Dr. V's Magic outdoes big brother ('06) in 2007 Empire Classic upset by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

DR. V'S MAGIC #9

A year ago when then four-year-old older brother Organizer was pulling off a 22.50-to-1 shocker in Belmont's 2006 Empire Classic, that gelding's two-year-old full sibling, future 2007 Empire Classic winner DR. V'S MAGIC, was more than two months from starting, but the "little brother" now looks significantly more talented. Although Majesty Stud's latest homebred Empire Classic winner was not as overlooked as his brother, he still was dismissed as the 15.40-to-1 sixth choice among nine in the $250,000 event for New York-breds going a one-turn mile and an eighth on New York Showcase Saturday. Some handicappers are obviously lamenting the missed "family values" connection, which might have been somewhat attributable to Dr. V's Magic being one of only two three-year-olds (finishing first and last) facing older competition in what was the fastest Empire Classic in seven years. The bay colt will not be overlooked again.

Race-ridden for the fifth time -- third consecutive -- by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, Dr. V's Magic stumbled out of the gate from the outside post and raced in the middle of the pack (fifth place) while in hand to about the three-eighths pole. He then swung wide approaching the stretch and overtook every rival he was trailing within a quarter-mile span, gaining command in mid-stretch and then edging away from his two closest competitors, 5.60-to-1 third choice Who What Win and 10.90-to-1 fifth choice Run Red Run. The three-year-old colt's winning time for the nine furlongs, 1:48.70, beat four-year-old Organizer's winning time in the 2006 Empire Classic by three-quarters (.75) of a second. It was the second stakes-winning ride on the New York Showcase Day card for Desormeaux, who has now piloted the Raffie's Majesty colt to two stakes victories at Belmont in 2007. Following Dr. V's Magic's first stakes victory in the one-mile New York Stallion Spectacular Bid Stakes for New York-conceived three-year-olds on June 3, the colt had encountered starting gate problems in four subsequent outings, and both Desormeaux and winning trainer Dominic Galluscio had worked extensively to correct that situation.

Photo: Adam Coglianese

DR. V'S MAGIC #9

"I got stone left in his last three (previous) starts," recalled Desormeaux. "I finally figured out what he was doing last time: He literally tries to get into a fight with the starter at the starting gate. In communication with the starter, we decided we weren't going to have a man in there. He broke in front, and I had to rein him in. That was the difference: I had so much horse. When the horse inside (four-year-old Who What Win) made a move on him, I thought I was beat. He then re-broke and bore down for the wire."

Trainer Galluscio, who a year earlier had saddled Organizer for that gelding's first stakes victory in the 2006 Empire Classic, elaborated on the starting gate preparations: "We worked with Roy (Williamson, NYRA starter) and the assistant starters, and it really paid off," Galluscio explained. "He didn't like having a man in the gate; he would shy away from the assistant at the start. We worked on that, and it really paid off. The start really hurt him in the Albany (in which Dr. V's Magic had placed second among seven). The distance is not a problem for this pedigree. I was a little bit frustrated with him after his last race, but then I figured it had to be the gate. You know how they used to call Reggie Jackson 'Mr. October' If I win this race again next year, maybe they will call me 'Mr. October.'"

Victory in the Empire Classic increased the earnings for Dr. V's Magic by $150,000 to $273,520 and improved his record to 3 - 1 - 3 in nine starts beginning with a 2-3/4-length winning debut going a mile and 70 yards on Aqueduct's inner track on New Year's Day 2007. Dr. V's Magic and Organizer are homebreds for the Majesty Stud of Digby Barrios of Ridgefield, Connecticut, which also is a major participant in the partnership that owns their sire, New York Thoroughbred Breeders 1998 Champion Three-Year-Old Male Raffie's Majesty, standing at Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag. In addition to Organizer (now $433,221) and Dr. V's Magic, Raffie's Majesty also has sired New York Stallion Cab Calloway Stakes winner Bo Bo's Vice ($249,549) and recent (September 15) four-length Genesee Valley Breeders' Handicap winner Mt. Majesty ($204,376). Dr. V's Magic is a half-brother to stakes-placed Dauntless Hero and to six-figure-earner Evening Edition, being the fifth offspring and fifth winner produced from Treasure Always, who is a half-sister to two stakes winners and had been purchased for $65,000 at Keeneland's 2000 November sale while carrying Evening Edition.

