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27 NY-breds have won or placed in 40 open 2008 black-type stakes by Rab Hagin
Bolstered by an unusually strong three-year-old crop featuring eight open 2008 stakes winners -- Federico Tesio winner ICABAD CRANE being the latest -- plus another six sophomores that have placed in open black-type events this year, 27 New York-breds have won or placed in 40 open stakes in 2008 through April 26. They have finished in the top-three in open stakes at 14 different tracks and racing facilities in New York, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Arkansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Japan, and England. New York-bred 2008 graded-winning colts Z FORTUNE and BIG TRUCK are scheduled to start in the May 3 Kentucky Derby, and New York-bred three-year-old filly SHERINE was a Grade 2 winner at Aqueduct in April. Other state-bred representatives from the crop of 2005 that have won open black-type stakes at Aqueduct in 2008 are GIANT MOON, who along with Icabad Crane is being pointed for the May 17 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, LOVE CO, SWEET VENDETTA, and WEATHERED. On Friday-Saturday, April 18 and 19, New York-breds scored allowance victories outside state-bred company at Keeneland, Aqueduct, Pimlico, and Evangeline Downs. Following are summaries of the most recent New York-bred open-company standouts: ICABAD CRANE ($125,400), Earle Mack's emerging three-year-old stretch-runner, was the youngest and least-experienced among eight in Pimlico's $100,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at a mile and an eighth on Saturday, April 19, and despite being bumped in the upper stretch, he still scored as the 1.90-to-1 favorite. Now with a never-unplaced record of three victories in four starts, the H. Graham Motion-trained colt is the latest stakes winner descending from Gallagher's Stud's New York homebred graded-winning Adorable Micol (his maternal granddam) -- others including Grade 1 winner Rutherienne ($744,975) and New York-bred graded winner Adcat ($435,597). SELF MADE MAN ($148,064), Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey's Keeneland-loving four-year-old homebred gelding, somehow was allowed to go off as the 4.60-to-1 third choice among 10 starters in a $53,440 allowance/optional contest at a mile and a sixteenth on Keeneland's Polytrack on Friday, April 18. Winner of Turfway Park's Dust Commander Stakes on Polytrack two months earlier, he romped by a front-running 5-3/4 lengths, while the 2.50-to-1 favorite, Dominican, pursued to place a clear second in that three-year-old's first Keeneland outing since winning the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes there last year. Trained by Michael Maker and also an allowance winner on Churchill Downs' turf as well as stakes-placed on Ellis Park's lawn, Self Made Man was foaled at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson. MARKET PSYCHOLOGY ($147,471), Klaravich Stables' and William Lawrence's rapidly-improving four-year-old Freud colt, went gate-to-wire to win an open N1X Aqueduct allowance by 4-1/4 lengths off a 64-day layoff, covering seven furlongs in 1:22.65 as the 1.20-to-1 favorite among six on Sunday, April 20. Placing second in the $50,000 contest was another New York-bred four-year-old, Zayat Stables' Monster Drive ($118,779). A late foal born on May 12, 2004, Market Psychology once again was the youngest starter in his contest. The Richard Violette Jr.-trained colt improved his record to 4 - 1 - 2 in 10 starts, which includes a third-placing behind future Grade 1 winner Bustin Stones and established stakes winner Smash 'Em Sammy in Aqueduct's New York Stallion Times Square Stakes in April of 2007. Market Psychology was bred by Becky Thomas and Lewis Lakin and was foaled at what is now Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson, and his winning half-siblings include 2005 Alex M. Robb Handicap winner Two Sixty Four ($197,705) and 2007 Donna Freyer Stakes winner (at Philadelphia Park) Vain Vixen. ANGEL'S ROYALTY, Frederick Galiardo Jr.'s four-year-old filly, has scored 2008 gate-to-wire allowance victories by daylight margins at Laurel Park (in February, by three lengths) and at Pimlico -- both times at a mile and a sixteenth, and the latter in a starter allowance on Friday, April 18. Bred by Carl Lizza Jr.'s Flying Zee Stables and foaled at Highcliff Farm, the blossoming dark bay filly has now won five times by margins totaling 33 lengths since late last July -- shortly after coming under the care of trainer Vito Pincione. She had been a $1,100 yearling purchase at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2005 October mixed sale and is the second winner produced from a winning half-sister to New York-bred multiple stakes winner Kevin's Decision ($218,374) and to Flying Zee Stables' recent graded-placed three-year-old turf filly, I Lost My Choo. GREAT PRECISION, William Gilmore's recent back-to-back winner in Louisiana, advanced from sixth-to-first among 10 three-year-old fillies at Evangeline Downs on Friday, April 18 to capture a five-furlong allowance in 58.74 -- a nose and a head in front of another late-running New York-bred filly, Do the Tiger. The two state-breds in bayou country (they have different owners and breeders) actually collided at the break when Do the Tiger veered into Great Precision, resulting in their emergence from the gate last (Great Precision) and next-to-last. Great Precision had broken her maiden by 5-3/4 lengths just 29 days earlier in her second career start and went off in her allowance venture as the 9.70-to-1 sixth choice. Trained by John Gelner, the chestnut filly was bred by Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds in Stillwater and is the fourth winner produced from a five-time winning half-sister to multiple stakes winner River of Sin ($408,642) and to the winning dam of 1997 Bouwerie Stakes winner Sinclara. JUDGE WILLIAM ($118,820), California Dreamin' Stables' $50,000 claim at Belmont last September, came off an eight-week layoff to score his second consecutive multiple-margin Aqueduct victory on Thursday, April 24 in a $46,000 turf mile match-up for three-year-olds while running with the contest's maximum claiming price of $45,000. It was the Scott Schwartz-trained colt's third win of 2008 and fourth career tally -- but his first victory on turf -- and increased his earnings for the California Dreamin' Stables of Randall Wooster to $115,860 since being claimed for $50,000 at Saratoga seven months earlier. Bred by Thomas Dushas of Pegasus Farms, Inc. in Rye, New York, which had sold him for $3,200 at Fasig-Tipton's 2006 Saratoga open yearling sale, Judge William is the ninth starter and ninth winner produced from his winning dam -- the last three all having been bred by Dushas. The versatile dark bay colt has now won on all three of Aqueduct's racing strips -- three times going two turns and once at a one-turn mile. RAYNICKS FAN ($122,802), Raynick Stables' four-year-old gelding who closed out 2007 with restricted allowance victories on rain-soaked Belmont and Aqueduct turf, proved off an 82-day layoff that he also can score on firm sod, winning a mile and a sixteenth Aqueduct contest for open $35,000 claimers on Saturday, April 26. The Steven Asmussen-trained gray/roan was shuffled back early before launching a four-wide turn move that advanced him from sixth-to-first among nine in the final five-sixteenths of a mile, covering his last sixteenth in under six seconds to win by a length in 1:42.30. Campaigned by the Raynick Stables of Nicholas Ciorciari and bred by Philip Birsh of Amsterdam in partnership with Bill Gildin, Raynicks Fan is the fifth winner produced from multiple stakes winner and dirt-turf winner Royal Vale, but he is that mare's first New York-bred winner. BIRD OF PLAY, owner-trainer Ramon Martin's five-year-old son of Watch the Bird, stretched out to seven furlongs for the first time in Philadelphia Park's co-featured N1X allowance on Saturday, April 26 and won by 2-1/2 lengths over fellow New York-bred Skeleton Key as the 1.60-to-1 favorite among seven. The first two finishers were the only New York-breds in the $42,000 contest and went off as the top two choices -- demonstrating once again that taking on open allowance competition outside New York is frequently less demanding than facing restricted NYRA