Tag: Racing

Faith, it is often said, can move mountains. And while 7-year-old gelding Chess Master didn't displace any geographical features in his second consecutive Turf Dash victory on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, he amply rewarded the confidence placed in him by his owner-trainer, Kerri Raven.

“That was the most beautiful race he has ever run in terms of literally handing it to (the competition),” Raven said after the Florida-bred son of Overdriven out of Chesty, by Chester House, turned in a gate-to-wire masterpiece under jockey Antonio Gallardo, winning by 4 ¾ lengths from Full Disclosure. The 2-1 co-favorite, Fluid Situation, was a neck back in third in the 11-horse field, with Sigiloso fourth.

“Oh my God, he just crushed them. He just loves running. I'm going to watch this replay a lot,” Raven said. “That was so gorgeous. He just needed a clean trip.”

Chess Master's time of 54.78 seconds for the 5-furlong distance on the Oldsmar turf course was .78 seconds faster than his 2022 Turf Dash time and .81 seconds off the stakes and course record set by Faction Cat in 2020. The victory boosted his record to 13-for-40, with first-place winnings of $60,000 raising his career bankroll to $354,425.

Chess Master paid $15.80 to win.

Although Chess Master had failed to win in his five previous starts, Raven transmitted her confidence in him to Gallardo, who followed her instructions and never doubted the accuracy of her belief once the gate opened, a bit later than expected after the late scratch of Classicstateofmind.

“She told me to break good and that's what I did,” Gallardo said of Chess Master, who was claimed by Raven here in January of 2021 for $32,000. “I could tell how good he was feeling in the post parade and he was good in the gate. In the beginning I thought we were maybe going a bit too fast (the opening quarter-mile in 21.14 seconds), but when I hit him at about the 3/8-mile pole, he responded. I thought, I don't think anybody can get to him.

“I really didn't do nothing, just go 'smooch, smooch, smooch,' ” Gallardo added.

On Sunday, Raven's big weekend continued when jockey Jesus Castanon made a successful return from injury aboard Kitchen Fire, an 8-year-old gelding from Raven's barn. Castanon had ridden Chess Master to victory in the 2022 edition of the Turf Dash, but with uncertainty surrounding Castanon's expected return from a fractured left fibula incurred on Jan. 8, Raven turned to Antonio Gallardo to ride Chess Master in this year's Turf Dash.

Castanon, who turns 50 on March 4, proved to be a fast healer.  After undergoing surgery by Dr. Anthony Infante of Brandon to insert a rod and three screws in the bone, Castanon was pronounced “ready to go” for Sunday's seventh race on Kitchen Fire,

In storybook fashion, Castanon, whose career total of 2,683 victories includes the 2011 Preakness on Shackleford, rode Kitchen Fire to a 2-length victory from Imtakinittothebank in the 5 ½-furlong starter/optional claiming event.

Relatively speaking, the stakes weren't that high financially. But Castanon admitted this one was special.

“I'm glad to be back on the team,” said the Mexico City product, who scored his 12th victory of the meet. “I was pretty pumped up today. Whenever you go through injuries like this, you're a little nervous coming back, but once I got back on the horse it came back naturally.

“I have to thank Dr. Infante for helping me return so soon,” Castanon added.

Raven knew Castanon was his old self when she received a video message from Castanon undergoing “therapy.” It showed him vacuuming the house under the watchful eye of his wife, former jockey Rolanda Simpson.

“We've done very well together, and it's great to have him back,” Raven said. “I didn't even have to worry because he is just naturally light, fit and dedicated.”

The post $32,000 Claim Chess Master’s Repeat Win In Tampa Turf Dash Tops Two-Win Weekend For Owner-Trainer Kerri Raven appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The feature race of the week at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, Calif., went as the eighth race on the card: the $75,000 El Dorado Shooter Stakes for California-bred or sired runners 4-years-old and upward. A field of eight went postward on the Tapeta main track.

