Evenly-Matched Eight Try to Punch Belmont Ticket in Peter Pan

It'll be hard to separate the eight-horse field lined up in Saturday's GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont, the track's traditional prep for the June 11 GI Belmont S., as evidenced by four horses landing between 3-1 and 4-1 on the morning line.

Given the narrowest of nods at 3-1 is WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH and Siena Farm's We the People (Constitution). Making a somewhat belated debut going a mile Feb. 12 at Oaklawn, the $230,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream buy kicked away to an impressive 5 3/4-length romp, and was similarly dominant in five-length success in an allowance there a month later. The bay will look to rebound after finishing a dull seventh as the second favorite in the GI Arkansas Derby Apr. 9.

“The timing is just right,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset told the NYRA notes team. “He broke his maiden five weeks ago. It's five weeks away from the Belmont, and obviously it's a class test. What we want to see is if he can make his run from the middle of the turn to the wire. If he runs anywhere from one to three, we'll take a strong look at the Belmont. Hopefully, we can get some pace in the race and we'll be there that day.”

LNJ Foxwoods' Set Sail (Malibu Moon) looms a dangerous shipper for Richard Mandella. Third as the 9-5 chalk on debut Feb. 26 at Santa Anita, a race out of which the first, second and fourth finishers came back to win, the homebred stretched out to two turns there Mar. 27 and drew off to an auspicious 7 1/2-length graduation. The rail-drawn colt has worked sharply since, recording a pair of :59 flat five-furlong drills at Santa Anita Apr. 17 and 25 before working seven panels in 1:25 4/5 (2/2) there May 7.

Electability (Quality Road) looks for his third straight victory for Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown. A no-impact seventh debuting on the Saratoga lawn last August, the $300,000 Keeneland November purchase returned with a half-length tally going a mile Mar. 5 at Aqueduct and repeated by a head there Apr. 8.

“It's a big test for this horse, but he hasn't done anything wrong yet and he appears to be looking for a little more distance, so we'll see how he steps up,” said Brown, a two-time Peter Pan winning trainer.

Other main contenders include Golden Glider (Ghostzapper), who gets a bit of class relief after running fourth in the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and GI Toyota Blue Grass S., and Western River (Tapit), who rallied from nearly 20 lengths off the pace to earn his diploma going away by 3 3/4 lengths last out Apr. 2 at Oaklawn.

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Summer Anthem Added To Keeneland April Sale

Summer Anthem (Temple City), impressive winner of Friday's fourth race at Keeneland, has been added to the Keeneland April Horses of All Ages Sale, to be held following the conclusion of the closing-day program at 6:30 p.m. The 3-year-old gelding will be consigned by Gainesway, agent, as hip 104.

Trained by Rodolphe Brisset for September Farm LLC and Black Fern LLC, the dark bay gelding was making his first start on turf Friday after just being beaten on the wire in a one-mile maiden allowance over the Turfway synthetic track on debut Feb. 26.

Sent off the 9-5 favorite, Summer Anthem chased in second behind a longshot runaway leader. He enjoyed first run and took over in the stretch and dug in to fend off Pancake House (Maclean's Music) by 3/4 of a length in the smart time of 1:41.61.

An $8,000 purchase at OBS January in 2020, Summer Anthem is a son of Summer of Fun (Include), third in Keeneland's GIII Jessamine S. and in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2012. She became a full black-type winner in Saratoga's Auntie Mame S. the following summer.

“He's a good-looking son of Temple City out of a mare that could really run, stakes winner and graded-stakes placed,” said Gainesway's Sean Tugel. “He showed a lot of talent in his first start and he came out today and validated that. He ran the fastest mile-and-a-sixteenth maiden special weight race of the meet so far. He's got the ability, he's got the talent and there's no better way to prove it than to take him over to the sales ring and take advantage of the sale being here today.”

The idea was hatched while Summer Anthem was being unsaddled.

“It literally came together in about two minutes,” Tugel explained. “We were in the winner's circle and the whole Keeneland sales team was there. We kind of threw it out there and they thought it was a great idea. So we just kind of collaborated. That's one of the ideas behind the sale. We're just going to roll the dice and hopefully people appreciate the offering.”

Added Brisset: “We've always liked the horse and were looking to run him on the grass after that very good effort first out. He should have won that day but became extremely green when he took the lead. He was way more mature today and 1:41 3/5 is an extremely solid time. (Ragozin) numbers should come back in his favor.”

