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Son of Midshipman ‘Reserves’ Spot in Sprint Starting Gate

Reformed claimer Special Reserve pressed, pounced and held on late to earn a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint Friday.

Scooped up for $40,000 from Randy Morse and Doyle Williams out of an upset optional claiming tally at Oaklawn in February–good for what at the time was by far his best career Beyer Speed Figure of 92–the late-blooming 5-year-old won right back at that level (not in for the tag) in March before finishing second in the GIII Commonwealth S. over an additional furlong here Apr. 3. He made the grade in Pimlico's GIII Maryland Sprint Match Series S. May 15, bested Quick Tempo (Tapizar) and a next-out stakes winner in the Iowa Sprint at Prairie Meadows July 3 and had been off since finishing a close second in Saratoga's GI Alfred H. Vanderbilt H. four weeks after that.

Away on top, Special Reserve conceded the lead down the backside to freewheeling Quick Tempo through an opening quarter of :21.90. He took back over into a :44.69 half, opened up and then found the line just in time to hold off lightly raced Aloha West in the final strides.

“He broke really well, and it looked like [Sophie Doyle on Quick Tempo] came up right away, and he was fine with that,” said red-hot rider Joel Rosario. “He kind of settled a little bit there, nice and quiet, and then in the turn when the horse was backing up a little bit, he was just ready to go.”

When asked if he thought his charge could contend with Breeders' Cup-caliber sprinters, trainer Maker said, “I do believe that. I have a lot of faith in the horse. Joel did a fabulous job today I wasn't expecting to be on the lead today [out of the gate], but the horse was so quick.”

Saturday, Keeneland
STOLL KEENON OGDEN PHOENIX S.-GII, $250,000, Keeneland, 10-8, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:08.54, ft.
1–SPECIAL RESERVE, 120, g, 5, by Midshipman
                1st Dam: Love Spun, by Hard Spun
                2nd Dam: We Love Granny, by Home At Last
                3rd Dam: Granny Calling, by Blade
($60,000 Ylg '17 FTKJUL; $140,000 2yo '18 OBSMAR).
O-Paradise Farms Corp. and Staudacher, David; B-Russell L.
Reineman Stables Inc. (KY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Joel Rosario.
$150,000. Lifetime Record: GISP, 22-8-2-7, $638,647. Werk Nick
Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Aloha West, 120, c, 4, Hard Spun–Island Bound, by
Speightstown. ($160,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Eclipse
Thoroughbred Partners; B-Robert Manfuso & Katharine Voss
(MD); T-Wayne M. Catalano. $50,000.
3–Mucho, 120, h, 5, Blame–Extent, by Pulpit. O-WSS Racing,
LLC and 4 G Racing, LLC; B-Claiborne Farm & Adele B.
Dilschneider (KY); T-John Alexander Ortiz. $25,000.
'TDN Rising Star'
Margins: NK, 2, 3. Odds: 1.20, 1.70, 13.40.
Also Ran: Endorsed, Sir Alfred James, Just Might, Quick Tempo. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
A green :21 2/5 breezer at the 2018 OBS March sale, Special Reserve is one of 22 graded/group winners for his sire–seven of which have earned that achievement in the Northern Hemisphere. He is one of 13 graded/group winners out of mares by Hard Spun.

The winner's dam was well beaten in four career starts. She is a half to GSW/MGISP Original Spin (Distorted Humor) and MSW/GSP Humor at Last (Distorted Humor). Love Spun sold to Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm for $6,500 carrying a full brother to Special Reserve. She produced a Cowtown Cat colt Mar. 28 before being bred back to that Ohio-based stallion for 2022.

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Liam’s Map Filly Impressive in Alcibiades

Albaugh Family Stables's Juju's Map (Liam's Map) threw her hat in the ring among what appears to be a solid juvenile filly division with a powerful victory in Friday's “Win and You're In” GI Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland. Reined in to avoid a speed duel heading into the first bend, the rail-drawn bay sat in a clear second as Runup (Runhappy) zipped along through splits of :22.75 and :46 flat. The 2-1 favorite took over midway on the home bend, and was briefly challenged by her stablemate Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile), but opened up at will once she straightened to report home a convincing 4 1/4-length winner. Pricey maiden Distinctlypossible (Curlin) got going late to be second, with longshot and GI Spinaway S. fourth Sequist (Nyquist) rounding out the trifecta.

“She's very talented to start with, but today it was tricky because there were a couple other speed horses,” said winning rider Florent Geroux. “From the one hole, you have to use speed to your advantage, to make sure they don't cross over and slow it down too fast. So I just wanted to break ahead so if they wanted the lead they would have to work for it, and that's what they did.

“I was able to ease her back in the first turn. From there she took a nice breather with me down the backside and from there I knew she was going to be pretty tough. Turning for home I saw [Matareya] coming up and she's pretty talented too, but when I asked her down the lane she gave me another gear, the kind of effort you want to see, and hopefully she's going into the Breeders' Cup in the right way.”

Juju's Map was second at odds-on sprinting at Ellis July 25 before breaking through at the Pea Patch by 5 3/4 lengths when stretched to a mile Sept. 3.

This was trainer Brad Cox's second Alcibiades win in three years–he took it in 2019 with eventual champion 2-year-old filly British Idiom (Flashback).

