Pegasus Preview Day at Gulfstream Park Saturday

Gulfstream Park's Saturday program will offer four stakes races– three graded–including the GIII Harlan's Holiday S., a prep for the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, and the GII Fort Lauderdale S., a prep for the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

The Harlan's Holiday drew a field of 11, including last out GII Hagyard Fayette S. winner and 5-2 morning-line favorite O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman); last year's GII Remsen S. winner Dubyuhnell (Good Magic), who returned from the shelf with an optional claiming win at Keeneland Oct. 28; and the streaking $1.7-million OBS April graduate and 'TDN Rising Star' Signator (Tapit), who makes his stakes debut for trainer Shug McGaughey following two straight wins at Aqueduct Oct. 21 and Nov. 12.

“In the Keeneland race, he was off the pace, but he was handy the whole way. He was into the bridle and traveled well for Tyler (Gaffalione),” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said of O'Connor's win in the Fayette. “If he can travel the same way, it will increase his chances Saturday.”

The Fort Lauderdale has attracted a field of 10, including the Chad Brown-trained duo of 2-1 morning-line favorite Running Bee (English Channel), who resurfaced from a lengthy layoff with a wire-to-wire victory in an optional claimer at Aqueduct Nov. 17; and Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), runner-up in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Turf. The latter adds blinkers following a fifth-place finish in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. Oct. 7.

The 11-race card at Gulfstream also includes: the GIII Suwannee River S. and the Rampart S.

Santa Anita, meanwhile, boasts a pair of grassy graded races Saturday, the GII Joe Hernandez S. and the GIII Robert J. Frankel S.

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Gulfstream Championship Season Graded Races Ready To Unwrap

A pair of graded stakes races will signal that the Gulfstream Park Championship season is officially underway on Saturday.

First, the GIII Sugar Swirl S. for older females going six furlongs on the main track includes veteran mare Bluefield (Field Commission), who won by a neck against state-breds in a Tampa black-type race Dec. 9.

“She went up to Tampa and it was nice to get a stakes win on her resume at this age,” said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. “She came to us late but she just keeps getting better and better. She's never run back this quick, but she's in good order so I think she should run well. Hopefully she has a good week leading up to it.”

Bluefield will be joined by her new stablemate Intrepid Daydream (Jess's Dream). Purchased privately just last week, the filly rides in on a four-race win streak at the Mid-Atlantic tracks.

Also entered is Napa Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}). The chestnut prepped for this spot when she came from off the pace to win an optional claimer at Churchill Downs Nov. 22. Joining her will be Headland (Paynter), who was third last out in the Garland of Roses S. at Aqueduct Dec. 9, while AMO Racing's SP Olivia Darling (Palace) will look to improve after a fifth-place finish in the GIII Princess Rooney S. in Hallandale Oct. 7.

The other half of the graded stakes Saturday offering is the seven-furlong GIII Mr. Prospector S. for older males. Last year's edition was used as the springboard for Sibelius (Not This Time) as he won three straight, including traveling to Dubai to collect the G1 Golden Shaheen S.

“Maybe it's the time of year where he's best, I don't know,” said trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer. “We'll find out this year. It's going to be his second year in a row trying to take the same path. We're looking forward to it. I couldn't be happier with the horse.”

Sibelius might not have such an easy task ahead with the presence of MGSW Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy). After winning both of his starts at Gulfstream over the summer, the 7-year-old returns here with the capability to run this field off their feet.

Trainer Brendan Walsh sends Gilmore (Twirling Candy) back to the post to finish off what could be considered a consistent year for the 3-year-old colt. The gray was the runner-up in the GIII Bayshore S., then was third in both the GII Pat Day Mile S. and GI Woody Stephens S.

An entry who could be a pace factor is AMO Racing's Hurricane J (Nyquist). Formerly under Paulo Lobo's care, the dark bay colt made his first start for Jorge Delgado over the Gulfstream main track against optional claimers and won by 2 3/4 lengths Nov. 19.

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Ramsey Seeks to Add to his Record 16 Claiming Crown Wins

Edited Press Release

Ken Ramsey is back at the Claiming Crown. If he has only three horses (in two races) running in the program designed to showcase American horse racing's blue-collar horses, it's not for a lack of effort.

The 88-year-old Ramsey is the winningest owner in the history of the Claiming Crown, which will be staged for the 25th time this Saturday at the historic Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. But his last starter came with Peru (GB) (Motivator {GB}), whose victory in the 2018 Claiming Crown Tiara at Gulfstream Park extended Ramsey's record in the program to 16.

