‘Saved Our Weekend’: Dataman Comes Through For Motion With Stakes Win At Laurel

Gerard and Alain Wertheimer's homebred Dataman, a 3-year-old son of Tapit, drove past the pacesetting stakes winner Ari Gold down the stretch to win Sunday's $100,000 Bald Eagle by three-quarters of a length over a firm 1 3/16-mile turf course.

Trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Jorge Ruiz, Dataman returned $26.80 while covering the distance in 1:54.72.

“Saved our weekend,” said Motion, who saddled Romagna Mia to a third-place finish in the Beverly D. (G1) and watched Nagirroc finish second by a neck in the Secretariat (G2) Sunday at Colonial Downs.

Dataman, out of the Maria's Mon mare Soldata, broke his maiden at second asking last year on the turf at Colonial before finishing sixth in the Pilgram (G2) and fourth in the Rocky Run. After running twice at Tampa in December and January, Motion gave the gelding some time off. He returned on June 28 after time off in Florida to win an off-the-turf event at Delaware by 11 ¼ lengths after

“I think it really was more about giving him the little break that he had,” Motion said. “Mentally he's always been a difficult horse. He's Tapit and he's very wound up in the morning. But I think we kind of got his number and I think giving him a little break really helped him and he's a little bit older now and that helps.”

While Ari Gold led his opponents throughout the opening mile, Ruiz raced fourth down the backstretch. Around the turn he guided Dataman inside a tiring Sirtaki and then guided the colt off the rail to drive by Ari Gold inside the final 70 yards.

Motion said “it makes sense” to probably keep Dataman on the grass for now.

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Casse To Point Rhyme Schemes For Hopeful, Pencils In Breeders’ Futurity

Pura Vida Investments' talented juvenile Rhyme Schemes has won 2-of-3 lifetime starts with each score coming by a margin of 9 1/2 lengths, led by a romp in Saturday's $200,000 Herb Moelis Memorial Saratoga Special (G2), a 6 1/2-furlong main track sprint for juveniles at Saratoga Race Course.

“Everything looks good this morning and he seems happy; no complaints,” said trainer Norm Casse, who celebrated his fifth career graded victory. “Overall, it's so rewarding. I've been doing this for a long time and Saratoga is an iconic place – the Saratoga Special is an iconic race. Just to be involved is humbling, and to win it is something to be really proud of.”

A son of Ghostzapper, Rhyme Schemes was awarded an 86 Beyer Speed Figure for the his Saratoga Special coup and will now be pointed to the Spa's seven-furlong  $300,000 Hopeful (G1) on September 4, which will likely be used a springboard to Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity (G1) going a two-turn 1 1/16-miles on October 7.

“Unless he suggests otherwise, I think that's the most rational thing to do,” said Casse. “I know he's still a fresh horse and I can't imagine why he can't come back in three weeks and run just as well. Ideally, the Hopeful will be next and then the Breeders' Futurity after that. The way he trains and his overall demeanor suggests he's a two-turn horse. The horses have the answers, so we'll figure it out as we do it.”

Rhyme Schemes finished an even sixth on debut in May at Churchill Downs when attempting to close from midpack, but relished a front-running trip and the addition of blinkers to claim victory at second asking on June 15 at Ellis Park. He proved his versatility in the Saratoga Special when stalking and pouncing from third, one length off the pace, to draw clear down the stretch under regular rider Ricardo Santana Jr.

“He's a true professional,” said Casse. “We don't have to do too much with him because he's so talented; we just let him go through the motions between races, and that's good enough for him. That's what's most exciting about him is the fact that we haven't really had to grind on him to get him to this place where he is now.”

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‘Mayor Of Saratoga’ Casa Creed To Get Break, Aim For Breeders’ Cup Mile

On Sunday morning, owner Lee Einsidler of LRE Racing was still basking in the glow of his Saratoga Race Course-loving star Casa Creed, who for the second straight year Saturday captured the Fourstardave Handicap (G1) going one mile over the inner turf.

Trained by Bill Mott and co-owned by Einsidler with Mike Francesa's JEH Racing, Casa Creed became the fourth horse to win two editions of the Fourstardave, joining Got Stormy [2019, 2021], Hall of Famer Wise Dan [2012-13] and the race's namesake Fourstardave [1990-91], who captured the prestigious race when it was run as the Daryl's Joy.

Einsidler stopped by Mott's stable at the Oklahoma training track to pay Casa Creed a visit after his big win. He said the fan favorite, affectionately known as the 'Mayor of Saratoga,' will now have sights set on the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) in November at Santa Anita.

Although yet to win a Breeders' Cup race, Casa Creed has been a participant in the past three runnings, finishing a respective 12th [2020] and eighth [2021] in the Mile before running ninth in last year's Turf Sprint (G1).

“He looks amazing. He came out of the race great. His legs are cool, he's eating up and feeling great,” Einsidler said. “We'll give him a break now and see if we can get him out to California for the Breeders' Cup.”

