Change Of Control Rides Rail To Victory In Autumn Day At Aqueduct

Perry Harrison's Change of Control overtook pacesetter Athwaaq when straightened for home and repelled 6-5 favorite Too Sexy's deep-stretch bid to post a victory by three-quarters of a length in Sunday's $150,000 Autumn Days for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going six furlongs on the outer turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Change of Control, who already registered a pair of graded stakes wins in her 5-year-old campaign, including a last-out score in the Grade 3 Franklin County in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., made a successful debut at the Big A, tallying her fourth stakes win of 2021 for trainer Michelle Lovell.

The fifth running of the Autumn Days saw Athwaaq break on top from post 6, leading the eight-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in :23.26 and the half in :46.28 over firm going. Jockey Colby Hernandez tucked Change of Control in third position near the rail, with the pocket position enabling her to move up to second out of the turn.

Once straightened for home, Change of Control capitalized with the open seam from the inside, overtaking a tiring Athwaaq. Hernandez kept his charge to task as Too Sexy rallied to pass three rivals, gaining in the shadow of the wire before Change of Control completed the course in a 1:09.14 final time to improve to 4-2-3 in 10 starts this year.

Hernandez's rail-riding trip earned Change of Control, off at 7-2, a winner's circle trip, returning $9.90 on a $2 win bet. She improved her career earnings to $739,257.

“She gave us a good break and I was right there,” Hernandez said. “I tried to pop out and run second but they weren't letting me out. I saw the horse on the front looked like she was going to come out at the top of the stretch and we stayed there and it ended up working out perfect.

“Every single time she runs, it's like she gets better,” he added. “She's just a cool horse, does nothing wrong, and anything you ask her, she does. She's a very cool horse to ride.”

Change of Control, bred in Kentucky by John O' Meara, is 2-for-2 at NYRA-operated tracks this year after winning the G3 Intercontinental in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“Colby rode her perfect. He never panicked,” Lovell said. “He stayed right there on the inside and she just looked awesome. She did well in New York when we sent her up to Belmont in the summer, so I just thought this race was a really good spot. The owner gave us a lot of time finding the best races for her. She's really thriving and coming into her own.”
Lovell said Change of Control will now winter in Louisiana in preparing for her 6-year-old year in 2022 before embarking on the next phase of her career.

“She'll go to Fair Grounds for the winter. We'll try to map out her races really well over the winter, spring, and summertime, and then she'll go to the breeding shed,” Lovell said. “I'm not really sure what our plan is from here, but she'll come back to Churchill and come to Fair Grounds with the rest of my barn.”

Too Sexy, trained by Christophe Clement, topped the slow-starting Love And Thunder by one length for second. Jockey Jose Lezcano, who was aboard for Too Sexy's last-out win in the Floral Park in October at Belmont, said the outcome might have been different with a slightly more advantageous trip.

“She broke well and I had to wait a little bit until the eighth pole,” Lezcano said. “She gave a very good race and ran strong. She did everything right, the winner is just a very good horse. I think she also got a better trip than I got. I had to go between horses and she got through on the inside.”

Miss Majorette, Piedi Bianchi, Athwaaq, Raven's Cry, and Secure Connection completed the order of finish.

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Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with a nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Change Of Control Rides Rail To Victory In Autumn Day At Aqueduct appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Change Of Control Rides Rail To Victory In Autumn Days At Aqueduct

Perry Harrison's Change of Control overtook pacesetter Athwaaq when straightened for home and repelled 6-5 favorite Too Sexy's deep-stretch bid to post a victory by three-quarters of a length in Sunday's $150,000 Autumn Days for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going six furlongs on the outer turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

Change of Control, who already registered a pair of graded stakes wins in her 5-year-old campaign, including a last-out score in the Grade 3 Franklin County in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., made a successful debut at the Big A, tallying her fourth stakes win of 2021 for trainer Michelle Lovell.

The fifth running of the Autumn Days saw Athwaaq break on top from post 6, leading the eight-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in :23.26 and the half in :46.28 over firm going. Jockey Colby Hernandez tucked Change of Control in third position near the rail, with the pocket position enabling her to move up to second out of the turn.

Once straightened for home, Change of Control capitalized with the open seam from the inside, overtaking a tiring Athwaaq. Hernandez kept his charge to task as Too Sexy rallied to pass three rivals, gaining in the shadow of the wire before Change of Control completed the course in a 1:09.14 final time to improve to 4-2-3 in 10 starts this year.

