Tapwrit Filly Tops Texas Sale

A filly by Tapwrit (hip 167) , who blazed a furlong in :9 4/5 during Monday's under-tack show, topped the Texas Thoroughbred Association's 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale when bringing a final bid of $300,000 from trainer Randy Morse Wednesday at Lone Star Park. Morse, fresh off a runner-up finish with Taxed (Collected) in Saturday's GIII Fantasy S., purchased the juvenile on behalf of owners Randy Patterson, Joe Morgan and Sam Vogel.

“She's fast,” Morse said of the filly's appeal. “The work was really good. There was a really strong headwind and for a horse to work :9 4/5 on dirt, that's impressive. And physically, she looks like an athlete. I loved her looks. But time will tell.”

Morse admitted he may have found a bargain at the Texas auction.

“Truthfully, I think if she'd been in Florida, she would have brought way more,” he said. “But just like any sale, if there is a good one, someone will show up.”

Consigned by Al Pike's Pike Racing, agent, the gray filly is out of Sky O'Blue (Henny Hughes). She was purchased by Susan Naylor Sellers for $60,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale.

“She just had a presence to her,” Naylor said of the decision to purchase the filly last summer. “She was just a nice, balanced filly and had a good walk and looked like she might be fast.”

Naylor confirmed her intention was always to reoffer the filly at a 2-year-old sale.

“Absolutely. I am a pinhooker first and if I have to race them after that, I will,” she said.

Naylor has also had success with racing as her default. She was represented by a pair of horses in last year's Breeders' Cup; homebred Andthewinneris (Oscar Performance), who RNA'd for $67,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale and Manny Wah (Will Take Charge), who she purchased for $175,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton July sale.

“And I had to RNA two in this sale,” Naylor said with a chuckle. “Who knows, maybe you'll see us next year in the Breeders' Cup.”

The Texas sale seemed like a good fit for the speedy gray filly, according to Naylor.

“She looked like she would be early and fast,” Naylor explained. “And they aren't as judgmental down here. She did not have a whole lot of page, but neither did Bwana Charlie when we sold him down here in 2003. We paid $14,000 for him and sold him for $240,000, which was a lot back then. And I know they love grays down here, so I figured a gray filly that was fast, this would be the place for her. She wouldn't get lost.”

Of the filly's bullet breeze Monday, Naylor admitted, “We were blown away. She looked good doing it, but then they printed what it was–that doesn't happen very often. And especially with this track. This track used to be a lot faster back in the day, but it's not as fast as used to be.”

During the one-day auction, which had a catalogue of 193, a total of 103 juveniles sold for $3,420,000. The average was $33,204 and the median was $17,500. There were 64 horses reported not sold for a buy-back rate of 38.3%.

A year ago, from a catalogue of 144, 88 juveniles sold for $3,050,700. The average was $34,667 and the median was $28,000. There were 29 horses reported not sold for a buy-back rate of 24.8.

There were four horses sold for six figures a year ago, led by a $200,000 daughter of Free Drop Billy. Seven hit six figures Wednesday.

“We're truly fortunate to have had such quality offerings in our 2023 sale,” TTA Sales Director Foster Bridewell said. “It's a testament to the hard work and time put in by our sellers and teams behind these athletes. And we're grateful to our buyers locally, nationally, and internationally for supporting our sale.”

Still, with the uncertainty swirling around racing and Texas and its conflict with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, Naylor admitted she wasn't sure what to expect from Wednesday's sale.

“I was a little shocked that [hip 167] would bring that much,” Naylor said. “It was a very odd sale. The sale last year was a little more balanced. But I think with all of the stuff in the news and all of the uncertainty with HISA and everything, a lot of the big hitters were not here. There were a handful, but a lot weren't here. There were a lot of nice pedigrees, but it seemed like everyone was sitting on their hands a little bit. I was really surprised to see they got as nice a book as they did and there seemed to be some nice individuals here, too. But I think we didn't quite get the buyers to show up this year.”

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Jester Calls Nojoy Looks For First Stakes Win In Friday’s Myrtlewood

The Elkstone Group's homebred Jester Calls Nojoy tops a field of 11 2-year-old fillies entered Sunday for Friday's $150,000 Myrtlewood at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Scheduled to be run at 6 furlongs on the main track, the Myrtlewood will go as the eighth race on Friday afternoon's 10-race program with a 4:44 p.m. ET post time. First post Friday is 1 p.m.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Jester Calls Nojoy won her second start by 10 lengths at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and then finished sixth behind division leader Echo Zulu in the Grade 1 Frizette in her most recent start.

Joel Rosario will have the mount Friday and break from post position one.

Chief among her rivals is Randy Patterson's Verylittlecents.

Winner as the favorite of the Ellis Park Debutante, Verylittlecents is trained by Randy Morse and will be ridden by Joe Talamo from post position six.

