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Rhyme Schemes Dominates the Saratoga Special

Rhyme Schemes (Ghostzapper) backed up his big-figure Ellis Park maiden win with a dominating performance in Saturday's GII Saratoga Special S.

After bumping into 'TDN Rising Star' Edified (Tapit) at the start, the even-money favorite sat in the garden spot in an outside joint third through an opening quarter in :22.18. He loomed up with authority while three wide approaching the quarter pole and blew the race apart from there, running up the score in the stretch to win by 9 1/2 lengths. Longshot Market Street (Street Boss) was second. It was another 3/4 of a length back to second- choice Haul (Army Mule) in third.

A well-beaten sixth on debut behind subsequent Bashford Manor S. runner-up Wilson Q (Constitution) and troubled GIII Sanford S. runner-up Gold Sweep (Speightstown) in a very live maiden special weight at Churchill Downs May 18, Rhyme Schemes looked like a different horse with first-time blinkers, airing by 9 1/2 lengths second out going 5 1/2 furlongs at Ellis Park June 15. He earned a gaudy 94 Beyer Speed Figure that day, the highest of any 2-year-old in the country this season.

“There's always pressure,” winning trainer Norm Casse said. “The problem with Saratoga is I'm never 100% confident. I knew the horse was very talented from the onset. Right when we got him, I could tell that he had multiple gears underneath him. That number [94 Beyer Speed Figure last out] was so big it was hard to believe. I needed some more affirmation and I think we got it today.”

Rhyme Schemes will return in Saratoga's seven-furlong GI Hopeful S. on closing weekend Sept. 4.

“We skipped the Sanford with the intention of running him twice,” Casse said. “Here today and coming back in the Hopeful. I think going forward, he's going to be a better two-turn horse, but that remains to be seen.”

Winning owner Deuce Greathouse of Pura Vida Investments added, “The time he ran at Ellis was the first time we gave him his head and let him out, and today was the second time and you see what he does. It's kind of jaw dropping when he does it and sprints away like that.”

Pedigree Notes:

Rhyme Schemes, a $210,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, becomes the 97th stakes winner/51st graded winner worldwide for Ghostzapper. The Ghostzapper/Distorted Humor cross is also responsible for GISWs Guarana and Molly Morgan. The winning dam Katherine, a $575,000 OBS April breezer, produced a colt by Honor A. P. in 2022 and a colt by Candy Ride (Arg) in 2023. She was bred back to Honor A. P. This is the extended female family of GISWs Malathaat (Curlin), Dream Rush (Wild Rush), Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy), et al.

Saturday, Saratoga
HERB MOELIS MEMORIAL SARATOGA SPECIAL S.-GII, $200,000, Saratoga, 8-12, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:17.12, ft.
1–RHYME SCHEMES, 120, c, 2, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Katherine, by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Eileen's Dream, by Bernardini
3rd Dam: Turbo Dream, by Unbridled
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($210,000
Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Pura Vida Investments LLC; B-Parks
Investment Group, LLC (KY); T-Norm W Casse; J-Ricardo
Santana Jr. $110,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $180,950.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Market Street, 120, c, 2, Street Sense–Quality Way, by
Quality Road. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($275,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Les Wagner; B-Robert & Lawana
Low (KY); T-D Wayne Lukas. $40,000.
3–Haul, 120, c, 2, Army Mule–Western Kitty, by Western Fame.
1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($260,000 2yo '23
OBSAPR). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners & St Elias Stable;
B-KMN Racing LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $24,000.
Margins: 9HF, 3/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 1.05, 12.90, 2.30.
Also Ran: Lasso, Edified, Woodcourt. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Path Through Best Pal Runs Through Baffert’s Barn

It should be no shock that the path to glory in the GIII Best Pal S. will pass through the barn of Bob Baffert at Del Mar Sunday afternoon. He'll bring back a pair of 'TDN Rising Stars' in $2m OBS March sales topper Muth (Good Magic) and $950,000 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Sale grad Prince of Monaco (Speightstown). Both colts impressed in their lone prior starts–Muth earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure in his gate-to-wire 8 3/4-length blowout at Santa Anita June 18 while Prince of Monaco rolled home by eight in almost an identical time for five furlongs at Los Alamitos July 9.

