With his well-fancied stablemate empty a furlong from home, Bob Baffert's Magic On Tap rallied three-deep to take Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Triple Bend Stakes by two lengths at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, who collected his second consecutive stakes win on the day, Magic On Tap got seven furlongs in 1:23.54.
As expected, Baffert's Eight Rings, a Grade 1 stakes winner at age 2 and idle since Aug. 1, rocketed out of the gate under Flavien Prat, but was soon headed by Lambeau, who broke from post two with Edwin Maldonado.
This pair raced as a team into and around the far turn, with Magic On Tap sitting third, about a length off the lead a quarter mile out. From there, Lambeau dropped back at the rail and despite the fact he remained on his left lead, Magic On Tap gained the advantage in mid-stretch and went on to an impressive win in his sixth career start.
“My horse, he helped me a lot, he broke really sharp and I was behind the speed all the race then when I hit the quarter pole, I asked him to go and he responded really well,” said Hernandez, who was aboard for the first time today. “It looked like he was playing, he was looking around. He never changed leads. I asked him a couple of times and he didn't want to do it, so I let him alone because he kept running. It didn't matter if he changed leads or not, he just kept going.”
A 5-year-old full horse by Tapit, out of the Street Sense mare Aubby K, Magic On Tap, who is owned and bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Equine, cut back in distance following a 23 ¾ length defeat in the G2 Californian Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on April 17 and paid $13.20, $6.00 and $3.00 while off at 5-1 in a field of five older horses.
With his first stakes win in-hand, Magic On Tap banked $120,000 for his efforts and improved his overall mark to 6-3-2-0 while boosting his earnings to $228,800.
“I was afraid of a speed duel, where we would wear each other out,” said Baffert. “Eight Rings was coming off a layoff, so with fractions like that, it was crazy. I threw the other horse (Magic On Tap) in there. I was looking for an allowance race for the horse and then I decided to throw him into the stakes race.
“He is bred to be a good one. It was good to get a stakes win for him after he disappointed in the Californian. He is still a little green, but he has been working really well. I was disappointed for Eight Rings, but you gotta get the trip. I thought we could run one-two today.”
Trained by Peter Eurton and ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Shooters Shoot rallied from last to finish second at odds of 5-1 and paid $5.40 and $2.80 while finishing 1 ¾ lengths in front of Exaulted.
The second choice at 2-1 with Abel Cedillo, Exaulted paid $2.20 and finished 2 ¾ lengths in front of 8-5 favorite Eight Rings.
Fractions on the race were 22.10, 45.03 and 1:10.14.
(Hernandez won the previous race, the Grade II Charles Whittingham Stakes, with the David Hofmans-trained Award Winner).
First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 1 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.
Godolphin's Essential Quality (Tapit) breezed a sharp five furlongs in :59.80 at Churchill Downs Saturday morning. The move was the fifth fastest of 40 horses at the distance. The grey worked in company with 5-year-old graded stakes winner Night Ops (Warrior's Reward) through early fractions of :24.20 and :47.60, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols.
Named the juvenile champion colt following a victory in last fall's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland, trained by Brad Cox-trained colt won the GIII Southwest S. and GII Toyota Blue Grass S. before finishing fourth as the 5-2 favorite in the May 1 Kentucky Derby.
A total of 169 horses registered works at Churchill Downs Saturday morning, including GII Risen Star S. winner Mandaloun (Into Mischief), who cruised an easy half-mile in :48.20. Runner-up in the Kentucky Derby, the Juddmonte homebred next start is still to be determined, according to Cox.
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse expressed excitement for the debut of the well-bred Coinage in Friday's opening race at Belmont Park; a five-furlong sprint for state-bred juveniles on Big Sandy.
By Tapit, Coinage is out of Bar of Gold, an upset winner of the 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Owned by Leonard Green's DJ Stable in partnership with breeders Chester and Mary Broman, Coinage was a $450,000 purchase from Sequel New York's consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“After the Greens bought the filly, Mr. Broman said that he would like to partner in the horse,” Casse explained. “I've known Mr. Broman for 25 years. He's a class act, as are the Greens. Both are great people.”
Coinage has prepped for his career debut at Casse Training Center in Ocala, Florida, where he had five recorded works before shipping to Belmont Park in early April. His most recent work was a half-mile move in 48.45 seconds over the main track on May 15.
