Tag: Triple Crown

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte will seek to cement his standing as the top-rated Triple Crown candidate in the $1-million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa next Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

The 2022 juvenile champion, who drew Post 11, has been installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite in a field of a dozen 3-year-olds entered in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby, which will headline a 14-race program with 10 stakes, including five graded races, worth $2.375 million in purses. The 14-race Florida Derby program with a first-race post time of 11:30 a.m. (ET) will offer a $1-million guaranteed Late Pick 5 pool and a $750,000 guaranteed Late Pick 4 pool.

If all 12 entries start, the Florida Derby field will be the largest since Big Brown beat 11 rivals in 2008.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Forte established himself as a clear early favorite for the May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1) when he made an auspicious 2023 debut in the March 4 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park. The son of Violence, who had won three consecutive Grade 1 races to finish his 2022 championship season, raced between horses while rating off the early pace before advancing along the backstretch, swinging four-wide into the stretch and drawing away to a 4½-length victory under Irad Ortiz Jr.

“The Fountain of Youth couldn't have gone any better for us,” Pletcher said. “When Irad and I spoke before the race we kind of had a certain plan in mind and sort of had laid out where we hoped he would be. As you know a lot of times when the gate opens things can change and you have to be prepared to adjust to that, but really the race unfolded almost exactly the way we thought it would, and we were in exactly the position we hoped we would be. The real key is when called upon, he was there.”

Forte won four of five starts during his championship juvenile season that was launched with a 7 ¾-length victory at Belmont Park last May. After finishing fourth in the six-furlong Sanford (G2), he rallied from off the pace to win the seven-furlong Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga. He polished off a stellar campaign with a pair of off-the-pace scores around two turns in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

Ortiz has been aboard Forte for all six career starts and has been named to return to the saddle for the Florida Derby.

“Irad's gotten to know the colt really well. He's rode him in every start, and he's also worked him quite a few times. I think part of what we've been trying to do in the mornings is sort of replicate his running style, sitting off a horse just a little bit and then teaching him to finish up and kind of stay focused,” Pletcher said. “As impressively as he's won a couple of these races, he's kind of come to the wire with his ears up taking everything in. Obviously, as these races get a little more difficult, he'll need to stay focused.”

Pletcher has saddled a record six Florida Derby winners; Scat Daddy, (2007), Constitution (2014), Materiality (2015), Always Dreaming (2017), Audible (2018) and Known Agenda (2021).

“We love the positioning of the Florida Derby five weeks out. We're happy about that. It gives us a little more time to stay in Florida before we ship north and hopefully have a couple more weeks of good weather before we need to move up,” Pletcher said. “The Florida Derby on its own is a very important race. Historically, it's been a stallion-making race and an important Grade 1 on any horse's resume.”

Having already secured sufficient points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby, Forte and Saturday's rivals will be eligible for 200 qualifying points that will be shared by the first five finishers with 100 going to the winner. The 50-points that will go to the runner-up will likely be enough to earn a trip to Churchill Downs.

Albaugh Family Stables LLC and Castleton Lyons' Cyclone Mischief, who rebounded from a disappointing effort in the Feb. 4 Holy Bull (G3) with a third-place finish in the Fountain of Youth, is scheduled to return in the Florida Derby. The Dale Romans-trained son of Into Mischief set the pace into the stretch before being overtaken by Forte and Holy Bull winner Rocket Can, who finished second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of him.

Cyclone Mischief, who was rated at 8-1 on the morning line after drawing Post 9, made a flashy 2023 debut with a 5 ¾-length romp in a mile optional claiming allowance Jan. 8 at Gulfstream.

Javier Castellano has the mount aboard the $450,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September sale.

Romans saddled Shackleford, who was a photo-finish second behind Dialed In in the 2011 Florida Derby at 68-1. Shackleford went on to finish fourth in the Kentucky Derby and win the Preakness Stakes (G1). Romans also finished second in the 2006 Florida Derby with Sharp Humor, who finished a half-length behind heavily favored Barbaro.

“It's different with every horse. Shackleford, going into the race I would have been very excited to say we were going to run second. He was 60-1 if you remember. He was coming off a horrible race where we never figured out why he ran bad.” Romans said. “[Against] Barbaro, nobody ever expected to beat him, but we made him work for it. Both those races were pretty exciting.”

