Tag: Racing

Brad Cox regularly states that he always thinks about the Kentucky Derby from his Barn 22 at Churchill Downs. His path to the 150th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) will begin Saturday with 12-1 longshot Gettysburg Address entered in the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3).

Gettysburg Address is one of the many 2-year-olds Cox has in his Churchill Downs stable. The 2-year-old son of Constitution remained in Kentucky throughout the summer and broke his maiden Aug. 6 at Ellis Park.

“He's acted like a horse who will like stretching out in distance to one-mile in the Iroquois,” Cox said. “We know he has to step up to be competitive in this race and we're confident he can do so.”

Last year, Cox began his Road to Kentucky Derby 149 in the Iroquois when Jace's Road finished third to Curly Jack. Jace's Road would go on to finish 17th in the Kentucky Derby.

Gettysburg Address will be ridden by Gerardo Corrales out of post No. 9.

Another interesting 2-year-old prospect that entered the Iroquois is MyRacehorse's Seize the Grey. Trained by four-time Kentucky Derby winner Wayne Lukas, Seize the Grey broke his maiden July 29 at Saratoga and enters the Iroquois from a third-place finish in the Aug. 18 Skidmore Stakes.

Ironically, Seize the Grey's jockey, Jaime Torres, is represented as an agent by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, who won the Kentucky Derby for Lukas aboard Winning Colors (1988) and Thunder Gulch (1995).

Torres, a new addition to the local riding colony, previously rode in New York and Pennsylvania. The five-pound apprentice was aboard Seize the Grey for his maiden score. The duo will break from post 6.

The Iroquois, carded as Race 9 on Saturday, will begin the traditional Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of 37 races where points will be offered for the top five eligible horses. The Iroquois begins the “Prep Season,” a series of 21 foundation-building races. As the calendar moves closer to Kentucky Derby 150, the points and distances of each race will increase. The top five finishers in the Iroquois will be awarded points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.

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

1. Liberal Arts (Cristian Torres, Robert Medina, 20-1);
2. West Saratoga (Rafael Bejarano, Larry Demeritte, 8-1);
3. Union Roll (Gerardo Corrales, Todd Pletcher, 5-1);
4. Edified (Ricardo Santana Jr, Asmussen, 8-1);
5. Market Street (Gabe Saez, Lukas, 8-1);
6. Seize the Grey (Jaime Torres, Lukas, 10-1);
7. Gettysburg Address (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox, 12-1);
8. Risk It (Gaffalione, Asmussen, 2-1); and
9. Patriot Spirit (Jesus Castanon, Michael Campbell, 7-2).

The Iroquois is part of the Breeders' Cup “Dirt Dozen” where the top three finishers will receive a partial credit towards their entry fees in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.

The post ‘He Will Like Stretching Out’: Cox Confident In 12-1 Iroquois Longshot Gettysburg Address appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Brian Lynch has confirmed he will be sending two horses to Remington Park, one for the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday, Sept. 24, and the other to the Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on the undercard.

Lynch, a 59-year-old trainer from Australia, is ready to ship Tumbarumba, winner of the $250,000 Ellis Park Derby, for the Oklahoma Derby, and Ancient Peace for the Remington Park Oaks. The Oklahoma Derby will be run at 1-1/8 miles on the main track while the Oaks is set for 1-1/16 miles.

Tumbarumba is named for a small town in New South Wales, Australia, and some say the name is derived from the sound of thunder. That seems fitting considering the way the 3-year-old gelding came thundering down the stretch to win the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 13 in Kentucky by three-quarters of a length. The son of Oscar Performance, out of the Street Sense mare Naive Enough, showed the tenacity of a warrior to win that race. It was his third win in his last four starts. Oscar Performance is a horse that Lynch trained to a Breeders' Cup win in the Grade 1, $1 million Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita in 2016. Lynch is a multiple Grade 1-winning conditioner.

Tumbarumba's other two wins in his recent success were in allowance company. He won the Ellis Park Derby with veteran rider Rafael Bejarano in the saddle at 7-2 odds. The gelding's record coming into the Oklahoma Derby would be nine starts, four wins, one second and one third for $254,870 in earnings.

