Tag: Racing

Carl Spackler enjoyed a ground-saving trip under Tyler Gaffalione before tipping out late in the turn and eliminating the gulf between his rivals to capture Friday's Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown for Bob Edwards' e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, the Lope de Vega colt made amends for an off-the-board effort in the Grade 2 American Turf with a sustained stretch-drive surge in the re-scheduled one-mile inner turf test for sophomores to top an exacta over stablemate Appraise.

Brown credited Edwards for allowing the horse time to recuperate after the American Turf on May 6 at Churchill Downs.

“After the race at Churchill, I shipped him back home to Belmont and he just was not looking well. He got sick on the trip and e Five Racing is always patient with their horses. Bob said, 'Listen, just point him to Saratoga and get him right' and the horse really blossomed,” Brown said. “The last couple of weeks, his coat was shining, the horse had his energy back. His last two works were excellent. I felt even though it was off a layoff and it was a big race, he was ready to fire a big one.”

Appraise broke alertly and led the field into the opening turn as Mysterious Night, who was off a beat slow, rushed into contention to press the pace through an opening quarter-mile in 24.37 seconds over the good going.

Carl Spackler traveled comfortably in sixth position to the inside of stablemate Mischievous Angel as Mysterious Night took over through a half-mile in 47.45 with Appraise content to track in second with General Jim in third to his outside.

Carl Spackler advanced with an inside run midway through the final turn before angling off the hedge to travel around Behind Enemy Lines and tip five-wide for the stretch run. Appraise assumed the lead at the stretch call and stayed on stubbornly, but he could not hold off Carl Spackler, who vaulted past at the sixteenth pole to secure the 2 1/4-length win in a final time of 1:36.29.

Appraise staved off the late charge of Grade 3 Manila-winner More Than Looks by a nose to secure place honors with Ocean Vision, Behind Enemy Lines, Mischievous Angel, Mysterious Night, Bat Flip and General Jim completing the order of finish.

Brown said moving the race back one week after heavy rains forced the cancellation of the final four races on last Friday's card was beneficial to all involved.

“I want to credit NYRA for doing the right thing and rescheduling the race. When you're putting up a half-million dollars, you never want to treat it by just getting it over with,” said Brown, who picked up his seventh stakes win of the meet. “You want to treat it to put on the best horse race you can. That's the approach they took by canceling, and that's not just because I won. I've been complimenting them before the race and all week. If you put up that kind of purse money, you've got to put on the best race for everyone involved: the owners, the gamblers, the trainers and jockeys and alike.”

Gaffalione said he rode with confidence after overcoming a troubled start.

“You know, it really didn't really go as planned. I wanted to be a lot closer to the pace, but coming out of the gate I actually lost my stirrup. My horse hit the gate pretty hard, but he settled real nice for me,” Gaffalione said. “Going down the backside, I was able to get the one-path off the fence and he was taking me. A spot opened up coming into the stretch and he really finished up well. My horse was very comfortable where he was, and I was very content where I was.”

Klaravich Stables' Appraise, an Irish-bred Kodiac colt, finished second to returning rival Mysterious Night in the Grade 1 Summer in September at Woodbine Racetrack. He made his seasonal debut last out with a three-quarter length allowance score against elders on July 8 at Belmont Park.

Prat said he was impressed with how Appraise handled the early rush of a headstrong Mysterious Night.

“He jumped so well and he was able to get himself alone on the lead,” Prat said. “I wa

s really pleased with that and then had some pressure from the outside, so I took him back a little bit, but he relaxed well once I got him covered up. He made a good run turning for home. He just got beat by a better horse. It was a good race.”

Carl Spackler finished second to eventual Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational-winner Far Bridge in his January debut at Gulfstream Park. He followed with an 8 3/4-length romp on February 25 traveling one mile over firm Gulfstream green ahead of his whiff in the American Turf.

Bred in Ireland by Edwards' Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, Carl Spackler is out of the Brown-trained and e Five Racing Throughbreds campaigned grade stakes-winning More Than Ready mare Zindaya, who is a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Western Aristocrat.

