Trainer Gustavo Delgado gave his son, Gustavo Delgado Jr., strict orders not to spend more than $100,000 for a colt he coveted at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in Timonium, Md. The son, captivated by the quality of the colt in front of him, subsequently named Mage, ignored his father’s wishes in making a winning bid of $290,000.
Tag: Racing
Forte’s Connections Win ‘Consolation Prize’ In Turf Classic With Up To The Mark
“It's some form of a consolation prize, but obviously not why we were here,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher told NBC's Nick Luck after Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Up to the Mark scored a 3 3/4-length victory under Irad Ortiz Jr. in Saturday's Grade 1, $1-million Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday.
The Turf Classic, inaugurated in 1987 after Churchill Downs installed its infield turf, immediately preceded the 149th running of the G1 Kentucky Derby. The Repole-St. Elias ownership tandem, Pletcher, and Ortiz would have been represented in the Derby by pre-race favorite Forte, but the son of Violence was scratched on the morning of the race with a foot bruise.
Winning his first stakes and fourth race overall from nine starts, Up to the Mark completed nine furlongs on firm turf in 1:47.31. The Kentucky-bred son of Not This Time out of Belle's Finale, by Ghostzapper, paid $7.26 to win as the favorite in the field of eight older runners that included just one prior G1 winner, Santin.
Hong Kong Harry rallied for second under Flavien Prat, with Spooky Channel and Joel Rosario 1 1/4 lengths back in third. Ocean Antique, under Juan Hernandez, was fourth, with Santin and Tyler Gaffalione fifth, Wolfie's Dynaghost sixth, Earls Rock seventh, and Bye Bye Melvin eighth. Master Piece and Steady On were scratched.
Ortiz allowed Up to the Mark to settle into sixth position in the early going as Manny Franco urged Bye Bye Melvin to the lead from the outside post. Bye Bye Melvin set fractions of :23.91, :48.03, and 1:11.65 through the opening six furlongs, with Santin in closest pursuit.
Gaffalione, aboard Santin, turned up the pressure on the front-runner entering the far turn and smoothly moved to the lead. Ortiz, with a ton of horse under him, swung Up to the Mark four wide into the stretch and quickly pounced on Santin, putting his head in front at the furlong pole, with the opening mile clocked in 1:35.44.
Irish-bred Hong Kong Harry, shipping to Kentucky from California for trainer Phil D'Amato, had just one horse beat in the run down the backstretch, Spooky Channel, and those two closed to get the minor awards.
Bred by Ramspring Farm, Up to the Mark was purchased for $450,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale from Taylor Made Sales Agency. He didn't debut until July of his 3-year-old season, winning a Saratoga maiden race on a sloppy track but lost his next four starts.
Switched to the turf in January, the bay colt ran off two consecutive allowance/optional claiming wins at Gulfstream Park, then finished third behind Chez Pierre and 2022 male turf champion Modern Games in the G1 Makers Mark Mile at Keeneland April 14.
This was Pletcher's third Turf Classic victory, following wins by English Channel in 2006 and Colonel Liam in a dead-heat with Domestic Spending in 2021.
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Anaconda Mows Down Rivals In Elusive Quality
Three Diamonds Farm's Anaconda secured his first career stakes win, rallying stoutly down the lane to capture Saturday's $150,000 Elusive Quality, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for older horses, at Belmont Park.
Trained by Joe Sharp and piloted from the inside post by Kendrick Carmouche, the 6-year-old Pioneerof the Nile horse overcame traffic trouble down the backstretch when steadied behind rivals along the rail. A patient Carmouche maintained his ground-saving position through the turn before angling off the rail at the top of the lane and wearning down his rivals for a narrow nose win as the 8-5 favorite.
“I was wanting to get out from behind Surprise Boss because I didn't think he would finish the race like I wanted him to [from the inside],” Carmouche said. “I wanted to get him out early, but that didn't happen, so I just had to stay in there and sit. Even at the quarter pole, I was in a little bit of trouble. I tried to get out and I motivated him from there. I knew I could get up in the last couple of jumps.”
Despite the narrow margin of victory, Carmouche said he felt confident once he had Anaconda in the clear.
“The horse just kept running and running. I always think I'll get there,” said Carmouche, with a laugh.
Heaven Street set splits of :23 flat and :46.58 over the firm footing as the Jose Gomez-piloted Yes and Yes tracked from second position with Surprise Boss in third to the inside of High Oak.
Yes and Yes had the measure of Heaven Street as the field straightened away, but there was no turning back the onrushing Anaconda, who stopped the clock in 1:21.94. Yes and Yes finished 1 3/4-lengths in front of third-place Heaven Street with Thin White Duke, Surprise Boss, Lucky Curlin, Voodoo Zip, High Oak and Ocala Dream rounding out the order of finish.
