MOHAYMEN – the Shadwell star by Tapit, takes on another grey Tapit colt, CONQUEST BIG E in the Holy Bull today at Gulfstream VANESSA NG PHOTO at horse-races.net
EXCITING RACES TODAY – CANADIAN BREDS FIGURE PROMINENTLY
Gulfstream Park today – the card begins at noon with an allowance race featuring two decent Ontario-bred gals and that race is followed by a maiden race with a half-sister to the mighty BEHOLDER (Leslie’s Harmony) in race 2. From there is gets even better!
KENTUCKY DERBY dreamers are in the Holy Bull (although it a a very small field) and QUEEN’S PLATE aspirants are dotted throughout the card.
Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 5:05 p.m. EST
LAMBHOLM SOUTH HOLY BULL S.-GII, $350,000, 3yo, 1 1/16m
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Perfect Saint Pleasantly Perfect Lanerie Romans 20-1
2 Mohaymen K Tapit Alvarado McLaughlin 6-5
3 Fellowship Awesome of Course Caraballo Gold 20-1
4 Conquest Big E K Tapit Smith Casse 7-2
5 Greenpointcrusader K Bernardini Velazquez Schettino 8-5
6 Frontier Ranger U S Ranger Zayas Pellegrini 15-1
Owners: 1-Calumet Farm, 2-Shadwell Stable, 3-Jacks or Better Farm, Inc.,
4-Conquest Stables, LLC, 5-St. Elias Stable, MeB Racing Stables LLC and
Brooklyn Boyz Stables, 6-Herman Van Den Broeck. Breeders: 1-Calumet
Farm, 2-Clearsky Farms, 3-Jacks or Better Farm Inc., 4-Gainesway
Thoroughbreds Ltd., 5-Oakbrook Farm, 6-Carol M Ricker, Patrick W Madden
& Ben P Walden Jr.
BIG DADDY STARTS QUEEN’S PLATE JOURNEY
with files from Gulfstream Park
The consistent Conquest Daddyo will face six rivals this Saturday at Gulfstream Park in the $100,000 Kitten’s Joy Stakes going a mile on the turf.
Trained by Mark Casse for owner Conquest Stables, the son of Scat Daddy will be making his first start since finishing fourth in the $1-million Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Keeneland on October 30. Conquest Daddyo arrived at Palm Meadows Training Center shortly after that contest and has recorded six timed workouts since, including a half-mile move in :48 seconds on Sunday.
“He’s been training really well,” Casse said. “We’re anxious to get him back, even though it might be a touch short for him. But he ran well in the Breeders’ Cup, so maybe the mile will be all right for him.”
After being forwardly placed in his first two career starts on Woodbine’s Polytrack surface, the Ontario-bred colt rallied from seventh to win his turf debut in the $200,000 Summer Stakes (G2) at the same track in September. He was last in the early stages of the one-mile Juvenile Turf, but closed strongly to be fourth, beaten just three lengths for the win. Jockey Joe Bravo was aboard for both of those turf starts and has the call again in the Kitten’s Joy.
“That’s his style,” Casse said about his charge’s tendency to start in an unhurried fashion.
Conquest Daddyo, a $350,000 yearling purchase at Saratoga, was bred by James and Janeane Everatt and Arika Everatt-Meeuse will break from the outside in post seven.
CONQUEST DADDYO, one of some dozen ‘Conquest’ horses racing this weekend around the US, is a Queen’s Plate contender – AMERICA’S BEST RACING PHOTO
IVAN DALOS – JOSIE CARROLL have lots of ‘amies’
AMI’S MESA is 8-1 in the Sweetest Chant at 1 mile on the grass at Gulftream (race 10; 4:35 p.m.) and is an unbeaten Canadian bred for Ivan Dalos. The Sky Mesa filly is out of Victorious Ami and is a half sister to Breeeders’ Stakes winner Ami’s Holiday. This is her grass debut and she has had some very strong workout times. Joe Bravo rides this gal as well as Daddyo so Joe could be prominent come the Canadian classics in the summer.
Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 4:35 p.m. EST
SWEETEST CHANT S.-GIII, $100,000, 3yo, f, 1mT
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Module Harlan’s Holiday Velazquez Mott 8-1
2 Sapphire Kitten Kitten’s Joy Leparoux Sharp 7-2
3 Born to Be Winner K Einstein (Brz) Saez Vaccarezza 20-1
4 Go Ro Ro Go In Summation Rispoli Moya 30-1
5 Little Cyclone City Zip Pennington Coletti Jr 20-1
6 Pricedtoperfection Temple City Rosario Brown 4-1
7 Spinamiss (Ire) Lilbourne Lad (Ire) Castellano Pletcher 8-1
8 Gliding By Artie Schiller Lezcano Mott 6-1
9 Ami’s Mesa Sky Mesa Bravo Carroll 8-1
10 Andreya’s Reward K Warrior’s Reward Jaramillo Wolfson 30-1
11 Hidden Treat Lemon Drop Kid Lopez Delacour 15-1
12 Conquest Bebop K Scat Daddy Smith Casse 5-1
Also on the great card at Gulfstream today is the Grade 2 Swale Stakes featureing Canadian-owned and trained NOHOLDINGBACK BEAR.
The flashy bay is owned by Bear Stables Inc. and trained by Mike DePaulo.
A first-out winner on the Woodbine synthetic Sept. 27, the Bear Stables colorbearer finished second in the Juvenile Dirt
Sprint at Keeneland Oct. 31 and was given the rest of the season off. The Michael DePaulo charge breezed a best-of-31 five
panels in :58 4/5 here Jan. 24.
“His last race was good,” DePaulo said. “I thought he’d run a little better. When he came back from Kentucky, he had a shin
that was bugging him a little, so he had a little time off. Then he shipped here. Maybe he wasn’t as tight as he could have been.
Hopefully, he’ll be a little better this time. The one positive, he’s going to give us six pounds, being a graded-stakes winner.
Hopefully, that will help. Maybe there’ll be other speed in the race. Hopefully, we can sit off them a little.”
Saturday, Gulfstream Park, post time: 1:35 p.m. EST
SWALE S.-GII, $150,000, 3yo, 7f
PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML
1 Ready Dancer K More Than Ready Velazquez Pletcher 8-1
2 Richie the Bull Benny the Bull Castellano Scott 6-1
3 Awesome Banner Awesome of Course Caraballo Gold 6-5
4 Noholdingback Bear K Put It Back Saez De Paulo 6-1
5 Cardio Cowboy Petionville Pennington Coletti Jr 5-1
6 Economic Model K Flatter Rosario Brown 7-2
Owners: 1-Let’s Go Stable, 2-Richie’s Usual Suspect’s, 3-Jacks or Better
Farm, Inc., 4-Bear Stables, Ltd., 5-Everest Stables, Inc., 6-Klaravich Stables,
Inc. and William H. Lawrence. Breeders: 1-St George Farm LLC &
Spurrmont, LLC, 2-Richard Ravin & Larry Rivelli, 3-Jacks or Better Farm Inc.,
4-Jerry Jamgotchian, 5-Everest Stables Inc., 6-Claiborne Farm
CANADIAN-BREDS NOMINATED TO US TRIPLE CROWN
AMIS GIZMO – Ivan Dalo owns this unbeaten colt by Giant Gizmo
ESPOSITO – Ghostzapper colt, American owned
GLEN COCO – Zayat Stables, Reade Baker grey colt looked good at 2
HAMMERS VISION – Terry Hamilton’s Court Vision turf winner
RIKER – Tucci Stables’ top 2yo of 2015 in Canada
SCHOLAR ATHLETE – Einstein colt from West Point Thoroughbreds
SHAKHIMAT – Coronation Futurity winner
THE BIG MO – Uncle Mo owned by Lieblong’s, Tony Dutrow trains
https://www.kentuckyderby.com/uploads/wysiwyg/files/2016/01/u10/NOMS_-_2016_Triple_Crown__Early_.pdf
CANADIANS ELSEWHERE
NO LOOK PASS won at Penn National on Friday for $4,000 claiming, putting Christine Tavares, one of the leading Quarter Horse owners in Ontario in the winner’s circle with trainer Nick Mileni Jr. No Look Pass is an Ontario bred by Macho Uno.
