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‘First Step Toward Big Goals’: Champion Nest Drills Toward Return In Shuvee

Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House's Nest breezed a half-mile in :50 flat over the Oklahoma training track Sunday at Saratoga in preparation for the $200,000 Shuvee (G2) there on July 23.

The 4-year-old Curlin bay, conditioned by Todd Pletcher, has not raced since finishing fourth in last year's Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). Last year, she enjoyed a season that earned her champion 3-year-old filly honors when capturing a trio of Grade 1s in the Ashland at Keeneland as well as the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama at the Spa.

“It was a good work and a nice, strong gallop out. She seemed to keep going,” Pletcher said.

Emerging from nearly an eight-month layoff will be a tall ask for Nest, who was initially targeting the Ogden Phipps (G1) at Belmont Park in June for her 4-year-old debut. But Pletcher said he has faith in his talented filly.

“We expect big things from her always,” Pletcher said. “It's a lot to ask of her, but she ran well in her debut going a mile and a sixteenth and she's basically run well pretty much every start of her career. Hopefully, we have her fit enough to perform well and this is the first step towards big goals.”

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‘If He’s Ready, He’ll Run’: Casa Creed To Point For Fourstardave Repeat

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's 7-year-old multiple Grade 1 winner Casa Creed proved he is still at the top of his game with a one-length score over Grade 1 winner Annapolis in Saturday's Kelso (G3) at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the Jimmy Creed bay earned his third graded win traveling one-mile over the Spa's inner turf, adding to scores in the 2019 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) and last year's Fourstardave Handicap (G1).

It's fitting that the evergreen Casa Creed will now point to a title defense in the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap (G1) on August 12 which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) in November at Santa Anita Park.

Fourstardave, a New York-bred gelding, won at least one race at each year at Saratoga from 1987-1994, including the 1988 Albany, the 1989 and 1991 West Point Handicap, as well as consecutive runnings of the Daryl's Joy (G3) in 1990-91. In 1996, the Daryl's Joy was renamed the Fourstardave to honor the horse that made 21 starts at the Spa.

Casa Creed has made seven starts at Saratoga, dating to his second-out graduation as a 2-year-old in August 2018 in an off-the-turf sprint. He added the Hall of Fame to his ledger as a sophomore and finished third in consecutive runnings of the Fourstardave in 2020-21.

“He's now run six years in a row at Saratoga and won four times,” said co-owner Lee Einsidler of LRE Racing. “That's beyond remarkable. He's a horse owner's dream come true. It's hard to imagine you would have a horse at 7 years old that's still at the top of his game. He's taken us around the world and, honest to God, we're so fortunate to have him in our life. He's like one of the family.”

The $105,000 purchase at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale has banked more than $2.1 million through a record of 32-8-5-5, including consecutive scores in the 2021-22 Jaipur (G1) sprinting six-furlongs at Belmont Park. He finished a close second in both the 2022-23 1351 Turf Sprint (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia and was fifth in last year's Al Quoz Sprint (G1) at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Einsidler credited trainer Kenny McPeek for selecting Casa Creed as a potential prospect.

“Kenny said to me, 'I know you want to run in Saratoga, and this one will get you there. He could be either grass or dirt,'” Einsidler recalled. “But you could never imagine you would have this horse on the track for six years. You buy a horse and hope he can get to the races — and some don't even make it to the races. But you can never buy a horse at any price and think they would run over 30 times, make over $2 million and take you around the world a couple of times.”

Luis Saez provided Casa Creed with a picture-perfect ride on Saturday, tracking to the outside of 4-5 mutuel favorite Annapolis before making an early move for the lead through the far turn. Casa Creed swooped beyond the pacesetting Big Everest to establish a half-length lead at the stretch call and staved off the bid of Annapolis to stop the clock in a final time of 1:35.51. The victory garnered a 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Einsidler said much of Casa Creed's success is down to Mott's meticulous horsemanship.

“Bill Mott is special. I was with him early this morning and he puts his hands on every horse in the barn,” Einsidler said. “He goes over every horse personally. He's an amazing trainer and a very close friend. He's really managed Casa Creed brilliantly. He gave him a lot of time off after winning the Hall of Fame as a 3-year-old and put him away thinking he'd be even better as an older horse and he came back the next spring and was a monster. We're happy to run him three or four times a year and just take good care of him.”

