Tag: Sweetest Chant S.

Cairo Consort Overcomes Adversity In Sweetest Chant

Things looked downright bleak for Town and Country Racing and Repole Stable's Cairo Consort (Cairo Prince) at outset of Saturday's GIII Sweetest Chant S. at Gulfstream Park, as she went in the air as the gates flew, spotting her rivals several lengths. But the gray filly was given a supremely patient ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and whistled past stablemate Alpha Bella (Justify) in the final sixteenth of a mile to register a breakthrough graded success.

Favored at 11-5, Cairo Consort was forced to take her medicine from the back of the pack, as Sweetlou'sgotaces (Constitution) led from Malleymoo (English Channel) into the backstretch. Still out of the picture and with it all to do past the half in :47.11, Cairo Consort was held together while full of run and had well and truly caught up to her rivals as they turned for the money. Hitting another gear three away from the inside with better than a furlong to race, she was shifted out into the clear and leveled off beautifully to–somehow–score by a comfortable margin.

“When she missed the break, I just let her relax,” said Ortiz, Jr. winning for the 10th time in two days. “She was happy back there, relaxing. At the same time, she was in contact with the field. She wasn't that far back. By the turn, she wanted to go. I didn't want to go too wide, so we cut the corner. She was there and gave me a good turn of foot.”

Winner of the Aug. 20 Catch a Glimpse S. at Woodbine, Cairo Consort was second in that track's GI Natalma S. and a sound third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for Maple Lane Farm and trainer Nathan Squires before hammering to these connections for $875,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale about 48 hours later. In her only previous appearance for her new ownership, Cairo Consort was the popular winner of the Jan. 7 Ginger Brew S.

There is a previous connection between the Courtelis family's Town and Country Racing and Mike Repole. In 2014, after she was led out unsold on a bid of $3.15 million at Fasig-Tipton November, Repole's multiple Grade I winner Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat) was acquired privately by Town and Country and continued her career with Todd Pletcher, which included a 7-1 upset in the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland.

Pedigree Notes:

Cairo Consort is the seventh graded winner for her sire and was one of three winners Saturday out of mares by the late Street Cry, who was being represented by his 63rd graded winner as a broodmare sire.

Cairo Consort is out of an unraced half-sister to Awesome Maria (Maria's Mon), who also called the Pletcher barn home and posted her best career effort in the 2011 GI Ogden Phipps H. Her GI Alabama S.-winning third dam includes fellow Robsham luminaries Discreet Cat (Forestry), GISW Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft) and MSW/GISP Pretty Wild (Wild Again).

Absolutely Awesome is also responsible for the 2-year-old filly Accomplished (Tonalist).

Saturday, Gulfstream
SWEETEST CHANT S.-GIII, $175,000, Gulfstream, 2-4, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:40.95, gd.
1–CAIRO CONSORT, 122, f, 3, by Cairo Prince
1st Dam: Absolutely Awesome, by Street Cry (Ire)
 2nd Dam: Discreetly Awesome, by Awesome Again
 3rd Dam: Pretty Discreet, by Private Account
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($37,000 RNA Wlg '20 FTKNOV;
$95,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT; $875,000 2yo '22 FTKNOV). O-Repole
Stable & Town and Country Racing, LLC; B-Frankfort Park Farm
(KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $104,160. Lifetime
Record: MGISP, 8-4-1-2, $430,449. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Alpha Bella, 118, f, 3, Justify–Andina (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Don Alberto
Corporation (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $33,600.
3–Heavenly Sunday, 120, f, 3, Candy Ride (Arg)–Alien Giant,
by Giant's Causeway. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK
TYPE. ($170,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Miacomet Farm
(William Harrigan); B-Randal Family Trust (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$16,800.
Margins: 3/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 2.20, 16.30, 2.50.
Also Ran: Metaphysical, Bulsara, Malleymoo, Stephanie's Charm, Padma, Sweetlou'sgotaces.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Opalina Gives Optimizer a First Stakes Winner in Sweetest Chant

Opalina (Optimizer), the third choice in a wide-open pari-mutuel affair, took the overland route into the final furlong and a half of Saturday's GIII Sweetest Chant S. at Gulfstream Park, but stayed on gamely late to become the first black-type winner for her Calumet Farm-based stallion.

