Tag: Triple Crown

Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Barese drilled five-furlongs Saturday in his final work for the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, a 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifier on April 9 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

A son of Laoban, Barese covered the five-eighths over the training track at Belmont Park in 1:03.10. The work came one week after a sharp drill in 59.98 seconds for the same distance.

Though he was not aboard for Barese's most recent works, jockey Dylan Davis said he has kept up with trainer Mike Maker's assistant Nelson Donis on the colt's efforts in the mornings.

“Nelson said he's been training well. I'm really excited for the race,” said Davis “I think he'll be competitive and handle the distance. We'll see what happens.”

Barese has put together a perfect resume from three starts, beginning with a debut maiden special weight victory sprinting five furlongs at Belmont in May.

He was away from the races for eight months before he returned in the Rego Park at the Big A on Jan. 9, stretching out to 6 1/2 furlongs to face winners for the first time. Barese made easy work of his eight opponents, charging down the center of the lane under regular rider Dylan Davis to take command in the stretch and win by 2 3/4 lengths.

The bay colt saw more ground in his next outing, taking on the one-turn mile Gander and a field that included impressive maiden winner Bold Journey, a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Americanrevolution. Barese once again stalked the pace under Davis and had to work a bit harder down the stretch to take command from pacesetter Bold Journey. Under strong urging, Barese took charge just past the sixteenth pole and pulled away to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

Davis, 27, has now ridden Barese to two stakes victories and will be aboard once again in the Wood Memorial, a race he has contested twice before. His two previous finishes were a fifth aboard Heartfullofstars in 2018 and a seventh aboard Hoffa's Union in 2019.

Should Barese earn enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, Davis could be on his way to Churchill Downs to make his first Run for the Roses on May 7.

Davis said he while he is excited at the possibility of a Kentucky Derby mount, he will focus on the Wood Memorial before anything else.

“I'm just trying to ride a good, steady race,” said Davis. “We'll see what happens. If he wins, then it will be one of my dreams to go to the Derby. It would mean a lot. We'll definitely take this race first – one race at a time and we'll go from there.”

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Stakes winners Cooke Creek, Joe, Local Motive, and Shake Em Loose, as well as Belgrade, who suffered his first career loss in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) last month, top a list of 21 nominees to the $125,000 Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds Saturday, April 16 at Laurel Park.

Contested at 1 1/8 miles, the 41st running of the Tesio headlines a Spring Stakes Spectacular program featuring four stakes worth $450,000 in purses. For the seventh straight year, the Tesio serves as a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1).

The 147th Preakness, Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, will be run Saturday, May 21 at historic Pimlico Race Course.

Shake Em Loose, owned and trained by Laurel-based Rudy Sanchez-Salomon, was among seven nominees to the Triple Crown made by the final March 28 deadline. The Shakin It Up gelding has won three of four starts since being claimed for $16,000, including the Heft in his juvenile finale and the 1 1/16-mile Private Terms March 19.

Bird Mobberley's Maryland-bred Local Motive, third in the Private Terms, is also a multiple stakes winner. The Divining Rod gelding won the Hickory Tree on turf and James F. Lewis III on dirt at 2, the latter at Laurel, where he also captured the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 19.

The Elkstone Group's Maryland homebred Joe, named for President Joe Biden, ran second as the favorite in the Private Terms, beaten 1 ¾ lengths. Maryland's champion 2-year-old of 2021, he won the Maryland Juvenile in December in his stakes debut and 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Jan. 23 in his first try around two turns.

Cheyenne Stables' Cooke Creek won each of his first two career starts last fall, including the one-mile Rocky Run at Delaware Park. He has run three times since, finishing second in the Nashua (G3) and third in the Jerome, but was off the board last out in the 1 1/8-mile Withers (G3) Feb. 5 at Aqueduct.

Carl F. Pascarella and Yurie Pascarella's Belgrade is a chestnut son of Grade 1 winner Hard Spun trained by Graham Motion that debuted with a six-length maiden special weight triumph Dec. 18 at Fair Grounds. His last two starts have come at Tampa Bay Downs, winning a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance Feb. 19 prior to the Tampa Bay Derby, where he ran seventh following a wide trip to multiple graded-stakes winner Classic Causeway. Belgrade worked a half-mile in 49.20 seconds Sunday morning over the main track at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md.

