Swiss Yodeler Filly Wins Big in 'Anita Stake
Swiss Yodeleris
enjoying the best year of his sire career, and it's ending on a high note
sounded by Swiss Diva's overpowering victory in Friday's $138,750 California
Breeders' Champion Stakes at Santa Anita.
The 2-year-old filly remained undefeated in
three career starts with an
8 1/2-length triumph in the traditional year-end feature for California-breds.
She began her racing career only a few days more than two months ago and
hasn't been beaten in three starts.
She broke her maiden by 3 1/2 lengths on October
21 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting and followed it with a 2 3/4-length
allowance win at Hollywood Park on November 23. The Breeders' Champion
Stakes provided her third victory in as many starts and increased her earnings
to $111,810.
Swiss Diva broke second in the field of eight
and was just a head back after a quarter-mile in the seven-furlong event.
She took a short lead heading into the turn, increased it to 2 1/2 lengths
at the top of the stretch, and from there pulled away from the field to
win by a wide margin.
She was bred and is owned by Rick and Sharon
Waller, is trained by Patrick Gallagher, and was ridden by Agapito Delgadillo.
Swiss Diva is the 25th stakes horse sired
by Swiss Yodeler, who stands at Pepper
Oaks Farm, Santa Ynez, Calif.--December 31.
Madraar Filly Rebounds With Allowance Win
A 12 1/4-length winner in her first
start and badly beaten in her second, Madraar's
2-year-old daughter Alba Dabas Secret rebounded impressively with an allowance
victory Thursday at Charles Town racetrack, rewarding bettors who made
her an odds-on favorite.
The triumph in the feature race of the evening's
card put the West Virginia-bred juvenile back on the winning track after
a seventh-place finish in her November 28 start. That followed an impressive
victory in her first career start on November 13.
Her record now shows two wins in three starts
with earnings of $33,754. She's never run for a claiming price.
In Thursday's 6 1/2-furlong feature she broke
in the middle of the eight-horse field, then moved up steadily, finally
seizing the lead in the final sixteenth to win decisively.
She was bred by her trainer, Don Roberson,
and Joan Reeves, who owns her in partnership with Windy Barco. She was
ridden in Thursday's race by Erick Ramirez.
Alba Dabas Secret is one of seven winners
from the first two crops of Madraar, a son of
Mr. Prospector out of the dam of champion Fantastic Light. He stands at
Hideaway
Farms, San Jacinto, Calif.--December 30.
My Creed's Comeback Continues to Roll
Five-year-old My Creed, given a nine-month
vacation from the racing wars, is showing that a rest can pay off.
The Kentucky-bred son of Beau
Genius has placed in two stakes and an allowance race in four starts
since returning from a nine-month layoff, his latest effort a third-place
finish in the $50,000-added Union Square Stakes Tuesday on opening day
at Golden Gate Fields.
Under jockey Modesto Linares, he made a strong
stretch move and missed second place by a nose, two lengths behind the
winner.
Before taking time off following a fifth-place
stakes finish on December 26, 2005, at Golden Gate Fields, My Creed had
raced without a break since his first start on September 28, 2003.
During those two years plus three months,
he started 23 times and earned $187,590 with four wins, two seconds, and
five thirds. In four starts since his return, he has finished third in
the Bull Dog Stakes at Fresno and Tuesday's Union Square as well as in
an allowance race at Golden Gate Fields.
Bred by W. D. and Dave Fishback, My Creed
is owned by Seven Star Racing Stable and his trainer, Robert B. Hess, Sr.
My Creed is one of 74 stakes horses sired
by Beau Genius, who stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.--December 28.
After Long Wait, Kick the Can Wins Again
Kick the Can, victorious in two stakes races
in a row last year at Turf Paradise, ended a lengthy quest for a return
to the winner's circle with a well-earned allowance triumph Tuesday at
the same track.
The 4-year-old filly from Game
Plan's first California crop stalked the leader from the start of the
one-mile race, gradually narrowing the margin from two lengths to a head
and finally taking charge to win by three-quarters of a length.
The race was a battle from the time the pair
entered the last turn to the final sixteenth when Kick the Can seized control.
The official chart shows a margin of just a head between the leader and
her challenger for a full quarter mile before jockey Lorenzo Lopez finally
moved Kick the Can into the lead.
The win was Kick the Can's first in nine starts
since she captured the Desert Sky Handicap on May 7, 2005, two weeks after
she won the Jim E. Weir Memorial Stakes, both non-blacktype stakes.
Her record now shows four wins, two seconds,
and three thirds in 21 career starts with earnings of $78,530, including
two blacktype stakes placings. She was bred in California by Eric Kruljac,
is owned by the Sandra Hall Trust, and is trained by Lyman Rollins.
Game Plan, sire
of Kick the Can and 25 other stakes horses, stands at E.
A. Ranches, Santa Ysabel, Calif.--December 28.
Category Five Moving to North Dakota
Category Five, a stakes-siring son of Storm
Cat, is leaving California.
The 11-year-old sire of four stakes horses
has been sold and will stand in 2007 in North Dakota. He has stood in recent
years at Valley Creek Farm, Valley Center.--December
25.
Bid of Genius Scores Easy Allowance Win
Bid of Genius, a member of Beau
Genius's productive second California crop, posted her fourth win of
the year Sunday at Bay Meadows, besting seven rivals for a 2 1/2-length
allowance victory.
The thrice stakes-placed California-bred increased
her career earnings to $163,986 with the win. She's earned $116,866 in
2006 alone with four wins and a third in nine starts.
The second crop sired by Beau Genius after
his arrival in California--now 3-year-olds--boasts 22 winners and earners
of more than $800,000. His three California crops, including 2-year-olds
of 2006, have produced 38 winners and earnings of more than $1,100,000.
Bid of Genius, whose 16-start career shows
placings in stakes races at Del Mar, Bay Meadows, and Pleasanton, had little
trouble with her opponents in Sunday's Bay Meadows race, running close
to the leaders, then moving into the lead at the furlong pole and pulling
away for a clear win.
Bred by Dutton Stables and Atwell Trust, she's
owned by Hollendorfer, Sky Chase Stable, and Todaro and trained by Jerry
Hollendorfer.
Beau Genius,
sire of 73 stakes horses in addition to Bid of Genius, stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.--December 21.
Lit de Justice Juvenile Now a Double Winner
Trato blasted off with a powerful stretch
run Monday at Bay Meadows to become the first two-time winner from Lit
de Justice's first California crop.
The 2-year-old California-bred was taken back
at the start and settled in to seventh place in the field of nine in the
one-mile race. He was taken four wide on the turn for home and with a burst
of speed at the furlong pole took command and pulled away to win by 4 1/2
lengths under jockey Catalino Martinez.
Trato won his first career start on September
17 at Golden Gate Fields but couldn't come near the winner's circle in
his next three starts, finishing seventh, eighth, and third before Monday's
decisive victory.
His record now shows two wins and a third
in five starts for earnings of $21,050. He's one of four winners from eight
starters in the first California crop of champion Lit de Justice. Those
winners include stakes-placed Lit'sgoodlookngray ($49,792).
Trato, bred by Magali Ventures LLC, is owned
by John Cavalli, Armando Lage, and Owners Stable and is trained by Lage.
Lit de Justice,
sire of 28 stakes horses and earners of more than $28,300,000, stands at
Magali
Farms, Santa Ynez, Calif.--December 20.
3-Year-Old Champ Still Going Strong at 5
Spanish Highway, Washington's champion 3-year-old
colt of 2004, continued his later-life success Saturday with a third-place
finish in the $50,000-added FLAQ Handicap at Sunland Park.
The 5-year-old son of Cahill
Road increased his 2006 earnings to $86,455 with his third added-money
finish of the year--one of them a stakes win--to go with a pair of allowance
victories.
In 10 starts this year, he's finished off
the board only once, with three wins, two seconds, two thirds, and two
fourths. He's started 33 times in four seasons of racing and has earned
$169,590.
Off to a slow start in the middle of the 11-horse
field, he was fanned four wide on the turn into the stretch in the 5 1/2-furlong
FLAQ but persevered and captured third place under jockey Joe Martinez.
Spanish Highway was bred in Washington by
David and Elaine Park, who own him in partnership with K J Star Stable.
He's trained by Bill Tollett.
Cahill Road,
sire of 44 stakes horses, stands at El
Dorado Farms, Enumclaw, Wash.--December 18.
Bad Luck, But Twinpost Still Places in Stake
Everything considered, Twinpost did very well in salvaging a solid
third-place finish in Friday's Bueno Stakes at Turf Paradise.
