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‘Long Distance’ Setting The Mood Taking A Step Up Into Belmont Oaks

Paul Pompa Jr.'s Setting the Mood will make a steep step up in class when she takes on stakes action for the first time in Saturday's Grade 1 Belmont Oaks.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Setting the Mood arrives at her stakes debut off a second place finish in a Saratoga allowance event going 1 3/8 miles over the inner turf, where she was brushed coming out of the gate, controlled the pace throughout most of the journey but was a head short of victory to Cap de Creus. The sophomore daughter of second-crop stallion Lea displayed stalking tactics in her prior effort going 1 ¼ miles at Belmont Park, sitting third before taking command in the stretch, but was passed by Hungry Kitten.

Still in search of her first triumph on grass, Setting the Mood broke her maiden in an off-the-turf event at Gulfstream Park in May.

“She's definitely a long distance filly,” Pompa, Jr. said. “She ran well in her last start. It's a short field, so it made sense for Todd to put her in there. We'll see how much talent she has.”

Setting the Mood will be squaring off against recent Saratoga Oaks-winner Antionette as well as Group 1-placed European invader Magic Attitude.

“There is a first time European in there, but it's a short field,” Pompa, Jr. said. “Todd and I talked about it and sometimes you just have to take a shot. If she hits the board, she has a Grade 1 placing on her resume. If she gets lucky, she wins the whole thing.”

Setting the Mood will break from the rail under jockey Luis Saez, who will attempt to replicate his winning form from Saratoga, where he rode nine stakes winners and finished fourth in the standings with 45 wins.

“She had the rail the last time and she got bottled up, so we'll have to be a little more aggressive,” said Pompa, Jr. “He's a top rider and a good human being. He always does well on my horses.

Last Saturday, Pompa, Jr.'s multiple graded stakes winner Regal Glory added another high level stakes win to her ledger when taking the Grade 1 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf on September 16. The Chad Brown-trained daughter of Animal Kingdom notched her first victory since dead-heating with Varenka in last year's Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga.

While Regal Glory successfully scored another stakes win, Turned Aside was fifth as the beaten favorite in the Grade 3 Franklin-Simpson on September 16 at Kentucky Downs.

“Regal Glory can run on anything and she's a classy filly,” Pompa, Jr said. “Turned Aside didn't like the track at all. Going downhill, he was out of his element and he still only lost by 2 ½ lengths. When you go to Kentucky Downs, some horses love it and other don't like it. He was the favorite and the second and third choices ran at the back.”

Pompa, Jr. said he would regroup with trainer Linda Rice regarding a next start for Turned Aside, who won the Grade 3 Quick Call at Saratoga in his previous start.

“We'll see how he comes it and we'll speak to Linda and pick a spot for him,” Pompa, Jr. said. “One thing is that if he comes out it well, he probably gained a lot of fitness going up and down those hills.”

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Attfield Aims For Ninth Singspiel Victory With Tiz A Slam

The Woodbine weekend stakes parade includes a trio of complementary added-money events on Ricoh Woodbine Mile Saturday, including the $125,000 Singspiel Stakes (G3).

Trainer Roger Attfield, who won five consecutive editions of the turf race, and eight overall runnings, will look for back-to-back Singspiel victories with Tiz a Slam.

Inaugurated in 2005 as a 1 ½-mile grass marathon, the Singspiel, for three-year-olds and up, will now go as a 1 ¼-mile race, still contested over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

After three stakes triumphs last year, including the Louisville (G3) at Saratoga in May, and the Nijinsky (G2) at Woodbine in July, Tiz a Slam has finished fourth, seventh, along with a pair of sixth-place efforts in his two most recent outings. Attfield is hoping the six-year-old son of Tiznow can get back on track and into the winner's circle with a second straight Singspiel title.

“He hasn't been the horse he was last year but right now he's training as well as he ever has,” said the veteran conditioner.

Tiz a Slam, bred and owned by Chiefswood Stables, was sixth in his latest engagement, the 1 1/16 mile main track Seagram Cup (G3), on July 26 at Woodbine. A winner of nine races from 30 starts, Attfield believes the bay millionaire will appreciate the return to turf.

He doesn't see the shorter Singspiel distance as an issue.

“I don't think it matters much. I've never been totally convinced he was a mile and a half horse.”

Nine rivals will challenge Tiz a Slam for top prize in the Singspiel, a group that includes multiple stakes placed Sir Sahib (2-3-7 from 19 starts), multiple stakes placed Standard Deviation (3-2-4 from 13 starts), graded stakes winner Skywire (4-2-0 from 11 starts), graded stakes placed Jungle Fighter (3-3-1 from nine starts), and multiple stakes placed Nakamura (4-3-4 from 16 starts).

