The Sting: McMahons celebrate with stakes win by homebred

By Sean Clancy

Paper, cotton, leather…gold at 50. And on your 51st anniversary? How about three wins by your New York stallion, including one by a filly you bred and co-own in her stakes debut, on Big Apple Showcase Day at Belmont Park. Yeah, that’s how Joe and Anne McMahon celebrated their 51st anniversary on Memorial Day 2021. Dinner at Mama Riso’s in Lake George topped it off.

“Today was a special day,” Joe McMahon said. “A special day.”

McMahon of Saratoga’s Central Banker produced Bankit to win the Commentator, Bank Sting to win the Critical Eye and topped it off with a win in the finale by Quantitativbreezin.

Bred by the McMahons and owned in partnership with Hidden Brook Farm, Bank Sting increased her win streak to four with a front-running gem in the $200,000 stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares. Trained by John Terranova and ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, the 4-year-old bay filly added a stakes win in her stakes debut to her ever-growing resume, turning back Good Credence by 1 1/4 lengths. Mrs. Orb finished third after a mile in 1:36.34.

Bank Sting is the second stakes performer produced by Bee in a Bonnet, a stakes-placed daughter of Precise End. Liberty Island, a daughter of Harlem Rocker, finished second in the Busanda in 2015.

“I always liked that mare, she’s had a couple of runners by ordinary stallions and we liked the way this filly trained and thought she was OK,” McMahon said. “She’s a talented horse. If we’re lucky and the racing gods keep her sound, we’ll have a lot of fun.”

Consigned to the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale in 2018, Bank Sting failed to sell for $14,000 and joined the racing team, along with Hidden Brook Farm.

“Hidden Brook is a real good outfit,” McMahon said. “Good people, it’s nice to have a Kentucky outfit that appreciates the New York scene.”

Bank Sting sure helped. She finished fourth in her debut at Aqueduct in December 2019 but came out of it with a chip and didn’t return until this winter. And, wow, was it worth the wait. She won a New York-bred maiden by 2 1/4 lengths, came back and took the first-level allowance by 4 3/4 lengths and tacked on the second-level allowance by a length.

“It was great with her but the bigger thing was Central Banker having three wins, that’s a pretty good day,” McMahon said. “Central Banker is amazing. He gets good runners, consistent runners, he moves his mares up. We’re very proud of him.”

McMahon says he doesn’t go by the book or listen to this guy or that guy, he does it his own way. He certainly did that when taking a big deep breath and bidding $400,000 for Central Banker, a Grade 2 stakes winner for Klaravich and William Lawrence and trainer Al Stall Jr., from Claiborne’s consignment at the Keeneland November sale in 2014.

“He wasn’t a big horse, but he’s well proportioned, extremely well balanced. Everybody looked at him, but nobody pulled the trigger,” McMahon said. “I kept calling Bernie Sams. Claiborne put him in the November sale and we wound up buying him out of the ring and paid a lot of money for him, more than I thought I would. It was a big move for us, but I had very strong feelings about the horse. I just thought, ‘Wow, this horse ticks a lot of boxes.’ ”

Including, the anniversary box. And, Joe, if you’re wondering, it’s meant to be photos or cameras. Better call Coglianese.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/31/the-sting-mcmahons-celebrate-with-stakes-win-by-homebred/

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River Dog runs away with Mike Lee

By Joe Clancy

Last summer, River Dog was a promising 2-year-old on the verge of his debut at Saratoga Race Course. And then he wasn’t. Trainer Jeremiah Englehart didn’t like what he saw, stopped with the colt and sent him back to Webb Carroll Training Center in South Carolina.

And is getting paid back.

Bob Hahn’s now 3-year-old blasted maiden foes in a 7-length laugher at Belmont Park May 7, and returned Monday to become a stakes winner in the $125,000 Mike Lee Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds. Giving away experience to all five rivals, the son of Twirling Candy accompanied Excellent Timing through early fractions of :22.32 and :44.84 before taking over and seeing out a 1 3/4-length victory as the 4-5 favorite. Ridden by Jose Ortiz, River Dog covered 7 furlongs in 1:23.38 as Market Alert rallied for second and Lobsta closed from the back to take third over a muddy track on Big Apple Showcase Day.

The winner collected $68,750 to get to $110,000 in earnings from just two starts. Patience pays, as they say.

“We had a handful of horses that had some immaturities, inflammation here or there, just things holding them back and he was one and looked like he had to continue to grow,” said Englehart of his thinking last summer. “It was a strange year, too. You just didn’t know when to bring them off the farm, with Covid and things. Should you work this week or not? When were they going to open the barn area at Saratoga? There was a lot going on.”

