Tag: Racing

In her shocking 38-1 upset victory against Eclipse Award Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Wonder Wheel four weeks ago in the Suncoast Stakes, trainer Gerald Bennett's Florida-bred Dreaming of Snow displayed a tenacity through the stretch that reminded him of his childhood pet, a mongrel dog named Skip.

“My brother Carmen and I had the only two paper routes in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, and we'd take our dog with us,” Bennett said, reflecting back 65 years. “We'd do it in the morning before school and finish after school.

“When the (neighborhood) dogs would come out and chase us, they knew our dog was out there, and he'd go over and whip their a–. After a while, they wouldn't go out there anymore. They'd see us coming and go around the other way.”

One victory, no matter how impressive, does not cement a reputation, and Dreaming of Snow has much to prove in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks, where she will face 11 other sophomore fillies in the mile-and-a-sixteenth event on the Tampa Bay Downs turf course. The Florida Oaks is the 10^th race on a 12-race Festival Day 43 card beginning at 11:55 a.m.

Saturday's main event, of course, is the Grade 3, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby, a mile-and-a-sixteenth race on dirt for 3-year-olds that is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race, with 50, 20, 15, 10 and 5 Run for the Roses qualifying points going to the first five finishers. The Tampa Bay Derby, which is the 11^th race and should go off around 5:15 p.m., is a 12-horse duel, with trainer Todd Pletcher's Tapit Trice and jockey Luis Saez the 8-5 morning-line favorites and Pletcher stablemate Shesterkin and Edgard Zayas 9-2 second choices.

Although there is no Wonder Wheel for Dreaming of Snow to contend with in the Florida Oaks, the depth of competition appears greater than in the Suncoast, with trainer Chad Brown's Free Look the 2-1 morning-line favorite and Dreaming of Snow one of three co-fourth choices at 8-1. The Florida Oaks also marks Dreaming of Snow's first turf try after posting three victories from five starts on the dirt.

Regardless of the questions, Bennett expects Dreaming of Snow and jockey Samy Camacho to take the fight to her competition.

“She never backs off in her workouts,” said Bennett. “She worked in company (last Saturday) with Lookin' Super, our 3-year-old gelding who broke his maiden going seven furlongs in 1:22 and change, and she just ran away and hid from him. (The Suncoast) didn't take much out of her. When she came back to the winner's circle, she was breathing so easy she wouldn't have blown out a match.”

As for the turf question, “All the ones by her sire, Jess's Dream (a son of Curlin), that have been running here on the grass are doing really great. Alexa's Dream (a 4-year-old Florida-bred filly), who we claimed a few races back, won a starter allowance going a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf and made a monster run (Wednesday) but got too far back early and finished third at a flat mile.

“So, you're concerned Dreaming of Snow doesn't handle the grass for whatever reason, but you've got to go in there and try it,” said Bennett, the perennial leading Oldsmar trainer who is bidding for his first Florida Oaks victory.

The conditioner, who also considered the Grade 3, mile-and-a-sixteenth Fantasy Stakes on April 1 at Oaklawn Park for Dreaming of Snow's next start, wants Camacho to let the filly be herself Saturday, in the parlance of a horse trying to get from the No. 5 post position to the wire ahead of the rest. She led every step of the way in the Suncoast, and might try to do so again.

“It (over-thinking the possible pace scenarios) is how you get yourself beat,” Bennett said. “Everybody says 'look at this speed in here, look at that speed,' and you start changing your mind and tell the jock to see how it unfolds.

“Well, who's got time to watch all those signals and traffic lights, and a hole just opened up and you missed it? Just let her do her own thing, and if we get beat say we weren't good enough and that's it,” Bennett said.

The post Another Upset Brewing? Bennett Wants Dreaming Of Snow To ‘Do Her Own Thing’ In Florida Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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One-two finishers when last they met, Irish-bred Duvet Day and Queen Ofthe Temple head a field of nine older fillies and mares going 1 1/4 miles on turf in the Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ana Stakes this Sunday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Far back early going 1 1/2 miles on turf in the ungraded Astra Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 21, Duvet Day, under patient handling from Kuzushi Kimura, swung wide turning for home and won going away by 1 ¼ lengths in a very impressive win at odds of 13-1.

Trained by Michael McCarthy and owned by the estate of Burt Bacharach, Jane Bacharach and Richard Schatz, Duvet Day earned a career-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Astra and will hope to be as effective cutting back in distance a quarter of a mile on Sunday with the talented Kimura riding for the third consecutive time.

