Wednesday Turf Notes

Breeders’ Cup World Championships Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7 Turf Races Notes Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 Contact: Notes Team, 859-250-0358 Longines Turf United – After finishing second by a head at 51-1 in the 2019 Longines Turf and winning four of five starts this year, it’s fair to say LNJ Foxwood’s United has received far more respect this time around. He drew post seven Monday evening and is 8-1 on the morning line in the 10-horse field. Flavien Prat will ride the 5yo gelded son of Giant’s Causeway for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. Prat and United have finished first in five of their 11 races together. Their most recent start was a 1 ½-length victory in the John Henry Turf Classic Sept. 26 at Santa Anita. The only loss for the Prat/United team in 2020 was a second by a head to Red King in the Del Mar Handicap Aug. 22. “He’s had a very good year,” Mandella said. “We’ve learned a few things about him. The last time we sent him to the lead and he loved it. He’s become more versatile than ever, just with experience. I just hope that I’ve got him at the same level that I had last year because he ran a helluva race last year.” United galloped 1 ½m Wednesday morning under exercise rider Taylor Cambra. Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf Mucho Unusual – George Krikorian’s homebred filly Mucho Unusual has made her second trip to Keeneland in 2020 and trainer Tim Yakteen hope things go better this time around in Saturday’s Filly & Mare Turf. In her lone trip outside of Southern California, Mucho Unusual finished eighth in the Jenny Wiley here in July. “She doesn’t like it warm and humid,” Yakteen said. “She didn’t run well here at Keeneland when it was hot back in the summer.” The cooler weather here when she arrived Sunday was greeted warmly by Yakteen for his filly, who represents his second Breeders’ Cup starter. “She shipped well and has trained really well here,” said Yakteen, whose previous starter was Big Score who finished fifth in the Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita in 2016. “She handled her trips really well. She’s a good traveler, cleaned up her feed tub.” Mucho Unusual is 30-1 on the morning line with Flavian Prat to ride from post eight. What will it take to be a factor at Keeneland? “It’s gonna take her running her best race, and a couple of the superstars not running their best race,” Yakteen said. “She’s doing just super. I couldn’t ask for better. We had a chance to take a shot, so we’re taking it.” Juvenile Turf Ebeko (IRE) – Irish-bred Ebeko enters the Juvenile Turf presented by Coolmore America off a victory in California’s main prep for the race, the Zuma Beach over 1m at Santa Anita. After three starts in Ireland for Paddy Twomey—including a second to fellow Juvenile Turf entrant Cadillac at second asking—the son of Irish 2000 Guineas winner Awtaad was acquired by trainer Peter Miller, who put together an ownership team of Altamira Racing Stable, CYBT, Marc Lantzman & Michael Nentwig. In two Stateside starts, he was second in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf before his aforementioned Zuma Beach win. Both races were over a two-turn mile, which he will once again contest Friday. Ebeko drew post 10 of 14 and will be ridden by Flavien Prat. “He’s a really cool horse,” Miller said. “He’s got a really great way about him and he tries really hard. He’s just a really nice horse to train and be around and he does seem to be getting better with time. Certainly on speed figures and on things of that nature, he might be overlooked, but I think he’s going to run a big race.” Prat seeks his fourth Breeders’ Cup win, while Miller aims for a sixth. Gretzky the Great – Gretzky the Great is seeking his fourth consecutive victory and second in the Grade 1 ranks after capturing the Summer at Woodbine on Sept. 20 in his most recent start. Trainer Mark Casse suspected early on that the son of 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and champion Nyquist was something special. “He showed early that he was above average,” he said. “I grade my young horses A, B, C, D. I grade on how they move and how they act. He was an A from the beginning. On a scale of one to 10 -- with 10 being a super mover -- he is a nine or 10. He is a great moving horse.” Gretzky the Great went unsold on a final bid of $295,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling sale. He subsequently was purchased privately by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber. Runner-up on turf in his career debut in July, Gretzky the Great then scored three wins on all-weather and grass surfaces while racing exclusively at Woodbine. The colt is named for Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky. Nyquist is named for National Hockey League player Gustav Nyquist. Outadore – Breeze Easy LLC’s Outadore has done little wrong in two starts for trainer Wesley Ward, winning on debut at Saratoga going 5½f in July and then taking the rich Juvenile Turf Sprint over 6½f in September at Kentucky Downs. The son of Outwork will break from post eight under Jose Ortiz in Friday’s Juvenile Turf presented by Coolmore America, while attempting to give Ward his second win in the race following Hootenanny’s 2014 tally. “He’s a really nice colt and is breezing well,” Ward said. “He’s been working with (G1 winner) Campanelle and is coming into the race doing well. He’s ready for this race, but he’ll eventually go to the dirt. I see no problem with the extra distance.” Outadore was a $290,000 Keeneland September 2019 yearling purchase. Public Sector – A son of Kingman, Europe’s champion 3yo of 2014 and top-tier sire in Europe, Klaravich Stables’ Public Sector enters Friday’s Juvenile Turf sponsored by Coolmore America off just two races, including a debut win at Saratoga over 1 1/16m on turf, followed by a second by 2 lengths in the Pilgrim Stakes. Favored in both, he overcome a bad start in the debut to win, but could not heat up in time to conquer a glacial pace set by Fire At Will in the latter. On Friday, he drops back in distance to the 1m Juvenile Turf and returns to two turns. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides from post four of 14. “He drew a nice post and I don’t mind a little cutback for that horse,” trainer Chad Brown said. “It looks like there’s some pace in there from first glance. He should be able to work out a good trip from there. He’s following a pattern, like (Juvenile Fillies Turf runner) Editor at Large, that has led to success in these two races for us. They seem to be coming into their best race in their third race.” Ortiz Jr. seeks his 10th Breeders’ Cup win, but his first in this race, while Brown will look to win the race for the second consecutive year after Structor’s victory in 2019 at Santa Anita. Juvenile Fillies Turf Trainer Graham Motion (Alda, Invincible Gal, Juvenile Fillies Turf) – Trainer Graham Motion is scheduled to seek a second straight victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf Friday at Keeneland, where he’s set to saddle two starters, Wertheimer and Frere’s Alda and Michael Ryan, Jeff Drown and Team Hanley’s Invincible Gal for the mile turf race. Motion saddled Sharing for a 1 ¼-length victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita last year. Alda galloped 1 1/2m on the training track Wednesday morning, while Invincible Gal galloped 1 1/2m on the main track at Keeneland. Alda debuted with males June 12 at Belmont Park, where she rallied from last to finish a fast- closing third in a 5f turf sprint. The daughter of Munnings came back four weeks later to graduate, defeating fillies by 2 ½ lengths in a 6f turf sprint at Belmont. Alda was shipped to Woodbine for two stakes starts. She won the 6f Catch a Glimpse by a nose with a determined rally before finishing second in the Sept. 20 Natalma, less than a length behind the winner. “I thought she bounced a little bit in the Natalma,” Motion said. “She ran a huge race in the race before. Ideally, I would have liked more spacing, but I wanted to run her in those races, and that would give her more time to freshen up for this race.” Invincible Gal, an English-bred daughter of Invincible Spirit, debuted with a late-closing victory in a 5 ½f turf sprint at Saratoga Aug. 7. She encountered bumping at the start of the Sorority at Monmouth a month later but rallied to finish second, beaten by less than a length. She set a pressured pace over a yielding turf course before settling for second in the Selima at Pimlico on the Preakness undercard last time out. “She was second on really soft turf at Pimlico, the likes of which we’ll never run on again. It was very soft. I thought she hung in there pretty well to run as well as she did,” Motion said.

Load more