Tag: Racing

Stuart S. Janney III's Kentucky homebred Celestial City tallied his first stakes triumph with a powerful stretch run to capture Saturday's $300,000 Hill Prince (G2), a nine-furlong inner turf test for sophomores at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey and piloted by Jose Lezcano, the Uncle Mo bay hit the board in both his previous graded attempts this summer at Saratoga Race Course, finishing third in the one-mile Grade 2 Hall of Fame in August and dead-heating for second in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Saranac in September.

Celestial City stumbled at the start from the inside post and saved ground at the back of the nine-horse field as longshot Nantasket Beach set early fractions of :24.23 seconds and :49.83 over the firm going with Grade 1-placed Mackinnon pressing from second position in front of Constitutionlawyer and Grand Sonata.

Nantasket Beach continued to lead the way into the final turn with MacKinnon ready to pounce and Be Better edging closer to the outside of Constitutionlawyer through three-quarters in 1:15.26.

The Flavien Prat-piloted Mackinnon took over at the stretch call but Celestial City, full of run, rallied to the inside of Constitutionlawyer before angling outside and vaulting past Mackinnon to secure a 2 1/4-length win in a final time of 1:50.27.

Mackinnon completed the exacta by a head over an outside-charging Grand Sonata, who nosed out the rail-rallying Wicked Fast. Constitutionlawyer, St Anthony, Nantasket Beach, the McGaughey-trained Limited Liability, Be Better and Unanimous Consent rounded out the order of finish.

McGaughey said Celestial City improved with the addition of blinkers for the Saranac when completing the exacta behind Annapolis, who exited that event to capture the Grade 1 Turf Mile at Keeneland.

“This horse's races have been good. He's run against some pretty tough competition. I think he's learning now and I think we've learned a little something today with him not breaking well,” McGaughey said. “He got farther back than I thought he would, but he made a pretty explosive run so maybe that's what he wants to do. That's a little bit my style, but the way the turf courses have been playing, a lot of the time you got to be playing up close.

“His race when he dead-heated at Saratoga against Annapolis–a pretty darn good horse–[was good],” added McGaughey. “I'm pleased with him, he's trained well. His last race was a good race and I think we've learned a little more about him now.”

Celestial City entered the Hill Prince from a sharp allowance score against older company on September 24 at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet with Lezcano at the helm for just the second time.

“He didn't break the way I wanted, but at least it worked out in our favor,” Lezcano said. “After that, I had to go with the second plan and let him make one run. When I started asking him, he gave me everything he has. He's improving mentally more than anything.”

Prat said he thought he was in a winning position turning for home.

“I broke well and felt like there was no pace in the race, so I was trying to get myself as close as I could without rushing him,” Prat said. “He really gave me a great turn of foot when I asked him to run and just got outrun. To be honest, turning for home, I thought I was gone.”

McGaughey said Celestial City could possibly target the $400,000 Hollywood Derby (G1) on December 3 at Del Mar.

“I'm not ready to stop as long as he's saying 'Go,'” McGaughey said. “I hadn't thought about his future, but I'll give it some thought now after seeing him run today.”

Bred in Kentucky by his owner, Celestial City banked $165,000 in victory, while improving his record to 9-3-2-2. Celestial City is out of the Malibu Moon mare Lunar Evening, who is a half sister to the McGaughey-trained Grade 1 winner Hymn Book. He returned $9.60 for a $2 win bet.

The post ‘I Think We’ve Learned A Little More About Him Now’: Celestial City Unleashes Explosive Rally To Win Hill Prince appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci earned the first graded stakes victory of his career when Evvie Jets rolled to a 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday's $150,000 Noble Damsel (G3), a one-mile inner turf test for fillies and mares at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

Owned by Robert J. Amendola, Evvie Jets scored the redemptive victory on the heels of a gutsy neck defeat last out to Love And Thunder in the nine-furlong Athenia (G3) on September 24 at the Big A, her graded stakes debut after finishing no worse than second in her last three outings at allowance level.

“Finally, she got the title she deserved,” said Kantarmaci. “She's been knocking on the door for a long time in allowance races running first and second and then coming back in two stakes. Her last race was not a loss for her – it was just finishing second at the wire. She gave a winning run for us last time.”

Ridden to victory by Eric Cancel, Evvie Jets broke the best from post 3 in the compact field of five but was content to sit back as Por Que No rushed up on the outside to take command through an opening quarter mile in :23.98 over the firm footing.

Evvie Jets remained in second position down the backstretch while Plum Ali and stablemate Messidor vied for third position through a half-mile in :48.60 and three-quarters in 1:11.96. With Por Que No still in command in the turn, Cancel got to work aboard Evvie Jets and inched closer to be within striking range at the top of the stretch.

