Runhappy Ellis Park Derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

Steal Sunshine Leads Upset Exacta In Ellis Park Derby

After breaking through by more than 10 lengths in a claimer at second asking, Steal Sunshine showed enough ability against optional claimers to earn himself a spot in Gulfstream's GI Curlin Florida Derby. While he checked in sixth there, 8 1/4 lengths behind winner White Abarrio (Race Day), Steal Sunshine continued to show promise, posting back-to-back wins in his last two starts, including the Carry Back S. when seen last July 9.

Making his first start outside of Gulfstream Park, the 6-1 runner was left in the blocks and trailed early through the half in :46.01. Still outpaced by nearly the entire field, he began to make up ground with a two-wide move at the top of the stretch that brought him into contention. 49-1 longshot pacesetter Rome hung tough but wore down as Steal Sunshine went right on by on the inside to put daylight on his rival and win by 3 1/4 lengths.

“When he hit the hole in the stretch, he ran all the way to the wire,” winning jockey Leonel Reyes said. “I'm so happy because this is my first time at Ellis Park.”

The first foal out of a half-sister to GI Florida Derby runner-up Reveron (Songandaprayer), Steal Sunshine has a 2-year-old unraced half-sister by Midnight Lute, a yearling half-brother by Maximus Mischief, and a weanling half-sister by Flatter. His dam was bred back to Silver State for 2023. Click for the Equibase.com chart.

RUNHAPPY ELLIS PARK DERBY, $200,000, Ellis, 8-14, 3yo, 1m, 1:38.19, ft.
1–STEAL SUNSHINE, 118, c, 3, by Constitution
                1st Dam: Warm Sunshine, by Unbridled's Song
                2nd Dam: Carolina Sunrise, by Awesome Again
                3rd Dam: Stylish Star, by Our Native
O-Carrie L. Brogden & Little Red Feather Racing; B-Machmer
Hall (KY); T-Bobby S. Dibona; J-Leonel Reyes. $119,160.
Lifetime Record: 9-4-1-1, $233,910.
2–Rome, 120, c, 3, Empire Maker–Gracer, by Exchange Rate.
($385,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $50,000 2yo '21 KEENOV).
O-Lucky Thunder Stables; B-Twin Creeks Farm (KY); T-Schuyler
Condon. $38,600.
3–Strava, 118, c, 3, Into Mischief–Catch My Drift, by
Pioneerof the Nile. ($275,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP; $825,000
2yo '21 KEENOV). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-WinStar Farm LLC, Siena
Farm LLC and Denny Crum; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Dallas
Stewart. $19,300.
Margins: 3 1/4, NK, 1. Odds: 5.99, 57.50, 2.80.
Also Ran: Chasing Time, Trademark, Knocker Down, Friar Laurence, Top of the Charts, We All See It.

The post Steal Sunshine Leads Upset Exacta In Ellis Park Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Cox Prepares Colonel Bowman For Ellis Park Derby, Three Fillies For Groupie Doll

Meet-leading trainer Brad Cox has a barn well-stocked with 3-year-old stakes-winners, and Colonel Bowman will try to become the latest in Sunday's $200,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby.

Colonel Bowman earned a shot at stakes company by taking an Ellis Park allowance race.

“He's trained very well up to the race,” said Jorge Abrego, who oversees Cox's Ellis Park operation. “It was his first time going two turns last time; he handled it very well. After the race, he came back good, breezed a couple of times really good. I'm very excited because it's a mile and an eighth. I think he'll run well. I like the horse. I'm not really scared of the competition. I think he has a big shot to win the race.”

Abrego, who was around Colonel Bowman all spring at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., says he's noticed a change.

“He gallops a mile and a half every day,” he said. “Second round, he gets stronger and stronger. I think the two turns for him is very good.”

Cox entered three horses in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Groupie Doll for fillies and mares: stakes-winning and graded stakes-place Dreamalildreamofu, sprint specialist Lady Rocket, and Indiana Grand stakes-winner Matera, who needs a scratch to run. When it was suggested that he was going to be busy in the paddock saddling horses, Abrego quipped, “I hope it keeps me busy in the winner's circle!”

The post Cox Prepares Colonel Bowman For Ellis Park Derby, Three Fillies For Groupie Doll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Art Collector Records Front-Running Win In Runhappy Ellis Park Derby

Art Collector, Bruce Lunsford's homebred colt by Bernardini, rolled to his fourth consecutive win for trainer Tommy Drury on Sunday, winning the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.

