Tag: Racing

Mr Freeze Holds Off Aurelius Maximus In Fayette At Keeneland

Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister's Mr Freeze surged to the front on the far turn and then held off a late bid from Aurelius Maximus by a neck to win the 63rd running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Hagyard Fayette Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Javier Castellano, Mr Freeze covered the 1 1/8 miles on a fast main track in 1:50.71. It is the third victory in the race for Romans, who previously won with  M B Sea in 2003 and Pick of the Litter in 2014.

Mo Mosa shot to the lead out of the gate with Aurelius Maximus in closest pursuit and Mr Freeze racing in the clear just off the pace through fractions of :24 and :49.06. Approaching the half-mile pole, Mr Freeze and Crafty Daddy joined the front two with Mr Freeze four wide.

On the far turn, Mr Freeze had assumed command and opened a daylight advantage that was more than enough to hold his rivals at bay in the run to the wire.

“Today he ran like his old self,” said Romans. “That was a rough trip for him. I wasn't expecting him to be four wide on both turns and stalking horses, but he showed what a good horse he really is.”

“I had a beautiful trip,” Castellano countered. “I like the way everything unfolded in the right place for my horse. Usually my horse goes to the lead, but they got the jump on us in the first turn. I was in really good position outside. Turning for home, I was very encouraged that he would get it done. He fought all the way to the wire and never let the other horse pass him. I am very proud of him. “

A Keeneland sales graduate, Mr Freeze is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred son of To Honor and Serve out of the Tabasco Cat mare Heavenly Cat. It is the fourth graded stakes victory for Mr Freeze, who added $120,000 to his bankroll and pushed his earnings to $1,561,950 with a record of 16-6-4-2.

Romans said a start in the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland is not out of the question. “We're going to have to talk about it,” he said. “We talked about the Dirt Mile (G1) before, but we'll have to talk about everything (Mile and Classic-G1). Everything's on the table.”

Mr Freeze paid $5.20, $3.40 and $2.40. Aurelius Maximus, ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., returned $4.40 and $3.60 and finished three-quarters of a length in front of Title Ready, who paid $3.40 to show under Corey Lanerie.

It was another neck back to Coastal Defense, who was followed in order by Captivating Moon, Rated R Superstar, Crafty Daddy, Mirinaque (ARG) and Mo Mosa.

Racing continues Sunday with a nine-race program beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET. Keeneland will offer a Pick 6 carryover of $34,998.45 and a Super High 5 carryover of $58,378.55.

The post Mr Freeze Holds Off Aurelius Maximus In Fayette At Keeneland appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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8-Year-Old Almanaar Repeats In Monmouth Stakes Off Lengthy Layoff

Despite being idle for more than 16 months Almanaar reinforced two well-known beliefs in Saturday's Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. One is that age is just a number. The other is that trainer Chad Brown has the rare ability to have a turf horse ready no matter how long it has been between races.

Almanaar made his 8-year-old debut a winning one in capturing the Monmouth Stakes for the second straight year, rallying stoutly from next-to-last after three quarters of a mile to give Brown a 1-2 finish in the $150,000 feature race on the 11-race card.

The gelded son of Dubawi, who rolled home one length ahead of stablemate Serve the King in the nine-furlong turf stakes, had last raced on May 25, 2019, at Monmouth Park when he won the Monmouth Stakes, then a Grade 2. Prior to that race, his only start in 2019, he had been idle for four months.

None of that mattered as the 3-2 favorite in the field of nine 3-year-olds and up used his strong late kick to overpower the field.

Serve the King finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Bal Harbour.

“He has been training well at Belmont the whole time,” said Luis Cabrera, who oversees Brown's string at Monmouth Park. “The guys there really like the way he has been training. So he has been doing well. These type of horses know what to do. They know where the wire is. So you don't worry about the layoff with those types. And he has a lot of class. We know that.

“He ran great. I'm very happy with his performance. I can't say I'm surprised because this horse has been training consistently. He has not missed a work. He was fit and he was ready. Chad always makes sure the horses are 100 percent ready to run.”

