Saffie Joseph Jr. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Casse Looking For Better Racing Luck For Coinage In Kitten’s Joy

Winless in two tries since finding graded-stakes success last summer in his turf debut, D.J. Stable and Chester and Mary Broman's Coinage will launch his sophomore season in Saturday's $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 10th running of the 1 1/16-mile Kitten's Joy on turf is among five graded-stakes for 3-year-olds on a 12-race program highlighted by the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3), the next step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1).

Post time is noon.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse is hoping to find better racing luck for Coinage, a chestnut son of Tapit bred in New York by the Bromans. He ran third after getting bumped and being forced to steady early in the Nownownow at Monmouth Park, then tired to ninth after pressing the pace from Post 12 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). Both races came at one mile.

“At Monmouth, he had some trouble at the start. He kind of stumbled and didn't get away from there,” Casse said. “In the Breeders' Cup, it was probably just more about post position. When you go around at Del Mar going a mile and you draw outside, it's kind of brutal. He just had a tough trip. We're just trying to get him back and, hopefully, he'll have a little luck this time.”

With his sire, the mare Bar of Gold and grandsire Medagila d'Oro all Grade 1 winners on the dirt, Coinage began his career sprinting on the main track, breaking his maiden second time out and running third in the Rick Violette, the latter at Saratoga. In an effort to stretch him out, Casse put Coinage on turf for the 1 1/16-mile With Anticipation (G3), and he responded with a front-running two-length triumph.

“We kind of felt like, just the way he moved, that he would like the grass. We worked him on the grass a couple times at Saratoga before we ran him on it and he just loved it,” Casse said. “He was impressive that day. I know that he's more than capable, it's just about having a good trip. He's been compromised in his last two starts.”

Casse, winner of the 2018 Kitten's Joy with Flameaway, enlisted Championship Meet leading Luis Saez to ride Coinage, who drew Post 2 in a field of eight.

“I think he's doing well. He's grown up a little bit over the wintertime,” Casse said. “He's training well. We're just trying to get him going and get him back started.”

Fellow Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher entered the pair of Grand Sonata and Royal Spirit. Whisper Hill Farm homebred Grand Sonata exits his first career stakes victory, a head decision over stablemate Chanceux in the one-mile Dania Beach Jan. 1 at Gulfstream.

“It was a pretty gutsy effort,” Pletcher said. “He had to kind of make up some ground off a slow pace and was able to get rolling late and get up in time. He was coming off kind of a tough trip in his prior race at Aqueduct so we were hoping to get a cleaner trip and we were able to do that. He's pretty much shown up and run well every time.”

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Royal Spirit will make his graded debut in the Kitten's Joy. The Into Mischief colt broke his maiden by 1 ¼ lengths sprinting 7 ½ furlongs on the Gulfstream turf Jan. 2, after ending his juvenile season running second in the Nownownow – six lengths ahead of Coinage – and fourth in the Awad at Belmont Park.

“He'd already had some stake experience. He was second in the stake at Monmouth so we were looking to get him in the winner's circle. We were happy to get the job done there and we've been focusing on this since then,” Pletcher said. “He's got tactical speed. I think he's capable of putting himself in a good spot and go from there. He seems like he's coming into it the right way.”

Tyler Gaffalione is named on Grand Sonata from Post 1 and Paco Lopez will ride Royal Spirit from Post 6 for Pletcher, who won the 2013 Kitten's Joy with Charming Kitten.

Gentry Farms' Eldon's Prince had a two-stakes win streak snapped last out in the 7 ½-furlong Pulpit on the Gulfstream turf Dec. 3. Prior to that he won the one-mile Proud Man on the grass at Gulfstream and an off-the-turf edition of the seven-furlong Armed Forces, the latter Sept. 18.

“The last race was off a little layoff and I thought he was a little flat training in his works for the race. It was a bit shorter, which wasn't ideal, but we needed to get started back anyway,” Championship Meet-leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “Toward the latter part of the race he stayed on steadily. He was never going to win, but I thought it was a race to build on. Since that race he's trained forwardly. I put some blinkers on him and I feel like he's going into this race with a very good chance.”

