Tag: Racing

Big Everest, a three-time stakes winner beaten as the favorite in his last start; graded stakes-winning turf sprinter Cazadero, and Highestdistinction, who upset Big Everest in their last meeting, top a list of 20 horses nominated to the $200,000 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3) Saturday, Sept. 16 at Pimlico Race Course.

The one-mile BWI Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up is the headliner on a program featuring six stakes, three each scheduled for turf and dirt, worth $650,000 in purses on the penultimate weekend of Pimlico's boutique nine-day fall meet.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Steven Rocco, and William Branch's Big Everest, bred in England and trained by Christophe Clement, was fourth by three lengths after setting the pace in the 1 1/16-mile Oceanport Aug. 13 at Monmouth Park. It was the second straight loss for the 5-year-old gelding following a four-race win streak that included stakes victories in the 2022 Artie Schiller and 2023 Danger's Hour and Cliff Hanger. The Artie Schiller and Danger's Hour both came at one mile, a distance where Big Everest has four wins from seven tries.

Willow Lane Stable Inc.'s Highestdistinction captured his stakes debut in the Oceanport with a come-from-behind 1 ½-length triumph at odds of 10-1, his second straight win for trainer Lindsay Schultz, who also nominated Shortleaf Stables Inc.'s Whelen Springs, a 9-1 upset winner of the Philip H. Iselin (G3) Aug. 19 at Monmouth yet to race on grass.

Cazadero, owned and trained by David Jacobson, has made his last seven starts sprinting on the turf, his lone win coming in the six-furlong Nearctic (G2) last fall at Woodbine. Most recently he was fifth by two lengths after breaking a step slow in a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance Aug. 23 at Saratoga.

D Hatman Thoroughbreds and Kingdom Bloodstock Inc.'s Determined Kingdom is another multiple turf stakes winner, holding on for a front-running neck triumph in the 5½-furlong Meadow Stable Sept. 2 at Colonial Downs. John Bowers Jr.'s homebred He'spuregold is a stakes winner on both turf and dirt that most recently ran third in the Oceanport, beaten three lengths.

Also prominent among BWI Turf Cup nominees are grass stakes winners Alogon and King Vega; Tappin Cat, a multiple dirt stakes winner that was fifth in the 1 1/16-mile Find Aug. 19 at Laurel Park in his second grass start; Duke of Hazzard, a winner first off the claim for trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. in a Saratoga allowance Aug. 19; Doctor Davis, who beat Grade 3-winning stablemate Eons in a June 17 allowance at Laurel; and Doppleganger, upset winner of the seven-furlong Carter (G1) April 8 at Aqueduct that has never raced on grass.

Other Sept. 16 stakes scheduled for the turf are the $100,000 All Along for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/8 miles and $75,000 Ben's Cat for Maryland-bred/sired horses 3 and older sprinting 5 ½ furlongs.

The All Along drew 25 nominees including the top three finishers from the July 15 Big Dreyfus at Laurel – 2022 Valley View (G3) winner Sparkle Blue, Italian Group 3 winner Atomic Blonde and Community Adjusted; multiple stakes winners Bipartisanship and Coconut Cake; Irish Group 3 winner Speirling Beag, beaten a neck when second in the Aug. 13 Searching at Laurel; Gold Digging Broad, promoted winner of the 1 1/16-mile All Brandy Aug. 19 at Laurel; and Milagrosa Surena, a Group 1 winner on turf in her native Argentina.

Grade 3 winner Jaxon Traveler, third by 1 ¼ lengths in last year's race, just his third on grass; Matta, third by a length to Carotari in last fall's Laurel Dash; Prince Pere, third or better in 12 of 24 career turf starts; 2022 Maryland Million Turf Sprint winner Spun Glass; and Witty, a multiple dirt stakes winner that has run second in three consecutive stakes sprinting on the grass, are among 20 nominees to the Ben's Cat.

Jaxon Traveler's lone graded stakes win came in the 2022 Maryland Sprint (G3) at Pimlico, where he has three wins and two seconds in five starts. He is also one of 20 nominees to the $100,000 Lite the Fuse for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on the main track, a race where he ran second as the favorite last fall behind subsequent Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) winner Sibelius.

Cazadero; 2022 Gallant Bob (G2) winner Scaramouche; multiple stakes winner Coastal Mission, riding a five-race win streak; fellow 10-time winner Colonel Bowman; 2020 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) runner-up Cowan; Doppelganger and Grade 3-winning stablemate Wondrwherecraigis; 2022 Maryland Million Nursery winner Johnyz From Albany; and stakes winners Hello Hot Rod, Little Roo Roo, No Cents, Recruiter, Stage Left and Threes Over Deuces are also nominated.

The $100,000 Weather Vane for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs attracted 21 nominations led by Alva Starr, winner of the Sept. 2 Prioress (G2) at Saratoga; multiple stakes-placed Awesome Pic; 2022 Our Dear Peggy winner Blind Spot; stakes winner Late Frost, most recently third in the seven-furlong Charles Town Oaks (G3) Aug. 25; stakes winner Opus Forty Two, second in the July 1 Delaware Handicap (G2); stakes winners Santa Fe Gold and Tappin Jose; Talk to the Judge, front-running head winner at odds of 9-1 in the seven-furlong Miss Disco July 29 at Laurel; and Yesternight, runner-up in the Aug. 22 Cathryn Sophia to Delaware Handicap winner Foggy Night.

