Super Saver | Horse Racing Free Tips

Letruska Easy Winner in Royal Delta

When last seen at the races as the 17-10 favorite in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff in early November, Letruska (Super Saver) had absolutely nothing go her way, as she attended a suicidal pace and unsurprisingly folded, beating just one rival home. Having since been rewarded with the Eclipse Award for her total body of work in 2021, the St. George homebred returned to action in Saturday's GIII Royal Delta S. and made very light work of five grossly overmatched rivals.

Kicked straight into the lead by Jose Ortiz, Letruska crossed down onto the rail and relaxed nicely on the engine through an opening quarter-mile that was clocked in a comfortable :24.39. Able to ration her speed evenly through the middle furlongs, Letruska was confidently handled around the turn as she continued to build an imposing advantage and glided home ears-pricked and never out of a high gallop to get back to her winning ways.

Letruska became a household name with a battling defeat of multiple champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in last year's GI Apple Blossom H. and she promptly added front-running tallies in the GI Ogden Phipps S. and GII Fleur de Lis S. A game half-length winner of the GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga last August, the bay led them on a merry chase in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. Oct. 10, but attended the wicked early fractions in the Distaff and hung around to the top of the lane before hoisting the white flag. A return trip to Hot Springs for the Apple Blossom is in the cards, trainer Fausto Gutierrez said following the victory.

Pedigree Notes:

Letruska's dam, third for Cobra Farm and Stan Hough in the 2009 GII Adirondack S., is a full-sister to GI Del Mar Futurity winner J P's Gusto and was purchased by St. George Farm for $100,000 carrying the filly that would become Letruska at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale. Magic Appeal is also the dam of the once-raced Ocotzingo (Hard Spun), the 2-year-old colt Prudencio (Arrogate) and a yearling filly by Malibu Moon. She was most recently covered by Curlin.

ROYAL DELTA S.-GIII, $150,000, Gulfstream, 2-26, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.43, ft.
1–LETRUSKA, 123, m, 6, by Super Saver
                1st Dam: Magic Appeal (GSP), by Successful Appeal
                2nd Dam: Call Her Magic, by Caller I. D.
                3rd Dam: Malibu Magic, by Encino
O/B-St. George Stable LLC; T-Fausto Gutierrez; J-Jose L. Ortiz $92,070. Lifetime Record: Ch. Older Female, Ch. 3yo Filly-Mex, MGISW, 24-18-1-1, $2,348,529. *1/2 to Trigger Warning (Candy Ride (ARG)) MSW & GISP, $555,378. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Into Vanishing, 118, f, 4, Into Mischief–Vanishing, by Lemon Drop Kid. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Augustin Stable; B-George Strawbridge (KY); T-Jonathan Thomas. $29,700.
3–Il Malocchio, 120, f, 4, Souper Speedy–Egbert Bay, by Sligo Bay (Ire). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Franco S. Meli; B-Franco Meli (ON); T-Martin Drexler. $14,850.
Margins: 3, 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 0.10, 31.50, 26.80.
Also Ran: Crazy Beautiful, Key Biscayne, Helping Lisa D. Scratched: Family Time.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Letruska Easy Winner in Royal Delta appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Americanrevolution Beats Following Sea To Wire In Cigar Mile

On a day that had its share of inquiries, Americanrevolution survived an inquiry to take the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. Contact between the winner and Plainsman led to the inquiry, with stewards ultimately deciding to leave the order of finish intact, the son of Constitution victorious over his stablemate Following Sea.

At the break, Pipeline was the fastest out of the gate, but Following Sea, who finished third behind Aloha West in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 6, took over the lead as they crossed onto the Aqueduct backstretch. Following Sea maintained his one-length lead until the stretch, when Ginobili made his bid for the lead, taking over briefly as they straightened out into the stretch.

Following Sea fought back, passing Ginobili inside the final eighth of a mile as Plainsman and American Revolution made contact briefly as they made their bids for the front in the stretch. Americanrevolution dug in and took over the lead inside the last sixteenth of a mile, finishing a half-length in front of Following Sea. Plainsman was third, with Olympiad fourth. The inquiry sign went up after the race as stewards looked into contact between Plainsman and Americanrevolution in the stretch, but the results were allowed to stand.

The final time for the one-mile G1 stakes was 1:36.68. Find this race's chart here.

Americanrevolution paid $7.50, $4.10, and $3.30. Following Sea paid $5.10 and $4.10. Plainsman paid $5.60.

“Luis [Saez] rode him terrifically. He kept him going in the turn when he was in traffic and things were getting tight. He responded to an energetic ride. He never gave up on him and I think that was important, especially backing up from the mile and an eighth. He never wanted to take his foot off the peddle. He kept coming and we knew he'd be fit backing up in distance,” trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race.

