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Both Brooklyn Strong, Laobanonaprayer In Holding Pattern As Weather Disrupts Training Schedules

Trainer Daniel Velazquez enjoyed a remarkable end to his 2020 campaign with New York-breds Brooklyn Strong and Laobanonaprayer.

On Oct. 24, Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park, Velazquez won the first two stakes of his career when Laobanonaprayer, who he also owns, captured the Maid of the Mist to kick off the stakes action, followed in the next race by Mark Schwartz's Brooklyn Strong taking the Sleepy Hollow.

In December at the Big A, Velazquez returned to New York with another strong one-two punch as Brooklyn Strong, bred by Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan, captured the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen and 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points on Dec. 5. Laobanonaprayer followed a day later with an eight-length romp in the NYSSS Fifth Avenue.

Velazquez said illness along with inclement weather at his Parx Racing base has disrupted the training schedule for both his stable stars. Brooklyn Strong is looking to get back on the work tab and Laobanonaprayer – who finished second in the Franklin Square on Jan. 16 at Aqueduct- is also in need of timed workouts.

“It's frustrating because everything went perfect going into the Remsen and Fifth Avenue, but since then it's been one hiccup after another,” said Velazquez. “Brooklyn got sick and we missed almost two months. We're starting from scratch. He was supposed to have his first breeze back and that got pushed back because of the weather.”

Velazquez said he wanted to point Brooklyn Strong to the Grade 3 Gotham on March 6 at the Big A, but is now hoping he'll have time to train into the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at Aqueduct. That 1 1/8-mile contest is a 100-40-20-10 Derby qualifier.

“I thought I'd have him ready for the Gotham, so the new target is the Wood or the Arkansas Derby [on April 10 at Oaklawn Park],” said Velazquez. “They're the only options we have to try and get into the Derby.

“I'm not worried about distance with him, but I want him to be ready,” added Velazquez. “Everyone goes into these races very prepared and right now I feel like we're short.”

Velazquez said Laobanonaprayer, bred in the Empire State by Christina Deronda, should make her next start in the $250,000 Busher Invitational on March 6 at Aqueduct. She last worked on Feb. 10 when covering three-eighths in :36.13 at Parx.

“The Laoban filly is pointed towards the Busher and I'm trying to squeeze two works into her but this weather has been horrendous. All we've been doing is shedrowing,” said Velazquez. “I got one work into her last week going three-eighths and she was scheduled to work this weekend a half-mile and then I wanted to work her five-eighths after that so she'll be ready. But this weekend is a bust because there hasn't been any training here.”

Velazquez said the weather also played a part in the Laoban filly's runner-up effort to Secret Love last out in the Franklin Square.

“We missed one key workout going into that race,” said Velazquez. “We just haven't been able to get into a flow.”

Velazquez said he is confident that things will turn around for his two New York-bred stars.

“Everything went so right up until the Remsen,” said Velazquez. “We had good weather. I was training at Delaware and everything was good. It's just the circumstances we're in right now.

“But I don't want to go to any race and feel unprepared,” he added. “These horses put 110 percent of themselves out there and I don't want to short them and dishearten them. I don't mind losing when I know they're ready and we get beat by a better horse. But if we go short and finish third because I know I'm not fit, that eats my soul.”

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‘I See A Lot Of Into Mischief’: First Foal Reported For Maximus Mischief

Spendthrift Farm's Maximus Mischief, the undefeated Grade 2-winning juvenile by Into Mischief, sired his first reported foal early Jan. 9 when a colt was born in Reddick, Fla.

“This colt is very nice with a lot of size for a first foal. The mare is a maiden and rather plain, but the foal looks like (Maximus Mischief) who has certainly moved up the mare. I'm very excited,” said breeder Angela Ingenito. “I see a lot of Into Mischief. He has a nice hip, a lot of bone, a good frontend, and good head and neck. It's a nice representation of the sire.”

The bay colt is the first foal out of the Two Step Salsa mare Rosetta's Gift, who hails from the immediate family of multiple stakes winners Roman Dancer (G3) and I'm All Yours.

One of the early winter book favorites for the 2019 Kentucky Derby, Maximus Mischief was undefeated in three starts at two by a combined 17 lengths, punctuated by a decisive victory in his 2-year-old finale over Tax in the Remsen S. (G2) at Aqueduct. He earned the fastest two Beyer Speed Figures – 98 and 97 – recorded by a 2-year-old in 2018, which also remain the fastest ever from a juvenile by his champion sire.