Also prominent among Tesio nominees are Bright Future, a 4 ¾-length debut winner March 19 at Gulfstream Park for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher; South Street, a last-out maiden winner at Aqueduct trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott; Majestic Frontier and Heffner, respectively second and third in the Miracle Wood; Midnight Chrome, third to Mo Donegal in the Remsen (G2); Jerome runner-up Smarten Up; and Outkissed and Vine Jet, each riding two-race win streaks.

Co-headlining the Spring Stakes Spectacular program is the $125,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies going about 1 1/16 miles, which offers the winner an automatic berth to the 98th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) Friday, May 20 at Pimlico.

Luna Belle, co-bred, co-owned and trained by Laurel-based Hamilton Smith, heads 16 nominees to the Weber City Miss. The bay Great Notion filly has won four straight races, all in stakes, starting with the Maryland Juvenile Fillies in mid-December. Maryland's champion 2-year-old filly of 2021 is 3-0 this year, taking the six-furlong Xtra Heat, seven-furlong Wide Country and one-mile Beyond the Wire to open her sophomore campaign.

Joseph Besecker's Bazinga C is also on a win streak, capturing back-to-back races for trainer Tim Kreiser, most recently a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance March 25 at Laurel. The Exaggerator filly was second in the one-mile White Clay Creek last October at Delaware in her second career start.

Allen Stable, Inc.'s Radio Days, trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, went 2-0 as a juvenile before running second by a length as the favorite in the seven-furlong Forward Gal (G3) Feb. 5 at Gulfstream. Last month she attended the pace before tiring to fourth in the one-mile Busher Invitational March 5 at Aqueduct.

Other nominees include Morning Matcha, placed three times in stakes before winning the March 8 Main Line at Parx; Wide Country runner-up She Is Wisky; Candy Light, second in the Beyond the Wire; stakes-placed Burano and Tap the Faith, unraced since a fifth in the 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle (G2) Dec. 4 at Aqueduct for trainer Christophe Clement.

Fillies and mares 3 and up will go one mile in the $100,000 Heavenly Cause, which returns to the Maryland stakes schedule for the first time since 2004 at Pimlico. A total of 22 horses were nominated including 2020 Go For Wand (G3) winner Sharp Starr and fellow multiple stakes winners Artful Splatter, Dontletsweetfoolya and Miss Leslie.

Also among the nominees are Leader of the Band, winner of the 2021 Monmouth Oaks (G3); Battle Bling, neck winner of the Jan. 16 Ladies at Aqueduct; Laurel-based Fille d'Esprit, eight-length winner of the seven-furlong Conniver March 19 over her home track; Kaylasaurus, winner of the Dec. 26 Willa On the Move at Laurel; Hashtag Lucky and Primacy, each with two straight wins; and Fraudulent Charge, a four-time stakes runner-up.

Rounding out the stakes action will be the $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley for 3-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs, which kicks off the 2022 edition of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Most popular among horsemen, the Whiteley attracted 38 nominations led by 2019 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Roadster; 2021 Salvator Mile (G3) winner Informative; 2020 Nashua (G3) winner Pickin' Time; multiple stakes winner No Cents, unraced since taking the 2020 Heft at Laurel; Air Token and Karan's Notion, the last two winners of the Maryland Million Sprint; stakes winners Beren, Dontmesawithme, Dreams Untold, Galerio, Royal Urn, Shackqueenking, Sir Alfred James, Threes Over Deuces, Timeless Bounty and Whereshetoldmetogo; War Tocsin, second in the Feb. 19 General George (G3); and 16-time career winner Bobby G.

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Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. expressed pleasure with White Abarrio's condition Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park following his victory in Saturday's $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1), and he has reason to believe that the son of Race Day will be even better on the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby (G1).

“Physically, he's not an overly big horse. He's filled out and he's grown a bit. He's a changed horse,” Joseph said. “He's changed from November to now, and he's showing it on the track. That's what you want. You want to be improving at this time of year. I feel he's making forward progressions.”

White Abarrio qualified for the Kentucky Derby Saturday with a thoroughly professional off-the-pace performance, in which he rated in fifth before making a sweeping move to the lead on the turn into the homestretch and holding off the determined bid of Todd Pletcher-trained Charge It.

