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Ice Cool Kitty ices 4th stakes win of '07 going gate-to-wire in Montauk by Rab Hagin
When not encountering impossible situations off minimal rest, Lansdon Robbins III's and Kevin Callahan's ICE COOL KITTY is formidable at seven-to-nine furlongs, which she again displayed on Sunday with a gate-to-wire tally under top weight in Aqueduct's mile and an eighth Montauk Handicap for New York-bred fillies and mares. The four-year-old filly was odds-on (.65-to-1) among nine in the $84,325 two-turn Montauk, for which she was reunited with 2006 Eclipse Award-winning jockey Edgar Prado, who last summer had guided her to victories in Belmont's Wendy Walker and Saratoga's Saratoga Dew Stakes. Breaking on top from the inside post, Ice Cool Kitty led 25.75-to-1 eighth choice Scatkey through quarters of 24.30, 24.21, and 24.69 and then held off that pesky outside pursuer as well as late inside closer Borrowing Base -- both carrying seven pounds less -- through the stretch. At the wire, the Prado-piloted filly held a neck advantage over Scatkey and a half-length margin over Borrowing Base (the 6.20-to-1 second choice), with daylight separating those three and the rest of the field. Winning jockey Prado, who has guided Ice Cool Kitty to stakes victories at a one-turn mile (Wendy Walker) and a two-turn nine furlongs (twice), felt he had to lead from the inside post: "She broke sharp, and there was no way I was taking back from the rail," Prado explained. "Her class came through. She really was working hard the last sixteenth. I thought she was beat, but she dug in. She's a very nice New York-bred." The Montauk marked the first stakes victory at Aqueduct for Ice Cool Kitty, who also has won 2007 stakes for state-bred fillies going seven furlongs at Belmont (Floral Park by 3-1/4 lengths, September 27) and a mile as well as a mile and an eighth (Saratoga Dew) at Saratoga. The chestnut filly is now three-for-three on Aqueduct's outer main track at three different distances and also has won two six-furlong sprints on the Big A's inner track. She has been so impressive that trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. twice has asked the near-impossible: 1) extend to a mile and a quarter in the $1-million Delaware Handicap following her one-mile Wendy Walker win; 2) attempt Belmont's Grade 1 Beldame three days after the Floral Park. Dutrow conceded that the latter effort -- after which Ice Cool Kitty had placed third among 10 as the top-weighted favorite in New York Showcase Day's seven-furlong Iroquois Handicap -- was perhaps unrealistic: "Maybe we did too much with her," acknowledged the New York Thoroughbred Breeders 2002 Trainer of the Year. "We took a shot running in the Grade 1 because the owner wanted to, but I guess it was too quick," surmised Dutrow, who following Showcase Day had given the filly four Aqueduct workouts, concluding with a three-furlong "bullet" drill two days prior to the Montauk. Now with earnings of $367,821 and a record of 9 - 1 - 1 in 16 starts, Ice Cool Kitty has more than justified her $65,000 purchase price at Fasig-Tipton's 2004 Saratoga New York-bred preferred yearling sale, prior to which she had been a $25,000 sales weanling. She is the second Montauk winner bred by William Garbarini of Westfield, New Jersey, who had bred the 1990 winner of that event -- when it was for New York-bred three-year-olds of either gender -- in the name of Quarter Keg Stable. Previous New York-bred Grade 1-winning fillies that have captured the Montauk are Cupecoy's Joy and Grecian Flight (see New York-bred Millionaires Club). Ice Cool Kitty's Sunday victory came in the 14th running of the Montauk Handicap at its current conditions (New York-bred fillies and mares, three-year-olds and up) and distance. The versatile and tenacious campaigner is the first of two named offspring -- both winning and stakes-performing New York-bred fillies -- produced from two-time winner Icy Chris, being a half-sister to 2006 stakes-placed juvenile filly Icy City. Ice Cool Kitty's dam, two-time juvenile winner Icy Chris, is a full sister to stakes winner Cold Snap and a half-sister to Grade 1-winning filly Plenty of Light ($510,420). |
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Rewrite scripts classy top-weighted win in Big A's open Gailey Gailey by Rab Hagin
Confirming the quality of her Ticonderoga win 29 days earlier on New York Showcase Day, Amherst Stable's New York homebred REWRITE rallied from eighth-to-first under top weight among 10 in Aqueduct's open Gailey Gailey Stakes on Sunday for fillies and mares going a two-turn mile over "good" turf. It was the four-year-old filly's first stakes outing against open company, but she went off as the 2.85-to-1 favorite among nine wagering interests in the $78,500 contest with jockey Alan Garcia on board for the first time in competition. A sometime front-runner in her earlier days but a confirmed stretch-closer since June, Rewrite stalked in eighth place for a half-mile while saving ground on the inside before advancing on the second turn to find a wall of competitors ahead of and outside of her entering the stretch. Although New York-bred Now More Than Ever held the lead and the rail position, Garcia exploited the absence of an inside rail through Aqueduct's stretch where the nine-furlong turf chute enters the course, guiding Rewrite to within a half-length of her state-bred rival at mid-stretch. The Amherst Stable homebred kicked in through the final furlong, quickly driving past Now More Than Ready, who was overtaken on the other side by 5.10-to-1 fourth choice Trouble Maker, and prevailing over the latter to score her fourth career stakes victory and third stakes tally since late July. In addition to being Rewrite's first effort in open black-type company, the Gailey