Tag: Racing

‘We’ll See How Far She Can Carry That Speed’: Baffert Thrilled With Gamine Ahead Of Kentucky Oaks

Taking to the Churchill Downs surface at 9 a.m., Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine, the even-money, morning line favorite for the Kentucky Oaks, put in her final routine gallop under Humberto Gomez on Thursday as she aims to give trainer Bob Baffert his fourth win in the signature race for 3-year-old fillies. Should the daughter of Into Mischief prevail Friday, it would mark the first time Baffert has won the Oaks with the favorite since Silverbulletday achieved that feat in 1999.

“I thought (champion) Indian Blessing was brilliant but this filly, what she's done is amazing,” Baffert said of Gamine. “Her Acorn (an 18 ¾-length win) was….I did not expect that. And in the Test, she was probably training even better heading into that. She's doing well. We'll see how far she can carry that speed.”

Gamine heads into the Oaks have captured the Acorn (GI) and Test Stakes (GI) in her past two outings by a combined 25 ¾ lengths. Should her brilliance carry her to victory in the Oaks, she would also put Baffert in position to become the first trainer to notch the Oaks-Derby double since Ben Jones achieved the feat in 1952. Baffert has two entrants in the Kentucky Derby with Grade 1 winner Authentic and multiple graded stakes winner Thousand Words.

“Right now, I'm just trying to get them there,” Baffert said. “I took baby steps with (Gamine). Now that she's done what she's done, her resume looks great. She just needs to add the Oaks and that would be the cherry on top.”

Petersen purchased Gamine for $1.8 million out of the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds Training Sale and a win Friday would make her the highest-priced Oaks winner sold at public auction since Rags to Riches — a $1.9 million yearling purchase — was victorious in 2007.

“She's just a real elegant looking filly, a lot of leg on her,” Baffert said. “She looked like a queen (at the sale). We call her Queen Gamine. You don't know how they're going to pan out but once we started working with her, she showed right off the bat that she was going to be something special. But I had trouble getting her (entered in a race) because everybody knew about her at Santa Anita. It took me a month to get her in. Every time I entered her, they knew she was in there.”

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Fire At Will Resolute In Winning Off-The-Turf With Anticipation

Three Diamonds Farm's Fire At Will made his main track debut a winning one, staying off the pace as Blame the Booze set the early speed before gaining the lead in the stretch and holding off the even-money favorite's re-rally bid in deep stretch for a half-length win in the $100,000 With Anticipation for juveniles moved off the turf on Wednesday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

(The With Anticipation was originally carded as a Grade 3 race but with the change in surface is automatically downgraded to a listed stakes. Its status will be reevaluated by the American Graded Stakes Committee.)

After running sixth in his debut on August 20 over firm Saratoga turf, Fire At Will made his second appearance at the Spa, taking a step up in class in the 16th running of the With Anticipation that was originally carded for 1 1/16 miles on the Mellon turf. With heavy rainfall forcing the race off the grass and into a seven-furlong dirt sprint, Fire At Will was content to track in the back of the pack in fourth under Irad Ortiz, Jr. as debut winner Blame the Booze led the field through the opening quarter-mile in 22.60 seconds and the half in 45.61 on the sloppy and sealed track.

Approaching the top of the stretch, Ortiz, Jr. urged Fire At Will up and soon gained the advantage along the rail, overtaking Blame the Booze and repelled a stretch-length challenge, completing the course in 1:23.14.

“Speed is doing well so far, but I don't like to rush the horses too much, so I just broke out of there with good intentions,” said Ortiz, Jr. who won four races on the card and is the meet leader with 51 victories with five days remaining. “He didn't have the speed to stay close with them, so I just let him be him, let him settle and tried to save some ground. When I asked him, he responded really well from the half-mile all the way to the wire.

“I was saving all the ground I could and stayed on the rail,” he added. “I was thinking about getting outside but I saw the horse [Blame the Booze, No. 1] get out a bit, so I just stayed on the rail and went for it.”

Trained by Mike Maker, Fire At Will's ability to stay off the pace made the difference.

“It wasn't necessarily by design. We left it up to Irad, he's a smart rider,” said Maker assistant Nolan Ramsey. “As soon as he took back off the pace, I was really happy and he made a good run.”

Ramsey said they talked to Three Diamonds Farm's Kirk Wycoff about staying in the race when it was moved off the grass and made a winning decision.

“With a short field, it made sense,” Ramsey said. “The horse really seemed to get a lot out of his first start and he's been pretty sharp since. He worked a really nice half for us last time [bullet breeze in 47.16 on Aug. 29] and we talked to Mr. Wycoff and Mike and made the decision to stay in and we're clearly happy we did.”

