Todd Pletcher | Horse Racing Free Tips

Shadwell’s Zaajel Surprises Always Carina, Upsets Mother Goose Stakes At Belmont

Shadwell Stable's Zaajel provided Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher a graded stakes win on his birthday, overtaking 4-5 favorite Always Carina in the final furlong and prevailing by 1 1/4 lengths as the longest shot on the board at 18-1 to win Saturday's $250,000 Grade 2 Mother Goose Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going a one-turn, 1 1/16 miles at Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny.

Pletcher, who turned 54 and recorded his sixth career win in the Mother Goose, moved Zaajel back to the main track after she ran seventh in her turf debut last out in the Grade 2 Edgewood Stakes in April at Churchill Downs. The Street Sense filly was forwardly placed by jockey Joel Rosario in her Belmont debut, staying in second position as Always Carina led the five-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in :24.03 and the half in :48.03 on the fast track.

Zaajel stayed close to Always Carina out of the turn and moved up from the outside when straightened for home, running stride-for-stride with her rival before pulling ahead. After an aggressive hand ride, Rosario used a quick burst of left-handed encouragement as Zaajel surged home a winner in a 1:42.83 final time.

“She ran really big today. She was very comfortable and happy,” Rosario said. “I knew the horse on the lead was the horse to beat and she did it. She ran a big race today. She was moving very well for me.”

Zaajel, who captured the Grade 3 Forward Gal Stakes in her 3-year-old bow in January at Gulfstream Park, became a two-time graded stakes winner, improving her overall ledger to three wins in five starts. The Kentucky homebred returned $38.80 on a $2 win wager and upped her career bankroll to $228,640.

“She had been training well and got back to one turn,” said Pletcher assistant Byron Hughes. “We knew it was going to be a short field, and she ran well.

“We thought she would be forwardly placed. We had Chad's filly [Brown, Always Carina] on her inside and she sat right on her hip,” he added. “Joel did a great job of keeping her right there and she responded well and got the win.”

Pletcher added to his rich history in this race, where he also saddled victorious Off the Tracks [2016], Buster's Ready [2011], Devil May Care [2010], Octave [2007], and Jersey Girl [1998].

Three Chimneys Farm's Always Carina, who entered her stakes debut 2-for-2 for trainer Chad Brown, held off a surging Clairiere by a nose for second.

“She certainly didn't run up to her capabilities today,” Brown said. “Maybe switching her off and going a little too slow during the race – which she's not really used to – in hindsight, might have put her to sleep a bit. We'll have to see how she comes out of the race and see if there's any other reason. But my first thought is that maybe we should have just let her roll on the front. She fought on bravely for second but that wasn't how she had run her first two starts, that's for sure.”

Always Carina, a homebred Malibu Moon filly, was stretching out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time after graduating at six furlongs and winning last out by 9 3/4 lengths going one mile on Big Sandy.

“My horse was traveling well and she accelerated nicely,” said Always Carina jockey Flavien Prat. “She just got beat by a filly who had more experience. I didn't have any issues. She dug in well.”

Make Mischief and Illiogami completed the order of finish.

The post Shadwell’s Zaajel Surprises Always Carina, Upsets Mother Goose Stakes At Belmont appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Super Saver Colt Last to First in Bashford Manor

Double Thunder put an exclamation point on what was already a great day for both his trainer Todd Pletcher and sire Super Saver with a decisive score in the GIII Bashford Manor S. at Churchill Downs. Just 15 minutes prior, Pletcher, who was also celebrating his birthday Saturday, won the GII Mother Goose S. at his Belmont base with Zaajel (Street Sense). Also, four races earlier at Churchill, Super Saver's Letruska took the GII Fleur de Lis S. The gray broke fine, but backed out of it immediately to trail the field as Lansdowne (Super Saver) blazed through an opening quarter in :21 flat with Tapped Off (Tapiture) bearing down on him from second. Still last approaching the bend, Double Thunder cut the corner to improve his position and wove his way between horses in the lane, punching through at the sixteenth-pole and rolling clear to score. Vodka N Water (Fed Biz) completed the exacta.

“I didn't think we would break as slow as he did so we had to adjust a little bit after the start,” Velazquez said. “Once I got to the quarter-pole I had a lot of confidence in him and thought we had a big shot. He did everything professionally today. Warming up, he didn't handle going with the pony as well so I warmed him up by himself. I knew there would be a lot of speed in the race and wanted to keep him close–just not last. You don't expect a 2-year-old to handle things like that as well as he did. He took dirt and handled it well and I think he can move forward a lot from that.”

