Tag: Racing

The Ontario Sire Heritage Series concluded last Friday at Woodbine Racetrack, with Bossy Holiday winning the colts and geldings division and $20,000 in bonus money.

A Talk Oaks Farm homebred, his performance in the first three legs had secured his position atop point standings heading into the $100,000 Lake Ontario Final over a mile and a sixteenth on the tapeta, and he proved game again in the finale.

The Josie Carroll trainee drew within a half-length entering the stretch drive before finishing a hard fought third.

“I think he was one of the only horses who ran in all four legs,” said Tall Oaks Farm Director Colleen Dalos. “We had a first, second, third, and sixth. He showed his consistency, versatility, and grit along the way.”

Ontario Racing's Thoroughbred Improvement Program Committee established the Heritage Series in 2021 to provide additional racing opportunities for three-year-old Ontario Sired horses, with a male and female division.

The 2022 edition had three legs prior to the final, staged at Woodbine and Fort Erie Race Track, each worth $100,000. They were contested at five, six, and seven furlongs over the Woodbine Inner Turf, the Fort Erie dirt track, and the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

In addition to the purse money, $70,000 in bonus money was paid out to the top-three finishers in each division based on a point system, $20,000 to first, $10,000 to second, $5,000 to third.

“We were thrilled that the Heritage Series was back for another year,” said Dalos. “It's so important that we have these type of programs that support these Ontario Sired horses and give them that opportunity to compete amongst themselves.”

The runner-up in the colts and geldings' division was Souper Speedy colt Uncle Joe, who had a record of 0-1-2 in three Heritage Series starts. Son of Silent Name (JPN), Silent Runner rounded out the top-three, on the strength of the victory in the Lake Huron, leg one of the series over five furlongs on the grass at Woodbine.

Bossy Holiday's success in the Heritage Series is a testament to Tall Oaks Farm's breeding program. He is a multi-generational homebred on both his sire and dam's side.

“It's 30 plus years of home breeding in the making, and it's thrilling to see this line carrying on,” said Dalos. “His sire Ami's Holiday is a stallion of ours, who was also trained by the incredibly talented Josie Carroll, and it's amazing to see how similar he is to his dad. His dad also ran at different distance's and over different surfaces. They have a similar personality. It's really special when it's a homebred.”

The dark bay colt is the latest black type performer for Ami's Holiday, who stands at Colebrook Farms in Uxbridge, Ont.

“Ami's Holiday is proving himself in a very short period of time,” said Dalos. He already has stakes placed and stakes winning horses. So yes, we are seeing him prove that he can throw a really good horse.”

We may even see Tall Oaks Farm homebred to repeat in the Ontario Sire Heritage Series, as Bossy Holiday has a full-brother Boss Holiday, who broke his maiden earlier this year at Woodbine, and the breeding outfit continues to support its Ontario stallions.

“I am seeing a shift in the Ontario market, with positivity and energy,” said Dalos. “Tall Oaks has deep roots in Ontario. We have five stallions in Ontario, and we have just bought five good quality mares. We are investing in Ontario and showing confidence in the program. We are here to stay and want people to share that confidence in breeding and participating in this great industry.”

Click here to view the final colts and geldings standings for the Ontario Sire Heritage Series

The post ‘Consistency, Versatility, And Grit’: Bossy Holiday Victorious In Ontario Sire Heritage Series appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gary Barber's Perfect Flight rallied from last under Ricardo Santana Jr. to upset Apprehend and Ramon Vazquez and give trainer Peter Miller a one-two finish in Tuesday's $250,000 Zia Park Derby at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M.

The Derby was one of seven stakes on the Land of Enchantment Day program with purses totaling $900,000 and came one race after Three Chimneys Farm's homebred filly Bella Runner won the $250,000 Zia Park Oaks for trainer Steve Asmussen and Santana.

Santana picked up both mounts after Florent Geroux opted not to fly from Kentucky to New Mexico after suffering a sprained ankle at Churchill Downs in an incident on Saturday, according to Daily Racing Form. He won a third stakes on the day on a horse Geroux was originally scheduled to ride.

Perfect Flight, an Uncle Mo 3-year-old colt bred in Kentucky by Siena Farms, was winning his first stakes and third race overall from nine starts. He was coming off a third-place finish on the Santa Anita turf course in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby. In August, he finished second in the G3 La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar.

In the Zia Park Derby, Santana was content to settle Perfect Flight at the back of the field as stablemate Apprehend showed the way under pressure from Great Escape. He moved three wide on the far turn, took the lead at the top of the stretch, then pulled off to win by 2 3/4 lengths. Apprehend was second, a half-length ahead of Great Escape, with Bye Bye Bobby, Senate Chamber, and I Think I'm Here completing the order of finish.