Englehart sent River Dog, foaled at Dutchess Views Farm in Pine Plains and named for a craft brewery in South Carolina, back to Durr and the work toward 2021 began Jan. 1. River Dog breezed four times at the training center in February and March, came to Belmont in mid-March and shined in that maiden win May 2. He prepped for the Mike Lee at Saratoga, and dazzled again. Hahn, watching from home in Hilton Head, S.C., thought of the decision to hit the pause button last summer.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “I think a lot of owners don’t trust what they hear and they say go on with it. I trust these guys with everything. They’ve always done right by me, and they said he just needed a little more time to grow and mature. That’s why we decided to wait with him.”

Hahn’s phone rang with purchase offers after the maiden win (accomplished in a quick 1:09 for 6 furlongs), and it’ll probably happen again this week, but he’s going to enjoy the ride for now.

“I just said, ‘Can’t I enjoy this for a little while?’ ” Hahn said of the offers. “Now he’s a stakes winner. It’s a great feeling.”

Hahn breeds to race and to sell (two half-sisters to River Dog have brought six figures in the sales ring), but listened to Durr’s advice when it came time to make plans for River Dog.

“He was one we were going to sell,” Englehart said. “Travis said, ‘You look for these kinds of horses to race. I wouldn’t sell this one.’ He’s very good at seeing that potential.”

Hahn’s first horses were with trainer John Tammaro III and the duo won 13 races (11 stakes) and $520,269 with Maryland-bred Secret Prospect in the mid-1990s. She became a broodmare and her daughter Tangier Sound won eight races (five stakes) and earned $265,970. Tangier Sound’s daughter Sterling Forest never raced, but produced River Dog. Hahn and his wife Faith own two mares, who foal at Dutchess Views Farm in Pine Plains. The breeding game keeps Hahn, retired from a career in pension administration, involved in racing – and days like Monday make the work worth it.

“It’s a challenge to figure out if I’ve got the right sire for the mare,” he said. “It helps me mentally to stay on top of things because it’s so hard. The New York program is a great opportunity. We haven’t won a stakes in what feels like 30 years. It hasn’t been that long, but it’s been a long time. To have a horse nice enough to participate in this type of event, even if he hadn’t won, is special. It’s what we’re trying to do all the time.”

River Dog made Hahn and Englehart sweat through some anxious pre-race details as the trainer reset the tack in the paddock and Ortiz had the gate crew do it again just before loading.

“I broke out more than the horse did,” said Englehart. “Any time something changes you always get worried as a trainer. I was surprised because I thought I had fixed it in the paddock. When I went to pull the overgirth over, I think the saddle just slid to the right side a little bit too much. He had the gate crew fix it the proper way after I fixed it the wrong way.”

Not that it mattered. River Dog broke running from the outside stall, listened to Ortiz and let Excellent Timing have the lead from post three. The Damon Runyon Stakes winner in March edged away by a length – briefly – as Ortiz leaned against River Dog early. By the half-mile split, River Dog drew alongside and eased away. Ortiz took a look behind him coming to the quarter pole, saw no challengers and let the winner stride away. He got a little tired late, but had plenty left.

“You worry about them coming off a big race like that,” Englehart said. “You worry they might bounce or whatever. He likes to play. He’s a gamer. I think he ran through the bounce. That’s him. He knows he’s the boss.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/31/river-dog-runs-away-with-mike-lee/

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Robin Sparkles, Vintage Hollywood handle muddy conditions for Showcase Day stakes wins

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Mother Nature tried to rain on the Big Apple Showcase card’s parade by forcing both of Monday’s grass stakes to the main track but in the end the turf horses still put on a show worth remembering.

Robin Sparkles proved to be a rising star on the NYRA circuit with four wins in seven starts before Monday, but took it to an extra level in her eighth start to earn her first stakes success. The 4-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality was happy to go lead a few strides from the gate in the $121,250 Mount Vernon Stakes under Jose Ortiz and made all the pace in the 1-mile event.

Kilkea never let her get too far ahead but never put much pressure on her as they put up fractions of :23.36 and :46.45 for the first half-mile. Kilkea started to fade as the field rounded into the straight and while 1:11.10 for 6 furlongs flashed on the board, it looked like Robin Sparkles would have an easy win. The tide changed quick in the lane, however.

As the field entered the final furlong, it was clear Robin Sparkles didn’t have much left to give while Kilkea found another burst of energy. Robin Sparkles had a big enough margin in hand to keep her lead and the win by three quarters of a length. Four of the five horses in the race were close behind the winner with Kilkea beating Vienna Code home by a half-length and Light In The Sky another half-length behind that foe in a time of 1:38.47.

“She was slowing down the last sixteenth, but it’s also her first time going a mile,” Ortiz said. “I don’t think she liked the track. It was a huge, gutsy effort. They came home really slow. I thought somebody was going to pass me, but everybody was kind of in the same boat, grass horses running on dirt. I got lucky.“

Trained by Bruce Brown for Michael Schrader, Robin Sparkles’ only finish out of the top two was in her debut last July at Belmont Park. The trainer admitted that a big part of her run Monday was to see if she could handle this kind of test when she’s shown to prefer turf.

