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Harvey’s Lil Goil Becomes First GISW for American Pharoah in QEII

Versatile Harvey’s Lil Goil (American Pharoah) turned the tables on Micheline (Bernardini)–who defeated her by a neck last time in the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs–to become the first Grade I winner for Triple Crown-winning sire American Pharoah in Saturday’s GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland. Off at 7-2 bidding to become Hall of Famer Bill Mott’s second winner in this prestigious event, the grey employed her good cruising speed to chase Sweet Melania (American Pharoah) through honest enough fractions of :23.89, :47.75 and 1:12.16. She poked a head in front midway around the turn for home, kicked clear in midstretch and held off the cavalry charge to prevail.

“She has a lot of natural speed,” said winning rider Martin Garcia. “She’s fast–you can do whatever you want. After the break, I moved outside and she was really comfortable by herself. When it was time to go, I asked and she responded.”

Mott’s assistant Kenny McCarthy added, “We were pretty confident with her. She ran a super race for us at Kentucky Downs in her last out and had trained really well in between. She’s a little superstar. She pretty much goes on any surface for us. At least in my mind, I think the turf probably is a little bit easier for her to handle.”

A six-length, second-out graduate going turf to dirt at Aqueduct in December, Harvey’s Lil Goil turned heads when making a big turn move en route to a dominant victory in Aqueduct’s Feb. 2 Busanda S. over nine panels on the dirt. She was 11th in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn behind heavy hitters Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), Venetian Harbor (Munnings) and Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), but bounced back to narrowly annex the GIII Regret S. on the Churchill turf going this same distance. Third behind Swiss Skydiver in the 10-panel GI Alabama S. on the Spa main track Aug. 15, she led late in the uphill Kentucky Downs stretch Sept. 10 only to be run down in the waning stages.

Saturday, Keeneland
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP S. PRESENTED BY DIXIANA-GI, $500,000, Keeneland, 10-10, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:48.72, gd.
1–HARVEY’S LIL GOIL, 121, f, 3, by American Pharoah
1st Dam: Gloria S, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Arch’s Gal Edith, by Arch
3rd Dam: Force Five Gal, by Pleasant Tap
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Estate of Harvey A. Clarke & Paul
Braverman; B-Harvey A. Clarke (KY); T-William I. Mott;
J-Martin Garcia. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-1, $561,529.
Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Micheline, 121, f, 3, by Bernardini
1st Dam: Panty Raid, by Include
2nd Dam: Adventurous Di, by Private Account
3rd Dam: Tamaral, by Seattle Slew
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $100,000.
3–Magic Attitude (GB), 121, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Margot Did (Ire), by Exceed And Excel (Aus)
2nd Dam: Special Dancer (GB), by Shareef Dancer
3rd Dam: Caraniya (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
(€850,000 RNA Ylg ’18 ARAUG). O-Lael Stables; B-Katsumi
Yoshida (GB); T-Arnaud Delacour. $50,000.
Margins: 3/4, HF, HF. Odds: 3.60, 11.00, 1.60.
Also Ran: Red Lark (Ire), California Kook, Hendy Woods, Sweet Melania. Scratched: Antoinette, Lucky Betty.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:
Harvey’s Lil Goil is from a family developed by her breeder, the late Harvey A. Clarke. Her dam, the unraced Gloria S., is a half-sister to the Clarke-bred champion I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley), best known as the winner of the 2012 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. Clarke also bred the same family’s Golden Award (Medaglia d’Oro), a dual graded stakes winner last year. Gloria S. produced fillies by Cairo Prince the last two breeding seasons and most recently visited Twirling Candy. Harvey’s Lil Goil is one of 11 black-type winners (seven graded) for American Pharoah. She is the fourth of what figures to be many more Grade I/Group 1 winners out of Tapit mares.

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Selflessly Turns Tables On Sweet Melania In Lake George

Klaravich Stables' Selflessly finished well back of Sweet Melania when running fifth in the Grade 3 Wonder Again in June the previous time the two faced each other. But Friday, the Chad Brown trainee got the better of her rival, overtaking her in the final jumps for a victory by a nose in the Grade 3, $100,000 Lake George for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

After that effort in the one-mile Wonder Again at Belmont Park, Selflessly returned to the same distance at the Spa a fresh horse two months later. With David Cohen picking up the mount as Irad Ortiz, Jr. recovers from an injury, Selflessly tracked in fifth position as Windracer led the 10-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.92 seconds and the half in 48.48 on the inner turf course labeled good.

Sweet Melania, the 3-5 favorite conditioned by Todd Pletcher, powered through an opening along the rail out of the final turn and was urged home by jockey Jose Ortiz. But the two-time graded stakes winner couldn't repel Selflessly, who Cohen angled out slightly to Sweet Melania's outside, gaining ground in the final sixteenth before getting up just ahead of hitting the wire in a final time of 1:36.06.

