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Plans appear to be evolving for Patti and Hal Earnhardt III's New York-bred Grade 1 winner BEHAVING BADLY to campaign this spring in Kentucky, according to her three-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer, Bob Baffert. Following the five-year-old mare's 4-3/4-length romp under top weight in Santa Anita's Grade 3 Las Flores Handicap on Saturday, February 25, Baffert was clearly pleased: "We like to win like that," remarked Baffert in stating the obvious. "She runs like she looks. We don't know (what's next). I think I'll probably run her in the Humana Distaff (Grade 1, seven furlongs) at Churchill (Downs) on Derby Day (May 6)." Baffert earlier had indicated that he was considering Keeneland's Grade 2 Vinery Madison Stakes -- also at seven furlongs -- on Wednesday, April 12. The two events are 24 days apart (Santa Anita's Grade 1 Santa Monica Handicap, which Behaving Badly had won by 4-1/2 lengths on January 29, had preceded the Las Flores by 27 days), so they are suitably spaced to both fit into the New York-bred's spring schedule. As for new credentials to be gained, Grade 1 winner Behaving Badly ($411,400) could be pointed for the following series of possibilities: 1) multiple Grade 1 winner; 2) millionaire; 3) Eclipse Champion. To achieve the third credential (Eclipse Champion), Behaving Badly would need either to stretch out successfully in distance to prove herself the best older female overall or take on males for the sprint title. If she stays sound, the carefully-campaigned mare looks more than capable of winning additional Grade 1 races and going over a million dollars in earnings. The big bay Amazon currently holds the distinction of being North America's best female sprinter in training. "That was easy," observed jockey Espinoza following Behaving Badly's Las Flores victory. "She was just cruising around. She tried hard -- and I didn't want to knock her out for this race. I made sure I just galloped around and won the race by (at least) two or three lengths. That would be enough." About 72 minutes prior to Behaving Badly's victory, another New York-bred graded stakes performer, Robert Rosenthal's and Bernice Waldbaum's homebred GALLOPING GROCER, scored his first win in more than 16 months with a hard-fought tally in an open N2X allowance going a mile and 70 yards at Aqueduct. The four-year-old gelding's first victory around two turns increased his earnings by $28,800 to $316,908 while improving his record to 4 - 3 - 1 in 12 starts, which includes runner-up performances in Aqueduct's Grade 2 Remsen Stakes as a two-year-old and Grade 3 Gotham Stakes last year as a three-year-old. Galloping Grocer had won Belmont's Sleepy Hollow Stakes by 7-1/2 lengths over future three-time stakes winner Naughty New Yorker ($400,352) on New York Showcase Day 2004 and also had placed second in Saratoga's $250,000 New York Stallion Cab Calloway Stakes last August. He is the 11th winner in 2006 sired by A. P Jet, who led all New York sires in 2005 progeny earnings and is leading the state again in 2006. Galloping Grocer is the fifth winner produced from New York-bred multiple stakes-placed winner Little Evie, who is the first broodmare that co-owner and co-breeder Robert Rosenthal of Jericho ever owned. Little Evie is by Northrop and is a half-sister to Brazilian stakes winner By the Best, and she originally had been owned in partnership with Rosenthal by the late Ira Waldbaum, a grocery chain founder for whom Galloping Grocer is named and whose widow, Bernice, is the gelding's co-owner. Another New York-bred graded stakes performer -- 2005 Grade 1 winner COMMENTATOR ($710,092) -- is rounding into form for 2006, according to his Hall of Fame trainer, Nick Zito: "Commentator is here (in Florida) galloping, and he looks great, but he's just getting started back. It'll be a while before we get serious with him," remarked Zito. Commentator's last outing was a third-place effort in Belmont's Grade 1 Woodward Stakes in September, five weeks prior to which he had recorded the best Daily Racing Form Beyer speed figure (123) of 2005 while beating eventual Horse of the Year Saint Liam in Saratoga's Grade 1 Whitney Handicap. A little more than three hours following Behaving Badly's victory in California, New York-bred VANNA'S HONEYBEAR advanced four wide from off the pace to capture Charles Town's two-turn seven-furlong Saturday evening allowance feature for four-year-olds and up that had not won since August 25. Ridden for the 15th time in competition by jockey Jesus Sanchez and sent off the 2.20-to-1 second choice among six starters that included four six-figure-earners, the five-year-old gelding boosted his own earnings into six figures at $117,976 while improving his record to 5 - 4 - 4 in 23 starts. Vanna's Honeybear races for the Baer's Racing Stable of Michael Baer, who had purchased the New York-bred as a weanling for $5,700 at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's 2001 December mixed sale in Timonium, Maryland. Trained by Timothy Grams, the New York-conceived son of American Standard was bred by Patricia Calandro of Barely Able Farm in Holmes and is the second offspring and second New York-bred winner produced from New York-bred allowance winner Double Coverage, by former New York sire Double Negative. Double Coverage is a half-sister to stakes winner Crafty Tenderoni ($228,377), who is the dam of Japanese stakes-placed four-time winner Eishin Cleburne ($943,482). Two races prior to the feature victory by Vanna's Honeybear, another New York-bred at Charles Town, owner-trainer Boris Kocijan's SCAT EM, broke his maiden by four lengths. New York-bred restricted N2X allowance winners at Aqueduct during the final racing week of February were Castle Village Farm's FIGHTING SPEEDY on Thursday, Mi Star Stables, Inc.'s SYDSATIONAL (optional claiming) on Friday, and Gumpster Stable LLC's TIME TO RAP (optional claiming) on Sunday. Fighting Speedy, a four-year-old filly, edged previously unbeaten (two-for-two) Nikki's Halo, who was almost two months shy of her chronological three-year-old birthday and was facing older fillies and mares with considerably more experience in the six-furlong contest. The effort increased Fighting Speedy's earnings by $27,000 to $140,471 while improving her record to 3 - 7 - 4 in 19 starts -- with $115,987 of that bankroll having been earned since the Castle Village Farm of Stephen Zorn of Hialeah, Florida had claimed her for $30,000 at Gulfstream 13 months earlier. Sydsational, also a four-year-old filly and running with a $25,000 tag, was the 47.25-to-1 last choice among nine female starters going a mile and 70 yards, and her $27,600 purse share increased her bankroll to $97,049 while improving her record to 4 - 2 - 2 in 21 starts. The daughter of Dixie Brass and router Alkris ($167,760) races for Mary Ann Sorge's Mi Star Stables, Inc. and was bred by Gary Greenhouse of Menands, New York, who had lost her in a claiming race at Aqueduct last April. Time to Rap, a five-year-old gelding, was the front-running favorite (at 1.15-to-1) in his six-furlong tally, which increased his earnings by $27,000 to $98,920 off an improved record of four wins (in his last five outings) and a second in a total of eight starts. Owned by the Gumpster Stable of Andrew Berg, the son of Silver Music was bred by the Pinebourne Farm in Muttontown of Frank and Denise Nastasi. Big-margin Aqueduct winners at the restricted N1X allowance level on Thursday and Saturday were Smith and Hunt Ventures' STAND BY THE PHONE, a three-year-old filly, by 4-3/4 lengths on Thursday and Puglisi Stables' TALE OF WONDER, a four-year-old gelding, by 5-1/4 lengths on Saturday. Favored Stand by the Phone (2.05-to-1 among six wagering interests and seven three-year-old filly starters) increased her earnings by $25,800 to $63,900 with her front-running six-furlong victory and third consecutive outing under jockey Alan Garcia, which improved her record to two wins and two seconds in 10 starts. Bred by John and Jayme Jayko's Fedwell Farms in Saratoga Springs, the Phone Trick filly is a half-sister to nine winners, including New York-bred stakes winners Liver Stand ($248,118) and Endsaseeket ($149,605), and had broken her maiden at Churchill Downs last