Tag: Racing

Madaket Stables' Balpool made her stakes debut a winning effort, overtaking pacesetter Unified Alliance out of the turn and cruising for a 3 3/4-length victory in Saturday's $100,000 Memories of Silver for 3-year-old fillies in a one-mile race moved off the inner turf at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Heavy rain forced the ninth running of the Memories of Silver to be moved onto a sloppy and sealed main track. With six horses scratched and three main-track only entrants joining Unified Alliance to comprise the four-horse field, the Rob Atras-trained Balpool notched her second straight victory, building on a win against allowance optional claimers earlier this month at the Big A.

Unified Alliance led the quartet through an opening quarter-mile in :23.12 and the half in :46.22 with 4-5 favorite Downtown Mischief in close pursuit, followed by Balpool and Crypto Mama. Jockey Manny Franco urged Balpool up from the outside in the turn, gaining ground into the stretch. When straightened for home, Balpool, off at 9-5, overtook Downtown Mischief and kicked on to the wire, completing the distance in 1:36.76.

“She has been improving a lot since her last race and today I got a great draw,” said Franco, the current leading rider at the Big A spring meet. “I just wanted to make sure she broke good and wasn't too far off the speed. I knew today horses weren't going to close so much. It was a good pace in front and I was right there behind them. My filly responded well.”

Lady Sheila Stable's New York homebred Downtown Mischief bested Crypto Mama for second by one length, with Unified Alliance completing the order of finish. Lady Beth, Hang the Moon, Bulsara, Queen Picasso, Juniper's Moon and Royalty Interest were scratched.

Balpool, bred in Florida by A. Francis Vanlangendonck and Barbara Vanlangendonck, returned $5.80 on a $2 win wager. The dark bay daughter of Uncaptured out of the Take Charge Indy mare Remington Rose improved her career earnings to $151,900 and won for the third time in four starts this year.

“At the top of the stretch, I thought we had a pretty good shot,” Atras said. “It looked like we had a lot of steam and momentum. On the backstretch, it looked like they were moving pretty good, but Manny stayed after them [Unified Alliance and Downtown Mischief]. We were confident going in and Manny rode her that way, so that was good.”

Downtown Mischief, trained by Linda Rice and ridden by Jose Ortiz, was coming off a win in the six-furlong Cicada on March 18 at Aqueduct before drawing in following the steady downpour that put the race on the dirt.

“She proved she can run the distance and she was tracking the pace nicely. My filly ran a great race,” Ortiz said. “I was just second-best.”

The post Balpool Lands Off-The-Turf Memories Of Silver In Stakes Debut appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Bass Racing's Annapolis, who emerged as one of the top 3-year-old turf runners in the nation last year, will make his 2023 debut Thursday in a field of 12 set for the $300,000 Opening Verse going a mile over the Matt Winn Turf Course at Churchill Downs.

The Opening Verse, a listed stakes, will go as the 10th race on the 11-race Thurby card that begins at 12:45 p.m. (ET). Post time for the Opening Verse in 5:45 p.m.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Annapolis was a three-time stakes winner in 2022 that included a victory in the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland. Annapolis finished the year when 11th, beaten 5¼ lengths, in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at the Lexington track.

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount on the 4-year-old War Front colt and will break from post position three.

Also making his 2023 debut is Juddmonte's British-bred Set Piece.

Trained by Brad Cox, the 7-year-old Dansili gelding won two graded stakes last year and has won four of six starts at Churchill Downs, including the Wise Dan (G2) in 2021. Florent Geroux has the mount and will break from post position five.

The field for the Opening Verse, with riders from the rail out, is: Native Thunder (Flavien Prat), Kentucky Ghost (Rafael Bejarano), Annapolis (Ortiz Jr.), Stitched (Joel Rosario), Set Piece (GB) (Geroux), Gray's Fable (Javier Castellano), Churchtown (Luis Saez,), Camp Hope (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Sky and Sand (Tyler Gaffalione), English Bee (John Velazquez), Time to Party (Joe Bravo), Get Smokin (Ricardo Santana Jr.).

