Smooth Like Strait | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hit The Road Rallies To Win the Kilroe Mile

Hit the Road (More Than Ready) struck a blow for the locals, parlaying a perfect trip into a stirring short-neck victory in Saturday's GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. at Santa Anita.

Drawn in gate two with the visiting Florent Geroux in the irons, Hit the Road found the perfect spot in the box seat, as Flying Scotsman (English Channel) sped across from his outside barrier to supplant favored Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute). The pace was sensible through the middle stages, with positions largely unchanged, and Hit the Road appeared to be in some bother nearing the quarter pole, as Flavius (War Front) kept him in for a time.

Smooth Like Strait had first run and the race was there for the taking if good enough, but Hit the Road, off at odds of 4-1, sliced through at the rail and fought on bravely to post a narrow victory. Count Again (Awesome Again) came from a share of last to be third with a flying finish.

Hit the Road is the first Grade I in the career of 38-year-old trainer Dan Blacker.

“I was pretty anxious, but I thought if he can get through, he's got a good chance,” Blacker said. “Luckily, 'Flo' found a gap and he just proved that he's the best today. I gave myself 10 years to win a Grade I and luckily we got it done in year nine. I don't want to make this about me. It's all about the horse, he's such a professional animal–he is a true racehorse. He was born that way. He's just a true athlete and so mentally focused on racing. I just feel so fortunate to have him and with a great group of owners. Being with me for such a long time, they've been so patient, and I'm just really thrilled for them all to get a win like this.”

Hit the Road, an impressive last-to-first winner of the Zuma Beach S. over course and distance at two, entered the Kilroe Mile riding a three-race winning streak. Two-for-two in an abbreviated 3-year-old campaign, including Del Mar's Runhappy Oceanside S., Hit the Road fired fresh off the bench with a sharp tally in the local GIII Thunder Road S. Feb. 6.

Pedigree Notes:

Hit the Road is the 26th worldwide top-level winner for the sensational dual-hemisphere stallion More Than Ready and 12th Grade I winner in North America. Hit the Road is bred on the wildly successful cross over Danzig-line mares-predominantly through Danehill-that has been responsible for the likes of top-level scorers Sebring (Aus), Prized Icon (Aus), Perfectly Ready (Aus), More Than Sacred (Aus) in Australia, to name only a few, and Uni (GB) in the United States.

Hit the Road is the first foal out of unraced Highway Mary (U S Ranger). The 8-year-old mare subsequently produced a filly by Quality Road, that died the following season, during which she
was barren. She had an Arrogate filly in 2020 and has a foal filly by American Pharoah. The winner's second dam is Grade II winner Wandering Star, dam of G1 Dewhurst S. hero War Command (War Front), Group 3 scorer Naval Officer (Tale of the Cat) and Wonder Woman (Storm Cat), responsible for a pair of black-type winners and four black-type performers.

Highway Mary brought €100,000 from agent Justin Casse at the 2015 ARQDEC sale.

Saturday, Santa Anita
FRANK E. KILROE MILE S.-GI, $402,500, Santa Anita, 3-6, 4yo/up, 1mT, 1:34.48, fm.
1–HIT THE ROAD, 122, c, 4, by More Than Ready
                1st Dam: Highway Mary, by U S Ranger
                2nd Dam: Wandering Star, by Red Ransom
                3rd Dam: Beautiful Bedouin, by His Majesty
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($200,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-D K
Racing, LLC, Radley Equine, Inc., Taste of Victory Stables, Gold,
Rick, Maslowski, Tony E. and Odmark, Dave; B-Fred Hertrich
(KY); T-Dan Blacker; J-Florent Geroux. $240,000. Lifetime
Record: 9-6-0-0, $494,751. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Smooth Like Strait, 122, c, 4, Midnight Lute–Smooth as
Usual, by Flower Alley. O/B-Cannon Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY);
T-Michael W. McCarthy. $80,000.
3–Count Again, 122, g, 6, Awesome Again–Count to Three, by
Red Ransom. O-Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm;
B-Sam-Son Farm (ON); T-Philip D'Amato. $48,000.
Margins: NK, NK, HF. Odds: 4.20, 2.80, 16.30.
Also Ran: Flavius, Royal Ship (Brz), Casa Creed, Ride a Comet, Spirit Animal, Flying Scotsman, Social Paranoia. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Comet Rides Hot Streak into Kilroe Mile

Ride a Comet (Candy Ride {Arg}) rides a four-race win streak into his first try at the highest level in Saturday's GI Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita. Starting off his hot streak with a victory in the GII Del Mar Derby in September of 2018, the blue-blooded bay was on the sidelines for 25 months and returned with an optional claimer score on the Woodbine synthetic Oct. 16. Capturing the GII Kennedy Road S. over that oval Nov. 21, he won the GIII Tropical Turf S. back on the grass at Gulfstream Jan. 9.

