Sea Foam closes 2021 with victory in Alex M. Robb

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Sea Foam and Kendrick Carmouche close the 2021 season in New York with victory in Friday’s Alex M. Robb at Aqueduct. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Danny California tried to spoil the party in Friday’s edition of the $100,000 Alex M. Robb Stakes at Aqueduct but even-money favorite Sea Foam wasn’t to be denied and held off the challenger by a half-length at the wire.

Sea Foam continued to prove that the $45,000 claim his connections made in July at Saratoga Race Course was a good one, taking home two stakes victories and placing third in the Empire Classic Handicap since.

Sea Foam came into the 2021 stakes finale on the NYRA circuit on a two-month freshening since the Empire Classic but didn’t appear to gather any rust before Friday’s stakes. He and Captain Bombstastic opened up 5 lengths on the field almost immediately in the 1 1/8-mile race before slowing down the tempo up the backstretch. Though the field tightened up at that point, Sea Foam continued to keep the lead and only a few challengers stuck with him around the turn.

Sea Foam kept Our Last Buck at a safe distance into the stretch and looked on his way to a clear win before the late-closing Danny California made his run. The finish post came just in time for Sea Foam, who won in 1:52.17.

“He’s a one-trick pony,” winning jockey Kendrick Carmouche said. “You just got to get him to the lead and let him keep rolling. [Trainer Michelle Giangiulio] had him ready off that last race at Belmont. I just had to get him to the lead and manage him from there. Every time they ran up to him, I asked him, and he gave me more, gave me more.”

Campaigned by Ten Strike Racing, Four Corners Racing Stable, Broadview Stables and Corey Moelis Racing, Sea Foam was the first winner for his trainer in the Evan Shipman Stakes Aug. 11 and became her fifth winner in the Alex M. Robb.

“It’s hard to comprehend how well I’ve been doing,” said Giangiulio. “I was always confident in myself as a trainer, but it’s hard to even think about what I’ve accomplished. I’ve put many years into this, so it’s not like it happened overnight. I’m just so happy and thrilled it’s worked out the way it has for some really good people, too. It’s been great.”

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Sea Foam, who gave trainer Michelle Giangiulio her first win in August at Saratoga, added another stakes win Friday in the Alex M. Robb. Joe Labozzetta/NYRA Photo

Racing in New York for all but two of his 26 starts, Sea Foam hasn’t strayed far from Berkshire Stud in Pine Plains, where he was foaled for breeders Dick Leahey and John Meriwether’s Waterville Lake Stables. The 6-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro has been a model of consistency with 16 top-three finishes and $774,745 in earnings.

Trainer Christophe Clement bought Sea Foam’s dam on behalf of Waterville Lake Stables as a yearling for $350,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of selected yearlings. Strike It Rich paid off the price in spades both on the track and in the breeding shed, winning the 2010 Grade 3 Boiling Springs Stakes, one of two stakes victories for the Unbridled’s Song mare. Joining her owner’s broodmare band after her racing career, she’s produced five winners from seven to race with the group that also includes 2021 Manila Stakes third Straw Into Gold.

Strike It Rich has a 2-year-old New York-bred Kitten’s Joy filly named Waterville, who broke her maiden for her breeders and Clement in August at Saratoga. After two barren years, the mare was bred to 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic in 2021.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/12/31/sea-foam-closes-2021-with-victory-in-alex-m-robb/

Cross Border adds Turfway’s Prairie Bayou to growing resume

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Cross Border, two-time winner of the Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga, added Turfway’s Prairie Bayou Stakes to his ledger Saturday. Coady Photography.

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Popular New York-bred millionaire and multiple graded stakes winner Cross Border returned to the winner’s circle Saturday evening when he shipped to Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky for a victory in the $100,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes.

The tightly packed synthetic race saw Cross Border among the back markers only about 3 lengths off the leading Megacity through the first half of the 1 1/16-mile stakes. Megacity set fractions of :23.40, :47.45, and 1:12.00 as Cross Border happily raced widest of all under Alex Achard, just waiting for his time to shine.

That moment came around the far turn as Cross Border went widest of all and ranged up alongside the leaders. Achard never asked for Cross Border’s best with the English Channel gelding feeling just a few taps down the stretch. He coasted home under a hand ride in the final sixteenth to win by 1 3/4 lengths from Mr Dumas. Fellow New York-bred Hush of a Storm, winner of last year’s John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway, finished another 1 1/2 lengths back in third with 9-5 favorite Rushie fourth in the field of seven. Cross Border won in 1:43.89.

The Prairie Bayou was the fourth stakes victory and 11th stakes top-three finish for the multiple Grade 1-placed Cross Border, who is also a multiple Grade 2 winner.

Bred by Doug Koch’s Berkshire Stud and B. D. Gibbs and foaled at Berkshire Stud in Pine Plains, Cross Border has been a top-class runner for trainer Mike Maker and the Wycoff family’s Three Diamonds Farm since they purchased him for $100,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale of selected horses of racing age.

