Valiance lived up to her name Oct.
Tag: Racing
Horologist Upsets Point Of Honor, Dunbar Road In Beldame
Chasing a fast early pace in a field scratched down to just four runners, Horologist moved to the lead at the top of the stretch, then raced to an easy three-length victory over Point of Honor and Dunbar Road as the longest shot in the field in Sunday's Grade 2 Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Point of Honor made a belated bid along the rail to be second, with even-money favorite Dunbar Road, winner of the G2 Delaware Handicap last out, never threatening while third. Letruska, who set fast fractions and led by a wide margin for the first six furlongs, was last.
Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Horologist covered nine furlongs on a fast track in 1:49.01. She paid $16.20 for the victory, her seventh in 19 starts and second stakes win since Bill Mott took over her training earlier this year.
Racing for There's a Chance Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing and Abbondanza Racing, Horologist is a 4-year-old filly by Gemologist bred by Holly Crest Farm in New Jersey, where her three previous stakes victories were recorded at Monmouth Park: the Smarty N Classy Handicap and G3 Monmouth Oaks in 2019 and G3 Molly Pitcher this year in her first start for Mott.
Letruska, coming off a front-running win in the G3 Shuvee at Saratoga on Aug. 30, went to the front early under Kendrick Carmouche, taking a one-length advantage through a quarter mile in :23.10, then opened up by 3 1/2 lengths after a :45.52 half mile. Through six furlongs, timed in 1:09.05, Letruska extended her advantage to seven lengths.
Horologist was her closest pursuer throughout and began to eat into Letruska's lead before turning for home. She took command by 2 1/2 lengths with a furlong to run, the mile in 1:35.62, adding another half length to that margin at the finish.
Mott was winning the Beldame for the third time, having saddled Royal Delta in 2012 and Elate in 2017.
The post Horologist Upsets Point Of Honor, Dunbar Road In Beldame appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Not So Quiet’s Vice Regent Win Boosts Casse’s Big Day At Woodbine
Heste Sport's homebred 5-year-old Not So Quiet thundered past the favored graded stakes winner City Boy down the stretch to take the $150,000 Vice Regent Stakes featured on the rainy Sunday afternoon program at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
The Vice Regent, which was contested over one mile on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course for its first 23 editions, moved to the inner turf this year and was run as a five-furlong sprint for Ontario-bred 3-year-olds and up.
Jockey Rafael Hernandez and trainer Mark Casse, one of the hottest combinations of the meet, teamed up for the win with the Silent Name–Mona Moon gelding, who returned $12.60 as the 5-1 fourth choice.
Alicia's Kid (Leo Salles) led briefly out of the gates from midfield, but insider Forester's Turn (Kazushi Kimura) dashed to the front with City Boy (David Moran) and those two battled head-to-head through an opening quarter-mile in :22.03. Meanwhile, Not So Quiet and Hernandez loomed the danger just to their outside in third.
City Boy eventually shook off Forester's Turn and drew clear down the stretch, but Not So Quiet tracked down the 5-2 favorite in the final stages to score by three-quarters of a length in :57.19 over firm turf. Nevaeh's Dream (Steve Bahen) closed with a fury from the backfield to edge out a determined Alicia's Kid for third prize in the 10-horse field.
Not So Quiet, who finished third in the Grade 3 Jacques Cartier Stakes and fourth in the Shepperton this summer, earned the first stakes victory of his career and has now won two of five starts since his return to racing this year under the tutelage of Casse. The win was his fifth from 11 starts lifetime.
The Vice Regent was part of Casse's second four-win day of the meet. Hernandez ended the 11-race card with a triple.
Following Sunday's stakes race, Woodbine Entertainment held a moment of silence on the turf course to honour longtime horsewoman Martha Gonzalez, who passed away that morning at the age of 58 after a courageous battle with cancer. Woodbine's jockeys also paid tribute to the longtime assistant trainer and wife of Nick Gonzalez bywearing a black band on their right leg during the running of the first race. On behalf of the entire horse racing community, Woodbine Entertainment sends heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.
Live Thoroughbred racing continues on Thursday, featuring the 1 5/8-mile third leg of the Woodbine Turf Endurance Series as race five. Theregoesjojo will attempt to add to his series leading point total of 17 with Kazushi Kimura back aboard for trainer Michael De Paulo and owner Samotowka Stables. The field also includes Artistico, who ranks a close second in the standings with 15 points, along with English Illusion (four points), English Classic (three points) and a trio of newcomers. Post time for the first race is set for 2:15 p.m.
The post Not So Quiet’s Vice Regent Win Boosts Casse’s Big Day At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Plum Ali A Perfect 3-For-3 After Popular Miss Grillo Victory
Plum Ali ran her record to 3-for-3 with a come-from-behind victory on Sunday in the Grade 2 Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Ridden by Jose Ortiz, the Christophe Clement-trained filly by First Samurai ran down front-running Caldee to win by 2 1/4 lengths.
Time for the 1 1/16 miles on firm turf was 1:42.03. Plum Ali paid $4.30 to win as the favorite of five runners contesting the Miss Grillo.
Caldee finished second, with Editor At Large getting up for third. She was followed by Mashnee Girl and Director's Cut. There were four scratches from the original field of entries.
Owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Bethlehem Stables, Plum Ali was bred in Kentucky by Stone Farm and sold for $65,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“She's a very nice filly,” said Clement. “She's won in different scenarios, different tracks and different jockeys. That's what good horses do. They face the challenge and they win. It's very exciting. It's nice when they keep facing these things and win. [At the top of the stretch] the [top]-three finishers were together, so nobody has any excuses.
“Just like anything else, I'll only go to the Breeders' Cup [Juvenile Fillies Turf] if she's training great and doing great. I'm very happy. She's done everything right.”
Plum Ali made a winning debut at Saratoga on July 23, taking a maiden special weight race by two lengths, then traveled to Kentucky Downs to win the Mint Juvenile Fillies Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths.
“Christophe always said to me she was the nicest 2-year-old turf filly in the barn,” said Dubb. “We knew this winter when was she on the farm that she was above average, but we didn't know how good she was.
“She seems, with every race, to be maturing. She had more composure in the paddock today. She's just going forward the right way and we hope we can get one more race out of her this year.”
In the Miss Grillo, Plum Ali was near the back early while saving ground as Caldee led through fractions of :24.81, :48.06 and 1:11.58 for the first six furlongs. Ortiz asked Plum Ali for run going into the far turn and was bidding for the lead by the time the field hit the top of the stretch. She opened up by one length at the furlong pole and passed the mile marker in 1:35.60 with a clear lead and held sway to the finish. Caldee held off Editor At Large by a nose for second, with 15 1/2-length margin back to Mashnee Girl in fourth.
“She's very classy. I had the opportunity to work her twice and got to know her a little bit these past couple of week,” said Ortiz. “The first week, she worked well. The second week, she worked amazing. She gave me a lot of confidence going into the race. She had a great trip and I followed the right horse and when I was ready to make my move, I did.”
The post Plum Ali A Perfect 3-For-3 After Popular Miss Grillo Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
