Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's lightly raced Bright Future (Curlin), a well-backed 7-2 in Saturday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. at Saratoga, dug down deep beneath the ageless Javier Castellano to hold off Proxy (Tapit) by a nose and punch his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
“It was a good spot to try a Grade I and he delivered a big performance,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “In order to go to the next one, he's going to need to make another move forward. It appears to be pretty wide open, the older horse division. I guess we will learn a little more in California tomorrow or Monday. We'll see.”
Showing good speed from his wide draw, the $350,000 KEESEP yearling chased pacesetting Warrior Johny (Cairo Prince) through a half-mile in :48.86. Clocking the front-runner's every move into the final half-mile, Bright Future was felt for and came with a two-wide run around the turn and was on even terms at the quarter pole.
Set down in upper stretch, Bright Future went by Warrior Johny with relative ease and got the bob in over the aforementioned last-out GIII Monmouth Cup S. winner. The latter raced just behind the pace, found daylight about four off the inside at the three-sixteenths and attacked the line willingly, but was on the losing end of the photo.
Bright Future, a sharp debut winner going a mile at Gulfstream last March, was third in his only subsequent start at three. He won two of four previous tries this term, including a last out optional claiming victory at the Spa with a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure July 21. He was eased in his lone prior attempt versus stakes company in the 12-furlong GII Brooklyn S. June 10.
“He's a horse that we've always thought a lot of,” Pletcher said. “I've got to give the Violas and the Repoles a lot of credit because we've had to kind of tap on the brakes a few times along the way and they gave him time to develop. We probably got a little ambitious when we tried the Brooklyn, maybe didn't have quite the foundation to be ready to go a mile and a half at that stage. We regrouped with the allowance race here and I thought it was a powerful performance, so from that time on we've been pointing for this and the horse has trained exceptionally well. Coming into it, we were optimistic he was ready to make a move forward.”
Winning co-owners Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola also teamed up to campaign Curlin's Vino Rosso, who concluded his career with an emphatic win in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic after getting controversially disqualified from a win in this same race at Belmont Park in 2019.
“I had a horse by Curlin named Vino Rosso that couldn't put it together at three, but now [Bright Future] has put it together at four,” Repole said. “I named the horse Bright Future for a reason. I knew he was going to be a later 3-year-old, 4-year-old horse and so far his name is fitting right now.”
After celebrating his first GI Kentucky Derby win aboard Mage (Good Magic) earlier this spring, the momentum has continued into the summer for Castellano. He is also the regular rider of GI Belmont S. winner and GI Travers S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate).
“Thank God,” Castellano said. “I've been blessed, very lucky and very fortunate to ride the best horses, especially with Todd Pletcher, one of the best trainers in the country. He gave me the opportunity to ride this horse and that's the key. Keep positive and working hard, and see everything come around.”
Pedigree Notes:
Bright Future becomes the 22nd winner at the highest level for leading sire Curlin. He is the first Jockey Club Gold Cup winner for Curlin, a back-to-back winner of this race in 2007-08. Bellamy Road is also the broodmare sire of fellow Grade I winners Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) and Cave Rock (Arrogate).
Bright Future's dam SW & GSP Sophia's Song is also responsible for the 2-year-old colt Booth (Mitole), a $225,000 OBS March purchase by Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt and Jackpot Farm; a Tiz the Law colt of 2022; and a Maxfield colt of this year. She was bred back to Jackie's Warrior.
Saturday, Saratoga Race Course
JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP S.-GI, $1,000,000, Saratoga, 9-2, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:03.00, ft.
1–BRIGHT FUTURE, 126, c, 4, by Curlin
        1st Dam: Sophia's Song (SW & GSP, $155,892),
                               by Bellamy Road
               2nd Dam: Dreamscape, by Mt. Livermore
               3rd Dam: Big Dreams, by Great Above
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. ($350,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; Javier Castellano. $550,000. Lifetime Record: 7-4-0-2, $716,940. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue style pedigree.
2–Proxy, 126, h, 5, Tapit–Panty Raid, by Include. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $200,000.
3–Tyson, 126, c, 4, Tapit–Honouring, by Smart Strike. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($250,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). O/B-Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc & Stretch Run Ventures, LLC (KY); T-Josie Carroll. $120,000.
Margins: NO, 2 1/4, NO. Odds: 3.75, 4.10, 5.50.
Also Ran: Clapton, Duke of Love, Rattle N Roll, Warrior Johny, Unbridled Bomber.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV .
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