Tag: Racing

Desert Dawn, who has won or placed in nine graded stakes in her 17-race career, will have six opponents in her return to Los Alamitos in the $100,000-guaranteed Bayakoa Stakes Friday.

A Grade 3 for fillies and mares (3-year-olds & up) at 1 1/16 miles, the Bayakoa will be run for the sixth time at Los Alamitos.

Post time Friday is 12:30 p.m. The Bayakoa is the last of eight races and has a scheduled post time of 3:58 p.m.

Trained by Phil D'Amato for breeders H and E Ranch Inc., Desert Dawn, a 4-year-old Cupid filly out of the Honour and Glory mare Ashley's Glory, will be getting some class relief in the Bayakoa.

An earner of $876,525, Desert Dawn was most recently fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 4, defeated by 1 ¼ lengths by winner Idiomatic.

The Arizona bred, who was fourth in the Grade I Starlet in 2021 in her only previous appearance at Los Alamitos, earned the biggest of her two wins in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks April 9, 2022, scoring a 14-1 upset when defeating multiple graded stakes winner Adare Manor by a neck.

D'Amato will also be represented by Turnerloose, who will switch to dirt after five consecutive starts on grass, the latest when fifth in the Kathryn Crosby last month at Del Mar.

Owned by a partnership that includes Abbondanza Racing LLC, Medallion Racing and Ike and Dawn Thrash, the 4-year-old Nyquist filly out of the A.P. Indy mare Goaltending has won three of 15 and banked $677,392. Her dirt victory came in the Grade II Rachel Alexandra Feb. 18, 2022 at the Fair Grounds when trained by Brad Cox.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the Bayakoa twice at Los Alamitos – Tiz Midnight in 2014 and As Time Goes By in 2021 – entered Ganadora and Midnight Memories.

Owned by Baoma Corp, Ganadora, a 4-year-old Quality Road filly out of the Ghostzapper mare Beloveda, is already a stakes winner at Los Alamitos. She won the ungraded Dark Mirage by eight lengths last year as the 4-5 favorite.

Ganadora is winless in seven subsequent races and returns to dirt after finishing sixth of nine in the Kathryn Crosby. She's won three of 11 and earned $220,600.

A daughter of Tiz Midnight and Mastery, the 4-year-old hasn't been out finishing third in the Grade I Beholder Mile March 11 at Santa Anita. She's won four of seven and earned $364,880 for owner-breeders Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman.

Like Ganadora, Violent Runner also owns a victory at Los Alamitos.

Owned by Les Blake and trained by Steve Knapp, the 5-year-old Violence mare won an optional claimer at 5 ½ furlongs during the 2022 September meet when trained by John Sadler.

Out of the City Zip mare Top Performance, Violent Runner is 6-for-12 with a bankroll of $209,920. The Bayakoa will mark her first outing beyond seven furlongs.

Knapp also entered Smoothlikebuttah, who is owned by Robert Bach and William Tessar. The 5-year-old daughter of Mr. Big out of the Five Star Day mare Eight Daughters have won three of 46 and banked $457,436. She has two wins and a third in four races at Los Alamitos.

In terms of local wins, Trouville is the most accomplished member of the Bayakoa field. The veteran mare has won twice here in 10 attempts and has hit the board on seven other occasions.

A 6-year-old Will Take Charge mare owned by Mark Banuelos and Mathilde Powell and trained by Leonard Powell, Trouville is 4-for-38. Out of the Bernardini mare Night Drive, she's earned $297,737.

From inside out, the field for the Bayakoa Stakes:

1. Midnight Memories, Juan Hernandez rides, 121 pounds;
2. Violent Runner, Mario Gutierrez, 119;
3. Ganadora, Kyle Frey, 119;
4. Smoothlikebuttah, Tiago Pereira, 119;
5. Turnerloose, Edwin Maldonado, 121;
6. Trouville, Diego Herrera, 119 and
7. Desert Dawn, Hector Berrios, 121.

The post Los Alamitos: Desert Dawn Gets Class Relief In Friday’s Bayakoa appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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After the fillies' race last week, it is the turn of the 2-year-old colts on Sunday, Dec. 17, when the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes will be run over the same course and distance at Japan's Hanshin Racecourse once again.

Despite the final Grade 1 for 2-year-olds, the Hopeful Stakes, coming up on Dec. 28, there are 19 nominations for this year's Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, with a maximum number of 18 runners to get a start. No geldings are permitted, and all colts carry a set weight of 56kg, with a 1kg allowance for fillies, of which there are two among the nominations. Dream Journey (2006), Admire Mars (2018) and Do Deuce (2021) are some winners of the race who carved out big careers later on.

