Tag: Racing

The 50th running of the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes will take place at Del Mar Sunday, going as Race 9 on an 11-race card. The day also will offer a “mandatory” Pick Six pool payout that easily could rise into the millions.

Eddie Read was Del Mar's very first publicist going back to the track's opening in 1937. He was a mainstay at the track for more than three decades and this race was named in his honor after his passing with the first running going off in 1974.

This year's renewal of the nine-furlong turf headliner has drawn nine older horses and the one to beat in the bunch might be the oldest of the bunch – the 8-year-old veteran Count Again, who comes into the $250,000 offering off a 2 1/4-length tally in the G1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita on May 30 – though that was 14 months ago. The old pro by Awesome Again became a millionaire that day ($1,069,915) in registering his seventh victory, all on the green. He is owned by Agave Racing Stable or Sam-Son Farm and has been training forwardly for this comeback.

Del Mar's morning line maker Jon White was impressed enough with his prior record and current training to make him the 3-1 favorite in the headliner.

Umberto Rispoli picks up the mount on the bay for trainer Phil D'Amato and will break from the outside gate for the run down the infield chute on Sunday.

The chief threats to the top one appear to reside on the shedrows near him in the D'Amato barn. The conditioner also will saddle Little Red Feather and Sterling Stable's Gold Phoenix, Little Red Feather and Madaket Stable's Balnikhov and Rockingham Ranch's Masteroffoxhounds.

Here's the full field for the headliner from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

– Auyeung, Crosby or Hauck, et al's I'mgonnabesomebody (Kyle Frey, 20-1)

-Gold Phoenix (Hector Berrios, 4-1)

-Balnikhov (Antonio Fresu, 4-1)

-Masteroffoxhounds (Edwin Maldonado, 8-1)

-Red Baron's Barn or Rancho Temescal's Dicey Mo Chara (Juan Hernandez, 6-1)

-Kretz Racing's Cabo Spirit (Joe Bravo, 5-1)

-CYBT, Lantzman or Nentwig, et al's Handy Dandy (Ramon Vazquez, 12-1)

-ERJ Racing, Madaket Stables, et al's Mackinnon (Tiago Pereira, 8-1)

-Count Again.

The Read will have a post time of approximately 6 p.m. PT.vFirst post for the afternoon will be 2 p.m.

Sunday will also be a “mandatory” payout day for the track's popular Pick 6 bet, meaning there will be no carryovers and all monies in the pool will be paid out no matter the number of winners. There is a potential that the pot for the wager could rise to the $2.5 to $3 million range. The Pick 6 is conducted on the final six races on the card, in this case Races 6 through 11.

The post D’Amato Sending Out Quartet In Sunday’s Eddie Read; Mandatory Payout In Pick 6 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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AMO Racing USA's New York Thunder was lightning fast in the early stages and stormed home a 7 1/2-length winner of his dirt debut in Friday's Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Trained by Jorge Delgado and piloted by Tyler Gaffalione, the Nyquist bay ripped through splits of 21.48 seconds, 43.56 and 1:07.77 over the fast main track with Drew's Gold tracking his early foot. New York Thunder opened up a three-length advantage at the stretch call and strolled home a 7 1/2-length winner under a hand ride in a final time of 1:14.65.

New York Thunder's six-furlong split of 1:07.77 is faster than Saratoga's six-furlong track record of 1:07.92 set by Imperial Hint in the 2019 Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt.

Delgado said he wasn't concerned about the swift fractions.

“I wasn't really worried. I worry in the mornings because he breezes so fast that it scares you,” Delgado said. “He goes 46 and 47 in hand and you can relate it to the afternoons. Every surface he's been on – Keeneland [for workouts], here, at different racetracks – he's breezed the same fractions, so that tells you that he can handle any surface in my opinion and he proved that today.”

The shape of the race changed dramatically when graded-stakes winner Ryvit, who entered on a five-race win streak for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, stumbled at the break. New York Thunder, exiting the outermost post 5, was quickest away and seized control, putting away Drew's Gold in the turn. The Martin Garcia-piloted Deer District rallied from fourth to nose out Drew's Gold for place honors with Gilmore and Ryvit rounding out the order of finish. Joey Freshwater was scratched.

“He's fast,” understated Gaffalione, who was aboard New York Thunder for the first time in the afternoon. “He broke running and I tried not to get in his way too much. He was wanting to do a little bit too much, but he was doing it well within himself. Coming to the quarter pole, I think someone started coming up to my outside, so I just took a squeeze on him and he went on again and galloped out well.”

Delgado, the 33-year-old nephew of Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Gustavo Delgado, said he felt confident with Gaffalione in the irons.

“Tyler rode for me many times and helped me out at the beginning in Florida and he used to ride mostly claimers when I started,” Delgado said. “I have really good chemistry with him and I can feel when he has a lot of horse. I saw him looking back and I know he had a ton of horse, he wouldn't play like that unless he had tons of horse. Once he asked the horse, I knew my horse was prepared and it was just so fun.”

New York Thunder entered undefeated in three starts, winning on synthetic and turf at Gulfstream Park before shipping up to Woodbine Racetrack to win the six-furlong Woodstock over Tapeta.

He was entered in the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 10 at Belmont Park but scratched due to a bruised foot. He trained into the Amsterdam with a series of swift works at Monmouth Park.

