winter sprintfest | Horse Racing Free Tips

Weekend Lineup Presented By Laurel’s Winter Sprintfest: Saudi Cup Showdown

The $20 million Saudi Cup, headlined by 2020 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go and fellow top-level victor Charlatan, will be broadcast on FS2 and FS1 as part of the NYRA-produced “America's Day at the Races” series on Saturday. Undercard races will air on FS2 from 8:30 a.m. to noon ET, and the Saudi Cup will air on FS1 during an hour-long broadcast from noon to 1 p.m. ET.

FOX Sports is the exclusive broadcast provider of the Saudi Cup in the United States. Scheduled post time for the Saudi Cup is 12:40 p.m. ET and wagering is available in the United States via NYRA Bets.

Saturday is also set to feature Laurel Park's Winter Sprintfest, a nine-race program featuring six stakes worth $900,000 in purses co-headlined by the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie and Grade 3 General George.

Saturday, Feb. 20

12:40 p.m.—$20,000,000 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack on FS1

Multiple Grade 1 winner Knicks Go and fellow top-level victor Charlatan head up the American contingent set to go to post in the second edition of the $20 million Saudi Cup. Knicks Go captured the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in track-record setting fashion last November to cap off his 2020 campaign and began his 2021 season with a triumph in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes on Jan. 23. The Saudi Cup will mark the seasonal bow for Charlatan as the son of Speightstown captured the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Dec. 26.

Entries: https://www.racingpost.com/racecards/1016/riyadh/2021-02-20/778770/

3:46 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie Stakes at Laurel Park on TVG

With few remaining gaps on Hello Beautiful's resume, trainer Brittany Russell will seek to achieve a significant milestone for both herself and her stable star when they go up against seven rivals in Saturday's Barbara Fritchie. A graded win would fill an important blank on an otherwise stellar ledger for Hello Beautiful, a Maryland-bred daughter of Golden Lad that has won five career stakes and takes a three-race win streak into the richest and most prestigious event of the winter meet. Sporting a perfect 7-0 record over Laurel's main track, Hello Beautiful is three-for-four at seven furlongs including wins in the Maryland Million Nursery and Safely Kept last fall to cap her sophomore campaign.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/LRL022021USA7-EQB.html

4:19 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 3 General George Stakes at Laurel Park on TVG

Grade 3 winner Majestic Dunhill, exiting a pair of disappointing efforts off a career-best performance, trades the South Florida sunshine for Maryland's winter chill as he attempts to regain his winning form in the General George. Majestic Dunhill has placed in three stakes since, including the 2019 Polynesian at Laurel, and beat Share the Ride by a head to capture the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Stakes in the mud on Halloween at Belmont Park.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/LRL022021USA8-EQB.html

5:16 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream Park on TVG

Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's Eres Tu is scheduled to seek her fourth straight comeback victory in Saturday's Royal Delta. The 5-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, who is undefeated since returning from an 18-month layoff and joining trainer Arnaud Delacour's stable, will also pursue her second straight graded-stakes triumph. The homebred mare returned to action with a 2 ¼-length optional claiming allowance victory last October at Keeneland. She followed with a 1 ½-length score in the Nov. 26 Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes and a length triumph in the Dec. 26 Allaire DuPont.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/GP022021USA11-EQB.html

6:46 p.m.—$200,000 Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at Santa Anita Park on TVG

A pair of talented California-breds, Mucho Unusual and Warren's Showtime, head a competitive field of 10 older fillies and mares in Saturday's Buena Vista Stakes, to be contested at one mile over the Santa Anita turf. Owned and bred by George Krikorian and trained by Tim Yakteen, Mucho Unusual seeks her third consecutive graded stakes victory at the current meeting. A winner of the Grade 3 Robert J. Frankel on Dec. 27, she again stalked the early pace and registered a three quarter length victory at 2-5 in the Grade 3 Megahertz on Jan. 18.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA022021USA7-EQB.html

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After Weather Delay, Russell Sends Trio Of Winter Sprintfest Entrants On ‘Field Trip’ To Pimlico

With two program favorites for Laurel Park's rescheduled Winter Sprintfest program and another horse listed as second choice on the morning line, trainer Brittany Russell took her stakes trio on a mini road trip to keep them sharp for the big day.

Winter Sprintfest, featuring six stakes, two graded, worth $900,000 in purses, was postponed to Feb. 20 due to a winter storm that hit Laurel leading up to the original Feb. 13 date. The weather also caused training over the main track to be suspended over the weekend.

Areas north of Laurel didn't see as much ice and mixed precipitation, so Russell was able to ship Hello Beautiful, Maythehorsebwithu and Little Huntress the 45 minutes to historic Pimlico Race Course Monday, which remained open for training.

“They really enjoyed themselves, actually. It's quiet and it was an easy enough little deal,” Russell said. “My assistant went with them. It was good. They all seemed like they were pleased with themselves when they came home, so that was good.