“We definitely think he has some talent, and I would hope and think that this horse would be better the further he goes,” Casse said. “His mother, oddly enough, was a sprinter, but she was by Medaglia d'Oro. I don't know how far he'll go, but he'll like some more ground, like most Tapits do.”
Coinage, listed as the 7-5 morning-line favorite, will exit post 4 under Junior Alvarado.
Casse said he will be represented by several runners at the upcoming Belmont Stakes Racing festival from June 3-5, including Got Stormy, who will see a cutback in distance for the Grade 1, $400,000 Jackpocket Jaipur at six furlongs on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.
The 6-year-old daughter of Get Stormy made her seasonal bow a winning one in the one-mile Grade 3 Honey Fox on February 27 at Gulfstream Park before a last out fifth in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile on May 1.
Got Stormy asserted herself a force to be reckoned with after defeating males in course record time in the one-mile Grade 1 Fourstardave in 2019 at Saratoga and followed with Grade 1-placings, in the Woodbine Mile and Breeders' Cup Mile. After a few disappointing results in the first half of 2020, Casse regrouped and shortened the talented mare in distance to win the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint in September and the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Buffalo Trace Franklin County in October at Keeneland.
“We're going to try it and see,” Casse said. “She came out of her last race well. It was a bit of a head scratcher, but she's done that before and rebounded, so we'll see.”
Following a fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, Got Stormy was offered at the Keeneland November Sale, where she was hammered down to $2.75 million. She was acquired by Spendthrift Farm, who opted to keep her in training for a 2021 campaign and is now co-owned with MyRacehorse.com.
Casse said Gary Barber's Make Mischief is targeting the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn, a one-turn mile on Big Sandy for sophomore fillies on June 5.
The New York-bred daughter of Into Mischief was a gallant third in the Grade 2 Eight Belles on April 30 at Churchill Downs, which was her first start for Casse since finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Chandelier in September 2020 at Santa Anita.
Make Mischief spent the winter months in New York under the care of Chris Englehart, for whom she won 3-of-4 starts including the Maddie May on February 20.
“Chris and I have been friends for about 40 years, and he did a tremendous job with her over the winter,” Casse said. “Last race, we ran her at Churchill, and it was a good run. The Acorn is a big step up, but she should love the mile.”
Bred by Avanti Stable, Make Mischief is out of the Speightstown mare Speightful Lady, who has produced four other runners of racing age, all of which are winners.
TIMONIUM, MD – After surviving the uncertainties of a pandemic-delayed 2020 renewal, the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale returned to its traditional May slot with a record-setting two days in Timonium. The auction concluded Tuesday with its highest-ever gross, average and median.
“It was huge. It was crazy good,” Midlantic Sales Director Paget Bennett said Tuesday evening. “People wanted horses and they fought to the end to get them. Even in the supplement, we still had a lot of strong results.”
Through two sessions, Fasig-Tipton sold 357 juveniles for a total of $33,692,000, bettering the previous record of $29,374,000 set in 2019. The average was $94,375, up 4.7% from the 2019 previous record figure of $90,104. The median of $50,000 bettered the mark of $45,000 set in 2015.
The 2020 renewal, which was held in June due to the pandemic, 303 horses sold for $23,572,500. The average was $77,797 and the median was $40,000.
With 69 horses reported not sold, the buy-back for the two-day sale was a sparkling 16.2%.
The auction's co-highest colt in history sold Monday when Terry Finley's West Point Thoroughbreds paid $1.5 million for a son of Quality Road. Vicki and Mike McGowan's Xtreme Racing Stables purchased the top lot of Tuesday's session, going to $625,000 to acquire a daughter of Tapit from the de Meric Sales consignment.
“It was a great market,” Tristan de Meric said. “It's been solid. It seems like it's carried on from the [OBS] April sale. It's good to see some strength in the market at all levels.”
While the juvenile sales muddled through the pandemic-plagued season a year ago, the demand for horses has come roaring back in 2021.
“We really didn't know what to think coming into this year, to be honest,” de Meric said. “We were expecting it to be better than 2020, but we didn't think it was going to be this much better. It's really been an outstanding year.”
Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey felt the record-setting energy in the Midlantic sales pavilion this week.
“This pavilion has been jam packed,” Toffey said. “I think it's been great. It kind of feels like there is this Covid rebound. People just want to get out. They have been cooped up and if they want to spend their money on a horse, I think it's a good thing.”
