Tag: Top News

Gun Runner Filly Does the ‘Talk’-ing In the Demoiselle

Dropping out of a pair of Grade I races, Repole Stables and Todd Pletcher's Life Talk (Gun Runner) earned 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with an impressive win in the GII Demoiselle S.

Second by a head to future GISP Alys Beach (Omaha Beach) on debut, Life Talk came back with a 6 1/2-length win at second asking upstate in August. Unfortunately for daughter of Gun Runner, she then twice ran into likely 2-year-old filly champion Just F Y I (Justify) in both the GI Frizette S. (in which she finished third) and at last month's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies where she was fourth.

Always bet like a winner Saturday, Life Talk broke at even money under Irad Ortiz, Jr. and enjoyed a rail-hugging trip as the field stacked up six wide to her outside into the first turn. Most of All (Quality Road) kept pace a half-length back as the fillies sorted themselves out but the field of eight remained tightly bunched as the favorite handled the tempo through a :24.10 opening quarter. Kept just off the rail over a main track listed as muddy, Life Talk cruised up front into the far turn, shook off Most of All passing the quarter pole and was left to contend with a strong closing run from both Shimmering Allure (Enticed) and Dolomite (Unified) to her outside. Shimmering Allure got closest but Life Talk was up to the task and kicked away again into the final sixteenth, opening up to the wire to win in front-running fashion.

“Obviously, [the good break] was all Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] and Todd [Pletcher] coming up with a game plan,” said Amelia Green, assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “With how the track's playing today, you need to get position and like Irad said, she warmed up good and he made the most of it. No one else wanted the lead, so he made the most of that situation. She seemed happy out there and did everything very professionally.”

“It is great to see her back in this performance,” added Irad Ortiz, Jr. “Because it was a great race [in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies], she ran so good to get beat last time. She got beat by three lengths and she come back maybe a little quick after that tough race, flies back all the way here but we have a great team, they all do a great job, the assistants and the trainer. She was one hundred percent.”

Pedigree Note:

The 26th stakes winner and 19th graded winner for sire Gun Runner, Life Talk is out of a winning Bernardini mare who has produced two other winners from as many to race. As a broodmare sire, Darley's late stallion Bernardini has sired the dams of 82 stakes winner. The dam, a half-sister to GSW Indian Firewater (Indian Charlie), saw her yearling Maclean's Music filly bring $140,000 in January's Keeneland Horses of All Ages Sale while her wealing Bolt d'Oro filly brought a final bid of $250,000 last month at Keeneland November. Touchy Feely is due on a cover to Cyberknife in 2024.

 

Saturday, Aqueduct
DEMOISELLE S.-GII, $250,000, Aqueduct, 12-2, 2yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:51.10, my.
1–LIFE TALK, 118, f, 2, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Touchy Feely, by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Touched, by Touch Gold
                3rd Dam: Bay Barrister, by Miswaki
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($160,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $335,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable; B-Gun Runner Syndicate, Mulholland Springs LLC & Tom Grether Farms Inc. (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $137,500. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-1, $364,250. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Shimmering Allure, 120, f, 2, Enticed–Shimmering Tale, by Wild Again. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($40,000 Ylg '22 FTKJUL). O-Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC; B-Clifton Farm, LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $50,000.
3–Dolomite, 118, f, 2, Unified–Sunset Ridge, by Algorithms.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Alpha Delta Stables, LLC (NY); T-Chad C. Brown. $30,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, 1, 8 1/4. Odds: 1.00, 5.20, 8.50.
Also Ran: Most of All, Caldwell Luvs Gold, Vino Rouge, Ringy Dingy, Cozee Rags. Scratched: Caress.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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In ‘Closing’, Cal-Bred Mare Can Climb Grade I Hill in Matriarch

Stop us if you've heard this a time or a thousand. Horses trained by Chad Brown figure tough in the GI Matriarch S. on closing day of the Bing Crosby Meet at Del Mar. Undisputable though that is–he has, after all, sent out the winner all but once since 2017–Harris Farms homebred Closing Remarks (Vronsky) will look to have the final say Sunday afternoon.