Perfect Flight ran 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.31 and paid $11.40 to win.

Bella Runner's Oaks victory was more of a front-running triumph, with the Gun Runner filly pressing pacesetter American Coalminer from the outset. She took control on the turn for home and drew off to win by four lengths. Kirstenbosch, a California invader trained by John Sadler, finished second as the 9-10 favorite ahead of Corrina Corrina. Hits Pricey, Cleopatras Charge, and American Coalminer rounded out the field.

Bella Runner paid $4.40 as the second choice in the wagering and ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.13. The win was the first stakes victory for Bella Runner, who is now 2-of-7.

In other races:

— Todd Fincher gave jockey Alfred Juarez Jr. a leg up on the Nyquist filly Flying Connection to win the $75,000 Zia Park Princess.

— Asmussen and Santana teamed up to win the $75,000 Zia Park Juvenile with the Good Magic colt How Did He Do That.

— Peter Miller won a second race on the day with Samurai Charm (by First Samurai) taking the $75,000 Zia Park Distaff under Luis Fuentes.

— Competitive Idea won one for the home team with his victory in the $75,000 Zia Park Sprint for locally based trainer Dick Cappellucci and jockey Alfred Juarez Jr.

—Soy Tapatio, who last raced at Century Mile, won the $75,000 Zia Park Championship Stakes for trainer Robertino Diodoro and Orlando Mojica.

The post Perfect Flight Upsets Peter Miller Barnmate In Zia Park Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The top-level races keep on coming and this Sunday sees the international highlight of the year – the Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse. A young team from overseas will take on the expected14 runners from Japan in a bid to lay claim to the Tokyo 2,400-meter jewel. Three of the four horses that have flown in from Europe are 3-year-olds. Three hail from France, one from Germany, and all but one have already pocketed a top-level competition.

For years now, the Japan Cup bar has been out of reach to the visitors. Japan-based horses have dominated the winner's circle for the past 16 years. However, the upsets rocking the stands in Grade 1 action the past 2 weeks may be indicative of a similar outcome in the Japan Cup. The 42nd running of the iconic race and its first-place prize of 300 million yen (matched only by the year-end Arima Kinen (Grand Prix)) may be snatched up by one of the foreign raiders.

A look at the visiting horses reveals one Japan Cup repeater – Grand Glory. The now 6-year-old, English-bred mare just made the board last year with her fifth-place finish under Cristian Demuro and, this year, has had two wins from five starts, including a graded-stakes victory. She posted a third, seventh, fifth in her three Grade 1 bids, the best result coming at Ascot in the Prince of Wales, where her third topped fourth-place Shahryar, who is one of Japan's top players this week. Grand Glory, fielded by French trainer Gianluca Bietolini, is coming off of the Oct. 2 Prix de L'Arc Triomphe at Longchamp in early October, where she finished ahead of Japan's four runners, none of whom are participating in the Japan Cup. Maxime Guyon, who last rode in Japan in 2014, is set for the ride on Sunday.

Of the four challengers from overseas, gaining perhaps the most attention heading into the race is the Irish-bred, France-based Onesto. The Frankel-sired colt, trained by the Chantilly-based Fabrice Chappet, shares the top spot in the ratings with Germany's Tunnes, both with 123 points, three more than Japan's top-rated Danon Beluga and Shahyrar, who each rate 120. Onesto has raced in four Grade 1s this year, with a win and a runnerup effort. After a fifth in the French Derby at Chantilly in June, Onesto went on to capture the Grand Prix de Paris, which was run over slightly heavy ground over the Longchamp 2,400 meters. That was followed by a second in the 2,000-meter Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and his most recent start the Arc, where he posted a 10th over heavy ground. If the weather holds, the Japan Cup will be his first turf event on fast ground. Onesto is scheduled to be paired with one of Japan's best – Frenchman Christophe Lemaire.

The Irish-bred Simca Mille, by Tamayuz, hails from the Deauville-based stable of Stephane Wattel. The colt has yet to win at the top level, but has come close. He took the lead in the Grand Prix de Paris and finished second to Onesto. Next out, Simca Mille nabbed his first Grade 2 in topping the Prix Niel field, which included fourth-place finisher Do Deuce from Japan. Rider Gregory Benoist, who rode the Prix Niel, is expected up on Sunday. Not new to Japan, Benoist has ridden in Japan on a short-term license and already has 21 wins of JRA races to his name.