“We were happy to get a good trip behind the horse [Sweet Melania] I thought would take us the whole way,” said Cohen, who won his first graded stakes since 2018 and first at Saratoga since the 2012 Travers when he piloted Golden Ticket to a dead heat for first with Alpha. “You never really want to get stuck behind a horse that's going to back up into you. My filly really finished up strong and showed a lot of heart.

“Chad and I had the same idea,” Cohen added. “We thought there would be two or three to go and we really wanted to get her out aggressively and not get shuffled back into the first turn and played it by ear. If Sweet Melania was on the lead and I was fortunate to get behind her then great she would take me the rest of the way and if not just figure it out from there. We went to Plan B and Plan C real quick. Everything got bottled up into that first turn and as Chad requested, if we didn't send her out of there strong, we would have been shuffled seven eight back and probably never have the chance to get up for the win.”

The stretch drive featured a duel between the charges of the top-two leading trainers of the summer meet. With the win, Brown tied Pletcher for the top mark with 24 victories apiece. The 40-day meet has eight days remaining before closing on Labor Day, September 7.

Selflessly won her second graded stakes and first since capturing the Grade 2 Miss Grillo in September at Belmont. That preceded her fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita to cap her 2-year-old year. After a seven-month break, the More Than Ready filly made her sophomore bow in the Wonder Again before returning to Saratoga for the first time since her runner-up debut effort a year to the date of the Lake George.

“The first race of the year I was a little disappointed watching the race unfold and when we got her back to the barn, she had some cuts on the backs of her legs. She missed some training after that race to heal up, so she probably had an excuse in there,” Brown said. “My team at Belmont has had this horse all meet getting her ready and they really did a great job. David stepped in today when Irad couldn't ride and I'm really proud of him. He rode a great race and we were happy to put him on the horse. I use him occasionally and we certainly ride against him a lot. He rides particularly well on the turf saving ground.”

Off at 14-1, Selflessly returned $30.60 on a $2 win wager. She improved her career earnings to $219,000.

“Some loyal Chad Brown fans made money today, for sure,” Brown said about winning with a rare longshot at the Spa.

Sweet Melania, owned by Robert and Lawana Low, finished a half-length in front of Witez for second. The daughter of 2015 Triple Crown-winner American Pharoah has never finished off the board in eight starts, moving to 3-2-3.

“Todd handicapped the race really well and he thought the two outside horses had more speed than we did,” Ortiz said. “In my mind, I was going to save when I break and those two went fast at the break, so it was easy for me to sit there. I sat very controlled the whole way around and had a good spot on the rail. She gave me a good run. The last couple of jumps, the other horse came to me, but she dug in and fought hard. It was a good race. Tough beat.”

Micheline, Sugar Fix, American Giant, My Sassy Sarah, Windracer, Velvet Crush and Cat's Pajamas completed the order of finish. Miss Peppina, entered for the main track only, was scratched.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with an action packed 11-race card which will feature four graded stakes races, including the Grade 1, $300,000 Forego presented by America's Best Racing at seven furlongs over the main track, the Grade 1, $500,000 Sword Dancer going 1 ½ miles over the inner turf, the Grade 3, $100,000 Saranac for 3-year-olds going one mile over the inner turf and the Grade 2, $150,000 Amsterdam for 3-year-olds going six furlongs over the main track. First post is 1:10 p.m.

The post Selflessly Turns Tables On Sweet Melania In Lake George appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Selflessly Pips Sweet Melania in Lake George

For the considerable success he’s achieved on the New York circuit and particularly on the turf, it wasn’t until 2015 that trainer Chad Brown unsaddled the winner of the GIII Lake George S. for the first time (Mrs McDougal {Medaglia d’Oro}).

The stable’s lone chance in Friday’s renewal, Selflessly (More Than Ready), was pegged as a 6-1 chance on David Aragona’s morning line, but the tote read a remarkable 14-1 at post time and those who ignored her paid dearly, as the Maryland-bred was up in the final jump to upset 7-10 Sweet Melania (American Pharoah). The future Hall of Fame conditioner has now won the Lake George in four of the last six years.

“Some loyal Chad Brown fans made money today, for sure,” Brown deadpanned after the victory.

Sweet Melania, who enjoyed a very soft time of things on the engine when taking her seasonal debut in the GIII Wonder Again S. at Belmont June 20, was beaten for speed by outposted longshots Windracer (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) and Sugar Fix (Treasure Beach {GB}), but used her rail draw to best advantage to secure the box seat while traveling comfortably beneath jockey Jose Ortiz. David Cohen, pinch-hitting for the sidelined Irad Ortiz, Jr. had selflessly in a ground-saving position in the slipstream of the long odds-on choice down the backstretch. Waited with behind the top two nearing the stretch, Sweet Melania was asked to sprint and she gamely went underneath Windrush to grab control a furlong from home. But Cohen kept busy on Selflessly and grabbed Sweet Melania under whipless encouragement in the shadow of the wire.