Einsidler said Casa Creed exited his stylish Kelso score in fine fettle and will hopefully be ready for a fourth Fourstardave attempt in one month's time.

“We're going to train him like he's going to be in the race. It comes up maybe a week quicker than we'd like, but if he's ready, he'll run,” Einsidler said. “He was perfect this morning — looked fabulous and doing great. He's come out of the race in perfect order, and if he's doing good we'll be there in mid-August.”

Casa Creed has made three previous Breeders' Cup appearances, finishing off-the-board in both the 2020 Mile (G1) at Keeneland and 2021 Mile at Del Mar and ninth in last year's Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland. With the Turf Sprint being contested at five furlongs this year at Santa Anita, the rugged bay will again point to the Mile as a year-end target.

Whether or not Casa Creed returns as an 8-year-old to race for a seventh straight summer at the Spa remains to be seen as the ownership group has already been approached about potential stud opportunities.

“We've had some inquiries. Not that he couldn't race next year, but we'll see,” Einsidler said.

And for those looking to find a potential Casa Creed of their own, it's worth noting that his dam, Achalaya, has a New York-bred filly by Authentic listed as Hip No. 227 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred Yearling Sale slated for August 7-8.

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Maiden Winner Freudmein In With Big Shot In New York Derby

The past performance lines, as well as the morning line, make it very clear that Maker's Candy is the horse to beat in Monday's $150,000 New York Derby, the 50th running at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack.

Take into consideration the colt's connections of trainer Mike Maker and jockey Jose Ortiz and there's little doubt the stakes-winning Maker's Candy will be the prohibitive favorite in the seven-horse field of state-bred 3-year-olds.

A $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-year-olds in training sale purchase last year, the Twirling Candy colt won the Mike Lee Stakes, ridden by Ortiz, on May 29 at Belmont Park and finished first, but was disqualified for interference, in the Gander Stakes on Feb. 25 at Aqueduct.

And Maker won the 2022 edition of the New York Derby with Barese.

What's not to like about Maker's Candy?

Locally based trainer Chris Englehart isn't handing the winner's trophy to Maker's Candy just yet. Englehart, the perennial leading trainer at Finger Lakes, believes Freudmein may be up to the challenge when in the annual 1 1/16 mile New York Derby is run as the eighth race on Monday's nine-race
program. First-race post time is 1:15 p.m. (ET).

Freudmein scored on the sealed slop at Belmont on May 20, breaking his maiden by 11¾ lengths as the favorite to earn an 83 Beyer Speed Figure. It was his first victory after second and fourth in his first two starts.

While it took three starts before Freudmein made his first visit to the winner's circle, Englehart always has been high on the homebred son of Freud out of the dam Colormein, by Mr. Greeley.

“Right from the start of his breezing we could see Freudmein had a lot of potential,” Englehart said. “It didn't matter who we breezed him against he would beat them. I was extremely impressed with his maiden win; he just glided over the slop.”

Having trained almost 4,700 winners in a 40-year career, Englehart knows quality when he sees it. And having trained horses for My Purple Haze Stables for more than 20 years, he'd like nothing more than to win the New York Derby for owner Wanda Polisseni who resides in the Rochester
suburb of Fairport, New York.

Polisseni, through her My Purple Haze Stables, has enjoyed success in Thoroughbred and harness racing. The New York Derby would be a crowning achievement with Thoroughbreds.

“It would certainly mean a lot; Wanda has won a lot of stakes with her trotters and we have won a few minor stakes together, but nothing like this,” Englehart said, whose best finish in the New York Derby came in 2021, when Purple Hearted finished second.

Another key component in the team is jockey John Davila Jr. Recently inducted into the Finger Lakes Hall of Fame, Davila is a three-time winner of the New York Derby, with one per decade. He won the 1996 edition with Carr Tech, the 2003 running with Traffic Chief, and 2015 edition with
Force.

While Freudmein does hail from a family of sprinters, Englehart believes the colt can stretch out.

“He trains like he wants to run farther,” said Englehart, a 2017 inductee into the Finger Lakes Hall of Fame. “He has missed some time training, but the New York Derby only comes around once so we're taking a shot.”

Freudmein's siblings enjoyed significant success. Colormepazzi (by Mission Impazible) earned $240,562 and Colormepompom (by Pomeroy) bankrolled $256,805.

