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Breen, Lopez Earn Monmouth Park Titles

Kelly Breen, who capped the season with a pair of stakes wins on the closing-day card, was the leading trainer at the Monmouth Park meet which concluded Sunday. It was Breen’s third training title at the New Jersey oval, but his first in 14 years.

“It means a lot,” said Breen. “To think back to when I last won the title 14 years ago to today, I lost both of my parents over that time and today would have been my mom’s birthday. So it’s special. I felt like I had a little angel on my shoulder this meet. This is a prestigious meet. Monmouth Park is a high-end track and to be the leading trainer at a top-tier track is a significant accomplishment. It means a lot to me, to my barn and to my assistants. We work hard for things like this.”

Paco Lopez was the meet’s leading rider for the seventh time and Klaravich Stables was the leading owner.

The Thoroughbred season in New Jersey will continue with the nine-day Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet beginning Saturday. Following a Sunday card, the live racing schedule for the month will switch to the next three Wednesdays and Saturdays through Oct. 24. There will also be a holiday card Oct. 12. The Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet will feature a stakes race every live racing day, highlighted by the Oct. 10 GII Monmouth S.at nine furlongs on the turf.

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Uncle Mo Filly Gets Better of Her Elders in ‘Win and You’re In’ Zenyatta

Alice Bamford and Michael Tabor’s Harvest Moon (Uncle Mo), the only 3-year-old in the four-horse field, put away favored Fighting Mad (New Year’s Day) at midstretch and then held off Hard Not To Love (Hard Spun) in the dying strides to win the GII Zenyatta S. at Santa Anita Sunday and earn an automatic berth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

“I’m absolutely thrilled today, completely over the moon for Harvest Moon,” said Bamford. “She’s a homebred and she’s just so deep in my heart and in my family’s heart. It was so good to see her so well ridden today, showing off her beautiful stride. We lost her mother this year, Qaraaba, who was a stunning, stunning filly and each time I tell her, ‘Harvest Moon, go and do it for your Mama.’ And she has.”

Sent off at 7-2 and making her first start beyond a mile, the lightly raced Harvest Moon tracked pacesetting Fighting Mad through fractions of :23.37 and :46.51. She rolled up to engage the favorite entering the homestretch and, while Fighting Mad attempted to claw her way back, Harvest Moon was always going the better of the two and inched away to the wire for her fourth straight victory. Hard Not To Love closed for second, while Fighting Mad, who was coming off a wire-to-wire victory in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S., stayed on for third.

“We thought Fighting Mad would go to the lead and we wanted to keep pressure on her,” said winning jockey Flavien Prat. “My filly had never been a mile and a sixteenth, but Fighting Mad was carrying 126 pounds. You never know with a 3-year-old against older, but we got eight pounds, so that was good. It turned out this was a good distance for my filly and she really ran well.”

Harvest Moon was making just her fifth career start in the Zenyatta. The bay filly opened her career over the turf, finishing third in a one-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita June 12. She graduated second time out when moved to the main track at Los Alamitos July 3 and added an optional claimer at the oceanside oval July 27 before making the jump to the graded stakes ranks with a 1 1/4-length victory in the Aug. 22 GIII Torrey Pines S. last time out.

“We have been really patient with her early on and that’s a credit to Alice and Michael Tabor,” said winning trainer Simon Callaghan. “It was said that this filly has a lot of talent and they were so patient throughout the whole process. She took her time to come to hand, but she’s come a long way in a short period of time.”

Pedigree Notes:

Qaraaba, who died earlier this year, produced a colt by Air Force Blue last year. The mare’s third dam is G1 Irish Derby winner Salsabil (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells).

Harvest Moon’s sire Uncle Mo doubled up on graded victories just 20 minutes after the Zenyatta when Envoutante glided to victory in the GIII Remington Oaks.

Sunday, Santa Anita
ZENYATTA S.-GII, $196,000, Santa Anita, 9-27, 3yo/up, f/m,
1 1/16m, 1:43.03, ft.
1–HARVEST MOON, 118, f, 3, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Qaraaba (GB) (GSW, $171,119), by Shamardal
2nd Dam: Mokaraba (GB), by Unfuwain
3rd Dam: Muhaba, by Mr. Prospector
O-Alice Bamford & Michael B. Tabor; B-Alice Bamford (KY);
T-Simon Callaghan; J-Flavien Prat. $120,000. Lifetime Record:
5-4-0-1, $240,720. *1/2 to Californiagoldrush (Cape Blanco
{Ire}), GSW & GISP, $322,345.
2–Hard Not to Love, 122, f, 4, Hard Spun–Loving Vindication, by
Vindication. ‘TDN Rising Star’ ($400,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP).
O-Mercedes Stables LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, Scott
Dilworth, Dorothy & David Ingordo & F. Steve Mooney;
B-Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (ON); T-John A. Shirreffs. $40,000.
3–Fighting Mad, 126, f, 4, New Year’s Day–Smokey’s Love, by
Forestry. O/B-Gary & Mary West Stables (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
$24,000.
Margins: 3/4, 3/4, 7 1/4. Odds: 3.90, 3.30, 0.40.
Also Ran: Proud Emma. Scratched: Hang a Star. 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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NY Traffic Likely for Preakness Following Sunday Work

Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic) was named likely to make the line-up for Saturday’s GI Preakness S. at Pimlico following a four-furlong work in :48 flat (2/88) at Churchill Downs Sunday.

