Tag: Racing

Like many North American turf races for fillies and mares, Keeneland's First Lady Stakes has been owned by Chad Brown, the New York native having won each running since 2018. This year's running of the Grade 1, $750,000 turf fixture at one mile was no different as Gina Romantica and jockey Tyler Gaffalione ran down defending champion In Italian in the stretch to win by a neck, giving Brown and owner Peter Brant the First Lady exacta.

For Brown, it was his sixth consecutive First Lady win and seventh overall. No surprise there, since Brown sent out three of the eight starters. Brant was winning for the third year in a row , with Gina Romantica and In Italian both carrying his silks.

What was surprising was Gina Romantica upsetting her stablemate, as In Italian was sent off the 2-5 favorite in defense of her 2022 First Lady title. Gina Romantica, a 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, went off at 11-1 odds despite having won over the Keeneland turf in last year's Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. She was winless in two starts this year, including a runner-up performance last out in the G1 Beverly D Stakes at Colonial Downs.

In Italian led throughout, with Gina Romantica settling into sixth position in the early going. But she outkicked her more accomplished stablemate to win comfortably, the time for the one-mile on firm turf clocked in 1:33.70. Evvie Jets finished third, with Brown's third starter, Whitebeam getting fourth.

 

The post Longshot Gina Romantica Gives Chad Brown Sixth Consecutive First Lady appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Reddam Racing's New York-bred Today's Flavor was undeterred by changes in circumstances and weather conditions, wiring a nine-horse field by a half-length in winning the $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint, which was moved off the turf to the sloppy and sealed main track on Saturday at Belmont at the Big A.

Driving rain forced the six-furlong contest from the outer turf to the Aqueduct Racetrack dirt and the race downgraded from Grade 3  status to a listed event . But the George Weaver trainee was unfazed by the surface change, going to the front under Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano in leading the field with the opening quarter mile in :22.33 and the half in :45.41.

Kept to the inside, Today's Flavor, bred by Joseph Calvo, continued his march to the wire with fellow New York-bred Thin White Duke making a bid from the outside. But Today's Flavor maintained the advantage and completed the course in a final time of 1:09.74, winning for the second consecutive time and notching his first stakes win since the state-bred Affirmed Success in April at Aqueduct. He entered from a narrow optional-claiming score on September 22 over the Big A turf.

“That type of horse in the dirt, he likes to be put on the lead,” Castellano said. “He was going to the lead and he encourages himself and gets very confident in himself and that was my goal today and it worked out great. It was supposed to be on the turf, but it rained and the conditions worked out in my case for this particular race, especially the way he did it. I'm very fortunate enough I rode him last time on the turf here and covered up a little bit to save all the ground. Today was a different ballgame with the way the track played. I tried to use his speed on the lead and run wire-to-wire.”

Thin White Duke, trained by David Donk and ridden by Jose Lezcano, bested Wit by a half-length for second, with Alogon finishing fourth. Dancing Buck, Pirate Rick, Alexis S, Eamonn and Yes and Yes completed the order of finish. Big Invasion, Fauci and Nothing Better scratched.

“On the turf, he has a different kick,” said Blair Golen, assistant to Weaver. “On here…when he gets the lead, he's confident. As soon as he gets away from the horses, he settles. You'll see in his demeanor out of the gate, he runs hard and once he gets on the lead, he just lengthens out his stride and covers a lot of ground. As soon as he feels them or hears them [the competition], he just kicks on.”

Today's Flavor, the 7-5 favorite, paid $4.80 on a $2 win wager. The 5-year-old son of Laoban out of the Speightstown mare Evangelicial improved his career earnings to $474,080.

“His win last time was just an experiment [on turf] because he is a Laoban and he's a very versatile horse,” Golen said. “They were a little frustrated with him and the way he was going, and they tried to freshen him up over the summer. He breezed excellent, so what's the worst that would happen? He wouldn't win? So, now we have a lot of options.”

Thin White Duke, bred in the Empire State by his co-owner and former conditioner Phil Gleaves, finished in the money for the third time in his last four starts, including a last-out win in the Harvey Pack on September 2 at Saratoga Race Course.

“He had good 2-year-old form on the dirt with Phil and by the time I ran him on dirt it was longer,” Donk said. “So today, we could run him with a little confidence and I thought he would run well. He just needed someone to go with the winner [Today's Flavor] a little bit and soften him up. The winner ran huge, but I thought our horse ran really big. He's still a better grass horse, but this gives us a little confidence if a race comes off the grass now.