Friday's success was a family affair in many ways for Edwards, whose daughter Cassidy – a freelance photographer working with NYRA track photographer Adam Coglianese – is married to Gaffalione.

“You have a horse that I bred out of my first winning mare, my son in-law is the jockey and my daughter is taking pictures with Adam. We're infiltrating,” said Edwards, with a laugh. “I bred three of the horses in the race: Bat Flip, General Jim and this one.”

 

Carl Spackler banked $275,000 in victory while improving his record to 4-2-1-0. He returned $6.70 for a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with an 11-race card featuring the $150,000 Galway in Race 7, the Grade 2, $200,000 Herb Moelis Memorial Saratoga Special in Race 8 and the Grade 1, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile, in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

 

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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When you put up $2-million to buy a 2-year-old in training, you're obviously taking a big swing. But then Amr F. Zedan, the 48-year-old billionaire, Saudi Arabian businessman and serial venture capital investor has been to the plate for big swings before.

The young horse we're focusing on here is the 2-year-old colt named Muth, a bay son of Good Magic out of the Uncle Mo mare Hoppa. The $2-million price was reached at the March Ocala Breeders' Sale in Florida and the colt – properly owned by Zedan Racing Stables – found a home in Southern California with trainer Bob Baffert.

The conditioner, who has worked his exceptional horse training skills with many a young runner, got Muth to the races for the first time on June 18 at Santa Anita and the result was what you'd expect for a 3-10 first-time starter: an 8 1/2-length victory over straight maidens going five furlongs in a rapid :57.20 for the distance. He was handled by top rider Juan Hernandez and won “geared down” according to the chart.

Now comes swing No. 2 for the youngster as he steps into graded stakes company for the first time Sunday in Del Mar's 53rd edition of the $200,000, Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes for juveniles taking on four rivals going six furlongs. He'll partner once again with Hernandez and Baffert has put a series of solid recent works into his charge in anticipation of this move up.

Del Mar's morning line maker Jon White has no doubts about Muth:  He'll be 3-5 and beat him if you can on the program Sunday.

Here's the from-the-rail-out lineup – with riders and morning line odds — for the dash, which will go as Race 4 on the 10-race card:

Great Friends Stables or Davis' Raging Torrent (Antonio Fresu, 15-1); William Peeples' Tranche (Edwin Maldonado, 4-1); Reddam Racing's Who Is Pavel Mario Gutierrez, 30-1); Muth, and SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Racing's Prince of Monaco (Flavien Prat, 9/5).

The chief treat to the top one also is trained by Baffert in Prince of Monaco. He, too, was a galloping winner in his debut, scoring by eight at Los Alamitos on July 9. He gets the saddle services of Prat, a seven-time leading rider at Del Mar who has come in from his regular gig at Saratoga for the program and has been named on six different horses over the course of the afternoon.

First post for Sunday's card is at 2 p.m.

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WellSpring Stables' Leave No Trace breezed a sharp half mile over the Saratoga main track in 47.44 seconds on Thursday, leaving trainer Phil Serpe with a decision to make regarding when his Grade 1 winning filly should return to the starting gate.

“She did very well. We're very happy with the work,” said Serpe. “We're just looking at some options for some races and will know more in a couple of days.”

Leave No Trace certainly left her mark at Saratoga during her juvenile campaign, winning her debut by 2 3/4 lengths sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs here en route to a 14-1 upset in the Grade 1 Spinaway, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of eventual Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Wonder Wheel.

Serpe's Outwork filly next tried the Grade 1 Frizette in October at Belmont at the Big A and finished third despite a troubled break. Her 2-year-old campaign concluded in November with a second to Wonder Wheel in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland.

Leave No Trace returned as a sophomore in March in the Grade 2 Davona Dale, going one mile over the Gulfstream Park dirt. The dark-bay broke sharply to the lead setting a fast quarter of 23.01, but was eased after a half-mile by jockey Tyler Gaffalione.

She returned to the work tab on July 2 and has worked weekly since, with her fastest coming in Thursday's move which ranked second out of 76 workers.

“She's doing really well. She's pretty close to a race,” Serpe said. “We want to get her in a race before we leave Saratoga, so hopefully towards the end of the meet. She's going to get to run.”

