Tag: Racing

Gatsas Stable, R. A. Hill Stable, and Steven Schoenfeld's Midnight Stroll is scheduled to make her 2023 debut in Saturday's $150,000 Royal Delta (G3), conceding Gulfstream Park experience and recently to highly regarded Kathleen O. and Classy Edition.

Kathleen O., who captured three straight stakes at Gulfstream last year and who returned from an eight-month layoff to finish a sharp second in the Nov. 22 Comely (G3) at Aqueduct. Classy Edition, who made a splash while winning a Gulfstream optional claiming allowance by 5 ¼ length in her seasonal debut following a 3-year-old campaign that included a runner-up finish to Kathleen O. in the Davona Dale (G2) at Gulfstream.

Nevertheless, Midnight Stroll's credentials stack up very well against the two fillies with Gulfstream Park experience.

“She's a very athletic type. She's obviously gotten stronger, physically and mentally. She's always been a class act. She's very good to ship anywhere,” said trainer John Terranova, who will ship Midnight Stroll from Tampa Bay Downs. “She has a great mind. She handles everything very well. She seems real sharp and ready to take on the fillies there.”

Midnight Stroll began her 2022 season with back-to-back front-running wins at Tampa Bay Downs, including a victory in the Sophomore Fillies, a seven-furlong stakes for Florida-breds. The daughter of Not This Time lost all chance in Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico while encountering traffic on the first turn.

“The conditions were pretty awful and she got bumped and checked pretty hard on the first turn and carried wide a little bit. She lost a lot of position,” Terranova said. “It was a big reach, a big jump, going for that, but she came out of that well and rebounded to take the Delaware Oaks and we had a couple of nice runs backing up in sprints at Charles Town and Keeneland to finish off the season.”

Midnight Stroll captured the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Oaks (G3) before finishing third in both the seven-furlong Charles Town Oaks (G3) and the seven-furlong Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland.

“I think the filly will be looking forward to and appreciate the route,” Terranova said. “We were looking at those [sprint] stakes as opportunities for her, a real sharp young filly. She did win that stake at Tampa going seven-eighths. They were nice opportunities with big purses to run for. She ran really well in both of them.”

Terranova is confident that Midnight Stroll will be able to adapt as the Royal Delta shapes up.

“She's been forwardly placed in races; she's backed off a little bit; she's really tactical,” Terranova said. “I think she's one of those fillies that depending on her and the way the race develops, she's effective from multiple positions.”

Edgard Zayas is scheduled to ride Midnight Stroll for the first time in the Royal Delta.

The post Midnight Stroll ‘Stronger Physically And Mentally’ Ahead Of 2023 Debut In Royal Delta appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Having trained four of the six Group race winners on Saudi Cup night in 2022, Japanese trainers are back with a battalion of 20 horses at this year's meeting, including six of the 13 runners in the world's most valuable race, The Saudi Cup.

Globetrotting trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who plundered last year's Group 3 Red Sea Turf Handicap, will this year field Panthalassa in the $20 million main event. The 6-year-old son of Lord Kanaloa's six career wins have all come on turf so far, but Yahagi is excited about the switch to dirt.

“Panthalassa ran on the dirt once at Nakayama back in 2020 and he was well beaten. However, I think going anti-clockwise around one turn is more suitable for him,” explained Yahagi.

“One of the most important things is the dirt surface at King Abdulaziz as well. The dirt surface at racecourses in Japan is very different. In order to handle the dirt track at King Abdulaziz well, horses are required to have good speed, and Panthalassa has that.”

Commenting further on Japan's success at the meeting, Yahagi said: “The Saudi Cup meeting in February is one of the most important meetings in the calendar. The timing is good for Japan, where the season finishes at the end of December, and I believe it will be a very important race meeting for all Japanese trainers in the very near future.”

Yahagi is also set to field Continuar in the Group 3 Saudi Derby, a race that the trainer believes could act as a stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby.

“Continuar was an impressive winner of the Cattleya Stakes and still had energy to spare,” said Yahagi. “I think he is the best 3-year-old dirt horse in Japan. Both the Cattleya Stakes and Saudi Derby are run over 1600m (one mile) on an anti-clockwise track, so it looks a suitable race for him, and the owners were also very keen to go for it.

“After that, the Kentucky Derby is in my sights too. Hopefully he can run well in Saudi Arabia, and then we can think about Churchill Downs.”

Not only well-known for his training exploits internationally, Yahagi also recognizes the attention on his fashion these days: “The expectation for my hats has been quite high recently,” said Yahagi. “I feel it is my duty to find a proper one for Saudi Cup night. I will try to bring a very nice hat from my collection to Saudi Arabia!”

