Tag: Racing

Canterbury Park's leading jockey Harry Hernandez won five of the 10 races Saturday on the Minnesota Festival of Champions program for state-breds, including three of the evening's six stakes.

Hernandez's first stakes victory came in the $75,000 Blair's Cove Minnesota Turf Championship for 3-year-olds taking Jose Patio (by Cinco Charlie) gate to wire for trainer Mike Biehler and owners Barry and Joni Butzow. His second stakes win was aboard prohibitive favorite Midnight Current (by Midnight Lute) in the $75,000 Princess Elaine Distaff Turf for trainer Joel Berndt. The two teamed up again to win the $100,000 Northern Lights Futurity with Frosty View (by Frosted).

Both Midnight Current and Frosty View are owned and were bred by Bob Lothenbach's Lothenbach Stables Inc, the leading owner at the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack. Berndt and Lothenbach have now won the Northern Lights Futurity four consecutive years. Jose Patio paid $10.60 to win, Midnight Current $2.60, and Frosty View $6.80.

Hernandez, last season's top rider, also won two turf allowance races for trainer Tony Rengstorf guiding West Island and Sunshine Fever to victory.

Berndt and Lothenbach found the winner's circle again with Charlie's Penn, who won the $75,000 Bella Notte Distaff Sprint by 4 3/4 lengths with Lindey Wade riding. The 5-year-old Race Day mare beat favorite Cupids Crush and jockey Eduardo Gallardo, who was riding for Xtreme Racing Stables LLC and trainer Mac Robertson. Charlie's Penny, who won the Bella Notte in 2022, paid $6.60.

Gallardo, Xtreme Racing, and Robertson won earlier on the card with Xtreme Diva in the $100,000 Northern Lights Debutante. The 2-year-old Coal Front filly, who paid $2.80 as the favorite, covered six furlongs in 1:10.89, much faster than the 2-year-old gelding Frosty View whose final time was 1:12.33.

The fastest six furlongs of the night was recorded by Doctor Oscar who won the $75,000 Crocrock Sprint by six lengths in 1:09.66 under jockey Alonzo Quinonez. The 4-year-old Shackleford colt is trained by Tim Padilla and is owned and was bred by Pete Mattson. Doctor Oscar was favored and paid $3.00.

Handle for the 10-race Minnesota Festival of Champions card was $1,431,366, the fourth largest handle total in the event's history.

The post Hernandez Rides Five Winners On Minnesota Festival Of Champions Card At Canterbury Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Spendthrift Farm's homebred 2-year-old filly Tamara put it in gear early and just kept on going in simply outrunning 11 rivals Saturday at Del Mar in the 73rd edition of the Grade 1 FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante.

The well-made daughter of the hot young sire Bolt d'Oro out of the multiple-champion mare Beholder wound up 6 3/4 lengths in front at the finish of the seven-furlong filly crucible that she covered in 1:22.41.

Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith was merely along for the ride as his filly did it all by herself. Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, her conditioner and also the trainer of he. Hall of Fame mother, looked on happily.

Tamara, who broke her maiden at Del Mar on Aug. 19 in her only other outing, picked up a first prize of $180,000 for her tally in the $303,500 stakes. She now has $229,200 in winnings.

Her mother, the four-time Eclipse Award winner and three-time Breeders' Cup victress, ran in the Del Mar Debutante in 2012 and was beaten a nose by a filly named Executiveprivilege. Beholder would go on to win 13 Graded stakes, including 11 Grade Is.

Tamara paid $4.60 for $2 in this year's version of the headliner.

Finishing second was Exline-Border Racing, et al's Laurent, who had 2 1/4 lengths on C R K Stable's Gate to Paradise.

The track's popular Pick Six bet was not hit Saturday meaning there will be a carryover of $211,245 into Sunday's closing card. Closing Day means a “mandatory payout” on the wager, which could run into the millions. First post will be 1:30 p.m.

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MIKE SMITH (Tamara, winner) – “She's been doing things in her training that 2-year-olds aren't supposed to do. She's really special. She's like her mother. You don't see that usually. Those great mares they normally don't have great foals. But this one might be. I just held on today. I didn't want to fall off. She was doing it all herself. What can I say. She's very special.”

RICHARD MANDELLA (Tamara, winner) – “Very exciting. I expected her to run good but that was a little beyond. Watching it, he (jockey Mike Smith) had so much horse he didn't want to restrict her. He just had her do what she wanted to do. She's very quick, so I thought he would put her right there (lay second and up close) and we both agreed to that, just see what everybody else does.”

