Tag: Racing

Improving Border Town May Have Edge Over Turf Veterans In Santa Anita’s American Stakes

In a field replete with classy veterans returning off extended vacations, Richard Mandella's fast-improving Border Town seeks his third consecutive win at the current Winter Spring Meeting in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 American Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.  To be run at a flat mile on turf, the American has attracted a deep and competitive field of 10 three year olds and up.

Trainer Mark Glatt will be well represented by multiple graded stakes winner Sharp Samurai, who has been idle since Aug. 18, and Phil D'Amato will send out a pair of classy comebackers, multiple Grade 1 winner Bowies Hero, idle since Nov. 2, and graded stakes winning Cleopatra's Strike, who's been idle 4 ½ months.

It is noteworthy that Flavien Prat, Santa Anita's runaway leading rider who enters closing week with 83 wins, has opted to ride upstart Border Town over Bowies Hero and perhaps several others in the American lineup.

BORDER TOWN
Owner:  Perry R. Bass, II & Ramona Bass
Trainer:  Richard Mandella
Winless in a pair of one mile turf maiden races with eastern-based Chad Brown in July and September of last year, this 4-year-old colt by War Front has run four solid races for Mandella and Prat, dating back to a head defeat in a one mile maiden race on Jan. 5.  Subsequently third under the same conditions Jan. 30, Border Town broke out with a big 3 ½ length maiden win going 1 1/8 miles on turf Feb. 28.  In his most recent start on May 24, he accelerated late to take a one mile turf allowance by one length, winning in-hand in a performance that has thrust him to center stage on Sunday.

SHARP SAMURAI
Owner: Red Baron's Barn, LLC & Rancho Temescal
Trainer:  Mark Glatt
One of the top turf horses on this circuit dating back to 2017, this 6-year-old First Samurai gelding has been idle since a close second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Handicap on Aug. 18.  A three-time graded stakes winner on grass, Sharp Samurai is five for eight over the Santa Anita turf course and is 7-2-2-1 at one mile on turf.  To be ridden for the first time by Abel Cedillo, who ranks a close third behind Mike Smith and Prat with 10 stakes wins at the current stand, Sharp Samurai has a solid work tab to his credit and rates a huge chance off the bench.

BOWIES HERO
Owner:  Agave Racing Stable, ERJ Racing, LLC, Madaket Stables, LLC & Rockin Robin Stables
Trainer:  Phil D'Amato
Idle since fifth at 16-1 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile here on Nov. 2, this 6-year-old full horse by Artie Schiller rallied to win the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile two starts back at Keeneland on Oct. 5.  A winner of Santa Anita's Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile in March, 2018, classy Bowies Hero is 10-3-1-2 over the Santa Anita lawn and is 16-7-1-1 lifetime at one mile on grass.  The leading money earner in the field with $1,538,970, his overall mark stands at 22-8-1-3.  With Prat committed to Border Town, Umberto Rispoli will try his hand for the first time on Sunday.

CLEOPATRA'S STRIKE
Owner:  Slam Dunk Racing & Michael Nentwig
Trainer:  Phil D'Amato
Idle since a close second in the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes at a mile and one quarter on turf Feb. 1, this 7-year-old Smart Strike gelding was also a close second two starts back, in the Grade 2 San Gabriel at a mile and one eighth on turf Jan. 4.  A winner of the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Stakes here four starts back at a mile and a quarter on Sept. 28, he's been ridden in three out of his last four race by Abel Cedillo, but will get the first-time services of Mike Smith on Sunday.  Originally based at Woodbine, he's flourished in D'Amato's care, posting a win, four seconds and a fourth place finish from six starts dating back to a nose defeat in the January, 2019 San Gabriel.

