Archive for the ‘Derby Prep’ Category

By Ray Paulick

Zayat Stables’ Pioneerof the Nile made an early run for the lead down the backstretch of the Santa Anita Derby, took over from frontrunner Feisty Suances at the top of the stretch, then held off Chocolate Candy by a length to give trainer Bob Baffert his fifth victory in the West Coast’s leading prep for the Kentucky Derby.

Jockey Garrett Gomez said the son of Empire Maker clipped heels of Take the Points going into the first turn, then pulled him to the lead when no pace developed in the race entering the backstretch. "They started to slow down on me too much," Gomez said immediately after the race to NBC reporter Donna Brothers. "It’s just a slower pace isn’t too comfortable for him." 

Baffert had hoped for more early speed in the race, giving PIoneerof the Nile more of a target to run at, but with the scratch of The Pamplemousse on Saturday morning, the Santa Anita Derby came up with very slow fractions. "Good horses adapt to any situation," Baffert told NBC’s Mike Battaglia. "He’ll have plenty to run at in the Kentucky Derby."

Final time for 1 1/8 miles on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface was 149.17 after fractions of :24.04, :48.65, 1:12.32 and 1:36.67. Mr. Hot Stuff finished third, with Take the Points fourth and the front-running Feisty Suances fifth.

This was the fourth consecutive graded stakes victory for Pioneerof the Nile since joining Baffert’s barn late last year. He began his career in New York for trainer Bill Mott, winning one of two starts on turf and then finishing third in the Breeders’ Futurity on Polytrack at Keeneland and fifth behind Baffert-trained Midshipman in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

Chart of the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

I Want Revenge overcame a rough trip to win the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, breaking in the air and spotting the field several lengths, then facing a wall of horses at the top of the stretch before bursting through a narrow seam to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths over West Side Bernie, with Just a Coincidence third and Atomic Rain fourth in New York’s major prep for the Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Joe Talamo, the son of Stephen Got Even was winning for the third time in eight starts. This was his second consecutive stakes victory following his 8 1/2-length romp going 1 1/16 miles in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. All of his other races have been on synthetic tracks in California, including a narrow loss to Pioneerof the Nile in the CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December and a third to that foe in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Park in February.

I Want Revenge covered the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:49.49 after Lord Justice set fractions of :24.50, :48.13, 1:12.32 and 1:37.33. He was the 1-2 favorite.

This was the first race for I Want Revenge carrying the colors of IEAH Stable, which bought a half interest in the colt from breeder David Lanzman following the Gotham. It is believed the deal included an acceleration clause or bonus for Lanzman if I Want Revenge were to win the Wood. There is believed to be a similar clause for a Kentucky Derby victory. As part of the deal, Lanzman got a 25% interest in Stardom Bound, last year’s champion 2-year-old filly who was upset Saturday afternoon by 24-1 longshot Hooh Why in Keeneland’s Ashland Stakes.

I Want Revenge is trained by Jeff Mullins. Wood Memorial chart.

Here are the notes from the NYRA press office.

Following is the press release from Santa Anita Park on the late scratch of morning line favorite The Pamplemousse:

By Ray Paulick
Spring is in the air, with temperatures topping 70 in Kentucky, and visions of Roses in the minds of many horse owners around the country. Today’s Triple Crown preps start in New York with Aqueduct’s Gotham Stakes and continue in California with last year’s 2-year-old champion, Stardom Bound, the heavy favorite in the Santa Anita Oaks. But the capper for today’s outstanding racing is the Santa Anita Handicap — the Big ‘Cap — the race the great Seabiscuit won in 1940, the fixture that attracted an all-time record crowd to the Great Race Place in 1985 when Lord At War won in front of 85,527 fans.

Perhaps the Big ‘Cap hasn’t been quite as prominent since the Dubai World Cup took the spotlight away from winter racing for the handicap horses when it was inaugurated in 1996. It still carries a $1-million purse and carries Grade 1 status, along with a whole lot of prestige.

