The 3-year-old daughter of Weigelia collected a total of $69,700 for her connections via her state-bred and state-sired status through the end of June, in addition to the $117,700 she earned on the racetrack, all without ever starting in a stakes race in that span of time.

Racing for owner-breeder LC Racing, Ninetypercentbrynn's 2021 campaign has improved with every passing month. The Robert Reid, Jr. trainee broke her maiden in her sixth start of the year, seventh overall, and immediately wheeled back to win a first-level allowance race by six lengths.

Ninetypercentbrynn's incentive earning potential was multi-pronged, as a horse both bred in the state and sired by one of its residents.

She earned $39,950 in breeder's awards, which in her case paid out 50 percent of purse earnings for her initial six top-three finishes, then 40 percent for her allowance victory. Ninetypercentbrynn also earned $21,760 in owner's bonuses, a 40 percent bonus based on her races occurring at Parx in Bensalem, Penn.

The $7,990 Ninetypercentbrynn earned in stallion awards contributed to Weigelia's total of $50,896 on the year, good for second overall in the standings. The stallion's primary earner, Beren, earned $15,349 of Weigelia's total through the end of June.

The post Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented By Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: Ninetypercentbrynn Didn’t Need Stakes Starts To Earn Awards appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The seventh running of the Paradise Creek, originally slated for seven furlongs on the Widener turf course, was moved to the same distance on the sloppy and sealed main track as heavy rain continued throughout the day.

Beren, owned and bred by Susan Quick and Christopher Feifarek, was slated to make his turf debut after posting three wins and two runner-up efforts in eight starts on the main track entering Sunday. The weather postponed those plans for a surface change, but the Weigelia colt thrived in the conditions, leading through the opening quarter-mile in 22.80 seconds and the half in 45.64.

Under jockey Eric Cancel, the Pennsylvania-bred Beren opened up when turning for home, cruising to a double-digit length victory in a final time of 1:23.12. Three Two Zone, who tracked Beren in second position on the backstretch, held off New York-bred Thin White Duke by a nose for second. Fauci completed the order of finish.

Trainer Butch Reid, Jr. said he was looking forward to trying Beren on turf after a win by a nose last out in the Gold Fever over Belmont's Big Sandy on May 9. Instead, Beren improved to 3-for-4 to start his sophomore campaign, with his only non-win coming when fourth in the Grade 3 Bay Shore in April at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“I didn't want a soft turf, so I was really glad this morning when they took it off,” Reid said. “Everybody by Weigelia loves the slop. I've had a bunch of them and every single one of them runs in the slop. It's one thing they do have in common besides being very solid horses.

“He stumbled bad in the Bay Shore and last time he hesitated a little bit and Manny [Franco] did a great job to get him to the outside,” Reid continued. “Eric said this time he was standing and focused. I said to him, 'If he's ready to go, let him go and see what happens.'”

Beren returned $4 on a $2 win bet and improved his career earnings to $215,420.

“He [Reid] told me to ride him comfortably and that he had some speed, but if the other horse that showed speed wanted to go crazy, just sit off him,” Cancel said. “My horse broke very sharply, so I took all the advantage. He ran one time on the muddy track and won. He loved it. Coming into the race, I had a lot of confidence in him and everything worked out well.”

Alonzo Racing's Three Two Zone, also looking to make his turf debut in his sixth career start, instead earned a placing in a stakes for the first time in his career, atoning for a 10th-place effort last out for trainer Marya Montoya in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

“Today wasn't the best track for him,” said Three Two Zone jockey Kendrick Carmouche. “Coming off the Pat Day Mile, he probably got a little tired today. If you can get him on a better surface, I think he's going to run a lot better.”

Outadore, Chasing Artie and Second of July scratched.

Live racing continues Monday with a special Memorial Day card that will have state-breds take center stage with six stakes worth a combined $900,000 on at Belmont. First post for the 10-race card is 1 p.m. Eastern.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

The post Beren Shows Affinity For Sloppy Going In Paradise Creek appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The eighth running of the Gold Fever saw Beren earn his first career stakes win in dramatic fashion, running down graded stakes-winner Candy Man Rocket under coaxing from jockey Manny Franco in the feature for the nine-race card.