The 3-year-old daughter of Wild
Deputy was bumped leaving the gate and was dropped to seventh in the
field of nine, then was carried four wide on the turn as she started a
run at the leaders. Six lengths back of the leader entering the stretch,
she cut the margin to less than two lengths at the finish but was never
able to make up all her lost ground as she finished a length and a quarter
ahead of the fourth-place horse.
The third-place finish nevertheless provided
her third stakes-placing to go with an earlier stakes win. She's earned
$34,454 in 14 starts. She's been on a consistent run of quality finishes
since early June, recording two wins, three seconds, and two thirds in
eight starts in that stretch.
Bred in California by Dennis E. Weir, she's
owned by Paul M. Gaubet and Dave Colone and trained by Justin Evans. She
was ridden in the Bueno by Jocelyne Kenny.
Wild Deputy,
a stakes-winnng son of Wild Again, stands at AA Ranch, Anthony, N. M.--December
17.
Wavy Lass Resumes Her Winning Streak
Helmsman's juvenile
daughter Wavy Lass resumed her interrupted winning streak Friday at Bay
Meadows with a decisive five-length allowance victory in her first attempt
at two turns.
The California-bred had a two-race winning
streak going before turning in a sub-par effort November 22 at Bay Meadows.
She'd broken her maiden by 4 1/2 lengths at Golden Gate Fields on September
21 and followed with a four-length allowance win at Bay Meadows on October
19.
Friday's one-mile race was Wavy Lass's first
effort beyond sprint distances and she handled it authoritatively, taking
the lead entering the final turn and pulling away gradually to her final
five-length margin under jockey Juan Ochoa.
She's owned by Lester Hunsucker, was bred
by Thomas W. Bachman, and is trained by Dean Pederson.
Wavy Lass is a member of the third California
crop of Irish champion Helmsman, a millionaire
son of El Gran Senor, who stands at Windfall
Farms, Paso Robles, Calif.--December 17.
Lady Gamer Likes That Synthetic Surface
Moving from Santa Anita's grass course to
Hollywood Park's new synthetic surface couldn't have worked out better
for Game Plan's 3-year-old daughter Lady Gamer,
who scored her second victory in two starts on that track Sunday.
Lady Gamer, one of 23 winners in Game Plan's
second California crop, ran ninth on Santa Anita's turf course on October
8, then tried the Hollywood Park artificial surface on November 5 and came
away with a two-length victory.
Coming right back at the same distance--6
1/2 furlongs--on the same surface Sunday, she moved from seventh as the
field turned for home to enter the stretch in third place. She moved strongly
from that point to win by a length and a half under jockey Garrett Gomez,
pleasing bettors who had made her the favorite.
Both Hollywood Park wins came in allowance
company, and the most recent victory moved her career earnings past the
$100,000 mark to $116,700. Her record now shows three wins, two seconds,
and a fourth in seven starts. She's never run for a claiming price.
Lady Gamer, bred in California by her owners,
Clark and Janine Hansen, is trained by John Sadler.
Game Plan, a son
of Danzig out of a Grade 1-winning daughter of Alydar, stands at E.
A. Ranches, Santa Ysabel, Calif.--December 13.
Showcase Sires Do Well in Oregon Festival
Runners sired by stallion members of
The Thoroughbred Showcase of the West made an impact in the Oregon Champions
Day racing festival at Portland Meadows Sunday with a win, two seconds,
and a third.
Free At Last's
Tom Two dominated the field to win the Oregon His Stakes by 7 3/4 lengths,
Cascadian's
La Grizz and Little Cascadian finished second in the Oregon Sprint Championship
Stakes and the Jane Driggers Debutante Stakes, respectively, and Jazzing
Around's Smokey Rhythm took third in the day's feature, the $49,200
Os West Oregon Futurity.
Winning at Portland Meadows was nothing new
for Tom Two, last year's Oregon Horse of the Year and champion juvenile
male, who annexed his fifth stakes race at the Portland track. He took
the lead out of the gate in the mile and a sixteenth Oregon His Stakes
and widened it to almost eight lengths at the finish.
With eight wins, three seconds, and a third
in 17 starts, he's earned $108,123.
La Grizz's second in the Sprint was the 4-year-old's
first stakes placing; Little Cascadian was registering her second runner-up
stakes finish in the Driggers, though she's still a maiden after four starts.
Both hooked wire-to-wire winners who were
never challenged, but Little Cascadian was by far the best of the rest
in her race, finishing five lengths in front of the third horse. La Grizz
had to fight for his honors, running second all the way but fending off
a late challenger to hold his place by a head.
Smokey Rhythm, also still a maiden after three
starts, moved from last place in the field of six to take third in the
Futurity, a length ahead of the fourth-place
horse.
Tom Two was bred by his owners, Shirley and
Delmer Webb, and is trained by Delmer Webb. La Grizz, bred by Sue Utley,
is owned and trained by Ben Utley. Little Cascadian was bred by her owner,
George Hurliman, and is trained by Nick Lowe. Smokey Rhythm was bred by
his owner, Betty McCaffrey, and is also trained by Lowe,.All are Oregon-breds.
Free At Last
stands at El Dorado Farms, Enumclaw,
Wash., Cascadian at Bar C Racing Stables, Hermiston,
Ore., and Jazzing Around at Woodstead Farm,
Chehalis, Wash.--December 12.
Helmsman Adds a New Stakes Horse--No. 14
Guiding Hand, a 3-year-old California-bred
son of Helmsman, saw his two-race winning streak
broken, but he was well-compensated as he finished second in the $150,000-added
Zia Park Derby Saturday at Zia Park.
The $34,672 second-place money provided the
largest payday of Guiding Hand's career and increased his lifetime earnings
to $85,392 as he scored his first stakes placing. He is his sire's 14th
stakes horse.
For a while it appeared that he might become
a stakes winner in the
1 1/16-mile event as jockey Glen Murphy took him to the lead out of
the gate. He stayed in front to midstretch, where he was overtaken. But
he finished steadily to hit the wire in the runner-up spot, 2 1/2 lengths
behind the winner.
Going into the Derby, Guiding Hand was riding
a streak of two wins in a row at Remington Park, most recently an allowance
victory by 8 3/4 lengths. Before the Derby, he'd started in stakes company
only once, finishing fifth in the Alysheba Breeders' Cup Stakes at Lone
Star Park in July.
Guiding Hand has won four races in 13 career
starts, along with three seconds and a third. He was bred by Charlotte
M. Wrather, is owned by Frontier Stables, LLC, and is trained by Chris
Hartman.
Guiding Hand's sire, Irish champion Helmsman,stands
at Windfall Farms, Paso Robles,
Calif.--December 11.
Birdonthewire Son Is Now a Stakes Horse
With his strong performance in allowance company
this summer and fall, Executive Choice was bound to step up a notch to
stakes company, and he made that move impressively with a close-up second-place
finish in the $125,400 Sir Barton Stakes Sunday at Woodbine.
With victories in two out of three allowance
starts since August and a second in the other, the 5-year-old son of Birdonthewire
was primed to become his sire's 20th stakes horse, and he did just that.
In his first stakes start in a year and only
his second in 19 career starts, Executive Choice missed becoming a stakes
winner by the narrow margin of a neck, losing a see-saw battle through
the stretch in the final yards.
Executive Choice has been off the board only
twice in his 19 starts with six wins, seven seconds, two thirds, and two
fourths for earnings of $227,440.
In five allowance races prior to the Sunday's
race, Executive Choice had run only at six furlongs, but under jockey James
McAleney he handled the mile and a sixteenth distance of the Sir Barton
like a seasoned two-turns runner.
Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, he's owned
by R. Valente and trained by Bruce Levine.
Birdonthewire,
sire of earners of more than $1,000,000 annually for six straight years,
stands at Madera Thoroughbreds, Madera, Calif.--December 5.
Bluesbdancing Adds Another to Stakes List
Bluesbdancing's lengthy list of stakes accomplishments
grew a little longer Saturday when the 4-year-old daughter of Golden
Gear took third in the $50,000 Holiday Inaugural Stakes at Turfway
Park.
That finish marked the eighth time that the
Illinois-bred filly has won or placed in an added-money event. She's won
three and finished second and third two times each in stakes races in a
career that shows eight wins, two seconds, and two thirds in 16 starts
and earnings of $313,432.
Bluesbdancing trailed in 10th place in the
field of 11 in the early going in the Holiday Inaugural but moved up steadily
and by the time she reached the stretch in the six-furlong race, she was
ready for the closing run that gave her third place.
She was bred by Barry Golden, is owned by
Bob and Nancy Bartels, and is trained by Terrel Gore. She was ridden by
Alonso Quinonez.
Golden Gear,
a multiple graded stakes winner of $634,009, stands at Sue Hubbard &
Associates Farm, Santa Margarita, Calif.--December 4.
