Seth Klarman | Horse Racing Free Tips

Saez Wins First Saratoga Riding Title; Brown, Klaravich Tops Among Trainers, Owners

Luis Saez earned his first riding title at the famed Saratoga Race Course, tallying 64 wins for the 40-day summer meet that concluded on Labor Day Monday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Chad Brown paced all trainers with 41 wins and Klaravich Stables repeated as the top owner, compiling 21 victories.

Saez won the Angel Cordero Jr. title by posting a 64-45-39 record in 336 mounts, amassing earnings of $6.2 million. The native of Panama City, Panama, garnered his first riding title on a NYRA circuit.

The 29-year-old Saez finished eight wins clear of three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., whose 56 wins were good for second. Jose Ortiz was third with 51 wins while Joel Rosario was fourth [43].

Saez extended his run of success aboard reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Essential Quality by piloting him to victory twice during the Saratoga meet, winning the Grade 2 Jim Dandy in a prep for his eventual victory in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers. Saez, who won his first Classic when leading Essential Quality to glory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in June, has helped put his charge in position to win another Eclipse Award as Essential Quality sits as the current top contender for 3-Year-Old Male. The Runhappy Travers win was the second for Saez, who got his picture taken aboard Will Take Charge in 2013.

“This is a tough spot, so winning this title is everything,” Saez said. “To win the Travers; racing at NYRA is the biggest deal right now, and we're so blessed to be here. It means a lot.”

The Saratoga meet also saw Saez earn graded wins aboard Bella Sofia in the Grade 1 Longines Test and on Cross Border in the Grade 2 Bowling Green, along with Grade 3 scores in the Forbidden Apple [Rinaldi] and the Schuylerville [Pretty Birdie]. Other stakes wins came in the Albany [Americanrevolution], Yaddo [Giacosa], Union Avenue [Awesome Debate], Tale of the Cat [Wondrwherecraigis], Alydar [Art Collector] and the Shine Again [Bayerness].

“You see how tough it is to win a race here. To win 64 races here, it's wonderful,” Saez said. “I'm so thankful to the trainers and thanks to [agent] Kiaran [McLaughlin], who did a great job. Nothing is impossible. We came here and were patient and rode our horses to win, and we did it. We're so happy to be here.”

Saez said he's hopeful his good stretch could put him in contention for his first Eclipse Award.

“That's my biggest dream, so let's keep going and see what happens,” Saez said.

Brown registered his fourth H. Allen Jerkens award as top trainer and his third in the last four meets after previously finishing as the leading conditioner in 2016 and 2018-19.

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Brown, who set a meet record for conditioners with 46 wins in 2018, edged 14-time Saratoga leading trainer – and 2021 Hall of Fame inductee –Todd Pletcher [31 wins] and third-place finisher Mike Maker [25].

The Mechanicville, N.Y., native posted five graded stakes wins, compiling a record of 41-34-24 with 176 starters and earnings of more than $4.5 million. Among the highlights was Technical Analysis winning both the Grade 3 Lake George and the Grade 2 Lake Placid, with Viadera capturing the Grade 2 Ballston Spa and Public Sector winning the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and Grade 3 Saranac. Royal Flag also earned a victory in the Grade 3 Shuvee.

“It's really been one of the most gratifying meets we've had given the fact that we started out really slow with a lot of seconds and a ton of rain,” Brown said. “For the horses and my team to persevere and battle back has just made it such a gratifying meet. Credit, first and foremost, my team, to focus in on their individual tasks, execute our plan and take it one day at a time. We've turned the meet around and had a remarkable run the last fourteen days.”

Brown, who tallied four straight Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Trainer from 2016-19, also racked up Saratoga stakes wins in the Better Talk Now [Sifting Sands], Riskaverse [Rastafara], John's Call [Serve the King], Fasig-Tipton De La Rose [Regal Glory] and the Fasig-Tipton Lure [Flavius]. Combined, Brown and Pletcher have won every Saratoga training title since 2010.

