Tag: Racing

As the 2023 season comes to a close, Horseshoe Indianapolis honors the top performers of the 123-day meet. Itzforever from the Tony Granitz Stable was crowned 2023 Leading Thoroughbred Horse of the Year with five wins and a total of $244,150 in earnings.

A 3-year-old daughter of Forever d'Oro, Itzforever has been with the Granitz Stable from the beginning. She was a $60,000 purchase from the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale in 2021 by David Walters, who has been an owner with Tony Granitz for more than 20 years. Now a resident of Nashville, Tenn., Walters had the best season of his career with Itzforever.

“This filly (Itzforever) was a second foal from a mare Tom Dorris used to race and she made quite a bit of money, so I liked her breeding,” said Granitz. “We knew there was a $10,000 reserve on her, but we had to go all the way to $60,000 to get her. This is the best horse David has ever owned and she gave him his two biggest stakes wins of his career.”

Itzforever won the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Fillies and returned on Indiana Champions Day for a win in the $200,000 Lady Fog Horn, a race that means a lot to Granitz.

“We were so thrilled to win the Lady Fog Horn with her since we used to train Lady Fog Horn,” added Granitz. “That is a special win for us and one of the highlights of the meet.”

Itzforever and members of the Granitz Stable were presented with a blanket for the honor as Leading Thoroughbred Horse of the Year. Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager made the presentation along with Rachel McLaughlin, Racing Broadcast Production Manager at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“This filly has really come around this year,” added Granitz. “She didn't show a lot as a two-year-old, but she came back strong this year. The first time Marcelino (Pedroza Jr.) rode her, he said she was waiting on horses and needed blinkers. As soon as we did that, she won four straight. She ended the year with five straight races on the dirt. Our team, including exercise rider Caleb (Longworth), groom Jaime (Conche), and Juan (Gongora), my assistant, have worked hard with her all year.”

The 22nd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing begins with a special Monday, April 8 racing program at 12 p.m. for the Total Solar Eclipse Day in the area. Racing extends through Thursday, Nov. 14. For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis.

The post With Five Wins In 2023, Itzforever Named Horse Of The Year At Horseshoe Indianapolis appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Del Mar will conduct a stakes doubleheader Saturday featuring a pair of $100,000 offerings – one for older Cal-bred sprinters and the other for 2-year-old fillies.

The “older” race is the Cary Grant Stakes, a seven-furlong spin for 3-year-olds and up that has drawn a field of nine homegrown sprinters. It is topped – and seriously topped – by the multiple-stakes winner The Chosen Vron, who takes not a class drop but a plunge from Grade 1 company to the state-bred ranks and is listed at 4-5 in the morning line.

The filly affair – the Desi Arnaz Stakes — has five entered and also gets a 4-5 morning line favorite in the Kentucky shipper Royal Slipper, who was sent west by trainer Wesley Ward, a man who specializes in developing young horses.

The Cary Grant will go as Race 8 on the nine-race card with a post time of approximately 4 p.m. The seven-furlong Desi Arnaz is slated for Race 2 on the card and will go off at 1 p.m.

The Chosen Vron, owned by the partnership of Sondereker Racing, Fetkin or Thornburgh, et al, is a 5-year-old gelding who has been a win machine thus far in his career with 13 victories in 18 starts and earnings of $1,092,678. The son of Vronsky is trained by veteran J. Eric Kruljac and in his last two starts beat Grade I company at Del Mar in the Bing Crosby Stakes on July 29, then took on the best sprinters in America in the Breeders' Cup Sprint on November 4 where he managed to finish fifth.

He'll again be handled by regular rider Hector Berrios as they try for a repeat in the Cary Grant, a race they won by three and a quarter lengths last year.

In the Desi Arnaz, Michael Tabor's Uncle Mo filly Royal Slipper jumps into stakes company off a smart debut tally against straight maidens at Keeneland on October 6 under Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez. The veteran jockey will be up again Saturday and break from Post 4 in the short field.

Here are the full fields with riders and morning line odds for the two stakes:

Cary Grant

1. Principe Carlo, Kyle Frey (15-1);
2. Trip to Spain, Giovanni Franco (20-1);
3. None Above the Law, Flavien Prat (6-1);
4. Lovesick Blues, Umberto Rispoli (12-1);
5. Big City Lights, Juan Hernandez (5/2);
6. The Chosen Vron;
7. Moose Mitchell, Mario Gutierrez (12-1), and
8. Desmond Doss, Tyler Baze (12-1).

Red Baron's Barn or Rancho Temescal's Fast Draw Munnings was originally entered in the race but was scratched Thursday morning.

Of note among the runners is the fact that the now 7-year-old gelding Principe Carlo won the Cary Grant in 2021 giving trainer Librado Barocio his first stakes victory.

Desi Arnaz

1. Nothing Like You, Hernandez (5/2);
2. Tambo, Antonio Fresu (7/2);
3. Don't Bring Crazy, Rispoli (12-1);
4. Royal Slipper, and
5. Halone, Prat (6-1).

First post as usual throughout the fall session is at 12:30 p.m.

The post The Chosen Vron A Standout Saturday In Del Mar Stakes Doubleheader appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Saturday's $300,000 Chilukki Stakes (Grade 3) will be an emotional day for trainer Chris Block as his defending race winner, She Can't Sing, will make her final career start for her late owner/breeder, Bob Lothenbach, who passed away this week.

“It's a major blow to all of us who were close to Bob,” trainer Chris Block said Thursday morning on 'At the Races with Steve Byk'. “He was a very, very loyal client of mine. I think I trained for him for nearly 25 years. Most of my success with Bob was from his homebreds. He just let us do our job. He never entered in with a question where he would ask what we were doing. He left us alone to do our job. After a race – win, lose or draw – it was the same Bob Lothenbach. He'd just say 'Buckle up and let's do better the next time.'”

She Can't Sing was part of Lothenbach's breeding program. The 6-year-old daughter of Bernardini is out of the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Music. Trainer Neil Pessin, also a longtime client of Lothenbach, trained Distorted Music for the late owner.

“She's been a little off form this year on the turf but really likes the dirt surface at Churchill,” Block said. “Hopefully she can go out a winner.”

Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. will carry the Lothenbach colors aboard She Can't Sing from post No. 5.

Here is the complete field for the Chilukki from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds):

1. Nostalgic (Florent Geroux, Bill Mott, 9-2);
2. Raindrops on Roses (Joe Talamo, Pat Huffman, 30-1);
3. Hidden Connection (Tyler Gaffalione, Bret Calhoun, 5-2);
4. Oeuvre (Jareth Loveberry, Block, 5-1);
5. She Can't Sing (Hernandez, Block, 8-1);
6. Braganza (Declan Cannon, Eddie Kenneally, 12-1);
7. Falconet (Luis Saez, Todd Pletcher, 4-1);
8. Be Like Water (Martin Garcia, Vicki Oliver, 20-1); and
9. Hot and Sultry (Ricardo Santana Jr., Norm Casse, 7-2).

The one-mile Chilukki will take place as Race 10 of 11 with a post time of 5:35 p.m. First post is 1 p.m.

The post She Can’t Sing In Chilukki: 6-Year-Old Mare Will Make Final Start Carrying Late Lothenbach’s Silks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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