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Speightstown’s Astute Stays Undefeated for Mandella in Desi Arnaz

Astute debuted Oct. 12 on the Santa Anita lawn, going 5 1/2 furlongs and getting a neck win after leading throughout. The $425,000 Keeneland September yearling graduate skipped a few conditions to move straight to black-type company in the Desi Arnaz S. In addition to the jump in company, she was also switching over to the main track and upping the distance by a furlong.

Just like in her maiden, Astute went to the front, but this time she got headed by Private Mission (Into Mischief) to her inside after a :22.21 quarter and the foe had a head on her as the battle unfolded through the half in :45.30. Astute won the war, shaking clear with ease coming off the turn and simply drawing away, taking command with authority to win by 7 1/2 lengths.

“The owners and the manager–Alex Solis, Jr.–told me before I ever saw her that she’s special and it’s kind of held true,” said Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. “She got a little sick on me in the summer and I had to give her a month off, so that’s why she’s a little late [starting her career]. I only put her in the maiden turf [debut win] because I knew she could do turf and I was afraid a dirt race the next day wouldn’t fill. I expected she’d run well today, but maybe not this well. We’ll think about the [GI] Starlet [S., Dec. 5 at Los Alamitos].”

Astute is the second black-type winner for her dam following 2015 GII Inside Information S. and 2014 GIII Go For Wand H. victress Classic Point. Discerning died in 2019, as did her Flatter foal that year. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Saturday, Del Mar
DESI ARNAZ S., $100,500, Del Mar, 11-14, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.28, ft.
1–ASTUTE, 120, f, 2, by Speightstown
               1st Dam: Discerning, by Langfuhr
               2nd Dam: Clandestinely, by Forty Niner
               3rd Dam: Personal Business, by Private Account
($425,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-LNJ
Foxwoods; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella;
J-Mike E. Smith. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $93,000.
*1/2 to Classic Point (Flatter), MGSW, $685,794.
2–Queengol, 120, f, 2, Flashback–Nechez Dawn, by Indian
Charlie. ($22,000 Wlg ’18 KEENOV; $90,000 2yo ’20 OBSMAR).
O-Saragol Stable Corp. & Johana Viana; B-John R. Penn (KY);
T-John W. Sadler. $20,000.
3–Heels Up, 120, f, 2, Twirling Candy–Tale Untold, by Tale of
the Cat. ($17,000 RNA Wlg ’18 KEENOV; $65,000 Ylg ’19
KEESEP; $350,000 2yo ’20 OBSAPR). O-Karl Watson, Michael E.
Pegram, & Paul Weitman; B-Two Stamps Stables (KY); T-Bob
Baffert. $12,000.
Margins: 7HF, NO, HF. Odds: 5.10, 5.70, 10.40.
Also Ran: Private Mission, Canoodling, Miss Costa Rica. Scratched: Plum Sexy, Varda.

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Karakontie Filly Handles Dirt in Rained-Off Mrs. Revere

Lightly raced Princess Grace handled the main track best of this turf-meant group to make the grade in only her fourth lifetime start. A 5 1/2-length debut romper on the Colonial sod and over a next-out winner Aug. 2, the Moore homebred cleared her first-level allowance condition at Monmouth Sept. 5. She had last been seen splitting Stunning Sky (Declaration of War) and How Ironic when second in the GIII Pin Oak Valley View S. at Keeneland Oct. 16.

Prompting the pace from second among a strung-out field, the dark bay was forced to hit the accelerator midway down the backside to avoid getting shuffled back as foes behind her attempted to take closer order. Princess Grace took command midway around the turn for home under a seemingly confident Florent Geroux, and kicked on nicely from there while never seriously threatened.

“The pace unfolded exactly how I thought that the horse to my inside (Positive Danger {Uncle Mo}) would go to the lead and we could sit just to her outside,” Geroux said. “She broke very alertly and was tracking nicely throughout the race. She’s a nice filly and with winning on the dirt it gives the connections more options in the future but I would guess goes back to turf.”

