Tag: road to the kentucky oaks

Half-Sister To Essential Quality, Famed Headlines Saturday’s Golden Rod Stakes

Godolphin's 2-year-old filly Famed, the half-sister to champion colt Essential Quality, will face off against Susan Moulton's dominant 10 ¾-length winner of the $200,000 Rags to Riches Sandstone in Saturday's $400,000 Golden Rod (Grade 2), a race on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

The 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod will award the Top 4 fillies points on a 10-4-2-1 scale toward the May 6 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). The Golden Rod, which goes as Race 10 at 5:27 p.m., is one of four stakes events on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” program from Churchill Downs. The others are the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), $200,000 Lively Shively and $200,000 Fern Creek. First post is 1 p.m.

Trained by Brad Cox, Famed has been well-backed in both of her two-career starts. She broke her maiden last out at Keeneland by 7 ¾ lengths at odds of 2-5. In her debut, the Uncle Mo filly finished second as the 4-5 favorite against 45-1 longshot Sweet Dani Girl. Famed will be ridden by Florent Geroux from post the rail.

The Kenny McPeek-trained Sandstone has won her last two races by a combined 19 ¾ lengths under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. The filly by Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense debuted at 5 ½ furlongs in late May and finished fifth, beaten 7 ¾ lengths to stablemate and eventual $150,000 Debutante Stakes winner Behave Virginia. In her second start, at one-mile, Sandstone dusted her rivals at odds of 5-1. Her first start around two-turns was the Rags to Riches, the local prep to the Golden Rod, where she was the slight 5-2 upset winner over Yuugiri. Hernandez will once again have the call from post No. 4.

The full field for the Golden Rod from the inside out (with jockey and trainer):

  1. Famed (Geroux, Cox)
  2. Cancel This (Joel Rosario, Dale Romans)
  3. Secret Oath (David Cohen, D. Wayne Lukas)
  4. Sandstone (Hernandez, McPeek)
  5. Hal's Dream (Corey Lanerie, McPeek)
  6. Yuugiri (Tyler Gaffalione, Rodolphe Brisset)
  7. Dream Lith (Ramon Vazquez, Robertino Diodoro)
  8. Code for Success (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver)

Wagering is available online at www.TwinSpires.com, the official ADW of Churchill Downs Incorporated.

The post Half-Sister To Essential Quality, Famed Headlines Saturday’s Golden Rod Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Expanded Road to the Derby Series Highlighted at Fair Grounds Meet

For its 150th anniversary racing season, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will boast 59 stakes worth a combined $7.795 million–up more than $600,000 from last season–during its 80-day, 2021-22 Thoroughbred meet, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 25.

“Fair Grounds Race Track is embedded in the history of New Orleans,” said Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots president Doug Shipley. “We have always been very proud to be part of such a great city and this year marks the 150th anniversary of our inaugural season. We are very excited to continue our growth and support of the Thoroughbred racing industry with our purse allocation and this year's diverse and dynamic stakes schedule. Having not only the best fans, but also the best horsemen and jockeys from all around the world provides an unforgettable experience of high caliber racing at The Fair Grounds.”

The Louisiana Derby Day card Mar. 26 will feature eight stakes worth a total of $2.525 million, including the 109th running of the $1-million GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. The Louisiana Derby is worth 100-40-20-10 points to the top four finishers and is the fourth and final local prep on the Road to the GI Kentucky Derby. The 54th running of the GII Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks offers 100-40-20-10 en route to the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks.

A pair of brand new 2-year-old stakes with Kentucky Derby and Oaks point implications (10-4-2-1) have been added to the Fair Grounds stakes schedule for the Dec. 26 Road to the Derby Kickoff Day card. The $100,000 Gun Runner S. will be contested at 1 1/16 miles and the $100,000 Untapable S. for fillies will be run over one mile and 70 yards.

On Jan. 22, the Road to the Derby Day features a pair of key 3-year-old events–the GIII Lecomte S. and the Silverbulletday S. The top four finishers in each race receive 10-4-2-1 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks.

On Feb. 19, Louisiana Derby Preview Day features a pair of key 3-year-old stakes–the GII Risen Star S. and the GII Rachel Alexandra S. The top four finishers receive 50-20-10-5 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks.

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Talented Maiden Winner Hidden Connection Steps Up In Pocahontas

Deuce Greathouse, Cindy Hutson, Madaket Stables and Thomas Romano's Ontheonesandtwos will be in search of her first graded stakes win in Saturday's 53rd running of the $300,000 Pocahontas (Grade 3) – the kickoff to the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks.”

Saturday's Pocahontas Stakes, which goes as Race 8 with a post time of 9:39 p.m., is part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” series where the winner will receive an automatic entry-fees paid berth to the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

The 1 1/16-mile race also offers points to the Top 4 finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

The Pocahontas shares the Saturday spotlight with the $300,000 Iroquois, its counterpart for 2-year-olds that begins the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” along with the $400,000 Locust Grove (G3), $300,000 Open Mind and $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society. The first of 11 races will get underway at 6 p.m. for Downs After Dark presented by Budweiser.

Ontheonesandtwos, a 2-year-old Jimmy Creed filly trained by Norm Casse, won her debut in May at Churchill Downs by 1 ¾ lengths. The former $37,000 purchase from the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale finished second behind Behave Virginia in the $150,000 Debutante and sixth in the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (G2) at Saratoga. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. will ride from post No. 4.

