Tag: Triple Crown

Juddmonte's fourth generation homebred maiden winner Jungfrau could target a rescheduled edition of the $250,000 Withers (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack, now to be run on Saturday. The son of Arrogate is also possible for the following Saturday's Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds, according to Juddmonte General Manager Garrett O'Rourke.

The Withers is a local qualifier on the Road to the Kentucky Derby awarding the top-five finishers 20-8-6-4-2 qualifying points, while the Risen Star carries point value of 50-20-15-10-5. Both are nine-furlong events.

“We've talked about the Risen Star and the Withers. I don't know which one it's going to be yet, but both are in play,” O'Rourke said.

Jungfrau, a gray or roan son of Arrogate, broke his maiden on New Year's Eve at Gulfstream Park going 1 1/16 miles, finishing a nose behind Expect More but was elevated to first via disqualification. Passing the quarter pole, Expect More floated outwards into the path of an advancing Jungfrau, who still managed to find another gear in the stretch drive and hit the finish line in tandem with his foe.

The victory came after a pair of fourth-place efforts at maiden level on the NYRA circuit, finishing 3 1/2 lengths behind subsequent graded stakes winner Champions Dream on debut in September at Saratoga Race Course. In November, he finished 5 1/4 lengths in arrears of possible Withers aspirant Classic Catch going nine furlongs at the Big A.

Jungfrau is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, who swept the exacta in Saturday's Derby-qualifying Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park with Rocket Can and New York-bred Shadow Dragon.

“He was the deserved winner last time because he was the one that did everything professionally,” O'Rourke said. “In the stretch, the horse that finished ahead of him to the wire swung out and gave him a big old bump which knocked him off his momentum. But he came back and was only beaten a nose and found another stride.”

O'Rourke said he believes Jungfrau will end up being a router.

“He runs and looks like a two-turn type of horse,” O'Rourke said. “He's a big, strong galloping horse. When he was an early 2-year-old, the exercise riders really liked him. He was just a bit quirky in his first couple of starts. He was a bit green, stopping and going. Bill says he's perfectly sound, he's just been a bit goofy I think.”

Boasting strong Juddmonte-influenced bloodlines, Jungfrau is out of the Tapit mare South Bank, whose dam Special Duty was a three-time Group 1 winner. His second dam Quest to Peak is a full sister to seven-time Grade 1-winning main track distaffer Sightseek and a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Tates Creek, a dual Grade 1 winner on turf. She is a direct descendant of  1974 champion 3-year-old Chris Evert, a member of the Racing Hall of Fame and an influential broodmare.

The post ‘He Runs And Looks Like A Two-Turn Type Of Horse’: Juddmonte Maiden Winner Jungfrau Could Start On Road To Kentucky Derby In Withers Or Risen Star appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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One week after saddling Art Collector for a victory in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott made another visit to the Gulfstream Park winner's circle after saddling Rocket Can for a triumph in Saturday's $250,000 Holy Bull (G3).

Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc.'s Rocket Can ($7.20) overcame an extremely wide trip in the 1 1/16-mile race to score by three-quarters of a length. The son of Into Mischief was ridden by Junior Alvarado, who was aboard Art Collector for his Pegasus World Cup score.

Rocket Can's triumph capped a graded stakes triple Saturday for Spendthrift Farm's leading sire Into Mischief. He was also represented by two more winning 3-year-olds: Newgate, victor in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) at Santa Anita and General Jim, who landed the Claiborne Farm Swale (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

The Holy Bull, the first graded stakes stop on the road to the $1-million Curlin Florida Derby (G1), headlined Saturday's 12-race program that offered five graded-stakes opportunities for 3-year-olds.

The 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull is a designated Kentucky Derby (G1) prep with the first five finishers earning qualifying points on a 20-8-6-4-2 basis.

Rocket Can broke from the far-outside post position in a field of eight and was caught four-wide around the first turn. Alvarado kept the gray colt in the clear on the outside as Mr. Bob showed the way along the backstretch while posting fractions of :23.92 and :48.84 for the first half mile.

Rocket Can was asked for run leaving the backstretch and made a three-wide move to the lead at the top of the stretch and continued on to withstand a stretch challenge from Shadow Dragon, another Mott trainee ridden by Jose Ortiz.

“The horse broke sharp, and I hustled out of there just to make sure I'm forwardly placed and he was there for me,” Alvarado said. “I couldn't really save much ground the first part because everybody had the same idea to get out of there running. I ended up being a little bit wide, but he was very kind. He was nice and relaxed the whole way around, so I was very pleased with what I had under me. By the three-eighths pole I started picking it up little by little knowing that it's the first wire. I had a great feeling going all the way around.”

Rocket Can ran 1 1/16-miles in 1:44.97 to win his stakes debut. Peachtree Stable's Shadow Dragon, a 30-1 longshot, finished 2 ¼ lengths clear of West Coast Cowboy, a 58-1 longshot ridden by Edgard Zayas.

Rocket Can finished off the board in a pair of sprints at Saratoga before stretching out around to turns to graduate at Churchill Downs by two lengths Oct. 30. The Kentucky-bred colt finished his juvenile campaign with a close second-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance at Churchill Downs Nov. 26.

“It was a little worrisome on the first turn. He was four-wide. It's a short run to the first turn and he had the outside post. He was four-wide in the first turn and then three-wide. The good part about all that is you have a clear trip,” Mott said. “You're running further than everyone else, but he got a nice clean trip and maybe that's what he needed today.”