June. Tale of Wonder also scored on the front end at six furlongs, winning by 5-1/4 lengths as the 2.60-to-1 second choice among 10 wagering interests and 11 starters even though he was far less experienced than his rivals, all of whom had at least twice as many previous starts. Bred by Donald and Roberta Mary Zuckerman "as Tenants by the Entireties", the full brother to New York-bred graded winner West Virginia ($682,706) increased his earnings by $25,800 to $54,623 with his second win in four starts and is the 12th winner of 2006 sired by Tomorrows Cat. Another restricted N1X allowance winner at Aqueduct was John Michelotti's homebred SWEET NOBILITY on Sunday, as that four-year-old filly increased her earnings by $25,800 to $81,015 and improved her record to 2 - 1 - 1 in 18 starts with her come-from-behind rail-skimming victory at six furlongs. The daughter of former New York sire Abaginone -- a stallion who seems to specialize in late-developing fillies -- is a half-sister to three sprint winners, including New York-bred multiple stakes-placed Lord Aly and seven-time winner Won Finicky ($103,772), but her dam is multiple route winner Flantasia ($172,980). Owner-breeder Michelotti owns Four Seasons Farm in Bullville. New York-bred open claiming winners at Aqueduct included Winning Move Stable's LETHIMTHINKHESBOSS ($221,416) at a two-turn mile, Marty Cunningham's and Eugene Hauman's CASSETTE CASE at a mile and a sixteenth, and Double R Stable's and Stephen Weiss's homebred DR. ISOM at six furlongs -- all on Friday. They were followed on Sunday by Daniel Monosson's homebred EMOTRIN ($129,124) at a mile and a sixteenth. Lethimthinkhesboss, a five-year-old gelding bred by Flying Zee Stables and also a winner on turf, edged odds-on (.95-to-1) three-time open stakes winner Hydrogen ($495,374) at equal weights to score his fourth victory in a career that has seen him win or place in a total of 22 of 30 starts. The top two finishers both competed with the contest's maximum $35,000 claiming price. Cassette Case's 3-1/2-length victory -- increasing her earnings to $97,187 with a record of four wins and four thirds in 16 starts -- represented the culmination of a 44-day "win-win" scenario. On January 11 at Aqueduct, the four-year-old daughter of Mighty Magee had been claimed by her owners for $20,000, and she was claimed right back on Friday by her previous owner, Luca Williams' Nassau CC Stables, for $6,000 less -- $14,000. Cunningham's and Hauman's purse share, $13,200, along with the $14,000 claiming price brought their gross receipts to $27,200 on their $20,000 claim -- yielding a 36 percent return on investment minus about six weeks of training expenses -- while Nassau CC Stables has Cassette Case back along with $6,000 in the bank. Cassette Case has some pedigree credentials, being a half-sister to the dam of stakes winners Concerto's Crown ($201,446) and Slew Motion ($171,800) and out of stakes winner Cassette Player, by the late leading New York sire Talc, and she appears poised to top six figures in earnings. Six-year-old Emotrin came off a 12-week layoff to win by 2-1/4 lengths with a $25,000 tag, improving his record to 3 - 3 - 4 in 25 starts. He was the second winner over the weekend -- and the 17th of 2006 -- sired by New York stallion Gold Fever. Four-year-old Dr. Isom headed a one-two finish by New York-breds in his Friday Aqueduct contest, as state-breds comprised five of the nine starters (55.5 percent) and picked up 86 percent of the race's total purse. The gelding is among five winners in 2006 sired by New York stallion Goldminers Gold. New York-bred maiden winners from Thursday through Sunday included the following: PRIME DIAMOND (eighth winner of 2006 sired by New York stallion Prime Timber) at Aqueduct on Thursday; TOOT TA ROO (in debut) and STAR HALO, both by 2-1/4 lengths at Aqueduct on Friday; TAMBERINO (11th winner from the first crop of New York stallion Freud), by 11 lengths, and INCORPORATETIME, both in restricted maiden specials at Aqueduct on Saturday; FEROCIOUS FIRES (in debut), by eight lengths in a restricted maiden special at Aqueduct, and ANYTRICKINTHEBOOK, at 45.80-to-1 in an open maiden special at Philadelphia Park -- both on Sunday. All except four-year-old Incorporatetime are three-year-olds. |
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Again showing overwhelming speed despite racing under wraps, Patti and Hal J. Earnhardt III's New York-bred BEHAVING BADLY dueled five wide going down the backstretch of Santa Anita's Grade 3 Las Flores Handicap at six furlongs before drawing off to a 4-3/4-length victory while carrying top weight. The powerful, long-striding five-year-old mare broke from the outside post among six starters as the prohibitive favorite (.20-to-1) and was never really urged by jockey Victor Espinoza, who has ridden the swift mare in five of her six career victories. With 24.30-to-1 Spirit to Spare pressing the early pace from the inside, Behaving Badly ripped through fractions of 21.48, 44.04, and 56.04 and swung wide out of the turn to pull away. As she approached mid-stretch, track announcer Trevor Denman remarked that, "the others would need to sprout wings to catch her (Behaving Badly) -- she could go around again, and it wouldn't make any difference." It was Behaving Badly's third consecutive score by more than four lengths since mid-December and her third graded victory, increasing her earnings by $64,200 to $411,400 while bringing her record to six wins and a second in eight starts. Twenty-seven days earlier, the big bay had tallied with similar ease in Santa Anita's Grade 1 Santa Monica Handicap at seven furlongs (in 1:21.93), and last August she had earned her first stakes victory in Del Mar's Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap at 6-1/2 furlongs.
"We knew she was that good when we first started her (Behaving Badly's eight-length Del Mar debut victory in August of 2004), but she had some setbacks," continued Baffert, who had given the New York-bred sharp half-mile and five-furlong workouts at Santa Anita following her January 29 Santa Monica win. Baffert previously had revealed that the 11-month layoff following Behaving Badly's impressive debut had been due to a small fracture in one of her hocks.
Behaving Badly is among four New York-bred open stakes winners in 2006 -- in New York, California, and Florida -- and the Las Flores was the fifth open stakes captured by a state-bred in the first eight weeks of the year. |
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| Late-foaled 4yos - both NY-conceived - star in Big
A restricted stakes by Rab Hagin The "last to arrive" were "first to finish" in Aqueduct's first 2006 state-bred restricted stakes on Friday and Sunday, February 17 and 19, as late-foaled four-year-olds CARMINOOCH (May 26) and BIG APPLE DADDY (April 30) -- the youngest in their events -- captured the Ave's Flag Stakes and Hollie Hughes Handicap, respectively. Both dark bay colts were New York-conceived as well as New York-bred, and both won by significant margins. There also were three New York-breds that placed in open stakes on February 18 and 20, and two of those likewise were conceived in the Empire State.
Trainer Bruce Levine, who days earlier had remarked that he did not think Big Apple Daddy was "crazy about the (inner) racetrack," indicated he did not anticipate running the New York-bred on the winter track again, but might "take a shot against the big boys (open stakes company)." Owner Rodriguez had purchased the Hollie Hughes winner for $40,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's (OBS) 2004 March sale of two-year-olds in training from the consignment of Becky Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock, agent. Thomas, who along with Lewis Lakin bred Big Apple Daddy, owns Lakland North, LLC in Hudson (in partnership with Lakin), where Big Apple Daddy was both conceived and foaled. Big Apple Daddy is among three runners, all winners, produced from Clever Actress and is a half-brother to New York-bred 2005 three-time Aqueduct winner Princess Jasmine ($105,030). Clever Actress, who is a full sister to stakes-placed winner Clever Actor ($199,900), had been purchased for $65,000 by Lakland Farm at Keeneland's 2000 November sale when she was carrying Princess Jasmine.
