Tag: Triple Crown

RED-TR Racing's Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Rich Strike returned to the Churchill Downs work tab Saturday morning with a swift half-mile move in :47.20 in preparation for the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1) June 11.

The 80-1 upset winner of the Kentucky Derby breezed with rider Gabe Lagunes in the saddle through an opening quarter-mile fraction of :22.80 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60.

“Skipping the Preakness was still one of the toughest decisions I had to make as a trainer,” said Eric Reed, who stood alongside owner Rick Dawson for the work. “I just don't think he would've been mentally ready to run against those horses again.”

Reed originally reported Rich Strike would van to Belmont next week but will now keep the Derby winner in Barn 17 at Churchill until May 31. The son of Keen Ice is tentatively scheduled to work again Monday, May 30.

“He does so well here I just didn't want to change anything yet,” Reed said. “He'll get eight or nine days at Belmont to gallop and get used to the surface.”

Jockey Sonny Leon, who rode Rich Strike to victory in the Derby, will have the return mount in the Belmont.

The post Kentucky Derby Winner Rich Strike Breezes At Churchill, Reed Revises Shipping Plan To Belmont appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

For many in this year's Preakness Stakes field, the road to Pimlico Race Course involved a six-figure trip through the auction ring. Skippylongstocking took a similar route to Baltimore, but with a key detour.

The Exaggerator colt is the lone horse in the Preakness field to change hands at a 2-year-old sale prior to his racing career, and his $37,000 sale price at the 2021 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training was the lowest of this year's entries.

Across town from Pimlico, Jimbo Gladwell plans to watch the race from the Maryland State Fairgrounds as he shows horses from his Top Line Sales consignment ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. If Skippylongstocking pulls off the upset, it would be a monumental name to add to Top Line's fast-growing list of prominent alumni.

However, Gladwell is quick to acknowledge that he did not have his hands on the horse for very long before he went through the ring. The colt shipped directly to the Top Line shedrow at last year's OBS Spring sale after the father-son team of Tito and Luis Guevara of Doble Jak Investments did the heavy lifting getting him ready.

“They did a great job with the horse,” Gladwell said. “They had the horse ready. He came straight to us and trained good, prepped good, was in one piece, and we just got the honor of selling him for them. We didn't do a whole lot of work other than hold him together and point him down the track.”

Getting a horse in the gate for any of the Triple Crown races is a triumph against the odds for even the biggest operations that start and resell racehorses, but Skippylongstocking's entry in the Preakness is a special kind of moonshot for the Doble Jak operation, which keeps its numbers between five and 10 young horses to start each year.

“It's pretty much me, my father, and my grooms,” Luis Guevara said about the Florida-based Doble Jak operation. “For the most part, we like to keep it small and hands-on.”

Luis said he and and his father Tito complement each other's strong points when it comes to pinhooking horses.

Luis handles the business end, taking care of the buying and selling of the horses, working with the consignors, sale companies, clients, and potential buyers. Tito, who was a jockey in Venezuela for over 25 years, handles what can be done in the saddle.

“He's the mastermind,” Luis said of his father. “I've learned not to question him. He always seems to be right.

“The best sale horse we ever had was Sarah Sis,” he continued. “We breezed her, I'm not lying to you, one time, and he said, 'We're not breezing this filly again until we get to OBS.' We never breezed her again. She ended up earning almost a million dollars at the races. After that, I thought maybe I should listen to him a little more.”

Both Luis and Tito were skeptical of Skippylongstocking before he went through the ring at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, but the colt fit their price range between $10,000 and $20,000, and as the very last horse on offer for the session, they wondered if they might find a soft spot in the market after most other buyers had left for the night.

“The sale was really hard that year, everything was so expensive,” Luis said. “He comes up, and I kind of overlooked him because he was really immature. He was a big horse, lanky and narrow, but you could tell he was going to need a lot of time.

