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Stunning Sky Rallies Late To Capture Valley View Stakes

Paradise Farms Corp. and Parkland Thoroughbreds' Stunning Sky rallied from far off the pace to catch Princess Grace in deep stretch and pull away to a half-length victory in the 30th running of the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View (G3) for 3-year-old fillies Friday afternoon at Keeneland.

Trained by Mike Maker and ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., Stunning Sky covered 1 1/16 miles on a firm turf course in 1:41.33. The clocking broke the stakes record of 1:41 2/5 established by Spinning Round in 1992.

“She broke pretty good,” Santana said. “The pace was pretty hot. The race set up perfectly for her. Turning for home, she switched leads to her right leg. She gave me everything she had.”

Outburst (GB) led the field of 10 through early fractions of :22.71, :46.23 and 1:10.50 with Walk In Marrakesh (IRE) just in back of her to the outside through the early running as Stunning Sky raced at the back of the pack with How Ironic.

In the stretch, Princess Grace swept past the leaders on the outside and opened a daylight advantage by the eighth pole. Stunning Sky, third from last at the head of the stretch, swung widest of all and was able to overtake Princess Grace in the final 20 yards.

“I was very pleased with the fractions,” Maker said. “The race didn't shape up the way I thought it would, but I left it in Ricardo (Santana Jr.)'s hands, and he rode a great race. She ran some game races, unlucky to lose, at Saratoga. Very deserving. Such a big, classy filly. I like to get a stakes win for (co-owner) Peter Proscia.”

A Keeneland sales graduate, Stunning Sky is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Declaration of War out of the Unbridled's Song mare Sky Walk. The victory was worth $90,000 and boosted her earnings to $304,825 with a record of 11-3-2-1. It is her first stakes victory.

Stunning Sky paid $13.80, $6.40 and $4.80. Princess Grace, ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, returned $9.40 and $7.20 with How Ironic rallying from last and finishing another half-length back in third under Rafael Bejarano and paying $10.60 to show.

It was another 2½ lengths back to Witez, who was followed in order by favored Duopoly, Outburst, Sugar Fix, Antoinette, Walk In Marrakesh and Pranked.

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‘Spoiled’ Silent Poet Aims To Make Some Noise In Sunday’s Nearctic

Nine starters bring their turf talents to the Nearctic Stakes (G2), a six-furlong grass test for 3-year-olds and upward this Sunday at Woodbine.

The $250,000 Nearctic goes as the ninth of 11 races on a program headlined by the $600,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) and $300,000 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes (G1T). The $100,000 Display Stakes, a seven-furlong main track event for two-year-olds, goes as race 10. First race post time is 1:10 p.m.

Multiple stakes winner Silent Poet, a five-year-old son of Silent Name (JPN), has won three of his past four races.

Bred and owned by Stronach Stables, Silent Poet kicked off his current campaign with an allowance score on June 11. The Ontario-bred took the Connaught Cup Stakes (G2T) next time out, then finished third in the King Edward Stakes (G2T) on August 15.

The Nicholas Gonzalez trainee, who has finished in the top three in 12 of his 13 past starts, heads into the Nearctic off a sharp score on September 27, a 1 ¾-length win over 6 ½ furlongs on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

“He always goes out there and gives you everything he has,” said Gonzalez, of the 2019 Play the King Stakes (G2T) winner. “Even if he's beaten, it never seems to be by much. He's a very versatile horse.”

And a contented one too.

“'Poet' is such a happy horse right now… spoiled with grass and clover, mints and carrots,” shared Gonzalez. “He loves his job and that makes mine so much easier.”

Silent Poet, who has assembled a 9-4-2 record from 17 starts, faces a group of rivals that includes multiple graded stakes placed Blind Ambition, last year's Nearctic winner City Boy, graded stakes champ Guildsman, graded stakes victor Kanthaka, and Royal North Stakes (G2) winner Lady Grace.

City Boy, bred and co-owned by the late Gustav Schickedanz, returned $50.70 for his upset win in the 2019 Nearctic. Trainer Mike Keogh notched his second Nearctic title, having taken the 1999 renewal with Clever Response.

$250,000 Nearctic Stakes (Grade 2) – Race 9

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Reconfigure – Skye Chernetz – Robert Tiller

2 – Kanthaka – Luis Contreras – Graham Motion

3 – Blind Ambition – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

4 – Guildsman – Rafael Hernandez – Brendan Walsh

5 – Silent Poet – Justin Stein – Nicholas Gonzalez

6 – Lady Grace – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

7 – Vanbrugh – Daisuke Fukumoto – Brad Cox

8 – City Boy – David Moran – Mike Keogh

9 – Olympic Runner – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

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Steeplechase: International Gold Cup Will Be Livestreamed On Oct. 24

It takes a huge team to feed, care for and train steeplechase horses. Since the pandemic, and with events not allowed to have spectators, there has been a large decrease in equestrian events. Due to this, many of those employed in the industry face potential unemployment and financial hardship.