For the Ave's Flag, Carminooch was the 1.35-to-1 second choice under two pounds less weight than Gold and Roses, and his second restricted stakes victory in 79 days on Aqueduct's inner track increased his earnings by $37,500 to $246,835 while improving his record to 5 - 2 - 3 in 13 starts. The stretch-running colt had captured Aqueduct's 2005 Gander Stakes for New York-bred three-year-olds and up going a mile and 70 yards on the last day of November, winning by seven lengths over a field that did not include Gold and Roses. Prior to the Gander, he had placed second or third in four restricted stakes at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga during 2004-2005. The Ave's Flag marked Carminooch's fourth outing -- second consecutive -- and second victory under jockey Michael Luzzi, who had piloted the Three Amigos standard-bearer to a restricted N2X allowance victory at Belmont last July. Carminooch races for the Three Amigos Stable managed by Carmine Sirico, brother of actor Tony Sirico of television's "The Sopranos" and movies "The Godfather" and "GoodFellas". The colt was purchased twice as a yearling for $5,000 -- the second time by Rob Webster at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's October yearling sale in Lexington on the reported advice of agent and consultant Jack Brothers of Breezy Point, New York, who had recommended the New York-bred to Three Amigos Stable. He is among 11 winners in 2006 -- two at Aqueduct in three days -- sired by syndicated Tomorrows Cat (Storm Cat - Tomorrow's Child, by Al Nasr), who is managed by Questroyal Stud, LLC and stands at Metropolitan Stud (managed by Michael Lischin and Anya Sheckley) in Pine Plains. New York Minute: Four of six starters in the Ave's Flag were New York-conceived, with Gold and Roses being by Gold Token (Mr. Prospector - Connie's Gift, by Nijinsky II), who is owned by a partnership under management of Questroyal Stud, LLC and stands at Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag. Carminooch is the seventh North American starter and seventh winner produced from California two-time winner Open Flap, by former New York stallion Carr de Naskra, and his half-siblings include 2005 Belmont restricted N2X allowance winner (by 20-1/2 lengths) Boundary Bay ($118,227). Carminooch's breeder, Washington, D.C.-based realtor Gary Mottola of Glen Gray Farm in Oakland, New Jersey, had purchased Open Flap -- who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Catatonic ($437,431 and dam of two stakes winners) -- for $10,000 at Keeneland's 2001 January mixed sale when she was carrying Boundary Bay. Although he trailed the field by daylight after a half-mile, Paraneck Stable's homebred INTERIOR DESIGNER rallied four wide on the second turn to win by a length and three-quarters in a restricted N2X allowance/optional claiming contest for four-year-olds and up going a mile and 70 yards at Aqueduct on Thursday. It was the four-year-old colt's third consecutive Aqueduct victory in 49 days under apprentice jockey Kyle Kaenel, who has a five-pound allowance, and he went off essentially overlooked as the 14.20-to-1 eighth choice among nine starters. The tally increased Interior Designer's earnings by $27,600 to $80,860 and improved his record to three wins in six starts for his owner-breeder, the Paraneck Stable of Ernie Paragallo of Lloyds Neck, Long Island, whose Paraneck Stallions owns Interior Designer's sire, 1999 Wood Memorial winner Adonis. Interior Designer was among two of Paraneck Stable's homebred winners at Aqueduct on Thursday to come from the 2002 crop of Adonis (Kris S. - Dixie Card, by Dixieland Band). The colt is out of seven-time sprint winner Finely Decorated, whom Paragallo/Paraneck had purchased for $80,000 at Keeneland's 1994 April sale of two-year-olds in training in Lexington, Kentucky. Pulling off two Aqueduct wins at a mile and 70 yards within a four-day span was Dominic Galluscio's four-year-old SUCCESSFUL AFFAIR, who won an open claiming contest with a $30,000 tag as the odds-on (.75-to-1) favorite among eight starters on Wednesday and then captured a restricted N1X allowance on Saturday. The bay gelding went off as half of an entry that was the 2.85-to-1 third choice among six wagering interests (seven starters) in the N1X allowance and won by a length and a half with jockey Eibar Coa on board for both victories. The back-to-back tallies boosted Successful Affair's earnings by $37,800 to $101,037 and improved his record to 3 - 4 - 3 in 15 starts for owner Galluscio of Hudson, who had purchased the New York-bred for $40,000 at the OBS 2004 April sale of two-year-olds in training. In Wednesday's open claiming contest -- for non-winners of two races lifetime -- New York-breds that were eligible for restricted N1X allowance competition finished first, second, and fourth, picking up 85 percent of the total purse and qualifying for an additional $3,106.50 in owner, breeder, and stallion awards. Bred by Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds, Inc., Successful Affair is by multiple Grade 2-winning sprinter/miler Successful Appeal and is the fifth offspring and fifth winner produced from two-time winner Private Pouf, by Private Terms, being a half-brother to multiple stakes-placed six-time winner Private Opening ($221,910). Breeder Simon's New Dawn Stud had purchased Private Pouf, who is a half-sister to five stakes winners of $453,448 to $211,373 each, including graded course record-setter Foufa's Warrior ($453,448), for $13,000 at Keeneland's 2000 November sale when she was carrying her future fourth winner. New York-bred N1X allowance winners on Thursday were four-year-old filly APRIL TRUE in a restricted 5-1/2-furlong sprint at Aqueduct and three-year-old gelding DON'T TELL JOEY in a mile and an eighth open allowance that was the feature race on Laurel's card. April True had made her first start for her new owner, the Rising Star Stables of Kenneth DeMarinis of Old Bethpage, New York, 27 days earlier under the same conditions and distance at Aqueduct as on Thursday and had placed third among 11. The dark bay filly's second consecutive outing under apprentice jockey Pablo Morales, who has a five-pound allowance, required her to break from the outside (10th) post as the 2.55-to-1 second choice among seven wagering interests and 10 starters. Her winning effort increased her earnings by $25,800 to $88,640 while improving her record to 2 - 3 - 2 in nine starts. April True was bred by France Weiner of the Florida-based Wingate Sales Agency, which had sold her for $75,000 at the OBS 2004 April sale of two-year-olds in training. She is by Grade 1-winning millionaire Yes It's True and is the second winner produced from Miss Brown, who is by Capote and is a half-sister to stakes winner Clock Tower ($222,237). Breeder Weiner had purchased Miss Brown for $30,000 at the OBS 2000 October mixed sale when she was carrying her second foal. Don't Tell Joey, who along with his half-brother, New York-bred open stakes winner Little Matth Man ($217,881), races for Vincent Papandrea under the care of trainer Martin Ciresa, was favored at 1.50-to-1 among six starters in Laurel's featured N1X allowance for three-year-olds going a mile and an eighth. Although he was the race's youngest participant (foaled May 5, 2003), he led throughout while wearing blinkers for the first time, winning by a length and a quarter in his first outing under jockey Jose Caraballo and improving his record to two wins and a second in five starts. Placing second was a New York-conceived son of New York stallion Manlove. Don't Tell Joey was the second favored New York-bred to win at a mile and an eighth on Laurel's Thursday card, following William Wise's IVARS BLUES -- from the last crop of the late record-setting New York sire Cure the Blues -- who won by 2-3/4 lengths at 1.50-to-1. Don't Tell Joey was bred by Robert Rockwell of Rockwell Stable in Deansboro (near Syracuse) and is the sixth winner in 2006 and among 173 winners overall sired by syndicated graded winner Take Me Out (Cure the Blues - White Feather, by Tom Rolfe). He is the fourth offspring and fourth winner produced from stakes-placed winner Lady's Legacy, by Matchlite, and his half-siblings include stakes-winning filly Shameful ($241,345) in addition to Little Matth Man. Favored