Tag: Racing

If it weren't for tough luck, English Bee wouldn't have much at all. Since winning the Virginia Derby (G3) and Parx Derby back-to-back in the summer and fall of 2019, the 7-year-old gelding has raced 18 times with two wins and been beaten by five lengths or fewer in 10 graded stakes.

Two of those losses have come at Gulfstream Park in the $150,000 Canadian Turf (G3), beaten a half-length as runner-up to Sombeyay in 2020 and four lengths when third behind Mira Mission last winter. The Canadian Turf returns Saturday as part of a blockbuster 14-race Fountain of Youth (G2) program, and trainer Graham Motion is hoping the third time is the charm.

The 1 1/16-mile Canadian Turf for 4-year-olds and up is the third of nine stakes, eight graded, worth $1.85 million in purses anchored by the Fountain of Youth, the next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1-million Curlin Florida Derby (G1).

Post time is 11 a.m. (ET). The Canadian Turf is carded as Race 8 with a post time of 2:29 p.m.

English Bee, by English Channel, returned from nearly eight months between starts to notch a hard-fought optional claiming allowance triumph Jan. 13 at Gulfstream going one mile. He forged a short lead after six furlongs and was pressed every step of the way to edge Mouillage by a neck and improve his local record to 2-2-2 from nine tries.

“I was very pleased with his comeback race. I think this kind of course really suits him. I think he likes the firmer-type tracks,” Motion said. “I felt good about him, and I thought it was a great spot for him. I wanted to give him plenty of time to get over that race and I thought that this race made sense.”

Prior to his season debut, English Bee hadn't run since finishing fifth by 4 ¾ lengths to Set Piece in the Dinner Party (G2) last May at Pimlico. Last winter he was fifth by two lengths in Gulfstream's Appleton (G3) following the Canadian Turf and fourth by 3 ½ lengths in the Tampa Bay (G2) and ended 2021 running third in the Fort Lauderdale (G2), beaten two lengths.

Overall, Calumet Farm's homebred English Bee has finished third or better in 13 of 28 career starts, seven of them wins, with $559,550 in purse earnings.

“He was a little bit of a surprise in the beginning. He'd never been overly impressive,” Motion said of Pimlico's 2019 James W. Murphy winner. “But I've always felt like he's that special kind of hard-knocking, blue collar horse. He just always shows up.”

English Bee drew the rail in a field of 10 and will have Luis Saez aboard for the fourth straight race.

“I'm tickled to have Luis back on him,” Motion said. “I think it's a big plus to have somebody that knows him.”

Winner of Canada's most famous race, the 1 ¼-mile Queen's Plate on the all-weather surfact at Woodbine in 2021, WellSpring Stables' Safe Conduct is entered to make his 5-year-old debut in the Canadian Turf. The Ontario-bred son of Bodemeister hasn't run since finishing third, beaten two lengths by King Cause, in the Knickerbocker (G3) last October at Aqueduct.

“He got a well-needed break. He had been on the track for a long time. He has come back really well. It's probably the best I've seen him since he won the Queen's Plate,” trainer Phil Serpe said. “He's very fresh, and it's really good to see him this way.”

Safe Conduct returned to the work tab on New Year's Eve at Gulfstream and shows nine timed moves – all but one on the all-weather Tapeta – for his comeback, including a bullet five furlongs in 59.14 seconds Feb. 19 and a half-mile in 48.66 Sunday, fourth-fastest of 10 horses.

“His works have been really, really encouraging. Last week he worked in 59 and galloped out in 1:12 on the synthetic track and his gallop out was really strong,” Serpe said. “He sort of lacked that a little bit last year. He'd work OK and gallop out OK, but this year there's a lot more to it. So, we're excited to get him back.”

Emma-Jayne Wilson is named to ride from Post 8.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher entered the pair of Emmanuel and Steady On. Siena Farm and WinStar Farm's Emmanuel will be making his fourth straight turf start and second this year after ending a six-month gap between starts by winning the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay (G3) Feb. 4. He was a front-running winner of the 1 1/8-mile Pennine Ridge (G2) in his grass debut last summer at Belmont Park.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Steady On will be making his graded-stakes debut in the Canadian Turf. He has run second in two stakes, the Gio Ponti last fall on the Aqueduct turf and the Dec. 26 Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream, moved off the grass to the Tapeta, where he was beaten a nose. Last out he ran fourth in the Carousel Club Handicap Jan. 28, also over the all-weather.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Dakota Gold is a three-time stakes winner including the open Nownownow in 2021 at Monmouth Park in his second career start and first on the grass. Fifth as the favorite in that fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), the 4-year-old Freud colt dead-heated for third with Canadian Turf rival Fort Washington, beaten a neck for it all, in the Tropical Park Derby.