“He was further back than we envisioned and to see him be able to sit back that far off the pace and make his move, it gives you a lot of confidence, because you know he can run close to the pace and now sit back and be as effective,” Joseph said.

White Abarrio's Florida Derby status was questionable less than two weeks ago after coming down with a fever that forced the gray colt to miss his final scheduled workout a week prior to Gulfstream's signature Triple Crown prep. With White Abarrio fully recovered, Joseph scheduled a three-furlong breeze last Tuesday before confirming him for the Florida Derby.

Joseph was nearly overcome with emotion in the immediate aftermath of White Abarrio's victory.

“It's a big race – the biggest race in Florida with the Pegasus,” Joseph said. “You watch people win it. You dream about being in that position, just to have a runner. To win it is just a dream come true.”

White Abarrio was the beneficiary of a well-judged ride by Tyler Gaffalione, who won five races on Saturday's card, including four stakes.

White Abarrio was privately purchased by C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable LLC following an attention-getting 6 ¾-length debut victory at Gulfstream in September. The Kentucky-bred colt came back to capture an entry-level optional claiming allowance by four lengths before venturing to Churchill Downs for a third-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) in his 2-year-old campaign finale. He scored an impressive 4 ½-length triumph in the Feb. 5 Holy Bull (G3) before training up to the Florida Derby.

White Abarrio would be the second Kentucky Derby starter for Joseph, who sent out Ny Traffic for an eighth-place finish in 2020, when the first jewel of the Triple Crown was run without fans in September due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It's not the same without the fans. The fans are the ones who make the excitement. It's going to be a much different experience. We've had a walkthrough and now we get to have the experience again,” Joseph said. “It's going to be a special moment. My family is going to be there. You try to build these memories for your kids.”

It's on to the Kentucky Derby for Tami Bobo's Simplification, who finished third in the Florida Derby after taking a lead into the stretch.

“I am so happy with the race because the horse ran well and came back well,” trainer Antonio Sano said.

Simplification, who finished second to White Abarrio in the Holy Bull before winning the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2), came under heavy outside pressure from Pappacap along the backstretch and into the stretch.

“The plan was to be up front, but the pressure from No. 5 Pappacap outside made Jose [Ortiz] move the horse before it was time,” Sano said. “It was a good field and my horse ran very good. In the Kentucky Derby, I believe he will run great.”

Trainer Brian Lynch reported that Classic Causeway, who led into the backstretch before falling back to last, came out of the disappointing result in good order.

“Everything seems good. He scoped good and came back good this morning,” Lynch said. “It's a bit of a headscratcher. We'll digest it and go on from there.”

Classic Causeway had already earned sufficient points to make the Kentucky Derby field with his victories in the Sam F. Davis (G3) and Tampa Bay Derby (G2).

“Everything is up in the air now. We'll let the dust settle and we'll make a decision in a few days,” Lynch said.

Whisper Hill Farm LLC's Charge It came up with a gritty performance against more experienced colts while finishing second in the Florida Derby in only his third career start. The Pletcher trainee, who hit the gate at the start, made a solid run at White Abarrio before racing greenly in the stretch. Pletcher expressed his pleasure with the son of Tapit's effort following his run in the Florida Derby.

“To get a real education in a race like that was very encouraging. He got a little green down the lane. He kind of drifted in behind that horse and felt like if he could have just run straight that last 100 yards, he was going to be right there. But I thought it was a huge effort, considering everything,” said Pletcher, who said the Kentucky Derby will be under consideration after seeing how the son of Tapit comes out of the Florida Derby.

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Cyberknife emerged in good order from his victory in the Arkansas Derby (G1) Saturday and most likely will ship Tuesday to Churchill Downs to begin preparing for the Kentucky Derby (G1) while Secret Oath, third in race, will also head to Louisville to prepare for the Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Cyberknife received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 92 (a career high) for Saturday's 2 ¾-length victory over Barber Road, which marked the second consecutive for the son of Gun Runner since a disappointing sixth-place finish in his stakes debut, the Lecomte Stakes (G3) Jan. 22 at Fair Grounds.

Known for his frisky behavior – Cyberknife was disqualified from a career-debut victory last September at Churchill Downs for stretch interference – the colt dumped regular rider Florent Geroux in the post parade after the jockey was legged up in the infield.