The field for the Myrtlewood, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Jester Calls Nojoy (Rosario, 118 pounds), Jumeirah (Francisco Arrieta, 118), She's Pure Silver (Luan Machado, 118), Blazing Summer (Reylu Gutierrez, 118), Kant Believe It (Jose Ortiz, 118), Verylittlecents (Talamo, 120), Majestic d'Oro (Tyler Gaffalione, 118), You Look Cold (Paco Lopez, 120), Chi Town Lady (Florent Geroux, 120), Sweet Dani Girl (Martin Garcia, 118), Towser (James Graham, 118).

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Goldencents Exacta in Ellis Debutante

Verylittlecents (Goldencents) survived an objection to lead home a one-two finish for her sire in Sunday's Runhappy Ellis Park Debutante S.. Fourth behind GIII Schuylerville S. heroine Pretty Birdie (Bird Song) in her Churchill unveiling June 18, the :10 flat OBSMAR breezer broke through by daylight second out going five panels here July 11, good for a standout 70 Beyer Speed Figure. Right to the front under Joe Talamo, the bay doled out splits of :23.19 and :46.30 while going easily. They stacked up behind her rounding the bend, and Verylittlecents entered the stretch a bit off the fence, prompting Golden Sights to go for a rail run. Verylittlecents was guided back down inside to close that door, and she kept finding from there to prove clearly best in a time that would would prove significantly quicker than what the boys would go in one race later. The runner-up's rider lodged an objection, but he never really had to stop riding and the stewards made no change. The winner's dam, who is a half to GSW No Dozing (Union Rags), produced a Brody's Cause filly last term.

RUNHAPPY ELLIS PARK DEBUTANTE S., $125,000, Ellis, 8-15, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:23.32, ft.
1–VERYLITTLECENTS, 120, f, 2, by Goldencents
                1st Dam: Pinch Me, by Arch
                2nd Dam: Stay Awake, by Pulpit
                3rd Dam: Mila, by Unbridled
($50,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $85,000 RNA 2yo '21 OBSMAR).
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Randy Patterson; B-Kellie & Tim
Holland & Ramon Rangel (KY); T-Randy L. Morse; J-Joseph
Talamo. $76,380. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $111,980.
2–Golden Sights, 118, f, 2, Goldencents–Celestial Sighting, by
Eskendereya. ($40,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $15,000 Ylg '20
OBSOCT; $100,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-September Farm, LLC,
Union Park Thoroughbreds, LLC, Jonathan Wilmot, Rick
Howard & Black Fern LLC; B-Taylor Made Stallions, Inc. (KY);
T-Rodolphe Brisset. $24,800.
3–Manasota Sunset, 120, f, 2, Outwork–Highestmaintenance,
by Macho Uno. ($65,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN). O-Joe Sharp;
B-Pocket Aces Equine LLC (KY); T-Joe Sharp. $12,400.
Margins: 2HF, 2HF, HF. Odds: 1.30, 10.50, 2.80.
Also Ran: Chopin Drive, Southern Sky, Mohaylady. Scratched: Joyrunner.
Click for the Equibase.com chart.

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Morse Preps Verylittlecents, Texas Red Hot For Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes Tries

Randy Morse won a pair of 2-year-old maiden races at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., on July 11 with Randy Patterson's filly Verylittlecents prevailing by 2 1/4 lengths at five-eighths of a mile and Donna Clark's colt Texas Red Hot wresting victory by a head at seven-eighths of a mile. Both youngsters were making their second start.

Now Morse tries to pull off a sweep at the next level, with Verylittlecents the 2-1 favorite in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Debutante and Texas Red Hot at fat 8-1 in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Juvenile.

Morse is very high on Texas Red Hot, even if the Texas Red colt doesn't seem to get that much respect elsewhere.

“He's a really nice-moving colt,” he said. “I'm really high on him. He ran a really slow (speed figure) number the other day. But we'll see. I think he's pretty special. In his last race, it had rained that day. I think they'd opened (harrowed the track) up, and it still wasn't very fast, let's put it that way. It was really muddy out of the chute, and that race was seven-eighths.

“But bottom line is, he did it very professional, I thought. He was boxed in behind horses, nowhere to go. And when he did get a seam, he did what he needed to do.”

Texas Red Hot, who'd been second in his debut, made a leap forward between races. Morse expects another progression for this race, saying, “I think the farther they keep going he'll just get better and better.”

Verylittlecents finished fourth in her first start.

“She got away really bad,” he said. She had the one hole. But she's really quick. But she showed she had some class, because she kept finishing that day, where most of them when get away bad will just throw in the towel.”

Morse said she put it together in her last start. “A horse came up and hooked her, and when he asked her, she ran away from the field,” he said.

“The filly looks pretty good on paper,” Morse continued, speaking of the Debutante. “The colt, he's going to have to step up numbers-wise. But I think he's capable.

“Both of them, knock on wood, have done very well. Both of them had a really good breeze here, worked in a minute by themselves, just real easy. As hot as it's been, I haven't wanted to overdo anything with them. They're still just babies, still learning.”

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No matter what happens Sunday, Morse believes both babies have a bright future.

“This doesn't mean their whole future, this one race,” he said. “…. (but) you'd like to see them finish. This is seven-eighths of a mile. This will separate a lot of them. They're doing well. It's just a matter if they're good enough.”

Joe Talamo rides both horses.

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