Tag: True Timber

True Timber Relishes the Slop in Cigar Mile Romp

True Timber (Mineshaft) has been knocking at the door of a Grade I win throughout his career, including in-the-money finishes in the last two renewals of the GI Cigar Mile H. The Calumet Farm runner broke through at the highest level in a big way at Aqueduct Saturday, romping in the mud to take this year’s edition of the prestigious Cigar Mile.

With his last victory coming in a Belmont optional claimer in September of 2018, True Timber was overlooked at 7-1 in this event, which lost three contenders Saturday morning due to track condition, including second-choice Firenze Fire (Poseidon’s Warrior). Racing two-wide, the bay stalked from third as come-backing sophomore King Guillermo (Uncle Mo) and hard-knocking New York-bred Mr. Buff (Friend of Foe) battled through a :22.89 first quarter. Mr. Buff edged ahead of his younger foe through a half in :45.82 with True Timber maintaining his position in third and favored Performer (Speightstown) trailing the field.

Ranging up outside the top two approaching the far turn, True Timber turned for home in front and splashed clear of the field in the lane under confident handling from Kendrick Carmouche to pull off the upset by 5 1/2 lengths. Snapper Sinclair (City Zip), a 13-1 shot, completed the exacta and Performer got up for third.

“I’ve got to give credit to True Timber, the farm, the incredible staff I have, and of course Kendrick [Carmouche],” said winning trainer Jack Sisterson. “I had all the confidence in the world when Kendrick texted me, ‘I got you brother, don’t worry’, with a little peace sign.”

He continued, “As soon as I got the horse [this spring], the Cigar Mile was a year-end goal. A lot of emphasis has to be put on how good a trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is. He had this horse before I did and had him sent him to me in such good shape. This really shows how good of a trainer he really is.”

The Cigar Mile was the first Grade I score for the popular Carmouche, who currently sits atop the fall meet standings with one day left in the meet.

“I owe it all to my fans, my wife and kids and how much they stuck with me and kept me pushing and fighting in this game,” said Carmouche. “This means so much to me. This is the biggest win of my career and I hope I have many more blessed ones.”

As for his trip aboard True Timber, Carmouche said. “We got an outside position this time with the horse being inside the last two times that I rode him at Saratoga and Belmont. I was very pleased with the draw we got and we had a couple scratches because of the sloppy track. I had perfect position leaving the gate and all the way around there. Right before we got to the quarter pole, I pulled the trigger and I knew they were going to have to run me down from here.”

Second in the 2018 Cigar Mile and third to champion Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) in last year’s edition, True Timber kicked off 2020 with an eighth-place finish in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. Jan. 25 and was fourth in the GII Gulfstream Park Mile Feb. 29. Transferred to Sisterson after McLaughlin retired from training to take the book of jockey Luis Saez Apr. 1, the 6-year-old was third behind subsequent MGSW C Z Rocket (City Zip) when cut back to a sprint distance in a Keeneland optional claimer July 12. Completing the trifecta in a sloppy renewal of Saratoga’s GI Forego S. Aug. 29, True Timber was fourth to Firenze Fire in Belmont’s GII Vosburgh Invitational S. Sept. 26 and was second in the Lafayette S. at Keeneland on Breeders’ Cup Saturday Nov. 7.

Pedigree Notes:

True Timber is the seventh Grade I winner, 22nd graded victor and 52nd black-type scorer for Mineshaft, who, along with Honor Code, looks to carry on the legacy of his legendary late sire A.P. Indy at Lane’s End. The winner’s dam Queen’s Wood (Tiznow) was purchased by Haymarket Farm for $47,000 in foal to Quality Road at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale as part of the complete dispersal of VinMar Farm LLC. The resulting foal is the now-3-year-old gelding Motown Music, a $250,000 KEESEP acquisition by China Horse Club and WinStar Farm, who won two of his three starts this year. Her unraced juvenile colt by Into Mischief was purchased by the same connections for $560,000 at KEESEP and is named Floodgate. Queen’s Wood did not have a foal in 2019 and aborted her Malibu Moon foal this year. The 12-year-old mare was bred back to Omaha Beach earlier this term. True Timber hails from the family of MGISW stallion Pleasantly Perfect (Pleasant Colony); European champion Elusive Kate (Elusive Quality); and Group 1-winning sire Distant View (Mr. Prospector).

Saturday, Aqueduct
CIGAR MILE H.-GI, $250,000, Aqueduct, 12-5, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:36.49, sy.
1–TRUE TIMBER, 119, h, 6, by Mineshaft
1st Dam: Queen’s Wood, by Tiznow
2nd Dam: Salon Prive, by Private Account
3rd Dam: La Trinite (Fr), by Lyphard
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. ($170,000 Wlg ’14 KEENOV). O-Calumet Farm; B-Mr. &
Mrs. Marc C. Ferrell (KY); T-Jack Sisterson; J-Kendrick
Carmouche. $137,500. Lifetime Record: 29-5-5-9, $1,215,150.
Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Snapper Sinclair, 117, h, 5, City Zip–True Addiction, by Yes
It’s True. ($30,000 Ylg ’16 KEESEP; $180,000 2yo ’17 OBSAPR).
O-Bloom Racing Stable LLC (Jeffrey Bloom); B-K & G Stables
(KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $50,000.
3–Performer, 118, c, 4, Speightstown–Protesting, by A.P. Indy.
O-Phipps Stable & Claiborne Farm; B-Phipps Stable (KY);
T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $30,000.
Margins: 5HF, NK, 6HF. Odds: 7.30, 13.40, 0.85.
Also Ran: King Guillermo, Mr. Buff, Bon Raison. Scratched: Firenze Fire, Majestic Dunhill, Mind Control.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post True Timber Relishes the Slop in Cigar Mile Romp appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Equibase Analysis: Performer Appears Ready For Spotlight In Cigar Mile

This Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile Handicap drew a field of nine and will likely be run on a wet racetrack given the weather forecast near Aqueduct.

  • Among the nine, five are millionaires, led by Firenze Fire ($2.2 million), who won the Grade 1 Vosburgh Invitational Stakes in September. However, Firenze Fire has only won once on a wet track in five races and finished 11th and fourth in his last two stakes on the type of surface he's likely to be running over in the Cigar Mile.
  • Another millionaire is Snapper Sinclair ($1.3 million), who moves back to the main track after a pair of in-the-money finishes on turf including a second place in the Tourist Mile this past summer.
  • Mr. Buff is a horse who likes to lead early, resulting in 15 wins in 40 starts and $1.2 million in the bank. He has a liking for off tracks with three wins but nearly all of his 15 career wins have been racked up against New York breds only and he finished fifth in his two tries in graded stakes this year.
  • Mind Control ($1 million) put together three straight graded stakes wins from August 2019 through March of this year including the Grade 3 Tom Fool Stakes at Aqueduct but hasn't threatened to win in five races since then, two of those over sloppy tracks.
  • Similarly, True Timber ($1 million) has now gone winless in 13 races since September of 2018 although he did finish third in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes in August over a sloppy track.
  • Majestic Dunhill won the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap in October and returns on five days rest following a seventh place effort in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap last Sunday.
  • Three-year-old King Guillermo won the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in March before a second place finish in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in May and makes his return to the races in the Cigar Mile.
  • Bon Raison has won 11 of 44 races but has never won a stakes race.
  • Last but certainly not least is Performer, who has won five races in a row going back to June, 2019, including the Grade 3 Discovery Stakes in November of 2019, before a win in October following 11 months off.

Performer lost the first start of his career in November, 2018 and has not lost a race since. Moving straight through his first two allowance conditions in the summer of 2019, Performer improved to earn 105 and 106 Equibase Speed Figures before a new career-best figure in November of last year when victorious in the Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct. Rested for 11 months, Performer returned as if he had never been away to win a classified allowance race in mid-October with a 109 figure effort. Joel Rosario has been aboard for every race since the debut, all wins, and rides again. With the ground saving rail and the ability to take up a stalking spot from the start behind likely early leader Mr. Buff, and with logical improvement off his comeback effort in October, Performer should be very tough to beat in this year's Cigar Mile Handicap.

King Guillermo proved his 49-1 upset win in the Tampa Bay Derby was no fluke when clearly second in the Arkansas Derby on what would have otherwise been Kentucky Derby day in May. Although regressing a bit to a 101 figure in the Arkansas Derby from the 110 earned in the Tampa Bay Derby, King Guillermo proved he belongs in top company. Rested since May, King Guillermo put in a very strong pair of half-mile drills at his home base in south Florida, the first of the two the best of 59 on the day and the second the best of 38, suggesting he may be able to do what Performer did in his recent comeback off a long layoff, and that is run as if he had never been away at all.

Snapper Sinclair has more second place finishes (six) than wins (five) in his career but he is competitive quite often and may be the one finishing fastest of all in the Cigar Mile. Snapper Sinclair ran well when second in the Essex Mile Handicap in March on a sloppy track with a 107 figure, similarly missing by a head on a muddy track in the Fifth Season Stakes in January with the same figure. This fall, Snapper Sinclair has run even better, earning a 114 figure when second (beaten three-quarters of a length) in the Tourist Mile Stakes. That race was on turf, but having run so well on dirt earlier this year, I think Snapper Sinclair could get a big piece in this race in his current form.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Bon Raison (116), Firenze Fire (111), Mr. Buff (119), Majestic Dunhill (112), Mind Control (113) and True Timber (113).

Win Contenders, in preference order:
Performer
King Guillermo
Snapper Sinclair

Cigar Mile Handicap – Grade 1
Race 10 at Aqueduct
Saturday, Dec. 5 – Post Time 4:13 PM E.T.
One Mile
Three Years Olds and Upward
Purse: $250,000

The post Equibase Analysis: Performer Appears Ready For Spotlight In Cigar Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Bon Raison, True Timber Have Final Cigar Mile Preps For Sisterson

Trainer Jack Sisterson saw his two expected entrants for Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct register their final workouts Saturday at Keeneland, with Bon Raison and True Timber each working five furlongs on the main track. The duo breezed with different workmates.

Calumet Farm's Bon Raison will be looking to rebound from a 10th-place finish last out in the six-furlong Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on November 7 at Keeneland. He will be running at one mile for the first time in seven starts, dating to the second race of his 5-year-old campaign when against optional claimers under then-trainer Michael Tannuzzo on January 31.

True Timber, also owned by Calumet Farm, was third in last year's edition of the Cigar Mile, earning a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for his black type effort in a race won by Maximum Security. He was second in the 2018 Cigar Mile behind Patternrecognition. The 6-year-old son of Mineshaft will be looking for his first win of 2020 but has hit the board three times in four starts since Sisterson took over the training duties from Kiaran McLaughlin, who retired to become a jockey agent.

Bon Raison recorded a bullet 59.20 seconds Saturday, the fastest of a group of 18, while True Timber went in 1:01.40.

“Both worked very well at Keeneland yesterday and went five-eighths, they didn't go in company together,” Sisterson said. “They did everything we asked them to and more. We don't typically train them hard, but I wanted to get a good work in them leading up to the Cigar Mile. We are stretching them out to a mile and wanted to get a little air into the lungs and they both worked well within themselves and cooled out great.”

True Timber is slated to have the services of jockey Kendrick Carmouche for the Cigar Mile, which will feature its 32nd edition as the headliner of four graded stakes over the Big A main track on Saturday that will also include the Grade 2, $150,000 Remsen for juveniles, the $150,000 Demoiselle for 2-year-old fillies, and the Grade 3, $100,000 Go for Wand for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

Bon Raison will have the services of jockey Jorge Vargas, Jr. It will mark his first start at Aqueduct since running third in the Grade 3 Tom Fool going six furlongs on March 7.

The post Bon Raison, True Timber Have Final Cigar Mile Preps For Sisterson appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Mind Control Pointing Toward Cigar Mile; Sisterson May Run Pair

Multiple Grade 1-winner Mind Control, trained by Gregg Sacco for Steve Brunetti's Red Oak Stable and Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, posted a five-eighths work in 1:01.85 Sunday on the Belmont Park dirt training track in preparation for the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile for 3-year-olds and up on December 5 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

The Cigar Mile Day card also includes a pair of Grade 2, $150,000 nine-furlong events for juveniles in the Remsen and its filly counterpart, the Demoiselle, as well as the Grade 3, $100,000 Go for Wand Handicap for fillies and mares at one mile.

Sacco said Mind Control, a 4-year-old son of 2012 Cigar Mile champ Stay Thirsty, is likely to enter the Cigar Mile, although the six-furlong Grade 3, $100,000 Fall Highweight Handicap on November 29 at the Big A remains under consideration.

“He worked well. He went five-eighths in 1:01 and change and out in 1:15. The track was a little heavy this morning,” said Sacco. “I'll talk it over with my brother [racing manager Rick Sacco], Steve Brunetti and Sol Kumin, but it looks like we're going to point him to the Cigar Mile.”

The talented colt captured the seven-furlong Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga Race Course as a juvenile and added the seven-furlong Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens to his ledger last August at the Spa.

A four-time winner at Aqueduct, Mind Control captured the one-mile Jerome here in his first sophomore start and ran second to Haikal at one mile in the 2019 Grade 3 Gotham ahead of a score in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Bay Shore. He continued his good form at Ozone Park earlier this year with wins in the Grade 3 Toboggan in January and Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap in March.

After running off-the-board on a sloppy track in the Grade 1 Runhappy Carter Handicap in June at Belmont, Mind Control returned to form with a strong third in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. His chances in the Grade 1 Forego presented by America's Best Racing at Saratoga were hampered by a sloppy track, resulting in an eighth-place finish.

“He's been a bit of a victim of circumstance this year,” said Sacco. “He started out the year great, but caught the slop in the Carter and then he ran well on the fast track in the Vanderbilt before catching slop again in the Forego. He really can't hold up in the slop.”

Mind Control found class relief in the Mr. Prospector on September 12 at Monmouth Park but was checked down the backstretch en route to a third-place finish. Last out, in the Lafayette at Keeneland, Mind Control was in range to strike when a horse fell in front of him at the quarter pole causing Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez to take up his mount.

Sacco said he is hopeful Mind Control can return to winning form at Aqueduct against an expected field that includes top contenders Performer and Firenze Fire.

“He's won at a mile early in his 3-year-old career in the Jerome and he was a good second in the Gotham,” said Sacco. “We always thought between seven-eighths and a mile was his best distance. Three-quarters is a little short for him even though he's won at that distance and ran a dynamite race in the Vanderbilt at Saratoga.

“He loves Aqueduct and he came out of the Kentucky race well,” added Sacco. “We know it's going to be a tough heat. Performer is a hell of a horse and there's a few other really nice horses in there.”

Sisterson may start pair in Cigar
Trainer Jack Sisterson saddled his first Grade 1-winner this summer with Vexatious in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga and said he is hoping to double up when he sends out Calumet Farm's True Timber and Bon Raison in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile.

“We'll definitely send True Timber and there's a good chance we'll send Bon Raison for the Cigar Mile as well,” said Sisterson.

True Timber, a 6-year-old son of Mineshaft, will be making his third Cigar Mile appearance following a close second to Patternrecognition in 2018 and a third a year ago in an event won by Maximum Security.

