Life is Good On Track for San Felipe

China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's Life is Good (Into Mischief) tuned up for an expected start in the Mar. 6 GII San Felipe S. with a five-furlong work in 1:00.80 (4/33) at Santa Anita Monday morning.

“He went extremely well,”  trainer Bob Baffert said of the 3-year-old colt.

Tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following a debut win at Del Mar last November, Life is Good is now two-for-two after opening his sophomore campaign with a win in the Jan. 2 GIII Sham S.

Also working Monday from the Baffert barn, Freedom Fighter (Violence) went four furlongs in :48.60 (11/66). The 3-year-old colt, a first-out victor at Del Mar last August, returned to finish second in the Feb. 6 GII San Vicente S. He is expected to make his next start in the Mar. 6 GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct.

Both the San Felipe and the Gotham offer 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner, and 20, 10, five to the horses finishing second through fourth.

The Baffert-trained Gamine (Into Mischief), recently crowned Eclipse champion female sprinter, also worked Monday at Santa Anita, covering four furlongs in an easy :50.20 (48/66). The 4-year-old was most recently seen winning the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint.

In other news from Santa Anita, the Arcadia track announced Monday that it has increased the purse of the China Doll S. to be run Mar. 6 from $75,000 to $100,000. Santa Anita will also raise purses on all overnight races on that day's Big 'Cap card by $15,000 per race.

The post Life is Good On Track for San Felipe appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Mehmas Filly Flies Home in Sweet Life

The Phil D'Amato barn continued its hot streak with European imports in turf sprints as Going Global (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) uncorked a powerful rally to take Sunday's GIII Sweet Life S. at Santa Anita. Fourth in her best of three turf tries for Mick Halford in her native country, the bay broke through over seven furlongs of all-weather at Dundalk Nov. 11 before being acquired privately. She was let go at 8-1 in a full and competitive field despite her trainer's excellent numbers with European acquisitions, including four wins from his last four starts in the category. Finding a foothold at the fence and off the pace as Five Pics Please (Cinco Charlie) sped clear, Going Global made her move into a :44.16 half. She still had work to do as the frontrunner threatened to complete her theft, but Flavien Prat got her out in the clear with a sixteenth to race and she zoomed home to get up in the shadow of the wire. Nimbostratus (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) filled out the trifecta for some of the same owners as the winner.

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
SWEET LIFE S.-GIII, $103,500, Santa Anita, 2-14, 3yo, f, 6fT, 1:07.68, fm.
1–GOING GLOBAL (IRE), 122, f, 3, by Mehmas (Ire)
                1st Dam: Wrood, by Invasor (Arg)
                2nd Dam: Ras Shaikh, by Sheikh Albadou (GB)
                3rd Dam: Aneesati (GB), by Kris (GB)
1ST BLACK- TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. (€15,500
Ylg '19 GOFSPT). O-CYBT, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig & Ray
Pagano; B-N. Hartery (IRE); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Flavien Prat.
$60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-0-0, $68,792. Werk Nick Rating:
   D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Five Pics Please, 122, f, 3, Cinco Charlie–No Pictures Please,
by Congrats. O-Desert Sun Stables; B-Larry L. Caudill DVM (KY);
T-John W. Sadler. $20,000.
3–Nimbostratus (Fr), 122, f, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Bahama
Spirit (Ire), by Invincible Spirit (Ire). (£65,000 Ylg '19 GOFFPR).
O-Altamira Racing Stable, CYBT, Marc Lantzman & Michael
Nentwig; B-Laundry Cottage Stud (FR); T-Peter Miller. $12,000.
Margins: HF, 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 8.90, 9.70, 6.40.
Also Ran: Majestic Steps (Ire), Squared Shady, I'm So Anna, Plum Sexy, Freedom Flyer, Royal Address (Ire), Magical Thought, Go Greta (GB), Pizzazz. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

“I watched her last race and you could see she could run,” Prat offered. “Phil talked to me this morning and said they really like her. She's a little tough, likes to do things her way, but she was very professional.”

“She trained very well,” said D'Amato, who won last week's Baffle S. for the boys with Earls Rock (Ire) (Fascinating Rock {Ire}) and the Clocker's Corner S. Jan. 24 with Gregorian Chant (GB) (Gregorian {Ire}) for another partnership that includes Michael Nentwig. “We were trying to point for an allowance race for the last couple weeks and it didn't come. It was just one of those things. She trained well enough to where I thought she merited a chance in here. So, either run or wait a while until the allowance goes. Luckily, we were able to get Flavien here and a beautiful trip. I think the sky is the limit for this filly.”

D'Amato added that, with Prat telling him that she should stretch out, his team would look at upcoming two-turn stakes for Going Global.

Nentwig was on hand to celebrate the win, and said: “Any time you step out and you pay a decent amount of money for a horse from Europe that you've only seen run on tape, you kind of put yourself out there and I have to kind of convince the partners that it's the right thing to do. Phil was very confident in the filly over there. I want to thank Niall [Dalton]. Without him, we wouldn't have the filly. I'm thrilled for everyone…it's a great win for the team.”

