Tag: Racing

Mitchell Road Headlines 13-Horse Field In Saturday’s Floral Park Stakes

Graded stakes-winner Mitchell Road will get her first career test at Belmont Park when she competes as part of a full 13-horse field in Saturday's $80,000 Floral Park for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up contesting six furlongs on the Widener turf course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Mitchell Road enters off a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies on September 12, earning a personal-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure after finishing a neck behind Regal Glory on September 12.

Owned by Mrs. J.V. Shields, Jr. and E. J. M. McFadden, Mitchell Road won the 2019 Grade 3 Gallorette at Pimlico Race Course as a 4-year-old and also has compiled a stakes win in the current campaign in the Ellis Park Turf on July 5 going 1 1/16 miles.

Jockey Junior Alvarado will pick up the mount from post 6.

Athlone Racing's Rose Flower will look for class relief after running sixth in the Grade 3 Intercontinental on June 6 over a yielding Belmont turf. Trainer Christophe Clement said he's been looking forward to getting the German-bred daughter of Dabirsim back on the track.

“Everything is good and she's training forwardly,” Clement said. “I've been waiting to race her for quite a while. There's been no problems going forward.”

Rose Flower has gone 1-0-2 in four starts since arriving from Europe last year, showing a propensity to sit near the rear of the field before employing a late kick, which resulted in her first North American win in October 2019 at Belmont.

“She's fine on soft turf but she can run on anything, firm or soft,” Clement said. “She's mostly a come-from-behind-type filly, but the main thing is that she hasn't run for a while, so we want to get her going.”

Joel Rosario has the call from post 9.

Owned by VinLaur Racing Stables, Dark Horse Racing Stables and Taste of Victory Stables, I'llhandalthecash won her first career stakes in her last appearance on the Belmont grass, digging in after a three-wide move in the upper stretch before outkicking Dalika by a half-length to capture the License Fee, held at the Floral Park distance, on July 3.

Trainer Ray Handal, for whom the horse is named, ran the 4-year-old Point of Entry filly back in the 5 ½-furlong Caress on August 1 at Saratoga, where she ran sixth. Following a 12th-place effort last out in her graded stakes debut over a soft turf course at Kentucky Downs in the Grade 3 Kentucky Downs on September 12, Handal said he is excited to return to a venue where she has already achieved success, earning a career-best 90 Beyer in her last win.

“She's doing good; she didn't do a whole lot of running last time,” Handal said. “I think we got shuffled back a bit early and we weren't in the spot we wanted to be in and couldn't do much about it. She got stuck on the inside and the track that day wasn't good anywhere, but it was at its absolute worst at the rail. It was like a bog. So I just treaded lightly and I penciled this spot in and she came out of it really well and she's given me all the signs that she's ready to get back at it.”

Jockey Dylan Davis will pick up the mount for the first time, drawing post 3.

With the forecast calling for a chance of rain Saturday, Handal also entered Overheated for the main track only. The 5-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor, out of the multiple graded-stakes winning Malibu Moon mare Hot Summer, ran second on August 6 at Saratoga and mostly recently was fourth in a starter allowance on September 27 at Belmont.

“She always shows up and runs her race and it's all dependent on where she lands,” Handal said. “She's worth a lot of money as a broodmare, so we're picking our spots and placing her properly. She's always been in a little above her head because we don't want to put her in for a tag. But she's improved since she's been here and she doesn't mind a sloppy track.”

Barry Ostrager's Sunny Dale has run second in back-to-back races, starting with the Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial in September at Parx before another runner-up effort against allowance company on the same track on September 30. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Sunny Dale has finished second or third in her last five starts.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be in the irons from post 11.

VinLaur Racing Stables' Xanthique has one win and two second-place efforts in four starts of her 4-year-old year. The Tom Morley trainee bested allowance company in her previous Belmont start, winning at one mile on the turf on June 28.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano drew the assignment and will break from post 5.

Getmotherarose, winner of the Grade 3 Honey Fox in February at Gulfstream Park, will make her eighth consecutive stakes start and is looking to atone for an eight-place finish in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel going one mile on the Belmont grass on September 26.

Conditioned by Tom Bush, Getmotherarose has registered three of her five career wins at Belmont. Eric Cancel will ride from post 4.

Rounding out the field is Bohemian Bourbon, third in the Grade 2 Royal North on July 18 at Woodbine, for trainer Ian Wilkes [post 1, Jose Lezcano]; Saratoga Treasure, who ran third in both the Hessonite and Smart N Fancy in two of her last three starts [post 10, Jose Ortiz]; for conditioner David Donk; Lead Guitar, winner of two straight optional claimers, including on September 20 at Belmont, for George Weaver [post 8, Luis Saez]; My Sassy Sarah, an allowance winner on July 19 over Saratoga's turf before running seventh in the Grade 3 Lake George last out on August 28, for Jorge Abreu [post 2, Hall of Famer John Velazquez]; and Elle's Town, an allowance winner in her previous start for trainer Karl Broberg [post 7, Kendrick Carmouche].

