Smile Happy To Point For Stephen Foster

Lucky Seven Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Smile Happy (Runhappy), impressive winner of the GII Alysheba S. on the GI Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs May 5, will make his next start in the $1-million GI Stephen Foster S. July 1, trainer Ken McPeek told the track's media office Friday.

Eighth in last year's GI Kentucky Derby, the $185,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase graduate returned from a 10-month absence with an impressive allowance victory at Oaklawn Park Mar. 16 and was a good third in the GIII Oaklawn Mile Apr. 1 before defeating GI Pegasus World Cup hero Art Collector (Bernardini) by two lengths at odds of 7-1 in the Alysheba. He received a lofty 110 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, the highest number over a mile thus far in 2023.

McPeek reported that the commonly owned Rattle N Roll (Connect), last-out winner of the GIII Ben Ali S. at Keeneland Apr. 22, will go next in the GIII Blame S. on Stephen Foster Preview Day Saturday, June 3.

The Foster offers the winner an all-expenses-paid berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

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The Week in Review: While Racing Sleeps Late, MLB Opts for Morning Betting

Since the advent of the simulcasting era 30 years ago, I've never understood why some enterprising track somewhere hasn't seized a late-morning first-post slot and carved out its own niche at a time of day when no other pari-mutuel competition on the continent is running.

Be it midweek in the winter, when most of the fair-to-middling Eastern time zone tracks do little to distinguish their products, or as a Saturday special during the summer when some C-level track could have an uncontested advantage for several hours as a lead-in to the attention-grabbing cards at Saratoga, the 10 a.m. to noon Eastern stretch remains an uncharted chasm.

Four years ago this month, shortly after the legalization of sports betting in the United States, I wrote a morning racing-related column for TDN that stated, “The time slot is there for the taking. In real estate, the money-making mantra is 'location, location, location.' The equivalent in simulcasting–if you're not a top track on the totem pole–is 'timing, timing, timing.'”

The revisit of this topic will tack on a slight correction to that 2018 story: The late-morning time slot is no longer completely wide open in terms of the overall wagering landscape. Major League Baseball (MLB) now sees Sunday morning starts at 11:30 a.m. Eastern as a lucrative opportunity.

Although the Sunday morning baseball games debuted with a soft-ish launch, MLB has inked a multi-year deal to lay claim to that time slot (some of the games later in the season will begin at noon, which is still at least an hour earlier than most traditional afternoon starts).

The streamed-only games can only be viewed by online subscribers who pay a monthly fee to watch them. And while MLB revenue executives are championing the early starts as a way to reach new fans outside of cable TV as viewing habits change, the unspoken but obvious message is that pro sports are staking out new territory, time-wise, to maximize revenue from gambling partnerships.

The National Football League figured this out with Monday Night Football broadcasts back in 1970. Although critics were initially skeptical that viewers would tune in to watch (and although it was illegal at the time, bet on) whatever two teams happened to be matched just because it was the only action on the tube, Monday Night Football eventually morphed into an eyeball-capturing juggernaut that spawned only-game-in-town football broadcast strategies on Thursday and Sunday evenings.

A heat wave across the Midwest at the end of June caused both and Churchill Downs (10:30 a.m.) Belterra Park (11:35 a.m.) to experiment with morning racing as a means to keep horses from competing at the hottest point of the afternoon. The one-off post time switches weren't pre-arranged with much notice or fanfare, hence a handle comparison wouldn't be of much value in these instances.

And since Churchill is an A-list track that has the benefit of lights to add flexibility to its scheduling of post times, regular morning racing there wouldn't make much sense.

But you could make a cogent case for Belterra taking a flyer on morning racing.

The Ohio track's current Tuesday-through-Friday schedule with 12:35 p.m. posts causes it to get lost in the shuffle against Saratoga, Monmouth, Gulfstream and Colonial Downs during the month of July. It would even benefit from standing out from the likes of Finger Lakes, Thistledown and Horseshoe Indianapolis, all of which overlap to some degree depending on the day of the week.

Beyer Blitz

Three Grade II stakes winners earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures last Saturday. Which was most impressive?