allowance company. In January, Bird of Play had scored by 2-3/4 lengths at Philadelphia Park in 1:09.08 for six furlongs, and his April victory at the Pennsylvania track improved his overall record to 3 - 2 - 1 in 11 starts. The dark bay speedster was bred by Dr. Gregory Goldman of Washington, New York, who also owns the gelding's sire, Watch the Bird. FIGHT ON ($121,813), Chris York's $40,000 claim at Santa Anita on April 11, came back 15 days later to score a front-running two-length tally at Hollywood Park on Saturday, April 26 with a $50,000 claiming tag as the 4.20-to-1 fourth choice among five four-year-olds and up going 7-1/2 furlongs. The four-year-old trans-continental traveler might be the only horse ever to have won on Aqueduct's inner and outer dirt tracks, Finger Lakes (twice), Golden Gate Fields, Santa Anita, and Hollywood Park -- the last three coming on synthetic surfaces. Trained by Jose DeLima, Fight On was bred by Harry Landry and Western Guidelines, Inc. and is the sixth winner and third New York-bred winner produced from multiple stakes-placed turf winner Stylish Aristocrat, whom Landry had purchased (not in foal) for $1,300 at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's 2001 December sale. The bay gelding is among at least three New York-bred high-priced claimers that have won twice on the southern California circuit within the past six months. The others are: five-year-old mare HEATHERSDADDYSBABY ($210,599), bred by James Vena and a January-March winner on Santa Anita turf; and six-year-old gelding BEHIND THE SCREEN ($171,218 through 2007), a homebred winner for Long Islander Nick Siounis (Hercules Farm) on Oak Tree/Santa Anita turf and Hollywood Park's main track in November-December. Heathersdaddybaby, a daughter of Badge who was claimed for $50,000 in her March 28 win, has tallied three times on dirt and six times on turf and placed a close second in the Claiming Crown Tiara Stakes on Ellis Park turf last August. Behind the Screen has won at Aqueduct, Belmont, Oak Tree/Santa Anita, and Hollywood Park -- three times on turf, twice on synthetic (two-for-two through 2007), and once on conventional dirt. STORMIN NORMANDY ($171,010), four-year-old colt racing for IEAH Stables, Andrew Cohen, and Pegasus Holdings Group Stables, stretched out to a mile for the first time in an open N2X allowance/optional claimer at Aqueduct on Sunday, April 27, romping gate-to-wire from the outside post among six to win by 2-1/2 lengths. The Richard Dutrow Jr.-trained dark bay had captured an open N1X allowance going six furlongs on Aqueduct's inner track 36 days earlier and had gone through his state-bred N2X allowance condition by winning at 5-1/2 furlongs at the Big A in January. He had finished first by a neck over undefeated Ferocious Fires in Belmont's $125,000 Hudson Handicap at six furlongs on New York Showcase Day but was disqualified to second for drifting out in the stretch -- a habit still not overcome, though his Sunday margin made it inconsequential. Now with five wins by almost 25 lengths in nine starts plus his Hudson second-placing, Stormin Normandy had been a $100,000 yearling at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga preferred sale of New York-breds and a $375,000 two-year-old at Fasig-Tipton Florida's 2006 February Calder sale. He was bred by the Fiddlers Green Stable of Joan Simpson of Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts and was foaled at Hidden Lake Farm, LLC in Otisville. Stormin Normandy has the pedigree to try two turns and/or turf competition. In open turf stakes at Calder and Aqueduct on Saturday, April 26, New York-bred grass mares J'ray ($590,889) and Factual Contender ($492,150) placed second and third, respectively, in Calder's $300,000 Mairzy Doates Handicap at a mile and three-eighths and Aqueduct's graded Beaugay Handicap at a mile and a sixteenth. Both mares were coming off layoffs, but Thomas Farone Jr.'s seven-year-old Factual Contender was making her 2008 debut after having won Aqueduct's New York Stallion Perfect Arc Stakes by 3-3/4 lengths in her latest previous outing on November 11. Lawrence Goichman's homebred J'ray had graded wins at Fair Grounds and Calder as a 2007 four-year-old and came off a seven-week layoff to miss by less than a length to an odds-on (.90-to-1) rival boasting graded/group victories at Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park, and Deauville (France). Factual Contender had not even tried turf until 17 months earlier, and although she twice had beaten J'ray while placing second in restricted turf stakes at Saratoga and Belmont last year and had an open company win among four 2007 stakes victories, the Beaugay marked her first graded outing. Factual Contender also became the 27th New York-bred to finish in the top-three in an open 2008 black-type stakes, and her third-placing in the Beaugay was the 40th top-three stakes finish by a New York-bred in open stakes company this year. |
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R Clear Victory enjoys clear sailing in front - wins Kings Point by 4 by Rab Hagin
In his fourth consecutive stakes outing and longest effort to date, Coastal Racing Stable's R CLEAR VICTORY led gate-to-wire in Aqueduct's mile and an eighth Kings Point Handicap for New York-bred three-year-olds and up, scoring his first stakes victory by four lengths as the 3.50-to-1 second choice among five. The five-year-old gelding effectively controlled the pace with early negative splits, as jockey Stewart Elliott piloted him through accelerating quarter-miles of 24.97, 24.26, and 23.75 while 9.60-to-1 fourth choice Prince of Peace -- coming off an Aqueduct stakes victory 36 days earlier -- stalked in second place. A surprisingly strong 24.19 fourth quarter -- still quicker than his first two splits -- put R Clear Victory four lengths in front at mid-stretch, and that margin held through the final furlong, although Prince of Peace was edged late by 3.90-to-1 third choice Shuffling Maddnes. The odds-on (.65-to-1) topweight under 124 pounds in the Kings Point, graded winner and near-millionaire Naughty New Yorker (now $974,594), stalked four-wide and faded from third in the early running to fifth at the finish, but there were possibly two overlooked factors. In three career efforts carrying more than 123 pounds, Naughty New Yorker has never won or placed, and his 12 wins on all four NYRA dirt strips have been distributed evenly (four each) over three of the calendar's four seasons -- but never in the spring. R Clear Victory had placed second in consecutive two-turn restricted stakes on Aqueduct's inner track in January, February, and March, but in the Master Digby in February he had finished 12-1/4 lengths behind Naughty New Yorker, and in the subsequent Instant Friendship, he had trailed Prince of Peace by daylight. Winning jockey Elliott, who has ridden R Clear Victory in the gelding's latest seven consecutive outings and two multiple-margin victories, understood his mount's talents and how to exploit them: "There isn't much to say," Elliott explained. "He relaxed and got the right trip. He beat some pretty good New York-breds today. He's a pretty nice horse when things go his way," concluded Elliott, for whom R Clear Victory provided the second of three consecutive winning rides -- the last two aboard New York-breds. Victory in the $78,300 Kings Point increased R Clear Victory's earnings to $217,398 while improving his record to 6 - 4 - 3 in 21 starts, which includes a maiden-breaking victory on Lone Star Park turf and a restricted N1X allowance tally on Belmont grass -- both in 2006. His latest four wins have all been on Aqueduct dirt -- two on the inner track, including an open allowance by 3-3/4 lengths in January, and two on the outer track, including the Kings Point. R Clear Victory is trained by Steven Asmussen, who had given him moderate workouts over Belmont's training track on April 6 and 13 following the dark bay's runner-up effort behind Prince of Peace in the Instant Friendship 36 days prior to the Kings Point. Asmussen's assistant, Toby Sheets, indicated after the Kings Point that Elliott's ride had been ideal and that various future plans are being considered: "Stewart (Elliott) did a good job of getting him to relax," Sheets pointed out. "The horse was off the bridle, and he helped us out a lot. We never make decisions until we see how a horse comes out after a race, but Steve (Asmussen) has a lot of options with him. One possibility is the Claiming Crown (Claiming Crown Jewel, $150,000 guaranteed, mile and an eighth, Saturday, August 2 at Canterbury Park in Minnesota)." R Clear Victory, who twice has run with $30,000 tags (breaking his maiden and winning by 4-1/2 lengths at Aqueduct early in 2007), campaigns for the Coastal Racing Stable of Chris Jean of Pearl River, Louisiana, which had purchased him for $100,000 at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic's 2005 May sale of two-year-olds. The versatile front-runner was bred by Terry and Donna Ernst of Okeechobee, Florida and was foaled at Dr. Jonathan Davis's Milfer Farm in Unadilla. The son of Belmont Stakes winner and Eclipse Champion Victory Gallop is the fourth winner and second six-figure-earner produced from winner Minigroom, whom Questroyal Stable had purchased for $23,000 at Keeneland's 2001 November sale when that mare was carrying her future third winner. Minigroom, who is by Mt. Livermore, is a half-sister to a Group 2-placed French winner and is from the female family of two French Group 1 winners and a North American Grade 1 winner on turf. |