Summer Anthem is available for inspection at Barn 18. His post-race veterinary evaluation will be available in Keeneland's Repository.

Click here for more information about the April Sale.

 

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Rudolphe Brisset Confident in New Trainee Blackadder

Rodolphe Brisset has been training on his own for just five years, but he has already come close to what many dream of in starting a horse in the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. First he trained Quip (Distorted Humor), the 2018 GII Tampa Bay Derby winner who was pulled from Kentucky Derby contention a few weeks out from the race. Then the next year GII Demoiselle S. winner Positive Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile) clipped heels and fell at the start of the Kentucky Oaks, walking away relatively unscathed but leaving her connections wondering what could have been.

Brisset is due for his share of good luck as Derby week approaches and this spring he could be holding his best hand yet with GIII Fantasy S. winner Yuugiri (Shackleford) training for a probable start in the Kentucky Oaks and Blackadder (Quality Road) preparing for this weekend's GI Blue Grass S.

Three weeks ago Blackadder, who is owned by the partnership that includes SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Siena Farm LLC and Golconda Stable, transferred to Brisset from Bob Baffert's barn while Baffert serves a suspension ordered by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. So far, Brisset is happy with what he sees from the sophomore son of Quality Road.

“We have been able to breeze him twice and he's doing pretty good,” Brisset said. “He is averaged-sized and a pretty stocky horse, but a nice mover. We are happy with the way he is coming up to the race.”

Asked about the difficulties in taking on a horse mid-way through a campaign, Brisset said the situation depends on the horse.

“For him, the transition was pretty easy,” he said. “He's a very easy horse to be around, so we didn't have to overthink it too much. It's more about how they develop and change. With colts, from December to March is usually where they start to change from 2-year-olds to 3-year-olds. That's what you want to see.”

A $620,000 Keeneland September purchase bred by Stone Farm, Blackadder was third to 'TDN Rising Star' Messier (Empire Maker) on debut and broke slow in his second start to finish fifth, but put the pieces together to win his third start, a one-mile, off-the-turf contest last December at Santa Anita. In his sophomore debut, the colt won with a late rally in the El Camino Real Derby.

Blackadder breaks his maiden at Santa Anita | Benoit

When Blackadder first transferred to Brisset, his connections were initially favoring the GIII Jeff Ruby S. for the colt's next start. But after drawing an outside post at Turfway Park, they opted for the GI Blue Grass. Unfortunately, they drew the 11 post of 12 starters on Saturday, but Brisset is still content with their decision to stay at Keeneland.

“I do think the composition of the race is a little bit different,” he said. “It looks like all the speed is on the inside of us. Also, this ownership we train for is looking to win a Grade I with this colt and is trying to make stallions, so it was an easy decision.”

Brisset is still riding a high from last weekend at Oaklawn Park. While the GI Arkansas Derby didn't pan out as hoped for his promising colt We The People (Constitution), everything went right for his other trainee Yuugiri. After placing in her first two graded starts in the GII Golden Rod S. and GIII Honeybee S., the Shackleford filly made it to the winner's circle for the GIII Fantasy S.

“She came out of the race in pretty good shape,” Brisset said. “It was a long battle in the stretch but she dug in really hard and we're proud of her. It looked like she has matured. After the Honeybee, we really saw a difference where she got bigger, she was eating even more and training well.”

A homebred for Tsunebumi and Sekie Yoshihara, Yuugiri is now at Keeneland with the majority of Brisset's string.

“I'm always pretty conservative, but obviously the ownership wants to take a shot at the Oaks and it makes sense to try,” her trainer said. “She showed a lot of heart so we are going to keep her at Keeneland for two weeks and then maybe switch to Churchill.”

Brisset has a intimate knowledge of the inner workings of his stable's trainees as he makes it a habit of riding his own horses every morning.

“It may be a little advantageous for me, but I don't think it makes a huge difference,” he said when asked if this practice was beneficial to his training abilities. “I just don't see myself on the ground. I've been riding since I was five, so maybe it's me being selfish and wanting to be on the horse myself. At the same time, I guess I can use all the experience I've gotten from it over the years. When you know the feeling of a good one, you try to find another one with the same feeling.”

Brisset has been around plenty of good horses over the years. He came to the U.S. in 2005 after being invited by Patrick Biancone and fellow Frenchman–and now close friend–Julien Leparoux. He worked for Biancone for two years and then moved to Bill Mott's barn. He assisted the Hall of Fame trainer for 12 years before taking the plunge to open up his own stable in 2017.