Two-time Japanese Derby-winning trainer Yasuo Tomomichi will saddle Jun Light Bolt, who is recognized as one of the country's leading hopes in The Saudi Cup, having gained an automatic invitation by winning the Champions Cup back in December.

“The improvement of Jun Light Bolt since he started to race on dirt has been more significant than I expected,” said Tomomichi. “While Jun Light Bolt was running well in races on turf, I felt he had reached his ceiling. As he is by King Kamehameha, I felt he would act well on dirt, and I discussed the plan of switching him to that surface with Northern Farm. I sent him to race on dirt for the first time in July of last year and he was beaten into second, but he lost a shoe during the race and I thought he should have won it.

“I started thinking about The Saudi Cup just before his run in the Champions Cup. I thought we might have three options if he runs well: The Saudi Cup, February Stakes in Japan or the Dubai World Cup. Soon after winning the Champions Cup, the owner, Junji Kawai, told me that he was keen to go overseas. I thought the same, and we decided that the next race for Jun Light Bolt would be The Saudi Cup.

“If we win The Saudi Cup it would be the highlight of my training career. I love the atmosphere at these international events, and it would be a very special moment. While the prize money is obviously attractive, The Saudi Cup is also a prestigious race.

“I would like to be the first Japanese trainer to win The Saudi Cup. Not only in 2022, when Japan won four races, but also the previous years, Japan have enjoyed plenty of success at the meeting, so I think it is a good place for us to go to.”

Tetsuya Kimura, who trained Authority to take the G3 Neom Turf Cup, the opening leg of Japan's 2022 Saudi Cup night four-timer, will this year be represented by Geoglyph in The Saudi Cup, and he also thinks the surface should suit.

“During the second half of the 2022 season, Geoglyph ran two races over 2000m (1 1/4 miles) on turf and he did not perform as I expected,” said Kimura. “It was disappointing and I was convinced I needed to give him a new challenge in 2023. He is by Drefong, who was champion on the dirt in America, and Drefong is siring a lot of superior dirt horses. Although Geoglyph is a Group 1 winner on turf, I think the time has come to send him to race on dirt.”

“The Saudi Cup, which is both a valuable and prestigious race, is scheduled at the right time for Geoglyph. I think I am lucky that this race is suitable and it looks like a golden opportunity for him to race on dirt for the first time.”

Songline, who landed leg two of the four-timer, is back to defend her crown in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, and her trainer, Toru Hayashi, believes she is even better now.

“The experience in Saudi Arabia last year provided immeasurable nourishment for Songline. Before the trip to Saudi, she was a nervous horse. However, after returning from Saudi Arabia, she has been stronger mentally,” said Hayashi.

“She is even tougher now and went on to win the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen in June. I think the trip to Saudi was a sort of turning point in Songline's racing career. It will be wonderful to visit Saudi Arabia again and I am looking forward to the race.

“As the prize money is big and it's a prestigious race, I believe the competition will be tough, at least as tough as last year, but Songline is now a better horse than she was 12 months ago.”

The post Japan’s Panthalassa, Jun Light Bolt May Pose Serious Threats In Saudi Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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With a competitive field of nine signed on, Lothenbach Stables' Happy American and Jon Lapczenski and JIL Stable's Mr. Wireless are set for another rematch in Saturday's 38th running of the $250,000 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) at the Fair Grounds.

The 1 1/16-mile Mineshaft will go as Race 10 of 14 with a post time of 4:37 p.m. CT. It is the second leg of the “All Stakes Late Pick Five” with a low 15% takeout and a guaranteed pool of $500,000.

Saturday's stellar program features six stakes events headlined by the 51st running of the $400,000 Risen Star (G2). The supporting stakes on the card are the $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (G2), the $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes (G3), the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial (Listed), and the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes.

In last month's $150,000 Louisiana Stakes (G3), the local prep for the Mineshaft, Happy American stormed home from off the pace to nail Mr. Wireless in the final stages of the 1 1/16-mile race. Trained by Neil Pessin, Happy American began his meet at Fair Grounds on Dec. 26 with a 2 3/4-length score in the $100,000 Tenacious Stakes, beating out Mr. Wireless there as well. The 5-year-old son of Runhappy has recorded five wins from 16 starts and the local record is 9-2-1-2—$201,350.

