Zaajel | Horse Racing Free Tips

Golden Goose

Five sophomore fillies face off against a compact but well-bred bunch in Saturday's GII Mother Goose S. at Belmont Park. Heading the quintet is Three Chimneys Farm's Always Carina (Malibu Moon), who earned her TDN Rising Star status only two days removed from her superstar sire's death at age 24. A fourth-length winner going six panels in her debut at the Big A Apr. 11, the Chad Brown trainee blew the doors off with a dominating 9 3/4-length score while stretching to a mile against optional claiming company here May 20.

“It's a super race,” said Doug Cauthen, vice chairman of Three Chimneys Farm. “I think it's a good stepping stone as far as distance and now we'll see if she can handle the step up in class because it's clearly going to be a challenging race. We think she has talent and she deserves the chance to be in there.”

The well-bred filly is a half-sister to the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Structor, who was also conditioned by Brown. She is out of the Miss Always Ready (More Than Ready), who is a full-sister to 2010 GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf champ More Than Real.

“The mare just keeps throwing very nice foals,” added Cauthen. “Always Carina showed a lot of promise but had a setback and didn't get to run at two, but so far she's shown the talent we thought she had.”

The most likely candidate to keep Always Carina company early is Gary Barber's Make Mischief (Into Mischief), who broke her maiden against Empire breds at Belmont last June before finishing runner-up in a trio of Saratoga sprint stakes for fillies over the summer, chief among them the Aug. 12 GII Adirondack S. Off the board in Santa Anita's Sept. 26 GII Chandelier S., the bay won a pair of state-bred races–including a muddy renewal of the one-mile Maddie May S. at Aqueduct Feb. 20–before finishing fifth in that oval's Busher S. Mar. 6. Back on top going a mile in the slop there Mar. 28, she came home third in the Apr. 30 GII Eight Belles S. at Churchill and again most recently in Belmont's GI Acorn S. June 5.

Another contender bred in the purple is Stonestreet's Clairiere (Curlin), winner of Churchill's GII Rachel Alexandra S. in February. Since then, the daughter of multiple Grade I winner Cavorting has finished second in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks before coming home fourth in the GI Kentucky Oaks over nine furlongs Apr. 30. Irad Ortiz Jr. picks up the mount.

Looking to rebound off a flat seventh in Churchill's grassy

GII Edgewood S. Apr. 30 is Shadwell's Zaajel (Street Sense), who rolled to a 7 3/4-length score at Gulfstream in December before adding a win in the GIII Forward Gal S. Jan. 30. The half to GSP Ajaaweed (Curlin) was a well-beaten sixth in the Fair Grounds Oaks.

Requiring a solid pace up front to compliment her come-from-the-clouds style, Michael and Reiko Baum's Illiogami (Tapit) rides a two-race win streak leading into this first attempt against stakes company. A $400,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, the gray is out of the multiple Group 1-winning Odeliz (Ire) (Falco). The homebred graduated at fourth asking at Keeneland Apr. 2 before posting a 1 1/4-length win in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs Apr. 30.

“At Keeneland, she didn't get away good,” explained trainer Rusty Arnold. “We didn't think she'd be that far back, but she just got in a tangle and didn't get away. At Churchill, it was more what we were hoping for. We weren't going to rush her out of there and she gained momentum as she came on. We're really excited about her.”

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Gift List Shows Stretch Wallop To Win Edgewood Stakes; Aunt Pearl Fifth At 1-5 Odds

Making her second start in the U.S. for trainer Brian Lynch, Amerman Racing Stables LLC's Gift List trounced previously unbeaten Aunt Pearl by 4 1/4 lengths in Friday's Grade 2 Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., accelerating past the 1-5 favorite with an explosive turn of foot to win going away under Javier Castellano.

Barista finished second by 2 1/2 lengths, with Line Dancing edging Queen of the Green in a photo finish for third. Aunt Pearl, whose three victories culminated with a front-running score last Nov. 6 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, checked in fifth in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies after setting the fractions.

Gift List, a Bated Breath filly bred in England by James Ortega Bloodstock Ltd., covered 1 1/16 miles on a good turf course in 1:41.94. She paid $10.80 as the second choice in the wagering off a second-place finish April 3 in the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland.