With Por Que No battling on gamely, Evvie Jets overtook the lead at the eighth pole under steady encouragement from Cancel, improving with each stride as the late-rallying Plum Ali made a bid from last down the center of the track. Evvie Jets had plenty left in the tank to stave off Plum Ali and the improving Messidor, crossing the wire first in a final time of 1:35.65.

Plum Ali secured place honors by a nose over Messidor with Por Que No settling for fourth a half-length back. Kept Waiting, who was unsettled throughout, completed the order of finish.

Kantarmaci said he was pleased with the ride given by Cancel.

“Today, Eric rode perfect. He put the one horse in the front [Por Que No] and made her a target,” Kantarmaci said. “He could save a little bit and it was a mile today – which is shorter than last time at a mile an eighth – so it was better for her. He moved at the perfect time and, in the stretch, she looked perfect today.”

Cancel said he was expecting a big run from Evvie Jets.

“She was training super and she had been running lights out,” said Cancel. “I just needed to have a nice trip and today was the day. She sat really beautiful behind the pacemaker and once she was ready to roll, I went with her.

“She's a very tactical filly,” Cancel added. “She can be on the lead and she can come from right off the pace. Last time, I just got nailed by a horse than ran as hard as she did. Today, she just proved that she's on her 'A' game. She's been improving every race and I'm very happy that I got the win with her and happy for the Kantarmacis.”

Ilkay Kantarmaci, assistant to and brother of Mertkan, said winning a graded stake is a special milestone for him and his family, who moved to America from their native Turkey in 2016.

“It means a lot. We've won a lot of stakes races overseas, but in America it's the first one,” said Kantarmaci. “I hope [there are] many more to come.”

The Noble Damsel was the fourth career win for the 4-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy, adding to a maiden claiming score at sixth asking last August at Saratoga Race Course, an allowance last November at the Big A and an optional claimer in July at Belmont Park. Originally conditioned by Tony Dutrow, she was haltered for $80,000 by her current connections out of a game second-place effort in an optional claimer last September at Belmont and has gone on to post a 7-for-9 in-the-money record since.

Kantarmaci said Amendola's decision to claim the filly has more than paid off.

“We're very happy to get a horse from a claiming race and get to this stage to win a graded race in New York with a horse we claimed for $80,000,” said Kantarmaci. “I want to thank Mr. Amendola for being brave to get this filly for that high claiming price, which not too many owners do that in the claiming game.

“I think we did a good job with her in training and now she's in the spot she deserves and the queen of the barn right now,” Kantarmaci added. “We're lucky to have her.”

Michael Amendola, Robert's son, said the victory is meaningful for him and his father, whose last graded win came in the 2005 Grade 2 Genuine Risk Handicap at Belmont with Bank Audit.

“It's a special win. It's been a long time since we had a graded stakes win. This is the culmination of a long journey,” said Amendola. “Unfortunately, my dad couldn't be here today, but I know he's at home and cherishing this win. Matt [Mertkan] and Ilkay and all the guys at the barn do a wonderful job, and Eric gave her a beautiful ride today. I felt like today was going to be a lucky day and this was just a really special moment.

“We came back into the game after being out for 13 years and hooked up with these guys,” Amendola added. “We're very happy. They do the right thing and care about the horses and we're just enjoying this special moment.”

Kantarmaci added that Evvie Jets will likely target the $135,000 Forever Together traveling 1 1/16 miles over the turf on November 20 at the Big A.

Evvie Jets, who was bred in Kentucky by Farfellow Farms from the Consolidator mare Natchez Trace, returned $9.90 for a $2 win wager and earned $82,500 for the victory, boosting her total purse earnings to $364,530. Her career record stands at 4-5-2 from 16 career starts.

Manny Franco, aboard runner-up Plum Ali, said his filly gave her best effort.

“I tried to hustle her out of there because I wanted to be forward,” said Franco. “The pace was decent and I just took my time with her. She ran her race.”

The post ‘She Looked Perfect Today’: Evvie Jets, Trainer Kantarmaci Score First Graded Wins In Noble Damsel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer Lynn Chleborad draped herself in the flowered blanket of the $153,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup on Friday night and yelled out her signature happy shout, “Yip! Yip!” as she celebrated her winner, That's Something, in the richest race of the Oklahoma Classics for state-breds at Remington Park.

Her 5-year-old Read the Footnotes gelding out of the Concern mare Cherokee Princess won his third race in a row on the dirt to capture the Cup for Chleborad, her first win in the main event of the Classics.

Twenty-three years ago, Chleborad won another Classics race, the 1999 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile with Imaginary Friend.

Chleborad's win Friday night was especially noteworthy.

“My first Cup win as an owner, trainer, AND breeder,” she exclaimed in the winner's circle.

It also was a taste of revenge for That's Something, who just lost by a neck to Number One Dude on the turf, going 7 1/2 furlongs in the $70,000 Red Earth Stakes on Sept. 23 at Remington.