The race is named after the Irish-bred son of In the Wings, whose nine victories in 20 lifetime starts include the 1996 Canadian International Stakes.

The $135,000 Woodbine Cares Stakes and the $135,000 Ontario Racing Stakes are also on tap for Ricoh Woodbine Mile Day.

Scheduled as race 10, one race after the Mile, the Woodbine Cares Stakes has drawn seven two-year-old fillies.

Contested at five furlongs on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, the race features Dirty Dangle, who won her debut for trainer Ralph Biamonte, Forest Drift, also a winner first time out, and Live Oak Plantation's Souper Munnings, who has posted a win and a second in her first two outings.

Last year, Fast Scene took the inaugural running of the race in a time of :56.96. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Fast Anna is owned by Blazing Meadows Farm LLC and Three Chimneys Farm LLC.

Seven two-year-old hopefuls are set to clash in the seven-furlong turf Ontario Racing Stakes, the first added-money feature on Sunday's card (race three).

Souper Classy, an Ontario-bred son of Souper Speedy won his debut on August 27 at Woodbine. Michael De Paulo trains the dark bay for owner Mickey Demers.

Credit River will make his debut in the Ontario Racing, Wesley Ward trainee Amsden looks to go two-for-two to start his career, and Quick Tempo heads north off a strong curtain-raising effort at Arlington on August 20, winning a 4 ½-furlong dash over the main track.

Old Chestnut won the inaugural running of the race last year, notching a 3 ¾-length triumph in a time of :56.85 on the Inner Turf.

First post for Saturday's 12-race card is 1:10 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 $125,000 SINGSPIEL

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Say the Word – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Gail Cox

2 – Sir Sahib – Daisuke Fukumoto – Kevin Attard

3 – Admiralty Pier – David Moran – Barbara Minshall

4 – Standard Deviation – Justin Stein – Graham Motion

5 – Skywire – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

6 – Woodbridge – Sahin Civaci – Mike Keogh

7 – Tiz a Slam – Steven Bahen – Roger Attfield

8 – Count Again – Luis Contreras – Gail Cox

9 – Nakamura – Kazushi Kimura – Graham Motion

10 – Jungle Fighter – Patrick Husbands – Michael Doyle

FIELD FOR THE $135,000 WOODBINE CARES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Silent Mamba – Jeffery Alderson – Harold Ladouceur

2 – Dirty Dangle – Sheena Ryan – Ralph Biamonte

3 – Forest Drift – Rafael Hernandez – Robert Tiller

4 – Chatelet – Kazushi Kimura – Arnaud Delacour

5 – Souper Munnings – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

6 – Rocket Reload – Justin Stein – Michael De Paulo

7 – Illegal Smile – Luis Contreras – Wesley Ward

FIELD FOR THE $135,000 ONTARIO RACING

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Souper Classy – David Moran – Michael De Paulo

2 – Credit River – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Breeda Hayes

3 – Sky's Not Falling – Luis Contreras – Michael Trombetta

4 – Amsden – Justin Stein – Wesley Ward

5 – Ready to Repeat – Kazushi Kimura – Gail Cox

6 – Too Legit – Daisuke Fukumoto – Barbara Minshall

7 – Quick Tempo – Rafael Hernandez – Christopher Davis

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‘Very Fast Horse’: Track Record Holder Top Line Growth Headlines Sunday’s Salvator Mile

Different year, different horse, different Monmouth Park graded stakes race. But, trainer Kelly Rubley hopes, a similar result.

A year after the Maryland-based trainer shipped in with Divisidero to win the Grade 3 Red Bank Stakes, Rubley will look for history to repeat when she sends out Laurel track record holder Top Line Growth in Sunday's $150,000 Grade 3 Salvator Mile, the feature on Monmouth Park's 14-race card that day.

“Certainly that's the hope,” she said.

After making his 4-year-old debut in impressive fashion with a 5½-length romp at Laurel on Aug. 14 – a race in which he threatened his own track record for a mile – Top Line Growth will face seven challengers in the Salvator Mile his quest for his first graded stakes score.

The gelded son of Tapizar returned following a 10½-month layoff to sizzle a mile in 1:34.74 to launch his 2020 campaign. He set the Laurel track record for that distance on June 8, 2019 when he covered the distance in 1:34.07.

“It was very impressive,” Rubley said of Top Line Growth's comeback race. “He toyed with the track record he currently holds. He's a very fast horse.

“We have always felt he was a nice horse. We felt he deserved to try this race. His last race he had the conditions so we figured why not try it. It was a great start back. You hope you're not over-facing them when they're coming off a long layoff. Obviously, he was ready in that spot.”

