Tag: Racing

Big Everest (GB), patiently handled by Joel Rosario, found racing room along the rail in the stretch run and erupted with a powerful turn-of-foot to retain his title in Sunday's $150,000 Artie Schiller, a one-mile inner turf test for 3-year-olds and up at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Christophe Clement for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Steven Rocco, and William Branch, the 5-year-old son of The Gurkha (IRE) was a gate-to-wire winner of this event last year under Rosario but was in need of racing room this time around as the field straightened away behind the pacesetting Masen, who drifted briefly into the path of Exact Estimate to provide the opening.

“It looked like the horse on the lead came in and came out on the outside horse and it was a good opportunity to just go to inside and it worked out,” Rosario said.

Masen led the eight-horse field through fractions of :23.22, 47.53, and 1:11.12 through six furlongs over the firm footing with Big Everest saving ground in third to the inside of Exact Estimate and St Anthony poised to the outside in fourth. Irad Ortiz Jr. gave Exact Estimate his cue into the final turn with St Anthony following his outside run as Big Everest rated patiently.

Masen held a precarious lead at the top of the lane, drifting out into the path of Exact Estimate and created the rail opening Rosario required as Big Everest responded to his rider and surged willingly into the daylight. Exact Estimate straightened out and launched one last bid to overtake Masen but could not reel in Big Everest, who scored by three-quarter lengths in a final time of 1:34.45.

It was a another three-quarter lengths back to third-place Masen, who nosed out the late-running Pioneering Spirit. Jerry the Nipper, James Aloysius, Wicked Finn and St Anthony rounded out the order of finish. Bring Me a Check and main-track only entrants Offaly Cool, Sheriff Bianco and Kinetic Sky were scratched.

Big Everest captured the 2022 Artie Schiller ahead of scores this year in the Danger's Hour at the Big A and the Cliff Hanger at Monmouth Park to complete a natural hat trick of stakes wins. He was subsequently fifth in the Kelso (G3) in July at Saratoga Race Course in his graded debut ahead of a fourth-place finish in the Oceanport at Monmouth on August 13.

Big Everest's eighth career win was the first in which he didn't dictate the terms.

“In the paddock, I told Joel, 'If they leave you alone, great. If they take you on, it's OK,' ” Clement said. “He's been on the lead, but it's not like he has to be on the lead. If you look back at the races where he was on the lead, he was never going that fast. But if there's no pace, he's a perfect horse to dictate his own pace. He's a touch strong and Joel gave a great ride.”

Rosario said that Masen's strong push to the lead forced his hand.

“He just decided to go, so I had no choice but to follow him and hopefully he relaxed for me, and he did,” Rosario said. “He's always a little strong, but he relaxed well down the backside. It was a really good run.”

Irad Ortiz said Exact Estimate performed admirably in his stakes debut.

“I had a beautiful trip. Turning for home, I took a couple of jumps to start riding because the inside horse [Masen] came out a little, but nothing bad,” he said. “I had to correct my horse and when I asked him to run, he did respond but the inside horse [Big Everest] cut the corner.”

Bred in Great Britain by Newsells Park Stud, Big Everest was produced by the Whywhywhy mare Long Face, He banked $82,500 in victory while improving his record to 15-8-1-1 and $539,340 in lifetime purse earnings. He returned $13.80 for a $2 win bet.

The post Powerful Rally Propels Big Everest To Second Straight Artie Schiller Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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After capturing last year's $300,000 Long Island (G3) with Temple City Terror, trainer Brendan Walsh scored back-to-back wins with her half-sister R Calli Kim, who extended her winning streak to four straight in Sunday's 1 3/8-mile test for fillies and mares on the inner turf at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Averill Racing and Two Eight Racing's R Calli Kim, a 6-year-old Revolutionary mare, arose from an over yearlong layoff to win in July for a $32,000 tag over the Saratoga inner turf before stepping up in class on August 31 at Kentucky Downs to land a 1 5/16-mile allowance optional claimer. She entered from a 2 3/4-length conquest in a 1 1/2-mile allowance on October 15 at Keeneland.

“It's pretty cool to win the same stake with two sisters, two years in a row,” Walsh said. “She's done great and she won with her ears pricked, so we're delighted with her.”

R Calli Kim broke from post 4 under Jose Ortiz and settled in sixth of seven runners as Vergara had a narrow advantage to the outside of Whatlovelookslike through an opening quarter-mile in :25.14 over the firm going. Passing the stands for the first time, Vergara, under a strong hold from John Velazquez, extended her lead to a half-length through a half-mile in :49.12.

Down the backside, Vergara maintained her advantage with Unruly Julie ranging up into contention a close third behind Whatlovelookslike through three-quarters in 1:14.68 as R Calli Kim advanced into fifth. Around the far turn, Whatlovelookslike switched leads and rallied back into contention to Vergara's outside while R Calli Kim was tipped a path wide and in the clear.

