POINT OF ENTRY First Yearling sells for $135,000 AAAAA SSSSASS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 WWW.BLOODHORSE.COM K A A K K K KK IN TODAY’S EDITION Klimt Surges to Wire in Del Mar Futurity 3 Ring Weekend Prevails in Bernard Baruch 4 Awesome Slew Dusts Smarty Jones Field 5 Tepin Posts Bullet Ahead of Woodbine Mile 6 Lady Shipman Easy Winner of Turf Amazon 7 First Black-Type Winner for Maclean's Music 7 Tapit Defines a New Milestone 8 Mister Marti Gras Retires Sound 9 Study Aims to Improve Jockey Health, Safety 10 COGLIANESE PHOTOS German Sire Adlerflug Shows Potential 10 Practical Joke runs by the dueling leaders in the final furlong to win Bob Barry: The Sentinels of Saratoga 11 the Hopeful Results 12 PRACTICAL JOKE WINS AN EVENTFUL HOPEFUL Entries 17 Leading Lists 18 By Evan Hammonds ractical Joke, the 2-1 second choice in the 112th Prunning of the Hopeful Stakes (gr. I) for 2-year- olds at Saratoga Race Course, prevailed in a photo by a neck over Royal Copy and Pretty Boy Flash. The son of Into Mischief covered the seven fur- longs in 1:23.39. The 8-5 favorite, Classic Empire wheeled soon after coming out of the gate from post six, unseating Irad Ortiz Jr. and was vanned off the track. Royal Copy was a 15-1 chance and Pretty Boy Flash was 25-1 in the seven-horse cast. Those two broke alertly and took the early advantage. The pair swapped the lead early while setting very moderate fractions of :23.80 and :47.69. They were tracked by the New York-bred Runaway Lute with 3-1 third choice Bitumen to his outside Practical Joke sat fifth and Everybodyluvsrudy trailed. Royal Copy and Pretty Boy Flash continued their two-horse battle on the lead through six furlongs in 1:11.27, but Practical Joke collared the pair of pace- setters in the final jumps. Royal Copy was a nose to the good of Pretty Boy Flash and Bitumen was 6 3/4 (continued on page 2) BLOOD-HORSE DAILY Download the FREE smartphone app PAGE 1 OF 18 PRACTICAL JOKE WINS AN EVENTFUL HOPEFUL (continued from page 1) lengths back in fourth. "He's got tactical speed, he can run close to the pace, and he fired when I asked him to run," said Ortiz. "The pace was pretty slow. I thought about taking the lead as soon as we broke be- cause I knew we were going so slow. But some- thing told me, don't do it, and the trip worked out perfect. "He was running the whole way. He gave me a great turn of foot when I got him in the clear but the other two horses were in front and they kept fighting a little bit. As soon as he put a head in front, he kept going." Practical Joke is the sixth foal of Halo Humor, by Distorted Humor. He races for Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence, and caps a memorable Saratoga stand for trainer Chad Brown, who topped Todd Pletcher's meet win record the day before. The Hopeful was win 40 for Brown and a meet leading 65 for Ortiz. In his lone outing prior to the Hopeful, Prac- tical Joke broke his maiden going six lengths at Saratoga by five lengths Aug. 6. "That first race I thought he ran well and his second time here he also came back to run a huge race," said Brown. "He was able to sit off and track the pace. Jose gave him an unbeliev- able ride and he looked like he was extending away in the stretch so I don't think any added distance will be an issue." "I'm very grateful to win the Hopeful, it's a grade I, on a promising 2-year-old like Practi- cal Joke," said Ortiz. "I think he's a pretty nice horse." Practical Joke, bred by Whispering Oaks, was a $240,000 Keeneland September sale gradu- ate. Whispering Oaks acquired Halo Humor, in foal to Fusaichi Pegasus, for $130,000 at the 2008 Keeneland January sale. A two-time win- ner, Halo Humor has been bred the last two years to Colonel John and Shanghai Bobby, respectively, without a registered foal. She was bred to both Overanalyze and Shanghai Bobby for 2017. BH BLOOD-HORSE DAILY Download the FREE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 PAGE 2 OF 18 smartphone app KLIMT SURGES TO WIRE won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race there on July 10 by 5 IN DEL MAR FUTURITY 1/4 lengths before his 2 3/4-length victory in the Best Pal. By Frank Angst The past two winners of the Del Mar Futurity, limt surged past favored early leader Straight Nyquist and Baffert-trained American Pharoah went KFire