Tag: Racing

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's reigning champion 2-year-old male Forte was awarded a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his gutsy nose victory in Saturday's $500,000 Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Forte notched the win after stalking along the rail behind the pace set by Saudi Crown and angling around that foe into the turn to make his bid for the lead under regular pilot Irad Ortiz Jr. He brushed with Grade 1 winner Angel of Empire to his outside and needed to squeeze his way through as Saudi Crown drifted out, but found enough late to get his nose down first in a final time of 1:49.61.

“There was a lot going on and he was boxed in there for a little while and pushed his way through,” said Pletcher, who won a record-extending seventh Jim Dandy. “The horse on the lead drifted all the way from the rail to the six or seven path and was carrying everyone out with him. They came back together right at the end and fortunately he [Forte] was able to surge and get his head in front.”

Pletcher said despite a hard stretch battle, Forte emerged from the effort in good order.

“He came back very well and his energy level is good,” said Pletcher. “He had a well-deserved nap this morning, and I liked the way he looked last night after the race and this morning.”

Pletcher noted that a key takeaway from the effort was Forte's ability to hold position in the final turn, something he struggled with when winning the Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park and when finishing a rallying second in the Belmont Stakes (G1).

“The one thing that seemed to help him was that he maintained his position in the far turn, which was one of the things that we didn't like about the Florida Derby and the Belmont,” said Pletcher, who opted to add blinkers to the Violence colt for the first time in the afternoon in the Jim Dandy. “He had kind of put himself at a disadvantage in the far turn of those races, where in this case he held his ground. I think the blinkers helped to keep him more focused.”

Forte burst onto the scene last year with a strong three-length victory in the Spa's Hopeful (G1), and followed with additional Grade 1 coups when stretching out to two turns at Keeneland in the Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Forte has continued to excel around two turns as a sophomore, adding to his resume with wins in Gulfstream Park's Fountain of Youth (G2) and Florida Derby this spring ahead of his game runner-up effort in the Belmont.

Forte has flashed his talents both at sprint and route distances, and is just the second Hopeful winner in the past 10 years to have won around two turns. He is the only horse in that time frame to have won at distances beyond one-mile. The last Hopeful winner to have won beyond one-mile was the Pletcher-trained Shanghai Bobby, who, like Forte, won the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 2012.

Pletcher said Forte's success in stretching out beyond the recent trend for Hopeful winners proves his natural ability.

“I think it speaks of his quality that he was able to accomplish what he did early on,” said Pletcher. “He broke his maiden sprinting and came back and was able to win the Hopeful, but we always thought he was a horse looking for two turns. He proved that in the Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup, and subsequently this year.”

Forte will face added ground again in his next likely start as Pletcher points the dark bay colt to the $1.25-million Travers (G1) going 1 1/4 miles on August 26 at the Spa. Pletcher is in search of his third win in the prestigious test for sophomores and successfully pulled off the Jim Dandy/Travers double with both of his Travers champions: Flower Alley in 2005 and Stay Thirsty in 2011.

“It's exciting and we've been fortunate that both our Travers winners came out of the Jim Dandy,” Pletcher said. “We'd love to do it again.”

The post Forte In Good Order Day After Jim Dandy Win, Likely For Travers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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George Krikorian's dual Grade 1-winning multimillionaire War Like Goddess will strive for a threepeat in Thursday's 28th running of the $250,000 Glens Falls (G2) for older fillies and mares going 1 1/2 miles over the inner turf at Saratoga Race Course.

A triumph in this year's Glens Falls would put War Like Goddess in the company of horses that have captured as many as three straight editions of a Saratoga stakes race, including Exterminator, who won four straight runnings of the Saratoga Cup in 1919-22; three-time Whitney winner Discovery [1934-36]; and New York-bred Irish Linnet, who won four straight Yaddos from 1992-95.

A 6-year-old English Channel mare, War Like Goddess is no stranger to winning a stakes three times in a row, having captured her third straight win in the 12-furlong Grade 3 Bewitch 12 furlongs in April at Keeneland.

Trained by Hall of Famer and seven-time Glens Falls winning trainer Bill Mott, War Like Goddess boasts a highly consistent 15-10-1-2 record as well as field-high earnings of $2,170,184. Her 4-year-old season included her Bewitch and Glens Falls coups as well as victories in the Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream Park and Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Saratoga before finishing a close third as the favorite in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) at Del Mar.

