shanghai bobby | Horse Racing Free Tips

Shancelot to Buck Pond Farm

Graded stakes winner Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby–True Kiss, by Is It True), who was retired from racing Thursday, will stand at Buck Pond Farm in Kentucky for a fee of $7,500 in 2021.

“We’re excited to stand Shancelot in Kentucky where we recently purchased a farm close by,” said Al Crawford of Crawford Farms Racing. “We feel his incredible speed will attract a lot of breeders and we are very actively purchasing mares at the Keeneland January Sale to support him ourselves.”

A history-making sprinter when winning the GII Amsterdam S. by 12 1/2 lengths with a 121 Beyer Speed Figure–the highest Beyer ever by a 3-year-old sprinter–Shancelot won his first three races by a combined 19 lengths. In his six starts, Shancelot never finished worse than third and registered four career triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures. After his Amsterdam victory, the dark bay was a hard-fought second in both the GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. and GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Bred in Kentucky by Charles Muth and Patrick Murphy, Shancelot retired with a record of 6-3-2-1 and earnings of $624,300.

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Extra Hope Turns Tables On Midcourt With Front-Running Native Diver Score

Last year in a four-horse field in the Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar, Jay Em Ess Stable's Extra Hope tracked C R K Stable's Midcourt from second place all the way around the track in the nine-furlong race. Midcourt drew clear late and won it by nearly six lengths.

This year – in another four-horse field at the Del Mar, Calif., track – the roles flipped.

Extra Hope and rider Juan Hernandez made the lead out of the gate and led Midcourt and Victor Espinoza from break to finish, scoring nicely in the Grade 3, $100,000 contest. His winning margin was only a length, but in the counting house and the record books a win is most certainly a win. Fractions were :23.86 :47.79 1:11.45 1:37.02 1:50.11

“That was the plan – to go for the lead right away,” said Hernandez. “He helped me a lot the way he broke so good out of there. Then he was running nice an easy for me; he was relaxed. At the quarter pole I asked him and he gave me a good reply.”

“That's (front running) what we planned with Extra Hope,” said Mandella. “I told (Juan Hernandez) 'Spin the tires' out of the gate a little bit. He (Extra Hope) kind of doesn't take life real serious, so he wasn't getting out of his training what he needed to before his first race off the layoff. But the one race did it. He's been doing good since then. We'll look at the Big 'Cap (next year) and possibly the San Antonio on opening day at Santa Anita.”

Extra Hope, a 4-year-old colt by Shanghai Bobby, earned a check for $60,000 for capturing his first stakes race and increased his bankroll to $294,831 with his fourth win in 14 starts. The victory was extra sweet for the lady behind Jay Em Ess Stable –Samantha Siegel. She also bred Extra Hope.

Finishing third in the lineup was Hronis Racing's Combatant and filling out the field was Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farm's Royal Ship, who stumbled badly out of the gate and nearly unseated rider Mike Smith.

Extra Hope ran the mile and one-eighth in 1:50.11 and paid $10.40 and $2.80. Midcourt, the 2/5 favorite, returned $2.10. There was no show wagering in the short lineup.

Leading rider Abel Cedillo had a pair of victories on the afternoon and now has 16 winners in the first 10 days of racing. Best performance by a rider on the afternoon though went to Flavien Prat, who registered three firsts. He now sits in second place in the jockey standings with 10 wins.

Racing resumes tomorrow at Del Mar with a nine-race card beginning at 12:30 p.m.

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‘Glad To Be In It’: Forster Excited For First Breeders’ Cup With Dirt Mile Hopeful Pirate’s Punch

Nestled five miles from Churchill Downs, trainer Grant Forster is eagerly preparing for the biggest race of his career at Trackside Louisville where Gulliver Racing, Craig Drager and Dan Legan's five-time winner Pirate's Punch will tackle a likely full field of competitors in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (Grade I) on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

“Sort of like every horse trainer, I'm just holding my breath until we get there,” Forster said. “It's been a great ride so far with this horse and the (Dirt Mile) is shaping up to be a really competitive. It'll be a tough field but we're glad to be in it.”

