was so patient. I was walking the dog, basically. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.”

Get Smokin narrowly missed making the grade in his seasonal debut when second, defeated a half-length to Island Commish in the Grade 3 Kitten's Joy on January 4 at Gulfstream Park.

The front-running chestnut continued that run of form at the Hallandale Beach oval with a second in the Dania Beach in February ahead of the Cutler Bay effort.

Following a freshening, Get Smokin returned to action in June at Belmont to be fifth in an allowance tilt ahead of a memorable Grade 2 Hall of Fame run in which he opened up a 7 ½-length lead at the half-mile, only to be collared late by Decorated Invader. He arrived at the Hill Prince from a pacesetting eighth in the Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 15, where he leapt at the start.

“He's been in some tough spots in running against the best horses on the East Coast, so we pointed for this race since Saratoga and we're really delighted,” said Bush. “We weren't sure about the soft ground, but he handled it.

“I've thrown this horse to the wolves,” continued Bush. “He's one of these rare horses that you'll see horses that run very out of their condition and they don't get discouraged and keep being a top runner and that's the type of horse he is. You're not breaking his spirit.”

Rosario said Decorated Invader, who won the Grade 1 Summer at Woodbine as a juvenile, was hampered by traffic trouble when trying to find a clear path for the stretch run.

“With the soft ground, it's hard to close. He ran well. He put in his effort,” said Rosario. “Turning for home, I had to start moving. Then, the horse in front of me came out a little bit, so that got him out of balance. He ran a good race. He looked like he was going comfortable. He was trying hard, but it's just too bad we couldn't get them.”

Bred in Kentucky by Hurstland Farm, Get Smokin banked $82,500 in victory while improving his record to 10-2-3-2. He paid $17.40 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Thursday with a nine-race card at Belmont with a first post of 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

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Blame Debbie Wins Stretch Duel With Always Shopping In Marathon Dowager At Keeneland

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Michael Cloonan and Tim Thornton's Blame Debbie held off Always Shopping through a stretch-long duel by a head to win the 29th running of the $125,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager (G3) for fillies and mares Sunday afternoon at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Manny Franco, Blame Debbie covered the 1 1/2 miles on a firm turf course in 2:34.74 and became the first 3-year-old to win the race.

Blame Debbie is cataloged to Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale, which begins Nov. 9. Consigned as a racing or broodmare prospect by Bluewater Sales, agent, she is Hip 1310.

Today's victory in the Rood & Riddle Dowager is the third in the race for Motion, who previously triumphed with Kitten's Point in 2015 and Humaita (GER) in 2004.

Blame Debbie went right to the front with Always Shopping tracking just off her flank to the outside through fractions of :26.66, :53.68, 1:20.68 and 1:46.98.

On the far turn, Tyler Gaffalione on Always Shopping turned up the pressure and drew alongside Blame Debbie. The two ran as a team the rest of the way with Blame Debbie never letting her older rival get in front.

“She was so nice and so game in the lead,” said Franco. “I think she felt that other horse (Always Shopping) coming by the five-sixteenths pole to the wire. She never let that one pass her. I was really pleased. I was riding to the wire, and she responded to me the whole way.”

Gaffalione, aboard the runner-up, said: “We went pretty easy early on in the race. There wasn't much speed so I figured it would be a sprint to the wire. My filly just couldn't get her nose in front but she put in a big effort today.”

The victory was worth $75,000 and increased Blame Debbie's earnings to $215,920 with a record of 10-3-1-3. It is the first stakes victory for the Kentucky-bred daughter of Blame out of the Invasor (ARG) mare Jadwa. She is a graduate of Keeneland's 2018 September Yearling Sale.

Sent off as the favorite, Blame Debbie paid $5, $3.20 and $2.60. Always Shopping returned $4 and $2.80 and finished 2¼ lengths in front of With Dignity, who paid $2.60 to show under Julien Leparoux.

