sharp samurai | Horse Racing Free Tips

Grade 2 Winner Sharp Samurai Retired To Old Friends

Multiple Grade 2 winner Sharp Samurai has been retired from racing, and he will take up residence at Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky., BloodHorse reports.

The 7-year-old First Samurai gelding finished his on-track career with earnings of $1,111,270, winning eight of 23 starts. A west-coast mainstay, his most notable triumphs came in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby, Twilight Derby, and City of Hope Mile Stakes, as well as the G3 La Jolla Handicap.

Sharp Samurai finished in the money in nine additional graded stakes races, including all five of his starts in 2020. Among them was a runner-up effort in last year's G1 Pacific Classic and a third in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland, his first race away from California.

Sharp Samurai was trained and co-owned by Mark Glatt for the partnership of Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal. The gelding was bred in Kentucky by Cudney Stables.

Pletcher Lands Three, McGaughey Two On Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitation List

Grade 1 winners Say the Word and Storm the Court, and three stakes winners from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher, lead a list of 16 horses invited Sunday to the $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The third running of the 1 3/16-mile Pegasus World Cup Turf, introduced in 2019 to serve as a companion race to the $3-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), will be run Jan. 23. The Pegasus Turf has been won previously by eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar (2019) and Zulu Alpha (2020).

The Pegasus World Cup Turf and Pegasus World Cup will be part of an extraordinary program featuring seven graded stakes, four contested on the turf. Stakes on Pegasus Day will also include the $200,000 Inside Information (G2), $125,000 William L. McKnight (G3), $125,000 Marshua's River (G3), $125,000 La Prevoyante (G3) and $125,000 Fred Hooper (G3).

The 12 horses given first preference for the Pegasus World Cup Turf are (in alphabetical order):

Anothertwistafate – Owned by Peter Redekop B.C., Ltd. Trained by Peter Miller
Breaking the Rules – Owned by Phipps Stables. Trained by Shug McGaughey
Colonel Liam – Owner by Robert and Lawana Low. Trained by Todd Pletcher
Cross Border – Owned by Three Diamonds Farm. Trained by Mike Maker
Doswell – Owned by Joseph Allen LLC. Trained by Barclay Tagg
Largent – Owned by Twin Creeks Racing Stables, LLC, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. Trained by Todd Pletcher
North Dakota – Owned by Allen Stable Inc. Trained by Shug McGaughey
Pixelate – Owned by Godolphin, LLC. Trained by Michael Stidham
Say the Word – Owned by Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm. Trained by Philip D'Amato
Sharp Samurai – Owned by Owned by Red Baron's Barn LLC, Rancho Temescal LLC, Mark Glatt. Trained by Mark Glatt
Social Paranoia – Owned by The Elkstone Group, LLC. Trained by Todd Pletcher
Storm the Court – Owned by Exline-Border Racing, LLC, David Bernsen LLC, Susanna Wilson and Dan Hudock. Trained by Peter Eurton

The also eligible horses (in order of preference):

Next Shares – Owned by Debby Baltas, Richard Baltas, Christopher Dunn, Jules Iavarone, Michael Iavarone, Jerry McClanahan, Ritchie Robershaw, Mark Taylor. Trained by Richard Baltas.
Field Pass – Owned by Three Diamonds Farm. Trained by Mike Maker
Analyze It – Owned by William H. Lawrence. Trained by Chad Brown
Greyes Creek – Owned by OXO Equine LLC. Trained by Chad Brown

Limited seating is available and tickets can be purchased at Pegasusworldcup.com.

Fans can watch and wager on the Pegasus World Cup at 1stbet.com and xpressbet.com.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, winner of 16 of the past 17 Championship Meet titles at Gulfstream Park, has an intriguing trio of contenders for the Turf in Largent, Social Paranoia and Colonel Liam.

Largent is an improving son of Into Mischief who enters the Pegasus off a victory Dec. 12 in the Fort Lauderdale (G2). The gelding has won six of nine career starts and has won four of his five starts at Gulfstream.

Pletcher-trained Social Paranoia, a 4-year-old son of Street Boss, prepped for the Pegasus at Gulfstream Dec. 16 by winning an allowance optional claiming event off a five-month layoff. Social Paranoia earlier in the year won the Appleton (G3) at Gulfstream.

