Tag: Racing

Amsterdam Two Stables' Easy to Bless will look to pick up black type for the first time in Saturday's $100,000 Correction, a six-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by James Ferraro, the 5-year-old Flat Out mare boasts a record of 24-10-5-1 and field-best earnings of $441,818, entering from a three-length score in a seven-furlong optional-claimer on February 10 here.

Jacqueline Davis, who has piloted Easy to Bless through her last eight starts, guided the dark bay from last-of-6 after a stumbled start before making a five-wide move through the turn and taking command in upper stretch.

Ferraro said he was pleased with the patient ride as Easy to Bless garnered her first victory since a prominent effort in a seven-furlong handicap in May at Belmont Park.

“I like the way Jackie rated her,” Ferraro said. “I thought she had been moving her too soon, but she finally got to rate her a little.”

Easy to Bless, who has won 4-of-10 starts at the Big A, breezed back five-eighths in 1:01.63 on March 1 over the Belmont dirt training track. She will travel shorter than seven furlongs for the first time since taking the 6 1/2-furlong Xtra Heat here last March as part of New York Claiming Championship Day.

“I like the turnback going three quarters. She's training excellent,” Ferraro said. “She likes this track and she's a trier.”

Bred in Kentucky by Haymarket Farm, Easy to Bless is out of the Mr. Greeley mare Arbeka, who is a half-sister to 2002 Grade 3 Temped-winner Chimichurri.

Davis retains the mount from post 5.

Robert Derr's stakes-placed New York-bred Rossa Veloce [post 1, Manny Franco] has won 3-of-4 starts, all at Aqueduct, since being claimed by trainer Rob Atras for $32,000 out of a fourth-place finish in September at Saratoga Race Course.

The 5-year-old Girolamo mare bested state-breds in October ahead of earning a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure for a frontrunning score in November over graded-stakes placed Beguine in a 6 1/2-furlong open allowance sprint. She was part of a speed duel when second to graded-stakes placed Union Lake in an open optional-claiming sprint in December, but returned at the same level last out to post a 5 1/4-length score travelling six furlongs.

Bred by John Scott Rogers, Rossa Veloce, out of the Hard Spun mare Spuntastic, was purchased for $12,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. She has banked $421,510 through a record of 24-8-4-2.

New Horizons Bloodstock's stakes-placed Big Tentations [post 6, Eric Cancel] has found a new home on dirt for trainer Juan Carlos Avila, who captured Saturday's Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap here with Little Vic.

The 4-year-old Practical Joke bay, who finished second in the Sanibel Island in April over the Gulfstream Park turf for conditioner Rafael Romero, made her first start for Avila in September when off-the-board in a turf route at Colonial Downs. She made two more turf starts before finishing a close second in a dirt sprint contested over a sloppy and sealed track on January 23 at Parx Racing.

Avila said Big Tentations should benefit from her last-out effort which came from a three-month layoff.

“I like her on dirt and going short. Her race at Parx was excellent,” Avila said. “I had her at 50 percent. Right now, she's in good health and I really like her for this race.”

Big Tentations is out of the Artie Schiller mare Mississippi Queen – a half-sister to multiple graded-stakes winner Asi Siempre, who captured the 2006 Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland.

HnR Nothhaft Horse Racing's stakes-winner Prodigy Doll [post 3, Trevor McCarthy] makes her first start in New York for trainer Phil Schoenthal.

The 5-year-old Shanghai Bobby mare, who sports a ledger of 19-4-4-1 for purse earnings of $248,820, has competed mainly on the Maryland circuit over the past year. She captured a six-furlong optional-claimer two starts back on January 7 at Laurel Park, scoring by two-lengths over Response Time, who has since posted back-to-back wins.

Prodigy Doll, who won the 2021 Cheryl S. White Memorial at Mahoning Valley Race Course, enters from a troubled fifth in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie on February 18 at Laurel where she was steadied leaving the five-eighths and failed to fire when roused for a wide run.

Bred in Kentucky by Tolo Thoroughbreds and Michael A. Spirito, Prodigy Doll is out of the Silver Deputy mare Hi Lili, who is a half-sister to graded-stakes winner Blind Date and multiple stakes-winner Sales Tax.

