Tag: Racing

The Grade 3, $150,000 Ontario Derby, for 3-year-olds, and the $125,000 Ontario Damsel, for 3-year-old fillies, co-headline Sunday's 10-race card at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario.

Trainer Willie Armata and his father, fellow conditioner Vito Armata, each have a legitimate contender in the Ontario Derby, a 1 1/8-mile main track tilt that includes multiple stakes winner Ironstone, trained by the younger Armata, and Luckman, campaigned by the elder Armata, who sent out the bay gelding to his first stakes victory last time out in the Toronto Cup.

A gray son of Mr Speaker–Casey's Dreamin', Ironstone has been a model of consistency throughout his 11 races. Sporting a record of 2-4-3 from 11 starts, the colt, who took last year's Simcoe and Clarendon stakes events, was fourth in this year's Queen's Plate and second in the Prince of Wales, the opening two jewels in the Canadian Triple Crown.

Owned by Tequesta Racing Inc., and Jupiter Leasing Co., Ironstone has never finished lower than fifth in his career to date.

Although winless in 2022, the sophomore, bred in Ontario by Kingview Farms, has a second and a trio of thirds from five starts.

“I'm 100 percent proud of him,” said Willie Armata. “He's going out there and giving us the best he can every single time we bring him over. He's coming into the race in really good order. He's had a couple of nice works, he's happy and he's ready. Unfortunately, we have to run with 'Papa Vit,' but what are you going to do? I usually don't like to run against Dad if we don't have to, but on this occasion, we will.”

Vito Armata, who sent out 82-1 T J's Lucky Moon to win the 2002 Queen's Plate, will once again saddle Luckman, who has fared exceptionally well since he claimed the horse for $25,000 on June 24.

Launching his career at Woodbine last August, Luckman posted a pair of seconds in four starts before heading south to open his 2022 campaign. After tough results at Fair Grounds, Keeneland and Churchill, he returned to Woodbine to break his maiden in June.

Luckman has won three consecutive races since arriving at his new stable, four straight including his win on the day he was claimed.

The son of Empire Maker–Sea Level Drive heads into the Ontario Derby off a victory in the Toronto Cup on Sept. 10, when he stormed down the lane to notch a neck win in the one-mile test over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

“I followed him as a 2-year-old,” said Vito Armata after the Toronto Cup. “He got beat by 31 lengths in Kentucky. My brother said, 'What are you doing?' I liked the horse since he was a baby. So, the rest is history. I'm really happy. The horse is in good order. He's a good horse.”

Luckman, bred by Tenlane Farm, LLC, is 4-2-0 from 13 starts.

“Both horses, they have different styles,” offered Willie. “That helps. Dad's horse likes to close, and our horse likes to be forwardly placed, so they will each run their own race.”

The Ontario Derby could mark the end of one facet of Ironstone's career.

For now, the plan next season is to focus on sprint races.

“We'll look at sprinting, trying to take over [retired sprint superstar] Pink Lloyd's shoes if we can. Those are big shoes to fill and not an easy task, but we'll give it our best shot. Whether it's this race or any race to come, he'll never stop and he'll never give up. He's a colt and he can be a little feisty, but he's a gem.”

The Ontario Damsel, at 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta, includes multiple graded stakes winner Souper Hoity Toity, and multiple stakes winner Sister Seagull.

First post time is 1:20 p.m. ET. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com or the Dark Horse Bets app.

$150,000 ONTARIO DERBY (GRADE 3)

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Bringer of Rain – Omar Moreno – Barbara Minshall

2 – Mannix (IRE) – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

3 – The Minkster – David Moran – Danny Vella

4 – Luckman – Daisuke Fukumoto – Vito Armata

5 – Ironstone – Kazushi Kimura – Willie Armata

$125,000 ONTARIO DAMSEL 

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Love to Run – Declan Carroll – Mark Casse

2 – Souper Hoity Toity – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

3 – Crystal Ship (S) – Kazushi Kimura – W. John Bourke

4 – Lady Brew – David Moran – Steven Chircop

5 – Sister Seagull – Antonio Gallardo – Catherine Day Phillips

The post Father And Son Training Team Have Big Look At Ontario Derby Outcome appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Silent Causeway, trained and owned by Laura Krasauskaite, looks to keep her strong recent form going in the Grade 3 $150,000 Ontario Matron, Saturday at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario.

The 1 1/16-mile main track feature for fillies and mares, 3-years-old and upward, has drawn 10 starters, including Krasauskaite's 5-year-old dark bay mare.

After a tough start to her 2022 campaign, Silent Causeway has turned things around in a big way, posting two wins and a second in her past three starts.

One of those victories, a seven-furlong test over the Toronto oval Tapeta on Aug. 11, was a roll of the dice for Krasauskaite.

“I am extremely happy with her last three races. The one on August 11, the $25,000 claiming race, I took a big chance there. I needed to race her there because she needed a mind boost, something to get her confidence going. I knew that we would have a huge chance to win the race, but I just gambled by putting her in there. I was a nervous wreck. You have no idea. There were so many people staring at her, and I wasn't sure if someone would enter a claim. But she won and it boosted her mind.”

A head victory the next time out at 1 1/16 miles on the Woodbine main track was followed by a second, just a half-length back of the winner, in a mile trip over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course on October 1.

On Oct. 15, Silent Causeway covered four furlongs in :46.20 on the Tapeta ahead of the Ontario Matron.

“After that 25 claimer, you could see a difference in her. She dragged us home, bouncing and snorting after the race. I thought, 'That's a good sign, finally.' She was back to her old self. I spend every day with this horse, and I can tell when she's down and when she's feeling good. And she's definitely feeling good.”

