Americanrevolution continues rise in Empire Classic rout

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Americanrevolution dominates Saturday’s $300,000 Empire Classic to highlight Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park. NYRA Photo.

By Tom Law

Americanrevolution flattered the 2021 American 3-year-old crop and stamped himself as a legitimate contender for New York-bred Horse of the Year honors with a powerful victory over older rivals in Saturday’s $300,000 Empire Classic Handicap to close Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park.

Fresh off a third behind Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Hot Rod Charlie and Midnight Bourbon in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, Americanrevolution added the Empire Classic to his two prior New York-bred stakes victories this summer. CHC Inc.’s and WinStar Farm’s son of Constitution won the 9-furlong Empire Classic by 11 3/4 lengths.

“He looked like a winner every step,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar’s president, chief executive officer and racing manager. “He’s a very nice horse, we’re proud of him being by Constitution and he loved the mud today.”

Americanrevolution capped the big day for New York-breds, one of three Showcase Days run annually along with the Big Apple Showcase in the spring at Belmont and Saratoga Showcase in the summer at Saratoga Race Course. Saturday’s 10-race card included six stakes, led by the Empire Classic and Empire Distaff, with total purses of $1,625,000. The Empire Showcase Day’s traditional two grass stakes – the $200,000 Ticonderoga for older fillies and mares and the $200,000 Mohawk for 3-year-olds and up – were moved to Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 because of heavy rain this week on Long Island.

Racing on a sloppy and sealed track for the first time in his six-start career, Americanrevolution and jockey Luis Saez raced behind the pace battle between Sea Foam and two-time defending Empire Classic winner Mr. Buff through the swift opening fractions of :22.85 and :45.84.

Sea Foam, winner of the Evan Shipman at Saratoga who was shortening up after an eighth in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup going 12 furlongs at Parx Racing Sept. 25, shrugged off Mr. Buff’s bid around the far turn and clicked past 6 furlongs in 1:10.35.

Saez guided Americanrevolution to the outside around the turn and they ranged up alongside Sea Foam approaching the quarter-pole. Americanrevolution took over before the field straightened for home and quickly opened up daylight between Sea Foam and early chasers Captain Bombastic and Three Jokers.

“We got the trip we wanted,” Saez said. “We were breaking outside the speed and so we just tried to sit and keep him comfortable.”

Americanrevolution poured it on late under little urging from Saez, cruising past the eighth pole 5 1/2 lengths in front after a mile in 1:35.97. The 2-5 favorite continued to widen in deep stretch while Wild Banker, the longest price on the board at 56-1, and Dylan Davis rallied late to nose out Sea Foam for the place spot. Danny California finished fourth, followed by Captain Bombastic, Tiergan, Three Jokers and Mr. Buff. Americanrevolution won in 1:49.11.

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NYTB Executive Director Najja Thompson (left) presents to Americanrevolutions connections, jockey Luis Saez, WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. NYRA Photo.

“He’s a very nice horse,” Walden said. “He’s probably the ninth or 10th best 3-year-old in the country right now. Some of the better ones are retiring after this year so if he comes back well, who knows how it goes next year. He’s certainly done nothing wrong and I’m very excited of what’s ahead for him.”

Bred by Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding and foaled at Irish Hill Century Farm in Stillwater, Americanrevolution was purchased by China Horse Club and WinStar’s Maverick Racing for $275,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Americanrevolution is the second foal out of the winning Super Saver mare Polly Freeze, who is a half sister to Korean champion Cheongdam Dokki, graded stakes winner and $493,367-earner Gouldings Green and stakes winner Filare L’Oro, the dam of multiple graded stakes winner Silver Dust and Grade 3 winner Forza Di Oro.

Americanrevolution started his career in Kentucky with Rodolphe Brisset, who send him out for his lone start at 2 when fourth behind Mandaloun in a 6-furlong maiden at Keeneland. Transferred to Todd Pletcher in late 2020, Americanrevolution didn’t make it back to the races until June 20 at Belmont, where he won a state-bred 6-furlong maiden race by a neck. He followed that up with victories in the New York Derby at Finger Lakes in July and the Albany Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in August.

“He’s come a long way in a short period of time,” Pletcher said. “He’s a talented horse and showed last time that he belongs with some of the better 3-year-olds in the country, so it was great to have an opportunity like he had today.”

The Empire Classic, the centerpiece on the Showcase Day card that featured five other stakes, was worth $165,000 and it boosted Americanrevolution’s bankroll to $532,035.

Hertich and Fielding also paired to breed New York-bred champion and multiple Grade 1 winner Diversify. Hertrich bought Americanrevolution’s dam, Polly Freeze, in foal to Wicked Strong for $75,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. She’d previously sold as a yearling for $155,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September sale. Her first foal, the Kentucky-bred Wicked Strong filly Text Dont Call, had made three starts in Southern California when Americanrevolution went through the Saratoga sales ring, placing twice. She eventually won two of 16 starts and earned $42,109.

Polly Freeze’s third foal, the New York-bred Hard Spun colt named Bold Journey, sold for $80,000 to McMahon & Hill Bloodstock, agent, at this year’s OBS April 2-year-olds in training sale. He’s in training in New York and posted a half-mile breeze over Belmont’s training track in :49.25 Oct. 20.

Polly Freeze is also the dam of a Kentucky-bred yearling filly by Collected who sold to BDR IV and West Point for $210,000 at the Keeneland September sale. She was bred to Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso last year.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/10/30/americanrevolution-continues-rise-in-empire-classic-rout/

Sharp Starr posts 16-1 upset in Empire Distaff

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Barry K. Schwartz’s Sharp Starr, winner of the Grade 3 Go For Wand last December, scores 16-1 upset in Empire Distaff. NYRA Photo.

By Paul Halloran

Sharp Starr has proven she can compete in open company, winning the Grade 3 Go For Wand Stakes at Aqueduct last December, two months after an out-of-the-money finish in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on the Preakness undercard. Put her with her fellow New York-breds and she is downright formidable.

Making her first start in the state-bred ranks since January, Sharp Starr surged past second-choice Make Mischief in the stretch and rolled to a 3 1/4-length victory in the $250,000 Empire Distaff Handicap on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park. Favorite Ice Princess got up for second in the 1 1/16-mile race over a sloppy track.

“It was good to see her come back to form. We’ve always liked her,” trainer Horacio DePaz said. “We just started her back up. We gave her a little break during the summer and now she’s back.”

Trinni Luck broke sharply from the far outside and cleared the field, leading through fractions of :23.18 and :46.61. She was confronted by Make Mischief at the quarter pole and called it a day, fading to ninth. No sooner did Make Mischief grab the lead did Sharp Starr, a 16-1 shot who was ninth after a half-mile, appear on the scene and take command. She stopped the clock in 1:44.23.

“I rode her a while back and she was always a come-from-behind horse to me,” jockey Jose Ortiz said. “I always rode her like that and lately she’s been a little more keen and more aggressive. Today, I just kept her quiet in the post parade. I didn’t anticipate I was going be that far back, but I didn’t panic. The track is bad, so I just let her get her footing and move little by little around the half-mile pole and she was there for me every step of the way.”

Sharp Starr, bred by owner Barry Schwartz at his Stonewall Farm in Westchester County, returned from the five-month freshening on Aug. 26 at Saratoga, going to the lead and running fifth in an open optional. She was off another two months before the Empire Distaff.

“She was competitive in the race at Saratoga,” DePaz said. “It was just a tough field and going seven-eighths up there, she was a little bit closer to the pace than we thought she would be. She probably just needed the race and she was training really well into this race. I was hopeful that she would come back to form.”

The daughter of Munnings out of the A.P. Indy mare Mindy Gold did that and then some Saturday, perhaps earning an opportunity to defend her Go For Wand title Dec. 4 at Aqueduct.

“It’s definitely a possibility,” DePaz said. “She handled the mile and a sixteenth fine here, so we’ll see what her perfect distance will be. We’ll keep that race under consideration.”

Sharp Starr’s victory gave Munnings progeny their 17th stakes win in 2021, more than any stallion except for Into Mischief (24). Munnings won three Grade 2 stakes in his 14-race career, including the Woody Stephens and Tom Fool at Belmont in 2009. Mindy Gold, who was winless in seven starts, produced Papa Shot, a New York-bred by Distorted Humor, who won nine races and earned more than $510,000 in a 39-race career from 2015-19.

The $137,500 winner’s share brought Sharp Starr’s career earnings to $348,295 with a record of 4-3-3 from 14 starts and 3-3-2 in nine starts against state-breds.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/10/30/sharp-starr-posts-16-1-upset-in-empire-distaff/

Venti Valentine highlights big day for Final Furlong, Maspeth

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Venti Valentine cruises to victory in the $250,000 Maid of the Mist Saturday at Belmont Park. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable enjoyed a big Empire Showcase Day Saturday at Belmont Park with two top-three finishers out of their mare Glory Gold led by Venti Valentine’s easy victory in the Maid of the Mist Stakes.

“After Espresso finished third to have her sister go off and win the way she did, everybody is over the moon,” Final Furlong Racing Stable’s Vince Roth said of Venti Valentine.

Winning by just a nose in her debut at 6 furlongs in September when running into trouble, Venti Valentine showed that a mile was more her style on the sloppy and sealed main track.

Breaking on the rail a step slow, she hurried through the field to protect that spot as she settled in fourth about 3 lengths behind the leading Sandy’s Garden. The pacesetter covered the first half in a relatively unpressured :46.68 before the field made its way around the turn and she was urged to pick up the pace.

That filly had done all she could do by the time they hit the top of the stretch and a hole opened in front of Venti Valentine to give her an easy route to the lead.

Irad Ortiz Jr. was just along for the ride as Venti Valentine galloped away from the field with no one able to go with her. The late-running Captainsdaughter was able to cut the winner’s lead down to 3 3/4 lengths in the end but she was the only one within 7 1/2 lengths of the Firing Line filly. Venti Valentine won in 1:39.78.

“She got left at the gate first time out and she overcame that,” Ortiz said. “She came running six-wide. I told the trainer, ‘Look, she came running.’ So, he ran in the stake and it turned out great.”

The filly is owned by her co-breeder Final Furlong Stable and Parkland Thoroughbreds, who also co-owns the filly’s half-sister Espresso Shot, third in the Iroquois Stakes on Showcase Day. Both are trained by Jorge Abreu.

Abreu confirmed that Venti Valentine would be staying in New York for the winter but said they don’t yet have her racing schedule planned out. Espresso Shot’s next target has already been decided – the Iroquois was her final race before heading to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale in just over a week.

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Connections celebrate Venti Valentine’s victory in the Maid of the Mist. NYRA Photo.

“All good things have to come to an end and [Espresso Shot] owes the partnership and all the owners nothing,” Roth said. “She’s given the partners a ride of a lifetime, she’s won a stakes every year we’ve owned her, she deserves to go be a mom now. But to have her half-sister go on and hopefully follow in her footsteps or maybe do even better is super exciting.”

Venti Valentine is the second stakes winner for Glory Gold after the aforementioned four-time stakes winning Espresso Shot.

By Mission Impazible, Espresso Shot was purchased by Final Furlong Racing as a yearling. The filly impressed her owners enough that when Glory Gold came up for sale in the 2018 Keeneland November breeding stock sale while carrying Venti Valentine, Final Furlong Racing snapped her up for $13,000.

“I have to commend Mike Recio, unfortunately he passed away this year, as an advisor to us, Espresso had finished second in the stakes as a 2-year-old a couple of years back. He pointed out that her dam was in the sale and we should buy her. She was in foal with Venti at the time, and we did,” Roth reflected of their choice to buy Glory Gold.

A winner herself, Glory Gold has seen four of her foals visit the winner’s circle with Final Furlong Racing also buying her New York-bred Speightstown daughter Goldtown and adding her to their breeding program. For Roth, the choices to buy into the family all came down to Espresso Shot, who he also credited for Venti Valentine’s victory.

“We really have [Espresso Shot] to thank for Venti Valentine in the first place because had she not done well like she did in her first two races, we would have never gotten the advice to buy her dam in foal with Venti Valentine,” he said. “So, it’s really thanks to her on her day of retirement that we’re starting a new chapter.”

Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable bred Glory Gold to Omaha Beach in 2020 with the mare producing a New York-bred filly from the stallion’s first crop Feb. 11. That filly is set to join Espresso Shot at Fasig-Tipton on November 9 in their November Sale.

Glory Gold is still part of their broodmare band and was bred to both Flatter and Authentic this year.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/10/30/venti-valentine-highlights-big-day-for-final-furlong-maspeth/

The Important One keeps rolling in Iroquois

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The Important One (inside) cuts the corner en route to victory in the Iroquois on Saturday’s Empire Showcase Day card at Belmont Park. Derbe Glass/NYRA Photo.

By Paul Halloran

Dry dirt, wet dirt, doesn’t much matter. As long as it is dirt.

That’s pretty much the story of the recent success of The Important One, who made it three wins in a row – all on dirt, after seven straight losses on turf – with a gate-to-wire score in the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park Saturday.

The Bloom Racing homebred broke first under Jose Lezcano and led every step of the way in the Iroquois, a race for fillies and mares that started in 1979 and has been run at six different distances, including the current 6 1/2 furlongs.

“She broke so well I was able to get to the rail,” Lezcano said. “She was very comfortable going the first quarter-mile. After that, she started picking things up a little bit, but I had plenty of horse the whole way around.”

The Important One led by a length after a quarter-mile in :23.04 and a half in :45.70. Lezcano increased the advantage to 3 lengths at the top of the stretch and kept extending to the wire, finishing in 1:18.03 over the sloppy track. Wet-track specialist Miss Jimmy outdueled Espresso Shot for second.

“She’s been pretty good once we hit the dirt and let her do her thing,” said Toby Sheets, assistant to winning trainer Steve Asmussen. “She’s settled down a lot, too, since she had a little break last winter. She came back and has run very well.”

A daughter of Majestic City out of the Old Trieste mare Hitch Village, The Important One was a late foal, born June 3, 2017. She did not race at 2, but won two of her first three starts in 2020: her debut on dirt at Aqueduct (for Wesley Ward) and a turf allowance at Belmont in her first start for Asmussen. She lost three straight before getting a six-month freshening – ironically, because the turf racing season was coming to a close in New York.

After four straight losses on turf to start her 4-year-old campaign, Asmussen opted to keep her in a race at Saratoga Aug. 21 that came off the turf. Voila! She won by 5 3/4 lengths and backed up that performance with a 1 3/4-length score on the Belmont dirt Oct. 7.

Both of those races were on tracks labeled fast, but she was even more effective on the off-going Saturday as the 2-1 second choice.

“It’s funny how things work out,” Jeff Bloom said. “She’s obviously found a home on the main track. She ran well on dirt before, so when the race (at Saratoga) came off, we thought, ‘OK, this will work out.’ But to see her rise to this level of talent is a pleasure.”

Bloom campaigned Majestic City, who won his first three races, including the Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile, and placed in two Grade 1 races as a 2-year-old. The 2019 leading freshman sire in New York, he stands for $2,500 at Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions in Stillwater. Hitch Village took 17 starts to break her maiden and did not run again.