New York-bred restricted N1X allowance-winning females at Aqueduct on Sunday were Joseph Parisi's indestructible SHOW READY ($272,022), who at 1.20-to-1 scored by 6-1/4 lengths going six furlongs, and Flying Zee Stable's homebred SHEER SILK, who at 1.35-to-1 registered her second consecutive 2006 victory going a mile and 70 yards. Both are by sires that stand or stood at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson -- Show Ready by the late Prosper Fager, and Sheer Silk being the second New York-bred filly by Flying Zee Stable's Western Expression to win within three days. New York-bred three-year-old open claiming winners included the filly ZIPPY SHANNON, who tallied by 2-3/4 at Aqueduct on Friday and was claimed for $40,000 by Maura Sternklar's Clear Stars Stable, and HE'S A PLAYER, who romped by 6-1/2 at Gulfstream on Presidents' Day Monday with a $30,000 tag. He's a Player -- twice a mile winner going one turn and two in Florida within 53 days -- is a homebred for co-owner New Life Farm/Stable, Inc. of Jerry Procinco, who races the gelding in partnership with Sidney Sacks, and he was foaled at Sandra Lynch's Jansan Acres in Glens Falls. Also winning with a $30,000 tag at Gulfstream was New York-bred four-year-old TOUGHER 'N MOST, who scored by 3-1/2 for Wanda Polisseni's My Purple Haze Stables on Saturday as the second of three daylight margin Florida winners within four days sired by New York-based Good and Tough. There were three New York-bred open stakes-placed performers on Saturday and Monday: Whats What ($250,920), third at 22.10-to-1 in Laurel's $80,000 John B. Campbell Breeders' Cup; Strummer ($108,151), third under top weight of 122 pounds in Aqueduct's Fred "Cappy" Capossela Stakes for three-year-olds; and Vasa, who placed second in Aqueduct's Dearly Precious Stakes for three-year-old fillies. The on-the-board efforts by six-year-old Whats What, who races for P.T.K., LLC, and Strummer, who is a homebred for Edward Behringer and Thomas Murray, both came on Saturday. Whats What picked up his first black-type for himself and for his dam (as a producer), thereby enhancing the value of his six half-sisters, and he also became the 14th New York-bred to win or place in a stakes outside state-bred company in 2006. Strummer, a son of the late New York-based sire Phone Trick, had won Aqueduct's open Jimmy Winkfield Stakes by four lengths on January 16 and qualified his connections for a total of $3,266.50 in owner, breeder, and stallion awards as a result of his effort in the Capossela. Vasa, who races for Brian and Kerry Novak and was conceding two pounds to the Dearly Precious winner, had placed second outside state-bred company in Aqueduct's Oxford Scholar Stakes 22 days earlier and owns a record of two wins and two seconds in five starts. She qualified her connections for a total of $6,584.23 in owner, breeder, and stallion awards with her runner-up performance in the Dearly Precious. New York-bred maiden special winners from Thursday, February 16 through Tuesday, February 21 were the following: ITSNOTTHEMONEY (three-year-old daughter of New York sire Prime Timber going a two-turn mile on turf in 1:34.76) at Gulfstream, SARATOGA JET (by New York sire A. P Jet) and FUEGO GRANDE (by New York sire Adonis) -- the latter two at Aqueduct and all three on Thursday; WICKED SORCERESS (by 5-1/2 lengths in debut) and BETTOR TO RECEIVE (by New York sire Regal Classic) -- both at Aqueduct -- and SMART MOVE (by 8-1/4 lengths in debut) at Charles Town -- all on Friday; NORTHERN STORM (by 11-3/4 lengths) and RIVER SQUIRE (by New York sire River Keen) -- both at Aqueduct on Saturday; FIDDLERS STAR (by seven lengths and daughter of New York sire Tomorrows Cat) and RODEO RISING (by six lengths) -- both at Aqueduct on Sunday; STRONG PRESENCE (from first crop of New York sire Freud) at Aqueduct on Monday; TIME HEALS (by New York sire A. P Jet) at Mountaineer on Tuesday. New York Minute: All five New York-bred winners at Aqueduct on Sunday, February 19 -- including Hollie Hughes Handicap winner Big Apple Daddy and open allowance winner Show Ready -- were also New York-conceived. |
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| NY-breds win Aqueduct allowances from 5-1/2F to 13F
on inner track by Rab Hagin Some potential New York-bred stakes horses emerged on Aqueduct's inner track during February 8 through 11 (Sunday's racing at the Big A was cancelled because of the Blizzard of 2006), as state-breds competed in restricted allowances over distances ranging from 5-1/2 furlongs to a three-turn mile and five-eighths. Particularly impressive on Wednesday, February 8 was Berkshire Stud's homebred four-year-old filly, CHAMONIX, who carried top weight of 123 pounds and rallied four wide from next-to-last among nine starters to capture a $46,000 restricted N2X/allowance optional claiming contest for older fillies and mares going a two-turn mile. Favored at odds-on (.90-to-1) even though she was the only starter with fewer than eight outings and was facing five six-figure-earners, the bay filly compares favorably with her stakes-winning full sister, Fait Accompli ($201,851), and her stakes-winning half-brother, Sherpa Guide ($391,919). The daughter of 1996 Preakness winner Louis Quatorze also appears to want to go longer and was actually dropping back in distance while taking on five competitors that previously had won at a mile. Chamonix's decisive victory increased her earnings by $27,600 to $87,400 while improving her record to three wins and one second in four starts -- beginning with a debut score going six furlongs at Belmont in mid-July of 2005. She had returned from a 149-day layoff to place second on December 11 going a mile and 70 yards on Aqueduct's inner track in a restricted N1X allowance contest and had scored by 4-3/4 lengths at that same level at the Big A on January 2. All of Chamonix's races have been under jockey Eibar Coa, who had two winning rides aboard four-year-old fillies on Aqueduct's Wednesday card. Bred and owned by Dr. Douglas Koch's Berkshire Stud of Pine Plains and trained by Thomas Bush, who also conditioned her stakes-winning full-and-half-siblings, Chamonix has some intriguing possibilities ahead now that her state-bred allowance conditions are behind her. Her multiple stakes-producing dam is New York-bred Passive Action, who is by former New York stallion Double Negative and is out of a daughter of European champion and stalwart stamina sire Vaguely Noble. Another New York-bred full-and-half-sibling to two stakes winners that scored earlier on Aqueduct's Wednesday card was Anstu Stables, Inc.'s SURFING IAN, who came wide into the stretch to capture a six-furlong restricted N1X allowance for three-year-olds, drawing away by a length and a quarter against five rivals. The dark bay colt had not raced since finishing unplaced in Aqueduct's Damon Runyon Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth 59 days earlier and was the contest's only participant with no 2006 starts, but he was favored at 1.70-to-1 in his second consecutive outing under jockey Michael Luzzi. The victory increased Surfing Ian's earnings by $25,800 to $75,822 while improving his record to two wins and a second (in Aqueduct's $122,500 New York Stallion Great White Way Stakes last November) in five starts for Stuart and Anita Subotnick's Anstu Stables. The Subotnicks -- New York City residents who own Anstu Farm in Millbrook -- had purchased the colt for $170,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's (OBS) 2005 March sale of two-year-olds in training. They previously had raced New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB) 1997 Champion Two-Year-Old Male Mellow Roll and 2004 Hudson Handicap winner Friendly Island. Stuart Subotnick is a member of the NYRA board of trustees and is a general partner and executive vice president of Metromedia Company. Surfing Ian is the 10th winner of 2006 to represent New York-based stallion Rizzi, whose progeny earnings are approaching $14.2-million from seven crops to race, and he is a full brother to open stakes winner Richest Half ($165,466) as well as a half-brother to New York-bred graded winner Megascape ($283,673). Also among the three-year-old's winning half-siblings is stakes-placed Renacer de Caoba. The winning dam of all this stakes-level