serve the king | Horse Racing Free Tips

Serve The King Rallies Late To Win Red Smith At Aqueduct

Channel Cat looked poised to take the field gate to wire in the Red Smith at Aqueduct, but Serve the King's late rally in the stretch gave the Chad Brown trainee enough to pass Channel Cat in the final sixteenth of a mile and take the Grade 2 stakes by a neck at the Ozone Park, N.Y., track.

From the gate in the 1 3/8-mile Red Smith, Channel Cat took a one-length lead over the field of ten, setting early fractions of :24.96, :50.02, and 1:15.59, a moderate pace that left John Velazquez with plenty of horse for the stretch run. Serve the King hung back in fifth, nestled on the rail behind No Word and Price Talk. Around the far turn, No Word pulled within striking distance of Channel Cat, while Irad Ortiz Jr. moved Serve the King off the rail and to the outside of horses, six-wide into the stretch.

Down the Aqueduct straight, Channel Cat was able to shake off the challenge for No Word and increase his lead, but Ortiz had Serve the King set down for a drive, taking over the lead in the last strides to win by a neck over Channel Cat and a surging Soldier Rising. No Word was fourth and Shamrocket fifth. Corelli, Sanctuary City, Value Engineering, Price Talk, and Tide of the Sea rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the 1 3/8 miles was 2:16.60. Find this race's chart here.

Serve the King paid $6.10, $3.80, and $2.60. Channel Cat paid $6.00 and $4.20. Soldier Rising paid $3.30.

“At a certain point of the race, he [Irad Ortiz, Jr.] said he just wanted to get him clear because he was losing the bit a little bit while inside. Once he got him to the clear, he picked up the bit again,
trainer Chad Brown said after the race. “A lot of credit goes to my Monmouth crew, who really did a good job helping this horse. As a younger horse, he was a little bit quirky and wouldn't want to train all the time and for whatever reason down there he has a comfortable situation and would train on. That's why he spent a lot of his time down there.”

“I had a really good trip. He broke sharp and was forwardly placed. He put me in a good position, so I saved all the ground for the whole race. At the half-mile, I started moving and he responded really well. I was able to tip him out and when he hit the clear, he was running,” Irad Ortiz Jr. told the NYRA Press Office after the Red Smith. “He was off the bit sometimes, but that's him. He's not a horse that's going to pull you all the way. That's not him. Sometimes, you have to wake him up and let him know he's running. He's there for you, that's the good thing.”

Bred in England by Normandie Stud, Serve the King is by Kingman (GB) out of the Galileo (IRE) mare Fallen In Love (GB). The 5-year-old horse is owned by Peter Brant. Consigned by Norris Bloodstock, the son of Kingman was purchased by White Birch Stable for $361,616 at the 2017 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. With his win in the G2 Red Smith, Serve the King has two wins in five starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 11 starts and career earnings of $406,180.

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Channel Cat Will Add Blinkers For Extra ‘Spark’ In Saturday’s Red Smith Handicap

Calumet Farm's Channel Cat headlines a deep field assembled for Saturday's 61st running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Red Smith Handicap going 1 3/8 miles for 3-year-olds and upward over the inner turf at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Channel Cat, a 6-year-old son of late turf champion English Channel, seeks his first triumph since capturing the Grade 1 Man o' War in May at Belmont Park for trainer Jack Sisterson.

The chestnut fended off a confrontation from dual Grade 1-winner Gufo in late stretch to win the 11-furlong Man o' War by a nose in his third start of this season. He arrives off a distant sixth in the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup on Sept. 11 at Kentucky Downs, where he was forwardly-placed but finished 9 ¾ lengths back of the winner Imperador.

As the lone millionaire in the Red Smith, Channel Cat boasts earnings in excess of $1.4 million through a ledger of 29-6-3-5. He captured the Grade 2 Bowling Green in July 2019 in wire-to-wire fashion while racing for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Channel Cat will see an equipment change for Saturday's engagement and will sport blinkers for the first time since May 2019 when finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy at Belmont.

“He lacked that little bit of spark in his past couple of starts and the addition of blinkers will help him do that,” Sisterson said. “In the race at Kentucky Downs, he didn't make the lead and didn't really finish up. I felt that there was something missing the last two races and I think blinkers will help.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez will seek his fourth Red Smith triumph when piloting Channel Cat, who will carry 126 pounds from post 7.

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle a pair of contenders in Serve the King [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 124] and Value Engineering [post 2, Dylan Davis, 122].

