Orrfourever
Bruinaholic
7/6 Sharp Azteca (KY) 3/colt Edgard J. Zayas 121 Jorge Navarro 3-1. I'll take a shot with this one. The trainer does well with sprinters. JMO
The eligible 2016 moments were selected to illustrate a wide range of human emotions and achievements as well as outstanding displays of equine athleticism. The events that fans can choose from are listed chronologically as follows, along with the designated hashtag that can be used to vote:
•#DubaiChrome – As jockey Victor Espinoza’s saddle slips out from underneath him, California Chrome becomes North America’s all-time earnings leader with a resounding win in the world’s richest race, the $10 million Dubai World Cup, at Meydan Racecourse. The $6 million winner’s share pushes his career bankroll to $12,532,650, surpassing Curlin’s previous mark. (March 26)
•#NyquistDerby – Reddam Racing’s Nyquist takes the lead in upper stretch and holds on to win the 142nd Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands by 1 1/4 lengths and remain undefeated. It is the second Derby win for the connections that campaigned I’ll Have Another to glory in 2012. (May 7)
•#BensCat – Ten-year-old Maryland-bred Ben’s Cat wins the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico Race Course for the fourth consecutive year and fifth time overall. Bred, owned and trained by legendary Mid-Atlantic horseman and Hall of Famer King Leatherbury, the popular gelding splits horses in deep stretch and gets up to win by a neck. (May 20)
•#ExaggeratorPreakness – Derby runner-up Exaggerator, owned by Big Chief Racing, wins the Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes in front of a record crowd of 135,256 at Pimlico while handing favored Nyquist his first defeat. (May 21)
•#FrostedMetMile – Frosted wins the 123rd Metropolitan Handicap by a stunning 14 1/4 lengths in 1:32.73, a stakes record margin and final time in one of America’s most historic races. (June 11)
•#BazeRetires – Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze retires at age 57 with 12,842 wins, by far the most in U.S. racing history. (June 13)
•#QueenTepin – Last year’s champion turf female travels abroad in search of a new challenge and becomes the first American-based horse to win the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Britain’s prestigious Royal Ascot meeting. (June 14)
•#SummerofSongbird – The brilliant Songbird remains undefeated by effortlessly taking Saratoga’s marquee race for 3-year-old fillies, the Alabama, by seven lengths. It is her second Grade 1 win of the Spa meet and her 10th straight win overall. (August 20)
•#PacificChrome – All-time earnings leader California Chrome dominates a highly anticipated showdown with defending race champion Beholder in Del Mar’s signature event, the TVG Pacific Classic, winning by five easy lengths while kept in hand by jockey Victor Espinoza. (August 20)
•#ArrogateTravers – Making his stakes debut, Juddmonte Farms’ Arrogate runs into the history books by winning the Travers by 13 ½ lengths in track-record time of 1:59.36 for 1 1/4 miles under Mike Smith at Saratoga Race Course. (August 27)
•#SpinawayDeadHeat – The site of so many memorable finishes, Saratoga Race Course produces another historic moment when two Tapit fillies, Sweet Loretta and Pretty City Dancer, dead-heat in the Spinaway, a first in the 2-year-old filly fixture’s 125 runnings. (September 3)
•#LadyEliFlowerBowl – Popular multiple Grade 1-winning filly Lady Eli guts out her first victory of 2016 in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park, 15 months after fighting off a life-threatening case of laminitis. (October 8)
•#BeholderDistaff – Spendthrift Farm’s three-time champion mare Beholder comes out on the winning end of a tight photo with undefeated filly Songbird following an epic stretch duel in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita Park. It is the third Breeders’ Cup victory for Beholder, trained by Richard Mandella and ridden by Gary Stevens, to go with wins in the 2013 Distaff and the 2012 Juvenile Fillies. (November 4)
•#ArrogateClassic – Arrogate collars odds-on favorite California Chrome in deep stretch to win North America’s richest race, the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, by a half-length before a Santa Anita Breeders’ Cup record crowd of 72,811. The 3-year-old is the third consecutive Breeders’ Cup Classic winner for trainer Bob Baffert. (November 5)
^ I would vote for Beholder. That's how you want to go out, on top.