Under jockey Brayan Pena, Southern California invader See Through It sat adjoined second to last throughout the backstretch run. Entering the far turn, the son of Curlin to Mischief began to creep in towards the lead. He angled into the clear on the outside of horses turning for home and ran down runner up finisher Top Harbor in the final 25 yards. See Through It stopped the clock for six furlongs on the Tapeta in 1:09.18 seconds and hit the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of the runner up finisher.

See Through It went off at odds of 9-1 and paid $21.00 to win, $6.60 to place and $4.60 to show. 3-time stakes winner Top Harbor, who won the 2021 El Dorado Shooter, was the 8-5 favorite and returned $3.60 to place and $2.60 to show. Highland Ghost pressed the pace at 15-1 and held third in a respectable effort. He paid $6.80 to show.

See Through It, bred in California by Dr. Ed Allred, was claimed by trainer Milton Pineda and owners Belico Racing LLC and Lizbeth Medina for $25,000 out of a six-furlong turf sprint victory in October at Santa Anita. Before the El Dorado Shooter Stakes win, he had won three consecutive races at Los Alamitos. See Through It was making his first start of the year in the El Dorado Shooter, having last been seen winning a minor stake at Los Alamitos in December. See Through It sports 9 career wins, 5 seconds and 5 third place finishes from a 29-race career, with career earnings of $250,694.

Live racing resumes at Golden Gate on Sunday with a 9-race program. First post is 12:45 PM. Golden Gate also offers a 9-race card on Presidents' Day Monday, with first post slated at 1:15 PM.

The post See Through It Wins Sixth Straight Race In Golden Gate’s El Dorado Shooter appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Although in top recent form on grass, Nick Alexander's homebred Alice Marble proved invincible in taking Sunday's $100,000 Spring Fever Stakes at Santa Anita as she rallied from off the pace under Flavien Prat to win by 1 ¾ emphatic lengths and is thus unbeaten in four tries on the main track.

Trained by Phil D'Amato, Alice Marble got six furlongs in 1:10.29.

The Spring Fever is part of the lucrative CTBA-sponsored Golden State Series for eligible California-bred or sired runners.

Quick from her rail post, but content to let a threesome of Doris Mae, Chancery Way, and Eddie's New Dream duke it out on the front end, Prat bided his time to deep stretch, where he found a seam between horses a furlong out and burst clear in short order.

“She broke well, I was traveling super,” said Prat, who recommended Alice Marble run in the Spring Fever instead of against open company going 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course in the previous day's $100,000 Wishing Well Stakes. “She grabbed the bridle around the quarter pole and unfortunately, I had nowhere to go, so I just had to bide my time, and when we had a little space she really jumped into it and was really game.”

Most recently third versus state-breds going down the hill in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint Jan. 7, Alice Marble was off at even money among a field of five older fillies and mares and paid $4 for the win.

A 6-year-old mare by Grazen out of the More Than Ready mare Unsung Heroine, Alice Marble notched her third stakes win and improved her overall mark to 6-2-3 from 14 starts. With the winner's share of $60,000, she increased her earnings to $410,880.

“When it comes from (Flavien), I give a lot of extra credence to his opinion,” said D'Amato of the decision to run on dirt. “Flavien has won on her on dirt a couple of times, so between all those things, I thought this was the right choice to take a shot.”

Ridden by Ramon Vazquez, Taming the Tigress also rallied from off the pace and finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of third-place finisher Eddie's New Dream.

Fractions on the race were :22, :44.97, and :57.68.

The post Alice Marble Gamely Surges Between Rivals En Route To Spring Fever Triumph appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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AP Stable's Cairo Sugar, the largest price in a six-horse field, provided a pacesetting upset in Sunday's $100,000 Maddie May, a one-mile test for New York-bred sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Alan Bedard, Cairo Sugar underwent a shoe repair to her left front hoof in the paddock, but showed no signs of hinderance as she led the field through every point of call to notch the first stakes victory of her career. The daughter of Cairo Prince made it two in-a-row after taking a local state-bred maiden special weight by five lengths going the Maddie May distance on January 19.