Aunt Pearl went to the front as expected under Florent Geroux (she won all three of her races as a juvenile going wire to wire), but the Todd Pletcher-trained Zaajel,a Street Sense filly making her fourth career start and first on turf, put some pressure on the Irish-bred Lope de Vega filly from the outset. Aunt Pearl went the opening quarter mile in :24.32 and the half in :49.03, but the third quarter was run in a shade under 24 seconds for a six-furlong split of 1:13.00.

Rounding the far turn, jockey Luis Saez stepped up the pressure with Zaajel, while Castellano sat chilly just behind the two front-runners. saving ground throughout their journey.

When the field tipped into the stretch, Aunt Pearl still clung to the lead, but Castellano swung Gift List to the front-runners outside and quickly accelerated past that one, passing the mile marker in 1:36.61 and was under light encouragement to the wire.

Castellano said he learned some things about Gift List in the Appalachian. “She needs to be covered up a little bit,” the Hall of Fame jockey said, a reference to keeping her behind other horses. “And we saved all the ground.

“I didn't have any special instructions today; just play the break and go from there,” Castellano added. “She broke fine and I got a very good spot. Then when I asked her she gave me some amazing acceleration. She was a special winner today.”

Lynch said the pressure that Zaajel put on Aunt Pearl approaching the stretch played to his filly's advantage. “It looked like a bit of a tussle at the three-sixteenths pole (between Zaajel and Aunt Pearl) and she put herself in the race,” Lynch said of Gift List. “She looks like she'll run on … like she'll get a mile and a quarter and beyond. I'm very fortunate to have her in the barn. It looks like she's got a very bright future.”

“Off the last race, in her first U.S. debut, she gave a great run that day Appalachian Stakes), in a race that had no pace,” Lynch said. “She's really trained so well from her last start to this, even though we had to work her on the dirt, which was a new thing to her. She was very comfortable getting over it, and was getting plenty out of her works. I had a good feeling going into this race, that if Aunt Pearl were to stub her toe, we'd have a good shot. She (Aunt Pearl) was a big obstacle, no doubt. Undefeated filly. Breeders' Cup winner. But we all know, and I've run into it myself with Oscar Performance, some of them take to this course and some just don't. It had a little bit of give in it today, and my filly had some good races on soft and heavy turf. Maybe that had something to do with it.”

Trained in the UK by Karl Richard Burke as a 2-year-old, Gift List won two of five starts, with three seconds, none of the races longer than seven furlongs.

As for the beaten favorite, Geroux said of Aunt Pearl: “She was traveling great, going to the back side, she was relaxing, I just had no horse down the lane. She's a very small filly. In my opinion, she did not move forward as much as some of those other horses.”

Trainer Brian Lynch congratulates Javier Castellano after Gift List's Edgewood Stakes win

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Clairiere and Travel Column Face Off Once Again in FG Oaks

Blue-blooded Clairiere (Curlin) and pricey yearling purchase Travel Column (Frosted) boast one win each from their two prior match-ups and one will break the tie Saturday in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks.

Clairiere came out on top by a gutsy neck in their last meeting in NOLA in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. Feb. 13. Out of MGISW Cavorting (Bernardini), the Stonestreet Stables homebred won on debut going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs Oct. 25 and was second to Travel Column next out in that track's GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 28.

“The trip worked out perfectly for us in the Rachel Alexandra,” trainer Steve Asmussen told the Fair Grounds notes team. “At a mile-and-a-sixteenth, I think the fillies are competitive. It's the same distance on Saturday. We feel really good about our prospects going forward.”

Tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' off her impressive career bow beneath the Twin Spires Sept. 4, Travel Column checked in third in Keeneland's GI Darley Alcibiades S. Oct. 2. Rallying from well back to take the Golden Rod, the $850,000 FTSAUG buy stalked from second early in the Rachel Alexandra and took control on the backstretch, but was run down by Clairiere in the final strides.

