richard mandella | Horse Racing Free Tips

Prat Maintains Hot Hand Aboard Superstition In Wishing Well Stakes

Richard Mandella's Superstition brushed off a subpar performance in her most recent start with a solid effort in Monday's $75,000 Wishing Well Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as she spurted clear a furlong from home and registered an impressive 1 ½-length victory over morning line favorite Oleksandra. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Superstition got 6 ½ furlongs on firm turf in 1:14.22.

With longshot So Much Happy rocketing to the lead from the rail, Superstition was a joint second with Aqua Seaform Shame, about 3 ½ lengths off the lead heading into the far turn. With her target in plain sight, Superstition had two lengths to make up at the three sixteenths pole and from there kicked into high gear under aggressive handling from Prat.

“I was disappointed in her last race, because we know she has a lot of ability, her earlier races show that,” said Prat, in reference to a fourth place run at six furlongs on turf in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes on Jan. 9. “She has plenty of speed, but it's nice to see her relax. Having that horse in front of us helped.”

A five-furlong turf maiden winner Nov. 14 and a five-furlong turf allowance winner on Nov. 29, Superstition was off at 9-2 in a field of seven older fillies and mares and paid $11.80, $4.60 and $3.20.

“She had been training better going into this,” Mandella allowed. “She settled better today, which is encouraging. We might think about a mile next time.”

A 4-year-old filly by Ghostzapper out of the Distorted Humor mare Grand Glory, Superstition is owned by Perry R. and Ramona S. Bass. In getting her first stakes win, Superstition improved her overall mark to 7-3-2-1 and with the winner's share of $48,360, increased her earnings to $153,180.

Last turning for home, about six lengths off the lead, Neil Drysdale's Oleksandra put in a determined bid but ran out of real estate while finishing 1 ¾ lengths clear of Constantia. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Australian-bred Oleksandra was off at 8-5 and paid $3.20 and $2.40.

With Jose Valdivia, Jr. up, Constantia rallied from next to last at 16-1 and paid $4.00 to show while finishing a neck clear of French-bred Guitty.

Third in the Las Cienegas, Lighthouse got crushed in the late betting to go off as the 7-5 favorite but never threatened while finishing fifth with Juan Hernandez.

Fractions on the race were 20.75, 43.03 and 1:07.83.

Note: Prat also won the eighth and final race, giving him three wins on the day, capping a huge four-day week that saw him win 11 races, including two stakes. With 30 wins through 25 racing days, he's one win clear of Juan Hernandez atop the jockey standings and with 998 North American wins he's just two shy of an important milestone heading into Friday's nine-race card which begins at 12:30 p.m.

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Southern California Shipper Rombauer Tops Saturday’s El Camino Real Derby

A field of nine is entered to take flight in the feature race at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday afternoon, the Grade 3, $100,000 El Camino Real Derby for 3-year-olds. The El Camino Real Derby, run at the distance of one mile and an eighth on the “all-weather” Tapeta main track, offers ten Kentucky Derby points to the winner and an all-expenses paid, free berth into the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. In order for the winner to earn the latter incentive, he or she must be Triple Crown nominated.

This year's El Camino Real Derby field is packed with Southern California shippers. The likely favorite, Rombauer, draws the outside post in the field of nine and is one of six entrants who make the trip north from their home base at Santa Anita Park. Rombauer makes his 3-year-old debut in the El Camino Real Derby, having most recently placed fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders Cup Juvenile in November. Earlier in the fall, Rombauer finished as the runner up in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita. The current leading rider at the Golden Gate Winter/Spring meet, Kyle Frey, picks up the mount for trainer Michael McCarthy. Frey won the 2017 El Camino Real Derby aboard longshot Zakaroff while McCarthy scored a victory one year later with the filly Paved.

Javanica seeks to become the second filly in the El Camino Real Derby's 40 year history to take home the gold medal. Javanica, a royally bred gal by Medaglia D'Oro out of Grade 2 winning mare Shuruq, has finished second in her last three starts, all against stakes competition. Eoin Harty trains for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Godolphin LLC, with veteran rider Frank Alvarado slated to navigate. Javanica will be breaking from post position 7.

Hall of Fame conditioner Richard Mandella saddles a 2021 El Camino Real Derby contender in Petruchio, by white-hot stallion Into Mischief. After breaking his maiden on turf two starts ago, Petruchio tried winners for the first time in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity and completed the trifecta. Local jockey Irving Orozco rides for the first time.

Trainer John Shirreffs sends Waspirant to the Bay Area for another shot against stakes company. Most recently, Waspirant ran fourth in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes behind two of the top 3-year-olds in California, the Bob Baffert trained pair of Life Is Good and Medina Spirit. The son of Union Rags is out of the Storm Cat mare Life Is Sweet, who won the 2009 Grade I Breeders Cup Ladies Classic (now named the Breeders Cup Distaff). Jockey Assael Espinoza has the call for owners Pam and Marty Wygod.

Owner Reddam Racing LLC and trainer Doug O'Neill won the 2016 El Camino Real Derby with Frank Conversation and, five years later, campaign the California-bred Play Chicken. Winner of the King Glorious Stakes for state-breds at Los Alamitos last December, Play Chicken looks to rebound after an off-the-board finish in the California Derby on January 16 at Santa Anita. Evin Roman is named to ride; Roman guided Kingly to a second-place effort in the 2019 El Camino Real Derby.