Some races leading up to this Sunday's Grade 1 have been the Grade 3 Niigata Nisai Stakes, run over a mile in August, the Grade 3 Kokura Nisai Stakes, run over 1,200 meters in September, and the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes, run over a mile at Kyoto in November. The last 10 years have seen just three first favorites win, and six of the past 10 winners have been trained at the Ritto Training Center in the west of Japan. Record time for the race is held by Grenadier Guards, and he won in a time of 1 minute, 32.3 seconds in 2020. This year's winner's check is JPY 70 million (about USD 500,000).

The 75th running of the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Hanshin, with a local post time of 15:40. Final declarations and the barrier draw will be available later this week.

Here's a look at some of the runners expected to take on the race:

Danon McKinley: The colt by Maurice has won both of his starts in good style, the latest being at Kyoto in November over 1,400 meters. He won at Hanshin over the same distance on his debut, but now he has to see out an extra 200 meters, as well as handle the outer turf course at the track. He looks to be a good horse in the making, and Christophe Lemaire is expected to pick up the ride this time.

When he rode Danon McKinley recently in work, the leading rider thought the horse was a “little tense, but that he has a nice strong back.”

Lemaire is looking for his 50th JRA Grade 1 victory in a race that he has yet to win.

Strauss: Another son of Maurice, the form of Strauss is looking good, with two wins from his three starts, which have included a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over a mile at Tokyo in October, a race that usually ranks highly in a 2-year-old's progressive career. His latest win came in the Grade 2 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes over 1,800 meters in November, and in each of his races, he has been ridden by different foreign jockeys. This time Tom Marquand is set to ride the Ryo Takei-trained Strauss, and he will be looking forward to another Grade 1 ride in Japan, after the unfortunate withdrawal of Bond Girl from last week's big race.

Jantar Mantar: The booking of Yuga Kawada for the ride on the colt by Palace Malice says a lot about the horse that has yet to taste defeat. His latest win came in the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes at Kyoto, and trainer Tomokazu Takano has been keeping a watchful eye on the horse in training.

“We're concentrating on the horse's rhythm in track work, but he's doing well with this,” Takano said. “He'll be up against different horses in this next Grade 1, and it'll be interesting to see how he can do.” Jantar Mantar was bred at Shadai Farm and runs in the colors of the Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd.

Ecoro Walz: Another unbeaten colt, Ecoro Walz has shown that he possesses plenty of talent, having won both of his races over 1,800 meters back in the summer, the latest being the open class Cosmos Sho at Sapporo.

Trainer Mitsunori Makiura commented: “He's probably gained 10kg since his last race, but this is him developing. He's been moving well in training, and I'm not worried about him taking on a mile race for the first time.”

Ecoro Walz is by Black Tide, and Yutaka Take will be returning from a spell on the sidelines, due to injury, and is expected to take the ride.

Set Up: The colt by Declaration of War has confirmed himself as a true frontrunner, taking the lead from the start in all three of his races, and dominating the opposition away last time, when he won the Grade 3 Sapporo Nisai Stakes over 1,800 meters in September. Jockey Takeshi Yokoyama has struck up a good partnership with him.

“He seems to be getting stronger,” Yokoyama said after recent trackwork. “I've been working him the way I'd like to see him run, with a good rhythm in a race over a mile.”

The jockey is looking for his seventh JRA Grade 1 win, and his second this year, after winning the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) on Sol Oriens.

Enya Love Faith: Winning on his debut at Chukyo in July, the colt by A Shin Hikari has had two runs since and placed second behind Jantar Mantar last out in the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes.

Trainer Naoyuki Morita said: “We've had cheekpieces on him in training, and we'll see what effect this has as this next race approaches.”

Jockey Hideaki Miyuki is scheduled to ride Enya Love Faith, in a bid to win his ninth JRA Grade 1, and his first since Akai Ito in the 2021 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

A couple of other colts with two consecutive wins going into Sunday's race are Awesome Stroke and Satomino Kirari. Awesome Stroke has already won twice over a mile, at Nakayama and Tokyo, while Satomino Kirari will be stepped up to a mile this time, after wins over 1,200 and 1,400 meters.

The post Japan: Unbeaten Palace Malice Colt Among Leading Contenders For Sunday’s G1 Futurity appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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