Tag: Racing

Trainer Daniel Velazquez visited the Saratoga Race Course winner's circle for the first time in stylish fashion Saturday when Yo Yo Candy posted a monstrous upset in the $175,000 Sanford (G3), a six-furlong main track sprint for juveniles.

Sent to post at odds of 46-1, Yo Yo Candy stalked and pounced to a 2 1/4-length victory under Angel Castillo, giving Velazquez his second graded victory after taking Aqueduct Racetrack's Remsen (G2) in 2020 with Brooklyn Strong.

“I jumped from the balcony over here,” said Velazquez. “I don't even know how I got here. This is a dream come true. As a kid, you dream of winning races here and here I am.”

The win was also the first North American graded score for Castillo, who won three Group 1 events in Venezuela prior to moving his tack to America.

“I'm always looking for opportunities to demonstrate my talent and I try to take my one or two opportunities,” said Castillo. “The trip was very good. I had a good start and good position in the race. In the turn, he charged outside and in the stretch he ran very good.”

The dynamics of the race were altered dramatically when post-time favorite Gold Sweep, who boasted the highest speed figures in the field, broke awkwardly from post 8 under Jose Ortiz and was left at the back of the nine-horse field. Yo Yo Candy broke cleanly from post 4 and tucked in fourth behind pacesetter Dickens, who marked an opening quarter-mile in 22.15 seconds over the fast main track.

Market Street loomed large on the outside of Dickens down the backstretch and into the turn, sticking his head in front midway through the turn while Yo Yo Candy took up third position from a fading Call the Cavalry under patient handling from Castillo. Ortiz got to work aboard Gold Sweep and guided his charge in between foes to range into contention with a swift turn of foot after a half-mile in 45.83.

A stubborn Dickens refused to yield along the rail as the field made its way into the stretch with Market Street battling to his outside and Yo Yo Candy moving three-wide with dead aim on the leaders. Market Street backpedaled nearing the eighth pole and with just one foe left to tackle, Yo Yo Candy swept past a resolute Dickens in the final sixteenth to fend off the late surge of Gold Sweep and draw off to victory in a final time of 1:11.83.

Gold Sweep got up to land place honors by three-quarter lengths over Dickens, who secured show by a neck over Triple Trea. Call the Cavalry, Market Street, Jive, His Rights and Ramming Speed completed the order of finish. Factor U and Me In was scratched.

Call the Cavalry was pulled up by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. in the gallop out and was vanned off after walking onto the ambulance.

Yo Yo Candy entered the Sanford from a distant third-place effort to a runaway Gold Sweep in the 5 1/2-furlong Tremont on June 11 at Belmont where he broke a step slow and improved position throughout to pick up show honors. He added blinkers for the Sanford, a move Velazquez said helped lead to a sharper break.

“The blinkers adjustment was huge. In his last race, we didn't have the blinkers because he won first time out and we were happy with that,” said Velazquez. “I watched him break last time and he broke a little sluggish. He has more speed than that tactically. I added the blinkers and took him back to the gate a couple of times after the race. I told Angel, 'If he's as good as we think he is, we're going to be competitive.' No respect on the board, but we knew coming in that we did everything right coming into this race. I was very, very satisfied watching him out there warm up.”

Velazquez said he will relish the Sanford victory for now, but could consider the $300,000 Hopeful (G1) on September 3 for the colt's next start.

“Honestly, I just want to go home and dry off and we'll go from there,” said Velazquez. “But definitely the Hopeful could be in there, but we want to take it one day at a time.”

Bred in California by Checkmate Thoroughbreds, Yo Yo Candy scored the second win of his career and added to a debut maiden victory in May at Parx Racing. The son of Danzing Candy out of the Two Punch mare Yolanda B. Too banked $96,250 for his Sanford victory, boosting his total purse earnings to $141,250. He returned $94 for a $2 win ticket.

Jose Ortiz, who guided the Steve Asmussen-trained Gold Sweep to his dominant nine-length win in the Tremont, said the son of Speightstown ran valiantly despite the troubled start.