Bred in Kentucky by Troy Rankin, Fire At Will was purchased for $97,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The Declaration of War colt went off at 3-1 and returned $8.20 on a $2 win wager.

Three Diamonds Farm registered its eighth win of the summer meet, tying Repole Stable for second-place in trailing only Klaravich Stables with 12.

Blame the Booze, a first-out winner for trainer Wesley Ward by 2 1/2 lengths on July 10 at Belmont Park in a race also moved off the turf, was five lengths clear of Zippy Baby for second. Winfromwithin completed the order of finish.

“He broke pretty nice and was right there,” said Blame the Booze jockey Luis Saez. “He was handling the track good and tried hard. He got a little tired at the end. When I made him switch leads, he came back on a little but the other horse was already gone.”

American Monarch, the morning-line favorite, and Nathan Detroit both scratched.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Saratoga with a 10-race card highlighted by the the $100,000 P.G. Johnson for 2-year-old fillies on turf in Race 3 at 2:17 p.m. Eastern and the New York Stallion Stakes Series Park Avenue for state-bred 3-year-old fillies in Race 6 at 4:01 p.m. First post is 1:10 p.m.

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‘Never Be Another One Like Him’: Pink Lloyd Could Surpass $2 Million Mark In Vigil Stakes

Multiple graded stakes winner and 2017 Canadian Horse of the Year, eight-year-old Pink Lloyd, faces eight rivals in the $125,000 Vigil Stakes (Grade 3), Saturday at Woodbine.

Sovereign Award winner and 22-time stakes champion Pink Lloyd chases another stakes crown in a race he has owned the past three years. Trained by Robert Tiller for Entourage Stable, the eight-year-old gelded son of Old Forester goes after his fourth consecutive Vigil score.

The chestnut, bred by John Carey, has rhymed off a perfect three straight victories this season, his latest tour de force coming in the Bold Venture (G3) on August 15.

Pink Lloyd launched his current campaign with a triumph in the Jacques Cartier (G3) on June 25. That was followed by a win in the Shepperton Stakes on July 23.

Riding a nine-race win streak, the Ontario-bred could go double platinum in earnings with a first or second-place finish in the Vigil.

Tiller, who would love to see Pink Lloyd reach the $2 million (CDN) mark in career purse earnings this Saturday, is keeping his focus strictly on the race itself.

“I try not to think about things like that,” said the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee. “I've reached the point where if I start thinking about winning another race with him, or any other accomplishment… we just try to keep carrying on and what will be will be. Thank God I have enough horses in the barn to keep my mind occupied. Winning another race with Pink Lloyd… we just try to our best with him. If we win, I'm thrilled, obviously. But I try to stay as grounded and focused as possible.”

Admittedly, it's not always an easy task.

But watching the multiple stakes champion make his way to the winner's circle is a scene that never gets old for Tiller.

“They'll never be another one like him, and they'll never be another one close to him. I'm always trying to come up with a new phrase or new way to talk about him. It's hard, but I'll think of something soon. He's just a phenomenal animal and athlete. He's amazingly perfect. The more he wins, the more you realize that.”

As does everyone who works with Tiller.

“The groom, the exercise rider, the hotwalkers – everybody loves him. No question. We're all very much in love with him.”

Win or lose this weekend, Pink Lloyd isn't ready to hang up his horseshoes for now.

“The party, it's still on,” said Tiller.

Trainer Mark Casse sends out the trio of Blind Ambition, Not So Quiet, and Olympic Runner. A four-year-old son of Gio Ponti, Olympic Runner finished second, just a neck back of Pink Lloyd in the Bold Venture.

Multiple stakes placed Silent Jimmie, bred, owned, and trained by Paul Buttigieg, was second to Pink Lloyd in the Shepperton.

Trainer Barb Minshall won three straight editions of the Vigil, two with Kiridashi (1996-97) and the other with Sea Wall (1995).

Post times for the Thoroughbred racing programs on Friday, Sept. 4, and Saturday, Sept. 5 at Woodbine Racetrack have been shifted earlier to 12:50 p.m. ET. Sunday's first race post time will remain unchanged (1 p.m. ET).

The Vigil is slated as race nine on Saturday's 11-race card. First post time is 12:50 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIBet.com.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 VIGIL STAKES
POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER
1 – Silent Jimmie – Daisuke Fukumoto – Paul Buttigieg

2 – City Boy – Davy Moran – Mike Keogh

3 – Not So Quiet – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

4 – Malibu Secret – Sahin Cavici – Martin Drexler

5 – Eskiminzin – Darryll Holland – Carlos Grant

6 – Olympic Runner – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

7 – Pink Lloyd – Rafael Hernandez – Robert Tiller

8 – Blind Ambition – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

9 – Roaring Forties – Justin Stein – Daniel Vella

 

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