Trainer Mac Robertson, bidding on behalf of Vicki and Mike McGowan's Xtreme Racing Stables, purchased a daughter of Tapit out of Grade I winner Gomo (Uncle Mo) (hip 492) for a session-topping $625,000 Tuesday in Timonium. The filly was consigned by De Meric Sales.
“I thought she was the best filly in the sale,” Robertson said after signing the ticket out back. “Mike and Vicki are looking for really good fillies. And I thought she had the best breeze (:10 1/5) and she's out of a Grade I horse by a sire that everybody wants. It made sense to me. We went a little more than we wanted, but the sale is strong.”
Based in Minnesota, the McGowans have been in racing for about six years now. They have been represented on the track by this year's Gazebo S. winner Sir Wellington, who they purchased for $55,000 at last year's Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training sale.
Hip 492 was bred by Bridlewood Farm, which purchased Gomo for $1.5 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The juvenile RNA'd for $475,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale after working a furlong in :10 2/5.
“She was a standout from day one,” said Tristan De Meric. “Unfortunately, we didn't get the job done in Miami, but she did everything right here. She even shaved a tick off her time from Miami. She just got better and better.”
Patience Pays off for Brennan
When Niall Brennan brought a son of first-crop sire Practical Joke into the Midlantic sale, he knew the youngster would not be among the fastest horses at the under-tack show, but the Irishman was hoping buyers would see all the potential he saw in the colt. Brennan, who purchased the colt for $85,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, was rewarded when Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey saw off a determined Chuck Zacney to acquire hip 314 for $490,000 Tuesday in Timonium.
“We really loved the sire and when we were looking at the yearling sales, they were popular and they were selling really well,” Brennan said. “But this guy just seemed to fall through the cracks. He was average-sized and maybe just a little bit more of a plainer model, I guess.”
Brennan's team knew the colt would improve over the winter, but they were surprised by just how much he moved forward.
“We thought he would fit the pinhook model really well because we thought he would improve and furnish out nicely,” Brennan said. “And it turned out he grew an awful lot and that's why we had to point him to Maryland.”
The colt worked a furlong during last week's under-tack preview in :10 3/5.
“This horse hasn't had a lot of breezes,” Brennan said. “He only started breezing five or six weeks ago and we brought him along slowly. His breeze here was the first time he was asked to run and he worked in :10 3/5, but he galloped out beautifully. I am glad people looked at that because he's a tremendous horse.”
Hip 314 is out of April Snow (Candy Ride {Arg}), a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Harmonius (Dynaformer) and to the dam of graded winner Into Chocolate (Into Mischief).
“The sire is pulling him right now, but he has a very nice pedigree and he's a beautiful-moving horse with a great profile,” Brennan said. “We think he has a great future. He's not a 'now' horse and he's a big growthy colt who needed time. Sometimes when you are patient and you give them that time, it pays off.”
Spendthrift's Ned Toffey saw a lot of the colt's grandsire, the farm's super sire Into Mischief, in the youngster.
“Obviously we are familiar with his grandsire,” Toffey said. “He's a big, athletic colt who had a really good breeze. Niall does a great job of not really putting the screws to these horses too much, so we felt like what we were buying, there was still more there. And that's certainly what we hope.”
Of the offspring of the much-hyped first-crop sire Practical Joke, Toffey said, “They do remind me of the Into Mischiefs. He's maybe putting more size on a lot of his. This is a big, strong colt. But they have certainly shown the same ability based on what we're seeing so far. A lot of these are performing really well at the 2-year-old sales, so hopefully that will continue.”
Juveniles by first-crop sire Gormley continued to be popular in the sales ring in Timonium Tuesday with bloodstock agent David Ingordo going to $450,000 to secure a son of the Spendthrift stallion (hip 417). The colt was consigned by Chris Seale's Bird in Hand Stables.
“He is going out to John Sherriffs in California,” Ingordo said. “He will run in some familiar silks.”
Sherriffs trained Gormley to wins in the 2016 GI FrontRunner S. and 2017 GI Santa Anita Derby.
“John trained Gormley and we very much like the sire,” Ingordo said. “This colt had class and presence about him the whole time. He was well-prepared by the consignor. He was really the one that I had been waiting around to buy.”