Vergara and Whatlovelookslike engaged in a midstretch battle with 41-1 longshot Rhombique looming to their outside and R Calli Kim advancing fastest of all to the far outside. R Calli Kim swooped past the two front-runners inside the final furlong to draw away a 2 1/2-length winner in a final time of 2:14.22.

Rhombique finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of third-place finisher Vergara. Whatlovelookslike, Embrace Me, and Unruly Julie rounded out the order of finish. Atomic Blonde was pulled up nearing the wire and was vanned off. She was reported to have bled per NYRA veterinarians.

Ortiz credited Walsh for R Calli Kim's newfound winning ways. After starting her career in South Florida for trainers Georgina Baxter and Gerald Bennett, she made her debut for Walsh last July at Belmont when finishing third behind Grade 1-placed Higher Truth in a 1 3/8-mille turf allowance.

“She's a very nice filly. She's coming around this year, clearly,” said Ortiz, who piloted R Calli Kim for the first time on Sunday afternoon. “The form speaks for itself. Brendan had the key – he started running her on the grass and long and probably she wanted that. She's Temple City Terror's half-sister and she won the Long Island last year. Brendan knew that, ran her long on the grass and it seems like she's another horse.”

Walsh said R Calli Kim has exceeded his expectations this year.

“We had to stop on her last year. We weren't sure where she was going to go from there, but she came back and has gone from strength to strength through the year,” Walsh said. “To win a Grade 3 like she did today – if you had told me six months ago she was going to do that, I'd have told you that you were absolutely crazy. But she's gotten better and better as the year has gone on and my hat's off to her.”

Walsh added that R Calli Kim could be a candidate for long distance graded events on the turf at Gulfstream this winter could be future goals.

“We had this race in mind as the long-term goal this year,” Walsh said. “She looks fantastic and is doing well, so I don't know if we'll want to stop on her right now. We might take a look at some of the longer races at Gulfstream over the winter. We'll enjoy today and talk to the team and come up with a plan.”

Returning $4.40 for a $2 win wager as the favorite, R Calli Kim banked $165,000 in earnings to boost her lifetime earnings past the half-million mark to $517,890. She now brags a record of 13-8-1-2, including a perfect 4-for-4 this year.

R Calli Kim was bought for $9,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Like Temple City Terror, she is out of the More Than Ready mare It Takes Two. Temple City Terror is a daughter of Temple City. Both mares were bred in Kentucky by Upson Downs Farm.

The post ‘Same Stake With Two Sisters’: R Calli Kim Provides Walsh Back-To-Back Long Island Wins appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Estate of Robert J. Amendola's Evvie Jets, who recorded her best season yet with a Grade 2 win and purse earnings of $379,338 from six starts, was withdrawn from Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and will return for a 6-year-old campaign.

Michael Amendola, son of the late Robert Amendola, said that after a family discussion the 5-year-old Twirling Candy mare is wintering at In Front Training Center in upstate New York and will return to the care of trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci and his brother and assistant Ilkay Kantarmaci in time to launch a spring campaign.

“The consensus was to keep it going for another year,” Amendola said. “My mom had a lot of influence in wanting to continue to run and we felt my dad certainly would have wanted her to run one more year, so here we are.”

Kentucky-bred Evvie Jets has become a fan and barn favorite since being claimed for $80,000 in September 2021, posting a record of 16-6-5-1 since for purse earnings of $689,708 led by wins in last year's Noble Damsel (G3) at Belmont at the Big A and a memorable head score in the Mohegan Sun Ballston Spa (G2) in August at Saratoga Race Course. During this stretch, she also captured the Plenty of Grace at the Big A and the Perfect Sting at Belmont.

She made her Grade 1 debut last out, overcoming a slow start from the outermost post 8 to finish third in the First Lady at Keeneland when less than four lengths back of the victorious Gina Romantica, who headed her Chad Brown-trained stablemate In Italian for the win. Evvie Jets earned a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“If only we'd had a better post. When you look at the head on, the gate was so far off the rail,” Amendola said. “That certainly didn't help her chances. I'm not saying we'd have got up to win, but if we could have looked In Italian in the eye. … Gina Romantica had that opportunity and just ran right by her. Still, we were real happy with that performance.

“She came out of the race great — we sent her to In Front Farm about an hour south of Saratoga,” Amendola continued. “She's been there the last two winters and she's doing great. Hopefully, she'll have a good 6-year-old campaign and she can get that Grade 1 notch on her belt.”

Evvie Jets launched her storybook season with one-mile stakes scores in the Plenty of Grace and Perfect Sting surrounding an off-the-board effort in the Beaugay (G3) when returning on shorter than usual rest at 1 1/16-miles.

She failed to fire her best effort when sixth in the Spa's restricted one-mile De La Rose on August 2, but Amendola said Kantarmaci was adamant the bay had more to give and insisted on bringing her back in the 1 1/16-mile Ballston Spa (G2) just three weeks later.