Al Basha closes through cushy sod to score first stakes win in Mohawk by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

AL BASHA #9

In his first effort over less-than firm turf, Bembridge Farm's three-year-old AL BASHA rallied from last out of the eighth post among nine in New York Showcase Day's mile and an eighth Mohawk Handicap for three-year-olds and up, scoring his first stakes victory 34 days after a runner-up stakes debut. The gray/roan colt had missed by a nose to multiple stakes-winning six-year-old Dave in Belmont's $112,800 Ashley T. Cole Handicap over the same grass course and distance on September 16 and was sent off the 6.80-to-1 fifth choice in the $150,000 Mohawk. He was race-ridden for the second consecutive time by jockey Rafael Bejarano, who understood his mount's abilities and had an astute assessment of the chief competition: the Mohawk's only other three-year-old starter, 9.70-to-1 seventh choice Spurred, who had placed a head behind Al Basha in the Cole. Spurred advanced from next-to-last to gain a brief lead inside the final furlong before being overtaken by Al Basha on his outside, as those two somewhat overlooked late-running three-year-olds finished with daylight between themselves and the rest of the field.

Front-running 3.40-to-1 second choice Red Zipper faded to fourth in the final furlong, 6.10-to-1 fourth choice Dave finished fifth over the soft going, and 2.55-to-1 favorite Juror, who had scored impressive allowance victories on firm Saratoga and Belmont turf in August and September, tired to last. The Mohawk marked the third winning ride -- two in stakes -- on Showcase Day for Bejarano, who clearly had the competition wired in terms of what to expect: "I was trying to follow the 10-horse (Spurred) because it looked like he had a lot of horse," explained Bejarano. "The pace was slow, but my horse was pretty comfortable. He really kicked on strongly, and I think he will be even better next year. This might make up for his tough loss last time out (in the Ashley T. Cole)."

Winning trainer Angel Penna Jr., the New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB) 1995 Co-Trainer of the Year who has now saddled two Mohawk winners, had worried that the event would be switched to dirt: "I was betting my life that the race would have come off the turf yesterday," remarked Penna. "But I walked the course this morning (following more than two inches of rain that fell at Belmont the previous afternoon and evening), and it was not bad at all. This is a very good horse. He's never been off the board (in New York, with a rider up), and he just got beat a nose by one of the best New York-breds (Dave in the Cole). The longer he goes, the better he'll be. I think he'll be much better at a mile and a quarter. I'll probably give him a little break and bring him back in Florida."

Al Basha's Mohawk victory increased his earnings by $90,000 to $220,660 and improved his record to 4 - 2 - 1 in nine starts. The three-year-old colt's only off-the-board outings have been a lackluster performance over Keeneland's somewhat sandy-type turf course in April and a "lost rider" performance when he had veered in the stretch while leading in a Belmont turf allowance in May. In four starts since those back-to-back mishaps, Al Basha has won twice by daylight margins and had two narrow misses in runner-up efforts.

A $21,000 weanling purchase at Keeneland's 2004 November sale, Al Basha races for the Bembridge Farm of Ahmad Chatila and was bred by the NYTB 2002 Breeder of the Year, Patricia Staskowski Purdy of Ivy League Farm in Ithaca. The son of English multiple Group 1-winning miler Aljabr is the third starter and third New York-bred multiple winner produced from three-time main track winner Spectacularcrystal, a daughter of the late New York-based stallion and Hall of Fame member Spectacular Bid. Spectacularcrystal had been purchased by Dr. Purdy's husband, Dr. Christopher Purdy (both Purdys have dental doctorates, but Patricia Purdy runs the farm), as a barren mare for $8,200 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales (OBS) Company's 1997 winter mixed sale. Spectacularcrystal is a half-sister to stakes winner Meru ($360,468) and to the winning dams of multiple stakes winners Steady Flame (three-time champion sprinter in Hong Kong) and Mandalero ($210,044).

Rewrite rallies for close-finishing Ticonderoga victory by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

REWRITE #3

In eighth place at the three-eighths pole while a half-length off 2.50-to-1 favorite and 2007 graded winner J'ray, Rewrite rallied four-wide approaching the stretch, advancing past six rivals within a quarter-mile span to reach the throatlatch of the new mid-stretch leader, 9.60-to-1 fifth choice Latitude Forty. She battled to almost a half-length margin over that rival at the wire and held off a late inside challenge by 2007 open Belmont stakes winner and 3.15-to-1 third choice Factual Contender, who placed a neck back and a head in front of Latitude Forty. Top-weighted J'ray finished fourth, and 7.80-to-1 fourth choice Half Heaven, who last winter and spring had practically owned Turfway Park's synthetic surface (winning three stakes there and placing second in another) was fifth -- followed by five starters with double-digit odds.

