Todd Pletcher | Horse Racing Free Tips

Friday’s Insights: Dreaming of Julia Filly Gets Going at Belmont

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

4th-BEL, $63K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, post time: 2:30 p.m. ET
The product of two of Stonestreet Farm’s best, top and bottom, MALATHAAT (Curlin) gets her career underway for Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher. The Mar. 7 foal, a $1.05 million acquisition at Keeneland September last fall, is the first to race out of Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy), one of two ‘TDN Rising Stars’ produced by MGISW Dream Rush (Wild Rush), who was acquired by Stonestreet for $3.3 million at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Pletcher conditioned Dreaming of Julia to a narrow victory in the 2012 GI Frizette S. en route to a runner-up effort to Beholder (Henny Hughes) in that year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Malathaat completed her worktab with a bullet half-mile in :49 1/5 (1/10) over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Oct. 3.

Sheikh Hamdan’s brother Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin is represented by Caramel Swirl (Union Rags), who has trained with purpose for Bill Mott. The filly’s unraced dam Caramel Snap (Smart Strike) is a daughter of GSW Fast Cookie (Deputy Minister), whose son MGISW Frosted (Tapit) is off the a promising start with his first crop of runners this season. Fast Cookie, a half-sister to champion Midshipman (Unbridled’s Song), is also responsible for GSW Indulgent (Bernardini). Caramel Swirl breezed four furlongs in :48 2/5 (3/47) over the Oklahoma track Oct. 2. TJCIS PPs

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‘Consistent,’ ‘Professional’ John Velazquez Approaching 2,000 Win Milestone At Belmont Park

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez enters Thursday's 10-race card at Belmont Park just one win shy of 2,000 at the historic track, more than any other rider in the facility's 115-year history.

The 48-year-old Velazquez, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2012, has won 6,237 career races and boasts seven Belmont riding titles [four at the spring/summer meet and three at the fall meet] to his credit.

“He has the ability to ride every type of race smartly,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “He's good on horses that have speed and on horses that come from behind. He's very accomplished on both dirt and turf. Any time you pile up the sort of numbers he's been able to accumulate, it also shows how consistent he is. To perform at such a high level for so long is very difficult, but it's a byproduct of his professional nature and his professional lifestyle on and off the racetrack. That's why he's been able to succeed for such a long time.”

Pletcher, who is 14 victories short of 5,000 for his storied career, has partnered with Velazquez for 1,819 of those wins, including 491 at Belmont of which 57 came in graded events.

Velazquez owns more career graded wins [680] than any other rider, with 170 captured at Belmont, a track Pletcher claims the veteran rider knows like the back of his hand.

“There's an advantage to being familiar with Belmont and the main track mile and a half oval and this has been his base for most of his career,” said Pletcher. “I think his familiarity and knowing how to ride Belmont is part of it, but he's simply just a complete rider wherever he goes, be it here, Dubai, Ascot or anywhere else.”

At closer inspection, it's safe to say Velazquez knows his way to the winner's circle at the Elmont oval.

He leads all riders with five wins in the prestigious Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile including scores with the Pletcher-trained Quality Road [2010] and Palace Malice [2014] as well as from Honour and Glory [1996], Sir Bear [1999] and Shackleford [2012].

The native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, secured his first of 200 career Grade 1 wins with a victory in the 1995 Turf Classic with Turk Passer at Belmont. He has won the event, now named the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, on more occasions than any other rider, including scores with eventual prominent sires Kitten's Joy [2004], Point of Entry [2012] and two with the Pletcher-conditioned English Channel [2006-07].

His talent with sprinters resulted in Velazquez capturing the Grade 1 Vosburgh Invitational on three occasions, starting with the Pletcher-prepared Left Bank [2001], along with Henny Hughes [2006] and The Lumber Guy [2012].

Velazquez has also shown an ability at the highest level with young horses at Belmont guiding Pletcher trainees Scat Daddy [2006] and Uncle Mo [2010] to Champagne scores in their 2-year-old season. In addition, he called the shots for juvenile scores from Traitor [1996] and Lemon Drop Kid [1998] in the Futurity.

Velazquez has twice won the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, the traditional third leg of the Triple Crown, including with Union Rags in 2012 and in the 2007 edition where Rags to Riches provided Pletcher his first career Classic win while becoming the first filly to capture the “Test of the Champion” since 1905.

Rags to Riches, patiently piloted by Velazquez, overcame adversity and historic competition – including Grade 1-winning multimillionaires Tiago and Hard Spun – before prevailing by a head in a dramatic stretch duel with two-time Horse of the Year and eventual Hall of Famer Curlin.