“When he came back from winning the Tenacious he was dragging us around the barn,” Pessin said. “After the Louisiana, we gave him a week off, but then he got right back at it. (On Friday, Feb. 10) he worked 5/8ths in 1:02.04 and he came back acting like he didn't do anything. We'll need to give him a break at some point but right now, he's sharp. He's doing good. When they're good, you run them.”

Jockey James Graham will be back in the saddle for the Mineshaft and break from post No. 6.

Mr. Wireless will attempt to avenge his back-to-back defeats at the hooves of Happy American in Saturday's Mineshaft. Trained by Bret Calhoun, Mr. Wireless recorded two Grade 3 victories as a 3-year-old in the $300,000 Indiana Derby and the $500,000 West Virginia Derby. Mr. Wireless returned as a 4-year-old and scored a two-length win in the $100,000 Schaefer Memorial at Horseshoe Indianapolis and a determined head victory in a $150,000 allowance event at Churchill Downs.

“Even though they gave him a lower number (speed figure), I thought his last race (The Louisiana) was a better race than he ran in the Tenacious,” Calhoun said. “I think he moved forward a little bit (in the Louisiana). He's a consistent hard-knocking horse. He's going to win his share, and he's gotten close the last couple times. He's gotten good trips and there's been no excuses really. He just needs to continue to work out those kind of trips and try to turn the tables on him. I think this race will definitely be a tougher race than the previous two.”

The six-time winning son of Dialed In will be ridden by Deshawn Parker from post No. 8.

Along with Happy American and Mr. Wireless, the Mineshaft field features a deep cast of older horses including Peachtree Stable's multiple Grade 3 winner Tawny Port, who is making his 4-year-old debut. Trained by Brad Cox, Tawny Port earned his way into the Kentucky Derby 148 starting gates winning the Lexington (G3) going 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland.

“He's been breezing well and he looks really good physically,” Cox said. “It's a good spot to get him started back. It's definitely a solid race. I'm hopeful that he'll get a good run, a good performance and a good finish. We'll see about next steps, but we're looking for a big year from him. He doesn't have a ton of speed, he just grinds it out. He doesn't come out of the gates and put himself up in the mix very early.”

Rounding out the field of nine are Sumaya U.S. Stables' multiple graded stakes placed Pioneer of Medina, Dream Team One Racing Stable's Grade 1-placed Hoist the Gold, and Silverton Hill's recent Fair Grounds allowance winner Big Blue Line, trained by Paul McGee.

“There's some nice horses in there, but my horse is doing really well,” McGee said. “He showed a new dimension the other day (winning an allowance on Jan. 14) and won from off the pace. His other two wins were wire-to-wire. He's getting better, but I've really liked him all along. Some of those 3-year-old stakes he ran in were salty races. Ain't Life Grand who beat him in the Iowa Derby came back to win at Saratoga. My horse had dirt kicked in his face all the way around. Then it was Rattle N Roll in the St. Louis Derby. He's seen some good horses.”

Here is the complete field for the Mineshaft from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line):

1. Hoist the Gold (Brian Hernandez Jr. Dallas Stewart, 6-1);
2. Run Classic (Rey Gutierrez, Bret Calhoun, 10-1);
3. Tawny Port (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 4-1);
4. Farmington Road (Tyler Gaffalione, Cherie DeVaux, 15-1);
5. Big Blue Line (Corey Lanerie, Paul McGee, 8-1);
6. Happy American (Graham, Pessin, 7-2);
7. Pioneer of Medina (Luis Saez, Todd Pletcher, 9-2);
8. Mr. Wireless (Parker, Calhoun, 5-1);
9. King Fury (Mitchell Murrill, Kenny McPeek, 10-1).

Additional Quotes:

Run Classic (trainer Bret Calhoun)

“In the Louisiana, it was a split-second decision to push on through or to take hold, and (jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.) ended up taking hold,” Calhoun said. “We got caught behind traffic and a slow pace and basically lost all chance. He's a fast horse with a high cruising speed and that's his game. We just lost all chance when we got covered up. Reylu is going to be aboard Run Classic this time. I think there will be a bit more pace in the race, and I think Run Classic will be more involved in the race. He doesn't need the lead, and we won't rush him but we'll definitely get him in the race.”

Dallas Stewart (trainer of Hoist the Gold)

“It will be his first time stretching out,” Stewart said. “He's a solid horse, numbers are good all the way through. He went to the West Coast, performed great (in the Malibu [G1] at Santa Anita), came back here and has put in some very good, solid works. We're excited to see how it plays out. He's by Mineshaft and out of a Tapit mare so we think he can get the distance.”

The post ‘When They’re Good, You Run Them’: Happy American Back For More In Saturday’s Mineshaft appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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