Beaulena's Racing Life Is Best at Age 6
Beau Genius's
late-blooming daughter Beaulena continued her celebration of success as
a senior citizen with a challenging third-place finish Saturday in the
$40,000 Queen of the Green Handicap at Turf Paradise.
Until this year, Beaulena had never raced
in a stakes race and had never won an allowance race, earning just $32,755
in 12 starts at 3 and 4 while racing almost exclusively in the Pacific
Northwest.
Given a year off after her winless 4-year-old
season, she returned this year as a different racehorse, winning one stake
and two allowance races and never finishing off the board in eight starts.
Her 2006 record shows three wins, three seconds, a third, and a fourth,
all in allowance and stakes company, good for $61,457 in earnings to bring
her career total to $94,212.
In Saturday's one-mile race, she raced in
the middle of the nine-horse field, saving ground to the final turn, where
she was forced three wide as she settled in for a final run at the leaders.
She wound up a length back of the winner and was gaining at the finish.
Bred in Kentucky by Jack, George, and Keith
Lancaster, Beaulena is owned by Ernest D. and Roberta M. Sherman and is
trained by Blaine D Wright. She was ridden in Saturday's race by Hector
Ventura, Jr.
Beau Genius,
sire of earners of more than $29,500,000, stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.--December 4.
SLRD Shippers Win Two at Hollywood Park
Still more evidence that racehorses can be
stabled at San Luis Rey Downs and ship out to win
races was provided at Hollywood Park Saturday.
Runners trained at SLRD by Peter Miller won
consecutive races, almost wire-to-wire, to become the second and third
horses shipped from the training center to win at Hollywood Park this fall.
SLRD horses typically ship to the track the
morning before the race and return home soon after running.
In Saturday's action, Full In took the lead
out of the gate, fell a head behind moving into the turn, and surged back
to the front to lead through the stretch and win by 2 1/2 lengths. In the
next race, favored Limited Creole led from start to finish to win by a
length and a half.
Full In, a 3-year-old by Snuck In bred in
Florida by Pennston Farm Inc., is owned by Landman Racing. Limited Creole,
a 3-year-old by Cactus Creole bred in California by Marjorie and Jerry
Engelauf, is owned by Emerald Meadows Ranch.
Both are trained by Miller, who sent four
winners to the recent Oak Tree meeting as well as two to the current Bay
Meadows meeting and another to a stakes race at Woodbine. All those winners
call SLRD home.
San Luis Rey Downs
is a year-round, full-service training center located in the San Diego
County town of Bonsall.--December 4.
Showcase Sires Score From Coast to Coast
Runners sired by stallion members of The Thoroughbred
Showcase of the West performed well last weekend, winning and placing in
stakes races from Maryland to California and points in between.
Here they are, with winners listed first.
Deputy Commander's
veteran campaigner Plaid, who'd run in only one stakes race before this
summer, scored her third added-money victory in the past four months Saturday
when she justified her favorite's status with a triumph in the $83,800
Chaves County Stakes at Zia Park.
The 5-year-old mare has won nine of her last
12 starts and placed in the other three, including the Grade 3 Gardenia
Handicap at Ellis Park. Her career bankroll now totals $387,067, the bulk
of it earned this year at the age of 5 with six wins, three seconds, and
a third in 10 starts for $236,294 in purses.
She's won races at seven tracks in five states--Zia
Park, Evangeline Downs, Hoosier Park, Churchill Downs, Sunland Park, Turfway
Park, and the Fair Grounds.
Bred in Kentucky by McKee Stables, Inc., she's
owned by J. Kirk and Judy Robison and trained by Scott Blasi.
Deputy Commander,
sire of 24 stake horses, stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.
.
Atticuswelcomed
his seventh stakes winner Saturday when 3-year-old Fiery Dancer scored
a wire-to-wire victory in the $74,250 Pago Hop Stakes at the reconstructed
Fair Grounds.
It was the first stakes
win for the Kentucky-bred, who had run second earlier this year in the
Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs. His record now shows four wins, two
seconds, and two thirds in 14 starts for earnings of $169,494. He's won
allowance races at Keeneland and Churchill Downs.
In the one-mile Pago
Hop, he took the lead out of the gate and stayed in front to the finish
while under pressure all the way, finally prevailing by a neck in what
the official chart called "a game effort."
Fiery Dancer was bred
by his owner, Centaur Farms, Inc., and is trained by Merrill Scherer.
Atticus,
sire of 16 stakes horses and earners of more than $7,000,000, stands at
Magali
Farms, Santa Ynez, Calif.
.
Golden
Gear's well-traveled daughter Miss Elsie posted her seventh blacktype
finish Saturday at Laurel Park when she narrowly missed going wire to wire
in the $75,000 Stefanita Stakes.
Miss Elsie took the
lead out of the gate and stayed on top of the nine-horse field to midstretch,
where she fell just a head behind. She fought all the way to the wire in
the seven-furlong event, missing the winner's circle by a neck and settling
for second place.
The Kentucky-bred has
won or placed in stakes races at Saratoga, Delaware Park, Oaklawn Park,
Prairie Meadows, and now Laurel Park. Her favorite track is Oaklawn, where
she's placed in one stakes race and won four allowance races as well as
a maiden special weight race.
In 20 starts, she's
won six times, run second six times, and finished third twice. She's won
or placed in nine of her last 11 starts. Her career earnings now total
$253,510. She's owned by her breeder, Nelson McMakin, and trained by Larry
Jones.
Golden
Gear, sire of earners of more than $8,700,000, stands at Sue Hubbard
& Associates Farm, Santa Margarita, Calif.
.
Unusual
Heat's talented juvenile filly, Spenditallbaby, moved a step up
in class with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Miesque Stakes Saturday
at Hollywood Park, missing the winner's circle by less than a length.
Spenditallbaby raced
fourth in the field of 12 for most of the one-mile route before mounting
a late-stretch challenge that failed by just three-quarters of a length
and a neck, the distance that separated her third place from first.
The 2-year-old California-bred
has never been off the board in nine career starts, though she didn't break
her maiden until her third start, a maiden special weight race at Del Mar.
She followed that with an allowance win at Golden Gate Fields, then launched
into an unbroken series of stakes races.
She finished second
in ungraded stakes races at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita, where she was
fourth in the Grade 1 Oak Leaf Stakes, and penetrated the graded level
in Saturday's Miesque. In nine starts, she's earned $144,245.
Spenditallbaby was bred
by Abrams/Roberts, Nakkashian, and P. and V. Johnson and is owned by Mark
Fiorito, Peggy Johnson, Tom R. Roberts, et al. She's trained by Barry Abrams.
Unusual
Heat, sire of 25 earners of $100,000 or more from only 119 starters,
stands at Old English Rancho, Sanger, Calif.
.
Mud
Route's graded stakes-winning daughter Short Route lifted her career
earnings past the $200,000 mark with a third-place finish in Friday's $100,000
Cat's Cradle Handicap at Hollywood Park.
The California-bred
4-year-old fought for the lead most of the way in the
7 1/2-furlong event, finally yielding in a three-way
stretch battle to finish third, defying bettors who let her get away at
the second-longest price in the eight-horse field--26.90 to 1.
Short Route began her
2-year-old season with two wins in her first three starts, including the
Cover Gal Stakes at Santa Anita and added the Grade 3 Railbird Stakes at
Hollywood Park early in her 3-year-old campaign. The Cat's Cradle was her
second stakes placing since then.
With three wins, a second,
and two thirds in 12 starts, Short Route has earned $202,935. She's owned
by her breeder, Herrick Racing LLC, and trained by Joe Herrick.
Mud
Route, a multiple graded stakes winner, stands at Special T Thoroughbreds,
Temecula, Calif.--November 28.
Unusual Suspect Continues Moving Upward
Unusual Suspect, a 2-year-old son of Unusual
Heat, continued his uninterrupted climb up the class ladder with a
game second-place finish in Friday's Grade 3 Generous Stakes at Hollywood
Park.
Unusual Heat's newest stakes horse finished
seventh in his career debut on August 6, a maiden special weight race at
Del Mar. But in his next start in the same class of race at the same track
on August 24, he broke his maiden.
Bypassing the allowance level, he was third
by disqualification in the non-blacktype Pinjara Stakes October 26 at Santa
Anita and in his next start on November 4 he officially became a stakes
horse with a second-place finish in the $100,000 Keep Quiet Stakes at Hollywood
Park.
The next rung up the ladder was graded stakes
company, and he made that step by moving from sixth to second in the stretch
of the Grade 3 Generous Stakes in spite of getting trapped in close quarters
a sixteenth from home in the one-mile race on the turf.
Unusual Suspect's record now shows one win,
two seconds, and a third in five starts with earnings of $88,740.
Unusual Suspect was bred in California by
his trainer, Barry Abrams, who owns him in partnership with David and Dyan
Abrams.