Completing the field are Julian J. De Mora Jr.'s multiple stakes winner California Frolic, second in the 2022 Virginia Derby (G3) and a late-running fifth in the Carousel Club last out; Peter Brant and Joseph Allen's 2022 Tale of the Cat winner Fort Washington; Foxbrook Farm's Good Governance, exiting a troubled ninth in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) Jan. 28 at Gulfstream; Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's 12-time winner Shadow Sphinx, who captured a Feb. 4 optional claiming allowance winner on the Tapeta at Gulfstream; and Bruno Schickedanz's Grade 3-placed Souper Dormy, riding a two-race win streak.

The post Calumet’s English Bee Back For Third Try In Gulfstream’s Canadian Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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As a Southern California native and lifelong horse racing fan, trainer Phil D'Amato is well-versed in the history of the Santa Anita Handicap (G1). On Saturday, he gets a chance to etch his own name in the record book when he saddles top contender Newgrange in the 86th running of the 1 ¼-mile race.

“It would be great,” D'Amato said of winning a Santa Anita Handicap. “This is a race I've always watched over the years. To compete in it with a horse I think has a legitimate chance makes it all the better.”

A former assistant to the late Mike Mitchell, D'Amato went out on his own in 2014 and has proceeded to build one of the most powerful stables in Southern California. With a heavy focus on turf horses, D'Amato's only previous starter in the Big 'Cap came in 2017 when Midnight Storm finished second to Shaman Ghost.

Newgrange figures among the leading contenders for Saturday's Santa Anita Handicap. The 4-year-old Violence colt prepped for the Big Cap with a one-length victory in the San Pasqual (G2) on Jan. 28 at Santa Anita. He is a perfect 3-for-3 at Santa Anita.

Newgrange had his final tune-up for the Big 'Cap on Thursday when working four furlongs in :49 . The drill, which came just four days after Newgrange worked six furlongs in 1:13.20, was moved up to stay ahead of a severe winter storm forced training to be canceled on both Friday and Saturday.

“It was a nice easy drill before the rain,” said D'Amato, a 46-year-old native of San Pedro, Calif. “As for the weather, I look at it this way: it's affecting us all the same way. We're all in the same situation.”

In the Big 'Cap, Newgrange will be ridden for the first time by Frankie Dettori. Juan Hernandez, who was aboard in the San Pasqual, has opted to ride Defunded in the Big 'Cap for Bob Baffert.

Newgrange is owned by David Bernsen, Little Red Feather Racing, and Rockingham Ranch. Winner of two graded stakes as a 3-year-old, Newgrange has a record of 5-0-2 from eight starts with earnings of $747,334.

The post D’Amato To Bid For First Big ‘Cap Win With Top Contender Newgrange appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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WellSpring Stables' Grade 1 winner Leave No Trace, unraced in 17 weeks since her runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), is set to make her sophomore debut against nine rivals including undefeated Grade 3 winner Red Carpet Ready in the $200,000 Davona Dale (G2) Saturday, March 4 at Gulfstream Park.

The one-mile Davona Dale for 3-year-old fillies is part of a blockbuster 14-race card featuring nine stakes, eight graded, worth $1.85 million in purses anchored by the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1-million Curlin Florida Derby (G1).

Post time is 11 a.m. (ET). The Davona Dale is carded as Race 12 with a post time of 4:37 p.m.

Named for the 1979 Eclipse Award-winning 3-year-old filly and 1985 Hall of Famer trained by John Veitch, who passed away Feb. 14, the Davona Dale is a Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifying race that provides points on a 50-20-15-10-5 basis toward eligibility to the top five finishers.

Leave No Trace, wintering at Gulfstream with trainer Phil Serpe, has had five timed breezes on the main track and two over the all-weather Tapeta surface since mid-January for her season opener, including a mile in 1:47.81 Feb. 19 and a :49.10 breeze Sunday.

“Everything's going good,” Serpe said. “Her workouts have gone well. Everything went fine [Sunday]. It was just an easy breeze in 49. We like the way she's coming into the race. She's grown quite a bit from 2 to 3 and, in fact, just had her actual birthday [Feb. 24], so all's good.”

Serpe has been pleased with how Leave No Trace has settled in at Gulfstream, where the daughter of Outwork out of the Good Journey mare Tanquerray has yet to race after starts at Saratoga, Aqueduct and Keeneland.

“We ran into some weather a few works back so we worked her on the synthetic track. She's got a lot of grass pedigree on her bottom side, so she had no trouble adjusting to that track,” Serpe said. “We came back and worked her on it again, and then she worked a mile on the dirt last week. She seems to go across the track fine. She seems to go across all tracks fine. We're just very fortunate for that.”

Serpe said he gave some consideration to running Leave No Trace in Gulfstream's seven-furlong Forward Gal (G3) Feb. 4 but opted to keep her at a distance of ground following her two-turn debut in the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile Fillies, where she was beaten three lengths at odds of 25-1 as runner-up to eventual champion Wonder Wheel.

“I think she's fit enough. After the Breeders' Cup we just gave her six weeks off. We kind of kept her at the barn and hand-walked her in the shed, just to give her a chance to chill out a little bit,” Serpe said. “She's come back fine. This seemed like a good starting point for us. We were originally thinking a little earlier in February, but I really didn't want to turn her back to seven furlongs off of the Breeders' Cup race.