Eldon's Prince will wear blinkers for the first time and have the services of Irad Ortiz Jr. from Post 5. Joseph won the 2020 Kitten's Joy with Island Commish.

“I toyed with the idea of putting him back on the dirt. The main thing, I think, with him is distance. He needs longer distances. That's his main attribute, that he has a lot of stamina,” Joseph said. “We'll try and get through this race first and then we'll decide whether to give him a try on the dirt. For right now, we're going to stick to the turf.”

Speaking Scout returns to Gulfstream after being beaten a head in the Pulpit for trainer Graham Motion and owner Aron Wellman's Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. He has run second in back-to-back starts after breaking his maiden in an off-the-turf maiden special weight last fall at Delaware Park.

“He's a horse that Aron Wellman bought privately after his debut at Colonial [Downs]. Aron is someone that has a knack for finding these horses that are under the radar,” said Motion, who won the inaugural Kitten's Joy with Howe Great. “He really hasn't done anything wrong since we've had him. I thought he was a bit unlucky last time not to win. It was a matter of a head bob. He's a nice, hard-trying horse.”

Junior Alvarado rides Speaking Scout from Post 4.

Completing the field are Silverton Hill's Pulpit winner Red Danger; ProRacing Stable's Father Glado, third in the Dania Beach; and Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Red Knobs, third in the Iroquois (G3) on the dirt last fall.

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Remsen Winner Mo Donegal Gets Sophomore Season Under Way In Holy Bull

Donegal Racing's Mo Donegal is poised to make his 2022 debut in the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) Saturday at Gulfstream Park, and his Hall of Fame trainer, Todd Pletcher, has opted for no soft spot for the son of Uncle Mo's highly anticipated return to action.

The 33rd running of the Holy Bull, the first graded-stakes on the Road to the Florida Derby (G1), headlines a 12-race program that will also feature the $100,000 Claiborne Swale (G3), $100,000 Forward Gal (G3), $100,000 Kitten's Joy (G3) and $100,000 Sweetest Chant (G3).

Although Mo Donegal, 3-1 on the morning line, will be put to the test in a field that includes two Grade 1 stakes-placed opponents, the Pletcher-trained colt has already passed the most rigorous test for all Triple Crown prospects – the two-turn test over 1 1/8-miles. The $250,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale enters the Holy Bull off a gutsy triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Dec. 4.

“We were pretty focused on the Remsen right after he broke his maiden. We locked in on that and after the race I got with [Donegal Racing's] Jerry Crawford, and we talked about how we could go about getting on the Derby trail. We decided that the Holy Bull was the right starting point,” said Pletcher, who saddled Audible (2019) and Algorithms (2012) for Holy Bull victors. “It gives us plenty of options. If he were to run well, we still have the (March 4) Fountain of Youth to come back in if we wanted to or we could train up to the Florida Derby like we did with Audible. We kind of felt like it put us in a position to have the most options.”

Mo Donegal finished third in his Sept. 30 debut at Belmont, in which he broke slowly and was subsequently steadied in traffic. He came right back to graduate at 1 1/16 miles despite breaking a step slowly a month later. In the Remsen, Mo Donegal encountered bumping at the start, moved to the lead heading into the stretch, and battled with Zandon to the wire to eke out a triumph by a nose.

“I'm really pleased with his training since he came here after the Remsen. We targeted this right away and, knock on wood, thankfully everything has gone according to schedule,” Pletcher said. “He has not missed a beat since he's been here.”

Mo Donegal's Pletcher-trained sire, who captured the 2010 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, was 1-for-1 at Gulfstream, where he dominated the Timely Writer Stakes in his 3-year-old debut in March 2011. He takes after Uncle Mo in the looks department.