It was Rewrite's first victory on a turf course rated wetter than "good" and her first stakes score on anything other than firm grass, and it increased her earnings by $90,000 to $291,155 while improving her record to 6 - 1 - 2 in 12 starts. Jockey Gomez, who had two winning turf rides on the Showcase Day card, acknowledged the footing was cushy but dismissed it as presenting a problem: "It was pretty soft, but she seemed to be handling it," Gomez reported. "We were inside most of the way, but I got her outside so she would be in the clear. I thought it could be firmer out there, but it wasn't. She was solid after that. She gave me everything she had. She can be a little strong at times, but today, she was perfect."

Rewrite is a homebred for the one-horse Amherst Stable of sisters Karen and Kathy Johnson, whose late father, Hall of Fame trainer Philip G. (P.G.) Johnson, had decided on the mating of Amherst Stable's homebred multiple graded-placed Fickle Friends ($254,130) with Grade 1 winner Editor's Note -- resulting in Rewrite. "She was the last horse he (P. G. Johnson) arranged pedigree for," recalled Kathy Johnson, "so, this is very special.

"Our trainer (Christophe Clement) set us up for defeat in the paddock," continued Johnson. "The condition of the turf, she wouldn't be able to close (etc., etc.). He said if it were a mile on firm ground, he'd guarantee she would win."

Winning trainer Clement, who had sent out homebred Terreavigne to win the 1998 Ticonderoga, gladly conceded that his pre-race concerns never materialized: "Everything went well today," confirmed Clement. "She got a great ride. It's wonderful because of the story behind the filly: She's owned by P.G. Johnson's daughters; I am absolutely thrilled for them. She's been running well all year long. She's a very consistent filly. I wasn't sure if she would handle the soft turf, but obviously, she did."

A stakes winner on Belmont turf 13 months earlier and winner of Saratoga's 2007 Dinner Diamond Stakes for state-bred fillies and mares against competition that included two graded winners, a four-time open stakes winner, and New York's fastest seven-furlong female for 2007, Rewrite is Fickle Friends' first offspring. Fickle Friends, who scored six of her seven wins on turf, is a half-sister to Amherst Stable's homebred Volponi ($3,187,232), who won the 2002 Breeders' Cup Classic by 6-1/2 lengths at 43.50-to-1. The dam of Fickle Friends and Volponi is New York-bred Prom Knight, whom Philip Johnson had purchased from Sugar Maple Farm for $8,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 1993 Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Rewrite's co-owner-breeder, Karen Johnson, had a picture of the filly -- taken a few days after the chestnut lawn-lover was born -- hanging in her office.

Karakorum Starlet leads at all calls in hard-fought front-running Iroquois win by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

KARAKORUM STARLET #6

Running at her favorite track at what is probably her favorite distance and utilizing her favorite front-running style, Karakorum Farm's KARAKORUM STARLET led at all calls to win Showcase Day's seven-furlong Iroquois Handicap for New York-bred fillies and mares, scoring her second stakes victory in 61 days. With so much going for her, it was surprising that the four-year-old filly was the 14.90-to-1 fifth choice among nine wagering interests and 10 starters, but that assessment might have resulted from her having finished behind at least four Iroquois rivals in three of four recent Saratoga-Belmont stakes outings. Only 24.25-to-1 seventh choice Mama Theresa, who clearly prefers longer distances, was able to mount a serious challenge to Karakorum Starlet, but that developed into a ding-dong stretch battle to the wire.

Breaking from the seventh post in her first outing under jockey Garrett Gomez, Karakorum Starlet set ambitious splits of 22.98 and 23.25 over the drying-out "good" track, holding off early challenges from 1.40-to-1 top-weighted favorite Ice Cool Kitty and 14.40-to-1 fourth choice Scatkey to the stretch. Overtaking those two and issuing a fresh challenge was the smallish, quick-striding Mama Theresa, who got to within Karakorum Starlet's throatlatch at mid-stretch but could never get by the larger filly. Karakorum Starlet capitalized on her longer stride to keep her head in front, winning by a neck with another 6-1/2 lengths separating the tenacious Mama Theresa from the rest of the field. For jockey Gomez, it was the first of three winning rides on the Showcase Day card -- two aboard New York-bred fillies in stakes events -- and his second consecutive win in the Iroquois, in which he had guided No Reason to victory a year earlier.