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who saddled White Abarrio for a victory in last year's Florida Derby, is represented in this year's field by four longshots – Gentry Farms' West Coast Cowboy, Legacy Racing LLC's Mr. Ripple, C2 Racing Stable LLC and Stefania Farms LLC's Nautical Star and C2 Racing Stable LLC's Mr. Peeks.

West Coast Cowboy, a lightly raced son of West Coast trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., is set to make his first start since finishing third in the Holy Bull in his third career start.

“He ran very good in the Holy Bull, actually. He ran above expectations. He's come back since then. He was supposed to go to Tampa, and he got sick, so he missed that, and we ended up here,” Joseph said. “He worked this morning. He actually worked as bad as he did going into the Holy Bull but he ran very good in the Holy Bull. He's not a very flashy horse in the morning. Hopefully, if he can build on the Holy Bull, he should have a chance to maybe pick up a piece of it.”

Mr. Ripple is slated to make his stakes debut in the Florida Derby. The son of Dialed In made an eye-catching debut while winning by nine lengths at Gulfstream in October. He came back to finish third behind Cyclone Mischief in a Jan. 8 optional claiming allowance and second behind Classic Causeway in a March 2 optional claiming allowance.

“Mr. Ripple has run some decent races. He's the kind of horse that maybe doesn't have the best kick, but he's a horse that's competitive,” Joseph said. “If he could sit the right trip, he might be able to pick up a piece of it also.”

Nautical Star rallied from off the pace to graduate in his second career start last month, while Mr. Peeks is a maiden after two starts.

Sonny Leon has the mount on West Coast Cowboy, while Edgard Zayas is named on Mr. Ripple. Leonel Reyes has the call on Nautical Star and Edwin Gonzalez is named on Mr. Peeks.

OGMA Investments LLC, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH's Mage, who showed a lot of grit while finishing fourth in the Fountain of Youth in only his second career start, is slated to return in the Florida Derby. The Gustavo Delgado-trained son off Good Magic, who experienced gate trouble, bumping and a wide trip in that race, had previously debuted with a 3 ¾-length victory Jan. 28 at Gulfstream.

Luis Saez been named to ride Mage, who was rated at 10-1 on the morning line after drawing Post 4.

SF Racing and partners' Fort Bragg is scheduled to make his first start outside Southern California in the Florida Derby. Formerly trained by Bob Baffert and now conditioned by Tim Yakteen, the son of Tapit is coming off a fifth-place finish in the March 4 San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita in his 3-year-old debut. Fort Bragg, who was entered to run in Sunday's Sunland Derby (G3), finished third in the Los Alamitos Futurity in his final 2022 start.

Joel Rosario has the call aboard the $700,000 purchase at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale. Fort Bragg, who will break one stall inside Forte in the starting gate, is rated second on the morning line at 5-1.

West Paces Racing LLC and Stonestreet Stables LLC's Dubyuhnell will seek to rebound from a disappointing performance in the Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs in his 3-year-old debut. The son of Good Magic, who finished sixth as the 2-1 favorite at Tampa, had concluded his 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen (G2) over a sloppy Aqueduct main track.

The Danny Gargan trainee, who broke his maiden in the Aqueduct slop in his previous start, will be ridden by Jose Ortiz. Dubyuhnell, who drew Post 12, is rated third on the morning line at 6-1.

Juddmonte's Jungfrau, Alex Andres LLC's Il Miracolo, and Chester Bishop and Anthony Hinkson's Shaq Diesel round out the field.

$1-Million Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa in post-position order, with jockey, and morning-line odds:

1. Jungfrau, Paco Lopez, 20-1

2. West Coast Cowboy, Sonny Leon 20-1

3. Shaq Diesel, Miguel Vasquez, 30-1

4. Mage, Luis Saez, 10-1

5. Mr. Peeks, Edwin Gonzalez, 30-1

6. Nautical Star, Leonel Reyes, 30-1

7. Il Miracolo, Jesus Rios, 30-1

8. Mr. Ripple, Edgard Zayas, 30-1

9. Cyclone Mischief, Javier Castellano, 8-1

10. Fort Bragg. Joe Rosario, 5-1

11. Forte, Irad Ortiz Jr., 4-5

12. Dubyuhnell, Jose Ortiz, 6-1

The post Champion Forte Tabbed Morning-Line Favorite Among Dozen For Florida Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Oaklawn's four-race Kentucky Derby (G1) points series will produce four different winners. But two trainers will have a chance to win multiple races in the series that concludes with the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 1.