Completing the stakes action is the $75,000 Shine Again going six furlongs for fillies and mares 3 and up which have never won an open sweepstakes. Among the 21 nominees are Arizona-bred stakes winner Alberta Sun; Bourbon Wildcat, runner-up in the Jan. 21 Geisha at Laurel; Intrepid Daydream, third in the one-mile Caesar's Wish July 15 at Laurel; Late Frost; Mama G's Wish, a winner of two straight as well as the Delaware-certified Lewes last summer at Delaware Park; Moody Woman, third in the Feb. 18 Barbara Fritchie (G3); nine-time winner Self Isolation; Six the Hard Way, third in the April 15 Weber City Miss; and Talk to the Judge.

Pimlico's fall meet is scheduled to open Sept. 8 and run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 24.

The post BWI Turf Cup Anchors Six Stakes At Pimlico Sept. 16 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The chestnut 3-year-old colt Conclude, owned by the partnership of Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables, and Bret Jones, hung tough late to tally by a head Sunday at Del Mar in the 78th edition of the Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby.

Hector Berrios gave the son of Collected a well-timed ride and finished the nine furlongs on turf in 1:48.61. Trainer Phil D'Amato saddled the winner, who earned a first prize of $180,000 from the gross purse of $302,000 in the Grade 2 headliner for sophomores. The race is considered the championship event for 3-year-old males during the Del Mar meeting.

Finishing second was Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal's Maltese Falcon, who closed stoutly through the lane to just miss. He was a length ahead of CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Gevertz, Nentwig and Pagano's Almendares.

Conclude, who had won the opening day Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside Stakes, won his third straight race and fourth overall and increased his bankroll to $359,600. He paid $4.20 to win as the 11-10 race favorite.

Earlier on the card, a racing rarity occurred when trainer Bob Baffert's two horses in the Shared Belief Stakes dead-heated for the victory.

Pegram/Watson/Weitman's Tahoe Sunrise and Sunny Brook Stables' Mr Fisk finished exactly even on the wire and both were awarded the victory in the $125,500 stakes for 3-year-olds. They ran the mile on dirt in 1:37.33 with Victor Espinoza up on Tahoe Sunrise and Juan Hernandez aboard Mr Fisk.

The winning horses each received $50,000 as their shares of the purse.

Finishing third, eight lengths farther back, was C R K Stable's Smart Mo.

Tahoe Sunrise paid $3.00 for the win. Mr Fisk returned $2.80.

Baffert previously had been involved in a dead-heat stakes victory in the De Anza Stakes at Del Mar in 1992 when his horse Wheelers Oil tied with Boss Soss, trained by Jack Haynes.

Racing will resume at Del Mar on Labor Day Monday with a first post at 1:30 p.m.

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HECTOR BERRIOS (Conclude, winner) – “I had a good trip, all the way. He was relaxed and that's the best. Then when we turned for home, I said 'Vamoose!' And he really took off from there.”

PHIL D'AMATO (Conclude, winner) – “A masterful ride by Hector (Berrios), letting that other horse go and then making that move at the three-quarter pole to get him comfortable on the lead. He's tough horse. The mile and an eighth is where he wants to be at. Anywhere in that mile to mile and an eighth range he's going to be a top class horse down the road.”

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FRACTIONS:  :23.91  :47.40  1:12.20  1:36.68  1:48.61

The stakes win was the fifth of the session for rider Berrios and the sixth for trainer D'Amato.

Rider Berrios was winning his first Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby and his ninth overall stakes at Del Mar.

Trainer D'Amato was winning his second Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby (Midnight Storm, 2014) and his 50th overall stakes at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables, and Bret Jones.

The post Berrios Guides Conclude To Narrow Victory In Del Mar Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Love to Shop, at odds of 5-2, was full of run late to take the $125,000 Toronto Cup Stakes for 3-year-olds Sunday at Woodbine.

Arriving at the one-mile Toronto Cup off a third in the Ontario Colleen Stakes (G3) on July 22, Love to Shop, the lone filly in the field of eight, emerged victorious courtesy of a strong stretch drive over a firm E.P. Taylor turf course.

Eyes On the King, one of three Mark Casse trainees (Conman and Lifetime of Chance were the others), took the early lead and was 3½ lengths in front of Conman through an opening quarter in :23.28, as Emma-Jayne Wilson, board Love to Shop, settled into sixth spot.

On top by three lengths after a half in :45.86, Eyes On the King was then pressured to his outside by stablemate Conman heading into the turn for home. Wilson, who kept Love to Shop well within striking distance, gave her charge her cue at the top of the lane.

A head clear at the stretch call, the bay, trained by Kevin Attard, was resolute in the final yards, going on to secure a 1¼-length triumph in a time of 1:34.14.

Conman edged Souper Blessing by a head for second. Sammy Stone was fourth, followed by British Artillery, Eyes On the King, Lifetime of Chance and Dream Jereem.

“I learned a little bit about her last time,” said Wilson, in reference to the Ontario Colleen. “I gave her the best trip I could. The last 70 yards, it got a little tight and I had to alter course, and she's such a big, strong filly, so it wasn't ideal. This time, I had the chance to get her into a nice, outside stalking trip, and let her get into rhythm. With three-eighths of a mile stretch run, I just tipped her off heels and let her build and build. She finished on strong, and she got the job done.”

It was the first stakes win for the daughter of Violence out of Tiffany Case, by Uncle Mo. She came to the Attard barn after three starts in the U.S. for Todd Pletcher, which included a maiden-breaking score at Belmont on June 10.

“I think she was the best horse in the race,” said Wilson. “I knew that going in and she ran like it.”

Owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, Love to Shop was bred in Kentucky by DJ Stable LLC. Offered by Taylor Made Sales Agency at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, she was purchased for $200,000.

Launching her career with a pair of seconds, one at Saratoga, the other at Belmont, Love to Shop is now 2-2-1 from five starts.

She returned $7.70 for the win.

The post ‘She Got The Job Done’: Love To Shop Defeats Males In Toronto Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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