War Like Goddess made a triumphant return to action during her 5-year-old year in the Bewitch and Glens Falls before finishing second to returning rival Virginia Joy in last year's Flower Bowl. She bested males in the next-out Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (G1) in October at Belmont at the Big A, registering a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure en route to a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) at Keeneland.

War Like Goddess enters from an uncharacteristic sixth in the New York (G1) on June 9 going 10 furlongs at Belmont Park, where she tracked about eight lengths behind a moderate pace set by gate-to-wire winner Marketsegmentation.

She breezed a half-mile in :48.48 over the Oklahoma training track on Saturday.

“She seemed to go very well, the breeze was very good,” Mott said. “We're coming off a race that wasn't her best. It was a mile and a quarter, which is a little short for her and there wasn't a lot of pace. I went in knowing it wasn't her favorite distance, but it's the only Grade 1 for fillies on the grass going that distance, so we gave it a try. It didn't work out, but she's doing really well.”

Mott said War Like Goddess thrives at the Spa.

“We can turn her out here, train her late, and we have a lot of flexibility up here, which she likes,” Mott said. “She likes being out. She gets out in the round pen which is a good thing.”

War Like Goddess will leave from post 1 under Joel Rosario.

Trainer Graham Motion will seek his fourth Glens Falls triumph when saddling graded stakes winner Sopran Basilea [post 5, Manny Franco] and multiple graded stakes-placed Vergara [post 7, John Velazquez].

Madaket Stables and William Strauss' Sopran Basilea will make her third stateside start for Motion following a productive career in Italy under the care of her previous conditioner Gallopa Grizetti, for whom she won a pair of group stakes going 1 1/4 miles in 2021. She made her debut for Motion when a late-closing second in a strong edition of the Gallorette (G3) in May at Pimlico Race Course, a race that saw its winner Whitebeam capture the Spa's Diana (G1) next out.

Sopran Basilea, a 5-year-old Night of Thunder chestnut, enters from a narrow triumph over returning rival Ever Summer in the Robert G. Dick Memorial (G3) on July 1 at Delaware Park.

“She's doing really well and I'm very happy with her,” said Motion, who saddled previous Glens Falls victresses Humaita [2004], Rosinka [2007] and Mrs. Sippy [2019]. “She's been a little bit of a surprise for me – I was surprised just how well she ran in the Gallorette going a shorter distance and I was surprised and impressed with her performance the other day at Delaware going a distance that she obviously prefers. I think this is the logical step for her. Usually, the Robert Dick fits in with running the Glens Falls and is a natural progression.”

Gary Broad's Vergara will see added ground, entering from a close third beaten a neck in the Eatontown (G3) on June 17 at Monmouth Park. The 4-year-old Noble Mission bay set an easy early tempo and held command in upper stretch before giving way inside the final sixteenth to one-two finishers Consumer Spending and Surprisingly.

Fifth in the Gallorette in her 2023 debut, Vergara seeks her first win since capturing last year's Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs going 1 5/16 miles.

“She's a lovely filly who has improved, and I think going the longer distances is going to help her,” Motion said.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown also unleashes a two-pronged attack with Grade 1-winning millionaire McKulick [post 4, Irad Ortiz Jr.] and last year's Glens Falls third-place finisher Virginia Joy [post 2, Flavien Prat].

Klaravich Stables' McKulick will stretch out following a third-place finish to stablemate and fellow Klaravich color-bearer Marketsegmentation in the New York. This effort came following her lone off-the-board placing in her 2023 debut when fifth in the Modesty (G3) going nine furlongs at Churchill Downs.

The 4-year-old Frankel bay captured two-thirds of last year's fillies' edition of the Turf Triple series, winning the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) over With The Moonlight before finishing second to that rival in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G3). She followed with a half-length score in the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational (G3) at Belmont at the Big A.

Peter Brant's German-bred Virginia Joy, a 6-year-old Soldier Hollow bay, will try for her first win since defeating War Like Goddess in last year's Grade 2 Flower Bowl in September at Saratoga.