“Hopefully we can just give them a few spirited gallops during the week and just keep them happy and doing enough,” she added. “Shoot, if I have to put them on a truck to go to Pimlico again I'm not going to hesitate to do that. It's just a little field trip.”

Russell's main stable is at Laurel with additional horses at Pimlico and, for the first time, at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, Florida. Hello Beautiful is a five-time stakes winner, the last three of them in succession heading into the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3), where she is tops at 8-5 in a field of eight.

Maythehorsebwithu is the 2-1 narrow choice over multiple stakes winner Kenny Had a Notion (5-2) in the $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds. Little Huntress, a 14-length maiden winner in her second start Dec. 27 at Laurel, is listed at 3-1 for her sophomore and stakes debut in the $100,000 Wide Country for 3-year-old fillies. Five-time stakes winner Street Lute is favored at 2-1.

“They're all actually really good. Hello Beautiful [was] coming back in four weeks so, to be fair, I didn't mind an extra week. She likes a little bit of time. They're all pretty good-training horses and as long as they're galloping they get enough out of it,” Russell said. “I always feel a little bit of pressure because I want all my horses to run well but especially horses like that.

“We want them to be good. You want to win stakes. You want them to step up and be better horses. It's exciting. To be honest, when the day comes I'm just kind of ready for it to be over and know the result,” she added. “It can be mentally draining but it's nice that those are the kinds of horses that we're worrying about. That's what it comes down to.”

Russell would have had another major Winter Sprintfest contender in Whereshetoldmetogo, back-to-back winner of the Frank Whiteley and Dave's Friend to cap 2020 who was nominated to the $250,000 General George (G3). Instead, he is being pointed to make his 6-year-old debut in the $75,000 Not For Love for Maryland-bred/sired horses March 13 at Laurel.

“He just needed a little bit more time. He's fine, but I think we can have him a little better for the Maryland-bred race,” Russell said. “We decided to make that the goal. I missed a little bit of time with him, no big deal, but it was just one of those things where it looked like the better way to go with him.”

Russell has five wins and has finished in the top three with 13 of 18 starters (72 percent) at Laurel's winter meet, which runs Jan. 1 through March 28. She reached a career high with 46 wins and $1.6 million in purse earnings in 2020, challenging for leading trainer honors at the calendar year-ending fall stand.

“I think we stay so busy and we're so humble about it. I still worry about the $5,000 horses,” Russell said. “[Stakes horses] aren't the only ones you're worrying about, so it kind of keeps you grounded.”

The Laurel area is bracing for another hit from Mother Nature. A winter storm warning has been issued from 3 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain in the forecast, which is calling for 3 to 6 inches of snow.

“It is what it is,” Russell said. “Everybody's kind of in the same boat. You just keep them happy until they get to run.”

It's been a more hectic month than usual for Russell, who balances work with being a wife to Laurel rider Sheldon Russell and mother of 18-month-old daughter, Edy. On Feb. 9, Russell had 3-year-old Hello Hot Rod sell for $335,000 at Fasig-Tipton's winter auction in Kentucky, just 10 days after the colt's victory in the Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct.

Russell and Dark Horse Racing purchased Hello Hot Rod for $10,000 as a yearling in October 2019. A son of leading Mid-Atlantic freshman sire Mosler, he won his last three starts including maiden and allowance victories at Laurel to cap his juvenile season. New owner George Sharp has many of his horses with trainer Shawn Davis, based at Turf Paradise, which hosts the Turf Paradise Derby March 12.

Hello Hot Rod is the younger half-brother to Hello Beautiful, herself a $6,500 purchase by Russell at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic December 2018 mixed sale now owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables and Magic City Stables.

“It's pretty exciting. Bittersweet, though,” Russell said of Hello Hot Rod's sale. “But, we just have to be happy that he sold well and maybe we can pick another one up. Maybe the third time's the charm. Maybe the third one will be the best.”

The post After Weather Delay, Russell Sends Trio Of Winter Sprintfest Entrants On ‘Field Trip’ To Pimlico appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Horsemen Adapting After Winter Sprintfest’s One-Week Delay At Laurel

In a sport where making last-minute adjustments is a daily occurrence, horsemen are adapting accordingly to the one-week transfer of the Winter Sprintfest program, originally scheduled for Feb. 13 at Laurel Park in Maryland.

The entire nine-race program featuring six stakes, two graded, worth $900,000 in purses will be run Saturday, Feb. 20. Co-headlining the card are the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) for females and $250,000 General George (G3).

Barry Schwartz's Grade 3-winning homebred Sharp Starr, based at Belmont Park with trainer Horacio DePaz, was one of two horses that shipped to Maryland for the Fritchie, which attracted a field of eight including Laurel-based multiple stakes winners Hello Beautiful, the 8-5 program favorite, and Dontletsweetfoolya.