“Other than the Breeders' Cup, her previous three races were all one-turn races so we're good with that. It's a good starting point as far as there's a lot of places to head for down the road, whether it's the Ashland, the Kentucky Oaks, the series in New York,” he added. “This is where we start and, just like when she was 2, we'll take it one race at a time.”

Leave No Trace won each of her first two starts last summer at Saratoga, a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight and the seven-furlong Spinaway (G1), the latter by 1 ½ lengths over Wonder Wheel. She ran an even third in the slop in the one mile Frizette (G1) at Aqueduct as her prep for the Breeders' Cup. Tyler Gaffalione is named to ride for the first time from outermost Post 10.

“She was touting herself a lot before we ever shipped up to Saratoga from Belmont. We were very confident when we ran her the first time that she was going to run well. We're not going to sit there and say we knew she was going to win – that'll bite you in the rear end every time – but we were very confident in her,” Serpe said.

“She trained great going up to the Spinaway. She can work remarkably fast on the dirt by herself. She worked 46 and change before she went to the Breeders' Cup. She's a very, very talented filly. What I'm seeing now that I like a lot is that now this 2-year-old is growing into a 3-year-old. It's still February and these horses still have a lot of growing to do, but we're really happy with what's going on so far.”

The same can be said for Ashbrook Farm and Upland Flats Racing's Red Carpet Ready, whose three victories in as many starts have come by 15½ combined lengths. She overcame a bobbled start to win the Forward Gal by 2 ¼ lengths in her graded-stakes debut and has worked twice since including a bullet half-mile in :48.17 Feb. 25 at Palm Beach Downs, the fastest of 28 horses.

“Everything's gone smooth. She came out of her last race well and in good shape. She's been acting good and had two good works back,” trainer Rusty' Arnold said. “We'll check her out and hope to have a smooth week.”

The Davona Dale marks the next progression in distance for Red Carpet Ready, who debuted with a 10-length maiden special weight romp at odds of 36-1 sprinting six furlongs last October at Churchill Downs, where she stepped up in her subsequent start to win the 6 ½-furlong Fern Creek.

“You never know until you do it. It's a one turn mile, which is a very good place to take this step,” Arnold said. “You don't have to do the two turns yet, you don't have to change racetracks, so we're ready to get her over there. We're excited.”

Luis Saez, up in the Forward Gal, gets the return call from Post 3 on Red Carpet Ready, who Arnold said continues to surpass his and the owners' expectations.

“She's done so each time we've run her, I think,” he said. “he probably was most likely going to be a turf horse and they didn't have turf racing at Churchill so we tried her on the dirt and she handled that. She handled the stakes jump, and then you worry if they just like one racetrack. But, she got here and trained well and handled Gulfstream with no problems. Each time we take this step the water gets a little deeper and a competition gets a little tougher. We just hope that she can keep making that step forward.”

Undervalued Asset and Atomically, respectively second and third behind Red Carpet Ready in the Forward Gal, separated by a length, return in the Davona Dale. Klaravich Stables' Undervalued Asset was making her season and stakes debut off an 8 ¼-length maiden special weight triumph for trainer Chad Brown, who also entered CHP Racing's Guns N' Graces, a 3 ½-length maiden special weight winner going a mile and 40 yards Dec. 23 at Tampa Bay Downs in her most recent start.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Michael Bernard and Harry Colburn's Atomically broke her maiden and won the 1 1/16-mile FSS My Dear Girl by open lengths at Gulfstream before being sold privately and moved to Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. The Girvin filly was seventh in the Juvenile Fillies racing first time for her new connections, and overcome a slow start to be beaten 3 ¼ lengths in the Forward Gal.

John Ropes' Dorth Vader is a multiple stakes winner that will be stretching out beyond a sprint for just the second time, having run third behind Atomically in the My Dear Girl last October. She won the seven-furlong Juvenile Sprint at Gulfstream and six-furlong Sandpiper at Tampa to cap her 2022 campaign and launched 2023 finishing sixth as the favorite in the seven-furlong Gasparilla Jan. 14.

Diamond 100 Racing Club, Madaket Stables, and Frank Silva's Infinite Diamond will be racing for the first time since a 2 ¼-length triumph in the one-mile Cash Run Jan. 1 at Gulfstream, where the daughter of Bee Jersey owns two wins and a second from three lifetime starts.

Arindel homebred Lynx won each of her first three starts, including the FSS Desert Vixen and Susan's Girl, before being denied a sweep when second to Atomically in the My Dear Girl, where she was 4 ¼ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Dorth Vader. Like Infinite Diamond, Lynx has made her only start this year in the Cash Run, finishing third.

Completing the Davona Dale field are Randall Bloch, Six Column Stables, John Seiler and David Hall's Positano Sunset, and R.T. Racing Stable's Adeliese's Smile, respectively fourth and ninth in the Forward Gal.

The post Leave No Trace, Red Carpet Ready Headline Nine 3YO Fillies Set For Davona Dale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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