Bloom said he bought Hitch Village in foal to Goldencents for the purpose of breeding to Majestic City in what turned out to be a prudent decision.

“We got lucky,” said Bloom, who is a big fan of the New York-bred program. “These Showcase events are huge. Being the stallion owner, the breeder and the horse owner is a wonderful trifecta. It’s a phenomenal program in New York.”

The Important One improved her record to 13-5-0-3, with the $82,500 winner’s share bringing her career earnings to $278,190.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/10/30/the-important-one-keeps-rolling-in-iroquois/

Ny Traffic scores first stakes victory in Hudson

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Ny Traffic, a veteran of last year’s Triple Crown series, notches first stakes victory in Saturday’s Hudson Handicap at Belmont Park. NYRA Photo.

By Mary Eddy

Ny Traffic earned the fourth win of his career in Saturday’s $150,000 Hudson Handicap at Belmont Park, collecting his first stakes victory for owners John Faneli, Cash Is King, LC Racing, Paul Braverman and Team Hanley.

Returning to sprinting after a sixth in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at 9 furlongs Aug. 27, Ny Traffic impressed in the 6 1/2-furlong Hudson over a sloppy and sealed main track, coasting home 8 3/4 lengths clear of late-closing Chestertown with Jemography third and Foolish Ghost third.

After a slight delay at the start when Foolish Ghost hesitated to take his place in the gate, Ny Traffic broke from post 8 under Irad Ortiz Jr., who also piloted the 4-year-old colt to his last victory in May. Kept mid-pack and in hand by Ortiz, Ny Traffic raced five-wide behind pacesetter Foolish Ghost through an opening quarter in :22.24 before being hurried along the outside of his rivals in the turn. Taking command at the top of the stretch, Ny Traffic never looked back, stopping the clock in 1:17.51.

Though the Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee was a bit distracted around the far turn, Ortiz was still confident Ny Traffic would deliver in the stretch.

“When I turned for home, I had the horse but he was looking around a little bit,” said Ortiz. “So, I hit him a couple times to stay straight and make him go forward and after he did, I wrapped it up.”

Of the nine tracks Ny Traffic has visited in his 16-race career, it seems Belmont Park is where the colt likes it best.

“He does like it here a lot,” said Sarah Shaffer, Joseph’s assistant. “He’s familiar with the surface. It’s nice to get the horse back in good form and see him back to his winning ways.”

It’s been a long road to a stakes victory for Ny Traffic, who finished on the board in five stakes since February 2020.

A popular participant on the road to last year’s rearranged Triple Crown series, Ny Traffic flashed his talent with a trio of runner-up efforts in graded stakes company in the first half of his sophomore campaign.

The gray son of Cross Traffic finished second in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes and Grade 1 Haskell Invitational, where he was defeated just a nose by eventual Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Authentic.

After off-the-boarded finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness last fall, Ny Traffic returned to the races in May with an allowance victory at Belmont and another graded placing in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park. His victory in the Hudson Handicap boosted his earnings to $754,920.

The first foal from the New York-bred Graeme Hall mare Mamie Reilly, Ny Traffic was bred by Brian Culnan and foaled at Gallagher’s Stud in Ghent. Mamie Reilly’s second foal, the 3-year-old Normandy Invasion gelding Purple Hearted, earned his first victory in March and has finished in the money in five other starts. Purple Hearted finished second to Americanrevolution in this year’s New York Derby at Finger Lakes.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/10/30/ny-traffic-scores-first-stakes-victory-in-hudson/

Shipsational adds Sleepy Hollow to growing resume

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Shipsational improves to 3-for-4 in Sleepy Hollow Stakes to kick off Showcase Day. NYRA Photo.

By Tom Law

Shipsational came into Saturday’s $250,000 Sleepy Hollow with experience on a sloppy track, at Belmont Park, against winners and in stakes competition.