Two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox is scheduled to send out one of the favorites in Angel of Empire, who returns to Oaklawn after winning the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at 1 1/8 miles Feb. 18 at Fair Grounds in his most recent start.

Angel of Empire, a son of 2017 Arkansas Derby winner Classic Empire, finished second behind stablemate Victory Formation in the Smarty Jones Stakes at 1 mile Jan. 1 at Oaklawn. The Smarty Jones was Oaklawn's first Kentucky Derby points race.

Trainer Keith Desormeaux will be searching for his second series victory this year with longshot Kolomio, a son of Constitution owned by Big Chief Racing (Matthew Bryan). Desormeaux, on behalf of Big Chief Racing, claimed Kolomio out of his last start, a third-place finish in a one-mile turf race Feb. 3 at Santa Anita, for $50,000.

“I got lucky enough to get him,” Desormeaux said. “It was a two-way shake and horse has just been training out of his mind over the last five or six weeks. We've got a bad case of Derby fever with Confidence Game and Single Ruler stoking the coals. We're going to give it a shot.”

Desormeaux captured Oaklawn's third Kentucky Derby points race, the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 25, with Confidence Game. He also had Single Ruler entered in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) Saturday at Fair Grounds.

“This is what Derby fever does to you,” Desormeaux said. “Man, I better check my temperature now that I'm saying all this stuff out in the open. It seems like real wackiness, but it's a lot of fun. And Big Chief Racing claimed the horse and we're old friends. That's Exaggerator's owner and it would be just a great story and a lot of fun to get Matt back to the Derby.”

Desormeaux and Bryan, in partnership, campaigned Exaggerator, the 2016 Preakness (G1) winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up.

Post positions for the Arkansas Derby and $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles April 1 will be drawn Sunday at 11:40 a.m. (Central) in the Larry Snyder Winner's Circle.

The Arkansas Derby will offer 200 points to the top five finishers (100-40-30-20-10, respectively) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby.

The Oaklawn racing department listed 11 Arkansas Derby probables Saturday morning – Airtime for trainer Robertino Diodoro, Angel of Empire, Bourbon Bash (D. Wayne Lukas), Harlocap (Steve Asmussen), Interlock Empire (Kenny McPeek), King Russell (Ron Moquett), Kolomio, Mendelssohns March (McPeek), Red Route One (Asmussen), Reincarnate (Tim Yakteen), Rocket Can (Bill Mott) and Two Eagles River (Chris Hartman).

Rocket Can won the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) Feb. 4 and finished second behind champion Forte in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) March 4. Both 1 1/16-mile races were at Gulfstream Park. Rocket Can is owned by prominent North Little Rock, Ark., businessman Frank Fletcher, who is seeking his first victory in the Arkansas Derby, a race he covets the most.

Red Route One and Reincarnate finished second and third, respectively, behind Confidence Game in the Rebel. Confidence Game, Desormeaux said, could run next in the $1-million Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 8 at Keeneland, $400,000 Lexington Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles April 15 at Keeneland or train up to the Kentucky Derby.

Victory Formation and unbeaten Arabian Knight, winner of the Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28 at Oaklawn, are off the Arkansas Derby trail. The Southwest was Oaklawn's second Kentucky Derby points race.

Fantasy probables, according to the Oaklawn racing department, include Condensation for trainer Chris Hartman, Grand Love (Asmussen), Olivia Twist (Todd Fincher), Pate (Mike Maker), Royal Spa (Rodolphe Brisset), She's Lookin Lucky (Matt Shirer), Taxed (Randy Morse), Towhead (Maker) and Wet Paint (Cox).

The Fantasy is Oaklawn's third and final Kentucky Oaks (G1) points race. Wet Paint has won the first two legs in the series, capturing the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28 and the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 25. Wet Paint is unbeaten in three career starts on dirt. All three races, including the Martha Washington and Honeybee, have been on off tracks.

The Fantasy will offer 200 points to the top five finishers (100-40-30-20-10, respectively) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks, the country's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies. Wet Paint (70) entered Saturday as the Kentucky Oaks points leader. She worked 5 furlongs in 1:01 Saturday at Oaklawn.

Post positions for two other stakes races April 1 – $400,000 Oaklawn Mile (G3) for older horses and the inaugural $200,000 Hot Springs for 3-year-olds at 1 mile – will be drawn Monday.

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Japan-based Derma Sotogake lined up a shot at the Kentucky Derby (G1) as he made every step of the UAE Derby (G2) dominated by Japanese horses.

