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Con Lima Box to Wire in Saratoga Oaks

Sunday, Saratoga
SARATOGA OAKS INVITATIONAL S.-GIII, $700,000, Saratoga, 8-8, 3yo, f, 1 3/16mT, 1:54.42, fm.
1–CON LIMA, 121, f, 3, by Commissioner
1st Dam: Second Street City (SW, $209,843), by Consolidator
2nd Dam: Trix City, by Carson City
3rd Dam: Always Nettie, by Vice Regent
($15,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $19,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP;
$22,000 RNA 2yo '20 OBSMAR). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred
Partners, Joseph F. Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del Toro & Troy
Johnson; B-Lisa Kuhlmann (TX); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Flavien
Prat. $375,000. Lifetime Record: 13-7-5-0, $884,865. Werk
Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross
pedigree.
2–Higher Truth (Ire), 121, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Wannabe Better
(Ire), by Duke of Marmalade (Ire). (500,000gns Ylg '19
TATOCT). O-Michael J. Ryan, Jeff Drown, & Team Hanley;
B-Churchtown House Stud (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown.
$130,000.
3–Creative Flair (Ire), 121, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Hidden Gold
(Ire), by Shamardal. O/B-Godolphin, LLC (IRE); T-Charles
Appleby. $70,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 3.05, 7.40, 3.20.
Also Ran: Plum Ali, Gam's Mission, Out of Sorts, Messidor (Ire), Rocky Sky (Ire).

Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Con Lima was afforded an easy lead under Flavien Prat, opened up in the stretch and held sway late to annex the GIII Saratoga Oaks Sunday at the Spa.

Originally just a $15,000 Keeneland November weanling buy, the dark bay was privately purchased out of a sharp main-track graduation for trainer Carlos David last July at Gulfstream and was runner-up in the off-turf P.G. Johnson S. and Our Dear Peg S. Scoring a wire-to-wire 5 1/4-length success in her grass bow Dec. 12 at Gulfstream, she repeated in the Ginger Brew S. and was second in the GIII Sweetest Chant S. before being elevated into a GIII Herecomesthebride S. victory via disqualification. Taking one more crack on dirt in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, she faded to fourth after setting a slow pace, her only finish out of the exacta thus far, but bounced back when returned to the lawn with triumphs in the Honey Ryder S. and GIII Wonder Again S.

Just run down late when second in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. last out, Con Lima was made a narrow favorite over Godolphin invader Creative Flair here and broke a bit outwardly. Easing her way to the front as no one else took the initiative, she clicked off comfortable fractions of :23.64, :50.02 and 1:14.34 with ears pricked. Turning aside a brief bid from Gam's Mission (Noble Mission {GB}) past the three-sixteenths pole, she skipped clear into the final furlong as Higher Truth came off the rail to take her shot. Jumping back to her left lead at the sixteenth marker, it briefly appeared that Con Lima was in danger, but Prat kept her to task to score by a fairly comfortable margin in the end.

“I was analyzing the race beforehand and we were the only speed but I wasn't 100% sure with a couple of the Euros if they would show some initiative,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher, capping off a weekend that started with his Hall of Fame induction. “I left it in Flavien's hands and Plan A was to break well and see if anybody would try to take the lead away from us and if they didn't, we'd be happy to have it. It worked out really well. He just gradually got up there instead of having to hustle her and use her. She relaxed really well. You could see when she turned up the backside and her ears were flicking back and forth that she was in a happy zone.”

“The speed was pretty much me and the Godolphin filly and it seems she broke a step slow,” said Prat. “I broke better than her and I ended up on the lead. Going to the first turn I felt really comfortable. I was really pleased with the way she was traveling and I felt we were doing some easy fractions. She really kicked on well. I got her ready to kick and she really did. When she swapped leads, she responded well from that point.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of nine stakes winners and three graded stakes winners for 2014 GI Belmont S. runner-up Commissioner, Con Lima is the first foal to race out of her stakes-winning dam. She is followed by a yearling Point of Entry colt named Pico de Gallo and a weanling colt by Lord Nelson. Second Street City was bred to Game Winner this spring.