A 4-year-old filly, Duvet Day, who was second in her first two starts in Ireland prior to joining McCarthy's stable in the fall of 2021, ran an even eighth, beaten seven lengths, two starts back in the G1 American Oaks, which was her only try at 1 1/4 miles on turf.  With an overall mark of 13-3-3-1, she has earnings of $178,313.

Off at 5-2, Queen Ofthe Temple was attentive to the Astra pace, made the lead turning for home, but was no match for Duvet Day late, finishing second by 1 ¼ lengths under Juan Hernandez, who rides back on Sunday.  Trained by Dan Blacker, Queen Ofthe Temple is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare who has been very consistent in Southern California starts for owners Radley Equine, Inc., Roger Featherston, Rick Gold, and Tony Maslowski.

Sixth, beaten only 2 ¾ lengths three races back going 1 1/4 miles on turf in the G1 Rodeo Drive Oct. 8 at Santa Anita, Queen Ofthe Temple was third, beaten 4 ½ lengths two starts back in the G3 Red Carpet Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Del Mar Nov. 24.  With an overall mark of 11-1-5-3, she has earnings of $157,840.

In what was her U.S. debut, Australia Mia was off as the 8-5 favorite in the Astra and was forwardly placed throughout but tired to finish third, beaten 3 ½ lengths with Frankie Dettori, who rides back in the Santa Ana.  A two-time Group 2 winner in Chile, Kentucky-bred Australia Mia is trained by McCarthy and is certainly eligible to move up on Sunday with a recent race to her credit.  A 5-year-old mare by Street Sense who is owned by her breeder, Don Alberto Corporation, Australia Mia is 20-9-2-4 overall with two wins from four tries at the Santa Ana distance.

GRADE II SANTA ANA WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS

IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 9   Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

Annaghlasa—Ramon Vazquez–120
Queen Ofthe Temple—Juan Hernandez—120
Australia Mia—Lanfranco Dettori—124
Ascendancy—Luis Contreras—120
Duvet Day—Kazushi Kimura—122
Myfavoritedaughter—Joe Bravo—120
Buzz of New York—Umberto Rispoli—120
Harper's Gallop—John Velazquez—120
Ballet Dancing—Flavien Prat–120

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 12:30 p.m. with admission gates opening at 10:30 a.m.

The post Duvet Day, Queen Ofthe Temple Rematched In Santa Ana appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A trio of Oaks-dreaming connections have woken up to the fact that their fillies might be better suited to the turf. Chop Chop, Hang the Moon, and Hayunevano, all recent participants in Kentucky Oaks points races, are entered in Saturday's 16th running of the $75,000 Allen “Black Cat” LaCombe Memorial Stakes.

The female edition of last Saturday's $75,000 Black Gold Stakes, won by the Cox runner Wonderful Justice, sees a field of eight sophomores draw in to run about one mile over the Stall Wilson turf course. Fields remain limited to eight runners as the portable rail is positioned 34 feet out from the rail. Slated as Race 8 of 9, post time for the LaCombe is scheduled for 5:27 p.m. CT.

Named for Fair Grounds' most infamous bon vivant and raconteur, Allen “Black Cat” LaCombe served as publicity director and morning line oddsmaker for decades, and his photo hangs in the Press Box Hall of Fame. His bad luck peaked on a day when he publicly picked the winner of nine races, but somehow managed to lose money betting the card.

Could a race named for a cursed New Orleans gambler be the cure for the money-burning 3-year-old filly Chop Chop? The infamous underlay of the 2022 Breeders' Cup Friday card was sent off once again as the favorite when making her 3-year-old debut in the Silverbulletday. She won neither race, and in fact Selective LLC's Chop Chop has not won a race since blitzing out as a freshman to win her first two. Both were across the turf.

The City of Light filly out of the Giant's Causeway mare Grand Sophia debuted going two turns over firm turf at Ellis Park and then backed that performance up over the yielding sod of Kentucky Downs, winning the $500,000 Juvenile Fillies. Both races were at the LaCombe distance of about one mile.

The Cox barn tried blinkers on Chop Chop before the Rachel Alexandra (G2) but that didn't help any and that equipment has quickly been removed after she finished a flat fifth of six. Chop Chop will receive a rider change as the Cox barn looks to mix things up for their entries, swapping Corey Lanerie off De Broglio Racing's Beyond Doubt to ride Chop Chop and vice versa with Florent Geroux.