Brisset has accomplished much already after five years of training, but with a focus on bringing in well-bred talent, there is certainly more to come.

“We try to maximize to get the best group of horses we can,” Brisset said. “We try to get quality over quantity. We're lucky enough to have some good ones behind us now. It's been working and hopefully we keep doing that.”

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Shackleford Filly Game as they Get in Fantasy

Sekie and Tsunebumi Yoshihara's Yuugiri (Shackleford) looked in all sorts of bother as she was besieged from either side with time ticking away in Saturday's GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn Park, but she refused to lay down and battled her way to a neck defeat of Beguine (Gun Runner). Second choice Bubble Rock (More Than Ready) was third in her first try on a conventional dirt surface.

Quickly into stride from gate six, Yuugiri won the race into the first turn and set the pace from the two path, with Bubble Rock chasing from second and Beguine monitoring proceedings from the box seat in third. That trio would have the race to themselves, as it would happen. Yuugiri did it well on the engine and went along comfortably, sharp though the fractions were. On a long rein with Bubble Rock stalking her wherever she went and Beguine still traveling strongly, Yuugiri was shaken up 2 1/2 furlongs from home, but appeared to be going better than Bubble Rock to her outside. In the meantime, Beguine emerged as the more serious danger at the fence and was within a head as they entered the final eighth of a mile. But the pacesetter maintained a slender advantage as the duo came together late and proved a most determined winner. Stewards launched an inquiry into the final stages, but ultimately allowed the result to stand.

“That was really not the initial plan (go to the lead), but she broke so sharp,” said winning trainer Rodolphe Brisset. “[Jockey Florent Geroux] did good to just go with the flow. The fractions were pretty fast. It's very demanding to go to the wire, going :46 and change, and she did it. It's a fun one.”

A romping 7 1/4-length debut maiden winner at Churchill Downs Sept. 17, Yuugiri was a distant runner-up in the Oct. 31 Rags To Riches S. and filled the same spot when beaten a length by Fantasy favorite Dream Lith (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 27. She raced prominently in the GIII Honeybee S. in her sophomore debut Feb. 26 but weakened late to be third behind leading local lady Secret Oath (Arrogate) in an effort she was likely to be in need of and sure to come on for.

Pedigree Notes:

Yuugiri is the 19th stakes winner and seventh winner at the graded level for GI Preakness S. winner Shackleford, who was sold to Korean interests to continue his stallion career in that country in 2020.

The winner's dam was campaigned by Sekie and Tsunebumi Yoshihara to a victory for trainer Michael Matz in the grassy Forever Together S. and Yuugiri is her only winner from two of racing age. Yuzuru is a half-sister to the Winchester Farm-bred Nokaze (Empire Maker), the dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Air Almas (Majestic Warrior), Japanese stakes winner Air Fanditha (Hat Trick {Jpn}) and the promising Air Sage (Point of Entry), winner of three of six starts on the demanding JRA circuit. The Yoshiharas campaign those horses in Japan under the banner of Lucky Field, the literal translation of Yoshihara. Lucky Field has also raced 1997 Tenno Sho hero Air Groove (Jpn) (Tony Bin {Ire}) and MGSW/MG1SP Air Spinel (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}).

Yuzuru is the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Air Force Blue that has already been exported to Japan as well as a yearling colt by Nyquist. She was most recently bred to American Pharoah.

FANTASY S.-GIII, $600,000, Oaklawn, 4-2, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.65, ft.
1–YUUGIRI, 119, f, 3, by Shackleford
                1st Dam: Yuzuru (SW, $105,759), by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Macarena Macarena, by Gone West
                3rd Dam: Angelic Song, by Halo
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Sekie & Tsunebumi Yoshihara (KY); T-Rodolphe Brisset; J-Florent Geroux. $360,000. Lifetime Record: MGSP, 5-2-2-1, $543,610.   Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Beguine, 119, f, 3, Gun Runner–Shananies Song, by Eltish. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($235,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP; $340,000 RNA 2yo '21 FTFMAR). O/B-Charles T. Matses; T-Daniel C. Peitz. $120,000.
3–Bubble Rock, 122, f, 3, More Than Ready–Reef Point, by Giant's Causeway. O/B-Shortleaf Stable, Inc.; T-Brad H. Cox. $60,000.
Margins: NK, 3, 2. Odds: 4.10, 11.30, 3.20.
Also Ran: I Feel the Need, Dream Lith, Heartyconstitution, Mariah's Fortune, Magic Circle. Scratched: Eda.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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