“We weren't 100 percent positive about the mile, but a lot of times good horses do multiple things really well and I think he's a great example of that. Constitution puts so much determination into his offspring and they're just like he was – very tough horses and versatile. It's great to see him get that Grade 1 win.”

“When he came around the three-eighths he was a little bit off the bit. I had to start riding him to get the momentum and at the top of the stretch, when he switched leads, he gave me that kick. After that, I knew I could win the race but I wasn't sure because I still had Following Sea in front of me and he was battling but in the end, Americanrevolution made his move and he got there,” jockey Luis Saez told the NYRA Press Office after the race.

“I feel like Manny [Franco, aboard Plainsman] tried to come out and he was trying to push me away and wanted my spot, but I was in my lane and it looked like the horse inside came out a little bit too and that's what made it look like that.”

Bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich III and John D. Fielding, Americanrevolution is out of the Super Saver mare Polly Freeze. He is owned by China Horse Club, Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales, the son of Consitution was purchased by China Horse Club and Maverick Racing for $275,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Preferred New York Bred Yearling Sale. With his win in the G1 Cigar Mile, the 3-year-old colt has five wins in six starts in 2021 and career earnings of $944,535.

The post Americanrevolution Beats Following Sea To Wire In Cigar Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Azul Coast Bounces Back From Poor Showing In Awesome Again To Take Native Diver

Seventh last-out in the Grade 1 Awesome Again, Azul Coast bounced back from that lackluster performance to earn his first graded stakes victory in the Grade 3 Native Diver at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Under jockey Flavien Prat, Azul Coast bumped Bal Harbour out of the gate and then settled back last of six early in the 1 1/18-mile stakes as fellow Baffert trainees Ax Man and Eight Rings ran on the lead around the first turn and in the backstretch. As the field approached the far turn, Azul Coast moved up on the outside, improving his position from last to fourth.

Azul Coast went four-wide into the far turn, entering the stretch with Ax Man and Eight Rings on his inside. Ax Man tired and faded out of contention while Eight Rings and Azul Coast were head-to-head down the first half of the stretch, the latter eventually gaining a narrow lead as Kiss Today Goodbye mounted his bid to the outside. At the wire, Azul Coast was able to hold on by a neck over Kiss Today Goodbye, with Eight Rings third.

The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:50.55. Find this race's chart here.

Azul Coast paid $8.40, $4.60, and $2.60. Kiss Today Goodbye paid $5.20 and $2.80. Eight Rings paid $2.20.

“'Azul' runs his best races down here. He likes this track and he ran really impressive. When I ran him in the Awesome Again, he just laid an egg, he was up there close and I was really disappointed, but he was chasing Medina Spirit. I had no idea how it would set up, they were all on their own. I told the jockeys (he had three horses in the race) you guys ride your own races and hopefully we'll run 1-2-3. I'm happy for the connections, the well has been a little dry lately. Main thing is that we got the 'w'…” trainer Bob Baffert said after the race.

“We were in a good spot for the whole trip. I could tell the pace was only moderate, so I moved him up closer near the three-eighths (pole). Then when we went we were in good position and he was ready. A good win,” jockey Flavien Prat told the Del Mar Press Office after the Native Diver.

Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock LLC, the 4-year-old colt is by Super Saver out of the Sky Mesa mare Sky Treasure. He is owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. Consigned by Woods Edge Farm, Azul Coast was purchased by Three Amigos for $320,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. With this win in the G3 Native Diver, Azul Coast has two wins in four starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of four wins in 10 starts and career earnings of $221,280.

The post Azul Coast Bounces Back From Poor Showing In Awesome Again To Take Native Diver appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

After Disappointing Distaff, Letruska To Return In 2022 With Lighter Schedule

Trainer Fausto Gutierrez plans to bring likely champion Letruska back to the races in 2022, according to bloodhorse.com, despite a disappointing effort in Saturday's Breeders Cup Distaff at Del Mar. Off as the 8-5 favorite, the 5-year-old Super Saver mare pressed rapid early fractions of :21.84 and :44.97, then faded to finish 10th of 11.

“She came out of the race good. The first impression is that she will be OK. She scoped clean and ate everything. We need to watch her for a few more days before making a final decision on how she is,” Gutierrez told bloodhorse.com. “It was a very, very tough race on her, but this happens in a race as good as the Breeders' Cup. When I heard the announcer say the fractions, I had the same reaction as all of the fans when they said 'ooh.' I knew she was finished after seven furlongs.”

Letruska had put together an impressive season ahead of the Distaff, winning seven of her six starts including four Grade 1s, and is the likely Eclipse Award champion. Gutierrez, who has trained her since her championship 3-year-old season in Mexico, plans to keep Letruska in training through 2022 with the goal of bringing her back to the Breeders' Cup. He is considering a lighter schedule for the mare next season, perhaps with six starts instead of eight, so she'll be more fresh when she arrives at Keeneland for a second shot at the World Championships.