Todd Pletcher | Horse Racing Free Tips

Curlin Colt Provides Pletcher with Sixth Florida Derby

St Elias Stable homebred Known Agenda (Curlin) upped trainer Todd Pletcher's record of GI Curlin Florida Derby wins to six while taking the race sponsored by his leading sire in impressive fashion Saturday.

“It has so many great meanings, but for me what is so special about this is to win it for St Elias with a horse that they bred,” Pletcher said. “I know how much that means to them, that makes it a little more extra special for us.”

The 5-1 shot saved all the ground early in a midpack fifth through fractions of :23.43 and :47.73. With Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard, he traveled kindly in some traffic approaching the three-furlong marker, tipped out for clear sailing at the top of the lane and kicked away once switching over despite some drifting in the stretch to score by an expanding 2 3/4 lengths over longshot Soup and Sandwich (Into Mischief).

The streaking odds-on Greatest Honour (Tapit) favorite, winner of the GIII Holy Bull S. and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., never really threatened while third. “I thought we were OK on the turn there and he just didn't kick on the way I thought he would,” trainer Shug McGaughey said.

As for the winner, Pletcher said, “I was really pleased with the progress he was making up the backside because one of the things we were a little bit worried about was if he got stuck inside, he didn't seem to handle that in [last December's GII] Remsen very well. When he was making progress up the backside and picking off horses while he was inside and behind horses, I had a pretty good feeling at that point that he was running his race today and that it was a matter of finding out how good he is.”

Known Agenda, a narrow and ultra-game maiden winner over Greatest Honour in a key heat at Aqueduct last November, closed out his juvenile campaign with a well-beaten third at a well-backed 9-5 in the GII Remsen S. A disappointing fifth from well out of it as the 3-2 favorite while kicking off his sophomore campaign in Tampa's GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 6, he looked like a new horse with blinkers added and first-time Lasix last time, airing by 11 lengths in a track-and-trip optional claimer Feb. 26.

“We were looking for a couple of things in that last race,” Pletcher said. “One, to see if blinkers made an improvement in his being a little more tactical and secondly, we wanted to see how he handled the Gulfstream surface. I thought we got very good answers to both of those questions. The only thing was we were taking a fairly significant step back in class. It wasn't an overwhelming field, but the way he did it, to win by 11 anytime in a race like that, and [jockey] Irad [Ortiz Jr.] kind of wrapped up on him the last part, I thought it was not only an impressive race but a step in the right direction. It showed us that the blinkers helped and that he handled Gulfstream.”

Ortiz Jr. set the single-season Championship Meet win record in style with his victory aboard Known Agenda in the Florida Derby.

“It means a lot,” Ortiz Jr. said. “We work so hard. It feels so good to get the feedback from the owners and the trainers. They support me. I say thanks to all of them.”

Pedigree Notes:

Known Agenda, a $135,000 RNA as a FTSAUG yearling, becomes the 77th black-type/38th graded winner for the mighty Curlin. He is the 13th Grade I winner for Hill 'n' Dale Farms's leading sire. Pletcher also trained Curlin standouts such as: Vino Rosso, Palace Malice, Curalina, Off the Tracks, et al. “To be honest, he's a horse that reminds us a lot of Vino Rosso,” Pletcher said of the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner. “Personality-wise, obviously being a chestnut son of Curlin, but he's taken a little while to kind of put everything together. We kept seeing talent in the mornings that he wasn't necessarily displaying in the afternoon but we knew it was there.” Byrama–heroine of the 2013 GI Vanity H. for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Simon Callaghan–was acquired privately by St Elias after RNA'ing for $725,000 at that fall's KEENOV sale, and made six more starts the following season for Bill Mott. Byrama is also represented by the 2-year-old filly Breeze Berry (Bodemeister) and an Always Dreaming filly of 2020. She was bred to Kitten's Joy for 2021. Vinnie Viola showed plenty of support for Curlin at last year's KEESEP sale. Along with Mike Repole, Gainesway, John Oxley and Grandview, St. Elias purchased a $1.2-million yearling son of Curlin-Midnight Lucky. St. Elias and Repole, the team behind the aforementioned champion older male Vino Rosso, also partnered up on four additional colts by Curlin for $475,000, $400,000, $350,000 and $250,000.

Saturday, Gulfstream
CURLIN FLORIDA DERBY PRESENTED BY HILL 'N' DALE FARMS AT XALAPA-GI, $770,000, Gulfstream, 3-27, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.45, ft.
1–KNOWN AGENDA, 122, c, 3, by Curlin
                     1st Dam: Byrama (GB) (GISW, $659,067), by Byron (GB)
                     2nd Dam: Aymara (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
                     3rd Dam: Chipaya (GB), by Northern Prospect
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
   WIN. ($135,000 RNA Ylg '19 FTSAUG). O/B-St. Elias Stables, LLC
(KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $437,100. Lifetime
Record: 6-3-1-1, $541,700. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Soup and Sandwich, 122, c, 3, Into Mischief–Souper Scoop,
by Tapit. O-Live Oak Plantation; B-Live Oak Stud (FL); T-Mark E.
Casse. $161,000.
3–Greatest Honour, 122, c, 3, Tapit–Tiffany's Honour, by Street
Cry (Ire). O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald and Donna Adam);
B-Courtlandt Farm (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $70,500.
Margins: 2 3/4, 3, 1 1/4. Odds: 5.40, 12.10, 0.80.
Also Ran: Nova Rags, Collaborate, Southern Passage, Papetu, Spielberg, Quantum Leap, Jirafales, Sigiloso. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post Curlin Colt Provides Pletcher with Sixth Florida Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Basin Sharp After Layoff, Wins Sir Shackleton For Pletcher

