Tag: Racing

Live Oak Plantation enjoyed a Woodbine graded stakes double Saturday when homebred Our Flash Drive posted her third consecutive graded stakes win in the $181,250 Royal North (G2) and Souper Hoity Toity took the $157,800 Belle Mahone (G3) one race later.

Both runners are trained by Mark Casse and were ridden to victory by Patrick Husbands.

Tracking pacesetter Forest Drift from second, Our Flash Drive overtook the front-runner near the sixteenths pole and continued on to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

Sweet Enough, fifth early under Emma-Jayne Wilson, angled four to five wide on the turn, closed resolutely, and outfinished Millie Girl by a neck for second in the field of 10 older fillies and mares. Forest Drift, who grudgingly gave way in the final furlong, hung on for fourth.

Our Flash Drive, a 5-year-old Florida-bred Ghostzapper mare, covered the 6 1/2-furlong turf test in 1:13.88 on a firm course while earning her seventh win from 16 career starts. She came in to Saturday's race off victories in the Whimiscal (G3) May 13 in her season debut at Woodbine after closing the year there Nov. 12 in the Bessarabian (G2). Her career stats also include graded stakes scores in the 2021 Selene (G3) and Ontario Colleen (G3), both at the Toronto-area racetrack.

Sent off the favorite, Our Flash Drive  returned $4.30 for the victory. Produced by the Dynaformer mare Dynamotor, she banked the winner's share of the Royal North purse, boosting her purse earnings to $601,536.

Souper Hoity Toity, a 4-year-old Uncle Mo filly, led at every point of call in the Belle Mahone and repelled a challenge by favorite and reigning Canadian Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly Moira to win by a neck.

Purrfect finished three lengths back in third in the field of seven older fillies and mares.

The winner covered 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta main track in 1:44.49 and returned $13.70 for the win.

Souper Hoity Toity notched her third graded win after scoring in two Grade 3 events last year: the Selene and Ontario Colleen. She entered Saturday's race off a seventh-place finish in the Sand Springs April 1 at Gulfstream Park but made amends Saturday when delivering defeat to Moira, who was making her highly anticipated 2023 debut.

Bred in Kentucky by Dr. Richard Holder and Coolmore, Souper Hoity Toity is out of the Speightstown mare Town Tour. Live Oak Plantation landed her for $550,000 at the 2021 OBS March 2-year-olds in training sale, where Pike Racing consigned her. The $90,000 winner's share of the Belle Mahone purse increased her career purse earnings to $355,958.

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There wasn't much that went according to the pre-race plan for Boppy O in the $100,000 Jersey Derby Saturday at Monmouth Park – except the end result.

The only graded stakes winner in the field of seven 3-year-olds staged a furious rally from midstretch on, when he was fifth, to eventually run down 3-10 favorite Talk of the Nation in the final 50 yards on the way to a one-length victory.

The winning time for the mile over a firm turf course was 1:34.02.

Jockey Isaac Castillo, making a delayed return to Monmouth Park, capped a three-win day by booting home the Mark Casse-trainee in the Jersey Derby.

“I talked to Isaac Castillo in the paddock and I thought he'd be closer to the leaders this race,” said Shane Tripp, Casse's assistant. “After the break he wasn't. He was shuffled back.

“Today we learned something about him. He can let the speed go and get his feet under him and come late like he did today. I was a little concerned he was too far back early on. I thought he'd be keener early. Isaac just had to adjust and call an audible.”

With longshot Cosmic Speculation setting quick early fractions while being hounded by Swan Lake to the outside and Talk of the Nation in third on the rail, Boppy O had just one horse beat through opening fractions of :22.69 to the quarter and :46.77 for the half.

Castillo opted to stay on the rail heading into the final turn before wheeling five-wide coming out of it, but still had a lot of ground to make up when Talk of the Nation took the lead in the stretch and looked home-free.