Pletcher's third entry is the lightly raced Colonel Liam, a 4-year-old son of Liam's Map who enters the Pegasus off an impressive 3 ¼-length victory Dec. 26 in the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Barclay Tagg, who trained the recently retired Tiz the Law to victories in last year's Florida Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers (G1), comes into the Turf with Doswell. The lightly raced 6-year-old raced only once as a 2-year-old. The son of Giant's Causeway broke his maiden as a 5-year-old and ended 2020 with a second-place finish behind Largent in the Fort Lauderdale.

It took seven races for North Dakota to win his first race, but the Shug McGaughey-trained 5-year-old has since won three of five races with his last being the Nov. 21 Red Smith (G3) at Aqueduct. McGaughey will also send out Breaking the Rules, a 6-year-old son of War Front who comes off a fourth-place finish in the Knickerbocker (G2) in October and a third-place finish in the Fort Lauderdale (G2).

Say the Word, a 6-year-old Ontario-bred by More Than Ready, enters off a third-place finish Nov. 27 in the Hollywood Turf Cup (G2) for trainer Philip D'Amato after winning the Northern Dancer Turf (G1) in October at Woodbine. The gelding finished fourth in his only other race at Gulfstream, that coming in 2018.

Storm the Court ships in from Santa Anita for trainer Peter Eurton. Winner of the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), the son of Court Vision was sixth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) last year before moving to turf and finishing seventh in the Hollywood Derby (G1) and second last time out in the Mathis Brothers Mile (G2)

Cross Border will attempt to give trainer Mike Maker back-to-back wins in the Pegasus Turf after saddling last year's winner, Zulu Alpha. The 7-year-old son of English Channel was second in last year's Sword Dancer (G1) and won the Bowling Green (G2), both at Saratoga. He comes into the Pegasus off a second-place finish in the Buddy Diliberto Memorial Dec. 19 at Fair Grounds.

Sharp Samurai was beaten a nose by Jesus' Team for the place in the Breeders' Cup Mile. The 7-year-old gelding, based at Santa Anita with trainer Mark Glatt, was second last year in the Pacific Classic (G1), Eddie Read (G2) and City of Hope (G2). His last victory was the 2018 City of Hope. Sharp Samurai is also on the invitation list for the Pegasus.

Pixelate, trained by Michael Stidham, comes into the Pegasus off a victory Dec. 26 in the Woodchopper at Fair Grounds. The Godolphin homebred and son of City Zip won the Del Mar Derby (G2) in September and was fifth in the Belmont Derby (G1) in October.

Anothertwistafate, winner Jan. 2 of the San Gabriel (G2) at Santa Anita and Sept. 10 Longacres Mile (G3), is invited to the Turf and is on the reserve inviation list for the Pegasus.

The Pegasus Turf also-eligible list is led by Next Shares, who will try to make his third trip to the Pegasus Turf the charm after a seventh-place finish in the 2019 edition and a 12^th place finish last year. The 8-year-old would enter this year's event off a third-place finish Jan. 2 in the San Gabriel.

The reserve invitation list also includes Field Pass. The Ontario Derby (G3) winner is trained by Mike Maker, who saddled last year's Pegasus Turf winner Zulu Alpha. Trainer Chad Brown, who won the inaugural Pegasus Turf with Bricks and Mortar, has two on the reserve list in Red Bank (G3) winner Analyze Itand OXO Equine's Greyes Creek.

The post Pletcher Lands Three, McGaughey Two On Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitation List appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Mucho Gusto, Charlatan Top Pegasus World Cup Invitation List

Bob Baffert-trained Mucho Gusto and Charlatan are among a dozen Grade 1 and Grade 2 winners on a list of 16 horses invited Sunday to the $3-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The fifth running of the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus, won previously by Longines World's Best Racehorse Arrogate (2017), Horse of the Year Gun Runner (2018), Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner City of Light and Mucho Gusto (2020), will be run Saturday, Jan. 23, along with the $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1).

Limited seating is available and tickets can be purchased at Pegasusworldcup.com.

Fans can watch and wager on the Pegasus World Cup at 1stbet.com and xpressbet.com.

The Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus World Cup Turf will be part of an extraordinary program featuring seven graded stakes, four contested on the turf. Stakes on Pegasus Day will also include the $200,000 Inside Information (G2), $125,000 William L. McKnight (G3), $125,000 Marshua's River (G3), $125,000 La Prevoyante (G3) and $125,000 Fred Hooper (G3).

