Racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Queen’s Plate Winner Mighty Heart Will Take On Eight Rivals In Tuesday’s Prince Of Wales

Queen's Plate winner Mighty Heart will continue his pursuit of the prestigious OLG Canadian Triple Crown when he takes on eight contenders at Fort Erie Race Track in the 85th Prince of Wales Stakes, on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

After a dominating 7 ½-length triumph in the Queen's Plate, Mighty Heart, bred and owned by Lawrence Cordes, and trained by Canadian Hall of Fame inductee Josie Carroll, will look to continue his winning ways in the $400,000 Prince of Wales, second jewel in the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. On Friday, he was installed as the 7-5 morning line favorite.

Daisuke Fukumoto, who rode the one-eyed Ontario-bred to his stirring Plate score, is back in the irons for Tuesday's engagement for Canadian-bred three-year-olds, set for 1 3/16 miles on the Fort Erie dirt surface. Carroll, who won the 2006 Plate with Edenwold and the 2011 edition with the filly Inglorious, won the 2016 running of the Prince of Wales with Amis Gizmo.

Mighty Heart, who will leave from post two, faces Plate rivals Clayton (third in the Plate), Dotted Line (seventh), Tecumseh's War (fourth), and Truebelieve (ninth), as well as Bold Victory, Enchant Me, Muskoka Giant, and Red Victory.

Some of the sport's top experts have delivered their picks (see below) that comprise the Prince of Wales Power Rankings presented by the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. The Power Rankings spotlight top contenders as voted on by expert horseplayers and racing commentators from Woodbine Racetrack and Fort Erie Race Track, including Jeff Bratt, Robert Geller, Ashley Mailloux, Doug McPherson, Jason Portuondo and Monique Vag. The rankings are based on votes following a 5-4-3-2-1 points system for the top five selections.

Should Mighty Heart, whose Plate time of 2:01.98 was the second fastest Plate run since 1957, emerge victorious in the Prince of Wales, it could set up a possible date in the starting gate for the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, third and final jewel in the Triple Crown Series, set for 1 ½ miles on the world renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course, October 24 at Woodbine.

The last horse to sweep all three races was Wando in 2003. Bred and owned by the late Gus Schickedanz, and trained by Mike Keogh, the son of Langfuhr garnered front-page coverage in the lead-up and aftermath of his Triple Crown quest.

First race post time on September 29 is 2:10 p.m., with the Prince of Wales scheduled for approximately 5:37 p.m. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Fort Erie Race Track will be closed to spectators. Fans can watch online or tune in to the Canadian Triple Crown broadcast, sponsored by OLG, beginning at 5:00 p.m. on TSN.

FIELD FOR THE PRINCE OF WALES

Post – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Morning Line Odds

1 – Truebelieve – Cole Bennett – Keveh Nicholls – 30-1

2 – Mighty Heart – Josie Carroll – Daisuke Fukumoto – 7-5

3 – Dotted Line – Sid Attard – Justin Stein – 8-1

4 – Red Mercury – Paul Lepiane – Simon Husbands – 30-1

5 – Enchant Me – Santino Di Paola – Luis Contreras – 20-1

6 – Bold Victory – Mark Casse – Patrick Husbands – 12-1

7 – Tecumseh's War – Catherine Day Phillips – Emma-Jayne Wilson – 4-1

8 – Muskoka Giant – Mark Casse – Kazushi Kimura – 12-1

9 – Clayton – Kevin Attard – Rafael Hernandez – 5-2

PRINCE OF WALES POWER RANKINGS PRESENTED BY THE OLG CANADIAN TRIPLE CROWN

Horse – Trainer – Points – First-Place Votes

1 Mighty Heart – Josie Carroll – 27 – 4

2 Clayton – Kevin Attard – 23 – 1

3 Tecumseh's War – Catherine Day Phillips – 18 – 1

4 Dotted Line – Sid Attard – 14 – 0

5 Muskoka Giant – Mark Casse – 4 – 0

The post Queen’s Plate Winner Mighty Heart Will Take On Eight Rivals In Tuesday’s Prince Of Wales appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Eight Friday Races See 76 Entrants Vying For Spots In The Claiming Crown

A total of 76 horses were entered for the eight Claiming Crown prep races on the Pimlico Special (G3) program Friday, Oct. 2 at Pimlico Race Course.

In addition to guaranteed berths in the Claiming Crown, the Pimlico prep race winners will receive travel subsidies to the event to be held at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Dec. 5.

The 22nd Claiming Crown, nine races offering $835,000 in purses, is being held at Gulfstream Park for the ninth-consecutive year. Featured on the first weekend of Gulfstream's 2020-2021 Championship Meet, the Claiming Crown shines the spotlight on the blue-collar horses that are the backbone of the Thoroughbred industry's day-to-day racing schedule.

Handle on the Claiming Crown has climbed each of the last eight years since being held at Gulfstream. The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA).

