Tag: speightster

Straight No Chaser, Off Since Breakthrough Performance on Preakness Undercard, Back Galloping at Santa Anita

Straight No Chaser (h, 5, Speightster–Margarita Friday, by Johannesburg), unraced since posting a powerhouse, front-running victory in the GIII Maryland Sprint S. on last spring's GI Preakness S. undercard, is on the comeback trail for trainer Dan Blacker.

After stopping the clock for six furlongs in a razor sharp 1:08.27 and earning a career-best 107 Beyer Speed Figure in that 7 1/2-length decision at Pimlico, an undisclosed party agreed to purchase a minority interest in the MyRacehorse colorbearer. The deal, however, was called off after a positron emission tomography (PET) scan in a pre-purchase exam in June revealed “some abnormalities in a sesamoid,” per Blacker.

“Even though the horse was sound, it was the early stages of something that would've likely developed into an issue,” Blacker said. “And when you're dealing with sesamoids, it's significant. As a trainer, that's why the PET scan has been such a game changer for us at Santa Anita. It could show the initial stages of a training injury like this.”

He continued, “For me, it was an easy decision giving him time off. We had hoped to give him 90 days initially, but when we rescanned him (after 90 days), there was still activity in that same spot. So, we just gave him more time. The unfortunate thing with sesamoids is that they take time.”

In Straight No Chaser's case, six months' time, to be exact. Given the green light to resume training following a clean PET scan, the bay is now nearing his first workout back at Santa Anita, Blacker reports.

“He's been training as good as ever,” Blacker said. “He looks super out there on the track. Obviously, we've lost a bit of time training wise just because all of the wet weather recently, but he's getting close to being ready to breeze. He certainly looks as good if not better than ever. We'll let the workouts be the real judge of where he's at though.”

Hailing from the second crop of Speightster, Straight No Chaser is one of two graded winners for the late son of Speightstown, who was euthanized following a stall accident at Northern Dawn Farm in Ontario in 2022.

Bred in Kentucky by John Eaton and Steve Laymon, he was produced by the winning Johannesburg mare Margarita Friday. She is also responsible for the stakes winner Hangover Saturday (Pomeroy). This is the extended female family of two-time champion sprinter Housebuster.

Straight No Chaser brought $110,000 from MyRacehorse as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old following a :10 2/5 breeze for consignor Paul Sharp.

He currently sports a career record of 7-4-0-1 and earnings of $245,800. His resume also includes a debut maiden win over the Del Mar lawn, a pair of optional claiming wins at Santa Anita and Oaklawn and a third-place finish as the favorite in last year's GIII Palos Verdes S.

Straight No Chaser's aforementioned win in the Maryland Sprint was further flattered when the distant third-place finisher that day Nakatomi (Firing Line) subsequently placed a close third in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.

“It's great as a trainer when you have patient owners and I'm really grateful to have owners like MyRacehorse,” Blacker concluded. “To me, he's always been a horse that is gonna keep improving with age. I'm excited to get him back to the races.”

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What’s In A Name? Kenwick, Just F Y I, Gordian Knot, Praetorian Guard

The promising 2-eary-old filly Kenwick (Bernardini) may have won in Pennsylvania, but her pedigree shouts Lexington KY from the very rooftops of two local neighborhoods. Kenwick is a central residential area of the city, while Bell Court, as in the dam's name, is an almost adjacent zone, closer to downtown. Both areas have an Old America feel to them: nothing fake, nothing too gentrified, just authentic, with a touch of Thornton Wilder's “Our Town” ambiance. There is in fact a small theatre in the Bell House in Bell Court: the lovely Carriage House Theatre. Lexington visitors! The “Kenwick Table” locale on Owsley Road in Kenwick is the best for the weary traveler: coffee, live music (with an open mike on Monday evenings), beer & wine on the menu, two patios, out-of-this-world elegance – in a word: cool, like its equine namesake, who “got through a razor-thin hole” on the rail to go and win her race.

1st-Presque Isle Downs, $30,600, Msw, 9-5, 2yo, f, 6f (AWT), 1:12.44, ft, 2 1/2 lengths.
KENWICK (f, 2, Bernardini–Bell Court, by Street Sense) O/B-Godolphin LLC (KY); T-Eoin G Harty.

The name of Saratoga winning filly Just F Y I (Justify) is a sort of an anagram (rearrangement of letters to form another name) of the moniker of her dad – which is kind of unusual and brave, and therefore worthy of praise. She won on her debut, so novelty and quality are part of her repertoire.

6th-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 8-26, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:11.06, ft, head.
JUST F Y I (f, 2, Justify–Star Act {SP, $147,605}, by Street Cry {Ire}). O/B-George Krikorian (KY); T-William I. Mott.