Lynch's family was ensconced in horse racing in Australia and he grew up across the street from a racetrack there. Lynch was looking for something a little more along the rough and tumble side when he left Australia for North America in 1986. He wanted to ride bulls on the rodeo circuit. When that didn't pan out for a living, he went to legendary Southern California trainer Bobby Frankel and began to work for him. Since he became an official trainer on his own in the early 1990s, Lynch has had 4,709 starters, won 783 times, run second 672 times and third another 627 times. His horses have earned $52,659,405 in his career, according to Equibase statistics.

Tumbarumba was bred in Louisiana by Coteau Grove Farms. He is owned by Amerman Racing.

The filly, Ancient Peace, going to the Remington Park Oaks, may be just as impressive and entry for Lynch. The 3-year-old daughter of War Front, out of the A.P. Indy mare Deceptive Vision, had an impressive runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Summer Oaks at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., the last time she raced on dirt, June 3. She might have won that race, but she got into more trouble than a juvenile delinquent. Ancient Peace hit the gate at the start of the race and then jumped a shadow during the race and still only lost by 1-3/4 lengths at 15-1 odds. She has yet to win in stakes company. Her last effort, when she was tried on the turf, was an experiment that didn't work out as she ran 10th of 14 horses in the Grade 2, $200,000 San Clemente at Del Mar on July 22. Her career record thus far is six starts, two wins, and one second for a bankroll of $130,400. She was bred in Ontario, Canada, by Sam-Son Farm. She is owned by Boardshorts Stables.

The draw for the lone graded stakes events on the Remington Park calendar will take place Saturday morning, Sept. 16.

The post Lynch: Tumbarumba, Ancient Peace Will Head To Oklahoma Derby, Remington Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A field of nine fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, will travel seven furlongs on the Toronto Tapeta in Sunday's $150,000 Seaway Stakes (G3) at Woodbine.

Millie Girl, a 5-year-old daughter of Hard Spun-Mendocino Beano, has reached the podium in all seven career starts to sport an overall mark of 3-1-3.

Trained by Catherine Day Phillips, who co-owns (through her Kingfield Racing Stable, Ltd.) with Braconcrest Inc. and Apricot Valley Thoroughbreds, the dark bay reeled off two straight scores to start her career, both at seven furlongs on the E.P. Taylor turf, including a half-length victory in her debut last July.

Since then, Millie Girl has raced twice on the Tapeta, once at seven furlongs, the other at 1 1/6 miles, along with three starts on the E.P. Taylor, over “good” ground at 1 1/16 miles on October 22, over “firm” going at 6 ½ furlongs on June 3 and on “yielding” ground at one mile on July 1.

The latter two races, the Royal North (G2T) and Nassau (G2T), marked the mare's first two appearances on the stakes stage.

She was third in both, including the Nassau, a race that saw Grade 1 winner Fev Rover (IRE) take top spot and Canada's reigning horse of the year, recent Canadian Stakes (G2T) winner Moira, finish second.

“Millie Girl has shown talent all along,” said Day Phillps, of the $67,000 (U.S.) Keeneland Association November Breeding Stock Sale purchase in 2021, who was bred in Ontario by Sean Fitzhenry. “She has taken time to mature both physically and mentally, but she has shown professionalism in her races right from her first start.”

Declan Carroll will ride.

Kevin Pena Salgado is the groom.

Other starters include a pair of Michael Stidham trainees, multiple stakes winner Ready to Venture (GB) and graded stakes-placed Purrfect, multiple graded stakes winners Il Malocchio and Hazelbrook, and stakes winner Ticker Tape Home. ​ ​ ​

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, jockey Robin Platts, has a record six Seaway scores. Prospective Dolly won three editions (1991-92 and 1994) of the race that was inaugurated in 1956.

Sunday's first post is 1:15 p.m. The Seaway is listed as race nine on the 11-race card. Fans can watch and wager via HPIbet.com, bet365 and the Dark Horse Bets App.

$150,000 Seaway Stakes (G3)

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Ready to Venture (GB) – Rafael Hernandez – Michael Stidham

2 – Millie Girl – Declan Carroll – Catherine Day Phillips

3 – Vantarsi – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard

4 – Hazelbrook – Jason Hoyte – Lorne Richards

5 – Purrfect – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Michael Stidham

6 – Ticker Tape Home – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

7 – Talk to Ya Later – Ryan Munger – Ian Black

8 – Hai Bobbi (S) – Sofia Vives – Kadain Gordon

9 – Il Malocchio – Sahin Civaci – Martin Drexler

The post ‘She Has Taken Time To Mature’: Millie Girl Chases Graded Status In Sunday’s Seaway appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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