The fall weather has also put a spring in Silent Causeway's step, but not Krasauskaite's.

“She does not like the heat, not at all. Now, you see how she trains. She's calm, she's focused and she's happy. When the weather is cooler and it happens to be raining, it's game on for her. She's like a rain and cold air child. Me, I want to head south. Her, she wants to stay north.”

Both are primed for Saturday's engagement.

“I breezed her in that last work and she took me on the ride of a lifetime. It was amazing. I know she's ready.”

Other starters include multiple graded stakes winner Our Flash Drive, the 4-year-old Live Oak homebred who comes into the Ontario Matron who returns to Woodbine off two turf stakes appearances at Saratoga, including a victory in the De La Rose on Aug. 7.

Dreaming of Drew, a multiple stakes winner for owner Hoolie Racing Stable, LLC, and Madaket Stables LLC, sports a mark of 4-3-1 from 11 starts. The 4-year-old daughter of Speightster–Dreaming of Liz is trained by Barbara Minshall.

First post time is 1:20 p.m. ET Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 ONTARIO MATRON

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Broadway Lady (S) – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse

2 – Our Flash Drive – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

3 – Kate's Kingdom – Antonio Gallardo – Armando De La Cerda

4 – Miss Vancougar (S) – Slade Jones – Nick Nosowenko

5 – Alydiva (S) – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

6 – Silent Causeway – Justin Stein – Laura Krasauskaite

7 – Peace Seeker – Eswan Flores – Nick Nosowenko

8 – Super Chianti – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Michaela Neubauer

9 – Dreaming of Drew – Kazushi Kimura – Barbara Minshall

10 – Saratoga Vision – Jason Hoyte – Alexander Patykewich

The post After Confidence Builder, Silent Causeway Takes Aim At Ontario Matron appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Graded stakes-winning Aqueduct specialist Morello will make a return to graded stakes company when facing elders for the first time in next Saturday's one-mile Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso at Belmont at the Big A.

Owned by Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, Craig Taylor and Diamond T Racing, the 3-year-old son of Classic Empire was a force to be reckoned with on the local Road to the Kentucky Derby over the winter, capturing the Grade 3 Gotham on March 5 following a win in the Jimmy Winkfield one month earlier at the Big A.

Arriving at the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino as the undefeated lukewarm favorite, Morello finished sixth behind eventual American Classic heroes Mo Donegal and Early Voting and replicated that result in the next out G1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 11 at Belmont Park.

The two distant efforts garnered a break for Morello, who returned to the work tab at Belmont in early August under the watchful eye of Toby Sheets – the Belmont-based assistant for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen – before scoring at allowance level two weeks ago at Laurel Park, travelling six furlongs.

Despite breaking a step slow, Morello had enough class to earn an easy 2 3/4-length triumph after making a five-wide move in upper stretch under Sheldon Russell.

“He's been training lights out,” said Dave Lyon of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds. “Obviously, we made the decision to give him the summer off after the buildup of heading to the Kentucky Derby. We got hit with a string of bad luck in the Wood Memorial and then the Woody Stephens. At that point, I think Toby and Steve and the team made the right decision to shut him down, give him some time off and let him be a horse.”

Lyon said an Aqueduct edition of the Kelso is a perfect fit for Morello, who boasts a 4-3-0-0 local record.

“We wanted to run him here in New York for his comeback race, but it didn't fill so we sent him down to Laurel and he ran very well there after a slow start,” Lyon said. “He looked good doing it and came out of the race great. The Kelso is the next step here, but we're taking it one race at a time like we always do with Morello. We're not going to get ahead of ourselves. We're going to just go from there, but we feel pretty confident that he's back.”

Lyon continued to speak volumes of the job done by Sheets and Asmussen, adding that the G1 $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap on Dec. 3 could be a viable option should Morello run well enough in the Kelso.

“Just like any other horse we've had, they need to take some time off and we need to give it to them. Toby and Steve have done a masterful job of managing his career,” Lyon said. “It's disappointing we had to miss Saratoga, but if we can get this horse to win a Grade 2 next weekend, and then maybe the G1 Cigar Mile as the next goal, no one on my team is going to complain.”

Bred in Kentucky by Robert B. Tillyer and Dr. Chet Blackey, Morello is out of the Congrats mare Stop the Wedding and was purchased for $250,000 from the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where he was consigned by Sequel Bloodstock.

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A couple of rivals that Pocket Aces Racing and Somewhere Stable Kentucky's Temple City Terror has faced recently will be absent Sunday when she starts in the 31^st running of the $300,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager (Grade 3) going 1½ miles on the grass.

War Like Goddess, who finished ahead of Temple City Terror in the Glens Falls (G2) and Flower Bowl (G2), is headed for the $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf (G1); Virginia Joy (GER), winner of the Flower Bowl, is most likely headed for the $2 million Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf (G1).

“She beat Virginia Joy in the Glens Falls,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “There was talk [Virginia Joy] was going to run here (in the Rood & Riddle Dowager), and it doesn't hurt me that she's not.”

Now 6, Temple City Terror has been with Walsh through her 27-race career in which she has earned $521,843.

“It took her 10 times to break her maiden, but once she got that out of the way, she moved forward by leaps and bounds,” Walsh said.

A winner of two stakes and three times graded stakes-placed, Temple City Terror will be seeking that elusive initial graded victory. She has done her best running on firm ground, a condition that should greet her Sunday.

“She likes this course, and she has run well on it in the past,” Walsh said. “She is doing very good right now.”

Temple City Terror is cataloged to Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale as a racing or broodmare prospect. Consigned by Brookdale Sales, agent for Pocket Aces Racing, she is Hip 197.

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