Moonlight Song exploits dangerous speed to capture Hudson Handicap

By Sarah Mace

Albert Fried, Jr.’s late-blooming homebred Moonlight Song (Unbridled’s Song), who brought home his first stakes victory earlier this year in the Gold and Roses Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack at age seven, wrapped up the stakes portion of the Empire Showcase Day card by collecting his second career tally with a frontrunning victory in a deep and competitive running of the 6 1/2-furlong, $150,000 Hudson Handicap.

Returning to the starting gate 64 days after his last start, Moonlight Song was last seen finishing fifth in the restricted John Morrissey at Saratoga, a race in which the next four horses who followed two-length winner Weekend Hideaway across the line ended up in a blanket finish. The first five finishers in the Morrissey (Weekend Hideaway, Big Business, West Hills Giant, Saratoga Snacks and Moonlight Song) were all back for another tilt in in the Hudson, along with six more. With plenty of speed signed on, it looked like the winner would either be the “speed of the speed,” or in the event of a pace collapse, the best of the closers.

Partnered for the first time with jockey Joel Rosario, Moonlight Song (5-1) got out of post seven cleanly and threw down the gauntlet, forging his way to the front and carving out solid early fractions of 22.54 and 45.18 while prompted by longshot Laila’s Jazz.

With a length advantage, Moonlight Song cut the corner neatly exiting the far turn and, when faced with a challenge from Captain Serious with a furlong to go, dug in and kept to business on his way to a 1 1/2-length victory. After six panels in 1:09.25, he completed the six furlongs in 1:15.58.

Big Business closed wide from midpack to finish second, followed a half-length back by West Hills Giant and Captain Serious noses apart in third and fourth. Completing the order of finish were favored Noble Cornerstone, Weekend Hideaway, Crafty Dreamer, John’s Island, Chapman, Laila’s Jazz and Sandy’z Slew. [VIDEO[2]]

With the his second stakes victory, the relatively lightly raced Moonlight Song improved his career record to seven wins, two seconds and a third from 16 starts with $414,294 in earnings.

Rosario said he let Moonlight’s Song’s natural speed work to his advantage. Said the jockey, “He broke sharp and I was thinking it looked like, on paper, there were a couple of horses with speed like my horse. I was thinking if a couple of them go, I’ll just let him settle behind but he broke sharp and I just let him go on and he took it all the way. Every time a horse came to him he kept on going. He was game the whole way.”

Charlton Baker, who trains Moonlight Song for Fried, said, “He’s a nice horse. He’s got a lot of speed. We rated him a little last time because he runs at horses pretty good. Today, he broke sharp and nobody seemed like they wanted the lead. He’s the best horse I have in the barn. He was second in this race last year to Palace; he came back and beat Palace in January [in the Gold and Roses]. Palace is going to the Breeders’ Cup, so you know he’s been keeping good company.”

Moonlight Song is the third foal, and one of four winners, out of Moonlightandbeauty (Capote), also bred by Fried, who purchased her dam, Stolen Beauty (Deputy Minister), for $30,000 at the 1990 Keeneland September yearling sale. Winner of the Grade 2 Demoiselle in 1992 in her third career start, Stolen Beauty won or placed in seven stakes races and earned $299,451.

Moonlightandbeauty, a stakes winner and $228,053-earner trained by Rick Schosberg, began her broodmare career with a bang, producing Giant Moon (Giant’s Causeway) as her first foal. Also trained by Schosberg, Giant Moon went undefeated in his first four starts, culminating with a victory in the 2008 Count Fleet Stakes, and was voted champion New York-bred 2-year-old male in 2007. Giant Moon won at least one stakes race every year from 2007 to 2010 and earned just over a half million dollars ($502,586).

Moonlightandbeauty’s most recent reported foal, and first to be offered for sale at auction, was a Medaglia d’Oro colt now named Apollo Eleven who was purchased by The Elkstone Group for $250,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga preferred New York-bred sale in 2013. The mare was bred to Street Cry this year.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2014/10/19/moonlight-song-hudson/

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Discreet Marq, sale-bound, becomes a millionaire in Ticonderoga

By Sarah Mace

Patricia Generazio’s Discreet Marq, to be offered as a racing/broodmare prospect at the November 3 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, had one last hurrah for the Christophe Clement barn at Belmont Park on Empire Showcase Day, winning the 1 1/16-mile, $200,000 Ticonderoga for New York-bred turf fillies and mares by three lengths after a stalking trip and pushing her career earnings into seven-figure territory.

Making her sixth start of 2014 in the Ticonderoga, Discreet Marq had yet to put one in the win column this year, but has been racing competitively in Grade 1 races or in Grade 1 company. The grey finished second by a half-length in the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland to kick off her campaign in April and a close-up fourth the Just A Game at Belmont in June. From two starts in Saratoga she was third in the Diana, and second in the restricted Yaddo behind fellow New York-bred Grade 1-winning turf star Dayatthespa. Just two weeks before the Ticonderoga, back at Keeneland, Discreet Marq ended up sixth in the First Lady, but just 3 1/2 lengths behind the winner, once again Dayatthespa.

Breaking from post ten in the field of 12, Discreet Marq (4-5) set up in a perfect stalking position in the two path under Irad Ortiz, Jr. behind longshot One Time Only, biding her time through three-quarters of a mile. Moving decisively on the far turn, she took over confidently while turning for home and never had an anxious moment before finishing three lengths to the good in a final time 1:44.36.

Old Harbor closed on the outside to pick up second, while Selenite finished three lengths back in third, followed by Effie Trinket, winner of the race last year. Chrysolite, Caribean Beat, Strike Accord, Invading Humor, Run to Mama, Stock Fund, One Time Only and Mah Jong Maddnes completed the order of finish. [VIDEO[3]]

Both trainer and rider appear to have approached the race with confidence. All smiles, Christophe Clement said, “There’s a saying, ‘There’s nothing like the drop,’ and I guess this confirms it. She’s been running in Grade 1s all along and this was an easy race, and she won it very nicely. She’s never run a bad race. She’s a lovely mare.”

Ortiz added, “She’s such a nice filly. She broke well, I sat and waited, and when I asked her, she took off. There weren’t any surprises.”

Discreet Marq’s sixth career stakes victory, led by last year’s triumphs in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks and Grade 2 Sands Point, netted $120,000 to bring her lifetime earnings to $1,067,900.

A four-year-old daughter of Discreet Cat foaled at Keane Stud[5] in Amenia, Discreet Marq is out of the multiple stakes winning and graded stakes placed Marquetry mare To Marquet ($198,236), a Kentucky-bred Generazio homebred. Frank Generazio Jr. bred To Marquet’s dam, Florida-bred Pretty Momma, also a multiple stakes winner.

To Marquet has produced two more successful turf stakes performers. Marquet Cat (Cat Thief) has earned nearly $400,000 from 61 starts and Marquet Madness (Pico Central) earned over $200,000. To Marquet currently has a yearling colt named Too Discreet and a weaning colt, both full siblings to Discreet Marq. She was bred to Ghostzapper this year.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2014/10/19/discreet-marq-ticonderoga/

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