Stellar Wind Fitting Fave for Beholder Mile
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SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017 MILE TOPS STAKES-FILLED PENN CARD STELLAR WIND FITTING by Ben Massam FAVE FOR BEHOLDER MILE Penn National offers the premier card of its year-long meet Saturday evening with seven stakes events each worth $100,000 or more, anchored by the newly minted $500,000 GII Penn Mile for sophomore turfers. The 10-horse field is headlined by George Krikorian=s homebred Big Score (Mr. Big), who has logged significant frequent flyer miles this spring, traveling to and from Tim Yakteen=s home base at Santa Anita to compete at tracks east of the Mississippi. The impressive dark bay notched his first graded stakes win in Keeneland=s Apr. 7 GIII Transylvania S. and recently followed with a one-paced third-place effort in the GIII American Turf S. at Churchill May 6. Equipped with the services of Hall of Fame electee Javier Castellano in the irons, Big Score should find himself in his customary position rallying from off the pace. Cont. p5 Stellar Wind (outside) bests Beholder in >16 Zenyatta | Benoit IN TDN EUROPE TODAY by Brian DiDonato ENABLE STORMS TO OAKS SUCCESS Hronis Racing=s Stellar Wind (Curlin), who spent last year Juddmonte homebred Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) stormed to trading decisions with retired future Hall of Famer Beholder victory in a rain-soaked G1 Investec Oaks on Friday, winning by (Henny Hughes), headlines a short field Saturday for Santa five lengths in race-record time. Anita=s GI Beholder Mile--formerly the Vanity. Named champion Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. 3-year-old filly of 2015, Stellar Wind made her 4-year-old debut in this spot last year, checking in second behind Beholder and one spot ahead of then under-the-radar Finest City (City Zip). She turned the tables on Beholder in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar in late July, and bested the Spendthrift superstar again when earning a career-top 110 Beyer Speed Figure for a neck decision in the GI Zenyatta S. Oct. 1. Beholder went out a winner with a nose tally from two-time champion Songbird (Medaglia d=Oro)--who will skip this race in favor of next Saturday=s GI Ogden Phipps S. at Belmont--in the GI Breeders= Cup Distaff here Nov. 4, while Stellar Wind was a dull and puzzling fourth. Stellar Wind bounced back with a victory in the GI Apple Blossom H. at Oaklawn Apr. 14, and was flattered when runner-up Terra Promessa (Curlin) crushed an overmatched group in the GIII Allaire DuPont Distaff S. at Pimlico Preakness weekend. Cont. p3 PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] Saturday, June 3, 2017 EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Assistant Editor Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer It’s Derby day! On his way to becoming the European champion three-year-old colt of Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants 2001, Galileo (Sadler's Wells--Urban Sea) takes the G1 Epsom Derby with Mick Kinane Alexa Reisfield up. | racingfotos.om Michelle Benson IF THE ‘SHOE’ FITS Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution 4 Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew A short, but sweet field of seven turf milers assembles for Saturday’s [email protected] GI Shoemaker Mile S., a ‘Win and You’re In’ test for the GI BC Mile. Social Media Strategist Justina Severni TODAY’S GRADED STAKES EST Race Click for TV Director of Customer Service 1:59a Treasury Brisbane Queensland Oaks-G1, DOO --------------- ----- Vicki Forbes 9:35a Princess Elizabeth S.-G3, EPS --------------- ----- [email protected] 10:10a Investec Diomed S.-G3, EPS --------------- ----- Director of Information Technology 10:20a Prix du Palais-Royal-G3, MLF --------------- ----- Ray Villa 11:30a Investec Derby-G1, EPS --------------- ----- [email protected] 4:52p Connaught Cup-GII, WO TJCIS PPs TVG WORLDWIDE INFORMATION 5:21p Aristides S.-GIII, CD TJCIS PPs TVG International Editor 5:45p Pennine Ridge S.-GIII, BEL TJCIS PPs TVG Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN 6:00p Eatontown S.