“The owner wanted a graded stakes and I just followed his plan and in the end it worked. He felt like we have a really good horse and he wanted to add something like this to [his ledger],” Delgado said. “It's been a little frustrating at times with him over the summer. I feel like we lost a lot of his schedule, but definitely [happy] he came back and won the way he did today.”

Delgado said New York Thunder will point to the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Allen H. Jerkens Memorial on August 26 at Saratoga Race Course.

“If everything goes well, yes. Let's see how he comes back. Right now, I just want to enjoy this,” Delgado said.

Garcia, aboard the runner-up Deer District, could only tip his cap to the winner.

“That's the fastest race I've ever seen,” Garcia said. “They went [a half-mile] in 43. My horse is fast, but going 43 is a little quick. We were in the back and fighting a little bit for position inside, but soon as I moved him out he started running.”

New York Thunder is out of the Midshipman mare Start Over, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Degree of Risk. His third dam, Surf Club, produced 2012 Grade 1 Forego-winner Emcee.

Bred in Kentucky by Gatewood Bell and Forgotten Land, New York Thunder banked $110,000 in victory while maintaining his perfect record through four starts. The $130,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase returned $13 for a $2 win bet as the fourth-longest shot in the field of five horses.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with a 12-race card, featuring the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap in Race 8 and the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy in Race 10. First post is 12:40 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.

The post Unbeaten New York Thunder Lightning Fast In Amsterdam Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The handicap division appears to be a wide open affair this year. No Flightlines around to bully all the others.

Proxy, Art Collector and Last Samurai traded punches over the winter, while out west Defunded, Stilleto Boy and Taiba notched victories in the handicap division. In the spring Exaulted, West Will Power and Idiomatic entered the picture. Now with the summer comes the influx of 3-year-olds who survived the Triple Crown trail and are ready to take on older horses. They include Geaux Rocket Ride, Mage and Forte.

Plus, to just muddy the waters even more, Cody's Wish is planning to try the G1 Whitney at Saratoga next month to see if he can go farther than a mile.

So it will be a contentious next few months leading up to the Breeders' Cup Classic, starting this Saturday with the G2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar, the local prep for the G1 Fanduel Pacific Classic September 2. Nine horses are entered in the mile and a sixteenth test led by Defunded.

The son of Dialed In is arguably the best handicap horse on the West Coast after he snagged the G1 Hollywood Gold Cup last out at Santa Anita in May. That followed a brilliant performance in the G2 Californian in April, a race he won by three lengths.

“Last year I ran him in the race (the San Diego) and he kind of lost it in the paddock,” trainer Bob Baffert remembers. “So we'll see how he handles it this year. He's doing well. There's a lot of speed in there, so that will be interesting.”

Defunded ran seventh in the 2022 edition of the San Diego Handicap after setting the pace to the top of the lane. Baffert says he's always been a tough horse.

“He's his own worst enemy,” Baffert says. “We had to geld him. He has always been really headstrong. He gets excited in the paddock and this is a tough paddock for him. So we've been doing a lot of schooling with him and he's getting better. He's improved with age.”

Baffert says everything has to go right for Defunded, but once it does, he is one tough customer. He won the G1 Awesome Again last year and the G3 Native Diver at Del Mar in the fall. He kicked off 2023 with a runner-up finish to Art Collector in the G1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park and followed that with a close third to Stilleto Boy and Proxy in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap prior to his win in the Californian.

Defunded is highweight in the San Diego at 125 pounds. Royal Ship and Slow Down Andy are next at 122 pounds.

Last year's San Diego Handicap winner, Royal Ship, returns to defend his crown. The 7-year old son of Midshipman hasn't won since his victory at Del Mar last summer but trainer Richard Mandella is confident Royal Ship will make a good showing.

Slow Down Andy returns to the scene of his biggest victory, the G2 Del Mar Derby last year. Granted, that was on the turf but his subsequent third-place finishes in the G1 Awesome Again and the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile show the son of Nyquist can handle any surface.

There's also Brickyard Ride, a speedy Cal-bred who will be stretching out. He did win the one-mile $100,000 Tiznow Stakes at Santa Anita in February of 2022 but he has run one-turn races since, winning the G3 Kona Gold both last year and this year. The 6-year-old speedball posted a bullet five furlong work last Friday and is expected to go to the lead.

“Defunded is tough,” trainer Craig Lewis acknowledges. “Maybe the best horse in the handicap division. We'll give him a target.”

Another horse of note is Tripoli, the 2021 Pacific Classic winner. The 6-year-old son of Kitten's Joy has only one win, an allowance at Golden Gate Fields, in the two years since his big victory at Del Mar.

The San Diego Handicap will be Race 8 on the 11 race Saturday card. Approximate post time is 5:30 p.m.

Here's the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning line odds:

1. Slow Down Andy (Mario Gutierrez, 5-1);
2. Royal Ship (Mike Smith, 6-1);
3. Tripoli (Tiago Pereira, 15-1);
4. Missed the Cut (Hector Berrios, 5-1);
5. American Admiral (Ramon Vasquez, 6-1);
6. Defunded (Juan Hernandez, 8/5);
7. Senor Buscador (Giovanni Franco, 12-1);
8. Piroli (scratched);
9. Tisquantum (Edwin Maldonado, 30-1), and
10. Brickyard Ride (Umberto Rispoli, 6-1).

The post ‘Headstrong’ Defunded Improving With Age, Tabbed Morning-Line Favorite In San Diego Handicap appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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