Unusual Heat,
a stakes-winning son of Nureyev, stands at Old English
Rancho, Sanger, Calif.--November 26.
Strong Late Run Produces for Old Man River
Old Man River launched a late bid that carried him
from last place to the third stakes placing of his career in the $100,000
On Trust Handicap Thursday at Hollywood Park.
Halfway through the 7 1/2-furlong event, the
4-year-old son of Event of the Year was
running seventh, eight lengths behind the leader, when jockey David Flores
set him in pursuit.
By midstretch he'd moved up to fourth and
finished third, less than two lengths behind the winner. It was his third
blacktype finish in 10 career starts in which he won three times.
Unraced at 2, he won two of his three starts
and this year at 4 he posted the second of his two allowance wins, was
second in the California Turf Sprint Championship at Bay Meadows and third
in the Sam J. Whiting Memorial Handicap at Pleasanton.
He's never been off the board in seven starts
this year at 4 and now boasts career earnings of $152,835.
Bred in California by Mr. and Mrs. John C.
Mabee, Old Man River is owned by Golden Eagle Farm and trained by Terry
Knight.
Old Man River is one of 10 stakes horses sired
by Event of the Year, a multiple graded
stakes-winning son of SeattleSlew standing at Magali
Farms, Santa Ynez, Calif.----November 25.
He'sabigtalker's Running Is Worth Some Talk
He'sabigtalker may not be talking about it
himself, but he's off to a start on his racing career that merits some
boasting.
The 2-year-old son of He's
Tops won a maiden special weight race at Portland Meadows in his first
career start and followed up with a second-place finish in Sunday's Columbia
River Stakes at the same track.
Under jockey Juan Gutierrez, He'sabigtalker
broke second in the field of 10 and stayed there the rest of the way, unable
to overtake the winner but holding off challengers to take the runner-up
spot by a head.
Bred in Oregon by Maynard Davis and Richard
Novak, he's owned by Davis and Charles R. Novak. His trainer is Jonathan
Nance.
He'sabigtalker is the 13th stakes horse sired
by He's Tops, a son of Seattle Slew standing
at Woodstead Farm, Chehalis, Wash.--November 21.
Miller Wins With Another SLRD Resident
Some habits are bad, but winning isn't one
of them, and that's a habit that Peter Miller has developed--sending horses
from their home at San Luis Rey Downs to win races.
Miller-trained horses won four races at the
recent Oak Tree meeting and two more at Bay Meadows last Saturday
in addition to taking a Grade 2 race at Woodbine with another shipper late
last month.
All were stabled full-time at San Luis Rey
Downs.
The most recent Miller trainee to hit the
winner's circle was Full In, a 3-year-old Florida-bred who held on gamely
to win by a nose Wednesday at Hollywood Park.
Full In forced the pace through most of the
1 1/16-mile turf race, took a short lead past midstretch, and held on under
pressure to triumph by the narrowest of margins.
Full In was bred by Pennston Farm Inc. and
is owned by Landman Racing. He shipped to Hollywood Park Tuesday morning,
won the next afternoon, and was home in his SLRD stall Wednesday night.
San Luis Rey Downs
is a year-round training center in Northern San Diego County.--November
17.
First-Time Madraar Starter Wins by 12 1/4
Alba Dabas Secret could hardly have hoped
for a better debut than the one she had Monday at Mountaineer Race Track
and Gaming Resort in West
Virginia.
The 2-year-old daughter of Madraar
was slow getting started in the six-furlong maiden special weight race,
settling into stride in fourth place in the field of nine, but when she
got rolling the outcome was never in doubt. It was her first start.
She swung five wide around the turn and hit
the stretch three lengths in front, steadily widening her lead to a dominating
12 1/4 lengths at the wire.
Alba Dabas Secret was bred in West Virginia
by Joan M. Reaves and Don Roberson. She's owned by Reaves and Windy Barco
and trained by Roberson. She was ridden by Dana Whitney.
Alba Dabas Secret is the first winner from
Madraar's second crop. He has six winners from his first crop, now 3-year-olds.
That crop includes Arabian Star, winner at 2 and
3, $80,341.
Madraar,
a son of Mr. Prospector, is a half-brother to Horse of the Year Fantastic
Light ($8,486,957). He stands at Hideaway Farms,
San Jacinto, Calif.--November 15.
SLRD Shippers Go Farther North and Win
Horses stabled at San Luis
Rey Downs routinely van to Southern California tracks and win, but
now they're extending their range.
SLRD trainer Peter Miller sent a pair all
the way to Bay Meadows, and they came away as winners Saturday. On the
same day, trainer Wayne Baker sent a runner up to Hollywood Park and scored
a victory.
I Wish You Love and Sneaky Annie left SLRD
after entries were drawn at Bay Meadows on Thursday, raced on Sunday, and
one of them came home Tuesday.
Sneaky Annie, a nine-length wire-to-wire winner
didn't return home to SLRD. She remained in the north to race where fields
are short and additional runners are warmly welcomed.
The other winner, I Wish You Love, also wire
to wire but only by a length and a half, returned to SLRD. Both were bred
and are owned by Jack Munari.
The Hollywood Park winner, Cat Lady, also
won't be returning to SLRD. She was claimed for $40,000 from Fitzpatrick
Farm, her owner and breeder, by Jerry Hollendorfer and George Todaro.
Favored Cat Lady won her race with a rush
in the final sixteenth to prevail by 3 1/2 lengths. She'd shipped to Hollywood
Park a week before the race to become accustomed to the new artificial
surface.
All three winners were based at San
Luis Rey Downs in the Northern San Diego County town of Bonsall.--November
10.
Unusual Heat Juvenile Keeps on Doing Well
Spenditallbaby, the most recent of Unusual
Heat's runners to reach the $100,000 mark, continued her successful
2-year-old season with a hard-fought second-place finish in the $100,000
Sharp Cat Stakes Saturday at Hollywood Park.
Spenditallbaby passed $100,000 in earnings
in the race before, when she was second in the Hidden Lite Stakes at Santa
Anita, and she increased her bankroll to $132,245 with her runner-up finish
in the Sharp Cat. She's the 25th runner by Unusual Heat to reach six figures
in earnings.
In eight starts in her freshman season, Spenditallbaby
has never been off the board with two wins, three seconds, and three fourths.
Since running fourth in her first two starts, she's won twice and run second
in three stakes races.
Under jockey Clinton Potts, she fought to
the wire in the 1 1/16-mile Sharp Cat, taking the lead in midstretch and
yielding it only reluctantly, beaten just a half-length.
Spenditallbaby was bred in California by Abrams,
Roberts, Nakkashian, P. Johnson and V. Johnson and is owned by Mark Fiorito,
Peggy Johnson, Tom R. Roberts, et al. Her trainer is Barry Abrams.
Unusual Heat,
California's leader in many sire categories, stands at Old
English Rancho, Sanger, Calif.--November 8.
Two Cascadian Fillies Place in Portland Stake
Cascadian added
two more stakes horses to his sire record Sunday when Little Cascadian
and Blackies Cuttie finished second and third in the Janet Wineberg Stakes
for 2-year-old fillies at Portland Meadows.
That increased to seven the number of stakes
horses sired by Cascadian, a young son of Seattle Slew with just three
crops of racing age.
Her third-place finish was the first defeat
for Blackies Cuttie, who won her first start by 7 1/4 lengths and followed
with an allowance victory, both at Emerald Downs. She now has earnings
of $22,077 with two wins and a stakes placing in three career starts.
Little Cascadian, still a maiden, has two
seconds in as many career starts, both at Portland Meadows. She's earned
$5,270.
Blackies Cuttie was bred in Oregon by her
Elwood Faist and is owned by Larry Faist. She's trained by Ben Root and
was ridden in the Wineberg by Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo.
Little Cascadian is owned by her breeder,
George Hurliman, and is trained by Nick Lowe. She was ridden in the Wineberg
by Javier Ortega. She's an Oregon-bred.
Cascadian, a half-brother
to Eclipse Award-winner Blushing John, stands at Bar C Racing Stables,
Hermiston, Ore.--November 7.
Roman Commander Nails Hollypark Stake
Winner of the restricted Barretts Juvenile
Stakes in September, Roman Commander clearly established himself as a quality
runner with a late-closing victory in the unrestricted $100,000 Real Quiet
Stakes Saturday at Hollywood Park.
In seven starts, the 2-year-old son of Deputy
Commander has two wins--both of them in stakes races--and a second
for earnings of $150,380.
His earnings in the Real Quiet lifted Deputy
Commander's progeny earnings past the $15,000,000 mark in just five crops.
His runners have earned more than $3,000,000 for four consecutive years--2003
through 2006. His current-year earnings exceed $3,400,000.