Boppy O, who won the Grade 3 With Anticipation at Saratoga as a 2-year-old, was able to roll by late. It was another 2½ lengths back in third to the Chad Brown-trained Turf King, the second choice in the field.

“I watched the replays of his past few races and I saw he was very strong running late in his last race at Tampa (finishing second as the 11-10 favorite),” said Castillo, fourth in the Oaklawn rider standings last winter. “So I tried to save ground for as long as I could. It really helped that they were going fast in the front. This is a good horse. The races I watched he tries all of the time. I saw the favorite looked like he was in a little trouble late and I had a lot of horse under me and he responded when I asked him.”

Let go at odds of 8-1, the Florida-bred son of Bolt d'Oro out of Pappascat, by Scat Daddy, sports a 3-2-1 record from 10 career starts, with all four of his off-the-board finishes coming in graded stakes races.

The colt, bred by Rustlewood Farm Inc., is owned by John Oxley and Breeze Easy LLC. He was purchased for $190,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale, where he was offered in the Summerfield consignment.

“I think after today he can get another graded stakes,” said Tripp. “He has tried a few and won one. I think with what he showed today he can win another.”

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Robert LaPenta, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, and Madaket Stables' Kalik earned his first stakes win with a gate-to-wire score in Saturday's $200,000 Pennine Ridge (G2), a nine-furlong inner turf test for sophomores, at Belmont Park.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the Canadian-bred Collected colt won his third straight race while making his stakes debut under Irad Ortiz Jr., who was also piloting his fourth winner on the card.

“There wasn't too much speed in the race and that helped him a lot. He has some talent and he's a nice horse,” Ortiz said. “I wasn't afraid of the distance for sure. I know he can stay all day and appreciate the distance. He took me all the way and at the three-eighths pole, I let him do his thing and he picked it up on his own and kept rolling to the wire. He was ready and Chad did a great job getting him ready.”

Kalik exited post 5 and surged to the lead with Freedom Trail tracking his early foot through an opening quarter-mile in :24.69 and a half-mile in :49.17 on the firm footing. A rank Congruent advanced to fourth down the backstretch to the outside of Lachaise as the 3-2 mutuel favorite Silver Knott, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) in November at Keeneland, tracked in fifth under Richie Mullen while racing to the inside of Grade 2-placed Far Bridge under Joel Rosario.

Kalik maintained his lead into the final turn with Freedom Trail still pestering while Mullen was angling Silver Knott off the rail in search of racing room. Kalik continued to find more as the field straightened away and kicked clear to a 2 1/2-length lead at the stretch call as Silver Knott launched his bid. Meanwhile, Far Bridge, who was shuffled back to last through the final turn, was resurgent along the rail in the stretch run and closed with aplomb. But there was no reeling in Kalik, who scored by one length in a final time of 1:47.85.

Far Bridge earned place honors by a head over Silver Knott with Lachaise, Freedom Trail, Congruent and Belouni rounding out the order of finish. Sharar, who ran fifth in the Audubon earlier Saturday at Churchill Downs, was scratched.

The Pennine Ridge offers the top-three finishers an automatic invite to the $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) on July 8. Brown said he would definitely consider pointing the $200,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase to the 10-furlong test for sophomores. Also on the radar is the $1-million King's Plate, a 10-furlong Tapeta test that is restricted to Canadian-bred sophomores on August 20 at Woodbine.

“In the summertime, if he stays healthy, I'm really interested in the King's Plate,” Brown said. “It's a race we've never won and it's an interesting idea for this horse down the road.”

Kalik graduated at third asking over the Gulfstream Park turf in March and followed with a frontrunning score against winners on May 7 here. He was last-of-7 on debut sprinting six furlongs over main track at Aqueduct Racetrack in September, but Brown said a switch to turf and a productive winter at Payson Park benefitted the chestnut.

