Tyler Gaffalione | Horse Racing Free Tips

Regal Glory Moves Late To Take De La Rose At Saratoga

Regal Glory put in a potent late move from well off the pace to capture Sunday's $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Regal Glory was one of two entrants for trainer Chad Brown, along with Viadera, in the one-mile inner-turf test for older fillies and mares who haven't won a graded race this year.

Under an aggressive hand ride from Jose Ortiz, the daughter of Animal Kingdom took command of the field on the far turn and then she kicked clear through the lane to run down Hendy Woods, who enjoyed a ground-saving trip from Tyler Gaffalione, and Shifty She, who had set honest splits of :23.89, :48.58, and 1:12.20 on the firm turf.

Owned by Peter M. Brant, the five-year-old mare prevailed by one-half length over Hendy Woods. Shifty She faded to third, 1 ¼ lengths behind, as Regal Glory covered the one-mile in a final time of 1:34.85.

Regal Glory, who had captured the Plenty of Grace at Aqueduct in Ozone Park, N.Y., in April two starts back, took good advantage of the drop in class from her most recent outing in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game on June 5 on the Belmont Park turf.

“She got a really bad trip in the Just a Game, which was unfortunate because she was really primed to run a big one and she did, it just didn't work out for her,” Brown explained. “But we regrouped. I spoke to Mr. Brant and said, 'Let's get her to Saratoga and let's put her in a race where she can get a good trip,' and hopefully put a W under her belt with the eye of trying to win a Grade 1 with her this year, which is why he kept her in training after he bought her. We'll see what's next for her, but, for now, we'll just enjoy this.”

Ortiz said he felt confident there was pace to close into when the usually prominent Raven's Cry, piloted by Luis Saez, wasn't up top.

“I broke running but I knew the pace was fast when Saez wasn't anywhere close,” Ortiz said. “I just sat there and followed him [Saez]. I was following the right horse but Tyler had a great trip on the inside and it made it closer than it should be. I knew I had him.”

Viadera, the 6-5 favorite piloted by Joel Rosario, finished fourth after having a less auspicious run around the course than her stablemate.

“She had a rough trip for her first time back. It happens sometimes when you have a late-running horse like that,” Brown said. “I spoke to Joel briefly and he was frustrated because he had to stop a couple of different times and by the time she got clear, it was just too late.”

Viadera was making her first start since capturing the Grade 1 Matriarch in November at Del Mar.

“She got started a lot later than we had hoped this year,” said Brown. “Now that she has a race under her belt, hopefully she'll move forward. She's another one that, already being a Grade 1-winner, we're probably headed into Grade 1s with her. It's her abbreviated last season of racing and we're going to try and make the most of it.”

Hendy Woods, who was bred by her owner Stonestreet Stables and trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, outran her 10-1 odds while also gaining late but was no match for the winner.

“Everything went to plan. The speed set a nice tempo in front of us and I was able to tuck in and save some ground,” Gaffalione said. “I had every chance down the stretch. She gave me a huge run. We just couldn't get the bob today. That's horse racing. I'm super proud of my filly. She ran big today.”

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Raven's Cry, Star Command, and Belle Laura completed the order of finish.

The Kentucky-bred Regal Glory, who won the Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes and the Grade 3 Lake George Stakes at Saratoga in 2019, returned $5.20 for a $2 wager. She now has a record of 8-3-0 in 14 starts for her connections.

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a 10-race card highlighted by the $120,000 Mahony for 3-year-olds going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf in Race 9 and the $100,000 Evan Shipman for New York-bred 3-year-olds and up competing at 1 1/8 miles in Race 3. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Fast Boat Overhauls Carotari To Upset Troy Stakes On Saratoga Turf

Brad Grady's Fast Boat motored in deep stretch to overtake pacesetter Carotari from the outside, getting up in the final jumps for a half-length score in Friday's Grade 3, $200,000 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland for 4-year-olds and up sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on Saratoga Race Course's Mellon turf in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Fast Boat won for the third time in four starts, utilizing a patient trip from jockey Tyler Gaffalione from the inside post as Carotari led the nine-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 21.74 seconds and the half in 44.15 over firm going under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

Out of the turn, Gaffalione kept Fast Boat wide, providing the 6-year-old son of City Zip plenty of racing room in front of him. Gaffalione's charge capitalized on the daylight and picked off multiple rivals one-by-one until setting his sights on Carotari.