Roman Commander raced as part of a four-horse
battle for most of the final half of the 1 1/16-mile race on the new CushionTrack
surface, finally seizing the lead in midstretch and then hanging tough
to win by three-quarters of a length.
Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Roman Commander
is owned by Kendall Mann and trained by Gary Stute. He was ridden by Isaias
Enriquez.
Deputy Commander,
a millionaire sire of two millionaires, stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.--November 6.
Another Stakes Runner for Unusual Heat
Only three races after finishing seventh in
his first start, Unusual Heat's 2-year-old
son Unusual Suspect looks like an entirely different horse.
In his three starts since that unsuccessful
debut, Unusual Suspect showed that he's learned how to compete, finishing
a close-up second in the $100,000 Real Quiet Stakes Saturday at Hollywood
Park.
That followed a maiden special weight win
at Del Mar and a good effort in the Pinjara Stakes at Santa Anita, in which
he fnished fourth and was moved up to third on a disqualification.
The Pinjara wasn't a blacktype race, so his
second-place finish in the Real Quiet made Unusual Suspect his sire's 12th
stakes horse.
With $73,740 in earnings to date, he still
isn't one of Unusual Heat's numerous $100,000-plus earners--25 of them--but
he's closing in on that goal.
In the Real Quiet, Unusual Suspect raced last
in the field of six in the early going, but then moved up under jockey
Clinton Potts to join three other horses who fought for the lead into deep
stretch. He outfinished all but one of them, losing by just three-quarters
of a length.
Bred and trained by Barry Abrams, Unusual
Suspect is owned by Barry, David and Dyan Abrams.
Unusual Heat,
a stakes-winning son of Nureyev, stands at Old English
Rancho, Sanger, Calif.--November 6.
Sea of Secrets Juvenile Now a Stakes Horse
He still hasn't finished first in a race,
but Bythebeautifulsea is Sea of Secrets'
13th stakes horse after taking second in Saturday's $69,647 New Jersey
Futurity at the Meadowlands.
The 2-year-old is still looking for the winner's
circle, but he's earned $43,804 in just four starts. He finished second
in his debut August 9 at Monmouth Park but was moved up to first when the
winner was disqualified. He ran fourth and fifth in two allowance races
before taking second in the Futurity.
Bythebeautifulsea was bumped at the start
of the six-furlong Futurity and lost all chance of overtaking the wire-to-wire
winner, but he recovered well enough to beat the other six horses in the
race under jockey Jozbin Santana.
Bred in New Jersey by Marianne and Charles
Hesse, Bythebeautifulsea is owned by Char-Mari Stable and trained by Jason
Servis.
Sea of Secrets,
a graded stakes-winning son of Storm Cat, stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.--November 6.
A New Winner for Royal Cat; It's No. Seven
Royal Cat, California's
leading freshman sire of 2005, welcomed another winner Saturday when favored
Royal Impression prevailed in a stretch duel to win a maiden special weight
race at Santa Anita.
The 3-year-old colt stayed within a length
of the leaders from the start of the downhill 6 1/2-furlong turf race to
deep stretch, where jockey Isaias Enriquez moved him into a lead that he
kept, under pressure, to the wire, winning by just a head.
After finishing second once in two starts
in December and January, Royal Impression was given eight months away from
the races. Since his return in September, he's finished second, fourth,
and now first.
In five starts, he's earned $39,580 for his
owners, E. W. Johnston, Patsy Berumen, Robert Riggio, et al. He was bred
in California by Old English Rancho and Berumen and is trained by Donald
Warren.
With seven winners--two of them stakes horses--from
his first crop, now 3-year-olds, Royal Cat has
earners of more than $200,000. He stands at Old English
Rancho, Sanger, Calif.--November 1.
Third Stakes Placing for Cahill Road Maiden
Deadly Zone is an unusually successful maiden.
The 2-year-old daughter of Cahill
Road remained winless in five starts Saturday at Hastings Racecourse
by taking second in the $114,550 Fantasy Stakes.
Those five non-winning races would almost
make a career for most horses. They include Saturday's second in the Fantasy,
third-place finishes in the Lassie Handicap and the British Columbia Debutante
Stakes, and second- and third-place finishes in maiden races.
Her record now shows two seconds and three
thirds in five starts--all at Hastings Racecourse--with earnings of $35,757.
In the Fantasy she never made it to the front,
but she raced among the leaders all the way in the eight-horse field and
finished a length and a quarter ahead of the third-place runner.
Deadly Zone was bred in British Columbia by
her owner, Canyon Farms, and is trained by Robert Van Overschot. She was
ridden in the Fantasy by David Wilson.
Deadly Zone is one of 44 stakes horses sired
by Cahill Road, who stands at El
Dorado Farms, Enumclaw, Wash.--October 31.
Cal Cup XVII a Big Event for Showcase Sires
Showcase stallions and
other members made a major impact at Cal Cup XVII Saturday at Santa Anita,
collecting their share of wins and chunks of the $1,300,000 in purses offered.
Somethinaboutlaura won
the Cal Cup Matron Handicap, River's Prayer took the Distaff, Yearly Attitude
was second in the Matron, Fortunate Event was second in the Distance, Swift
Current was second in the Juvenile Fillies, Bardy Woman made it a sweep
with a third in the Matron, Iced Out was third in the Classic, and Bonfante
was third in the Sprint.
Somethinaboutlaura was
foaled and raised at Woodbridge Farm. She
was bred by Lilley Ranch, is owned by Miller Sikura, Todaro, et al, and
is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. A Grade 2 stakes winner, she's won nine
races and earned $500,985.
River's Prayer became
the 11th horse stabled at San Luis Rey Downs to
win at the Oak Tree meeting when she captured the Distaff for trainer Paula
Capestro, who owns the 3-year-old Devon Lane filly in partnership with
Bantry Farms and Martin Racing Stable, LLC.
Yearly Attitude is a
4-year-old filly by Event of the Year
bred by Mrs. John C. Mabee, owned by Thomas J. Wafer, Jr., and trained
by William Spawr. She's won four races and earned $140,000.
Fortunate Event, another
4-year-old daughter of Event of the Year,
was bred by The Thoroughbred Corporation, is owned by Dan J. Agnew, and
is trained by Jerry Fanning. She's won only twice but has earned $234,637.
Swiss Current, a 2-year-old
filly by Swiss Yodeler, was bred by her
owner, Tailwind Racing, and is trained by Doug O'Neill. With two wins and
a second in five starts, she's earned $70,553.
Iced Out, a 4-year-old
by Comic Strip, was bred by Dr. and Mrs. William
T. Gray, DVM, is owned by Lorraine and Rod Rodriguez, and is trained by
O'Neill. He's won three races and earned $153,210.
Bonfante, a 5-year-old
gelding by Fruition, is owned by his breeders,
Eugene Tenbrink and Frankfurt Stables, and is trained by Steven Specht.
He's won eight races and earned $355,457.
Bardy Woman, a 5-year-old
daughter of Unusual Heat, was bred by David
Abrams, is owned by Tollen and Kolermann, and is trained by Jim Penney.
She's earned $178,455 with four wins.
That adds up to two
wins, four seconds, and three thirds for $321,000 in purse money. A good
day's work for the Showcase family.--October 30.
It's Oak Tree Win No. 10 for SLRD Shippers
San Luis Rey Downs
racehorses continued their ship-in, win, ship-out routine Friday when 3-year-old
Princess McLean became the 10th such winner at the current Oak Tree meeting
at Santa Anita.
The Mick Ruis trainee battled for the lead
to the bottom of the hill in the 6 1/2-furlong allowance race on the hillside
turf course, then moved ahead and held on gamely to win by a length under
jockey Martin Garcia.
It was the second winner trained by Ruis at
the current meeting and was the third winner within a week for horses stabled
at San Luis Rey Downs.
Princess McLean, owned by Skulls Racing Stable,
is a Scatmandu filly bred in California by James P. Eaton.
Like the nine winners before him, Princess
McLean shipped from San Luis Rey Downs to Arcadia the day before the race
and vanned back home after winning.
San Luis Rey Downs
is a major training center located in the Northern San Diego County town
of Bonsall.--October 29.
Another SLRD Shipper Wins at Santa Anita
First-time starter Game Cat took charge early
and led the rest of the way to win Thursday at Santa Anita and become the
ninth runner to ship from San Luis Rey Downs to
the Oak Tree winner's circle.
Like the previous eight, Game Cat shipped
to Santa Anita the day before the race, won the next afternoon, and vanned
home to the Bonsall training center that evening.
It was the second winner of the meeting for
the team of trainer Laura Wohlers and owner James McIngvale.
Jockey Agapito Delgadillo got Game Cat out
of the gate fast in the six-furlong race, winning an early battle for the
lead and moving to the front heading into the turn. The 2-year-old Florida-bred
colt stayed in front the rest of the way, but he was under pressure all
the way from a series of challengers, finally prevailing by a neck.