Rounding out the field are New York-bred stakes winner Secret Love [post 7, Dylan Davis] for trainer John Kimmel; stakes-placed Fouette [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche] for conditioner Linda Rice; six-time winner Self Isolation [post 8, Jose Lezcano] for owner-trainer David Jacobson; and four-time winner I'm Buzzy [post 2, Katie Davis] for trainer Amira Chichakly.

The Correction is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 10-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

The post ‘She’s A Trier’: Consistent Easy To Bless Chasing Black Type In Saturday’s Correction appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Approaching the milestone of 1,000 career victories, trainer Kelly Breen will send out M and W Stables' claimer-turned-stakes winner Train to Artemus looking to extend her win streak to four races in Saturdays' $100,000 Captiva Island at Gulfstream Park.

The Captiva Island for fillies and mares 4 and up sprinting five furlongs on the grass is part of a 12-race program that includes the $125,000 Hurricane Bertie (G3), also for older females, going 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.

Post time is 12:40 p.m. EST.

Breen, 53, stands at 997 wins with three starters on Thursday's card at Gulfstream, one Friday at Laurel Park and another in Gulfstream's fourth race Saturday prior to the Captiva Island, which goes off as Race 11 (5:35 p.m. EST). He is 7-for-38 during the Championship Meet that began Dec. 26.

“I think it's pretty awesome,” Breen said of 1,000 wins. “A bunch of the people that work for me are excited, guys that have been with me for a long time. I think it's a testament to the whole barn and for us being a crew and putting in some hard work.

“I would be ecstatic if [Train to Artemus] ended up being the 1,000th win. I know I run some horses between now and then, [but] to actually have it fall in a race that's a stakes race would be beyond all extremes as to where and when you could possibly have a milestone,” he added. “That race would be, for sure, a standout for the guys that own it, the partnerships that have it. Overall, it would be just a lot of joy.”

Train to Artemus has won four of five starts since Breen claimed the 5-year-old Tapizar mare for $35,000 out of a three-length victory last August at Saratoga. Two of those wins have come this winter at Gulfstream – a two-length score Dec. 18 in a race moved from the grass to the all-weather Tapeta, and a gusty nose triumph Jan. 18, both going five furlongs.

“She's a very muscular, good-looking filly. She has been doing nothing wrong for us,” Breen said. “We took her in Saratoga and part of the thoughts were, my home base is in New Jersey. Worst case scenario, she has a lot of speed and we can have some fun with her in New Jersey. We've had more than enough fun with her in New York and Florida. She's outreached our expectations and the sky's still the limit. She's doing well and we hope she runs a good race on Saturday.”

Train to Artemus made her stakes debut last time out in the five-furlong Lightning City Feb. 18 at Tampa Bay Downs, saving ground early under Gulfstream-based jockey Paco Lopez before coming with a run to win by two lengths in :55.44 seconds, .45 seconds off the stakes record.

“I was looking to give her a little break in between races and didn't know where I was going to run her. I had a big push from Paco Lopez that he was going to over in Tampa for the day to possibly bring her over,” Breen said. “I was a little reluctant because I wanted to give her a little bit more time between races, but I said, 'You know what? She's doing well enough, let's just go ahead and run her.' She ran an impressive race. A bunch of her races have been in fast times, so she puts out when we put her in the starting gate.

“It's coming up to the same sort of scenario where other than this race that's coming up. I didn't know where else to run her,” he added. “At the same time I'm trying to give her a break between races but she's doing well enough that it looks like Saturday is her day again.”

Junior Alvarado, aboard for each of her two Gulfstream wins, gets a return call from Post 4 in a field of 10. Breen previously won the Captiva Island in 2017 with Pretty Perfection.

Introduced to racing at the age of 12 when his father would take him to Monmouth Park, Breen worked as an exercise rider for leading trainer Walter Reese and, by time he was 18 was an assistant to Scooter Dickey. The New Jersey native operated a small stable from 1992 to 1994, winning his first race with Contarito Oct. 24, 1992 at The Meadowlands.

After working as an assistant to trainer Ben Perkins Jr. from 1994 until Perkins' retirement in 2000, Breen went out on his own again and became a private trainer for George and Lori Hall at the end of 2006. Based at Monmouth Park, where he was leading trainer in 2005, 2006 and 2020, he achieved national recognition when the Halls' Ruler On Ice pulled off a 24-1 upset of the 2011 Belmont Stakes (G1).