Completing the roster is Tunnes. Partnered with Kazakhstan native Bauyrzhan Murzabayev, together they prove quite the accomplished pair. The Guiliani-sired colt was second in his debut and has gone on to sweep his next five starts, two wire-to-wire, including his first Grade 1 bid – the 2,400-meter Grosser Preis von Bayern – early this month in Munich. Murzabayev, who currently rides for the Cologne-based Peter Schiergen, has won the German flat racing jockey championship for the past three years. It is his first appearance in Japan.

The left-handed Tokyo Racecourse is known for its spaciousness, long homestretch, and the hill that starts soon after the field rounds the final bend usually separates the good from the better. The Japan Cup will be starting in front of the grandstand and will go around one lap, with horses carrying 57 kg and 3-year-olds and females given a 2-kg allowance. The race will have the usual Grade 1 post time of 15:40 local time, but will be the 12th and final race of the day.

Standouts amid Japan's hopefuls are:

Shahyrar: The 4-year-old Shahyrar is a son of Deep Impact, who won the 2006 Japan Cup at the same age. Shahyrar, like his sire, won over the same Tokyo 2,400 meters last year in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and will be carrying much of Japan's hopes to keep its winning streak going. But, in Shahyrar's five starts since the Derby (four of them Grade 1s), he has captured only one race, the Dubai Sheema Classic in late March of this year. Third in last year's Japan Cup under Yuga Kawada, he nonetheless has never been far off the mark. Fourth in the Prince of Wales at Ascot, he returned to Japan to take on the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and finished fifth. The extra distance and the guidance from Cristian Demuro, who is riding well thus far in his short-term license including a win of the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup two weeks ago, may help get him home a winner.

Danon Beluga: A 3-year-old son of Heart's Cry, Danon Beluga has posted two fourths and a third in his last three outings, all Grade 1 competitions, and he beat Shahyrar to the line in the most recent, the Tenno Sho (Autumn). He is set to be partnered with Yuga Kawada, Japan's current leading jockey, who has ridden the colt's last three races. With only five starts behind him, if Danon Beluga can pull of the win, he will beat former legendary champions El Condor Pasa and Almond Eye in rewriting the record books for having captured the race with the shortest career ever. And, as he has yet to win a Grade 1 race, he would also become the first 3-year-old to win his first G1 with the Japan Cup since U.S. representative Half Iced in 1982.

Vela Azul: Vela Azul, a 5-year-son of Eishin Flash, is a name not often heard amid the lineups of Japan's top races. The reason is Vela Azul is fresh off a win of only his first graded-stakes yet (the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten) in a career already 21 starts long. Most of that career, however, was on dirt and he was only switched to the turf five starts ago in March. Starting at the 2-win class, he rose quickly, claiming his third win on grass with the Kyoto Daishoten at Hanshin. All of his races have been over 2,400-2,600 meters and he has won over fast and slightly heavy going, which bodes well for Sunday, as rain is predicted for Tokyo on Wednesday, but not afterward. He has had four different jockeys since switching to turf, and will likely have a new one in Ryan Moore on Sunday. Moore began riding on his short-term license in Japan mid-November and, from 24 rides, has brought 12 horses home in the top three, six of them winners, three of them winning at Tokyo. Vela Azul's sire took part in four Japan Cups, but never finished better than eighth place. Perhaps his son (whose name means “blue candle” in Spanish) can light a fire over the Tokyo homestretch and find his way home a winner.

Weltreisende: A 5-year-old son of Dream Journey, Weltreisende has proved highly consistent in 11 starts thus far, all but two at the graded-stakes level, and has finished out of the money only three times. In four tries at Grade 1 level, he has a runnerup in the Hopeful Stakes and a third in the Japanese Derby – both races won by the Triple Crown horse Contrail. In June, Weltreisende returned after six months off to claim the Grade 3 Naruo Kinen under Damian Lane, then took on the Sankei Sho All Comers nearly four months later over the Nakayama 2,200 meters, traveled wide and finished in seventh. However, with that as a sharpener, improvement is expected and likely partner Lane, just off a win of the Grade 1 Mile Championship, may be able to keep the momentum going.