Gomez, who seems to have a knack for fillies and/or turf regardless of whether his mounts prefer front-running or coming from behind, apparently realized immediately that Karakorum Starlet is competitive on the lead: "When I moved at her a little bit, she really didn't go anywhere," Gomez explained. "She quickened for me a little off the turn, and then kind of idled. Once horses started taking runs at her, she jumped right back in the bridle. She's a tough mare who stays."

Winning trainer Jeff Odintz acknowledged that the Iroquois had unfolded ideally for Karakorum Starlet: "Speed has been pretty good today, and she's an easy horse to ride," observed Odintz. "You just have to let her run and do her thing. Today, she ran the way she wants to run. I was a little worried when I saw Mama Theresa come on the outside, but she was able to hang on."

Winner of Saratoga's six-furlong Union Avenue Stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares on August 20, Karakorum Starlet increased her earnings by $75,000 to $307,324 as a result of her victory in the $125,000 Iroquois, improving her record to 6 - 6 - 1 in 20 starts. The big chestnut filly had been a $13,000 purchase out of Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2004 October yearling sale and races for the Karakorum Farm of racing partnerships managed by William DiScala, with offices in Rosedale, Long Island. She is the fifth offspring, fifth winner (four of them New York-breds), and second $200K-plus-earner produced from her New York-bred sprint-and-route-winning dam, Amaryllis, but is the first winner bred from Amaryllis by Jim Jam Thoroughbreds and Marvin Little Jr., who had consigned Karakorum Starlet to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky auction. The daughter of Skip Away descends from a female family that has produced New York-bred stakes winners for three consecutive generations. Amaryllis, by the late leading New York sire Cormorant, is a full sister to graded winner and NYTB 1994 Horse of the Year Mr. Angel ($378,662); Amaryllis' dam, Cupid's Play (by New York-bred national champion Silent Screen), is a half-sister to 1981 Bouwerie Stakes winner Cupid's Way.

Photo: Adam Coglianese

FEROCIOUS FIRES #3

Unraced for 49 weeks after winning Aqueduct's seven-furlong Mr. Leader Stakes outside state-bred competition last November, undefeated four-year-old FEROCIOUS FIRES was the only starter among nine in New York Showcase Day's six-furlong Hudson Handicap that had not raced since Memorial Day, and he retained his unbeaten status through a disqualification. The chestnut colt was the 5-to-1 third choice among nine in the $125,000 Hudson for state-bred three-year-olds and up with jockey Ramon Dominguez -- under whom he had won first-out by eight lengths at Aqueduct as a three-year-old in February of 2006 -- again on board.

Pinched back after breaking from the eighth post, Ferocious Fires was suddenly further back than at any time in his career -- seventh and almost eight lengths behind front-running three-year-old favorite Stormin Normandy (1.75-to-1), who gained a three-length lead off a 22.18 opening quarter and then steadily decelerated. As subsequent splits went in 22.85 and 24.38, Ferocious Fires threaded between rivals and rallied wide to close on a tiring Stormin Normandy, who drifted out through the stretch and carried his older rival with him, reaching the wire with a neck advantage in 1:09.41. A stewards' inquiry was posted immediately thereafter, and the inquiry resulted in Stormin Normandy -- who was making his stakes debut and facing older competition for the first time -- being disqualified from first to second, elevating Ferocious Fires to that four-year-old's sixth victory in six starts.

Winning jockey Dominguez, who had last race-ridden Ferocious Fires 20 months earlier, thought his mount could have finished first had he not been impeded: "It's one of those things when you are a jockey, but the feeling I had was that it was going to be pretty close," Dominguez observed. "But I thought toward the end I could get up. I could see Stormin Normandy slowing down, and that's when he started to drift out. As I got closer, the horse (Stormin Normandy) drifted out, and I had to stop riding. His (Ferocious Fires) effort today was real good. He closed beautifully. He's a real nice horse."