Cross Border improved to eight wins and 10 other top-three finishes in 25 starts since that 2018 trip through the sales ring. He’s won 11 times with 13 other top-three finishes in 39 career starts for $1,087,929 in overall earnings.

Also a $180,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase before selling for $10,000 as a 2-year-old at the 2016 OBS June sale, Cross Border is one of three winners from three to race out of the Empire Maker mare Empress Josephine.

Empress Josephine is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning New York-bred Private Emblem and multiple stakes winning New York-bred Rhum, who is the dam of leading New York sire Central Banker.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/12/18/cross-border-adds-turfways-prairie-bayou-to-growing-resume/

Big Brown’s Geno scores in NYSS Great White Way

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Geno and Jorge Vargas Jr. hold of Un Ojo and Trevor McCarthy in Saturday’s $500,000 Great White Way division of the NYSS. Chelsea Durand/NYRA Photo.

By Tom Law

What better spot to take a try a dirt race with a 2-year-old colt with three starts, all on grass, than for a $500,000 purse?

Dave Donk figured as much with Pete Martine’s homebred Big Brown colt Geno, who relished his chance and came away with a victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series at Aqueduct.

“This is a pretty good spot to find out,” Donk said after Geno split rivals in the lane and held off a late run from Un Ojo to win the 7-furlong Great White Way by a neck. Jorge Vargas Jr., aboard for Geno’s two most recent starts against open company in turf stakes on the NYRA circuit, rode the colt to victory in 1:25.88.

“This horse has a lot of class, as much class as I’ve seen a horse have in a while,” Donk said. “I debated first time out whether I should run him on dirt or turf. His mother (Weekend Hottie) won on grass and my success with Big Brown offspring have been on grass, so I ran him over it.”

Geno broke his maiden going 6 furlongs on the grass Sept. 19 at Belmont Park, then just missed there in the $100,000 Awad Stakes stretching out to 1 1/16 miles. He came into the Great White Way off a sixth, beaten just 2 lengths, in the $100,000 Central Park Stakes again at 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Aqueduct.

Sent off the 8-1 fourth choice in the field of 11, Geno and Vargas saved ground early and around the far turn while 8-5 favorite Unique Unions led Kenner through the opening splits of :22.71 and :46.48.

Vargas sent Geno through those two foes in the lane, took the lead at the eighth pole and past 6 furlongs in 1:12.30. Un Ojo, fourth last time in an open-company stakes at Delta Downs and making his first start in New York, rallied under Trevor McCarthy while several paths off the fence into the lane. Un Ojo came alongside Geno in deep stretch, the two exchanged bumps and the latter stayed tough for his second win in four starts. Unique Union, a son of freshman sire Union Jackson, finished 2 1/4 lengths back in third with 96-1 longshot Hot Stepper fourth.

Geno and his connections also withstood a claim of foul from McCarthy and a stewards inquiry for the victory.

“Nothing really happened,” Vargas said. “My horse got to waiting on horses a bit. He [Un Ojo] came running on the outside and bumped my horse on his rear end a little bit.”

McCarthy saw it a bit differently on his mount, an aptly named son of Laoban who is missing his left eye.

“My horse is a pretty big, gangly horse and it doesn’t take much to get him off stride,” McCarthy said. “When he bumped me, it took all the momentum away from him. I had a great position. I was able to tuck him in around the turn and cut the corner and then get him back out. He had a great trip. It was just really unfortunate that he got bumped and lost all his momentum.”

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Trainer Dave Donk (left) says Geno could wind up in more stakes this winter after Saturday’s Stallion Series victory. NYRA Photo.

Geno now heads into the winter months with some momentum.

Donk hinted that the colt could stick around for other dirt stakes engagements, rather than being turned out for six weeks and returning with eyes on spring turf stakes.

“He breezes really well on the dirt and I needed to try him somewhere on the dirt,” Donk said. “This is as good a spot as I could have found.”

Geno’s victory provided champion and dual classic winner Big Brown, who stands for $5,000 at Irish Hill Century and Dutchess Views Stallions LLC in Stillwater, with another major victory in 2021. He’s also the sire multiple New York-bred champion and multiple graded stakes winner Somelikeithotbrown, in the midst of his best season in 2021 with $498,000 in earnings; and 2021 stakes winner Jemography.

Bred by Martine and raced in the green and white colors of his Mendham Racing Stable, Geno is the first foal out of the winning Sun King mare Weekend Hottie.

Campaigned by Mendham Racing Stable, Weekend Hottie broke her maiden on the grass for Donk in June 2017. She’s also the dam of a soon-to-be yearling filly by Laoban, also bred in New York by Martine, and was bred back to Majestic City in 2021.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/12/18/big-browns-geno-scores-in-nyss-great-white-way/