Maximus Mischief, who covered 196 mares from his popular first book in 2020, will stand his second season in 2021 for a fee of $7,500 S&N. He was recently recognized by Chris McGrath in the Thoroughbred Daily News as the best “value” among second-season sires in 2021.

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Bloodlines Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Shuffled Juvenile Sale Calendar Doesn’t Change Success Of Grads

The sales of 2-year-olds in training could hardly have had a more robust promotion than the results of racing over the weekend. One sales horse from the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's postponed April sale that was conducted in June won the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Starlet, while another sold at the auction won the G2 Remsen in New York. In addition, a filly from Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale at Timonium won the restricted Fifth Avenue division of the New York Stallion Stakes.

A poster pony for in-training sales success, Varda (by Distorted Humor) was a star at the OBS sale held in June (not the OBS June sale that was held in July this crazy year). The progressive filly was an excellent example of her sire's best sort of prospect, with the strength and speed of a serious athlete. Varda flamed a quarter-mile in :20 4/5 for her under-tack work, and she sold like the star she has become.

Part of the Niall Brennan sales consignment, Varda brought $700,000 from Donato Lanni, agent for Baoma Corp. The dark bay filly has now won two of her three starts, is a Grade 1 winner and Grade 2-placed, and has earnings of more than a quarter-million.

Bred in New York by Masters 2013 LLC and Distorted Humor Syndicate, Varda was a $100,000 yearling at the New York select sale at Saratoga. Then brought to the in-training sales, this filly looked so good and worked so impressively that she generated one of the greatest markups of the resale market in Ocala this year.

In marked contrast, the Remsen winner Brooklyn Strong (Wicked Strong) was a $30,000 weanling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall sale, then was a $42,000 RNA the following year at the same New York-bred select sale where Varda sold for six figures. Brought back to the sales ring two months later in Ocala for the OBS October yearling sale, Brooklyn Strong was an RNA for $6,000 this time. In his final brush with the sales, Brooklyn Strong sold for $5,000 at the OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds in training, held in June.

Coming out of the same massive sale, both Varda and Brooklyn Strong became graded stakes winners the same weekend on opposite coasts. The polar difference in their prices was significantly dependent on the appeal of their sires. Whereas Varda's sire Distorted Humor is the source of classic winners and champions, Wicked Strong (Hard Spun) bred 54 mares earlier this year, as his appeal to owners and buyers began to wane, and the horse was moved to Pin Oak Lane Farm in Pennsylvania in October for the 2021 season.

Brooklyn Strong is his sire's third stakes winner from two crops of racing age and the first graded stakes winner.

Despite the differences in price and sire power between the Starlet winner and the star of the Remsen, there are also some important similarities. Varda worked like a wonder, and Brooklyn Strong worked quite well, going a furlong in :10 2/5. In contrast to these quick workers, the winner of the Fifth Avenue, Laobanonaprayer, went relatively slow. That filly, by the sensational freshman sire Laoban (Uncle Mo), worked a quarter in :22 3/5, which is plenty quick for racing but not for a sales work. The sales price reflected that, and the big, scopy filly went through the ring for only $15,000 to owner-trainer Daniel Velazquez, who also trains Brooklyn Strong.

One of the reasons that I know so much about these sales horses is my work with DataTrack International, evaluating workouts, strides, efficiency, and athletic potential. One of the measures that DataTrack uses to evaluate horses is a proprietary item called BreezeFigs, which are essentially speed figures for workouts.

Using BreezeFigs, Varda scored a 70, Brooklyn Strong got a 68, and Laobanonaprayer had a 56. Several factors go into the computation of the BreezeFigs, aside from the raw time of the work. Rather than the high speed of the first two, Laobanonaprayer has the rather loping stride of a filly who should be even better going farther; that's how she won the Fifth Avenue, looping her rivals on the turn and loping past them, then keeping up those big, easy strides as she pulled away to win by eight lengths as the even-money favorite.

Another similarity of these quality racehorses is that each of them showed a stride length that was longer than 24 feet in their works. A really good racehorse has to cover the ground faster than its rivals. To do that, it either has to stride farther or to stride faster. The super-powered sprinters tend to throw in more strides, while the stayers tend to stretch out farther. The ones who can keep it up are the ones who end up in the winner's circle.