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NY-bred Icabad Crane rallies to win Pimlico's $100K Federico Tesio by Rab Hagin
Bumped, blocked, and forced to catch a still-fresh frontrunner off easy fractions, Earle Mack's New York-bred ICABAD CRANE earned a hard-fought victory in Pimlico's $100,000 Federico Tesio Stakes for three-year-olds going a mile and an eighth on Saturday -- Pimlico's major prep for its Grade 1 Preakness on May 17. Although the April-foaled colt was the youngest among eight starters, had the fewest previous outings, and had a new jockey for the fourth time in four starts, he was no surprise, going off favored at 1.90-to-1 over mid-Atlantic multiple stakes winner Cave's Valley, the 2.90-to-1 second choice. Icabad Crane settled easily into sixth place through a tepid 48.49 half-mile set by front-running 5.20-to-1 third choice Mint Lane before advancing between rivals on the second turn and bumping with fourth choice Fast Talking as jockey Jeremy Rose steered the New York-bred to the three path. Mint Lane, still fresh after cruising on the front end through four quarters that averaged over 24-1/2 seconds, had a two-length lead at the three-eighths pole and held a half-length advantage over Icabad Crane at mid-stretch before the two locked up for the final duel. At the wire, three lengths separated Icabad Crane and Mint Lane from their closest competition, as Mack's tenacious Empire State-bred established himself as one of 2008's newest classic contenders. It was the third stakes-winning ride on Pimlico's Saturday card for jockey Rose, who had ample praise for Icabad Crane: "My horse was great," emphasized Rose. "In the mornings, he is lazy. When I worked him, I couldn't believe he was the horse everyone likes in the barn. He is a great horse to ride. I was impressed at how game he was when I had him in a couple of tight spots. Luckily, it worked out for us. He's a game little horse." Also game was runner-up Mint Lane, who was coming off an 8-1/2-length romp in a two-turn Aqueduct allowance 24 days earlier and had plenty of run left in the stretch of the Tesio, according to his jockey, Mario Pino: "I could not have asked for any more," remarked Pino. "When I asked him, he gave me everything he had. I couldn't believe he got passed, because I had so much horse turning into the lane. Someone was really going to have to be running to beat us." Adrian Rolls, assistant to winning trainer H. Graham Motion, was reserved about revealing future plans for Icabad Crane: "The Preakness is something Mr. Mack and Graham will discuss," Rolls guardedly remarked. "This is only his fourth start, so this was a nice step up. He has a great disposition and is easy to train. You always hope to have good three-year-olds." Four weeks earlier, Icabad Crane had placed third among nine in a five-wide stakes debut, Turfway Park's $100,000 Rushaway Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth on Polytrack, and three weeks later Motion had given him a moderate five-furlong workout over Fair Hill's synthetic track in Elkton, Maryland. Victory in the Tesio -- previously won by eventual Preakness winner Deputed Testamony and by future Grade 1-winning millionaires Broad Brush and Private Terms -- boosted Icabad Crane's earnings into six figures at $125,400 with a record of three wins and the Rushaway third-placing in four starts. The dark bay colt had won first-out on Aqueduct's outer main track in November and had captured a two-turn restricted N1X allowance at a mile and 70 yards on the Big A's inner track in January. Owned by real estate developer Mack of Fort Lee, New Jersey and Palm Beach, Florida -- also U.S. ambassador to Finland in 2004-2005 -- Icabad Crane was bred by and foaled at Marlene Brody's Gallagher's Stud in Ghent, which had consigned him to Fasig-Tipton's 2006 Saratoga New York-bred preferred yearling sale. The colt was pinhooked by Crupi's New Castle Farm of Ocala, Florida, which had purchased him for $65,000 at Saratoga and had sold him for $110,000 six months later at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2007 February sale of selected two-year-olds in training. Icabad Crane is by Grade 2 winner Jump Start and is the fourth offspring and fourth winner produced from Gallagher's Stud's New York homebred winner, Adorahy, whose six-figure-earning half-siblings include graded winner Adcat ($435,597), stakes winner Adorydar ($231,425), and stakes-placed stakes producer Adoryphar (granddam of Grade 1 winner Rutherienne). Icabad Crane is the fourth New York-bred open stakes winner within a two-week span and the 12th state-bred open black-type stakes winner of 2008. The Federico Tesio was the 13th open black-type event captured this year by a runner bred in the Empire State -- at eight different tracks in New York, Maryland, Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana, and England. |
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5 NY-breds won/placed in open stakes during April world-wide surge by Rab Hagin
Three new 2008 stakes horses were among five New York-breds winning or placing in open stakes at Aqueduct, Keeneland, Oaklawn Park, and Nakayama (Japan) on Saturday, April 12 and Wednesday, April 16, as state-breds hit the boards in open stakes or captured allowances in five U.S. states and two continents. As impressive as the winners were, the three New York-breds that placed tantalizingly close in graded and/or million-dollar events in Arkansas, Japan, and Kentucky were equally noteworthy, and two actually earned the biggest checks among state-breds during the week. In two days at six different tracks, nine New York-breds picked up more than $650,000 against open company competition. Three finished less than a length away from earning an additional $780,000-plus in aggregate first-place purse money -- one in a photo-finish. The following New York-breds were mid-April standouts: SHERINE ($220,662) surprisingly was the 13.30-to-1 last choice among five in Aqueduct's Grade 2 Comely Stakes for three-year-old fillies going a one-turn mile on Saturday, April 12 and won by two lengths for leading North American owner Zayat Stables under the guidance of trainer Anthony Dutrow and jockey Alan Garcia. It was her second stakes victory in a record that also includes a third-placing in an open juvenile turf stakes at Saratoga last summer. The favorite in the event was coming off a maiden-breaking effort at Gulfstream Park in February and finished fourth. Sherine was bred by the two-time New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB) Breeder of the Year, Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds in Stillwater. WEATHERED ($102,440) scored her fourth win in five starts (with one third, when she was bumped) in her stakes debut in Aqueduct's open Lizzy Cool Stakes for three-year-old fillies going 6-1/2 furlongs three races prior to Sherine's Comely victory on the same Aqueduct Saturday card. The daughter of Key Contender would have been a formidable contender in Aqueduct's $100,000 New York Stallion Park Avenue Stakes for New York-conceived three-year-old fillies going seven furlongs the next day but was not nominated for that series, so her first