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FRACTIONS:  :21.85  :44.45  1:09.72  1:22.41

The stakes win was the third of the meet for rider Smith and the second for trainer Mandella.

This is rider Smith's third victory in the Debutante and his 80th overall at Del Mar, 11th most among all riders.

This is trainer Mandella's second Debutante victory (Halfbridled, 2003). He now has 74 stakes wins at Del Mar, tied for fourth most with Charlie Whittingham.

The winning owner is Spendthrift Farm, who is also the breeder of the winner.

The post Tamara, Beholder’s Daughter By Bolt d’Oro, Romps In Grade 1 Debutante appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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John Harris' Harris Farms' California-bred Closing Remarks won Saturday's $250,500 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar, staying within range early, then firing down the middle of the track in the stretch to pull away to a 1 3/4 triumph in the Grade 2 turf race for fillies and mares, aged 3 and up.

The winner, a 5-year-old homebred mare by Vronsky, covered the 1 1/8 miles on firm turf in 1:48.23 and earned a check of $150,000. She paid $4.80 to win.

Closing Remarks was handled by Umberto Rispoli and is trained by Carla Gaines. She was capturing the sixth race of her career and increased her bankroll to $861,320.

Finishing second was Abbondanza Racing and Medallion Racing, and partners' Turnerloose, who was a neck better than Glen Hill Farm's Paris Peacock.

In the day's Race 5, the chestnut filly Flattery came running from dead last to zoom by seven rivals and come away a length winner in the 12th running of the $101,500 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf.

The daughter of Flatter, owned by an extended partnership headed by Exline-Border Racing, covered the mile on grass in 1:36.86 under leading rider Juan Hernandez to finish up in 1:36.86 and pick up a check for $60,000. She now has two victories in two starts and earnings of $109,200. She paid $8.60 for the win.

Finishing second in the stakes was Living the Dream, Medallion Racing or Fowler's race favorite Loterie, who had a length and a quarter on Great Friends Stables et al's Angiolleta.

The track's popular Pick Six bet was not hit Saturday meaning there will be a carryover of $211,245 into Sunday's closing card. Closing Day means a “mandatory payout” on the wager, which could run into the millions. First post will be 1:30 p.m.

The post Stretch Rally Propels Closing Remarks To Victory In John C. Mabee appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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SJB Stable's Thirty Thou Kelvin was headed in the stretch but dug deep to come back and win the $250,000 Woodford Reserve Virginia Oaks by a neck Saturday at Colonial Downs.

Covering 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.04 across a firm turf course, Thirty Thou Kelvin led every step except a few strides in the stretch when Alpha Bella poked a nose in front to her outside at the furlong marker.

Under two-time Colonial riding champion Trevor McCarthy, Thirty Thou Kelvin broke with alacrity and took command with seven sophomores behind her, most immediately being Alpha Bella who bided her time as the two fillies held their positions through both turns.

As the field began breathing down their necks, Alpha Bella got the first jump and seemed to put the leader away, but Thirty Thou Kelvin resiliently found more along the rail to come back to triumph, holding off Root Cause by a neck. It was another neck back to Alpha Bella.

With back-to-back stakes victories, the Bolt d'Oro filly, trained by John Terranova II, adds $150,000 to boost her bankroll to $387,640 while improving her record to 4-0-2 from 11 starts.

“I was really shocked to be on the lead,” McCarthy said. “When the five (Broadway Girls) acted up to my inside in the gate, I thought I'd make sure to get a good break. This filly jumped right out of there, and John and Tanya (Terranova) said just be confident with her and don't take away anything that comes easy. After she broke in front, she turned off in the first turn and had her ears pricked down the backside. I tried to get away from them at the five-sixteenths pole, but it wasn't until she had company that she said, 'It's game time, let's fight.' I'm super happy for the connections. I love it here at Colonial Downs. It's the best turf course in the country.”

Sent off at odds of more than 11-1, Thirty Thou Kelvin returned $25.80.

Bred in Kentucky by Horseshoe Racing LLC, Thirty Thou Kelvin is out of the Midshipman mare Wealthy Shipman. She sold to Stephen J. Barberino Accumulation Trust at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, where Brookdale Sales consigned her.

The post Thirty Thou Kelvin Shows Resilience For Virginia Oaks Score appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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