Nine open-company stakes races written for the crop of 2020 have been run so far this meet at Fair Grounds, and the Cox barn has won seven of them, most recently with Wonderful Justice in the Black Gold. Before that they scored with Angel of Empire in the Risen Star (G2), Instant Coffee in the Lecomte (G3), The Alys Look in the Silverbulletday, Jace's Road in the Gun Runner, Corona Bolt in the Sugar Bowl, and Dazzling Blue in the Letellier. The other two were both won by Pretty Mischievous from Brendan Walsh's barn (Rachel Alexandra [G2] and the Untapable).

CJ Thoroughbreds' Hang the Moon took to the turf with aplomb, traveling widest of all runners and flashing one of the most memorable late moves of the Fair Grounds meet when beating Beyond Doubt going 1 1/16 miles in January. The Stidham barn flirted with a run at the Oaks for their Uncle Mo filly out of the Malibu Moon dam Moondance but she finished fifth in the Untapable. Brian Hernandez Jr. retains the mount after guiding her successfully in January's optional claiming allowance. If Hang the Moon's four progressive works are a sign of things to come, then she should be ready to take a nice step forward in the LaCombe.

The Amoss barn looks to win back-to-back “Black Cat's, sending out two recent maiden-breakers. Both Joel Politi's Camp Akeela and Jerry Caroom and Jeffrey Lambert's Girl Named Charlie look to string turf victories together with opposing tactics. Politi and Amoss teamed up to win last year's edition when their filly Kneesnhips famously bid along the outside rail where jockey James Graham was instructed to be close enough to high-five Amoss near the finish line. On Feb. 26, Camp Akeela (5-1 ML), their newest promising turf filly, flew out to the lead and never looked back, wiring a field of seven and earning a 76 Brisnet Speed figure.

In mid-January, Girl Named Charlie (8-1 ML) ran against the perceived turf bias, closing up the wide-open rail as the field fought for position on the outer fence. For that bold effort she ran a 79 Brisnet Speed figure. Both Amoss fillies are formful, well-bred, and deemed equally likely to win according to their square morning line odds. Amoss, the New Orleans native, knows better than to show up to a race named for Black Cat without a rabbit's foot.

When it comes to trying a new surface – hey, you never know. Though she has only one win to her name, Wing and A Prayer Racing's Hayunevano has held her own against the likes of three Oaks-road fillies, finishing fourth most recently to Southlawn in an allowance, third to The Alys Look in the Silverbulletday, and fourth to Pretty Mischievous in the Untapable. But looking past the finish order, there have been a combined 33 lengths between her and the top finishers. If pronounced correctly, the Sam David Jr. trainee has a name Allen LaCombe and most any hard luck gambler could get behind, and a story to boot.

The Goldencents filly out of the Munnings dam Classic Vision was a gift to owners Stewart Dimak and James Pittman.

“Before the sale at Ocala, the farrier nicked her hooves too close,” Dimak said. “They breezed her anyways, and of course she ran slow, making her unsaleable. So the breeder called me up and said 'I've got a filly who needs a job.' He sent me videos of her breezing with a colt, and I saw she was a monster. I said, 'well if she needs a job, I'm hiring.'”

Morning line oddsmaker Mike Diliberto hangs an attractive 8-1 price around Hayunevano which will surely set many a gambler to dreaming of catching a big price in the LaCombe, especially if their day's luck has gone the direction of the Black Cat.

Here is the complete field for the “Black Cat” LaCombe Stakes from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line):

1. Chop Chop (Corey Lanerie, Brad Cox, 9-5);
2. Blame Day (Deshawn Parker, Bret Calhoun, 8-1);
3. Hang the Moon (Brian Hernandez Jr., Mike Stidham, 4-1);
4. Hayunevano (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Sam David Jr., 8-1);
5. Beautifulnavigator (James Graham, Ken McPeek, 10-1);
6. Camp Akeela (Mitchell Murrill, Tom Amoss, 8-1);
7. Beyond Doubt (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 6-1);
8. Girl Named Charlie (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss, 5-1).

The post Chop Chop Leads Trio Of Former Oaks Hopefuls Heading To Turf In Fair Grounds’ LaCombe appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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