Positivity rounds out the list of Southern California contenders. His best run to date came in the summertime as a 2-year-old, winning the Graduation Stakes at Del Mar while sprinting on dirt. He also ran second in his next start, the Golden State Juvenile. Both aforementioned races came against California-breds. Trainer Paddy Gallagher employs his go-to Northern California rider, Julien Couton, to ride.

Three local contenders look to play spoiler for the heavy hitters from Southern California. It's My House, trained by Jamey Thomas, broke his maiden sprinting two weeks ago and stretches out in distance. Tesoro, who unofficially hit the wire first in his career debut, was disqualified for interference with another rival and enters the El Camino Real Derby still a maiden. Recent starter allowance winner Govenor's Party completes the trio of local talent and is expected to go off at a big price for trainer Dan Franko. William Antongeorgi III rides It's My House, Catalino Martinez hops aboard Tesoro and Cristobal Herrera retains the mount on Govenor's Party.

The El Camino Real Derby is Race 8 on a 9-race program at Golden Gate Fields.

First post on Saturday is 12:45 PM PT, with scheduled post time for the El Camino Real Derby stamped at approx. 4:15 PM PT.

The $100,000 El Camino Real Derby (3-year-olds at one mile and an eighth)

Positivity (trainer Paddy Gallagher, jockey Julien Couton)
Waspirant (John Shirreffs, Assael Espinoza)
Tesoro (O.J. Jauregui, Catalino Martinez)
It's My House (Jamey Thomas, William Antongeorgi III)
Petruchio (Richard Mandella, Irving Orozco)
Play Chicken (Doug O'Neill, Evin Roman)
Javanica (Eoin Harty, Frank Alvarado)
Govenor's Party (Dan Franko, Cristobal Herrera)
Rombauer (Michael McCarthy, Kyle Frey)

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Moonlight D’Oro, Charlie’s Penny Both Off Oaks Trail Due To Injury

Recent stakes winners Moonlight d'Oro and Charlie's Penny have both been taken out of consideration for the 2021 Kentucky Oaks due to injury.

According to bloodhorse.com, G3 Las Virgenes Stakes winner Moonlight d'Oro was diagnosed with a chip in her right knee. The Spendthrift Farm and MyRacehorse-owned filly will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove the chip, and is expected to require 60-90 days off after the procedure.

“There was a little bit of heat, they took an X-ray, and found a small chip,” Michael Behrens, founder and CEO of co-owner MyRacehorse, told bloodhorse.com. “This is why we're with (trainer Richard) Mandella's team; he always does right by the horse and cares about what is best for the horse. He thinks it's best for the horse to do the surgery now and shut her down, and we're going to do what's best for her. We're hopeful this will be just a small setback.”

Lothenbach Stables' homebred Charlie's Penny, easy winner of the Silverbulletday Stakes, has been diagnosed with a hairline fracture to her shin, reports the Daily Racing Form. Trainer Chris Block reported that x-rays were taken after a small bump on her shin was found, but it took a second round of x-rays to uncover the small fracture. The Race Day filly will head to Florida for 90 days off.

“It's a tiny fissure line but it's there, and I'm glad we caught it when we did,” Block told drf.com.

Read more at bloodhorse.com and drf.com.

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Moonlight D’Oro Overtakes Kalypso In Las Virgenes

Although even-money favorite Kalypso gunned to an uncontested early lead, Richard Mandella's Moonlight d'Oro rallied powerfully off the turn for home to win Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Las Virgenes Stakes by 1 ½ lengths at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Moonlight d'Oro got a flat mile in 1:38.01.

With an avalanche of late money coming her way, Kalyspo darted to the Las Virgenes lead under Joel Rosario and maintained a one-length advantage over Honor America and Moraz as the field headed up the backside five furlongs out.

Last but only 2 ½ lengths off the leader while on the move mid-way around the far turn, Moonlight d'Oro wheeled three-wide turning for home and met little resistance from the favorite as she won going away under a hand ride.

“I was trying to see if I should stay inside or go around, and I decided to go around,” said Prat. “She was there for me when I asked her to go. Rosario was at the front and nobody was really bothering him, but when I came around the turn, I made that great move and tried to get some momentum out of it. She was traveling nicely behind horses, and I was very happy with how she ran.”

An impressive three-length maiden winner at the same distance on Dec. 13 at Los Alamitos, Moonlight d'Oro was the second choice at 6-5 in field of five sophomore fillies and paid $4.60, $2.20 and $2.10.

“It turned out good. I was worried she got a little washy going to the gate, and she was a lamb over at Los Alamitos where she should have gotten upset,” said Mandella. “Sometimes you take them over to something like that and then the next time they're looking for the excitement.”

Owned by MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, LLC, Moonlight d'Oro, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Medaglia d'Oro, out of the Bernardini mare Venetian Sonata, now has two wins from four starts and with the winner's share of $120,000, increased her earnings to $163,040.

“How can you do any better than they have done?” Mandella said of the owners. “Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup.”

An important prep to the G2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 3, the Las Virgenes winner will receive 10 Kentucky Oaks (April 30) qualifying points, with four, two and one given to those finishing underneath.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Kalypso finished 1 ¾ lengths in front of Moraz and paid $2.40 and $2.10.

Ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by Michael McCarthy, Moraz was off at 4-1 and paid $2.10 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.25, 47.47, 1:12.72 and 1:25.17.

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