Trained by Hidetaka Otonashi, owned by Hiroyuki Asanuma and ridden with supreme confidence by Christophe Lemaire, the chestnut won unchallenged by 5 1/2 lengths from Dura Erede and covered about 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.81.

Continuar finished in third, 4 1/2 lengths back with another 3 1/2 lengths back to Perriere in fourth in the field of 13.

Derma Sotogake, however, really impressed and was stepping up in distance from his third-place finish in the Saudi Derby over a mile last month when he finished a never-nearer third.

The UAE is a Kentucky Derby qualifier, and Derma Sotogak earned 100 points toward eligibility in the Louisville classic.

Trainer Otonashi confirmed that Derma Sotogake, a Mind Your Biscuits colt out of the Neo Universe mare Amour Poesie, would indeed travel to Kentucky direct from Dubai for the Kentucky Derby May 6 at Churchill Downs.

He said: “It's my first time here and Derma Sotogake is my first ever runner. Now, I have one runner and one winner–it doesn't get much better than that!

“We didn't exactly plan to go straight to the lead but but he broke well. We were expecting him to improve and go well but you can never expect things to go that well. We had a different jockey and different ground so you can never be sure how well it works out, but it did.

“He will go straight to Kentucky from Dubai. We'll discuss it but Christophe will probably keep it–he said he would anyway!”

Jockey Lemaire added: “He can break a little slowly so it was important he began well to use his gate on the rail and he did just that. He travelled nicely on the lead and he relaxed for me down the back stretch. He was still moving smoothly for me as we came into the home stretch and once I pressed the button he was very impressive and I could enjoy the finish on him.

“I hope he goes to America and I would love to ride him there. How could anyone refuse that?”

UAE Derby Quotes:

Dura Erede (2nd), jockey Cristian Demuro said: “He ran very well and he's been beaten by a very, very good horse. His last two runs were on turf but he seemed to handle the dirt before. I've not ridden him before but the dirt didn't seem to bother him at all.”

Perriere (4th), jockey Oisin Murphy said: “The distance was the problem. I wish I sat where Ryan was, just following the winner. I did not want to use his energy early and leave nothing for the finish.”

Go Soldier Go (5th), jockey Adrie de Vries said: “He always needs time to get into his stride and we got a bit far back. I had to get him out of the kickback before we started making a run. A lot of horses stopped in the dirt and I had to go very wide. He ran his race and beat the same horses as last time.”

Es-Unico (7th), trainer Antonio Cintra said: “Joao Moreira said he just didn't have the same power as before. That's it.”

Lahresh (8th), jockey Mickael Barzalona said: “He was slow out of the gates.”

Cairo (10th), jockey Ryan Moore said: “It was his first run on dirt and he just didn't enjoy himself.”

Worcester (11th), jockey Frankie Dettori said: “I fluffed the start and struggled from then on.”

Ah Jeez (13th), jockey Tyler Gaffalione said: “I got him into a good rhythm but he faced the dirt [kickback] for the first time and didn't like it.”

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Cagliostro should count his lucky stars. The 3-year-old Upstart colt trained by Cherie DeVaux will be making his fourth start on Saturday in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Stepping forward in every race, he's earned the right to be there, but he lucked out to find three women ready to tolerate his antics, to teach him the rules of barn life, and to capture his overactive mind to show him his potential as a racehorse.

Physically the potential has always been there, as trainer Cherie DeVaux recognized when selecting him at the 2-year-old Spring 2022 Ocala Sale. Mentally, well, that's another story. Possibly the best way to understand the project known as David Ingordo, Talla Racing, James Spry, West Point Thoroughbreds and Nice Guys Stables' Cagliostro is to know a few things about the real-life Cagliostro.

An Italian psychic healer and alchemist living in the 1700s, Cagliostro was also a scoundrel whose writings were burned by the Catholic Church. Infamous across Europe for his antics, so much so that the real-life Cagliostro was also the basis for Goethe's title-character Faust, who sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads and lived a sinful life.

The parallels are uncanny, as the DeVaux barn has worked hard to sort out all the biting, the breaking loose, the misbehavior and get their Cagliostro back on the righteous path. The path of Kentucky roses, perhaps. But first, he'll need to outrace eleven others in Saturday's Louisiana Derby.