Gailey also marked her first career outing at Aqueduct, which offers about eight weeks of turf racing annually at its spring and late fall meets. The chestnut filly has now won grass stakes on firm (twice), soft, and "good" courses, and the Gailey Gailey increased her earnings by $47,100 to $338,255 while improving her record to 7 - 1 - 2 in 13 starts. New York-bred Now More Than Ever, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey's September claiming acquisition at Belmont, placed third as the 20.10-to-1 seventh choice to gain her first black-type credential while boosting her earnings to $200,921 off a record of 5 - 6 - 1 in 18 starts. In addition to earning 70 percent of the Gailey Gailey's total purse, the two New York-bred four-year-old fillies also qualified their connections for a total of $10,990 in open race owner and breeder awards. For winning jockey Garcia, whom trainer Christophe Clement had named as Rewrite's new rider following the move by the New York-bred's previous pilot, Garrett Gomez, to Hollywood Park, it was the second filly-winning ride on Aqueduct's Sunday card. Rewrite has not raced on Lasix medication since Clement's discovery in August of 2006 that the Editor's Note filly tended not to sweat sufficiently when on that diuretic -- following which she has won four stakes, placed in two others, and never finished worse than fourth. 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.) Joh nson, had selected the mating of Amherst Stable's homebred multiple graded-placed Fickle Friends ($254,130) with Grade 1 winner Editor's Note -- resulting in Rewrite. As owners as well as breeders of the Gailey Gailey winner, the two sisters also qualified for a total of $9,420 in open race owner and breeder awards. According to co-owner-breeder Kathy Johnson, Rewrite was the last horse for which P. G. Johnson had arranged the pedigree. The Amherst Stable homebred is the first offspring produced from Fickle Friends, who scored six of her seven wins on turf and is a half-sister to Amherst Stable's homebred Volponi ($3,187,232), 6-1/2-length winner of the 2002 Breeders' Cup Classic at odds of 43.50-to-1. P. G. Johnson had purchased the New York-bred dam of Volponi and Fickle Friends, Prom Knight, for $8,000 from Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm at Fasig-Tipton's 1993 Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Rewrite is the third participant on the October 20 New York Showcase Day card at Belmont to subsequently win an open turf stakes at Aqueduct -- following Them There Eyes in the November 9 Scoot Stakes and Dave in the Grade 2 Red Smith Handicap on November 10. She also is the 25th New York-bred to win a black-type stakes outside state-bred competition in 2007, and the Gailey Gailey was the 31st open (to horses bred or conceived anywhere) stakes event captured by a New York-bred this year. Now More Than Ever became the 73rd New York-bred to finish in the top-three in a 2007 black-type stakes outside state-bred competition and was followed about 4-1/2 hours later by the 74th Empire State-bred top-three 2007 open stakes finisher, two-year-old Overextended, who placed second in Hollywood Park's Real Quiet Stakes. Overextended's runner-up effort in the $105,900 Real Quiet, run at a mile and a sixteenth over Hollywood Park's all-weather track, was the 108th top-three open stakes finish by a New York-bred in 2007. NY-bred Be Certain is certainly best in Woolfe Memorial Hurdle S. win by Rab Hagin
It is unusual for a horse to break his steeplechase maiden at three, in his second jumping effort, and in a stakes, but Alnoff Stable's New York-bred BE CERTAIN did all three in the Colonial Cup's Raymond G. Woolfe Memorial Hurdle Stakes in Camden, South Carolina on Sunday, November 18. The chestnut gelding had placed third in his jumping debut 29 days earlier at Far Hills, New Jersey in the $50,000 Gladstone Hurdle Stakes at 2-1/8 miles but had not threatened the winner of that event, C R's Deputy. In the Woolfe Memorial at two miles over the Springdale Racecourse, the tables were turned on C R's Deputy, who could not overtake the front-running New York-bred and placed second, as Be Certain drew clear late to score by a length and a quarter among seven. The Woolfe Memorial marked Be Certain's fourth race overall, including two efforts on the flat over Belmont's and Saratoga's turf courses this past July and August, after which the gelding had emerged in October as a surprisingly accomplished hurdler under the care of trainer Thomas Voss. He was ridden in both of his steeplechase outings by jockey Xavier Aizpuru and was the second consecutive winner piloted by Aizpuru on the Colonial Cup card. Bred by and foaled at Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag, Be Certain races for the Alnoff Stable of Long Island real estate developer Michael Chasanoff of Jericho, which had purchased him for $300,000 from Sugar Maple Farm at Fasig-Tipton's 2005 Saratoga select yearling sale. The son of Thunder Gulch is the second offspring and second winner produced from Do Mountain Doo, who is by Mountain Cat and is a half-sister to Grade 2-placed winner Banshee Winds, dam of Eclipse Champion Banshee Breeze ($2,784,798) and stakes winner Unbridled Wind. Do Mountain Doo also is a half-sister to the dam of graded-placed multiple winner War Plan. Be Certain, who is inbred 3 x 4 to Storm Bird, appears to have a bright future ahead of him in his budding career as a steeplechaser. |
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2yos Spanky Fischbein and Canadian Ballet get 1st stakes wins in $100K NY Stallion Stakes races by Rab Hagin