I’ll be providing commentary for the next few hours, beginning with the Gotham Stakes, won with a huge performance by California invader  I Want Revenge, who pressed Mr. Fantasy on the lead for the opening seven furlongs, then kicked away at the top of the stretch to score by a wide margin–my guess in nine lengths. Imperial Council got up for second, just edging Mr. Fantasy at the wire, with  Masala fourth. Final time on a fast track was 1:42.65 for the 1 1/16 miles after fractions of :23.76, :48.45, 1:12.69 and 1:36.46. 

This was the first "off synthetic" race for the Jeff Mullins-trained  son of Stephen Got Even, who was coming off a third-place finish behind Pioneerof the Nile in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface. Joe Talamo has been in the saddle for the last five starts of I Want Revenge (pictured, left), who races for David Lanzman.  It was I Want Revenge’s second win in seven starts, but he’s never been worse than third, after beginning his career at Hollywood Park last July and breaking his maiden in his fourth start in October at Hollywood Park, his first race around two turns.

Back to the Big ‘Cap for a second. If you haven’t seen the YouTube video of Seabiscuit’s victory, check this out by clicking here.

4:46 p.m. (Eastern) …. Jeff Mullins is hot. His first-timer Leavenworth just aired in the fourth race at Santa Anita, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden event for 3-year-olds. Son of Forest Wildcast was ridden by Tyler Baze and drew down the stretch impressively. On to Nicarnor’s second race…

4:51 p.m. … Well, that was more like it. Nicanor (Barbaro’s full brother if you didn’t know) finished a game second at 8-1 behind 4-5 favorite Custom for Carlos in a seven-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream Park. Under Jose Lezcano, Nicanor broke well from the nine post, took the lead while setting fractions of :22.83 and :46.57 for the half, then yielded at the top of the stretch to Custon for Carlos , who was just off Nicanor’s outside flank from the beginning. It looked as though Nicanor might fade back as he did in his Jan. 31 debut (when he grabbed a quarter coming out of the gate) but he kept to his task, and was actually cutting back into Custom for Carlos’ lead when they hit the wire. Custom for Carlos (a More Than Ready colt trained by Eddie Kenneally and ridden by Kent Desormeaux) won by about a length, getting the distance in 1:23.55 after a six-furlong split of 1:10.55. 

All in all, a good race for Nicanor. I’d like to see him stretch out next time, though I’m certainly not going to second guess trainer Michael Matz. Chart.

4:58 p.m. … Here are the quotes from the New York Racing Association from the connections of Gotham Stakes runners. I particularly enjoyed Kiaran McLaughlin’s comments wondering why Jeff Mullins and I Want Revenge didn’t stay on the West Coast.

5:30 p.m. … A lot of early money on another Brian Koriner runner, Hannahs Classy Boy, in the sixth race, a downhill turf allowance. He is 15-1 on morning line and 9-2 early. 

5:35 p.m.  …. Regarding Edgar Prado not riding Nicanor at Gulfstream. As much as I’m sure he’d like to have been on the colt, when any jockey has a chance to win a $1-million race, money trumps maiden races. Prado is at Santa Anita riding that terrific card, including Monba for Todd Pletcher in the Big ‘Cap.

5:40 p.m. … Here’s the answer about why HRTV and TVG both showed the Gotham Stakes on tape delay. Fran LaBelle of the New York Racing Association tells us that "the rights to the Gotham are part of the Belmont Stakes agreement with ESPN/ABC. Although they chose not to broadcast the race, we did not get their OK for anyone else to show it live, so we asked both HRTV and TVG to show the race on a delay." How’s that for arrogance — not on the part of NYRA but by ESPN/ABC? They have the rights to televise a race live, but elect not to show it and don’t want anyone else to, either. Who gets the shaft? You tell me.

5:42 p.m. … Jeannie, you are correct  in your comment about Gomez picking up those mounts. My mistake. Prado was named to ride. Will have to see what happened.