“I'm trying to pad my resume,” quipped Ramsey, who significantly downsized his once-massive racing operation in recent years. “… I was trying to get a horse for each [Claiming Crown] race. I started looking when they finished up last year. I decided, hey, I'm going to get back in the game. I'd downsized and I had a few health issues and I've not been as active. But I enjoyed it so much and missed it so much that I started claiming some. I probably claimed 20 horses this year–and got out-shook for probably three times that many.

“… I just turned 88. I'm kind of an old fossil. It's like my last hurrah. I'm probably getting pretty close to the finish line, so I'd like to go out with a blaze of glory.”

The Claiming Crown, conceived to be a Breeders' Cup-style event for claiming horses, was created in 1999 by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). The program gives Thoroughbred racing's workhorses, their owners and trainers a day in the spotlight in recognition of their importance to filling out race cards across the nation.

Though he and his late wife, Sarah, became major players internationally–earning four Eclipse Awards as outstanding owner and two as outstanding breeder, as well as four Breeders' Cup victories and the Dubai World Cup–Ramsey burst on the scene as a Pick Six bettor and by claiming lots of horses and winning lots of races. Extremely goal-oriented, Ramsey put his mind to setting records for meet titles at wins at Churchill Downs, Keeneland and Kentucky Downs–in the process becoming the winningest owner in Kentucky history.

The Claiming Crown became a major goal as well, one now off hiatus.

In King's Ovation (Not This Time), Ramsey has one of the favorites for the $200,000 Claiming Crown Jewel at 1 1/8 miles for horses that have competed for a claiming price of $35,000 in 2023. Ramsey claimed King's Ovation for $62,500 at Keeneland–a race he won impressively–in his last start. The owner also has Shimmer Me Timbers (Eddington) and Cotton (Twirling Candy) in the $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf for horses that have raced for a $25,000 claiming price or less in 2022-2023. All three were claimed out of their last start specifically for the Claiming Crown, he said.

“It gives the little guy a chance to strike a home run,” Ramsey said of the Claiming Crown. “The purses are good and the competition is good. They spread it around. It's been at about four or five different tracks. I used to never miss, would have three, four or five running in it all the time. But I'm back to feeling good. I'm looking forward to Saturday so I can try to add another one.”

King's Ovation and Shimmer Me Timbers are trained by Robertino Diodoro, while Saffie Joseph, Jr. trains Cotton.

Diodoro began training for Ramsey this past spring.

“I'd have loved to have seen this guy when he was about 45 years old,” the trainer said of Ramsey. “I give him a lot of credit. He's full of a lot of energy and I love his attitude. He loves the game–and loves winning.”

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Riding Six Tracks In Six Days, Conner’s Mileage Surpassed Only By His Work Ethic

When Penn National shut down for a one-month planned break Sept. 23, Tyler Conner, the track's third-leading rider this year in both wins and earnings, wasn't sure what he'd do to keep his income flowing.

Yet the 30-year-old jockey, who is soft-spoken but highly driven, managed to build enough out-of-town business to the point where he has just completed a demanding six-day run of riding at six different tracks in the Northeast and Canada.

His whirlwind tour included more than 1,800 miles of driving, nearly all of which he accomplished solo Oct. 11-16 while amassing a 2-4-2 mark from 14 mounts at Parx, Laurel, Delaware, Aqueduct, Woodbine and Presque Isle.

“Anyone have a helicopter I can borrow?” Conner had humorously asked on Twitter during the midway point of his journey.

And no, on the seventh day Conner did not rest. TDN spoke to him via phone Oct. 17 while he was driving 110 miles from his home on a small farm near Penn National to ride at Parx, where the six-day streak had first begun Oct. 11.

Conner said the extensive travel was worth it, although maybe more in terms of getting his name out there and getting noticed rather than money.

“I was a little worried the last couple of weeks before we shut down, because I didn't have a plan. I didn't really know what business would be like with the break. Winning when you have to ship in from out of town is always tough,” Conner said.

And what fueled him on his rigorous commutes beyond aspirations of bettering himself?

“Good music and podcasts,” Conner said. “And I definitely drank too much Mountain Dew to keep me awake and focused. For most of the week it was rainy, kind of gloomy. So it wasn't the best driving, but nothing crazy happened. That's always helpful.”

“But it's been pretty good,” Conner continued. “I've been really, really busy. Busier than I've been all year, honestly. And the horses are running well, so that helps. [The week on the road]  paid for the trip, and a little more.”

