Twilight Gleaming | Horse Racing Free Tips

Twilight Gleaming Completes Ward, Ortiz Hat Trick In Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint

Stonestreet Stables' Twilight Gleaming was the quickest 2-year-old out of the starting gate in Friday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, then never relinquished her lead to give both conditioner Wesley Ward and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. their third straight win in the Grade 2 event. The Irish-bred daughter of National Defense beat the 12-strong field with a gate-to-wire performance timed in 56.24 seconds over Del Mar's firm turf course.

“She surprised me a little bit the way she broke today,” said Ortiz. “She was ready to win today.”

“You could just tell she was figuring it out,” said Stonestreet's Barbara Banke, who was recently elected as the first female chairperson of the Breeders' Cup.

A 5-1 chance at the start, Twilight Gleaming held off the late run of the David Loughnane-trained Go Bears Go (12-1) by a half-length on the wire. Ward trainee Kaufymaker (24-1) completed the trifecta, with Derrynane (10-1) finishing fourth. The 8-5 favorite, Ward-trained Averly Jane, checked in fifth.

“I was really confident in this filly,” Ward said. “I feel bad for the other two owners because we are all trying to win, but this filly, she had good spacing from her win in France and every work at Keeneland just kept getting better and better. She was coming into it just fresh and fit and ready to go and she did it.

“And, I'm not just saying this because she's Barbara Banke, but Barbara has been a loyal supporter of ours and she really got the itch to go over to England. We got some good horses and Ben McElroy got this filly for her and we bought some others for next year to go to Ascot with and I'm excited to see those. She's just such a great lady and she loves the sport. We are really excited.”

Twilight Gleaming out-broke the field by nearly a length, and Ortiz simply went on with the filly. One Timer came up on her outside to press the first quarter in 21.61 seconds, hanging with the leader all the way through the turn. Twilight Jet and Averly Jane made up the next pair, while Run Curtis Run and Kaufymaker were also prominent early.

One Timer dropped away nearing the straight, and Ortiz took that opportunity to ask Twilight Gleaming to sneak away from the field. She got away by nearly two lengths at the three-sixteenths pole, before the rush of closers began to make their moves. Go Bears Go was moving best of all late under John Velazquez, but came up just a half-length short at the wire. It was another half-length back to Kaufymaker in third, with Derrynane a head behind in fourth, and Averly Jane a nose back in fifth.

The remaining order of finish was: Hierarchy, Vertiginious, Armor, One Timer, Twilight Jet, Time To Party, and Run Curtis Run.

Bred in Ireland by Pier House Stud, Twilight Gleaming is out of the Dansili mare Thames Pageant. She was a $96,931 yearling purchase at Goffs, and ran second on the dirt in her Keeneland debut in April 2021. Switched to the turf at Belmont Park in May, Twilight Gleaming graduated by 7 1/2 lengths. Ward was impressed enough to run her in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, in which she ran second to the highly-regarded Queen Suzy.

Twilight Gleaming returned overseas in August to run in a listed stakes race, which she won by a neck in convincing fashion. The long break before the Breeders' Cup was by designed, Ward explained, and the filly responded with her first graded stakes win.

Her record stands at three wins and two seconds from five starts, with earnings of $637,251. Ward and Ortiz combined to win this race in 2019 with Four Wheel Drive and 2020 with Golden Pal. It is the fifth Breeders' Cup victory for Ward and the 12th for Ortiz.

Quotes from other connections:

Trainer Dave Loughnane (second with Go Bears Go) – “I'm a bit emotional really, he's a superstar. He's been life changing for us. He just sat in the gates for half a stride which might have cost him the race but I can't be disappointed. I'm very proud of the horse and all the team at home. Johnny (Velazquez) gave him a super ride and on another day he might have won. It's a massive day for my career.”

Jockey John Velazquez (second with Go Bears Go) – “He ran a great race. A little better break and we would have won it. I thought for one second we were going to get it. I wanted to be a bit closer earlier which has cost him but he's run very well.”

Jockey Jose Ortiz (third with Kaufymaker) – “She ran very good. I made the wrong choice at the top of the lane and I decided to go outside and follow Tyler (Gaffalione). I probably should have stayed inside. It was tight on the inside though. In the end, I was happy and she responded well.”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione (fifth with favorite Averly Jane) – “She broke sharp but she just didn't really get it going. I looked to my inside and outside and I was already getting outrun. She wasn't grabbing the bit on me so I dropped my hands to see if she will take me a little bit. She did but she just didn't have it today.”

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Eclipse Thoroughbreds’ Quick Suzy Runs Down Ward Trainee In Queen Mary

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Quick Suzy lived up to her name when winning the opening G2 Queen Mary Stakes on day two of Royal Ascot, a first success at the meeting for both jockey Gary Carroll and trainer Gavin Cromwell.