“Jose said that she is much, much better on turf,” Brown said. “If another scenario like this came up then we would, but he said she’s light years better on grass. We just wanted to see if she was good enough to get the job done against this short field.”

A $30,000 purchase by Linda Rice at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale, Robin Sparkles is one of three winners out of the Dehere mare My Sparky. A five-time winner, My Sparky is a half-sister to the stakes winning Race Home and is one of eight winners for her own dam.

My Sparky spent her whole racing career on the NYRA circuit with five wins and four other top three finishes from 17 starts. Retiring in 2014, the mare was purchased by Robin Sparkles’ breeder Hibiscus Stables at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale for $5,700 while in-foal to Frost Giant.

The late mare foaled a Frost Giant colt the following year with Cold Sober winning two of his 18 starts. The following year came the winning Majestic Warrior filly G’s Warrior before Robin Sparkles was born at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham in 2017. My Sparky’s final foal is an unnamed 3-year-old filly by the late Effinex.

While Robin Sparkles struggled at the end of her race, the 6-year-old Vintage Hollywood proved to love the slop in the $108,750 Kingston Stakes. Making his stakes debut in his 32nd start, Vintage Hollywood couldn’t have asked for an easier introduction than taking on just two others in the 1 1/16-mile race moved to the dirt.

Vintage Hollywood took the lead out of the gate but was content to let Mo Ready pass him in the opening furlong with all three horses within about a length of each other. It was a steady pace for the trio with early fractions of :23.77 and :47.66 and jockey Dylan Davis asked Vintage Hollywood to put some pressure on around the turn. Three-quarters of the way around the turn, Vintage Hollywood was tired of waiting on the leader and took command.

Control Group tried to challenge the eventual winner at the top of the stretch but had no hope of putting in a serious challenge, with Vintage Hollywood opening up 3 lengths in only a matter of strides. Davis gave him a few taps in the stretch but nothing else was needed to gallop to victory. The gelding pricked his ears in the final sixteenth and stopped the clock in 1:44.30. Control Group finished 5 1/4 lengths back in second with Mo Ready trailing home 27 1/4 lengths behind the leader in third.

“He broke on top,” Davis said. “I allowed him to get into his stride. Once I turned for home, and I got into him, he picked up again and found another gear, and then I knew it was over. It was fantastic. He was there for me the whole way.”

The Kingston proved extra special for Davis, who was riding for the first time in New York after injury forced him to the sidelines earlier this year.

“Being my first day back in New York, and to win a stakes, it’s great,” he said. “It feels special. I did go over to Monmouth and get some winners, but there’s nothing like being at home. It’s fantastic.”

Trained by Orlando Noda as part of the Noda Brothers’ stable of runners, Vintage Hollywood won for the sixth time to take his earnings to $316,945 with 13 other top three finishes. A $5,000 weanling at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale and $10,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale, Vintage Hollywood was claimed by Noda in January 2020 for $16,000.

Foaled at Village Farm in Gilbertsville, the Country Day gelding was bred by Harry Landry out of the stakes-winning Tactical Cat mare Hollywood And Wine. That mare was purchased by Landry for $6,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February mixed sale while carrying this runner. Vintage Hollywood is the second stakes winner for Hollywood And Wine after the Petionville gelding Caribbean Cowboy and one of five winners from six to race.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/31/robin-sparkles-vintage-hollywood-handle-muddy-conditions-for-showcase-day-stakes-wins/

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Betsy Blue kicks off Showcase Day with Bouwerie win

By Paul Halloran

As a former country music promoter, Joe Gehl is familiar with the concept of a comeback tour. Now, he has experienced it as a racehorse owner.

Gehl, who had been out of the racing game for 20 years, made a successful return Monday when Betsy Blue was an easy winner in the $125,000 Bouwerie Stakes for 3-year-old New York-bred fillies on Big Apple Showcase Day at Belmont Park.

“My partners think I’m pretty smart right now,” said Gehl, managing partner for Cloud Nine Stable, which recently bought the horse from trainer Linda Rice.

Bred by Blue Devil Racing and foaled at Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag, the daughter of Tonalist out of the Yonaguska mare Honest to Betsy improved her record to 4-for-5 with with $157,100 in earnings in the Bouwerie. The win in the Bouwerie – the original spelling for the lower Manhattan neighborhood – was her fourth straight and second for Rice, who claimed her for $50,000 at Aqueduct March 25.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Betsy Blue sat fourth off a pace set by longshot Beach Banker and went by favorite Secret Love in the stretch, drawing away to win by 5 1/4 lengths.

“I had plenty of horse,” Ortiz said. “I hit her a couple of times and she took off. I knew I had plenty left in the tank.”

Although the filly had won her first start for Rice, the trainer and jockey thought the mile distance was pushing it, so they welcomed the cutback to 7 furlongs.

“Irad and I agreed that she’d be better from off the pace than pressing it,” said Rice, who sold the horse to Cloud Nine after that starter allowance win. “It worked out perfectly.”