It was another half-length back to Over Thinking, who was followed in order by Siberian Iris (IRE) and Naomi Broadway (BRZ).

The final four days of the 17-day Fall Meet kick off Wednesday afternoon with an eight-race program beginning at 1:05 ET.

Keeneland will offer a Super High 5 carryover of $24,224.49.

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Say The Word Closes Late For Northern Dancer Turf Stakes Victory

Smooth sailing and a stellar steer from Emma-Jayne Wilson put the exclamation point on a primetime performance by Say the Word in the $340,200 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (G1), presented by Pattison, Sunday at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario.

Sent off at 5-1, Say the Word, bred and owned by Sam-Son Farm, and trained by Gail Cox, struck front in the late going and fended off a deep stretch surge from Sir Sahib to claim victory in the 1 1/2-mile marathon run over a “good” E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

It was slight mutuel favorite Admiralty Pier who swept to the front soon after the gates opened, with the son of English Channel, under Steve Bahen, leading his rivals into the first turn. Peace of Ekati took up residence in second spot, with Jungle Fighter and Count Again (Say the Word's Sam-Son farm stablemate) sitting in third and fourth, respectively. Say the Word and Wilson were eighth and last.

Admiralty Pier, who took his seven rivals through an opening quarter-mile in :25.25, was still calling the shots after a half-mile clocked in :51.57. Peace of Ekati remained second, while Jungle Fighter and Count Again matched strides 1 1/2 lengths further back.

It was status quo on the front end after 1 1/4 miles, as Say the Word still waited for the word from Wilson.

As the field rounded the turn, Say the Word was given his cue from Wilson and the duo launched their bid on the far outside, as Admiralty Pier clung to a head advantage with challengers beginning to shorten his lead.

Seventh at the stretch call, Say the Word began to methodically pick off his rivals one-by-one, eventually taking over the lead but then quickly tasked with fending off a late-charging Sir Sahib.

At the wire, Say the Word was one length in front of Sir Sahib, while Admiralty Pier finished a head in front of Count Again for third spot.

The final time was 2:29.87.

“It was perfect actually,” said Wilson, who won the 2015 Northern Dancer with 10-1 longshot Interpol. “The first time I rode him, Gail let me know that Junior Alvarado from Saratoga had said that he was funny with his mouth, he could be a little sensitive and to trip him [out] in a certain sort of way. Last time [in the G3 Singspiel Stakes], we got the one-hole going a mile and a quarter, and I just got shuffled back. It took me a bit to just kind of get on the same page with him last time, being as sensitive as he was. I mean, he ran well, he ran third, but he was coming on end.

“So today, I was more confident with him, more ground and I knew where the line was with him for my hands and give and take. He settled for me beautifully; I literally just held the mane for pretty much the first mile and a quarter. Then as I gathered him up, I knew…I just knew. He was gaining on them last time and I just knew when he straightened, he was already in flight and it was going to be tough to beat him.”

Wilson also had high praise for Alvarado.

“And if it wasn't for the other jock's advice and what he knew of him … it's a community thing. If Junior doesn't pass that message onto Gail … it's a team effort. Yes, we're jockeys and we're in competition, but also, he wants to see the horse do well as well. Kudos, Junior; I appreciate it.”

Cox, in the midst of a strong campaign, was thrilled with the outcome.

“I think this horse kind of likes to know the people that he's with, so he's not one that's easy to shift around all the time. He also loves this turf course and he loved the distance. Last year, he was sent to me and we ran him on the Tapeta, and it was not to his liking.”

The E.P. Taylor Turf Course, however, is quite a different story.

An Ontario-bred, Say the Word came into the Northern Dancer off a tough third-place finish, one that saw the dark bay flying late, in the 1 1/4-mile Singspiel Stakes (G3T) on Sept. 19 at Woodbine.

This time, the 5-year-old son of More Than Ready was just that.