G3 AMERICAN STAKES
WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 10 of 12 Approximate post time 5 p.m. PT

  1. True Valour—Jose Valdivia, Jr.—124
  2. Jasikan—Ruben Fuentes–124
  3. Cleopatra's Strike—Mike Smith—124
  4. Blitzkrieg—Victor Espinoza—122
  5. Sharp Samurai—Abel Cedillo—122
  6. Souter—Evin Roman–122
  7. Border Town—Flavien Prat—122
  8. Bowies Hero—Umberto Rispoli—124
  9. King of Speed—Geovanni Franco—122
  10. Bolo—Drayden Van Dyke–122

First post time on closing day, Sunday is at 12:30 p.m.  For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Woodbine’s Whimsical Has Summer Sunday Taking On Jean Elizabeth, 8 Others

Sovereign Award-winning Summer Sunday, owned by Anne and William Scott, makes her five-year-old debut in Sunday's Grade 3 $125,000 Whimsical Stakes, at Woodbine near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

A seven-time winner from 11 starts, Summer Sunday takes on nine rivals, including graded stakes champion Jean Elizabeth, in the six-furlong Whimsical, a main track event for fillies & mares, four-year-olds and upward.

Trained by Stuart Simon, Summer Sunday won three of six 2019 starts, including the Royal North Stakes (Grade 2, turf), en route to Sovereign honours as Canada's champion female sprinter. 

Bred in Ontario by Trinity West Stables, the daughter of Silent Name out of the Millennium Allstar mare Dancing Allstar arrives at the Whimsical off a series of Tapeta and dirt training works, all at Woodbine.

The latest, at five furlongs, breezing over the dirt training track, timed in 1:03.40, came on June 13.

“She's doing very well,” said Simon. “We're looking forward to seeing her run this year. Obviously, it was a big thrill for us to see her win the Sovereign. She had a really good year.” 

Summer Sunday debuted in July 2017, winning a 5-1/2-furlong Tapeta race by five lengths. She followed it up with victories in the Nandi Stakes and Muskoka Stakes, ending her season a perfect three-for-three.

“We knew we had a good one on our hands before the first race,” said Simon. “That first win, she did it so easily. And after that, you realized that she could be a really nice horse. She just became more and more confident.”

After a disappointing ninth-place finish in the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland on April 8, 2018 to launch her three-year-old campaign, Summer Sunday proceeded to win four of her next five starts, from April 29, 2018 to July 21, 2019. 

Summer Sunday closed out last season with a second in the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes and a fourth in the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion.

“She's always been a very professional horse,” praised Simon. “Whatever the surface, distance or running style, she does everything you ask of her. You love having a horse like that in your barn.”

Jean Elizabeth, who owns a 14-4-2 mark from 20 starts, is no stranger to success at Woodbine.

The five-year-old daughter of Adios Charlie, trained by Larry Rivelli, who co-owns with Richard Ravin and Vince Foglia's Patricia's Hope LLC, took back-to-back stakes at the Toronto oval in 2019.

Bred in Illinois by Rivelli and Ravin, Jean Elizabeth won the Sweet Briar Too in September and followed it up with a three-quarters-of-a-length victory in the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion on October 19. The Sweet Briar Too triumph marked the start of a current seven-race (all stakes) win streak.

Her latest triumph came in the Lightning City Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Under Albin Jimenez, Jean Elizabeth set a stakes record of :55.09 seconds, :0.28 seconds better than Miz Mayhem's winning time in the previous running of the Lightning City.

“She's doing really good,” said Rivelli. “I've got her here with me at Keeneland. I gave her a little time off after her last race. I had her training and I stopped. I turned her back out and brought her back. I figured this would be a good spot to get her back up and rolling. My goal is to run her in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, if she continues on with her winning ways, and run her in all those stakes at Woodbine on the synthetic. She loves it up there. I think her preference, if I had to prioritize it, would be synthetic, turf, and dirt, last. She loves the Tapeta at Woodbine.”  

Jean Elizabeth, who was third in the 2018 edition of the Ruling Angel Stakes at the Toronto oval, continues to impress Rivelli.