The 12 horses given first preference for the Pegasus World Cup were (in alphabetical order):

Charlatan – Owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Frederick Hertrich III, John Fielding, Golconda Stables. Trained by Bob Baffert
Code of Honor – Owned by W.S. Farish. Trained by Shug McGaughey
Harper's First Ride – Owned by MCA Racing Stable LLC. Trained by Claudio Gonzalez
Jesus' Team – Owned by Grupo 7C Racing Stable. Trained by Jose D'Angelo
Kiss Today Goodbye – Owned by John Sondereker. Trained by J. Eric Kruljac
Knicks Go – Owned by Korea Racing Authority. Trained by Brad Cox
Mr Freeze – Owned by Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister. Trained by Dale Romans
Mucho Gusto – Owned by HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled. Trained by Bob Baffert
Sharp Samurai – Owned by Red Baron's Barn LLC, Rancho Temescal LLC, Mark Glatt. Trained by Mark Glatt
Sleepy Eyes Todd – Owned by Thumbs Up Racing, LLC. Trained by Miguel Angel Silva
Tax – Owned by R.A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Hugh Lynch. Trained by Danny Gargan
True Timber – Owned by Calumet Farm. Trained by Jack Sisterson.

The also eligibles are (in order of preference)

Anothertwistafate – Owned by Peter Redekop B.C., Ltd. Trained by Peter Miller
Math Wizard – Owned by John Fanelli, Khalid Mishref, Cash is King LLC, LC Racing LLC, Collarmele Vitelli Stables LLC, Ioannis, Zouas, Bassett Stables. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr.
King Guillermo – Owned by Victoria's Ranch. Trained by Juan Carlos Avila
Idol – Owned by Calvin Nguyen. Trained by Richard Baltas

Baffert, who won the Pegasus last year with Mucho Gusto and the inaugural running with Arrogate, has two chances for a hat trick with his defending champion and Charlatan.

After his victory in the Pegasus last year Mucho Gusto finished fourth Feb. 29 in the Saudi Cup before Baffert gave the 5-year-old son of Mucho Macho Man time off. He returned Dec. 26 to finish fourth of six in the San Antonio (G2).

Charlatan was regarded as one of the country's top 3-year-olds after his performance in the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) but he was sidelined with an ankle injury before returning off a seven-month layoff to win the Dec. 26 Malibu Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita.

Multiple Grade 1 winner Knicks Go enters the Pegasus off three consecutive victories since being moved to the stable of Brad Cox. The 5-year-old Maryland-bred son of Paynter was an impressive winner last time out of the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1).

Jesus' Team, second in the Breeders' Cup Mile and beaten less than a length by Knicks Go, sold for $30,000 as a yearling and has earned $508,940. The Jose D'Angelo-trained 4-year-old finished third in the Preakness (G1) and Jim Dandy (G2) last year.

W.S. Farish's homebred Code of Honor will be making his 13th consecutive start in a graded race, his ninth in a Grade 1 event. Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, Code of Honor was placed second in the 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) and went on to win the Travers (G1) and Jockey Club (G1). Code of Honor's 4-year-old season included a victory in the Westchester (G3) and second-place finishes in the Clark (G1) and Kelso (G2).

Tax, claimed for $50,000 out of his second career start by trainer Danny Gargan for co-owner Hugh Lynch, will run in his second consecutive Pegasus. The 5-year-old, an impressive winner of the Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream Dec. 12 off a seven-month layoff, was fourth in the 2019 Belmont (G1) and won that year's Jim Dandy (G2). The son of Arch finished ninth in last year's Pegasus after stumbling at the start.

Mr Freeze finished second in last year's Pegasus World Cup, 4 ½ lengths behind winner Mucho Gusto. Trained by Dale Romans, Mr Freeze went on to win the Fayette Stakes (G2) before wide trips resulted in a sixth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Mile and fifth-place finish in the Clark last time out.

Calumet Farm is hoping the third time is the charm for True Timber. Seventh in the 2019 edition of the Pegasus and eighth last year, the 7-year-old enters this year's $3 million edition off a popular victory in the Cigar Mile (G1) Dec. 5 at Aqueduct. It was his first win in 13 starts, since September of 2018.

Sleepy Eyes Todd won the Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park Dec. 19. The 5-year-old son of Paddy O'Prado, who won the Charles Town Classic (G2) in August, has been a model of consistency, winning eight of 15 races while racing at 11 different tracks for trainer Miguel Angel Silva.