stakes win came in open company instead. Weathered is a homebred for Edward Shapoff and is trained by Karl Grusmark, and her 2-1/4-length Lizzy Cool victory marked her first outing under jockey Michael Luzzi. The May-foaled filly was the youngest starter in the Lizzy Cool, which is the shortest race in which she has ever participated. A SHIN FORWARD ($497,659) placed a closing second among 16 -- beaten less than a length -- in the Group 2 $1,019,275 New Zealand Trophy for three-year-olds going 1,600 meters (about a mile) on turf at Nakayama in Japan on Saturday, April 12. Six weeks earlier, the dark bay colt had placed second in the $730,769 Arlington Cup at that same turf distance at Hanshin in Japan, finishing behind a rival that he subsequently beat by almost two lengths in the New Zealand Trophy. Purchased by his owner, Hirotsugu Hirai of Oasak-Fu, Japan, for $290,000 at Fasig-Tipton Florida's 2007 March sale of selected two-year-olds after having been sold for $125,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2006 Saratoga select yearling sale, A Shin Forward was bred by and foaled at Vivien Malloy's Edition Farm in Waccabuc. He is the first offspring produced from NYTB 2003 Champion Turf Female Wake Up Kiss ($248,997), whom Edition Farm had purchased for $380,000 at Keeneland's 2004 November sale when she was carrying A Shin Forward -- the current leading 2008 money-earner sired by Forest Wildcat. A Shin Forward, who picked up the U.S. equivalent of $216,658 for his runner-up effort in the New Zealand Trophy, also is 2008's leading money-earning New York-bred three-year-old. Z FORTUNE ($386,600) placed second among 13 -- less than a length behind favored winner Gayego -- in Oaklawn Park's Grade 2 $1-million Arkansas Derby at a mile and an eighth on Saturday after breaking from the 11th post and running four-wide on both turns. His effort prompted Hall of Fame jockey and ESPN racing analyst Jerry Bailey to speculate that it might have been the most impressive performance in the event, since four lengths separated the New York-bred from the pace-setting third-place finisher, who was carrying four pounds less weight. Winner of Fair Grounds' Grade 3 LeComte Stakes by 2-3/4 lengths going a two-turn mile in January, Z Fortune is another New York-bred -- like Sherine above -- campaigned by leading owner Zayat Stables, but he races under the supervision of trainer Steven Asmussen. The former $80,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2006 July yearling sale was bred by the Delehanty Stock Farm in Amenia of renowned international artist Frank Stella, which had raced the colt's Grade 2-winning dam. I LOST MY CHOO placed third in a three-way photo -- missing victory by a head and a nose to rivals who were both carrying less weight than she -- in her stakes debut in Keeneland's Grade 3 Appalachian Stakes for three-year-old fillies going a mile on turf on Wednesday, April 16. The Western Expression filly was coming off three consecutive grass victories at Gulfstream Park -- a maiden special mile and two mile and a sixteenth allowances in January, February, and March, respectively -- and was favored at 2.80-to-1 among 10 starters, including four that already had won stakes. The distance might have been slightly too short, and the pace clearly was too slow for the Flying Zee Stable homebred, who was rank and stargazing while drifting out on the first turn and later was edged out following a furious final furlong in 11.58. I Lost My Choo was conceived and foaled at owner Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson and is a half-sister to Flying Zee Stable's New York homebred multiple stakes-winning filly/mare Kevin's Decision ($218,374). She is the 13th top-three stakes performer from four crops to race sired by Flying Zee Stable's Western Expression, whose 59.75-to-1 Express to Thewest had closed from last among eight to place second in Aqueduct's $100,000 New York Stallion Times Square Stakes for New York-conceived three-year-old males three days earlier. STUD MUFFIN ($147,437), Louis Zito's, Gerry Reid's, and Donall Fingleton's $35,000 claim at Aqueduct on March 13, captured an open N1X allowance for four-year-olds and up going a mile and an eighth at Aqueduct on Saturday, April 12, improving his record to 4 - 2 - 3 in 18 starts. The improving four-year-old son of Raffie's Majesty was bred by the Majesty Stud of Digby Barrios of Ridgefield, Connecticut and was foaled at Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag, and he had raced for his breeder until being claimed by his current owners. AHVEE'S DESTINY ($151,580), Everything's Cricket Racing's lawn-loving sprint filly, won a five-furlong turf allowance at Gulfstream Park in a blistering 54.77 on April 12 in her 2008 debut off a 164-day layoff. The four-year-old Rizzi filly improved her dirt-and-turf-winning record to 4 - 1 - 2 in 12 starts, which includes a closing third-place effort among nine in her stakes debut last October in Meadowlands' five-furlong P. G. Johnson Stakes on grass and back-to-back wins on Saratoga turf in 2007. Ahvee's Destiny was bred by Sez Who Thoroughbreds and had been a $130,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2006 March sale of two-year-olds. She is a half-sister to New York-bred multiple stakes winner Accurate, who never raced on turf. BUILDING NEW ERA ($206,137), Vincent Scuderi's and Sullivan Lane Stable's five-year-old multiple stakes-placed veteran, scored his first victory in 11 months in a one-turn mile open claiming contest at Aqueduct on April 12, running with a $35,000 tag and improving his record to 4 - 6 - 3 in 22 starts. The gray/roan gelding, who won by two lengths as the 2.35-to-1 favorite among eight, had been picking up checks since his latest previous win at Belmont last May, placing second or third in three stakes before being claimed at Aqueduct in late December. Building New Era was bred by Sez Who Thoroughbreds. WATRALSOUTHERNCURE ($220,696), owner-trainer Ben Feliciano's perspicacious claim at Finger Lakes last November, scored his second three-length-plus victory of 2008 with a 3-1/4-length front-running tally in Mountaineer Park's featured one-mile starter allowance on Saturday evening, April 12, improving his "iron horse" record to 16 - 11 - 11 in 57 starts. Although the indestructible nine-year-old has won 11 times at beyond a mile and four times sprinting (he had scored by 3-1/4 lengths at Mountaineer Park in 1:09.95 for six furlongs despite a "good" track in January), his Saturday night romp marked his first mile victory. LORD LANGFUHR ($420,633), Howard Whitbred's and Christine Brennan's homebred winner of Aqueduct's Alex M. Robb Handicap on New Year's Eve 2004, got his first victory in almost two years in Aqueduct's $50,000 starter handicap for open four-year-olds and up going a mile and an eighth on Thursday, April 17. Despite his long previous win drought, the eight-year-old has placed in three restricted NYRA stakes in 2007-2008 and was coming off a closing third-place effort in Aqueduct's Instant Friendship Stakes for state-breds going a mile and a sixteenth on the inner track 33 days earlier. Now with a record of 9 - 7 - 8 in 47 starts, the gelding's latest victory marked his 19th outing and seventh win under jockey Jorge Chavez, who had been aboard for Lord Langfuhr's Alex M. Robb tally. |
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Fort Drum, Like a Rose take NY Stallion Stakes - Winning Move Stable and Contessa get double by Rab Hagin
