Tag: Racing

For the second day in a row, riding one race on the card was all leading rider Juan Hernandez needed to find his way to the winner's circle again at Del Mar.

Sunday he slipped through on the fence to guide the maiden Maltese Falcon, owned by Red Baron Barn  or Rancho Temescal, to a one-length tally in the 82nd edition of the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

The day before he pulled off a similar one-length score on Adare Manor in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on the main track with his only mount of the afternoon.

The rider had been set down for three days for a previous riding infraction and was only allowed to ride in designated races this weekend. He made his two efforts pay off in spades with his double stakes victories. He now has won 15 races through the first 11 days of the meet and once more sits atop the riders' standings.

His Sunday tally on the Irish-bred gelding by Caravaggio saw him earn the winner's share of $90,000 from the $151,500 purse of the La Jolla. The winnings pushed Maltese Falcon's total earnings to $135,948 and gave him a record of one win, two seconds and two thirds in seven lifetime starts. He is trained by Leonard Powell.

Maltese Falcon was a lukewarm favorite in the 1 1/16-mile headliner and returned $8.40 to his backers.

Finishing second in the La Jolla was Hronis Racing's Panic Alarm, who had a nose on Muir Hut Stables' Agency.

Earlier on the card, Repole Stable's Pushiness simply outfooted six rivals in the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Stakes, scoring by 1 3/4 lengths after leading all the way under rider Umberto Rispoli.

The 2-year-old California-bred filly stakes carried a purse of $125,500 and rewarded the winner with $71,250, meaning Pushiness, a daughter of Kantharos, now has earnings of $107,850 after two wins in two starts.

The quick bay is trained by Michael McCarthy.

Finishing second in the CTBA was Mr.-Mrs. Larry Williams' Grand Slam Smile, who had two and a half lengths on Brown or Thabit's Crazy Hot.

Pushiness, a stout favorite at 3-5, returned $3.20 to her pari-mutuel fans.

Racing will resume at Del Mar on Thursday with a first post of 2 p.m.

---

JUAN HERNANDEZ (Maltese Falcon, winner) – “(Trainer) Leonard Powell told me this horse has a really good kick at the end. I was really patient with him. My horse he wanted to run around the three-eighths (pole), but I didn't have space to come through, so I decided to stay the longest I can. Finally around the eighth pole I got lucky because the rail opened for me. He was really brave today. He responded to me.”

LEONARD POWELL (Maltese Falcon, winner) – “I didn't give any special instructions to Juan. He's a top class jockey and he watched the videos. I just gave him a few facts about the horse and after that it was all Juan. He put him in a good spot in the pocket and the main thing is that he waited for the opening. And the other main factor is the opening did happen and the horse was good enough.”

---

FRACTIONS:  :23.60 :48.82  1:14.50  1:38.53  1:44.20

The stakes win was third of the meet for rider Hernandez and the second of the session for trainer Powell.

The stakes win was first in the La Jolla for Hernandez, but his 36th overall at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first in the La Jolla for Powell, but his 10th overall at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal.

CTBA Quotes

UMBERTO RISPOLI (Pushiness (winner) – “She's fast; this filly is really fast. She went away from there very quick and I took a little hold of her. But she kept going fast. When we went into the turn, I saw her ears go up, so I knew she was relaxed. These young ones usually want to wait on other horses, but she was a runner all the way. I think she's go farther, too. I'm glad I won it for another Italian (referring to Mike Repole of New York, who races under Repole Stable and owns Pushiness).”

FELIPE RIVERA (Assistant trainer for Michael McCarthy on Pushiness, winner) – “She ran the same way she did at Santa Anita. You break out of the gate and go. She has such nice speed and she was just cruising. No, we don't know (where she will go next). Let's see how she comes out of the race. We'll evaluate and go from there.”  (Trainer McCarthy was in Kentucky.)

---

FRACTIONS:  :22.00  :45.25  :57.69  1:04.75

This was the third stakes win of the meet for rider Rispoli, but the first for trainer McCarthy.

The stakes win was the first in the CTBA for the jockey, but his 21st overall at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first in the CTBA for the trainer, but his sixth overall at Del Mar.

The winning owner is Repole Stable of Mike Repole of New York.

The post Maltese Falcon Jumps From Maiden To Graded Stakes Winner In La Jolla appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Red Route One, who had been knocking heads with the top 3-year-olds all year without a graded stakes victory, rallied strongly from fifth with an eighth of a mile remaining and drew away to win the $500,000 West Virginia Derby (G3) Sunday at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort.

The 3-year-old Gun Runner colt gave trainer Steve Asmussen his sixth win in the 1 1/8-mile West Virginia Derby. It marked the third victory in the race for owner Winchell Thoroughbreds, all of them with Asmussen as trainer.

Ridden by Cristian Torres, who was aboard Red Route One when he finished second in the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, the chestnut colt was never worse than seventh in a race with a fairly quick pace set by One in Vermillion, who fired to the front and was unchallenged for more than a half-mile. West Coast Cowboy engaged the leader heading in the far turn and the pair battle to the wire—only to be engulfed by Red Route One approaching the finish.

Red Route One won by three lengths, while West Coast Cowboy finished second, a head in front of One in Vermillion. Red Route One paid $9.80 to win and completed the distance in 1:49.49.