Beren broke sharp from the inside post, remaining unscathed as Roderick stumbled and unseated rider Joel Rosario coming out of the gate from post 3. Both horse and rider were uninjured, with the outrider picking up Roderick in the gallop out.

American Gentleman led what became a five-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.79 seconds on the fast main track, with Beren tracking in fourth position. Candy Man Rocket, under Junior Alvarado, overtook American Gentleman at the front with the half going in 46.07, and maintained the edge into the stretch.

But Beren rallied when straightened for home, as Franco gave strong left-handed encouragement. The Weigelia colt had plenty in reserve and closed the deficit in the final sixteenth before getting up in time to win the head bob in a final time of 1:11.25.

Beren, fourth last out after stumbling at the start in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Bay Shore on April 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack, notched his third win in his last four starts.

“The class relief helped. He ran with some tough horses in the Bay Shore,” Franco said. “I knew the horse belonged here. I just wanted to make sure he broke better than he did last time. Today, he broke a step slow again, but I put him in the clear and he was comfortable after that.

“He can go seven [furlongs], but I think the six furlongs made the difference today,” he added.

The Pennsylvania homebred made his first six starts in his native Quaker State before moving up to graded stakes competition last month by trainer Butch Reid.

“It was nerve-wracking, but Manny did a great job,” Reid said. “He got him straightened out and got him to switch leads and he finished really well.

“I've found with these Weigelias that they don't need to be on the lead and they really like a little bit of moisture in the racetrack,” he added. “I've had a lot of them to train and they are all game horses and have done very well for us.”

Beren, off at 3-1, returned $8.60 on a $2 win bet and improved his career earnings to $160,420.

“I love getting that New York money,” Reid said. “There's nothing quite like it. You know when you come here, you've beaten the best. It's a special treat to come up here and win a race.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott shortened Candy Man Rocket up for his first sprint since being placed on the Triple Crown trail. After winning the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Sam F. Davis in February at Tampa Bay Downs and finishing out of the money in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, the Candy Ride colt finished 6 1/2 lengths clear of Doubleoseven for second, earning a placing in his Belmont debut.

“I had a great trip, really no excuses,” Alvarado said. “When we got to the wire I thought we held on, but I guess we didn't. He ran great. I think he'll get better with experience. He'll probably do his better running going shorter distances.”

The Wolfman and American Gentleman completed the order of finish.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

The post Pennsylvania-Bred Beren Catches Candy Man Rocket At The Wire In Gold Fever appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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First or second in her four starts at 2, including wins in the Spinaway (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Vequist was making her 3-year-old debut in the one-mile Davona Dale at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track.

“She came out of it really well,” trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said Sunday. “We did scope her after the race and she was a little dirty. She had some mucus in there and stuff that we can work with, and I think it definitely affected her performance a little bit. But, soundness-wise, she's great and is happy.”

Wholebodemeister, third in the Jan. 30 Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream, shocked the Davona Dale at odds of 52-1, taking over the lead after a half-mile and going to a 6 ½-length triumph. Vequist got bumped at the start and was in range of the leaders racing in mid-pack but never threatened and was eased to the finish by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

“I'm glad Irad took care of her the last part of it when she was hopelessly beaten, so she came back great,” Reid said. “Irad did a great job. He saw that she wasn't really getting there. He gave her a little eighth of a mile to run, but I know she's better than that. We're going to keep looking at her and keep working her and fall back and regroup a little bit, that's all.”

Reid said the connections will continue to monitor Vequist in the coming days before committing to a next start.

“We haven't eliminated anything yet,” Reid said. “It's going to take us a few days to get a bearing on just where we're going to head, but right now she's happy and sound and that's the main thing.”

The post Reid: Champion Vequist Sound But Showed Some Mucus After Davona Dale Ninth appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Other top contenders that were nominated to the Oaks include Stonestreet Stables' GIII Rachel Alexandra S. winner Clairiere (Curlin) and OXO Equine's runner-up Travel Column (Frosted); Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing and Nehoc Stables' GI Alcibiades S. winner Simply Ravishing (Laoban); and Shadwell Stable's undefeated Malathaat (Curlin).

Trainer Todd Pletcher led all conditioners with nine fillies nominated to the Oaks followed by Kenny McPeek who had eight.