Donning cap and gown in his 4 1/2-panel debut at Monmouth Park June 5, Double Thunder was given a 4-1 chance for this step up in class with Pletcher's first-call rider Johnny Velazquez in the irons.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
BASHFORD MANOR S.-GIII, $150,000, Churchill Downs, 6-26, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.17, ft.
1–DOUBLE THUNDER, 120, c, 2, by Super Saver
                1st Dam: Rattataptap (GSP, $197,687), by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Sindy With an S, by Broken Vow
                3rd Dam: Backroom Blues, by Dixieland Band
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($60,000 Ylg
'20 FTKSEL). O-Phoenix Thoroughbred, LTD; B-WinStar Farm,
LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-John R. Velazquez. $88,350.
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $116,850. Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Vodka N Water, 122, c, 2, Fed Biz–Camielee, by Harlan's
Holiday. ($3,500 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Parkland Thoroughbreds,
Medallion Racing, RTA Family Trust & Little Red Feather
Racing; B-T/C Stable, LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen.
$28,500.
3–Glacial, 120, c, 2, Frosted–Country Cafe, by Lion Heart.
($65,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $140,000 2yo '21 OBSMAR). O-Robert
Masterson; B-Mike G. Rutherford (KY); T-Norm W. Casse.
$14,250.
Margins: 4 3/4, HD, 2. Odds: 4.10, 7.40, 3.10.
Also Ran: Knocker Down, Red Run, Shesgotattitude, Lansdowne, Whistlewhileyoumow, Whatstheconnection, Tapped Off. Scratched: Rising Outlaw. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Double Thunder's victory makes him the 13th graded scorer and 29th black-type winner for the Pletcher-trained GI Kentucky Derby hero Super Saver, who initially stood at WinStar, but was sold to Turkey. His GSP dam Rattataptap is a daughter of Grade III winner Sindy With An S (Broken Vow), who is also the dam of SW & GSP My Miss Tapit (Tapit) and GSP I'll Wrap It Up (Tapit). Double Thunder is the 9-year-old mare's first foal and she has since produced a yearling colt by Speightstown and a 2021 filly by the same WinStar stallion.

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Life Is Good to Pletcher, Returns to Worktab

by Bill Finley and Steve Sherack

Undefeated and considered one of the most promising horses in the sport, Life Is Good (Into Mischief) will soon join the Todd Pletcher stable. He had been trained by Bob Baffert, who has lost a number of top horses due to his ongoing problems involving the Medina Spirit (Protonico) positive in the GI Kentucky Derby for betamethasone.

After winning the GII San Felipe S., Mar. 6 at Santa Anita, Life Is Good was sidelined and ruled out of the Triple Crown races after coming down with a hind-end injury, which required surgery to remove a chip in his ankle. He worked three furlongs Thursday morning at Keeneland in :37 flat.

Elliott Walden, the president and CEO of WinStar Farm, the co-owner of Life Is Good, confirmed the trainer switch.

“Life is Good worked this a.m. with our farm trainer, Destin Heath at Keeneland,” Walden said via text. “His team has done a wonderful job getting him back to the work tab. He went :37 and out in :49 2/5. The plan is to ship to Todd Pletcher in the coming weeks with a possibility of running in New York later this year. With the ban on Bob in Kentucky and New York right now, our opportunities are limited. We will continue to evaluate the situation with Bob and appreciate everything he has done with Life is Good.”

One landing spot for Life Is Good could be the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 28 in Saratoga. Baffert has been banned by the New York Racing Association and, currently, is not able to run in New York or stable there. He has, however, filed a suit against NYRA seeking a stay that would allow him to compete at the NYRA tracks.

Walden declined to answer any other questions regarding WinStar's relationship with Baffert.

WinStar has also moved Country Grammer (Tonalist) from the Baffert barn to the Pletcher stable. The winner of the GI Hollywood Gold Cup in his last start, he may go next in the GII Suburban H. at Belmont. Still another WinStar-owned stakes horse has been moved out of the Baffert barn. Crystal Ball (Malibu Moon) will make her debut Saturday for trainer Rodolphe Brisset in the Lady Jacqueline S. at Thistledown. Spendthrift Farm has also reportedly moved its horses out of the Baffert barn. And Hozier (Pioneerof the Nile) will make his debut Saturday in the GIII Ohio Derby for Brisset after campaigning for Baffert. He is owned by the partnership of SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Golconda Stable, Siena Farm LLC and Robert Masterson.

The post Life Is Good to Pletcher, Returns to Worktab appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Life Is Good Has First Work Back; Colt Will Head To Todd Pletcher In New York

On Thursday morning at Keeneland, two-time graded stakes winner Life Is Good put in his first workout since undergoing minor surgery to remove an ankle chip earlier this year. The 3-year-old son of Into Mischief breezed three furlongs in 37 seconds flat under the watchful eye of WinStar Farm trainer Destin Heath; WinStar is undergoing track renovations at its training center this summer, so Heath has been maintaining a training operation at Keeneland.

“Life Is Good worked this a.m. with our farm trainer, Destin Heath at Keeneland,” co-owner WinStar Farm's president and CEO Elliott Walden told Horse Racing Nation. “His team has done a wonderful job getting him back to the work tab. He went 37 and out in 49.2. The plan is to ship to Todd Pletcher in the coming weeks with a possibility of running in New York later this year.”

Life Is Good was formerly conditioned by embattled trainer Bob Baffert, and is undefeated in three career starts in Southern California. Co-owned by the China Horse Club, the colt was the individual favorite in four Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools prior to the announcement of his injury in late March.

WinStar also transferred Grade 1 winner Country Grammer from Baffert to Pletcher earlier this week, due to the New York Racing Association's ban on Baffert trainees in the wake of the announcement of a positive test in the Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.