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For Just $5,000, Owner May Have Bought His Ticket to Kentucky Derby

The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2-year-old sales attract all the heavyweights in the business, people who are ready to spend millions and have proven records of picking out future stars. Then there is Mark Schwartz. Schwartz arrived at this year’s OBS Spring sale with a modest budget and ready to buy a horse at a sale for the first time. A Brooklyn-born retiree living in Florida, he knew the odds were not in his favor.

“I did my research, but this was kind of like playing the lottery,” he said.

And sometimes you buy the winning ticket.

In a story that should give hope to anyone who has ever gone to the sales with big dreams and a small bankroll, Schwartz paid just $5,000 for a horse that is now in the mix for next year’s GI Kentucky Derby. That’s what he paid for Brooklyn Strong (Wicked Strong), the New York-bred gelding who won Saturday’s GII Remsen S. in the slop at Aqueduct. Of the 779 2-year-olds sold at the sale, only one went for less money.

“I was there looking for bargains,” he said. “I’m not one of those guys who can spend $100,000 for a horse. There was no way in my wildest dreams I could have expected this. You hope maybe he could get to the allowance races. Maybe I would have a good claimer. But this proves that with a lot of horses you sometimes can get lucky. Look at what happened with California Chrome.”

According to Equibase, Schwartz was 0 for 24 as an owner before Brooklyn Strong came around, but he says he has owned some winners that were part of partnerships. Part of the problem was obvious: he didn’t have much money to spend. That was still the case entering the Ocala sale when he showed up without his trainer, Danny Velazquez, who stayed behind at Delaware Park because of the coronavirus.

That left Schwartz to go it alone. He did his homework, studying the catalogue and watching the works. He made a list of horses he liked, realizing most would be out of his price range. He hoped to not pay more than $15,000 for a horse. With Brooklyn Strong, Schwartz liked the horse’s work, which went in :10 2/5, and was impressed by the pedigree on the dam’s side. The dam is Riviera Chic, who is by Medaglia d’Oro and had two winners from her first three foals.

Schwartz said the bidding began at $1,000 and stopped with his bid of $5,000. He does not understand why there was not more interest in the horse.

“Maybe there wasn’t much respect for his sire, Wicked Strong,” said Schwartz, who also brought a Will Take Charge filly (hip 474) at the sale for $10,000. “But I don’t really know what turned other people off. It couldn’t have been the workout, it was good. He had a little knot on his knee, but that was nothing serious. I was kind of shocked. I never thought I’d get him for $5,000.”

Brooklyn Strong, who was bred by Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan sold originally as a weanling for $30,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Fall Mixed sale. He later RNA’d at two yearling sales, one time for $42,000, another for $6,000

After the sale, Schwartz called Velazquez to ask what he thought of the purchase. Velazquez told him he really didn’t have anything to lose.

“He asked me what I thought and I said, ‘He looks good to me. What’s the worst thing that can happen? You only paid $5,000 for him.'” Velazquez said.

Brooklyn Strong made his debut Sept. 12 at Delaware Park, winning a $40,000 maiden claimer. He then ran third in the Bertram Bongard S. and followed that up with a win in the Sleepy Hollow S. Both races are for New York-breds. The gelding had proven he could compete at a high level against state-breds, but the Remsen loomed as a much bigger challenge. The competition included Known Agenda, a homebred by Curlin, Ten for Ten (Frosted), who cost $410,000 at Keeneland September, and GIII Nashua S. winner Pickin’ Time (Stay Thirsty).

“We knew going in that he would have to show his class and that open company is a lot different than New York-breds,” Velazquez said “There were a couple of horses in there that they paid a lot of money for. We knew we were going against the big boys. I knew we were extremely ready. I told Mark that if we lose we lose, but that we were going in there 1000% ready, well trained, well prepared and healthy.”

The Remsen turned into a two-horse race, with Brooklyn Strong prevailing by a neck over Ten for Ten. It was the start of a huge weekend for Velazquez. The Remsen was his first graded stakes win and the next day he won the New York Stallion Series S. with Laobanonaprayer (Laoban).

“Danny is a terrific young trainer,” Schwartz said.

Velazquez has yet to pick out another start for Brooklyn Strong, but said the Feb. 6 GIII Withers S. at Aqueduct is a possibility.

Considering his success on the track and that he is owned by someone of modest means, Brooklyn Strong would seem like the type of horse that someone looking for a Derby contender would swoop in and try to buy. But Schwartz said he hasn’t had any serious offers. For now, that’s fine with him. It lets him focus on trying to make it to the Derby.

“I’m an optimistic person and a dreamer,” he said.

And, maybe, just a little but lucky.

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