The $50,000 Claiming Crown Emerald Stakes Prep at 1 1/16th miles on turf drew a field of 13. That group includes Stonehedge LLC's 7-year-old veteran Abiding Star, a 13-time winner. The Florida-bred son on Uncle Mo trained by Ned Allard will be running at Pimlico since his 11th-place finish in the 2016 Preakness. In his most recent start, Abiding Star was third in the Red Bank Stakes (G3) on Sept. 5 at Monmouth Park.

The post Eight Friday Races See 76 Entrants Vying For Spots In The Claiming Crown appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Brown Stablemates Viadera And Blowout Could Face Off Again In Grade 1 Matriarch

Trainer Chad Brown reported that his one two-finishers of Saturday's Grade 3 Noble Damsel, Viadera and Blowout, both emerged from their efforts in good shape and will likely square off once more in the Grade 1, $300,000 Matriarch on November 29 at Del Mar.

Owned by Juddmonte Farms, Viadera notched her second stakes victory in her third start in the United States in the one mile test over the Widener turf, where she was placed at the rear of the field early on, saved ground to the inside and prevailed to get up at the right time by a neck under jockey Joel Rosario.

“He rode a really good race,” said Brown, who secured a fifth straight victory in the Noble Damsel. “He was able to save some ground and she was able to get up at the last jump.”

Rosario also piloted Brown-trained Off Limits (2017) and Uni (2018) to Noble Damsel triumphs, both of whom won the Matriarch at the end of their respective years.

Viadera, a 4-year-old bay daughter of Bated Breath, arrived at the Noble Damsel off a narrow victory in the De La Rose on July 17 at Saratoga, where she defeated stable mate Noor Sahara (fourth in the Noble Damsel) by a neck. A victory in the Matriarch would give Juddmonte Farms a record seventh triumph in the race after previously winning with champions Ryafan (1997), Heat Haze (2003), and Intercontinental (2004).

But it was Blowout who Brown said impressed him the most. Peter Brant's consistent daughter of Dansili out of Group 1 winner Beauty Parlour set torrid fractions on the front end, and the favorite still had enough left to hang on for second.

“Those were just insane fractions,” Brown said. “It showed the heart and the talent that she has to nearly still pull it off. It was remarkable to me. I was most impressed with her. Both horses ran terrific and so far, they look good. If they do well this next month, we'll point them both to the Matriarch.”

Never off the board and never beaten more than three-quarters of a length in 10 lifetime starts, Blowout is still in search of her first graded stakes win but scored triumphs in the Wild Applause last June and the Pebbles last September going one mile over the Widener turf.

“She's very consistent,” Brown said. “She's been very unlucky in a couple of her losses, but she's a developing horse with a lot of ability and super well-bred as well. I'll believe she'll have her day winning a graded stakes.”

Earlier on the card Brown saddled the Brant-owned American West to a debut victory going a one-turn mile over the Belmont main track, where she earned a 65 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The juvenile daughter of Curlin is out of stakes placed Jacaranda, who is a half-sister to leading second crop sire Constitution.

“She came out of the race well, we'll talk to Peter Brant about what we'll do with her and just see how she trains,” Brown said.

Bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stable, American West was purchased for $925,000 from the Mill Ridge Sales consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

The post Brown Stablemates Viadera And Blowout Could Face Off Again In Grade 1 Matriarch appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Popular At Claim Box, Cupid’s Claws Finds Marathon Distance To His Liking In Tokyo City Cup

Claimed out of his last three starts on turf, 5-year-old gelding Cupid's Claws tried dirt for the first time Sunday, waltzing to a 7 1/4-length win in the marathon Grade 3, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden by Flavien Prat, who collected his second stakes win on the day, he got a mile and one half in 2:30.12.

With the starting gate set at about the half mile pole, Cupid's Claws was unhurried in the initial run to the far turn and was fourth, about two lengths off of favored pacesetter Tizamagician as the field crossed under the wire for the first time. From there, Prat was able to save ground while in close attendance to the pace and shifted three-wide outside of Tizamagician and Combatant with a quarter mile to run.

Full of run at the top of the lane, Cupid's Claws gained the advantage a furlong out and darted clear late as much the best.

Claimed out of a third-place finish for $50,000 going a mile and one eighth on turf Sept. 5, Cupid's Claws was trying stakes company for the first time and paid $17.00, $6.20 and $3.00.

Owned by Flawless Racing, Masino Racing Stable, Brian Flanagan and Michael Jarvis, Cupid's Claws, a 5-year-old Kitten's Joy gelding, picked up $60,000 for the win, boosting his earnings to $172,296. A winner of two turf starts and one race on synthetic Tapeta, Cupid's Claws is now 18-4-2-3 overall.

Tizamagician, who was ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, was the narrow second choice at 2-1 and outfinished Combatant by 1 ¼ lengths and returned $3.40 and $2.60.

With $39,101 bet to win on Combatant, he was the actual favorite by just five dollars at 2-1 and paid $2.40 to show with Umberto Rispoli up.

Fractions on the race were 25.22, 49.72, 1:14.82, 1:39.75 and 2:04.52.

Source of original post