santa anita | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fair Maiden Rallies In La Brea, Giving Jockey Ricky Gonzalez First Grade 1 Win

In a streak of Godolphin Blue, the Eoin Harty-trained Fair Maiden blew by her competition late to take Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 La Brea Stakes by 2 ¼ lengths under upstart Ricky Gonzalez. Fair Maiden, in her eighth career start, got seven furlongs in 1:22.69 on the Santa Anita main track in Arcadia, Calif.

Breaking from post position nine in a field of 10 sophomore fillies, Fair Maiden was mid-pack, about three lengths off the lead approaching the top of the lane while following the Bob Baffert-trained Golden Principal. From there, Fair Maiden, who was six-deep off the turn, easily reeled in Golden Principal for an impressive victory, which provided Gonzalez with his first-ever Grade 1 triumph.

“Eoin (Harty) said she was doing really really well, to just put her in the race,” Gonzalez said. “There were quite a few speeds. 'Just put her in the race get her clear and get her to the outside.' We hit the stretch and as soon as we hit the stretch she went on the outside and was just full of run.

On recording his first Grade 1 victory, Gonzalez said, “I was just so happy and excited, to just ride these kinds of horses, it feels great. I'm very thankful to Eoin and all the trainers for all the opportunities.”

Most recently fourth in an ungraded six furlong stakes at Keeneland Nov. 7, Fair Maiden was off at 20-1 and paid $43.20, $18.60 and $10.00.

Owned and bred by Godolphin, LLC in Kentucky, Fair Maiden is by Street Boss out of the Smart Strike mare Shieldmaiden. A minor stakes winner on turf in her third career start at Woodbine in August 2019, Fair Maiden collected her first graded stakes win on Saturday and improved her overall mark to 8-4-1-1. With the winner's share of $180,000, she increased her earnings to $321,278.

One of four Baffert trainees in the field, Golden Principal was off at 12-1 and paid $13.60 and $7.40 while finishing 1 ½ lengths in front of her stablemate Merneith.

Ridden by John Velazquez, Merneith was the second choice in the betting at 7-2 and paid $4.00 to show while finishing three quarters of length in front of post time favorite Finite, who is trained by Steve Asmussen.

Fractions on the race were 21.88, 44.59 and 1:09.92.

“It's just the way the things pan out when you get to that number two level. It's hard to find a race against really competitive company,” Harty said, when asked why he switched from synthetic surfaces and turf to dirt this year. “I didn't want to keep taking her up to Woodbine so I found a spot in Churchill (winning a six-furlong allowance race) and that was a big question mark as to whether she would handle it there and she did. She was super professional that day and gave me a lot of confidence in bringing her out here for this.

“I've been watching Ricky ride since he came down here, and I think he's the next superstar. He's brave and he puts his horse in a spot to win. I grab him in every time I can because I think he's a world-class rider, and today was his first Grade 1 win.”

The post Fair Maiden Rallies In La Brea, Giving Jockey Ricky Gonzalez First Grade 1 Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Duopoly Goes Wire-to-Wire in American Oaks

Having sent out Klaravich Stable’s Competitionofideas (Speightstown) to win his first GI American Oaks two years ago, trainer Chad Brown was back at it again Saturday afternoon, as Klaravich’s Duopoly (Animal Kingdom) was given a beautifully rated ride from the front by Frenchman Flavien Prat and had plenty left late to post a mild upset at odds of 6-1. Going to Vegas (Goldencents) stayed on gamely for second ahead of favored ‘TDN Rising Star’ Sharing (Speightstown), who just earned a photo for third.

Duopoly appeared the speed of the field and so it proved, as Prat kicked her straight into the lead as they raced down the hill, but John Velazquez was content on keeping Sharing closer to whatever pace eventuated. Duopoly switched off nicely through opening splits of :24.91 and :49.67, but the same could not be said for Sharing, who wanted to overrace and pulled hard through the middle stages. Prat managed to slacken the pace further still over the next internal quarter-mile (:25.22) and looked to have the race at his mercy turning for home. Duopoly, unsurprisingly, had plenty left to give and sprinted her final two furlongs in :22.63 en route to a reasonably easy victory.