From a raw talent perspective, Life Is Good (Into Mischief)'s 112 wiring of the John Nerud S. over seven furlongs at Belmont Park was outright scary. Now 7-for-9 lifetime and having put together a string of seven consecutive triple-digit Beyers, this 'TDN Rising Star' scored by five after chewing up no-slouch rival Speaker's Corner (Street Sense). But beyond those two, the four-horse field was scant on competition, which allowed Life Is Good to motor home without any sort of a stretch tussle.

Fellow 'Rising Star' Charge It (Tapit) posted a gaudy 23-length victory in the one-turn-mile Dwyer S. at Belmont. His heaviest lifting involved bumping aside a pesky rival five-eighths out so he could maneuver off the fence and reel in the pacemaker, thus becoming the fourth also-ran out of the GI Kentucky Derby to win a next-out start. He earned a 111 Beyer, but only one of his five rivals had ever won a stakes (which was for Delaware-bred 2-year-olds last year), so the quality of competition angle applies here too.

It's difficult to believe that a horse can win five straight races with triple-digit Beyers yet still be considered a bit under the radar, but that's been the case with Olympiad (Speightstown), who is bound to get a lot more attention and respect after his no-nonsense cuffing of a decent field in Saturday's Stephen Foster S. over nine furlongs at Churchill.

Olympiad emerged from a five-horse, first-turn speed scrimmage to be a stalking second through robust splits. He then blasted off at the quarter pole and dug in furiously to repel a wall of contenders off the turn. His presence near the head of affairs early in the race combined with an ability to withstand significant pressure late to score by 2 1/4 lengths lends a nice glow of legitimacy to his 111 Beyer.

(Not yet) the end of an era

It might be a stretch to say Dr. Blarney (Dublin) is the “Last of the Mohicans.” But the 9-year-old sure looks like he'll wind up his career as the most impactful of the dwindling number of remaining Massachusetts-breds.

On July 4 at Finger Lakes, the good doctor won his 26th lifetime race, storming from off the pace to win a three-way photo by a neck for owner/breeder Joe DiRico and trainer Karl Grusmark.

The victory was even sweeter because Dr. Blarney was reunited with Tammi Piermarini, his horsebacking partner for most of his 37-race career.

Piermarini, 55, is the continent's third-winningest female jockey. She hurt her knee in a starting gate accident last November, and the ride on Dr. Blarney Monday was her first race back since that accident.

Fittingly, like her multiple stakes-winning mount, Piermarini was also born in Massachusetts, having started her career back in 1985 at Boston's Suffolk Downs.

Suffolk Downs is now three years defunct and the Massachusetts-bred program began to erode about a decade before the track closed for good in 2019.

Dr. Blarney won Massachusetts-bred stakes at least once a year between ages two and seven (to spend its remaining purse funds that were earmarked for stakes, the Massachusetts breeders' association ran those races at Fort Erie in 2020). Six of his lifetime victories have been by margins between 10 and 20 lengths.

Although many of those romps came at the mercy of overmatched restricted-stakes competition, he's also won a black-type stakes at Delaware Park and has bested open-company allowance horses at Finger Lakes.

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Grade I Winners Prep For Foster

A week ahead of their expected clash in the $750,000 GII Stephen Foster H. at Churchill Downs, 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) and fellow Grade I winner Americanrevolution (Constitution) each breezed five furlongs beneath the Twin Spires Saturday morning.

The adjudicated winner of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, Mandaloun hit the track at 5:30 a.m. and covered the five furlongs while working on his own in 1:00.80 under the watchful eye of trainer Brad Cox. His previous moves had come in the company of his GIII Oaklawn Mile-winning stablemate Fulsome (Into Mischief). Mandaloun was an impressive winner of the GIII Louisiana S. in his first start of the season and was last seen finishing a well-beaten ninth in the G1 Saudi Cup Feb. 26.

“We thought about running in the [GIII] Salvator Mile [at Monmouth Park June 18], but it didn't make sense to ship him across the country with the hot weather when we can run out of our own stall at Churchill,” Cox said. “Once we got him back to the barn after the Saudi Cup, he's really been doing well at Churchill and we've been very pleased with his progress from that race to run him in a race like the Stephen Foster.”