SMOKIN RED HOT zipped through the slop for trainer John Mattine on Thursday at Gulfstream Park to win her maiden in her 2nd career start. The Stormy Atlantic – Grenade, Lite the Fuse filly won by 3 1/4 lengths at 7-2. Norseman Racing owns and bred the 3yo.
TORONTO’S RAY ARSENAULT IN 2ND AT NATIONAL HANDICAPPING CONTEST
FROM NTRA.COM
Handicapping contest veteran Dave Gutfreund – still known to many by his old nickname “The Maven” – leads the 17th Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship Presented by Racetrack Television Network and Treasure Island Las Vegas with a $237 bankroll as the field was reduced to the top 10 percent – 63 entries – after Day 2 of the three-day tournament at Treasure Island.
Ray Arsenault of Toronto, who led the NHC going into today’s final available race, held on for second with $236.40. A tightly bunched top 10 was rounded out by David Sullivan ($235), Charlie Davis ($232.60), the Day 1 leader Phil Bongiovanni ($224.40), Paul Matties ($223.90), Robert Engelhard ($219.70), Dan Camoro ($213.60), Joe Perry ($213) and Jeff Einardt ($211.40).
The highest score on Day 2 went to John Downie, who posted $175.80 worth of winners Friday to earn a paid Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge entry worth $10,000 and vault into 36th place overall ($185.40).
Those that made the cut with bankrolls at or above $170 will continue on to the Semifinal round Saturday and the subsequent top 10 will play at the “Final Table” to determine the final placings, including an $800,000 grand prize and Eclipse Award winner. Players left outside the final cut will play in a separate $50,000 Consolation Tournament on Saturday with reset mythical bankrolls.
Gutfreund took the lead for the first time in Santa Anita’s eighth-race finale, with 8-1 shot Gathering Evidence.
“I didn’t like the favorites and it was a Doug O’Neill first-starter that looked live,” he said.
Other key plays for Gutfreund on the day included Jamie’s Dancer, the $27 winner of Gulfstream Park’s seventh; All Up in Lights, the $57.80 hero of Gulfstream’s ninth; and Creme Brulee, a $33.80 upset in Fair Grounds’ eighth.
A 54-year-old Chicago native, Gutfreund said he would study for the NHC Semifinals “the same way I prepared for today, same way I prepared for yesterday, same way I’m going to prepare for next year and the years after that.”
Gutfreund is a co-creator of the Derby Wars horse racing fantasy tournament website, and a regular contributor to Horse Racing Nation. This is his 12th NHC appearance.
While rushing out of the Treasure Island ballroom to get started on his preparations, Gutfreund added: “I got real lucky. Gotta get some dinner and then get to work.”
Full standings can be viewed online at NTRA.com, where the homepage features a scrolling live leaderboard and sortable/searchable standings of the entire field.
FIRST FOALS FOR GRADE 2 WINNER ROOKIE SENSATION
The first two foals by Grade 2 winner Rookie Sensation were born at Openwood Farm in Caledon, Ontario, Canada this week.
The stakes-placed One Way Love mare Kaleidoscope Kerry foaled a Rookie Sensation colt on January 26. The following morning Openwood welcomed another colt out of Dancing Leaves, a stakes producer by Kiridashi.
“They are both dark bays with beautiful heads and necks,” said Openwood Farm owner Susan Rasmussen. “They have good size and nice bodies.”
Rookie Sensation hails from the same female line as the leading sires A. P. Indy, Summer Squall and Lemon Drop Kid. A son of another perennial leading sire, Unbridled’s Song, Rookie Sensation lived up to his name in his stakes debut in November of 2013 with a rousing victory over Grade 1 winner Gabriel Charles in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby.
Rookie Sensation stands for a $5,000 fee (Canadian funds, live foal) at the Stronach family’s Adena Springs North in Aurora, Ontario, Canada.