“Uncle Mo stamps his offspring probably more so than any stallion in the country. He looks like a lot of them do. He's got the same build. He's a good-sized colt,” Pletcher said. “He's had a bit of a growth spurt and he's done what you'd like to see 2-year-olds turning 3 and young 3-year-olds this time of year do, growing and physically developing.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. has the return mount aboard Mo Donegal, whose opponents will include Kenny McPeek-trained Tiz the Bomb, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Del Mar, and Dale Romans-trained Giant Game, third-place finisher in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds LTD's Tiz the Bomb rode a three-race winning streak into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf that started with a dazzling front-running maiden score by 14 ½ lengths in an off-the-turf second-out maiden race at Ellis Park July 2. The son of 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile turf winner Hit It a Bomb went on to capture the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile and the Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland from off the pace on turf.

“There are limited opportunities for 3-year-old grass horses in North America. He's a really talented horse and we don't want to lock him in as strictly a grass horse. There's no sense pigeonholing him as a grass horse,” McPeek said. “Even last year we could have made a case for keeping him on dirt, but I chose to keep him separated from some of my other colts. At this stage, we're going to give him the opportunity to play on the dirt.”

Tiz the Bomb dropped back to 12^th while in traffic in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf before rallying strongly to finish second behind Modern Games.

“I thought it was somewhat of an unlucky trip, but he still ran well. It was a respectable run. He ran a good race; he split horses and came flying late. The other horse got a little bit of a jump on him,” said McPeek, who saddled Harvey Wallbanger for a 29-1 upset victory in the 2019 Holy Bull.

Regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. is scheduled to travel from Fair Grounds for the Holy Bull.

Albaugh Family Stables LLC and West Point Thoroughbreds' Giant Game made a four-wide move into contention in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile before settling for third in his stakes debut. The son of Giants Causeway, who will be ridden by Luis Saez for the first time Saturday, had previously finished third in the debut before graduating by three lengths at Keeneland in his two-turn debut.

C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable LLC's White Abarrio enters the Holy Bull off a third-place finish behind McPeek-trained Smile Happy and Brian Lynch-trained Classic Causeway in the Nov. 27 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs.

“He's coming out of a strong prep that Smile Happy won, and he's the Derby favorite right now. The [trainer Keith] Desormeaux horse [Call Me Midnight] that was behind him came back to win the prep at Fair Grounds [G3 Lecomte] the other day, so it's a race that's produced some good form so far,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “He's going to face good horses again this time. This is going to be one of the best preps so far on the Derby trail competition-wise, so he's going to need to improve, but we feel like he's eligible to improve.”

White Abarrio was purchased privately after romping to a 6 ¾-length victory in his Sept. 24 debut at Gulfstream, where the son of Race Day came right back to score a five-length optional claiming allowance victory over Strike Hard, who went on to finish second in the Jan. 1 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream.

“He's doing well. He missed some time. He got a little sick, so he missed some days, but he was plenty fit before that,” Joseph said. “I think he goes in there with a good chance.”

Tyler Gaffalione is scheduled to ride White Abarrio for the first time in the Holy Bull.

Tami Bobo's Simplification, who won the Mucho Macho Man by four lengths in front-running style, is expected to set or attend the early pace while stretching out around two turns for the first time.

“The longer the race, the better is it for my horse,” trainer Antonio Sano said.

The long-striding son of Not This Time broke his maiden at Gulfstream by 16 ¾ lengths at six furlongs in his second career start. He came back to finish a troubled third again at six-furlongs before impressively stretching out to a mile in the Mucho Macho Man.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the call on Simplification.

OXO Equine LLC's Galt, who broke his maiden by three lengths while trying two turns for the first time at Gulfstream, Cash is King LLC and LC Racing LLC's Eloquist, who finished fifth in the Remsen; Stonehedge LLC's Cajun's Magic, a strong force in the Florida Sire Stakes series last year; and BBN Racing LLC's Spin Wheel, a maiden winner at Churchill Downs last time out; are also entered in the Holy Bull.