“I think she should get a good stalking trip from our post,” conditioner Brad Cox said. “There's no pace in the race. We're not going to sit back there and give someone the race. We didn't win [the Rachel Alexandra], but we were very, very pleased with the comeback and we expect her to move forward off that return. She's a very, very good work horse and she's been training great since that race.”

Undefeated Zaajel (Street Sense) takes on those rivals for the first time here. Charging home a 7 1/4-length winner in her seven-panel unveiling at Gulfstream Dec. 20, the Shadwell homebred scored a facile victory in the GIII Forward Gal S. in Hallandale Jan. 30. The bay tries two turns for the first time here, but her pedigree suggests that distance should not be a problem.

'TDN Rising Star' Souper Sensational (Curlin) takes another crack at NOLA's leading ladies here after finishing sixth behind the top two in the Rachel Alexandra. A decisive debut winner on the Woodbine synthetic in September, the $725,000 FTSAUG purchase took the Glorious Song S. there Oct. 17 and rallied to be second when trying dirt at Fair Grounds in the Jan. 16 Silverbulletday S., but failed to fire last time after being bumped and clipping heels.

Rounding out the field are Rachel Alexandra third Moon Swag (Malibu Moon); Juddmonte homebred Obligatory (Curlin), who graduated at second asking at Gulfstream Feb. 7; two-time winner Li'l Tootsie (Tapiture); and Suncoast S. third Il Malocchio (Souper Speedy).

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The TDN Oaks Top 10 for March 4

It wasn't that long ago that the picture for the 3-year-old fillies seemed pretty straightforward. Vequist (Nyquist) was the clear leader of the division and there appeared to be a handful of other top fillies that could challenge her supremacy. Has that ever changed. Vequist did nothing right in her 3-year-old debut in the Davona Dale S., finishing ninth, 26 lengths behind the winner. Second choice Millefeuille (Curlin) didn't fare much better, finishing seventh. The winner, Wholebodemeister (Bodemeister), paid $107.60. Meanwhile, GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief) has not had a published workout since Jan. 25. And Malathaat (Curlin), the winner of the GII Demoiselle S., missed some training time and only recently returned to the work tab. The bottom line is that this division is a mess. Hopefully, the picture will look better after this weekend, which features the Busher Invitational at Aqueduct, the GIII Honeybee S. at Oaklawn and the GIII Santa Ysabel S. at Santa Anita.

1) CLAIRIERE (Curlin–Cavorting, by Bernardini)
O/B-Stonestreet Stables (KY). T-Steve Asmussen. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-2-1-0, $270,492.
Last Start: 1st GII Rachel Alexandra S. presented by Fasig-Tipton, FG, Feb. 13
Accomplishments Include: 2nd GII Golden Rod S., CD, Nov. 28
Next Start: GII Fair Grounds Oaks, FG, Mar. 20
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 54
She winds up in the top spot after Vequist ran so poorly in the Davona Dale. That's not to say that she is a clear-cut favorite for the GI Kentucky Oaks. Anything but. But she is coming off of a win in the GII Rachel Alexandra, is in the capable hands of Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and defeated a good one in Travel Column (Frosted) in her last start. She's a late-running filly by Curlin, so distance should not be a problem for and she is likely to get better in the months ahead. Breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 on Monday.

2) ZAAJEL (Street Sense–Asiya, by Daaher)
O/B-Shadwell Stable (KY). T-Todd Pletcher. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $84,140.
Last Start: 1st GIII Forward Gal S., GP, Jan. 31
Next Start: Uncommitted
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 10
Really hasn't done enough to merit being second on this list, but who else is better? At the very least, Zaajel has a lot of potential. She broke her maiden impressively for trainer Todd Pletcher and came right back to win the GIII Forward Gal S at seven furlongs. Pletcher will, no doubt, pick out a route for her next start. That will be the test and if she passes it she will have proven that she belongs in the same sentence with the top horses in the division. Her dam has had five runners, with four winners, including Aljaaweed (Curlin), the runner-up in the 2019 GII Remsen S.

