Tag: Steve Asmussen

Asmussen Eyes Risen Star for Track Phantom, Hall of Fame

A day after Track Phantom (Quality Road)'s win in the GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds Saturday, trainer Steve Asmussen was already looking forward to starting the 3-year-old colt in the Feb. 17 GII Risen Star S. The sophomore, who ended 2023 with a win in the Gun Runner S., will be following the same New Orleans path to the GI Kentucky Derby that Asmussen used for Epicenter (Not This Time) two years ago. Epicenter won the Gun Runner in 2021 and finished second in the Lecomte to begin his sophomore campaign. He went on to win the Risen Star and GII Louisiana Derby before finishing second in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S.

“It's easy to compare where he's at with where we were with Epicenter two years ago,” Asmussen said. “Epicenter won the Gun Runner and was second in the Lecomte, but physically he was developing at the right time. I've always felt that in the 3-year-old series at Fair Grounds, your last race isn't good enough for the next one and that's how it should be. I appreciate the timing between races and the progression of the distances. It's ideal. We came up a half-a-length short of our goal of winning the Derby with Epicenter and now Track Phantom is on the same road. I think the Lecomte was as easy on him as you could have wanted it to be, with him still getting something out of it.”

Track Phantom isn't the only winner from Saturday's card in New Orleans that Asmussen is pointing to the Risen Star. Hall of Fame (Gun Runner), a $1.4-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase, was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his 10 1/4-length maiden victory Saturday. The 3-year-old's final time of 1:44.27 for 1 1/16 miles was nearly a half-second faster than Track Phantom's clocking (1:44.73) in the Lecomte.

“Hall of Fame is as advertised,” Asmussen said. “As a $1.4-million yearling, he's impeccably bred and a beautiful individual with a tremendous amount of talent. I do expect him to run back in the Risen Star also. He was ridden much more aggressively [to win] on Saturday because he's playing a little catch up on a horse like Track Phantom, but the ability is there.”

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Quality Road’s Track Phantom Runs Away in Lecomte

Favored in the betting right up until the final bit of money poured into the pools, Track Phantom (Quality Road) took control of Saturday's GIII Lecomte S. at a chilly Fair Grounds Racecourse right from the opening bell and never looked like losing, leading past every pole to pick up 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Having earned 10 points for his victory in the local Gun Runner S. at the tail end of 2023, Track Phantom now sits atop the leaderboard with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and likely Eclipse Award winner Fierceness (City of Light).

Ultimately off as the somewhat surprising 7-5 second favorite behind 11-10 Nash (Medaglia d'Oro)–the 'TDN Rising Star' whom he easily defeated into third in the Gun Runner–Track Phantom was once again ridden positively by the visiting Joel Rosario and managed to cross down to the rail without doing a bunch of work, as the first couple of furlongs was posted in :24:01. Nash was pulled out into the two path to prompt the pace, while Lat Long (Liam's Map) sat three deep in the breeze just off the leaders.

Track Phantom continued to enjoy a reasonably easy time of things on the lead–the half went in :48.36–and Florent Geroux began to get urgent atop Nash three furlongs out. Despite being asked to quicken, the chalk was making no material impact, and Track Phantom turned them in as very much the one to run down. Finally asked for a bit of a kick by Rosario, the $500,000 Keeneland September purchase carried an imposing advantage into the final eighth of a mile and was never in serious danger while remaining perfect in three starts around two turns. Nash's best was second best, and the two put some 8 1/2 lengths on Lat Long in third.

A debut third going Churchill's one-turn mile Oct. 1, Track Phantom improved one spot over that same course and trip four weeks later, then decisively defeated Lat Long in a mile-and-a-sixteenth maiden Nov. 25. No better than the third choice in the Gun Runner, the bay settled nicely off a much quicker early tempo, surged to the front nearing the lane and went on to score by 1 1/4 lengths, with Nash a further length and three-quarters away in third at 1-2.

“He is a very nice horse and we're fortunate to have him for such a great ownership group,” said trainer Steve Asmussen, unsaddling the Lecomte winner for the fourth time. “I love how he's running here. I love the 3-year-old series at Fair Grounds and we plan on continuing in it. We couldn't be any more proud of the horse. He's won all three of his two-turn races, he's got a beautiful way of going and I think he's just going to get better. He's getting stronger all the time and we're just excited to be in this position.”

Pedigree Notes:

A 39th graded stakes winner for his sire, Track Phantom is the fifth such winner for Into Mischief as a broodmare sire.

Raced by Alan Klein and Phil Lebherz, California-bred Miss Sunset was trained by Jeff Bonde and recorded the most important victory of her career in the 2017 GII Lexus Raven Run S. at Keeneland. The bay added a further three black-type wins as a 4-year-old in 2018 and was knocked down to Breeze Easy for $825,000 at that year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Miss Sunset is the dam of the newly turned 2-year-old colt Crystal Pearl (Curlin), a $1.1-million purchase by Lauren Carlisle at Keeneland September last fall, and the mare's  yearling full-brother to Track Phantom was hammered down to Cavalier Bloodstock for $335,000 at Fasig-Tipton last November. She is due to produce a foal from the first crop of Flightline this season.