Americanrevolution breezed in the company of last-out Blame S. winner Dynamic One (Union Rags) and went the distance in 1:00.20 before galloping out six panels in 1:13. The CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm runner won last year's GI Cigar Mile H. and was to have returned in the state-bred restricted Commentator S. at Belmont late last month, but was re-routed for the Blame when the race did not go. Americanrevolution was only fourth as the 11-10 favorite in the Blame, but trainer Todd Pletcher is taking a glass-half-full approach.

“It was maybe a better race than it looks on paper,” Pletcher said. “He was pretty wide on both turns–figure-wise, it came back solid. I think he took all the worst of it there off the layoff and when his schedule was adjusted late. He should be ready to move forward.”

Title Ready (More Than Ready), third to the Foster-bound Olympiad (Speightstown) in the May 6 GII Alysheba S. at Churchill, went a half-mile in :49.40 for trainer Dallas Stewart.

The Foster is a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

Cyberknife Works Toward Haskell…

Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife (Gun Runner), who most recently nosed out Howling Time (Not This Time) in the GIII Matt Winn S. June 12, returned to the worktab Saturday morning with a half-mile breeze that was timed in :48.80 (42/125). The GI Arkansas Derby hero is likely to make his next appearance in the GI TVG.com Haskell Invitational S. at Monmouth Park July 23.

“He's a Grade I winner already and I think a race like the Haskell could help him increase his stallion value,” said Cox, who won last year's Haskell with the promoted Mandaloun. “He gutted out a victory in the Matt Winn last time and showed a lot of determination to get to the wire from off the pace. It'll be a tough race in the Haskell, but we're confident with him going up against Grade I-caliber horses.”

Cyberknife's owner Al Gold is a native of New Jersey.

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Spa Notebook: Maxfield Breezes Towards Whitney

Godolphin's once-beaten Maxfield (Street Sense), the impressive 3 1/4-length winner of Churchill's GII Stephen Foster S. when last seen June 26, tuned up for his next appearance in the Aug. 7 GI Whitney S. with a half-mile breeze over the Oklahoma training track Friday morning that was timed in :49.09 (14/46).

Working in the company of stablemate Longpants Required (New Year's Day), the son of Velvety (Bernardini) covered his first two furlongs in :25.3 and was out five-eighths of a mile in 1:01.1 according to NYRA clockers.

“I just wanted them to start out nice and easy and pick it up as they went,” Walsh said. “It was a good work. I just wanted to get him back in the swing of things again. He looks like he's doing great. I was delighted with him yesterday when I got up here. He looked as good if not better than ever.”

Walsh told the NYRA notes team that he was pleased with what he saw from his charge in his first work since the Foster.

“It's three weeks since he ran and it worked out fine,” Walsh said. “I wasn't in a rush to work him back with the shipping. It's just a question of keeping him happy and keeping him healthy.”

Masqueparade Works For Jim Dandy…

Masqueparade (Upstart) was also among those on the Friday worktab at the Spa, covering four furlongs in a steady :49.23 (28/98). Recent winner of the GIII Ohio Derby, the bay is slated to make his next start in the GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga July 31.

“He's an improving 3-year-old mentally, physically and figure wise and that's why we're taking our chance in a race like the Jim Dandy,” said the conditioner, who added that his colt was also under consideration for this weekend's GI TVG.com Haskell S. and the Aug. 7 GII West Virginia Derby. “He's easy on himself. He won't grab the bit and go down there in :47 and change and gallop out in a minute, which is good at this point in time. It might help his longevity.”

Hendrickson, Casse Reflect on Schuylerville Win…

One day following Pretty Birdie (Bird Song)'s front-running success in the GIII Schuylerville S., trainer Norm Casse and John Hendrickson, the husband of the late Marylou Whitney, were still on cloud nine.

“Everyone assumes I love horse racing because of who my family is and who my father is, but Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality) is the reason I fell in love with horse racing,” said Casse. “I think we all know the story on how that one ends with Marylou beating him [with Birdstone with the Triple Crown on the line in 2004], and now I train for her. It's just surreal. I thank her and John [Hendrickson] so much. They've really given me everything and I really appreciate everything they've done.”

Added Hendrickson of the late owner/breeder, “This is where she felt the most alive. This is the way she is alive and she has a win on Opening Day. It's pretty special. This is a dream come true for me and Marylou. Things getting back to normal and winning on Opening Day, she's throwing a party. She said, 'I want to race, get back to work.'”

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