“Most likely he’s going to go, but tomorrow we’ll make the decision,” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said. “We were very happy with the work.”

Ny Traffic came up a nose short of Authentic (Into Mischief) when second in the July 18 GI TVG.com Haskell S. Sunday’s work was his first since finishing eighth behind that rival in the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby. He exited the Derby with a cut on his left front ankle.

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) was confirmed for the Preakness following her five-furlong work in 1:00.80 (19/57) at Churchill Downs Saturday. Trainer Ken McPeek announced Sunday the sophomore will be ridden by Robby Albarado as she tries to become the sixth filly to win the Preakness.

“I know she will make the distance without any problem,” McPeek said of the GI Alabama S. winner. “I think she will like that racetrack. Of course, she has raced everywhere. Whatever racetrack she has raced over she has handled great. It was a tough call between racing against straight 3-year-olds or older fillies and mares or turf, which was briefly thought about. I think she will handle it fine.”

In her first attempt against males, Swiss Skydiver was second behind fellow Preakness hopeful Art Collector (Bernardini) in the July 11 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland. She won as she pleased in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama at Saratoga Aug. 15 and was most recently second behind Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) in the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks.

“My preference would have been if they wrote a race like the Alabama back for this week,” McPeek said. “But that doesn’t exist. There are no 3-year-old filly Grade Is. She gets a little bit of weight off and she’s continuing to do good.”

Godolphin’s homebred Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), winner of the Sept. 5 GII Jim Dandy S., breezed five furlongs Sunday in 1:01.60 (2/2) over the main track at Fair Hill Training Center, but trainer Mike Stidham has all but ruled out the Preakness for the sophomore.

“The work went great. It was on a wet track, but he handled it really well. We were comfortable with it being a safe track to work on,” Stidham said. “He just went evenly and finished up nice with a good gallop-out, but we’re pretty much focused on skipping the Preakness and going into the [Oct. 10 GI] Jockey Club [Gold Cup at Belmont Park].”

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Improbable Romps In the Awesome Again

The lesser-fancied of the Bob Baffert-trained duo, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Improbable (City Zip) was uncustomarily taken well off a fast early pace, began to hit his best stride while wide on the second turn, inhaled the leading group in upper stretch and rolled home to defeat odds-on Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) by 4 1/2 lengths in the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita.

Though he hadn’t been more than two lengths off the early pace in any of his last four races, Improbable was taken back to last by Drayden Van Dyke as Take the One O One (Acclamation) set a fast pace, clocking fractions of :23.33 and :46.36, with Maximum Security in hot pursuit. Improbable began to catch the eye midway on the final turn, rolled five wide under a full head of steam into the stretch and powered clear.

Maximum Security, with Luis Saez back in the saddle, won the battle for second while tasting defeat for the first time since the Pegasus S. last June. He was perfect in two prior attempts since joining the Bob Baffert barn, including a powerful score in the GI TVG Pacific Classic S. last time Aug. 22.

The Awesome Again was the second Breeders’ Cup Challenge race win for Improbable in 2020, who previously earned his way into the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic with his victory in the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga last month.
The beaten favorite in last term’s GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. kicked off 2020 with a runner-up finish in the Oaklawn Mile S. Apr. 11, then broke through with a powerful performance in the GI Hollywood Gold Cup S. June 6 prior to his equally impressive win at the Spa.

Pedigree Notes:

City Zip died at age 19 three years ago, but he remains a top sire with 88 black-type winners covering all surfaces and multiple distances. His 33 graded winners have contributed mightily to his tally of over $105 million in progeny earnings, and Improbable is one of his sire’s 11 millionaires. City Zip is a half-brother to 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, whose sire, Awesome Again, is the namesake of this latest Improbable win. Improbable’s dam, the A.P. Indy mare Rare Event, is out of a half-sister to GISW and leading sire Hard Spun (Danzig). Rare Event’s most recent produce is a yearling colt by Cross Traffic. She was bred to Curlin for 2021. Improbable is the most successful of three stakes winners by City Zip out of A.P. Indy mares, with the others being MSW Lipstick City and SW Marshall Eddy, both on the turf.

Saturday, Santa Anita
AWESOME AGAIN S.-GI, $300,000, Santa Anita, 9-26, 3yo/up,
1 1/8m, 1:49.01, ft.
1–IMPROBABLE, 126, c, 4, by City Zip
                1st Dam: Rare Event, by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Our Rite of Spring, by Stravinsky
                3rd Dam: Turkish Tryst, by Turkoman
   ‘TDN Rising Star‘ ($110,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $200,000 Ylg ’17
KEESEP). O-WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International
Ltd. & SF Racing LLC; B-St. George Farm LLC & G. Watts
Humphrey Jr. (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Drayden Van Dyke.
$180,000. Lifetime Record: 14-7-3-0, $1,709,520. Werk Nick
   Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Maximum Security, 126, c, 4, New Year’s Day–Lil Indy, by
Anasheed. O-Gary & Mary West, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael

Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc.

(KY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Midcourt, 124, g, 5, Midnight Lute–Mayo On the Side, by
French Deputy. ($450,000 Ylg ’16 KEESEP). O-C R K Stable LLC;
B-Dixiana Farms LLC (KY); T-John A. Shirreffs. $36,000.
Margins: 4HF, HF, 3 3/4. Odds: 1.80, 0.50, 12.70.
Also Ran: Take the One O One, Sleepy Eyes Todd.
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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