Spielberg | Horse Racing Free Tips

Six young horses will run seven furlongs Monday in the 73rd edition of the shore oval's annual closer – the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity. The race will carry a purse of $250,000 and a Grade 1 ranking. And as it has many times before, it also likely will point out the winner for much bigger and better things to come on down the line.

The morning line favorite for the juvenile headliner will be Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal's Dr. Schivel, a colt by Violence who was purchased privately by his current connections – father Jed and son Tim Cohen — in the past few weeks. The bay easily had won a straight maiden race at six furlongs at Del Mar on August 8 after running second and third in a pair of previous outings.

Following that win, the colt's then owners – and breeders – William Branch and Arnold Hill, heard an offer they couldn't refuse and ceded ownership to his current pair of owners. Dr. Schivel will race for trainer Luis Mendez once more in the Futurity, then shift to conditioner Mark Glatt's barn.

Here's the full field for the race from the rail out with riders and morning line odds: SF Racing, Starlight Racing or Madaket Stables' Spielberg (Abel Cedillo, 2-1); Brad Allshouse's Dyn O Mite (Victor Espinoza, 12-1); Drakos or Hanson's Weston (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1); KMN Racing's Scooby (Umberto Rispoli, 12-1); Reddam Racing's Dixie's Two Stents (Mario Gutierrez, 3-1), and Dr. Schivel (8/5).

Spielberg, a $1,000,000 yearling purchase in Kentucky last September, is a son of Union Rags who has started only once, finishing second to Dr. Schivel in that one's winning heat here on August 8. He has the distinct advantage, however, of racing out of the barn of conditioner Bob Baffert who has won the Del Mar Futurity a record 14 times.

Dixie's Two Stents was a weanling purchase for $60,000 in Kentucky in November of 2018. The son of Quality Road made his racing debut at Del Mar on August 1 and closed late to just miss in a five-furlong maiden special weight contest. He's worked well at the shore oval since.

Weston enters the fray with a two-for-two record, including a tally in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar on August 8. The Hit It a Bomb gelding trains out of the barn of part owner Ryan Hanson and – in contrast to some of his Monday adversaries – was a bargain $7,000 purchase as a yearling last year in Kentucky.

Scooby is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. Though still a maiden after two starts, he's closed well in both of those outings.

Dyn O Mite has run second in all three of his tries. The son of Goldencents is conditioned by J. Keith Desormeaux.

Monday's finale means that there will be a mandatory payout in the track's popular Pick Six bet. It will be held on races 6 through 11.

The headliner will go as the 10th event on an 11-race card. First post Monday goes at 1 p.m.

The post Dr. Schivel Hoping To Put Freeze On Baffert’s Grip On Del Mar Futurity appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

In this continuing series, TDN’s Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

The highly regarded Spielberg (c, 2, Union Rags-Miss Squeal, by Smart Strike), runner-up on debut as the 4-5 favorite for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert in a quickly run maiden special weight at Del Mar Aug. 8 (video), is currently being aimed at the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity Sept. 7.

Campaigned in partnership by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm LLC and Robert E. Masterson, Spielberg brought $1 million at last year’s Keeneland September Sale, the co-highest price of 60 yearlings to change hands by his promising young sire in 2019.

“He’s definitely one of the stars of the stable,” SF Racing’s Tom Ryan said. “We do have lofty expectations.”

Carrying the name of legendary film director and producer Steven Spielberg and boasting an eye-catching worktab lined with bullets, the word was certainly out ahead of the flashy chestnut’s six-furlong unveiling earlier this month.

Debuting with blinkers, he broke sharply from his outside draw and kept the early leaders within his scope in third through a quarter mile in :22.27. He ranged up three wide heading into the far turn and challenged for command at the top of the stretch, but couldn’t keep pace down the lane with the ultra-impressive third-time starter Dr. Schivel (Violence), who drew clear to score by 5 3/4 lengths.

Spielberg earned a 73 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort while the winner was awarded an 86 rating.

“I thought his first race was a very good effort and he came out of it in great shape,” Ryan said. “He will have gotten an education from it and he was beaten by what looks like a very nice colt as well.”

Spielberg returned to the worktab with a four-furlong spin in :49 (32/69) at Del Mar Aug. 17 (XBTV video).

“I texted Bob yesterday,” Ryan said. “We had two colts work-($610,000 KEESEP yearling) Tarantino (Pioneerof the Nile) and Spielberg. I said, ‘How did the two directors do?’ He said, ‘Both went great.’ He’s very happy with him. He just cruised around there and went on his own. He seems to be ultra- professional and very straight forward to deal with.”

Bred in Kentucky by G. Watts Humphrey, Jr. and out of the three-time winner Miss Squeal, Spielberg hails from the extended female family of Grade I winners Dream Deal, Clear Mandate, Strong Mandate, et al.

Other standouts by Union Rags out of Smart Strike mares include: Union Strike, who broke her maiden in the 2016 GI Del Mar Debutante S.; and the stakes-winning Still There, who completed the exacta in Saratoga’s GI Ballerina S. two summers ago.

Ryan concluded, “What he accomplishes as a 2-year-old would be a nice entree to what I hope he’s capable of as a 3-year-old.”

Previous standouts featured in ‘Second Chances’ include: GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (Honor Code), Royal Ascot G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), MGISW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), MSW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. runner-up Candy Tycoon (Twirling Candy).

The post Second Chances: Spielberg appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post