In an effort to help alleviate the hardship, the National Steeplechase Association has stepped up and is livestreaming events so that the horses may run and may still collect winnings, while spectators enjoy the sport from their homes.

“We wanted to provide a venue for the steeplechase/racing industry to be able to get horses out and receive some financial support in the form of purse money,” explained Dr. William Allison, co-chairman of the Virginia Gold Cup Association, the organization that oversees the Virginia Gold Cup and the International Gold Cup. “Thanks to the NSA, jockeys and trainers have been able to continue training their horses and have some livestreaming venues where they can compete.”

Earlier this year and throughout the spring, race meets were cancelled leaving the horse industry with unprecedented hardship. The steeplechase community came together to try to maintain the employment of more than 1,000 jockeys, trainers and many others on farms who exercise and care for the horses. The International Gold Cup will provide purse money for participants. Even more importantly, it will provide a viable and tangible boost to keep many working in the equine industry employed.

The equine industry is important to Virginia's economy. A 2018/19 report by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported that the horse industry brings more than $2 billion annually in economic development to the Commonwealth. The report noted that there are more than 183,643 horses in the state that provide approximately 38,874 jobs. It also stated that there are 30.5% or one million households that contain horse enthusiasts.

“The viability of the horse industry is an important component for the Commonwealth's economy,” Allison added.

The International Gold Cup will be held with limited people on-site—participants and essential personnel only.

“We've worked closely with the National Steeplechase Association and Virginia Equine Alliance to be able to successfully run the Virginia Gold Cup this past June and it was successful. They are now assisting us in running the International Gold Cup,” Allison added. “It will be a bittersweet day without our loyal fans in attendance, but ultimately being able to host race day is a victory for us. We are hopeful racegoers will tune into the livestream.”

The International Gold Cup encourages race fans to tune in and celebrate with appropriate socially- distanced watch parties. Tailgate recipes and hat photos, in honor of the annual Hat and Tailgate Contests, can be shared on the VGCA facebook, Instagram, and twitter. Viewers can tune in to http://nsa.network.video/ to live stream the event on October 24 at 12:30 p.m. EST.

For more information visit vagoldcup.com.

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Red Knight Cruises To Stakes-Record Victory In Thursday’s Sycamore

Trinity Farm's homebred Red Knight surged to the front at midstretch and cruised to a 2-length victory over Postulation to win the 26th running of the $150,000 Sycamore (G3) for 3-year-olds and up on an overcast Thursday afternoon at Keeneland.

Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by James Graham, Red Knight covered the 1½ miles on a firm turf course in 2:28.81 to smash the stakes record of 2:29.55 established by Sharbayan (IRE) in 2003. It is the third victory in the Sycamore for Graham, who won in 2007 aboard Transduction Gold and 2013 on Najjaar.

Postulation led the field of 10 through fractions of :24.84, :51.08, 1:16.04 and 1:40.76 while Red Knight raced near the back of the pack.

On the far turn, Graham angled Red Knight off the rail and began splitting horses. He swung three wide into the stretch, collared Postulation at the eighth pole and drew clear for the victory.

“I saw what was happening around me,” Graham said. “Manny (Franco on Ziyad [GB]) moved out around the backside. Brian (Hernandez)'s horse (Eons) started to come out under pressure, and I split two horses and (Red Knight) came right back on the bridle, which was great. And then he accelerated turning for home. Everything went great. He was probably 2 lengths further back than I wanted to be, but it worked out.”

It was the first graded stakes victory for Red Knight, a 6-year-old New York-bred son of Pure Prize out of the Skip Away mare Isabel Away. The victory was worth $90,000 and increased his earnings to $732,158 with a record of 21-8-6-1.

Sent off as the favorite, Red Knight returned $6.80, $4 and $3. Postulation, ridden by Julien Leparoux, returned $6.80 and $4.20 and finished a head in front of Ziyad (GB) who paid $3.40 to show under Manny Franco.

It was another head back to North Dakota who was followed in order by He's No Lemon, Big Agenda, Aquaphobia, Eons, Split the Wickets and Morning Stride.

Racing continues Friday with a 10-day program beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET and featuring the 30th running of the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View (G3) for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Pin Oak Valley View will be run as the ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. post time.

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