Winning trainer Anthony Dutrow, whose brother, NYTB 2002 Trainer of the Year Richard Dutrow Jr., conditions Stormin Normandy, did not exhibit the customary enthusiasm of a stakes-winning trainer when the result is clear-cut and not determined by the stewards: "Officially, he's still undefeated," acknowledged the elder (Anthony) Dutrow brother. "He had a hind ankle problem that needed time. But obviously, he came back real strong. It's a little unfortunate that you ever have to win by disqualification, especially when you add my brother into the mix. It makes things uncomfortable. I don't want to take anything away from either horse. My horse ran super coming back off the layoff, and Ricky's horse (Stormin Normandy) ran great against older horses for the first time. Both horses deserve a lot of recognition."

Now with earnings of $229,350 and back-to-back stakes victories as well as wins at all three NYRA facilities (including Aqueduct's outer and inner main tracks), Ferocious Fires races for Sanford Goldfarb of Old Westbury in partnership with Ira Davis and William Vidro. The unbeaten colt was bred by Goldfarb, who also is one of the owners of two-year-old filly Expect the End, winner of Showcase Day's opening Maid of the Mist Stakes, and raced previous Hudson winners Stalwart Member (2000) and Well Fancied (2002 -- owned in partnership). Richard Dutrow Jr. trained Well Fancied.

Ferocious Fires is a full brother to another Goldfarb New York homebred winner, Frank's Fuse ($107,131), being the second offspring and second six-figure-earner produced from six-time winner Flag On the Gate. Ferocious Fires' sire, Grade 1 winner Lite the Fuse, also has sired Goldfarb's New York homebred Ferocious Won ($289,247), winner of two legs of The OTBs' Big Apple Triple in 2006. Although the son of two sprinters, Ferocious Fires' pedigree has noticeable routing influences: 1) he is distantly inbred (4 x 5) to classic winner and sire Tom Rolfe; 2) his dam is inbred 4 x 4 to stamina sire Princequillo; 3) his dosage profile is a relatively long-winded 6-7-6-2-1.

Photo: Adam Coglianese

EXPECT THE END #2

Confirming beyond a doubt that she is ready to extend to a mile and beyond, top-weighted EXPECT THE END romped to a front-running 5-3/4-length victory in Belmont's one-turn mile Maid of the Mist Stakes for New York-bred two-year-old fillies in the first race on New York Showcase Saturday. The dark bay front-runner was allowed to go off as the 2.85-to-1 second choice among seven with jockey Rafael Bejarano on board for the second consecutive time in competition and narrowly led four close pursuers following a 23.65 opening quarter over the "good" going. Two of those pursuers stayed within a half-length after a 23.95 second quarter-mile, including 1.50-to-1 favorite Meriwether Jessica, but Expect the End led by daylight approaching the stretch and then pulled away, scoring her fourth victory in five starts and third consecutive stakes tally in 54 days.

It was the first of three winning rides -- two in stakes -- on the Showcase Day card for Bejarano, whose earlier observations about Expect the End were confirmed following his second front-running stakes trip aboard the filly in 27 days: "This horse always breaks really fast," Bejarano explained. "I just wanted to see how she would break, and with the first couple of jumps, she made the lead pretty easy. After that, I was playing with my horse, and she was fine. I had plenty of horse and at around the three-eighths pole, I asked her and she finished up good."

Winning trainer Richard Dutrow, the NYTB 2002 Trainer of the Year, agreed with Bejarano that Expect the End was well within herself and was the overlooked class in the Maid of the Mist: "They were hanging out around her, but the jockey said she was really relaxed," observed Dutrow. "He thought he had horse the whole way. I thought they had us to beat going into the race. I don't understand how she paid $7.70 (on a $2 win wager) in here. I was confident going into the race because she had been training so well."