Each of the 106 fillies nominated to the Oaks were made eligible by a $200 payment that was due Feb. 13. Fillies not nominated to the Kentucky Oaks can be made eligible through a $1,500 late fee due Apr. 10 or a $25,000 supplemental nomination due at the time of entry. The Oaks field is limited to 14 starters and up to four fillies can be designated as “also-eligible” to start. Eligibility to compete is determined by points amassed during the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” point series.

A complete list of nominations will be available at https://www.churchilldowns.com/horsemen/stakes/nominations/.

The post Champion Vequist Heads Ky Oaks Noms appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Because Vequist (Nyquist), the champion juvenile filly homebred by McGrath's Swilcan Stable, was rejected in the ring twice over. The first time, she was in utero when her dam Vero Amore (Mineshaft) was offered at the Keeneland November Sale of 2017. Still only six, and having run a neck second in the GII Black Eyed Susan S., Vero Amore was valued higher by her owner than by the market and was led away unsold at $135,000. Then McGrath offered Vequist herself back in the same ring, as a September yearling, but again couldn't drum up adequate interest and took her home at $120,000.

“I don't think she even got vetted,” McGrath remembers. “But I'll take good luck any day, you know? The vast majority of people that do this, breeding on a smaller scale, have to be able to turn over in order to have the cash flow. And we're no different. So we just got really fortunate that they both RNA'd when they went through. And then when we sent Vequist down to Barry Eisaman's, he loved her. I was just trying to figure out what other people didn't see that we saw.”

But then Vero Amore had herself confounded the market, found by trainer Robert E. “Butch” Reid, Jr. as a Timonium 2-year-old for just $15,000.

“Butch liked her, it seemed like she was going to be a steal, so he picked her up for me,” McGrath says. “She was only a little peanut, but she has a heart of gold. Small but mighty. She was such a tough competitor, always put a solid effort in.”

Vero Amore made nearly half her career starts at Parx, and it was at McGrath's hometown track that Vequist started out, too.

“Butch always tries to temper my expectations,” says McGrath with a laugh. “So I'm not sure he was giving me the full story the whole time! But I could tell he was excited about her.”

Sure enough, Vequist was beaten only a nose on debut while pulling a city block clear of the third. Promising though that effort was, McGrath was amazed how alertly even Parx maidens are dredged by the sharpest prospectors. After the speed figures came out, Reid called and told McGrath he had been approached about the filly by Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel.

“I have friends that are heavy into those Ragozins, and all the rest of it, but I'd be lost trying to figure them out,” confesses McGrath. “Anyway I guess she put up a really good number in that race, and that got the attention of Adam and Gary. They were really fair, with the offer they made, and it was an easy negotiation. I was thrilled: just based on everything that was happening beyond the racetrack in 2020, it made a lot of sense for us to lay off and open up some of the value. But it was fantastic also to be able to maintain 25% ownership. I really am appreciative of that, and it's been a great partnership with Gary and Adam. It's been a win across the board.”

Tom McGrath with Butch Reid | Courtesy of Tom McGrath

McGrath's one condition was that the filly stay in Reid's barn. His new partners were wise enough to be agreeable to that, too. After all, here was a guy who has been training for 35 years, closing on 800 wins from nearly 5,000 starts. There won't be many mornings when Reid meets a challenge in the shedrow that he won't have seen before. And when he has had the chance, he has seized it. He knows what a good juvenile looks like–he won the GII Remsen S. with Spendthrift's rookie Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief)–but can also reel out the spool to win a GII Breeders' Cup Marathon with a mature stayer like Afleet Again (Afleet Alex).

Actually it had been the sire of that horse that hooked McGrath into the sport. His Bucks County neighbor at the time, Joe Lerro, was an owner of Afleet Alex and after following the spectacular ups and downs of his Triple Crown campaign (or, more literally, the downs and ups), McGrath asked to be told next time there might be an opportunity to get involved.

Poseidon's Warrior | Coglianese

Among the first horses in which he partnered was a $90,000 Speightstown colt, purchased by Chuck Zacney at the same Timonium sale that would produce Vero Amore three years later. In Reid's care, Poseidon's Warrior matured into one of the top sprinters in the land, winning the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. in 2012.

Needless to say, he had started out winning at what was then still known as Philadelphia Park. With Vequist, however, Reid has taken McGrath to another level.