Game Cat, by Gibson County out of Winter Cat,
by Mountain Cat, was bred by North Star Equine, Inc.
Game Cat's home is San
Luis Rey Downs, a full-service training center located in Northern
San Diego County.--October 28.
Flame Thrower Filly Wins 'Anita Allowance
Back on the scene of her earlier successes,
favored Fletchers Cove proved best in a field of 10 allowance fillies Wednesday
at Santa Anita.
The 3-year-old daughter of Flame
Thrower had won twice before at Santa Anita, but she could manage only
second-place finishes in five starts at Hollywood Park and Del Mar. Her
win on Wednesday broke a string of six allowance starts in which she finished
second three times, third once and fourth twice.
That streak began after she won at Santa Anita
on April 20. She won her first start in her only race at 2, a maiden special
weight event on December 26. Her third victory increased her earnings to
$139,801 in 13 starts.
In Wednesday's 6 1/2-furlong race, jockey
Garrett Gomez kept her within striking distance to the top of the stretch,
where she challenged the front-running leader and finally overtook her
in the final sixteenth and won by a half-length.
Fletchers Cove, bred in Florida by her owner,
Gary Garber, is trained by Bob Baffert. She's one of 15 winners from the
first crop of Del Mar Futurity winner Flame
Thrower, who stands at Oak Hill Farm, Paso Robles.--October 27.
SLRD Shippers Win Races, Far and Wide
The practice of shipping racehorses from the
San
Luis Rey Downs training center to run, win, and return home has become
common, but last weekend's events were far from common.
Trainer Peter Miller, who's shipped winners
from SLRD to Santa Anita during the current Oak Tree meeting, did it again
Saturday, but he wasn't there to see Limited Creole win an allowance race,
wire to wire, by 2 3/4 lengths.
He was far across the continent with another
SLRD resident runner, and fellow trainer Brian Strong saddled Limited Creole
for the win.
Miller was at Woodbine, where he handled the
saddling of Fast Parade in the Grade 2 $500,000 Nearctic Stakes, and the
3-year-old took charge at the head of the stretch and went on to win by
three quarters of a length.
The SLRD horses ordinarily van to the track
the morning before the race, run the next afternoon, and van home that
night. First Parade won't be home quite that soon, but he'll be back in
his stall at the training center before long.
Miller's double score wasn't the only recent
good news for SLRD runners. A week earlier, owner-trainer Paula Capestro
had sent 4-year-old Imposer to Arcadia to win. It was her second victory
of the Oak Tree meeting.
San Luis Rey Downs,
a year-round center that is home to a number of trainers and their horses,
is located in the Northern San Diego County town of Bonsall.--October
26.
Disrespect of Golden Gear Filly Costs Bettors
Bettors at Zia Park didn't think much of Wagner's
Gold in Sunday's Permian Basin Stakes, and she made them regret their poor
judgment.
Making only her third start, the 2-year-old
daughter of Golden Gear led all the way under
jockey Timothy Thornton to win by a length at 20-to-1 odds and give her
sire his 14th stakes horse. She was the second-longest shot in the eight-horse
field and she paid $42.40 to win.
In retrospect, the Florida-bred didn't deserve
such disrespect. She'd run second in a maiden special weight race at Ruidoso
Downs in her first career start, beaten four lengths, and then dropped
down to $25,000 claiming to win by 2 1/2 at Zia Park.
The Permian Basin was her third start and
gave her a record of two wins and a second in three starts with earnings
of $54,428.
Wagner's Gold, bred by Steve A. Williams,
is owned by Wagner Farms and trained by Henry Dominguez.
Golden Gear,
sire of Wagner's Gold, stands at Sue Hubbard & Associates Farm, Santa
Margarita, Calif. He's a multiple stakes winner of $634,009.--October
25.
Delineator Colt Wins Grade 2 Woodbine Stake
Delineator, who's
established himself as one of Washington's premier sires, added to his
record Sunday when his 3-year-old son Fast Parade captured the $500,000
Nearctic Stakes, a Grade 2 event, at Woodbine.
The victory, his first in graded company,
made Fast Parade Delineator's third graded stakes winner, joining Grade
1 winner Tali'sluckybusride and Grade 3 winner Edneator.
Fast Parade went to the post in the Nearctic
as the betting favorite, winner of three of his previous four races, including
the Baldwin Stakes at Santa Anita and the Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar.
He's now finished first in seven of his eight starts but was disqualified
to second place after reaching the wire 7 1/2 lengths in front in an allowance
race at Bay Meadows. The Washington-bred's earnings now total $428,513.
With jockey Pat Valenzuela in the irons, Fast
Parade took the lead at the top of the stretch in the six-furlong Nearctic
and stayed in front the rest of the way.
Bred by Dr. Michael John Konecny, he's owned
by Gary and Cecil Barber. Fast Parade is stabled at San Luis Rey Downs
in the barn of Peter Miller, who saddled him in the Nearctic.
Delineator, a
graded stakes-winning son of Storm Cat, stands at Woodstead
Farm, Chehalis, Wash.--October 24.
Beau Genius 3-Year-Old Places in 3rd Stake
Beau Genius's
daughter Bid of Genius did well as a 2-year-old in 2005, and she's doing
even better at 3 in 2006.
The sophomore member of her sire's second
California crop finished third in Saturday's $100,000 William P. Kyne Breeders'
Cup Express Handicap at Bay Meadows for the third stakes placing of her
14-race career.
Bid of Genius won one race and placed in two
stakes last year at 2, earning $47,120, and this year she's won three races
and placed in one added-money event, earning almost twice as much--$88,835.
Her earnings now total $135,955, with four
wins, a second, and three thirds in 14 starts. She's been off the board
only once in seven 2006 outings.
In the Kyne, with jockey Joe Castro in the
irons, she raced third most of the way in the six-furlong race but was
never able to challenge the two leaders.
Bred by Dutton Stables and Atwell Trust, Bid
of Genius is owned by her trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer, in partnership with
Sky Chase Stable and Todaro.
She's one of 20 winners from the second California
crop of Beau Genius, whose three California crops have produced 35 winners
of more than $1,000,000.
Beau Genius,
sire of 74 stakes horse and earners of more than $29,000,000 from 15 crops
of racing age, stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.--October 23.
Tough Beau Genius Son Adds a Stakes Placing
Back on the job after his first vacation in
three years, Beau Genius's hard-working son
My Creed is adding to his stakes credentials.
The 5-year-old Kentucky-bred increased his
career earnings to $200,640 with a competitive third-place finish in Sunday's
$50,000-added Bulldog Stakes at the Fresno fair.
That marked his third stakes placing to go
with a pair of added-money wins during a 25-race career. The Bulldog was
his second start since returning from a nine-month layoff, the first time
he's been out of action since his first start at 2 on September 28, 2003.
In his first start since his return, he finished
third in an allowance at Golden Gate Fields on September 22.
In the one-mile Bulldog, he raced in the middle
of the seven-horse field to the stretch, where jockey Modesto Linares set
him in pursuit of the leaders. He moved into third place and cut their
margin, reaching the finish line only a nose and a length and a quarter
back of the winner.
My Creed, bred in the Bluegrass by W. D. and
Dave Fishback, is owned by Seven Star Racing Stable and his trainer, R.
B. Hess, Sr.
Beau Genius,
sire of My Creed, earned $1,055,600 and has sired earners of more than
$29,000,000. He stands at Ballena
Vista Farm, Ramona, Calif.--October 17.
Atticus Gains Fourth Graded Stakes Winner
Already a stakes winner, Atticus's
3-year-old son Can't Beat It moved up a level Saturday at Calder Race Course
and became a graded stakes winner with a comfortable victory in the $200,000
Calder Derby.
With his triumph in the Grade 3 event at 1
1/8 miles on the turf, Can't Beat It became his sire's fourth graded stakes
winner, joining High Fly ($927,300), Atticus Kristy ($539,606), and Petite
Speciale ($258,541) at that elite level.
Co-favorite in the field of 11, Can't Beat
It raced in mid-pack to the stretch, where jockey Rene Douglas took him
to the lead, and he pulled away to win by 3 1/4 lengths.
Can't Beat It came close to gaining graded
credentials when he finished second in the Grade 2 American Derby on July
22 at Arlington Park, but he was disqualified and placed 14th. He earlier
had won the ungraded Holland Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Bred in Kentucky by his owner, Live Oak Plantation,
Can't Beat It is trained by Martin Wolfson. He's earned $207,960 in 13
starts at 2 and 3.
Atticus, sire of
16 stakes horses, stands at Magali Farms,
Santa Ynez, Calif.--October 16.