In the final sixteenth, Gaffalione alternated from right-handed to left-handed encouragement, and Fast Boat collared his rival in the shadow of the wire, completing the course in 1:01.24 for trainer Joe Sharp.

“During the stretch run I was jumping off the ground,” Sharp said. “I got a little taller inside the eighth pole. You could tell by his momentum that he was going to get there, but the horse on the lead, Javier's horse [Carotari], dug in when he got to him. When he fires his big ones it's always fun to watch from the quarter-pole home. We figured he'd like this turf course here, and he sure did.”

Fast Boat registered his third stakes win of the campaign, adding to scores in the Pulse Power Turf Sprint in January at Sam Houston and the Grade 2 Turf Sprint in April at Churchill Downs, before running sixth last out in the Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

“He was training very forwardly into the race,” Sharp said. “He's a horse we've gotten to know really well and we know all his 'isms.' When he's doing well and when he's going to run a big race and everything pointed to his effort today. The weather cooperated today. He prefers a firm turf course, and for the Jaipur, he lost his opportunity at the Grade 1 with the give in the ground. But I'm not taking anything away from today. We're super proud to be here and honored. Winning at Saratoga is big, let alone winning a graded stake.”

Off at 10-1, Fast Boat returned $23.80 on a $2 win wager. He improved his career earnings to $659,849.

Gaffalione won the Troy for a third consecutive year for three different trainers, starting with Leinster and Rusty Arnold in 2019 and winning aboard the Wayne Potts-conditioned American Sailor last year.

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“I didn't expect to be that close, but he was travelling pretty easy and I just let him do his thing,” Gaffalione said. “I didn't want to get in his way and when I tipped him out he really finished his job. Mr. Sharp has done a great job with him. You can tell when he's in that five-and-a-half to three-quarters range, he really runs his race.”

Carotari, trained by Brian Lynch, went off at 23-1 but outkicked Gear Jockey by one length for second, marking the third time in four starts the Artie Schiller gelding has hit the board in his 5-year-old year.

“He had been training so well going into this race,” Castellano said. “You could see on paper how good he was working. I really like how he did it today. I was really satisfied with his race.”

Imprimis, Bound for Nowhere, Front Run the Fed, Lazuli, Chewing Gum and Classy John completed the order of finish. Backtohisroots, Chateau and Casa Creed scratched.

Saturday will feature a stacked 12-race card at Saratoga comprising five stakes, highlighted by the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles in Race 10; the Grade 1, $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational as the second leg of the Turf Triple series for 3-year-olds at 1 3/16 miles in Race 9; the Grade 1, $500,000 Longinest Test in a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies in Race 8; the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls for older fillies and mares at 1 1/2 miles on turf in Race 7; and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure for 4-year-olds and up competing at 1 1/16 miles on grass in Race 6. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

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Casa Creed, Bound for Nowhere Headline Troy Stakes At Saratoga

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed will seek another triumph against some of the country's elite turf sprinters in Friday's 18th running of the $200,000 Grade 3 Troy presented by Horse Racing Ireland at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 5 ½-furlong turf sprint over the Mellon turf course is one of three stakes events on the eve of Whitney Day, which also includes the $120,000 Alydar for older horses at nine furlongs over the main track and the $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame for sophomores going a mile over the inner turf.

Conditioned by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Casa Creed arrives at the Troy off his best performance yet, displaying a devastating late turn-of-foot to capture the Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur on Belmont Stakes Day June 5 at Belmont Park, where he earned a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure. The triumph was the 5-year-old son of Jimmy Creed's first start at six furlongs since his July 2018 career debut when sixth over the Saratoga main track.

Casa Creed has seen a considerable cutback in distance after two seasons of campaigning primarily around one mile, a distance where he has found prosperity capturing the Grade 2 Hall of Fame in August 2019 at Saratoga. He also has been graded stakes placed three times at one mile, including a third-place finish to Halladay in last year's Grade 1 Fourstardave at the Spa.

It was a cut back to seven furlongs in the Elusive Quality on April 24 at Belmont Park two starts ago where Casa Creed recaptured winning form for the first time since the Hall of Fame, ending a seven-race losing streak.

“We backed him up to six furlongs and that was okay, five and a half is a bit of a different race on a different type of course,” Mott said. “It's a tighter course here so we'll have to see how he negotiates that.”

Casa Creed has gone 11-1-2-3 at one mile, but Mott said he has benefitted going shorter distances.

“I usually try to get horses to run a mile if they can, which he does. It's pretty obvious he doesn't get beyond a mile that well,” Mott said. “He was a length, a length and a quarter behind some of the best. He's run well and makes that run and has just been touched off a couple of times. Something slightly less than a mile is good for him. Of course, when you're going shorter you need some luck and have to get the right trip.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado has been aboard Casa Creed for both of his graded stakes wins and returns to the irons from post 12.

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Mott also saddles Wachtel Stables, Pantofel Stables, and Jerold Zaro's Chewing Gum, who made a late rally to complete a Mott-trained exacta in the Jaipur. The 6-year-old son of Candy Ride seeks his first trip to the winner's circle since besting allowance optional claiming company going six furlongs in June 2020 at Belmont Park.

Jockey Jose Ortiz will ride from post 2.

Trainer Wesley Ward will saddle Bound for Nowhere, the lone millionaire in the field with a record of 16-7-2-3. Owned by his trainer, the lightly-raced 7-year-old son of The Factor returns to action with a redeeming agenda after setting a swift tempo and relinquishing to third in the final furlong of the Jaipur.

In his prior effort in the Grade 2 Shakertown on April 3 at Keeneland Race Course, Bound for Nowhere was forced to switch tactics and come from off the pace after an awkward start, but overcame adversity with a late-closing narrow win, which netted a 105 Beyer. Bound for Nowhere also captured the 2018 Shakertown, when besting talented turf sprinters Bucchero and Disco Partner by four lengths and registering a career-best 107 Beyer.

Bound for Nowhere has put together a solid work pattern heading into the Troy. He worked five-eighths in 1:01.43 over the Oklahoma training turf Saturday, one week after a sharp five-furlong drill in :59.40 over the same course.

“He's ready,” Ward said. “He's doing everything right. We got here early and got a couple of nice breezes here with [assistant trainer and former jockey] David Flores up. His last work was a nice and easy one because he had a stiff one the week before. He's been working as good of works as he's ever had. Usually, when you're coming into a race like this with a horse that's seven years old, you always are worrying about something, but we've got no worries.”

Jockey Joel Rosario rides from post 11.

Breeze Easy's 7-year-old veteran Imprimis will look to shake off four months' worth of rust, returning to a distance where he boasts a 16-8-2-2 record having not raced since finishing second beaten a nose to Bound for Nowhere in the Shakertown.

Trained by Joe Orseno, the Broken Vow dark bay crossed the wire first in last year's Troy but was disqualified and placed third. He was triumphant in his next effort going six furlongs in the Grade 3 Runhappy Turf Sprint on September 12 at Kentucky Downs before finishing 13th in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on November 5 at Keeneland.

Imprimis emerged from the Shakertown with a broken bone in his nose.

“He's a very good fresh horse. When he came out of the gate in the Shakertown, he broke a bone in his nose. We took precautions over it, but he's been fine and ready to run,” Orseno said. “The Troy has been on our radar since that race. I was thinking about the Jaipur and decided to skip it, but he's ready to go.”

A six-time stakes winner over five different ovals, the well-traveled Imprimis boasts previous stakes wins in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint in May 2018 at Pimlico Race Course, the Wolf Hill two months later at Monmouth Park, as well as the Silks Run [March 2019], and Janus [January 1] at Gulfstream Park.

“He's never been the kind of horse that needed a track,” Orseno said. “Obviously, it's always turf but Kentucky Downs is different than most. Last year, I took him there off a ten-month layoff and his first race back was the Troy. He handled it fine and did what he was supposed to do. Unfortunately, they took him down, but he ran his race. It's kind of the same pattern we're trying to follow.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Imprimis from post 7.

Trainer Charlie Appleby has garnered success this year in shipping horses across the pond to New York, including Grade 1 triumphs with Althiqa in the Just a Game at Belmont Park and the Diana at the Spa. The Newmarket-based conditioner sends out Godolphin's dual Group 3 winner Lazuli for the Troy.

The 4-year-old bay son of Dubawi captured the Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy at Newbury on September 20 and won the Group 3 Palace House at Newmarket on May 1 two starts later.

Jockey Luis Saez has the mount from post 10.

Rounding out the field are Brad Grady's Fast Boat [post 1, Tyler Gaffalione], a winner of the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs two starts back for trainer Joe Sharp; Louisiana-bred stakes winner Classy John [post 3, John Velazquez]; John Terranova-trained three-time winner Backtohisroots [post 4, Manny Franco]; graded stakes-placed Front Run the Fed [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr.]; Calumet Farms' ultra-consistent Gear Jockey [post 6, Jose Lezcano]; multiple stakes winner Carotari [post 8, Javier Castellano] for trainer Brian Lynch; and Chateau [post 9, Dylan Davis], a graded-stakes winner on dirt for trainer Rob Atras.

The Troy is carded as Race 9 on Friday's 10-race program. First post is 1:05 p.m.

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Jesus’ Team Returns In Friday’s Alydar At Saratoga

Group 7C Racing Stable's Jesus' Team, who has earned three placings in prestigious Grade 1 races, will return to stakes company on Friday as part of an eight-horse field of 4-year-olds and up who have not won a stakes other than state-bred in 2021 in the $120,000 Alydar contested at 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The ninth edition of the Alydar, named for the 1989 Hall of Fame inductee who finished second to Affirmed in all three legs of the 1978 Triple Crown, will see Jesus' Team return to the Spa for the first time since running third in last year's Grade 2 Jim Dandy.

The Tapiture colt used that contest for sophomores as a prep for the 2020 Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, which was held in October last year, with Jesus' Team finishing third in the final leg of the Triple Crown behind Authentic and winner Swiss Skydiver. Trainer Jose D'Angelo saw him build on that effort in a Triple Crown classic to run second behind Knicks Go in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cut Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., earning a 102 Beyer Speed Figure.

Jesus' Team closed out his year with his first stakes win, capturing the Claiming Crown Jewel in December at Gulfstream going 1 1/8 miles. Returning to the same track and distance, Jesus' Team again linked up with Knicks Go in his 2021 bow, again running second to his rival in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January that netted a 105 Beyer.

D'Angelo then shipped Jesus' Team to the United Arab Emirates, where he ran sixth in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March. After a four-month freshening, he returned to run fifth on July 11 at Gulfstream, prompting D'Angelo to skip the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney on August 7 at Saratoga in favor of the Alydar.

“The last race, for sure, he needed,” D'Angelo said. “After quarantine coming back from Dubai, he lost a little weight. It was a little hard to [improve] his conditioning again. He needed that race to be the horse he is now. He's bigger than his last race, and in that race, he was a little too close to the front. I think it helped him get him fit, though, and we're looking forward to this race.”

Junior Alvarado will pick up the mount from post 7.

Two-time graded stakes-winner Core Beliefs returned from a nine-month layoff to run third in an optional claiming contest going 1 1/16 miles in June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Trainer Brian Lynch said the Quality Road bay needed that race after being given a freshening following a fifth-place finish in the Champions Day Marathon in September at Churchill Downs for then-trainer Scott Hansen.

“I think he ran well enough last out to give us the confidence to try him in a spot like this, because it was a credible effort off a long layoff,” Lynch said. “He's trained on well enough to get a shot. This will be the second time off the bench and it's at a distance that he really likes.”

Core Beliefs, owned by Gary Broad, won the 2018 Grade 3 Ohio Derby in a sophomore year that saw him run fourth in the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., and fifth in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa. He then made his 2019 debut with a win in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La., that March, which marked his last victory.

Running at Saratoga for the first time, Core Beliefs will be seeking his first victory in his last eight starts and enters after posting four workouts over the Saratoga main track in July.

“He's doing well and has great energy, and for an older horse, he's been very willing and trying hard in his works,” Lynch said. “I take that as a positive. He just acts like he's in good form. He's done so well since he's been here and the weather has been a little bit cooler, and he seems to enjoy that. His appetite has been fantastic, too. We're just hoping for good things.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will have the call from post 3.

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Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, who like Jesus' Team also competed in last year's Preakness and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, will get his first opportunity to run at Saratoga and his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Art Collector commenced his 4-year-old year with a sixth-place finish in the Kelly's Landing on June 25 at Churchill Downs, marking his first race since running eighth in that Breeders' Cup appearance seven months prior.

Art Collector, who ran fourth in the Preakness, finished just a head back to Jesus' Team to fall just short of black type in the 1 3/16-mile classic. The winner of the 2020 Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland will have the services of Luis Saez. on Friday, breaking from post 4.

Steve Landers Racing's Night Ops, off three consecutive runner-up efforts in the Grade 3 Ben Ali, Blame, and Grade 3 Monmouth Cup for reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, will make his Saratoga start in a well-traveled career.

Night Ops, who Manny Franco will ride out of post 8, has finished in the money in his last six starts, all against stakes competition, starting with a win in the 2020 Grade 3 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa.

Bourbon Lane Stable's Bourbon War will be running in a stakes for the first time since 2019, when as a 3-year-old he found success on the Triple Crown trail by running second in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, eighth in the Preakness, and 10th in the Belmont Stakes. Trainer Ian Wilkes took over the conditioning duties for Bourbon War's 5-year-old campaign, which started with a strong second, by a neck, to Home Base in an optional claimer in May at Churchill Downs before running third under similar conditions at the same track on June 26.

“He came off a long layoff and ran two good races; I thought he ran really respectable in putting two good ones together back-to-back,” Wilkes said. “I'm getting to know him and he's getting to know me, so it's all good there. The horse has been happy, so that's the key. We're hoping to make that next progression. He needs to step up and pick up his game a little more. I feel good for him.”

Bourbon War, a son of Tapit, will have Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the irons from post 6.

Prioritize, sixth in the Grade 2 Suburban on July 3 at Belmont, will return to a familiar track that's near trainer H. James Bond's base, as the Tizway gelding ran twice here last year, winning an optional claimer before running third in the Grade 1 Woodward. The now 6-year-old will have jockey Tyler Gaffalione aboard for the first time, departing post 1.

Math Wizard will enter off a six-month layoff in his first start since finishing sixth in the Pegasus World Cup. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee will be racing for just the second time as a 5-year-old as he seeks his first victory since the 2019 Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby [Irad Ortiz, Jr., post 5].

Limonite ran third in the Grade 3 Excelsior going the Alydar distance on April 3 at Aqueduct and after two fifth-place efforts will return to the Spa for trainer Gustavo Rodriguez [Joel Rosario, post 2].

The Alydar, slated as Race 8 on the 10-race card, is one of three stakes on a stacked Friday card that will feature a 1:05 p.m. Eastern first post.

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