The only other entry in this five-horse field given any sort of respect on the morning line is Tranche (Collected) for trainer Luis Mendez. While it took him three tries to break his maiden, he graduated in stakes company when taking the Fasig-Tipton Futurity S. by 7 1/4 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion at Santa Anita June 17.

Doug O'Neill's Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) is the only runner in the bunch to have a win over the Del Mar surface. He took his maiden race by 2 1/4 lengths on debut July 23 for owners Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis.

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Trevor Denman Wins Pincay Award

Popular track announcer Trevor Denman, who came to Del Mar in 1984 and has been the track's voice ever since, has been named the 19th recipient of the Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award. The native of South Africa will be honored at the shore track Saturday, Aug. 19.

The Pincay Award, named for, and presented by, the Hall of Fame rider, goes to those who have served the sport of racing “with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination and distinction.”

“Trevor is my favorite announcer,” said Pincay, Jr. “He called many of the races I rode and when I was winning a big stakes race, it was always good to hear his exciting call in the stretch.”

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Liam’s Map’s Deterministic Is Sire’s Newest ‘Rising Star’ at Saratoga

Displaying some single-minded ways in the post parade, where he proved himself quite the handful, St Elias Stable, Ken Langone, C. Steven Duncker and Vicarage Stable's Deterministic (Liam's Map–Giulio's Jewel, by Speightstown) was off slowly on top of his pre-race antics, but he overcame it all to relentlessly grind his way to 'TDN Rising Star' honors in Saturday's fifth race from Saratoga.

Clearly last from the stalls, the dark bay colt lingered at the back of the field for a time, then was content to tuck into sixth as Informed Patriot (Hard Spun) set the pace in advance of 24-1 outside Hurricane Nelson (Khozan). Appearing to be climbing into the dirt, Deterministic was taken out three wide, was more settled on the turn and began to zero in on the leaders nearing the stretch. As many as six paths off the inside as the field hit the top of the stretch, the colt bumped soundly with 6-5 favorite Eliminate (Curlin), but athletically regained his stride and steamed down the center of the track to nail Hurricane Nelson in the shadow of the wire to score at odds just north of 7-2. Eliminate stayed on for third.

Deterministic is the three winner from three of racing age for the three-time winning Giulio's Jewel and his hammer price of $625,000 was the most expensive of the 58 (75 through the ring) of his sire's progeny reported as sold in 2022. Most of the action in Deterministic's pedigree is in the third dam, the stakes-winning Amelia. A half-sister to the talented European sprinter Bertolini (Danzig) and SW Alchemilla (Deputy Minister), she is the dam of seven winners, among them five full black-type scorers, including GSW & GISP Kindergarden Kid (Dynaformer); MGSW & GISP Rainha da Bateria (Broken Vow); Japanese group winners Rabbit Run (Tapit) and Asakusa Genki (Stormy Atlantic); GSW Assateague (Stormy Atlantic); and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up He's Had Enough (Tapit). Amelia's dam Aquilegia (Alydar) was a full-sister to champion Althea. Giulio's Jewel, a half-sister to the GII Lake Placid S. runner-up Duff One (Harlan's Holiday), passed away after foaling a Frosted filly in 2022.

Deterministic is the third 'Rising Star' for Liam's Map.

5th-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 8-12, 2yo, 7f, 1:24.18, ft, 1/2 length.
DETERMINISTIC, c, 2, by Liam's Map
1st Dam: Giulio's Jewel, by Speightstown
2nd Dam: Acadiana, by Tiznow
3rd Dam: Amelia, by Dixieland Band
Sales history: $625,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $57,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree, or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, C. Steven Duncker, and Vicarage Stable; B-Hinkle Farms (KY); T-Christophe Clement.

 

 

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