The day after Penn went on hiatus, Conner had four mounts on the GI Pennsylvania Derby card at Parx, where his best finish was third aboard Mish (Field Commission) in the $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile S.

Honor D Lady | Coady Photography

That mount was for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., who also sent Conner to ride in Oklahoma the next night, Sept. 24, aboard Honor D Lady (Honor Code), who won the GIII Remington Park Oaks at 7-1 odds.

“Winning the Oaks was huge,” Conner said. “That really helped, being off for the month.”

Conner returned home and rode at various mid-Atlantic tracks over the next two weeks. His calendar then came together better than he expected it would in the second week of October.

He began the six-tracks-in-six-days tour with 220 miles of round-trip driving Oct. 11 and a third-place finish in a Parx starter-allowance with a $26,000 purse.

The next day, Oct. 12, the 240-mile round trip to Laurel netted Conner a second and a win, with the victory coming in a $60,940 allowance/optional claimer.

On Friday the 13th, Conner trekked 170 miles round-trip to Delaware, riding fifth with one mount, then second with another in a starter-allowance with a $30,000 purse.

“Parx, Laurel, Delaware, I just go back and forth for those as day trips,” Conner said as if racking up 630 collective miles on three consecutive days constituted normal workday commuting.

On Saturday, Oct. 14, Conner drove 180 miles to Aqueduct to ride Salvaje (Kantharos) in the $125,000 Floral Park S. The field scratched down to four as an off-the-turfer, and he managed third with his 6-1 shot behind a 3-10 winner.

“I drove to Woodbine from there. It was about nine hours, and I got to Woodbine around midnight,” Conner said of the 500-mile trek that included an international border crossing. “Then I just slept in until 10 in the morning and got some rest.”

Those two Woodbine mounts (one in a stakes) again came courtesy of trainer Joseph.

Conner explained that after he won the GII Penn Mile for a different trainer in 2022, Joseph had contacted him with praise for his riding, and had offered to give him business if he switched his tack to Gulfstream, where Joseph is based.

Conner tried it for a weekend in June 2022 and won a race, but respectfully declined the offer to move to Florida full-time because he thought it would be too tough to get additional mounts on that highly competitive circuit beyond those that Joseph offered.

“Saffie has helped me a lot,” Conner said. “He's been so good to me, and given me an opportunity to ride a lot of nice horses. I tell people all the time I'll go anywhere he wants me to go, just to have those opportunities. Now he sends me where it fits for him and when I'm available. It's been good riding for new people at new tracks and to get recognized a little bit outside of the usual.”

At Woodbine Oct. 15, Conner was second aboard the 15-1 Mystic Lake (Mo Town) in the $125,000 Glorious Song S., and he ran fourth with his 18-1 shot in a maiden allowance.

Woodbine to Presque Isle meant another border crossing and 180 more miles. Out of six mounts for six different trainers on the Oct. 16 card there, Conner won a $30,000 maiden allowance and finished second in a maiden-claimer.

Tyler Conner | Lauren King

On the 310-mile drive back home in the dark, Conner said he got help splitting time behind the wheel from a Penn-based buddy who had also been up at Presque Isle to race.

“I'm actually enjoying the traveling right now,” Conner said. “I would hopefully like to keep riding at other bigger tracks and ride in more big races. I'm working on getting to Kentucky. But I'm just kind of waiting on an answer from an agent right now, and depending on what he wants to do, I'll go from there.”

Conner was born into a racing family. His father, John Conner, is a former trainer who now owns horses and is an in-demand farrier. His mom, Sandra Conner, rode regularly from 1989 up until Tyler was born in 1993. His stepmom, Erin McClellan, currently trains at Penn.

Yet Conner said he didn't gravitate to becoming a jockey until after he had quit high school and earned his GED while working as a groom. Prior to that, ever since he was about age five, his passion had been motocross.

“That's all I did growing up, was ride motorcycles. I still do, on occasion,” Conner said. “I guess I figured I'd try riding horses out of necessity. I kept getting hurt on the motorcycles, and I had to find a job that would pay better than grooming, so I started riding. I had never been on a horse before that.”

Conner laughed politely at the suggestion that not too many jockeys find their calling in race-riding because they think it's a less dangerous option than what they had been doing.

“I know anything can happen, but riding horses is definitely safer at this point. The chances of injury are a lot lower, it seems like,” Conner said.

Wednesday, Oct. 18, was technically Conner's first day off in a week. But that just meant he wouldn't have mounts booked in afternoon or evening races.

“Oh, yeah, I'll still go to work at Penn for morning training, for sure,” Conner said.

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