The Mountaineer main track, which was sloppy to begin the program and switched to good for the sixth race, was clearly favoring horses on or near the lead. Assistant trainer Darren Fleming, who has saddled all six of Asmussen's West Virginia Derby winners, said the surface was a concern.

“We were apprehensive the way the track was playing,” Fleming said. “He ended up handling it very well. “Mountaineer has always been great for us, and the colt had been doing very well coming into the race.”

In his previous start, Red Route One finished a distant eighth in the Grade I Belmont Stakes at one-and-one-half miles after a fourth-place finish in the Grade I Preakness Stakes. Fleming said the distance and the fact “it wasn't his day” led to a lackluster
performance.

Red Route One, who now has three wins, two seconds and a third in 12 starts, became a millionaire with his Mountaineer victory. His earnings now stand at $1,045,125.

Mountaineer this year moved the West Virginia Derby to Sunday from Saturday this year with a twilight post of 5 p.m. (ET). The total pari-mutuel handle for nine races was $2.53 million, up 12% from $2.26 million in 2022 and the highest number since 2015.

The post Former Classics Contender Red Route One Makes The Grade In West Virginia Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Former Canadian classic winner Duke of Love dueled Surly Furious down the stretch and dug deep for Luis Contreras to prevail by three-quarters of length in the $200,000 West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) Sunday at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort.

Sent off at 8-1 odds, the Ontario-bred Cupid colt was winning for the fourth time from 12 career starts. Campaigned by a My Racehorse ownership group, he entered off a seventh-place finish in the Dominion Day (G3) July 1 at Woodbine but would not be denied Sunday in a display of tenaciousness.

Duke of Love returned $19 after covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.49 on a track rated as good.

Ideally positioned in third then second as Altmeister laid down early fractions of :23.22 and :47 through a half mile, Duke of Love grabbed a slim lead on the far turn as Surly Furious surged determinedly into contention from fifth for Antonio Gallardo. The pair battled abreast through the stretch before Duke of Love knuckled down on the inside of his rival to get the win.

Chilean-bred O'Conner, who raced near the back of the 10-horse field in the early going, advanced down the backstretch and around the turn but was never a threat to the top two, finishing 5 1/4 lengths back in third as the favorite.

Duke of Love earned the $119,000 winner's share of purse, boosting his career earnings to $443,817. He had raced on Tapeta and turf in 10 of his 11 previous starts; his only other start on dirt prior to Sunday resulted in victory in the 2022 Prince of Wales, a leg of Canada's Triple Crown, at Fort Erie.

“When he won the Prince of Wales he ran his best numbers,” said Charlie Nash, assistant to his wife, trainer Josie Carroll. “She thought this would be the best place for him (to return to dirt). And that was a good ride by Luis.”

Produced by the Smart Strike mare Tell the Duchess, Duke of Love was bred by Caldara Farm Inc., Patrick Costello, David Whitford, and Tom Zwiesler.

My Racehorse paid $85,000 for Duke of Love at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where Julie Davies consigned him.

The post Duke Of Love Takes West Virginia Governor’s Stakes In Thriller appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Klaravich Stables' Program Trading earned a career-high 95 Beyer Speed Figure with a hard-fought victory over yielding turf in Saturday's Saratoga Derby Invitational (G1) going 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon Turf Course.

Trained by Chad Brown, who won the 2020 Saratoga Derby with Domestic Spending, the sophomore Lope de Vega ridgling kept a spotless record afloat when running on an uncontested lead and battling to the inside of a game Webslinger, who put his head in front at the stretch call. But Program Trading had enough grit to fight back and win by a head under Flavien Prat.

Program Trading entered the Saratoga Derby from a five-length debut score against elders in May at Monmouth and an allowance optional claiming conquest in June at Belmont Park. Both races were run at 1 1/16 miles.

“He showed a lot of heart and handled the distance and the ground well,” Brown said. “I'm very, very pleased. I wasn't surprised, I wasn't in any way certain he was going to win the race, but we quite liked the horse. At the eighth pole I said to myself, 'We're going to see how good he is now, he has to come back on the inside with inexperience'. He more than impressed me.”

Brown noted that the turf was likely the softest on the inside.

“That's what I was hearing from the jockeys, but on the other hand it looked like he was always handling well and that's good to know down the road,” Brown said.

In winning the Saratoga Derby Invitational, Program Trading earned an automatic entry into the Ladbrokes Cox Plate (G1). Australia's premier weight-for age race, at Moonee Valley . But Brown said the Hollywood Derby (G1) in late fall at Del Mar and the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) in January at Gulfstream Park are both likely options.

“Down the road, the Hollywood Derby looks like a potentially nice race for that horse. I might give him a breather now and give him one prep for the Hollywood Derby,” Brown said. “Good horse for the Pegasus. He handled soft turf, but he handled firm turf at Monmouth, too.”

Additionally, Brown said Program Trading would likely bypass the Jockey Club Derby (G3) on October 7 at Belmont at the Big A, due to its three-turn configuration.

Bred in Great Britain by Fittocks Stud & Arrow Farm & Stud, Program Trading is out of the Oasis Dream mare Dreamlike – a full sister to stakes-placed Fashion Fund and half-sister to Group 2-winning stayer Silk Sari. Her third dam was dual Group 1 winner Gossamer – a half-sister to 1994 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner Barathea.

The post Brown Pencils In Hollywood Derby, Pegasus World Cup Turf For Program Trading appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post