The David Cannizzo-trained Slimey is also entered for the main track only.

Saturday's 10-race card will feature a 12:20 p.m. Eastern first post. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Sloppy Track Won’t Be Problem For Premier Star In Wednesday’s Jersey Shore Stakes

The initial scouting report that Michael Trombetta received when he took over the training of Premier Star this spring was pretty basic.

“All they told me when I got him was that he was a very nice horse,” Trombetta said.

What the veteran conditioner has found out since then is that the son of Tapiture has the ability to be a top-notch sprinter, maybe even one with a graded stakes-winning future. For now, Wednesday's $100,000 Jersey Shore Stakes at Monmouth Park is the next step toward that, with Premier Star set to take on nine other 3-year-olds in the six-furlong feature, including stablemate Newstome.

Trained by Jorge Navarro for his first three career starts, Premier Star opened with two impressive victories before faltering in the Grade 3 Sam Davis.

Trombetta has had the colt for his three starts since then, the most recent being a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 29. In that race, Premier Star finished four lengths behind race winner Yaupon, a leading contender for the Breeders' Cup Sprint trained by Steve Asmussen, and was two lengths behind multiple Grade 1 winner Basin.

“The first time I ran him (a fourth-place finish at Laurel) he took a bad stumble leaving the gate and it really compromised his chances,” said Trombetta. “Then we were able to get things going much better after that.

“He won his next start and then we took him to Saratoga for the Amsterdam. As tough as that race was he showed up in a good way and ran credible.”

The Amsterdam was contested over a muddy track, which is significant given the two days of steady rain Monmouth Park has had Monday and Tuesday.

“He can deal with a sloppy track,” Trombetta said. “I think he will be fine if it's off. Quite frankly, it's getting late in the season for 3-year-olds so we only have so many opportunities left.”

Owned by Sonata Stable, the Kentucky-bred Premier Star has won three of his six career starts, with two of the defeats in graded stakes and the other because of a stumbled start.

But he does have his limitations.

“I don't know if he's truly a two-turn horse. Hopefully at some point he can be,” Trombetta said. “Hopefully he can go a little bit further. We would certainly entertain seven furlongs for sure and maybe a one-turn mile. Whether he is a two-turn horse or not only time will tell.”

For this race, Premier Star is at his optimal distance, facing a solid mix of sophomore runners. The field includes the Kelly Breen-trained As Seen On TV, who is back sprinting after lackluster effort in the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park in his last start. He was similarly unimpressive in the Grade 1 Florida Derby after a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth.

Newstome, Stidham's other entry in the race, will mark his 10th straight stakes appearance, but is just 1-for-5 as a 3-year-old after winning three of five starts at 2. The son of Goldencents has four career victories and has banked $226,646.

First race post time for the eight-race card on Wednesday is 12:50 p.m.

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Maker-Trained Field Pass Ships West For Twilight Derby; Taishan Seems To Prefer Grass

Field Pass was en route from Kentucky to California this morning to compete in next Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita Park.

The gray son of Lemon Drop Kid is one of five horses trainer Michael Maker had nominated to what is shaping up as a race worthy of Grade I consideration down the road.

“He prefers firmer going; that was the main reason bringing him in for the race,” Maker said by phone from the Blue Grass State.

Field Pass has five victories from 13 starts, including the Transylvania at Keeneland on turf and the Jeff Ruby Steaks on Polytrack at Turfway Park, each a Grade 3 event.

The Twilight Derby drew 21 nominations, eight conditioned by “out of town” trainers, including one by Todd Pletcher and the aforementioned five by Maker.

“Field Pass is very good around the barn but a bit of a handful to gallop,” Maker said. “Other than that, he's pretty straightforward.”

Louisville native Drayden Van Dyke has the mount.

Richard Baltas hopes Taishan wins his first stakes race when he runs in the Twilight Derby.

Taishan, a Candy Ride colt, was second last out in the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs Sept. 5, losing by only a half-length in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, despite being bothered at the start.

“It was his first time on grass and it was a very good effort,” Baltas said of the Kentucky-bred bay owned by Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran. “It was a half-million dollar race and there was a lot of speed, so I think it kind of set up for him.

“That being said, I think he was always meant to be on the grass. He ran against some tough horses on dirt at Oaklawn in Nadal (winner of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on May 2).

“Candy Rides are pretty versatile but I think they prefer the turf.”

Taishan's first three races were in Southern California, but his last seven included stops at Oaklawn Park, Indiana and Churchill Downs.

Florent Geroux, who rode Taishan in the American Derby, was impressed with his performance.

“They wanted me to get a position (near the lead) but they were rolling in front so we went to Plan B,” the Frenchman said after the race. “I set off inside nicely and made one run. He ran a big race, first time on grass. He handled it perfectly.

“He's a nice horse. He'd been working very well and I'm very happy with the way he ran.”

Taishan was a distant fourth in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at a mile on dirt at Santa Anita Jan. 4 behind Authentic, who would go on to win the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

Any way it shakes out, the Twilight Derby has the look of a very contentious race.

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