3) TRAVEL COLUMN (Frosted–Swingit, by Victory Gallop)
'TDN Rising Star' O-OXO Equine. B-Mr. & Mrs. Bayne Welker, Jr. & Denali Stud (KY). T-Brad Cox. Sales History: $850,000 ylg '19 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP,
4-2-1-1, $269,184.
Last Start: 2nd GII Rachel Alexandra S. presented by Fasig-Tipton, FG, Feb. 13
Accomplishments Include: 1st GII Golden Rod S., CD, Nov. 28, 3rd GI Darley Alcibiades S., KEE, Oct. 2
Next Start: GII Fair Grounds Oaks, FG, Mar. 20
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 32
Also moves up, from fifth to third, due to attrition in the ranks. If you like Clairiere, you probably can't dislike this filly. She had the lead at the stretch call in the Rachel Alexandra before losing to Clairiere by a neck. An $850,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, she beat Clairiere in the last start at two for both of them, the GII Golden Rod S. Also comes from a powerful barn in the Brad Cox stable. As has been the case over the last few years, Cox is loaded in this division and will be looking fr his third Oaks win since 2018.

4) SIMPLY RAVISHING (Laoban–Four Wishes, by More Than Ready)
O-Harold Lerner, Magdalena Racing & Nehoc Stables.
B-Meg Levy (NY). T-Ken McPeek. Sales History: $50,000 ylg '19 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-3-0-0, $414,200.
Last Start: 4th GII Golden Rod S., CD, Nov. 28
Accomplishments Include: 1st GI Darley Alcibiades S., KEE,
Oct. 2, 1st P.G. Johnson S., SAR, Sept. 3
Next Start: Uncommitted
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 13
Trainer Kenny McPeek continues to take his time with the filly that won last year's GI Darley Alcibiades S., but it appears that she is getting close to a race. She worked five furlongs in :59.27 seconds on Feb. 26. Because she had an up-and-down 2-year-old campaign, she's a hard horse to gauge. What will we get this year, the horse who romped in the Alcibiades or the horse who was fourth in the Golden Road at odds of 7-10? Trainer Kenny McPeek did everything right last year with Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), but failed to win the Oaks. You know he'd like to make amends this year.

5) MALATHAAT (Curlin–Dreaming of Julia, by A.P. Indy)
'TDN Rising Star' O-Shadwell Stable. B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings (KY). T-Todd Pletcher. Sales History: $1,050,000 ylg '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-2-0-0, $172,150.
Last Start: 1st GII Demoiselle S., AQU, Dec. 5
Accomplishments Include: 1st Tempted S., AQU, Nov. 6
Next Start: Uncommitted
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 10
She drops down a couple of spots because she missed a work and had to sit out the Davona Dale. Trainer Pletcher reports that it was not a significant issue and she is already back on the work tab, having breezed a half-mile in :49.21 Sunday. He said he will look for a race for her in April. Though the problem has been described as minor, it's never a good thing when a horse misses time this close to a race as tough as the Oaks. And if Pletcher sticks to his time line, she'll come into the Oaks off of one prep as a 3-year-old. That, too, is a difficult position to be in. But she is a talented, undefeated (3-for-3) daughter of Curlin and may yet be good enough to overcome the challenges that she's about to face.

6) VEQUIST (Nyquist—Vero Amore, by Mineshaft)
O-Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable & Swilcan Stable. B-Swilcan Stables (KY). T-Robert E. Reid, Jr. Sales History: $120,000 RNA ylg '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Filly & MGISW, 5-2-2-0, $1,237,500.
Last Start: 9th GII Davona Dale S., GP, Feb. 27
Accomplishments Include: 1st GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, KEE, Nov. 6 1st GI Spinaway S., SAR, Sept. 6, 2nd GI Frizette S., BEL, Oct. 10
Next Start: Uncommitted
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 24
What happened to her in the Davona Dale? That's among the biggest mysteries so far this year in racing, how a horse can go from winning the Juvenile Fillies to running so dismally in a 3-year-old debut. Trainer Butch Reid has said he has found nothing seriously wrong with her, so all one can do is scratch their heads. It would be a rare feat to come back from a race that was that bad and win a race like the Oaks. But until her connections say she is off the Oaks trail, she has to be included somewhere on this list. Reid has not picked out her next start but said it definitely won't be at Gulfstream. He is concerned she doesn't like the South Florida heat.

