Wednesday’s Insights: Debut Winners Rocketeer and More Vino Return

7th-KEE, $110K, $100k Opt. Clm., 3yo, 1 1/16m, 4:12 p.m.
e Five Thoroughbreds and Ian Brennan's ROCKETEER (Curlin) lived up to his name when airing by four lengths in his career debut going seven panels at this venue last October. Working consistently for trainer Brad Cox, the colt posted a bullet five-furlong move in :59 4/5 at Churchill Downs Mar. 31 before going four furlongs in :48 4/5 Apr. 6. A grandson of Grade I winner Stop Traffic (Cure the Blues), the colt takes blinkers off for this go around. Tyler Gaffalione gets the mount. Repole Stable and St Elias Stable team up with More Vino (Vino Rosso), a $400,000 Keeneland September purchase. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the colt marked his debut with a 1 1/2-length score going 1 mile 40 yards at Tampa Mar. 10. Irad Ortiz Jr. joins the fray here. TJCIS PPs

 

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Rebel Goes to Timberlake in Classy Effort

Two turns? It turns out there's no problem.

When Timberlake (c, 3, Into Mischief–Pin Up {Ire}, by Lookin At Lucky) finished a somewhat rank, then flat, fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November, questions swirled about his ability to get two turns. Trainer Brad Cox brushed the questions aside and let the horse do the talking. A freshened Timberlake, making his first start of the year in Oaklawn's GII Rebel S. Saturday, captured the $1.3-million race by a resounding two lengths over Kenny McPeek trainees Common Defense (Karakontie {Jpn}) and Northern Flame (Flameaway). The Rebel offered points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale.

When the Rebel gates flew, Timberlake broke smoothly to tuck in nicely behind the speed in fourth. 'TDN Rising Star' Carbone (Mitole) led the way, with Northern Flame just behind and Woodcourt (Ransom the Moon) pressuring from third. Timberlake held his spot as Common Defense slipped through on the inside and Mena (Hard Spun) ranged up to his outside. Up front, Carbone notched the first quarter in :23.20 and the half in :47.67 as Timberlake sat loaded and patient a few lengths back. The winner swung wide on the turn, took several strides to swap to his correct lead, drifted out under a left-hand stick, and corrected in the lane. Jockey Cristian Torres stayed busy late, keeping Timberlake's mind on business, and the pair edged clear, holding a rail-rallying Common Defense at bay by two lengths.

Timberlake has done very little wrong in his eight-month career. A June debut at Ellis Park saw him break a step slow and finish several spots off the board behind Rhyme Schemes (Ghostzapper), who later won the GII Saratoga Special. A month later, Timberlake made good on the $350,000 WinStar Farm shelled out for him at the previous year's Keeneland September sale as he ran away by 9 1/4 lengths to win at seven furlongs and nab the 'TDN Rising Star' tag reserved for special prospects. A second in the GI Hopeful S. and that fourth in the Breeders' Cup were sandwiched around a daylight victory by the bay in the GI Champagne S.

The Rebel marked Timberlake's first start of the year; he had been ranked ninth on the most recent TDN Sophomore Top 12 going into the Rebel. He was the sole Grade I winner in Oaklawn's Saturday feature and also owned the highest speed figures with a pair of 93 Beyers.

Pedigree Notes:

Bred in Kentucky by St. Elias, Timberlake is one of 68 graded winners for Spendthrift's five-time leading sire Into Mischief, who also sports a gaudy 145 black-type winners worldwide. While Timberlake is the only Into Mischief stakes winner out of a Lookin At Lucky mare, he also has GSW Bye Bye out of a mare by Smart Strike, Lookin At Lucky's sire, and a great number of black-type winners hailing from the Mr. Prospector broodmare line. The latter includes 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic, who stands beside his sire at Spendthrift. Lookin At Lucky, who is not standing this Northern Hemisphere season but remained in Chile, has 11 stakes winners out of his daughters.

Pin Up (Ire), dam of Timberlake, won twice at marathon distances in England. Her dam, by Sadler's Wells, is a full-sister to Irish champions and G1SWs Yesterday (Ire) and Quarter Moon (Ire), as well as a half-sister to $5.2-million Fasig-Tipton broodmare Betterbetterbetter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Pin Up produced a 2022 colt by Army Mule, who brought $30,000 from Tate Shaw at last October's Fasig-Tipton yearling sale, and a 2023 colt by Known Agenda.