5:45 p.m. … How’s this for back-to-back Big ‘Cap winners? Affirmed in 1979 (the first Santa Anita Handicap I saw in person), followed by Spectacular Bid, the best horse I’ve seen in my lifetime. Video of 1979 and 1980.

5:50 p.m. … From Gulfstream Park publicity department, here are comments on Nicanor’s second-place finish from connections of the winner and Nicanor.

6:30 p.m. .. The much-awaited interview with Michael Iavarone of IEAH, who has backed off a little bit on his ambition of running Stardom Bound against colts in the Kentucky, "My exuberance after the Las Virgenes might have been a little accelerated," he says during an interview on HRTV. After that victory, Iavarone said the Kentucky Derby was the absolute goal. A good win will probably get her a chance against colts in the Santa Anita Derby, Iavarone says, but he’s taking it one race at a time. Gary Stevens says the daughter of Tapit has been tough to gallop all week, and he hopes jockey Mike Smith can get her off the rail and relaxed in the race.

They are approaching the gate, with Stardom Bound 1-5 and no one else in single digits. Miss Silver Brook is second choice at 10-1.

6:38 p.m. … Wow….what a wild stretch run, with four noses on the line. Not sure if Stardom Bound got her nose up. Stardom Bound was last early and rallied about eight wide into the stretch. 

Stardom Bound gets the head-bob photo. Third Dawn, a longshot by Sky Mesa who had just broken her maiden last out for John Sadler, was narrowly beaten…probably by a nose.  There’s a good chance Third Dawn would have been taken down, however, as she shifted out into the path of Stardom Bound with about a sixteenth of a mile to run. Also in the photo was Hooh Why, another nose back, with Nan about a head behind her on the rail in fourth.

There was a stewards inquiry but no change was made in the order of finish.

Burg Berg set the slow early fractions of :23.78, :47.54, and 1:12.12 for the first six furlongs, with Hooh Why and Robbie Albarado not far behind. Hooh Why moved to the front at the top of the stretch, but several fillies were on her heels. One of them, Miss Silver Brook, had to check sharply about 70 yards from the wire. Final time was 1:43.62 after a mile split of 1:37.17.

"Extremely wide, jockey error on my part," Mike Smith said after the race when asked  on HRTV how wide he went. "I was anywhere from 15 to 20 at one point," he said. "I’m just so grateful that she’s so talented." 

"I need a defibrillator right now," Iavarone told HRTV a few minutes after the race was declared official. "I think she worked pretty hard today against the girls. She’s going to really have to improve herself to be able to handle horses like Pioneerof the Nile. But I’m going to talk it over with the guys and see what they think. If they think that they want to go forward, then I’m willing to go forward. But she worked pretty hard against the girls today."

This was Stardom Bound’s fifth consecutive victory in a Grade 1 stakes. She lost her career debut sprinting by a nose at Del Mar, then was second in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar. She broke her maiden in the Del Mar Debutante, then reeled off wins in the Oak Leaf Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Las Virgines, the latter her first start of 2009. She raced for Charles Cono and trainer Chris Paasch through the Breeders’ Cup and was sold for $5.7 million to IEAH at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky in November and transferred to Robert Frankel.

Oaks Chart.

7:05 p.m. …. Santa Anita publicity department quotes…

MIKE SMITH, STARDOM BOUND, WINNER: “It seemed like she got lost out there early. We had a terrible trip. When I moved out with her turning for home, everybody else went out at the same time and we got caught really wide. From the sixteenth pole home, I thought we could grind ‘em down, but I was worried. At the wire though, she put her ears up and she was playing with the pony coming back. Maybe this is the kind of race she needed. I guess you could say it was a not-so-heady ride.”   

7:06 p.m. … Line of the day from Jeff Siegel of HRTV. "Not a bad warm-up race," he said of the Oaks.

7:30 p.m. … While I quickly down a dinner before the Kilroe and Big ‘Cap, thought I’d link to one of the best Big ‘Caps I ever attended. Here’s the video.