Virginia Joy joined Brown's stable in 2021, following six starts in her native country for trainer Marcel Weiss which included a Group 3 victory and a third in the Group 1 German Oaks. Last year, she captured the The Very One (G3) at Gulfstream Park before a 14 1/4-length romp over yielding turf in Belmont's Sheepshead Bay (G2).

Four-time Glens Falls winning trainer Christophe Clement will saddle Moyglare Stud Farm's Amazing Grace [post 3, Tyler Gaffalione] who returns to the 1 1/2-mile distance for the first time since capturing her North American debut in Gulfstream's Orchid (G3) in April. The German-bred Protectionist chestnut was fourth in her prior two starts, entering from a start against males in the Belmont Gold Cup (G2) on June 9 at Belmont.

Amazing Grace enjoyed a prosperous campaign in her native land while racing for trainer Waldemar Hickst, including a victory in the T. von Zastrow Stutenpreis (G2) at Baden-Baden before finishing third to next out Breeders' Cup Turf winner Rebel's Romance in the Preis von Europa (G1) at Koln.

Completing the field is Janet Quaintance's Elegant Taste [post 6, Jackie Davis], who makes her turf and stakes debut off a string off three claiming events. The daughter of Oxbow is trained by Lawrence Smith.

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NBS Stable's multiple graded stakes winner Spooky Channel is set to clash with Foster Family Racing, Douglas Miller, and William Wargel's returning Grade 3 winner Kitodan in Sunday's sixth running of the $250,000 Ky Downs Turf Cup Preview, one of four stakes contests on the nine-race program from Ellis Park.

The full field of turf specialists that entered the KY Downs Turf Cup Preview will go to post at 3:55 p.m. (CT) in Race 9. First post is 11:45 a.m.

The stellar afternoon of racing will feature a quartet of stakes contests where the winners will receive an automatic entry-fees paid spot to their corresponding race at Kentucky Downs. The winner of the KY Downs Preview Turf Cup will receive a berth to the $1.7-million Kentucky Downs Turf Cup (G2) Sept. 9.

Trained by Evansville, Ind. native Jason Barkley, Spooky Channel has spent the summer based at Ellis Park preparing for this start. The classy 8-year-old son of English Channel last ran in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs where he finished a gallant third behind Up to the Mark and Hong Kong Harry. Barkley claimed Spooky Channel for $80,000 on April 30, 2021 and five starts later won the Sycamore Stakes (G3) at Keeneland. In late March, Spooky Channel edged clear of Rising Empire to win the Muniz Memorial (G2) at Fair Grounds. Jockey James Graham will have the mount from post No. 11.

Kitodan is also a former $80,000 claim by his trainer Eric Foster. The son of Point of Entry is set to make his 4-year-old debut in the KY Downs Turf Cup Preview, his first start since his four-length victory in last year's Dueling Grounds Derby (G3). Kitodan's resume also includes a victory at Churchill Downs in the Audubon Stakes, three weeks after Foster claimed him from trainer Mike Maker. Jockey Francisco Arrieta will ride Kitodan from post 8.

Other accomplished horses that entered the KY Downs Turf Cup Preview include Ironhorse Racing Stable, BlackRidge Stables, T-N-T Equine Holdings, and Saratoga Racing Partners multiple graded stakes winner Get Smokin and trainer Mike Maker's duo of Texas Turf Classic winner King Cause and Schuster Memorial winner Me and Mr. C.

Here is the complete field for the KY Downs Turf Cup Preview from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. War Campaign (Corey Lanerie, Phil Sims)

2. F Five (Rafael Bejarano, Brian Lynch)

3. Cellist (Martin Garcia, Rusty Arnold II)

4. Get Smokin (Luis Saez, Mark Casse)

5. King Cause (Rene Diaz, Maker)

6. Mount Rundle (Walter Rodriguez, Michelle Nihei)

7. Me and Mr. C (Gerardo Corrales, Maker)

8. Kitodan (Arrieta, Foster)

9. McLovin (Alex Achard, Rodolphe Brisset)

10. Siege of Boston (Jorge Ruiz, Jimmy Toner)

11. Spooky Channel (Graham, Barkley)

12. Camp Hope (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek)

AE 13. Vintage Print (Adam Beschizza, Paulo Lobo)

AE 14. Arturo Toscanini (IRE) (Luis Saez, Eddie Kenneally

Ultra-Consistent Safeen Top Pucker Up Stakes

Fergus Galvin and Rebecca Hillen's Safeen, who has yet to finish off the board from six career starts, will be in search of her first graded stakes victory against a field of nine 3-year-old fillies that were entered in the $300,000 Pucker Up Stakes (G3).