Among Ontheonesandtwos' rivals in the Pocahontas is Hidden Brook Farm's flashy debut winner Hidden Connection. Trained by Bret Calhoun, Hidden Connection won four weeks ago at Colonial Downs by 7 ½ lengths under jockey Reylu Gutierrez. Hidden Connection is among the first-crop of 2-year-olds from her sire Connect. She was purchased at the 2021 OBS June Horses of Racing Age Sale for $85,000. Gutierrez has the return call from post 9.

The complete field from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):

  1. Code for Success (Rafael Bejarano, Vicki Oliver)
  2. Goddess of Fire (Javier Castellano, Todd Pletcher)
  3. Mama Rina (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek)
  4. Ontheonesandtwos (Santana, Norm Casse)
  5. Majestic d'Oro (Martin Garcia, Brendan Walsh)
  6. Kneesnhips (James Graham, Tom Amoss)
  7. Miss Chamita (Gregory Romero, Michel Doulhy)
  8. Hidden Connection (Gutierrez, Calhoun)
  9. Lemieux (Tyler Gaffalione, Mark Cassse)
  10. Joyrunner (Joe Ramos, Laura Wohlers)

The post Talented Maiden Winner Hidden Connection Steps Up In Pocahontas appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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No Points for Suspended Trainers on Road to the Kentucky Derby

The official “Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve,” will begin Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs with the GIII Iroquois S., has been unveiled with a new proviso that horses under the care of suspended trainers will not be awarded points in the Derby prep races.

Effective Sept. 30, points from any race in the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” will not be awarded to any horse trained by any individual who is suspended from racing in the 2022 Kentucky Derby or any trainer directly or indirectly employed, supervised, or advised by a suspended trainer. Should a horse trained by a suspended trainer, or any trainer directly or indirectly employed, supervised, or advised by a suspended trainer, finish in a position that would have earned points in a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” race occurring after Sept. 30, 2021, the points associated with that finish position will be vacated. The same rules apply for the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” series. This would include trainer Bob Baffert, who was banned from Churchill Downs Inc. racetracks for three years.

The total number of races in the primary “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series has increased by one to 37. The inaugural $100,000 Gun Runner, a 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-olds at Fair Grounds Sunday, Dec. 26, has been added and is worth 10-4-2-1 to the top four placings.

Additionally, the new $100,000 Untapable, a one mile and 70-yard race for 2-year-old fillies that same day at Fair Grounds, has been added to the Oaks series, which features a total of 32 races.

The Iroquois will again kick off the 21-race “Prep Season,” which features foundation-building races over a minimum of one mile between mid-September and mid-February. Points awarded during the “Prep Season” are worth 10-4-2-1 to the top four placings, respectively, except for the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar, which is worth twice as much (20-8-4-2).

In addition to the Iroquois and Breeders' Cup Juvenile, “Prep Season” races include the GI American Pharoah (Santa Anita), GI Champagne (Belmont), GII Breeders' Futurity (Keeneland), GII Kentucky Jockey Club (Churchill Downs), GII Remsen (Aqueduct), Springboard Mile (Remington Park), GII Los Alamitos Futurity (Los Alamitos), Gun Runner (Fair Grounds), Smarty Jones (Oaklawn Park), Jerome (Aqueduct), GIII Sham (Santa Anita), GIII Lecomte (Fair Grounds), GIII Southwest (Oaklawn Park), GII Holy Bull (Gulfstream Park), GIII Robert B. Lewis (Santa Anita), GIII Sam F. Davis (Tampa Bay Downs), GIII Withers (Aqueduct), El Camino Real Derby (Golden Gate) and John Battaglia Memorial (Turfway Park).

The 16-race “Championship Series” follows the Prep Season races. First leg races offer 50-20-10-5 points to the top four finishers: the GII Risen Star (Fair Grounds), GII Rebel (Oaklawn Park), GII Fountain of Youth (Gulfstream Park), GIII Gotham (Aqueduct), GII Tampa Bay Derby (Tampa Bay Downs), GII San Felipe (Santa Anita) and GIII Sunland Derby (Sunland Park). The most meaningful races are worth 100-40-20-10: the G2 UAE Derby (Meydan Racecouse), GII Louisiana Derby (Fair Grounds), GI Florida Derby (Gulfstream Park), GI Arkansas Derby (Oaklawn Park), GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks (Turfway Park), GII Wood Memorial (Aqueduct), GII Toyota Blue Grass (Keeneland) and GI Santa Anita Derby (Santa Anita). Additionally, the GIII Lexington (Keeneland) offers points on a scale of 20-8-4-2 to the first four placings.

In addition to the primary “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series, there are two separate series that each carve out one spot for a potential horse from Europe and Japan.

The sixth-year “Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby” series again features four races: Cattleya (10-4-2-1 at Tokyo), Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun (20-8-4-2 at Kawasaki), Hyacinth (30-12-6-3 at Tokyo) and Fukuryu (40-16-8-4 at Nakayama).

The fifth-year “European Road to the Kentucky Derby” again showcases seven races: the Juddmonte Royal Lodge (10-4-2-1 at Newmarket), Alan Smurfit Memorial Beresford (10-4-2-1 at Curragh), Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (10-4-2-1 at Longchamp), Vertem Futurity Trophy (10-4-2-1 at Doncaster), Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes (20-8-4-2 at Kempton Park), Patton Stakes (20-8-4-2 at Dundalk) and Cardinal Condition Stakes (30-12-6-3 at Chelmsford City).

As was the case this year, the 2022 Kentucky Derby will be run without the permitted use of Lasix. Points will only be awarded to horses who compete on race day without Lasix in Road to the Kentucky Derby races.

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