Steve Asmussen | Horse Racing Free Tips

Asmussen Believes Midnight Bourbon Will ‘Put It All Together’ In Saudi Cup

American stars Mandaloun and Midnight Bourbon will renew their rivalry in the $20 million Saudi Cup.

The pair clashed in last month's Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds when Mandaloun came out on top by three-quarters of a length.

Now they will go head-to-head again in the world's most valuable race, run over nine furlongs on the dirt track at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Saturday, Feb. 26.

The Louisiana Stakes was Mandaloun's first run since he was awarded the G1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in July when Hot Rod Charlie was disqualified for impeding Midnight Bourbon after passing the winning post a nose in front.

A setback prematurely ended the Kentucky Derby runner-up's 3-year-old season, and his trainer Brad Cox believes he is still improving ahead of his trip to Saudi for the world's most valuable fixture.

He said: “Mandaloun ran a really big race at Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Stakes. It was his first run in a while and he appears to have come out of it in great order – he had a good workout on Sunday morning.

“He seems to have moved forward from three to four. If he moves forward again, he's going to be tough in The Saudi Cup.

“I always thought he was a Grade 1 horse, so it was important for us and for Juddmonte to try to win a Grade 1 with him and add him to the stallion roster.

“Obviously, he was awarded the Grade 1 in the Haskell Stakes. Out of the Haskell he just wasn't quite right behind and we just gave him the time he needed.

“He's come back bigger and stronger. Florent (Geroux) rode him and he said as soon as he came back that he was a more polished horse mentally. That gives us a lot of confidence moving forward.

“I think the track will be fine. He's a horse who's capable of being where we need him to be in a race. He's able to adjust to the pace – if it's slow he can be up close, if it's fast he can sit off it.

“A one-turn mile-and-an-eighth (1800m) is not something we get much in America, Belmont is the only place, but I'm confident he'll be able to handle it.

“The Saudi Cup has not been around long but it's definitely grabbed the attention of the entire world. It's becoming a race on everyone's calendar and if we were capable of winning it for Juddmonte it would obviously mean a tremendous amount.”

Despite finishing behind Mandaloun in the Louisiana Stakes and last year's Kentucky Derby, when he endured a troubled passage, Midnight Bourbon's trainer Steve Asmussen has high hopes his stable star will finally claim his big-race victory.

The colt hasn't enjoyed much luck during his career. He unseated Paco Lopez when hampered as he made his challenge in the Haskell Stakes and his trainer believes the ability is there to be a champion.

Asmussen said: “He has an elite level of talent without finishing it off at this stage. He's not had the success his ability would allow but it also leaves a lot for us moving forward.

“He is still in a physical and mental development that I think allows for him to possibly end up being the best horse in training in the world this year.

“The only time he's missed the break in his life was in the Kentucky Derby which was won by a horse (Medina Spirit) he breaks next to in the Preakness and runs into the ground.

“It's one thing after another but it's there, it just needs to come together. I'm hoping beyond hope and expecting that he's waiting for The Saudi Cup stage to put it all together perfectly.”

Jockey Joel Rosario rode Midnight Bourbon in the Louisiana Stakes and he will keep the ride in the Group 1 Saudi Cup. He will need to reverse that form with Mandaloun but Asmussen believes last month's race will put the edge on his big race hope.

He said: “That was his prep for The Saudi Cup, not The Saudi Cup. He came out of it in better shape than he went into it. It was a very good exercise.

“I know from the preparation going into his last race, how he's come out of it and how he's worked since, that we are jumping forward.

“His numbers are very competitive with any horse in the world – the numbers being the speed he has attained. We just have to finish it off.

“He is considerably more mature in his approach to training than he has been in the past. He had a beautiful work on Sunday at Fair Grounds. He came out of it in great shape and he went back to the track very well on Tuesday morning.

“I will look for something a touch better, not significantly better, this coming Sunday. Then he will van from New Orleans to Palm Meadows and fly out from there.”

The American pair will attempt to wrestle The Saudi Cup crown from last year's winner Mishriff. He was reported to be in good shape ahead of the world's most valuable race by joint-trainer Thady Gosden on Tuesday.

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Morello Romps In Jimmy Winkfield; Gotham Could Be Next Stop

Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, Craig Taylor and Victoria Taylor's Morello swooped to an emphatic score in Sunday's rescheduled $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

The Jimmy Winkfield was initially slated for last Sunday's card which was cancelled due to the impact of a powerful winter storm in the New York City metropolitan area.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and piloted by Jose Lezcano, Morello broke sharp from the outermost post 5, settling in third position as Hagler punched his way to the front through an opening quarter-mile in 22.60 seconds over the good main track.

Hagler led the field to the turn with Life Is Great stalking in second and Beast Or Famine advancing along the rail. Morello made an early wide move prompting Life Is Great to pop outside of Hagler mid-way through the turn to take command after a half-mile in 45.55.

