Tag: Racing

Reincarnate, the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million betPARX Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing, has a nickname.

“We call him Moby Dick,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said by phone from California, referring to the giant whale from the classic Herman Melville novel. “He is a big, strong white horse … he has the same coloring as Moby Dick.”

Baffert hopes that Reincarnate is no fish tale in the Pennsylvania Derby. Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, the son of Good Magic hasn't raced since winning the Los Alamitos Derby in front-running fashion July 8.

Baffert said he has no concerns with the long layoff. He likes the way the colt has worked this summer at Del Mar and, most recently, at Santa Anita Park.

His final pre-Pennsylvania Derby work was Saturday at Santa Anita when he went 6 furlongs in 1:12.40.

Reincarnate, who will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, has three wins, three seconds and two thirds in nine career starts. He has one win and three seconds in four starts this year. Reincarnate's two prior starts before the Los Alamitos race were Grade 1s – 13th in the May 6 Kentucky Derby and third in the April 11 Arkansas Derby.

“I have always been very high on the horse,” Baffert said. “We have always liked him. He is the kind of horse that will run up near the lead and be forwardly placed.”

One thing that Reincarnate and Hernandez will have to overcome is the post position. They drew No. 11 in the 11-horse field.

“It will be a little bit tough being way out there,” Baffert said. “Hopefully, he doesn't get hung out too wide. You can't do anything about the post position. If you train long enough, you are going to draw bad post positions. I have drawn bad and won and I have drawn really well and got beat.”

Reincarnate arrived from California Tuesday. Jimmy Barnes, Baffert's longtime assistant, accompanied the colt and will handle saddling Saturday.

On the opposite end of the tote board, trainer Saffie Joseph is hoping for another surprise when he saddles West Coast Cowboy in the Pennsylvania Derby.

West Coast Cowboy is 12-1 on the morning line. When Math Wizard pulled off his upset in 2019, he was a whopping 31-1 when he went to the starting gate for the 1 1/8-mile race.

As Joseph prepares West Coast Cowboy, a son of 2017 champion 3-year-old male West Coast, for this year's Derby, his mind, naturally, drifts back to Sept. 21, 2019.

“Most definitely,” Joseph said by phone from Kentucky, where he's attending the Keeneland September yearling sale. “That was my first graded stakes race win – ever – and it was a Grade 1. It was a good race. We beat a Preakness winner (War of Will) and we beat Improbable (who won the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga in 2020). That race definitely brought a lot of joy and it's one of the highs of my career. It will last forever.”

West Coast Cowboy is owned by Gentry Farms and will be ridden Saturday by Tyler Conner. Conner first rode the chestnut when he finished second in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby behind Red Route One.

West Coast Cowboy has two wins in seven starts. He also ran in the Grade 3 Fountain of Youth (third) Feb. 4 and the Grade 1 Florida Derby (seventh) April 1, both at Gulfstream Park.

“He is a big, strong horse that seems to be improving,” Joseph said “He is not at the top level yet, but he seems to get better and better every time he runs. Sometimes you just have to take chances. Sometimes it works out, but most of the time it doesn't. You can't be afraid to run them in the race.”

Joseph's trip to Parx for the 2019 Pennsylvania Derby certainly proved that theory.

“For sure,” he said. “It's rare when you have a special moment like that. It never goes away.”

The post Pennsylvania Derby: Baffert Relishing Favorite’s Role With ‘Moby Dick,’ Joseph Hoping For Another Surprise With West Coast Cowboy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Antonio Sano saddled his 949th winner in the United States Sept. 9 at Gulfstream Park, passing the late South Florida trainer Manny Azpurua to become the all-time leading Venezuelan trainer in America.

The 60-year-old trainer is hardly ready to rest on his many laurels, however. He has too much to look forward to.

“Manny Azpurua was an excellent trainer here and in Venezuela,” said Sano, who ventured to South Florida in 2009 after saddling more than 3,000 winners in Venezuela. “It's a new record for me, but I'm trying to continue to win more races.”

Sano has returned to South Florida this week from Lexington, Ky., where he purchased six yearlings at the Keeneland September sale, hoping to add to his reputation as a horseman with a keen eye for a bargain. The 60-ytear-old trainer most notably purchased a son of Dialed In for $16,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September sale, and multiple graded-stakes winner Gunnevera went on to earn more than $5.5 million in 2016-2019.

While it remains to be seen how his new yearling purchases will turn out, Sano is staying busy while setting sights on achieving more immediate goals with Il Miracolo and Dancing Groom.

Eduardo Soto's Il Miracolo is scheduled to meet 10 other 3-year-olds in Saturday's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx. The son of Gun Runner prepped for the Pennsylvania Derby with a three-length victory at Parx in the Aug. 22 Smarty Jones (G3).

“He's training very well for this race. It's a difference race with different horses but my horse is a confident horse,” said Sano, who saddled Il Miracolo, a $70,000 purchase at the 2022 OBS Open sale, to a second-place finish behind Scotland in the Curlin at Saratoga. “He is getting better and better.”

Il Miracolo is rated at 8-1 on the morning line in a field headlined by Bob Baffert-trained Reincarnate, the 3-1 morning-line favorite. Bill Mott-trained Scotland is rated at 5-2.