7:35 p.m. …. To answer an earlier question: Would Stardom Bound have won by more if not forced to alter course late? Yes, I think so, but she wouldn’t have won by more than a neck. As Frankel said, she ran 10 lengths farther than anyone else.

What a nice tribute HRTV has put together in honor of the late Frank E. (Jimmy) Kilroe, the longtime director of racing at Santa Anita. He was from another era, when racing secretaries were opinionated in assigning weights to horses and stuck by their opinions. Times have changed, and with so many other opportunities handicaps are no longer relevant.

7:45 p.m. … Is Ventura really that good? The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner is even-money in her second try against colts in North America, her first try resulting in a second-place finish behind Rahy’s Attorney in the Woodbine Mile last fall on yielding turf.

7:50 p.m. … Ventura’s trainer, Robert Frankel, said he wants her to be up close to the pace, in the first flight, behind Hewitts, in the Kilroe Mile. He told HRTV he was very proud of Stardom Bound, but I wonder what he might have said if asked about Mike Smith’s ride. Probably something not fit for the family hour on television….which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from a trainer about a jockey. Charlie Whittingham, when he trained Gato del Sol (in his later years), was stunned when jockey Sandy Hawley took the late-running Kentucky Derby winner to the lead early in a mile and one-half turf race. "If I had a rifle, I would have shot him out of the saddle," Whittingham joked.

7:57 p.m. … It just doesn’t get any better. Ventura looked like a sure winner of the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at the eighth pole, opened what looked like a safe lead, but got nipped right on the money by the fast-finishing Gio Ponti, to lose by a nose…the photo makes it look like about two inches. Ramon Dominguez rode the winner for trainer Christophe Clement. Gio Ponti is a 4-year-old colt by Tale of the Cat whose biggest previous win came in the  Virginia Derby when he beat Court Vision by a nose.

Jockey Garrett Gomez said Ventura "took a couple of steps in (at the sixteenth pole), and I had to straighten her back up." Gomez took Ventura back to fifth off the early pace set by Hewitts, who laid down fractions of :23.26, :46.31 and 1:09.86 on firm turf. Hewitts was under pressure from Wise River down the backstretch. Dixie Chatter made the first run at the lead at the top of the stretch, but Ventura edged passed him inside the eighth pole and appeared to be en route to the win. But Gio Ponti (pictured, left) came flying down the outside to just get up, completing the distance in 1:33.65 after a seven-furlong split of 1:21.69.

Ramon Dominguez said he talked with Clemente earlier in the day for instructions on how to ride Gio Ponti, who was coming off a fifth-place finish in the Strub Stakes behind Cowboy Cal on Feb. 7. "He told me to try and save ground and wait as long as I could," Dominguez said. "I was trying to follow Ventura, who seemed like she was getting a great trip, and from then on it was going to really be a horse race."

The Kilroe was the sixth win in 11 starts for Gio Ponti, who races for Castleton Lyons. Chart.

8:10 p.m. … A couple more memories of the Santa Anita Handicap. The Bid ‘Cap was always the biggest day of the Santa Anita meeting when I lived in Southern California, and it still attracts crowds of between 40,000 and 50,000 on-track. But I don’t think anyone was prepared for the crowd that showed up in 1985, the year Lord At War won the race for Peter Perkins, trainer Charlie Whittingham and jockey Bill Shoemaker. That day, a total of 85,527 turned out, an all-time Santa Anita record. The atmosphere was incredible.

There were "only" 72,752 at Santa Anita three years earlier when John Henry went for his second consecutive Big "Cap win, and that was another truly exciting day. John Henry won easily the previous year (with good old Flying Paster among those chasing him home), but he was in for the stretch duel of his life (except, perhaps the Arlington Million against The Bart) against the Whittingham trained Perrault in the 1982 Santa Anita Handicap. Laffit Pincay Jr. used all of his strength to get Perrault to the wire first, but his left-handed whipping caused the horse to drift out significantly, impeding John Henry, who got the victory via disqualification. It’s something you hate to see in a Grade 1 race, but the stewards made the only call they could.