Under the fluorescent orange colors of Winning Move Stable, the Gary Contessa-trained duo of FORT DRUM and LIKE A ROSE captured the seven-furlong Times Square and Park Avenue divisions of the New York Stallion Stakes at Aqueduct on Sunday -- both scoring their first stakes victories. The two $100,000 events for three-year-olds bred anywhere but conceived from the covers of registered New York stallions -- the Times Square for colts and geldings and the Park Avenue for fillies -- featured upsets of odds-on or near even-money favorites. Both winners are from the first crops of their respective sires, both had one victory each on their resumes going into their Stallion Stakes outings, and both came from off the pace to tally by margins of a half-length or less. Contessa, the New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB) Trainer of the Year for 2004 and 2006, had recommended the auction purchases of both Fort Drum and Like a Rose and now has reasons to believe that both are on the verge of racing up to their potential. Fort Drum, a son of Wiseman's Ferry who had won first-out at Belmont last June but could not shake the habit of repeatedly bumping into his competition, eventually had been consigned to Keeneland's 2008 January sale, where Winning Move Stable had purchased the colt for $145,000. Racing for Winning Move in partnership with Sanford Robbins LLC of Howard Beach in Queens, Harold Lerner of Tenafly, New Jersey, and Seidman Stables, the bay colt ducked outside immediately after breaking on top from the outside post among eight as the Times Square 3.05-to-1 second choice. Jockey Eibar Coa, who was on board the erratically-running New York-bred for the first time in competition, reined hard left to keep the potential runaway from bolting towards the outside rail and finally steered him over behind three front-end contenders through a quick 45.06 half-mile. In the upper stretch, Fort Drum pulled even with front-running Piquante Cat, whom he briefly brushed while Coa was trying to get his mount to switch leads, and by mid-stretch he was ahead for good despite drifting out while 59.75-to-1 Express to Thewest closed to within a half-length of him. Contessa, who had given Fort Drum four workouts at Aqueduct within the two-week span from March 27 to April 10 (concluding with a half-mile "bullet" drill), was hardly complimentary of the colt but acknowledged the obvious presence of talent: "He runs like a moron," Contessa quipped. "He ran like a two-year-old making his first start. I have never seen a horse run this stupid and win. "I went down to Keeneland in January thinking I could get him for $50,000-to-$70,000," Contessa continued. "Today's race is why I paid $145,000. This one I really like," concluded Contessa, who five years earlier had sent out Times Square winner Grey Comet. Winning rider Coa, the NYTB 2006 Jockey of the Year, was understated in assessing his experience in the Times Square: "He (Fort Drum) ran very green today. I put him together, and he straightened out." Victory in the Times Square -- Fort Drum's first start since placing second in a restricted N1X allowance going a mile and 70 yards on Aqueduct's muddy inner track on New Year's Day -- increased the colt's earnings to $120,343 and improved his record to 2 - 2 - 1 in eight starts. Last November, the obstreperous bay had bumped his way to a third-placing in Aqueduct's New York Stallion Great White Way Stakes at six furlongs, finishing a length behind runner-up Piquante Cat. Fort Drum, who is inbred 3 x 5 to Mr. Prospector, is the first stakes winner sired by Wiseman's Ferry and was bred by South Gate, of Dr. E. C. Hart and Susan Hart of Millwood, Virginia, in partnership with Denlea Park of Kurt Butenhoff of Hillsdale. He was foaled at Butenhoff's and James Lamonica's Empire Stud in Hudson and had been sold for $70,000 as a November weanling at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky in 2005 and for $135,000 at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2006 July selected yearling sale before going to Winning Move Stable for $145,000 at Keeneland. Fort Drum is the third winner produced from stakes-pl aced winner Elmira Gulch, who had been purchased by South Gate for $27,000 at Keeneland's 2003 November sale and is a half-sister to the winning dam of Puerto Rican multiple stakes winner Marianita ($123,632 through 2007). Like a Rose blooms in Park Avenue - surges to 3-way photo-finish win
A daughter of prominent New York-based second-crop sire Hook and Ladder captured Aqueduct's New York Stallion Park Avenue Stakes -- but not the daughter at near even-money (1.15-to-1) among seven wagering interests and eight starters -- although that filly also was in the three-way photo revealing Like a Rose as the winner. Race-ridden for the first time by jockey Michael Luzzi, who was substituting for Channing Hill after that rider had been unseated earlier on Sunday, Like a Rose went off as the 8-to-1 fourth choice just eight days after winning a 6-1/2-furlong Aqueduct maiden special by 4-1/2 lengths. She advanced from fifth place following a 22.27 opening quarter-mile set by the favored Hook and Ladder filly, I Promise, to third at the three-eighths pole and overtook stakes-winning pace-prompter Canadian Ballet in the upper stretch to trail only I Promise entering the final furlong. As Like a Rose closed on her graded-placed rival, 10.40-to-1 sixth choice Study Abroad advanced on the outside and appeared to be the likely winner until Like a Rose surged late to nail victory by a nose, with I Promise only a head back in third place. Winning jockey Luzzi, who had ridden 2000 Park Avenue winner Laken and had piloted New York-bred-and-conceived Weathered to victory in Aqueduct's open Lizzy Cool Stakes the day before, was not immediately sure of the outcome: "To tell you the truth, I didn't know I had it," Luzzi confessed. "It was hard to tell. I needed a horse to push me by Gary's (Contessa) other horse (I Promise), and here came the two-horse (Study Abroad)." Trainer Contessa, conditioner of both I Promise (now $101,985) and Like a Rose, was especially high on the winner: "This is a filly who I loved from Day One," revealed Contessa. "She has had one physical problem after another stopping her. I told Steve (Sigler of Winning Move Stable) at the Ocala (Breeders') Sales last year that I had to have her. I think we paid $105,000 for her. I thought then that she was special, and today she proved she was special -- on eight days' rest. She'll get a little time off now." In four starts, Like a Rose has never finished worse than second, placing in juvenile outings at Saratoga and Belmont last August and September -- beaten only a head in her second start -- before returning from a 199-day layoff to break her maiden at Aqueduct on April 5. Now with earnings of $112,800, the bay filly looks like eventually she will stretch out in distance for Winning Move Stable, which consists of New York natives Steve and Brian Sigler -- father and brother, respectively, of former "Sopranos" actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler -- plus various other partners. A yearling-to-two-year-old pinhook, Like a Rose had been a $60,000 purchase at Keeneland's 2006 September yearling sale prior to Contessa's $105,000 clinching bid for her on behalf of Winning Move Stable at the Ocala Breeders' Sales (OBS) Company's 2007 March sale of two-year-olds in training in Florida. She is the third stakes winner from the first crop of Hook and Ladder, whose other black-type winners -- also New York-bred three-year-olds -- are 2008 graded winner Big Truck ($336,350) and Spanky Fischbein ($183,350). The one-three finish by Like a Rose and I Promise in the Park Avenue could elevate the ranking of Hook and Ladder, who is owned by a partnership and stands at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson, to among North America's top-three second-crop sires for 2008. Like a Rose and I Promise were foaled one day apart; the former arrived on April 26 of 2005, the latter on April 27. Bred by Becky Thomas and Lewis Lakin in partnership with the Atlantis Mares of James Kintz of Atlanta, Georgia, Like a Rose is the third consecutive Park Avenue winner bred wholly or in part by Thomas and Lakin and foaled at what is now Thomas's Sequel Stallions New York. She is inbred 3 x 4 to Mr. Prospector and is the sixth winner and third stakes-caliber performer produced from two-time winner Midnight Tank, being a half-sister to stakes-placed Tank's Expectation ($323,029) and Battle Tank ($208,203). In the name of Lakland, Thomas and Lakin had purchased Midnight Tank for $14,000 at the OBS 1999 October mixed sale when the mare was carrying Battle Tank. Midnight Tank is a half-sister to stakes winners Chores at Dawn, Grey Gauntlet, and Corbett. |
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NY-breds Sherine (G2) and Weathered capture Big A stakes; Z Fortune is Ark. Derby runner-up by Rab Hagin