Under confident handling from Brian Hernandez Jr., Art Collector covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.02, winning by about three lengths. Attachment Rate, who was wide much of the way, finished second for trainer Dale Romans and jockey Joe Talamo. Necker Island finished third, with Rowdy Yates fourth, Grade 3 Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense fifth and G3 Ohio Derby winner Dean Martini sixth in the field of 12 3-year-olds.

Art Collector set fractions of :23.33, :46.74, 1:10.70, and 1:35.25. Truculent, who pressured Art Collector for much of the way, finished last.

The race offered qualifying points (50-20-10-5) to the top four finishers for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby.

“He's done nothing wrong this year, he's answered every question,” Drury said on TVG after the race.

Art Collector came into the Ellis Park Derby off a 3 1/2-length win over the filly Swiss Skydiver in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on July 11, coming from just off the pace. He won two allowance races before that at Churchill Downs, one of them in wire-to-wire fashion.

“I never really sent him, he broke sharp like he always does,” Hernandez said on TVG. “If I needed do I thought I could run them off their feet. It was impressive. He was drawing away pretty easily. Like Tommy said, we wanted to use this race as a building block, a foundation.”

From the Distorted Humor mare, Distorted Legacy, Art Collector began his career racing on turf for trainer Joe Sharp. He finished sixth in his first dirt race at Churchill Downs last November, then came from off the pace to finish 7 1/2 lengths in front in a Nov. 30 allowance race. A post-race drug test turned up positive for the prohibited substance levamisole and Art Collector was disqualified from that win.

Lunsford subsequently moved the horse to Drury, who is based at the Skylight training center near Louisville.

The post Art Collector Records Front-Running Win In Runhappy Ellis Park Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Art Collector Jockey Hernandez Helping Put Spotlight On Second Stride Aftercare Program

Three-year-olds are horse racing's glamour division, and taking center stage on Sunday's 10-race program at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., is the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby and its leading Kentucky Derby contender Art Collector.

But during that 1 1/8-mile race, Art Collector jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. will be bringing attention to horses far from the limelight: retired racehorses and industry efforts toward rehoming them after they're through at the track. In that regard, Hernandez will be wearing the name Second Stride on his white riding pants in the Ellis Park Derby, the first and pending another pandemic the only Kentucky Derby qualifying race ever to be held at the western Kentucky track.

Trainer Tommy Drury, who is 3 for 3 since receiving Art Collector early this year from owner Bruce Lunsford, is on the advisory board for Second Stride, the accredited thoroughbred rescue and aftercare facility in Prospect and Pleasureville outside of Louisville. Drury, Lunsford and Hernandez hope to gain recognition for Second Stride and the concerted effort by horse racing to find safe homes for its retirees, including retraining many for second careers.

For every Art Collector, there are thousands of horses who don't have a future breeding career. Founded by horsewoman Kim Smith, Second Stride is among 160 facilities across North America accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance to offer adoption, rehab and equine-assisted programs as well has sanctuary. There are nine TAA accredited programs in Kentucky, all but Second Stride located close to Lexington. Indiana is home to one accredited organization, Friends of Ferdinand in Indianapolis.

“It's such a good program and a much-needed program,” Drury said. “As trainer, we'd be lost without Second Stride. They find these horses good homes. Kim and her staff do such a great job. This is just kind of saying thanks for everything they've done for us.”

Staff by volunteers, Second Stride provides professional rehabilitation, retraining and placement of retired thoroughbred racehorses, adopting out an average of 100 horses a year, including 83 the first seven months of 2020. The program specializes in giving retired thoroughbreds the training they need to succeed in a second and sometimes third profession, such as with horses no longer being bred. The organization is one of the few aftercare facilities that will take male horses that haven't been gelded.

“We transition them to whatever each individual horse wants to do,” said Smith while watching Art Collector train earlier in the week at the Skylight training center in Oldham County. “As Tommy tries to get into their brain when they're here, we try to get into their brain and figure out what their next mission is going to be. We've placed horses in everything from polo, jumping, dressage to family horses. It's amazing to find out what these horses can do, the thoroughbred, and how versatile they are. Barrel horses, we've had some police work — especially a mounted unit that likes the big black horses.”

To have Hernandez displaying Second Stride on his leg, Smith said, “For us, it's just humbling that they would consider us. It's mind-blowing the national coverage just to get aftercare out there, and all the horsemen are doing for the horses. Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has been life-changing for our program and for the horses, with the sponsorship we get and also the mentoring and the education they provide our program in how to exceed. To have these hometown heroes being at Ellis is just going to be amazing. Tommy helped us set the foundation of the program and Brian Hernandez and his family come to our events and support us. So it's awesome. We're just proud of Tommy and Brian and the horse. It's super exciting.”

The post Art Collector Jockey Hernandez Helping Put Spotlight On Second Stride Aftercare Program appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post