Tag: reeve mcgaughey

War Front Stays ‘Smokin’ Hot In the River City

Having been represented by a pair of new graded stakes scorers on Breeders' Cup Saturday, Claiborne Farm's War Front picked up yet another when the impeccably bred Smokin' T ran out a good-looking winner of the $300,000 GIII River City S. beneath the Saturday night lights at Churchill Downs.

The sometimes difficult-to-handle 4-year-old colt was outsprinted and settled in centerfield through the early exchanges, as Dominican Pioneer (Pioneerof the Nile) ensured that the nine-furlong event would be run at a genuine tempo. Stitched (Mizzen Mast), winner of the relocated GII Wise Dan S. over the summer, did his part to keep the pacesetter honest and John Velazquez aboard the 4-1 Smokin' T would have been plenty pleased with what was happening on the business end of things, as he settled his charge three deep with cover on the back of Injunction (Skipshot) down the backstretch. Angled out on the turn, just beating Harlan Estate (Kantharos) to a spot, Smokin T' swung out wide for the drive and had dead aim on the leaders, surged to the front inside the eighth pole and sailed clear as Harlan Estate and Siege of Boston (War Front) finished with gusto to fill the minor placings.

Smokin' T picked up his first win of 2023 in a second-level allowance going a mile here May 5 with Velazquez at the controls and was a narrowly beaten second in the May 27 Cliff Hanger S. at Monmouth ahead of a maiden black-type success in the Aug. 5 Lure S. at Saratoga. The bay couldn't quite seal the deal when defeated a half-length into third in the GIII Mint Millions S. at Kentucky Downs Sept. 2 and backed up on two weeks' rest, but was no better than third in the GIII BWI Turf Cup at Pimlico.

“He's always been a bit headstrong in the early part of his races. I think he did a better job relaxing today and not wasting as much energy,” assistant trainer Reeve McGaughey said. “We thought this distance would suit him better. It was also nice to see him finish well once he got in front. At Kentucky Downs two starts ago he sort of hung a little bit. He's had a solid year and likes this track here at Churchill.”

Pedigree Notes:

It has been another rock-solid season for the now 21-year-old War Front, whose sons Seal Team (GB) (GII Twilight Derby) and War at Sea (GIII Golden Gate H.) added to his tally last weekend. Overall, War Front is the sire of a dozen stakes winners in 2023, nine of which have come at the graded-stakes level. He is now responsible for 66 GSWs worldwide.

Wine Princess was campaigned by Becky Winemiller, who gave $475,000 for the daughter of Horse of the Year Azeri at the 2010 Keeneland September Sale. Trained by Steve Margolis, Wine Princess amassed a record of 5-5-1 from 13 starts including a win in the 2012 GIII Monmouth Oaks before closing her career with a defeat of that year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff runner-up Don't Tell Sophia (Congaree) in this track's GII Falls City H. She was also third in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. Wine Princess, a half-sister to Japanese MGSP Leukerbad (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), the latter's GSP full-brother Shirvanshah (Jpn) and GSP Arienza (Giant's Causeway), was purchased by DATTT Farm LLC for $3 million at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, tied for the second-priciest offering behind GI Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar (Majestic Warrior).

Also a 19th GSW produced by a daughter of Ghostzapper, Smokin' T has a yearling half-brother by Authentic that was purchased by Whitehorse Stables for $450,000 at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga this summer and a weanling half-brother by Charlatan.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
RIVER CITY S.-GIII, $289,858, Churchill Downs, 11-11, 3yo/up, 1 1/8mT, 1:50.66, gd.
1–SMOKIN' T, 121, c, 4, by War Front
1st Dam: Wine Princess (MGSW & GISP, $461,561), by Ghostzapper
2nd Dam: Azeri, by Jade Hunter
3rd Dam: Zodiac Miss (Aus), by Ahonoora (GB)
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($295,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O/B-Dattt Farm LLC (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III; J-John R.
Velazquez. $174,150. Lifetime Record: 18-5-1-6, $700,460.
Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Harlan Estate, 121, g, 5, Kantharos–Archerette, by Arch.
($39,000 RNA Ylg '19 FTKJUL; $90,000 2yo '20 OBSMAR;
$150,000 4yo '22 KEENOV). O-Graham Grace Stable; B-Tall
Oaks Farm (ON); T-D. Whitworth Beckman. $46,500.
3–Siege of Boston, 121, c, 4, War Front–Peinture Rare (Ire), by
Sadler's Wells. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Joseph Allen LLC;
B-Joseph Allen, LLC & White Birch Farm, Inc. (KY); T-James J.
Toner. $28,250.
Margins: 1 3/4, NK, 3/4. Odds: 4.27, 15.05, 5.70.
Also Ran: Grand Sonata, Dominican Pioneer, Injunction, Rockemperor (Ire), Red Run, Kitodan, F Five, Cellist, Stitched. Scratched: Accredit, Beatbox, Street Ready. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Younger McGaughey ‘Has A Real Passion’ For The Horses

Less than two full years after striking out on his own, trainer Reeve McGaughey is keeping the family name alive and well by sending his first graded stakes winner across the wire at Aqueduct Racetrack.

