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Princess Noor Lights ‘Em Up in Chandelier

The GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies will go through unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Princess Noor (Not This Time) following a third straight tour-de-force victory in Saturday’s GII Chandelier S. at Santa Anita.

Making her two-turn debut following an eye-catching debut win at Del Mar Aug. 22 and runaway score in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 6, the $1.35-million OBS Spring topper wasn’t the quickest away from her rail draw beneath Victor Espinoza.

She rode the rail into the first turn, but was no better than third. Princess Noor did not appear completely at ease being stuck down inside, but she jumped into the bridle when taken out into the three path, quickly making progress to sit second into the final turn.

She easily claimed the front-runner with about five-sixteenths of a mile to race and was not asked for her best in strolling through the final 100 yards en route to an 8 1/4-length victory. Stablemate Varda (Distorted Humor) was second.

Princess Noor provided Hall of Famer Bob Baffert with his record 12th Chandelier victory.

“When you are in the one hole, they usually don’t break as well, but I think Victor rode her with a lot of confidence,” Baffert said. “He’s been on enough good horses and he knows. This filly is just incredible and very talented. I don’t train her as hard and I run her into shape. You never know if they can go two turns until they do and it looks like that’s not going to be a problem.”

Princess Noor drew high praise from her rider as well.

“She reminds me of other great horses I used to ride like American Pharoah and California Chrome,” Espinoza said. “The talent is there, we just have to let them be happy around the racetrack. I’ve been riding amazing horses, but as a filly, she’s the best one I’ve ever ridden.”

Pedigree Notes:

It’s a contentious race between the top three freshman sires of 2020, with each sporting two black-type winners to date and their earnings all within range of each other. Not This Time, a son of Giant’s Causeway, leads the list by individual winners with 11 and has two undefeated stakes winners in Princess Noor and Dirty Dangle, who won last week’s Woodbine Cares S., plus the Grade III-placed Hopeful Princess.

Princess Noor made headlines before she even ran as Not This Time’s most expensive sales horse to date when she brought $1.35 million at OBS this spring (:20 1/5), but Not This Time hasn’t done badly in this curtailed yearling sales season either, with 32 sold this year in North America for an average of $135,504 on a $15,000 stud fee. Princess Noor was previously a $135,000 KEESEP yearling.

Princess Noor is out of the 2014 GIII Senorita S. winner Sheza Smoke Show, who has a yearling colt named Protonic Power (Protonico) and delivered a filly by Tapwrit this year. She was bred back to Protonico for 2021. International Equities Holding purchased Sheza Smoke Show, carrying Princess Noor, for $185,000 at the 2017 KEENOV sale.

For a recent profile on breeder Oussama Aboughazale’s International Equities Holding’s operation from Jessica Martini, click here.

Saturday, Santa Anita
CHANDELIER S.-GII, $200,000, Santa Anita, 9-26, 2yo, f,
1 1/16m, 1:45.59, ft.
1–PRINCESS NOOR, 122, f, 2, by Not This Time
                1st Dam: Sheza Smoke Show (GSW, $150,644), by Wilko
                2nd Dam: Avery Hall, by A. P Jet
                3rd Dam: Royal Form, by Dynaformer
‘TDN Rising Star‘ ($135,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $1,350,000 2yo
’20 OBSAPR). O-Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-International
Equities Holding, Inc. (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Victor Espinoza.
$120,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $303,000. Werk Nick
Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Varda, 122, f, 2, Distorted Humor–She’ll Be Right, by Sky
Mesa. ($100,000 Ylg ’19 SARAUG; $700,000 2yo ’20 OBSAPR).
O-Baoma Corporation; B-Masters 2013 LLC & Distorted Humor
Syndicate (NY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.
3–Miss Costa Rica, 122, f, 2, Hit It a Bomb–Five Star Daydream,
by Five Star Day. ($95,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo ’20
OBSMAR). O-Carroll Boys Racing, Sayjay Racing LLC, Jerry
McClanahan & Richard Baltas; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY);
T-Richard Baltas. $24,000.
Margins: 8 1/4, 9 1/4, NK. Odds: 0.20, 6.20, 9.30.
Also Ran: Illumination, Make Mischief. 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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Curlin’s Souper Sensational Earns ‘Rising Star’ Tag at Woodbine

Sent off the 1.35-1 favorite in what appeared to be an above-average Woodbine maiden Saturday afternoon, Live Oak Plantation’s Souper Sensational (Curlin) lived up to her name at first asking, pulling confidently clear to graduate by a bit more than two lengths in a ‘TDN Rising Star’-worthy performance.

Beaten for speed, the $725,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad sat the box seat from third, but traveled nicely on the bridle, with her chief market rival-‘Rising Star’ Shirl’s Speight’s full-sister Speightstown Shirl (Speightstown)–lapped to her outside. The Fipke homebred got first run on Souper Sensational, accelerating from the two path to carry the lead into the stretch, but Souper Sensational had the move covered, descending on Speightstown Shirl approaching the eighth pole before going on to a very soft, 2 1/4-length success. Speightstown Shirl proceeded to gallop out strongly into the backstretch. Diamond Ore (Tapit), a $750,000 Keeneland November weanling and half-sister to the late Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song), ran on well for third while no menace to the top two.

The winner’s unraced dam is a daughter of Sue’s Good News, a Grade III winner and dam of GISW Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow), whose son Tatweej (Tapit)–a $2.5-million Keeneland September yearling–ran his record to three wins from four starts with a handy Gulfstream allowance score at Gulfstream Sept. 25. Tiz Miz Sue’s Group 3-placed 3-year-old daughter Serein (Uncle Mo) also saw action Saturday, dead-heating for second in an allowance race at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan.