Forty-five New York-conceived runners of various ages contested six New York Stallion Stakes races on dirt and turf valued at $500,000 at Aqueduct on Sunday, with all six events captured by state-breds -- the winners being offspring of Hook and Ladder, City Zip (two), Western Expression, Thunder Puddles, and Freud. Jockey Eibar Coa rode three of the New York Stallion Stakes winners -- two on dirt and one on turf -- and Carl Lizza Jr.'s Flying Zee Stables bred two of them. The results emphasized the quality and diversity of stallions that currently stand or have actively stood in the Empire State. Hook and Ladder is among North America's top dozen first-crop sires; City Zip is a top-five third-crop sire from New York-conceived progeny; Western Expression had 2007 Saratoga stakes winners on dirt and turf; pensioned Thunder Puddles has sired graded dirt and turf winners, Freud is a national top-15 third-crop sire. Justifiably odds-on (.50-to-1) among five juvenile males in the $100,000 New York Stallion Great White Way Stakes at six furlongs was Gold Square's SPANKY FISCHBEIN, who had placed second in three stakes following a winning Belmont debut in June and ran the fastest Great White Way in seven years. Providing a target for the top-weighted Hook and Ladder ridgling to pursue was 3.45-to-1 second choice Piquante Cat, who in September had been winning and stakes-placing in Meadowlands turf contests but was dropping back to main track sprinting for the Great White Way. As Piquante Cat set even splits of 22.99 and 23.08 following a bumpy beginning, Spanky Fischbein raced a half-length back on the outside, and those two reached mid-stretch in 57.68 for five furlongs with the margin between them unchanged. In the final furlong, Spanky Fischbein fought to a half-length advantage at the wire, improving his never-worse-than-runner-up record to two wins and three seconds in five starts while boosting his earnings to $145,505. For winning rider John Velazquez, the two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey who also had ridden Great White Way winners in 1994 and 1999 and had been aboard for Spanky Fischbein's 3-1/4-length winning Belmont debut in June, it was the second victorious trip on Aqueduct's Sunday card. The $230,000 auction-topper at Fasig-Tipton's 2006 Saratoga New York-bred preferred yearling sale, Spanky Fischbein races for the Gold Square of Abraham (Al) Gold under the care of three-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who also conditioned Great White Way winners Mellow Roll (in 1997) and West Virginia (in 2003). The classy bay was bred by Chester and Mary Broman of West Babylon and Chestertown Farm in Chestertown and is the second stakes winner from the first crop of Hook and Ladder, who seven weeks earlier at Belmont had been represented by Bertram F. Bongard winner Big Truck. Placing second behind Big Truck in the seven-furlong Bongard Stakes had been Spanky Fischbein. Spanky Fischbein is the first offspring produced from three-time winner Moneymakinmamma, an In Excess mare who is a full sister to stakes winner Pocketfullofpesos ($192,541) and to stakes-placed winner Miss Skagit State and is a half-sister to four-time stakes winner Quiet Cash ($355,541). Canadian Ballet heads Rice-trained trifecta in $100K NY Stallion Fifth Avenue by Rab Hagin
Since all three Linda Rice-trained juvenile fillies in the six-furlong New York Stallion Fifth Avenue had shown front-running inclinations, two needed to assume the roles of stalker and closer, and those two finished one-two and a half-length apart at the wire, with Obviously NY Stable's CANADIAN BALLET prevailing. Placing second to the winning City Zip filly who went off in the $100,000 event as the 8.40-to-1 fourth choice among eight was another daughter of City Zip, 15.30-to-1 sixth choice Sweet Bama Breeze, who has run second three times in three starts (once on turf). Finishing a half-length behind the runner-up was odds-on (.60-to-1) Noble Fire, a Hook and Ladder filly coming off a 6-3/4-length winning debut going five furlongs at Belmont 44 days earlier. Rice also trained the winner of the Fifth Avenue in 2005. Canadian Ballet broke from the seventh post among eight in her first outing under jockey Alan Garcia and stalked early front-running longshot Instant Lady as that rival dueled with Noble Fire, who gained command near the quarter pole following a half-mile fraction of 46.05. Garcia's mount rallied three-wide out of the turn to overtake Noble Fire approaching mid-stretch and then held on against her closing stablemate, Sweet Bama Breeze, to complete a $2 trainer trifecta that paid $379.00. Canadian Ballet was the first of two New York Stallion Stakes winners on Aqueduct's Sunday card sired by City Zip, a prominent young stallion whose reputation has been made by three crops of New York-conceived progeny. The Fifth Avenue win boosted Canadian Ballet's earnings to $148,085 and improved her record to 2 - 1 - 1 in four starts, which includes a victorious front-running debut at Saratoga and second-place and third-place efforts, respectively, in Finger Lakes' Lady Finger Stakes and New York Breeders' Futurity (against males). The chestnut filly races for the Obviously NY Stable of Richard Benas and was bred by Gus Schoenborn Jr., who also bred her multiple-winning and multiple stakes-placed four-year-old full sister, Vasa. The dam of Canadian Ballet and Vasa is six-time route winner (mile and up) Canadian Flagship, who is by the closely inbred Northern Flagship (3 x 3 to Native Dancer) and is a half-sister to stakes winner Soldieroffaith. Canadian Ballet's maternal granddam (second dam) is stakes winner Key Bid ($275,046). Red Zipper captures NY Stallion Cormorant Stakes for 2nd consecutive year by Rab Hagin
