Tag: Racing

Repole Stable's  Noted, back on turf following a disappointing effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), found running room late and held off fast-closing longshot Reminder to win Saturday's $100,000 Pulpit by a neck at Gulfstream Park.

The 10th running of the 7½-furlong Pulpit for 2-year-olds anchored an 11-race program as co-headliner with the $100,000 Wait a While for 2-year-old fillies – the first two stakes on Gulfstream's new turf course.

Noted ($4.40), beaten a nose in the 1 1/16-mile Bourbon (G2) Oct. 8 at Keeneland in his last try on grass, gave jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. a sweep of Saturday's stakes following Ozara's victory in the Wait a While. It was the second straight Pulpit win for trainer Todd Pletcher and third overall after Ari Gold (2022) and Tapwrit (2016).

“He had to work out a trip. I was a little worried at the eighth pole. It still looked like he was looking for room but once he got a seam to run at, he quickened nicely,” Pletcher said. “The only thing we wanted to be mindful of is it was 7½ [furlongs] and we didn't want to leave him with too much to do.”

Prevent, breaking from the rail, was pressed on the lead by fellow longshot Tocayo through a quarter-mile in :22.90 and a half in :45.91. Ortiz settled Noted, who began outside all but two of his nine rivals, in seventh along the rail, and still found himself blocked behind horses after six furlongs went in 1:09.36.

“It felt like they were running,” Ortiz said. “I had to try to stay close. I had good position. At the three-eighths to the quarter pole, I waited a little longer. But when I came out of there and asked my horse to go, he responded very well. He was ready.”

Ortiz tipped outside once straightened for home and then had to swing around Palm Tree inside the eighth pole to find a seam, then closed stoutly down the center of the track as Reminder, racing for the first time on turf after a win and four thirds on Gulfstream's all-weather Tapeta course, made his bid on the far outside.

Noted completed the distance in 1:27.30 over the firm course and now has two wins and two seconds in five tries on the grass. Reminder was a head in front of Palm Tree in third, with another half-length back to General Ledger in fourth.

In his other two races Noted, by 2014 Holy Bull (G3) winner Cairo Prince, won the Aug. 26 Sapling at Monmouth Park over Dornoch, a full brother to Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage who won the Remsen (G2) last out, and was last of nine in the Juvenile behind Pletcher-trained stablemate Fierceness.

“I was a little concerned with the 7½ [today], but he seemed to come out of the Breeders' Cup well, he carries good condition and he's an easy horse to train, so I felt like he was ready to run back,” Pletcher said.

“We're not going to rule [dirt] out. If he trains really well we might give him another shot at some stage,” he added. “He's got that win in the Sapling that looks good on paper, but in the Breeders' Cup he didn't fire.”

Bred in Kentucky by the late Brereton C. Jones of Airdrie Stud, Noted is out of the Proud Citizen mare Sea View Millie. He was a $200,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where his breeder offered him.

The Pulpit is named for Claiborne Farm's late Gulfstream-based homebred that won four of six starts in his only season of 1997, including victories in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and Blue Grass (G2) while also running second in the Florida Derby (G1) and fourth in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Injured in that race and retired to stud at Claiborne, Pulpit went on to the sire such horses as 2010 Florida Derby winner Ice Box, 2007 Met Mile (G1) winner Corinthian and 2004 Wood Memorial (G1) winner Tapit, now one of racing's most influential sires.

The post Noted Makes Successful Return To Turf In Pulpit, Caps Stakes Double For Irad Ortiz appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Fashionably Fab secured her fourth straight score courtesy of an impressive performance in Saturday's $100,000 La Prevoyante Stakes, at Woodbine.

Trained by Kevin Attard, the Terra Racing Stable homebred arrived at the 1 1/16-mile main track event for Ontario-sired fillies and mares off three consecutive wins, all in stakes events.

Sent off as the 1-2 choice in the five-horse La Prevoyante, Fashionably Fab once again looked stylish in victory.

Patrick Husbands guided the daughter of Silent Name (JPN) out of the Curlin mare Flashy's Legacy to the lead a few steps after the gates opened, but stablemate Strega crossed over from the outside to take control and held a three-length advantage over Fashionably Fab through an opening quarter mile in :25.37.

The Attard duo continued to show the way through a half in :50.32, as Strega's lead narrowed to two lengths over her stablemate. Tito's Calling sat third, followed by My Girl Sky and Talk to Ya Later.

Husbands gave Fashionably Fab her cue heading into the turn for home and the dark bay filly glided up to engage Strega briefly before seizing control and skipping away from her rivals. Ahead by two lengths at the stretch call, Fashionably Fab crossed the wire 2½ lengths clear of Talk to Ya Later, who was a head in front of Tito's Calling. My Girl Sky and Strega rounded out the order of finish.

The final time was 1:45.60 on the all-weather main track.

“She's relaxing off the bat,” said Husbands. “She's the type of horse that likes to be in the race, no fooling around. She showed me by the three-quarter pole, 'I can relax'. She showed that she was the best today.”

It was the seventh win, to go along with two thirds, from 11 lifetime starts for Fashionably Fab. She launched her current win streak with a victory in the Rondeau Bay Stakes on Sept. 12, followed by wins in the Eternal Search Stakes on Oct. 22 and Ashbridges Bay Stakes on Nov. 10.