Owned by the IEAH (International Equine Acquisitions Holdings) Stables managed by Michael Iavarone, Sanford Goldfarb of Old Westbury, Michael Dubb of Jericho, and Irwin Goldfarb's Cast of Characters, Expect the End increased her earnings by $60,000 to $198,380 with her victory in the $100,000 Maid of the Mist. She has earned $186,600 of that bankroll since being claimed for $30,000 by Goldfarb -- also breeder and one of the owners of Hudson Handicap winner Ferocious Fires on the Showcase Day card -- while winning her muddy May 16 debut at Churchill Downs. Goldfarb et al's new claim had placed second 74 days later in Monmouth's 5-1/2-furlong Colleen Stakes before scoring back-to-back wins in Saratoga's six-furlong Jena Jena (by 13-1/2 lengths) and Belmont's seven-furlong Joseph A. Gimma Stakes (narrowly beating Meriwether Jessica) on September 23 -- the last two both restricted events. She joins NYTB juvenile filly champions Aristie (1996), Beautiful America (2002), and Capeside Lady (2003, and also a Grade 2 winner as well as NYTB champion in 2004 and 2005) as the only winners of both the Gimma and Maid of the Mist. Bejarano, who had been on board for the Gimma, is the only jockey who has ridden Expect the End twice in her five starts.

Expect the End is the second Maid of the Mist winner in three years bred by the NYTB 2005-2006 Breeder of the Year, the Sez Who Thoroughbreds, Inc. in Stillwater that is owned by Richard Simon of Aventura, Florida -- also breeder of the event's 2005 winner, Cinderella's Dream. The Precise End filly is the second offspring and second multiple winner bred in New York by Sez Who Thoroughbreds from Expect Awhile, who is by Valid Expectations and is inbred 3 x 4 to Iron Ruler. Expect Awhile is a half-sister to Puerto Rican champion Formerly Diablo ($388,964) and to other multiple stakes winners Vilhelm ($330,229) and Urus (dam of stakes winner Adobe Gold).

Giant Moon shows giant resolve in near-legendary Sleepy Hollow by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

GIANT MOON #4

Even with his glittering pedigree and impressive September 12 Belmont debut, Albert Fried Jr.'s GIANT MOON was considered a level below odds-on and previously unbeaten Big Truck in Belmont's increasingly-prestigious Sleepy Hollow Stakes on New York Showcase Saturday, but Fried's homebred outfought the favorite and another challenger as well. Sent off the 3.90-to-1 second choice among seven New York-bred juveniles in the $100,000 one-turn mile event with Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux race-riding him for the second consecutive time, the bay colt vied for the early lead with 12.30-to-1 fourth choice Be Bullish. The latter -- despite starting horrendously -- gained a half-length lead from the inside post in the opening quarter-mile but was headed going into the turn by Giant Moon and top-weighted Big Truck (.30-to-1) from the outside post, after which those two continued dueling around Belmont's big turn. That turn again seemed to confuse Big Truck, who -- just as he had done while winning Belmont's seven-furlong Bertram F. Bongard Stakes 27 days earlier -- switched to his right lead early, but this time carrying five more pounds (122) and going another furlong. Giant Moon narrowly led the favorite to the quarter-mile pole before edging further ahead, and in the final furlong a new outside challenger loomed in 30.25-to-1 fifth choice Coastal Drive, who had been claimed while breaking his maiden by 6-1/2 lengths at Monmouth in August.

At the wire, Giant Moon had a head margin over Coastal Drive, who is from the first crop of New York-based Griffinite, with Big Truck -- one of three first-crop juveniles by New York-based Hook and Ladder to win or place second in stakes -- another neck back. Jockey Desormeaux, who later would win the Empire Classic aboard Dr. V's Magic but was one pound overweight (at 116) for the Sleepy Hollow (conceding a pound advantage to Coastal Drive), marveled at his mount's laid-back resolve: "The old man (Giant Moon) makes you earn your keep," Desormeaux mused. "He just does enough. I'm surrounded by horses on the backside, and he's got both ears forward. When you call on him, there's an ounce left -- there's always an ounce left."

Winning trainer Richard Schosberg was even more pleasantly confounded by the insouciant colt's two-for-two juvenile record: "I was surprised when he won first-time-out because he just didn't train that precociously," Schosberg recalled. "I told Mr. (Albert) Fried to not even bother to come out for the maiden race. After that race, I told him, 'I'm glad you're mad at me.' The only reasons I considered him for this race were his pedigree and the fact that he never trains that good. It's not that he doesn't do anything right in the mornings; he's just a loafer. I tried to get some bottom into him to get the mile (distance), but he really only wants to work in 49 and change. His pedigree came out today, and his class came out today. I think we're going to have a real nice three-year-old on our hands. We might run once more this year."