Hernandez's rail-riding trip earned Change of Control, off at 7-2, a winner's circle trip, returning $9.90 on a $2 win bet. She improved her career earnings to $739,257.

“She gave us a good break and I was right there,” Hernandez said. “I tried to pop out and run second but they weren't letting me out. I saw the horse on the front looked like she was going to come out at the top of the stretch and we stayed there and it ended up working out perfect.

“Every single time she runs, it's like she gets better,” he added. “She's just a cool horse, does nothing wrong and anything you ask her, she does. She's a very cool horse to ride.”

Change of Control, bred in Kentucky by John O' Meara, is 2-for-2 at NYRA-operated tracks this year after winning the G3 Intercontinental in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“Colby rode her perfect. He never panicked,” Lovell said. “He stayed right there on the inside and she just looked awesome. She did well in New York when we sent her up to Belmont in the summer, so I just thought this race was a really good spot. The owner gave us a lot of time finding the best races for her. She's really thriving and coming into her own.”

Lovell said Change of Control will now winter in Louisiana in preparing for her 6-year-old year in 2022 before embarking on the next phase of her career.

“She'll go to Fair Grounds for the winter. We'll try to map out her races really well over the winter, spring, and summertime, and then she'll go to the breeding shed,” Lovell said. “I'm not really sure what our plan is from here, but she'll come back to Churchill and come to Fair Grounds with the rest of my barn.”

Too Sexy, trained by Christophe Clement, topped the slow-starting Love And Thunder by one length for second. Jockey Jose Lezcano, who was aboard for Too Sexy's last-out win in the Floral Park in October at Belmont, said the outcome might have been different with a slightly more advantageous trip.

“She broke well and I had to wait a little bit until the eighth pole,” Lezcano said. “She gave a very good race and ran strong. She did everything right, the winner is just a very good horse. I think she also got a better trip than I got. I had to go between horses and she got through on the inside.”

Miss Majorette, Piedi Bianchi, Athwaaq, Raven's Cry, and Secure Connection completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with a nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Gufo, Slipstream Breeze Ahead Of Breeders’ Cup Tries

Trainer Christophe Clement sent a number of his stable stars to breeze over the inner turf Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., led by Otter Bend Stables' multiple Grade 1-winner Gufo [:48.66], who worked a half-mile in company with Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Peter Searles, and Patty Searles' graded-stakes placed New York-bred City Man [:49.26].

Clement said Gufo, a 4-year-old son of Declaration of War, is likely to make his next start in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf on November 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., while City Man will target the $200,000 Mohawk at Belmont on Empire Showcase Day October 30.

“It was a good work. City Man in front; Gufo further back and finished very willing,” Clement said. “Gufo looked great. He will work back next week and then probably go to the Breeders' Cup. I'll speak to the owner today to make sure, but as long he's on board that's the plan.”

Gufo captured the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational last October and added the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer to his ledger this summer at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Last out, the handsome chestnut settled for third in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on October 9 over firm Belmont turf.

“He's one of the leading older horses on the grass in the country and I'm very happy with him,” Clement said.

Clement said the versatile City Man, a stakes-winner on dirt and turf, would prefer firmer footing in the 1 1/16-mile Mohawk.

Jump Sucker Stable's last-out Grade 3 Futurity-winner Slipstream [:51.14] breezed a half-mile in company with West Point Thoroughbreds', Chris Larsen, and Titletown Racing Stables' last-out Grade 3 Matron runner-up Gal in a Rush [:51.02].

“It was a good work. They both worked well and finished up very willingly,” Clement said.

Slipstream, by More Than Ready, captured the six-furlong Futurity on October 10 and is targeting the one-mile Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on November 5 at Del Mar, while Gal in a Rush, by Ghostzapper, will point to the six-furlong $100,000 Stewart Manor for juvenile fillies here November 6.

Slipstream, who graduated at third asking sprinting seven furlongs over the Belmont turf in September, has seen his Beyer figures improve in each start, registering an 80 for his Futurity score.

“He's improving as he gets older and more mature. He's a nice horse,” Clement said.

Clement noted that last Sunday's Floral Park-winner Too Sexy, Slipstream's 4-year-old half-sister by Quality Road out of the Stormy Atlantic mare Cake Baby, will target the $150,000 Autumn Days at six furlongs on the turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., on November 28.

Oak Bluff Stables' Therapist worked a half-mile solo in :50.40 in preparation for either the seven-furlong $100,000 Oyster Bay against open company on Friday or the Mohawk versus fellow state-breds on Saturday.