“He was standing good,” said Ortiz. “He popped out when the door opened and went as fast as he could. I think that kind of made everything go wrong. He stumbled badly and I tried to ride him with a lot of passion after that. He came back for second, but it was a lot to do for him, and he did it. I'm very proud of his effort, just very unlucky. Very unlucky.”

The post ‘Dream Come True’: Cal-Bred Yo Yo Candy Strikes In Sanford At 46-1 Odds appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's multiple Grade 1-winner Casa Creed got the jump on favored Annapolis and held on strong to post a one-length score in Saturday's $175,000 Kelso (G3), a one-mile inner turf test for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and piloted by Luis Saez, the 7-year-old Jimmy Creed horse has now won three graded events traveling one mile over the Saratoga turf, taking the 2019 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) and last year's Fourstardave Handicap (G1).

“It's very rewarding,” said Mott of conditioning the evergreen Casa Creed. “Ordinarily, you don't get any more than two seasons out of a horse running at the top level. To have a horse that can run at two, three, and maybe four seasons to run at the very highest level is very good. You don't find those kind.”

Casa Creed has proven to be proficient at a variety of distances, notching back-to-back editions of the six-furlong Jaipur (G1) in 2021-22 at Belmont Park and missing narrowly when second in the last two runnings of the 6 3/4-furlong 1351 Turf Sprint (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia.

Lee Einsidler of LRE Racing spoke volumes of the hard-trying Casa Creed.

“He's special. He's taken us around the world and he's made a huge difference in our lives, really,” Einsidler said. “When you get into this game, they become part of your family. Life is all about building memories and this is another great one.”

Big Everest, who entered his graded stakes debut on a four-race win streak, led the seven-horse field through splits of :23.35 and :47.07 over the firm going with Filo Di Arianna tracking in second position and English Bee saving ground in third to the inside of Anaconda.

Casa Creed exited the outermost post 7 and settled in sixth position in the early stages to the outside of Annapolis. He advanced with purpose approaching the final turn and quickly swooped the field to take command from Big Everest at the stretch call. Annapolis angled off the rail and attempted to follow Casa Creed's run through the turn, but he could not reel in the winner, who stopped the clock in a final time of 1:35.51.

It was a further 1 1/4-lengths back to English Bee in third with Ice Chocolat, Big Everest, Filo Di Arianna and Anaconda rounding out the order of finish. Mid Day Image and main-track only entrant Gun It were scratched.

Saez said having outside position on his main rival Annapolis proved to be beneficial.

“The key was try to be right there on top of the favorite,” Saez said. “So everything came out perfect, he broke pretty sharp. I can feel it behind the gate, too, he was a little bit tough. So, I don't want to take too much, I just let him break and be comfortable, and he was pretty comfortable. Came to the top of the stretch and gave me a big kick.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., aboard Grade 1 winner Annapolis, said he had no choice but to wait for Saez to make his move.

“He beat me,” Ortiz said. “I kind of waited a little longer than I wanted to, but I kind of had to. There was nowhere to go and I kind of stayed steady waiting for Luis to make his move and then I followed him.”

Mott said he was pleased to see Casa Creed keep the well-regarded Annapolis at bay.

“That was a good horse – it says something for Casa Creed because the horse he beat is a real horse and a real tough competitor. He handled him today,” Mott said.

Mott said he is hopeful Casa Creed can defend his title in the $500,000 Fourstardave on August 12.

“He's a fun horse. We love to see him run and we try to give him enough time to make sure he's ready to go but at this point in time it doesn't have to be a Grade 1. The Fourstardave is and that's a big goal, but to be able to see him and have him compete is great fun,” Mott said. “His owner [Einsidler] loves Saratoga, too. Not only Casa Creed but his owner, too. I guess we all get hyped up about Saratoga right? Casa Creed is one of us.”

Einsidler noted that the $2.1-million earner, a $105,000 purchase from consignor Kelli Mitchell at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, will continue to race as long as he's competitive.

“He wants to run, so as long as he's telling us he wants to run that's what we'll do. When he tells us he wants to retire, we'll find a home for him,” Einsidler said.

Bred in Kentucky by Silver Springs Stud, Casa Creed banked $96,250 in victory, while improving his record to 32-8-5-5. He returned $6.50 for a $2 win bet.

The post Casa Creed Holds Back Favorite Anapolis For Kelso Triumph appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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As much as trainer Joe Orseno had been impressed by Beauty of the Sea's start to her 3-year-old campaign, he knew she needed a test to see exactly where she was.

Test taken and passed.

Let go at 13-1 off two straight wins against lesser competition, Beauty of the Sea took command in midstretch and then held off a pair of closers – one on the inside, the other on the outside – for a head victory in Saturday's $104,000 Blue Sparkler Stakes at Monmouth Park.

The winning time for the 5½ furlongs over a firm turf course was 1:02.68.

“After she broke her maiden so convincingly and easily – and I had another filly in the race that she beat easily – I thought, 'OK, she's got some talent. Now we have to see how much,' ” said Orseno, now six wins shy of 2,000 for his career. “She handled that (first level optional claimer) easily in her next start, and when she did that, there were a couple of older horses in there, I thought if we kept her with 3-year-olds we would have a chance in a stakes race.

“I did not expect this race to come up as tough as it did.”

Ridden by Jairo Rendon, Beauty of the Sea became the first stakes winner for Florida-based sire Bucchero, who stands at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston. Ironhorse Racing Stable, the 3-year-old filly's owners, also campaigned Bucchero.

With Florent Geroux in from Saratoga just to ride Love Appeals, and with Plentitude coming in 2-for-2 lifetime, Clement's duo looked particularly dangerous in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies.

Rendon had Beauty of the Sea sitting third early as Bosserati raced through a first quarter in :21.51, reaching the half in :44.15. Rendon had moved Beauty of the Sea outside by then, with the two taking control in mid-stretch and then holding off runner-up My Sweet Affair on the inside and Love Appeals on the outside. My Sweet Affair held off Love Appeals by a neck to claim second.

“I saw her races at Gulfstream and it seemed like she liked being just off the speed and she quickens at the end,” said Rendon. “That's the way I was thinking to ride her today. When (Bosserati) went out for the lead it gave us a target. She has class and she has a big heart. I just wanted to sit behind the speed and let her get her feet. I was a little worried when I went outside with her because I knew the others were coming. But we got there. She made it.”

Florida-bred Beauty of the Sea, who is out of the Poseidon's Warrior mare Belong to Sea, has a 3-1-0 line from five career starts and is 2-for-3 sprinting on the grass.

Beauty of the Sea paid $28.20 to win.

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In a torrential summer downpour on Woodbine's Tapeta, Living Magic captured her first stakes win in the $125,000 My Dear Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on Saturday afternoon.

Kentucky-bred Living Magic, owned and bred by Henry Nothhaft and trained by Phil Schoenthal, had Rafael Hernandez aboard. Hernandez, who just surpassed 3,000 career wins on Friday, collected win 3,002.

Out of the gate, it was the Mark Casse trainees Stormcast and Dancing Duchess going out to the lead, followed by Living Magic in the center. Living Magic quickly made her way into second from the inside, a nose behind Stormcast with Dancing Duchess a length behind in third, while Kevin Attard trainee Bolt Enoree followed closely.

It was a battle between Stormcast and Living Magic at the quarter. Living Magic held the lead from the top of the stretch to the finish, with Stormcast, Bolt Enoree, and Dancing Duchess left challenging each other for the remaining positions. Living Magic won by a length from Dancing Duchess. Stormcast was third and Bolt Enoree fourth.

The final time was 1:03:55

It was the third lifetime start and second win for the Schoenthal-trained Living Magic, a Justify filly out of the Footstepsinthesand mare Living the Life. She was rebounding from a third in the Astoria Stakes June 11 at Belmont Park after taking her debut at Parx Racing May 1.

Schoenthal was happy to be at Woodbine for the first time.

“I've been trying to get up to Woodbine for a number of years and it had never quite worked out. I campaigned the mare of this horse and she won five stakes on all weather tracks, so besides the blinkers, I found if there was any horse with a pedigree that would step-up on an all weather track it was Living Magic”.

Living Magic paid $16.60 for the win.

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