A potential landing spot could be the Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress on September 2, a six furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

Serpe will send out WellSpring Stables' Safe Conduct in Sunday's Oceanport at Monmouth Park, a 1 1/16 miles turf route for 3-year-olds and up.

The 5-year-old horse was entered in an allowance optional claimer on July 30 at Saratoga, but scratched and re-routed to New Jersey.

“He doesn't like soft turf and the ground was pretty soft. I think the race down there looks like a decent spot, hopefully he can rebound and get something done,” said Serpe.

Safe Conduct broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles over the Saratoga turf in August 2020. Since then, his earnings have climbed to $768,694 through a lifetime record of 18-4-3-3, featuring a stakes win in the 2021 Queen's Plate at Woodbine.

Last summer, Safe Conduct became graded stakes placed with a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Monmouth, earning a lifetime high Beyer Speed Figure of 94 before heading into the Lure at Saratoga, where he ran fifth after a wide trip.

The Bodemeister bay last ran third in an optional claiming race for older horses on July 4 at Belmont, three lengths behind Portfolio Company, who returned to finish a neck off of a win in the Fasig-Tipton Lure on August 5 here.

Bred in Ontario by Mitchell Kursner, Safe Conduct is out of the Congrats mare Duchess Dancer, who is a half-sister to Canada's 2008 Horse of the Year Fatal Bullet.

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A pair of graded black type events – the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap and the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes – will be on tap Saturday at Del Mar as the 84th summer in Del Mar's racing history rolls right along.

The Yellow Ribbon, which is being run for the 71st time and offers a purse of $250,000 to older fillies and mares, will be contested at 1 1/16 miles on the turf and go as Race 9 on the day's 10-race program. The Sorrento, which will have its 55th presentation and is limited to 2-year-old fillies, will provide a $200,000 purse and go over six furlongs on the main track. It will be race No. 6 on the card.

The Yellow Ribbon has lured seven runners out of their barns and the likely favorite is Harris Farms' homebred Closing Remarks, a hard-knocking mare who runs her race most every time and may be well spotted by trainer Carla Gaines for a top effort here. She'll have ace turf rider Umberto Rispoli in the tack and will break from the No. 1 post.

In the Sorrento, which has drawn eight young lassies, there may be a nice matchup between Kaleem Shah's Benedetta and Zendan Racing Stables' Dua in a race within the race. Both were winners of their only starts – the former at Los Alamitos on July 8 and the latter at Del Mar on July 22. Trainer Simon Callaghan has given the call on Benedetta to veteran Victor Espinoza, while conditioner Bob Baffert has named leading rider Juan Hernandez on Dua.

Both races will be part of the track's “Pick Six Guarantee,” where a single-ticket holder in the day's popular exotic bet is guaranteed a final prize of no less than $1-million by Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

Here's the complete fields for the stakes listed in post position order with riders and morning line odds:

Yellow Ribbon — Closing Remarks (5/2); Abbondanza Racing and Medallion Racing's Turnerloose (Antonio Fresu, 8-1); Nentwig, Beast Mode Racing or CYBT's Spirit And Glory (hector Berrios, 6-1); Agave Racing Stable or Rocking Robin Ranch's School Dance (Ramon Vazquez, 3-1); Panic Stable's Lucky Girl (Joe Bravo, 5-1); Baoma Corp's Ganadora (Hernande3z, 6-1), and Reddam Racing's Awake At Midnyte (Mario Gutierrez, 4-1).

Sorrento – Barber or Peli's Feisty Mitole (Vazquez, 8-1); Dan Eplin's Dreamfrye (Berrios, 3-1); Dua (5/2); Adams, Connors, or Rasmussen, et al's Vinos Angel (Bravo, 4-1); Albert, Dunn or Hanson, et al's Kythira (Drayden Van Dyke, 20-1); Gary Folgner's Motet (Abdul Alsagoor, 30-1); R3 Racing's Ur in Trouble (Fresu, 6-1), and Benedetta (2-1).

First post Saturday is a 2 p.m.

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