“Butch gets a lot of credit for all of this,” he says. “He's doing the day to day, him and [wife and assistant] Ginny and their crew, they do all the heavy lifting. I get the fun job, pop in once in a while and only have to nod and agree. So I'm absolutely thrilled for them. With Butch, what you see is what you get. He will always give you an honest answer. And he cares for the horses, always puts them first. He and Ginny have been lifelong in this, and deserve all the accolades.”

One thing is for sure: without his new partners, McGrath would never have been pressing to fast-track Vequist to Grade I company for her second start. “Gary and Adam had been looking at those numbers, and knew better than I did what the potential was,” McGrath says. “It was a good move.”

It most certainly was. Vequist won the Spinaway S. at Saratoga by a jaw-dropping 9 1/2 lengths and, while just given the slip in the GI Frizette S., she confirmed herself class leader on the day that mattered. Clinging to the rail as a gap obligingly opened into the stretch, she became the third Breeders' Cup winner out of Parx in three years–following Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) and Spun to Run (Hard Spun)–when scoring decisively in the GI Juvenile Fillies.

“What a day,” McGrath says. “It was my daughter's 16th birthday, and there was the traveling back and forth with the COVID going on, but my wife was just like, 'This doesn't happen often. You have to go.' And even though it had to be a little quieter than other years, Keeneland did a fantastic job and there was still a good atmosphere. The whole experience was tremendous. It's hard to describe the feeling of being there at the finish line in the Breeders' Cup, watching the horse that you bred go across the line like that. I had two fists high in the air. It was one of those moments you'll remember forever.”

The newly anointed champion put in a bullet :59.65 workout at Palm Meadows last weekend as she prepares for her resumption, and hopefully a crack at the GI Kentucky Oaks, in the GII Davona Dale S. next Saturday. In the meantime, however, a no less important appointment looms: any day now, Vero Amore is due to deliver an Accelerate foal at Brookdale Farm, Versailles.

Vero Amore at two | Equi-Photo

All going well, she will then be bred back to Nyquist–not a hard choice, in the circumstances. Since her last visit to the Darley sire she has produced two daughters, a Daredevil yearling and an Astern (Aus) juvenile, offering flexibility to Swilcan's breeding operation whatever the future may hold for Vequist and indeed her dam, who is still only 10.

“We've had some interest, for sure,” McGrath admits. “But if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that while things are exciting, you don't want to make quick decisions. So we're just settling back and seeing how this year starts to play out. The Astern filly will be coming up from Florida to start training with Butch in late March or April: I made a deal with a friend of mine, Glenn Bennett from LC Racing, so he and I are partners on her. We've been fortunate that Vero Amore has had these fillies, that gives us lots of options and we can just figure it out as we go along.”

Indeed, Swilcan Stable has pretty much been a story of one thing leading to another. Once that little nugget Vero Amore had run as well as she did on Preakness eve, for instance, it just looked like it could only be fun to develop her second career, too. And then there was the decision to buy out the other partners in Poseidon's Warrior, and support him at stud with a few homebreds.

Poseidon's Warrior scored a Grade I success from his debut crop in Firenze Fire, homebred by Mr. Amore Stable and still as tough and classy as ever in his fourth campaign last year. After stints in Florida and Kentucky, however, Poseidon's Warrior has now come “home” to Equistar Training and Breeding at Annville, Pennsylvania.

“Unfortunately, we got the deal done pretty late last year, so he came up here pretty much at the last minute,” McGrath says. “And then COVID hit. So hopefully this year will be easier to organize. He was champion freshman in Florida, and has done a lot without a ton of support. We had him at Darby Dan, and I love those guys, but Kentucky just wasn't the spot for him. So now we're just trying to get some awareness about him up here. With the loss of Jump Start, I think he's a good option for folks looking for stallions that have bred Grade I winners. Pennsylvania has fantastic program and, living here like we do, it'll be great to go to the races and see his state-bred runners.”

Vequist dominated the Spinaway | Sarah Andrew

McGrath is also doing his bit for the local economy as President of the expanding AeroAggregates, based at a former locomotive works in Eddystone and now recycling the equivalent of over 140 million glass bottles per annum. The resulting low-density product is around 85% lighter than most quarried equivalents, and also serves the growing imperatives of the environment.