Saturday, Fair Grounds
LECOMTE S.-GIII, $194,000, Fair Grounds, 1-20, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.73, ft.
1–TRACK PHANTOM, 122, c, 3, by Quality Road
                1st Dam: Miss Sunset (GSW & GISP, $891,895),
                                by Into Mischief
                2nd Dam: Tuscan Sunset, by Trippi
                3rd Dam: Icelandic Dancer, by Eskimo
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($500,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-L and
N Racing LLC, Clark O. Brewster, Jerry Caroom and Breeze
Easy, LLC; B-Breeze Easy, LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen;
J-Joel Rosario. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-1, $285,000.
Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Nash, 122, c, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Sara Louise, by Malibu
Moon. 'TDN Rising Star'. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $40,000.
3–Lat Long, 122, c, 3, Liam's Map–Amen Sista, by Street Cry
(Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($160,000
Wlg '21 KEENOV; $130,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Walking L
Thoroughbreds, LLC; B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC (KY);
T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $20,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, 1 3/4, 8HF. Odds: 1.40, 1.10, 27.00.
Also Ran: Ethan Energy, Tizzy Indy, Can Group. Scratched: Awesome Road, Next Level.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Gun Runner Colt Hall of Fame Romps to ‘TDN Rising Stardom’ at Fair Grounds

Hall of Fame (c, 3, Gun Runner–Flag Day, by Giant's Causeway), a $1.4-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase, ran to his lofty purchase price with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen at second asking at Fair Grounds Saturday.

The 4-5 favorite was ridden early while passing the stands for the first time and secured a tracking trip in a joint second through a quarter mile in :23.30. He turned up the heat beneath Joel Rosario while racing on the inside of the leader heading into the far turn, hit the front approaching the quarter pole and opened daylight from there to win by 10 1/4 lengths over Sweetalkingbourbon (Twirling Candy). He becomes the 10th 'Rising Star' for Gun Runner.

Hall of Fame, one of seven by Gun Runner to bring seven figures at the 2022 yearling sales, finished second as the favorite on debut going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs Nov. 26. He was racing with first-time Lasix on Saturday.

The unraced Flag Day, a half-sister to MGSP Street Ready (More Than Ready), had a colt by Gun Runner in 2022 ($725,000 RNA yrl '23 FTSAUG) and a colt by Constitution in 2023. She was bred to Justify for 2024. Hall of Fame is bred similarly to the recently retired MGISW Gunite (Gun Runner), who was produced by a daughter of Cowboy Cal (by Giant's Causeway).

5th-Fair Grounds, $60,000, Msw, 1-20, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.27, ft, 10 1/4 lengths.
HALL OF FAME, c, 3, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Flag Day, by Giant's Causeway
                2nd Dam: Sense to Compete, by Street Sense
                3rd Dam: Compete, by El Prado (Ire)
Sales history: $1,400,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $60,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Gandharvi LLC & Rocket Ship Racing, LLC; B-Earle I. Mack LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.

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Travers Runner-Up Disarm Reloading for 2024

Disarm (c, 4, Gun Runner–Easy Tap, by Tapit), sidelined since finishing a closing second behind Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga Aug. 26, has returned to training with Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen at the Fair Grounds.

A respectable fourth at 27-1 in the GI Kentucky Derby, last term's GIII Matt Winn S. winner and GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby runner-up exited his second-place finish in the Travers with bone bruising, per David Fiske, longtime advisor to owner/breeder Ron Winchell.

“He was walking visibly off after the Travers,” Fiske said. “Got him back to the barn and whipped out the X-ray machine. We were all standing there looking at the X-rays and everybody looked at one another and went, 'Do you see anything? I don't see anything.' So, that was a big relief that it wasn't anything more serious. We got him down to Lexington and he was diagnosed with some bone bruising.”

He added, “We weren't gonna make any significant races at the end of the year, so we said, 'Let's just give him as much time off as he needs.'”

Following approximately nine weeks of recommended downtime, a positron emission tomography (PET) scan revealed that Disarm still “had some spots that lit up on him” and he was given an additional 30 days off before returning to training.

The 'TDN Rising Star' now has a pair of four-furlong breezes under his belt since returning to the worktab in New Orleans, stopping the clock in :53.80 (42/43) Jan. 8 and :50.80 (18/26) Jan. 18, respectively.

“We gave him some extra time and now he's back,” Fiske said. “He looks great, travels great and has always been a great-looking horse. Hopefully, we can make some noise with him this year.”

Disarm recorded four straight triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures last year, beginning with his aforementioned effort on the first Saturday in May. He earned a career-high 103 Beyer over a muddy surface in the Travers, his first career start racing with blinkers. The handsome chestnut has posted a record of 9-2-3-2 and career earnings of $1,000,200.

While acknowledging that it's still very early days, Fiske said that this summer's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga, a race won by his leading sire in 2017, could be in play for the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred.

“Given the level at which he ran last year, if he can get back to that, then you'd expect to see him in some of the bigger or biggest races around,” Fiske said. “It would be kinda cool if we could get him cranked up for the Whitney, but that's a long way off. We're gonna need to get some more works. He's still pretty early stages.”

One of nine 'Rising Stars' for Gun Runner, Disarm is a half-brother to Venezuelan champion stayer Tap Daddy (Scat Daddy), who was also a stakes winner and graded-stakes placed on these shores. Disarm's dam Easy Tap, a $300,000 FTKJUL yearling purchase, won one of five career starts.

The Gun Runner over Tapit cross, two of the best to ever carry the maroon-and-white Winchell silks, is already off to a flying start via GI Cotillion S. heroine Society; MGSW and GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint third Wicked Halo; GSW & GISP Red Route One; and GSW & GISP Il Miracolo.

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