“That race is a great example of just how great a rider he is,” said Pletcher. “First off, she went to her nose at the start and just staying on board was an accomplishment in its own right. To be able to recover and gradually let her regain position goes back to his knowing Belmont and knowing the circumference of the track and that you can't move too early.

“After that awkward start, he made every right decision that allowed her to recover along the way in a tight finish,” added Pletcher. “He's such a good finisher and so strong. To me, that race is a real tribute to his ability as a world-class jockey.”

Veteran trainer Rick Schosberg, a member of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) board of directors and the Chair of NYTHA's Aftercare Committee, has legged Velazquez up on 70 winners at Belmont Park dating back to May 1991 when Only Above captured a turf claiming route.

“I remember that mare well,” said Schosberg. “My wife and I bought the horse out of a training sale at Belmont Park for $8,500 way back at the beginning of my career.

“We've had such tremendous success together along the way,” continued Schosberg. “And he's obviously taken off to the Hall of Fame where he so richly deserves to be. In a way it came full circle.”

Last year, Schosberg was struggling to get New York-bred maiden winner Mary's Girl, owned by Schosberg in partnership with Clear Stars Stable, back to the winner's circle.

Following a pair of frustrating seconds in allowance company at Belmont, Schosberg asked Velazquez to take the reins in a state-bred allowance tilt at the Big A.

“We were struggling along last year trying to win a race here with Mary's Girl, a filly who loved to be second a lot. Johnny was available to ride her and she won easily,” said Schosberg of the smart three-length score on November 16. “Michael Geraghty, my partner with Clear Stars, said it was just like the old days and that when things aren't working out, go back to what got you here.”

For Schosberg, going back to basics meant a call to Velazquez, who the horseman said is just as effective in a Thursday afternoon claiming race as he is in a prestigious Grade 1 on a marquee Saturday.

“When you're in a bit of a slump with your stable and you need a win or a good race, Johnny on turf, dirt, short, or long and whether the track is sloppy or dry, he always has them in position to run their best,” said Schosberg. “When we put him on Mary's Girl last year, she had hit the board a bunch of times but she had always come up a bit short, but she won for Johnny that day. It's a skilled rider that can have a horse like that feeling confident in themselves. Be it a $25,000 claimer, a New York-bred allowance or a Grade 1, he puts every horse in a position to run its best race and that's all you can ask.”

Schosberg, in his capacity at NYTHA, and Velazquez, as co-Chairman of the Jockeys' Guild, are also doing their part to better the sport they love.

“It's been an honor to work with him both on and off the racetrack as a representative of the horsemen for the last decade or two and with Johnny as a representative of the jockeys through negotiations on so many different initiatives,” said Schosberg. “The art of getting projects and initiatives moved forward for the good of this sport with so many different stakeholders is a tribute to him and his skills and demeanor as a person. I just wish his 2,000th win at Belmont could be with one of mine.”

Velazquez has seven scheduled mounts on Thursday's 10-race program, which offers a first post of 12:50 p.m. Eastern, including Vermont Billy [Race 1, George Weaver], Hayabusa One [Race 3, Mark Casse], Vintage Hollywood [Race 5, Orlando Noda], High Tide [Race 6, Pletcher], Tiergan [Race 8, Bill Mott], Festina Plente [Race 9, Michael Stidham], and Panster [Race 10, Christophe Clement].

America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Tacitus Will Face Four Rivals In Saturday’s Jockey Club Gold Cup

Juddmonte Farms' three-time graded stakes-winning multimillionaire Tacitus will look to secure his first career Grade 1 triumph in Saturday's 102nd running of the Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup going the classic distance of 1 ¼ miles at Belmont Park.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup is a Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” qualifier offering an automatic entry into the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 7 at Keeneland.

The prestigious race is one of five graded stakes on Saturday's action-packed program, which also includes three other “Win And You're In” qualifying events along with the Grade 1, $250,000 Flower Bowl for fillies and mares going 1 ¼ miles on the inner turf, offering a berth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf; the Grade 1, $300,000 Champagne for juvenile colts going one mile on the main track, providing a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile; and the Grade 1, $250,000 Frizette for juvenile fillies going one mile on the main track, a qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The lucrative card is bolstered by the Grade 2, $150,000 Sands Point for sophomore fillies going one mile over the Widener turf.