talent, Bigger Half, by Megaturn, is a half-sister to stakes winners Top Secret (Grade 2 winner of $997,647), Tate ($199,788), and West's Secret ($176,381). Bigger Half had been purchased for $75,000 by the breeder of Surfing Ian, Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds (in Stillwater, where Rizzi stands and where Surfing Ian was foaled), at the OBS 1999 October mixed sale in Florida. On Thursday -- two days after her New York-bred half-sister had sold for $120,000 to Ralph Evans at the OBS February select sale of two-year-olds at Calder -- HOW 'BOUT NO romped by 6-1/4 lengths at Aqueduct in a restricted N1X allowance for three-year-old fillies going a mile and 70 yards. Owned by the IEAH Stables of Michael Iavarone of Holbrook in partnership with Kent Katter and Robert Joscelyn (IEAH Stables previously campaigned NYTB 2004 Three-Year-Old Filly Champion Sugar Punch in partnership), this bay filly is a half-sister to New York-bred 2004 juvenile stakes winner Swither ($153,846). At the OBS 2005 March sale of two-year-olds in training, How 'bout No had sold for $50,000, and six months later in mid-September she had won her debut by 8-1/4 lengths at Belmont. Conditioned by NYTB 2002 Trainer of the Year Richard Dutrow Jr. and sent off the 2.95-to-1 third choice among eight starters in her first outing under jockey Alan Garcia, the rapidly-improving filly increased her earnings by $26,400 to $64,386. The only unplaced effort in How 'bout No's record, which is 2 - 1 - 1 in five starts, came in Belmont's $100,000 Maid of the Mist Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth on a sloppy track on New York Showcase Day (October 22) -- her second start. Like the aforementioned Surfing Ian, How 'bout Now was bred by and foaled at the Sez Who Thoroughbreds (North) in Stillwater that is owned by Richard Simon of Aventura, Florida. She is by former New York sire Precise End and is the third offspring and third winner produced from two-time winner Dither, a Housebuster mare that Sez Who Thoroughbreds had purchased for $45,000 at Keeneland's 2001 January mixed sale. Dither is a half-sister to graded winner Move ($260,093) and to graded-placed stakes winners Reforest ($147,305) and Falling Sky ($142,043). Confirming what his pedigree and long-winded dosage profile (6-3-12-2-1) suggested, Vincent Scuderi's DELTA SEA showed that routing -- especially on Aqueduct's inner track -- is his forte when he scored by 5-1/4 lengths in a restricted N1X allowance/optional claiming contest for four-year-olds and up at a three-turn mile and five-eighths on Friday. The six-year-old gelding went off as half of an entry that was the 8.50-to-1 third choice among eight wagering interests and nine starters with apprentice jockey Isaac Barahona -- whose allowance is seven pounds -- race-riding him for the first time. After breaking from the outside post and trailing the entire strung-out field by five-to-25 lengths through the first half-mile, Delta Sea eventually came wide into the stretch and caught odds-on (.55-to-1) favorite Cold Blow Lane ($241,660) inside the final furlong to win going away. Because both he and Cold Blow Lane had gone through their restricted N2X allowance conditions more than a year earlier, both ran with $25,000 claiming prices. The victory increased Delta Sea's earnings by $26,400 to $173,744 and improved his record to 6 - 3 - 0 in 27 starts, with $61,318 of his bankroll having been picked up since trainer James Ferraro had claimed him on behalf of Scuderi for $17,500 at Aqueduct 14 months earlier. Bred by the Goldspur Racing Stable of Isao Aiba of New York City, Delta Sea is by 1993 Kentucky Derby and Travers winner Sea Hero and is the second New York-bred Aqueduct winner that Goldspur Racing Stable has bred from Aqueduct open allowance winner Delta West ($116,219), by Tank's Prospect. Goldspur Racing Stable had privately acquired and raced Delta West, whose dam is stakes-placed winner Delta Daiquiry ($126,440), in the mid-1990s after she had won maiden special and allowance contests at Garden State and was campaigning with high-priced claiming tags at Aqueduct. Winning by 6-1/4 lengths in a restricted N1X allowance for three-year-olds going a mile and a sixteenth later on Aqueduct's Friday card was Zippett Racing Stable's and Pamela Herbst's DR. ZIPPETT, who -- like Delta Sea six races earlier -- broke from the outside post and trailed through a half-mile. Overlooked as the 22-to-1 sixth choice among seven starters, even though he had broken his maiden at that same distance at Belmont in October, the dark bay colt increased his earnings by $26,400 to $56,557 for his second win in seven starts and second consecutive outing under jockey Alan Garcia. Dr. Zippett had been purchased for $75,000 by Ron Sabatini, who races under the name of Zippett Racing Stable, at the OBS 2005 March sale of two-year-olds in training. The son of Grade 2-winning miler Doneraile Court is the third offspring and third winner -- but first New York-bred -- produced from rock-solid router Outlandish ($296,060), who won or placed in 34 of 43 starts from ages two through six. Outlandish is by Horatius and is a half-sister to two six-figure-earners with 40 or more starts each. Showing competitive speed while going four wide at 5-1/2 furlongs at Aqueduct on Saturday was Charlton Baker's JOHNIE BYE NIGHT, who wore blinkers for the first time and captured a restricted N1X allowance for four-year-olds and up as the 5-to-1 second choice among 11 starters. The four-year-old gelding was ridden for the first time in competition by jockey Robert Messina and was top-weighted with 119 pounds (one pound overweight). Johnie Bye Night's victory increased his earnings by $25,800 to $59,172 and improved his record to two wins and a second in four starts for owner-trainer Baker, who had purchased the tenaciously-running bay for $7,500 from his breeder, Kirsten LeBlanc, at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's 2003 September yearling sale in Timonium, Maryland. Baker, a resident of Broadalbin (about 23 miles west of Saratoga Springs), also owns and trains New York-bred four-time stakes winner Top Shoter ($333,425) as well as New York-bred Aqueduct allowance winner and six-figure earner Genevil, whom LeBlanc likewise bred. Johnie Bye Night is by three-time Grade 1-winning sprinter-miler Langfuhr and is the first offspring produced from Romantic Interlude, by French Deputy. Placing second in Aqueduct's open $70,915 Whirlaway Stakes on Saturday for three-year-olds going a mile and a sixteenth was Madoca Establo's New York-bred One Way Flight, who led through three-quarters before being overtaken by odds-on (.30-to-1) Achilles of Troy -- the 43rd stakes winner sired by the late New York-bred Notebook. One Way Flight, a 13-1/4-length winner of Finger Lakes' $128,275 Aspirant Stakes for New York-bred juveniles last August, had returned off a five-month layoff to place third in Aqueduct's open $70,135 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes at six furlongs on January 16 after being steadied at the start. He was race-ridden for the first time in the Whirlaway by jockey Channing Hill and went off as the 6-to-1 second choice among seven starters, increasing his earnings to $122,763 off a never-unplaced record of 2 - 1 - 1 in four starts. One Way Flight also qualified Establo for an additional $2,836.60 owner award and his breeders, Becky Thomas and Lewis Lakin, for a $2,836.60 breeder award. Qualifying for a $992.81 stallion award were the former partnership owners of One Way Flight's sire, Precise End, who had stood for four seasons at Thomas's and Lakin's Lakland North, LLC in Hudson prior to going to Japan in late 2004. One Way Flight is the third starter and third winner produced from Harps and Wings, a Relaunch mare that Lakland had purchased for $18,000 at Keeneland's 2002 January sale. Harps and Wings is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Grand Forks and to English stakes-placed winner Angelus Sunset and to the winning dam of 2005 graded-placed winner Mary Alex. One Way Flight is among 13 New York-breds that have won or placed in stakes races outside of state-bred company in the first six weeks of 2006. Notebook, the sire of Aqueduct two-time 2006 stakes winner Achilles of Troy as well as Grade 1 winners Delaware Township, Booklet, Three Ring, and Spoken Fur, was NYTB Champion Two-Year-Old Male and Champion Three-Year-Old Male for 1987 and 1988, respectively. Notebook was a Grade 2 winner of $584,630. Among New York-breds that broke their maidens at Aqueduct from Thursday through Friday, February 9-11, were the following: Three-year-old HASSANI (sired by New York-conceived Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin out of a New York-bred daughter of the late New York sire Distinctive Pro) on Thursday; three-year-old RACELAND (by 5-1/4 lengths at odds-on), four-year-old SET THE CLOCK (sired by New York stallion Danzatame), and three-year-old filly KEEP YOUR DAY JOB (by 6-1/2 lengths at odds-on) on Friday; three-year-old filly ELEGANT ELLIE (the 10th winner of 2006 sired by New York stallion Lycius) and four-year-old HERCULES ON TOP on Saturday. |