Multiple Grade 1 winner Basin made a triumphant return to action off a six-month layoff Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla, scoring an off-the-pace victory in the $100,000 Sir Shackleton.

The Sir Shackleton, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, was one of 10 stakes on a 14-race card that was headlined by the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa.

Basin, a Liam's Map colt who won the 2019 Hopeful (G1) and was awarded the victory in the 2020 Arkansas Derby (G1) via the subsequent disqualification of the first-place finisher while being trained by Steve Asmussen, was making his first start since finishing second in the Aug. 29 Amsterdam (G2) at Saratoga in his first start for Todd Pletcher.

Basin broke well but was allowed to settle off a contested pace set by Shivaree and pressed by Frosted Grace, who dueled for the lead during a :22.55 first quarter of a mile. Frosted Grace eased away from Shivaree to take the lead under Edwin Gonzalez while completing the first half-mile in :45.03. Frosted Grace took the lead into the stretch and responded to urging but was unable to hold off Basin, who launched a sustained stretch drive under Jose Ortiz.

Basin, the 3-2 favorite, prevailed by a half-length over Frosted Grace while completing the seven furlongs in 1:23.19. Frosted Grace held off Town Classic by another half-length.

Sir Shackleton Quotes

Winning Trainer Todd Pletcher (Basin): “I got a little anxious. It looked like he backed up on the turn, but he kept grinding it out. Irad (Ortiz Jr., aboard Town Classic) came up outside of him and that kind of encouraged him a little bit. He got in a good stretch duel and he was very game at the end.

“He's a quality horse He trains really well. We felt like he was just ready. We didn't want to go over the top for the first one back. We cut it close, but we had him ready to get the job done today. I think he'll move forward from the race.”

Winning Jockey Jose Ortiz (Basin): “He broke well, but they went a little bit fast and I felt like I was rushing him off his feet so I decided to relax a little bit at the five-eighths pole and sit behind Cool Arrow. It worked out nice. I had to grind it out. But when the horse came to his outside, he dug in. Close to the wire the horse inside came out, too, and that helped him find another gear. He was very game. It was a very game performance.”

The post Basin Sharp After Layoff, Wins Sir Shackleton For Pletcher appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

McPeek Looks for Back-to-Back GP Oaks Wins

Trainer Ken McPeek, who won last year's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks with 3-year-old filly champion Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), will look to take a second straight renewal of the 1 1/16-mile race when he saddles Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) Saturday in Hallandale. The gray filly, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, was second in both the GIII Pocahontas S. and GI Darley Alcibiades S. last fall before ending her juvenile campaign with a sixth-place effort in the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She rallied from well back to finish second in her sophomore debut in the Feb. 27 GII Davona Dale S.

“She ran great here.” McPeek said of Crazy Beautiful's effort in the Davona Dale. “I think that she's training well enough that we should go right now.”

Juddmonte Farms homebred Millefeuille (Curlin) will be looking to rebound from a troubled seventh-place effort in the Davona Dale when she goes postward Saturday for trainer Bill Mott. The bay filly, 7-2 on the morning line, was second after setting the pace in the GII Demoiselle S. at Aqueduct last December. She lost all chance in the Davona Dale when shuffled back to near last approaching the stretch and comes into her second start of the year with a bullet four-furlong work in :48.60 (1/41) at Payson Park Mar. 19.

Con Lima (Commissioner) moves back to the main track after runner-up efforts over the Hallandale turf in the Jan. 30

GIII Sweetest Chant S. and Feb. 27 GIII Herecomesthebride S. She was second in pair of off-turf stakes last September and was a wire-to-wire winner over the turf in the Jan. 2 Ginger Brew S.

“It's something we've been thinking about for a while,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of the surface switch. “Being a graded-stakes and all–and she seems to like Gulfstream–we decided to give it a try. Her races on the turf have been very good, but she's been consistent on both surfaces.”

The post McPeek Looks for Back-to-Back GP Oaks Wins appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Equibase Analysis: Known Agenda Could Upset Greatest Honour In Florida Derby

This Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park brings together a field of 11 with 100 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points going to the winner and guaranteeing a start in the gate on the first Saturday in May.

The likely betting favorite is Greatest Honour on the strength of back-to-back wins in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes and the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. Trained by Shug McGaughey, who won the race in 2013 with Orb, Greatest Honour is the logical choice.