Saturday's effort strengthened Mott's confidence in Rocket Can's capability to run at longer distances.

“It seems like he can keep going. Hopefully, another sixteenth is good and another three-sixteenths is even better,” said Mott. “Time will tell that.”

Shadow Dragon's strong performance very much pleased his trainer.

“It was a great race for him. I'm very pleased with his effort for a horse that's run only twice,” said Mott, whose New York-bred son of Army Mule defeated state-breds in a six-furlong debut at Aqueduct Sept. 29 before finishing off-the-board in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes. “He moved way forward today.”

The Holy Bull will be followed on the road to the Florida Derby by the Fountain of Youth (G2) March 4.

“I think we'd want to do that with one of them, for sure,” Mott said.

Cyclone Mischief, the 6-5 favorite ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, raced in midpack before fading the seventh.

Rocket Can, bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds, was produced by the Tapit mare Tension.

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Saturday morning's work tab was filled with Kentucky Derby and Oaks dreamers. Hoosier Philly fired her second bullet in as many works since returning to Tom Amoss' barn from her Florida freshening. The undefeated filly breezed five furlongs in 1:00, the best of 67 runners.

“I liked it,” said Fair Grounds clocker Frank McGoey. “She went solo but started about 12-15 lengths behind another Amoss set and caught them at the wire and galloped out well in front. She's got a big stride and covers a lot of ground.”

The Rachel Alexandra (G2) has produced nine of the last 26 winners of the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

“We had a good work this morning and continue to point toward the Rachel Alexandra,” Amoss said.

Ten promising 3-year-old colts hit the morning track running on Saturday, including five of trainer Brad Cox's Derby hopefuls. Victory Formation was the sharpest of the five. Making his third morning appearance since winning the Smarty Jones, the son of Tapwrit sizzled through 5 furlongs in 1:00.40, second only to Hoosier Philly. He is undefeated from three starts.

Tapit Shoes and Tapit's Conquest both went four furlongs in :48.80 (7/107) in their first morning work since their allowance race on the “Road to the Derby Day” card.

In his third local work since finishing second to Wildatlanticstorm in the Remington Springboard Mile, Giant Mischief breezed five furlongs in 1:01.20 (9/67). Verifying posted the same time in his second work since his allowance win at Oaklawn Park.

All first breezes since heir last race and all breezing four furlongs, of the other 3-year-old colts on the work tab, it was Invulnerable who stole the show.

The Joe Sharp trainee fired a bullet, going :47.60–the best of 107 runners at the distance. Determinedly, the winner of that common allowance race on the Lecomte undercard, breezed :49.20 for Mark Casse (19/107).

Exiting the Lecomte, both Denington for Ken McPeek and Confidence Game for Keith Desormeaux breezed, with the former traveling a second faster (:49.00; 13/107) than the latter (50.00 47/107).

The Florida-bred Cagliostro, an impressive maiden winner on the Lecomte Day undercard for Cherie DeVaux, breezed  four furlongs in :49.60 (29/107).

After finishing a game second to The Alys Look in the Silverbulletday, Chop Chop returned to the morning work tab, logging an easy  four furlongs in :50, ranking 47 of 107.

The Myrtlewood Stakes winner, Key of Life posted her fifth local work for Brad Cox. The 3-year-old filly breezed four furlongs in :49.80 (35th of 107).

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Bob Baffert couldn't lose. The trainer of all four horses in Saturday's $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita, the white-haired Hall of Famer watched favored Newgate gradually get the best of longshot Hard to Figure in winning by a neck under Frankie Dettori.

The Into Mischief colt covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.11 on a track rated as fast.

Under considerable restraint while last by about 2 ½ lengths heading to the far turn, Newgate ambled alongside leaders Arabian Lion and Hard to Figure leaving the quarter pole and under aggressive handling from Dettori, got the job done in getting his first graded stakes win.

“We had good pace in the race, we came back in good time,” said Dettori, who was aboard Newgate for the second consecutive time today. “Today, we moved sharper and we beat some good horses. He was a little slow with his lead changes, but he ran well.”

Most recently second, beaten a neck in the Sham Stakes (G3) going a flat mile  Jan. 8 at Santa Anita, Newgate was off at even money and paid $4 for the win.

“Frankie Dettori has been teaching him how to just sit back, relax, and come with a punch and that's what he did today,” said Baffert. “…Newgate, before when we were sending him, he wasn't finishing. I wasn't sure how far he wanted to go…I was actually nervous before the race, worried that something weird might happen, but I can relax now.”

An $850,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase from Taylor Made Sales Agency, the colt is out of the Majestic Warrior mare Majestic Presence. Newgate is owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, et al.

With the Robert B. Lewis winner's share of $120,000, Newgate increased his earnings to $241,975 and improved his overall mark to 2-2-0 from six starts. The race is a Kentucky Derby qualifier and Newgate earned 20 points for his victory.

Hard to Figure, who broke sharply while adding blinders from his outside post, pressured Arabian Lion to the furlong marker and gave way grudgingly late in a big effort.

Ridden by Ramon Vazquez and off at 12-1, Hard to Figure finished 1 ¾ lengths in front of Worcester.

For his part, Worcester, off as the third choice at 5-2 with Juan Hernandez, sat third to the quarter pole and finished 3 ¼ lengths better than Arabian Lion.

Fractions on the race were :23.87, “47.76, 1:11.98, and 1:36.65.

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