Fourstar Crook continues to roll in John Hettinger Stakes

By Sarah Mace

Four-year-old Fourstar Crook (Freud) has gotten awfully good – so good that she has gone undefeated since October 2015, when she broke her maiden at fourth asking in open company at Belmont Park.

Since then the turf router galloped though her New York-bred and open allowance conditions and won her stakes debut, the Yaddo at Saratoga on August 26. On Sunday, she won her sixth straight race, and second stakes contest, when she annexed the 1 1/8-mile $125,000 John Hettinger Stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares. Chad Brown, who trains the filly for Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables LLC and Gary Aisquith, sees open company stakes competition in the filly’s future.

Sent off as 5-4 betting favorite under Javier Castellano to go nine furlongs for the first time from post two, Fourstar Crook settled near the back of the field in the two path as she rounded the clubhouse turn, while Invading Humor was hustled to the front to set moderate fractions of 24.72, 50.15 and 1:14.35, with Old Harbor on the chase.

Cruising along unhurried at the rail along the back stretch, and beginning to gear up rounding the far turn, Fourstar Crook angled out four wide at the head of the stretch and commenced her rally. Getting through in-between horses in upper stretch, she had clear running room for a surge the final sixteenth, when she lengthened her stride and spurted clear. She secured the 2 1/4-length victory in 1:49.27.

The Tea Cups rallied from last to finish second and Selenite, who raced steadily throughout, got the show. Old Harbor, Swear By It and Neck of the Moon followed in close succession, separated by a neck and a nose respectively. Invading Humor, Flipcup and Jc’s Shooting Star completed the order of finish. [VIDEO[3]]

Javier Castellano said, “The way she did it today was very impressive. Her first time going two turns a mile and eighth. I was a little concerned with the lack of pace in the race, you could see the fractions were slow but the way she closed was very impressive.”

Winning trainer Chad Brown explained how the decision to give Fourstar Crook time to grow up has been key to the filly’s recent successes.

Said Brown, “Michael Dubb and I were commenting in the paddock before the race about how much she has developed. When the horse was first sent to us as a 2-year-old, she was kind of a small, immature-looking horse who trained OK. She got to the races a little bit, and then we kicked her out. Thankfully Mike and all his partners were so patient. We just let the filly grow and develop over time, and man, did she fill out! She looks nothing like she did when she was younger. It’s nice to see a horse develop this way.”

Brown concluded, “Along the way we’ve managed her responsibly; we’ve asked her to take small steps, we just didn’t throw her in the deep end of the pool. She went through her conditions and now she’s still with state-breds, but the way she ran today, down the road I could see this filly run in open company. She’s pretty good.”

Bred by Kathleen M. Feron and foaled at Akindale Farm [4]in Pawling, Fourstar Crook is a graduate of the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred yearling sale, where she was purchased for $55,000 by Allied Bloodstock. She next changed hands for $110,000 at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Spring sale of 2-year-old after failing to meet her reserve for $70,000 at the Fasig-Tipton March sale.

Fourstar Crook is out of an unplaced John Hettinger-bred mare Avril a Portugal by D’Accord, who has produced six winners to date. Her Jump Start gelding Coaltown Legend earned over $320,000. The mare currently has a weanling filly by Freud and was bred back to the same stallion this year.

With a record of six wins and a one second from nine starts Fourstar Crook has earned $349,050.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2016/09/25/fourstar-crook-hettinger/

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Kharafa turns millionaire with third Ashley T. Cole score

By Sarah Mace

Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch’s 7-year-old Kharafa (Kitalpha) became a member of the millionaires’ club at Belmont Park on Saturday afternoon, when he won his third $125,000 Ashley T. Cole Stakes by three-quarters of a length. The gelding, who has 12 wins – including seven stakes victories – 11 seconds and five thirds from 38 career now boasts a bankroll of $1,026,997.

Still looking for his first victory of 2016, Kharafa delivered extremely strong performances in his last two outings. He finished second by neck in the Grade 3 Oceanport on July 31 to Blacktype, who came back to win the Grade 2 Commonwealth Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. Next out he finished second by a nose in Saratoga’s 1 1/16-mile West Point on August 26 to arch-rival King Kreesa, who went gate to wire to win the contest. Kharafa stood to profit from the longer 9-furlong distance of the Cole, and also sported a strong Belmont Park resume coming in: 7-6-2 from 19 starts.

For first three-quarters of a mile of the Cole, the front end belonged to the two longshots of the field.

Latigo Trail, 39-1, led the way. The uncoupled stablemate of Tapitation was presumably entered to discharge “rabbit” duties.  Another outsider Harbor King (23-1) followed in second and King Kreesa tracked in third. The early fractions were unexpectedly tepid, though, for a rabbit: 24:95, 50.98 and 1:15.38. Meanwhile Kharafa lurked in the pocket at the fence in fourth, three lengths behind the leader.