Anaconda joined the Sharp barn last summer at Saratoga and has since hit the board in 6-of-9 starts, including a narrow nose defeat last out to Big Everest in the one-mile Danger's Hour on April 15 over firm going at Aqueduct Racetrack. The $150,000 purchase at the 2018 Keeneland September yearling sale had previously finished a close second in November in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship.
Sharp assistant Lorita Lindemann said Anaconda arrived at the Elusive Quality in good order.
“He's been training like he does all the time – like a good horse,” Lindemann said. “It's a blessing to win; it's very good and the team needed it right now. We got him last year and had some issues, but he overcame them.”
The David Donk-trained Yes and Yes, a five-time winner over the Belmont turf, was making his second start off the layoff from a fourth-place finish in an optional-claiming sprint on April 13 over the Big A grass.
Gomez said he had no excuses following the game effort from the 7-year-old Sidney's Candy gelding, whose half-brother, the fellow Donk-trainee Thin White Duke, finished fourth.
“He ran great and that's just how it goes. I had a great trip and he loves Belmont,” Gomez said. “He was [running] nice on the outside and when I asked him to run, he responded well.”
Bred in Kentucky by Hargus Sexton, Sandra Sexton, Silver Fern Farm and WinStar Farm, Anaconda was produced by the Medaglia d'Oro mare Lawn Party. He banked $82,500 in victory while improving his record to 16-5-2-2. He returned $5.50 for a $2 win bet.
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Cody’s Wish Keeps Writing His Fairy Tale With Churchill Downs Stakes Win, Rival Is Vanned Off
Cody's Wish has captured the imaginations of race fans around the country ever since the public learned about the special bond he has with 16-year-old Cody Dormer, who suffers from the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome. His win in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile was the climax of a fairy tale in his 2022 season as the Dormer family cheered the 4-year-old Bill Mott trainee to the wire. On the Kentucky Derby undercard, Cody's Wish and jockey Junior Alvarado showed they're ready to write another chapter as they drew away to victory in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes.
In his trademark style, Cody's Wish hung back in the early going of the seven-furlong contest on the main dirt track, letting Here Mi Song and Hoist The Gold take the lead ahead of stalkers Sir Alfred James and Endorsed. Alvarado let Cody's Wish gradually close the distance halfway down the backstretch, unwinding a gradual charge on the outside and sneaking into third by the top of the final stretch. Once there, he faced the pacesetters from a wide outside trip and dug in determinedly to draw clear by the wire and win going away.
This is the fourth time Mott has won this race, with previous victories coming with Rock and Roll in 1999, Rapid Gray in 1985, and Shot n'Missed in 1983.
Hoist The Gold hung on for second, with Tejano Twist coming up for third. Here Mi Song was fourth.
The Equibase chart indicated that Here Mi Song “faltered late in the stretch, vanned off after the race.” A reporter for the Associated Press later tweeted that trainer William Stinson, Jr., indicated radiographs on the horse did not show any abnormalities.
Cody's Wish paid $3.44, $2.90, and $2.64. See the full chart here.
The final time was 1:21.17, with fractions of :22.70, :45.19, and 1:09.17.
Mott trains the homebred Cody's Wish for Godolphin. He is out of Tapit mare Dance Card.
The Dormer family were again in attendance for the race. Cody Dormer met the horse who would become Cody's Wish in foalhood, when the son of Curlin placed his head in the boy's lap in a moment of uncharacteristic calm. The horse was named for Dormer and his connections say he has continued to approach the young man with a unique peace and gentleness.
CHURCHILL DOWNS QUOTES
Junior Alvarado (jockey, Cody's Wish, winner) – “I don't even know how to describe how much better he got today. What I felt today, is what you want to feel when you ride horses in big races, to feel the whole machine underneath you. Today, he was just a lovely animal to ride. He was there with me every step of the way. When I asked him, he didn't hold anything back, he just went right by those horses. This is what I love to do with this horse. I just want to keep the story going.”
Bill Mott (trainer, Cody's Wish, winner) – “With this horse winning, it's really way more than a horse race. For us, I mean, Cody Dorman, and Cody's Wish, make it something special. When this horse came back after the race, and hearing the crowd, they were going crazy up there, more than they normally cheer for any other race. And the horse is just so great. He's been showing up every time. He's been off since the Breeders' Cup, but it sure looked like he was ready today.
“I get choked up easily, but when he was walking over, my assistant Kenny said he paused, and he looked, and said it was almost like there is a connection there. Usually we don't see that in horses. For what reason, the horse knows something is special.”
Luis Saez (jockey, Hoist the Gold, second) – “He ran big. We broke sharp, sat in second and was travelling very comfortable. We came down the stretch and he never gave up. The winner was pretty good.”
Chris Landeros (jockey, Tejano Twist, third) – “He ran a great race. I have to be honest, I was caught off guard by Cody's Wish. I was sitting where I wanted to be. I was comfortable, following Endorsed and I actually took a peak over and I didn't quite see Junior (Alvarado). The minute I started riding forward, he was on me in two jumps.”
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