Gehl and his partners – Jack Tavone, Bruce Weiner and Jerson Suarez – would agree.

“We’ve owned her for 30 days,” said Gehl, who owned horses from the early 1980s until about 2001. “With this purse ($68,750), we’ve got enough to pay the monthly bills and look for some more horses.”

Cloud Nine has one other horse, Brazillionaire, a colt they also bought from Rice, who had claimed him out of a maiden win.

Rice claimed Betsy Blue for $50,000 in her half-length win March 25 at Aqueduct. She ran that day for James Politano and trainer George Weaver, who claimed her for $25,000 in her win for a $25,000 tag in state-bred maiden claiming company for owner and breeder Marc Holliday’s Blue Devil Racing Stable and trainer Carlos Martin.

Betsy Blue is the fourth foal out of Honest to Betsy, a stakes-placed daughter of Yonaguska campaigned by Holliday. She won three of 26 and earned $182,530. Her first foal, the City Zip mare Sand City, won two of 25 starts with 10 placings and earned $87,895. Honest to Betsy is also the dam of a yearling filly by Unified and was bred to Tonalist in 2020.

Once he made the decision to get back into horse ownership and had formed the partnership, Gehl reached out to Rice, whose father, Clyde, was a friend during his first foray in the business. Two starts in, they have a stakes winner.

“It’s something I love doing. Horses have been a big thrill for me all my life,” said Gehl, who grew up in southern Indiana and whose father owned work horses. “I started going to the (Kentucky) Derby when I was in college.”

Gehl, a Florida resident who was the promoter for country music stars such Reba McEntire (with whom he owned horses), Merle Haggard, Charlie Daniels and Ronnie Milsap, received a life-saving liver transplant in 2013. He vowed that if he survived, he would get back into horse racing. Saturday conversations at Gulfstream Park led to the formation of Cloud Nine.

“Being in racing is like having a sold-out show,” he said. “It puts you on cloud nine.”

That’s certainly how they felt Monday as they hit the top of the charts.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/31/betsy-blue-kicks-off-showcase-day-with-bouwerie-win/

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Bankit joins seven-figure club in Commentator

By Tom Law

Winchell Thoroughbreds’ and Willis Horton Racing’s Bankit joined New York’s millionaires club and helped his sire Central Banker extend his lead on the Empire State’s general sire list with a dominating victory in the $200,000 Commentator Stakes on Monday’s Big Apple Showcase Day card at Belmont Park.

Making his second start in the co-featured 1-mile event for older New York-breds, Bankit won by 13 1/4 lengths over 25-1 longshot Danny California with pacesetter Winners Laugh another three-quarters of a length back in third, Captain Bombastic fourth and odds-on choice Mr. Buff fifth.

The $110,000 first-place check in the Commentator pushed Bankit’s earnings to $1,027,875 and makes him the 57th New York-bred to hit the seven-figure bankroll mark. He’s also the first millionaire for Central Banker, who stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs and led the New York general sire list with almost $1.6 million in progeny earnings heading into the lucrative Big Apple Showcase Day card.

Bankit came into the Commentator off back-to-back seconds in the Haynesfield Stakes and an open-company optional at Oaklawn Park, which followed consecutive wins in the Alex M. Robb Stakes at Aqueduct in December and the open John B. Campbell Stakes at Laurel Park in February.

Reunited with Jose Lezcano, who rode him to victory in the Alex M. Robb, Bankit settled in fourth early while Winners Laugh, Mr. Buff and Sea Foam scrimmaged for the lead. Winners Laugh led through a quick opening quarter in :22.76 on the muddy and sealed main track, just ahead of Mr. Buff.

Bankit inched up within 1 ½ lengths around the far turn and past the half-mile in :46.41, sliding through rivals and looking like a winner by the time the field turned for home. Bankit took control in upper stretch, opened up by 5 lengths at the eighth pole and continued to draw away to finish in 1:34.52.

“He broke very good today, right on top,” Lezcano said. “I let the other horses go and just sat there. He did it himself the whole way. When I asked him at the quarter pole, he took off like the good horse he is. I rode him one time and he won. I really liked it. He gave me a very good effort that day.”

Bankit’s victory – his sixth in 30 starts and fifth in stakes company for trainer Steve Asmussen– gave co-breeder Marc Holliday’s Blue Devil Racing operation back-to-back wins on the Showcase Day card after Betsy Blue opened the stakes portion of the program in the $125,000 Bouwerie for 3-year-old fillies.

Blue Devil bred Bankit in partnership with Hidden Brook Farm LLC. Foaled at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, Bankit is the first foal out of Sister in Arms. Blue Devil Racing purchased Sister in Arms for $125,000 at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale and she won two of six starts before heading to the breeding shed.

Bankit is Sister in Arms’ first foal and he originally sold as a yearling out of the Hidden Brook consignment to SGV Thoroughbreds for $85,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred sale. Bankit was purchased by Winchell Thoroughbreds for $260,000 at the 2018 OBS March sale of selected 2-year-olds in training sale.