Others to watch include:

2020 Triple Tiara champion Daring Tact won the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) over the Tokyo 2,400 and that same year finished third in the Japan Cup behind Almond Eye and Contrail, not your everyday competition. She sat out of the 2021 Japan Cup but has four starts this year and a not-too-shabby sixth last out in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, which was a furlong shy of her favorite 12 furlongs. She will also have 1 kg less to carry this time. The 4-year-old filly Uberleben has a best fifth-place finish since her win of the 2021 Japanese Oaks. Last year's Japan Cup brought a sixth-place finish but this year, heading in from an 8th in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), she is looking leaner and may be able to at least better her score. Stayer T O Royal was third in the 3,200-meter Tenno Sho (Spring) this year. He is sharpened and yet still fresh after a hampered run in the Copa Republica Argentina, where an accident caused interference for many, including Sakae Kunieda's Heart's Histoire, who had looked headed for a win before running into traffic problems at the top of the homestretch. Boccherini has been having a good year, with a win, two seconds and a third from four starts, all Grade 2s and over 2,000-2,500 meters. They include the Meguro Kinen this spring over the Tokyo 2,500 meters. It will be his first Grade 1, but wins in both his two previous Tokyo bids indicate he finds the venue to his liking. He is also a full brother to two-time Grade 1 winner Lovely Day, who finished third in the 2015 Japan Cup.

The post French Grade 1 Winner Onesto Takes On Sunday’s Japan Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

A quintet of stakes winners along with Coastal Mission, chasing an elusive stakes triumph after placing four times in as many tries including three over the local track, help comprise a wide-open baker's dozen entered for the 12th edition of the $100,000 City of Laurel this Saturday at Laurel Park.

Based at Charles Town with trainer Jeff Runco, a winner of more than 4,600 career races, Coleswood Farm, Inc's Coastal Mission ran second in the Maryland Million Nursery and third in the Maryland Juvenile last fall at Laurel, where he began this year finishing second to Witty in the Jan. 29 Spectacular Bid.

The Great Notion gelding has not raced since closing to be second as the favorite by less than a length to next out winner Math Man Marco in the 4 ½-furlong Coin Collector May 14 at Charles Town.

Bird Mobberley's Local Motive won the Hickory Tree on turf and James F. Lewis III at 2 and the Feb. 19 Miracle Wood, the latter two at Laurel, also finishing 2 ¼ lengths behind Coastal Mission when third in the Spectacular Bid. He has faced older horses in each of his three starts since coming back from a freshening following the May 21 James Murphy on grass at Pimlico, most recently running fourth in a one-mile optional claiming allowance Nov. 4 at Laurel.

Thomas Coulter's Nimitz Class strung together three straight wins capped by the six-furlong Danzig against Pennsylvania-breds June 3 before having his streak snapped running second by a length following a troubled trip in Laurel's July 2 Concern. Bonuccelli Racing's Cynergy's Star won the Timonium Distaff last summer and returns to the dirt after running fourth in the Maryland Million Turf Sprint.

Runnymoore Racing's Undercover Kitty was a six-length, front-running winner of an off-the-turf Crowd Pleaser going 1 1/16 miles June 27 at Parx, and has raced at a mile or longer in nine starts since running third in his October 2021 unveiling at Laurel sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the grass. He is joined by two stablemates – Nick Sanna Stables' Defend, winless in five straight races since winning three of his first four; and Isabelle Haskell de Tomaso homebred Irish Boolum, a last out allowance winner at Delaware Park.

Kasey K Racing Stable, Michael Day and Final Turn Racing Stable's Twisted Ride won two of his first three starts this year after going unraced at 2, including the City of Brotherly Love at Parx in his stakes debut. He is cross-entered in Wednesday's Let's Give Thanks at Parx and Friday's $75,000 Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up at Laurel.

Built Wright Stables' Steinbeck, owned and trained by Norman 'Lynn' Cash, is entered to make his 12th start this year, all since being claimed for $30,000 out of a maiden win last December at Turfway Park. Purchased by WinStar Farm for $650,000 as a 2-year-old in training, the Frosted colt was originally trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher.

An open allowance winner against his elders sprinting six furlongs Oct. 8 at Aqueduct, Steinbeck set the pace before fading to sixth three weeks later in the Bold Ruler (G3), where his stablemate, Laurel stakes winner Eastern Bay, ran second by a nose. Steinbeck was off the board in a 6 ½-furlong allowance Nov. 12 over a sloppy Churchill surface.

“The track was nothing but slop, so I'm just drawing a line through that race. He's a better horse than what he showed there,” Cash said. “On paper it seemed like a good spot, but he didn't run well on the track and the race was incredibly tough, also.

“He's a nice horse, and it seems like he's just coming into his own, too. He ran second in an allowance at Laurel [March 11] and then we had to give him about three months off,” he added. “Now he's come back and it seems like he's just now getting in game shape. That allowance win at Aqueduct, he kept a 2-5 favorite on his hip the entire race. He was strong.”

Al Loves Josie, third in the July 30 Star de Naskra at Laurel; Little Vic, off the board in three prior stakes attempts, all in graded company; and Radical Right, first or second in each of his last three dirt attempts dating back to last November, are also entered.

The post Five Stakes Winners Among 13 Entered In Saturday’s City Of Laurel Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post