Triple Crown | Horse Racing Free Tips

Shug Watch: Greatest Honour Returns To Worktab; Half Brother To Code Of Honor Graduates In Style

Courtlandt Farms' Greatest Honour returned to the worktab at Payson Park in Indiantown, FL Saturday morning in preparation for a scheduled start in the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill n' Dale Farm at Xalapa March 27 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Trained by Shug McGaughey, the 3-year-old son of Tapit was timed in 50.20 seconds, the third fastest of 21 workouts recorded at the four-furlong distance, while breezing for the first time since capturing the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park.

“He worked nice – his typical work,” McGaughey said. “I think he bounced out of the Fountain of Youth good.”

Greatest Honour is 3-for-3 during Gulfstream's Championship Meet, closing from well off the pace to break his maiden Dec. 26, capture the Jan. 30 Holy Bull (G2) and win the Fountain of Youth, all at 1 1/16 miles.

McGaughey is hoping that Greatest Honour will follow the example of Orb, whom the Hall of Fame trainer saddled for victories in the 2017 Fountain of Youth, the Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby.

Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream, McGaughey saddled William S Farish's Bears Watching for an impressive 7 ¾ -length victory in Race 7, a seven-furlong maiden special weight race for 3-year-olds. The son of Karakontie, who finished a close third over a sloppy track in his six-furlong career debut Feb. 8 at Gulfstream, is a half-brother to Code of Honor, the $2.7 million earner who captured the 2019 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream before going on to capture the Travers (G1) at Saratoga and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park.

Bears Watching graduates from the maiden ranks at Gulfstream Park

Bears Watching, the 3-5 favorite in a field of 11, was well placed along the rail before making a four-wide sweep to the lead leaving the turn into the homestretch and drawing away under Jose Ortiz. The homebred colt ran seven furlongs in 1:22.95.

“He's my kind of horse, looks-wise and stuff,” McGaughey said. “All is good with him.”

Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger sent out his first starter since October 2019 for the well-stocked maiden race. Jim Tafel LLC's Sensible Jim finished sixth after acting fractious in the gate and getting away a step slowly.

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Concert Tour A Smash Hit On The Road; Gives Baffert His Eighth Win In Rebel Stakes

Trainer Bob Baffert has made no secret that he believes his top two candidates for this year's Kentucky Derby are Life Is Good and Concert Tour. The former dominated his rivals in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Baffert's home base at Santa Anita on March 6 while the Hall of Fame trainer sent Concert Tour on the road to Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., for Saturday's Grade 2, $1-million Rebel Stakes.

Concert Tour,, a 3-year-old colt by Street Sense, turned in a powerful performance at Oaklawn going straight to the front and seizing the lead from the Brad Cox-trained favorite, Caddo River, setting all the fractions and then drawing off down the stretch under Joel Rosario. A second Baffert runner, Hozier, finished second, with Big Lake third and Super Stock fourth. Caddo River, coming off a 10 1/4-length victory in the opening day Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn, wound up fifth while racing erratically down the stretch after chasing Concert Tour throughout.

Time of the race was 1:43.18 after fractions of :23.42, :47.53, 1:12.00 and 1:36.65.

The win was Baffert's eighth in the Rebel since 2010.

Bred and owned by Gary and Mary West (who also bred Life Is Good, who is campaigned by WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.), Concert Tour paid $5.40 as the second choice in the betting. He earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, which offered 20-10-4 to the second through fourth-place finishers.

Concert Tour didn't debut until Jan. 15, winning a six-furlong maiden race by 3 1/2 lengths. He came back to win the G2 San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 6, coming from just off the pace to catch stablemate Freedom Fighter in the final furlong to win by a half length. The Rebel was his first try around two turns.

Baffert put three strong workouts into Concert Tour at Santa Anita following the San Vicente, capped off by a best of morning six furlongs in 1:11 2/5 on March 6.

Concert Tour and Joel Rosario established an early lead ahead of Caddo River into the first turn

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Triple Tap, American Pharoah’s Half Brother, Wins Debut Impressively For Baffert

Can Bob Baffert do it again? High expectations naturally follow a man that has saddled six Kentucky Derby winners and two Triple Crown Champions. On Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., the white-haired wonder unveiled a 3-year-old half brother to 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, and the result certainly validated his post time odds of 1-5 as he accelerated impressively the final eighth of a mile to register a 4 ¼-length win while getting seven furlongs in 1:23.12.

By top sire Tapit out of Littleprincessemma, by Yankee Gentleman, Triple Tap was head and head with early leader Eyes Open around the turn and easily gained the advantage at the top of the stretch. With Prat employing just one backhanded tap of the stick to his right shoulder, Triple Tap appeared to level in the final furlong in an effort that evoked memories of Baffert's 2018 Triple Crown Champ, Justify, who made his rollicking seven furlong debut on Feb. 18, 2018 at the same distance.

Perhaps equally as important as the way he handled the seven furlongs, was the fact he galloped out far in front of the field, approximately 80 yards in front of his competition at the seven furlong pole.