John Sondereker's Kiss Today Goodbye, a lightly-raced 4-year-old, upset Mucho Gusto and four others Dec. 26 in the Malibu when he closed from last. Trained by J. Eric Kruljak, Kiss Today Goodbye had finished fifth in the Del Mar Derby (G2) and fourth in the Twilight Derby (G2) earlier in the year.

Harper's First Ride, a 5-year-old Maryland-bred, enters the Pegasus having won four of his last five starts including a victory in the Pimlico Special (G3). Maryland's perennial leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez will saddle the son of Paynter.

Anothertwistafate, winner of the Jan. 2 San Gabriel (G2) at Santa Anita and Sept. 10 Longacres Mile (G3), is No. 1 on the also eligible list. The son of Scat Daddy is also on the invitation list for the Pegasus Turf. Locally-based Math Wizard, a Grade 1 winner who finished second last summer to Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) show finisher Global Campaign in the Monmouth Cup, is second on the AE list while King Guillermo, owned by former Major League Baseball all-star Victor Martinez, and Idol, second in the San Antonio, round out the list.

The post Mucho Gusto, Charlatan Top Pegasus World Cup Invitation List appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Comebacking Mucho Gusto Draws Services Of John Velazquez In Saturday’s San Antonio

A winner of more than $3.1 million this year, Bob Baffert's Mucho Gusto, idle since Feb. 29, heads a field of eight 3-year-olds and up going a mile and one sixteenth in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita. One of five graded stakes on an 11-race program, the San Antonio, long a traditional prep to the G1 Santa Anita Handicap, will be contested for the 83rd time on Saturday.

A winner of the G` Pegasus World Cup Invitational two starts back at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, Mucho Gusto was a respectable fourth behind stablemate Maximum Security in the G1 $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 29 and will be ridden for the first time on Saturday by eastern-based John Velazquez.

Jay Em Ess Stable's homebred Extra Hope comes off an emphatic gate to wire score in the G3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar and seeks his third consecutive win for Richard Mandella and jockey Juan Hernandez.

Mark Glatt's versatile Sharp Samurai, an earner of more than $1.1 million, comes off a solid third place finish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and rates a huge chance at age six.

MUCHO GUSTO

Owner: HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Fourth, beaten 2 ¾ lengths in the Saudi Cup, Mucho Gusto is 12-6-2-2 overall. A 4-year-old colt by Mucho Macho Man, he should show plenty of his customary early zip in his first start in nearly nine months as Baffert seeks his record seventh San Antonio win.

EXTRA HOPE

Owner: Jay Em Ess Stable

Trainer: Richard Mandella

Unbeaten in two starts with hot-riding Juan Hernandez, Extra Hope, a 4-year-old colt by Shanghai Bobby, certainly rates as a “now” commodity. A gate to wire winner of the Native Diver, he'll no doubt be forwardly placed as he cuts back in distance a sixteenth of a mile. The San Antonio will be Extra Hope's fourth start of 2020 as he tries to improve upon an overall mark of 14-4-2-3.

SHARP SAMURAI

Owner : Red Baron's Barn LLC, Rancho Temescal LLC and Mark Glatt

Trainer: Mark Glatt

A winner of seven of 18 turf starts while second five times and third twice, Sharp Samurai will be making his second consecutive start on dirt, a surface that he's now 5-1-1-1 over. A solid second two starts back in the G2 City of Hope over the Santa Anita turf Oct. 3, he was beaten 3 ½ lengths in the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 7 and with his class and tactical speed, rates a big chance in the San Antonio.

THE GRADE II SAN ANTONIO WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 11 Approximate post time 2 p.m. PT

Take the One O One—Jose Valdivia, Jr.—121
Kiss Today Goodbye—Mike Smith—119
Extra Hope—Juan Hernandez—123
Sharp Samurai—Flavien Prat—121
Combatant—Ricardo Santana, Jr.—123
Midcourt—Victor Espinoza—123
Idol—Gabriel Saez–119
Mucho Gusto—John Velazquez—124

Although there is no public admittance, fans can watch and wager via 1st.com/Bet and they can watch all of Santa Anita's races free of charge at santaanita.com/live. Special early first post time on Saturday is at 11 a.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Comebacking Mucho Gusto Draws Services Of John Velazquez In Saturday’s San Antonio appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post