Victory Formation is continuing to live up to his name. The Tapwrit colt won the third straight race to start his career, ringing in the new year with a no-doubt-about-it, gate-to-wire win in the one-mile, $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds at Oaklawn Park Jan. 1.
Tag: Racing
Infinite Diamond Sparkles In Cash Run Win, Super Chow Extends Streak To Four With Limehouse Score
Under an ideal trip from jockey Jose Ortiz, aboard for the first time, Diamond 100 Racing Club's Infinite Diamond kicked off her sophomore season in style with a 2 ¼ length victory in Sunday $100,000 Cash Run at Gulfstream Park.
The one-mile Cash Run for fillies and $100,000 Limehouse sprinting six furlongs were the first two of three stakes for newly turned 3-year-olds on a New Year's Day program highlighted by the $150,000 Mucho Macho Man.
Infinite Diamond ($9.20), who graduated by 14 ½ lengths two starts back at Gulfstream, was racing for the first time since the 1 1/16-mile Alcibiades (G1) last October at Keeneland. The Bee Jersey filly completed the distance in 1:36.70 over a fast main track.
Two-time winner Arella Star, sent off at 25-1, got the jump on her seven rivals and ran an opening quarter-mile of 23.47 seconds with Infinite Diamond tucked in saving ground on the rail and Atthecrossroads to her outside in third.
Arella Star was still in front after a half in 46.40, while Ortiz remained patient waiting for an opening that came once they straightened for home. Infinite Star surged through to take the lead at the top of the stretch and powered home to win by 2 ¼ lengths over late-running Padma. Lynx, winner of the FSS Desert Vixen and Susan's Girl last summer and fall, was third.
“She broke really well. Miguel broke a little better than I did, so I just sat there,” Ortiz said. “There's a long run to the turn so I just let her be there and finally passing the five-eighths [pole] going to the half, Miguel was able to clear me and I just followed him. I was on the rail every step of the way.
“I felt like I could go out and push him a little bit because I had a ton of horse, but I didn't want to move early. I bided my time there, it opened up a little bit and she went through on her own,” he added. “I didn't even have to ask her. I felt like I could have gone outside and won, either way, but the horse did it on her own.”
Infinite Diamond, bred in Kentucky by Charles Fipke from the More Than Ready mare Ready for Gold, fetched $120,000 as a 2-year-old in training last April and debuted two months later at Gulfstream running second in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight.
Upcoming dirt stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Gulfstream include the seven-furlong Forward Gal (G3) Feb. 4, one-mile Davona Dale (G2) March 4 and 1 1/16-mile Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) April 1.
“She was very impressive today, and I think she can have a nice run this year,” Ortiz said. “There's a lot of nice races for her and she likes the track here. Patrick does a great job training her so I'll know she'll be ready when she gets to the starting gate.”
Super Chow Post Third Consecutive Stakes Win In Limehouse
Lea Farms' Super Chow picked up where he left off last year, sprinting to his fourth consecutive victory and third straight in a stakes in the Limehouse.
Ridden by Chantal Sutherland for trainer Jorge Delgado, the Lord Nelson colt covered six furlongs in 1:09.88 over a fast main track.
Sutherland, now 4-0 on Super Chow, including wins in the Bowman's Mill at Keeneland and Inaugural at Tampa Bay Downs to end 2022, hustled Super Chow to the lead from Post 2, going the opening quarter-mile in :22.31 pressed by Two of a Kind. Turbo, winner of the Juvenile Sprint Oct. 29 at Gulfstream, saved ground in third and moved up to second after a half in :44.95.
Super Chow came wide around the far turn and left an opening for Turbo along the inside, and continued to drift out through the stretch but dug in determinedly while racing well wide and held off Turbo by a length for his fifth win from six lifetime starts. His only loss came when he ran third in last summer's Saratoga Special (G3), his second time out.
“The plan was to send the horse no matter what. Chantal managed to get the horse in good position,” Delgado said. “He seems to be getting better with every race. I don't know why but when he runs here, he drifts a little bit. He [must not] like something between the three-eighths [pole] and the quarter pole. It only happens to him here, but he set good fractions and he beat a good bunch of horses.”
Delgado said upcoming targets for Super Chow include Gulfstream's $125,000 Swale (G3) Feb. 4 or the $100,000 Hutcheson March 18.
Super Chow, a son of Lord Nelson out of the Warrior's Reward mare Bonita Mia, was bred in Kentucky by Spendthrift Farm.
The post Infinite Diamond Sparkles In Cash Run Win, Super Chow Extends Streak To Four With Limehouse Score appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Skippylongstocking Exits Harlan’s Holiday In Good Order, Unplaced Favored Stablemate O’Connor Has Excuse
Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking exited Saturday's $150,000 Harlan's Holiday (G3) victory at Gulfstream Park in good order, while stablemate Fernando Vine Ode's O'Connor came out of the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up with an excuse for a disappointing fourth-place finish as the 6-5 favorite.
“They both came out good, everything checked out good this morning,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. “I'm happy in that regard.”
O'Connor, a Group 1-winning Chilean import who had won his U.S. debut impressively in October, was found to have had an issue with his shoeing following the Harlan's Holiday.