One of the first to break the line from her low draw, Opalina ultimately settled just ahead of centerfield and raced with cover down the backstretch as longshot Myfavoritedaughter (Carpe Diem) galloped them along at a decent clip. Given her cue with a bit more than three furlongs to race, Opalina was left with no choice but to circle horses into the stretch, rallied four wide under a full head of steam and looked to be idling a bit late, but was home comfortably in front.

Opalina defeated state-bred maidens by a dozen lengths in a hand-timed affair over yielding Gulfstream turf Sept. 17 and was a sneaky good fifth, beaten a length and a half, behind California Angel (California Chrome) in Keeneland's GII Jessamine S.

Oct. 13. Given some time off thereafter, Opalina came to win the Jan. 1 Ginger Brew S. at the eighth pole, but couldn't finish the job and settled for third as the even-money pick.

“When she took the lead in the stretch she kind of waited for the other ones, but when she got on the left [lead] she gave me another gear,” Saez said of Saturday's effort. “Last time, she needed a race and she didn't want to be too close. Today, we wanted to race a little bit from behind and make one move with her. Everything turned out like we were expecting.”

Pedigree Notes:

In addition to being the first black-type winner for Optimizer, Opalina is the 24th stakes winner (11 graded) out of daughters of Kitten's Joy, who have produced the likes of Grade I winner Channel Cat and other graded winners Spooky Channel, English Bee and Admiralty Pier to the cover of Optimizer's late sire English Channel.

Bernardo Alvarez-Calderon purchased Opalina's dam with the filly in utero for the upset price of $1,000 at Keeneland November in 2018. Calderon, who also bred GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational hero Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) and last year's GII Tampa Bay Derby upsetter Helium (Ironicus), passed away in August 2020 at the age of 78.

Opalina, also a half-sister to the stakes-placed Red Hornet (English Channel), is the last listed produce for Go Kitten Go.

 

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
SWEETEST CHANT S.-GIII, $100,000, Gulfstream, 2-5, 3yo, f,
1 1/16mT, 1:41.56, fm.
1–OPALINA, 118, f, 3, by Optimizer
                1st Dam: Go Kitten Go, by Kitten's Joy
                2nd Dam: Go Cherokee Go, by Cherokee Run
                3rd Dam: First Flyer, by Riverman
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Teneri
Farm & J Stables LLC; B-Teneri Farms Inc. & Bernardo Alvarez
Calderon (FL); T-Roderick R Rodriguez; J-Luis Saez. $59,520.
Lifetime Record: 6-2-2-1, $135,770. *First stakes winner for
second-crop sire (by English Channel). Werk Nick Rating: A++.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ambitieuse, 118, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Lucky Folie, by
Distorted Humor. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE.
O/B-Wertheimer and Frere; T-H Graham Motion. $19,200.
3–Miss You Ella, 118, f, 3, Declaration of War–Newstouse, by
Unbridled's Song. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE.
($135,000 Ylg '20 EASOCT). O-Wonder Stables, Madaket
Stables LLC & Golconda Stable; B-Equivine Farm (PA); T-Chad
C Brown. $9,600.
Margins: 3/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.30, 4.80, 5.80.
Also Ran: Myfavoritedaughter, Battle Charge, Ocean Safari, Roughly a Diamond, Hal's Dream, Nostalgic. Scratched: Running Legacy. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Candy Ride’s White Frost Much the Best in Sweetest Chant

Let go at a tempting 9-2, Gainesway Stables' homebred White Frost spent a good portion of Saturday's GIII Sweetest Chant S. hemmed away at the inside, but she saved her best for last, as she sprinted past pacesetting favorite Con Lima in the final furlong for a breakthrough graded stakes success.

Con Lima, exiting a front-running defeat of Honey Pants (Cairo Prince) in the course-and-distance Ginger Brew S. Jan. 2, hit the ground running and had things very much her own way on the engine, as White Frost settled three back on the fence with about five lengths to find down the backstretch. Racing tightly just to the inside of Tampa maiden winner Domain Expertise (Kitten's Joy) as they hit the half-mile pole, White Frost was full of run, as Junior Alvarado mulled over his options. Held together into the stretch, White Frost was asked to kick leaving the three-sixteenths and it was a telling burst, as she beat Domain Expertise to the punch and reeled in Con Lima with her powerful, long strides.