Timberlake traces tail female to Mumtaz Mahal (GB) (The Tetrarch {GB}), who was known as the “Flying Filly,” and was one of the Aga Khan's foundation mares. Mumtaz Mahal, born in 1921 yet whose influence is still felt today, is Timberlake's 10th dam.

 

Saturday, Oaklawn
REBEL S.-GII, $1,250,000, Oaklawn, 2-24, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.00, ft.
1–TIMBERLAKE, 119, c, 3, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Pin Up (Ire) (SP-Eng), by Lookin At Lucky
                2nd Dam: All My Loving (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
                3rd Dam: Jude (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
($350,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star' O-WinStar Farm
LLC; B-St. Elias Stables, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Cristian A.
Torres. $618,750. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-3-1-0, $1,094,350.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus* Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Common Defense, 117, c, 3, Karakontie (Jpn)–Allusion, by
Street Cry (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($9,000 RNA Wlg '21 KEENOV). O-David A. Bernsen, Tony &
Michael Holmes & Norevale Farm; B-Tony Holmes, Norevale
Farm & Union Dale (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $206,250.
3–Northern Flame, 122, c, 3, Flameaway–Darling's Darling, by
Bernardini. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($425,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG). O-Jack Oxley, Harold Lerner LLC,
AWC Stables & Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek); B-Debby
Oxley (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $103,125.
Margins: 2, 3, 1. Odds: 0.80, 27.20, 15.20.
Also Ran: Woodcourt, Dimatic, Carbone, Just Steel, Next Level, Lagynos, Magic Grant, Mena, Tejon Pass. Scratched: Time for Truth. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Saturday Insights: Pricey Liam’s Map Colt Debuts for St. Elias

6th-GP, $89k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, post time: 2:39 p.m. ET
TURN UP THE TREES (Liam's Map) cost $100,000 as a foal at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale before St. Elias Stable paid $500,000 for the bay at Keeneland September less than a year later, the fourth-priciest of 58 of his sire's yearlings sold in 2022. A son of the Grade III-placed Clearbrook (Smart Strike), Turn Up the Trees descends from the family of stallions Sky Mesa and Bernstein. Sicilian Defense (Uncle Mo) is a maternal grandson of GSW/GISP Molto Vita (Carson City), herself the dam of SW & GSP Jaguar Paw (Giant's Causeway), SW/MGSP Venetian Mask (Pulpit) and Grazie Mille (Bernardini), whose produce include GISW Mo Town (Uncle Mo) and SW & MGSP 'TDN Rising Star' Justique (Justify). TJCIS PPs

1st-AQU, $80k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, post time: 12:20 p.m. ET
Peter Blum homebred AMBITION (Street Sense) is the latest to the races from the five-time stakes-winning Inspired (Unbridled's Song), also the dam of Grade II-placed juvenile Carmel Road (Quality Road) and SP Night Time Lady (Midnight Lute). A daughter of the late stakes-placed Proposal (Mt. Livermore), Inspired is a full-sister to SW & GSP Silver City; and a half to SW & GSP Elope (Gone West), SW Initiation (Deputy Minister) and Treasure (Medaglia d'Oro), herself the dam of GI Preakness S. hero National Treasure (Quality Road), SW Ultimate (Speightstown) and Grade I-placed 'TDN Rising Star' Pirate (Omaha Beach). Third dam Lady of Choice (Storm Bird) produced MGSW/GISP Multiple Choice (Mt. Livermore) and was a half-sister to GISW Well Chosen (Deputy Minister). A $200,000 Keeneland September purchase by Spendthrift Farm, the debuting Tuscan Sky (Vino Rosso) is a half-brother to Private Creed (Jimmy Creed), third in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and victorious in last year's GII Franklin-Simpson S. TJCIS PPs