Here’s a recap of John Henry’s two wins in the Big ‘Cap, including the head-on of the stretch run between John Henry and Perrault. Video.  Honestly, watching the replays and just thinking about the excitement of Santa Anita that afternoon sends shivers up and down my spine. 

8:25 p.m. …. OK, Christine, because you mentioned Broad Brush’s sire, Ack Ack, here’s the video of his Big ‘Cap win. Another win for Charlie Whittingham, the second of his eight Santa Anita Handicap wins. There was nobody that could train an older horse like the Bald Eagle could, and later in life he showed he could even win the Kentucky Derby a time or two! Video of Ack Ack.

8:30 p.m. … HRTV’s ace handicapper Jeff Siegal picks longshot Monba in the Big ‘Cap. I’m going with Court Vision, who hasn’t been on a synthetic track since breaking his maiden at Keeneland. They are loading into the starting gate….

8:35 p.m. … Einstein wins the Big ‘Cap under Julien Leparoux, getting a perfect trip from just off a very slow pace, winning easily under high weight of 121 pounds. Champs Elysees finished well to get second ahead of Matto Mondo, who set the pace, with Monba fourth. According to HRTV, the Helen Pitts-Blase runner was the first East Coast based horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap since Broad Brush beat Ferdinand. 

Blue Exit was pulled up approaching the far turn with a fractured cannon bone, was vanned off and later euthanized, according to Santa Anita’s publicity department.

"We got a good pace, not too fast, not too slow," said Leparoux. "When you are behind horses like this it is very easy to relax, and he’s a good horse." "It’s an unbelievable feeling," said Pitts-Blase. "He means the world to me and it’s my biggest win."

Matto Mondo, who was co-favored with Court Vision at 9-2, set fractions of :24.52, :48.31, 1:12.93, and 1:35.59 under Rafael Bejarano. Einstein was never far behind and moved to the lead at the top of the stretch, gaining command at the eighth pole and drawing off to win by about a length. Final time was 2:01.93 for the 10 furlongs on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface. Colonel John, the morning line favorite, was scratched by trainer Eoin Harty when he spiked a temperature on Saturday morning.

Einstein was winning for the 10th time in 24 starts (his first time on synthetics). He races for the Midnight Cry Stable, which also owned two-time Horse of the Year Curlin when he broke his maiden and retained a minority interest in the horse for the remainder of his career. Pitts was Curlin’s trainer when he broke his maiden.

Santa Anita Handicap chart. Will try to get an update on Blue Exit. But otherwise, that’s it for Big ‘Cap day.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

Sign up for our Email flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick

Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world.

By Ray Paulick
The Pamplemousse turned in a dominating performance over Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface Saturday, winning the Sham Stakes easily by six lengths in a wire-to-wire victory that stamped him as a serious contender for the upcoming Santa Anita Derby and perhaps the Kentucky Derby. Florida shipper Take the Points finished second after chasing the winner throughout, with Mr. Hot Stuff third and Bourbon Bay fourth in the nine-furlong event that attracted a field of 10 3-year-old colts and geldings.

The Pamplemousse, owned by a partnership that includes Alex Solis Jr., son of the winning rider, is trained by Julio Canani. The colt’s name, which means grapefruit in French, comes from a Del Mar, Calif., restaurant whose owners Jeffrey and Bill Strauss are also part of the colt’s ownership team, along with Carol Bienstock and Ann Winner.

The Pamplemousse covered the distance in 1:47.86 after setting fractions of :23.08, :46.51, 1:10.29, and 1:35.09. The son of the Cherokee Run stallion Kafwain out of Comfort Zone, by Rubiano, was bred in Kentucky by Fred and Nancy Mitchell’s Clarkland Farm, which sold him for $80,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale to a pinhooking outfit, Vision Sales. The latter sold him at the OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training to Alex Solis II Bloodstock for $150,000.