“She sat close to a hot pace and was still able to finish, and I thought, 'That's what good horses do.' She broke running, Florent put her in a good position and she finished up well,” Cox said. “I'm very proud of her performance. We'll obviously talk it over with the Albaugh team, and as long as she comes out of it in good order I think we'll march on toward California [and the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies]. It was a good trip last time and hopefully she can show up and run her race and be very effective.”

Saturday, Keeneland
DARLEY ALCIBIADES S.-GI, $400,000, Keeneland, 10-8, 2yo, f,
1 1/16m, 1:43.52, ft.
1–JUJU'S MAP, 122, f, 2, by Liam's Map
                1st Dam: Nagambie, by Flatter
                2nd Dam: Charming N Lovable, by Horse Chestnut (Saf)
                3rd Dam: St Lucinda, by St. Jovite
   1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
   WIN. ($190,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Fred W. Hertrich (KY); T-Brad
Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $240,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0,
$280,800. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Distinctlypossible, 122, f, 2, by Curlin
1st Dam: Funny Proposition (GSW, $230,295), by Medaglia d'Oro
2nd Dam: Humorous Miss, by Distorted Humor
3rd Dam: Starry Miss, by Star de Naskra
($200,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $670,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR).
O-Bradley Thoroughbreds, Finder, Gary, Belmar Racing and
Breeding, LLC, Cambron, Tim, Cambron, Anna and Team
Hanley; B-John C. Oxley (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $80,000.
3–Sequist, 122, f, 2, by Nyquist
1st Dam: Secret Garden (Per) (G1SW-Per), by Flanders Fields
2nd Dam: Naima, by Quiet American
3rd Dam: Nogalus, by Trempolino
($100,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-West Point Thoroughbreds,
Gervais, Lori, Pigg, Charles R., Andres, Tom, Stewart, Dallas
and Kraft, Karen; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Dallas Stewart.
$40,000.
Margins: 4 1/4, NK, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.40, 7.80, 24.30.
Also Ran: Mama Rina, Dream Lith-(DH), Matareya-(DH), Penny Saver, Miss Interpret, Runup, Myfavoritedaughter, Pipeline Girl. Scratched: Diamond Wow. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Liam's Map, bred by Dennis Albaugh, is now responsible for four Grade I winners and seven graded winners overall. Three of those four reached the highest level at two despite the fact that Liam's Map didn't blossom until four, when he took the GI Woodward S. and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile locally.

Juju's Map is the 17th stakes winner (three graded including a Group 1 winner in Brazil) for Flatter as a broodmare sire. Her unplaced dam is half to GISW Fault (Blame). This is the extended female family of local Grade II winner Fioretti (Bernardini) and MGISW juvenile Bast (Uncle Mo).

Nagambie was acquired for just $14,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale. Her most recent produce was an Audible filly born Apr. 5 and she was bred back to another former Albaugh colorbearer in Not This Time for 2022.

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Gulfstream Adds Pegasus F/M Turf; Bumps Triple Crown Prep Purses

Gulfstream Park has added another lucrative race to its Pegasus World Cup card and increased the purses of its Road to the Triple Crown series, the track announced Friday while releasing the stakes schedule for its 2021-2022 championship meet, scheduled for Dec. 3 through Apr. 3. The $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational and $1-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf will be joined on Jan. 29 by the $500,000 GIII Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf, a 1 1/16-mile event that will replace the GIII Marshua's River. The 70th running of the GI Curlin Florida Derby, slated for Apr. 2, will carry a $1-million purse–up $250,000 from last year. In total, 76 stakes (37 graded) will carry purses of $14.260 million. No stakes have been scheduled for the newly installed Tapeta course, but turf races that come off the grass will be conducted over that all-weather surface. Click here to view the full stakes schedule.

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MGSW & GISP Leinster Retired to Pleasant Acres

Trainer Rusty Arnold's MGSW & 2020 Breeders' Cup-placed Leinster (Majestic Warrior–Vassar, by Royal Academy) has officially been retired from racing and will stand at Joe and Helen Barbazon's Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida for the 2022 breeding season. He will stand for $5,000 and has already arrived at the farm.

“Leinster is an exceptional addition to the stallion barn at Pleasant Acres Stallions,” said Joe Barbazon. “A world-class turf sprinter, he brings with him two blazing fast track records in graded events and four triple digit Beyers.”

Racing for a partnership that included Amy E. Dunne, Brenda Miley, Westrock Stables LLC, and Jean Wilkinson, Leinster made his racing debut at three and promptly ran into eventual Eclipse champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya) in his first start. He waited until the next year to break his maiden, then promptly took three straight at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and Saratoga, including his first black-type try in the GIII Troy S. Leinster improved at five, winning the GII Shakertown S. and the GII Woodford S. prior to a third-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. His only 2021 start yielded a win in the GIII Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint S. Leinster retires with a record of 24-6-6-5 and earnings of $764,971. He set new course records at both Saratoga and Keeneland, both at 5 1/2 furlongs.

“Track record holder at Saratoga and Keeneland,” said Arnold. “You don't get any faster than that and a beautiful individual to go with it.”

Leinster is a half-brother to four stakes performers, including two-time Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Stormy Liberal (Atormy Atlantic), SW-Ire & MGSP-US Shimmering Moment (Afleet Alex), and GISP Coast Guard (Stormy Atlantic).

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