Winning conditioner Mike Stidham added, “You’re always concerned about a horse that didn’t race on dirt yet. She had pretty consistent works over the Tapeta surface at Fair Hill. We didn’t necessarily have a great line on how she would take to the dirt, but her early works were on the dirt. We thought she handled it very well then, so we were cautiously optimistic. We knew that her dam Masquerade was game on both dirt and turf so we felt good trying it. Down the backside you saw Florent was in a great spot just off the leader. When he let out a notch she just opened up impressively.”

Pedigree Notes:

Princess Grace becomes the sixth black-type winner, third graded, for young sire Karakontie. A rare North American runner whose sire and broodmare sire were both bred in Japan, she is the first stakes winner out of a mare by Canada’s leading sire Silent Name.

Stidham trained the winner’s dam Masquerade, a $15,000 yearling, for four of her six career wins–she scored three times on the grass, twice on the dirt and once on synthetic over a career that stretched from two to seven. Her two stakes placings came for Stidham on the turf.

Masquerade has a yearling filly by Kitten’s Joy and was bred to Frosted for 2021.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
MRS. REVERE S.-GIII*, $200,000, Churchill Downs, 11-14, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m (off turf), 1:44.00, ft.
1–PRINCESS GRACE, 118, f, 3, by Karakontie (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Masquerade, by Silent Name (Jpn)
                2nd Dam: Present Colors, by Prized
                3rd Dam: Blue and Green, by Miswaki
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-John &
Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham; J-Florent Geroux.
$122,760. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, $205,260. Werk Nick
   Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pass the Plate, 118, f, 3, Temple City–Pocket Gift, by Great
Notion. O/B-Silverton Hill, LLC (KY); T-Paul J. McGee. $39,600.
3–How Ironic, 118, f, 3, Tonalist–Sarcastic, by Distorted Humor.
O/B-G. Watts Humphrey (KY); T-Victoria H. Oliver. $19,800.
Margins: 2 3/4, 1HF, 4. Odds: 2.50, 2.90, 7.50.
Also Ran: Stunning Sky, Witez, Positive Danger. Scratched: Hendy Woods.
*Automatically downgraded from Grade II status due to surface switch. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Churchill off Turf for at least Next Week

Churchill Downs took its Saturday grass races, including the GII Mrs. Revere S., off the turf and made the following announcement:

“There will be no turf entries taken for races scheduled to be run on turf from Nov. 19-22. All scheduled turf races in the condition book during this time period will be transferred to the main track and entries taken for the same conditions will be dirt only.”

Churchill was also off the turf on Friday. On Thursday, 2020 GI Kentucky Derby competitor Winning Impression reportedly broke down after finishing third in a turf allowance and was subsequently euthanized.

The Churchill fall meet will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 29.

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Spielberg Favored to Continue Baffert Streak in Bob Hope

With the ongoing Del Mar meet renamed a few years ago to honor Hollywood icon Bing Crosby, it seems only fitting that a colt named Spielberg (Union Rags) would take his shot in the GIII Bob Hope S., the race formerly known as the Hollywood Prevue S. The $1-millon Keeneland September graduate should jump a warm favorite for the seven-furlong affair, a race won by his trainer Bob Baffert no fewer than six times in its last nine runnings and 10 times dating back to 1996.

Runner-up on debut and in the GI Del Mar Futurity to the talented Dr Schivel (Violence), the chestnut was never truly dangerous when third in the GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita Sept. 20. He was more workmanlike than spectacular in graduating by a mile here 13 days ago, but is nevertheless the one they’ll have to beat.

Weston (Hit It a Bomb) is the only member of the Bob Hope sextet with a graded victory to his credit, having earned a neck success in the GII Best Pal S. Aug. 8 prior to a third in the Futurity, where Spielberg was 3 3/4 lengths ahead of him.

Ambivalent (Constitution) enters the Bob Hope a five-time maiden, though he did cross the line third in the Best Pal, only to be disqualified to fourth. A close third in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf S. Sept. 7, he turns back off a distant sixth to Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) in the GI Champagne S. over a mile Oct. 10.

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