Tag: Racing

Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt's Ryvit, the recent winner of the Chick Lang Stakes (Grade 3) at Pimlico, tops a solid field of 12 3-year-olds that entered Sunday's second running of the $175,000 Maxfield Overnight Stakes at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming.

Run at seven furlongs, the Maxfield Overnight Stakes was carded as Race 8 of 10 with a post time of 3:22 p.m. (all times Central). First post on the stakes-laden program is 11:45 a.m. Along with the Maxfield Overnight Stakes, the card features the $275,000 Hanshin Stakes presented by the JRA (Listed), the $225,000 Bashford Manor (Listed), the $225,000 Debutante (Listed) and the $175,000 Anchorage Overnight Stakes.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Ryvit has found the winner's circle in his last four tries. Asmussen's son Keith was aboard for three of the last four victories but was forced to take off the colt in the Chick Lang after he broke his left index finger. In the six-furlong Chick Lang, Tyler Gaffalione picked up the mount and cruised to a front-running 1 ¾-length victory. Jockey Cristian Torres will have the call for the first time on Ryvit and break from the rail.

The Maxfield Overnight Stakes features several intriguing horses including WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's 10 ¼-length maiden winner Mullikin, AMO Racing USA's undefeated New York Thunder, Amerman Racing Stables' recent back-to-back allowance winner Tumbarumba and Michele and Cliff Love's Saratoga Special (G2) winner Damon's Mound.

Here is the complete field for the Maxfield Overnight Stakes from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Ryvit (Torres, Asmussen)

2. New York Thunder (Ricardo Santana Jr., Jorge Delgado)

3. Determinedly (Francisco Arrieta, Mark Casse)

4. Navy Man (Junior Alvarado, Michael McCarthy)

5. Damon's Mound (Gabriel Saez, Michelle Lovell)

6. Mullikin (Tyler Gaffalione, Rodolphe Brisset)

7. Gunflash (Rey Gutierrez, Karl Broberg)

8. Frosted Departure (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek)

9. Top Recruit (Gerardo Corrales, Mike Maker)

10. Tumbarumba (Luis Saez, Brian Lynch)

11. Squire Creek (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox)

Fans can watch and wager on all the action from Ellis Park on www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated. Featured on the Ellis Park simulcast signal on Twin Spires are expert handicappers Joe Kristufek, Scott Shapiro and Kaitlin Free.

FanDuel will offer live on-site coverage Friday-Sunday at Ellis Park. Fans can also watch the action on the FanDuel+ app on smart devices.

For more information about racing and gaming from Ellis Park, visit www.ellisparkracing.com.

The post Ellis Park: Ryvit Enters Maxfield Overnight On Four-Race Win Streak appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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With the order largely unchanged after several quiet weeks of graded stakes action, this weekend's Grade 1 Stephen Foster will see entries from two of the top ten on the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Proxy, eighth on the poll, and Smile Happy, ninth, are both entered in the 1 1/8-mile contest set for Saturday at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. Winner of the G2 Oaklawn Handicap, Proxy has not raced since that start on April 22, but the Mike Stidham trainee has been working steadily at Fair Hill since mid-May. Smile Happy, trained by Ken McPeek, won the G2 Alysheba at Churchill last out.

Among the top rivals for those two in the Stephen Foster are: Smile Happy's stablemate Rattle N Roll, riding a three-race win streak including the G3 Pimlico Special; G2 New Orleans Classic winner West Will Power, defeated only 2 3/4 lengths by Smile Happy last out in the Alysheba and liable to improve for trainer Brad Cox; G1 Santa Anita Handicap winner Stilleto Boy, last-out third in the Oaklawn Handicap; and Last Samurai, the D. Wayne Lukas-trained winner of the G3 Razorback and G3 Essex over the winter at Oaklawn Park. Completing the talented field are G3 winner Happy American for trainer Neil Pessin and G3-placed Speed Bias for trainer Ron Moquett.

The Stephen Foster is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Classic.

The NTRA poll remains led by multiple Grade 1 winner Cody's Wish, trained by Bill Mott, after his dominant performance in the Grade 1 Met Mile. Last fall's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner is off to a big start in 2023, as is his Hall of Fame conditioner: Mott-trained Elite Power is second in this week's poll after a win in February's Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) and in the G2 True North.

The post NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll Largely Unchanged; Two Of Top 10 Expected For Saturday’s Stephen Foster appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Gainesway Stable's ultra-consistent White Frost leads a field of eight turf specialists entered in the second running of the $175,000 Anchorage Overnight Stakes at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming.

The one-mile turf contest will go as Race 7 of 10 with a post time of 2:50 p.m. (all times Central). The Anchorage Overnight Stakes is one of five stakes contests on the program alongside the $275,000 Hanshin Stakes presented by the JRA (Listed), the $225,000 Bashford Manor (Listed), the $225,000 Debutante (Listed) and the $175,000 Maxfield Overnight Stakes.

