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Multiple Stakes-Winning Filly Hello Beautiful May ‘Take A Shot’ In Saratoga’s Test

All but one of eight career starts have come over her home track of Laurel Park, including a pair of juvenile stakes victories, but standout 3-year-old filly Hello Beautiful may hit the road for her next, and biggest, race yet.

Trainer Brittany Russell said Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stable and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful is under consideration for the seven-furlong Test (G1) Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course.

It would be the first time in graded company for Hello Beautiful, the highest-earning offspring of second-crop sire and multiple graded-stakes winner Golden Lad bred in Maryland by Ellen Charles' Hillwood Stable.

“It looks like we're going to take a look at the Test. It's going to depend on who comes. There's been some good fillies running the last few weeks and it's just going to kind of depend on where they go,” Russell said. “She's going to have the big test up there if we go. We'll nominate and take a look and if she's doing well we might take a shot up there.”

Hello Beautiful owns four wins, two seconds and a third for purse earnings of $199,360, having raced exclusively in Maryland since her unveiling last May at Pimlico Race Course. She captured the Maryland Million Lassie and Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship last fall at Laurel by a combined 15 ½ lengths.

The combination of a planned break and a 2 ½-month pause in live racing from mid-March to late May amid the coronavirus pandemic pushed Hello Beautiful's sophomore debut to a June 1 sprint over Laurel's world-class turf course, where she faded to seventh, her only time off the board. She rebounded with a front-running 8 ¼-length allowance romp 19 days later on a sloppy and sealed main track.

“She's certainly answered each question on the dirt for us, and that's what we have to stick with. She's a good dirt filly, and if she's going to be that kind she's going to have to run against good horses,” Russell said. “So there's no time like the present, as long as she's doing well.”

Hello Beautiful has had one timed work since her most recent race, a half-mile breeze in 49.40 seconds July 8. Russell plans to give Hello Beautiful another work this weekend over Laurel's main track, which was closed for training July 12-14 to undergo routine maintenance.

“We're moving forward, just kind of doing the same thing I did with her going into the Maryland Juvenile [Filly] Championship. She works about every 10 days,” Russell said. “We'll just try and keep it simple, but she's doing really well and that's all we can really ask.”

“[The Test is] not for a couple weeks, and a lot can happen in a couple weeks,” she added. “We just have to focus on keeping her happy so at least we can take a fresh, happy filly up there and see what we can do.”

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2020 Coaching Club American Oaks at a Glance

With so many stakes for 3-year-olds bunched together in a small time period, it was inevitable that at least one of them would come up with the short end of the stick in terms of graded stakes talent. From the looks of it, Saturday’s $350,000, Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga is the one.

6-Year-Old Exultant Named Hong Kong Horse Of The Year

Exultant's outstanding exploits during the 2019/20 season earned the multiple Group 1 victor the Hong Kong Horse of the Year award at a special presentation function held at Sha Tin Racecourse on Thursday, July 16.

The Tony Cruz-trained 6-year-old was also named Champion Middle-Distance Horse and Champion Stayer for the second consecutive year.

Exultant is the first horse since River Verdon in 1991/92 to win the Horse of the Year title in the same season as capturing both the G1 FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup. Only two other Hong Kong champions, Top Grade and Quicken Away, have achieved the same feat.

The five-time G1 winner showed uncommon class and resolution during the campaign, in which he finished in the frame in all of his seven starts. In addition to his two G1 wins, the Teofilo gelding also took the G2 Jockey Club Cup and the G3 Centenary Vase Handicap, and was placed in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and the G3 Sa Sa Ladies' Purse Handicap.

Golden Sixty was the deserving winner of the newly-introduced Four-Year-Old Champion award. The Francis Lui-trained galloper became only the second horse after Rapper Dragon to win all three legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, including the BMW Hong Kong Derby.

The Medaglia d'Oro gelding went through the season unbeaten with seven wins, and also tasted his first Group success in the G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap. Lui's stable star matched brilliance with versatility, with his wins ranging from 1200m to 2000m.

Golden Sixty also secured the bulk of the public vote to claim the Most Popular Horse title.