The 6-year-old Freud gelding, bred by Clement with Oak Bluff Stables, boasts a record of 27-9-3-6 with purse earnings of $715,865.

“He tries very hard. He's a great horse to own because you know he will always try his best,” Clement said.

Therapist ran second to Somelikeithotbrown in last year's Mohawk.

Moyglare Stud Farm's Beautiful Lover [:51.06] went a half-mile in company with Michael Dubb and Michael J. Caruso's New York-bred stakes-winner Classic Lady [:51.02].

The multiple graded-stakes placed Beautiful Lover is on target for the 12-furlong $150,000 Zagora on October 31, while Classic Lady will enter the Ticonderoga on Empire Showcase Day.

Last Sunday, Clement sent out the one-two finishers in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, with Al Shira'aa Farms' Mutamakina edging Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Rebecca Hillen's La Dragontea in the 10-furlong turf test.

“They both ran great. It was a big deal – the E.P. Taylor is a major race,” Clement said.

Mutamakina captured the Grade 2 Dance Smartly at Woodbine in August and Clement said the 5-year-old Nathaniel mare, who provided jockey Dylan Davis his first Grade 1 win, would make her next start in the 12-furlong $400,000 Grade 3 Long Island on November 27 at the Big A.

La Dragontea, a 4-year-old daughter of Lope De Vega, won the nine-furlong Grade 2 Canadian at Woodbine in September. She was recently supplemented to the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Darlene Bilinski's Senbei sprinted to a four-length score in the six-furlong New York Breeders' Futurity on October 18 at Finger Lakes Race Track in Farmington, N.Y.

Bred in the Empire State by Dr. Jerry Bilinski, the Candy Ride chestnut graduated at first asking in July at Saratoga and followed with a front-running win in the 6 ½-furlong Funny Cide in August at the same track.

Clement said he's enjoying the ride with the 2-year-old who has won 3-of-4 career starts and will now target the $100,000 Notebook at six-furlongs for state-breds on November 21 at the Big A.

“He won well. He's fun. He just keeps winning,” said Clement with a laugh.

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Too Sexy Rallies To Win Floral Park At Belmont

The Elkstone Group's Too Sexy rallied strongly down the lane to make her stakes debut a winning one in Sunday's $150,000 Floral Park, a six-furlong inner turf sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by Christophe Clement, the 4-year-old Quality Road bay entered from a similar closing effort in a six-furlong optional-claiming tilt on September 25 over a Belmont turf rated good.

Honey Cake, with Junior Alvarado up, took charge through splits of :22.57 and :46.22 over the firm going with 3-2 mutuel favorite Robin Sparkles, piloted by Jose Ortiz, tracking her early foot from second position.

The pacesetter led the field through the turn as a host of challengers, including the stalking duo of Introduced and Raven's Cry lined up outside bids with Gogo Shoes advancing up the rail.

But despite having only Secure Connection behind her as the field straightened for home, there would be no denying Too Sexy, who was tipped out wide into the lane and picked off her rivals one by one with a powerful turn-of-foot en route to a 3 1/4-length victory in a final time of 1:09.68.

Raven's Cry completed the exacta by one length over Introduced. Rounding out the order of finish were Secure Connection, Pacific Gale, Gogo Shoes, Honey Cake, and Robin Sparkles. Time Limit was scratched.

Too Sexy's victory came shortly before the Clement-trained duo of Mutamakina and La Dragontea ran one-two in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

Clement said a patient approach works best with Too Sexy, who has won 4-of-7 starts this season, including a maiden score over good turf at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., in March and an allowance win at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in July.

“She has been an improving horse all along,” Clement said. “She seems to run better when you wait a little bit on her and twice she has won on ground with a little bit of give in it.”

Lezcano said he felt confident the speed would come back to him.

“I rode her like how Christophe told me, which was to break well, give her a chance to find her footing and make one run. Everything worked out,” Lezcano said.

Luis Saez, jockey aboard the runner-up, said Raven's Cry benefitted from the turnback in distance out of a fifth-place finish in the one-mile De La Rose in August at the Spa.

“She broke right there and was in a perfect spot. We just got beat by a good one,” Saez said. “I think cutting back made a difference, it was good for her.”

Bred in Kentucky by Burleson Farm and McKenzie Bloodstock, Too Sexy banked $82,500 in victory while improving her record to 12-4-4-1. She paid $7.90 for a $2 win wager.

Live racing returns Thursday at Belmont Park with a nine-race card. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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