“I thought on the backside someone was going to hook up with me, but lucky enough nobody did,” said Prat. “We had a pretty nice trip. She was full of herself and travelling perfect. When I asked her she really kicked in.”

Duopoly wired a field of Monmouth maidens to graduate second time out July 2 and repeated the dose in Saratoga allowance company Aug. 21, but was unable to find the front as the favorite in the Oct. 16 GIII Pin Oak Valley View S. at Keeneland and weakened to be fifth. She was back to her pacesetting ways in the Nov. 15 Winter Memories S. at Aqueduct, defeating Saturday’s Tropical Park Oaks winner Vigilantes Way (Medaglia d’Oro) into third.

Pedigree Notes:

Duopoly is the third top-level and seventh graded/group winner for the expatriated Animal Kingdom and the sire’s second Grade I winner this term, joining Jaipur S. heroine Oleksandra (Aus). Justaroundmidnight is the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Quality Road and a yearling Kitten’s Joy colt that fetched $275,000 at this year’s Keeneland September sale that has since been exported to England. The mare was barren to Kitten’s Joy’s son Oscar Performance for 2020 and was returned to that stallion this past season.

Saturday, Santa Anita
AMERICAN OAKS-GI, $302,500, Santa Anita, 12-26, 3yo, f, 1 1/4mT, 2:01.61, fm.
1–DUOPOLY, 124, f, 3, by Animal Kingdom
1st Dam: Justaroundmidnight (Ire) (GSW, $161,948), by
Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Strategy (GB), by Machiavellian
3rd Dam: Island Story (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. ($160,000 Ylg
’18 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Jamm, Ltd. (KY);
T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $180,000. Lifetime Record:
6-4-0-0, $308,034. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Going to Vegas, 124, f, 3, by Goldencents
1st Dam: Hard to Resist (SW, $284,538), by Johannesburg
2nd Dam: Anja, by Gulch
3rd Dam: Knoosh, by Storm Bird
O-Harry Bederian, Harout Kamberian, Hagop Nakkashian &
Richard Baltas; B-J. Kirk & Judy Robison (KY); T-Richard Baltas.
$60,000.
3–Sharing, 124, f, 3, by Speightstown
1st Dam: Shared Account (GISW, $1,649,427), by Pleasantly Perfect
2nd Dam: Silk n’ Sapphire, by Smart Strike
3rd Dam: Golden Tiy, by Dixieland Band
($350,000 Ylg ’18 FTSAUG). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
& Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); B-Sagamore Farm (MD);
T-H. Graham Motion. $36,000.
Margins: 2, 3/4, NO. Odds: 6.00, 14.80, 1.60.
Also Ran: Red Lark (Ire), Capital Structure (GB), Luck Money, Miss Addie Pray, Neige Blanche (Fr), California Kook, Guitty (Fr).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Harty Outdoes Former Boss in La Brea

For 14 years, Irishman Eoin Harty worked as the right-hand man to trainer Bob Baffert, helping oversee the careers of the dual Classic-winning duo of Silver Charm (1997) and Real Quiet (1998) among many other luminaries. For the last two decades, Harty has served as an American-based conditioner for Godolphin, having developed the likes of Street Cry (Ire), champion Tempera–whom he trained to a victory in the 2001 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies–and Dubai Escapade. Now 58 and a decade removed from his most recent Grade I success, Harty was back in the spotlight following a 20-1 upset by Fair Maiden (Street Boss) in Saturday’s GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita. Golden Principal (Constitution) and Merneith (American Pharoah) completed a 2-3 finish for the Baffert barn.

The La Brea field was caught in a nice line and Fair Maiden raced prominently early before drifting back to the latter half of the field as Biddy Duke (Bayern) poked through to take up the running down the backstretch. Ridden quietly by Northern California import Ricky Gonzalez, while racing three or four off the rail in the slipstream of the Chad Brown-trained Motivated Selller (Into Mischief) around the turn, Fair Maiden edged into the four path to follow the move of Golden Principal into the stretch. Pulled out into the clear to lay down her challenge shortly thereafter, Fair Maiden hit high gear at the furlong grounds and raced away to a convincing success. Favored Finite (Munnings) settled well back in the field and made mild late progress into fourth. It was a first Grade I winner for jockey Ricky Gonzalez, who shifted his tack from up north for the winter.