Soto's Dancing Groom, an impressive maiden special weight winner at Saratoga last time out, is being pointed toward the Oct. 7 Champagne (G1) at Aqueduct. The son of Vino Rosso, who was purchased for $60,000 at the OBS March sale, debuted with a sixth-place finish in a six-furlong maiden special weight race July 22 at Saratoga before graduating in his next start in a mile maiden special weight race taken off the turf. Dancing Groom rated off the pace before making a four-wide sweep to the lead heading into the stretch and drawing off to a five-length score.

“I saw the horse for long distance. I started him at six furlongs the first time. His second race at a mile, the horse won very easy,” Sano said. “His next race will be the Champagne.”

While branching out, Sano continues to make his presence felt at Gulfstream Park, where he saddled Magic Stable's Papeete, a 2-year-old son of Not This Time purchased for $30,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September sale, for a promising 2 ¾-length victory last month.

The post Sano-Trained Il Miracolo ‘A Confident Horse’ Ahead Of Pennsylvania Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Rigney Racing's stakes-winning 3-year-old filly Xigera has competed on turf for six of her seven career starts but trainer Phil Bauer is excited for her return to dirt in Saturday's $175,000 Seneca Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs.

The last time Xigera ran on dirt resulted in a fourth-place finish in last year's Alcibiades (Grade 1) at Keeneland. Since that race, the well-backed daughter of Nyquist won two starts on turf including a half-length score in the July 1 Tepin at Ellis Park.

“We've always thought highly of her since her 2-year-old season,” Bauer said. “She ran on the dirt once as a 2-year-old and we've been looking forward to getting her back to the dirt down the road. This race worked out well timing wise for us to run at Churchill and not ship anywhere. She trains well on the dirt here.”

Xigera was tabbed as the third choice on the morning line odds at 9-2. The three-time winner enters the Seneca following an enigmatic sixth-place finish in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G3).

“I don't think she handled the track at all that day,” Bauer said. “That was the last race they ran on the turf that day because of the rain and it was really soft.”

Saturday's 1 1/16-mile Seneca is one of four stakes contests on the 11-race “Downs After Dark” program. First post is 6 p.m. (all times Eastern) and the Seneca will go as Race 9 at 10:11 p.m. The featured race Saturday is the $300,000 Dogwood (G3) for 3-year-old fillies run at seven furlongs. Along with the Dogwood, the program will also feature the $300,000 Bourbon Trail and $300,000 Harrods Creek.

Here are the fields for Saturday's stakes contests in order of post positions (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds):

Race 7: the $300,000 Bourbon Trail:

1. Manciata d'Oro (Manny Esquivel, Brad Cox, 4-1);
2. Slip Mahoney (Gerardo Corrales, Brad Cox, 5-2);
3. Denington (Corey Lanerie, Kenny McPeek, 7-2);
4. Shirl's Bee (Julien Leparoux, Dallas Stewart, 15-1);
5. Oscar Eclipse (Cristian Torres, Brian Lynch, 3-1);
6. Lincoln Highway (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver, 15-1); and
7. Big Data (Emisael Jaramillo, Michael Lerman, 5-1).

Race 8: the $300,000 Harrods Creek:

1. Bourbon Bash (Jaime Torres, Wayne Lukas, 6-1);
2. Determinedly (Francisco Arrieta, Mark Casse, 6-1);
3. Loyal Company (Declan Cannon, Brendan Walsh, 3-1);
4. Bouncer (Ricardo Santana Jr., Mark Casse, 5-1);
5. Mount Up (Emisael Jaramillo, Todd Pletcher, 7-2);
6. Everso Mischievous (Cristian Torres, Brad Cox, 2-1); and
7. Praetorian Guard (James Graham, Lou Linder Jr., 20-1).

Race 9: the $175,000 Seneca Overnight Stakes:

1. Taxed (Cristian Torres, Randy Morse, 5-2);
2. Sabra Tuff (Rey Gutierrez, Dallas Stewart, 6-1);
3. She's Lookin Lucky (Ricardo Santana Jr., Matt Shirer, 5-1);
4. Poblano (Francisco Arrieta, Brendan Walsh, 3-1);
5. Champagne Calling (Declan Cannon, Ian Wilkes, 12-1);
6. Xigera (Julien Leparoux, Phil Bauer, 9-2); and
7. Nomadic Pride (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss, 10-1).

Race 10: the $300,000 Dogwood (G3):

1. Yesternight (James Graham, Lindsay Schultz, 3-1);
2. Metaphysical (Ricardo Santana Jr., Jeff Hiles, 10-1);
3. Flamand (Mitchell Murrill, Elias Lopez, 5-1);
4. B G Warrior (Joe Ramos, Hugo Andrade, 6-1);
5. Lady Radler (Jesus Castanon, Michael Campbell, 10-1);
6. Santa Fe Gold (Francisco Arrieta, Bret Calhoun, 6-1);
7. Twice as Sweet (Declan Cannon, Brendan Walsh, 6-1);
8. Nora G (Rey Gutierrez, Patricia West, 12-1); and
9. Alexa Lou (Julien Leparoux, Dallas Stewart, 4-1).

The post Turf Stakes Winner Xigera Returns To Dirt In Saturday’s Seneca Overnight Stakes At Churchill appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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