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| 12 NY-breds gross $1,510,000 at OBS Calder sale of
2yos in training by Rab Hagin Twelve New York-breds grossed $1,510,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's (OBS) February 7 Calder sale of two-year-olds in training, bringing a $125,833 average that was 3.3 percent below what 12 state-breds had averaged at the 2005 OBS sale, even though seven brought six-figure prices -- verses just four in 2005. Despite the marginal decrease in average, virtually all indicators were favorable for New York-breds, since the 2005 average was skewed somewhat by a $550,000 colt, and only one state-bred (a late-foaled filly) in 2006 failed to bring her reserve, compared to six "not sold" New York-breds in 2005. The sale's overall "not sold" rate was 32.6 percent. In addition, eight of the 12 New York-breds sold at the 2006 OBS Calder sale were also New York-conceived, verses six in 2005, and four of those eight brought six-figure prices ranging up to $400,000, including the two highest-priced state-breds sold -- both purchased by the same buyer. The 2006 OBS Calder average for 12 New York-bred two-year-olds was 26 percent higher than the $99,750 average that the same number of New York-bred juveniles brought at the 2004 OBS Calder auction. All six New York-bred yearling-to-juvenile "pin-hooks" at the 2006 OBS sale brought profitable six-figure prices. The statistical median for the dozen state-breds sold at the OBS 2006 auction, $110,000, was exactly the same as the overall median for the entire sale, at which the average price increased by 1.9 percent from 2005 figures to a new record for the third consecutive year. Two of the four highest-priced New York-breds at the 2006 OBS juvenile sale were colts by New York-based stallion Freud (Storm Cat - Mariah's Storm, by Rahy), headed by Hip No. 7, which went for $400,000 to Egyptian/American brewing company executive Ahmed Zayat (Zayat Stables), a resident of Hackensack, New Jersey. Zayat, whose New York trainer is Jimmy Toner, is chief executive officer of Al Ahram Beverages Company and had spent more than $2-million at juvenile sales in 2005. In addition to building up a first-class racing stable, Zayat also plans to get involved in breeding. Hip No. 7, a half-brother to New York-bred gate-to-wire Mike Lee Stakes winner Multiplication and out of multiple stakes winner Tricky Move ($112,956), by Tricky Creek, was bred by Becky Thomas and was foaled at Lakland North, LLC in Hudson that Thomas owns with Lewis Lakin -- where Freud stands. The bay colt was consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent III and had been purchased at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2005 July yearling sale for $195,000 by Jack Goldthorpe of Waterville Insurance and Bloodstock Services in Lexington, Kentucky and former Duke All-American and NBA player Bobby Hurley. Lakland Farm had purchased Tricky Move for $13,000 at Keeneland's 2000 November sale when she was carrying Multiplication, who was her first offspring to race. At the Monday, January 30 pre-sale under tack show, Hip No. 7 had worked a furlong in 10 2/5 seconds. Buyer Zayat also went to $190,000 to acquire New York-bred Hip No. 119, a colt by Phone Trick - Meadow Dream, by Meadowlake, consigned by Leprechaun Racing Agent, which had purchased the colt for $95,000 at the OBS 2005 August yearling sale. Bred by sales agent Nick de Meric and foaled at Sue and Gary Lundy's Cedar Ridge Farm in Pine Plains, this bay colt is a half-brother to New York-bred 2005 juvenile stakes winner Little Miss Zip ($130,145), who is stakes-placed Meadow Dream's first offspring to race. Meadow Dream is a half-sister to Grade 2 record-setter Forty One Carats ($828,843) and to the winning dam of 2005 juvenile stakes winner What's Your Edge. Hip No. 119 had worked a furlong in 10 3/5 seconds at the Monday, January 30 under tack show. Selling for $150,000 to trainer Christopher Paasch, agent, was New York-bred Hip No. 25, a colt by Silver Charm - Ziggaraut, by A. P Jet, consigned by Paul Sharp (Agent I), who had purchased the colt for $50,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2005 Saratoga preferred New York-bred yearling sale. Bred by Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm and Deln Ltd. and foaled at Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag, this colt turned in one of two 21 1/5 quarter-mile workouts at the under tack shows, recording that clocking on Sunday, February 5 after having gone in 22-flat the previous Monday. He is the first offspring produced from New York-bred Ziggaraut, whose sire, A. P Jet, stands at Sugar Maple Farm, and he initially had been sold for $27,000 as a weanling at Keeneland's 2004 November sale. Ziggaraut's dam is graded-placed English and U.S. winner Pamzig, by Danzig. Buyer Paasch, a New York native based in California, has trained two New York-bred graded winners for Lorraine and Rod Rodriguez of Cottonwood, California: Roman Dancer and Bossanova -- both purchased at Florida two-year-old sales -- the former for $150,000 in 2001 and the latter for $220,000 in 2002. In addition to the aforementioned $400,000 colt, another Becky Thomas-bred son of Freud went for $140,000, Hip No. 70, a New York-bred purchased by the Dogwood Stable, Inc. in Aiken, South Carolina that is managed by Cot Campbell. This May-foaled colt has six winning half-siblings, including Puerto Rican champion half-brother Erv's Line ($240,325) and two other stakes-placed half-brothers, and his dam is stakes winner Erv's Duck ($129,693), a daughter of Hagley that Lakland Farm had purchased for $35,000 at an OBS 1999 October mixed sale. Consigned by Leprechaun Racing, Agent (also consignor of the aforementioned Hip No. 119), which had purchased him for $100,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2005 Saratoga preferred New York-bred yearling sale, Hip No. 70 had worked a furlong in 10 3/5 at the Monday, January 30 under tack show. Selling for $135,000 to Thomas A. Moore, who has a Manhattan address on Broadway, was New York-bred Hip No. 31, a colt by Three Wonders - Arden Village, by Miswaki, consigned by Nick de Meric, Agent I. Bred by the Hidden Point Farm, Inc. that is managed by Barry Long in Ocala, Florida and foaled at Jo Ann Finley's Fawn Ridge Farm in Hudson, this colt had been sold for $70,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2005 Saratoga preferred New York-bred yearling sale. His dam, who is out of graded winner Summer Matinee ($277,870), had been purchased for only $5,000 at Keeneland's 2002 November sale before her first starter had won. This chestnut colt had worked a furlong in 10 2/5 on January 30 and a quarter-mile in 21 3/5 on February 5. Selling for $120,000 to retired New York Stock Exchange member Ralph Evans of Greenwich, Connecticut was Hip No. 66, a filly by Graeme Hall - Dither, by Housebuster, consigned by Moonshadow Farm (Mark and Tina Casse), Agent. Bred by and foaled at Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds North, LLC in Stillwater, this chestnut filly has three older half-siblings, all fillies and all winners, including New York-bred Swither ($153,846), who was a juvenile stakes winner outside of state-bred company in 2004. Buyer Evans, who has campaigned such standouts as Grade 2-winning filly March Magic ($638,290) and Grade 3 winner Free of Love ($556,410), also is the co-breeder of Lauren