When they returned to the dirt and stretched out in the Oklahoma Classics Cup to 1 1/16 miles, That's Something got back on track and kept his main-track win streak intact. He finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Number One Dude, who was another head in front of third-place finisher Dont Tell Noobody, the winner of this race in 2020.

That's Something was sent off as the 5-2 second favorite and paid $7.80 to winNumber One Dude, who had won 8-of-14 starts lifetime, was the wagering favorite at 4-5 odds.

Dont Tell Noobody came flying at 16-1.

Jockey Luis Quinonez moved into second place on the all-time Classics win list, moving past Don Pettinger. Both riders are in the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

That's Something gave Quinonez his first Cup win, giving him 22 Classics wins to Pettinger's 21. Cliff Berry, the all-time winningest rider in Remington Park history, finished his career with 26 Classics wins.

“I didn't know he was going to go to the lead and I said to him, 'OK, if that's where you want to be,'” said Quinonez. “When I looked at the others turning for home, I said, 'You're in trouble because I have a lot more horse (laughs).' Lynn told me he was ready and she was right.”

Chleborad is enjoying the current run with That's Something as she had to be patient in waiting on his success after a difficult 2021 with the gelding.

“Last year he pulled a muscle on a back leg and barely got out of the barn,” Chleborad said. “We didn't know what was wrong with him. But he got better and he just keeps getting better and better. I love this horse. He's friendly. He loves Luis. He's just a baby.”

That's Something made every pole a winning one, setting fractions of :24.64 for the first quarter mile, :49.11 for the half mile, 1:13.60 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:38.51 for the mile before crossing the finish in 1:44.82 over the fast track.

That's Something earned $91,800 for the victory and improved to 19 starts, five wins and five seconds and $210,712 in earnings.

Other winners of Oklahoma Classics stakes include Terry J. Westemeir's homebred Doudoudouwanadance (by Magna Graduate), who took the $100,000 Lassie by seven lengths; Norman Stables LLC's Ghost Hero (Shaman Ghost) ($3.30), who captured the $100,000 Juvenile by 1 3/4 lengths ($8.20); Michael Schmidt's Plenty of Vision (Pollard's Vision), the $130,000 Distaff Turf ($14.80); Robert H. Zoellner's homebred She's All Wolfe (Magna Graduate), the $145,000 Distaff ($6.60); Bryan Hawk's Ragan's Jet (Mister Lucky), the $130,000 Distaff Sprint ($4); Juan Carlos Gallegos's Fly to the Bank, the $130,000 Sprint ($19.20); and Asmussenequine.com and Martin Riley's Tap the Dot (Moro Tap), the $130,000 Turf Classic ($7.40).

The post ‘He Just Keeps Getting Better And Better’: That’s Something Blitzes Oklahoma Classics Cup In Gate-To-Wire Romp appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A winner of back-to-back races for the first time in his career, Matt Spencer, Kelly Jo Cox and Bonucccelli Racing's Ain't Da Beer Cold looks to make it three in a row when he returns to the Maryland Million for a third straight year in Saturday's $150,000 Classic at Laurel Park.

Ain't Da Beer Cold, a gelded 4-year-old son of Freedom Child based at Laurel with trainer Kenny Cox, drew the same No. 5 post position he had in last year's Classic, when he pressed the pace for a half-mile before fading to be eighth behind Prendimi at odds of 25-1. He is listed at 6-1 on the morning line.

“Absolutely love the five,” Cox said. “They asked me earlier and I said four, five or six at the worst, so the five is perfect. We'll just kind of leave it up to how the race sets up. He's learned to rate. He's not one-dimensional on the front end. As long as he's on the outside and not stuck down in the middle, I think we'll be fine.”

Sheldon Russell, who won four Maryland Million races in 2020 including the Classic with Monday Morning Qb, gets the riding assignment on Ain't Da Beer Cold for the first time. Both Prendimi and Monday Morning Qb return in this year's Classic.

“We worked him last weekend. Sheldon got on him for the first time and he went a minute and change, galloped out in [1:13],” Cox said. “We couldn't have asked for any better than that. He looks great coming out of that work.”

Ain't Da Beer Cold has been in career-best form since mid-June, when he ran second in an optional claiming allowance at the Classic's 1 1/8-mile distance. He followed up by winning a similar spot over Crouchelli by 1 ¾ lengths July 29, and most recently overcame an early bump to edge The Poser by a neck Sept. 5 at Timonium with Crouchelli third. The Poser and Crouchelli are also part of the Classic field.

Cox entered but scratched Ain't Da Beer Cold from the $100,000 Polynesian Sept. 24 at historic Pimlico Race Course with an eye on the Classic.

“He's doing really good,” Cox said. “His feet were bothering him a little bit. The track was stinging him a little bit, so we decided to give him a little extra time and have him ready for this.”