9th-GP, $89k, Msw, 3yo, 1m, post time: 4:06 p.m. ET
MILITARY ROAD (Quality Road) is a son of 2013 GII Davona Dale S. third Private Ensign (A.P. Indy), also the dam of SW Great Sister Dane (Will Take Charge), whose then-yearling son of Quality Road was hammered down to Repole Stable for $725,000 at Keeneland September last year. Private Ensign is a half-sister to GSW 'TDN Rising Star' Ocho Ocho Ocho (Street Sense) and the undefeated champion Personal Ensign appears as this colt's fourth dam. Antiquarian (Preservationist) was the third most-expensive of his young sire's 47 first-crop yearlings reported as sold in 2022, hammering for $250,000 at KEESEP to the bid of Centennial Farms. A May 11 foal, the chestnut is out of a winning daughter of GSW Silver Reunion (Harlan's Holiday), the dam of GSW Speaktomeofsummer (Summer Front) and SW Proud Reunion (Proud Citizen). TJCIS PPs

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Forte Retired from Racing, Will Stand at Spendthrift

Forte (Violence–Queen Caroline, by Blame), the 2022 champion 2-year-old colt and GI Breeders Cup Juvenile winner, has been retired from racing and will stand the 2024 season at Spendthrift Farm, according to co-owner Mike Repole.

“According to Todd Pletcher,” said Repole Thursday afternoon, “he grabbed his quarter in the Travers and that turned into a quarter crack in his left front foot. We sent him to [farrier] Ian McKinlay to patch it up and he was galloping. Today, Todd sent him out for a gallop at Keeneland. He said he would need more time to make the Breeders' Cup so we simply ran out of time.

“He had five races as a 2-year-old and broke his maiden in May. We won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in November. We had five races this year. So we got two years, 10 starts, seven wins, $3 million in earnings and a championship. That's pretty cool.”

Repole said consideration was given to racing Forte next year, but it was ultimately decided to send him to Spendthrift.

“The deal with Spendthrift included an option that we could have raced him next year. Everybody wants to talk about how incredible it was to have a horse like this. But there's a lot of stress and anxiety that comes along with owning a horse like this. We have a love for these horses and a love for the sport. Between races, [co-owner] Vinnie [Viola of St. Elias] and I are thinking, 'how did he gallop today, how did he work today, how did he eat today?' He's done as much as he can. We have some other really good horses who will be coming back next year. Bright Future, Dreamlike, some other good older horses. This horse did a lot.

“As far as a horse who put two really good years together back to back, he could be the best one I've ever owned. Just look at the races he won. He won Grade Is both years and had two great seasons. It's hard to retire these horses, but sometimes you have to look at the big picture and make some really tough, emotional decisions.”

Bred by South Gate Farm in Kentucky, Forte was acquired by Repole Stables and St. Elias for $110,0000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale before being sent to Hall of Famer Pletcher. Named a 'TDN Rising Star' on debut, he closed out his 2-year-old season with three straight Grade I victories, including the Hopeful S. and Claiborne Breeders' Futurity.

Forte's 3-year-old season was fraught with ups and downs. He captured the GII Fountain of Youth S. and GI Florida Derby, the latter over subsequent GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic), but was scratched as the favorite the morning of the Kentucky Derby due to a bruised hoof. Two days later, it was announced he would be ineligible to run in the GI Preakness S. as the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) had placed him on a mandatory 14-day vet's list. Just a few days after that, it was learned he would be disqualified from his Hopeful victory of the year before due to a medication violation.

The colt did make the GI Belmont S., finishing second to Arcangelo (Arrogate), and came back to win the July 29 GII Jim Dandy S. in a nose thriller after an inquiry. After last seen finishing fourth in the GI Travers S. Aug. 26, he was treated for the quarter cracks mentioned by Repole. Despite not breezing, his team indicated as recently as Oct. 1 he was still being pointed to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

When asked if Forte was unlucky this year, Repole said, “If winning the Fountain of Youth, the Florida Derby and the Jim Dandy with a horse is bad luck I wish I had more bad luck like that. He was also second in the Belmont. He won races that I dreamed about winning when I was kid. This horse did nothing but give Vinnie Viola and I two full great seasons of racing. Take away Arcangelo, give me a 3-year-old that had better year than he did.

“Was he the Derby favorite and was he scratched? Of course he was. Did the horse he beat two times win the Derby? Yes. But you can't look back. Were there highs and lows? Yes. This game is all about highs and lows. But 99% of the people just get the lows and not the highs. Vinnie and I were congratulating each other today and we reminisced. This horse gave us a lot of thrills.”

Forte retires with a record of 10-7-1-0 and earnings of $3,029,830.

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