Was it deja vu all over again? In the 2006 New York Stallion Cormorant Stakes for New York-conceived colts and geldings going a mile and a sixteenth on turf, Jeffrey Tucker's up-and-coming RED ZIPPER and 2004 Cormorant winner Pa Pa Da had finished one-two -- less than a length apart -- under jockeys Eibar Coa and Jose Espinoza respectively. In the 2007 Cormorant, those two again finished first and second under the same riders -- only this time four-year-old Red Zipper was the 1.85-to-1 favorite among nine while top-weighted under 124 pounds (heaviest of his career) and drew off to win by three lengths. The Cormorant, run over a "good" course for the second consecutive year, marked the third winning New York Stallion Stakes ride -- and second on turf -- at Aqueduct on Sunday for Coa, who was named 2006 Jockey of the Year by the New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB). Winner of Belmont's mile and an eighth Kingston Handicap for state-breds on turf last May in his 2007 debut, Red Zipper subsequently had been unable to duplicate that effort, tiring at 10 furlongs against Grade 1 competition and on soft turf in New York Showcase Day's Mohawk Handicap. In the nine-furlong West Point and Ashley T. Cole Handicaps for state-breds on Saratoga and Belmont grass, he could not grab early leads and finished second in the former and fourth in the latter -- although beaten less than a length for everything in each. Belmont's September 16 Cole turned out to be a particularly strong class indicator, since the winner that Red Zipper finished only a neck behind in a four-way photo while spotting that rival two pounds was future Grade 2 Red Smith winner (on Saturday, November 10) Dave. Following the Mohawk, trainer John Morrison had given Red Zipper a sharp November 1 half-mile workout over Belmont's training track, and even though the chestnut gelding was again denied an early lead in the Cormorant, this time it did not seem to matter when he reached the stretch. Victory in the Cormorant increased Red Zipper's earnings to $303,480 while improving his record to six wins and two seconds in 17 starts for owner Jeffrey Tucker of Manhattan and Stone Bridge Farm in Saratoga Springs. Tucker, whose previous New York-bred campaigners have included 2005 Grade 1 winner and NYTB multiple champion Acey Deucey, had purchased Red Zipper for $40,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales (OBS) Company's 2005 April auction of two-year-olds. The rangy four-year-old son of City Zip was bred by Nancy Harris of Florida and John Allen and is out of winner Lady in Red, who is by Red Attack and is a half-sister to Panamanian stakes winner Big Partner. Red Zipper's co-breeder, Harris, had purchased Lady in Red as a weanling for $1,700 at Keeneland's 1994 November sale. Stunt Man takes 7F NY Stallion Thunder Rumble - 3rd stakes win at new distance by Rab Hagin
Dropping back to seven furlongs for the New York Stallion Thunder Rumble Stakes following August and September victories in Saratoga's mile and an eighth Albany and Belmont's open More Than Ready at a one-turn mile, three-year-old STUNT MAN scored his third 2007 stakes win at a different distance. The versatile son of Western Expression was the 1.70-to-1 second choice among six New York-conceived colts and geldings -- three-year-olds and up -- while being ridden for the third consecutive time in competition and second win under jockey Javier Castellano. For a half-mile, he stalked in fourth place behind front-running third choice Smash 'Em Sammy (3.55-to-1), who was winging away with blinkers on for the first time, and favored pace-prompter Gold and Roses (1.55-to-1), a veteran sprinter racing without blinkers for the first time in almost three years. Rallying three-wide past those two out of the turn, Stunt Man surged to a daylight-margin lead while setting a 1:09.53 six-furlong fraction and maintained a safe advantage over Gold and Roses to the wire, winning in 1:22.41. The victory increased Stunt Man's earnings to $307,819 while improving his record to 5 - 3 - 3 in 17 starts, which includes a third-placing in his only turf outing, Saratoga's New York Stallion Cab Calloway Stakes for New York-conceived three-year-olds going nine furlongs over yielding sod. Owned by Winning Move Stable (Steve and Brian Sigler), Island Wind Racing (Robert Teeman), and Celebrity Group Stables (Mitchell Klafter), the dark bay gelding has earned $289,481 since being claimed for $25,000 while breaking his maiden by eight lengths against state-breds at Aqueduct on March 30. Stunt Man trains under NYTB two-time Trainer of the Year Gary Contessa, who had given him an easy Halloween workout at Aqueduct and a faster and shorter drill four days later. The three-year-old almost seems to be "slumming" at seven furlongs on dirt, having already hinted that he can handle turf and likes longer distances. Contessa has indicated that Stunt Man "loves" Saratoga, but the gelding has scored stakes victories at all three NYRA tracks within an 81-day span since late August. Stunt Man was the first of two Sunday Stallion Stakes winners bred by Carl Lizza Jr.'s Flying Zee Stables which had been lost through the claiming ranks -- although Flying Zee Stables qualified for $12,150 in breeder and stallion owner awards as a result of the Thunder Rumble outcome. Western Expression, who stands at Lizza's and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson, was the only sire of stakes winners on dirt and turf at Saratoga in 2007. Stunt Man's latest stakes victory boosted his sire's 2007 progeny earnings to over $1.8-million, with lifetime offspring bankrolls from four racing age crops at more than $4.9-million. Stunt Man, who is inbred 4 x 4 to Majestic Prince and to five-time stakes producer Tamerett, is the fifth of six winners and the second $300K-plus earner produced from New York-bred Ribboned, who won Finger Lakes' 1991 Niagara Stakes by six lengths while racing for Lizza's Tri-Noble Stable. Ribboned is a half-sister to Panamanian juvenile champion Mangatruco. Factual Contender cruises to 4th turf stakes win of '07 in New York Stallion Perfect Arc by Rab Hagin