The Sham was The Pamplemousse’s second graded stakes victory following his wire to wire win in the San Rafael Stakes Jan. 17. It was his third win overall from five starts. He began his career with a fourth place effort in a maiden sprint Oct. 4 during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita, then improved to third in another maiden sprint at Hollywood Park Nov. 8. The colt broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles Dec. 14 at Hollywood, then came back one month later to win the San Rafael. Off that impressive victory he was sent off the 1-2 favorite in the Sham and paid $3 for the win.

By Ray Paulick
Edward P. Evans’ homebred Quality Road ran away from the field under jockey John Velazquez to take Saturday’s Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. after sitting just off the pace of This Ones for Phil and seizing command at the top of the stretch to win going away by 4 1/4 lengths. It was just the third career start and stakes debut for the Virginia-bred son of Elusive Quality out of the Strawberry Road mare, Kobla. Quality Road was not among the early nominees to the Triple Crown races. He is trained by Jimmy Jerkens

Quality Road covered the one-turn mile in 1:35.01 on a fast track after fractions of  :23.83, :45.55, 1:09.40 and 1:22.03. Theregoesjojo finished well to get second, with Beethoven another four lengths back in third and 7-2 favorite Capt. Candyman Can fourth in the field of 10 3-year-old colts and geldings. This Ones for Phil faded to fifth after setting the pace to the top of the stretch, and he was followed by Bee Cee Cee, Notonthesamepage, Jack Spratt, Taqarub and Break Water Edison. Quality Road carried just 114 pounds under the conditions of the race, eight pounds fewer than Capt. Candyman Can, Beethoven and Break Water Edison, the 122-pound high weights.

Quality Road broke his maiden at Aqueduct Nov. 29 in his first career start, a 6 1/2-furlong event, going wire to wire to win by 2 3/4 lengths. He came back at Gulfstream Park when favored at 3-10 in a Jan. 10 allowance race but had to settle for second behind Theregoesjojo, beaten 2 3/4 lengths. Alan Garcia rode the colt in his first two starts.

“He rushed up after breaking slow and that might have taken something out of him,” Jerkens said of the allowance race. “Plus a lot of my horses didn’t do too well when they first got down here.”

Stabled at Palm Meadows, Quality Road had been training sensationally, highlighted by a :58 2/5 five-furlong breeze on Feb. 23, the best of 48 workouts at the distance that morning. Jerkens said the size of Quality Road is one reason he has been raced so lightly. "He’s at least 17 hands and didn’t get to me until late July,” said Jerkens. “I didn’t even take him to Saratoga with me, but since then there’s been no problems.”

Quality Road, who was racing on the anti-bleeding medication furosemide for the first time in the Fountain of Youth, paid $13 for the win. The colt was entered  as part of the Lane’s End consignment at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale, but  was bought back by his consignor for $110,000.

Jerkens said immediately after the race that it was too soon to say whether or not Quality Road would be pointed for the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 28.

“I was glad to see him break sharp and then settle in," said Jerkens. "He came out of his last race with a little cough, but has trained great since then. We’ve thought a lot of him from his first start. He’s got the pedigree to go on, but a one-turn mile is still basically a sprint and a lot different than going two turns. We’ll talk it over before making a decision on what’s next. I’m a New York guy so the Wood (Memorial on Apr. 4 at Aqueduct) might be one option. On the other hand, he’s trained great over the track down here (Palm Meadows) and weather isn’t likely to interrupt his schedule, so the Florida Derby is naturally a possibility. We missed the first deadline (for Triple Crown) nominations, but we’ll put it up in March. It will just cost a little more.”

Ken McPeek, trainer of Theregoesjojo, was not discouraged by the effort of his Brahms colt.   “We are really happy," McPeek said. "We didn’t lay it all down for this race. He wasn’t 100% cranked and we’re excited about going forward from here. I thought he ran a great race and lost to a very good horse. And believe me, the horse that won is one very impressive horse.”

Equibase chart.