“We were hoping to see this earlier in the year, when we were heading into the [Woodbine] Oaks, but things didn't go quite so well back then,” said Attard, of the ninth-place result in the country's premier race for Canadian-foaled 3-year-old fillies. “It's just nice to see her turn the corner now and be the filly we had hoped she was going to be.

“It's been a good season,” Attard continued. “I need to thank my staff, the people behind me who do a tremendous job day in and day out. Without them, I wouldn't be here.”

Fashionably Fab finished third in her Sept 2022 debut and then won her next three starts, including the Shady Well Stakes last December.

She paid $3 for Saturday's win.

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Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. supervised Saturday morning workouts at Palm Meadows for his two candidates for the $3-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).

Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking, who is coming off a third-place finish in the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Santa Anita, breezed an easy three furlongs in :39.65. Michael Iavarone and partners' O'Connor, who captured the Fayette (G2) at Keeneland in his most recent start, was timed in :47.90 for a half-mile for a likely start in the Dec. 30 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream.

“That was Skippy's first work back, so he'll be on a weekly workout schedule from now on,” Joseph said. “It was O'Connor's second work. He'll probably run in the Harlan's Holiday. He didn't get a break like Skippy did.”

Skippylongstocking, who won last year's Harlan's Holiday and captured this year's $1-million Charles Town Classic (G2), is scheduled to train up to the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup, in which he finished seventh this year. O'Connor, who finished a fast-closing second behind Skippylongstocking in the Charles Town Classic, finished 11th in the 2023 Pegasus.

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KEM Stables' Hot Fudge notched her third consecutive victory and first stakes score with an off-the-pace rally in Saturday's $120,000 Garland of Roses, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Linda Rice, the 4-year-old daughter of Liam's Map wheeled back on eight days' rest after taking an optional claimer by 3 1/4 lengths first off a six-month layoff on Dec. 1 at Aqueduct, a move that has garnered success for Rice several times in the past year. She sent out last year's Garland of Roses victress Betsy Blue on the heels of a third-place finish in the Go for Wand (G3) just one week prior, and Mommasgottarun to a graded stakes triumph in the Distaff Handicap (G3) in April with five days between starts.

“I've done it before, right,” Rice said of the quick turnaround. “When we gave her the summer off, it wasn't that there was any specific reason other than I just thought she needed it. I gave her all summer and she's been ready to run for a while. She ran a big race and I thought that race would tighten her up. You're always a little apprehensive when you run them back on short rest, but I knew that this filly was doing well enough to do it.”

Ridden to victory by Kendrick Carmouche, Hot Fudge broke cleanly from the outermost post 5 as Headland showed early speed before being overtaken by Olga Isabel, who quickly ducked in from post 3 and established inside position to mark an opening quarter-mile in :21.94 over the fast main track.

Hot Fudge raced in third behind the top pair down the backstretch and was angled wide by Carmouche into the turn to set her sights on the lead as the Trevor McCarthy-piloted Kant Hurry Love came under a ride from fourth and followed the run of Hot Fudge. Olga Isabel gave way at the top of the lane after a half-mile in :45.19 and relinquished the advantage to a game Headland, but Hot Fudge gained ground with each stride down the center of the course and stuck her head in front near the sixteenth marker.

Kant Hurry Love was fully extended in late stretch and continued to inch closer within the final sixteenth, but Hot Fudge had enough left late to stave off her rival and cross the wire a neck in front in a final time of 1:10.45.

The New York-bred Kant Hurry Love held place by 2 1/4 lengths over Headland with You Look Cold and Olga Isabel completing the order of finish. Disco Ebo and Self Isolation were scratched.

Rice praised Carmouche for his tactical ride.

“She runs on the lead herself, but she's versatile enough to sit off of it which was key in this position,” Rice said. “Kendrick rode a beautiful race. They went fast in front of her and she managed to run them down.”

Carmouche, who rode Hot Fudge for the first time in the afternoon, said the filly re-engaged when pressured late by Kant Hurry Love.

“My filly was fighting. I went out to meet the other horse where she can fight a little more but once she got in front she could hear Trevor coming and you could see her pin her ears back,” said Carmouche. “I switched my stick and she gave me a little bit more just to make sure she got there. I take my hat off to Linda and the owner to come right back with this filly off the layoff when she ran a good number the first time.”

In victory, Rice improved her total win tally on the NYRA circuit this year to 157, moving her closer to the NYRA single-season record of 164 wins that was set by David Jacobson in 2013. Rice added that Hot Fudge's likely next target is the seven-furlong, $150,000 Interborough on Jan. 20.

Bred in Kentucky by Edwin Anthony from the Into Mischief mare Noelle's Mischief, Hot Fudge banked $66,000 in victory, improving her total purse earnings to $356,405 through a lifetime record of 11-6-1-1. She was at $235,000 purchase by Emerald Sales, agent, at the 2021 OBS Spring Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where she was offered by Flying Fish.

Hot Fudge returned $8.20 for a $2 win ticket.

McCarthy, aboard the David Duggan-trained Kant Hurry Love, said the stakes-winning daughter of Kantharos gave her all in defeat.

“I thought she'd be a little bit closer. I tried to gun her and they outran her early, so I tipped her out down the backside and gave her a little breather,” McCarthy explained. “She's not one that truly loves a whole lot of kickback – she'll take it, but she's happier without it. Around the turn, I tucked inside with Kendrick and followed him. I tipped her out and she gave me every effort. The more I asked, the more she gave. I couldn't ask for more.”

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