“I have to take my hat off to Matt [Mertkan] and Ilkay for selecting that race,” Amendola said. “She had been doing well and we were expecting a big performance in the De La Rose but didn't get the outcome that we'd like. When she came back to the barn it was like she hadn't run, so the next morning we decided we were going to run in the Ballston Spa.”

Manny Franco picked up the mount for the Ballston Spa and utilized a perfect ground-saving trip, rallying stoutly up the rail to take command with an eighth of a mile to run and stave off multiple graded stakes winner Fluffy Socks to secure a head win in a field that included divisional stalwarts Gam's Mission [4th], Technical Analysis [5th] and Consumer Spending [6th]. The sparkling effort earned honors as WinStar Farm's Ride of the Meet.

“That was a really nice field,” Amendola said. “And for that to happen at Saratoga — a place we spent most summers when I was growing up — and to win a Grade 2 up there was really special.”

The Amendola family currently have allowance winner Arrio in training with the Kantarmacis and also own a Central Banker weanling out of the 10-time winning Jump Start mare Jump for Joy. Arrio, a 5-year-old Paynter gelding, is a turf specialist entered next week at Laurel Park and there are tempered hopes for the weanling.

“We enjoyed her mom's competitiveness and did well with her. If she has her mom's heart, we'll have fun with her,” Amendola said.

But there is little doubt that Evvie Jets is the queen of the barn.

“We're circling those big races in the spring and fall at Keeneland,” Amendola said. “We'd love to get that Grade 1 in her. Hopefully, we have five or six starts for her [next] year and each one will be more exciting than the last.”

A half-sister to multiple stakes-placed Forever Mo, Evvie Jets is out of the Consolidator mare Natchez Trace, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Vermilion and stakes-winner Perfectly Clear. Evvie Jets boasts a career record of 23-7-6-3 for purse earnings of $770,868.

The post Fan Favorite, Former Claimer Evvie Jets To Stay In Training In 2024, Seek Grade 1 Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing's undefeated graded stakes winner Integration set to make his New York debut in Saturday's $250,000 Hill Prince (G2), a 1 1/8-mile outer turf test for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.

Trained by Shug McGaughey, the Quality Road colt is perfect through two starts at Colonial Downs, drawing off to a 6 1/2-length score in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight on Aug. 12 and prevailing with a five-wide run over Grade 1 winner Program Trading in the 1 1/8-mile Virginia Derby(G3) on Sept. 9.

“His two races have been really good. He had a little break as there wasn't really any place to run him that I like,” McGaughey said.

Produced by Grade 1 winner Harmonize, by Scat Daddy, the $700,000 Fasig-Tipon Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase from the Brookdale Sales consignment has breezed back eight times over the all-weather surface at Fair Hill Training Center, including an easy three-eighths in :39 flat Saturday.

“He's been training well out there every week on the Tapeta and he seems to like it — we'll see,” McGaughey said.

McGaughey will unveil a well-bred 2-year-old on Friday at Aqueduct in Corporate Power, a Curlin bay out of the Quality Road mare Road to Victory, who is best remembered for turning back Monomoy Girl in the 2017 Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill Downs. Corporate Power is also a half-brother to debut maiden winner Willakenzie.

Owned by Courtlandt Farms, the $925,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase from the Gainesway consignment has breezed extensively at Belmont Park, including four works from the gate, in preparation for his debut in the Friday opener, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight sprint over the main track.

“He's training good. I'm pleased with him and pleased to get to run him,” McGaughey said. “He worked good out of the gate here the other day. We've got into him pretty good.”

Stuart Janney III's multiple graded stakes-placed Kentucky homebred Limited Liability registered a 95 Beyer for a closing sixth-place finish in Saturday's Red Smith (G2) over firm footing here.

The 4-year-old Kitten's Joy gray rallied from 10th to finish 2 3/4-lengths back of the victorious Master Piece (CHI).

“He wasn't beat that far, but he only ran in spots,” McGaughey said. “He's on his way to Florida and we'll see if we can't figure him out.”

Limited Liability has banked $417,448 through a record of 13-3-1-5.

McGaughey did enjoy success Saturday at Churchill Downs when DATTT Stable's Kentucky homebred Smokin' T made the grade in the River City (G3), a 1 1/8-mile turf test for 3-year-olds and up.

With John Velazquez up, the 4-year-old War Front colt settled in seventh but made an early move to take control at the stretch call and power through the wire a 1 3/4-length winner to register a career-best 97 Beyer.

“I was sure pleased with the way he finished up,” McGaughey said.

McGaughey said Smokin' T could come under consideration for the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park.

“That could be something to think about. I keep wanting to give him a rest and he won't let me. He left for Florida today,” McGaughey said.

Smokin' T sports a record of 8-3-1-4 this year, including a win in the Fasig-Tipton Lure in August at Saratoga.

The post McGaughey: Integration Set For Hill Prince; Well-Bred Corporate Power Ready For Debut appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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