Tag: Racing

West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner's Grade 3 winner Jaxon Traveler, a Maryland-bred champion in each of his two years of racing, will take another step toward making it three in a row when he returns to his home state for the $100,000 Dave's Friend Dec. 26 at Laurel Park.

The 19th running of the Dave's Friend for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs and 11th renewal of the 6 ½-furlong Willa On the Move for fillies and mares 3 and up are among six $100,000 stakes on an 11-race Christmastide Day program that marks the return of live racing following a week-long holiday break.

First race post time is 11:25 a.m.

Bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau, Jaxon Traveler was the state's champion 2-year-old in 2020 and 3-year-old in 2021. He has raced eight times this year with one win, three seconds and a third, the lone victory coming in the May 21 Maryland Sprint (G3) at historic Pimlico Race Course.

Based in New York with Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, Jaxon Traveler has won three of his four career stakes in Maryland including the 2020 Maryland Juvenile Futurity at Laurel, where he has two wins and a second in four tries.

“He loves it in Maryland, and fingers crossed we come down and put on a good performance,” West Point executive vice president Tom Bellhouse said. “It's exciting. It's great to get him back at Laurel. It's a great card they put together. It should be a great day of racing.”

Jaxon Traveler ran a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure in his most recent outing, finishing fourth – beaten a head and two necks – in the six-furlong Fall Highweight (G3) Nov. 26 at Aqueduct while carrying 131 pounds.

“This guy's been knocking heads with everybody. I thought his race in the Fall Highweight was one of the best he's ever run. He was just phenomenal,” Bellhouse said. “He's not a big horse in stature and when they came down the stretch and they had those three, four horses all neck and neck and he's carrying that much weight, I'm thinking the weight might have hit him a little more than a couple of those bigger horses.

“He's as courageous as they come,” he added. “I was there and I thought at the sixteenth pole we might have a shot to win it, but you could see those last couple jumps he was fighting but he was getting tired with all that weight.”

Fifth in the July 30 Ben's Cat sprinting 5 ½ furlongs over a good turf course in his last trip to Laurel, Jaxon Traveler hasn't been over Laurel's main track since running second behind Whereshetoldmetogo – a 13-time stakes winner that was retired last month – in the March 19 Not For Love.

“Hopefully he'll have a nice 5-year-old campaign,” Bellhouse said. “He's a cool horse. He shows up and, on his best day, he's a graded-stakes horse. He didn't do anything to dissuade us from thinking that in the Fall Highweight. He just goes out and does his thing. On a good day he'll win and, if not, you know he'll give you everything he's got.”

Pocket 3s Racing's Threes Over Deuces returns to defend his title in the Dave's Friend. He is 0-for-11 in 2022 but has five seconds and a third and has placed in two stakes including the Maryland Sprint, less than two lengths behind Jaxon Traveler. He exits runner-up finishes in back-to-back optional claiming allowance at Laurel, beaten a length to 2021 Fire Plug winner Wendell Fong Nov. 26 and a nose by 2020 Maryland Million Sprint winner Karan's Notion Dec. 10, both of whom return in the Dave's Friend.

Baxter Racing Stable's Savoy enters the Dave's Friend riding a three-race win streak for trainer Mario Serey Jr., who claimed the 4-year-old Honor Code gelding for $25,000 out of a fifth-place finish Aug. 27 at Timonium. Each of his recent wins have come over an off track, rallying to get up by a half-length in the slop sprinting seven furlongs Dec. 3.

Beren, winner of the July 16 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash in his lone Laurel start; Divine Leader, beaten a nose last out in the seven-furlong Claiming Crown Rapid Transit Nov. 12; Oct. 1 Challedon winner Factor It In, third by a neck in the Fall Highweight; 2020 Maryland Million Nursery winner Kenny Had a Notion; Showtime Cat, third last out in the Maryland Million Turf Sprint Oct. 22; and Going to the Lead, third behind Karan's Notion and Threes Over Deuces Dec. 10, complete the field.

Dave's Friend, the first pure sprinter to earn over $1 million, started 76 times over nine seasons from 1978-86 and retired at age 11 with 35 wins and as Maryland's all-time leading money earner. Seventeen of his wins came in stakes at nine different tracks, including the Marylander (G3) and Patriot (G3) in 1978, when he also finished second in the Monmouth Invitational (G1). Maryland's Horse of the Year in 1980 and inducted into the Maryland Thoroughbred Hall of Fame in 2016, Dave's Friend set records at four different tracks.

C J I Phoenix Group and No Guts No Glory Farm's Fille d'Esprit returns to open company chasing a sixth career stakes win and third in a row in the $100,000 Willa On the Move Dec. 26 at Laurel Park.

Trainer Jerry Robb will be seeking his first victory in the Willa On the Move, having run second with Princess Kokachin in 2021. Fille d'Esprit won the seven-furlong Maryland Million Distaff Oct. 22 and six-furlong Politely Nov. 25 at Laurel, where she owns 10 wins from 17 lifetime starts.

