FEATURE PRESENTATION • GI Travers Stakes REPEATING RICHARD He Didn=T Return the Same $50 Mutuel He Did When Rallying from 10Th to Take Last Year=S Running, But
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2010 For information about TDN, call 732-747-8060. FEATURE PRESENTATION • GI Travers Stakes REPEATING RICHARD He didn=t return the same $50 mutuel he did when rallying from 10th to take last year=s running, but Zabeel Racing International=s Richard=s Kid (Lemon Drop Kid) was the recipient of a patient ride from Mike Smith, circled five or six wide into the Del Mar stretch and outfinished a game Crowded House (GB) (Rainbow Quest) for a 3/4-length victory at odds of 9-2 in the GI Pacific Classic. Cont. p3 KING FOR A DAY THE TRAVERS EXPRESS Given the prevailing bias towards speed on the pro- His Hall of Fame father, AGiant Killer@ Allen Jerkens gram at Saratoga, trainer Todd Pletcher left nothing to had never accomplished it, but thanks to the nose of chance, instructing John Velazquez to send E Paul Afleet Express (Afleet Alex), trainer Jimmy Jerkens won Robsham Stables= Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft) to the his first GI Travers S. before a lead in Saturday=s GI King=s Bishop S. The plan came sunsplashed crowd Saturday together, as the well-bred colt blazed a trail up front afternoon at historic Saratoga and staved off a late bid from Bank Merger (Consolida- Race Course. AThis is probably tor) for a 1 1/4-length success. Cont. p4 the highlight [of my career], I=d have to say,@ the junior Jerkens RIGHTLY SO STREAKS TO BALLERINA SCORE commented. At Saratoga it A New York-bred Rightly So (Read the Footnotes) took seems to be extra special.@ advantage of her inside draw and outsprinted a high- Travers S. cont. p2 Horsephotos quality group, including champion Informed Decision (Monarchos) to take Saturday=s GI Ballerina S. at Saturday, Saratoga Race Course Saratoga. Cont. p5 TRAVERS S.-GI, $1,000,000, SAR, 8-28, 3yo, 1 1/4m, 2:03 1/5, ft. TDN TODAY 1--sAFLEET EXPRESS, 126, c, 3, by Afleet Alex 1st Dam: Expanse (SP), by Distant View Headline News..................... 16 pages 2nd Dam: Dial a Trick, by Phone Trick 3rd Dam: Ice Fantasy, by It's Freezing ($245,000 yrl '08 KEEJAN; $185,000 RNA yrl '08 KEESEP). O-Gainesway Farm & Martin L Cherry; B-McMillin Brothers & James Devaney (KY); T-James A Jerkens; J-Javier Castellano; $600,000. Lifetime Record: 7-4-1-1, $835,140. *Second Grade I winner for sophomore sire (by Northern Afleet). **1/2 to Reporting for Duty (Deputy Commander), MSW & MGSP, $466,846. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. ANOTHER Niall Brennan Stables graduate 2--Fly Down, 126, c, 3, Mineshaft--Queen Randi, by Fly So Free. ($80,000 yrl '08 KEESEP). O-Richard C Pell; B-Broadway Thoroughbreds Inc & W S Farish (KY); T-Nicholas P Zito; $200,000. Foaled & Raised at Shawhan Place 3--First Dude, 126, c, 3, Stephen Got Even--Run Sarah Run, by Smart Strike. O/B-Donald R Dizney (FL); T-Dale L Romans; $100,000. Margins: NO, 6 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 7.00, 6.10, 6.70. Also Ran: Afleet Again, A Little Warm, Friend Or Foe, Miner's Reserve, Ice Box, Trappe Shot, Super Saver, Admiral Alex. TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 8/29/10 • PAGE 2 of 16 • thoroughbreddailynews.com Travers S. cont. Express Train... A maiden winner in his lone juvenile appearance over a muddy Aqueduct inner track Dec. 5, Afleet Express finished runner-up in a Jan. 30 Gulfstream allowance over six furlongs and fifth traveling seven-eighths Feb. 25 before going missing. Given three months off, the striking dark bay returned with panache May 22 at Belmont Park, thrashing a field of older rivals by 7 3/4 lengths and earning his way into stakes competition. Sent off the 2-1 second choice behind GI Preakness third Jackson Bend (Hear No Evil) in Monmouth=s GIII Pegasus S. June 19, Afleet Express raced with a slug- gish pace and stayed on for a 1 3/4-length victory from Afleet Again (Afleet Alex). The Gainesway and Martin Cherry colorbearer was a 5-2 chance in this track=s GII Jim Dandy S. July 31, but was bumped at the start, raced wide around the final turn and offered a mild rally to be third to A Little Warm (Stormin Fever) and Miner=s Reserve (Mineshaft). Have a Nice Trip... As expected, Miner=s Reserve made the early lead from his inside stall, with the newly blinkered First Dude (Stephen Got Even) in close attendance. Trappe Shot (Tapit), favored off his runner-up performance to Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike) in