Evans' recent New York-bred Aqueduct winner, Quayle. Dam Dither, whom Sez Who Thoroughbreds had purchased for $45,000 at Keeneland's 2001 January sale when she was carrying her first foal and first winner, is a half-sister to three six-figure-earning stakes winners, including graded winner Move ($260,093). Hip No. 66 is a late-foaled filly (April 26, 2004), but she worked a furlong in 10 3/5 on January 30 and a quarter-mile in 22 1/5 on February 5. Dogwood Stable also went to $100,000 to purchase New York-bred Hip No. 12, a daughter of Phone Trick - Valid Dorothy, by Valid Appeal, consigned by Crupi's New Castle Farm, Agent, and bred by Barbara Brewer at her Onteora Farm in Canandaigua. This bay filly -- named I Can Hear You Now -- had worked one of the nine fastest furlongs (10 1/5) at the January 30 under tack show. She had been a $39,000 weanling at the New York Breeders' Sales Company's 2004 September mixed sale in Saratoga Springs and a $55,000 purchase by Crupi's New Castle Farm at Fasig-Tipton's 2005 Saratoga preferred New York-bred yearling sale from the consignment of Harry L. Landry Bloodstock, Agent. From the second New York-conceived crop of the late Phone Trick, who had stood four seasons at Dr. Jonathan Davis's Milfer Farm in Unadilla prior to his 2005 death at age 23, this filly's 10-year-old dam, Valid Dorothy ($105,941), was a three-time winner and open stakes-placed at Aqueduct. Valid Dorothy had been held in high enough regard to have sold for $125,000 at an OBS 2000 October mixed sale when she was carrying her first foal. |
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8, 2006
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With New York's generous 2006 state-bred stakes schedule still yet to commence, 13 New York-breds already have won or placed in black-type events outside of state-bred company, highlighted by the one-two finish of MAGNOLIA JACKSON and Speed Bag in Aqueduct's six-furlong Correction Handicap on Saturday, February 4. The venerable (66th running) Correction for older fillies and mares -- previously captured by such stars as Hall of Fame members Ta Wee and Affectionately -- was a veritable showcase for New York-breds this year, as they comprised four of the event's six starters (two-thirds) and earned 87 percent its purse money. New York-breds in the Correction also qualified their connections for an additional $15,623.03 in owner, breeder, and stallion awards. Magnolia Jackson's three-quarter-length tally increased her earnings to $166,147 with a record of 5 - 1 - 0 in eight starts for Ted Taylor of Birmingham, Alabama, who had purchased the now four-year-old filly for $51,000 at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's 2004 May sale of two-year-olds in training in Timonium, Maryland. She went off as the 4.30-to-1 second choice, with Speed Bag ($236,559) the fourth choice at 8.60-to-1 and Grade 2 winner Great Intentions -- who finished third -- odds-on at .60-to-1. Magnolia Jackson became the fourth New York-bred open stakes winner of 2006 -- in New York, California, and Florida, dirt and turf. Other New York-breds picking up purse money in the Correction were 2006 open stakes-placed Schemer ($242,657) and 2005 Grade 1 winner Acey Deucey ($384,146). Correction-winning jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr., who was Magnolia Jackson's fifth rider in eight starts, had nothing but praise for his victorious mount and her trainer: "I give all the credit to the filly and Gary (Contessa). We had an outside post, and all I had to do was not get in trouble and not mess it up. She's a really nice filly." Contessa, the New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB) 2004 Trainer of the Year who also conditions two other New York-bred winners on Aqueduct's Saturday card, was even more generous than Arroyo in his assessment of Magnolia Jackson: "I've loved this filly from the first time I saw her. She was in one sale but got hurt after a workout. Then she came back in the May sale (Fasig-Tipton Midlantic), and Ted Taylor and I saw her and we bought her. "The reason she is so lightly raced is that she had problems with her shins early in her career," Contessa continued. "I mean, she must have bucked them three times at least. But I have always felt that she was stakes caliber, and the Correction Handicap proved me right. That was a tough race for the middle of winter at Aqueduct. You had a Grade 1 winner (Acey Deucey) and a Grade 2 winner (favored Great Intentions) in there, so she proved she can race with those kinds of horses. And she's a New York-bred, so we have plenty of options with her, and the sky is the limit." Although Contessa indicated that he is tentatively pointing Magnolia Jackson for Aqueduct's $65,000-added Broadway Handicap at six furlongs for New York-bred fillies and mares on Sunday, March 12, he is considering a plethora of possibilities: "You're going to see her in a lot of open stakes, too. I am really excited about this filly." And for now, another 2006 open sprint stakes-winning New York-bred older filly/mare, Behaving Badly, is still on the West Coast. The third Aqueduct Saturday winner trained by Contessa and bred by Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds (North) of Stillwater, Magnolia Jackson had been sold by her breeder for $25,000 to James Layden of Layden Training Stable in South Carolina at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2003 August yearling sale. Layden subsequently had sold her to Taylor at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic auction. The bay filly is among three starters and three winners produced from Just a Bullet, who as a two-year-old had won on dirt and placed third in a turf stakes at Meadowlands. Taylor also owns the Correction winner's Aqueduct-winning half-sister, Magnolia's Sister, who broke her maiden as a two-year-old this past December. Dam Just a Bullet is a full sister to Grade 2-placed winner American Bullet ($159,840) and a half-sister to multiple stakes-placed winner Pro Tank Plus and had been purchased by Simon's New Dawn Stud for $20,000 at Keeneland's 2000 November sale when she was carrying her first winner. Among the seven New York-bred winners at Aqueduct on Saturday, February 4 were three open company winners, which in addition to Magnolia Jackson included James Gutierrez's rapidly-improving six-year-old gelding, MELODEEMAN, who led all the way in a 5-1/2-length romp in an open $45,000 N1X allowance at six furlongs. Ridden for the third time in competition -- second consecutive -- by NYTB 2003 Jockey of the Year Jose Santos but overlooked as the 6.30-to-1 third choice among eight starters, Melodeeman increased his earnings by $27,000 to $156,097 while improving his record to 4 - 4 - 1 in 21 starts. It was his second consecutive win under Santos at Aqueduct in 15 days but his first-ever effort outside state-bred company on a main track (three weeks after breaking his maiden, Melodeeman had jumped two condition levels to run in an open N1X allowance on Belmont turf). Trained under the name of Jamie Gutierrez and bred by Willie G. Riley, the bay gelding did not start until his four-year-old season in 2004. Other New York-bred Saturday allowance winners at Aqueduct were Maggi Moss's WHAT'S YOUR POINT in a restricted N2X allowance/optional claiming contest for older fillies and mares at six furlongs and Philip Marcantonio's NARAGANSETT in a restricted N1X allowance for four-year-olds and up going a mile and a sixteenth. What's Your Point -- one of three Saturday Aqueduct winners bred by Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds and trained by Contessa -- was favored at 1.70-to-1 among eight starters and increased her earnings by $27,000 to $143,880 while improving her record to 3 - 5 - 2 in 15 starts. It was the four-year-old filly's first outing under jockey Eibar Coa. Naragansett, the 20.70-to-1 eighth choice among nine starters while being race-ridden for the third consecutive time in 2006 by apprentice jockey Randall Toups, whose allowance is seven pounds, increased his earnings by $26,400 to $64,779 while improving his record to two wins and three seconds in 20 starts. The five-year-old gelding is by the late New York stallion Personal Flag and is a half-brother to New York-bred multiple stakes-placed