Top Line Growth has consistently displayed two traits during his career: He likes to win and he loves eight furlongs. Owned and bred by The Elkstone Group LLC, Top Line Growth is 5-for-8 lifetime and 3-for-3 at a mile. Two of his career losses have come in Grade 3 stakes races: A third-place finish in the Smarty Jones at Parx last Sept. 2 and a fourth-place finish in the West Virginia Derby on Aug. 3 of last year.

“The race at Parx was one of his better ones numbers-wise,” said Rubley. “It was a bit of an off-track and I thought he did very well.

“We always thought he was a nice horse. He was a big, growing horse at 2, so he didn't start until he was 3. Luckily the owners were wonderful in giving me the time to develop him. He certainly showed up his first start.”

That was April 22 of last year, when Top Line Growth made his racing debut with a 9½-length victory.

Among the horses Top Line Growth will face in the Salvator Mile is Pirate's Punch, who was disqualified from first in his last start on Aug. 22 in the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park. Trainer Chad Brown will send out Grade 1 winner Valid Point, with the colt trying dirt for the first time in his career.

Rubley, whose only two career graded stakes wins have come with Divisidero, has enlisted Joe Bravo to ride Top Line Growth.

“Joe rode him at Parx so he knows him,” said Rubley, who started training in 2014. “I felt that was a logical move.”

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Claiming Crown Worth $835,000 Returns To Gulfstream Park On Dec. 5

The Claiming Crown, a nine-race event offering $835,000 in purses to the blue-collar horses that are the backbone of the Thoroughbred industry's day-to-day racing schedule, will return to Gulfstream Park for the ninth consecutive year Saturday, Dec. 5.

The 22nd edition of the Claiming Crown, which has undergone a dramatic revitalization since being moved to Gulfstream in 2012, will highlight the opening weekend of the 2020-2021 Championship Meet that will get under way Wednesday, Dec. 2.

Handle on the Claiming Crown has climbed each of the last eight years since being held at Gulfstream.

The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).

“The Claiming Crown from its inception has been a unique way to celebrate these blue-collar horses,” said Gulfstream's Vice President of Racing Mike Lakow. “It's a fantastic day of racing and a day racing fans look forward to. We're excited to once again be part of this great event.”

“We want to express our sincerest appreciation to Gulfstream Park and the Florida HBPA for their continued commitment to the Claiming Crown,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA. “With all of the challenges we're facing as a sport and country this year, it's very gratifying to be able to host the 22nd running of our event.”

Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, said: “The National HBPA Board of Directors with President Leroy Gessmann and our Regional Vice Presidents are extremely pleased to once again announce the 2020 Claiming Crown, along with our partners TOBA, the Florida HBPA, and Gulfstream Park. We continue to see this event grow in popularity with owners, trainers, and horseplayers, all of whom are without question the backbone of our industry. The Claiming Crown has always recognized the excellence of Thoroughbred racing's stalwarts. Even amid today's trying circumstances, it's a priority for us to provide this day showcasing the blue-collar horses and their owners and trainers who make racing programs across America possible. While we understand this year is a year like no other, we all feel it is important to also see this amazing day of races take place as it has been for over 20 years, and we hope by doing so to bring a sense of stability for horsemen.”

“The FHBPA is also excited to work with our partners to present this year's Claiming Crown series,” said Kevin Scheen, Executive Director of the Florida HBPA. “It's a great concept. These hard hitting claiming horses will have a chance to be featured, racing for purses ranging from $75-150K. It should be a fun day of competitive racing; a great way to kick off the first Saturday of the Championship Meet.”

The $150,000 Jewel will headline the Claiming Crown program. The 1 1/8-mile route will be contested by 3-year-olds and up that have raced for a claiming price of $35,000 or less.

The $95,000 Tiara for fillies and mares that have raced for a claiming price of $25,000 or less will be run at 1 1/16-miles on turf, as will the $95,000 Emerald, which will be contested by 3-year-olds and up that have raced for a $25,000 claiming price or less.

The $90,000 Canterbury for 3-year-olds and up that have raced for a claiming price of $25,000 or less and the $90,000 Distaff Dash for fillies and mares that have run for a claiming price of $25,000 or less are both scheduled to be run at five-furlongs on turf.

The Claiming Crown program will also include the $85.000 Rapid Transit, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that have raced for a claiming price of $16,000 or less; the $80,000 Glass Slipper a mile event for fillies and mares that have raced for a claiming price of $16,000 or less; the $75,000 Express, a six-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up that have raced for a claiming price of $8,000 or less; and the $75,000 Iron Horse, a 1 1/16-mile route for 3-year-olds and up that have raced for a claiming price of $8,000 or less.

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