“We were happy to get a good trip behind the horse [Sweet Melania] I thought would take us the whole way,” said Cohen, winning his first graded race at Saratoga since dead-heating in the 2012 GI Travers S. aboard Golden Ticket (Speightstown). “You never really want to get stuck behind a horse that’s going to back up into you. My filly really finished up strong and showed a lot of heart.”

A fast-finishing second sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over this course one year ago to the day, Selflessly broke her maiden in the GII Miss Grillo S. Sept. 29 and was a creditable fifth, two spots behind Sweet Melania, in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf Nov. 1. An 11-4 chance in the Wonder Again, she went to her knees at the start, suffering some superficial cuts, according to Brown, and finished a too-bad-to-be-true fifth.

Pedigree Notes:

One of 203 black-type winners and 91 graded/group winners for her enormously successful dual-hemisphere sire, Selflessly is out of an unplaced half-sister to Sans Souci Island (Chester House), the dam of MGSW River Seven (Johannesburg) and SP Henry’s Island (Stormy Atlantic). Uniformly Yours is responsible for the 2-year-old filly Honor Yours (Honor Code), a yearling colt by Kitten’s Joy and a colt foal by the Hill ‘n’ Dale sire. She was most recently bred back to 23-year-old More Than Ready.

Friday, Saratoga
LAKE GEORGE S.-GIII, $100,000, Saratoga, 8-28, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:36.06, gd.
1–SELFLESSLY, 122, f, 3, by More Than Ready
                1st Dam: Uniformly Yours, by Grand Slam
                2nd Dam: Faux Pas (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells
                3rd Dam: Negligence (GB), by Roan Rocket (GB)
($190,000 Wlg ’17 KEENOV). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.;
B-George Louis Doetsch (MD); T-Chad C. Brown; J-David
Cohen. $55,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0, $219,000. *1/2 to
Enchanted Ghost (Ghostzapper), MSW, $271,182. Werk Nick
   Rating: Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sweet Melania, 124, f, 3, American Pharoah–Sweet N
Discreet, by Discreet Cat. ($600,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). O-Low,
Lawana L. and Robert E.; B-St. Elias Stables, LLC (KY); T-Todd A.
Pletcher. $20,000.
3–Witez, 118, f, 3, More Than Ready–Glamour N Glory, by
Gulch. O/B-Mary Ann Charlston (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes. $12,000.
Margins: NO, HF, 3/4. Odds: 14.30, 0.70, 9.60.
Also Ran: Micheline, Sugar Fix, American Giant, My Sassy Sarah, Windracer (Ire), Velvet Crush, Cat’s Pajamas. Scratched: Miss Peppina. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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American Pharoah Filly Sweet Melania Leads Wonder Again Field Gate-To-Wire

Robert E. and Lawana L. Low's Sweet Melania made all the running with a sharp seasonal debut to capture Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Wonder Again, a one-mile event for sophomore fillies on the Widener turf course at Belmont Park.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, the American Pharoah chestnut made the grade in October with a similarly striking performance in the Grade 2 Jessamine at Keeneland ahead of a third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November.

With regular pilot Jose Ortiz up, Sweet Melania broke alertly and immediately took command through an opening quarter-mile in 24.15 seconds with Antoinette pinned to her flank.

Sweet Melania maintained her position as the half eclipsed in 47.62, with Antoinette continuing to pester and Selflessly beginning a three-wide move around rivals. Ortiz and Sweet Melania cut the corner turning for home and continued to open up on her competition through a swift three-quarters in 1:10.99 en route to a dominant 1 ½-length score. She covered the mile in 1:34.23 on the firm Widener turf.

Pletcher said he was confident in Ortiz finding the right way to utilize Sweet Melania's abundant speed.

“Analyzing the race beforehand, it looked as though she had a pace advantage,” said Pletcher. “We weren't going to put her on the lead, we felt that she would naturally get herself there. Jose did a nice job of hashing it out and she responded well.”

Ortiz said he was impressed by how Sweet Melania finished up the winning effort.

“She relaxed well and we started picking it up little-by-little. At the three-sixteenths pole, she gave me a nice kick. She's a nice filly,” said Ortiz, who captured this event last year with Cambier Parc.

Highland Glory, under Manny Franco, made a late run to earn place, a half-length in front of Antoinette. Speaktomeofsummer and Selflessly rounded out the order of finish.

“The pace was slower than I expected. I thought there was going to be more pace, but it is what it is,” said Franco. “She ran good. I like her going further. The longer, the better for her. If you saw the gallop out, she passed everybody.”

Bred in Kentucky by St. Elias Stables, the $600,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the stakes-winning Discreet Cat mare Sweet N Discreet.

Sweet Melania banked $82,500 in victory while improving her record to 3-1-3 from seven starts. Sent to post as the 6-5 mutuel favorite, she returned $4.60 for a $2 win bet.

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