A distant debut fourth to Zainalarab (War Front) sprinting on the Belmont main track Sept. 18, White Frost improved a couple of spots to finish runner-up in a muddy main-track maiden in Elmont on Halloween. Switched to the turf and two turns for her latest, the dark bay worked out a box-seat trip and went on to best recent Fair Grounds maiden winner Lijana (Hard Spun) by 1 1/4 lengths.

Pedigree Notes:

The 95th stakes winner and 48th graded winner for Candy Ride, White Frost is the second black-type performer for her dam, a dual stakes winner on the New York circuit in the early 2010s for Dogwood Stable and acquired by Gainesway for $170,000 at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. White Frost's third dam was a Grade I winner on turf at nine furlongs for Allen Paulson and Marty Wygod and was a full-sister to Paulson's top turf horse Hap. Their dam, multiple French champion Committed (Hagley), is also the second dam of top turf sire English Channel (Smart Strike). Winter Frost also carries the cross over Storm Cat-line first or second dams that has been responsible for some of Candy Ride's top horses, including Horse of the Year Gun Runner, champion Shared Belief and other Grade I winners Sidney's Candy, Evita Argentina and Mastery, among others. Miss Frost is the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Union Rags, a yearling colt by the late Empire Maker and was most recently bred to Frosted.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
SWEETEST CHANT S.-GIII, $100,000, Gulfstream, 1-30, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:34.45, fm.
1–WHITE FROST, 118, f, 3, by Candy Ride (Arg)
     1st Dam: Miss Frost (MSW, $247,259), by Curlin
     2nd Dam: Allencat, by Storm Cat
     3rd Dam: Pharma, by Theatrical (Ire)
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O-Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); B-Gainesway
Thoroughbreds Ltd. (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado.
$60,140. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0, $123,920. Werk Nick
Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Con Lima, 120, f, 3, Commissioner–Second Street City, by
Consolidator. ($15,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $19,000 RNA Ylg '19
KEESEP; $22,000 RNA 2yo '20 OBSMAR). O-Eclipse
Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph F. Graffeo, Eric Nikolaus Del
Toro & Troy Johnson; B-Lisa Kuhlmann (TX); T-Todd A.
Pletcher. $19,400.
3–Domain Expertise, 118, f, 3, Kitten's Joy–Teroda, by
Limehouse. ($200,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich Stables,
Inc.; B-J D Stuart, Mueller Farms, Inc. & Kenneth L. & Sarah K.
Ramsey (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $9,700.
Margins: 1, 1, HF. Odds: 4.50, 1.30, 7.60.
Also Ran: Candace O, Honey Pants, Queen of the Green, Director's Cut, Lionessofbrittany.
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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White Frost Looks To Stay Unbeaten On Turf In Sweetest Chant

Gainesway Stable's White Frost (Candy Ride {Arg}), impressive in winning her turf and two-turn debuts to close out her freshman campaign, rates a slight edge in what appears a wide-open renewal of the GIII Sweetest Chant S. Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

A debut fourth to $1-million KEESEP yearling Zainalarab (War Front) at Belmont Sept. 18, the homebred was a distant second in the slop Oct. 31 before parlaying a perfect, ground-saving trip into a a 1 1/4-length graduation at Aqueduct Nov. 21. The form of that race was franked when runner-up Lijana (Hard Spun) graduated with authority at the Fair Grounds in her next start Jan. 16.

Director's Cut (Exaggerator), a maiden winner and stakes-placed over this course at two, was acquired by Gary Barber late last season, but was a well-beaten fifth to Plum Ali (First Samurai) in the GII Miss Grillo S. Oct. 4. The bay raced with first-time Lasix in a Jan. 10 allowance and sat a very wide trip, finishing 1 1/2 lengths adrift of Mia Martini (Not This Time) while covering an additional 32 feet (about 3 1/2 lengths) in a compact field, according to Trakus.

Con Lima (Commissioner) is also unbeaten in her two tries on the grass, a 5 1/4-length thrashing of a Dec. 12 allowance ahead of a 3 1/4-length defeat of Honey Pants (Cairo Prince) in the local Ginger Brew S. Jan. 2. Both of those successes were achieved in front-running fashion, but rating tactics in a field that appears loaded with speed could go a long way here.

Domain Express (Kitten's Joy) represents the Chad Brown stable, successful in this event each year from 2012-2017, and comes out of a visually impressive four-length maiden victory against decidedly easier at Tampa Dec. 5.

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