“It went well and he rated kindly,” said Baffert. “When Prat asked him to go, he took off. He looked like he was in control of the race and Flavien worked him the other day for me and he really loved him. He usually doesn't say too much.

“When he came back, he said it was nothing for him, he was just getting going here in the end, so that's good sign.”

So, is the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby next on the agenda?

“It's going to be a little difficult, the thing is, we don't (want) to rush him, so we're not even thinking about that right now…I want to get this race out of the way and then we're gonna talk about it and figure out what we're gonna do.

“He won nice, it looks like he can go two turns easily, I just like what I saw today. I really didn't want to go seven eighths with him. The further the better with him…I gotta thank track management here for letting us run these great horses in short fields.”

Owned and bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Equine, Triple Tap paid $2.40 to win as his stablemate Barraza ran on for the place in a field of four sophomores.

“He broke well, we were right with the leader, which was good,” said Prat, fresh off of a remarkable six-win day on Friday. “It felt like he was just starting to stretch his legs and he galloped out strong.”

Fractions on the race were 23.31, 46.63 and 1:10.97.

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Pletcher Targeting Wood Memorial With Maiden Winner Dynamic One, Withers Runner-Up Overtook

Trainer Todd Pletcher shipped Dynamic One to New York from his winter division at Palm Beach Downs hoping for a performance worthy of pointing for the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3, and the Union Rags colt delivered with a 5 ¼-length maiden score going 1 1/8 miles on Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The nine-furlong Wood Memorial is the final local prep for the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs, offering 100-40-20-10 points to the top-four finishers.

Owned by Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, Dynamic One tracked a leisurely pace from second, assumed command outside the quarter-pole and powered home a decisive winner while registering a 79 Beyer Speed Figure in his fourth-out graduation.

Dynamic One has kept quality company, having finishing behind subsequent Grade 3 Gotham winner Weyburn in his November debut at the Big A, where he was a distant ninth as the beaten favorite. He shipped to Gulfstream for his following two starts at 1 1/16-miles, which included a runner-up effort to eventual dual graded stakes-winner Greatest Honour on December 26.

“We were hoping for that type of effort,” Pletcher said. “He ran a good second at Gulfstream to Greatest Honour. We were unfortunate to draw the nine and eleven post in his last couple of starts at Gulfstream and it can be hard going a mile and a sixteenth from there. The intention was to see if he could earn his way into the Wood, and that's what he did.”

Bred in Kentucky by co-owner Phipps Stable, Dynamic One is out of the Smart Strike mare Beat the Drums. His respective second and fourth dam are champions Storm Flag Flying and Personal Ensign. Dynamic One was a $725,000 purchase from the Claiborne Farm consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Pletcher will also be represented in the Wood Memorial by Grade 3 Withers runner-up Overtook, who is also being prepared at Palm Beach Downs.

Owned by Repole, and St. Elias Stable with Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, Overtook finished behind eventual graded stakes-placed Nova Rags and stablemate Known Agenda in his first two starts before rallying from 10 lengths off the pace to graduate at third asking going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct on December 20.

“He's on target for the Wood also,” Pletcher said. “There's a lot of options for a horse like him this time of year and we'll play everything by ear, but right now the goal is the Wood. He's trained excellent since the Withers.”

Also purchased form the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Overtook was a $1 million acquisition from the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment and is by multiple champion producer Curlin out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Got Lucky. He is a direct descendant of prestigious broodmares Numbered Account and La Troienne.

Pletcher seeks a sixth Wood victory having sent out Vino Rosso [2018], Outwork [2016], Verrazanno [2013], Gemologist [2012] and Eskendereya [2010] to wins in the prestigious race.

Pletcher also added that St. Elias Stable's Known Agenda is on target for the Grade 1, $750,000 Florida Derby on March 27 at Gulfstream Park and will breeze at Palm Beach Downs on Saturday in preparation for the event.

Known Agenda, third in the Grade 2 Remsen in December at the Big A, finished fifth as the favorite in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis in February at Tampa Bay Downs. The chestnut added blinkers when stretching out to nine furlongs in an optional-claiming event at Gulfstream on February 26 and romped to an 11-length score.

“He'll breeze tomorrow morning with the Florida Derby in mind,” Pletcher said. “We added blinkers to him last time and that really seems to get his mind into the game.”

A Kentucky homebred, Known Agenda also is by Curlin and out of Grade 1-winner Byrama.

Shadwell Stable's unbeaten graded stakes-winner Malathaat is nearing her return to action. She was last seen winning the Grade 2 Demoiselle on December 5 over a sloppy main track at the Big A.

Pletcher said that the Curlin bay filly out of Grade 1-winner Dreaming of Julia could return in either the Grade 2, $200,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 27 or the Grade 1, $400,000 Ashland on April 3 at Keeneland.

“It will depend on how she breezes these next couple of weeks,” said Pletcher.

After giving Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez his 2,000th Belmont Park victory in her October 9 debut, Malathaat was an easy winner of the one-mile Tempted on November 6 at Aqueduct en route to the Demoiselle. Her last work was a five-furlong move at Palm Beach Downs on March 6, completed in 1:01.89.

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