Morello continued to make up ground outside of Life Is Great and surged clear down the lane en route to a five-length win in a final time of 1:23.30. Life Is Great completed the exacta by 4 1/2-lengths over Beast Or Famine with Dance Code and Hagler rounding out the order of finish.

A $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase, the Classic Empire chestnut entered from an impressive 4 1/4-length debut score over next-out winner Inevtabl Conection in a six-furlong maiden special weight on November 27 at the Big A.

“He broke very good today. Last time, he broke a little slow but today it was good, Lezcano said. “He was in the bridle the whole way and was really going like a good horse. I didn't have to touch him with the whip or anything. I just let him go. He had the same kick as last time.”

Dave Lyon, founder and managing partner of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, said he was impressed with the effort by the colt he named after Tom Morello, guitarist for the rock band Rage Against the Machine.

“This was the plan all along. Sprint him, then take him to seven,” Lyon said. “The allowance race we were looking at didn't go, but we thought this would be the right race to move forward. It looked like by the way he galloped out he could go longer. He handled this field pretty well and we're excited for the future.”

Lyon said he will speak to Asmussen and his Belmont-based assistant Toby Sheets about a potential start in the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham, a one-turn mile for sophomores on March 5 at the Big A offering 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

“I'm going to let Steve and Toby make that decision, but I think it's a realistic spot. I don't think he needs too much time,” Lyon said. “That race is on March 5, so we'll talk to the guys who lead the charge in the training barn and make a decision on that. We're excited, we think we have a good quality horse.”

Bred in Kentucky by Robert B. Tillyer and Dr. Chet Blackey, Morello banked $55,000 in victory while remaining perfect through two starts. Sent to post as the 7-5 mutuel favorite, Morello returned $4.80 for a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with an eight-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Classic Empire Colt Stays Perfect in Jimmy Winkfield

Morello obliged as the 7-5 favorite in Sunday's Jimmy Winkfield S. to become the third black-type winner from his sire (by Pioneerof the Nile)'s first crop. A $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile off a good-looking :10 1/5 breeze, the chestnut opened his account with a clear-cut victory going a furlong shorter here Nov. 27 and was flattered when the runner-up came back to win well himself while improving by 17 Beyer points.

With an upbeat interim worktab on display, Morello broke alertly from the outermost five post before being allowed to settle off the pace and out wide. He advanced three deep outside of chief market rival Life Is Great through a :45.55 half and met with little resistance from there, pulling away by daylight and finishing in good time. Life Is Great held second.

“He broke very good today,” said winning rider Jose Lezcano. “Last time, he broke a little slow but today it was good. He was in the bridle the whole way and was really going like a good horse. I didn't have to touch him with the whip or anything. I just let him go. He had the same kick as last time.”

This was the first stakes win for the Blue Lion Thoroughbreds partnership.

“This was the plan all along. Sprint him, then take him to seven,” said the group's founder and managing partner Dave Lyon. “The allowance race we were looking at didn't go, but we thought this would be the right race to move forward. It looked like by the way he galloped out he could go longer. He handled this field pretty well and we're excited for the future.”

The GIII Gotham S. at a mile could be up next for the colt, who Lyon confirmed is named after Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.

“I'm going to let [trainer] Steve [Asmussen] and [assistant trainer] Toby [Sheets] make that decision, but I think it's a realistic spot,” Lyon said of the Gotham. “I don't think he needs too much time. That race is on Mar. 5, so we'll talk to the guys who lead the charge in the training barn and make a decision on that. We're excited, we think we have a good, quality horse.”

Morello was produced by a half-sister to the GSP dam of speedy MGISP Social Inclusion (Pioneerof the Nile). He has a 2-year-old half-sister by another son of Pioneerof the Nile in Cairo Prince who brought $16,000 at Keeneland September and a yearling half-sister by Paynter who fetched $15,000 at last month's Keeneland January sale. Dam Stop the Wedding, who was 1-for-26 lifetime and mostly competed at the bottom claiming levels, was bred back to Classic Empire last year.

JIMMY WINKFIELD S., $97,000, Aqueduct, 2-6, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.30, gd.
1–MORELLO, 118, c, 3, by Classic Empire
                1st Dam: Stop the Wedding, by Congrats
                2nd Dam: Wedding Jitters, by Runaway Groom
                3rd Dam: Classy Tricks, by Hold Your Tricks
($140,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $200,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL;
$250,000 2yo '21 EASMAY). 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Blue Lion
Thoroughbreds & Craig & Victoria Taylor; B-Robert B. Tillyer &
Dr. Chet Blackey (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Jose Lezcano.
$55,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $99,000. *Third stakes
winner for sire (by Pioneerof the Nile).
2–Life Is Great, 118, c, 3, Tapiture–Zucca, by Read the
Footnotes. O-E.V. Racing Stable; B-EVS Corp (FL); T-Robert P.
Klesaris. $20,000.
3–Beast Or Famine, 120, c, 3, The Big Beast–Twocatsintheyard,
by Andiron. O/B-Jettany Thoroughbred Corp & J.A.G. Racing,
Inc (FL); T-Penny Pearce. $12,000.
Margins: 5, 4HF, 2 3/4. Odds: 1.40, 1.95, 5.70.
Also Ran: Dance Code, Hagler. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Lieblong, Asmussen Maiden Winners Impress at Oaklawn

Represented by a pair of flashy 3-year-old maiden winners at Oaklawn Park, owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong have been on quite a nice run at their hometown track the past two weekends.