A mere 11 months since being introduced to turf racing by trainer Barclay Tagg and to a whole new world, Thomas Farone Jr.'s FACTUAL CONTENDER romped at odds-on (.40-to-1) among eight New York-conceived fillies and mares in the New York Stallion Perfect Arc Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth. The six-year-old former main track sprinter stalked in fourth and third place under co-topweight through the opening half-mile before rallying three-wide to seize command on the second turn. She pulled away decisively thereafter, winning by 3-3/4 lengths in time that was more than three-quarters of a second faster than four-year-old gelding Red Zipper covered the same distance over the same "good" grass course and under the same weight four races later in the Cormorant. For jockey Eibar Coa, who also rode Red Zipper and has been on board for Factual Contender's latest six consecutive starts, it was the first of three New York Stallion Stakes-winning rides on Aqueduct's Sunday card. It was Factual Contender's fourth turf stakes victory -- along with three black-type runner-up efforts -- in stakes ranging from a mile to a mile and a quarter (winning at 10 furlongs against open stakes company at Belmont in May) in seven starts since March 1. The dark bay mare increased her earnings to $481,248 and improved her overall record to 10 - 10 - 3 in 36 starts, which includes a turf record of five wins and three seconds in nine efforts. Even though Factual Contender had been rank and clipped heels early in her unplaced turf stakes debut at Gulfstream Park back in January, she has never finished more than a length and a half behind the winners in any of her non-victorious grass outings. The New York-bred lawn-lover has earned $294,699 since being claimed at Saratoga for $65,000 from her breeder, Carl Lizza Jr.'s Flying Zee Stables, in August of 2005. Campaigned by Farone of Gansevoort, she was turned over a year ago to Tagg, the NYTB 2003 Trainer of the Year who also conditions New York-bred Dave, surprise winner of Aqueduct's Grade 2 Red Smith Handicap at a mile and three-eighths on turf the day before (Saturday). Foaled at Highcliff Farm in Delanson that breeder Lizza owns with Joseph Bartone, Factual Contender also was conceived at Highcliff Farm, where during that same breeding season another current six-year-old mare who might have been a strong contender in the Perfect Arc likewise was conceived: Massachusetts-bred Ask Queenie ($558,705). Unfortunately, Ask Queenie was not made eligible for the New York Stallion Stakes Series, in which the participants can be bred anywhere as long as they have been conceived to the covers of registered New York-based stallions. Factual Contender's sire, 28-year-old pensioner and former leading New York-bred money-earner Thunder Puddles ($791,695), still resides at Highcliff Farm and also has sired multiple graded-winning turf router Thunder Regent ($567,544) and New York-bred Grade 1 Travers winner (and Stallion Stakes namesake) Thunder Rumble (see New York-bred Millionaires Club). Factual Contender is among four starters, all winners, produced from Flying Zee Stables' New York homebred route winner Factuallychallenge, who is by the late New York-based stallion Triocala. Her two named and younger half-sisters of racing age have both won in 2007 at Aqueduct, and one also has scored on Belmont turf. Tamberino tallies in New York Stallion Staten Island while loose on the lead by Rab Hagin
In her second start off an 11-month layoff, Hedgewick Stable's TAMBERINO quickly opened up a multiple-margin lead in the seven-furlong New York Stallion Staten Island Stakes for New York-conceived fillies and mares, gaining enough cushion to still be ahead at the wire as the 10.40-to-1 fifth choice among nine. It was the first stakes victory for the four-year-old daughter of Freud, who almost 14 months earlier had placed third among 10 in Belmont's Irish Actress Stakes for state-bred three-year-old fillies going a mile and a sixteenth on turf. Among rivals finishing behind Tamberino were 2007 Aqueduct sprint stakes winner Waytotheleft (the 2.25-to-1 second choice) and 2006-2007 New York Stallion Stakes Series winner Laurentide Ice (the 6.70-to-1 third choice). Favored three-year-old filly Cammy's Choice (1.55-to-1), who has never been unplaced in eight starts and had runner-up efforts in six-and-seven-furlong sprint stakes this past summer at Belmont and Saratoga, broke from the outside post and was bumped on the turn but still placed third. Tamberino was the second of three New York Stallion Stakes winners ridden at Aqueduct on Sunday by jockey Eibar Coa, who previously had piloted the filly in a pair of non-winning maiden special contests on Aqueduct's inner track in January-February of 2006. The victory increased Tamberino's earnings to $169,546 while improving her dirt-and-turf-winning record to 4 - 3 - 2 in 14 starts, with all of her tallies -- two at Aqueduct and one each at Belmont and on Saratoga's lawn -- having been front-running efforts. Following a tiring unplaced performance going six furlongs in open allowance/optional claiming company at Belmont five weeks earlier in her first 2007 start, trainer Thomas Bush had sharpened the dark bay filly with a pair of quick workouts at Belmont, including a five-furlong "bullet" drill on November 1. Tamberino had been purchased for $55,000 by the Hedgewick Stable of Joseph Appelbaum of Off the Hook, LLC on East 69th Street in Manhattan, going to that owner from Becky Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock #105 consignment at the OBS 2005 March sale of selected two-year-olds in Florida. She was bred by Thomas and Lewis Lakin and was foaled at her breeders' Lakland North, LLC (now Sequel Stallions New York) in Hudson, where Freud