Another horse on a hot streak is Hit the Road (More Than Ready). Capturing a local optional claimer in May, the bay took the Oceanside S. at Del Mar July 10 and was subsequently shelved. He returned with a decisive victory in this course-and-distance GIII Thunder Road S. Feb. 6.

Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) came up a head short of Grade I glory two starts back and looks to break through at the top level this time. Winner of the GIII La Jolla H. last summer, the bay was fourth in the GII American Turf S. Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, but rebounded with a victory in the GII Twilight Derby back in Arcadia Oct. 18. He was a very close second next out in the GI Hollywood Derby Nov. 28 and returned to the winner's circle next time in the GII Mathis Brothers Mile Dec. 26.

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Smooth Like Strait Tops Competitive Group In Frank Kilroe Mile

In what may be the best betting race of the day, trainer Michael McCarthy's Smooth Like Strait heads a deep and competitive field of 10 older horses in Saturday's Grade 1, $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (turf) at Santa Anita.

A winner of the opening day Mathis Brothers Mile on Dec. 26, Cannon Thoroughbreds' homebred Smooth Like Strait is a head away from three consecutive graded stakes wins and merits top billing in a close call over recent lights-out Grade 3 winner Hit the Road.

With a strong local contingent in place, the Kilroe has also attracted five quality eastern shippers, headed by Chad Brown's Flavius, Todd Pletcher's Social Paranoia and Mark Casse's Ride a Comet.

Forwardly placed in nearly all of his races, Smooth Like Strait pressed the early pace set by Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Storm the Court in the Mathis Brothers Mile and went on to a solid three quarter length win at odds of 4-5. With Umberto Rispoli at the controls, Smooth Like Strait won three graded stakes last year, dating back to the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap five starts back on Aug. 9.

A gem of consistency, this 4-year-old colt by Midnight Lute out of the Flower Alley mare Smooth as Usual, has been favored in seven out of his last eight starts, including a narrow defeat two starts back in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on Nov. 28 at Del Mar. With three wins and a second from five tries at one mile on turf, Smooth Like Strait is 12-6-2-1 overall with earnings of $577,823.

Idle since winning the restricted one mile turf Oceanside Stakes July 10, trainer Dan Blacker's Hit the Road unfurled a tremendous stretch run to take the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes over the course by 3 ¾ lengths and left little doubt he has tremendous upside. With a career-best 99 Beyer Speed figure in hand, Hit the Road, a 4-year-old colt by More Than Ready, seeks his fourth consecutive win on Saturday.

Owned by D K Racing, LLC, Radley Equine, Inc., Taste of Victory Stables, Rick Gold and Dave Odmark, Hit the Road, who had been ridden in his last three starts by Rispoli, will get the first time services of Florent Geroux, as Rispoli, in a very tough call for him and his agent Scotty McClellan, sticks with Smooth Like Strait. With five wins from seven starts at one mile on turf, Hit the Road is five for eight overall with earnings of $254,751.

Second, beaten three quarters of a length at 5-2 in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar Nov. 28, Juddmonte Farms' homebred Flavius would be flattered by a fast Kilroe pace with Flavien Prat aboard for the first time. Two for three in Ireland, this 6-year-old full horse by War Front has one win from six stateside starts, which came in a one mile turf ungraded stakes three starts back at Kentucky Downs Sept. 7.

Fourth, beaten 2 ¾ lengths at 9-1 in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at 1 3/16 miles Jan. 23, millionaire Social Paranoia, who will be ridden for the first time by Abel Cedillo, is unbeaten in three tries at one mile on turf and rates an upset chance as he makes his second Grade 1 appearance at age five.

A winner of his last four starts, three of them in graded stakes, Ride a Comet, a 6-year-old full horse by Candy Ride, will be reunited with Drayden Van Dyke, who last rode him four starts back, when he orchestrated a come-from-behind victory in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 2, 2018.

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McCarthy: Kilroe Mile Next For Smooth Like Strait

Smooth Like Strait, efficient winner of Saturday's Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile on turf as the 4-5 favorite, likely will make his next start in the G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile on grass March 6 at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

“That's the plan,” trainer Michael McCarthy said for the Midnight Lute colt, now winner of six of 12 starts with earnings of $577,823 for owners/breeders Cannon Thoroughbreds, LLC.

McCarthy has Nasreddine, third in the G1 Starlet Dec. 5, ticketed for next Sunday's G2 Santa Ynez Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs, and marathon turf specialist Another Mystery set for Saturday's G2 San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on grass.

Ever on the go, McCarthy has come-backing Ohio ready for Friday's G2 Joe Hernandez Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs on turf.

Brazilian-bred Ohio has not raced since March 7 when the soon-to-be 10-year-old gelded son of Elusive Quality finished seventh in the Kilroe. Ricky Gonzalez will have the mount.

“Ohio just had a little R and R, just taking it easy,” McCarthy said.

As to Independence Hall's disappointing fifth by nearly 10 lengths behind Charlatan in the G1 Malibu, McCarthy said: “I don't think he handled the track, but he'll live to fight another day.”

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