“He wears glue-on shoes and they actually separated where one shoe was half on and half off,” Joseph said. “I think that could have been a hinderance. I'd rather lose a shoe than have one half on and half off.”
Both Joseph-trained horses are being pointed to the $3-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 28.
“Once we receive an invitation, I don't see any reason to change plans,” Joseph said.
After breaking alertly to track pacesetter Pioneer of Medina around the first turn and into the backstretch, Skippylongstocking ($8.40) bobbled briefly at the top of the backstretch, but quickly recovered put pressure on the Todd Pletcher-trained pacesetter. Irad Ortiz Jr. asked his long-striding mount for a kick, and the son of Exaggerator responded with a steady run through the stretch to score comfortably by two lengths.
Pioneer of Medina fought back after being passed in midstretch by a stalking Simplification to finish second by a neck.
O'Connor, who raced in fifth on the backstretch was eased off the rail by jockey Edgard Zayas in the backstretch to launch a bid, but the Chilean Group 1 winner never made an impact while settling for fourth, beaten by 4 ¼ lengths by his stablemate.
“Beyer-wise, the race came back very fast. He ran a 100 Beyer [Speed Figure]. He ran faster than when he won,” Joseph said. “Skippy ran a 106, so speed figure-wise the race came back very fast.”
The Harlan's Holiday gave Skippylongstocking his second graded stakes win following a third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes (G1).
“He's getting better and he's filled out so much,” Joseph said. “He exceeds all expectations. I never give him that much credit and he keeps delivering.
Sumaya U.S. Stable's Pioneer of Medina is under consideration for the Pegasus said Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddled Life Is Good for a victory in the 2022 Pegasus World Cup.
Trainer Antonio Sano said he was “very happy” with the performance on Tami Bobo and Tristan De Meric's Simplification Saturday.
“He came out of the race good, and we were pleased,” Sano said. “We hope to move on to Pegasus.”
Simplification was making his first start in the Harlan's Holiday since finishing seventh Nov. 5 in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1). The son of Not This Time, who captured the Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream, was fourth in the Kentucky Derby (G1), sixth in the Preakness (G1), third in the West Virginia Derby (G3) and fourth in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1).
Brad Cox, who saddled Knicks Go for a Pegasus World Cup victory in 2021 as well as a runner-up finish last year, is expected to be represented this year by Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife, the Haskell (G1) winner and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) runner-up who is slated to be retired directly following the winter's premier race.
Bob Baffert, who sent out Arrogate for a memorable Pegasus win in 2017, is planning to run Karl Watson, Michael Pegram and Paul Weitman's Defunded, who captured the Awesome Again (G1) before winning the Native Diver (G3) last time out.
Godolphin LLC's Proxy, winner of the Clark (G1) in his 2022 finale, is scheduled to return in the Pegasus for trainer Michael Stidham.
The post Skippylongstocking Exits Harlan’s Holiday In Good Order, Unplaced Favored Stablemate O’Connor Has Excuse appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Beverly Park’s 15th Win Brings Down Curtain On Amazing 2022 Campaign
While running at his 14th track in 2022 alone, Built Wright Stable's Beverly Park put an exclamation point on his extraordinary year with an authoritative victory in Fair Grounds third race on Saturday.
Remarkably, that $5,000 starter allowance event marked the 30th start of the season for this newly turned 6-year-old, since Twins Miracle ran 33 times, winning just once, in 2016.
With the next closest being eight, his 15 wins in 2022 far exceed any other runner. It is the most wins any horse has had in a single year since Rapid Redux won 19 in 2011.
After winning a $5,000 claimer at Belterra Park on July 8, 2021 by 15 lengths, Beverly Park, a son of Munnings, was claimed by Cash for $12,500 in his follow-up start, which produced another dominate victory.
“He's definitely an iron horse and probably the horse of a lifetime,” Cash said. “He travels well. He's just a fun horse. I just happened to grab on to his coattails while he was going by and he's pulled me along with him.”
Competing almost exclusively in starter allowance races for the better part of the last 16-plus months, Beverly Charge has posted a 21 wins from 38 starts for Cash, banking nearly $500,000 in the process.
“The (starter allowance) condition that he's been eligible for helps,” Cash explained. “He's got a great personality. He's happy. He bounces to the track, bounces back. He's as sound as any horse has ever been. We've never had to do any work on him whatsoever.”
Now that the calendar has turned to 2023, has Beverly Park lost his best friend – the starter allowance condition?
“A lot of racing secretary write starts based on the calendar year, but others go by the month they last started for that tag when determining eligibility,” Cash said. “There won't be as many opportunities of this kind, but they are out there and we will find them.”
Beverly Park was bred in Kentucky by Ray Hanson and George Gilbert. He was produced by the Grade 3-winnning Langfuhr mare Madeira Park. He was a 2018 Keeneland September yearling sale graduate, selling for $220,000 to PTK out of the Penn Sales consignment. His overall record stands at 25-7-4 from 47 career starts and $536,730 in earnings.
The post Beverly Park’s 15th Win Brings Down Curtain On Amazing 2022 Campaign appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
