Tag: Racing

Golden Kernel Racing Stable's Yes I Am Free went right to the front and was in control throughout Saturday at Gulfstream Park on his way to successfully defend his title in the $125,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3).

Yes I Am Free ($8.60) shot out of the starting gate and showed the way during a half-mile on fractions of :21.75 and :44.33  with Caratori and Shekky Shebaz in pursuit. The Laura Cazares-trained 7-year-old gelding continued on to score a half-length decision over a determined Carotari. The son of Uncaptured ran five-furlongs in :55.71  over a firm turf while making quick work of his title defense under Miguel Vasquez.

“We kind of had two ways that we were thinking it would play out: Get out, go to the lead, try to get to the rail and save some ground; get the lead and keep the lead. Or, if anybody else kind of wanted to go out in front, hang back a little bit, let the speed go and make a closing move.” Cazares said. “I told Miguel, 'Do what you need to do. You know how the race is going to play out there. I don't want to tell you too much. These are our two game plans and go with whichever one.'”

Carotari, the 7-5 favorite who was ridden by Joel Rosario, finished second three-quarters of a length ahead of Shekky Shebaz.

Yes I Am Free had come off a five-month layoff to win an optional claiming allowance by a hard-fought nose Jan. 19.

“His last race as a very tough race and we were very worried,” Cazares said. “He hadn't run in a while and we know he was going to need a race off the layoff but he fought the entire way. He was not giving up. He showed a lot of heart.”

Saturday's victory was Yes I Am Free's 11th in 25 career starts, the most memorable being last year's triumph in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint.

“It feels amazing because I hadn't won a Grade 3 race before, I didn't really win any stakes race before, so this guy has done a lot for me and [the owners]. It's their first horse and look what he's done for them. He's done a lot for all of us,” Cazares said. “All the horses do a lot for all of us, but this guy has done the biggest so far. It's great.”

Bred in Florida by Sherry R. Mansfield and Kenneth H. Davis, Yes I Am Free was produced by the Yes It's True mare Yes It's Valid.

The post Yes I Am Free Scores Repeat Win In Gulfstream Turf Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Leading out of gate, Dreaming of Snow held off the hard-charging stretch bid of champion and 1-2 favorite Wonder Wheel to win the $100,000 Suncoast for 3-year-old fillies Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.

Ridden by Samy Camacho, Dreaming of Snow defied her 38-1 odds and gamely dug in when Wonder Wheel came calling in the final furlong and won by a neck. She returned $78.

Wonder Wheel, who rated in third early, then fourth under Tyler Gaffalione, launched her rally around the turn and took aim on leader but tired in her season debut.

Julia Shining finished third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Wonder Wheel, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2022.

Dreaming of Snow covered one mile and 70 yards in 1:40.18 on fast track.

The Suncoast is a qualifier for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) in May at Churchill Downs, with the top five finishers earning points on a 20-8-6-4-2 basis.

A Florida-bred daughter of Florida stallion Jess's Dream, Dreaming of Snow tallied her first stakes win and entered off a fourth in her stakes debut in the Gasparilla Jan. 4 at the Oldsmar, Fla. track. Her overall record stands at 3-0-0 from five career starts and $170,850 in earnings. She is campaigned by Team Equistaff LLC and Winning Stables Inc. and trained by Gerald S. Bennett.

Dreaming of Snow's dam is the Old Fashioned mare Snow Fashion. She was bred by Karyn Philipp.

Suncoast Quotes

Trainer Gerald Bennett, winner Dreaming of Snow: “She's been training really well and getting better and better. She went a little backwards during the cold weather, but she blew out like a monster (Feb. 4, four furlongs in :46 flat) and galloped out quick. You had to be on the rail today and I told Samy (Camacho) to put her on the lead, and she kept going. She likes this track, so you can't win it if you're not in it.”

On Wonder Wheel's rally: “I said, 'Put your hands under her, Dear Lord, and carry her on home.' ”

Winning jockey Samy Camacho: “”I know this filly well and when I got on her in the morning for the first time, I told (Bennett) I have to stay on her. She's pretty nice, but I never thought she would run two turns like this. She came back again when Wonder Wheel came to her. I beat Wonder Wheel – WOW! I'm pretty happy.”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, runner-up Wonder Wheel: “She was traveling great coming off the layoff. That was my only concern. I tried to wait on her as long as possible, but she just got tired today. Today wasn't the end goal. We've got bigger things ahead.”

Trainer Mark Casse, runner-up Wonder Wheel: “I thought she ran very well. I'm very proud of her. She got a little tired, but she ran good and this sets her up great (for the future).”

The post Road To The Kentucky Oaks: Dreaming Of Snow Upstages Champion Wonder Wheel In 38-1 Suncoast Upset appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Keeping an unbeaten record intact, Drew's Gold utilized a front-running trip to earn his first stakes victory in Saturday's $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield for 3-year-olds going six furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by James Chapman who co-owns the Violence colt in partnership with Stuart Tsujimoto, Drew's Gold is  unscathed in three lifetime starts, arriving off a sharp 3 3/4-length conquest against winners on January 28 at Laurel Park.