“She's doing amazing,” Robb said. “it's incredible how she just keeps doing her thing, but I've had a few back-to-back like her, so I've been spoiled.”

Fille d'Esprit follows in the footsteps of mares such as Anna's Bandit and Street Lute, who Robb trained to 27 wins, 19 in stakes, and more than $1.4 million in purse earnings since 2016. Anna's Bandit and Fille d'Esprit share No Armistice as a grandsire, which led Robb to claim Fille d'Esprit for $10,000 Aug. 21, 2020.

“You just have to watch them closely and let them tell you what they need to do,” Robb said, “and listen to them.”

For the fourth time in her last six starts, Fille d'Esprit drew the rail as she returns to open company. Her last open victory came in the seven-furlong Seeking the Pearl Aug. 16 at Colonial Downs.

“She can do anything you ask her to do,” Robb said. “She can go to the front or lay off of it. Post position doesn't matter to her.

“She's coming off a couple of good spots,” he added. “This one is open, so it'll be a little tougher competition. I looked at the field and there's some nice fillies in there, for sure, but I wouldn't trade my cards for theirs.

Baxter Racing Stable's Swayin to and Fro is five-for-six lifetime at Laurel whose two most recent wins have come in stakes – the six-furlong Shine Again against Maryland-bred/sired horses Sept. 10 at historic Pimlico Race Course and the open Safely Kept sprinting seven furlongs Nov. 26 at Laurel.

Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya is a multiple stakes winner on dirt at Laurel who returned to the main track last out after six straight turf outings to win an open six-furlong allowance Oct. 30 at Laurel, a race where Swayin to and Fro finished third. Trained by Lacey Gaudet, the 5-year-old mare ran fourth in last year's Willa On the Move.

Also entered are Union Lake, third in the Sept. 2 Prioress (G2) at Saratoga; Politely runner-up Juror Number Four; Moody Woman, third in the Sept. 24 Weather Vane at Pimlico and fourth in the Safely Kept; Fouette, a last out winner sprinting six furlongs at Aqueduct Dec. 8; Movie Moxie and Flashy Charge.

Willa On the Move was a Maryland-bred daughter of Assert (IRE) that raced 12 times as a 3-year-old in 1988 winning five stakes, including the Marshua and Gay Matelda at Laurel Park and Moccasin and Caesar's Wish at Pimlico. From there she won the Ashland (G1), ran third in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Alabama (G1) and second in the Gazelle (G1) and Spinster (G1) before being retired following the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1).

The post ‘As Courageous As They Come’: Maryland-Bred Champion Jaxon Traveler Returns To Laurel Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Sunday, Dec. 25 is the date for the 67th running of the Grade 1 Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix). Staged at Nakayama Racecourse, the Arima Kinen boasts Japan's top purse, which ties the Japan Cup with its first-place bounty of JPY400 million.

Like the Takarazuka Kinen, the Arima Kinen solicits fans to vote for the horses they most want to see run. This year, the 16 nominees boast six runners from the fans' top choices, including Titleholder, Efforia and Equinox. Those three, along with the Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Geraldina, are expected to also be the most popular in the lineup. It is a highly competitive field, as the Arima Kinen always is.

Post time will be 15:25 local time, earlier than usual for a Grade 1 event. The Arima Kinen is the 11th race on the Sunday, Dec. 25 card of 12 at Nakayama.

Horses aged 4-year-old & up will carry 57kg, while 3-year-olds carry 55kg. Fillies and mares are given a 2-kg allowance.

Here is a look at the expected top picks:

Titleholder: Though the No. 1 pick of the fans for the Arima Kinen lineup, Titleholder has made only three appearances at home this year. He aced them all, starting with the Grade 2 Nikkei Sho over the Nakayama 2,500 meters. He followed that up with a win in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) over 3,200 meters at Hanshin and, at the end of June, he aced the 2,200-meter Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen. Titleholder then went overseas to take on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Wearing himself out with a forward attack over grueling heavy going, he finished 11th of 20. Back on familiar turf, good things are expected of the son of Duramente. Regular rider Kazuo Yokoyama is expected to have the ride.

Equinox: The son of 2017 Arima Kinen winner Kitasan Black, Equinox heads into the Arima Kinen with a stupendous record of three wins and two seconds from his five career starts. Unlike his seven-time Grade 1 winning sire, Equinox has traveled a somewhat different path to the Arima Kinen. He was a close second in both the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), despite having drawn the far outside gate in both races. He then passed on the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) and went straight to the Tenno Sho (Autumn), where he notched his first Grade 1 win with only four starts behind him. If Equinox can win on Sunday, he will upstage his sire once again.