“I remember the guy running the (consignor) South Point shows saw me looking at him, and my dad and I were walking away, and he comes up running and says, 'Man, you need to take another look at him. His half-brother is breezing pretty hard at Gulfstream,'” Luis continued, referencing Moonlite Strike, who has since become a stakes winner. “We went back I talked to my dad, and he said if we give him the time, he thought he was going to be a nice horse. He was so lanky, and we knew if we put in the time, he would fill out eventually, and that's pretty much how it went.”

Doble Jak landed the colt for $15,000. The underbidder was trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who had Moonlite Strike in his barn. Joseph would eventually saddle Skippylongstocking, as well.

Luis said the colt was never outstanding during his time learning how to become a racehorse with Doble Jak, but he wasn't a problem child in training. His behavior in the barn was another issue.

“He was pretty much straightforward,” Luis said. “The only thing that was different was his attitude. He was a very mean horse. Feeding time was bad for him, for us, because he used to try to kick you, bite you, run up to you. Stuff like that.”

The Doble Jak method for training is just that – methodical. Luis said his dad is patient to a fault when it comes to bringing a horse along, making sure the one or two furlongs they cover during the breeze show isn't the peak of their athletic careers.

“He doesn't like to push,” Luis said. “I get frustrated sometimes when I feel like we need to push them a little harder, but he gets on them, and he knows which ones are ready and which ones need a little more work. We only work them about five times prior to the sale.”

Skippylongstocking breezed an eighth of a mile in :10 2/5 seconds during the OBS Spring breeze show, and he finished under his reserve when he went through the ring. However, the Guevara team got the colt sold privately when he returned to the barn, going to owner Daniel Alsono – and into Joseph's barn – for $37,000.

Even if Skippylongstocking doesn't run a step on Satruday, it has already been a solid purchase for Alsono. Skippylongstocking has won a pair of races at Gulfstream Park and earned $156,100 on the racetrack, most recently finishing third in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial.

With a day left before the big race, Luis said he was still mulling over if and how he'd make it to the Preakness to watch Skippylongstocking run. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but he's also got to try to create the next once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“I was trying to get the tickets, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it to the race or not,” he said. “I've got four horses in the (OBS) June sale, and it kind of conflicts with the timing. I might not have one in there for a very long time, if ever again.”

The post Skippylongstocking’s Preakness Bid Could Be Monumental For Doble Jak Investments, Top Line Sales appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher sent a number of his stars to breeze over the dirt training track Friday in preparation for engagements at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, including Mo Donegal for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets.

The three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which runs from Thursday, June 9 through Saturday, June 11, will encompass 17 total stakes, including eight Grade 1s on Belmont Stakes Day, capped by the “Test of the Champion” for 3-year-olds in the 1 1/2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown.

In addition to the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 11, that day's card will include three Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifiers: the one-mile Grade 1, $1 million Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap for 3-year-olds and up [Dirt Mile]; the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps for older fillies and mares 4-years-old and up going 1 1/16 miles on the main track [Distaff]; and the Grade 1, $400,000 Jaipur for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on turf [Turf Sprint].

The blockbuster Belmont Stakes Day card will also feature the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Manhattan for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/4 miles on turf; the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies going one mile; the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Just a Game for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at one mile on the turf; the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun in a seven-furlong sprint over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds; and the Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn Invitational, a 1 1/2-mile test for 4-year-olds and up.

Tickets for the 2022 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival are available at https://www.belmontstakes.com/tickets/.

Joining Mo Donegal on the tab were Nest [Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets], Wit [Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun], Malathaat [Grade 1 Ogden Phipps], Fearless [Grade 2 Brooklyn Invitational] and First Constitution [Grade 2 Brooklyn Invitational].

Donegal Racing and Repole Stable's Mo Donegal enjoyed a strong campaign at Aqueduct Racetrack, winning the Grade 2 Remsen in December and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April.

The late-running Uncle Mo colt was away slow from the inside post last out in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, rallying from 17 lengths off the pace to finish fifth, defeated 3 3/4-lengths by upset winner Rich Strike.