Boasting a 6-4-0-2 record over the Saratoga turf, Casa Creed won the Grade 3 Kelso at Saratoga on July 15 and the 2019 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in during his sophomore season, one year after breaking his maiden over the Spa main track in August 2018.

In addition to his Spa accolades, Casa Creed captured two straight runnings of Belmont Park's six-furlong Jaipur (G1)  [2021-22] while running third behind last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) winner Caravel in this year's edition. He also shipped halfway across the world the past couple of Februarys to finish a close second in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.

“He loves to win. He loves to race and we're so grateful that he's a part of our life. It was just one of those amazing, amazing days,” Einsidler said.

Casa Creed earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure – his eighth lifetime triple digit number – for the Fourstardave, where he earned a “Win And You're In” entry into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile in November at Santa Anita Park. The evergreen 7-year-old son of Jimmy Creed additionally competed in his fourth straight Fourstardave, finishing third in the 2020 and 2021 editions, respectively.

In last year's running, Casa Creed utilized his typical late-pouncing style en route to a 1 1/2-length triumph over eventual champion turf female Regal Glory.

“You can't imagine that you'd run in the same Grade 1 race at Saratoga four years in a row. That's not anything even remotely something you would ever think about, but to win it for the second year in a row made for an amazing day,” Einsidler said. “I'm so appreciative of what Bill Mott and his staff have done for this horse for the entirety of his career. As a 7-year-old, there's the argument to be made that yesterday's race was the best race of his life.”

Casa Creed entered the Fourstardave from a triumph in the Kelso going one mile at the Spa, where he benefited from a slow start from post time favorite Annapolis and fended off his foe to win by one length. But the tables were turned in Saturday's race, where Casa Creed had to catch the Irad Ortiz Jr.-piloted Annapolis in deep stretch, collaring the Grade 1-winning millionaire in the final sixteenth to win by three-quarters of a length under Luis Saez.

“He had every reason not to catch the horse in front, who's a very good racehorse. He went after him, caught him, and beat him to the wire,” Einsidler said. “We knew that was going to be their plan after the way the Kelso unfolded where we got the jump on him. We knew Irad would go and Luis knew it so he figured he would follow him. He knew what he had underneath him. He told me this morning that he was very confident going down the lane that he was going to catch him. Casa Creed has a great closing kick, we saw that yesterday. I have great respect for Annapolis and all the other horses in the race. But we beat him by a comfortable margin, which was very gratifying. It wasn't like it was a nose finish; we spotted him three or four lengths coming down the stretch.”

With an overall record of 33-9-5-5, Casa Creed has banked $2,460,308 in lifetime earnings.

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Inspiral Rebounds From Goodwood Dud To Score Repeat In ‘Win & You’re In’ Jacques Le Marois

Eleven days following her unplaced finish in the Sussex (G1) at Goodwood, Inspiral made the quick turnaround Sunday to score a repeat victory in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (G1), an inter-generational championship going one mile at Deauville Racecourse in France.

With the victory, Inspiral earned an automatic starting position into the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), to be run in November at Santa Anita, through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.

A Cheveley Park Stud homebred, the 4-year-old Frankel filly is trained in Newmarket by John and Thady Gosden and was ridden by Frankie Dettori. Sunday's win marks Dettori's eighth win in this prestigious race, and this summer will be his final appearance on the Deauville racecourse. He claimed his first Jacques Le Marois in 1999 with the exceptional Dubai Millennium.

Inspiral, on her part, was coming back after facing defeat twice, on the soft ground June 20 at Royal Ascot in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) and then when fifth and last in the Sussex on Aug. 1. Positioned further back in the Jacques Le Marois, she made her move a quarter mile out to the center of the course and successfully overcame the race leader and favorite Big Rock. He was eventually bested by a solid length, with third place going to Light Infantry and fourth to Onesto.

Time was 1:36.62 on turf rated as good to soft.

Cheveley Park Director Richard Thompson said: “It was a brave, brave call. She ran in the [Qatar] Sussex [Stakes] 11 days ago and, although she didn't have much of a race, to come back and win this again is absolutely fantastic. What a day.

“She's a proper individual and she's had some difficult days on the racecourse but she's had great ones too. She's so talented and when it goes for her, as it did here, she's just in a different league.”

Inspiral is out of Starscope (by Selkirk), runner-up in the 1000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes. A winner of both those races last year, Inspiral has emulated her dam's performance, being her fourth victorious offspring in as many sent to training. The second dam is a sister to the exceptional stallion and champion miler Medicean.

Inspiral is the first fiily to win the race twice since Miesque (1987 and 1988). John Gosden has claimed victory in the last four editions of the race with Palace Pier, who also secured a double, and this filly, bringing his tally to five, including the stellar stallion Kingman's triumph in 2014.

Gosden won the 1984 Breeders' Cup Mile with Royal Heroine.

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