Bred by Candyland Farm, the bay colt RNA'd for $49,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October sale. The Maryland-bred is a half-brother to stakes-placed Jamaican Don (Freedom Child).
Gormley has already been represented by two winners on the racetrack. His son Headline Report, who sold with Eddie Woods for $550,000 at the OBS March Sale, graduated on debut at Keeneland Apr. 23.
“Gormley was a very good horse,” Ingordo said. “He maybe got lost a little in the shuffle and hype after he went to stud because of Practical Joke and Classic Empire. But he was a very good horse in his own right. We were very fond of him and lucky to support him. The one Eddie Woods sold that is already a winner was a beautiful colt and I'd rate this one as highly as that one. I have high hopes for him.”
Gormley, who stands at Spendthrift for $5,000, was represented by a $425,000 colt in Timonium Monday.
“He is carrying on the tradition,” said Spendthrift's Ned Toffey. “The Gormleys have been pretty impressive. We've been hearing great things from breeders right along. They have a lot of style to them. They have that substance that Malibu Moon always threw, but maybe just a little bit more refined. They look like athletes. He is two for three now with his 2-year-olds. So he's off to a great start. We couldn't ask for anything more.”
All Well That Ends Well for Hartley/DeRenzo
For consignors Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, getting their colt by Classic Empire (hip 512) to the sales this spring proved to be an adventure from start to finish, but the story had a happy ending when the dark bay sold for $400,000 to the bid of bloodstock agents Alex Solis and Jason Litt.
“I had him for Miami and he had a little shin, so I had to give him some time and take care of his shins and he lost a couple of months,” Hartley said.
The colt's work during last week's under-tack preview was impeded when the saddle slipped under Susan Montanye.
“He was a little green and then the saddle slipped with Susan,” Hartley said. “I couldn't see from the backside what happened. I could see her standing up, but I really couldn't see until she came around the turn and she was hanging off the side of the horse.”
Despite the mishap, the colt, who Hartley/DeRenzo purchased for $160,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase, completed his furlong drill in :10 2/5.
“He's been my favorite horse all winter and if he had gotten the workout right, who knows,” Hartley said. “He is just a beautiful horse, classy and so smart. He just got here and all of the commotion didn't bother him. He's just a cool horse.”
Hartley continued, “That's the first one they ever bought off us, so hopefully it will be lucky. They got a good buy on the colt, to be honest. Hopefully he can run and they'll be back buying off us again next year.”
Fast Start for Sterling Thoroughbreds
Carlos Estrada and Sarah Estrada-Brok are consigning 2-year-olds under the Sterling Thoroughbreds for the first time this year and safe to say the new venture is off to a promising start. The couple sold a colt by Brody's Cause (hip 370), purchased last fall for $6,000, for $290,000 to Larry Zap, as agent for Mike Mellen.
“We bought him out of Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale,” Sarah Estrada recalled. “I was at home and my husband said, 'Come look at this horse with me.' I came out and looked at him and I said, 'All right, let's do it.'”
Of what appealed to him about the colt, Carlos Estrada said, “He had great balance with a big walk. I fell in love with him. I said, 'I want to have him.' He RNA'd at the sale and I bought him privately after that.”
The chestnut colt is out of Candy d'Oro (Johannesburg), a half-sister to graded placed Julia Tuttle (Giant's Causeway), dam of Grade I winner Tom's D'Etat (Smart Strike).
“There were a few little baby issues on the X-rays, but we knew it was something we could work with and he would grow out of mostly and he did,” Sarah said of the colt's bargain price last fall. “He was just about squeaky clean here.”
The chestnut colt turned in a furlong work in :10 2/5, but the Estradas were keeping their expectations in check.
“Coming in we were thinking $40,000,” Sarah admitted. “So he beyond exceeded our expectations. The first two days we didn't get much traffic through there. Then after the Preakness, people started showing up and more and more of the right people showed up to look at him. We were excited, but we still weren't thinking almost $300,000.”
The final price was a highwater mark in the young couple's consigning career. Asked what it was like to watch the colt sell, Sarah said, “I think my heart stopped for a minute.”
As for what their future plans are, Sarah said, “Definitely more pinhooking. This was kind of a test this year to see how we did and clearly we did all right. We have five yearlings to sell at the yearling sales and we will see if we can pick one or two yearlings up and take them to the 2-year-old sales.”