Then again, Todd Pletcher, who has won four of the last eight editions of the Florida Derby, saddles Known Agenda off a sparkling 11 length win over the track at the distance of the race.

Horses with positive results in recent stakes also must be counted as contenders and there are three of those. Papetu was third behind Greatest Honour in the Fountain of Youth after rallying from last of 10 in the early stages. Nova Rags finished second last month in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes. Spielberg ships in from California for trainer Bob Baffert off a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes. T

he rest of the field consists of a number of horses who have failed to be a factor in stakes or which are stepping up in class off maiden or allowance races. Among those, Collaborate was a 12 length winner at a mile (one-turn) last month in a maiden race and Quantum Leap won a maiden race at this nine furlong trip, both at Gulfstream Park. Soup and Sandwich won a two-turn race allowance race at Tampa. Sigiloso moves to dirt off a pair of modest efforts in stakes on grass including when fifth in the Palm Beach Stakes last month. Jirafales was fifth in both the Holy Bull and Fountain of Youth, while Southern Passage most recently was runner-up in a one mile allowance race at Gulfstream Park and sports a career record of one-for-eight.

There's no doubt Greatest Honour has impressively dispatched a total of 17 other horses in winning the Holy Bull Stakes by nearly six lengths in January then the Fountain of Youth Stakes by a length and one-half last month. There's also no arguing Todd Pletcher always has a very strong hand with whatever horse he starts in the Florida Derby, having won four of the last eight editions. That's why Known Agenda will get slight preference over Greatest Honour as the top win contender in this year's race.

In only the second start of his career last November and stretching out off a runner-up effort at six furlongs, Known Agenda won a race at the nine furlong trip of the Florida Derby and did so with the maturity of a much older horse as he battled head-and-head the entire last eighth of a mile, never giving up. After a poorer third place effort in the Remsen Stakes last December and following a poor fifth place finish in the Sam F. Davis Stakes in February, Known Agenda grew up big time to win last month at Gulfstream Park at this mile and one-eighth distance like a horse with a very bright future. After stalking in fourth position early, Known Agenda moved easily while four paths wide to the lead then opened up to win by 11 length.

Not only was the 103 Equibase Speed Figure higher than the 101 figure Greatest Honour earned winning the Fountain of Youth Stakes one day later, there's little doubt Known Agenda could have run faster if needed. Although already proven at the trip, Known Agenda has breeding to win this race and many more stakes for three year olds. An easy STATS Race Lens query reveals his sire, Curlin, has had seven male three year old stakes winners at distances from nine to 10 furlongs from just 15 horses. That group includes Good Magic, Exaggerator and Vino Rosso. As such, I believe Known Agenda is going to take a big step forward to win the Florida Derby and stamp himself a strong contender for the Kentucky Derby as well.

Greatest Honour was defeated by Known Agenda by a head last November at the distance of the Florida Derby before winning three straight races including the two local preps for this race. In each win starting with the one on December 26 which earned a career-best 106 figure, Greatest Honour has shown the traits of a tremendous athlete, moving as the jockey asks and whooshing by the field. In the Fountain of Youth Stakes last month, Greatest Honour was five paths wide on the far turn when moving from eighth to fourth, then to the lead, while unthreatened in the late stages. Jose Ortiz has been aboard for the last two wins and rides back, and there will be a lot of adrenaline flowing in the race as his brother Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be aboard main threat Known Agenda. There's little doubt Greatest Honour loves the Gulfstream Park surface where he is undefeated in three races, and the stretch battle between these two horses could be one for the ages.

Spielberg continues to earn points to run in the Kentucky Derby and has 17 points to date. With 40 points to the runner-up in the Florida Derby perhaps good enough to guarantee a spot in the gate in Louisville in May, that could be the key to this hard trying colt being competitive to the end. Although he earned a career best 103 figure breaking his maiden at a mile last November, Spielberg hasn't improved since then although he did earn a 101 figure when winning the Los Alamitos Futurity in December. After a poor fourth in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in January, Spielberg was clearly second by four lengths over the third horse in the Southwest Stakes in February although no match for winner Essential Quality, who won by a similar margin. One thing which is notable is in spite of all of Hall-of-Fame trainer Bob Baffert has achieved, he has never won the Florida Derby so when compared to the fact McGaughey and Pletcher have accounted for five of the last eight winners in this race, it appears Spielberg is going to have to greatly exceed his best effort to date to win the race although that is not an impossible task.

The rest of the field, with their best representative Equibase Speed Figures, is Collaborate (97), Jirafales (86), Nova Rags (89), Papetu (96), Quantum Leap (92), Sigiloso (99), Soup and Sandwich (96) and Southern Passage (93).

Win Contenders:
Known Agenda
Greatest Honour
Spielberg

Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'N' Dale Farms – Grade 1
Race 14 at Gulfstream Park
Saturday, March 27 – Post Time 6:40 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Eighth
Three Year Olds
Purse: $750,000

The post Equibase Analysis: Known Agenda Could Upset Greatest Honour In Florida Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post