in the stretch and drew off to a 4 1/4-length on to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! victory in the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) Sept. 5 Brands (gr. I) in their 3-year-old seasons. at Del Mar. Klimt returned $7 to win, $2.80 to place, and $2.20 The victory by Kaleem Shah's Klimt gives trainer to show. Straight Fire paid $2.40 and $2.10 for the Bob Baffert 13 wins in the seven-furlong test for minor awards and Midnight Pleasure returned $2.80 juveniles. to show. Straight Fire and Midnight Pleasure both Guided by Rafael Bejarano and sent off at 5-2, earned their first stakes placings after entering off Klimt completed the race in 1:21.80 on a fast track clear maiden wins at the Del Mar meet. with Straight Fire holding second. The victory gives After the race Baffert credited Bejarano with a top Klimt two straight graded stakes wins and his first ride, espeically with his early placing of Klimt. grade I score after the son of Quality Road won the 6 "What a way to end the meet," Baffert said. 1/2-furlong Best Pal Stakes (gr. II) Aug. 13 at Del Mar. Bred in Kentucky by Thor-Bred Stables, Klimt is In Monday's test, Jungle Racing, LNJ Foxwoods, out of the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Inventive, and KMN Racing's Straight Fire, the 4-5 favorite, who also has produced grade III-placed West Coast broke well under Kent Desormeaux and led through Chick (Malibu Moon). a quarter-mile in :22.33. After racing in fourth into Baffert went to $435,000 to land Klimt at this the turn, Klimt unleashed a big move to power into year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March sale of 2-year- second just after Straight Fire posted a half-mile in olds in training sale where he was consigned by :44.38. Eddie Woods, agent. Klimt also sold as a yearling, Klimt would take over in midstretch and draw off going for $140,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale late to secure his third straight win. The colt finished where he was purchased by Bradley Thoroughbreds fourth in his debut June 25 at Santa Anita Park then from consignor Gainesway, agent. BH BENOIT PHOTOGRAPHY Klimt drew away by 4 1/4 lengths in the grade I Del Mar Futurity Sept. 5 BLOOD-HORSE DAILY Download the FREE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 PAGE 3 OF 18 smartphone app RING WEEKEND PREVAILS (Take the Stand), I went to lean a little bit, but I saw IN BERNARD BARUCH the horse on the inside (Take the Stand) start coming out and I eased out with him at the same time. You By Myra Lewyn can see how far out we came from the rail because t. Elias Stable and West Point Thoroughbreds' Ring the horse on the inside was coming out, so I was not SWeekend prevailed in tight three-horse finish and concerned (about the inquiry)," Velazquez said. set a turf course record in the $250,000 Bernard Ba- Ring Weekend, paid $7.90, $3.90, and $2.90, Jay ruch Handicap (gr. IIT) Sept. 5, closing day at Saratoga Gatsby returned $4.30 and $2.90, and Take the Stand Race Course. paid $3.40 to show. Ring Weekend ran down pacesetter Take the Ring Weekend, a 5-year-old son of Tapit who has Stand, who was on the rail, while Jay Gatsby tried to six wins from 17 starts, including his victory in the squeeze between the two inside the final furlong. 2015 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (gr. IT), was bred in Ken- Bumping through the closing stages, the trio reached tucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds. His dam is the the finish line in unison as Ring Weekend thrust out stakes-placed Cryptoclearance mare Free the Magic. his neck for John Velazquez to finish the 1 1/16 miles Ring Weekend was one of two graded winners on firm turf in a record 1:38.29. The time eclipsed the on Monday for Gainesway resident and leading sire previous mark of 1:38.54 set by Ironicus in last year's Tapit, whose son Scuba won the 1 1/2-mile Green- Bernard Baruch. wood Cup Stakes (gr. III) at Parx Racing. On Saturday, Jay Gatsby was second, and Take the Stand was a Tapit 2-year-old fillies Pretty City Dancer and Sweet nose back in third. Loretta finished in a dead head in the Spinaway There was stewards' inquiry over the bumping Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga, where son Frosted was third match, but they let the result stand.