Post/Horse/Jockey/Trainer/Morning Line Odds

1-Galt-Alvarado-Mott 15-1
2-Mo Donegal-I. Ortiz-Pletcher 5-2
3-Eloquist-Pennington-Reid 20-1
4-Simplefication-Castellano-Sano 4-1
5-Cajun's Magic-Rios-Yates 8-1
6-Tiz the Bomb-Hernandez-McPeek 6-1
7-Spin Wheel-Leparoux-Arnold 20-1
8-White Abarrio-Gaffalione-Joseph 6-1
9-Giant Game-Saez-Romans 7-2

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After Florida Preps, Drain The Clock, Ny Traffic May Point To Carter Handicap

Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael Nentwig's Drain the Clock, winner of last year's Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Nassau County Industrial Development Agency at Belmont Park, is pointed to the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint on Feb. 12.

Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., the 4-year-old Maclean's Music chestnut won 5-of-8 starts last year, including scores in the Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream and the Grade 3 Bay Shore at the Big A.

Joseph, Jr. said Drain the Clock is one of three horses, along with Ny Traffic and Three Chimneys Farm and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' stakes-placed Collaborate under consideration for the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Carter Handicap on April 9 at Aqueduct.

Both Drain the Clock and Ny Traffic could also point to races on the Dubai World Cup undercard in March with the six-furlong Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen and Group 2 Godolphin Mile possible.

“Drain the Clock is doing well,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He'll run in the Gulfstream Sprint in February and then he might go to Dubai. It's between the Carter and Dubai, but we hope to bring someone up for the Carter – either Ny Traffic or Collaborate.”

John Fanelli, Cash Is King, LC Racing, Paul Braverman and Team Hanley's multiple graded stakes placed New York-bred Ny Traffic is likely to make his next start in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile on March 5.

The 5-year-old son of Cross Traffic bested fellow state-breds last out in the Hudson contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on October 30 at Belmont Park.

The versatile grey was a game second around two turns in the nine-furlong 2020 Grade 1 Haskell Invitational, but Joseph, Jr. said he would like to focus on one-turn events this season.

“He seems to be best cut back to one turn,” Joseph, Jr. said of Ny Traffic, who had to miss the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in December at the Big A after an illness. “He fought off the bug he had and he's probably going to go to the Gulfstream Mile in March. He's been working well.”

Joseph, Jr. nominated both A.P.'s Secret and Eldon's Prince to Saturday's Grade 3 Withers but said both are unlikely to make the journey with A. P.'s Secret under consideration for the Grade 2 Risen Star on February 19 at Fair Grounds.

“I might look at the Risen Star for one [A.P.'s Secret] and Eldon's Prince is going to stay on the grass for now,” Joseph, Jr. said.

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Shifty She Faces Toughest Challenge Yet In Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf

Fully recovered from a career-threatening injury that cost her all of 2020, Shifty She, with her distinctive name and background, is ready for a stern test Saturday in the inaugural running of the TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Presented by PEPSI (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

Peter Brant's Grade 1 winner Regal Glory, trained by Chad Brown, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/16 miles turf test that drew a field of 11 stakes runners. Regal Glory will start from Post No. 4 with jockey Jose Ortiz. The lineup includes Robert amd Lawana Low's Sweet Melania, who edged Shifty She in the Suwannee River (G3) on Dec. 18, and Team Valor's Irish-bred Wakanaka, who will make her U.S. debut.

The $500,000 Filly and Mare Turf is the newest addition to Gulfstream Park's program of seven graded stakes topped by the sixth running of the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) present by 1/ST Bet.

Shifty She, a Florida-bred daughter of Gone Astray, had won three of four starts as a 3-year-old in 2019 before going to the sidelines with a tendon injury.

“In this game you have to be very patient and I'm a very patient guy,” said Chris Pallas, who is the mare's co-breeder and co-owner.

Pallas credits the vets at Ocala Equine with the treatment that enabled her to resume her career.

“We got her back and she is just a pleasure to be around,” he said. “She's just a very smooth horse. When you watch her, she glides over the grass. She's very graceful and she loves what she's doing. That's really her mindset. She's all about the business and she loves to run.”

Since her return in April with new trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., the speedy daughter of Gone Astray has a record of 3-1-1 from seven starts, topped by a victory in the Noble Damsel (G3) on Oct. 23 at Belmont Park.

