On Oct. 3, the 145thPreakness Stakes at Pimlico will be the grand finale to the 2020 Triple Crown season – all three events celebrated by fans in their homes rather than at the track, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tag: Racing
Meet the 2020 Preakness Stakes Jockeys
By the time the horses enter the starting gate for the 145thPreakness Stakes Oct. 3, most racing fans will be keenly familiar with the field of racehorses for the 1 3/16-mile Triple Crown race at Pimlico Race Course. Often, the jockeys are a different story.
Fairy Tale Ending To $20,000 Take2 Hunter/Jumper Finals
Satins Angel is the hero of a cautionary tale. She fell through the cracks after leaving the racetrack, but overcame the odds with the help of owner/rider Alexa Lee to become a champion show jumper. Last Sunday, she added to her growing list of accomplishments with an eye-catching win in the Jumper division of the $20,000 TAKE2 Hunter/Jumper Finals at the Kentucky National Horse Show in Lexington. Kathryn Currey's A Lil Evil was second, with Cleanth Toledano's No Nonsense Jones finishing third.
Despite the challenges and travel restrictions resulting from COVID-19, 31 competitors from 14 different states converged on the Kentucky Horse Park for the TAKE2 Finals. Satins Angel beat all comers. The handy mare took a nearly impossible inside line that shaved a few seconds off her time in the jump-off to seal the victory; it mirrored the dramatic turn her life has taken since she was found at the Sugarcreek Auction in Ohio four years ago.
“She suffered such abuse, but she still tries so hard to please,” Alexa said. “When I asked her to make that inside turn, she said, 'You're crazy, but I'll do it for you.' And she did. If I could, I would give her my heart. I know that's so corny, but she means everything to me.”
Bred in Louisiana, Satins Angel raced with some small success as Queen Satin. She won three times and ended her racing career in 2013 at little known Mt. Pleasant Meadows in Michigan. That's when things started to go wrong for her.
“She stopped racing because she was a bleeder, and when she left the track she was passed around and was nearly sold for slaughter,” Alexa said, a catch in her voice. “She was beaten so badly she still has the scars on her face. It was awful.”
But luck was with Satins Angel, who was rescued from the Sugarcreek Auction and sent to the barn where she would finally cross paths with Alexa. The connection was instantaneous. Before long, Satin belonged to Alexa and the two were on the road to show jumping glory. Their success took time and hard work and something else that Alexa learned from her equine soul mate.
“I've learned a lot of patience from Satin, that's the biggest thing,” she explained. “When I first got her, you couldn't touch her, you couldn't go near her head. Even now, she really doesn't let anyone else touch her. But when I'm there, with the vet or the blacksmith, she is so much better behaved. She trusts me to do what's best for her. She knows I will never put her in harm's way.”
Thanks to Alexa and to trainer Angela Moore, Satin not only believes in her people, she believes in herself.
“I taught her to have confidence,” Alexa said. “She will jump anything. She doesn't stop and she doesn't spook (knock on wood!). When she is in the arena, she has that attitude – 'look at me, I'm awesome.' When she walks out after she wins, she knows it, and she wants to be the center of attention. She's definitely a queen.”
Satin embodies the best qualities of the Thoroughbred.
“Thoroughbreds are amazing animals,” Alexa said. “People try to label them, that they can only do so much, that they need so much maintenance. Wrong. Thoroughbreds can do anything. I love their heart, their passion and their drive, I love how much they want to give back and please their owner. I want people to know that, I want to spread the word.”
Alexa believes that the TAKE2 Program is doing just that.
“I love what TAKE2 is doing for racehorses, for Thoroughbreds,” she said. “TAKE2 is getting the word out about just what Thoroughbreds are capable of doing. They have so much more to give when their racing careers are over. And I am hearing it more and more – people find out about these classes, they see the money you can win and the fun you can have and they say, 'I need to get a Thoroughbred, I need to get a horse off the track and do this.' There's an excitement to being part of the TAKE2 Program, and the word is getting out there. I love that.”
TAKE2 President Rick Schosberg added, “We are thrilled to see horses like Satins Angel succeed in our program, because they put the spotlight on the mission of TAKE2. We want to promote the work of Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited organizations affiliated with racetracks around the country that provide a safety net so that what happened to Satins Angel will not happen to other horses. We want all our horses to have happy and healthy lives when they leave the track.”
Read more here.
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‘Maturing’ Bonny South Headlines Field Of 11 In Black-Eyed Susan
An evenly-matched field of 11 fillies, led by graded-stakes winners Bonny South, Hopeful Growth, Perfect Alibi and Project Whiskey, are set to gather for the 96th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G1) Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.
The 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan for 3-year-old fillies will be Race 10 on an all-stakes Preakness Day program, immediately preceding the 145th edition of the Preakness Stakes (G1). Post time for the Black-Eyed Susan is 4:41 p.m., and will be part of NBC's national television coverage from 4:30-6 p.m.
First run in 1919 as the Pimlico Oaks, the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan was originally scheduled for May 15 in its traditional spot on Preakness eve, but both races were subsequently rescheduled amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Black-Eyed Susan repositioned on the Preakness undercard.
Nine horses to win the Black-Eyed Susan have gone on to be named champion 3-year-old filly including Hall of Famers Twilight Tear, Davona Dale, Serena's Song, Silverbulletday and Royal Delta. Among other prominent winners are Hall of Famer Gallorette; Nellie Morse, the only filly to also win the Preakness, in 1924; High Voltage, Caesar's Wish and Wide Country.