It's Six Oak Tree Wins for SLRD Shippers
Taking the lead in midstretch and staying
there to the finish, Imposer became the sixth winner of the Oak Tree meeting
for runners based at San Luis Rey Downs.
Like five other winners before him, the 4-year-old
Kentucky-bred shipped from the Bonsall training center the day before the
race and vanned home soon after winning.
Imposer, trained by Paula Capestro, was last
in the field of seven in the early going but moved up and after swinging
five wide around the turn, took the lead in midstretch and went on to win
by a length.
Bred by Kathleen Ann Schonefeld, Imposer is
owned by his trainer, Paula Capestro.
Earlier SLRD winners were trained by Peter
Miller (2), Laura Wohlers, Mick Ruiz, and Laura De Seroux.
San Luis Rey Downs
is a year-round, full-service training center located in Northern San Diego
County.--October 16.
Another Double Win for SLRD Shippers
Runners making the trip from San
Luis Rey Downs to Santa Anita scored another pair of victories Thursday
at the Arcadia track.
Trainer Peter Miller sent out 2-year-old Betrluckythangood
to dominate the second race by seven lengths and trainer Mick Ruis saddled
Another Comic to win the eighth race, with another Miller trainee, Sneaky
Annie, finishing third.
Betrluckythangood led all the way in the second
race, a one-mile maiden special event, stretching a 3 1/2-length lead at
the top of the stretch to a margin twice as wide at the finish.
The Kentucky-bred daughter of More than Ready
is owned by Gerson Racing. She was bred by William, Laura, and Sarah Landes.
In the eighth race, also for maidens, favored
Another Comic raced as far back as five lengths before coming on strong
in the stretch to rally from behind and win by half a length.
She is a 3-year-old by Comic Strip bred in
California by her owner-trainer, Mick Ruis, and Wen/Mick Racing. The Miller-trained
third-place runner, Sneaky Annie, is owned by Jack J. Munari.
The three shipped from San
Luis Rey Downs to Arcadia on Wednesday morning, raced on Thursday afternoon,
and shipped back home to the Bonsall training facility that evening.--October
14.
Delineator Pair Honored at Emerald Downs
Two runners sired by Woodstead Farm's Delineator
were honored at the close of the 2006 Emerald Downs meeting, She's All
Silk as Top 3-Year-Old and Immigration as Top 2-Year-Old.
Delineator was the only sire represented by
two honored runners.
Other horses honored were Starbird Road (Count
the Time), Top Sprinter and Top Washington-bred; Skewing (Skimming), Top
2-Year-Old Filly; Raise the Bluff (Pine Bluff), Top 3-Year-Old Male; Queenledo
(Slewdledo), Top Older Filly or Mare; and Westsideclyde (Old Topper), Top
Claimer.
She's All Silk (Delineator--Shimmer
of Silk, by Drone) finished the Emerald Downs meeting in high gear in her
final three starts, finishing second in the Kent Handicap and then winning
the Washington Breeders' Cup Oaks and the John and Kitty Fletcher Stakes.
She's All Silk, career earner of $137,673,
was bred by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick L. Pabst and is owned by Ed Zenker and
trained by Pat Mullens.
Immigration (Delineator--Still
Reflection, by Roanoke) has won four of his five lifetime starts, earning
$77,178, all at the recent Emerald Downs meeting. He won the Northwest
Stallion Strong Ruler Stakes, the Captain Condo Stakes, and the Emerald
Express Stakes after breaking his maiden in his first career start.
Immigration was bred by Jerry and Peggy Woods
and is owned by his trainer, Howard Belvoir, in partnership with Dan Corby
and Harley Hoppe.
Delineator, sire
of 22 stakes horses, stands at Woodstead Farm,
Chehalis, Wash.--October 12.
Katispsublue Gains Another Stakes Placing
Only a few days more than two months after
making her first career start, Comic Strip's
Katispsublue already is a winner with placings in two California stakes
races.
The 3-year-old filly collected her second
stakes placing Sunday with a third-place finish in the $65,000-added Cover
Gal Stakes at Santa Anita, increasing her earnings to $63,653 in just three
starts.
She's one of five stakes horses from Comic
Strip's first California crop, joining stakes winners Press Camp, Cougar
Mtn Lodge, and Corazondelcampeon and stakes-placed Comic Queen.
Katispsublue made her first start on August
26 at Del Mar, winning a maiden special weight race by an impressive seven
lengths. She followed that on September 16 with a second-place finish in
the Barretts Debutante Stakes at Fairplex Park. The Cover Gal was her third
start.
Off slowly in the Cover Gal, Katispsublue
was eighth in the field of 10 early and though she advanced to third in
the stretch under urging by jockey Corey Nakatani, she was never able to
threaten the two leaders.
Katispsublue, bred in California by Mr. and
Mrs. Dick Probert and Robert Cowley, is owned by Mike Shustek and trained
by Craig Dollase.
Comic Strip,
a multiple graded stakes winner of $967,474, stands at Rancho San Miguel,
San Miguel, Calif.--October 11.
Principle Secret Still One of California's Best
Sea of Secrets'
son Principle Secret is no longer undefeated, but he remains near the top
of the list of California's current 2-year-old colts.
The Kentucky-bred, who won his first two starts,
including the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes, suffered defeat for the first time
in Sunday's Grade 2 $250,000 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita--but only by
a neck.
Jockey Alex Solis took Principle Secret to
the front at the start of the mile-and-a-sixteenth event, and he stayed
there until he was overtaken in the final yards by late-closing Stormello.
But he was clearly the best of the rest, finishing 6 1/2 lengths ahead
of the third-place horse.
With two wins in three starts, Principle Secret
has earned $171,800 for owner Charles Cono LLC. He was bred in the Bluegrass
by Victory Racing LLC and is trained by Christopher Paasch.
The first California crop of his sire, Sea
of Secrets, will reach racing age in 2009. From four Kentucky crops, the
graded stakes-winning son of Storm Cat has sired 12 stakes horses and earners
of more than $4,600,000.
Sea of Secrets
stands at Ballena Vista Farm,
Ramona, Calif.
The day before the Norfolk, another
Ballena Vista sire, Beau Genius, welcomed
a new stakes winner when Beaulena captured the $40,000 City of Phoenix
Stakes at Turf Paradise.
It was the 6-year-old Kentucky-bred's first
venture into added-money company, and her victory made her Beau
Genius's 74th stakes horse. In 18 starts, she's won five times and
earned $88,700. Her victory in the City of Phoenix was her third straight
win--two allowances and a stake. Before that, she was second in three straight
allowance races.
In the City of Phoenix, Beaulena moved strongly
around the turn, advancing from seventh to fifth, and then closed fast
in the stretch to win by a head.
Beaulena, bred in Kentucky by Jack, George,
and Keith Lancaster, is owned by Ernest D. and Roberta M. Sherman and is
trained by Blaine Wright.--October 10.
Bonfante Wins Still Another Stakes Race
Fruition's talented,
durable son Bonfante staged an authoritative stretch run to score the fifth
added-money victory of his career in Saturday's $75,000 Fort Mason Stakes
at Golden Gate Fields.
The California-bred 5-year-old moved up steadily
in the eight-horse field to challenge the front-running leader at the head
of the stretch and finish strongly for a 1 1/4-length win under jockey
Russell Baze.
It was a return to form for Bonfante, who
had been unplaced in three summer starts since winning the California Turf
Sprint Championship Handicap May 20 at Bay Meadows.
Bonfante's record now shows eight wins, two
seconds, and two thirds in 20 starts from 3 to 5, good for earnings of
$337,457. He's won five stakes races and placed in another.
Bonfante is owned by his breeders, Tenbrink
and Frankfurt Stables, and is trained by Steven Specht.
Fruition, sire
of earners of more than $1,700,000, stands at Oak Hill Farm, Paso Robles,Calif.--October
10.
Thor's Echo: Swiss Yodeler's 1st Millionaire
Four-year-old California-bred Thor's Echo
became Swiss Yodeler's first million-dollar
earner with a challenging second-place finish in Saturday's Grade 1 Ancient
Title Breeders' Cup Stakes at Santa Anita.
His $50,000 share of the $250,000 Ancient
Title purse increased Thor's Echo's career earnings to $1,042,790.
His second-place finish was his third Grade 1 placing in the past 10 months.
He was third in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on December 26 at Santa Anita
and second in the Grade 1 Golden Shaheen in Dubai on March 25.
In 16 starts at 2, 3, and 4, Thor's Echo has
won two stakes races and placed in eight others. He's finished off the
board only once in those 16 starts, with three wins, four seconds, five
thirds, and three fourths.
In the six-furlong Ancient Title, he pressed
the front-running favorite, Bordonaro, from start to finish, winding up
just a length back of the winner and almost six lengths in front of the
third-place horse. He was ridden by David Cohen.