“Eoin [Harty] said she was doing really, really well, to just put her in the race,” he explained. “There were quite a few speeds. ‘Just put her in the race, get her clear and get her to the outside.’ We hit the stretch and as soon as we hit the stretch, she went on the outside and was just full of run.”

It was the first Grade I for Harty since Victor’s Cry, a son of the aforementioned Street Cry, took out the 2010 Shoemaker Mile.

An Arlington maiden romper at second asking last season, Fair Maiden won the grassy Catch a Glimpse S. at Woodbine and was a narrowly beaten third in the GI Natalma S. before finishing well-beaten behind Sharing (Speightstown) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The chestnut resumed to post a 2 1/4-length allowance when trying dirt for the first time in her career at Churchill Sept. 19 and was a troubled fourth to Merneith and Motivated Seller in the Qatar Fort Springs S. on Breeders’ Cup Saturday at Keeneland Nov. 7.

Pedigree Notes:

Fair Maiden is the seventh Group 1/Grade I winner for her sire and is one of two winners from three to race from her dam, an $875,000 graduate of the 2009 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. Fair Maiden’s third dam won the 2000 GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Mother Goose S. before going on to produce MGISP Dunkirk (Unbridled’s Song). Shieldmaiden, the 10th daughter of the late Smart Strike to produce a top-level winner, was sold for $30,000 in foal to Animal Kingdom at Keeneland November in 2017 and produced colts by Passion For Action in each of the last two seasons before being covered by the same son of Speightstown last year.

Saturday, Santa Anita
LA BREA S.-GI, $302,500, Santa Anita, 12-26, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:22.69, ft.
1–FAIR MAIDEN, 120, f, 3, by Street Boss
1st Dam: Shieldmaiden, by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Code Book, by Giant’s Causeway
3rd Dam: Secret Status, by A.P. Indy
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Godolphin
(KY); T-Eoin G. Harty; J-Ricardo Gonzalez. $180,000. Lifetime
Record: 8-4-1-1, $321,278. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Golden Principal, 120, f, 3, by Constitution
1st Dam: Gold D’ Medaglia, by Medaglia d’Oro
2nd Dam: Lemon Twist, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Danzig Island, by Danzig
($35,000 RNA Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo ’19 OBSAPR).
O-Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram & Paul Weitman; B-CESA
Farm (FL); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Merneith, 120, f, 3, by American Pharoah
1st Dam: Flattermewithroses (SW), by Flatter
2nd Dam: Rosella, by Grindstone
3rd Dam: Fluttery Danseur, by Wavering Monarch
($350,000 Wlg ’17 FTKNOV; $600,000 2yo ’19 OBSMAR).
O-HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud; B-China Horse Club
(KY); T-Bob Baffert. $36,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1HF, 3/4. Odds: 20.60, 12.80, 3.60.
Also Ran: Finite, Secret Keeper, Provocation, Himiko, Biddy Duke, Motivated Seller, Princess Mo. Scratched: Stellar Sound.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Santa Anita Debuts New 6 1/2-Furlong Turf Course Chute

A project that was undertaken with great urgency this past Aug. 17 came to fruition on opening day as Santa Anita's turf chute was utilized for the first time as Saturday's sixth race at 6 ½ furlongs attracted a field of 12 allowance horses aged three and up. Under sunny, blue skies, the race was taken by trainer Mike Puype's Highly Distorted, who got the distance in 1:14.85 while winning by three quarters of a length under jockey Juan Hernandez.

Breaking from post position four, Highly Distorted, idle since breaking his maiden going 5 ½ furlongs on the Del Mar turf July 25, showed good speed out of the gate and controlled the pace throughout through splits of 22.64, 44.72 and 1:08.64.

“Everything looked good,” said Santa Anita track surfaces consultant Dennis Moore, who oversaw the entire project from conception to sixth race post time. “It's nice to see it all come together from beginning to end.”

For Hernandez, it was his second win through six races. Highly Distorted, off at 11-1, paid $24.80 to win.

Anaconda, ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, checked in sixth as the 5-2 favorite.

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