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Gun Runner’s Wicked Halo Gives Asmussen Full-Circle Win in Adirondack

One day after breaking the all-time North American wins record, Steve Asmussen got right back to business in a big way Sunday at Saratoga, as his Wicked Halo (Gun Runner) shook off intense pace pressure and kicked clear in the lane to capture the GII Adirondack S. Adding to the significance of the moment, Wicked Halo is both by and out of Asmussen trainees, and her dam won the same race at the Spa in 2015.

Unveiled going five furlongs in the mud at Lone Star June 5, the homebred broke on top from the rail, won a pace fight and kept going for a two-length success, with the second and third finishers coming back to win next out. Tried in the Debutante S. three weeks later at Churchill, the gray was not off as well and dictated sizzling fractions before just fading late to be third.

Drifting up a bit to be the biggest price among four rivals who took the bulk of the play here, Wicked Halo was beaten out of the gate by Microbiome, but Jose Ortiz stayed aggressive and sent the Winchell colorbearer through inside of that one to eventually make the front through a scorching :21.55 quarter. Those two continued to spar past a :44.80 half as Mainstay looked to launch a three wide bid approaching the stretch, but that filly soon flattened out and Wicked Halo remained the last pace player standing going by the eighth pole. She slammed the door soon after and hit the line clearly in charge while understandably getting a little leg-weary. Deep-closing longshots Interstatedaydream and Saucy Lady T rallied mildly to get into second and third, respectively. Mainstay was fourth, while race favorite Onetheonesandtwos (Jimmy Creed) never factored, checking in sixth.

The win was Asmussen's second consecutive and fourth overall conquest of the Adirondack.

“Ron [Winchell, owner-breeder] giving us horses like this makes all the accolades possible,” he said. “This filly, her mother won the Adirondack, and what a great sire Gun Runner is proving to be. To duplicate what her mother did is very special.”

Asked about Wicked Halo surviving pace pressure and still emerging victorious, Asmussen said, “That's Saratoga tough. The filly on the outside [Microbiome] outbroke her a little bit. They ride aggressively here and horses either respond or get beat and she responded. For a 2-year-old filly, and the way she acted in the paddock off hard races, it's a level of class that is hard to come by.”

“In these 2-year-old stakes races there's going to be pace because a lot of them break their maiden wire-to-wire or are just sitting off it,” said winning rider Jose Ortiz. “A lot of times, the pace is going to be hot in races like this, and it was hot this time. Tyler [Gaffalione, aboard Microbiome] broke better than me. I put her up there and she responded well. They were going fast, but she was ready. Steve had her ready to run.”

Asmussen added that he's unlikely to run Wicked Halo back in the Sept. 5 GI Spinaway S., saying, “I think we may give her a break. I got overly aggressive with the mother and being fortunate to have the family continuously, you need to learn from it.”

Pedigree Notes:

Wicked Halo's victory gives Three Chimneys Farm's freshman sire Gun Runner two graded stakes winners in as many days, following Pappacap's score in the GII Best Pal S. Saturday at Del Mar. She is the first foal to race out of Just Wicked, a full-sister to Grade II winner My Miss Lilly out of SW Wicked Deed. Just Wicked is responsible for a yearling full-brother to the winner and produced another Gun Runner filly this season before returning to the dual champion once more.

