Bonita Bianca goes last to first in East View

By Sarah Mace

Graded stakes-placed runner Bonita Bianca might have given impression that she did not mean business Friday afternoon in the $100,000 East View for New York-bred juvenile fillies, but that could not have been further from the truth. After lollygagging as much as nine or ten lengths behind the lead for the first half of the race, she remedied the situation in short order in the latter stages and registered her second stakes victory by more than five lengths.

Even though a short field of five was signed on for the 1 mile and 70-yard East View, the race featured some serious talent and potential.

Bonita Bianca was the headliner. Trained by Rudy Rodriguez for Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables LLC and Michael Imperio, she broke her maiden on September 22, before scoring a next-out victory in the one-mile one-turn Maid of the Mist in the slop on Empire Showcase Day. In her third start on November 26, she tested much deeper waters in the Grade 2 Demoiselle, and managed to finish a creditable closing third.

Another filly to watch in the East View was Tiznow’s Smile, who was drawn in the outside post. Trained by Charlie Baker and issuing from a family of New York-bred stakes winners, she had placed twice in restricted stakes before breaking her maiden last out in front-running fashion while going a mile over the Aqueduct inner track December 11.

Opening at odds of 1-5, but drifting up 1-2 by post time, Bonita Bianca enjoyed a clean break from post three under Irad Ortiz, Jr, aboard for both her earlier victories, and settled into stride in the two path over the “good” (harrowed) racing surface.

The filly then proceeded to lope along at the rear of the field, 9-10 lengths behind the main action, where 3-1 second choice Tiznow’s Smile had gunned to the lead from her outside post, and showed the way 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Overnegotiate.

Tiznow’s Smile continued to lead for six furlongs through fractions of 23.68, 48.59 and 1:14.50, but Bonita Bianca was waiting in the wings. She advanced under urging to within 7-8 lengths of the lead along the backstretch run, and began to gear up more seriously in the far turn.

Rallying wide into fourth, Bonita Bianca inhaled her two other rivals in upper stretch, then cruised past Tiznow’s Smile just in advance of the furlong marker. Drawing off, the filly hit the wire a 5 1/4-length winner in a final time of 1:46.46. Runner-up Tiznow’s Simile finished five more lengths clear of Bree’s Got Heart in third. Overnegotiate and Messer Misfit followed. [VIDEO[2]]

Ortiz felt that his mount ran her race, but that it took a little work on his part. “She’s a little lazy,” said Ortiz. “You have to work hard. When she got some dirt, some kick back, she started jumping a little bit. [I worried] maybe we were a little too far [back so] I was riding the whole way. I hit her once and she started to pick it up and she got there. She’s a nice filly, a nice New York-bred. I think if she were in the clear, she may have been a little closer, but that’s her race.”

“Irad rode her perfectly,” said Rodriguez, who was quick to spread the praise around. “I give all the credit to my brother, he’s been training her at Belmont. We got it done today. We’ll look to freshen her up and hopefully point her for something better.”

The conditioner continued, “I was confident when they went 23:68. The track was playing slow and I know she was a little far back, but Irad knows the filly really well and knows to get after her. For a minute, it didn’t look like we were getting there. On this track, you need to be able to close. I think she was a little better than these horses, and she proved it today.”

Dormellito Stud bred Bonita Bianca, a chestnut daughter of Curlin foaled at Mill Creek Farm [3]in Stillwater. Purchased by Michael Dubb earlier this year for $97,000 at the OBS March sale of juveniles, the filly has earned $276,000 from three wins and a third.

Bonita Bianca’s dam Friendly Michelle (Artax), winner of the Grade 1 Prioress in 2004, sold in 2006 to Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings for $1.15 million at the Keeneland November sale. Steven Rowan picked her up for $42,000 with Bonita Bianca in utero at the same venue in 2013. Friendly Michelle has produced six winners overall, and currently has a yearling filly by Simmard. The mare had no foal in 2016 and was bred by Paynter in the spring.

 

 

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Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2016/12/30/bonita-bianca-east-view/

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NYB bonuses reappear in NYRA’s expanded spring program for 2-year-olds

[1]By Sarah Mace

The New York Racing Association announced Friday that eight maiden races worth $100,000 each, up from six last year, will be offered this spring as part of its ongoing program for 2-year-olds leading up to the Astoria and Tremont, run as the first two juvenile stakes of the year on June 8 and 9.

Furthermore, within the context of the enhanced juvenile program, bonuses worth a total of $20,000 will be offered to the owner and trainer of New York-breds who finish first, second or third in any state-bred or open maiden juvenile race held during the Aqueduct spring and Belmont spring-summer meet.

For fillies, Astoria Trial A, at 4 1/2 furlongs, will be run on April 19 at Aqueduct Racetrack. Astoria Trial B and C will be run on May 3 and May 17 at Belmont Park, both at five furlongs, all in preparation for the Astoria on Thursday, June 8.

Tremont Trial A, at 4 1/2 furlongs, will be run on April 20, with Tremont Trial B and C at five furlongs scheduled for May 4 and May 18 at Belmont. The Tremont will be held on Friday, June 9.

Bolstered by the positive response last year from horsemen and fans, the NYRA has supplemented the program this year with a pair of turf trials for juveniles at Belmont. For fillies, Astoria Trail D, at five furlongs on the turf, will be held May 25, while the Tremont Trial D, also at five furlongs on the turf, will run May 26.

The fields for the trials are limited to 10, with the winner to receive $50,000 and all runners to be paid. Should 10 horses start, the second through sixth-place horses would receive $20,000, $10,000, $7,500, 5,000 and $4,000, respectively, with the remaining $3,500 divided among the seventh through 10th-place finishers.

The New York-bred bonus program, supported in partnership with the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, calls for owners to receive $7,000 for a first-place finish, $4,500 for second and $2,500 for third. Trainers would get a bonus of $3,000 for first, $2,000 for second and $1,000 for third.

In 2016, NYRA saw a significant increase in the number of 2-year-old starters as a direct result of its 2-year-old incentive programs. NYRA tracks ran 26 juvenile maiden races during the spring and summer in 2016, 10 more than in 2015. The maiden races attracted 222 total starters last year, a 65.57% increase over 2015’s total of 134, with an increased average field size of 8.54.

“A strong 2-year-old program is important to the Aqueduct and Belmont spring meets and the high demand for the bonus program in 2016 shows us that we’re moving our racing program in the right direction,” said Martin Panza, NYRA’s Senior Vice-President of Racing Operations. “It’s one thing to offer races, but it’s another thing to make sure they go. We want our horsemen to feel confident when they send their 2-year-olds to New York in April, May, or June, that we will make every effort to be sure these races are used.”

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Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2016/12/30/nyb-bonuses-spring-program-2yo/

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