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For Spirit of Makena’s Connections, Patience Is a Virtue Rewarded In San Carlos

For owner/breeder Bruce Chandler, patience was a virtue rewarded when his eye-catching Spirit of Makena captured the GIII San Carlos S. in just his four career start.

A head shy from perfection in his spaced-out career, Spirit of Makena debuted late in his 4-year-old season; not seen until an Aug. 5 maiden special at Del Mar last season. He was hounded every step of the way on his step up to allowance optional company Sept. 11 in his first trip at the mile and just couldn't hold off Holden the Lute (Midnight Lute) on the wire. Gone until Feb. 11 this year, he outdueled GSP Anarchist (Distorted Humor) in a six-panel optional claimer dash at Santa Anita to return to the winner's enclosure as his prep for this graded contest.

Taken off the front as Forbidden Kingdom was allowed to set his own pace, Spirit of Makena was never far behind and content to track off the rail to avoid hooking into a speed duel. Urged along by Joe Bravo as the pair rolled into the turn, he hit the lead by the three-sixteenths and left Forbidden Kingdom in his wake to pull clear under steady handling by 1 1/2 lengths. Forbidden Kingdom kept open ground on the rest of the field as Get Her Number rolled in from the back to close out the trifecta.

“Coming out of the last race he won, he came out of it great and he's been training great,” said conditioner George Papaprodromou, who notched his second stakes win of the meet. “He was doing great leading into this race and we tried.  Obviously, it was a tough spot [but] we gave it a shot. He ran huge and what can I say? He's a nice horse.”

Pedigree Notes:

Spirit of Makena becomes the 94th stakes winne/50th graded winner for his leading sire Ghostzapper. The Ghostzapper cross over Gilded Time is also responsible for MGISW Shaman Ghost.

The most accomplished runner from his three-time winning dam, Spirit of Makena has a 3-year-old unraced half-sister by Merit Man. He hails from the extended female family of 10-time victor and Canadian staple GSP Spigot (Plugged Nickel).

Saturday, Santa Anita
SAN CARLOS S. PRESENTED BY FANDUEL-GIII, $200,500, Santa Anita, 3-11, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:22.06, gd.
1–SPIRIT OF MAKENA, 120, h, 5, by Ghostzapper
          1st Dam: Win for M'lou, by Gilded Time
          2nd Dam: Take the Picture, by Doneraile Court
          3rd Dam: I'vegotthatfeeling, by Regal Classic
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Bruce Chandler (KY); T-George Papaprodromou; J-Joe Bravo. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, $227,600. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Forbidden Kingdom, 124, c, 4, American Pharoah–Just Louise, by Five Star Day. ($300,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Springhouse Farm (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $40,000.
3–Get Her Number, 124, h, 5, Dialed In–Fancier, by Bernstein. ($45,000 2yo '20 OBSAPR). O-Gary Barber; B-Philip & Brenda Robertson (KY); T-Peter Miller. $24,000.
Margins: 1HF, 1 1/4, HD. Odds: 2.50, 1.80, 1.70.
Also Ran: Howbeit, Holden the Lute, Clem Labine.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Kentucky Oaks Winner Secret Oath Impressive in Azeri Return

Last year's GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Secret Oath (f, 4, Arrogate–Absinthe Minded, by Quiet American) returned to the races in style in Saturday's GII Azeri S. at Oaklawn.

The 7-5 second choice raced one from the back rounding the clubhouse turn after exiting from the one hole. Racing under a nice hold down the backstretch, she launched her familiar, wide sweeping move on the far turn, hit the front under confident handling in the stretch and had 2 3/4 lengths to spare over favored MGISW Clairiere (Curlin), last seen just missing by a head while finishing third in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland Nov. 5. Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) was third.

“She's got such a long stride,” said D. Wayne Lukas, who also trained the race's brilliant namesake Azeri. “She just kicks. When she kicks it in like that, her stride increases about four feet. She just eats that ground up. It's impressive to watch it. I thought she would run a big one today. I have so much respect for Steve Asmussen's filly (Clairiere). I was confident she would run a big one, but when you've got a field this tough, you've got to beat them. I just thought she would throw a real good one today because I did everything I wanted to do with her coming into it. I didn't have to adjust a work or anything. I did it all when I wanted to. I thought I had her tuned.”

Lukas added that Secret Oath will start next in the $1-million GI Apple Blossom H. at Oaklawn Apr. 15.

Winning jockey Tyler Gaffalione added, “I didn't want to rush her off her feet. I know what kind of kick she has, so I just let her kind of find herself in the place she wanted to be. Going into the (second turn), she tried to go about the three-eighths pole. Just took a little hold of her and she came right back to me. Swung her out coming down the stretch. Showed her the whip once and she finished the job well.”

