Tag: Racing

Madaket Stables' L Street Lady, making just her third career start and first in a stakes, pressed favored Chickieness before taking over at the top of the stretch and sprinting clear to a 2 ¼-length triumph in Saturday's $100,000 Xtra Heat at Laurel Park.

The six-furlong Xtra Heat for 3-year-old fillies is the first in the state's series of stakes for 3-year-old fillies leading up to the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) May 19 at Pimlico Race Course. It was the first of six stakes Saturday worth $550,000 in purses on the Winter Sprintfest program, anchored by the $100,000 Spectacular Bid for 3-year-olds.

Ridden by Jevian Toledo for trainer Brittany Russell, L Street Lady ($4.80) completed the distance in 1:12.81 over a fast main track for her second straight win, both over the main track, after running third in her unveiling last October over the Laurel turf.

“The first time she probably needed that education. She learned a lot,” Russell said. “She broke her maiden the next time very professionally, so I had confidence mentally she could handle it.”

Chickieness, the Maryland Million Lassie winner last October that came into the Xtra Heat off a 3 ¾-length score sprinting 5 ½ furlongs in mid-December, broke sharply from the rail and took the lead where she was quickly joined by L Street Lady to her outside through fractions of :23.02 and :47.63. The top two steadily opened up on the competition and raced together until straightening for home when L Street Lady took command and drew away.

“I just sort of told Toledo to be smart and stay on her. We knew the filly inside her was going to go so you didn't want to let her get too much of an advantage,” Russell said. “He did a great job. It was a great setup and she responded at the end.”

Chickieness was 8 ¾ lengths ahead of We'll See in third, followed by Filtered Light and Grace and Charm. Ojitos Bellos was scratched.

L Street Lady is a daughter of Munnings out of the Scat Daddy mare Lady Gayle. She was bred in Kentucky by T & G Farm of Kentucky LLC, and was sold by Denali Stud to BSW/Crow for $125,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky select yearling sale. Saturday's win boosted her career earnings to $96,400.

Next up in the stakes series for sophomore fillies is the seven-furlong, $100,000 Wide Country Feb. 18, one-mile; $100,000 Beyond the Wire March 18 at 1 1/16 miles; and $125,000 Weber City Miss April 22, a 'Win and In' qualifier to the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan.

“I'll talk to the group,” Russell said. “We'll enjoy today and make a decision.”

The Xtra Heat honors the champion 3-year-old filly of 2001 and 2015 Hall of Famer that won 26 races, 25 in stakes, and nearly $2.4 million in purses from 36 starts between 2000 and 2003. Racing primarily for Marylanders Harry Deitchman and Kenneth Taylor and trainer John Salzman Sr., who purchased her for $5,000 as a 2-year-old in training, she won at least one graded stakes every year she raced and 11 in all, including the Prioress (G1) and back-to-back editions of the Barbara Fritchie (G2), and was also multiple Grade 1-placed against males.

The post L Street Lady Draws Off To Win Xtra Heat In Stakes Debut appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Shirl's Speight, winner of the 2022 Maker's Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland, will aim to become the first foreign horse to compete in Japan's Group 1 February Stakes on Feb. 19, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News. The Tokyo showpiece is contested over a mile on the dirt course.

Owner/breeder Charlies Fipke is one of a small number of North American owners who are licensed to race in Japan, according to advisor Sid Fernando. Fipke also breeds a few mares in Japan each year, and even won a couple races there last year with Kana Tape. In fact, Fipke's racing investments have extended to multiple international venues, including South Africa, Australia, and Dubai.

“On top of all of that, he'd like to also try to win a Grade 1 race on dirt with Shirl's Speight,” Fernando told TDN. “With his Japanese contacts and everything, it's showcasing that horse over there as a potential stallion prospect, not that he plans on selling the horse or anything. For Japanese breeders, it's exposure.”

Shirl's Speight's latest start was a strong second to Modern Games in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile on turf, but his most recent dirt start, the G3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park on June 18, 2022, resulted in a third-place finish beaten more than 11 lengths by Mind Control.

The 5-year-old son of Speightstown is out of Fipke's millionaire 2011 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul), and is conditioned by Roger Attfield. He'll be ridden in the February Stakes by Joao Moreira, a four-time champion rider in Hong Kong with experience in Japan.

Plans after the February Stakes call for Shirl's Speight to ship to Dubai for the Group 1 Dubai Turf over nine furlongs at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Mar. 25.

“It's a very complex logistical thing with quarantine, flights, etc.,” Fernando told TDN. “I have to give a shout out to [Fipke's] administrative assistant Fawn Seminoff, who has really done an incredible job organizing all of the moving parts.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post Grade 1 Winner On Turf, Shirl’s Speight Will Fly To Japan For Group 1 February Stakes On Dirt appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable LLC's White Abarrio and Fernando Vine Ode and Michael and Jules Iavarone's O'Connor, two-thirds of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.'s scheduled starters in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 28, turned in final breezes Friday morning.

The winner of the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) last season and the Chilean Group 1 winner are among the 12 top older horses in North America scheduled to compete in the 7th running of the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup, which will be featured on a 13-race program with the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf (G1), a 1 1/8-mile stakes for older horses, and the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G3), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for older fillies and mares.

White Abarrio geared up for the Pegasus during a half-mile workout in 47.90 seconds at Gulfstream Park under jockey Tyler Gaffalione. The 4-year-old son of Race Day produced the third fastest clocking of 45 recorded at the distance.

“He started off easy and finished his last quarter in 23 [seconds] flat,” Joseph said. “Tyler was very happy with him. We were also happy, visually.”

Friday's breeze was the sixth in a series of workouts at Gulfstream, where White Abarrio is undefeated in four starts, including the Florida Derby and Holy Bull (G3) last season.

O'Connor breezed five furlongs in 1:00.61 at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, under Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano.

“O'Connor worked in company. He sat off a workmate and finished up nicely. He galloped out strong,” Joseph said. “Everything seems to be in good order. His last quarter was in 23-and-3 [seconds]. It was a good solid work.”

White Abarrio, who most recently finished a close third in the Cigar Mile (G1) at Aqueduct, and O'Connor, who captured his U.S. debut before disappointing in the Dec. 31 Harlan's Holiday (G3), are expected to be joined in the Pegasus starting gate by stablemate Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking, last year's third-place finisher in the Belmont Stakes (G1) who won the Harlan's Holiday (G3). The Joseph-trained Skippylongstocking is scheduled to breeze at Palm Meadows,

The post ‘Everything Seems To Be In Good Order’: White Abarrio, O’Connor Wrap Up Major Preparations For Pegasus appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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As the 5-2 morning-line favorite in Saturday's $100,000 Astra Stakes at Santa Anita Park, Australia Mia makes her U.S. bow with high expectations for owner-breeder Don Alberto Stable in the 1 ½-mile turf marathon.

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Street Sense, Australia Mia raced exclusively in Chile before arriving at trainer's Michael McCarthy's Santa Anita barn in October. While in Chile, Australia Mia racked up nine wins in 19 starts, all on turf, including a pair of Group 2's at distances ranging to a mile-and-a-quarter. The 5-year-old mare surfaces in the Astra after working five times at Santa Anita since Dec. 10.

“She's been here quite some time and has settled in nicely with a steady series of works,” McCarthy said Friday morning.

For the Astra, Australia Mia has lured the services of top jockey Frankie Dettori. They will break from post five in a nine-horse field. The Astra will be Australia Mia's first start since last June, a runner-up effort in a Group 3 going a mile and a quarter at Club Hipico.

While a multiple winner at the 10-furlong distance, McCarthy acknowledged the extra quarter mile of the Astra remains a question mark. However, he noted the time was right to get Australia Mia's U.S. campaign started.

“We didn't really find anything that fit on the calendar. We thought a mile might be a little too sharp for her,” McCarthy said. “We'll get started here and if it is a tick too far, we'll cut her back to a mile-and-an-eighth type thing.”

The Astra goes as the eighth race on Saturday's 10 race card with an approximate post time of 3:30.

The field in post position order:

1. Warrens Candy Girl, Umberto Rispoli, 6-1;
2. Lady Clementine, Flavien Prat, 5-1;
3. Queen Ofthe Temple, Juan Hernandez, 3-1;
4. Duvet Day, Kazushi Kimura, 6-1;
5. Australia Mia, Frankie Dettori, 5-2;
6. Almost A Factor, John Velazquez, 15-1;
7. Tiz An Adventure, Mike Smith, 6-1;
8. Barrister's Ride, Ricardo Gonzalez, 12-1;
9. New Heat, Abel Cedillo, 20-1.

The post Astra Favorite: Chilean Group 2 Winner Australia Mia ‘Has Settled In Nicely’ For Michael McCarthy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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