“The only way it affects us, and it's in a positive way, is the filly has more time to settle in,” trainer Horacio DePaz said. “I'm just going to leave her here at Laurel and train from here and go into the race. It's all good on that part.”

Sharp Starr, winner of the Go for Wand (G3) Dec. 5 at Aqueduct, exits a bullet half-mile work in 47 seconds Feb. 6, the fastest of 140 horses over Belmont's training track. She drew the rail in the Fritchie and is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line for DePaz, the former private trainer for Sagamore Farm who maintains a string at Pimlico Race Course.

“She had a huge work coming into it and she's been doing good and settled in for the most part pretty good,” DePaz said. “It just gives us more time. She's eating well, so hopefully we'll get some nice days to train. We'll see what happens.”

R.A. Hill Stable's 2020 Bold Ruler (G3) winner Majestic Dunhill made the trip from Palm Beach Downs in South Florida to Maryland, where the 6-year-old gelding drew Post 4 in a field of 10 for the General George that included fellow graded winners Laki and Share the Ride and multiple stakes winners Lebda and Funny Guy, the 9-5 program favorite based in New York.

“Whenever you're pointing for a race, particularly a stakes race, you put your horse on a schedule and have a very deliberate plan, and then something like this happens with the weather,” Majestic Dunhill trainer George Weaver said. “All the other horses have to deal with it, too. It is what it is.”

Majestic Dunhill shipped in to win the 2018 City of Laurel, run second in the 2019 General George and third in the 2017 Laurel Futurity on turf and 2019 Polynesian.

“I'm just going to leave him there and train him over the phone, and hopefully he does OK,” he added. “We know he likes it at Laurel.”

So, too, does Louis Ulman and Neil Glasser's Kenny Had a Notion, whose four wins from seven career starts include the Jamestown on turf and the Maryland Million Nursery and Spectacular Bid on dirt, the latter Jan. 16. The son of Great Notion is the 5-2 second choice among seven in the $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds going one mile.

“You know in this business, you're calling audibles every day. So, we'll have to see how the weather and the track is the next couple days and then I'll decide what I need to do with him. Hopefully we can get something done with him before Saturday,” trainer Dale Capuano said. “The extra time won't hurt him.”

Capuano also entered Mopo Racing's 5-year-old gelding Dixie Drawl in the $100,000 John B. Campbell for 4-year-olds and up at about 1 1/16 miles. Dixie Drawl is third choice in the program at 9-2.

“I don't think the extra time is going to bother him, either,” Capuano said. “I was going to scratch him anyway with the track coming up sloppy so, for him, it worked out just as well. It's another chance for a fast track for him. We'll see.”

The son of late trainer Phil Capuano whose younger brother, Gary, is also a Laurel-based trainer, Dale Capuano has won 3,530 races and more than $63 million in purse earnings since 1981, and is the all-time leading trainer in Maryland Million history with 13 wins.

“It was bad timing, but we'll see what happens next week,” he said. “You never know what you're gonna get.”

Laurel is scheduled to host a special Presidents Day holiday program Monday, Feb. 15, offering carryovers of $3,531.94 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) and $1,386.50 in the $1 Super Hi-5 (Race 2). First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Monday's card includes a 5 ½-furlong allowance for Maryland-bred/sired horses in Race 7 that includes narrow 3-1 program favorite Nightlife and 2020 Wide Country winner Naughty Thoughts, and a third-level optional claiming allowance for older horses in Race 8 where Grade 3 winner Always Sunshine is favored at 2-1 off a Jan. 24 victory – his first start in 541 days.

John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer, sent off as the 6-5 favorite in a field of eight, rallied from last to first for a neck victory over Javanica in the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby Feb. 13 at Golden Gate Fields. Trained by Michael McCarthy and second in the American Pharoah (G1) last fall at Santa Anita, the bay Twirling Candy colt earned an automatic berth to the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 15 at Pimlico.

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Sunday’s Card At Laurel Cancelled Due To Storm; Racing To Resume With Holiday Program On Monday

Due to a winter storm in the Mid-Atlantic region, Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., has cancelled Sunday's nine-race program.

Live racing returns Monday when Laurel will run a special Presidents Day holiday program with a 12:25 p.m. first race post time.

The MJC's off-track betting sites will remain open for simulcasting.

It's the second consecutive day Laurel has cancelled live racing. The Maryland Jockey Club postponed Saturday's Winter Sprintfest program featuring the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) and $250,000 General George (G3) to Saturday, Feb. 20.

In addition to the Barbara Fritchie and General George for older sprinters, the Winter Sprintfest program includes the $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds and $100,000 Wide Country for 3-year-old fillies and the $100,000 John B. Campbell for 4-year-olds and up and $100,000 Nellie Morse for older females at about 1 1/16 miles.

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