Post time for the first of 12 races Preakness Day is 11 a.m.
Juddmonte Farms homebred Bonny South was rerouted to the Black-Eyed Susan following the announcement in mid-August that it was to join the Preakness lineup. The chestnut daughter of multiple graded-stakes winning sprinter Munnings tuned up for the race with a five-furlong work in 1:01 Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.
Winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in March, Bonny South was a closing second behind Swiss Skydiver in the 1 ¼-mile Alabama (G1) last out Aug. 15 at Saratoga and then bypassed the Kentucky Oaks (G1) Sept. 4. Swiss Skydiver is entered to face the boys in the Preakness.
“Since the Alabama she's done really, really well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She's maturing. She's still somewhat lightly raced, only run six times in her life. I think we have yet to see the best of her. Hopefully, she'll take a step forward.”
Florent Geroux, up for both her recent work and the Fair Grounds Oaks, will ride Bonny South from Post 5 at 124 pounds, sharing topweight with Project Whiskey and Perfect Alibi.
Tracy Farmer's Perfect Alibi won the Schuylerville (G2) and Spinaway (G1) at 2 but has gone winless in five tries since, including a second in the Alcibiades (G1) and a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to cap her rookie season. She didn't get started this year until June and finished off the board in the one-mile Acorn (G1) and seven-furlong Test (G1) before running third by a length in the Sept. 7 Weber City Miss at Laurel, an automatic qualifier for the Black-Eyed Susan.
Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Perfect Alibi drew outside Post 11 with jockey Paco Lopez.
St. Elias Stable's Hopeful Growth was fifth to Project Whiskey in the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Oaks (G3) July 4, but avenged that loss with a four-length triumph in the Aug. 1 Monmouth Oaks (G3). Most recently she was sixth to Bonny South's stablemate Shedaresthedevil in the Kentucky Oaks.
Hopeful Growth will carry 122 pounds including jockey Trevor McCarthy from Post 8.
Cash is King and LC Racing's Project Whiskey, who captured the Parx Juvenile Fillies last fall, was a determined half-length winner of the Delaware Oaks at odds of 38-1. She ran well to be a decisive second in the Monmouth Oaks and got within four lengths of the lead midway through the Weber City Miss before tiring to be last of nine.
“She hasn't run well at Laurel, so we're not sure if she just doesn't like the surface too much,” trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said. “She didn't get away clean and got back a little further than she normally is and had to eat some dirt, and it wasn't to her liking.
“She came out of her race like she never even ran,” he added. “We're going to give her a mulligan on that one and look for better things because she's training perfectly. So, we're going to take another shot.”
Victor Carrasco has the call on Project Whiskey from Post 1.
Three horses – Landing Zone, Miss Marissa and Mizzen Beau – enter the Black-Eyed Susan off victories. Alfonso Cammarota's Miss Marissa has won two straight including a front-running optional claiming allowance going 1 1/8 miles Aug. 13 at Saratoga, while Mizzen Beau captured the 1 1/16-mile Bison City over Woodbine's all-weather surface Sept. 12.
BB Horses Landing Zone takes a three-race win streak into the Black-Eyed Susan for Maryland's three-time defending leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez. The Morning Line filly has stretched out from 5 ½ furlongs to a mile to one mile and 70 yards in each of her victories, which have come by 16 ¾ combined lengths.
“The last two races have been really big and we decide with the owner to take shot in the big race,” Gonzalez said. ““I believe the longer races, she's more relaxed and she likes it more. In the morning when she breezes, she looks good. Sometimes she beats the good fillies and in the afternoon she wasn't showing what she was in the morning. That's why I told the owner I want to figure out what is the best I can do to change something and when we did, she likes it.”
Landing Zone went gate to wire to win by 11 lengths at Delaware Park Aug. 31, following up with a 3 ½-length triumph over Black-Eyed Susan rival So Darn Hot Sept. 10. Gonzalez claimed her for $25,000 out of a runner-up finish sprinting six furlongs last November at Laurel.
“I claimed her last year and she was very nervous for everything. Now she's more mature and she looks better and not nervous like before, even in the paddock,” Gonzalez said. “That's why she improved a lot. Now we can train her different and she likes it. She's showing me now in her last few races. Her last few races have been really good.”
Angel Cruz will ride Landing Zone for her stakes debut from Post 10.
“It's very exciting for me. Horses [that cost] a lot of money, I don't have horses like that. But I try to claim horses with back class or something like that and try to improve them,” Gonzalez said. “Now I have horses in the stakes races and I believe that's good not only for me but for everybody. They can see we're doing something good and doing good work.”
Trainer George Weaver captured last year's Black-Eyed Susan with Point of Honor, who would go on to run second in the coaching Club American Oaks (G1) and Alabama at 3 and the Ogden Phipps (G1) in June. Weaver returns to defend his title with Stetson Racing, Lanni Donato and Rita Riccelli's So Darn Hot, owner of a six-length maiden win June 18 at Belmont Park from just four lifetime starts.
Completing the field are Sharp Starr, most recently third in the Fleet Indian against fellow New York-breds Sept. 4 at Saratoga; Truth Hurts, third in the Bison City; and Delaware Oaks runner-up Dream Marie.
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