7) KALYPSO (Brody's Cause–Malibu Cove, by Malibu Moon)
O-David A. Bernsen, Rockingham Ranch & Chad Littlefield. B-Spendthrift Farm (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $240,000 ylg '19 FTKJUL. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP,
5-2-2-1, $245,600.
Last Start: 2nd GIII Las Virgenes S., SA, Feb. 6
Accomplishments Include: 1st GII Santa Ynez S., SA, Jan. 3, 1st Anoakia S., SA, Oct. 18, 2nd GI Starlet S., LRC, Dec. 5
Next Start: GIII Santa Ysabel S., SA, Mar. 7
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 18
She's set to go Sunday in the Santa Ysabel, where a win would cement her status as the top 3-year-old filly in California, a division that has been hit with some fairly serious defections through injury. A $240,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale, she's proven to be a good buy. She's never run a bad race and is already a Grade II winner, having captured the Santa Ynez S. Trainer Bob Baffert is known for winning the GI Kentucky Derby, but he's hardly a slouch when it comes to the Oaks. He's won the race three times and will be going for his first win since 2017 with Abel Tasman (Quality Road).

8) SUN PATH (Munnings–Touch the Star, by Tapit)
O/B-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY). T-Brad Cox. Lifetime Record:
4-2-1-0, $97,892.
Last Start: 4th Silverbulletday S., FG, Jan. 16
Accomplishments Include: 1st Allowance, FG, Dec. 18, 1st MSW, CD, Nov. 8
Next Start: GIII Honeybee S., OP, Mar. 6
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 1
She deserves another chance. As the 7-10 favorite, she didn't run up to expectations when fourth in the Silverbulletday S. at the Fair Grounds in her last start. Before that, she looked like a serious prospect when winning an allowance race by 12 3/4 lengths. It's become unusual to see a Brad Cox-trained horse disappoint in a big race, so it would be no surprise if she were to rebound in Saturday's Honeybee S. at Oaklawn. Hasn't missed a beat in the mornings with four works since her last race. One bad sign: Florent Geroux has gotten off of her to ride Cox's other horse in the race, Coach (Commissioner).

9) WHOLEBODEMEISTER (Bodemeister–Wholelottashakin, by Scat Daddy)
O/B-Sabana Farm (KY). T-Juan Avila. Lifetime Record: GSW,
7-3-0-1, $175,922.
Last Start: 1st GII Davona Dale S., GP, Feb. 27
Next Start: GI Kentucky Oaks, CD, Apr. 30
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 52
Wouldn't have been on anyone's Oaks list before her stunning upset in the Davona Dale. Not only did she win at 52-1, but she thrashed her opponents, winning by 6 1/2 lengths. Trainer Juan Carlos Avila says she won't run her again until the Oaks. “That will be two months between races, which will be perfect for her.” Avila is setting himself up for more criticism. He took the same approach with King Guillermo (Uncle Mo) for last year's Kentucky Derby and his plan didn't come close to working out. Despite her big win, she'll still be a longshot going forward as many handicappers will likely dismiss the Davona Dale as a fluke.

10) THE GRASS IS BLUE (Broken Vow–Shine Softly, by Adebaran)
O-Louis Lazzinnaro LLC. B-Phillips Racing Partnership (KY).
T-Chad Brown. Sales History: $20,000 yrl '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: SW, 5-3-0-1, $121,978.
Last Start: 1st Busanda S., Aqu, Jan. 24
Accomplishments Include: 3rd Anne Arundel County S., Lrl,
Dec. 26
Next Start: Busher Invitational S., AQU, Mar. 6
Equineline PPs. KY Oaks Points: 10
The jury is still out on this one. She comes from the powerful Chad Brown barn and was a solid winner when taking the Busanda by a length. But class handicappers will see that she started her career off in a $25,000 maiden claimer and has yet to start in a graded stakes. It looks like Brown made a smart move when deciding to keep her with his New York division for the winter. The New York preps for the Oaks usually don't come up that tough and there's plenty of money to be made, starting with the $250,000 Busher.

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