The 1 1/8-mile Pucker Up Stakes, run on turf, will go to post as Race 8 at 3:22 p.m. The winner of the Pucker Up Stakes will receive an automatic berth to the $1-million Dueling Grounds Oaks on Sept. 3 at Kentucky Downs.

Trained by Eddie Kenneally, Safeen scored her first stakes victory in the Horseshoe Indianapolis Handicap two starts ago. Last time out, Safeen surged late but couldn't catch Xigera and Heavenly Sunday in the Tepin Stakes at Ellis Park. The regally bred daughter of War Front will once again have the riding services of Luis Saez, who will return to Kentucky from his summer base at Saratoga. The duo will break from post No. 4.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' stakes winner Lily Poo was entered in the Pucker Up and will attempt to score her third victory from eight starts. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Lily Poo was victorious in the California Oaks in late April at Golden Gate Fields prior to making her journey to her Kentucky base. In her last start, Lily Poo finished a solid third to Defining Purpose and Taxed in the Indiana Oaks (G3) at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Jockey James Graham will be back aboard from post 7.

Another intriguing prospect that entered the Pucker Up is Peter Brant's Frontal Attack. Trained by three-time Pucker Up-winning conditioner Chad Brown, Frontal Attack made an impressive rally from more than eight lengths off the pace to break her maiden on June 23 at Ellis Park. The daughter of War Front will break from post 2 under Gerardo Corrales. Brant teamed up with Brown in the 2019 Pucker Up with Cafe Americano.

The Pucker Up will run for the first time at Ellis Park. The previous 21 runnings were contested at Arlington Park.

Here is the complete field for the Pucker Up from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Bling (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver)

2. Frontal Attack (Corrales, Brown)

3. Time to Race (Jack Gilligan, Michelle Nihei)

4. Safeen (Saez, Kenneally)

5. Hang the Moon (Francisco Arrieta, Mike Stidham)

6. Wonderfull Lady (FR) (Adam Beschizza, Brendan Walsh)

7. Lily Poo (Graham, McCarthy)

8. Champagne Calling (Chris Landeros, Ian Wilkes)

9. Freydis the Red (FR) (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek)

Mint Julep Winner Henrietta Topham To Meet New Year's Eve in Ladies Turf Mile Preview

Cambus-Kenneth Farm's recent Mint Julep Stakes (Grade 3) winner Henrietta Topham leads an over-subscribed field of 14 fillies and mares, including classy Grade II winner New Year's Eve, entered in the sixth running of the $200,000 KY Downs Ladies Turf Mile Preview.

The KY Downs Ladies Turf Mile Preview Stakes is carded as Race 7 of 9 with a post time of 2:50 p.m. (CT), and one-mile turf will provide the winner a berth to the $1-million Ladies Turf (GIII) Sept. 2 at Kentucky Downs.

Henrietta Topham achieved her biggest lifetime victory in early June when she surged late to win the Mint Julep Stakes at Churchill Downs. Trained by Geoff Mulcahy, Henrietta Topham had a troubled voyage to finish third last time out in the Indiana General Assembly Distaff at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Jockey James Graham will retain the mount from post No. 2.

Trainer Brendan Walsh entered a trio of contenders in the KY Downs Ladies Turf Mile Preview including Qatar Racing and Fergus Galvin's Grade 2 heroine New Year's Eve. The three-time winner has not found the winner's circle since her victory in the 2022 Edgewood (G2) at Churchill Downs but sports two graded stakes placings following that race in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G3) and the Modesty (G3). Jockey Luis Saez will have the call on New Year's Eve from post 9.

Walsh's other entries in the race are Bradley Thoroughbreds, Cambron Equine, and Kurz Equine Investments' Arm Candy, and Dewberry Thoroughbred's Princess Theorem.