The post Today’s Flavor Wires Off-The-Turf Belmont Turf Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Sonata Stable's Arzak, ridden by Joel Rosario, benefited from a hot pace in Saturday's Grade 2, $350,000 Woodford Stakes presented by FanDuel, roaring down the stretch to pass European invader Live In The Dream inside the furlong pole to win going away by two lengths.

The 5-year-old son of Not This Time, trained by Michael Trombetta out of the Fair Hill training center in Maryland, covered five furlongs on firm turf in :55.59. He paid $25.66 to win.

Our Shot, co-favorite at 7-2 with Live In The Dream, won a photo for second over Beer Can Man, the two racing as a team through the stretch. Live In The Dream held fourth  – another 1 1/4 lengths back – after setting sizzling fractions of :20.97 for the opening quarter mile and :43.67 for the half. The Irish-bred Live In The Dream came to Keeneland off a one-length win in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York in England on Aug. 25 and has won six of 18 career starts.

Live In the Dream finished a nose ahead of Bad Beat Brian, who was a nose in front of Let My People Go, who nosed out Olympic Runner for sixth. Coppola, Kaufymaker, Kavod, Eye Witness, and Foxtrotanna completed the order of finish.

The win was similar to Arzak's most recent start, an Aug. 23 allowance/optional claimer at Saratoga, in which he got up to win by a head over Coppola. In that race and in the Woodford, Arzak settled into fifth while chasing fast fractions and kicked into gear in the stretch.

In Saturday's Woodford, Rosario saved ground while in fifth – several lengths behind Live In The Dream, who was under some pressure from Foxtrotanna in the run down the backstretch. Rosario swung Arzak wide into the stretch and took dead aim on Live In The Dream, who still had a clear lead with a furlong to run.

Arzak drifted in, engaged Live In The Dream, and put that rival away in the final sixteenth.

“It looked like (they were going very fast up front),” said Rosario. “(Arzak) also has a little speed. On the backside I was farther back than I wanted to be, but it looked like they were really putting a good pace in front of him so I just stayed there and then kicked him on to finish. It was very easy for him (after he kicked into high gear coming down the stretch). I rode him before, and he always tries really, really hard. He's a good horse.”

The Woodford was Arzak's seventh win from 23 career starts and second graded stakes win, the other coming in the G3 Jacques Cartier Stakes over the all-weather track at Woodbine.

Bred in Kentucky by John C. Oxley, Arzak was produced from the Tapit mare, Delightful Melody. He was purchased by Marc Tacher, who races in the name of Sonata Stable, for $575,000 at the 2020 OBS April Sale of 2-year-olds in training.

Adam West, trainer of Live In The Dream, wasn't deterred by his horse's defeat. “Incredibly fast. Very strong headwind today,” West said. “For me anyway, that (performance) would paint the target on him. When we get to Santa Anita (for the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint), (he's) going to be hard to catch. We trained at Keeneland, and I'm very appreciative of (the experience). Everyone's been fantastic, and that's (race from Live In The Dream is) kind of exactly what I wanted to see.”

The post Sizzling Pace Sets Up Arzak’s Stretch Run In Woodford appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

George Krikorian's War Like Goddess, a 6-yera-old English Channel mare ridden by Junior Alvarado for trainer William Mott, won Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic over male runners for the second year in a row during the Belmont at the Big A meet at a soggy Aqueduct racetrack in South Ozone Park, N.Y.

Sitting in sixth position early in the mile and one-half Turf Classic as 90-1 longshot So High opened up as much as 19 lengths on the field, War Like Goddess commenced her rally on the turn for home, collared So High nearing the sixteenth pole and drew away to the 4 1/2-length victory.

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, War Like Goddess covered the 12 furlongs on yielding turf in 2:32.86. Soldier Rising finished second, with So High hanging on for third after setting fractions of :24.76, :49.56, 1:15.62, 1:40.94 and 2:06.42. Rebel's Romance, the 1-2 favorite, finished fourth with no apparent excuse.

War Like Goddess paid $9.60 to win. She carried 123 pounds, with her male rivals toting 126.

The Turf Classic was the 11th victory in 17 career starts for War Like Goddess, who came into the race off two defeats: a sixth-place finish as the favorite in the G1 New York Stakes at Belmont June 9 and a close second to McKulick in the G2 Glens Falls at Saratoga.

This was Mott's sixth victory in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, named for the longtime columnist for Daily Racing Form who died in 2009.

The post War Like Goddess Goes Back-To-Back In Joe Hirsch Turf Classic appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post