Secret Oath improved her record to four-for-five in Hot Springs. She was an impressive winner of last term's GIII Honeybee S. and Martha Washington S., and was also third as the favorite against the boys in the GI Arkansas Derby.

The Azeri ended a five-race losing streak for Secret Oath. Second behind champion 3-year-old filly Nest (Curlin) in Saratoga's GI CCA Oaks and GI Alabama S. last summer, the GI Preakness S. fourth-place finisher concluded her sophomore campaign with a fifth-place finish after leading in the stretch in the Distaff.

Pedigree Notes:

Secret Oath is one of four graded winners, all Grade I winners, for the gone-too-soon Arrogate.

Robert Mitchell and his wife Stacy purchased Secret Oath's then 10-year-old second dam Rockford Peach for $36,000 in foal to Running Stag at the Adena Springs sale at Fasig-Tipton in 2001, and clearly the best of the 11 foals she produced for Briland Farm was her fourth to hit the ground, Absinthe Minded.

Also trained by Lukas, the daughter of Quiet American won two renewals of the Bayakoa S. and the Pippin S. at Oaklawn and was placed twice in the GI Apple Blossom H. Outside of Arkansas, Absinthe Minded was narrowly runner-up in the 2011 GII Shuvee H. and third in that year's GII Molly Pitcher S. All totaled, the mare won six times from 35 starts and bankrolled over $607,000.

The fourth foal for her dam, Secret Oath was cataloged through Bluewater Sales as hip 1242 to the 2020 Keeneland September Sale, but a bit of fate intervened and she was withdrawn.

Absinthe Minded is the dam of an unraced 3-year-old filly by Medaglia d'Oro. She was most recently covered by Unbridled's Song's son Liam's Map in 2022.

Saturday, Oaklawn
AZERI S.-GII, $350,000, Oaklawn, 3-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.26, ft.
1–SECRET OATH, 119, f, 4, by Arrogate
               1st Dam: Absinthe Minded (MSW & MGISP, $607,747), by Quiet American
                2nd Dam: Rockford Peach, by Great Above
                3rd Dam: Strawberry Skyline, by Hatchet Man
O-Briland Farm; B-Briland Farm, Robert & Stacy Mitchell (KY);
T-D. Wayne Lukas; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $213,850. Lifetime
Record: GISW, 14-6-2-3, $1,982,267. Werk Nick Rating: F.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Clairiere, 119, m, 5, Curlin–Cavorting, by Bernardini.
O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred
Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $65,800.
3–Interstatedaydream, 119, f, 4, Classic Empire–Babcock, by
Uncle Mo. ($105,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $130,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP;
$175,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC;
B-William D. Graham (ON); T-Brad H. Cox. $32,900.
Margins: 2 3/4, HD, HF. Odds: 1.40, 1.10, 5.90.
Also Ran: Hot and Sultry, Le Da Vida (Chi), Lovely Ride, Hidden Connection, Moon Swag.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Kentucky Oaks Winner Secret Oath Impressive in Azeri Return appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Tapit Trice Turns In Furious Stretch Rally To Win Tampa Bay Derby

At almost no point during the opening 6 1/2 furlongs of Saturday's GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby did things look particularly promising for Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's heavily favored Tapit Trice (Tapit).

But in a stretch rally befitting his status as a 'TDN Rising Star', the $1.3-million Keeneland September graduate went through his gears and whistled home to–somewhat unbelievably–post an open-lengths victory over Classic Car Wash (Noble Bird) and Classic Legacy (Into Mischief), the third- and fourth-place finishers, respectively, in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. four weeks back.

One of the last to take up his spot in stall six, Tapit Trice was sluggishly into stride, was clearly last through the opening exchanges and was niggled along by Luis Saez before the field had entered the clubhouse turn. Longshot Dreaming of Kona (Fast Anna) took them into the backstretch, but as the half-mile went up in :46.96, Tapit Trice was under even heavier urging three off the fence and Saez even had to resort to a right-handed slap of the crop down the neck of his mount to keep his mind on the increasingly tall task at hand.

Still scrubbed along vigorously at the three-eighths marker and racing with just three rivals behind him at that stage, Tapit Trice was wheeled out about seven wide into the stretch, with plenty of work to do. Classic Car Wash, four wide the trip, came calling for the lead outside of Dreaming of Kona just inside the eighth pole, but Tapit Trice finally hit top gear, wrested command with 70 yards to race and remarkably put a margin on the competition.