Victory in the Sleepy Hollow -- won last year by 2007 Mike Lee Stakes and New York Derby winner Chief's Lake, in 2005 by eventual Grade 2 winner Sharp Humor, and in 2003 and 2004 by future Grade 1 winners Funny Cide and Friends Lake -- increased Giant Moon's earnings to $87,600. Bred and owned by Fried of Buttonwood Farm in Rhinebeck, who was named Outstanding New York Breeder for 2002 by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Giant's Causeway colt is the first offspring produced from Fried's stakes-winning New York homebred, Moonlightandbeauty ($228,053). Fried had purchased Moonlightandbeauty's dam, future Grade 2 juvenile winner Stolen Beauty ($303,894), for $30,000 at Keeneland's 1990 September yearling sale. Upon learning that the dam of Stolen Beauty -- a mare named Finally Found -- was being offered at Keeneland's 1992 January mixed sale, Fried had purchased that mare for $70,000 and subsequently bred Grade 2 stakes record-setter and NYTB 2002 Champion Turf Male Finality ($375,075) from her. New York-bred Finality is currently the leading first-crop sire standing in Canada with two juvenile stakes winners and two more stakes-placed two-year-olds already from his first crop.

Cute Cognac captures Office Miss for 3rd consecutive win of 2007 by Rab Hagin

Photo: Adam Coglianese

CUTE COGNAC #8

Improving dramatically despite shortening up in distance, Parting Glass Stable's homebred CUTE COGNAC left no doubt that she is for real in her first stakes outing, Belmont's overnight $78,000 Office Miss Stakes for New York-bred three-year-old fillies going a virtual one-turn turf mile on New York Showcase Saturday. With no three-year-old fillies considered ready to face older distaff competition in Showcase Day's mile and an eighth Ticonderoga Handicap one race later, the Office Miss provided a popular niche for a full field of 12, among which Cute Cognac was the least-experienced 3.95-to-1 third choice.

Breaking from the eighth post with jockey Eibar Coa on board for the fourth consecutive time in competition, Cute Cognac was seventh after the opening quarter-mile but advanced to about 2-1/2 lengths behind mid-stretch contenders Western Sweep and Tishmeister approaching the eighth pole. The bay filly's noticeably faster stride turnover quickly propelled her past those two in the final furlong and put her two lengths clear at the wire, as her main anticipated competition -- favored stakes winner Jesse's Justice (3.25-to-1) and 3.40-to-1 second choice Nedjma -- apparently were hampered by the soft turf. Nothing seems to hamper Cute Cognac, who as the only Office Miss starter with fewer than seven previous outings improved her record to three consecutive wins and two seconds in five starts -- all since early May -- and boosted her earnings by $46,800 to $121,800. She is less than a length away from being undefeated.

Parting Glass Stable's managing owner, bloodstock agent and breeder-boarder Thomas J. Gallo III of Blue Stone Farm in Cambridge, was ecstatic: "This was a banner day for Parting Glass Racing, and it really shows people what can happen when you get involved with a horse partnership," observed Gallo. "We were wowed by Cute Cognac's guts and grit. Watching her win three races in her last three starts -- this time in a stakes race -- is a very sweet reward. This is what it's all about!"

Parting Glass Stable/Racing was founded by Gallo and Joan Desadora (owner of The Parting Glass Pub in Saratoga Springs) in 2001 and now has more than 200 members, with meetings (free and open to the public) held monthly at The Parting Glass Pub and featuring racing industry guest speakers. Cute Cognac, who is conditioned by NYTB 2003 Trainer of the Year Barclay Tagg, also became the second stakes winner produced from the late Adorable Minister with her victory in the Office Miss -- named for Sam Morrell's winner of the 1999 Ticonderoga plus two other stakes. The Hennessy filly's six winning New York-bred half-siblings include 2000 Albany Handicap winner Gratiaen ($288,164), who had not yet become Adorable Minister's first winner in 2000 when Gallo privately purchased that mare, half of which he sold to Dennis and Deborah Petrisak of Honeoye Falls. Mia Gallo and Deborah Petrisak are co-breeders of Cute Cognac. Adorable Minister, who was foundered as a foal and never raced, is a half-sister to New York-bred graded winner Adcat ($435,597) and to California stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Adorydar ($231,425) as well as to the stakes-placed record-setting dam of stakes winner and stakes producer Ruthian ($212,592). Cute Cognac's New York-bred maternal granddam, graded winner Adorable Micol ($249,388 in North America and France), was bred and raced by Gallagher's Stud, which bred Adorable Minister and sold her to Gallo.