On an eventful Saturday for New York-breds, Zayat Stables' SHERINE captured the Grade 2 Comely and Edward Shapoff's homebred WEATHERED won the Lizzy Cool -- both open Aqueduct stakes for three-year-old fillies -- while Z Fortune placed second among 13 in the Arkansas Derby, as three state-breds garnered $329,900 in total earnings. The New York-bred crop of 2005, which has now been represented by seven open stakes winners in 2008, had an unusually lucrative afternoon. Half of the eight state-bred winners on Aqueduct's Saturday card scored their victories outside state-bred competition. The overlooked Sherine (13.30-to-1 last choice among five) was coming off an unplaced outing 55 days earlier in Aqueduct's six-furlong Dearly Precious Stakes on the inner track, which might have been an unsuitable venue for her to sprint, but the one-turn mile Comely on the outer track seemed ideal. Ridden for the sixth time in competition -- fourth consecutive -- by jockey Alan Garcia, the dark bay filly went immediately after top gate-breaking Lady Chace and had the lead and the rail position following a fearless opening quarter-mile in 22.96. Lady Chace, the 2.10-to-1 second choice and carrying two pounds less than Sherine, stayed right at the New York-bred's throatlatch through a half-mile in 46.41 before separation began to occur, and by mid-stretch Sherine was in front by two lengths and unthreatened by any pursuing rivals. In the final furlong, 2008 graded runner-up Ready for Fortune -- who had won the Dearly Precious in which Sherine had misfired -- rallied to secure second, while another 2008 graded runner-up, Elusive Lady, placed a neck back in third. Sherine's winning margin over runner-up Ready for Fortune at equal weights was two lengths and represented the fourth multiple-length victory margin in her career. Winning trainer Anthony Dutrow, who sent out two New York-bred winners on Aqueduct's Saturday card and had given Sherine three workouts at Aqueduct -- including two "bullet" drills -- following her Dearly Precious debacle, seemed at a loss for an explanation. "I was as surprised with her effort today as I was with her (non) effort in the Dearly Precious," confessed Dutrow. "I thought she was training great going into the Dearly Precious, and I thought she looked good coming out of it. I just kind of forgot about that race and freshened her up. She really ran a big race today. She ran fast all the way around there. I knew she was a talented filly and capable of running that way. I was just hoping she was good enough at the top of the stretch. This is a big win for me. With her speed and versatility, there are a lot of options for her." Sherine can sprint (winning a six-furlong allowance on Aqueduct's outer track last November by 11-1/4 lengths) or route (winning Aqueduct's East View Stakes for state-bred juvenile fillies at a mile and a sixteenth on the inner track in December by 3-3/4) or run on turf (broke her maiden; open stakes-placed). Jockey Garcia, who has been on board for all of the filly's victories as well as her third-placing in Saratoga's open With Anticipation going a mile and a sixteenth on turf at two, acknowledged Sherine's versatility: "It doesn't matter what she's on -- she's just a fast filly. Things didn't go right last time, and Tony (Dutrow, trainer) told me she would be a better horse today. Tony has done a good job with her. I knew I had horse at the three-eighths pole, but she was still kind of playing around. She gave me what she needed to in the stretch." Victory in the Comely -- won in 2005 by New York Thoroughbred Breeders (NYTB) multiple champion Acey Deucey, in 1992 by New York-bred Eclipse Champion Saratoga Dew, and in earlier renewals by Hall of Fame fillies Ruffian, Ta Wee, and Bed o' Roses -- boosted Sherine's earnings to $220,662. Now with four wins and two thirds in eight starts, the Comely victor was the second winner on Aqueduct's Saturday card bred in New York by Richard Simon's Sez Who Thoroughbreds in Stillwater, the 2005 and 2006 NYTB Breeder of the Year. She had been purchased for $85,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2007 February juvenile sale by Egyptian/American beverage entrepreneur Ahmed Zayat of Hackensack, New Jersey, whose Zayat Stables also campaigns New York-bred Arkansas Derby runner-up Z Fortune and was 2007's leading U.S.-based owner of stakes winners and graded winners. The daughter of Precise End is the second offspring and second stakes-caliber winner produced from Willa Dear, by Red Ransom, being a half-sister to versatile 10-time winner (five in dirt routes, four in dirt sprints, once on turf) and two-time stakes runner-up Biloxi Pride ($211,526). Willa Dear, whom Sez Who Thoroughbreds had purchased for $85,000 as a four-year-old unraced and not-bred broodmare prospect at Keeneland's 2000 January mixed sale, is a half-sister to two stakes winners, including Spanish Parade, dam of multiple graded winner Parade Queen and granddam of graded winner Untouched Talent. Sherine is the 11th New York-bred open black-type stakes winner of 2008 and the second graded winner at Aqueduct within a week -- following Grade 1 Carter Handicap winner Bustin Stones. NY-bred Weathered "weathers" early challenge - wins Big A's open Lizzy Cool by 2-1/4
Fifteen days after drilling older foes in a seven-furlong Laurel Park allowance, Edward Shapoff's New York homebred WEATHERED powered through tight quarters in Aqueduct's open Lizzy Cool Stakes for three-year-old fillies going 6-1/2 furlongs on Saturday, capturing her stakes debut by 2-1/4 lengths as the youngest among six starters. What was astonishing was how the talented chestnut had been allowed to go off as the 6-to-1 co-fourth choice -- perhaps the distance was considered too short -- but Weathered was never out of striking position in her first outing under jockey Michael Luzzi. On the turn, she advanced along the rail before splitting rivals Psycho D J and Mikeslittlegirl -- both earners of stakes money at Aqueduct in 2008 -- and emerged at the top of the stretch with those two in tight on either side of her. In the upper stretch, Weathered dug in and put away early leader Psycho D J on her inside while edging ahead of 3.65-to-1 second choice Mikeslittlegirl on her outside, and in the final furlong she pulled away, increasing her margin with every long, powerful stride. New York-bred graded-placed winner Meriwether Jessica, the near even-money favorite in the Lizzy Cool at 1.05-to-1, broke from the outside post and raced wide throughout to finish fourth. For winning rider Luzzi, whose previous New York-bred mounts have included Grade 1-winning millionaire Critical Eye, it was the first of two victorious trips on Aqueduct's Saturday afternoon card. Victory in the $66,500 Lizzy Cool -- run over a "good" Aqueduct outer main track and representing Weathered's second off track win in two attempts -- boosted the Shapoff homebred's earnings into six figures at $102,440 and improved her never-unplaced record to four wins in five starts since the day after Christmas. The late-foaled (May 12, 2005) filly's only loss had come in her second start on February 8 at Aqueduct, when she had been bumped after the start and placed third among eight. Less than a month later (March 6), she had scored by 2-3/4 lengths going a two-turn mile on the Big A's inner track, and 22 days after that victory she had handled older fillies and mares even more easily in a seven-furlong allowance at Laurel, tallying by 3-1/2 lengths. Trainer Karl Grusmark has brought Weathered along cautiously, sending her to Laurel to win her December 26 debut by 3-1/4 lengths. The filly has never raced beyond a mile but has the style and pedigree of a runner that wants to go nine furlongs and beyond. In addition to the winner's share of the purse, Weathered's owner-breeder, Edward Shapoff of Chevalier Stable in Pelham, also qualified for $15,960 of the total $20,315.75 in open race owner, breeder, and stallion owner awards that the Lizzy Cool result generated. Weathered was foaled at Carl Lizza Jr.'s and Joseph Bartone's Highcliff Farm in Delanson where her syndicated Grade 1-winning sire, Key Contender, stands, and her Lizzy Cool victory boosted that stallion's cumulative progeny earnings to right at $6.8-million. Key Contender's stakes-winning offspring include near-legendary New England filly/mare Ask Queenie ($558,705), who won 10 stakes on dirt and five more on turf and regularly beat males, but Weathered appears to be more talented than that versatile veteran. Weathered is the fifth winner and second stakes-performing six-figure-earner produced from New York-bred stakes-placed winner Thunder Stand, whose trainer was Stanley Shapoff and whose five