Ruler On Ice would go on to run second in the Pennsylvania Derby (G2), third in the Haskell (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and fourth in the Travers (G1). That same year, also for the Halls, Breen won the Louisiana Derby (G2) and Pegasus (G3) and ran eighth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) with Pants On Fire.

Now operating a public stable, Breen has won more than two dozen graded-stakes with horses such as Bern Identity, Stonetastic, Miss Sky Warrior, Valedictorian and Firenze Fire.

“I've had a barn in New York for years and we've been coming down here for years, and everybody's respectful of each other and it's all a happy family. It goes back to the owners that give you the confidence to run the horses in the right spots, and, at the same time, a lot of luck,” Breen said. “I didn't have that big of a stable when I was a private trainer for George and Lori Hall, so I didn't have a whole lot of wins.

“A lot of the same people that work for me now worked for me then. Going back to a sense of pride and joy and teamwork, it takes a family to get there,” he added. “It's a lot of fun and it's a good feeling. You can kind of lose some of the joys of racing and then something comes up like this. It's a pretty good feat. I'm happy to have the guys that work for me. I'm happy to have the owners that trust me with their horses.”

A top challenger for Train to Artemus is Monarch Stables, Inc.'s Last Leaf, who will break alongside from Post 3 with Jose Ortiz up. The 4-year-old Not This Time filly is a stakes winner on both turf and dirt at Gulfstream who ran third in the 2022 Forward Gal (G3) and most recently finished fifth in the seven-furlong Inside Information (G2) Jan. 28, her first start since being reunited with trainer Ron Spatz.

Michael Vaccarezza's Little Jewel is entered to make her stakes debut in just her fourth career start, exiting a 4 ½-length maiden special weight triumph sprinting five furlongs on the Gulfstream turf Feb. 3. By Liam's Map out f the Wavering Monarch mare Hay Jude, the 5-year-old mare is a half-sister to multi-millionaire Little Mike, winner of the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1).

Lee Thomas-owned and trained Charlie T has finished third or better in nine of her 10 career starts with four wins and four seconds. The My Pal Charlie filly has been runner-up in back-to-back stakes, the 5 ½-furlong Nelson J. Menard Memorial Jan. 14 at Fair Grounds and five-furlong Ladies' Turf Sprint Feb. 11 at Gulfstream.

R. Larry Johnson's Maryland homebred Spun Glass is a two-time stakes winner, taking the Jameela at Laurel and Camptown at Colonial Downs in successive starts last summer. The 6-year-old Hard Spun mare has gone winless in four tries since, including a fifth behind Train to Artemus in the Lightning City.

Completing the field are Mamba Wamba and Imagery, respectively 3-4 in the Ladies' Turf Sprint; Jumeirah, third in the 2022 Cellars Shiraz; Poseidon's Passion, eighth in the Lightning City; and Muted.

The post Saturday At Gulfstream: ‘Sky’s Still The Limit’ For Claimer-Turned-Stakes-Winner Train To Artemus appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Ontario Jockey Club Stakes will now be known as Pink Lloyd Stakes, in recognition of one of Canada's greatest all-time sprinters.

The first edition of the Pink Lloyd, an Ontario-sired stakes for 4-year-olds and upward, contested at six furlongs over the Woodbine Tapeta, is set for Sunday, June 4, with a purse of $100,000.

Hall of Fame conditioner Robert Tiller campaigned the champion son of Old Forester throughout an outstanding career. Highlights include 2017 Canadian Horse of the Year recognition, eight Sovereign Awards, 29 wins, 26 of them stakes, and $1,884,584 (U.S.) in earnings.

Pink Lloyd was purchased for $30,000 at the 2013 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society yearling sale by owner Frank Di Giulio, Jr., but didn't make his first start until his 4-year-old year. The next season, he went eight-for-eight and was feted as Canada's Horse of the Year. He won 11 consecutive stakes races between April 15, 2017, to June 3, 2018.

He was champion male sprinter in Canada every year from 2017 through 2021. He was also named champion older horse in 2017 and 2019.

Owned by Entourage Stable, Pink Lloyd capped off his racing career with a victory in the Kennedy Road Stakes on November 27, 2021, marking the third time he won the Grade 2 race. In all, the handsome chestnut compiled a record of 29-3-2 from 38 starts.