The Wesley Ward-trained US challenger Twilight Gleaming (9/4 fav) was expected to go close in the five-furlong contest for 2-year-old fillies, but she lacked the finishing burst of Quick Suzy (8/1) who finished best in a race that developed up the stands' side rail.

Twilight Gleaming held on for second, beaten a length and a quarter, with Cheerupsleepyjean (50/1) closing fast for third.

Cromwell, who is one of Ireland's leading Jump trainers, said: “Royal Ascot is such an occasion and to have a winner, it's fantastic.

“I was very confident Quick Suzy was going to run a big race, but where she lay with the English or the American horses, we didn't know until we came here.

“She won her maiden well, it was only an auction maiden and it wouldn't carry as much weight, but she then went to a G2 in Naas [Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes] and finished second. She showed blistering pace and we thought plenty of her.

“I'm not a known as a trainer of 2-year-olds or sprinters, so it was very hard to tell but I knew she was in great nick. This goes down to the staff at home and the big effort they have put in.

“The plan was she would remain with me until Royal Ascot and then go to America. Maybe we can twist the owners' arm and go for the Breeders' Cup with her.”

Carroll said: “Fair play to Gavin, three-mile Stayers' Hurdle to five furlongs at Ascot – he can do it. She was very good today.

“She didn't have the best prep, but to be fair he got her here spot on today. She travelled well, travelled very easy – I thought we didn't go quick enough. I knew she'd get to the line well today and would probably outstay the American horse.

“She jumped well and I thought the American horse would be going a really good gallop and that I'd be chasing, but I actually sat close to the American horse and every step of the way I was waiting, waiting, and then when I got inside the two, the American horse got maybe half a length on me and I chased her down. I just outbattled her to the line, and we actually got to the line well. She's a very good filly.

He added: “This means a lot – the season's going very well so far, but you need these big winners really to put yourself on the platform, so it's great to get it. Especially today, with the crowds – it's a long time since we've felt an atmosphere like that, and it was magical.

“If I could have extended the walkway back in, I would have – I soaked it all up and it was great. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but it was a magic race to win, with such prestige; it's what jockeys dream of.”

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Ward Relishing Royal Ascot Return

NEWMARKET, UK–Since 2009, Wesley Ward has made Royal Ascot an annual pilgrimage, both for his horses and his family. The enduring and endearing repetition of that first visit is the presence of the now 14-year-old Strike The Tiger (Tiger Ridge), Ward's first of 11 Royal Ascot winners, who is now a much valued stable pony and has accompanied his team to Newmarket.

The trainer was in his customary relaxed mood on Wednesday morning at Newmarket's National Stud, where his team has been based on his visits to England over the last few years. Among the nine horses heading to the Berkshire track next week is another returning star, Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), the winner of last year's G2 Queen Mary S. at Ascot who went on to win the G1 Darley Prix Morny in Deauville for Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables.

An intended runner in Friday's G1 Commonwealth Cup, in which she will be reunited with Frankie Dettori, Campanelle is one of two older horses in the raiding party along with Richard Ravin's Maven (American Pharoah). The lightly-raced 4-year-old will tackle the G1 King's Stand S. on the opening day of the meeting.

“When Maven ran in an allowance race at Keeneland in April, we felt he was a bit short fitness-wise,” Ward said on Wednesday morning. “On the day he bounced out in front and when they came to him, I thought he was going to surrender, but he just took off again. I was delighted and then once I saw the numbers, it inspired me to put him on the team for Royal Ascot. He will have to move forward from that again to be in the mix for the King's Stand Stakes, but I think he is entitled to do so.”

Maven is one of two American raiders on course for the King's Stand. The 8-year-old G1 Al Quoz Sprint winner Extravagant Kid (Kiss The Kid), who will be ridden by Ryan Moore, arrived in Newmarket on Tuesday evening and is stabled across town at Abington Place. His trainer Brendan Walsh is very familiar with British racing's headquarters, having worked in Newmarket for several years for Mark Wallace.

The remaining Ward septet are all juveniles and it is in this sphere which the trainer notoriously excels. He appears to have a real soft spot for the statuesque Kaufymaker (Jimmy Creed), a homebred for Gregory Kaufman who was raised on Ward's own farm in Florida. Unusually, the chestnut filly will be taking on the colts in the G2 Coventry S. on Tuesday.

Ward said, “She won on the dirt at Keeneland and then when we worked her on the grass, she took to it like a duck to water. Of all the workers I have had on the grass coming into the meeting, she has risen to the top. That is why I am giving her the biggest assignment. The Coventry Stakes is a race I have been dying to have a real big chance in and I think she is going to give me it. She is the best I have and that is why I am putting her in here.”

He continued, “She has a big, long stride and I think it is a bit of an advantage at this time of the year to have a filly against the colts. If you look at all the times of the races over the years, especially in the States, the fillies are always faster. The same applies to the breeze-ups for the most part. It is like boys and girls in school—for whatever reason girls mature that little bit faster.”