“He’s a cool horse,” said Toby Sheets, Asmusen’s New York-based assistant. “He tries hard every time. He’s so cool to be around and one that puts out every time. We had some hiccups here and there, but he’s awesome. He’s run against some nice horses. He’s a millionaire now and he deserves to be. He’s run on an off-track before. He can run on just about anything.”

Sister in Arms also produced an Awesome Again colt named Clifton Park, who sold for $75,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September yearling sale and has won three of 23 starts and $38,551. Her third foal, the 3-year-old Animal Kingdom filly Aunt Mary, has earned $6,660. Sister in Arms did not produce a foal in 2019 and is the dam of a yearling colt by Good Magic and 2021 filly by Street Sense born March 27, both co-bred by Hidden Brook and Blue Devil.

Central Banker, an 11-year-old son of Speightstown who stands for $6,000, sired six blacktype winners and the earners of more than $8.9 million in his first three crops through Sunday. Bankit is his leading earner, along with 2019 New York-bred champion 3-year-old filly Newly Minted ($516,738) and stakes winners Bank On Shea ($450,000), Niko’s Dream ($285,090), Collegeville Girl ($270,526) and Sassy Agnes ($198,782).

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/31/bankit-joins-seven-figure-club-in-commentator/

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Big Apple Showcase Special

By Tom Law and Joe Clancy

One of the most anticipated days of the year on the NYRA circuit unfolds Monday with the annual Big Apple Showcase card featuring six stakes and 10 races total for New York-breds.

The high-dollar event attracted plenty of interest and everything gets underway at 1 p.m. The first stakes – the Bouwerie for 3-year-old fillies – goes as the third race at 2:02. The team at The Saratoga Special and This Is Horse Racing wanted to preview all the action and present the Showcase Special to set the stage.

We’ll be back with more editions for the other two Showcase Day cards this year – the Saratoga Showcase during the much-anticipated Spa meeting and Empire Showcase card this fall at Belmont Park.

Here’s wishing everyone in the New York Thoroughbred industry a safe Memorial Day and prosperous rest of the year.

 

Names of the Day

Masked Marauder, first race. Windylea Farm’s 3-year-old is by Palace Malice out of Court Dress.

Mosienko, second race. He’s entered for the main track only but gets the nod as a son of Hat Trick is named for Bill Mosienko, who scored the fastest hat track in National Hockey League history (21 seconds) while playing for the Chicago Black Hawks in 1952. Mosienko the horse has won three races.

Therapist, eighth race. An oldie but a goodie, the Kingston Stakes runner is by Freud.

 

By the Numbers

3: Runners sired by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds’ Central Banker on the Big Apple Showcase card, tied for most of any current New York-based stallion along with Sequel Stallions’ Freud.

5: Entrants bred by Barry Schwartz’s Stonewall Farm on Monday’s card, one more than those bred or co-bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, Chester and Mary Broman and Sequel Thoroughbreds.

9: Horses entered Monday by trainer Christophe Clement, most of any conditioner on the card. John Kimmel is second with six.

54: Individual trainers with entrants Monday.

100: New York-breds entered for the 10-race Big Apple Showcase Day, including 11 also-eligible runners.

$900,000: Purses for the six stakes on the Big Apple Showcase Day card.

$1,388,536: Career earnings for Mr. Buff, the most of any runner Monday.

 

Worth Repeating

“He’s kind of a one-banjo monkey. He goes to the front, that’s his game. Catch me if you can and if you go with him it will cost you the race, too. He’s a very nice horse.”
Trainer Jim Bond last summer in his Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour[2] on Kingston Stakes morning-line favorite Rinaldi

“It’s a great day of racing and there’s big purse money to be had. I’m hoping all three of my horses show up and have a good day.”
Trainer John Kimmel, who sends out Mr. Buff in the Commentator, Secret Love in the Bouwerie and Dr. Blute in the Mike Lee

“It’s a little ambitious, but why not? It’s a good day to be ambitious.”
Trainer Christophe Clement on Merrylegs’ Farm homebred Timeless Journey in the Critical Eye

“The New York-bred program is full of tremendous opportunities for breeders and owners. We’re grateful in continuing to partner with NYRA in highlighting our top athletes on our New York Showcase days with lucrative purses and competitive fields. Especially at the Belmont Spring meet, as the New York Breeders’ Showcase Day on Memorial Day will have fans in attendance to help celebrate and watch the best our Empire State has to offer.”
New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. President Thomas J. Gallo

“Just runners. Everything in that family wins within the first two starts of their life. She was very impressive the other day. She drew a bad post and was really wide first start here. She went off like 35, 40-1 and I’m looking at this and saying ‘What am I missing?’ She ran fourth, ran so wide the other day, poor thing. I ran her back and she’s 8-5.”