Mo Donegal breezed a half-mile in 50.02 Friday in company with Grade 1 Ashland winner Nest, who is possible to take on the boys in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.

“It was a good maintenance breeze,” said Pletcher's New York-based assistant Byron Hughes. “They both were moving well and galloped out well. They were on even terms throughout and we were happy with the breeze.”

Owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, Nest captured the Grade 2 Demoiselle in December at the Big A to launch a win streak that included scores in the Suncoast in February at Tampa Bay Downs ahead of her 8 1/4-length coup in the Ashland at Keeneland. The Curlin filly closed to complete the exacta last out in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, finishing two lengths back of Secret Oath.

Shadwell Stable's 2021 Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Malathaat worked five-eighths in 1:01.58 in company with Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway Stable's multiple graded-stakes winner Wit.

“Both are good breeze horses and made a good matchup,” Hughes said. “They went head-and-head throughout in 1:01 and change and had a good, solid gallop out.”

Malathaat, a regally-bred daughter of Curlin out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Dreaming of Julia, captured the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland and the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs last year in a memorable sophomore campaign completed by a close third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar.

The talented bay posted a three-quarter length score in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare in April at Keeneland in her seasonal debut and is set to lead a talented field of older fillies and mares in the 1 1/16-mile Ogden Phipps expected to include Letruska, the reigning Champion Older Dirt Female.

“She's always been a big filly and has held her weight well. She's always been professional in the mornings and I thought this was a very professional move, similar to what I saw from her last year,” Hughes said.

Wit, by Practical Joke, made two graded starts last summer at Saratoga, romping to an eight-length score in the Grade 3 Sanford in July ahead of a troubled runner-up effort to Gunite in the Grade 1 Hopeful in September. The dark bay colt completed his juvenile campaign with a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Champagne in October at Belmont and recently won his seasonal debut, taking the seven-furlong Grade 3 Bay Shore by a nose on April 9 at Aqueduct.

“The Bay Shore was a big effort from him. He really dug in there and we were happy with that effort,” Hughes said. “He bounced out of it in really good form and has put in some really solid works. We're really happy with where he is right now.”

Repole Stable's multiple graded-stakes winner Fearless worked a half-mile in 49.55 in company with Don Alberto Stable, WinStar Farm and Twin Creeks Racing Stables' multiple stakes winner First Constitution in preparation for the Brooklyn.

“It was a maintenance half-mile and both were moving well,” Hughes said. “They both gave us everything we wanted to see from them.”

Fearless, a 6-year-old gelded son of Ghostzapper, captured the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile and Grade 3 Harlan's Holiday last year at the Hallandale Beach oval. He added the nine-furlong Grade 3 Ghostzapper to his ledger on April 2 at Gulfstream ahead of a runner-up effort last out in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 23.

“He's a big, scopey horse and acts like he would run all day, so I would imagine the distance would not be an issue for him based on what we've been seeing,” Hughes said.

First Constitution, a 5-year-old Chilean-bred son of Constitution, captured his first stateside win in January at the Big A, romping to a 6 3/4-length score in the nine-furlong Jazil. He followed with a third-place finish in the Excelsior in April at Aqueduct ahead of a four-length score over Portos last out in the 11-furlong Flat Out on May 6 at Belmont.

CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's Americanrevolution has breezed twice over the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for his seasonal debut, including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.02 on May 16.

“He's doing really well. He came in from WinStar in great shape and has had a couple breezes here now,” Hughes said. “He continues to impress us and we're happy with where he is off the layoff.”

The New York-bred Constitution colt defeated open company in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by NYRA Bets last out in December at the Big A to cap a season that included scores against fellow state-breds in the New York Derby at Finger Lakes, the Albany at Saratoga and the Empire Classic at Belmont.

The $275,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale purchase is targeting the $200,000 Commentator, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up on the May 30 Big Apple Showcase Day card at Belmont.

The post Mo Donegal Tops Pletcher Trainees Pointing To Belmont Stakes Festival appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post