Owned by Peter Brant, who captured the 1979 Red Smith with Waya, Serve the King enters off a sharp runner-up effort when completing a Brown-trained exacta in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational on October 9 at Belmont. The 5-year-old Kingman bay garnered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, where he saved ground in fourth and made a move in between horses in mid-stretch to finish two lengths to stablemate Rockemperor.

Serve the King sports a consistent leger of 10-4-2-1 which includes a victory in the restricted John's Call on August 25 at Saratoga and a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 United Nations on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

“The horse is training really well. It looks like a really solid race,” Brown said. “He's coming off his best performance. He's one that keeps developing and one that we thought a lot of. He's well bred, very consistent and he's in good form right now.”

Also representing the Brown stable is Value Engineering, a consistent 5-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid who makes his stakes debut for Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stable.

The three-time winner has never finished off the board in 11 career starts and arrives off a rallying victory going nine furlongs four weeks ago over the Belmont inner turf. His other two victories include a third-out maiden triumph in August 2019 covering 1 3/16 miles at Saratoga and a 10-furlong score against winners off a nine-month layoff in June 2020 at Belmont.

“It's a big step but we always thought he was a stakes horse all along,” Brown said. “He lost his way a little bit and needed to breakthrough. I thought his last race was a breakout performance. He's got to step up but there aren't too many options for a horse like him this time of year, so we're giving it a shot.”

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Pletcher will seek his third Red Smith coup when saddling Donegal Racing's Shamrocket, who added a stakes win to his resume last out in the Point of Entry on October 24 at Belmont going 12 furlongs.

The 4-year-old Tonalist bay rounded out the trifecta in the July 5 Grand Couturier at Belmont ahead of a late-closing third in the Grade 2 Bowling Green on July 31 at Saratoga.

“I thought he got the trip we were looking for last time, it was nice to see him get that stake win,” Pletcher said. “I think the cutback is fine. He's had some success going three turns and seems to run well no matter what you throw at him.”

Shamrocket will leave from post 5 carrying 124 pounds. under Javier Castellano.

Wertheimer and Frere homebred No Word, also for the Pletcher barn, was a last out fifth in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker on October 10 at Belmont. The 4-year-old Silent Name colt has earned graded stakes placings three times, including a runner-up effort in last year's Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational.

Carrying 122 pounds, No Word will be piloted by Jose Lezcano post 9.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Morris Bailey, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso's Solider Rising will face elders for the first time while attempting to become the first 3-year-old to win the Red Smith since Monarch's Maze in 1999. The son of Frankel strives to make amends after cutting back to nine furlongs and finishing fifth as the beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Hill Prince on October 23 at Belmont.

Soldier Rising was second in both the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 7 and the Jockey Club Derby Invitational six weeks later at Belmont for trainer Christophe Clement.

“I think he's good enough to make the jump,” said Clement, who saddled previous Red Smith winners Flag Down [1995] and Grassy [2010]. “I thought he ran well last time, but we asked of him an impossible task being so far back.”

Solider Rising, who will carry 118 pounds, is owned by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Morris Bailey, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso. Jose Ortiz will ride from post 3.

Completing the field are Tide of the Sea [post 1, Luis Saez, 126], Corelli [post 6, Manny Franco, 126], Sanctuary City [post 8, Ruben Silvera, 122] and Price Talk [post 10, Eric Cancel, 122].

Known as the Edgemere Handicap until 1981, the Red Smith pays tribute to the late Pulitzer Prize winning author and sportswriter Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith, whose 55-year career in journalism covered a wide array of sports, including horseracing, for the New York Herald Tribune and the New York Times. The Red Smith will be carded as Race 9 on Saturday's 10-race program. First post is 11:50 a.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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Brown Gives Gerrymander A Break, Prepares Serve the King For Red Smith

Trainer Chad Brown said Klaravich Stables' Gerrymander, last-out winner of the Tempted, is getting a brief break and will be targeted toward a spring 2022 campaign.

The juvenile daughter of Into Mischief commanded the field through every point of call in the one-turn mile event, laying down easy fractions with Magic Circle tracking to her inside. When Magic Circle switched leads around the far turn and inched her way to even terms, Gerrymander shook off her foe and extended her advantage en route to a half-length victory.

“She's down at Payson Park getting a break right now,” Brown said. “She's been in training for quite a while since we broke her, so I'm going to give her a little break and point her toward a spring campaign.”

Gerrymander, a $375,000 purchase at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, broke her maiden at second asking on August 29 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., going six furlongs ahead of a distant second to likely Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Echo Zulu in the Grade 1 Frizette on October 3 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Peter Brant's Serve the King and Klaravich Stables' Value Engineering went five furlongs in company in 1:04.01 Sunday over the Belmont inner turf in preparation for the $200,000 Grade 2 Red Smith, an 11-furlong turf test for 3-year-olds and up on November 20.