Thor's Echo was bred in California by Fast
Lane Farms, Block, and Forman and is owned by the Royce S. Jaime Racing
Stable, Inc., and Suarez Racing, Inc. He's trained by Doug O'Neill.
Swiss Yodeler
is California's leading juvenile sire and is second in overall earnings
for 2006 racing. He stands at Pepper
Oaks Farm, Santa Ynez, Calif.--October 9..
You and I Colt Proves He's a Stakes Horse
You and I's Smokeyjonessutton's
second-place finish in the $250,000 St. Louis Derby at Fairmount Park on
August 26 was a surprise, but maybe it shouldn't have been.
The 3-year-old Kentucky-bred colt came right
back Saturday in his first start after that stakes debut and checked in
with a third-place finish in the $500,000 Indiana Derby at Hoosier Park,
a Grade 2 event at 1 1/16 miles.
Smokeyjonessutton got away at 30-to-1 odds
in the St. Louis Derby, but bettors were ready for his Saturday race, sending
him off as the third favorite in the field of 10 at 7.60-to-1--a certified
stakes horse.
He raced near the back of the pack to the final
turn, where jockey Victor Espinoza moved him from ninth to fifth. He moved
steadily through the lane into third place but couldn't overtake the top
two.
Smokeyjonessutton won a maiden special weight
race at Keeneland in his third career start, but was fourth and fifth in
his next two starts at Churchill Downs. That earned him a longshot role
in the St. Louis Derby, but he looks much better now with placings in two
stakes races in a row.
Although he's won just one race in seven starts,
his earnings now total $142,215. He's owned by his breeders, Chrysalis
Stables LLC and Stephanie S. Clark, and is trained by Dallas Stewart.
You and I, sire
of 39 stakes horses, stands at Woodstead Farm,
Chehalis, Wash.--October 9.
Matty's Song Finally Becomes a Stakes Horse
After 30 starts over four seasons of racing,
Matty's Song finally got around to trying stakes company Saturday and wound
up with a third-place finish in a blacktype event, the $40,000 J. R. Straus
Memorial Stakes at Retama Park.
The 5-year-old son of Matty
G became his sire's 16th stakes horse with his effort and increased
his career earnings to $216,016. In 31 starts from 2 to 5 he's won nine
races and placed in 11 others at tracks from Florida to Canada to Kentucky
to Louisiana to Arkansas and finally to Texas.
But until Saturday, he'd never run in a stakes
race.
In the Straus, the Florida-bred raced evenly
in third place in the seven-horse field but could never challenge the leading
pair.
Bred by Pat Sengupta, he's owned by Charles
W. Fletcher and trained by Cody Autrey. He was ridden in the Straus by
Larry Taylor.
Matty G, sire of
earners of more than $5,700,000, stands at El
Dorado Farms, Enumclaw, Wash.--October 3.
SLRD Runner Scores by 3 1/4 at Santa Anita
Runners shipping from San
Luis Rey Downs to race continued their success in Sunday's final race
at Santa Anita Sunday when Tee Dee checked in with a 3 3/4-length victory
before boarding a van to return home soon after.
The 2-year-old Kentucky-bred broke her maiden
by tracking the leader from the start to midstretch of the six-furlong
race, then taking over and pulling away to win by a comfortable margin
under jockey Martin Pedroza.
Tee Dee is owned by James McIngvale and is
trained at SLRD by Laura Wohlers.
Her win came a day after two other SLRD residents
won one race and placed in another, the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch
Memorial Turf Championship. All followed the same travel pattern, shipping
from SLRD the day before the race and returning home the evening of the
race.
San Luis Rey Downs,
located in Northern San Diego County, is home to many racehorses who train
there and ship overnight to Southern California tracks to race.--October
3.
Cascadian Juvenile Filly Remains Unbeaten
Winner of her first start by 7 1/4 lengths
in August, Cascadian's daughter Blackies Cuttie
remained undefeated in her second race on the final day of September, sailing
to a wire-to-wire allowance victory at Emerald Downs.
The Oregon-bred 2-year-old never looked back
in the six-furlong event, taking the lead out of the gate and gradually
increasing her margin to two lengths at the finish, "in hand" under jockey
Deborah Hoonan-Trujillo.
With two wins in two starts, Blackies Cuttie
has earned $18,920 for owner Larry Faist. She was bred by Elwood Faist
and is trained by Ben
Root.
Blackies Cuttie is the only starter from Cascadian's
third crop, now 2-year-olds. He's sired 20 winners from 26 starters from
his first three crops, earners of more than $270,000.
Cascadian, a son
of Seattle Slew, has sired five stakes horses. He stands at Bar C Racing
Stables, Hermiston, Ore.--October 3.
SLRD Shippers Do Well in Oak Tree Visit
Artiste Royal (Ire) and Limited Creole made
the freeway trip from San Luis Rey Downs to Santa
Anita and came away successful if not unanimously victorious in Sunday's
Oak Tree racing.
Limited Creole, trained by Peter Miller, won
his race easily and Artiste Royal (Ire), trained by Laura De Seroux, didn't,
but he nevertheless produced the more noteworthy performance.
Artiste Royal (Ire), a 5-year-old, finished
third in the $250,000 Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship, a Grade
1 feature of the Oak Tree meeting, only a head and a half-length behind
the odds-on winner, The Tin Man.
Under Patrick Valenzuela, Artiste Royal (Ire)
stayed close to the leaders all the way in the 1 1/4-mile turf event and
narrowed the gap by a length near the finish but couldn't pass the two
leaders. He earned $30,000 for his day's effort.
Bred in Ireland by Dayton Investments Ltd.,
Artiste Royal (Ire) is owned by San Gabriel Investments and the Sidney
L. Port Trust.
Limited Creole, a 3-year-old, had a far easier
time in winning his starter allowance race, going to the front out of the
gate under jockey Garrett Gomez and steadily widening his lead to reach
the wire 5 1/4 lengths in front.
He was bred in California by Marjorie and
Jerry Engelauf and is owned by Emerald Meadows Ranch.
San Luis Rey Downs,
a major training center located in Northern San Diego County, is the base
from which many runners ship to compete at Southern California tracks.
The pair maintained the usual pattern followed by SLRD trainers, shipping
to the track the day before the race, running the next afternoon, and shipping
back home at the end of that day's racing.--October 2.
A Bad Trip, Wild Cycle Still 2nd in Gottstein
Free at Last's
talented young son Wild Cycle encountered a world of trouble in the running
of the 1 1/16-mile Gottstein Futurity Saturday at Emerald Downs, but he
survived to take second in the $99,000-added event.
His performance established that his victory
in the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association Lads Stakes a month
earlier was genuine. His record now shows two wins and a second in five
starts.
Follow Wild Cycle and jockey Jan Gutierrez
though this adventure, as recorded in the official chart of the race: "Wild
Cycle was bumped at the start, opened a clear lead early while racing outside
of loose horse, was pushed out and steadied from the loose horse nearing
the three-quarter pole, came back into contention before entering the stretch,
could not match strides with the winner in the drive but finished with
good courage to be clearly second best."
For that tenacious effort he was paid $19,800,
increasing his career bankroll to $63,734.
Wild Cycle, bred in Washington by Robin L.
Mason, Stormy B. Hull, and Art Burt, is owned by Frank L. Gaunt and trained
by Aubrey Villyard.
His sire, Free at
Last, sire of 43 stakes horses and earners of more than $7,800,000,
stands at
El Dorado Farms, Enumclaw,
Wash.--October 2.
Sought After Colt Shows Plenty of Heart
If anyone had any doubts about Pacific Heat's
heart, those doubts should be gone now.
The 2-year-old colt from Sought
After's first crop was pressured all the way down the stretch Friday
at Golden Gate Fields, but he refused to yield and finished the six-furlong
allowance race with his nose in front.
With jockey Luis Martinez in the irons, Pacific
Heat took the lead entering the stretch and fought all the way to the wire
in a two-horse struggle, never surrendering the lead, and hit the finish
in front for his second consecutive victory.
After finishing second in a maiden special
weight race at Pleasanton in his first start on July 2, Pacific Heat came
back in the same company on September 4 at Golden Gate Fields and scored
his first win by a length and a quarter. Friday's race was his third.
Pacific Heat's share of the $31,000 purse
increased his earnings to $50,655 and enabled Sought After to tighten his
hold on third place in the California freshman sire race.
Pacific Heat is owned by his breeders, Steve
Miraglia and Lloyd C. Mason, who's also his trainer.
Sought After,
a Seeking the Gold son who's a three-quarter brother to 2006 Belmont
Stakes winner Jazil, stands at Daehling Ranch, Elk Grove, Calif.--October
1.
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