Bond last summer during his Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour[2] on Mount Vernon contender Giacosa

 

The Showcase Special

Belmont Park. Race 1. 1:00 p.m. Field of eight starts the day in 6 ½-furlong maiden, including second-time starters Big Bobby for Bill Mott, Orb in the Tower for Todd Pletcher, Devil Boy for Jeremiah Englehart and Arms an Armor for Steve Asmussen. Blitz to Win, from Team Tiz the Law, faced a few of these last time and looks to improve.

Belmont. Race 2. 1:31. Time Limit, placed in four stakes during her 2-year-old season in 2019, returns from more than 17 months on the sidelines in 6-furlong turf allowance. Snicket, who is relegated to AE list, and Blame It On Mary are in form and could factor.

Belmont. Race 3. 2:02. The $125,000 Bouwerie for 3-year-old fillies at 7 furlongs. Laobanonaprayer, last year’s champion New York-bred 2-year-old filly, tries to bounce back from sixth in division of New York Stallion Stakes. She won on Empire Showcase Day last fall in the Maid Of The Mist. Secret Love, Betsy Blue and Pay Grade also in the field.

Belmont. Race 4. 2:33. In the words of John Kimmel in the NYTB Annual Awards Program, “the one and only Mr. Buff.” That’s right, the ageless Chester and Mary Broman homebred gelding makes his 46th starts seeking his 18th win in the $200,000 Commentator. He finished eighth in this race in 2018, third in 2019 and second last year. Bankit, the veteran 5-year-old by Central Banker, could crack seven figures in earnings with a win. He’s as consistent as any in the division with a 5-10-4 mark from 29 starts and a win over the favorite in the Alex M. Robb last winter at Aqueduct.

Belmont. Race 5. 3:02. La Victoria, daughter of Tapit out of New York-bred Horse of the Year who sold for $800,000 as a weanling in 2018, makes second start for Todd Pletcher and owners Whisper Hill Farm and Three Chimneys Farm in 6 ½-furlong maiden.

Belmont. Race 6. 3:34. The $125,000 Mount Vernon. Lawrence Goichman’s homebred Myhartblongstodady went on a tear last summer and fall, winning three straight, and a return to that form makes her tough here against nine others led by 2020 runner-up Classic Lady, Robin Sparkles, Giacosa and Light in the Sky.

Belmont. Race 7. 4:06. Excellent Timing, winner of the Damon Runyon on the main track in March, led and stopped in Grade 2 American Turf on Kentucky Derby Day last time. Now he’s back with state-breds and on dirt for the $125,000 Mike Lee. River Dog, part of Jeremiah Englehart’s Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour last summer[6], looked good winning his maiden May 2 and Devious Mo comes off win in Times Square division of New York Stallion Stakes.

Belmont. Race 8. 4:40. Back to the grass for the $125,000 Kingston. Cross Border exits a seventh – beaten only 2 lengths – in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic on Kentucky Derby Day while Rinaldi prepped for this with a second in open Dangers Hour Stakes at Aqueduct. Typically deep division represented by major players City Man, Dot Matrix, Graded On a Curve, Therapist and Sanctuary City.

Belmont. Race 9. 5:12. The $200,000 Critical Eye Handicap. Mrs. Orb shed her second-it is to start the year with a victory in the La Verdad, then went through the sales ring only to be an RNA for $295,000 at the Keeneland January sale. Now she’s back with a steady string of works first at Nelson Jones Farms and Training Center in Ocala and at Belmont Park for Mike Miceli. She carries 122 pounds, receiving two from familiar foe Espresso Shot and two more than stablemate Love and Love. Espresso Shot won the Biogio’s Rose in March at Aqueduct and comes in fresh for Jorge Abreu.

Belmont. Race 10. 5:44. Full field for 6-furlong maiden claimer for fillies and mares to close the card.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/30/big-apple-showcase-special/

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Brooklyn Strong to skip Belmont, may target Pegasus

By Paul Halloran

Trainer Danny Velazquez hoped last week’s mediocre work for Brooklyn Strong was an aberration and that the gelding would bounce back this week and show him he was ready for a start in next week’s Belmont Stakes. When Velazquez didn’t see what he was looking for, he and owner Mark Schwartz made the difficult decision to skip the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

“I didn’t see him hitting the marks I wanted him to hit this week,” said Velazquez, who canceled Saturday’s scheduled work at Parx Racing after he and Schwartz made the decision not to run in the Belmont. “I didn’t want to push him into this work. We’ll look at other options going forward.”

A New York-bred 3-year-old gelding by Wicked Strong out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Riviera Chic, Brooklyn Strong worked 5 furlongs in 1:02.25 last Saturday, three weeks after running 15th in the Kentucky Derby. Velazquez was not thrilled with the work, but since the track was slow, he was hoping the horse would bounce back this week.