Owned by Shadwell Stable, Almanaar won for the eighth time in 21 career starts, a record that includes a victory on the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in 2017.

Though far back in the field early, jockey Joe Bravo said he knew exactly what he was sitting on and tried to be patient through fractions of :48.82 to the half, 1:12.93 to three quarters and 1:37.31 for the opening mile.

The final time for the nine furlongs over a firm turf course was 1:49.22

It was just two weeks ago that Brown trainees finished 1-2 in the $100,000 Violet Stakes on the grass at Monmouth Park, with She's Got You winning off a 12-week layoff.

“Only Chad Brown does this. He's amazing,” said Bravo. “This is the second time this year that he has done this in a stakes race at Monmouth Park by winning off a long layoff. (This is) an old horse but he's a trouper. He's so strong and powerful that I just wanted to give him some daylight turning for home. Class prevailed.”

Almanaar paid $5.00 to win, boosting his career earnings to $900,349.

After the opening half mile, and even after three quarters had been run, Almanaar had just one horse beat until he made his explosive move coming out of the turn, overhauling Bal Harbour while having more than enough in reserve to hold off Serve the King.

Racing resumes at Monmouth Park with a special eight-race holiday card on Monday, Oct. 12, with the $100,000 Born to Run Stakes for 2-year-olds serving as the feature. First race post is 12:50 p.m.

The post 8-Year-Old Almanaar Repeats In Monmouth Stakes Off Lengthy Layoff appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Got Stormy Digs Deep, Flies Late To Win Franklin County Stakes

Gary Barber's Grade 1-winning mare Got Stormy made a giant late run in Friday afternoon's Grade 3 Franklin County Stakes at Keeneland, making up over 10 lengths to nail Into Mystic on the wire. A photo finish showed Got Stormy the winner by a head under Tyler Gaffalione, paying $3.80 as the heavy favorite. Trained by Mark Casse, the 5-year-old daughter of Get Stormy ran 5 1/2 furlongs over the turf course rated “good” in 1:02.33.

The Franklin was Got Stormy's second win in a row this season, following her victory in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint Stakes on Sept. 12. She has not been worse than fourth this season, including a second-place finish in the 2020 Grade 1 Fourstardave, the race she won over males in 2019 before a strong second-place finish behind Uni in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

“My goodness, I wasn't sure (if she got there),” Casse said after the Franklin County. “I called (owner) Gary (Barber) and he was like 'I think we got beat.' She got shuffled back pretty good and I was like 'Oh, Tyler'. And then I kind of got excited because I knew when he wheeled her out she would come running. But that second place horse (Into Mystic) was tough, she hung in there. She didn't give it up. But what a wonderful mare (Got Stormy) is. Unbelievable.”

Got Stormy will now be pointed to the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 7 at Keeneland, and Casse said she will run in either the Turf Sprint or the Mile, depending on the condition of the turf course.

Jakarta led the field of 10 through a first quarter-mile in :21.84 as Gaffalione had Got Stormy in ninth and in the clear. Jakarta maintained the advantage through the half-mile, turning back initial bids from Surrender Now and Stillwater Cove.

At the head of the stretch, Into Mystic launched a bid three wide to get first run at the leader while Got Stormy swung six wide with three horses beat to begin her run. Into Mystic got the lead at midstretch from Jakarta but could not hold off the final surge from Got Stormy.

The victory was worth $90,000 and boosted Got Stormy's career earnings to $1,991,378 with a record of 25-10-5-3 that includes two Grade 1 victories.

A Keeneland sales graduate, Got Stormy is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Get Stormy out of the Malabar Gold mare Super Phoebe.

Got Stormy paid $3.80, $3 and $2.60. Into Mystic, ridden by Joe Talamo, returned $4.40 and $2.80 and finished a length in front of Jakarta, who paid $3.80 to show under Javier Castellano.

It was another length back to Change of Control, who was followed in order by Winning Envelope, Surrender Now, Stillwater Cove, Ambassador Luna, Violent Times and Chalon.

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