stakes-performing half-siblings include New York-bred stakes winners Liver Stand ($248,106) and Endsaseeket. Weathered is the 10th of 11 New York-bred open black-type stakes winners in 2008 -- preceding Comely winner Sherine by about 2-1/2 hours -- and the Lizzy Cool represented the 11th of 12 open stakes victories by state-breds this year through the second Saturday of April. NY-bred Z Fortune confirms Ky. Derby status - places 2nd in $1-million Ark. Derby Although two New York-breds won open stakes on Saturday, the biggest money-earning state-bred for the day was Zayat Stables' Z Fortune, who earned $200,000 of Oaklawn Park's $1-million Grade 2 Arkansas Derby purse by placing a close second among 13 after racing four-wide on both turns. The Arkansas Derby winner and 2.20-to-1 favorite, 2008 Santa Anita stakes winner Gayego, had what appeared to be an ideal trip in the mile and an eighth event and finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Z Fortune, with four lengths back to third. Z Fortune, who bobbled slightly after breaking from the 11th post, atoned for his puzzling unplaced effort in Oaklawn Park's Grade 2 Rebel Stakes four weeks earlier, boosting his earnings to $386,600 with a record of three wins and two seconds -- the latter both in graded stakes -- in six starts. He was ridden for the first time in competition by jockey Robby Albarado because his two riders in three previous stakes outings -- Garrett Gomez and Shaun Bridgmohan -- had mounts at Keeneland. In all likelihood, the New York-bred's next start will be in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3. Almost two hours earlier, another New York-bred owned by Zayat Stables, Sherine, had captured Aqueduct's Grade 2 Comely Stakes for three-year-old fillies by a front-running two lengths. Z Fortune, an $80,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2006 July yearling sale, had captured Fair Grounds' graded LeComte Stakes by 2-3/4 lengths in January and is among two New York-bred open black-type 2008 stakes winners bred by the Delehanty Stock Farm in Amenia of renowned international artist Frank Stella. The other is four-year-old English listed stakes winner Malt or Mash. Z Fortune's runner-up effort in the Arkansas Derby was the 35th top-three performance by a New York-bred in an open black-type stakes event in 2008. Those 35 top-three open stakes performances have come at 11 tracks in New York, Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Maryland, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Japan, and England. |
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Karakorum Starlet takes Personal Girl under top weight - 5th stakes win by Rab Hagin
Undeterred even though the favored entry ran a two-prong attack at her, Karakorum Farm's relentless KARAKORUM STARLET overcame a horrendous start under top weight to capture Aqueduct's seven-furlong Personal Girl Stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares on Sunday, scoring her fifth stakes victory in 230 days. The five-year-old mare was almost co-favored with the entry of Starship Cruiser and Waytotheleft -- all three going off at 2.60-to-1 among eight starters and seven wagering interests -- and although she usually leads early in her best performances, Karakorum Starlet was next-to-last for about 100 yards. Jockey Stewart Elliott steadied the big chestnut before steering her between rivals to fifth place after the opening quarter, which Waytotheleft led through almost as quickly (22.94) as Bustin Stones had sprinted in the previous day's Grade 1 Carter -- also at seven furlongs. In the second quarter-mile, Karakorum Starlet asserted herself, rallying widest of all around the turn to seize command from Waytotheleft before turning for home, and by mid-stretch she was 3-1/2 lengths in front -- but a new threat was emerging from the pack. That new threat was Sanford Goldfarb's and Michael Dubb's improving Golden Missile mare and Waytotheleft's entry-mate, Starship Cruiser, who closed three lengths on Karakorum Starlet in the final furlong to get to within a half-length of the winner at the wire and 6-1/2 lengths ahead of everyone else. Karakorum Starlet never has been overtaken in stakes competition once she has the lead in the stretch -- and she kept that record intact. Jockey Elliott has now ridden Karakorum Starlet in four stakes at Aqueduct in 2008, winning three of them after placing second in his initial trip aboard the New York-bred mare in the Big A's open Interborough Handicap on New Year's Day. Victory in the Personal Girl -- named for Jane Marinos' mare who got her only stakes win as a six-year-old in Aqueduct's 1996 Broadway Handicap following a nose miss in the open Correction -- increased Karakorum Starlet's earnings to $481,801 and improved her record to 9 - 8 - 1 in 27 starts. It was her fourth win -- second stakes victory -- at seven furlongs to go along with three stakes tallies at six furlongs and two Belmont allowance wins going one-turn miles. Karakorum Starlet trains under the supervision of Jeff Odintz, who after the mare's front-running score in Aqueduct's six-furlong Broadway Handicap five weeks earlier had given her one published workout -- a three-furlong "bullet" drill over Aqueduct's inner track on March 25. A $13,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 2004 October yearling sale, Karakorum Starlet races for the Karakorum Farm of racing partnerships managed by William DiScala, whose offices are located in Rosedale, Long Island. She is the fifth offspring, fifth winner (four of them New York-breds), and second $200K-plus-earner produced from New York-bred sprint-and-route winner Amaryllis, by the late leading New York sire Cormorant. The daughter of Skip Away is the first winner bred from Amaryllis by the New Jersey-based Jim Jam Thoroughbreds and Marvin Little Jr. of Virginia, who had consigned Karakorum Starlet to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky yearling auction. Karakorum Starlet descends from a female family that has produced New York-bred stakes winners for three consecutive generations. Dam Amaryllis is a full sister to graded winner and New York Thoroughbred Breeders 1994 Horse of the Year Mr. Angel ($378,662), and maternal granddam Cupid's Play (by New York-bred national champion Silent Screen) is a half-sister to 1981 Bouwerie Stakes winner Cupid's Way. As trainer Odintz remarked about Karakorum Starlet following her victory in the March 2 Broadway Handicap, the mare "just keeps ticking along." |
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Bustin Stones is 6-for-6 after game G1 Carter win - NY-breds run 1-3 by Rab Hagin
Breaking from the eighth post among nine like a cannon shot and then running relentlessly for seven furlongs, Roddy Valente's New York homebred BUSTIN STONES led the way in Aqueduct's Grade 1 Carter Handicap on Saturday, advancing his record to six-for-six with his second graded victory in 47 days. The unbeaten four-year-old was the 2.75-to-1 second choice with jockey Edgar Prado on board for the second time and immediately was challenged on his outside by emerging Aqueduct sprinter Executive Fleet, who gained a brief lead before Bustin Stones retook command with a 22.52 opening quarter. The second quarter went in a nearly identical 22.62, but Executive Fleet -- carrying two pounds less than the Valente homebred -- stayed at Bustin Stones' throatlatch until the two reached the top of the stretch en route to a 1:09.53 six-furlong fraction. By mid-stretch, Bustin Stones' advantage was a half-length over Executive Fleet, who then led his closest pursuer by 3-1/2 lengths, and that margin between the first two held to the wire, although New York-bred Premium Wine closed quickly to finish within a neck of Executive Fleet. The 1.20-to-1 favorite, recent Grade 1 winner Spring at Last, was never a factor. For winning jockey Prado, who 11 months earlier had piloted Bustin Stones to a stakes victory against state-breds at Belmont, it was the second Grade 1-winning ride on a card in which he had three winning mounts -- two of them New York-breds. Prado confirmed what was obvious to anyone watching the Carter: "My horse ran great and broke running out of the gate. He never gave up and tried hard all the way. I was just very proud of him. Speed has been holding pretty well, and that was to our advantage. He just did everything so easily."