Kateri is the dam of a yearling Maclean’s Music colt and a foal full-sister to Souper Sensational. She was bred to American Pharoah this year.

5th-Woodbine, C$73,600, Msw, 9-26, 2yo, f, 7f (AWT), 1:23.54, ft.
SOUPER SENSATIONAL, f, 2, by Curlin
1st Dam: Kateri, by Indian Charlie
2nd Dam: Sue’s Good News, by Woodman
3rd Dam: Montera, by Easy Goer
Sales history: $725,000 Ylg ’19 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $32,269. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. Click for the Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-Live Oak Plantation; B-Newtownanner Stud (KY); T-Mark E Casse.

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Immaculately Bred Curlin Firster Scores at Belmont

3rd-Belmont, $63,000, Msw, 9-26, 2yo, f, 1m, 1:39.43, ft.
AMERICAN WEST (f, 2, Curlin–Jacaranda {GSW, $207,200}, by Congrats), a $925,000 Keeneland September purchase, sat relatively handy to a strong pace, came calling for the lead three off the inside at the furlong grounds and withstood a late rails rally from Millefeuille (Curlin) to graduate at first asking Saturday at Belmont Park. Settled in a stalking third as favored Jouster (Noble Mission {GB}) set the pace from expensive Louisiana-bred Leia Marie (Exaggerator), American West, chilly on the board at 5-1, was asked to quicken at the quarter pole, set her sights on the leader entering the final eighth of a mile and was home 3/4 of a length to the good of Millefeuille, leading home a 1-2 finish for their sire. Leia Marie, a paternal granddaughter of Curlin who cost $400,000 at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga to rank as her sire’s dearest first-crop auction yearling, held for third. American West’s dam won the 2014 GIII Tempted S. for Barry K. Schwartz and Mike Hushion, but has seen her stock rise since, as her half-brother Constitution (Tapit) has become one of this country’s top young sires. American West was the second most-expensive filly from Curlin’s 2018 crop. Jacaranda is the dam of a yearling Medaglia d’Oro filly, a filly foal by Justify and was most recently bred back to Curlin. The cross of Curlin over A.P. Indy-line mares has resulted in the likes of GISWs Stellar Wind and Global Campaign. Sales history: $925,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $34,650. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-Peter M Brant; B-Alpha Delta Stables LLC (KY); T-Chad C Brown.

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Preakness Hopefuls Tune Up

A trio of candidates for the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Oct. 3 turned in their final serious moves Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

Bruce Lunsford’s Art Collector (Bernardini), who was forced to miss the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby owing to a minor foot injury, tuned up for the final leg of this year’s reconstituted Triple Crown by drilling a half-mile in :48 flat with big-race rider Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the saddle. The GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and Runhappy Ellis Park Derby hero was caught in fractions of :12.40, :24.40 and :35.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.60. The half-mile clocking ranked as the seventh-fastest of 78 works at the distance.

“Brian and I discussed it beforehand, and that’s what we were shooting for,” said trainer Tommy Drury about the methodical splits, “I told Brian, ‘He’s a 12s kind of horse. He seems to do that easy enough, so let’s just do what he does easily.’ Kind of textbook: 48, out in a minute. I think they had him three-quarters (of a mile) in 1:13. He seems to have bounced out of it well. Now we just stay out of his way for a week.”

“I think he got plenty out of his work last week, so we were just looking for something maintenance this week,” Drury said, “and that’s kind of his maintenance work. Brian was letting him cruise along. I didn’t see that he ever moved his hands. We got exactly what we were looking for.”

With jockey Florent Geroux at the controls and blinkers back on, Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm’s Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) went five furlongs in 1:00.60 in splits of :11.80, :24.40 and :48.20. He, too, was out three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.60. The $1-million Keeneland September yearling purchase was scratched from the Derby after flipping in the paddock.

“We were hoping that he would do something like this,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said from California. “He had to work better than he did last week. Last week, he was just sort of lazy and didn’t get into it, but now he worked really well. This week he was very willing, which is very good. You want to see a horse that is very willing and he was very willing today.”

“I thought he worked a lot better today with blinkers,” Geroux told the Churchill notes team. “Last week was his first work over the track so he didn’t wear them but went very easy. It was a bit more of a serious work today.”

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) breezed five panels in 1:00.80 beneath Tyler Gaffalione. The GI Alabama S. winner and recent runner-up in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks clicked off fractions of :12, :23.60 and :35.80 before pulling up six furlongs in 1:15.20. Trainer Ken McPeek later told Daily Racing Form that Swiss Skydiver has been given the green light for the Preakness.

Country Grammer (Tonalist), winner of the GIII Peter Pan S. and fifth-place finisher in the GI Runhappy Travers S., breezed a half-mile in :50.25 Saturday morning at Belmont in preparation for a scheduled Preakness start.

Liveyourbeastlife (Ghostzapper), runner-up in the GII Jim Dandy S., worked six furlongs in 1:16.20 at Belmont.

“He had a nice maintenance breeze this morning; nice and steady. I wasn’t looking for anything crazy,” trainer Jorge Abreu said.

Jesus’s Team (Tapiture), third in the Jim Dandy S., breezed five furlongs in 1:03.40 at Monmouth Park Saturday morning in preparation of the Preakness.

Undefeated Federico Tesio S. winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Happy Saver (Super Saver) and GI Belmont S. runner-up Dr Post (Quality Road) will both bypass the Preakness. Trainer Todd Pletcher said the former will target the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.

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