has stood since entering stud in 2002. Tamberino is the fourth stakes winner from Freud's first two crops and that sire's second 2007 New York Stallion Stakes winner -- the other being Hedgewick Stable's Thomas Bush-trained three-year-old filly Mighty Eros, 6-1/2-length winner of Aqueduct's Park Avenue in April and also bred by Thomas and Lakin. Tamberino's New York Stallion Staten Island victory has pushed Freud's 2007 progeny earnings to almost $2-million, with cumulative offspring earnings from three crops of racing age closing in on $4-million. Tamberino is the fifth winner and second six-figure-earner produced from juvenile stakes winner Emotional Energy, by New York-based stallion Crusader Sword out of a mare whose pedigree boasts the coveted "Rasmussen Factor" -- 3 x 3 inbreeding to multiple stakes producer Miss Disco, dam of eight-time leading sire Bold Ruler. Emotional Energy arrived in New York after being purchased for $27,000 by Questroyal Stable at the OBS 1999 October mixed sale in Florida. In the opening race on Aqueduct's Sunday card, the open $77,700 Smartangle Stakes for fillies and mares going six furlongs, Karakorum Farm's New York-bred Karakorum Starlet ($322,864) confirmed the quality of the 2007 New York Showcase Day card, placing a close second under top weight despite obviously wanting another furlong. The four-year-old filly was the overlooked 9-to-1 fifth choice among six while coming off a hard-fought victory in Showcase Day's seven-furlong Iroquois Handicap 22 days earlier and closed on the front-running winner while beating the two top choices, Grade/Group 1 winners Swap Fliparoo and Stormy Kiss. Now with a record of 6 - 7 - 1 in 21 starts, the Jeff Odintz-trained Karakorum Starlet was the 72nd New York-bred to finish in the top-three in a black-type stakes outside state-bred competition in 2007. Her runner-up effort in the Smartangle was the 105th top-three finish by a New York-bred in an open (to horses bred or conceived anywhere) black-type stakes event this year in at least four countries on three continents. |
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Dave demonstrates class with 10th-to-1st win in Big A's G2 Red Smith by Rab Hagin
Whether on dirt or turf, Aqueduct's Grade 2 Red Smith Handicap in its latest two renewals has been owned by New York-breds, with The Three Colleens and Partingglass Stables' veteran state-bred grass campaigner, DAVE, capturing the 2007 running by employing a dominating outside stretch run over yielding turf. The six-year-old gelding matched up well in the mile and three-eighths event but was exiting a lackluster effort in New York Showcase Day's mile and an eighth Mohawk Handicap on soft turf three weeks earlier, prompting his dismissal as the 14.80-to-1 eighth choice among 12. To the surprise of the doubters, the only New York-bred in the Grade 2 contest for three-year-olds and up enjoyed an almost perfect trip on a course where he always performs well at a distance he obviously loves. Breaking from the 10th post in his second outing under jockey "Jersey Joe" Bravo, who has now ridden him twice in 11-furlong turf stakes, Dave was kept three-wide in ninth or 10th place until the third turn, where Bravo steadied him as the gelding gathered to launch his move. He still trailed seven rivals at the three-eighths pole, but in the next quarter-mile the stretch-running bay swung wide and overtook everyone, gaining command at mid-stretch and then pulling away from his only serious threat, English listed stakes winner and 2.45-to-1 second choice True Cause. Dave covered his final furlong over the yielding sod in 12.51 seconds, which was easily the fastest eighth-mile split in the event other than in the opening quarter set by a front-runner who finished 11th. The New York-bred's jockey in his latest two previous outings -- including his victory in Belmont's Ashley T. Cole Stakes for state-breds going a mile and an eighth on turf on September 16 -- was Alan Garcia, who was aboard the 10th-place finishing favorite. In four spring-summer starts prior to his Cole victory, Dave had been piloted by two-time Eclipse Champion jockey John Velazquez, who was aboard Red Smith runner-up True Cause. The winner of the 2004 Red Smith, 9.80-to-1 fifth choice Dreadnaught ($670,873), finished seventh. Jockey Bravo, who also had won the Red Smith in 1999, spoke admiringly about Dave afterwards: "He's a pretty classy old horse," confirmed Bravo. "Barclay (Tagg) and Robin (Smullen) made my job easy. They know the horse like (the) backs of their hands. They told me step-by-step what they wanted. At the top of the lane, I had plenty of horse. I had ridden him a year ago at the Meadowlands (in the John Henry Stakes at a three-turn mile and three eighths on turf) and just missed (placing second). Today, the turf course was a lot better than I expected." Robin Smullen, assistant to winning conditioner and New York Thoroughbred Breeders 2003 Trainer of the Year Barclay Tagg, thought the Red Smith match-ups were ideal for Dave's upset victory: "A lot of the horses in the race all are the same kind of horse," explained Smullen. "I thought we fit fine in there. We know that he likes soft turf, and we know that he likes Aqueduct. I told Joe (Bravo) that when he moved, to get him to the outside. He had plenty of horse the whole race. He didn't get his trip late at all last time (in the Mohawk Handicap on Showcase Day), and he needs to get his trip. He'll have a little vacation and look to come back next year." Victory in the Red Smith boosted Dave's earnings by $90,000 to $538,792 while improving his record to 7 - 10 - 3 in 35 starts, which includes four stakes victories -- three against New York-breds at Belmont (twice) and Saratoga -- and a maiden-breaking win on Aqueduct's inner dirt track. His record in nine outings over less-than-firm turf is 2 - 2 - 2. The 2006 Red Smith was taken off the turf (but retained graded status) and was won by New York-bred Naughty New Yorker at a mile and a quarter; other state-bred winners of the event have been Instant Friendship in 1997 and Thunder Puddles in 1983. Dave has raced for the Saratoga Springs-based Partingglass Stable and The Three Colleens Stable of David Stack of Oak Ridge, New Jersey since coming off a six-month layoff in the spring of 2006 (and winning Belmont's Kingston Handicap two starts after that layoff). He initially had raced for his late breeder, philanthropist and Saratoga Gaming and Raceway board chairman Joseph W. Gerrity Jr., before being purchased on behalf of his current owners by bloodstock agent Thomas J. Gallo. The gelding is the third starter and third winner bred by Gerrity from indestructible (81 starts and 22 wins, three through nine) non-black-type stakes-placed Commadore's Gold ($133,210), being a half-brother to 12-time main track winner Cabin Boy ($121,571). Commadore's Gold is a half-sister to stakes winner Sir Stephenmichael ($133,250) and to Grade 1-placed winner Gold Spruce (granddam of stakes winner Reside) as well as to the dams of stakes winner The Great Tyler and Grade 2-placed Golden Man. Dave is the second New York-bred open turf stakes winner at Aqueduct within 24 hours -- following Them There Eyes in the one-mile Scoot for three-year-old fillies on Friday -- and the 24th state-bred to win a black-type stakes outside state-bred competition in 2007. The Red Smith was the 30th open (to horses bred or conceived anywhere) stakes event captured by a New York-bred this year. |
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Them There Eyes scoots from 9th-to-1st among 10 in open Scoot S. by Rab Hagin
Capping an amazing 33-day span for herself, her juvenile half-sister, and her dam, Akindale Farm's New York homebred THEM THERE EYES rallied from ninth-to-first among 10 three-year-old fillies to capture Aqueduct's open one-mile turf Scoot Stakes on a showery Friday -- one week after having won an Aqueduct allowance on dirt. A week prior to her November 2 allowance victory going a mile on the Big A's main track, the gray/roan filly's New York-bred juvenile half-sister had broken her maiden at Aqueduct in her second start (October 26). Another six days into the past (October 20) had marked Them There Eyes' first black-type (second in Belmont's Office Miss for state-bred sophomore fillies going a mile on soft turf), and on October 7 she had won a restricted N1X Belmont turf allowance off a 73-day layoff. Akindale Farm's homebred descends from an exceptional female family that has been prominent in New York breeding for almost two decades, and that prominence looks destined to continue. Ridden for the fourth consecutive time in competition -- three in victories -- by wily turf jockey Jean-Luc Samyn and sent off the 11.80-to-1 sixth choice among 10, Them There Eyes broke on top but was immediately bumped on both sides by a pair of longshots, requiring Samyn to steady her. The New York-bred raced in ninth place through a half-mile, as 6.60-to-1 fourth choice Featherbed -- one of six previous stakes winners in the Scoot -- set the pace to the quarter pole. Gaining a clear lead entering the final furlong was 6.50-to-1 third choice Unspoken Word, but Them There Eyes rallied five-wide out of the second turn and roared past her competition on the outside so quickly that by the final sixteenth the contest was not even in doubt. Unspoken Word and Maddy's Heart -- both coming off autumn turf stakes victories at Belmont and Laurel Park respectively -- placed second and third, followed by 2-to-1 favorite Queen Joanne off the also-eligible list. Victory in the unrestricted $78,500 Scoot increased Them There Eyes' earnings by $47,100 to $162,897 and improved her suddenly-blossoming record to 4 - 2 - 1 in 10 starts while also qualifying her owner-breeder, John Hettinger of Akindale Farm in Pawling, for an additional $9,420 in open race owner and breeder awards. As recently as June, Them There Eyes had not even broken her maiden, but she captured her three-year-old seasonal debut by 2-1/2 lengths on Belmont turf and following a sub-par late July effort on Saratoga grass had been given her almost 2-1/2-month layoff by trainer Kathleen Feron. Two "bullet" workouts at Belmont in September had presaged that the New York-bred would return to competition with a vengeance, and she did. Them There Eyes is by 1994 Horse of the Year Holy Bull, whose stakes winners also include New York Thoroughbred Breeders' 2000 Champion Three-Year-Old Male and Saratoga Grade 2 winner Turnofthecentury ($474,236). She is the first offspring produced from another Akindale Farm/Hettinger New York homebred, So Long Dearie (by New York-based D'Accord), and is a half-sister to Akindale Farm's New York homebred juvenile filly My Dinah, who broke her maiden in an off-the-turf mile at Aqueduct on October 26. So Long Dearie is a full sister to New York-bred multiple Grade 2 dirt winner Lady D'Accord ($590,138) and a half-sister to New York-bred graded turf winner Missymooiloveyou (dam of graded winner and New York-based stallion Ommadon). The dam of So Long Dearie, Lady D'Accord, and Missymooiloveyou, the winning Damascus mare Avichi, is a full sister to graded winners Honorable Miss, Syrianna, and Bailjumper and had been purchased by Hettinger as an eight-year-old broodmare for $102,000 at Keeneland's 1986 January sale. Them There Eyes is the 23rd New York-bred to win a black-type stakes outside state-bred competition in 2007, and the Scoot was the 29th open (to horses bred or conceived anywhere) stakes event captured by a New York-bred this year. Those 29 stakes victories in 2007 have been scored in New York, California, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Italy. |
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NY-bred Dream Impact wins G3 Italian race by Rab Hagin (11/4) Reasserting his claim to supremacy in the Italian sprint division, New York-bred DREAM IMPACT won the Group 3 Premio Carlo & Francesco Aloisi at Capannelle racecourse in Rome by almost two lengths on Sunday, carrying 134 pounds over six furlongs of soft turf in 1:09.20. The six-year-old had been a group winner at four and was ranked as the high-weighted older horse from five to seven furlongs on the Italian Handicap as a 2006 five-year-old, but he had struggled in three outings following a listed black-type victory on May 1. Owned by Scuderia Quattro Mori and trained by Luigi Riccardi, Dream Impact improved his overall record to 16 - 7 - 2 in 38 starts and boosted his earnings over the half-million ($500K) mark in U.S. equivalent earnings with his fourth group or listed black-type tally. He was race-ridden for the 11th time in his Sunday score -- eighth consecutive -- by jockey Germano Marcelli. The wagering public apparently had concluded that Dream Impact's extensive racing record under crushing imposts -- carrying top weight in his latest two previous outings -- had finally taken its toll, and they sent the veteran campaigner off as the 11.20-to-1 fourth choice among eight starters in the Premio Aloisi. Always near the pace throughout, the bay stallion took command entering the final furlong and drew off to a one and three-quarter-length victory over odds-on Irish-bred Le Cadre Noir, who has four wins in 2007 by big margins -- three in listed or group events. Bred by and foaled at Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds North, LLC in Stillwater -- the New York Thoroughbred Breeders' 2005-2006 Breeder of the Year -- Dream Impact had been sold for $26,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's August 2002 yearling sale in Florida. He is among two New York-bred 2007 open stakes winners sired by English/Irish champion and Breeders' Cup Mile winner Royal Academy -- the other being Grade 2-winning four-year-old filly Oprah Winney ($577,800). The speedy New York-bred is the first starter produced from juvenile winner One Fit Cat, a Storm Cat mare that Simon had purchased for $27,000 at Keeneland's 1999 November sale. One Fit Cat is a half-sister to stakes winner and stakes producer Health Farm (granddam of Grade 2 winner Dream About), and her other half-sisters -- three of them stakes-placed winners -- include the dams of three more stakes winners, one of which is graded winner Cryptoquip. Dream Impact is among 22 New York-bred winners of 28 stakes events outside state-bred company in 2007 -- in New York, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Louisiana in addition to Italy. |
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Tin Cup Chalice and Say Toba Sandy 1-2 in Finger Lakes Juvenile as NY-breds dominate by Matt Church
Scott Van Laer and Michael A. Lecesse's TIN CUP CHALICE put Scary Trip away nearing the eighth pole and then went on to capture The 8th Running of The $50,000 Finger Lakes Juvenile Stakes by a length and three-quarters. Trained by part owner Michael A. Lecesse and ridden to victory by Omar Camejo this was Tin Cup Chalice's second score out of two career starts. The two year old gelding by Crusader Sword, got the money at first asking in wire-to-wire fashion by a remarkable 15 lengths. That test was at six furlongs and over a very sloppy track. The Lecesse trained monster stopped the timer for that six furlong distance in 1:10.95. The eighth running of The Finger Lakes Juvenile was for wide-open rivals going six furlongs. Listed as the third choice at 9 to 2 by morning line oddsmaker Carl Anderson, Tin Cup Malice was let go as the 8 to 5 choice. Sent off as the second choice at $2.25 to 1 was Candy Stable's Scary Trip. Trained by Michael E. Gorham, Scary Trip was shipping in from Delaware Park where he scored three out of his four career starts. The two year colt by Trippi scored in his debut with $50,000 maiden claimer going five furlongs by four and one-half lengths. The Gorham trainee came right back and downed a field of never won two allowance types by neck. Scary Trip's only defeat was in the $55,000 Parfour at six furlongs where he finished third beaten two and one-half lengths to Jet Run. Sanford Bacon's Say Toba Sandy, the only filly in the race came into this race undefeated. The M. Anthony Ferraro trained runner got the money in the $50,000 Finger Lakes Juvenile Fillies in her last at 59 to 1. Scary Trip ducked in at the start knocking Say Toba Sandy sideways and then vied for the lead with Tin Cup Chalice. The opening quarter was clocked in a quick 22.51. The pair continued on dictating the pace with half mile going down in 45.52. Barossa was stalking along the four path with Say Toba Sandy just off the rail and only a length from the leaders. Tin Cup Chalice gave Scary Trip the slip nearing the eighth pole and then went on to score by almost two lengths. Scary Trip finished a length and one-quarter over Say Toba Sandy in third. After a stewards inquiry was posted concerning the start and a claim of foul was lodged by the rider of Say Toba Sandy against Scary Trip for interference leaving the gate, resulted in disqualifying Scary Trip from second to third. Tin Cup Chalice covered the distance over a fast track in 1:11.25 and earned $30,000. Bred by Michael A. Lecesse, the two year old gelding by Crusader Sword (standing at Foggy Bottom Farm) out of Twice Forbidden out of Spectacular Bid now has two career wins out of two tries and $41,400 in money won. Also, the home-bred runner qualified for a breeder's award of $6,000, an open owner's award of $6,000, and a stallion owner's award of $2,100. |
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