A native of Gallupville, Md., near old Bowie Race Course, Cox has been training since 1987, a year after the Maryland Million was launched. He is still looking for his first win in the event, with Ain't Da Beer Cold also running eighth in the 2020 Nursery.

“For me, just to be part of the Maryland Million, I grew up in Maryland racing. It's big,” he said. “I've never had too much luck in these races, but we've never invested in the Maryland-bred horses. To finally have something that's live in any race is a bonus. For the rest of it, it's the Preakness, the Derby, the owners that don't get to invest in million-dollar babies and have those days, this is the day they shine and feel like they're part of something big for the whole state.”

Cordmaker, Whereshetoldmetogo Awaiting Next Spots

Hillwood Stable's Cordmaker, unraced since becoming a graded-stakes winner in the Feb. 19 General George (G3) at Laurel Park, is entered to launch his long-awaited comeback in Saturday's $150,000 Maryland Million Classic.

As a Maryland-bred, the 7-year-old gelding by two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin is the first of two also-eligibles for the 1 1/8-mile Classic, and can only draw into the field if four of the 11 Maryland-sired horses in the main body are scratched.

Cordmaker has raced once in the Maryland Million, finishing a troubled fifth in the 2020 Classic.

“We've got him ready. He's doing well,” trainer Rodney Jenkins said. “I'd love to see him run.”

The General George was Codmaker's 10^th career stakes victory and fourth in a row. Bred by trainer Katy Voss and the late Bob Manfuso, he has 14 wins and $989,640 in purse earnings from 36 lifetime starts and has been training steadily since early September for his return.

“I watch the horse. When the horse seems like he's ready to do something, that's the way I train him,” Jenkins said. “Once they show you they are ready to go back to work, they progress very quick. If you try to rush them back, sometimes they don't progress at all.”

With his horse unlikely to get into the Maryland Million, Jenkins will continue to look for the right comeback spot. Cordmaker is the two-time defending champion in the $100,000 Richard W. Small for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles, to be run Nov. 26 at Laurel.

“I'd say if he found the right race, he could run now. I'm not going to put him in against some bulldog that's going to beat him up, but in a normal allowance race he'd be very tough still,” Jenkins said. “It makes you feel good when you know you've go ta horse that can run like he can and tries like he does.”

Also sitting out the Maryland Million as a Maryland-bred is Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber and BTR Racing, Inc.'s Whereshetoldmetogo. The 7-year-old El Padrino gelding was pre-entered in the $100,000 Sprint and $100,000 Turf Sprint, though he has just one career start on grass. The Sprint drew 14 Maryland-sired horses and a pair of Maryland-bred also-eligibles.

Whereshetoldmetogo owns 17 wins, 13 of them in stakes, and is also approaching the $1 million mark in career purses at $955,295 from 36 lifetime starts. Trained by Brittany Russell, he has also won four consecutive stakes in his only races this year, most recently the Sept. 30 New Castle at Delaware Park.

“He's good. He had a little easy work the other day. We're just trying to keep him where he is and keep him happy. We'll let him tell us, we always do, but we're very happy with him,” Russell said. “He's the best. I just stay out of his way. Less is best, keep it simple. You keep it simple, and he runs for us in the afternoon.”

Upcoming stakes at Laurel for sprinters 3 and older are the $75,000 Howard & Sondra Bender Memorial going seven furlongs Nov. 25 and $100,000 Dave's Friend at six furlongs Dec. 26. Whereshetoldmetogo won the Dave's Friend in 2020 and was fifth in 2021, and won the Bender in 2021.

“That would probably be the goal, the next Maryland-bred stake,” Russell said. “I'd love to see him hit a million at home. I want to keep him winning and healthy, but it would be pretty cool for him to do it here.”

Maryland Million Day Attracts 171 Entries for 12 Races

Saturday's 37^th Jim McKay Maryland Million Day program, 'Maryland's Day at the Races' featuring eight stakes and four starter stakes, drew a total of 171 entries for the groundbreaking event highlighting stallions standing in the state.

Ten of the 12 races attracted overflow fields including the day's richest race, the $150,000 Classic for 3-year-olds and up featuring the past two winners, Prendimi and Monday Morning Qb, as well as 2019 Maryland Million Nursery winner Ournationonparade.

Laurel Park will open its doors at 10 a.m. The morning handicapping show with Tim Tullock and special guest Dan Illman of Daily Racing Form will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a special first-race post time of 11:30 a.m. The Classic will go off as Race 11 at approximately 5 p.m.

On-track entertainment between races includes pony racing and the Suttler Post Farm Clydesdales. Fans can register for the hat contest, held in partnership with Christine A. Moore Millinery, and visit the new kids' zone featuring a pony kissing booth, face painting and more.

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