“We’ve been doing what we want to do so far,” Velazquez said, “not necessarily what the horse wants to do. We could run. He’s healthy and I could have put a strong work in him today. But what’s the point if we’re not 100-percent sure he’s ready. He’s a young horse with plenty of racing ahead of him. I don’t want to break his spirit just to make a race.”

Velazquez said he has “no regrets” about taking a shot in the Derby, after Brooklyn Strong somehow got in with only 10 qualifying points. “It was a great experience. Now, we have to reel it in and be realistic. He just needs a little time. We will be running somewhere next month.”

Schwartz and Velazquez have yet to see the return of the horse that closed his 2-year-old campaign by winning the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes while recoding a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It’s disappointing,” said Schwartz, a Brooklyn native who was looking forward to running a horse in New York’s signature race. “This was the race I always wanted him to run, since the Remsen. I thought the distance (1 1/2miles) would fit him perfect. But you’re not going to run in this race if you don’t think he’s 100 percent.”

Schwartz said they are considering the June 13 $150,000 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park, a race for 3-year-olds in which the top two finishers earn free entry into the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Stakes July 17. There is also a $100,000 allowance at Belmont that may go on June 20.

“Danny thinks he will be ready in a few weeks,” Schwartz said. “This makes sense. It’s disappointing, but it’s the right thing to do for the horse.”

Brooklyn Strong was bred by Cheryl Prudhomme and her husband, Dr. Michael Gallivan, and foaled at their Shamrock Hill Farm in Fort Edward. Prudhomme and Gallivan sold him as a weanling. Schwartz bought him for $5,000 at the 2020 OBS Spring 2-year-old sale.

After breaking his maiden at Delaware Park, Brooklyn Strong ran third in the Bertram Bongard and won the Sleepy Hollow. He took on open company in the Remsen and got up just before the wire to earn the 10 Derby qualifying points.

Notes: Laobanonaprayer, another New York-bred trained by Velazquez, will run in the Bouwerie Stakes for 3-year-old state-bred fillies on Monday’s Big Apple Showcase card at Belmont.

Laobanonaprayer, by Laoban out of the Raffie’s Majesty mare Raffie’s Chance, was bred by Christina Deronda and is owned in partnership by Velazquez, Schwartz and Larry Rush. The filly, who captured two state-bred stakes as a 2-year-old, will be looking for her first win this year, after running second and sixth in New York-bred stakes, with a fourth against open company in the Busher Invitational sandwiched between them.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/29/brooklyn-strong-to-skip-belmont-may-target-pegasus/

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It’s a Gamble relishes surface switch in Jersey Derby

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

It’s a Gamble recorded a bullet half-mile breeze last Saturday at Monmouth Park and six days later the New York-bred added a first stakes win to his record with a victory in Friday’s $102,000 Jersey Derby.

Breaking closest to the rail in the 1-mile stakes moved from the turf to the main track due to weather, It’s a Gamble raced in midpack as the leading Spectatorless opened up on the field. Spectatorless set fractions of :23.33 and :47.14 as It’s a Gamble galloped relaxed under Jose Baez. As they entered the final half mile, the field caught up to Spectatorless with It’s a Gamble racing right behind him in his rail spot.

As the leader lost his position to Indian Lake, he made the mistake of moving a path off the rail around the turn and Baez and It’s a Gamble took advantage. Sliding through the hole, It’s a Gamble was quickly after Indian Lake and catching up with every stride.

It’s a Gamble headed his rival in the final sixteenth then passed by to win by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:40.70 with Spectatorless third, 8 3/4 lengths behind Indian Lake.

“The rail really opened up for me,” said Baez. “I was just sitting there waiting to see what was going on. I waited long enough that the rail opened and I didn’t have to go around horses. I was a little worried about (Indian Lake) getting away from me. That’s probably why I asked my horse to go when I did.”

A homebred for Ron Lombardi’s Mr. Amore Stables, It’s a Gamble is the winner of three of his nine races for $176,327 in earnings with a stakes placing in the Woodhaven Stakes in his prior start April 17 at Aqueduct.

The Jersey Derby marked just the second start on dirt for It’s A Gamble, but trainer Kelly Breen wasn’t worried when the race had to be moved off the grass due to rain.

“Even though this was just his second start on the dirt he has trained well on it,” Breen said. “So I wasn’t all that concerned when it came off the turf. Everything set up for him. The rail opened up and he was able to find his way through. Since we shipped him from Florida to New York — his last race on the grass at Aqueduct was really nice — he has been training well. I believe that he’s a nice horse – dirt, turf, whatever.”

The son of English Channel is out of the Mr. Amore-raced New York-bred Yes It’s Pink. The winner of three of her 13 starts with just two off-the-board finishes, Yes It’s Pink was claimed at Belmont Park by Lombardi for $50,000 in October of 2013 and raced three more times before retirement.

Joining the Mr. Amore broodmare band, Yes It’s Pink’s first foal was a New York-bred colt named Always Will. While that colt never made it to the track, his 4-year-old half-sister Misty Taste joined the Mr. Amore Stable racing string. Making all but two of her 10 starts in New York, Misty Taste is the winner of one race in her five starts in 2021 with a pair of thirds in her last two outings.