“I didn't see it happen, but somebody yelled at me and I said, 'Oh,' ” trainer Brad Cox said. “I was too far away to do anything about it, but Florent was able to jump up on him by himself. He's got a lot of energy. He's feeling good. It's a nice, crisp morning and if you watched him walk around here, you definitely wouldn't think he ran a mile and an eighth yesterday. He's got a lot of energy.”

Cyberknife collected 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points with Saturday's victory and ranks fourth on the official leaderboard released Saturday night by Churchill Downs.

Cyberknife is 2 for 2 since Cox removed blinkers following the Lecomte. Cyberknife debuted with the equipment, then raced without blinkers in his next starts, including a troubled second-place finish in a Nov. 5 sprint at Churchill Downs. Cyberknife, in his two-turn debut, broke his maiden Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds before adding blinkers again in the Lecomte.

“Was super disappointed in his second run,” Cox said. “I was in California maybe for the Breeders' Cup for that race. But I was like 'Aw, you know, this is our spot; this is when we're going to get our maiden broken.' He didn't run bad; he just wouldn't go by the other horse. Not to take anything away from the winner that day (Classic Moment), but I thought he was goofing off and not really focused and paying attention. If you watch his race replays, they tell you more about him than anything in regards to his antics down the lane. Obviously in the post parade yesterday, he did get Flo off and he's a handful, he really is. He's not bad. He's just full of energy.”

Cox also trains lightly raced Zozos, who was a 10 ¼-length entry-level allowance winner Feb. 11 at Oaklawn before finishing second in the Louisiana Derby (G2) at 1 3/16 miles March 26 at Fair Grounds in his most recent start. Zozos also is safely in the Kentucky Derby field with 40 points to rank 13th.

“Knock on wood, right?” said Cox, who has captured two consecutive Eclipse Awards as the country's outstanding trainer. “We've been able to flop horses back for several years now, between both locations, Oaklawn and Fair Grounds. We have several horses here that train at Oaklawn that ran down at the Fair Grounds and vice versa and they work well together. Both operations work really well together. Listen, we can't have them all here or have them all there. Believe me, I would like to have them all in one place like that with the numbers that we. I've always felt pretty confident that when a horse is doing well and training well, one of these two surfaces they can ship to and perform well.”

Cyberknife, who is owned by Gold Square LLC (Al Gold), has a 3-2-0 record from six lifetime starts and earnings of $860,000.

Barber Road also came out of the Arkansas Derby in good shape physically, trainer John Ortiz said Sunday morning. Barber Road has 58 points to rank ninth on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. All of Barber Road's points have been collected in Oaklawn's four-race Kentucky Derby prep series, with runner-up finishes in the Smarty Jones Stakes at one mile Jan. 1 and  Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 29, a third-place finish in the Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 26 and another second in the Arkansas Derby.

“Right now, we don't have any plans of moving him,” said Ortiz, who has never had a Kentucky Derby starter. “He sprung a shoe, so we're going to get that fixed first and address that. He got banged around there down the stretch, but he's just a tough little horse.”

Ortiz said Barber Road will eventually ship straight to Churchill Downs to train for the Kentucky Derby. Ortiz said he will have a 20-horse string there this spring.

Secret Oath, the Arkansas Derby favorite, was facing males for the first time after winning her three starts at the meeting, including the Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 29 and Honeybee Stakes (G3) Feb. 26, by a combined 23 lengths.

In the Arkansas Derby, Secret Oath, last of nine, made a sweeping six-wide move on the second turn to reach contention before weakening late to finish three-quarters of a length behind Barber Road.

“She was tired,” said trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. “That move she made was a terrific move for a filly at this stage of her career, to keep going. Watching it live, I thought she's probably going to hang a little bit here. She almost had to. It was a monster move. But when she came back, she was tired. The beautiful thing is we've got five weeks now. I said that before the race and now it gives us some direction. We're not thinking Derby. Now, we're focused on what we should be – the Oaks – and we've got five weeks to get back in form.”

Lukas said Secret Oath and stablemates Ethereal Road and Ignitis will ship Tuesday to Churchill Downs. Ignitis, third in the Smarty Jones, is pointing for the Lafayette Stakes (G1) at seven furlongs April 8 at Keeneland.

Ethereal Road, the Rebel runner-up, is scheduled to make his next start in the $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 9 at Keeneland. Ethereal Road has 20 points to rank 24th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

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