“It took him a while to get on track but I was very impressed down the lane,” said Pletcher, winning the race for a record-extending sixth time. “He finished up the way we expected him to. He certainly seems like the farther he goes, the stronger he gets. He's got a big, long stride. Once he got clear down the lane, he really extended himself and I loved the way he finished up. He relished the two turns and the longer he goes, the better he'll get.

Pletcher continued, “Luis fits him well. He understands the way he needs to be ridden and he knows he's not going to come out of the gate quickly. He gave him plenty of time to get going. I feel like he is still learning, though he got a good education today. But he's a horse that I think still needs a little more racing experience to completely put everything together.”

Pletcher indicated that Tapit Trice's final Kentucky Derby prep could come in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 8.

Tapit Trice becomes the 100th worldwide graded/group winner for his Gainesway-based stallion. He is the fourth son of Tapit to win this particular Derby, joining Ring Weekend (2014), the Pletcher-conditioned future GI Belmont S. hero and now fellow Gainesway sire Tapwrit (2017) and Tacitus (2019).

“Thanks to Mandy Pope for letting me stay in on this lovely colt,” said Tapit Trice's breeder, Gainesway's Antony Beck. “We knew he is a very talented colt and we thought he had a very good chance today.”

Added Pope: “It was awesome–just the whole team from Whisper Hill Farm, Gainesway, Todd Pletcher–it takes a mountain of people to be in this position, but the horse is the one who did it. I lost track of him in the race and thought he was never going to make it up, but once he got free he ate up the ground.”

A useful third on his one-mile debut at Aqueduct the day after the Breeders' Cup Nov. 6, Tapit Trice defeated next-out winner and recent GIII Gotham S. runner-up Slip Mahoney (Arrogate) in a muddy mile event in South Ozone Park Dec. 17. Despite earning a lofty 87 Beyer for that effort, Tapit Trice was the somewhat surprising 13-10 second choice behind 9-10 stable companion Shesterkin (Violence) in a Feb. 4 allowance at Gulfstream, in which he turned on the afterburners in the lane to score by eight lengths.

Pedigree Notes:

Also a 159th black-type winner for his sire, Tapit Trice is bred on the exact same cross as two-time Eclipse Award and three-time Grade I winner Unique Bella, Grade II winner West Coast Belle and Grade III victor Capensis. Additional graded winners by Tapit out of Unbridled-line mares include Valiance and the aforementioned Tacitus.

The winner's now 11-year-old dam, a $5,500 Keeneland November weanling and $10,000 Fasig-Tipton October Yearling, was knocked down to Gainesway for $105,000 at the 2014 OBS April Sale and went on to be a three-time stakes and Grade III-placed winner of better than $312,000 while under the care of Steve Asmussen. She visited Union Rags in her first year at stud in 2018 and saw her and her family's value appreciate when her three-quarter sister Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) earned an Eclipse Award with her victory in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Jaywalk's first foal, a now 2-year-old colt by the late Duramente (Jpn), was sold for ¥300 million (US$2,205,927) at last year's JRHA Select Sale.

Hailing from the female family of the capable graded winners Mission Impazible and Forest Camp, Tapit Trice has 2-year-old and yearling full-sisters and Danzatrice was unsurprisingly bred back to Tapit.

Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs
LAMBHOLM SOUTH TAMPA BAY DERBY-GIII, $360,000,
Tampa Bay Downs, 3-11, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.37, ft.
1–TAPIT TRICE, 120, c, 3, by Tapit
          1st Dam: Danzatrice (MSW & GSP, $312,145), by Dunkirk
          2nd Dam: Lady Pewitt, by Orientate
          3rd Dam: Spin Room, by Spinning World
'TDN Rising Star' 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($1,300,000
Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Whisper Hill Farm, LLC and Gainesway
Stable (Antony Beck); B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd. (KY);
T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Luis Saez. $210,000. Lifetime Record:
4-3-0-1, $310,150. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Classic Car Wash, 120, g, 3, Noble Bird–East Lake Classic, by
Orientate. ($105,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR). O-Gary Barber;
B-Sherry R. Mansfield & Kenneth H. Davis (FL); T-Mark E.
Casse. $80,000.
3–Classic Legacy, 120, c, 3, Into Mischief–Distorted Legacy, by
Distorted Humor. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
O/B-W. Bruce Lunsford (KY); T-William I. Mott. $35,000.
Margins: 2, 1 1/4, 1HF. Odds: 0.50, 13.10, 6.00.
Also Ran: Prairie Hawk, Lord Miles, Dreaming of Kona,
Shesterkin, Groveland, Zydeceaux, Mikey Bananas,
Champions Dream, Freedom Road.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, 
sponsored by TVG.

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