Beijio ($208,494), being among five winners produced from open allowance winner Kristening, who also raced for Marcantonio -- although Naragansett was bred by Mark Scharfman's Three Aces Stable. Gaining her first black-type with a third-placing in Evangeline Downs' unrestricted Sweetheart Stakes for older fillies and mares going a mile on Friday evening, February 3 was Robcat Racing Stable's New York-bred Carolyn Frances, whose earnings climbed to $173,380 off a record of 6 - 7 - 8 in 32 starts. The six-year-old mare was coming off consecutive allowance victories at Evangeline Downs in December and January and was favored at 2.80-to-1 among nine starters, including four stakes winners, but she raced three wide around both turns after breaking from the eighth post. Although appearing to drop out of contention in the upper stretch, Carolyn Frances angled outside and closed quickly between rivals in the final 50 yards, advancing to within a half-length of the top two finishers -- separated by a nose -- at the wire while leaving three stakes winners in her wake. For the 10th time in the bay mare's last 11 starts, jockey Brian Hernandez was in the irons. Bred by John Hulak Jr., Carolyn Frances is by Personal Flag and is a half-sister to five-time stakes winner Hay Cody ($303,605 and winner on dirt and turf) and to stakes-placed winner Karousel Karen (dam of two stakes-placed winners). Her six winning half-siblings also include Carolyn Hulak's New York-bred Duke's Crossing ($120,314 to early October, 2005), a three-time winning router who scored at Meadowlands this past fall. The dam of Carolyn Frances, Princess Luisa, by Chicago, raced for Carolyn Hulak and won three races at Monmouth and Meadowlands. Carolyn Frances is inbred 3 x 4 to Tom Rolfe through that sire's sons Hoist the Flag (broodmare sire of Personal Flag) and Chicago. New York-bred six-furlong winners at Aqueduct on Sunday, February 5 were Barry Schwartz's homebred SEEKING THE GLORY ($173,161) in a restricted N2X allowance/optional claimer, William Fuccillo's MOTOR CITY MAMA in a restricted N1X allowance for three-year-old fillies, and Winning Move Stable's JET PROSPECTOR ($271,739) in an open claimer. Seeking the Glory and Jet Prospector were both claimed for $25,000 -- the former running for a tag because he was well beyond the restricted N2X condition level, and the latter being haltered off a NYRA win for the second time in 109 days. Seeking the Glory, whose current record is five wins and three seconds in 17 starts, is now owned by Joseph Parisi and trained by Dominick Schettino. Jet Prospector, a five-year-old son of 2005 leading New York sire A. P Jet, has a current record of 8 - 5 - 3 in 22 starts and is now owned by Bruce Golden and trained by Scott Lake. Motor City Mama, making her first start since a bumpy unplaced effort in Aqueduct's East View Stakes for New York-bred juvenile fillies nine weeks earlier, increased her earnings to $57,868 while improving her record to two wins and a third in six starts, which includes an October disqualification from first. Another claimed winning New York-bred -- at Aqueduct on Friday -- was Peter Sr. and Eloise Canzone's BEHRNIK, who was favored at 1.20-to-1 among five six-figure-earning mares going a two-turn mile and was haltered for $35,000 by trainer Bruce Levine on behalf of William Hirsch's Trackmen Golf Club Stable. The six-year-old mare increased her earnings to $354,813 while improving her record to 10 - 4 - 12 in 40 starts, which includes a black-type-qualifying third-placing in Belmont's Joseph A. Gimma Stakes for New York-bred juvenile fillies in 2002. She has now been claimed five times, beginning when her breeder, Manhattan resident John Behrendt, lost her for $35,000 at Belmont on July 1. Behrnik is by Chimes Band and is among three winners produced from New York-bred stakes-placed winner Lady Mondegreen, who is by Personal Flag and is a full sister to the dam of stakes-placed winner Victory Dawn and a half-sister to New York-bred eight-time stakes winner Packett's Landing ($799,769). Last December at Aqueduct, New York-bred stakes-placed winner DON'T KNOCK AMERICA had been claimed for $35,000 from his owner-breeders, Herbert and Carol Schwartz, while winning by daylight as the 11.30-to-1 sixth choice among eight starters going a mile and a sixteenth. Currently owned by Peter O'Connor's Sunny Meadow Farm and trained by Mitchell Friedman, the five-year-old is now eligible for both starter allowance and open N2X allowance competition, and it was under the former condition that he won by daylight going a mile at Aqueduct on Wednesday, February 1. Sent off the 3.45-to-1 third choice among seven New York-breds in a restricted starter allowance and ridden by Norberto Arroyo Jr., under whom he had competed two years earlier, Don't Knock America increased his earnings by $24,000 to $268,001 while improving his record to 6 - 7 - 6 in 34 starts. The bay horse is by Quiet American and is a half-brother to graded-placed winner Knock Again ($373,385), being out of multiple turf graded-placed winner Knocknock ($139,096), by Dynaformer. A good indicator of the competitiveness of New York-bred allowance company was illustrated in a six-furlong race for open $25,000 claimers at Aqueduct on Thursday, February 2, as state-breds comprised six of nine starters (eight wagering interests) and the first three finishers, headed by Gumpster Stable LLC's TIME TO RAP. All six of these New York-breds (including one that was claimed) were -- and still are -- eligible for either restricted N2X or N1X allowance competition, yet their connections opted instead to send them outside of state-bred company. Time to Rap, who was bred by the Pinebourne Farm in Muttontown of Frank and Denise Nastasi, is out of Pinebourne Farm's New York homebred mare, Time to Chat, by Gallant Hour. His sire, Grade 2 winner Silver Music, previously had stood at Pinebourne Farm North in Fort Edward and is standing for 2006 at Joe and Anne McMahon's McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, LLC in Saratoga Springs. Thursday's victory under jockey Eibar Coa marked the five-year-old gelding's first start off a layoff of 286 days, and it increased his earnings to $71,920 while improving his record to three wins and a second in seven starts. The following were New York-bred restricted maiden special winners at Aqueduct from Wednesday through Saturday, February 1-4: Fillies PEACEFUL DAWNAGAIN (by 2-3/4 lengths) and WIDELY ACCLAIMED (by two lengths, at odds-on) on Wednesday; three-year-old CALL ME SPEED (off the also-eligible list, going gate-to-wire from the 12th post) on Thursday; MRS. T K D (three-year-old daughter of New York stallion A. P Jet, gate-to-wire by 5-1/4 lengths out of the 10th post) and four-year-old gelding TAKEMETOSARATOGA on Friday; three-year-old gelding RED ZIPPER (by 3-1/4 lengths, setting all fractions) on Saturday. |
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February
4, 2006
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Ted Taylor's MAGNOLIA JACKSON wore down a resolute Speed Bag in the lane Saturday afternoon to win the 66th running of the $69,745 Correction Handicap by three-quarters of a length. Under jockey Jose Santos, who earlier in the day won his 4,000th race in North America, Speed Bag set an uncontested pace of :22 4/5; :46 2/5 and :58. The front-runner was determined on the lead, but Magnolia Jackson had a clear lane and glided home for the victory in 1:10 1/5 under jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. A four-year-old, New York-bred daughter of Cape Canaveral, Magnolia Jackson returned $10.60 for the fifth victory of her eight-race career. "I give all the credit to the filly and Gary (Contessa)," Arroyo said "We had an outside post, and all I had to do was not get in trouble and not mess it up. She's a really nice filly." It was three lengths back to favored Great Intentions, who checked sharply on the backstretch and checked in third. Schemer, Midtown Miss and Acey Deucey, a Grade 1 winner last year, completed the order of finish. |
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February
1, 2006
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NY-breds showcased on both East & West coasts
by Rab Hagin |
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