A veteran of 28 career starts, True Timber boasts a record of 28-4-5-9 with purse earnings in excess of $1 million. He joined the Sisterson barn earlier this season following the retirement of former trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

In four starts with Sisterson, True Timber has posted two thirds and a closing second last out in the Lafayette at Keeneland.

“He's a lovely horse and the way he tries on the day he really deserves to win a big race. He's definitely got the talent to do it,” said Sisterson. “He's very workmanlike in the morning, so I've learned to let him just put his feet where he wants to put them and keep him happy.”

His lone off-the-board effort for Sisterson was a fourth in the Grade 2 Vosburgh Invitational in September at Belmont when leaving from the inside post in a race won by Cigar Mile-rival Firenze Fire.

“He didn't like being stuck down on the rail at Belmont two races back [in the Vosburgh], and that's just him. Put a line through that race and he's run some competitive races with us,” said Sisterson. “He seems to be peaking into his best possible performance to date with us. He has one more breeze here next week and if all goes to plan, I definitely expect him to run as good in there as he has done in the past. He's probably looking forward to getting up there.”

Bon Raison, a 5-year-old Raison d'Etat horse, is a Calumet homebred, who returned to the fold in July when claimed for $80,000 from an optional-claiming sprint at Saratoga.

A veteran of 44 career starts, Bon Raison owns a record of 11-4-7 with purse earnings of $674,534. He captured the 6 ½-furlong Peeping Tom at Aqueduct as part of a marathon 21-race campaign last year that also included a score in the six-furlong Tale of the Cat at Saratoga. Earlier this year, Bon Raison picked up graded black type when third to Mind Control in the Grade 3 Tom Fool at the Big A.

“He's a homebred and has a special place in Calumet's heart,” said Sisterson. “If you really diagnose his form and numbers, he's got some big numbers to go back to. He's run quite a few times and at different distances and he was able to withstand all of that. It goes to show the will to run he has.”

In his second start for Sisterson, Bon Raison tried the Grade 3 Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs in September but failed to fire. He came back and won a hard-fought nose score in an optional-claiming sprint on October 16 on the Keeneland main track.

“We took a shot at Kentucky Downs and some horses take to that course and some don't,” said Sisterson. “He came out of that race fine and trained forwardly into the nice little allowance race at Keeneland which he somehow ended up winning. He just got up. It just goes to show he still has the will to run.”

Last out, Bon Raison was a non-threatening tenth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on November 7 at Keeneland under Adam Beschizza. He exited that effort to work a half-mile in 49.40 Saturday on the Keeneland dirt.

“If you look closely at the Breeders' Cup Sprint, Adam Beschizza got off him and said, 'Jack, you have to watch the replay, I didn't even touch him with the whip. I had nowhere to run,'” said Sisterson. “So, he didn't have a tough race coming out of the Breeders' Cup Sprint and he worked great yesterday.”

Sisterson said the Calumet pair have complimentary running styles, with True Timber likely to be prominently placed.

“One will be forwardly placed and one will be coming from off the pace and it wouldn't shock me if either of them won it in two weeks' time,” said Sisterson. “He [True Timber] has a naturally high cruising speed and if you can get him into a good rhythm, I think he can carry that over a distance of ground.”

Sisterson said Kendrick Carmouche will have the call aboard True Timber, while Jorge Vargas, Jr. will pilot Bon Raison.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the 18-day fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

Early look at the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile on December 5, 2020
Probable: Bon Raison (Jack Sisterson), Firenze Fire (Kelly Breen), King Guillermo (Juan Carolos Avila), Mr. Buff (John Kimmel), Mind Control (Gregg Sacco), Performer (Shug McGaughey), True Timber (Jack Sisterson)

Possible: Majestic Dunhill (George Weaver)

The post Mind Control Pointing Toward Cigar Mile; Sisterson May Run Pair appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights