New Yorkers Draw Posts 3-5 in Preakness; Bandbox, Straight Story on Undercard

by Sarah Mace

With 11 spots up for grabs in Wednesday’s post position draw for Saturday’s running of the Grade 1, $1,000,000 Preakness Stakes, Pretension, Zetterholm and Went the Day Well were assigned posts three, four and five, respectively. Earlier on Pimlico’s marquee card, Straight Story will run in the Grade 2, $300,000 Dixie Stakes, while Bandbox goes in the Grade 3, $100,000 Maryland Sprint Handicap.

Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well (Proud Citizen) drew post five for the Preakness and was installed by Maryland Jockey Club linemaker Frank Carulli as co-third choice at odds of 6-1 (along with Creative Cause, fifth in the first jewel of the Triple Crown). Bodemeister, Kentucky Derby runner-up and speedy 8-5 morning line Preakness favorite, drew post seven, while Derby Winner I’ll Have Another is drawn to Bodemeister’s outside in post 9 and is second choice at 2-1. Entries.

Team Valor’s managing partner Barry Irwin said of Went the Day Well’s draw, “I think it’s good. I didn’t want to be on the rail. It’s too claustrophobic for him. This is a green horse. He hasn’t run too many times, and we didn’t want to have an outside post if we could avoid it, because he’d have veered off to the right. Being in the middle, hopefully it’ll be better.”

Went the Day Well was a late-charging fourth after early trouble two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby under John Velazquez, who has the return call for the Preakness. Irwin said, “This horse, I think he could have won the Derby if he had broken right, but he didn’t. Once he broke bad, he caused himself a whole bunch of trouble. We have to make sure the horse gets out of the gate this time. If he does, I think we’ve got a good shot. This horse has an enormous amount of ability. He can really run. I think everybody saw it there, and hopefully we’ll see it again.”

The Graham Motion-trainee arrived at Pimlico on Wednesday from the nearby Fair Hill Training Center, where he has been training regularly since the Derby. The colt is expected to school in the gate and paddock on Thursday.

Winter Park Partners’ Zetterholm (Silver Train) drew post four for his graded stakes debut and was installed at 20-1 on the morning line. Junior Alvarado will ride the colt for the third straight time.

Principle owner/breeder Tony Grey said, “I’m OK with the post position draw. I’m glad I wasn’t on the rail.” Grey added, “I want to win a big one. He’s a late April foal, so he’s a late-maturing horse. He’s a stretch-running horse. Hopefully, it’s our turn to shine.” Zetterholm scratched out of last weekend’s Grade 2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park in favor of a Preakness start.

Trained by Rick Dutrow Jr., Zetterholm rides a three-race winning streak into the Preakness, capped by a victory in the Patsy Prospect Stakes for state-breds on April 6, when he made an impressive last-to-first move in the stretch.

Dutrow said earlier in the week, “I’m just hoping that our colt runs big and shows up the right way. I’m under the impression that he will. We’re certainly hoping that he will. It’s a really tough spot for him. He hasn’t run against horses like this and he has to ship out of town to do it. It’s not a party, so that’s why we’re looking for our horse to run big and we’re looking to go forward with him. He’s doing good; we’re happy with him. It’s a big race for him. If he shows up, we’re going to be very, very happy.” Zetterholm galloped two miles at Pimlico under exercise rider Mario Madrid on Wednesday.

Kidwells Petite Stable’s Pretension, by New York sire Bluegrass Cat, drew post three for the big race and was assigned 30-1 odds on the morning line. Regular rider Javier Santiago will ride.

Trainer Chris Grove said, “I don’t think the post position will matter to him. It only matters if there’s a problem and they’re not standing well and don’t break well. With 11 instead of 20 in this race, I think it will shape up differently. I won’t be too far back as the race shapes up.”

Pretension, last-out winner of the Canonero II Stakes at Pimlico on Derby Day, galloped 1 1⁄2 miles at Bowie Training Center, where he is based, on Wednesday.

On the Preakness Day undercard, Richard Santulli’s Straight Story (Giant’s Causeway) will make his 6-year-old debut in the traditional lead-in race for the Preakness, the Grade 2, $300,000 Dixie Stakes (race 11, post time 5:18). Drawn in post 4 (of 11) and installed at 10-1 on the morning line for 1 1/8-mile turf route, Straight Story will have the services of multiple Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez for the second time. Entries.

Straight Story closed out his 2011 campaign last November with a career-best performance, winning the Grade 2 Autumn Stakes at Woodbine for trainer Alan Goldberg. Typically sharp off the bench, he won his debut last year, the Grade 3 Fort Marcy.

Earlier on the card, Laurel-based Bandbox (Tapit) shortens up to six furlongs in the Grade 3, $100,000 Maryland Sprint Handicap. The 4-year-old, owned by Ellen Charles’ Hillwood Stable and trained by Rodney Jenkins, will break from post eight (of 10) under Abel Castellano, Jr. (race 8, post 3:12). Entries.

Bandbox is a three-time stakes winner, including back-to-back victories in 2010 in the Charles Town Juvenile Stakes, where he romped by 9 1/2 lengths, and the Sleepy Hollow on Showcase Day. In his most recent start, the grey finished a close second under Castellano in an allowance race at Laurel on January 11.

The forecast for Pimlico on Saturday calls for temperature in the low eighties and no chance of rain.

Broadcast Schedule for Preakness Weekend

HRTV
Friday, May 18, Black-Eyed Susan S. day, 12-6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness S. day, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

NBC Sports Network
Friday, May 18, Preakness Classics, 3-4 p.m.
Friday, May 18, Black-Eyed Susan S., 4-5 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness undercard, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

NBC
Saturday, May 19, Preakness S., 4:30-6:45 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness post-race show, 6:45-7 p.m.

HRRN
Friday, May 18, Black-Eyed Susan S. & Pimlico Special S., 4-6 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness undercard, 2-4 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness S., 5-7 p.m.

 

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/17/ny-posts-3-5-pkns-bandbox-straight-story/

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New York Invasion of Pimlico Starts on Friday

by Sarah Mace

In addition to the New York-bred contingent of Pretension, Went the Day Well and Zetterholm entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 Preakness Stakes (draw on Wednesday evening), New York-bred standouts will be competing in four of the seven stakes to be run on Friday’s 13-race Black Eyed Susan card at Pimlico Race Course, including Wildcat’s Smile, who is entered in the feature.

Francis Paolangeli’s homebred Wildcat’s Smile (Forest Wildcat) is one of nine entered in the 88the renewal of the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan (race 10, post time 4:46). Drawn toward the outside in post seven for the one and one-eighth mile race, the Dominic Galluscio-trainee has been assigned 10-1 morning line odds and will have Kentucky Oaks-winning jockey Rosie Napravnik aboard for the first time. Entries.

Overshadowed only by dual Grade 1 winner Weemissfrankie in the New York juvenile filly division last year, Wildcat’s Smile beat the boys in the $260,000 New York Breeders’ Futurity and finished second in the Lady Finger, both 6-furlong sprints run at Finger Lakes.

Second in the Gimma on Showcase Day, Wildcat’s Smile closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a bang, running second to Disposablepleasure, also entered in the Black Eyed Susan, in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct, while proving her mettle going a route of ground. In her sophomore debut, Wildcat’s Smile handled a group of three-and-up state-bred fillies going seven furlongs at Aqueduct on April 20.

Steel Your Face Stables’ homebred Yawanna Twist (Yonaguska) will run in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special (Race 12, post time 5:51), which returns after a three year hiatus with a graded rating and a $300,000 purse. The distance of the race is 1 3/16 miles.

Making his second start for John Parisella after running third last out in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 14, the 5-year-old will face a stellar field of eight other handicap runners, including Oaklawn Handicap winner Alternation (4-1 ML), who is riding a three-race winning streak, veteran Grade 2 winner and millionaire Mission Impazible (7-2 ML favorite), 2012 Grade 1 Donn Handicap winner Hymn Book (4-to-1 ML) and 2011 Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro. Entries.

In his last trip to Maryland in February, Belmont-based Yawanna Twist (12-1ML) won the Grade 2 General George at Laurel Park in February, beating, among others, Pimlico Special rival Toby’s Corner (6-1 ML). Yawanna Twist finished fourth for Rick Dutrow in the 2010 Preakness Stakes.

Flying Zee Racing Stables’ never-challenged five-for-five Grade 3-winner Agave Kiss (Lion Heart) headlines the $100,000 Miss Preakness Stakes, a six-furlong dash for 3-year-old fillies (race 8, post time 3:39). Drawn in post seven (of nine) and attracting the services of Ramon Dominguez for the first time, the Lion Heart filly is the even-money choice on the morning line, with a top Beyer Speed Figure that exceeds the next-highest fast-track number in the field by five points.

The Rudy Rodriguez-trainee began her career with a pair of victories against state-breds by a combined 16 3/4 lengths, running six furlongs in her debut on last fall’s Showcase Day undercard in 1:09.79. Her 3-year-old debut was an effortless 3 1/4 victory in the open Ruthless S. on January 14, followed in March with a victory in the Grade 3 Cicada. In her last race, and first out-of-state start, she handily won the Trevose Stakes at Parx Racing as the 124-pound highweight.

The main competition in the Miss Preakness should come from Sagamore Farm’s Millionreasonswhy (5-2 ML), winner of the Grade 2 Matron at the Spa last year, second by a neck in the Grade 2 Adirondack, and cutting back in distance from one-mile Grade 3 Comely, where she finished third in her prior start. Entries.

After seven months off for trainer George Weaver, R. A. Hill Stable’s Fiddlers Patriot (Proud Citizen) makes his 6-year-old debut in the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint (race 9, post time 4:14). With four evenly-spaced starts in each of his four prior campaigns, the ultra-consistent gelding came up just a nostril short of winning the Grade 2 Highlander Stakes last year on the Queen’s Plate undercard at Woodbine. Reunited with John Velazquez on Friday, Fiddlers Patriot is 6-1 third choice on the morning line to go the five furlongs in a full 12-horse field that includes last year’s winner Ben’s Cat (5-2 ML). Entries.

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Broadcast Schedule for Preakness Weekend

HRTV
Wednesday, May 16, Preakness post-position draw, 6-6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 18, Black-Eyed Susan S. day, 12-6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness S. day, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

NBC Sports Network
Friday, May 18, Preakness Classics, 3-4 p.m.
Friday, May, 18, Black-Eyed Susan S., 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness undercard, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

NBC
Saturday, May 19, Preakness S., 4:30-6:45 p.m.
Saturday, May 19, Preakness post-race show, 6:45-7 p.m.

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/16/ny-invasion-pimlico-friday/

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Fine Post-Derby Week as “Day” Readies for Preakness, Two Other NY-Breds Possible

by Sarah Mace

Everything went extremely smoothly for Went the Day Well in the week following the Kentucky Derby, where, wearing blinkers in competition for the first time, the Proud Citizen colt closed impressively on a speed-favoring track to finish fourth after trouble in the early going. Went the Day Well is a definite for the Preakness, while New York-breds Zetterholm and Pretension are under consideration, but as of Friday morning, not yet committed to run (see below).

After making what was arguably the best closing move in the Run for the Roses, Team Valor International’s and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well emerged in good order, with only an inconsequential cut on his right front ankle, from which there have been no repercussions. Meanwhile his connections did not waste much time in committing to the Preakness, the middle jewel in the Triple Crown run at Pimlico, which will likely go with a full field of 14.

In the period from Sunday through Thursday the colt shipped from Kentucky to his home base in Maryland, and then got back to some light work in preparation for his Preakness start on May 14. Here is how things have gone for colt and trainer.

Monday. Went the Day Well walked the shedrow before sharing a flight to Maryland with I’ll Have Another. Trainer Graham Motion said, “We were fortunate enough to catch a ride with the Derby winner to Baltimore today. [Went the Day Well] is doing well and the plan is to run in the Preakness as long as he is doing well.” After the flight Went the Day Well vanned to his home base at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, which is a relatively short ride to Pimlico Race Course.

Tuesday. On an otherwise quiet Tuesday, Motion reported that all was in good order after the colt’s trip. “I’m just amazed how this horse has handled everything,” said Motion. “Everything has gone smoothly, knock on wood.” The trainer also had a chance to digest his colt’s Derby effort. “I’m not sure seeing it that you get a true appreciation for the trouble that he had,” said Motion. “Every time I’ve watched it, it amazes me how in a jump or two more, I think, he hits the board or finishes second.”

Wednesday. Went the Day Well got a chance to stretch his legs. “He walked and was turned out in the round pen and went out for a jog,” reported Motion. The colt’s jog under regular exercise rider Zeke Castro took place in the bucolic setting – a field Motion uses in a final set each morning at Fair Hill.

Thursday. The colt jogged and galloped in a field at Fair Hill. “He jogged two turns in a field behind my barn and galloped two turns,” said Motion “I’ll probably take him up to the track tomorrow and gallop him a mile.”

Looking forward: Motion shipped 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom to Pimlico on race day last year, when he ran second in the Preakness, but will bring Went the Day Well to the track sooner. “I think I found the track a little different last year, particularly towards the outside. It’s something I want to get him used to, plus he’s kind of an immature acting horse and I want to get him used to his surroundings,” Motion said. “I’ll gallop him through the weekend and decide when.”

Motion on the “big picture”: Motion told the Thoroughbred Daily News in an interview published on Friday, “Went the Day Well is a horse who still hasn’t been completely exposed. He just seems to improve every time I run him. So, could he reach the potential of Animal Kingdom? Yes, I think he could. Animal Kingdom was a brilliant horse, and was a brilliant horse in the morning. Went the Day Well has never been that way in the morning, but I’m so impressed with how he handled everything on Derby day. From the crowd, to the way he ran to the way he came out of the race. So, who’s not to say he couldn’t get there for sure?”

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Two other New York-breds are under consideration for the Preakness, but neither were committed to run as of Thursday. Winter Park Partners’ Zetterholm, impressive winner of Aqueduct’s 1-mile Patsy Prospect Stakes in his previous start on April 6 stands first on the AE list among the probable entries for the Preakness. He is also entered in Saturday’s Grade 2 Peter Pan S. at Belmont Park and, as of Thursday, his connections were leaning toward ensuring a start for the colt by opting for the Peter Pan. It is unclear whether the defection of Dullahan in favor of the Belmont S. reported on Friday morning will make for a change in plans.

Kidwells Petite Stable’s Pretension, winner last Saturday of the Canonero II Stakes at Pimlico, has drawn into the Preakness field on the basis of stakes earnings. On Thursday trainer Chris Grove said, “It looks like he’s in the field, but the owner hasn’t made up his mind whether he wants to run or not. He’s supposed to come in Friday or Saturday and we’ll talk about it.”

 

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/11/day-post-derby-week/

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I’ll Stake U Gets Stakes Credentials for Top Second Crop Sire Utopia

by Sarah Mace

Bernard Connaughton and Andrew J. O’Connor’s I’ll Stake U put a feather in the cap of New York’s leading Second Crop Sire Utopia on Sunday, giving his sire a first stakes winner with a victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Times Square – the male division of Sunday’s co-featured $100,000 New York Stallion Stakes series races for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.

Entering the Times Square off three close-up allowance efforts at Aqueduct and Parx Racing in March and April, I’ll Stake U was 5-1 second choice in the wagering at post time. The chestnut son of Utopia drew post one (of nine) for his eleventh career start, and had the services of Rosie Napravnik, engineer of Believe You Can’s historic Kentucky Oaks victory two days before. Sportswriter (Maybry’s Boy), winner this year of two allowance races and placed in two stakes tries, was heavily favored at odds of 8-5 and drew post seven under Cornelio Velasquez.

After the break Maggie’s Hadder (Hook and Ladder) took the initiative from post 8, prompted by Frisky Warrior (Desert Warrior) through hot early fractions of :22 flat and :45.30. Sportswriter, who broke sharply, opted to stalk the pace from fourth.

Sportswriter moved up in the turn and overhauled the leaders at the top of the stretch, while I’ll Stake U angled out four wide from a tracking position in fifth.

I’ll Stake U steadily closed ground on an all-out Sportswriter in the stretch and, overtaking his rival within the final furlong, edged away to three-quarter length victory. Western Tryst (Western Expression) finished eight lengths further back in third. After six panels in 1:10.25, the final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:16.69, which translated into a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 78 for I’ll Stake U. His record now stands at 11-2-3-3 with $103,913 in earnings.

Rosie Napravnik said, “That was great! I didn’t really know much about the horse, other than watching the replays and reading the Racing Form, but Derek [Ryan] told me he really was confident in him. He told me he’s a push-button horse, easy and nice to ride, and to give him a clear path. We got a great trip and the horse was the best in the race.”

Ryan said, “I basically left it to [Rosie Napravnik]. He seems to draw the one post a lot, so I said ‘Ride him anywhere you find him, he’s a cool horse, you can do anything with him.’” Ryan added, “He’s just a neat little horse to be around and I really thought he’d win today.” Ryan has no immediate plans for I’ll Stake U’s next start, but said he’d “try and keep him with straight 3-year-olds, New York-breds and 3-year-olds and go from there. He’s bred to stretch out eventually.”

I’ll Stake U is the first starter out of Dancing Liebling (Lord Avie), a multiple stakes performer and earner of $108,061. McMahon Bloodstock purchased the mare for $17,000 at the 2008 Keeneland January sale. Bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds where he was foaled, I’ll Stake You sold to Wisteria Lane Stables for $20,000 in 2011 OBS sale of Horses of Racing Age. Dancing Liebling currently has 2-year-old and yearling colts by Utopia, also chestnuts.

Top New York Second Crop Sire Utopia currently ranks 12th nationally. Bred in Japan, the flashy chestnut was a three-time Grade 1 winner and Forty Niner’s all time leading money earner ($4,913,585). Utopia entered stud in 2008 and stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds LLC for a for $2,500 stud fee.

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/07/ill-stake-u-times-sq/

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Sunny Desert Gives Wild Desert First Stakes Winner in NYSS Park Avenue

by Sarah Mace

When the 2012 New York Stallion Stakes (NYSS) Series got underway at Belmont on Sunday with a pair of co-featured 6 1/2 furlong races for 3-year-olds worth $100,000 each, two Second Crop Sires got their first stakes winners, with the Park Avenue Division for fillies going to Wild Desert’s Sunny Desert.

Saul and Max Kupferberg’s Sunny Desert, 2-1 post time favorite in the Park Avenue for trainer John Parisella and jockey Ramon Dominguez, was a 15 1/4-length maiden winner last out on March 25 at Aqueduct. Claimed for the Kupferbergs by Parisella for $35,000 in November out of her second start, the daughter of Wild Desert led up to her maiden-breaking effort with back-to-back seconds in January, and a move from the claiming ranks into maiden special weight company.

Exiting post four of seven in the Park Avenue, Sunny Desert switched tactics from her frontrunning maiden-breaker, taking back in the early stages about five lengths behind pacesetter Lenders Way (Hook and Ladder), who set the pace for a brisk first half-mile (22.06, 45.42).

Hugging the rail through the turn and squeaking through an opening to the inside of Sweet Moon (Maybry’s Boy), Sunny Desert hooked up with another closing rival Hot Splash (Sunriver) in the final furlong. The two dueled right to the wire, with Sunny Desert getting the decision by a nose in a final time of 1:17.10. Lender’s Way finished third, seven lengths behind the first two.

Winning trainer John Parisella said, “It was all [jockey Ramon] Dominguez. The ride was scary; he saw that hole, [Eddie] Castro [on Sweet Moon] was going in and out, but he went for it.” Parisella also referenced changing up tactics with the filly. “Everybody said, ‘You’re going to be on the lead.’ We went with the strategy of making one run, and we didn’t get caught up in [the speed duel]. Ramon was the right guy for it.”

Dominguez said of the finish, “It was very close, but here the actual wire is right after the big post, and I thought for sure that we got beat. So, it was extra nice to come back and see my number up. There was quite a bit of speed; they went quick early.”

As to squeezing through the opening at the rail, Dominguez said, “She settled into a good stride and coming into the last turn Castro [aboard Sweet Moon] was right in front of me and it seemed like he was looking to angle out. I was so handy that I had to pick my spot, and I decided to let her go duck in there. The rail opened up so much that he wasn’t aware that I was there and decided to come in. I got bounced around, but it wasn’t his fault at all. I really committed, and there was not much room. She still continued and was pretty game to get up.”

Parisella indicated that Sunny Desert will stick to the NYSS for her next two starts, the 7-furlong Cupecoy’s Joy on June 3 and the 1-mile Statue of Liberty on August 8, both run on grass.

Bred by Breed of Characters LLC and foaled at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, Sunny Desert is the second foal and second stakes performer out of the winning Louis Quatorze mare Hoping for Sun. Sunny Desert’s elder half-brother, Bound by Humor by Sharp Humor ($87,720), ran third in last year’s Corma Ray S. The mare currently has a 2012 colt by Two Step Salsa.

Sunny Desert changed hands once via public auction, going as a weanling to her first owners Drs. K.K. and Vilasini D. Jayaraman at the OBS Fall Mixed sale for $2,000. The chestnut filly’s record now stands at 2-3-0 from seven starts with $117,350 in earnings.

Wild Desert, who entered stud in 2008, stood at McMahon’s from 2008-2010 and at Unbridled Racing Stable near Greenville in 2011. He is not registered in New York in 2012.

 

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/07/sunny-desert-park-avenue/

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Went the Day Well Charges Home Fourth in Kentucky Derby after Early Trouble

by Sarah Mace

Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well encountered more than his share of trouble early in the 138th running of the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, but still managed to come barreling home to finish fourth, only 2 1/2 lengths behind winner I’ll Have Another.

All of Went the Day Well’s adversity came in the early stages of the 1 1/4-mile Derby. Following a poor break and traffic troubles that lasted through the first turn, after a half-mile Went the Day Well had only three horses beaten and the seemingly insurmountable task of making up 15-plus lengths on a speed-favoring Churchill track.

After relatively clear sailing along the backstretch, Went the Day Well made up some ground and fanned seven wide at the top of the lane for the run home, but still raced in ninth position and more than 10 lengths behind the leader. At this point the long-winded Proud Citizen colt launched an impressive bid.

Went the Day Well picked off horses, split horses and barreled home to cross the wire in fourth place, only 2 1/2 lengths behind Derby winner I’ll Have Another. Pacesetter Bodemeister and Dullahan finished second and third a neck apart 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner. The final time for Kentucky Derby 2012 was 2:01.83.

Detailing Went the Day Well’s early woes, Jockey John Velazquez said, “We didn’t break out of there well and it was screwed up from there on,” adding, “I was actually just beating Julien [Leparoux, aboard Union Rags in 18th position] into the first turn, so that’s how far back we were.”

Velazquez elaborated, explaining how trouble at the break got him and Went the Day Well involved in the tribulations of heavy traffic through the first turn. “The horse next to me [Prospective in gate 12] clipped heels coming out of the gate, so now I’ve got to steady and go inside of him. We go to the first turn and he gets pushed over and I have to steady again. Now I’m far back with Julien.”

After a final maneuver (“Now I have to go around the horse in the first turn, got outrun three-wide, went back to the inside”), Velazquez got his mount clear, but the track on Saturday at Churchill Downs was favoring speed rather than closers. Velazquez picked up the play-by-play: “I got a good trip from there, but I was so far back I couldn’t make up that much ground, no way, not on this kind of track the way it is today.” Velazquez added, “This was not my worst [Derby] trip, but it was a bad trip.”

Acknowledging both his colt’s early troubles and strong finish, trainer Graham Motion said, “Johnny said he just had a tough trip. As good a trip as he got last year [on Animal Kingdom], he had a tough trip this year. He galloped out in front.”

Motion tweeted later Saturday evening “Huge run from Went the Day Well. Shame he didn’t get trip AK [Animal Kingdom] had last year, but that would be greedy!” Motion also added the all-important, “Came out of race in good shape.”

Went the Day Well’s Derby, which far outperformed his 30-1 odds, was a tribute both to his breeder, the late Austin Delaney, and his nursery, Keane Stud in Amenia. The only foal out the unraced Ontario-bred Tiznow mare Tiz Maie’s Day, a half sister to stakes winner Jah, Went the Day Well sold to British connections for $15,000 as a weanling from Delaney’s estate in the 2009 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Pinhooked as a yearling, he went to Oliver St. Lawrence Bloodstock at the 2010 Tattersalls October Yearling sale for the equivalent of $43,385.

Went the Day Well made two starts in England for trainer Ed McMahon at two, attracting Barry Irwin’s attention in his debut. He was purchased privately by Team Valor after his second start and brought to the U.S. for his sophomore campaign. The Grade 3 Vinery Spiral winner earned $100,000 on Derby day bringing his career earnings to $415,344.

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/06/went-the-day-well-fourth-derby/

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Pretension Best in Pimlico’s Canonero II, Eyes Preakness

by Sarah Mace

Outdueling Kentucky Derby alternate My Adonis, Kidwells Petite Stable’s Pretension won Saturday’s feature at Pimlico Race Course, the $75,000 Canonero II Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds previously known as the Federico Tesio Stakes. The connections of the talented son of New York sire Bluegrass Cat are taking a Preakness start under consideration.

Pretension, who finished in the exacta in his first five starts, was looking to rebound from a pair of unproductive tries in the Grade 3 Gotham on March 3 and Grade 3 Illinois Derby on April 7. Ridden by Javier Santiago for trainer Chris Grove, the chestnut colt was sent to the post as fourth choice of six at odds of 8-1, with My Adonis, who failed to drawn in to the Kentucky Derby as the field’s also-eligible, sitting at .30-1 favoritism.

Breaking alertly from post two, Pretension hooked up early with My Adonis, who had the rail. He ceded the lead to the favorite, but stayed glued to his flank through the clubhouse turn and the length of the backstretch through a half-mile in 49.92 and three quarters in 1:14.54.

In upper stretch Pretension drew even with My Adonis, who came under a ride at the quarter pole, and the pair dueled to within the furlong grounds, when Pretension finally opened up on his rival. Second choice Brimstone Island rallied past My Adonis late, but Pretension still had a neck advantage at the wire. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:45.70.

Winning trainer Christopher Grove addressed the possibility of running Pretension back in two weeks for the Preakness. “We are going to be conservative and see how Mr. [Irving] Kidwell sleeps on it, but if he gets excited we could be Preakness bound,” said Grove. “I don’t have a problem taking that route. If we were ever going to come back in two weeks, this would be it. He won over the track and looked good doing it.”

Grove added, “Other than those two [Gotham and Illinois Derby], he has never run a bad race. “Edgar Prado said he would have finished third in the Gotham but he was riding to win.”

The Canonero II victory is Pretension’s first open stakes score. In state-bred company he won the Sweet Envoy at Aqueduct in February and finished second to Swag Daddy in the Damon Runyon last December. His record now stands at 3-3-0 from eight starts with earnings of $128,620.

Bred by a partnership of Sequel Thoroughbreds, LLC and A. Lakin and Sons and foaled at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson, Pretension is the first foal out of the placed Street Cry (IRE) mare Main Streetin’, purchased in foal by Becky Thomas for $60,000 at the 2008 Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale. Kidwell purchased the colt from Sequel Bloodstock (agent) for $75,000 at the 2011 OBS Select Two-Year-Old sale.

Main Streetin’ currently has a 2-year-old filly by Freud named Bamboo Stick, a yearling colt by the same sire named Freud Street and a colt by Hard Spun this year.

Pretension’s sire, Bluegrass Cat, A Vinery/WinStar Venture, stands at Vinery New York at Sugar Maple Farm in Poughquag.

 

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/06/pretension-canonero/

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Gitchee Goomie Repeats as G3 Beaugay Runner-Up

by Sarah Mace

Patsy C. Symons’ Gitchee Goomie, second by a neck in last year’s Beaugay to the talented German-bred Daveron, delivered a repeat performance in Saturday’s renewal of the Grade 3, $150,000 1 1/16-mile turf contest, this time finishing second to the heavily-favored Grade 1 winner Winter Memories.

Exiting a strong 3/4-length runner-up finish in her 5-year-old debut on March 30 at Gulfstream, Gitchee Goomie was reunited on Saturday with Alan Garcia, who rode her in all but one of her eight 2011 starts for trainer Rick Violette. Her post time odds of 11-1 made her co-fourth choice of the six fillies and mares.

As Federation set the pace over the “yielding” turf course, clocking comfortable fractions through the first three-quarters of a mile (25.37, 49.90 and 1:13.98), Gitchee Goomie tracked comfortably in third three wide. Meanwhile odds-on favorite Winter Memories, an electrifying stretch runner who was seeking to win her fourth graded stakes at Belmont Park, raced in fourth, getting herself boxed in at the rail.

Gitchee Goomie made her bid at the quarter pole and took over from Federation by mid-stretch, as Winter Memories under Eddie Castro (on his way to his 2000th career victory) extricated herself her box and turned on her patented afterburners.

The grey kicked past Gitchee Goomie in the final sixteenth to get the win by 2 1/4 lengths, while Gitchee Goomie continued with good courage to keep a nose ahead of closing third-place finisher Principal Role. Fellow New York-bred Hessonite (Freud), who stalked the pace early in her seasonal debut, tired and finished sixth.

Three times a stakes-winner in state-bred company (Topicount, Mount Vernon, and Yaddo), Gitchee Goomie has hit the board in a grand total of 9 stakes races, including a third-place finish in Belmont’s Grade 1 Garden City Stakes in 2010, and now two runner up-finishes in the back-to-back runnings of the Grade 3 Beaugay. Gitchee Goomie’s record now stands at 5-9-1 from 17 starts with earnings of $423,020.

A bay daughter of City Zip bred by Barry R. Ostrager and foaled at Dutchess Views Farm in Pine Plains, Gitchee Goomie is one of two winners from four foals to start out of Riotous Miss ($382,310), a stakes-placed Florida-bred daughter of Brief Ruckus, all of whose 13 victories came on turf. Riotous Miss, who retired in 2004 after a remarkable 87 starts, spent nine months in Rick Violette’s barn in 1999-2000, winning two of four races. Gitchee Goomie’s older half-sister KY-bred Miss Rapture (Gulch) has won eight times, including three times on grass, and earned $171,230.

Riotous Miss currently has a 2-year-filly by King Cugat named Platinum and Plush, an unnamed yearling full sister to Gitchee Goomie on May 18 and was bred last year to Patriot Act.

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/06/gitchee-goomie-beaugay-2012/

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Risky Rachel, Fledgling Trainer Coronel Team Up for Second Straight Stakes Score

by Sarah Mace

Sanford Bacon’s second generation homebred Risky Rachel and rookie trainer Juan “Manny” Coronel are batting a thousand after teaming up for a second straight dominating state-bred stakes victory in Friday’s $85,000 Put the Powder To It S., run at 6 1/2 furlongs at Belmont Park.

Last seen nearly six weeks ago securing her second career stakes score by 6 1/2 lengths and recording a career-high 94 Beyer Speed Figure in Coronel’s training debut in Aqueduct’s 6-furlong Broadway S., Risky Rachel was the bettors’ overwhelming choice for the trainer’s second career start at odds of .35-1 in a field that was scratched down to four.

After rating for the first half-mile a length or so behind pacesetter Midnight Visit to her inside, Risky Rachel moved up in the turn under jockey Cornelio Velasquez, who was aboard for her prior victory. As the front pair hit the head of the stretch, Risky Rachel took over the lead and then said good-bye, opening up under hand urging to a 4 3/4-length victory. Lady On the Run moved up into second in the final sixteenth to get the place money, while Midnight Visit and Lady Gracenote completed the order of finish. Saltamontes was scratched.

After sharp early fractions of 22.61 and 46.04, and six panels in 1:10.06, the final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs on the muddy (sealed) Belmont track was 1:17.10. Risky Rachel’s third stakes victory improves her career record to 6-2-1 from 12 starts and increases her earnings to $279,500. Coronel, a former assistant to Pancho Martin, Angel Penna Jr., and James Bond, can now boast two stakes victories in his first two career starts as a trainer.

Relatively lightly raced for a 5-year-old, Risky Rachel had a 13-month hiatus to her career from April 2010 to May 2011. She got back to the races, according owner/breeder Bacon, “with the help of many good people,” winning three of five 2011 races last year for James Bond, including the Friendly Island Iroquois on Showcase Day, when she defeated dual New York-bred champion Lovely Lil, subsequent winner of the Grade 2 Go For Wand H. Risky Rachel also closed out her 4-year-old campaign with the go For Wand, finishing fifth, but only 2 1/2 lengths Lovely Lil.

Foaled at Mill Creek Farm in Stillwater, Risky Rachel is one of five winners – and the first foal to earn black type – out of Dancin Renee, also bred and campaigned by Bacon. A New York-bred daughter of Distinctive Pro, Dancin Renee won seven stakes races, including the Grade 3 Honorable Miss at Saratoga, and earned $490,258. In 1997 Dancin Renee was voted New York Horse of the Year, Champion Sprinter and Champion Older Female.

Dancin Renee is a half-sister to New York legend Say Florida Sandy, twice Horse of the Year (2000, 2001) and currently a sire in the state. Their dam was two-time New York Champion Broodmare Lolli Lucka Lolli. Dancin Renee’s last reported foal is Len’s Lucky Lenise a 3-year-old daughter of Purge, who has not yet started.

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/04/risky-rachel-powder/

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Went the Day Well to Break from Post 13 in Derby 138, “Perfect” for Motion

by Sarah Mace

Team Valor International and Mark Ford’s Went the Day Well will break from post 13 in Saturday’s 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, a draw which trainer Graham Motion described as “perfect.”

Installed at 20-1 on Mike Battaglia’s morning line, Went the Day Well will break just to the inside of speedy Juvenile Champion Hansen (10-1 ML), who, in post 14, has the outside position in the main starting gate.  To his inside Went the Day Well has Prospective (30-1 ML), whom trainer Mark Casse anticipates to race in mid-pack.

Four Kentucky Derby winners have started from post 13 since 1900: Smarty Jones in 2004, Forward Pass in 1968 (via the only DQ in Derby history), Jet Pilot in 1947 and Burgoo King in 1932.

Went the Day Well will be ridden in the Derby by John Velazquez, who piloted The Proud Citizen colt to victory in the Grade 3 Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes on March 24, and took the reins for his two interim works (Keeneland on April 21 and Churchill Downs on April 28).

Trainer Graham Motion was pleased with the luck of the draw which put his charge in post 13. He quipped before the pill pull, “I’d take 16,” the post position of Team Valor/Motion’s Derby winner Animal Kingdom last year, but added “10-to-16 would be perfect.” Motion said after the draw that the 13th post was “perfect,” adding, “The speed seems to be all around us, which is fine. I’m very happy where we are.”

Went the Day Well will have an equipment change for the Derby, racing in blinkers for the first time. He initially wore the small-cup blinkers in his first gallop at Churchill last Friday.

Discussing the equipment change earlier in the week, Motion said, “It’s been very much on my mind for a while, even in that Gulfstream race (a maiden victory on March 3), when he ran a little green, and certainly in the Spiral, when he was a little awkward when he made the lead.” Motion also had input from his jockey. “When Johnny [Velazquez] worked him last week at Keeneland, he really didn’t want to go away from the other horse. Johnny and I talked about it and he gave me confidence to try it. I really think it’s the right move.”

On Wednesday morning Went the Day Well schooled in the gate for the first time with the blinkers and was restive. Motion said, “We needed to take him to the gate in order to get him a blinker card. He was a little antsy. I’m going to take him back [on Thursday]. If it was a normal race, I probably wouldn’t, but I don’t want to leave any stone unturned, so I think it would be good to take him back.”

Motion and Team Valor International’s Animal Kingdom also prepped for the Kentucky Derby with a victory in the Spiral under John Velazquez. Motion said in an interview with the NBC Sports Network “It’s really amazing the way it’s worked out, to be honest. We kind of had to pick a race we thought we could win.” One important distinction is that Animal Kingdom was untested on conventional dirt before his Derby start, while Went the Day Well has raced twice on dirt, including in his maiden-breaker on March 3.

Bred by James Patrick Delaney and foaled at Keane Stud in Amenia, Went the Day Well sold as a weanling to British connections from the 2009 Keeneland November breeding stock sale and was pinhooked as a yearling in England, where he made two starts for trainer Ed McMahon. The colt attracted Barry Irwin’s attention after making an impressive closing move in his debut and was purchased privately by Team Valor after his second start and before his beginning his sophomore campaign.

With 20 starters, the purse for the Kentucky Derby will be $2,219,600 with $1,459,600 going to the winner. The post time for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday will be approximately 6:24 p.m. EDT and  forecasts call for temperatures in the mid 80s with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. The race will be televised by NBC from 4-7 PM.

 

Source URL: http://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2012/05/03/went-the-day-well-post-13/

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