“We take 100% curbside recycled glass, clean it, mill it into a fine powder, put it through a process, and it comes out about 15 pound a cubic foot,” McGrath explains. “So it's a fraction of the weight of stone and perfect for bridge approaches, tunnels, foundations, a multitude of infrastructure applications. Actually we never pitched it as being green. In construction, when you talk about having this great new recycled material, people just say, 'You know what? It's going to be more expensive and it's not going to work as well.' So we just pitched it on its merits the first five years, and only after getting jobs would we say, 'By the way, if you're interested, this is extremely green.' So it's really starting to ramp up now.”

Exciting times, then, whether he's going into work Monday morning or to the races at the weekend–a more fulfilling pastime, by the sound of it, than the one that gave his stable its name.

McGrath remembers his attorney calling to press him for a name, so that he could finalize the LLC before going on vacation. He looked at the office wall, where he had hung a picture of the famous stone bridge linking the first and final fairways at St. Andrews, and blurted: “Swilcan Stable.”

Strictly as a golfer, however, he disowns any eligibility for that august connection. “I have a wife and five kids, and everybody's a golfer, and I'm the worst in the family,” he confides. “If the dog could play golf, too, I'd be worse than the dog.”

McGrath and connections celebrate | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire

As it happens, despite having supported Poseidon's Warrior with a handful mares, Swilcan was pretty well down to Vero Amore and her daughters when Vequist started to soar. “We'd only ever been making a claim here, going to a sale there, and we had reduced,” McGrath says. “It was a very uncertain time, and unfortunately we lost a mare over the winter. Now we'll see what the future holds. We've been lucky the way we've done it so far, mostly breeding to race, so I think we're going to continue along and see how that all plays out. After this great experience with Gary and Adam, I think I'll be more open to having partners than in the past. But we're excited. Vequist just seems to find another gear. And if you can run long and run fast, the world's your oyster, right?”

Like everyone who understands this business, McGrath knows you have to work to improve the odds but that you will always still need the breaks.

“While I'd love to pretend that all this makes me smart, actually I've just had to be smart enough to say 'yes' a lot of the time,” he reflects. “The bits of luck, though, like those RNAs: they're incredible, part of the mystery of the sport. No question about it, we've been blessed. We've always been competitive, small as we are, we had the Grade I early on. But then the last year has been just unbelievable. To make it through 2020, such a tough year on everybody, and walk away in the way we did… it's not lost on me how big that is. I'm just very grateful for how it all transpired.”

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The Juvenile Fillies was the third of five Future Stars Friday races for 2-year-olds that kicked off the two-day world championships at the Lexington, Ky. track.

Dayoutoftheoffice, who defeated Vequist last out in the G1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 10, finished second, a nose ahead of Girl Daddy, who edged Simply Ravishing for third. Princess Noor, the 9-5 favorite, finished fifth in the field of seven, with Crazy Beautiful sixth and Thoughtfully trailing the field.

Trained by Robert E. “Butch” Reid Jr., Vequist paid $15.20 for the win, her second in four lifetime starts. She covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.30.

Bred by Swilcan Stables, Vequist was produced from the Mineshaft mare, Vero Amore. She is from the first crop of foals by Nyquist, who won the Eclipse Award as outstanding 2-year-old male in 2015 and then went on to capture the G1 Kentucky Derby the following year. Nyquist stands at Darley's Jonabell in Lexington, Ky.

Vequist was offered as part of the Brookdale Sales consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale but bought back for $120,000. She debuted for Swilcan Stable with a good second-place finish in a July 29 maiden race at Parx, where her trainer is based, after which Barber and Adam Wachtel bought in to the filly. Vequist then shipped to Saratoga to win the G1 Spinaway by 9 1/2 lengths on Sept. 6. She was the 9-10 favorite when beaten two lengths by Dayoutoftheoffice in the Frizette.

Dayoutoftheoffice jumped out to an early lead in the Juvenile Fillies, with Vequist tucked in behind her and unbeaten Bob Baffert-trained Princess Noor to the outside. The opening quarter mile was clocked in :23.30 and the half in :47.12. Unbeaten Simply Ravishing, the 2-1 second choice and coming off a wire-to-wire victory at Keeneland in the G1 Alcibiades on Oct. 2, stumbled at the start and was behind the leading trio and alongside another unbeaten filly, Girl Daddy.