“Sometimes if I'm on the fence about them, I'll start them on the dirt. It was obvious shortly into that debut race that we had to try something different,” Brown said. “He ran well on the turf and we rested him for a bit down at Payson Park and the horse really just blossomed over the winter. He put a bunch of weight on and he matured. He was like an immature teenager last year. He always trained well, but he was just a stick figure kind of horse. Now he's filled out and turned into a real man.”

LSU Stables' Far Bridge, who rallied to miss by a nose last out to Saturday's Audubon winner at Churchill Downs, Webslinger, in the American Turf (G2) at Churchill Downs, once again demonstrated his serious closing kick.

“He looked very comfortable where we were at and then he just kind of wanted to get in and I lost a little position,” Rosario said. “He got to hanging but then he took off again [down the stretch] and ran a little bit green. The winner got an easy lead, and I think he [Far Bridge] ran a good race.”

Bred in Ontario by Peter A. Berglar Racing Interests and Anderson Farms, Kalik was produced by the Street Cry mare Coronation Street. He banked $110,000 in victory while improving his record to 5-3-1-0. He paid $7.90 for a $2 win ticket.

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Rattle N Roll, who broke from the inside post in a field of eight older horses, was bottled up along on the inside rail for most of the way in Saturday's  $225,000 Blame Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs, but the 4-year-old colt found running room with three-sixteenths of mile to the finish and ran down Call Me Fast to win by 1 ¼ lengths on his way a third straight graded stakes victory.

Happy American was another three-quarters of a length back in third.

Brian Hernandez Jr. rode the winner for trainer Kenny McPeek and owner Michael J. Mackin's Lucky Seven Stable. Rattle N Roll clocked 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.93 over a  fast track.

Just two weeks ago, Rattle N Roll won the Pimlico Special (G3) by a nose on Black-Eyed Susan Day. Prior to that, he won the $300,000 Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland by 1¼ lengths.

Barber Road, who finished sixth in last year's Kentucky Derby (G1), was a surprise leader early on setting fractions of :23.98, :48.35 and 1:12.19 with Grade 1 turf winner Santin applying mild pressure in his dirt debut.

Rattle N Roll advanced to third down the backstretch in tight quarters along the inside. He was full of run around the final turn but was trapped behind the leader Barber Road, who maintained his path while racing on the rail. When the field left the turn and hit the top of the stretch, Barber Road drifted out ever so slightly, which left a small inside opening for Rattle N Roll, who made contact with the rail while slipping through. Once clear, Rattle N Roll proved to be much the best as the 8-5 favorite.

“Two starts ago at Keeneland (Call Me Fast) closed late and we were able to hold him off,” Hernandez said. “Today, he got the first run on us, but once I tipped my horse outside at the eighth pole he really responded well and finished up strong. This win is a credit to Kenny and his team. This horse always seems to show up and run well and he came back today on quick rest. But, Kenny and his team had him ready to go.”

Favorites won five of the six stakes races at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Rattle N Roll returned $5.48, $3.18 and $2.66. Call Me Fast, ridden by Julien Leparoux at 9-2, paid $4.44 and $4.12. Happy American, 14-1 under James Graham, paid $5.48 to show.

After Happy American, it was Barber Road, Santin, Pioneer of Media, Cooke Creek and Masqueparade.

The victory was worth $135,280 and increased Rattle N Roll's bankroll to $1,501,141 with a record of 8-1-2 in 18 starts.

“I think this horse benefitted at the end of last year and into this year running in Grade IIs and Grade IIIs,” McPeek said. “It taught him to mature. Brian had this horse loaded at the rail and it got a little tight there in mid-stretch but it was a credit to him and the horse for being patient and getting room to close. Smile Happy and Rattle N Roll are both owned by the Mackin family and it's a good problem to have moving forward with two very strong caliber horses for the classic races.”

Rattle N Roll is a Kentucky-bred son of Connect out of the Johannesburg mare Jazz Tune. He was bred by St. Simon Place.

The Blame is named after the 2010 Eclipse Award-winning older horse that handed Zenyatta her lone defeat in that year's Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) at Churchill Downs.

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