The field for the $150,000 New York Derby with (morning-line odds, trainer, jockey):

1 Tacony Road (15-1, Tim Murphy, Nazario Alvarado)
2 Allure of Money (4-1, Michael Ferraro, Luis Perez)
3 Mo Trump (12-1, Michael A. Ferraro, Jacky Davis)
4 Freudmein (3-1, Chris Englehart, John Davila Jr.)
5 Tiz Lucky (15-1, Beth Miller-Saul, Keiber Coa)
6 Maker's Candy (1-1, Michael Maker, Jose Ortiz)
7 Wynn Giant (10-1, Jeffrey Englehart, Heman Harkie)

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Determined Kingdom Among Virginia-Breds To Sparkle In Colonial Downs Turf Stakes

D. Hatman Thoroughbreds and Kingdom Bloodstock 's Determined Kingdom scored a convincing gate-to-wire victory under Mychel Sanchez in the 5½-furlong, $125,000 Punch Line Stakes Saturday at Colonial Downs — one of four turf stakes worth a total of $500,000 on the card for Virginia-bred and -sired horses.

The 4-year-old Animal Kingdom gelding won his fifth career race and pushed his bankroll to $325,189 with the win. The Phil Schoenthal trainee won the 2022 Punch Line by 5½ lengths in a rallying effort and captured Saturday's edition by 5¼ lengths on the front end.

“He's always been the kind of horse that relaxed off the pace and came on with a rush,” said Schoenthal, who enjoyed his second stakes win on the day as Living Magic captured the My Dear Girl Stakes at Woodbine. “But in the last two starts, he was very keen and showed a lot of speed and didn't have his relaxing kind of run. We cut blinkers way back today and felt like that might slow him and relax him but I told Mychel in the paddock that if he wants to go, don't fight him. He came out of there running. Mychel had a ton of horse, put him in place and put the field away.”

Schoenthal targeted this race early in the year. Coming off an eight-month layoff, Determined Kingdom had two late spring starts in Maryland that resulted in sixth and seventh place finishes.

“He needed a couple starts off the layoff,” Schoenthal said. “I didn't have him totally cranked up at Pimlico and thought he would run better at Laurel but didn't feel too bad because the winner in that race set a new track record. It was improvement and I felt that in his third start off the bench, he would improve again. I'm real proud of him. We got him as a yearling and he's been a lot of fun. It's really rewarding when he shows up on a big day.”

Larry Johnson's Embolden was second and David Lengel's Uncle Andrew finished third.

Determined Kingdom ($#.60) was bred by Audley Farm Equine, also the breeder of Country Life Farm's Galilei, winner of the $125,000 Brookmeade.

Galilei angled three-wide from third at the top of the stretch, passed two front runners, and hit the wire first, three-quarter lengths the best, in the 1 1/16-mile contest for fillies and mares. The 4-year-old daughter of Lemon Drop Kid had her best outing since a maiden-breaking turf win at Colonial last summer. Horacio Karamanos, Colonial's all-time leading jockey who had two stakes wins on the card, was in the irons for trainer Michael Trombetta.

Galilei returned $11.80.

Susan Moulton's Tufani was runner-up and Larry Johnson's Continentalcongress finished third.

Sam English's homebred Chambeau defended her 2022 Tyson Gilpin/Glenn Petty Stakes title by defeating seven other fillies and mares Saturday in this year's $125,000 edition. The 6-year-old Karakontie mare ($5.60) was ridden Karamanos and left the winner's circle with a career bankroll of $200,300.

Chambeau was positioned second through the half, took the lead at the top of the stretch and crossed 3¾ lengths the best. The Anthony Aguirre trainee — who did not start competing until the age of five — is now 3-for-6.

Robert D. Bone and Edward Brown's Carolina Sun finished second and Stonestreet Stables' Aisha R N was third.

Six-year-old Flatter gelding Alex Joon, who finished second in last year's Edward P. Evans Stakes, took a step forward in Saturday's $125,000 Evans with a three-length victory over Reiley McDonald's Passion Play. A field of nine battled one mile in the stakes fifth running, and after an inside move from deep in the field early on, Lindsay Schultz's trainee crossed first with Forest Boyce up top. The victor, bred by Morgan's Ford Farm, is owned by Ten Strike Racing. He returned $4.60.

Iapetus Racing and Diamond T racing's Gigante was third.

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