“Obviously it was great to see and for me, I have a better appreciation for it. I don't take anything for granted,” said Brown of his continued success at his hometown track following a 2020 when spectators were not permitted on site at Saratoga due to COVID-19 concerns. “After a year with nobody here, you do gain a greater appreciation of having the freedom to come to the track and interact with people. I always have been one to try and stop and talk to people whether it's for a picture or to sign something, or just to chat. You stop a little bit more when you realize people really wanted to be here. They don't have to be here, but they are here because they want to be. I've had a great time catching up with people I hadn't seen and also meeting a lot of new people every week.”

Klaravich Stables was the leading Saratoga owner for the fourth consecutive meet, extending a run that started in 2018. Headed by Seth Klarman, the ownership entity finished eight wins ahead of runner-up Michael Dubb's 13 victories. Three Diamonds Farm was third [10 wins] and Repole Stable [nine] was fourth. Klaravich Stables was one win shy of the Saratoga single-meet owner record of 22 wins set by Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey in 2013.

For the meet, Klaravich Stables posted a 21-8-12 record with 65 starters, tallying earnings of $1.54 million. Brown trained the two horses [Technical Analysis and Public Sector] who accounted for all four of the stable's graded stakes winners this meet.

Live racing returns Thursday, September 16 for Opening Day of the 28-day fall meet at Belmont Park, featuring the Grade 1, $150,000 Lonesome Glory, a 2 1/2-mile steeplechase handicap for 4-year-olds and up.

The Belmont Park fall meet, which will run from Thursday, September 16 through Sunday, October 31, will include five Grade 1 races and five “Win and You're In” qualifiers to the Breeders' Cup in November at Del Mar.

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Domestic Spending Gives Chad Brown Record Seventh Manhattan Victory

Back in 1926, the legendary songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart wrote that “we'll turn Manhattan into an isle of joy.” That song, “Manhattan,” written for the Broadway musical “Garrick Gaities,” was a big hit around the time a Thoroughbred trainer named James Rowe Sr. was recording the last of his six victories in the Manhattan Stakes, a race inaugurated in 1867 at defunct Jerome Park.

Fast forward nearly a century to 2021, when another Thoroughbred trainer, Chad Brown, was turning the Manhattan Stakes into a personal isle of joy, winning the119th running of the Grade 1, $750,000 turf fixture over a mile and a quarter for the seventh time – all in the last 10 years. It took Rowe 45 years to collect his six Manhattan wins.

Brown entered four of the Manhattan's field of 10 older turf runners, and he finished 1-2, with Klaravich Stables Inc.'s 4-5 favorite Domestic Spending coming from well off the pace under Flavien Prat to corral Brown's pacesetting Tribhuvan and Eric Cancel in the final furlong to win going away by 2 3/4 lengths. Tribhuvan held second, with early trailer Gufo getting up for third and West Coast invader Masteroffoxhounds finishing fourth. Brown-trained Rockemperor and Master Piece finished fifth and sixth, with Channel Cat, Colonel Liam, City Man and Bye Bye Melvin completing the order of finish.

Time for 1 1/4 miles was 1:59.08. Domestic Spending, a 4-year-old Kingman gelding bred in Great Britain by Rabbah Bloodstock Limited, paid $5 for the win, his sixth in seven lifetime starts.

An inquiry was conducted into the stretch run concerning the winner drifting into the path of Masteroffoxhouds, but the original order of finish stood.

This was the second Manhattan hat trick for Brown, a four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer who scored with Horse of the Year and male turf champion Bricks and Mortar in 2019 and Instilled Regard last year. He put three consecutive Manhattan successes together from 2014-16 with Real Solution, Slumber and Flintshire, respectively. Brown won his first Manhattan in 2012 with Desert Blanc.

“This has been an important race for us,” said Brown. “It's such a great tradition, and to be run before the Belmont Stakes every year. It is one of the premier turf races for males at a classic distance in the country and I hold it in high regard. We point for it every year, and I've been so lucky, me and my team, to have some good horses through the years to work with.”

The Manhattan victory was the second G1 triumph on the Belmont Stakes card for Brown and Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables. They teamed with Jose Ortiz to win the G1 Acorn Stakes with Search Results.

Cancel seemed intent on securing the early lead on the French-bred Tribhuvan, who came into the Manhattan off a wire-to-wire victory in the G2 Fort Marcy at Belmont Park May 1. He sailed along at a good clip, getting the first quarter mile in :23.81 and the half in :46.95, then opening up a wide margin approaching the far turn after six furlongs in 1:11.00.

Prat settled Domestic Spending into seventh early, a few paths off the hedge rounding the first turn. He remained unhurried until going into the final turn, gradually gaining ground and swinging five wide into the stretch to take aim on his front-running stablemate. Tribhuvan kept running strong through a mile in 1:35.51, but Domestic Spending had too much class and momentum in the final quarter mile, taking command inside the sixteenth pole.

“We had a good trip,” said Prat. “He broke well and I got him to relax all the way around there. It was a pretty strong pace. When it was time to make a move, he responded very well. Then, he was floating a little bit down the lane when he was by himself. He ran a good race.

“He went a mile and a quarter well today. He showed a good turn-of-foot last time and today, with the strong pace it's hard to show the same turn of foot and he did. I think I had more in reserve. He was floating a little bit down the lane, but I felt that I had more horse.”

“My horse ran a great race,” Cancel said of Tribhuvan. “It was a wonderful performance. The instructions were to go to the lead and if you can take it, take it. I tried to work hard to get the win, but he got beat by the other horse. He still ran great. And I can't take it away from him.

“I try to let him relax and put my hands down on him. From there on, he was doing everything by his himself. When I asked him, he picked it up. He just got beat by a better horse.”

The victory was the third consecutive G1 for Domestic Spending, purchased by Klaravich Stables for about US$414,000 as a yearling at the Tattersalls October yearling sale in England. He came into the Manhattan off a dead-heat win with Colonel Liam in the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, his first race since winning the G1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar last Nov. 28. Before that, Domestic Spending won the Saratoga Derby Invitational in August after suffering his lone defeat when third in the G2 Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga.

“This horse has been a particular challenge,” said Brown. “We had to geld him after his 2-year-old year, even with that breeding, because he wouldn't train. We had several different people on our team working with this horse, down at Stonestreet and down in Ocala. So many people have touched this horse and really worked with and got his natural ability out of him. The latest is Flavien [Prat], who is now getting along just terrific with this horse. It's really my team. They've done an outstanding job developing this horse. There was a point in time when he was a baby that I didn't think we'd ever get him to the races.”

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Search Results Snares Acorn Over Fast-Closing Obligatory

Coming off her only career loss in a hard-fought race against Malathaat in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, Klaravich Stables Inc.'s Search Results dropped back to a one-turn mile for trainer Chad Brown and responded with her first Grade 1 triumph in Saturday's Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The 3-year-old filly by Flatter was ridden to victory by Javier Castellano, named as a substitute for the injured Irad Ortiz Jr., who was involved in a spill on Thursday and will be out about two weeks. Search Results was the fourth winner in the first five races on the Belmont Stakes card that Ortiz had been named to ride, including Drain the Clock in the G1 Woody Stephen Stakes.

“I was at the right place at the right time,” said Castellano. “I was very fortunate to [get the mount from injured Irad Ortiz, Jr.]. I'm thankful to Chad Brown for the opportunity to ride this horse; we've had a lot of success in the past. I'm sorry for Irad Ortiz that he got hurt, but it gave me the opportunity to ride.”

Sent off the 4-5 favorite, Search Results paid $3.80 to win after running the one-mile in 1:35.50 on a track rated fast but which had taken on considerable rainfall Friday afternoon.

Juddmonte's Obligatory, coming off a last-to-first victory in the G2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs on the same day that Search Results ran second in the Kentucky Oaks, finished a fast-closing second for trainer Brad Cox, falling a half-length short. Make Mischief, third in the Eight Belles, finished a length back in third, with Eight Belles runner-up Dayoutoftheoffice fourth – beaten a nose for third – after setting the pace. Travel Column rounded out the order of finish for the five 3-year-old fillies contesting a race first run in 1931.Miss Brazil was scratched.

Equibase chart of Acorn

This was Brown's second Acorn victory, having won the 2019 running with Guarana.

“I'm just so proud of her to come back in five weeks after a real dog fight with Malathaat,” said Brown. “To bounce right back and lay it on the line again, this filly has so much talent and so much heart. She's a very rare kind of horse to have, and we're so lucky to have her.”

Search Results was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, which consigned the filly to the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale as part of the Select Sales consignment. She was purchased for $310,000 by Mike Ryan, agent, on behalf of Klaravich Stables owner Seth Klarman.

Dayoutoftheoffice jumped out to the early advantage in the long run down the Belmont backstretch, leading through an opening quarter mile in :23.50 and a half mile in :47.23. Make Mischief sat to her outside, with Search Results racing three wide into the far turn and just behind the top two. Obligatory, ridden by Jose Ortiz, lagged at the back of the field, never more than five lengths behind the leader.

Into the stretch, after six furlongs in 1:11.00, Search Results drew up alongside Dayoutoftheoffice, and gradually eased past that filly while Make Mischief fought to keep pace with the eventual winner. In the final sixteenth of a mile, with Search Result's victory seemingly assured, Obligatory came roaring down the outside and tried to make a race of a it, falling a half-length short at the wire.

“The pace wasn't fast but she was right there,” said Castellano. “That's the good thing about her. You can put her where you want. You can be a little closer to the pace or you can be a little bit off the pace. I don't think she's a difficult horse to manage. She's very easy and straightforward. I'm just lucky I had the opportunity to ride her.”

Obligatory's rider, Jose Ortiz, said of the filly by Curlin: “She ran huge. The pace was a lot slower today and when they started running at the three-eighths pole, they got the jump on me. It was very hard to keep her engaged with them, but she made a good run down the lane.”

The win was the fourth in five career starts for Search Results, who debuted at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3, winning a six-furlong maiden race by four lengths. She shipped to New York to win the Busher Invitational on March 6, then won Aqueduct's G3 Gazelle by 2 3/4 lengths. She got a good trip under Irad Ortiz Jr. in the Kentucky Oaks, but came up a neck short of the Todd Pletcher-trained Curlin filly Malathaat in a battle of the unbeatens.

Search Results is by Flatter, a stakes-placed A.P. Indy stallion who stands at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky., where his 2021 fee was $35,000. The Acorn winner was produced from Co Cola, a Todd Pletcher-trained stakes-place filly by Candy Ride. Search Results come from the family of Canadian champion Kimchi and G1 winner Mind Your Biscuit, now standing at stud in Japan.

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Patience Pays Off As Counterparty Risk Victorious In Endeavour Stakes

Klaravich Stables' Counterparty Risk cut the corner turning for home under jockey John Velazquez and held firm for a one-length victory from New York Girl in Saturday's Grade 3, $175,000 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes for older fillies and mares. Margaret's Joy rallied for third.

The 4-year-old Irish-bred, making only her fourth start, is trained by Chad Brown. Her time for the 1 1/16 miles on the grass was 1:43.20. Counterparty Risk is by Australia, out of the Acclamation mare Anklet.

Counterparty Risk rated in fourth for the opening six furlongs as No Mercy Percy, a 23-1 longshot, led through fractions of :24.31, :49.40 and 1:13.56. New York Girl tracked the leader before making her move at the top of the stretch but couldn't hold off the winner.

The victory was the fourth on the card for Velazquez. The favorite, Counterparty Risk paid $3.80 for her second career victory.

“She's a real exciting prospect for us moving forward,” Brown said by telephone. “(Her winning a Grade 3 in her fourth start) is a credit to her and my team. She has had some injuries, none serious, but always inconveniencing and requiring patience.

“(Owner) Seth Klarman is extremely patient and always puts the horses' interests first. She ran super today and got a terrific ride from Johnny V, which is what you expect from a Hall of Famer. She shot through the opening turning for home and showed a great turn of foot. We are very grateful for her ability and my team's preparation,” Brown said.

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