Since its inception in 1919, the Jockey Club Gold Cup has been one of the most prestigious events on the racing calendar having been won by Hall of Famers Man o' War [1920], Hill Prince [1950], Nashua [1955-56], Sword Dancer [1959], Buckpasser [1966], Damascus [1967], Forego [1974], John Henry [1981], Easy Goer [1989], Cigar [1995], Skip Away [1996-97] and Curlin [2007-08]. The great Kelso won the Jockey Club Gold Cup a record five straight years from 1960-64. Nine Kentucky Derby winners have won the prized event, including Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox [1930], Whirlaway [1942], Citation [1948] and Affirmed [1979].

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, a three-time Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, Tacitus was third in last year's edition and was most recently second as the favorite in the Grade 1 Woodward on September 5 at Saratoga, where he chased a slow pace tracking a half-length off Global Campaign but was unable to catch the pacesetter, who strolled home a 1 ¾-length winner.

The 4-year-old son of Tapit out of 2014 Champion Older Mare Close Hatches made some noise on last year's Kentucky Derby trail with scores in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial en route to being elevated to third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. He followed with three runner-up finishes as the favorite, including a late-closing second in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and the Grade 2 Jim Dandy ahead of a prominent effort in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers.

Two starts following an international endeavor in his 2020 debut when fifth in the Group 1 Saudi Cup on February 29, Tacitus added another graded stakes triumph to his ledger with an 8 ¾-length runaway win in the Grade 2 Suburban on July 4 at Belmont Park, which also is contested at the classic distance.

Tacitus has trained forwardly heading into Saturday's race, recently posting a half-mile drill in 47.20 on October 4 – the fastest of 77 recorded works at the distance.

Mott said he has no regrets regarding Tacitus' race tactics in the Woodward.

“Looking back, I don't think we did anything wrong,” said Mott. “The horse that beat him just ran a very good race. The only thing we could have tried differently, and I don't know that it would have changed the outcome was maybe go to that horse [Global Campaign] right away from the gate. I don't know that it would have changed anything. You sure weren't going to take him back more, the only thing would have been going on the attack early.”

Jockey Jose Ortiz, aboard for all three of Tacitus' graded stakes victories, will ride once more, drawing post 4.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup has had a long history of sophomores besting their elders in the event, and a pair of 3-year-olds will be making their debut against older horses this year with Godolphin's graded stakes winner Mystic Guide and Wertheimer and Frere's unbeaten Happy Saver.

Trained by Michael Stidham, Mystic Guide bypassed last Saturday's Grade 1 Preakness in favor of the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He was a last out winner of the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on September 5 at Saratoga, which was his only start where he was not made the favorite.

The well-bred chestnut son of Ghostzapper out of four-time Grade 1 winner Music Note has never finished off the board in five lifetime starts including a five-length triumph at second asking in his two-turn debut on March 21 at Fair Grounds. He was subsequently beaten by the same margin in his next effort against winners going a one-turn mile-and-a-sixteenth at Belmont to Tap It to Win before finishing third in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on July 16 at the Spa.

Mystic Guide registered a career-best 95 Beyer from his Jim Dandy score. The return to winning form was likely due to the addition of blinkers, according to Jimmy Bell who manages Godolphin's USA division.

“We were very, very pleased with his Jim Dandy run,” said Bell. “He stepped up and found his way to the top level. A little of it was the blinkers and getting him more involved in the race early not giving him too much to do at the end. We're looking forward to the distance of the Jockey Club Gold Cup.”

Bell said he is looking forward to seeing what the lightly-raced Mystic Guide can show as a 4-year-old and that he should relish the 1 ¼ miles.

“We're very much looking forward to his 4-year-old year,” Bell said. “We're really looking forward to the mile and a quarter race. He seems like a horse that will finish up well and not get tired.”

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, a three-time winning Jockey Club Gold Cup rider, will pilot Mystic Guide for the first time from post 5.

Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle Happy Saver, who has won all three of his lifetime starts but will face graded stakes company for the first time.

The son of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, who also was conditioned by Pletcher, was a 5 ½-length winner on debut going seven furlongs over Big Sandy before defeating winners in his two-turn debut at Saratoga at 1 1/8 miles.

Last out, he added “stakes winner” to his resume with a 1 ½-length score in the Federico Tesio at Laurel Park on September 7.

“He's a lightly raced 3-year-old going up against older horses, but he's done everything that we've asked of him so far,” Pletcher said.

Pletcher said he has taken a patient approach with the lightly-raced Happy Saver.

“He just had some baby setbacks,” Pletcher said. “We almost had him ready to run here last fall, but we had to give him a break. It just took him a little while to get ready, but he's certainly made up a lot of ground in a short period of time.”