Bruce Levine, the 2005 New York Thoroughbred Breeders Trainer of the Year who saddled two graded winners on Aqueduct's Saturday card, had given Bustin Stones four five-furlong March workouts over Belmont's training track -- one "bullet" drill -- following the colt's February 18 victory in Laurel Park's Grade 2 General George Handicap. Levine, who had said earlier that, "It would be a dream come true to win the Carter," was unreserved in his praise of Bustin Stones: "He's been in battles before, and he is as game as game can be. He runs everywhere, and he likes this track. Here, he beat a quality field, especially with Spring at Last in the race. He (has) had his problems. He had knee surgery; obviously, it hasn't affected him. He's come back to win three stakes in a row. My schedule was to run him here and in the Met Mile (Grade 1, $600,000 guaranteed Metropolitan Handicap, at a one-turn mile, at Belmont on Memorial Day Monday, May 26). I think he can stretch out." Linda Rice, trainer of Executive Fleet, was complimentary of that five-year-old's impressive venture into Grade 1 stakes competition: "I was very pleased," Rice remarked. "This horse has had a number of setbacks. He's battled though them, and he showed today that he is very game."
Victory in the Carter -- previously won by Hall of Fame members Tom Fool, Bold Ruler, and Forego and also by New York-based stallion Artax, who holds the stakes record -- increased Bustin Stones' earnings to $480,150 and qualified his connections for the maximum $30,000 in owner, breeder, and stallion owner awards. Zayat Stables' New York-bred third-place finisher, the stretch-running Prime Timber colt Premium Wine ($366,450), was the youngest starter in the Carter, competing 48 days prior to his chronological four-year-old birthday, and he seems to have the running style and pedigree to stretch out in distance. Bustin Stones, who after winning his first three starts during March-to-May of 2007 underwent surgery for removal of chips in both knees, likewise was a May foal and was among the Carter's three youngest participants. Bred and campaigned by the owner-operator of R. J. Valente Gravel Inc. in Troy, New York, Bustin Stones is the third offspring and third winner produced from three-time winner (at Hollywood Park and Del Mar) Shesasurething, whom Valente had claimed for $50,000 in her final start. Shesasurething's first two offspring -- including Bustin Stones' now five-year-old winning full sister -- were so small that they were basically given away. Shesasurething was not bred from 2004 through 2006 and was off giving pony rides until Bustin Stones won his debut by seven lengths at Aqueduct on March 24 of 2007. She is due to already have produced a 2008 foal by New York-based Hook and Ladder. Shesasurething is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Ryan's Moment ($134,669). Bustin Stones and Premium Wine are among 23 New York-breds that have won or placed in open black-type stakes in 2008, and their efforts in the Carter brought the number of top-three finishes by state-breds in open 2008 stakes competition to 32. |
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NY-bred You Go West Girl wins 2008 debut in Keeneland allowance/optional by Rab Hagin
When a New York-bred two-turn turf specialist is favored off a 167-day layoff in her first six-furlong effort -- a $51,835 allowance/optional claimer on Keeneland's all-weather track -- breaks poorly, drops back almost to last, and wins anyway, she must have talent, which Craig Bernick's YOU GO WEST GIRL proved on Friday. The four-year-old filly was 1.20-to-1 among nine fillies and mares -- seven of them stakes winners or stakes-placed -- and broke in the air in her second consecutive outing under jockey Julien Leparoux before dropping back to eighth and then rallying seven-wide. It was You Go West Girl's third Keeneland win and second tally over that facility's main track even though her latest previous allowance victory there had been on turf on October 20 (New York Showcase Day at Belmont), which had been her final 2007 start. Last summer, the rangy, laid-back dark bay had placed second in Churchill Downs' graded Regret Stakes on turf and Arlington Park's off-the-turf (all-weather) Hatoof Stakes after breaking her maiden at Keeneland and winning a Churchill Downs allowance turf mile -- the latter two outings both during the spring. You Go West Girl's three-quarter-length Friday victory over Argentine Group 2 winner Solarana in 1:10.36 for six panels boosted her earnings to $178,486 and improved her record to four wins and three seconds in eight starts. Bred by Marlene Brody's Gallagher's Stud in Ghent and purchased by Alberto-Culver marketing manager Bernick for $145,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2006 April sale of two-year-olds after having been a $62,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, You Go West Girl has never raced in New York. Trainer Thomas Proctor acknowledged afterwards that Friday's outing was just an attempt to give her a race despite the distance being too short and that there was no pressure for the New York-bred to win even though he "thought she was just better than those other fillies." The trainer is not sure at this juncture what the immediate future plans for You Go West Girl are. The leggy filly looked none the worse for wear back at the barn following her win, nipping playfully at her handlers while being washed down. "She can run on dirt too, but she's probably a little better on turf or Polytrack (Keeneland's all-weather surface)," observed Proctor. You Go West Girl is by Mr. Greeley and is the fourth runner and fourth winner produced from multiple graded turf winner Careless Heiress ($393,595), a Runaway Groom mare who was also a stakes winner on dirt. Her winning half-sisters are stakes-placed Schatzeli and dirt-turf-winning New York-bred Tiffany Touch ($191,565). Gallagher's Stud had purchased Careless Heiress -- whose half-sisters include two stakes-placed winners plus the dam of two stakes-winning fillies in what is obviously a strong distaff-oriented family -- for $295,000 at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's 1997 November mixed sale when that mare was carrying future stakes-placed Schatzeli as her first foal. |
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Morning Gallop 2nd in Perfect Poppy - NY-breds' 30th top-3 open '08 stakes finish by Rab Hagin Alan Brodsky's New York-bred Morning Gallop continued her ascent into open stakes competition by placing a closing second in Aqueduct's $68,700 Perfect Poppy for fillies and mares going a one-turn mile on the Big A's outer main track on Wednesday, April 2, registering her third open stakes-placing in 61 days. Barely two months earlier, the six-year-old mare had never even run in a stakes, and prior to last fall she was still at the restricted N2X allowance level, but she is now 5 - 6 - 6 in 29 starts with earnings of $255,835. While placing in three open Aqueduct stakes -- third in the February 1 Squan Song, second in the March 6 Limit, and second in Wednesday's Perfect Poppy -- Morning Gallop beat five stakes winners -- three of them multiple stakes winners and one a Group 1 winner. Bred by John Hettinger of Akindale Farm in Pawling and purchased by Brodsky for $100,000 at Fasig-Tipton's 2003 Saratoga selected yearling sale, Morning Gallop is a half-sister to stakes-winning filly/mare Wake Up Kiss ($248,997) and to stakes-placed filly/mare Pearly White, being out of Grade 2-placed Good Morning Smile ($263,476). The Victory Gallop mare is among 23 New York-breds that have won or placed (second or third) in open black-type stakes in 2008, and her Perfect Poppy runner-up was the 30th top-three finish by a state-bred in open stakes competition this year through April 2. |
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