Having tasted significant success last year, Stonestreet Stables has stuck to the formula of buying European-bred yearlings to aim at the meeting and three youngsters will bear Banke's colours at Ascot on Wednesday. Twilight Gleaming (Ire) will bid to give her first-season sire National Defense (GB) an important first Royal Ascot winner in the G2 Queen Mary S., while the filly Ruthin (GB) (Ribchester {Ire}) will take on Napa Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire})–the top-priced colt at last year's Goffs Orby Sale at £420,000–in the listed Windsor Castle S. John Velazquez is set to ride Ruthin and Dettori is booked for Napa Spirit.

“In regard to Twilight Gleaming and Ruthin, sometimes you have to readjust because of what you see from them in their workouts once they're over here.” Ward noted. “With both horses being owned by Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Stables, you have to go with what you see. To me, Twilight Gleaming might be a shade better, which is why she is going for the Queen Mary Stakes, and Ruthin will slot in for the Windsor Castle Stakes alongside Napa Spirit. We are going to use a figure-8 bridle and tongue tie on Ruthin, to help her get some more air, and I think that could make a big difference to her.”

Ruthin was exercised riderless on Wednesday morning alongside Strike The Tiger and Ollie Sangster, who gave the filly an easy jog on the Newmarket turf. Ward's preparation for her change of tack next week included having her wear the tongue tie and grakle noseband during the exercise.

Ruthin had Artos (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) six lengths behind her when the pair met on debut at Keeneland on April 22. The latter, who will be a first Royal Ascot runner for Rusty Arnold, arrived in Newmarket on Tuesday with Extravagant Kid and she will now face Twilight Gleaming in the Queen Mary.

Ward will also be double-handed in Thursday's G2 Norfolk S., in which Lucci (Not This Time) will take on Nakatomi (Firing Line). Oisin Murphy will ride the latter, with Velazquez renewing his acquaintance with first-time-out Belmont maiden winner Lucci.

The trainer said, “At home, we have been working Lucci and Nakatomi together. Nakatomi was coming out on top, but then they had a workout in Newmarket on the Limekilns and Lucci turned the tables. He just bounced straight through to the front and would not give up the lead.”

Joining Campanelle on the lorry from Newmarket to Ascot on Friday will be the G3 Albany S. contender Golden Bell (Macho Uno), who races for a partnership which includes Hat Creek Racing, former owners of the 2017 listed Sandringham H. winner Con Te Partiro (Scat Daddy), and Cheyenne Stable. Ward would be happy to see some rain fall at the track ahead of the penultimate day of the meeting.

“Golden Bell is actually one I wouldn't mind a bit of dig in the ground for, which is not something you would usually hear me say,” he commented. “The night before she worked at Keeneland, we had quite heavy rain, and she just flew through the ground. With her and Campanelle, I might have to do a little rain dance the night before.”

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National Defense Filly Blitzes Belmont Maidens for ‘Rising Star’ Badge

Twilight Gleaming (Ire) (National Defense {GB}), a strong second debuting on the Keeneland main track last month, got to her likely preferred surface of turf Sunday at Belmont and rocketed clear in the lane for 'TDN Rising Star' honors.

Bought for £75,000 by Ben McElroy at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale last October, Twilight Gleaming became the first starter for her freshman sire when backed down to 3-5 Apr. 8 at Keeneland, and ran a game second despite being pinched at the start and going wide on the turn. Recording a pair of sharp half-mile works in Lexington since, the bay was punched down to 65 cents on the dollar here and broke alertly from the rail. Taking charge early while trying to get out just a bit heading into the turn, the bay led narrowly while well in hand through a :22.26 quarter. Shaking clear into the lane on her own power, the favorite burst away impressively once given her cue by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and cruised in under a hold for the final sixteenth, hitting the wire 7 1/2 lengths to the good. Poppy Flower (Lea) completed the exacta.

Twilight Gleaming is the second winner for National Defense, an Irish National Stud resident who was a French highweight colt and Group 1 victor as a 2-year-old in 2016. He picked up his first winner Saturday in Italy. Dam Thames Pageant is an unraced full-sister to Group 1-placed Mainstream (GB) out of MSW/MGSP Golden Stream and third dam Phantom Gold was a three-time Group winner in England. Thames Pageant produced a colt by Sioux Nation last term.

4th-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 5-9, 2yo, f, 5fT, :56.49, fm, 7 1/2 lengths.
TWILIGHT GLEAMING (IRE) f, 2, by National Defense {GB}
1st Dam: Thames Pageant {GB}, by Dansili {GB})
2nd Dam: Golden Stream (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Phantom Gold (GB), by Machiavellian
Sales History: £75,000 Ylg '20 GOFOR. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $56,740. Click for the Equibase.com chart, VIDEO, sponsored by TVG or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Pier House Stud (IRE); T-Wesley A. Ward.

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