Pirate's Punch had a unique two-race stand over the summer when Forster shipped the Shanghai Bobby gelding to Monmouth Park to compete in the $200,000 Philip Iselin Stakes (GIII) and one month later returned for the $155,000 Salvator Mile (GIII). In the Philip Iselin, the gutsy Pirate's Punch finished a half-length in front of Warrior's Charge but was subsequently disqualified and placed second following a stewards' inquiry and objection lodged by the runner-up finisher's jockey Paco Lopez.

Forster would return to Monmouth for redemption in the Salvator Mile where Pirate's Punch scored a convincing two-length score and sealed his likely starting gate position in the Dirt Mile.

In the Breeders' Cup, East Coast-based jockey Jorge Vargas Jr., who rode Pirate's Punch in each of his two starts at Monmouth, will ship to Kentucky to ride in the Breeders' Cup. The 26-year-old Vargas, whose grandfather and father both trained horses in his native Puerto Rico, is named to ride Shimmering (IRE) for trainer Graham Motion on Wednesday at Churchill Downs.

“He's rode Pirate's Punch perfectly in his last two starts, so why not continue to use him for the Breeders' Cup,” Forster said. “He's coming to Kentucky early and hopes to ride a few at Churchill before the Breeders' Cup.”

Starting on Friday, there will be a special training period from 7:30-7:45 a.m. for Breeders' Cup contenders. The special training session is scheduled to run through Wednesday, Nov. 4.

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This Time It Counts: Pirate’s Punch Proves Best In Salvator Mile

Pirate's Punch left no doubt about the outcome this time.

Disqualified from first for interference in the stretch in the Grade 3 Philip Iselin Stakes four weeks ago, Pirate's Punch drew away coming out of the final turn to win the $150,000 Grade 3 Salvator Mile by two lengths on Sunday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Now it's onto the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Saturday, Nov. 7, for the half-brother to 2017 Haskell Invitational winner Girvin, according to trainer Grant Forster.

“The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is definitely our plan based on these last two races,” said the Kentucky-based Forster. “For us here in Kentucky it's a home game this year. He does have one race at Keeneland when he ran very well as he was just starting to improve last fall. I know the owners and I are on board.

“We were treating this as our `win and you're in.' He won it, so I guess we have to put our money where our mouth is and give a horse the chance to show what he can do on the national stage.”

The speedy 4-year-old son of Shanghai Bobby, who generally races on the lead, was kept off the early quick pace set by Prendimi and Wind of Change, with the duo taking the eight-horse field to an opening quarter of :22.69 and a first half in :45.80.

Entering the final turn, jockey Jorge Vargas, Jr. gave Pirate's Punch his cue, with the gelding sweeping three wide and immediately getting a jump on the field as he made the lead. Final time for the mile was 1:37.19.

Top Line Growth, the Laurel Park record holder for a mile, was able to get second, a head in front of Bal Harbour.

“I'm pleased they gave me another chance to ride this horse after the Iselin,” said Vargas. “I didn't feel what happened that day was all that bad but I still felt bad about it and apologized to the owners afterward. They told me I did everything right and rode a good race.

“Obviously today we wanted to be on the lead because that's the best way he has run before, but they went quick early on. I didn't panic. I just tried to keep him clean. I knew I was on the best horse in the race. After the three-eighths he just took off. I wasn't going to challenge that fast early speed. I know this is a good horse and he will get in gear.”

Now with a 5-3-4 line from 17 career starts, Pirate's Punch earned his first graded stakes win. He paid $6.60 to win as the favorite in the field.

“He really validated that last race,” said Forster. “I said before the race I was concerned about bringing him back this quickly with the travelling (from Kentucky), but every day he has been a 10 out there on the track for us and he gave us every reason to come back.

“The jockeys who have ridden him have always said he will rate. He has run some very good races from just off the pace, but of course this is the first time to get a win doing it that way with such a fast early pace being set. Credit to Jorge Vargas, Jr. He rode a brilliant race. He didn't panic being on the favorite. He knew what he had underneath him. The horse runs the turns very well and Vargas asked him around the turn and he responded as we know he can.”

Owned by Gulliver Racing LLC, Craig Drager and Dan Legan, Pirate's Punch boosted his career earnings to $332,751 with the $90,000 winner's share of the purse.

He also moved Vargas a step closer to what would be a career riding highlight.

“The Breeders' Cup is one of my dreams so I am hoping this horse goes now,” said Vargas. “To be able to ride him in the Breeders' Cup would be a dream come true.”

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