Cherie leads the team but her younger sister Adrianne DeVaux is the assistant trainer on the grounds and Rachel Beaulieu is the barn foreman. With Cherie at Ocala early in the week ahead of Cagliostro's run in the Louisiana Derby, Adrianne and Rachel kept to task overseeing the 16 Thoroughbreds on the grounds, preparing Cagliostro for his first stakes race, and making sure their promising 3-year-old has plenty of bananas.

“He eats bananas everyday,” Adrianne DeVaux said. “His favorite part is the peel.”

A banana-loving colt, who in the beginning could readily be described as “bananas” – some things are just funny that way. Cagliostro, the Italian alchemist. Alchemy is a perfect way to describe the task which was laid upon the DeVaux barn as they've been hard at work melding Cagliostro's reckless, unbounded mind with his raw physicality to transform it all into a new substance – a racehorse.

“When he first came into the barn, he was all over the place mentally,” Adrianne said. “He wasn't focused on the track or in the barn. He wasn't very friendly. You couldn't put a lip chain on him, couldn't put a bridle on him. He didn't want to get medication, catching him in the stall was difficult. In July at Saratoga when Rachel (Beaulieu) joined our team I said, 'Here, he's your project. Work with him.' Rachel was his punching bag for a while. He would grab her, bite her and she would stand there and take it, and he eventually realized he had one person who was in his corner. Rachel has helped to show him life's not so scary.”

“It was a little bit of a struggle,” Rachel said. “When I showed up at Saratoga I saw this horse who was (reduced to) walking the shedrow because he kept getting loose when he went for a walk outside. I took it upon myself to be like 'well, you are going to need to be able to walk like a well-mannered boy'.'”

Adrianne and Rachel have a subtle yet infectious joy to them. They are thoughtful and quick to infuse humor into any difficult task. They both put off an unflappable air, and once upon a time, Cagliostro was by all means a flapper. Another barn might have met his antics with forceful antics of their own. Not these horsemen.

“Patience is the key,” Rachel said. “Being calm. If anyone acts up around him, he'll start freaking out.”

“He does like women, and I think being a team of women has been a big part of it,” Adrianne said. “In general women have the touch. Our stature, yes, but our demeanor – it's Cherie, Rachel, and me. You have a team of women and a horse like him is able to understand 'okay, it's alright.' Slowly he's kind of realized everyone is here to help him. He's had the same groom, he's had consistency, and I think that's really helped him. He loves Cherie, he loves Rachel, and well, he tolerates me.”

“For the most part, women don't try to outmuscle the horse,” Rachel said. “If something happens, it's like okay what happened? We figure it out, and do something different. Women know how to tolerate and give the horse space to learn. But if he crosses the line, then we let him know he crossed the line, correct him. It's all about understanding how insignificant things become significant.”

After finishing sixth on debut at Saratoga as a 2-year-old, Cagliostro didn't make his next start until January's Lecomte undercard. He won his first start as a 3-year-old, then he stepped up to a salty allowance on the Risen Star undercard and would have made it two wins in a row if it wasn't for Denington's late jump past him at the wire. He'll face Denington again in the Louisiana Derby.

“Most of the time you can tell horses what you want them to do,” Adrianne said. “(Cagliostro) has to have it spelled out for him. We can't just show him two and two, he's got to also know that it equals four. Then he'll be like 'oh, I got it now.' Once he ran at Saratoga, he came back and you could see the wheels were starting to spin, like this is fun. Then he started getting into his works, and before he ran here (at Fair Grounds) he was still very green, but once he got into the race, he was like, 'Wait a minute, I got this.' His third race here was even better. I think he realized that this is fun. He was having fun out there. Denington just surprised him and dropped him at the wire. But Cagliostro came back on in the gallop out.”

“From Saratoga to now he's progressed so much,” Rachel said. “It was a team effort. Now that he's getting bigger, I just kind of baby him,” Rachel said. “It's cool to see his mind work. He's always looking at things, assessing, analyzing. Cool to see him take it all in and not want to be so crazy.”

Whether mentally, physically, or both, every racehorse is an ongoing project, but Cagliostro's story has a certain charm to it. The success the DeVaux barn has had with Cagliostro offers an insight into what many trainers are working with in our sport, specifically those with 3-year-olds currently in the thick of Derby and Oaks dreams. When they're dreaming of roses, sometimes they're dealing with bananas.

The post Dreaming Of Roses While Dealing With ‘Bananas’: DeVaux Team’s Patience Key To Louisiana Hopeful Cagliostro appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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