The chestnut has yet to strike in three tries at the top level, though she was runner-up in the 2021 Del Mar Oaks while finishing just ahead of one of the Brown representatives she'll be facing here. Closing Remarks is, however, a three-time graded winner over the one-mile distance of the Matriarch and has recorded two of her four victories at the graded level over the Jimmy Durante turf course, including this year's GII Yellow Ribbon S. and GII John C. Mabee S. going slightly farther. Fourth in the GII Rodeo Drive S. over a 10-furlong journey that likely finds her out, she bounced back to defeat Queen Goddess (Empire Maker) and Hamwood Flier (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in Santa Anita's one-mile GII Goldikiova S. Nov. 5. Juan Hernandez will need to work out a trip from the widest gate, but there is plenty of speed on paper and she should be coming at them late.

The Brown-trained Fluffy Socks (Slumber {GB}) was third in that aforementioned Del Mar Oaks, having won the local GIII Jimmy Durante S. at two. The Head of Plains homebred won the GII Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill on seasonal debut May 6, but has since dropped three straight, including a third in the Listed Athenia S. at Aqueduct Oct. 27.

Whitebeam (GB) (Caravaggio) is the likely Matriarch favorite after downing stablemate In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GI Diana S. going nine furlongs July 15. The Juddmonte homebred has revenge on her mind, having finished an alibi-free fourth to stable companion Gina Romantica (Into Mischief) in the GI First Lady S. at Keeneland Oct. 7.

Sunday's co-featured GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. lacks a marquee horse, and its winner could also come from a high draw. Unplaced behind Mission Beach (Curlin) and Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso) in a pair of main-track sprints, Stay Hot (Summer Front) looked like a new horse when graduating first time turf and first time long at Santa Anita Oct. 7 and exits a 10th in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Lord Bullingdon (Lord Nelson) maps to have a sweet run behind what should be a generous tempo as he looks to add to his victory in the Qatar Gold Mile Nov. 4, while D J Stable's Deadpan (Distorted Humor) looks to build on a neck maiden victory over the Keeneland turf course Oct. 28.

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‘Rising Star’ My Prankster To Stand At West Virginia’s O’Sullivan Farms For 2024

'TDN Rising Star' My Prankster (Into Mischief) has been sold and will stand the 2024 breeding season at O'Sullivan Farms, located in Charles Town, WV.

A $600,000 purchase for Robert & Lawana Low at the Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase in 2020, My Prankster was trained by Todd Pletcher and broke his maiden by ten lengths in 'Rising Star' style at Saratoga. He retires with three wins in 10 career starts including the GIII Swale S. and with $314,840 in earnings.

My Prankster will join Limehouse, Aldrin, Capo Bastone and Golden Years for the 2024 season.

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Maclean’s Music Firster Frolics In the Mud at Aqueduct

2nd-Aqueduct, $85,000, Msw, 12-2, 2yo, 7f, 1:21.99, my, 9 1/2 lengths.
EL CAPI (c, 2, Maclean's Music–Nightlife Baby, by Flatter) was chilly on the board at 13-1 from a morning line of 6-1, but ran them off their feet in Saturday's second race at Aqueduct to open his account in impressive fashion. Hustled away from the inside gate by Jose Gomez, the bay was in front after 100 yards and had already opened an imposing advantage through a quarter in :22.03. Still going great guns after a half-mile in a slick :44.73, El Capi was under a vigorous hand ride through the final furlong and was well clear under the line. Hop Sing (Curlin), the well-backed 8-5 favorite, was off slowly, was deftly angled to the inside by Luis Saez on the turn and just managed to outfinish $1-million KEESEP graduate Conquest Warrior (City of Light), who was last into stride, took an overland route on the turn and stayed on gamely to be third at a lightly regarded 10-1. Having most recently sold for $220,000 at the OBS March Sale, El Capi had made three previous trips through a sales ring. A $35,000 Keeneland November weanling, he fetched the identical amount at last year's Fasig-Tipton February sale and made $75,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale last October. When mated with A.P. Indy-line dams, Maclean's Music has sired two of his four Grade I winners–Jackie's Warrior and Cloud Computing–while GSW & GISP Dance to the Music holds the same distinction. Fellow Grade III winner Classic Rock has a second dam by A.P. Indy. Nightlife Baby's foal of 2022, a colt by Good Magic, was a $60,000 KEENOV weanling purchase by Machmer Hall that was knocked down to Oracle Bloodstock for $230,000 at KEESEP this year. The weanling relation is another colt by Good Magic and Nightlife Baby was most recently bred back to Maclean's Music. Sales history: $35,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $35,000 Ylg '22 FTKFEB; $75,000 Ylg '22 EASOCT; $220,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $46,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-P and G Stable; B-Robert Losey & Maclean's Music Syndicate (KY); T-Richard E Dutrow Jr.

 

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