“I just think she is getting better. She just always seems to have the will to win. I think she's really talented, but I think she has a lot of heart to go along with it.”

The gray mare also has a big presence around the Rivelli barn.

“She's a sweetheart. In the stall, if you come bearing peppermints, she's the greatest. All you have to do is crinkle the paper on the candy, and she'll come over to you and lick your hand. But if you're a stranger, and you walk up to her stall and say, 'Hey, mama,' she'll lay her ears back and let you know that you better proceed with caution. If she doesn't know you and you come up to her stall when she's chilling, she'll lay her ears back for about 10 seconds, trying to figure out who it is.” 

First race post time on Sunday is set for 1 p.m. ET, with the Whimsical scheduled as the afternoon's seventh race. Woodbine continues to host racing without spectators. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

$125,000 Whimsical Stakes
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Jean Elizabeth – Davy Moran – Larry Rivelli
2 – Ode to Joy – Jerome Lermyte – Arnaud Delacour
3 – Summer Sunday – Rafael Hernandez – Stuart Simon
4 – Western Curl – Gary Boulanger – Mark Casse
5 – Charmaine's Mia – Steven Bahen – Michael McDonald
6 – Gamble's Candy – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
7 – Ellyb – Patrick Husbands – Arnaud Delacour
8 – Painting – Kazushi Kimura – Josie Carroll
9 – Alnilah – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Terry Jordan
10 – Foxy Belle – Justin Stein – Norm McKnight

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‘Arguably The Best Horse In The World’: Midnight Bisou Ready For Next Saturday’s Fleur De Lis

Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's 2019 Eclipse Award-winner Midnight Bisou completed her most serious preparation for next Saturday's $200,000 Fleur de Lis presented by Coca-Cola (Grade II) with a swift six-furlong move in 1:12 Monday morning at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Midnight Bisou has been well-traveled throughout her career with five Grade I victories and runner-up efforts in last year's $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (GI) and February's $20 million Saudi Cup.

“Her training before we went to Saudi was just mindboggling,” Asmussen said. “It's just like it is now. We still wonder how she's able to do it so easily and so consistently. Her works at Churchill have been beautiful. I was very tempted to run her in the (June 13) Ogden Phipps (GI) and leaving She's a Julie for the Fleur de Lis. I feel like with what she's done – traveling to Saudi, taking on older boys and everyone knows the trip she got and knows the circumstances… how do you have an adjective what she is and what she means to racing? Coming back, the next race isn't the goal for this year. The Breeders' Cup is. She is arguably the best horse in the world.”

Midnight Bisou's 20-race career has been nothing short of spectacular. The now 5-year-old mare began her career on the 2018 Road to the Kentucky Oaks with victories in the $200,000 Santa Ynez (GII), $100,000 Santa Ysabel (GIII) and $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks (GI) with previous trainer Bill Spawr. Midnight Bisou finished third behind Monomoy Girl in the 2018 Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI).

Under the care of Asmussen, Bisou reeled off victories in the $250,000 Mother Goose (GII), $1 million Cotillion (GI), $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic (GIII), $350,000 Azeri (GII), $750,000 Apple Blossom (GI), $700,000 Ogden Phipps (GI), $150,000 Molly Pitcher (GIII), $700,000 Personal Ensign (GI) and $300,000 Beldame (GII).

Midnight Bisou is slated to take on 2019 Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Serengeti Empress in the Fleur de Lis, which is part of a quartet of stakes next Saturday at Churchill Downs along with the $400,000 Stephen Foster presented by Coca-Cola (GII), $100,000 Regret presented by TwinSpires.com (GIII) and $100,000 Bashford Manor presented by TwinSpires.com (GIII).

The Fleur de Lis is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In Distaff Division” race while the Stephen Foster is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In Classic Division” event. This year's Breeders' Cup is scheduled for Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland.

Nominations for all four races are available online at www.churchilldowns.com/horsemen/stakes/nominations.

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