Iris Smith’s 2-year-old son of Midshipman put those attributes, along with a new front-running style, to good use Saturday and came away with a victory in the opening stakes on the Empire Showcase Day card. Shipsational won the 1-mile Sleepy Hollow by a neck over 4-5 favorite Overstep with Who Hoo Thats Me third in the field of six.

“He’s the real deal,” winning trainer Eddie Barker said. “He does everything so easy and so effortlessly. He’s a joy to train. He’s got a lot of class to him. He gained 60 pounds between his last race and this race. When you’ve got a baby doing that, it’s a really good sign.”

Shipsational improved to 3-for-4 in the Sleepy Hollow and boosted his earnings to $278,750 for Smith and trainer Eddie Barker. He was purchased by Smith, through High Point Bloodstock, for $210,000 at the OBS March sale of selected 2-year-olds in training. Then known as Hip 178[2], Shipsational caught Barker’s eye during his presale breeze in :20.4 before the OBS March sale. Barker described the work as “effortless” and encouraged Smith to purchase the colt.

The owner and trainer received a quick return on the investment when he broke his maiden on a sloppy track early in the Saratoga meeting. After a troubled fourth in the Funny Cide Stakes on Saratoga Showcase Day, Shipsational collected his first stakes win in the 7-furlong Bertram F. Bongard last month at Belmont.

Barker breezed Shipsational twice over the Belmont training track between the Bongard and Sleepy Hollow – 6 furlongs in 1:13.60 Oct. 16 and a half-mile in :49.27 last Saturday – and the colt met regular jockey Luis Saez in the paddock ready for his third stakes engagement.

Shipsational and Overstep looked like they could vie for the lead speed on paper and Saez seized an opportunity when the latter didn’t go early.

“I thought (Overstep) was going to go to the lead and I was going to sit right there, but when you break from the gate everything changes,” Saez said. “We broke from there, it was clear and we took it.”

Shipsational and Saez led by a half-length from Overstep over the sloppy and sealed surface with Excursionniste, Who Hoo Thats Me, Sundaeswithsandy and Sterling Hill all close through the quarter-mile in :24.09. They maintained that same margin through the half in :47.74, with Excursionniste up into second ahead of Sterling Hill and Overstep down on the inside.

Shipsational opened up a 1-length lead through 6 furlongs in 1:12.45 as Saez braced for the challenges in the lane. They opened up 2 lengths in midstretch and held off Overstep late to win in 1:38.32.

“He’s a horse that’s always been improving,” Saez said. “He gets better and better. When I saw it was raining last night, I was pretty happy because when he broke his maiden the track was pretty wet and he loved it. Today, he broke pretty sharp, took the lead, and when he came through the stretch he fought for the win. I’m very happy with him.

Bred by Diana and the late Bertram Firestone and foaled at Berkshire Stud in Pine Plains, Shipsational is the 10th foal out of the winning Thunder Gulch mare Regal Approach. All nine of Regal Approach’s foals are winners, including the $330,753-earning New York-bred First Appeal, $115,821-earner Regal Force and $111,739-earner Rain Forest. Regal Approach’s 2017 foal, the New York-bred Mr Speaker colt Regal Speaker, has five wins in 11 starts and $153,870 in earnings.

The Firestones raced Regal Approach after purchasing her for $75,000 out of the 2003 Keeneland September yearling sale. She won five of 21 and earned $118,721 for the couple and various trainers including Bill Mott, Jimmy Murphy and Ralph Nicks.

Barker said he’s considering open company for Shipsational’s next start.

“I’m thinking the Remsen,” he said of the Grade 2 stakes scheduled for Dec. 4. “The numbers he’s running on the sheets are real numbers. If he goes forward today off his last race, he’s the real deal. We’ll see how he comes out of this race and how he takes everything. We’ll look at the Remsen. If not, I’ll probably give him a little break and see what happens.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/10/30/shipsationsational-adds-sleepy-hollow-to-growing-resume/