Sunday, Saratoga
ADIRONDACK S.-GII, $200,000, Saratoga, 8-8, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.99, ft.
1–WICKED HALO, 120, f, 2, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Just Wicked (GSW, $208,460), by Tapit
2nd Dam: Wicked Deed, by Harlan's Holiday
3rd Dam: Marfa's Squall, by Marfa
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $110,000. Lifetime Record:
3-2-0-1, $144,650. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. *Second SW for freshman
sire (by Candy Ride {Arg).
2–Interstatedaydream, 120, f, 2, Classic Empire–Babcock, by
Uncle Mo. ($105,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $130,000 Ylg '20
KEESEP; $175,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Flurry Racing Stables
LLC; B-William D. Graham (ON); T-Brad H. Cox. $40,000.
3–Saucy Lady T, 120, f, 2, Tonalist–Fila Primera, by War
Front. ($5,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-James K. Chapman &
Stuart Tsujimoto; B-R. S. Evans (KY); T-James K. Chapman.
$24,000.
Margins: 3HF, HF, HF. Odds: 4.70, 16.70, 36.75.
Also Ran: Mainstay, Microbiome, Ontheonesandtwos, J L's Rockette, Shesawildjoker, Boss Lady Kim.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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$590K Medaglia d’Oro Weanling Buyback Wins Spa Debut

6th-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 8-8, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.72, ft, 2 1/4 lengths.
DREAM LITH (f, 2, Medaglia d'Oro–Elle Sueno, by Street Cry {Ire}), the longest shot in the field at 36-1, was quickly in stride from an outside post and settled into a tracking spot through fractions of :22.60 and :45.75. She split horses coming off the turn and ground down the lane under a vigorous ride from David Cohen before drawing away late with good energy. She left no doubt about the outcome with 2 1/4 lengths of daylight on Mommasgottarun (Maclean's Music). Dam Elle Sueno has a yearling full-sister to Dream Lith and a 2021 filly by Justify. Bred back to Laoban, she is out of 2009 GI Darley Debutante S. winner Mi Sueno (Pulpit), who is in turn out of 2004 GI Ashland S. winner Madcap Escapade (Hennessy). Sales History: $590,000 RNA Wlg '19 FTKNOV. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $55,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Cypress Creek Equine & Arnold Bennewith; B-Southern Equine Stables, LLC (KY); T-Robertino Diodoro.

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Asmussen’s Next Target: Juan Suarez

The Week in Review by Bill Finley

Steve Asmussen moved past Dale Baird Saturday to become North America's all-time leading trainer in wins with 9,446. But for such a goal-oriented individual, it's no time to rest. To be number one in the world, Asmussen still has to catch Peruvian trainer Juan Suarez. And it won't be easy.

Suarez, as of Saturday, had 9,886 wins–or 440 more than Asmussen. On the same day that Asmussen won one race from 13 starters spread across four racetracks, Suarez had three wins on the Saturday card at Peru's only racetrack, the Hipodromo de Monterrico, which is in Lima.

Over the last five years, Suarez, 71, is averaging 315 wins a year, while Asmussen is averaging 390. That means he will likely chip away at Suarez's lead but could spend years trying to catch him. The main advantage Asmussen has is his age. He is 16 years younger than Suarez and will surely outlast him.

Suarez was born in Santiago, Chile and moved to Peru in 1963 at the age of 13. The family moved because Suarez's father, Juan Suarez, Sr., was hired as the trainer for Haras Barlovento, then among the leading stables in the country. The elder Suarez won the most prestigious race in Peru, the G1 Derby Nacional, eight times. Suarez worked as an assistant to his father before going out on his own in 1980 and won 116 races that year.

Much like Asmussen, he built up a huge stable that delivered year after year. From 2001 on, he has not had fewer than 200 winners in a year. He had a personal best 368 in 2013. He currently trains 210 horses and has had as many as 300 at times.

Asmussen enjoys advantages Suarez will never have. Not only does he have more horses than Suarez, but he has the ability to race at four or five tracks at a time. Suarez is restricted to running at Hipodromo de Monterrico.

Through an interpreter, Suarez said that his numbers are down because the stable is still dealing with COVID-19 issues. Though in his seventies, he shows no signs of slowing down and he is not contemplating retirement.