Chris Pallas and his brother-in-law George Klein bred the mare and Pallas is a co-owner in Pedigree Partners. Pallas and Klein were given the unraced broodmare Perilous Hope and they followed their plan to have the Phipps family mare Pure Profit on both sides of Shifty She's pedigree. Pure Profit's daughter, Educated Risk, is the third dam of Perilous Hope and her Hall of Fame daughter, Inside Information, is the third dam of the Florida-based sire Gone Astray.

“We had won a silent auction to a season with Gone Astray so we kind of did this for practically nothing. Here we are today,” Pallas said. “This is an expensive sport and if you can match up your pedigrees you can do this fairly inexpensively and you can get pretty lucky.”

Pallas, a longtime Fort Lauderdale resident, said there was a similar breeding approach with the graded-stakes winning sprinter Mambo Meister he co-owned from 2007 to 2012.

Shifty She – Pallas fashioned the name from her breeding – showed stakes ability while tiring and finishing fourth in her comeback race in April in an optional claimer and has been in stakes company since. At her best when on or near the lead, she led from gate to wire in the Noble Damsel.

“I was numb for three days after that. It was amazing. She had two really sharp works here and when you're an owner and you can come and watch the workouts, you learn a lot more about your horse than at a race. I knew she was ready to run. Everybody that handled her from here to Belmont was fantastic. Just being there that day, it was an overcast day, it was cool. She ran them off their feet. She just did her thing.”

Brant purchased Regal Glory for $925,000 in January of 2021 in the disbursement of the late Paul Pompa's racing stable. The daughter of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Animal Kingdom has been trained by Brown throughout her career. Last year, she won the Plenty of Grace at Aqueduct and De La Rose at Saratoga around a fourth in the Just a Game (G1) then finished second by a half-length to stablemate Blowout in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland. In front from the start, she picked up the coveted Grade 1 victory in the Matriarch on Nov. 28 at Del Mar.

Sweet Melania, a 5-year-old daughter of American Pharoah, was in the money four times during a seven-race winless streak going into the Suwanee River. She stayed within striking distance of pacesetting Shifty She, engaged her in the stretch and earned her third graded stakes victory by a half-length. Sweet Melania, the 5-1 second choice on the morning line, will start from the rail.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher liked what he saw Saturday when the mare worked a half-mile in :48.98 at Palm Beach Downs.

“I thought her last race was one of her best. I think she's actually coming into this one even better,” Pletcher said. “This will be a more demanding race, but she's training like she's made a move forward since the last one. Hopefully she can step up.”

Charles Fipke's homebred Lady Speightspeare won the first four starts of her career, all at Woodbine in suburban Toronto, before finishing third as the 6-5 favorite after a troubled trip in the Tropical Park Oaks on Dec. 26. The daughter of Speightstown out of the Theatrical mare Lady Shakespeare, will have a new rider with Junior Alvarado. She drew Post No. 3 and is 8-1 on the morning line.

Fortune Racing's Bipartisanship won the Tropical Park Oaks at 19-1 for trainer Graham Motion and has two wins and a third in four starts since being imported from Ireland last year. She drew the outside post and is 20-1.

Stuart Janney's homebred 5-year-old In a Hurry finished third in the Suwannee River behind Sweet Melania and Shifty She. Her regular rider Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has the mount on the daughter of Blame, who will start from Post No. 10.

Trainer Michael McCarthy will saddle Nicest, the Irish-bred daughter of American Pharoah. She was third in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks (G1) and Ribblesdale Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot before being imported last year. In her most recent start, she was second in the off-the-turf American Oaks (G1) on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita.

Godolphin's Alms was seventh in the Suwannee River after missing by a neck in her previous start at Fair Grounds. Gift List will be making her first start for trainer Brian Lynch since finishing third as the favorite in the Wonder Again (G3) on June 3 at Belmont Park. Summer in Saratoga, trained by Joe Sharp, closed out the 2021 season with three wins in four starts. In her most recent race, she won the Blushing KD by a neck at Fair Grounds on Dec. 26.

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