the GI Haskell Invita- tional S. Aug. 1, raced alongside A Little Warm with Afleet Express slightly worse than centerfield while saving some valuable ATurning for home I was very carefully watching the ground. horse on the lead and we tried to squeeze through a Fly Down little hole,@ Castellano explained. AI=m very, very proud (Mineshaft), of my horse for going through the hole between two one of three horses. I thought I=d win the race by the eighth pole, Nick Zito but he hung a little bit in the last part of the race, and I trainees in the give credit to the other horse for finishing very strong. race, bided I=m very lucky to get the bob and win the race. That his time two photo could have gone either way, and I=m very lucky it from the tail went my way.@ Click for the brisnet.com chart, the down the brisnet.com PPs or the free brisnet.com catalogue-style backstretch. pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Made. Afleet Express (rail) gets the nod in the Travers Back on the Horsephotos front end, Miner=s Re- Not Their Day... serve and First Dude were still eyeballing each other, It was a frustrating day for the office for Trappe Shot but Afleet Express pulled Javier Castellano though an and GI Kentucky Derby hero Super Saver (Maria=s Mon). opening at the fence and the duo found themselves AIt wasn=t the distance,@ trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said right on the heels of the pacesetters as the field of the former, who was also under consideration for the reached the quarter pole. Needing only to find some GI King=s Bishop S.. AHe had no real excuse. He just did running room, Afleet Express was switched off the rail not fire today.@ Calvin Borel also offered no alibi for the and struck the front, but was joined soon after by Fly performance of the WinStar runner. AI had a good trip Down, who began picking off rivals going ominously and there are no excuses for that trip,@ he stated. AI got well leaving the turn. The two came to settle the race over fine and they weren=t going that fast. Between the in the waning strides, with Afleet Express getting an three-eighths pole and the quarter pole I tested him, exceedingly favorable bob. and I had no pony. He just wasn=t there.@ P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 8/29/10 • PAGE 3 of 16 • thoroughbreddailynews.com BLACK-TYPE RESULTS Saturday, Del Mar PACIFIC CLASSIC S. PRESENTED BY TVG-GI, $1,000,000, DMR, 8-28, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m (AWT), 2:03 1/5, ft. 1--RICHARD'S KID, 124, h, 5, by Lemon Drop Kid 1st Dam: Tough Broad (MSW & GISP, $395,132 ), by Broad Brush 2nd Dam: Richard's Choice, by Private Account 3rd Dam: Twenty Six Girl, by Blade O-Zabeel Racing International Corp; B-Fitzhugh LLC (MD); T-Bob Baffert; J-Mike E Smith; $600,000. Lifetime Record: 25-8-2-7, $1,566,370. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A++. 2--Crowded House (GB), 124, c, 4, Rainbow Quest-- Wiener Wald, by Woodman. (75,000gns yrl '07 TATOCT). O-Burrell, Harvey & J Paul Reddam; B-Car Colston Hall Stud (GB); T-Ben D A Cecil; $200,000. 3--Dakota Phone, 124, g, 5, Zavata--World of Gold, by Spinning World. ($67,000 2yo >07 BESMAY). O-John Carver, Halo Farms, George Todaro & Jerry Hollendorfer; B-Cashmark Farms Inc & Dakota Stables (KY); T-Jerry Hollendorfer; $120,000. Margins: 3/4, HF, 1. Odds: 4.80, 12.60, 8.70. Also Ran: Battle of Hastings (GB), The Usual Q. T., Temple City, Isle of Giant's, Hold Me Back, Unusual Suspect, Awesome Gem. Richard=s Kid won the >09 Pacific Classic in the colors of Arnold Zetcher, then was third in the GI Goodwood S. Oct. 10 and sixth in the GI Breeders= Cup Classic Nov. 7 before changing hands. Up to score by a head in the GII San Antonio H. Feb. 7, the dark bay could not close the gap off a slow pace in the G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan and settled for seventh, beaten under HIS POTENTIAL IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH three lengths. Given plenty of time to recover, Richard=s with 98 top 2YOs in 2010 including Kid had two starts in advance of his title defense, Woodbine 2YO Maiden Special Weight winner rounding out the triple in the GI Hollywood Gold Cup July 10 and in the July 30 GIII Cougar II H. Reunited NEW NORMAL here with jockey Mike Smith, the Bob Baffert trainee for owner/breeder R.S. Evans & trainer Mark Frostad. was reserved last but one down the backstretch as Isle of Giant=s (Giant=s Causeway) scrimmaged on a moder- ate pace with Cougar II hero Temple City (Dynaformer).