Cairo Sugar broke cleanly from the inside post under regular pilot Andrew Wolfsont in the Maddie May and allowed the Jose Gomez-piloted Luna Loca to put her head in front for the first 100 yards from the gate. Wolfsont roused Cairo Sugar to take command shortly after the field exited the chute and covered the opening quarter-mile in :23.56 over the fast main track with Luna Loca and post-time favorite Les Bon Temps tracking to her outside.

Sweetest Princess advanced from fourth position under Manny Franco mid-turn as Luna Loca reached even terms with Cairo Sugar through a half-mile in 47.39. Sweetest Princess came under a strong ride at the top of the lane with Les Bon Temps ready to pounce in the three-path, but Cairo Sugar had something left in the tank when asked by Wolfsont and was set down for the drive to the wire with Luna Loca giving chase in second.

Les Bon Temps ran on strongly down the center of the racetrack and displayed her usual closing kick as she inched closer to overtake second position from a stubborn Luna Loca, but could not reel in Cairo Sugar, who crossed the wire 1 1/4 lengths in front to complete the mile in a final time of 1:38.44.

Sweetest Princess stayed on to complete the trifecta 1 3/4 lengths behind Les Bon Temps with I'mhavingamoment finishing fourth by a nose over Luna Loca. Starry Midnight completed the order of finish.

Wolfsont, who has won with 3-of-6 stakes mounts at Aqueduct, has shown a proclivity for posting upset victories in stakes here, including the 2021 Artie Schiller with Mandate [$91.50] and the Grade 3 Toboggan in January with Repo Rocks [$22.40]. Wolfsont said Cairo Sugar was game to the wire.

“I got into her because that was the game plan,” said Wolfsont. “I was hoping they would give me an easy lead, but I definitely wasn't expecting that. Once I saw Jose Gomez wasn't committed to the lead, I figured I would just let her get comfortable a length in front. She took off a little faster than I was expecting, so I eased her back a little bit and got her in a nice and relaxed rhythm and she had plenty left in the tank.”

Cairo Sugar made her sixth career start in the Maddie May and first with a new type of bit that Bedard has used successfully on his multiple stakes-placed trainee, Tic Tic Tic Boom.

“In her last couple races, she was bearing in down the lane and some young horses will tend to do that sometimes, just getting away from the stick,” said Bedard, who won the third stakes of his career and first over the main track. “We went a little more left-handed and changed the bit on her. We used a straight-mouth, sweet-mouth bit – it's not a snaffle, it doesn't bend in her mouth and I use that on my other stakes horse and it worked wonders for her. I gave it a shot and it looked like it worked wonders today.”

Bedard said he is confident the new equipment allowed Cairo Sugar to turn the tables on I'mhavingamoment, who bested her by three lengths in a maiden special weight on December 30 at Aqueduct.

“The last time we ran against the six [I'mhavingamoment] we were second best, and that's the day she was getting in and we thought a little more distance and not getting in she could go by,” said Bedard, who has won with 3-of-4 starters at the Big A winter meet. “Today, she got it done.”

Although a next start for Cairo Sugar is still to be determined, Bedard said turf could be in her future.

“I'm really not sure. Our initial plan was to give her a couple weeks off and then freshen her up for turf because the Cairo Princes are certainly running very well on the turf,” said Bedard. “We'll see what's next and how she comes out of the race.”

Bred by Kaz Hill Farm, Cairo Sugar is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Awesome Again mare Spun Sugar and was a $6,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearlings Sale. She banked $55,000 in victory, increasing her total purse earnings to $123,107 and returning $57.50 for a $2 win ticket.

Lezcano said Les Bon Temps, who made her first start for conditioner Linda Rice since being purchased privately out of a win in the NYSSS Fifth Avenue on December 17, gave her best effort.

“I think she ran a good race. The other filly just kept going,” said Lezcano. “I thought I was in a good position the whole way. When I asked her, she stayed even and never really kicked for home.”

The post ‘It Worked Wonders Today’: With New Bit, Cairo Sugar Wires Aqueduct’s Maddie May In 27-1 Upset appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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