A now five-time winner from 25 starts, Say the Word, who contested two-thirds (Queen's Plate and Breeders' Stakes) of the 2018 Canadian Triple Crown, notched his first added-money win in taking the Northern Dancer.

Say the Word paid $13.60, $5.80 and $3.90. The 1-3 exactor with Sir Sahib ($5.40, $3) returned $78.30. Admiralty Pier completed a 1-3-7 triactor worth $364, with fourth-place Count Again completing a $1 superfecta (1-3-7-8) worth $532.55.

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Devamani Leads 1-2 Chad Brown Finish In Knickerbocker

Sanford J. Goldfarb and Samuel Abraham's Devamani previously had come within a neck and nose of notching his first graded stakes win this year. On Sunday, the French-bred broke through, overtaking pacesetter En Wye Cee in the stretch and drawing away to a two-length victory in the Grade 2, $150,000 Knickerbocker for 3-year-olds and up at Belmont Park in Elmont Park, N.Y.

Devamani, who ran second by a nose to Admiralty Pier in the G3 Tampa Bay in February and by a neck to Instilled Regard in the G2 Fort Marcy in June over the Belmont grass, fended off stablemate Olympico's late charge to complete the 1 1/8-mile journey over the yielding inner turf course in 1:51.78, giving trainer Chad Brown the exacta for the five-horse field.

Out of the gate, En Wye Cee broke sharp from post four and led the field through the opening quarter-mile in 25.66 seconds, the half in 51.13 and three-quarters in 1:15.58 with Devamani tracking in third position under jockey Joel Rosario.

Through the final turn, Devamani, who had plenty in reserve, pressed on from the outside, taking command in the final furlong and powering home to his first victory in six starts this year.

“He's a neat horse. He's a very well-bred horse. He's always been at the top of his game in his training, his looks and such,” said Brown, who took over training duties for the 6-year-old Dubawi gelding starting for the current campaign. “Obviously, he took to our program well right away and we had him running in stakes right away. He's a very useful horse and he'll be exciting to have as a 7-year-old here next year.

“This horse has a pedigree to get better when he gets older,” he added. “I'm not shy to run 6, 7 or 8-year-olds on the turf. Sometimes, they find their feet there. I'll talk to the ownership group and see, but this horse is running super. We may run him one more time [this year] or we may not. But I'm looking to run him as a 7-year-old.”

Off at 3-1, Devamani returned $8.80 on a $2 win bet. Out of the Group 1-winning Selkirk mare Daryakana, Devamani improved his career record to 5-8-5 in 25 career starts.

“He was just there for me and was able to go along early and he kept going,” Rosario said. “To be up a little closer with the slow pace, he was on his game. He always runs hard. He had been unlucky a couple of times and he got the job done today.”

Brown put blinkers on Devamani for the first time in his previous start when third in the Lure on September 7 at Saratoga and removed them for Sunday's contest.

“Joel really rode him perfect,” Brown said. “We got the position we were looking for with him. We put the blinkers on him because he was falling so far out of position in his races and it didn't really work out. He wasn't happy with them. When we took them off, what it left us with was a little sharper horse. Putting them on and taking them off, even though we took a defeat last time, might have been the final piece of the puzzle for this horse just to put him in the race a little bit.”

Fellow French-bred Olympico edged En Wye Cee by a neck for second, marking the second consecutive year he finished as the Knickerbocker runner up.

“He was second-best. The winner got a perfect trip,” said Olympico jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. “He ran a perfect race, he just got beat.”

Olympico was making just his third start of his 5-year-old campaign and posted his first overall on-the-board effort since last year's Knickerbocker.

“He was a little out of position. I thought he would be ahead of Devamani early, I was surprised they flip-flopped,” Brown said. “Irad thought he gave him a good run. Fortunately, he was able to squeak out second there.”

Breaking the Rules, the 2-1, favorite, finished fourth, with Seismic Wave completing the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Thursday with a nine-race card at Belmont with a first post of 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

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