Tokyo City Cup Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Tizamagician Overpowers Competition In Tokyo City Cup At Santa Anita

An attentive second to the quarter pole, Richard Mandella's Tizamagician took charge from there as he romped to a massive nine-length win in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita. Ridden by Flavien Prat, the 4-year-old colt by Tiznow got a marathon mile and one half in 2:32.45.

With a backstretch start and a short run to the far turn, Edwin Maldonado, aboard Zestful, gunned his mount to the lead from his outside post, with Tizamagician content to sit a close second for the first mile and a quarter.

“I wanted the other horse to clear me, because you can't take a hold of my horse,” said Prat, Santa Anita's runaway leading rider with 87 wins and 15 added money triumphs. “He settled very nice and it looks like a mile and a half is a great distance for him.”

Second in last year's Tokyo City on Sept. 27 and most recently fifth, beaten four lengths going a mile and one quarter in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 6, Tizamagician, who was paired for the first time today with Prat, picked up his first-ever stakes win and paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10 as the 3-5 favorite in a field of five older horses.

Owned by racing syndicate MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, LLC, Tizamagician picked up $60,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $287,851. With the win, Tizamagician, who is out of the Dixie Union mare Magic Union, improved his overall mark to 16-4-6-0.

“Not only does (the MyRacehorse syndicate) create people to own a piece of the horse, but they all have friends and the idea is, if they get their friends, they get people into racing and that's what we need,” said Mandella, who along with Prat, collected his third career win in the Tokyo City Cup. “We need people here, it's not the same without them. It's so strange to win races and nobody is here to cheer and celebrate with. It means everything in the world that people are here.”

Off as the second choice at 7-2, Zestful was easily second, finishing 2 ¾ lengths in front of Lure Him In and paid $3.40 and $2.20.

Lure Him In, who was third throughout, finished 12 lengths in front of Ronamo and paid $2.20 to show with Juan Hernandez up.

Fractions on the race were 24.12, 47.87, 1:13.01, 1:38.66 and 2:05.18.

The post Tizamagician Overpowers Competition In Tokyo City Cup At Santa Anita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Connections Of Justify, Hoppertunity Seek To Prevent CHRB From Conducting Hearings Into 2018 Scopolamine Positives

The owners of Justify and Hoppertunity, along with trainer Bob Baffert and jockeys Mike Smith and Flavien Prat, have filed filed legal action in Los Angeles Superior Court to prevent the California Horse Racing Board from conducting Oct. 29 disqualification hearings into April 2018 victories by Justify in the Santa Anita Derby and Hoppertunity in the Tokyo City Cup.

The writ of mandate, filed on Oct. 13, claims Aug. 25, 2020, actions by the CHRB to reopen the cases are “void, arbitrary, capricious, unconstitutional, beyond the power of the CHRB, and a prejudicial abuse of discretion.” It alleges the CHRB has violated California Code of Regulations and Government Code as well as the due process rights of the petitioners under the U.S. Constitution.

Justify and Hoppertunity, along with five other unnamed horses, tested positive for scopolamine in 2018. According to the legal filing, the Justify and Hoppertunity cases were investigated by the CHRB's equine medical director, Dr. Rick Arthur, and then-CHRB executive director Rick Baedeker. Both determined the “cluster” of scopolamine positives at Santa Anita in 2018 resulted from hay contaminated with jimson weed, proof of which, the writ of mandate states, is that all horses also indicated the presence of atropine, which it states is a “definitive marker of environmental contamination.”

Arthur and Baedeker recommended to the CHRB members in closed-door executive session that all seven scopolamine cases be dismissed, and the board in place at the time unanimously voted to support that recommendation, according to the action filed Oct. 13. The CHRB has several new members who were not on the regulatory body in 2018.

It wasn't until a September 2019 report in the New York Times that the positive drug tests and decision not to conduct stewards hearings were revealed. Several months later, Mick Ruis, owner of Santa Anita Derby runner-up Bolt d'Oro, filed suit against the CHRB demanding the case against Justify be reopened. Ruis stood to gain $400,000 in purse money (the difference between $600,000 for first and $200,000 for second) and other possible gains if Bolt d'Oro were declared winner of the Grade 1 race.

The Santa Anita Derby win by Justify in his stakes debut earned the Scat Daddy colt 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. He went on to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, then retired to stud undefeated in six starts after being sold to Coolmore Stud for a reported $60 million.

As part of a settlement agreement with Ruis, the CHRB said it would file a complaint against the owners of Justify and conduct a purse disqualification hearing. The CHRB also filed a complaint against the owners of Hoppertunity, though not against the other five unnamed horses testing positive for scopolamine.

The owners of Justify at the time were WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC and Starlight Racing. The owners of Hoppertunity were Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman.

Attorneys for he petitioners contend scopolamine was – at the time of the April 2018 victories by Justify and Hoppertunity – a Class 4 drug with a C penalty classification under Association of Racing Commissioner guidelines. As such, they contend, a positive test for scopolamine would not trigger a disqualification.

They also contend the CHRB did not act in a timely manner in reopening the cases.

The legal action accuses the CHRB of violating its own rules and engaging in “unfair, arbitrary and capricious conduct. Petitioners have been intentionally treated differently from others similarly situated and there is no rational basis for he difference in treatment.”

As a result of the CHRB's actions, the writ of mandate alleges, the connections of Justify and Hoppertunity “have suffered damages, including in the form of reputational harm.”

The petitioners are seeking a writ of mandate from the court ordering the CHRB to dismiss the complaints and cancel all hearings related to Justify and Hoppertunity's positive tests. They are also seeking unspecified damages, along with attorneys' fees and court costs.

The post Connections Of Justify, Hoppertunity Seek To Prevent CHRB From Conducting Hearings Into 2018 Scopolamine Positives appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Popular At Claim Box, Cupid’s Claws Finds Marathon Distance To His Liking In Tokyo City Cup

Claimed out of his last three starts on turf, 5-year-old gelding Cupid's Claws tried dirt for the first time Sunday, waltzing to a 7 1/4-length win in the marathon Grade 3, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden by Flavien Prat, who collected his second stakes win on the day, he got a mile and one half in 2:30.12.

With the starting gate set at about the half mile pole, Cupid's Claws was unhurried in the initial run to the far turn and was fourth, about two lengths off of favored pacesetter Tizamagician as the field crossed under the wire for the first time. From there, Prat was able to save ground while in close attendance to the pace and shifted three-wide outside of Tizamagician and Combatant with a quarter mile to run.

Full of run at the top of the lane, Cupid's Claws gained the advantage a furlong out and darted clear late as much the best.

Claimed out of a third-place finish for $50,000 going a mile and one eighth on turf Sept. 5, Cupid's Claws was trying stakes company for the first time and paid $17.00, $6.20 and $3.00.

Owned by Flawless Racing, Masino Racing Stable, Brian Flanagan and Michael Jarvis, Cupid's Claws, a 5-year-old Kitten's Joy gelding, picked up $60,000 for the win, boosting his earnings to $172,296. A winner of two turf starts and one race on synthetic Tapeta, Cupid's Claws is now 18-4-2-3 overall.

Tizamagician, who was ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, was the narrow second choice at 2-1 and outfinished Combatant by 1 ¼ lengths and returned $3.40 and $2.60.

With $39,101 bet to win on Combatant, he was the actual favorite by just five dollars at 2-1 and paid $2.40 to show with Umberto Rispoli up.

Fractions on the race were 25.22, 49.72, 1:14.82, 1:39.75 and 2:04.52.

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