A homebred for Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck) and Andrew Rosen, 3-year-old Bees and Honey (by Union Rags) sailed clear of her rivals by 2 3/4 lengths in the Comely Stakes (G3) on Nov. 26. The victory—while not entirely unexpected by McGaughey—helped end the month on a high note for the young trainer whose budding stable is already revving up for more in 2022.

“Going into the race everyone was pretty confident because she was doing well,” said McGaughey. “We had a good feeling that she would like the distance and the racetrack. The way the race shaped up it looked like we had a chance to get black type on her and we would see what happened from there.

“It was fun, but it was almost a little bit of a relief. I certainly enjoyed it. Hopefully, there will be more wins behind it, but it was really nice to get that one.”

From an early age, there was never any real doubt that McGaughey would choose a career that led him too far from the backside. The son of Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and the nephew of Charlie LoPresti, who trained two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, McGaughey's life has always been inextricably tied to Thoroughbred racing.

“He is my nephew, but in the years he worked for me I don't think I had anybody that worked as hard in the barn as he did,” said LoPresti, for whom McGaughey worked as an assistant for five years. “He has a real passion for it. All the help respected him so much because he is the first one to jump in and helped. He's an incredible horseman and I was proud for him to be with me. He was like my right and left arms to tell the truth.”

After leaving LoPresti, McGaughey worked in his father Shug's barn until 2020. His decision to strike out on his own came within months of the announcement that LoPresti would retire from racing after almost 30 years—a move that would prove fortuitous for both uncle and nephew.

“It worked out well when I retired that he wanted to go out on his own, so he took most of everything that was in my barn,” said LoPresti. “The horses went, and the help went too because they respected him so much.

“His dad being a Hall of Fame trainer gave him a lot of advice, but I think the advice I had for him was to not get too big and to really concentrate on the horses. But I didn't need to tell him that. He's a hands-on horseman. That's the way he is and the way he's always been. It was a perfect fit and we're so proud of what he's accomplished.”

McGaughey's first win came July 25, 2020, when Nathan Detroit (Union Rags) broke his maiden on debut at Ellis Park. The horse was bred and owned by Joe Allen, a client of his father.

“A good portion of my clients are ones I knew from working with my dad who have also been clients of his, but I also work for a fair amount of people I didn't have a previous relationship with until I started out,” said McGaughey, who continues to build out his stable. “A couple people I work the sales for and a few just send me the horses that they have. It's a mix.”

These days, McGaughey has 25 horses in his barn split between Kentucky and Florida. Ten of those horses currently reside at Tampa Bay Downs with his assistant, while the other 15 remain at Keeneland with him. His statistics through Dec. 17 stand at 24-23-23 from 172 starts with $1,188.054 in earnings.

While Bees and Honey might be his only stakes winner to date, McGaughey feels he has plenty of promising runners to keep him busy on and off the track in the coming months. While he's happy to revel in his recent success, he has no plans to rest on his laurels.

“We have a nice 3-year-old filly who will turn 4 named Texas Shuffle (War Front). We've also got a 3-year-old turning 4 named Charles Chrome (California Chrome), he's stakes-placed and he's coming back off a freshening this winter. He's just now starting back. We also have a few young ones that haven't run yet that we're just getting going with, but they look like they'll have talent.”

“He (Reeve) knows how hard the game is. It has its ups and downs,” said LoPresti. “He's had some tough times and now he's having good times but that is the way the business is. He knows the game because he's been around it since he was a little boy, so he knows how it all works.”

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Bees And Honey’s Comely Upset Gives Reeve McGaughey First Graded Stakes Victory

Trainer J. Reeve McGaughey took one step closer to following in his Hall of Fame father's footsteps when sending out his first graded stakes winner with Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen's Bees and Honey, who captured Friday's 76th running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Comely for sophomore fillies going nine furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, NY.

McGaughey is the son of Shug McGaughey, a three-time winner of the Comely. En route to providing the younger McGaughey with his first graded stakes score, Bees and Honey ran in a first-level allowance event on November 7 at Churchill Downs, closing late to finish second at 16-1 odds behind graded stakes-placed Amendment Nineteen.