Approaching the far turn, after six furlongs in 1:11.32, Princess Noor tried to press on the leader but was unable to sustain a bid. When jockey Junior Alvarado allowed Dayoutoftheoffice to drift off the rail turning into the stretch, Vequist commenced her rally while hugging the inside and took dead aim on the leader. She was in front after a mile in 1:36.01 and drew away for the win.

“I tried to save ground,” said Rosario. “It was hard for her in the turn because I had a horse outside me. But she did great. I never gave up my position. As soon as I asked her she went on with it. It was a very good performance.” 

The victory was the second in a Breeders' Cup race for Reid in just four starts, his previous win coming in the 2011 Marathon with Afleet Again. It is 12th Breeders' Cup victory for Rosario and second in the Juvenile Fillies, having won with Jaywalk at Churchill Downs in 2018.

“My wife (Ginny) did a sensational job with her all week,” said Reid. “She really thrived on this air and the weather. She looked great coming in. I knew we would be laying up close. She's a sharp filly. She doesn't mind the inside obviously. I don't know that you ever have that kind of feeling but we knew she was doing very well and we know she's a very talented filly.”

Other comments after the Juvenile Fillies:

Second-place trainer Tim Hamm (Dayoutoftheoffice) – “She ran really hard, we're proud of her. No complaints. We had a decent trip on the front end. Not a ton of pressure, no excuses. We talked about the race earlier and we said if no one goes I didn't mind seeing her on the lead. She has a lot of natural speed and does it fairly easy so it didn't shock me.” 

Second-place jockey Junior Alvarado (Dayoutoftheoffice) – “I thought there would be more speed but nobody seemed to want the lead. I sort of made the lead by default. She never seemed to settle on the lead and I think that made the difference.”  

Third-place trainer Dale Romans (Girl Daddy) – “She ran super. I thought we had a chance (to win) turning for home. She ran a big race. She didn't have the cleanest trip but I am happy with her. She got hung a little wide; it wasn't anyone's fault, it is just the way the race unfolded.” 

Fourth and sixth-place trainer Kenny McPeek (Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful) – “(Simply Ravishing) broke bad, stuck in traffic, nowhere to go and couldn't get there. The one hole is kind of tough and like I said, (Simply Ravishing) broke bad. Crazy Beautiful, we might need to regroup altogether. I think she might be a sprinter.”

Fourth-place jockey Luis Saez (Simply Ravishing) – “The filly stumbled in the gate. They grabbed her tail and they never have done that before. I don't know why. I had to grab her and that cost us a little bit because we were supposed to be right there, one or two. That didn't happen.”

Fifth-place trainer Bob Baffert(Princess Noor) – “She was in a good spot, he had her in a perfect spot there but she just didn't kick on. I'm pretty disappointed. She just came up empty. I had a lot of confidence in her but the winner ran a big race. They were going pretty fast. She just didn't have it.”

Fifth-place jockey Victory Espinoza (Princess Noor) – “She broke out of the gate nice. Everything was working perfectly fine for me, but I knew we were in trouble when we hit the five-eighths pole because she was kind of having a hard timing running on the track. She was kind of slipping around. As long I got her in the bridle, she was running but she was forcing herself too much and she was wasting a lot of energy. The minute I started riding her that was it. She backed up and started lugging in. That was it.”

The post Rosario Takes Inside Route To Victory Aboard Vequist In Juvenile Fillies appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Wild About Star, a 6-year-old daughter of multiple stakes winner Star Guitar, sprung a mild upset in last year's The Very One by 1 3/4 lengths over Jo Jo Air, who is the only other returnee from 2019. Five of her six career wins have come on the grass but she has not raced on the surface since last summer after her two starts this year were rained off.

Fifth in the Incredible Revenge Stakes at Monmouth Park following her Pimlico score, Wild About Star didn't return until running fifth to The Very One foe Mr. Al's Gal in an optional claiming allowance July 23 at Delaware Park. Most recently she tired to third after chasing the pace in a similar spot Aug. 20, also at Delaware.

“After the last race she ran at Monmouth, the owner and I decided to give her time off and see how she's doing and we decided to bring her back,” trainer Jose Camejo said. “She ran two races on the dirt because they came off the turf and now she's doing really good. We'll see if we can get lucky a second time and win again.