White Frost, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, has only finished outside the top 3 once in her nine-race career. The now 5-year-old mare by Candy Ride (ARG) was the heavy 3-5 favorite in the $225,000 Mint Julep Stakes (Grade 3) but could not hold off Henrietta Topham in the late stages of the 1 1/16-mile event. As a 3-year-old, White Frost won the Sweetest Chant Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Junior Alvarado, who's been aboard White Frost for seven of her nine starts, will have the call from post No. 6.

J and J Stables and Nicholas Vaccarezza's Sweet Dani Girl will be in search of her fourth stakes victory in the Anchorage Overnight Stakes. Trained by Carlo Vaccarezza, Sweet Dani Girl started her career off with a blitz by winning her debut at 45-1 and tallying a three-quarter length victory in the Myrtlewood Stakes. Sweet Dani Girl went to the sidelines following the 2022 Eight Belles Stakes (G2) but returned as a 4-year-old to Gulfstream Park where she defeated seven rivals in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf. Two starts later, Sweet Dani Girl shipped to Tampa Bay Downs where she cruised to a four-length victory in the Distaff Turf Stakes. Most recently, Sweet Dani Girl set the early fractions in the Mint Julep Stakes but could not hold off Henrietta Topham and White Frost. Jockey Cristian Torres will have the mount from the rail.

Here is the complete field for the Anchorage Overnight Stakes from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Sweet Dani Girl (Torres, Vaccarezza)

2. Princess Theorem (Tyler Gaffalione, Brendan Walsh)

3. Fast as Flight (Luis Saez, Bryan Lynch)

4. Kate's Kingdom (Jack Gilligan, Will Walden)

5. Contemporary Art (Florent Geroux, Jonathan Thomas)

6. White Frost (Alvarado, Mott)

7. Napa Candy (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver)

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

Fans can watch and wager on all the action from Ellis Park on www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated. Featured on the Ellis Park simulcast signal on Twin Spires are expert handicappers Joe Kristufek, Scott Shapiro and Kaitlin Free.

FanDuel will offer live on-site coverage Friday-Sunday at Ellis Park. Fans can also watch the action on the FanDuel+ app on smart devices.

For more information about racing and gaming from Ellis Park, visit www.ellisparkracing.com.

The post Ellis: Ultra-Consistent White Frost Tops Eight For Anchorage Overnight appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Three of the first four horses home in the Epsom Derby are in line to clash once again in the Group 1 Irish Derby at the Curragh this Sunday.

Aidan O'Brien's European classic haul stands at 99 after the battling success of Auguste Rodin at Epsom and he heads the trainer's five remaining entries in the €1.25m race, the first Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby to be run on a Sunday since 2011 and the centerpiece on an eight-race card which is a Tote World Pool event for the first time.

Auguste Rodin would be bidding to give Ryan Moore his first win in the Irish Derby and if successful, would become the first horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh Derby double since Harzand in 2016. Among those standing in his way could be his own stable companions Adelaide River, Covent Garden, Peking Opera, and San Antonio.

However, John Murphy's White Birch, a first ride in the Irish Derby for Dylan Browne McMonagle, and the Jessica Harrington-trained Sprewell, third and fourth respectively at Epsom a month ago, appear to be the biggest threats to O'Brien's Epsom Derby hero.

Also standing their ground ahead of Friday's final declaration stage are the Dermot Weld-trained Knight To King, an impressive winner at Gowran Park on his debut, Joseph O'Brien's Leopardstown Derby Trial second Up And Under, the Donnacha O'Brien-trained Proud And Regal and the Ralph Beckett-trained Salt Bay.

Elsewhere on Sunday's card, the Jessica Harrington-trained Supersonic Man has been added to the field in the Group 2 GAIN Railway Stakes which also includes Adrian Murray's Royal Ascot winner Valiant Force which could renew rivalry with Aidan O'Brien's His Majesty which finished fourth behind him in the Norfolk Stakes.

Meanwhile, at the Curragh on Saturday, a field of 14 horses, including last week's Ribblesdale winner Warm Heart, trained by Aidan O'Brien, Joseph O'Brien's Above The Curve, the Jim Bolger-trained Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas third Comhra, the George Boughey-trained Via Sistina and Hughie Morrison's Stay Alert are among the 14 horses remaining in the Group 1 Yulong Pretty Polly Stakes while nine, including Albany Stakes runner-up Matrika and the Ed Walker-trained Miss Roberts, go forward for the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes. Joseph O'Brien's Al Riffa, winner of last year's Group 1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes, is set to reappear in the Group 3 Paddy Power International Stakes.

Click here to see the entries for the Curragh on Saturday

Click here to see the entries for the Curragh on Sunday

The post O’Brien Approaches 100th European Classic Winner; Epsom Derby Hero Auguste Rodin Heads Sunday’s Irish Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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