Drew's Gold broke his maiden in May going five furlongs at Churchill Downs, defeating next out winners Undalay and Top of My Game. He was away slowly in both previous outings but broke alertly Saturday and built on his advantage through the stretch drive to win by 4 1/4 lengths under Jose Gomez.

Breaking from post 4, Drew's Gold surged to the lead in tandem with Kool Kathmandu, who overcame a stumbled start, to mark the opening quarter mile in :23.47 over the fast main track. Gomez nudged his charge around the far turn as Kool Kathmandu dropped out of contention with 5-2 second choice Clubhouse looming from third to the outside as the half-mile elapsed in :47.81.

At the top of the stretch, Drew's Gold began to draw away as Clubhouse tried to launch a rally from the outside with Joey Freshwater looming in between horses. But neither horse was able to catch the winner, who completed the journey in a final time of 1:13.09.

Clubhouse completed the exacta by three-quarters of a length over Joey Freshwater with Daydreaming Boy and Kool Kathmandu rounding out the order of finish.

Gomez said he rode Drew's Gold with confidence.

“He's won two back-to-back, both breaking not the best. I just wanted to make sure he was standing right and let him do whatever he wanted to do,” Gomez said. “He came out strong today and I just tried to nurse him along.

“I knew I was banging heads, but I didn't want to take too much out of him,” he added. “I just let him do his own thing.”

Chapman credited Gomez for an effective ride.

“I loved seeing that [the good break] because what he was doing is he was getting himself left and then he was taking off up the backside. Whenever you've got to grab a horse like that, it takes a lot out of them,” Chapman said. “He was able to ride him with one rhythm today, which I think helped him. He likes to sit with horses and watch horses, so when he broke good, I figured we had a really good chance.”

In addition to being undefeated, Drew's Gold's three victories have each come at different racetracks.

“He's a really professional horse, it's just little things,” Chapman said. “We had a setback after the first race and those little things that babies usually get through, it takes him a little bit longer. He could be spooking at a sign on the way to the paddock. It's nothing major, and he's an easy horse to get along with.”

Chapman said Drew's Gold will likely target the seven-furlong  $200,000 Bay Shore (G3) on April 8 at the Big A.

Returning $5.50 for a $2 win wager as the 8-5 post time favorite, Drew's Gold banked $55,000 in victory which brought his earnings past the six-figure mark to $140,120.

Bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds, Drew's Gold is out of the dual surface multiple stakes-winning Vindication mare Frolic's Revenge and is a half sibling to American Frolic, a stakes winner on grass.

The post ‘He’s A Really Professional Horse’: Unbeaten Drew’s Gold Streaks To Front-Running Jimmy Winkfield Score appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Millionaire multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Last Samurai returned to the work tab Friday morning at at the Hot Springs, Ark., track, covering a half-mile in :51 over a fast track for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Lukas said before training hours Friday morning that he planned to run Last Samurai in the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 18 at Oaklawn. In his last start, Last Samurai finished fourth, beaten seven lengths, in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) for older horses at 1 1/8 miles Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.

Lukas will be taking an old-school approach in search of his 50th career Oaklawn stakes victory, wheeling back Last Samurai in 21 days.

“Well, it's not really right back,” Lukas, 87, jokingly said. “It's three weeks. You're not dealing with 20-year-olds. If I were sitting here with Woody Stephens and Charlie Whittingham, they would look at you and say, 'What the hell are you talking about?' It's 21 days.”

Lukas said he was pleased with Last Samurai's performance in the Pegasus World Cup, noting that he might have finished third if he hadn't spread a shoe during the race.

“But it was worthwhile,” Lukas said. “The purse was large enough that he picked up a nice check, a real nice check.”

Last Samurai earned $140,000 for his Pegasus finish, bumping his career total to $1,241,039. Last Samurai has done his best work at Oaklawn, where he has a 2-2-0 record from seven starts and earnings of $814,700. Last Samurai won the $150,000 Poinsettia Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles in December 2021 and the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses at 1 1/8 miles last April. Last Samurai ran seventh in last year's Razorback.

Both Oaklawn stakes victories were when Last Samurai was trained by Dallas Stewart and owned by the now-deceased Willis Horton of Marshall, Ark. Horton's family continues to campaign Last Samurai. Lukas began training Last Samurai following the Oaklawn Handicap.

Lukas said he also still plans to run 2021 Arkansas Derby runner-up Caddo River in the Razorback for Arkansas lumberman John Ed Anthony's Shortleaf Stable. Previously with trainer Brad Cox, Caddo River moved to Lukas' barn following a runner-up finish in a Jan. 21 allowance race at Oaklawn.

“I'm feeling my way, trying to find the way to go with him and how to train him,” Lukas said. “He's really a lovely horse.”

The Razorback closed Feb. 3 with 31 nominations. Post positions are to be drawn Sunday. Lukas won the Razorback in 1985 with Imp Society.

The Razorback is a major local prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 22.

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