“He's been doing well,” Brown said of Serve the King, a last out runner-up in the G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. “He had an easy breeze this morning and looks fine. The Red Smith is shaping up to be a solid race.”

Prior to his last effort, Serve the King, a lightly-raced 5-year-old son of Kingman, captured the restricted John's Call on August 25 at Saratoga following a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 United Nations on July 17 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Value Engineering, winner of a nine-furlong optional-claiming tilt last out on October 21 at Belmont, will make his stakes debut in the Red Smith. The son of Lemon Drop Kid has never finished out of the money in 11 lifetime starts, narrowly beaten by stakes winners Hard Love, Temple, and Say the Word at allowance level.

“He'll have to step up, but I thought his last effort was a breakthrough win so we're giving it a shot,” Brown said.

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Brown Says Rockemperor, Serve the King Likely For BC Turf

Trainer Chad Brown reported that Rockemperor and Serve the King, the one-two finishers of Saturday's $500,000 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, are both likely for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf on November 6 at Del Mar.

Piloted by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano for the first time, the 5-year-old bay son of Holy Roman Emperor rated along the hedge down the backstretch and was tipped wide approaching the far turn. In upper stretch, Rockemperor collared Gufo and drew off to victory in a final time of 2:25.60 over firm going at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Rockemperor, who earned a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure with a two-length victory in the Joe Hirsch at 15-1 odds, secured his first graded stakes triumph in North America after ten previous efforts at such level.

Following a third to stablemate Tribhuvan in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy on May 1 at Belmont, Brown added blinkers to Rockemperor through his next four starts, which included a ten-furlong allowance win over the inner turf in June. He removed the blinkers for the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic after a keen fourth in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“The horse just wasn't getting in position like I wanted to, so I put the blinkers on him and he did quite well with them initially,” Brown said. “For whatever reason in the Sword Dancer, he got way too rank and started turning the other way on us, so I had to make another adjustment and take them off and listen to the horse. Javier fit the horse really well and it all worked out.”

The triumph was a redeeming one for Rockemperor, who finally struck graded stakes gold in North America. He was previously seven-times graded stakes placed.

Peter Brant's Serve the King needed racing room in upper stretch but displayed a late rally once in the clear to provide Brown with the Joe Hirsch exacta. The 5-year-old Kingman bay garnered a career-best 100 Beyer.

Brown also ran one-two in his previous Joe Hirsch Turf Classic scores with Slumber finishing three-quarters of a length behind Big Blue Kitten, and Fanciful Angel running a late-closing second, five lengths to Beach Patrol.

“I'm proud of the horse,” Brown said of Serve the King, who arrived at the Joe Hirsch off a win in the restricted John's Call on August 25 at Saratoga. “He was training like a horse that was ready to step up. He got in some trouble turning for home, I thought he would have gotten closer had he gotten clear. He really stepped up and seems to be a horse that's improving.”

Brown said he would look at the Breeders' Cup Turf for both Rockemperor and Serve the King. He could have as many as four entered in the Breeders' Cup Turf with multiple Grade 1-winner Domestic Spending and Tribhuvan, a winner of the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., two starts back, also pointing for the race. Brown secured a win in the 2019 Turf with eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar.

Just less than an hour after notching first and second in the Joe Hirsch, Brown's stable was well-represented when Blowout and Regal Glory, both owned by Peter Brant, ran one-two in the Grade 1 First Lady going one mile at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Both 5-year-old mares garnered 102 BSFs, which is their first triple-digit BSF to date.

Blowout arrived at her first Grade 1 score off a fourth-place finish beaten 2 ¼ lengths against males in the Grade 1 Fourstardave at Saratoga, which is her only off-the-board effort in 14 lifetime starts. Regal Glory captured the Plenty of Grace at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., ahead of a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game and a victory in the restricted De La Rose in August at Saratoga.

The First Lady is a “Win And You're In” to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar, which is contested at 1 3/8 miles this year. Neither horse has gone past nine furlongs.

“I'm not sure yet. I'll speak to Mr. Brant about that and see where we'll go,” said Brown when asked of Breeders' Cup aspirations.

Brown also found the winner's circle on Saturday with Jeff Drown's first-time starter Zandon, a dark bay or brown juvenile son of second-crop sire Upstart who earned an 80 Beyer going six furlongs over the main track.

A start in the $150,000 Grade 3 Nashua on November 7 at Belmont Park could be in play for Zandon, Brown said.

“He's a big, good looking horse,” Brown said. “He should stretch out just fine. We'll see how he trains and go from there, but that's under consideration.”

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