The post Grade 1 Winner Annapolis Among Dozen Turf Runners Set For Opening Verse At Churchill Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Two dazzling debut winners this month at Keeneland, Hibernacle and Youalmosthadme, headline a field of six for the 29th running of the $200,000 Kentucky Juvenile for 2-year-olds going five furlongs on the main track Thursday at Churchill Downs.

The Kentucky Juvenile will go as the afternoon's fourth race with a 2:17 p.m. (ET) post time.

Wesley Ward, a two-time winner of the race with fillies, owns and bred Hibernacle, a 7 ½-length winner in her first outing on April 12. Joel Rosario has the mount aboard the Hootenanny filly and will break from post one.

Youalmosthadme debuted a week later on April 19 at the Lexington track and won by 8½ lengths for trainer John Hancock. Subsequently sold privately to Qatar Racing, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, and Black Type Thoroughbreds and now trained by Brad Cox, the Oxbow filly will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and break from post two.

The field for the Kentucky Juvenile, with riders from the rail out, is: Hibernacle (Rosario), Youalmosthadme (Gaffalione), Lil Anthony (Rafael Bejarano), Lou's Legacy (Yarmarie Correa), Tranche (Edwin Maldonado), Who's Snow Trouble (Luis Saez).

The post Sparkling Debut Winners Hibernacle, Youalmosthadme Headline Kentucky Juvenile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Michael Stidham added to his remarkable Oaklawn record when Proxy captured the $1-million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 22.

Proxy, a homebred for famed Godolphin LLC, represented the 21st career Oaklawn victory for Stidham. Nearly 40 percent (eight) have come in stakes company.

“I like that stat,” Stidham said moments after Proxy's victory under Joel Rosario.

Proxy ($9.40) received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 103 for his head victory over Last Samurai, with Stilleto Boy a nose farther back to Stilleto Boy in third.

Stilleto Boy had beaten Proxy a neck in their previous meeting, the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) March 4 at Santa Anita. Proxy raced in cheek pieces, or vertical shadow roll, for the first time in the Oaklawn Handicap. Stidham said the hope was cheek pieces, which the trainer has used in the past, would keep Proxy's vision “more focused in front” and the horse a “little more interested” early in the race.

“Hey, who knows?” Stidham said, when asked if cheek pieces made a difference in the Oaklawn Handicap. “As trainers, we're always trying to get that little bit extra that we need. It's a trial and error thing. We had tried blinkers on him as a 3-year-old. Didn't really feel like that made a big difference. But when we started working him in the cheek pieces, normally he can be kind of sluggish in his works, but with the cheek pieces he's been very forward in all his works.”

Stidham said he began “experimenting” with the equipment shortly after the Santa Anita Handicap.

The Oaklawn Handicap moved Proxy's record to 5-6-2 from 16 lifetime starts and increased his earnings to $1,775,970. Proxy is a 5-year-old son of super sire Tapit out of millionaire multiple Grade 1 winner Panty Raid. Proxy scored his biggest career victory to date in the Clark Stakes (G1) Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs.

“We'll be looking at races like the Stephen Foster at Churchill and then Saratoga,” Stidham said. “But our goal is to try and be around at the end of the year for the Breeders' Cup.”

The $1-million Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) for older horses is July 1 at Churchill Downs, a 1 1/8-mile race that could feature a rematch between the top three finishers in the Oaklawn Handicap.

D. Wayne Lukas, Last Samurai's Hall of Fame trainer, said following the Oaklawn Handicap that “We'll probably look at the Stephen Foster next.” Stilleto Boy's trainer, Ed Moger Jr., said before the Oaklawn Handicap that if all went well, he was “thinking” the Stephen Foster. Proxy ran third in last year's Stephen Foster.

Stidham's seventh career Oaklawn stakes victory came in 2021 with Mystic Guide in the Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses. Another Godolphin homebred, Mystic Guide, won the Dubai World Cup (G1) in his next start.

Stidham's first career Oaklawn victory came in 1994 with Two Altazano in the Fantasy Stakes (G2) for 3-year-old fillies. Stidham also won the 1999 Razorback with Desert Air and four Oaklawn stakes with top Arkansas-bred sprinter Comedero.

The post Proxy Adds To Stidham’s Oaklawn Stakes Totals, Could Start Next In Stephen Foster appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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