Allen Stable's For the Flag will be in search of her first stakes victory in the KY Downs Preview Ladies Turf Mile but enters the race on a three-race win streak. Trained by Jimmy Toner, the fleet-footed For the Flag broke her my 1¼ lengths in March at Gulfstream Park and has since easily gone through the allowance ranks. The 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo won a first-level allowance contest in April at Keeneland and a second-level allowance in mid-June at Belmont Park. Jockey Jorge Ruiz rides For the Flag from post 4.

Here is the complete field for the KY Downs Ladies Turf Mile Preview from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Glenall (IRE) (David Cabrera, Caio Caramori)

2. Henrietta Topham (Graham, Mulcahy)

3. Fancy Martini (Chris Landeros, Chris Hartman)

4. For the Flag (Ruiz, Toner)

5. Sweet Dani Girl (Gabe Saez, Carlo Vaccarezza)

6. Boudoir Burlesque (Rafael Mojica, Anna Decker)

7. Sinfiltre (Francisco Arrieta, Todd Pletcher)

8. Querobin Dourada (Joe Talamo, Paulo Lobo)

9. New Year's Eve (Saez, Walsh)

10. Lady Hideaway (Brian Hernandez Jr., Ian Wilkes)

11. Princess Theorem (Adam Beschizza, Walsh)

12. Takntothecleaners (Edgar Morales, Ethan West)

AE 13. Bhoma (Gerardo Corrales, Wayne Catalano)

AE 14. Arm Candy (Vince Cheminaud, Walsh)

Chiseler Headlines Competitive Turf Sprint

Hoolie Racing Stable's Dade Park Dash hero Chiseler returns to Ellis Park and will face an over-subscribed field of 14 turf sprinters that entered Sunday's sixth running of the $200,000 KY Downs Preview Turf Sprint.

Run at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, the KY Downs Preview Turf Sprint will go as Race 6 of 9 with a post time of 2:18 p.m.

Trained by Greg Foley, Chiseler recorded his first stakes victory in the Dade Park Dash when he strongly rallied from just off the pace to defeat five rivals by 2¼ lengths. Chiseler will be ridden by Corey Lanerie from post No. 8.

Surfside Stables' Oceanic was entered in the KY Downs Preview Turf Sprint in search of his fifth-lifetime victory. The gritty son of Constitution finished a game runner-up to Lucky Score in the Highlander Stakes (G2) at Woodbine. Trained by Jordan Blair, Oceanic won last year's Da Hoss Stakes at Colonial Downs and subsequently finished a narrow runner-up to multiple Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal in the Woodford Stakes (G2) at Keeneland. Jockey Rey Gutierrez has the call from post 4.

The classy Just Might is scheduled to make the 45th start of his career in the KY Downs Preview Turf Sprint, but it will be his first race at Ellis Park. Co-owned and bred by trainer Michelle Lovell, Just Might has yet to find the winner's circle since his victory in last year's Might Beau at Churchill Downs. The 11-time winner's resume sports victories in stakes contests on both turf and dirt. In his last start, Just Might steadily closed ground late but could not catch Nobals and Charcoal in the William Garrett Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Regular rider Colby Hernandez will be aboard Just Might from the rail.

Here is the field from the rail out for the KY Downs Turf Sprint Preview (with jockey and trainer):

1. Just Might (Hernandez, Lovell)

2. Let My People Go (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver)

3. Collaborate (Luis Saez, Mike Maker)

4. Oceanic (Gutierrez, Blair)

5. Bakers Bay (Joe Talamo, Tom Drury)

6. Excess Magic (Francisco Arrieta, Bret Calhoun)

7. Charcoal (Alex Achard, Tracey Wisner)

8. Chiseler (Lanerie, Foley)

9. One Timer (E.T. Baird, Larry Rivelli)

10. Bad Beat Brian (Chris Emigh, Brittany Vanden Berg)

11. Pure Panic (Walter Rodriguez, Eric Foster)

12. Red Hot Rod (Brian Hernandez Jr., Rey Hernandez)

AE 13. Mailman Money (Brian Hernandez Jr., Chris Hartman)

AE 14. Remuda (James Graham, Eoin Harty)

Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs Preview Days will kick off Saturday with a trio of stakes contests each worth purses of $200,000 – the Dueling Grounds Preview, the Mint Ladies Turf Sprint Preview and the Mint Millions Mile Preview. First post Saturday is 11:45 a.m. (CT).

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