-GIII, MTH TJCIS PPs TVG [email protected] 7:00p Shoemaker Mile-GI, SA TJCIS PPs TVG European Editor 7:30p Beholder Mile-GI, SA TJCIS PPs TVG Emma Berry [email protected] 7:45p Penn Mile-GII, PEN TJCIS PPs TVG Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • JUNE 3, 2017 Beholder Mile cont. Finest City had a productive 2016 in her own right. Having already taken the GII Great Lady M. S. before her third in this event, she just missed going nine grassy furlongs in September=s GII John C. Mabee S. The Seltzer Thoroughbreds colorbearer cut back successfully to upend the GI Breeders= Cup F/M Sprint en route to Eclipse honors for champion female sprinter. She added the GII Santa Monica BEHOLDER MILE S.-GI, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m S. back over the PP. Horse Sire same seven- 1. Vale Dori (Arg) Asiatic Boy (Arg) furlong trip here 2. Stellar Wind Curlin Jan. 21, but had to 3. Show Stealer Eskendereya settle for second 4. Finest City K City Zip to Vale Dori (Arg) 5. Faithfully K Smart Strike (Asiatic Boy {Arg}) (see Graded Stakes Entries) when stretched to 1 1/8 miles for the GI Santa Margarita S. Mar. 8. Finest City=s connections were mulling over the 1 1/16-mile GII La Troienne S. and seven-panel GI Humana Distaff S. on GI Kentucky Derby weekend, and opted for the latter. The chestnut finished second by a neck to last-out GI Madison S. winner Paulassilverlining (Ghostzapper). A flat mile is probably the ideal distance for Finest City, but one turn would likely be better for her than two. AA mile is in her comfort zone, but she's going to have to run her best race,@ trainer Ian Kruljac told the Santa Anita press office. AWe're looking for another marquee effort. They're all fast fillies, so she'll run according to whatever [rider] Mike [Smith] feels he has underneath him early on in the race.@ Vale Dori was a distant third in the Zenyatta last year, but has reeled off six straight victories since then. She was last seen annexing the GIII Adoration S. here May 7, but Stellar Wind is a much more formidable foe than what she=s been up against during her win streak. o t o h p t i o n e B | i r o D e l a V TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • JUNE 3, 2017 GI Shoemaker Mile S. BC BERTH ON LINE IN SHOEMAKER MILE Heart to Heart | Keeneland/Coady by Brian DiDonato A hard-to-separate field of seven compete for an automatic berth into the GI Breeders= Cup Mile in Saturday=s GI Shoemaker Mile in Arcadia. East Coast invader Heart to Heart (English Channel) nearly got his elusive SHOEMAKER MILE S.-GI, 3yo/up, 1m Grade I when PP. Horse Sire second by a neck in 1. Heart to Heart English Channel Keeneland=s 2. What a View Vronsky 3. Bal a Bali (Brz) Put It Back = Maker s 46 Mile 4. Farhaan Jazil last time Apr. 14, 5. Free Rose Munnings and there=s 6. Gangster Street Boss another runner 7. Bolo Temple City back from that (see Graded Stakes Entries) heat who his connections probably wish had skipped this spot. Heart to Heart does his best work when loose on the lead, but had to concede the early advantage in the Maker=s 46 to What a View (Vronsky), who faded to sixth after setting a fairly honest pace. What a View, winner of last year=s GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile, bounced back in the restricted Cal-bred S. over course and distance May 20. Bolo (Temple City) was somewhat surprisingly the 38-10 favorite in the Maker=s 46, but checked in ninth with no obvious excuse. A winner of the GII Arcadia S. here in back-to-back years, he was third behind Bal a Bali (Brz) (Put It Back) and What a View in the Mar. 11 Kilroe. The 5-year-old was most recently upset by Farhaan (Jazil) in the GIII Thunder Road S. Apr. 29. TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • JUNE 3, 2017 Shoemaker Mile cont. Penn Mile cont. from p1 Bal a Bali is another one with in-and-out form. An impressive winner of the 2015 GIII American S. here in his U.S. debut, he earned just one optional claiming win and was beaten eight times at the graded level through his abbreviated 2016 campaign. The Southern Hemisphere 7-year-old belied 9-1 odds when seemingly back on track in the Kilroe, but settled for fifth against what was probably tougher in Churchill=s GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic S. May 6. Free Rose (Munnings), winner of the GIII La Jolla H. and GII Del Big Score | Benoit photo Mar Derby last term, found a Bal a Bali | Coady tough spot to make his 4-year- Green Lantern Stables sends a homebred of their own to old debut.