Vela Azul: The 5-year-old Eishin Flash-sired Vela Azul is fresh off a victory in the Japan Cup. An incredible and outstanding feat, it would have not have been imaginable less than a year ago, when Vela Azul already had 16 starts in his career and still seeking his third win. When the trainer Kunihiko Watanabe switched him from dirt to turf, however, Vela Azul was as if transformed. He made the Top 3 in his next five starts (including three wins) before taking on his first Grade 1 and bagging a JPY400 million. The Japan Cup was ridden by Ryan Moore, but jockey Kohei Matsuyama is expected to be in the saddle for the Arima Kinen. Matsuyama was first paired with Vela Azul in the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten, which he won. Vela Azul finished third over the Nakayama 2,500 meters in April on his second start after switching to turf. If he can win, he will become the first horse since Deep Impact in 2006 to win the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen in the same year.

Geraldina: Being a blue-blooded daughter of six-time Grade 1 winner Maurice and a seven-time Grade 1 champion mare Gentildonna, Geraldina began to shine later in her career. After finishing seventh in the 2020 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, she remained in the lower levels until late 2021, when three wins in a row took her to her first graded stakes test. She started to show her talent when she ran second in the Grade 3 Naruo Kinen over 2,000 meters at Chukyo this year. In late September, she finally captured the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers over 2,200 meters at Nakayama, which was her first win in a graded race. Then she triumphed the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup over 2,200 meters at Hanshin riding on the momentum, where she easily caught and passed the rivals, Daring Tact, Stunning Rose, Namur, and Win Marilyn who went on to win the Hong Kong Vase. Her partner in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup was Cristian Demuro, and is expected up on this Sunday as well.

Efforia: Efforia won the Satsuki Sho over 2,000 meters at Nakayama last year and extended his winning streak to four, as he topped Titleholder by three lengths. He relinquished the Japanese Derby to Shahryar by a nose, but then topped 2020 Triple Crown champion Contrail in the 2021 Tenno Sho (Autumn) by a length. With one amazing performance after the other, just two months later he cruised to victory in the Arima Kinen, catching and topping Deep Bond by 3/4 length. Though The Epiphaneia-sired Efforia seemed invincible, this year not only the winner's circle but also the top spots have eluded him. This year he has had only two starts and disappointed with lackluster results – a ninth in the Osaka Hai 0.7 seconds off the winner and a sixth in the Takarazuka Kinen 0.9 seconds back. He is going to the Arima Kinen unprepped, for his first race in six months. If he can come through with a return to his favorite venue, he'll become only the fifth horse in the race's history to notch back-to-back wins. Regular rider Takeshi Yokoyama is expected to have the ride.

Deep Bond: Also returning from the Arc is last year's runnerup Deep Bond, a 5-year-old by Kizuna. Though he has run in nine Grade 1s, he has yet to win one, but the experienced stayer still has ample chance. Last year, he went from a 14th in the Arc to a second in the Arima Kinen. This year he finished 18th in the Arc's field of 20. Second in this year's of the Tenno Sho (Spring), and fourth in the Takarazuka Kinen, Deep Bond is not one to overlook, especially as Japan's current leading jockey Yuga Kawada will be partnered with him again.

Boldog Hos: A name that hasn't been heard much is Boldog Hos. The son of 2008 Japan Cup winner Screen Hero, the 3-year-old colt lost the Kikuka Sho by a nose in his first Grade 1 bid. It was an impressive run, even more so given the race was clinched in record time. He has yet to win a graded stakes race, but Boldog Hos has come close, with two thirds at the Grade 2 level. A consistent runner who has raced solely over 10 furlongs and up, he has only missed the Top 3 in two of his nine outings. Slow at the break, he races from the rear, but can unleash an excellent late kick. Though it's not a racing style particularly conducive to winning at Nakayama, Boldog Hos is looking to prove a popular darkhorse. Expected in the saddle is Yuichi Fukunaga, who has just passed his trainer's test and announced his retirement. Fukunaga, who just hit the 100-win mark for the year, and has captured 17 of JRA's Grade 1 races, many of them numerous times, has yet to win the Arima Kinen.

Others to watch:

2021 Hopeful Stakes runnerup Justin Palace was unable to come close in the first two races of the Triple Crown this year, but managed a third in the Kikuka Sho last out. The Deep Impact colt will be up against older horses for his first time, but will enjoy the weight allowance allowed him in the Arima Kinen, 2kg less than he carried in the Kikuka Sho. The 4-year-old Breakup captured his first graded stakes race in the Grade 2 Copa Republica Argentina over 2,500 meters at Tokyo in early November. Two starts earlier, he had finished second to Japan Cup winner Vela Azul in the June Stakes, a 3-win-class race over 2,400 meters at Tokyo. His second in the Sunshine Stakes over the Nakayama 2,500 meters in late January also is a mark in his favor. Jockey Keita Tosaki will have the ride on Sunday.

The post Japan: Daughter Of Champion Mare Gentildonna Takes On Fans’ Top Choices In Arima Kinen appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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