“I spent a few years up in New York and always enjoyed going to Aqueduct,” McGaughey said. “It just worked out that this race fell on the calendar as the last chance against 3-year-old fillies, so we took a chance.”

Breaking a touch slowly from post 5, Bees and Honey was four wide into the first turn as second-choice Played Hard commanded the pace through an easy opening quarter-mile in 25.49 seconds over the fast main track. Vegas Weekend, who entered off a four-race win streak, kept close company to her outside in second while under a hold from jockey Manny Franco.

Played Hard maintained her command through a half-mile in 50.18 seconds while Bees and Honey inched her way closer to the front under coaxing from Jose Lezcano. Bees and Honey battled to the outside of Played Hard in the first half of the stretch drive and drew off to win by 2 ¾ lengths in a time of 1:54.41. Played Hard held second by a half-length over the late-closing favorite Crazy Beautiful, who was in pursuit of her fourth graded stakes triumph.

Shalimar Gardens, Vegas Weekend and Hybrid Eclipse completed the order of finish. Army Wife and Ninetypercentbrynn were scratched.

“She broke really good today and I sat there. I lost a little ground in the first turn but she was pretty comfortable,” said Lezcano, who earlier on the program captured the Forever Together aboard Flower Point for the elder McGaughey. “On the backside, I dropped a little in and stayed comfortable the whole way around. She's a big filly and I started a little early at the five-sixteenths pole. She started gaining ground and when I really asked her, she looked good.”

The Comely was a first start beyond one mile for Bees and Honey. McGaughey said the distance played a big factor in shipping to Aqueduct.

“We really didn't have a chance to run her long like that and in all of her races she's shown she'll run as far as they'll let her run,” McGaughey said. “Every race she's run, she's gotten stronger in the last eighth of a mile. Coming up there to run a mile and an eighth on that track was a big part of it.”

McGaughey said the addition of blinkers for her maiden score in October at Keeneland has played a major role in Bees and Honey's improved form.

“They've focused her a little bit,” McGaughey said. “She wasn't quite running a full race for us the first couple times. She was really spotty, and it's got her to be more consistent throughout the race.”

McGaughey, who will send horses to Tampa Bay Downs for the winter, said Bees and Honey would likely stop in Ocala, Florida for a brief freshening before joining his winter contingent at the Oldsmar oval.

“We'll figure that out in the next couple days, but she'll start heading south,” McGaughey said.

Martin Garcia, aboard Played Hard, said his filly didn't quite get acclimated to the Aqueduct surface.

“I was really comfortable after going that easy, but when it was time to ask, she didn't love the track,” Garcia said. “The track is great but some horses like a firm track and others like a loose track, and in this case the track is a little loose. She was peddling and peddling and took a while to get going and when it was time to go, it was too late. She's a good filly and we got beat by a good horse.”

Carmouche, aboard Crazy Beautiful, said his filly was hampered after being bumped at the start.

“She stumbled leaving there and I wanted to be more forward than out the back door. It didn't set up the way I wanted,” Carmouche said. “They were going easy up front and I tried to get her up there so when the running started, she wouldn't have so much to overcome.”

Bees and Honey, a chestnut daughter of Union Rags, rewarded her backers in payouts of $28.20 for a $2 win wager as the second longest shot in the six-horse field. She banked $110,000 in victory, enhancing her lifetime bankroll to $180,700.

Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds and AR Enterprises Inc., Bees and Honey is out of the Smart Strike mare Wickedly Smart – a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Wickedly Perfect.

Live racing resumes Saturday at the Big A with a 10-race card featuring the $100,000 Central Park in Race 7, the $150,000 Discovery in Race 8, the Grade 3, $400,000 Long Island in Race 9 and the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship in Race 10. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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California Chrome Juvenile, Charles Chrome, Brings $55,000 In Wanamaker’s October Sale

Annex Racing LLC secured the top lot, Charles Chrome, in Wanamaker's online October auction for $55,000. A bidding battle in the final few minutes of the auction unfolded for the California Chrome 2-year-old who won on debut by twelve and a half lengths on the dirt and followed that effort with a strong performance on the turf for trainer Reeve McGaughey and owners Jason Litt and Alex Solis II.

“It's exciting to have an online platform that allows for trade on a monthly basis and the response from both sellers and buyers has been very encouraging,” said seller Jason Litt.

Wanamaker's fourth-ever auction offered 32 horses with seven selling during the auction and one selling post-sale. The sale averaged just over $8,900.

“We are thrilled with how our online auctions are progressing,” said co-founder Jack Carlino. “The feedback from both buyers and sellers has been very positive and although the clearance rate is lower than the industry is used to, we think it is important to note that this new outlet for sellers involves significantly less risk than traditional auctions.”

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