There was horseracing in antiquity, and there is antiquity in modern horseracing. So much so that a recent sprint stakes race at Parx Racing Aug. 22 produced a very classical exacta, with a close finish. The winner is called Gordian Knot (Social Inclusion), as in the famous head-scratching problem solved by Alexander The Great with a dramatic blow of his sword on his way to conquering Asia. The runner-up is named Praetorian Guard (Speightster), after the dangerous posse of Roman Emperors – made up of veteran bodyguards who on occasion became a mortal danger to the very ruler they were to protect. “No one reigns innocently”, as it has been said.

SALVATORE M. DEBUNDA SPRINT S., $75,000, Parx Racing, 8-22, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 1:19.83, ft.
1–GORDIAN KNOT, 126, g, 3, Social Inclusion-Mia,
by Put It Back. O-Joseph M. Imbesi. B- Mr. & Mrs. Joe Imbesi.
T-Guadalupe Preciado. $43,200. Lifetime Record: 8-6-0-1,
$386,960.
2–Praetorian Guard, 121, g, 3, Speightster–Super Shopper,
by Super Saver. ($25,000 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Conway Racing
LLC (Mark Conway), Over The Moon Racing and Innovest BC
LLC; B-Jimmy L. Gladwell, III (KY); T-Louis C. Linder, Jr. $14,400.

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Straight No Chaser Sidelined With ‘Area of Concern’

A recent PET scan at Santa Anita revealed an “area of concern” in the left front fetlock of graded-stakes winner Straight No Chaser (Speightster), trainer Dan Blacker said Thursday. The 4-year-old colt will be sent to the farm for a 90-day break.

He was last seen at Pimlico for the GIII Maryland Sprint on the Preakness S. undercard May 20 where he won by an impressive 7 1/2 lengths.

Straight No Chaser had not worked since the Maryland Sprint. Blacker said the 4-year-old Speightster colt recently underwent a medical examination after an undisclosed party agreed to purchase a minority interest in the colt.

“It was a routine pre-purchase exam. As part of it they did a PET scan and they found an area of concern,” Blacker said. “It's mild. The horse is sound. But nevertheless, we thought it would be a good time to give him a break.”

Straight No Chaser will get the summer off before returning to training later this year.

“We'll probably give him 90 days at the farm and bring him back after Del Mar,” Blacker said. “He won't run again until around Christmas time.”

 

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Speightster’s Count de Monet Upsets Tyler’s Tribe In Advent S.

Two-for-two at Horseshoe Indianapolis earlier this summer, Count de Monet didn't receive a lot of respect at the tote board, going off for his stakes debut at Oaklawn at 15-1. Despite wanting a similar front-running position as Tyler's Tribe, Count de Monet was outrun to the lead by that rival and boxed in against the fence by Too Much Info (Maclean's Music). Still covered up around the turn as Tyler's Tribe paced the field through opening fractions of :22.33 and :46.11, Count de Monet began to make up ground when angled out for the stretch drive. As the pacesetter grew weary with a furlong to run, he overtook the lead with an outside move and drove clear for the comfortable score in Oaklawn's opening day feature. The winner has a weanling half-sister by Exaggerator named Ravenex and his dam was bred back to Echo Town for a 2023 foal. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

ADVENT S., $150,000, Oaklawn, 12-9, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:05.06, my.
1–COUNT DE MONET, 117, c, 2, by Speightster
                1st Dam: Ravenesque (SP, $121,476), by Dance With Ravens
                2nd Dam: Gold Scammer, by Gold Tribute
                3rd Dam: Capital Coverup, by Deputy Minister
($37,000 RNA Wlg '20 KEENOV; $8,000 Ylg '21 EASOCT;
$85,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Charles
Galli; B-Copper Penny Stables (KY); T-Thomas H. Swearingen;
J-Santo Sanjur. $90,188. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $132,188.
2–Alto Road, 118, c, 2, Army Mule–Field of Flowers, by City Zip.
($12,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Champion
Racing Stable; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Ronnie E. Cravens, III.
$27,750.
3–Tyler's Tribe, 124, g, 2, Sharp Azteca–Impazible Woman, by
Mission Impazible. ($34,000 Ylg '21 IOWOCT). O-Timothy E.
Martin & Thomas D. Lepic; B-Clifton Farm & Derek Merkler
(IA); T-Timothy E. Martin. $13,875.
Margins: 3, HF, NO. Odds: 15.60, 44.50, 0.80.
Also Ran: Frosted Departure, How Did He Do That, Happy Is a Choice, Wild Mule, C. J's Storm, Too Much Info.

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