Otter Bend Stables' Gufo breezed an easy half-mile in :52 flat over the Belmont Park inner turf Sunday in preparation for the $500,000 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on October 9 at the Elmont, N.Y., track.
Trained by Christophe Clement, the son of Declaration of War was a last-out winner of the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Invitational on August 28 at Saratoga, where he fended off a stretch rally from the Aidan O'Brien-trained multiple Group 1-winner Japan.
“It was an easy work on his own on the turf,” Clement said. “We'll work him back on the turf next week to be a little more aggressive. He looked good.”
Never off the board in a dozen starts, Gufo commenced his 4-year-old campaign with a second-place finish beaten a nose in the Grade 1 Man o' War before rallying from 17 lengths off the pace to finish third beaten four lengths to Domestic Spending in the Grade 1 Manhattan.
Gufo, who captured the Grade 1 Belmont Derby and Grade 1 Hollywood Derby last year, regained his winning form when stretching out to 1 ½ miles under regular rider Joel Rosario for the Grand Couturier on July 5 at Belmont where he added blinkers for the first time.
Clement said Gufo has shown improvement when adding blinkers.
“He was a bit more aggressive than usual last time, but it all worked out,” Clement said. “I think it's always a question of pace. Wherever Joel is comfortable, I'm happy usually. Blinkers on gives him a little more cruising speed. Joel never had to hit him, and the horse was a bit more consistent in the stretch. He wasn't erratic like sometimes he can be. He looked better.”
Gufo will attempt to become the fourth horse in the past decade to sweep the Sword Dancer-Joe Hirsch double, joining Channel Maker [2020], Main Sequence [2014], and Point of Entry [2012].
On Saturday, Clement saddled Soldier Rising to a runner-up finish to Yibir in the Jockey Club Derby Invitational. The son of Frankel raced along the hedge in fourth down the backstretch with a ground-saving trip and launched his bid once finding racing room in upper stretch, finishing 2 ½ lengths behind Yibir.
He was second in his previous outing in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 7 at the Spa, where he was a rallying second to Irish invader State of Rest.
“He ran really well. He looked good and came back from his race in good shape,” Clement said. “He's a very nice horse. We just have to keep him sound. We'll run him maybe once or twice more, but I'm not sure where yet. Then we should have a very nice horse for next year.”
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Clement shipped two-time allowance winner La Dragontea to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, for a victory in the Grade 2 Canadian on Saturday. The Lope de Vega dark bay or brown filly displayed stalking tactics while under a strong hold by Rosario down the backstretch. Rosario did not coax his filly until mid-stretch, where she extended her advantage to a one-length score.
La Dragontea, owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Rebecca Hillen, captured her North American debut with a wire-to-wire score in a Belmont allowance at 1 ¼ miles before finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Robert Dick Memorial at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del. Prior to the Canadian, she defeated optional claiming company over a yielding Mellon turf at Saratoga.
“She's a nice filly,” Clement said. “She was a bit unlucky when I ran her in the stakes at Delaware as the turf was very soft that day. She won yesterday nicely. It gives you an idea of the level of racing at Belmont when you think she was in her conditions. She is an improving kind of a filly.”
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