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., who guided Happy Saver to his first two wins, has the mount from post 1.

A strong third-place effort against Grade 1 company has given veteran conditioner Jimmy Bond confidence to try Prioritize against such caliber once more, as he breaks from post 2.

Owned by William Clifton, Jr. the son of Tizway closed late to secure the show spot in the Grade 1 Woodward, where he was three lengths shy of the winner. Since moving to the main track, Prioritize has not finished out the money, having won his dirt debut for a $35,000 tag on December 20 at Aqueduct and secured a narrow allowance win at the Spa on July 25 over highly regarded Money Moves. When contesting on grass, he was twice third against stakes company in the 2018 Better Talk Now at Saratoga and the Grade 2 Hill Prince just over one month later at Belmont Park.

Jockey Luis Saez picks up the mount aboard Prioritize.

Rounding out the field is Colts Neck Stables' Name Changer, a 7-year-old Uncle Mo dark bay horse seeking his first win since the Queens County in December 2018 at Aqueduct.

Trained by Jorge Duarte, Jr., Name Changer has not won in four starts since said effort but has not finished worse than fourth. A winner of the 2018 Grade 3 Monmouth Cup, he arrives off a fourth-place finish to Pirate's Punch in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile on September 20 at Monmouth Park.

Jockey Manny Franco, who guided Discreet Lover to a 45-1 upset win in the 2018 Jockey Club Gold Cup, will attempt another longshot score in the race from post 3.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 11-race program, which offers a first post of 12:20 p.m. Eastern. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Mutasaabeq Leads 1-2 Finish For Leading Sire Into Mischief In Bourbon Stakes

Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq, last at the top of the stretch in the field of 11, rocketed to the front at the sixteenth pole and cruised to a 21/4-length victory in the 30th running of the $200,000 Bourbon (G2) for 2-year-olds at Keeneland and earn a spot in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) to be run at a mile at the Lexington, Ky., track on Nov. 6.

Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Luis Saez, Mutasaabeq covered the 1 1/16 miles on a firm turf course in 1:43.13 in his grass debut. It is the fifth victory in the Bourbon for Pletcher, whose other winners are Twilight Meteor (2006), Bittel Road (2008), Interactif (2009) and Current (2018).

Into the Sunrise emerged with the lead in the run to the first turn and set fractions of :22.62, :47.09 and 1:12.24 while Saez waited at the back.

Mutasaabeq shifted to the outside on the far turn, entered the stretch eight wide and quickly picked off rivals before overtaking Into the Sunrise inside the sixteenth pole and drawing off.

“We broke a little slow,” said Saez. “Last time he did the same thing, but I knew I had a lot of horse. The distance was great for him. He was working so good on the turf. We knew what we had. When we came to the half-mile I was trying to (decide) where we were going to go – inside or out – but inside we had so many horses. I felt like I had the horse to go out and let him roll. When he came to the straight, he just took off. He did it easy.”

“He didn't break well and that has historically been him,” said Pletcher. “He's a horse that has speed and he has a tremendous turn of foot as you saw today, but he's notoriously not been great the first jump or two away from the gate. So I wasn't surprised when he didn't get away well and then he kind of got shuffled back and then a horse kind of came over and he had to steady a bit.

“The first 100 yards didn't go very well, but he was able to save a little bit of ground around the first turn and it looked like Luis (Saez) was biding his time and trying to figure out whether he should find a seam to go through or ultimately he just decided to circle the field and kind of sling-shotted them. He delivered an explosive turn of foot. Great to see and great for the Shadwell team.

“His maiden win was very impressive and his gate work prior to his maiden win was as good as any 2-year-old we've had at Saratoga ever. We felt that the Hopeful (G1), they kind of ran away from him and he couldn't really close the way we hoped he would. Kind of looking into his pedigree, the Into Mischief's run on anything.”

A Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale graduate, Mutasaabeq is a Kentucky-bred son of Into Mischief out of the Scat Daddy mare Downside Scenario. The victory was worth $120,000 and increased his earnings to $189,600 with a record of 3-2-0-1.

Sent off as the favorite, Mutasaabeq paid $6, $3.80 and $3.60. Abarta, also by the Spendthrift Farm stallion Into Mischief, rallied for second under Umberto Rispoli to return $10.60 and $7.60. Nathan Detroit finished another three-quarters of a length back in third under Julien Leparoux and paid $7.60 to show.

It was another head back to Into the Sunrise, who was followed in order by Arrest Me Red, Private Island, Spyglass, Barrister Tom, Blame the Booze, Indy Tourist and Really Slow.

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