Two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Beauty Generation lost his outright crown but was named Champion Miler for a remarkable third season in a row. The Road To Rock seven-year-old remained a significant force at the highest level, and completed a hat-trick of wins in the G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup. John Moore's stable standout also won the G3 Celebration Cup for the third time in succession; and earned three G1 placings with his seconds in the Stewards' Cup and the FWD Champions Mile, and third in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.

Beat The Clock was named the season's Champion Sprinter for the second year. The John Size-trained six-year-old was a dual G1 victor this term, claiming the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint and the Centenary Sprint Cup, a race he also won in the 2018/19 season. The Hinchinbrook gelding continued to be a model of consistency with two wins, one third and one fifth from just four starts this term.

Good Luck Friend was named the season's Champion Griffin after securing four wins from six starts. The Ricky Yiu-trained three-year-old achieved his career highlight to date in a Class 3 1200m at Sha Tin, defeating seasoned gallopers to achieve a rating of 85.

The Jimmy Ting-trained Amazing Star was named the season's Most Improved Horse. He started the campaign on a rating of 58 and rocketed 42 points to a mark of 100 after four wins in just six starts.

Ricky Yiu was honored with the Champion Trainer title. The battle for the championship was settled at the season finale and Yiu was most deserving of his first title, having led for most of the season and repelled all challengers with a final total of 67 wins.

Zac Purton was crowned Champion Jockey for a fourth time. The Australian rider had a fantastic season of achievements, including becoming the only rider in history to have won every Group 1 race on the Hong Kong calendar thanks to Exultant's score in the FWD QEII Cup.

Vincent Ho won the Tony Cruz Award as the season's leading homegrown rider and also won the public vote to earn the Most Popular Jockey of the Year accolade.

Retiring trainer John Moore was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his great contribution to Hong Kong racing over almost 50 years.

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Summer Assault Wins Mystic Lake Derby At Canterbury Park

Jockey Jareth Loveberry had a very good night at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn. He won the $100,000 Mystic Lake Derby on the Summer Front gelding, Summer Assault, for trainer Michele Boyce and owners Kevin Marko, Last Call Racing Partnership, Union Park Thoroughbreds and Cherrywood Racing Stables II. He also won the $50,000 Honor the Hero Stakes, going gate to wire in 54.77 seconds aboard favorite Wellabled while setting the five furlong turf record.

Summer Assault beat favorite Angelus Warrior by one length, riding the rail to the finish line, covering one mile on the firm turf in 1:34.15, the fastest time in nine renditions of the race. “He sat nice and relaxed off the pace,” Loveberry said. “He was a little hesitant when we [turned] for home. But he took off and finished strong. He finished good.” Summer Assault paid $6.40 to win.

Wellabled, who paid $3.20 to win, is trained by Larry Rivelli for owner Carolyn Wilson. Chief Cicatriz finished second by one-half length while making his first turf start for trainer Shawn Davis.

Tut's Revenge and rider Roimes Chirinos tracked pacesetter Primo Touch before taking the lead in upper stretch and holding off challenges from favorite Temple and second-place finisher Giant Payday to win the $75,000 Mystic Lake Mile by a head in 1:33.17, a course record time for one mile on the turf. Tut's Revenge is trained by Clinton Stuart for Claim To Fame Stable. He paid $12.80 to win.

Streak of Luck wired the $75,000 Lady Canterbury field, ridden by Leandro Goncalves. The 5-year-old gray mare paid $14.80 to win. She is owned by Carrie Brogden, James Keogh and Roncelli Family Trust and is trained by Kelly Ackerman.

“She broke sharp. I couldn't believe I was going so easy and nobody came up to me,” Goncalves said. “I was thinking like, wow, they're going to be in trouble. When I called on her she took off. She was just much the best today.”

Ask Bailey won the one mile on the turf $50,000 Northbound Pride Oaks, charging from last to first and drawing away to win by 4 1/4 lengths under Francisco Arrieta for trainer Michael Maker. The betting favorite returned $4.60. Arrieta secured the mount when jockey Florent Geroux, sixth nationally in purse earnings, received a positive test for COVID-19 and was unable to travel to Shakopee.

Handle for the nine race program was $2,162,165, the largest total through 19 days of the race meet.

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