“I'm thrilled that they have named a race after him,” said Tiller. “I've had a lot of great horses over the years and won some very nice races. Pink Lloyd is the gems of all gems. He has a big spot in my heart. I absolutely love him, and I'll never forget him. Dealing with the loss of my wife Gail, this news has certainly brought me some joy. I think this is so well deserved. I think the fans will be happy and I know the owners are very happy. It's a great thing for everybody, including Woodbine.”

These days, the 11-year-old remains a racing rock star, bringing fans out in droves to see him in Hillsburgh, Ontario, where he resides at the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society farm along with dozens of other retired racehorses.

“Pink Lloyd will go down in the annals of Canadian horse racing as one of its most prolific sprinters,” said Tim Lawson, Director, Thoroughbred Racing, Woodbine Entertainment. “His phenomenal performances, far too many to note, showcased speed, savvy and competitive spirit, all of which made him a formidable foe on the racetrack and a true fan favorite for those who marveled at his talents. We are proud to have his name associated with a race on our stakes calendar.”

The Toronto oval's 2023 Thoroughbred season gets underway on April 22 and concludes on December 10.

The post ‘This Is So Well Deserved’: Woodbine Unveils Pink Lloyd Stakes In Honor Of Eight-Time Sovereign Award Winner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Pantofel Stable's Candy Overload, a Grade 2 winner and recent local victor of the $125,000 Forego Stakes, leads a field of nine sprint specialists that entered Saturday's $125,000 Big Daddy Stakes at Turfway Park.

The six-furlong Big Daddy is named in memory of Rick Leigh, the longtime racing official and racing secretary at Turfway Park. The Big Daddy was carded as Race 7 of 9 with a post time of 8:55 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 5:55 p.m.

Trained by Mark Casse, Candy Overload sprung a mild 6-1 upset against seven rivals in the Feb. 4 Forego Stakes when he rallied from just off the pace to defeat Here Mi Song and Night Time by a half-length. Prior to Candy Overload joining Casse's Turfway Park string, the 5-year-old Ontario-bred was based at Woodbine where he was victorious in the $175,000 Kennedy Road Stakes (GII). The 5-year-old gelded son of Reload sports a solid 17-5-5-1 record with purse earnings of $327,758. He'll be ridden in the Big Daddy by Luan Machado from post No. 8.

Among Candy Overload's competition entered in the Big Daddy include the second and third place finishers of the Forego – Nathan Hayden's Here Mi Song and Blue Devil Racing Stable's Night Time.

Here Mi Song, trained by Billy Stinson Jr., is a four-time winner from 17 starts. In the Forego, Here Mi Song took the lead at the head of the stretch but finished second best to Candy Overload. He'll be ridden in the Big Daddy by Fernando De La Cruz from post 3.

Night Time, in the care of Dale Romans, had an eventful journey in the Forego when he jumped a shadow late and finished third. Prior to the Forego, the 6-year-old son of Majesticperfection was much the beset in a conditioned allowance contest at Turfway. Jockey Chris Landeros will be in the saddle from post 4.

Here is the complete field for the Big Daddy from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

1. Bad Beat Brian (Chris Emigh, Brittany Vanden Berg);
2. Gun It (Rafael Hernandez, Steve Asmussen);
3. Here Mi Song (De La Cruz, Stinson);
4. Night Time (Landeros, Romans);
5. Anaconda (Gerardo Corrales, Joe Sharp);
6. Pole Setter (Thiago Canuto, Hugo Andrade);
7. Nobody Listens (Joe Ramos, Tim Eggleston);
8. Candy Overload (Machado, Casse);
9. Detroit City (Walter Rodriguez, Jack Sisterson).

The Big Daddy holds a special significance to Turfway Park Director of Racing Tyler Picklesimer, who is the stepson of the late Leigh. Picklesimer followed in his stepfather's footsteps becoming the racing secretary at both Turfway Park and Kentucky Downs and a racing steward. Picklesimer will present the trophy for the Big Daddy. Leigh passed away in 2020 at age 73.

Racing at Turfway Park will resume Thursday-Saturday with daily first posts of 5:55 p.m.

The post Candy Overload Will Try To Double Up At Turfway In Saturday’s Big Daddy Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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