After foaling It’s a Gamble, Yes It’s Pink visited Algorithms and gave her owner another colt. That 2-year-old is named Itsalittlebitfunny and is joined by the May-born yearling Union Jackson filly Aperol Spritz as their dam’s two youngest foals.

Yes It’s Pink visited Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions’ Majestic City last year.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/28/its-a-gamble-relishes-surface-switch-in-jersey-derby/

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Brooklyn Strong works for possible Belmont Stakes start

By Paul Halloran

Three weeks removed from a rough-trip 15th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, Brooklyn Strong returned to the work tab Saturday at Parx Racing.

A New York-bred gelding by Wicked Strong out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Riviera Chic, Brooklyn Strong was credited with a 5-furlong work in a moderate 1:02.25 under exercise rider Maria Remedio-Adorno. While there were only five slower works among the 26 at the distance, only six horses worked in under 1:01 over a track described by trainer Danny Velazquez as “deep and cuppy.”

Velazquez had his horse going 6 furlongs in 1:15.95, with splits of :37.37 and :49.80.

“It wasn’t his best work, but the track was a bit slow,” said Velazquez, who plans to work Brooklyn Strong again next Saturday, after which he will make a final decision on whether to run in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes June 5.

“I’ll walk him tomorrow and Monday and he’ll train Tuesday through Friday,” Velazquez said. “Next Saturday we’ll definitely know if we are going or not.”

“We’ll see what happens next Saturday,” owner Mark Schwartz said. “Danny didn’t love the work, but he did say the track was slow. It’s his call.”

Velazquez and Schwartz are considering the Derby a complete throw-out, an opinion supported by the official chart.

Brooklyn Strong “solidly bumped the outer part of the gate, then was jostled between horses at the start” from post 3, effectively ending any chance the 43-1 longshot had. Brooklyn Strong ran a decent but nonthreatening fifth a month before in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct, but that race was off a four-month layoff, so that is excusable as well.

“He had a horrible break and then got demolished,” Velazquez said of the Derby. “Then he got all the kickback. It was hard to make up ground. Unfortunately, you don’t get a good read on your horse. In the Wood, I knew he was a little short. For the Derby, he looked great and was training awesome. At the end of the day, we still got beat by a lot (18 lengths). You just hope that doesn’t change the horse’s mental state.”

Schwartz and Velazquez are hoping to see the return of the horse that closed his 2-year-old campaign by winning the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes while recoding a 94 Beyer Speed Figure. They are also encouraged by the fact that he won the Sleepy Hollow Stakes at Belmont last October.

Schwartz and Velazquez have not confirmed a jockey for the Belmont, but they figure to have some good options, perhaps including Jose Ortiz, who was aboard for the Sleepy Hollow. The game of musical jockeys started when Flavien Prat opted to stick with Derby third Hot Rod Charlie over Rombauer, whom he rode to victory in last weekend’s Preakness Stakes.

Prat got the Derby mount on Hot Rod Charlie when trainer Doug O’Neill didn’t wait to see if he would lose Joel Rosario, who won the Louisiana Derby for him, to Concert Tour, and locked up Prat. Concert Tour did not run in the Derby, but Rosario landed on Rock Your World, freeing up Umberto Rispoli, who rode Brooklyn Strong.

Once Rombauer’s trainer Michael McCarthy picks a replacement for Prat, the dominoes will fall.

Brooklyn Strong was bred by Cheryl Prudhomme and Dr. Michael Gallivan and foaled at their Shamrock Hill Farm in Fort Edward. Prudhomme and Gallivan sold him as a weanling. Schwartz bought him for $5,000 at the 2020 OBS Spring 2-year-old sale.

After breaking his maiden at Delaware Park, Brooklyn Strong ran third in the Bertram Bongard Stakes and won the Sleepy Hollow. He took on open company in the Remsen and got up just before the wire to earn 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, which surprisingly ended up being enough to get in.

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Laobanonaprayer, another New York-bred trained by Velazquez, worked 5 furlongs in 1:01.17 at Parx Saturday as she prepares for the Bouwerie Stakes for 3-year-old state-bred fillies at Belmont on the May 31 Big Apple Showcase Day card.

“It looks like we are going. She worked perfect,” Velazquez said.

Laobanonaprayer, by Laoban out of the Raffie’s Majesty mare Raffie’s Chance, was bred by Christina Deronda and is owned in partnership by Velazquez, Schwartz and Larry Rush. The filly, who captured two state-bred stakes as a 2-year-old, will be looking for her first win this year, after running second and sixth in New York-bred stakes, with a fourth against open company in the Busher Invitational sandwiched between them.

“Hopefully, she will be the same horse she was before,” Velazquez said.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/05/22/brooklyn-strong-works-for-possible-belmont-stakes-start/

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