Favorite Outlaw (c, 3, Maclean's Music–Coco Belle, by Storm Boot) earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure–the highest rating of any sophomore so far this season–after airing at second asking by 3 1/2 lengths for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen going six furlongs Jan. 29 (video).

“We're very pleased,” said Alex Lieblong, who heads his own investment firm in Little Rock and is also chairman of the Arkansas Racing Commission. “That's what you want to see.”

Chasing from second through a sharp opening quarter in :21.81, Favorite Outlaw turned up the heat on the far turn and blasted for home once switching over in the stretch to win with authority while stopping the timer in 1:10.68. The 4-year-old Bob's Edge (Competitive Edge) covered the same distance in 1:10.50 three races later on the card while capturing the King Cotton S. Favorite Outlaw previously just got nipped by a nose after leading in the stretch on debut from the tricky one post at the same distance in Hot Springs Dec. 31.

“One thing I've learned about Steve, it doesn't take him long to decide if one is a sprinter or a router,” Lieblong said. “He wanted to nominate him for the Triple Crown and I said, 'OK, go ahead. If you think you could get him around two turns, it's going to get interesting.'”

Lieblong continued, “If you look at him, the thing that gets me, he's still such a baby. You think he'd be muscled up a little bit more, but he's not yet. He's a nice nice-looking horse, just not as defined as you would've thought by now, which is fine. Steve is doing a good job not pushing on him and just letting him do his thing. After we bought him, he spent part of the summer back down in Ocala at Bo Hunt's just to let him grow up a little bit.”

Favorite Outlaw brought $350,000 from the Lieblongs at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old sale [breezed an eighth in :10], the fourth-most expensive of 24 juveniles to change hands by Maclean's Music in the ring last year. In addition to training the exceptionally fast Maclean's Music during his abbreviated racing career, Asmussen also campaigns the Hill 'n' Dale stallion's three-time Grade I winner Jackie's Warrior.

“Of course, it wasn't hard to talk Steve into a Maclean's Music,” Lieblong said with a laugh. “If you watch his [breeze] video, he didn't go in a straight line and bear down and he still had a quick time. If he ran straight, it would've been a lot quicker.”

Bred in Kentucky by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc, Favorite Outlaw, an Apr. 26 foal, previously brought $12,000 as a KEENOV weanling and also RNA'd for $14,000 as a KEESEP yearling. Produced by the speedy Storm Boot mare Coco Belle, a three-time stakes winner and graded stakes-placed all around one turn, Favorite Outlaw is a half-brother to SW Cofactor (The Factor) and SP Coco Tiger (Twirling Candy). He is bred on a similar cross as Maclean's Music's GIII Gulfstream Park Sprint S. winner Classic Rock. Coco Belle brought a mere $11,000 from Gary and Mary West advisor Ben Glass at the 2020 KEENOV sale.

“If you look at his pedigree, I guess you'd say it leans toward the sprinting side,” said Lieblong, who has campaigned GISWs such as Embellish the Lace, The Big Beast and Wicked Whisper. “But that's what they said about Cigar and grass, too, so you just don't know.”

Hot and Sultry (f, 3, Speightster–Hot Water, by Medaglia d'Oro) also carried the Lieblongs blue-and-white silks to a razor sharp victory at second asking for Asmussen, swatting away pressure and graduating in front-running fashion by 3 3/4 lengths with an 89 Beyer Speed Figure going six furlongs at Oaklawn Jan. 23 (video). Like the aforementioned Favorite Outlaw, Hot and Sultry was a strong second on debut after drawing the dreaded one hole in the Oaklawn mud Dec. 18.

Bred in Kentucky by Cobalt Investments, LLC, the $475,000 KEESEP yearling purchase was the most expensive of 43 yearlings sold from the second crop of Speightster, who was relocated to Ontario for the 2022 breeding season. Out of the unraced Medaglia d'Oro mare Hot Water, Hot and Sultry is a half-sister to SW & GSP Tracksmith (Street Sense) and SP Tortuga (Bodemeister). Hot and Sultry's third dam is GISW and champion 3-year-old filly Xtra Heat (Dixieland Heat).

“She's just a gorgeous filly,” Lieblong said. “It was hard to hide her at the sale. Paying that much for a Speightster was probably not advisable, but just on her appearance and coming from a good consignor [Bluewater Sales], that marked all the boxes for us. We have always thought a lot of her.”

Looking ahead with his pair of promising 3-year-olds, Lieblong concluded, “Those two races [for Favorite Outlaw and Hot and Sultry] were pretty similar in a lot of ways. They both did it the way you want to and both came out of it good. We're tickled pink.”

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