“I feel good about her. She's much better than she was before,” he added. “She's in the right shape right now, she looks really good and she's doing very well. I think we've got a good chance.”

Alex Cintron rides Wild About Star, the 124-pound co-topweight, from Post 5 in a field of 16 that includes main-track-only entrant Never Enough Time and also-eligible Philipine Cobra.

Among the challengers to Wild About Star will be Lael Stables' Chalon, a seven-time stakes winner less than $9,000 away from $1 million in career earnings who is entered to make her turf debut. The 6-year-old Dialed In mare has raced once previously at Pimlico taking last year's Skipat, contested at six furlongs on the main track.

Chalon opened her season finishing off the board in the 6  1/2-furlong Vagrancy (G3) June 27 at Belmont Park, her first start in nearly nine months. She followed up by registering back-to-back wins in the Dashing Beauty at Monmouth and Incredible Revenge Aug. 16 at Monmouth, a race that was originally carded for the turf.

In her last start, Chalon stumbled out of the gate and chased the pace before getting up to be second behind Never Enough Time in the six-furlong Alma North Sept. 7 at Laurel Park. She drew Post 14 with Trevor McCarthy up.

Chalon's stablemate, Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's Ode to Joy, is also entered with Sheldon Russell named to ride from Post 7. Ode to Joy, a 5-year-old daughter of Grade 1 turf winner Artie Schiller, was fourth to Chalon in the Incredible Revenge and has never won a stakes, also finishing fourth in the Feb. 22 Lightning City.

Wesley Ward-trained Jo Jo Air has won twice in five starts since coming up short in last year's The Very One, an optional claiming allowance last December at Gulfstream Park and the five-furlong Daisycutter Handicap July 24 on the Del Mar turf, her most recent race. Paco Lopez has the call from Post 8.

LC Racing's Captain Sam has respectively finished fourth and fifth in two stakes attempts, the 2018 and 2019 Power by Far at Parx, both times rained off the turf to the main track. The 5-year-old mare comes in off a 2 ¼-length optional claiming allowance win as the favorite sprinting five furlongs at Penn National, her first win in four tries on grass.

“She goes either way. If it rains off she loves the slop, too,” trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said. “The main thing with her is the distance. She can't really get much past five-eighths so you have to run in those races when you have the opportunity. She's had two or three breezes that have been real nice so we'll go ahead and take a shot.”

Sophomores Foolish Humor, Giggling and Hear My Prayer and older horses A Great Time, Dendrobia, Tracy Ann's Legacy, Peaceful and Not In Jeopardy round out the field.

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With Frankie Pennington aboard, the daughter of Tapizar returned $79.80 as the longest shot in the field of eight.  The Maryland-bred trained by Robert “Butch” Reid won by a half-length and covered the mile and a sixteenth in 1:44.04 over a fast main track.

Dream Marie, with Joe Bravo, finished second 1 1/4 lengths in front of Princess Cadey, with Angel Cruz, in third.  The 9-to-5 favorite, Piece of My Heart with Joe Talamo, cut early fractions of :47.28 for the half-mile and 1:11.99 for the three-quarter miles before finishing fourth.

In her only other outing this year, Project Whiskey finished unplaced in a six-furlong Churchill Downs allowance on May 25.  Last year, she posted two victories out of five starts, including the seven-furlong Parx Juvenile Filly Stakes.

“I am glad we went down to Churchill to get that race in her which set her up perfectly for this,” said Reid.  “I think this is what she has been waiting to do – to go a route ground.  We are not sure where we are going to go next with her, but I am sure it will probably have the word 'Oaks' behind it.  What exactly that race is, we are going to have to sit down with the owners to figure out.  I am just happy to have this ownership group.  They put up with a lot of my shenanigans and they went ahead and took the opportunity to run in this race with this nice filly, so I got to give them a lot of the credit.”

Winning jockey Frankie Pennington was impressed with her tenacity.

“Going into the race Butch (Robert Reid) had her unbelievable,” said winning jockey Frankie Pennington.  “It was a real gutsy effort for my filly especially because it was her first time going two turns.  She broke sharp and put us in a good position.  When the seven (Dream Marie) came towards us just before the quarter pole, I asked her and she fought back on.  The more we were staying together with seven, the more she just kept fighting and she gutted it out.”

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