“I live for this activity and I do not have any plans for retirement,” he said. “I am still active in the field here in Peru and many horse owners still look to me because of my experience and our friendship.”

It seems that Asmussen and Suarez share many of the same attributes and both believe the key to success is hard work, putting together a good team and paying attention to every last detail.

“The most important thing is having a dedicated work team,” Suarez said. “You must also have support from your family because the job takes up so much of your time.”

“I was reading about Steve Asmussen and his having such a great memory,” said Suarez's nephew, Lexington-based bloodstock agent Dante Zanelli, Jr. “My uncle is just like that. He has a photographic memory. He has had as many as 300 horses at a time and he knows everything about every horse. He knows his horses and he remembers everything about them. That has a lot to do with his success. He is also an extremely good trainer and has great people working for him. It's very similar to what Steve Asmussen has.”

While Suarez wants to win, he is not consumed with winning.

“I don't focus too much on the wins,” he said. “I pay more attention to the work. I want everything to be OK, and then to see the result of the hard work done by my team and I.”

Suarez has had just one starter in the U.S. For the 2012 GII Breeders' Cup Marathon at Santa Anita, he brought over the Peruvian-bred mare Almudena (Per) (Silver Planet {Arg}). A Group 1 winner in her native country, she finished 10th with Jose Valdivia, Jr. aboard. Valdivia is Suarez's nephew. He is also related to retired jockey Fernando Toro, who is his brother-in-law.

“That was a great experience,” Suarez said. “We did not have much luck in that race but the experience and being able to celebrate the experience was amazing. I love how in the USA they make the experience even greater with the Breeders' Cup organization and all the attention to detail.”

He has also exported horses to the U.S., including a stakes winner at Hialeah. He trained Tomcito (Street Cry {Ire}) before sending him to Zanelli, then a trainer, for the 2008 GI Florida Derby, where he was third.

Zanelli said that his uncle has considered opening up a small stable at Del Mar.

“We have talked about that and the logistics involved and how to make it work,” Zanelli said “He's been talking to his owners about this and has been trying to get permission from the Jockey Club of Peru to open a stable at Del Mar. He'll explore that again for next year. He has a couple of pretty good horses that could win there. He'd like to have a stable with six to nine horses.”

With 12 horses entered Saturday at the Hipodromo de Monterrico, Suarez didn't have time to watch Asmussen move past Dale Baird, but he is well aware of Asmussen's accomplishments and he is an admirer.

“I know that Mr. Steve Asmussen is one of the top-tier horse trainers in the USA,” he said. “I also know that he has a lot of horses and a great work team and family. That shows why he is so successful. His breaking the record in the USA shows the great work ethic that he has. I know the sacrifices you must make to train horses, for the trainer, the family and the team that works with him. It is particularly difficult in such a competitive horse racing country as it is in the USA. I wish the best to Mr. Asmussen and congratulate him for the enormous achievement he has accomplished.”

Panza Left His Mark on Saratoga and NYRA

The paid attendance Saturday at Saratoga for the card topped by the GI Whitney S. was 38,525 and the all-sources handle was $36,820,234. Yes, Saratoga sells itself, but those numbers may not have been possible without NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Martin Panza. Panza announced his resignation last week. He will work through the end of the Belmont fall meet.

Panza “got it.” He loves racing and is always happy to roll his sleeves up and get to work to make it better. Two of his primary innovations were on display Saturday and contributed to the card's success. He put together the successful turf series for 3-year-old males and fillies that includes the $1-million GI Saratoga Derby Invitational run Saturday. He's also an advocate of creating “Super Saturdays” at the NYRA tracks. Saturday's card didn't include just the Whitney, it had five stakes races and three Grade I's. He turned the card for the GI Belmont S. into a day that goes well beyond the Belmont itself. Next to the two Breeders' Cup Days, it is the best card on the year.

His successor will have big shoes to fill.

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