Pedigree Notes:
Tally-Ho Stud's Mehmas dominated among last year's crop of European freshman (Click for more), and is now responsible for six stakes winners (three group or graded), including G1 Newmarket Middle Park S. hero Supremacy (Ire) and Quattroelle (Ire), winner of this venue's one-mile Blue Norther S. here on New Year's Eve. Another Mehmas filly was beaten a neck in October's Surfer Girl S. here.

Going Global is the second graded winner and fourth stakes winner out of a mare by Hall of Famer Invasor (Arg), who now stands in Uruguay after limited Stateside success.

The winner's dam Wrood, also conditioned by Halford, was a two-time winner over 10 panels of Lingfield Polytrack. The half to GSW Racer Forever (Rahy) has a 2-year-old colt by Profitable (Ire) and a yearling filly by U S Navy Flag.

The post Mehmas Filly Flies Home in Sweet Life appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Nicky the Vest Becomes Runhappy’s First Stakes Winner With Gander Romp

Nicky the Vest, an impressive debut winner in December at Aqueduct, proved that no effort was no fluke with an authoritative romp in the New York-bred Gander S. Sunday at the Big A, becoming the first black-type winner for Claiborne Farm's Runhappy (by Super Saver) in the process.

Unveiled as an 11-2 proposition against Empire-bred foes over track and trip Dec. 18, the $110,000 OBS October grad shook off some early pace pressure and kicked away to a 3 1/4-length score. Hammered late to go off as the clear favorite here, the bay badgered frontrunning Lobsta through splits of :23.61 and :47.17 and poked his head in front passing the three-furlong pole. Creeping clear approaching the lane, he made a break for it three-sixteenths out and never faced an anxious moment from there, cruising home under wraps as a much-the-best winner. Lobsta, a full-brother to 2020 Gander winner Chowda, did well to hold the place in a three-way photo.

“We were very pleased with him. He trained that way leading up to it and it's always nice to see what you're seeing in the morning replicated in the afternoon,” said winning trainer Jonathan Thomas. “We felt we needed to get him out of there. His stamina is a key strength of his and we didn't want to get him in behind horses and have him take dirt. That's an unknown variable with him. We didn't want to do that today, so we planned on being aggressive.”

Asked about a potential start in the GIII Gotham S. Mar. 6 at Aqueduct, Thomas added, “Because we gave him 60 days between his maiden win and this start, I'd feel comfortable we could contemplate that. But we'll leave that up to the team.” Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

GANDER S., $100,000, Aqueduct, 2-14, (S), 3yo, 1m, 1:37.94, ft.
1–NICKY THE VEST, 118, c, 3, by Runhappy
1st Dam: Tazarine, by Cat Thief
2nd Dam: Doppio Espresso, by Java Gold
3rd Dam: Eastern Dawn, by Damascus
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($110,000 Ylg '19 OBSOCT). O-Robert V.
LaPenta; B-Highclere (NY); T-Jonathan Thomas; J-Kendrick
Carmouche. $55,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $93,500.
*1/2 to Moms Choice (Kitten's Joy), SP, $269,234. **First SW
for sophomore sire (by Super Saver).
2–Lobsta, 118, c, 3, Emcee–Salty Little Sis, by Chief Seattle.
O-Eddie F's Racing; B-Fedwell Farms (NY); T-Gary Sciacca.
$20,000.
3–Perfect Munnings, 123, c, 3, Munnings–Our Perfect Ten, by
Medaglia d'Oro. ($50,000 Ylg '19 SARAUG). O-JP Racing Stable;
B-Tammy & Robert Klimasewski (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$12,000.
Margins: 11 3/4, HF, NO. Odds: 1.15, 5.90, 2.65.
Also Ran: Dancing Buck, Horn of Plenty, Uno, Re Created.

The post Nicky the Vest Becomes Runhappy’s First Stakes Winner With Gander Romp appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Sam Houston Raises Purses

Sam Houston Race Park announced Sunday that it will raise its overnight purses for the remainder of the 2021 Thoroughbred meet. The increases will go into effect starting Wednesday, Feb. 17 and will continue through closing day, Apr. 3. All main track purses will be increased by $7,000, while turf purses will see a $2,000 bump. The track cited strong handle figures, which are up 40% year over year including a record-setting handle of $5.3 million on the Houston Racing Festival card Jan. 31, as the reason for the changes. Sam Houston offers some of the nation's lowest takeout rates, with an industry-low 12% on multi-race wagers.

“This increase would not be possible without the ongoing support from our horsemen,” said Frank Hopf, Senior Director of Racing Operations. “We welcomed back a solid number of barns and received stall applications from many new outfits this year. Additionally, we had tremendous interest from nationally prominent trainers for our six Houston Racing Festival stakes. Racing fans continue to respond to our racing product and comprehensive wagering menu.”

The post Sam Houston Raises Purses appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights