Vittorio | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ghostzapper Colt Easily Makes Amends at Del Mar

6th-Del Mar, $55,500, Msw, 8-29, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.10, ft.
VITTORIO (c, 2, Ghostzapper–Roberta Turner, by Smart Strike) was away slowly from a wide stall in his Aug. 1 debut, then traveled very awkwardly, covered ground on the turn and could do no better than fifth to the impressive odds-on favorite Freedom Fighter (Violence). But the betting public did not lose faith in the colt and made him the 11-10 favorite to make the requisite improvement at second asking. Much more smoothly away from gate six with Mike Smith back at the controls, the scopey bay colt moved better and sat just off of longshot pacesetter Belmont Bill (Oxbow) through an opening quarter in :22.46. Ridden quietly on the turn just awaiting his cue, Vittorio was allowed to stride into the lead three-sixteenths from home and was never in serious danger from there. He had 3 1/4 lengths on Belmont Bill at the wire. A $250,000 Keeneland September purchase last fall, Vittorio was knocked to Ben McElroy, agent for Kaleem Shah, for $750,000 at this year’s OBS June sale after breezing an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5. The winner’s dam is also responsible for Vittorio’s year-older half-brother Seiche (Super Saver), who was third in an Aug. 15 Del Mar maiden; a yearling Hard Spun filly and a filly foal by Union Rags. Roberta Turner is a half-sister to MSW & MGSP Foxy Danseur (Mr. Greeley), the dam of GSW Ever So Clever (Medaglia d’Oro), an additional pair of stakes horses and the 2-year-old filly Willful Woman (Nyquist), who cost $400,000 as an FTSAUG yearling last summer and is now in training at Churchill Downs. Roberta Turner was most recently bred to Street Sense. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $750,000 2yo ’20 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $34,100. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-Kaleem Shah Inc; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Simon Callaghan.

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Saturday’s Racing Insights for Aug. 29

SPOTLIGHT ON RUNHAPPY BABY IN LOADED SARATOGA MAIDEN

6th-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 3:57 p.m. ET

HAPPYMAC (Runhappy), an $800,000 RNA at the OBS June Sale (:20 3/5), looks like the one to beat in this extremely deep baby race at the Spa. The half-brother to runaway GII Amsterdam S. winner and GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) fired a five-furlong bullet from the gate in :59 2/5 (1/12) at Saratoga Aug. 17. Happymac, drawn widest of all in post 10 for the Heiligbrodts and Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, previously brought $125,000 at KEEJAN and $360,000 at KEESEP as a yearling. He is the 5-2 morning-line favorite.

After unleashing Reinvestment Risk (Upstart) to a jaw-dropping ‘TDN Rising Star’ performance earlier this meet, trainer Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables debut another son of the Airdrie Stud freshman sire in $600,000 OBS March (:21) graduate Founder (Upstart).

The rail-drawn Newbomb (Speightstown), a half-brother to the talented GSW & MGISP My Happy Face (Tiz Wonderful), debuts for Todd Pletcher. The $155,000 FTKOCT yearling has a pair of bullet workouts on the tab for this.

The field also includes $600,000 KEESEP graduate Charleston Strong (Flatter) and $375,000 KEESEP graduate Majestic Street (Street Sense), a half-brother to MGSW St. Joe Bay (Saint Anddan). TJCIS PPs

MILLION DOLLAR WAR FRONT KEESEP YEARLING DEBUTS

10th-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 6:16 p.m. ET

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle a pair of promising youngsters here, including Shadwell Stable’s $1-million KEESEP yearling purchase ZAINALARAB (War Front). She is the first foal out of Delightful Joy (Tapit), heroine of the GIII Monmouth Oaks. Brown will also tighten the girth on Three Chimneys Farm homebred Always Carina (Malibu Moon), a half-sister to the Brown-trained unbeaten GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hero Structor (Palace Malice). TJCIS PPs

PRICEY GHOSTZAPPER COLT MAKES SECOND START AT DEL MAR

6th-DMR, $55K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 7:40 p.m. ET

VITTORIO (Ghostzapper), a $750,000 OBS Spring purchase (bullet :9 4/5) by Kaleem Shah, looks to build off a better-than-it-looked fifth-place finish after a slow start and wide trip on debut going five furlongs Aug. 1 (Second Chances). The bay fired a four-furlong bullet in :47 (1/113) for trainer Simon Callaghan from the gate Aug. 16. TJCIS PPs

QUEEN’S PLATE WINNER RETURNS FROM LENGTHY LAYOFF

9th-DMR, $59K, OC62K, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 9:10 p.m. ET

Canadian Classic winner ONE BAD BOY (Twirling Candy), winner of last term’s Queen’s Plate S., makes his 4-year-old debut. The dark bay, trained by Richard Baltas, was last seen finishing third as the even-money favorite in the second leg of Canada’s Triple Crown in the Prince of Wales S. at Fort Erie last July. He has been working bullets for his return, and graduated impressively in his lone prior try on grass at Santa Anita last April. TJCIS PPs

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Second Chances: Vittorio

In this continuing series, TDN’s Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

Vittorio (c, 2, Ghostzapper-Roberta Turner, by Smart Strike), a $750,000 OBS Spring purchase by Kaleem Shah, has every right to build off a better-than-it-looked debut fifth going five furlongs at Del Mar Aug. 1 (video).

Off to a tardy beginning after breaking inward at the start, the 4-1 chance, equipped with blinkers, was slow into stride and trailed the field in ninth through an opening quarter in :23.28. He began to make a flashy, sweeping move while four/five wide on the far turn beneath Mike Smith as Freedom Fighter (Violence) led with Dixie’s Two Stents (Quality Road) in hot pursuit in second.

Into fifth and looking a potential danger as they turned for home despite the slow start and wide trip, Vittorio raced a bit greenly from there hanging on his left lead and lugging in some as the top two ran away from the field with Freedom Fighter digging down gamely for a head victory. It was another 5 1/4 lengths back to Petruchio (Into Mischief) in third, who chased the top two throughout in a race that the speed held very well together.

Vittorio, 8 1/4 lengths adrift the winner, earned a 53 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. He is trained by Simon Callaghan.

“He got left behind at the start and lost all chance,” Shah said. “Mike Smith liked the horse, and with more gate works in him, he should be a different horse in his next start. Vittorio came out of his race in good shape. He should improve with more distance down the road.”

Vittorio, a $250,000 Keeneland September yearling graduate, was the fifth most expensive purchase at this year’s postponed Spring Sale in Ocala after breezing an eighth in a bullet :9 4/5 from the Sequel Bloodstock consignment. Bloodstock agent Ben McElroy signed the ticket on behalf of Shah.

“The good horses cost a lot of money for sure,” Shah said. “I do like the 2-year-old in training sales where most of my horse racing success has come from and I had to stretch a lot to get him–Bob Baffert was the underbidder. Simon Callaghan and Ben McElroy liked this horse a lot at the sale.”

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Vittorio is out of a half-sister to MSW & MGSP Foxy Danseur (Mr. Greeley), the dam of graded stakes-winning ‘TDN Rising Star’ Ever So Clever (Medaglia d’Oro).

“Vittorio means victorious in Italian,” Shah concluded. “I sure hope he is a winner of many prestigious races down the road.”

Previous standouts featured in ‘Second Chances’ include: GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (Honor Code), Royal Ascot G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), MGISW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), MSW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. runner-up Candy Tycoon (Twirling Candy).

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Saturday Insights: Deep Juvenile Races on Both Coasts

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

CATALANO UNVEILS CARPE DIEM SIBLING

1st-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 1:10 p.m. ET
A pair of loaded 2-year-old maidens–one on each coast–serve as appetizers to the major stakes Saturday. Coffepot Stables homebred REGULAR GUY (Bernardini) features at the Spa for Wayne Catalano. The dark bay is a half to multiple Grade I winner and young sire Carpe Diem (Giant’s Causeway), as well as to additional GISW J. B.’s Thunder (Thunder Gulch), MGSW & GISP Farrell (Malibu Moon), and two other graded stakes horses. Regular Guy faces $700,000 KEESEP purchase Olympiad (Speightstown), who makes his debut for the Bill Mott barn and is from the bottomless Emory Hamilton family of champion Chic Shirine (Mr. Prospector). His dam is a half-sister to the dam of last year’s GI Woodward S. winner Preservationist (Arch). Windcracker (Super Saver)‘s dam is out of a full-sister to GISW Include (Broad Brush), while Zunith Moon (Malibu Moon) is from the immediate family of GISW Cupid (Tapit). Freshman sires are also heavily represented with Reddam Racing homebred Team Merchants (Nyquist), $375,000 KEESEP buy Outlier (Not This Time), and $280,000 OBSMAR purchase and :20 4/5 breezer Reinvestment Risk (Upstart). TJCIS PPs

FULL TO HENLEY’S JOY DEBUTS

3rd-DMR, 55K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, post time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Eoin Harty unveils EL JOY (Kitten’s Joy) for Equilete Stables. The full-brother to last year’s GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. winner Henley’s Joy also hails from the extended family of 2019 hot juvenile and GSW Dennis’ Moment (Tiznow). Vittorio (Ghostzapper) breezed :9 4/5 at OBS in June before fetching $750,000 as the fifth-highest price of the sale. Simon Callaghan debuts him for Kaleem Shah. Trainer Ryan Hanson sends Epidemic (Orb), a half-brother to MGSW Stanford (Malibu Moon) and SW & MGSP Hedge Fund (Super Saver) from the extremely deep sire family of champions Johannesburg (Hennessy) and Minardi (Boundary), as well as GSWs Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat) and Pulpit (A.P. Indy). Bob Baffert always has his firsters firing on all cylinders for Del Mar. Freedom Fighter (Violence) has issued three bullets in his last five works, including a :47 half (1/102) where the turf meets the surf July 25. TJCIS PPs

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