Asked for run as he angled out two-wide into the stretch, Kharafa responded and took over with a little more than a furlong to go. All out in the final sixteenth, he held off the charge of Offering Plan, who closed into second from fifth and Tapitation, who rallied from well off the pace. Completing the order of finish were King Kreesa, who ran out of steam in the final sixteenth, Latigo Trail and Harbor King. After a mile in 1:38.81 over the “good” going, the final time of the race was 1:50.61. [VIDEO[3]]

Jockey Anthony Gallardo, leading rider at Presque Isle Downs and making his Belmont Park debut, said, “I had a really good trip. I knew my horse, I rode him at Monmouth [in the Grade 3 Oceanport] and I feel really comfortable with him.”

Continued Gallardo, “Watching his race at Saratoga [the West Point] he tried all the time. He had good patience inside and a really good trip. In the clear he was full of run. He felt really good. You could see it in the form and with a little give in the ground the conditions were perfect for him today.”

Trainer Tim Hills said, “I wish all horses could be as consistent as he is. He gets good this time of the year; it’s like clockwork. He has two breezes before each race and he shows up ready to run. Ultra-consistent. If all goes well we’ll look at the Mohawk [October 22, Belmont Park].”

Kharafa was bred by Lawrence Durocher, Jr. who campaigned the gelding for first part of his racing career. After Durocher passed away in 2013, Kharafa won the Ashley T. Cole for the first time for Durocher’s estate and was then was sold by Durocher’s daughter Kate to Braverman, a Boston investment manager.

Foaled at Mill Creek Farm[4] in Stillwater, Kharafa issues from the first North American crop of Kitalpha, a full brother to Kingmambo. He is out of Kentucky-bred Exquisite Cassie (King of Kings [IRE]), unraced, but a half-sister to multiple stakes-winning New York-bred Lovely Amanda ($376,450).

Exquisite Cassie, who has produced one other winner, was sold to Chadds Ford Stables for $20,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December mixed sale, and currently has a juvenile colt by E Dubai and a yearling colt by Union Rags. She was bred to Tapiture in the spring of 2016.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2016/09/24/kharafa-cole-2016/

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Fox Rules wins third straight Genesee Valley Breeders’ Stakes by a nose

By Sarah Mace

For the third year in a row Langpap Stables homebred Fox Rules got his picture taken following the 1 1/16-mile, $50,000 Genesee Valley Breeders’ Stakes, which was Monday’s featured race at Finger Lakes. With Pedro Rodriguez in the irons, Fox Rules’ Genesee Valley win rider in 2014 and 2015, the 7-year-old gelded son of Roman Ruler held off Empire Dreams in the shadow of the wire to win the close photo by a nose.

Trained by M. Anthony Ferraro, Fox Rules came into the race in sharp form, with two blowout front-running victories at Finger Lakes on June 9 and July 29, and a runner up finish last out at the same venue on September 3. At post time, the gelding was third choice of five in the betting at odds of 5-1 behind 7-5 favorite Crackerjack Jones, last year’s Genesee Valley runner-up, and 5-4 second choice Empire Dreams, who was making his first 2016 start.

At the bell, Fox Rules caught a flyer from post 2 and outbroke the field, but just as quickly Crackerjack Jones, who broke a little awkwardly from post one, rushed up the rail to assume command.

Crackerjack Jones led the field through moderate opening splits of 24.75 and 49.17 under a hold, while Fox Rules pressed the pace at his flank. At the quarter pole Fox Rules drew even with his rival and, though the pair drifted wide approaching the head of the stretch, came away with the lead.

Challenge-minded veteran Empire Dreams, geared up from third three-wide, passed Crackerjack Jones and all but caught Fox Rules as heads bobbed at finish line while both horses drifted out. The photo revealed that Fox Rules held on to win by a nose. After a mile in 1:38.40, the final time for the race was 1:45.02. Crackerjack Jones finished four lengths back in the third, keeping a head in front of Sundae on Sunday. Peter’s Project wrapped up the order of finish in fifth. [VIDEO[2]]

A winner of 11 of 14 starts at the Farmington oval, topped by the 2012 New York Derby and three editions of the Genesee Valley Breeders’ Stakes, Fox Rules has 15 wins, four seconds and two thirds from 42 starts. Fox Rules also finished second to Talk Therapy in the 2013 running of the Genesee Valley. He has earned $484,101 in all.

Bred by Langpap Stables’ Dennis and Deborah Petrisak and foaled at Cornell University Research Park in Ithaca, the gelding is out of the Petrisaks’ homebred champion Shesastonecoldfox. Voted top New York-bred 2-year-old filly in 2001, Shesastonecoldfox won three stakes races that year, headlined by a victory over males in the New York Breeders’ Futurity at Finger Lakes. Also winner of the Joseph A. Gimma at Belmont and the Lady Finger at Finger Lakes, she went on to compete in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

As a broodmare, now residing at Tom and Mia Gallo’s Blue Stone Farm[3] in Cambridge, Shesastonecoldfox has produced five winners from five starters. Her first foal Elusive Fox (E Dubai) was stakes-placed, and Fox Rox (Officer) won the 2013 Aspirant Stakes at Finger Lakes.

Shesastonecoldfox foaled a colt by Curlin this year and was bred to Lookin At Lucky in the spring.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2016/09/19/fox-rules-genesee-valley-16/

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