New York-bred Mind Your Biscuits gave jockey Joel Rosario his second graded stakes win on Santa Anita Park's opening day program, saving ground around the turn and then overtaking front-running Sharp Azteca in deep stretch to take the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds by a half-length. Favored Ten Blessings finished third, with Mor Spirit fourth in the field of nine. The 1-2 finishers shipped to Santa Anita from the East Coast for the race.
Mind Your Biscuits, a 3-year-old by Posse out of Jazzmane, by Toccet, races for J Stables, Head of Plains Partners, Summers, Summers, Kisber and Summers. He was bred by Jumping Jack Racing. Robert Falcone Jr. trains the Malibu winner, who covered seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:20.81.
Rosario won the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes aboard Bettys Bambino in the first of four graded stakes on the opening day program that officials said drew a crowd of 46,514.
”It's worth the trip,” said Rosario, who formerly rode in California but now is based on the East Coast. “Not a bad afternoon. It is always fun coming out here.”
Rapid Reaction: Mind Your Biscuits and Sharp Azteca invade, run 1-2 in Malibu
Mind Your Biscuits, who crossed the wire third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint in his prior start, made a successful return to Santa Anita on Monday by running down another invader, the speedy Sharp Azteca, to take the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds.
Mind Your Biscuits gave jockey Joel Rosario his second stakes win on the day after winning the San Simeon on the hillside turf course with Bettys Bambino. Robert Falcone Jr. trains Mind Your Biscuits.
Mind Your Biscuits covered seven furlongs on the fast main track in 1:20.81, which is 1.02 seconds faster than Constellation needed to win the G1 La Brea for 3-year-old fillies one race earlier.
Mind Your Biscuits won by a half-length. Sharp Azteca finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of third-place Ten Blessings. Mor Spirit, in his first start since the Kentucky Derby, ran on for fourth.
The win was the fourth in 13 starts for Mine Your Biscuits, a 3-year-old colt by Posse. His only prior stakes win was the Grade 2 Amsterdam in the summer at Saratoga. Although he is currently officially third in the BC Sprint, he will be elevated to second following the official disqualification of Masochistic following a hearing on Friday.
Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) winner Arrogate is set for a start in the Jan. 1 San Pasqual Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita Park as long as the talented son of Unbridled's Song emerges in good order from his latest bullet work, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Dec. 27.
Expectations were high for Winchell Thoroughbreds’ homebred Untapped when she made her local debut on Dec. 23. The 2-year-old full-sister to champion Untapable responded with a dominant 3¼-length victory for trainer Steve Asmussen, winning for the second consecutive time from three starts. Her lone loss was a third on debut going a mile, a race in which the runner-up, Stonestreet Stables’ Valadorna, would go on to finish second in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies two starts later.
According to Asmussen, the chestnut filly has exited her effort in good shape and will now point to the Listed $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes on Jan. 21.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Bavaro, the dominant winner of the Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series on Dec. 17, likely will get a chance to stretch out around two turns in the $100,000 Gander Stakes for New York-breds on Jan. 28.
Donegal Racing has partnered with Jerry and Ronnie Frankel to run grade I winner Keen Ice in the $12 million Pegasus World Cup (gr. I) Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park, Donegal’s Jerry Crawford confirmed Dec. 27.
To fund the race’s large purse, 12 spots in the starting gate were sold for $1 million each, but quickly sold out. Crawford said Donegal had been eyeing the Pegasus for Keen Ice, but since they did not own a spot in the starting gate, they partnered with owners Jerry and Ronnie Frankel who did. Bloodstock agent Brad Weisbord facilitated the deal between Donegal and the Frankels.
- 1. Classic Empire
- 2. Mastery
- 3. McCraken
- 4. Irish War Cry
- 5. Saint's Fan
- 6. Mo Town
- 7. Good Samaritan
- 8. Practical Joke
- 9. Gormley
- 10. Iliad
- Keep an eye out for Hootie and Conscripted in Friday's Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita.
Irish War Cry is one of just 117 registered New Jersey-breds of 2014 and is staking a claim to be the best of those. While breeders have been deserting the Garden State in recent years — there were 401 registered New Jersey-breds as recently as the foal crop of 2007 — there are good reasons for Isabelle Haskell de Tomaso and her sister, Hope Haskell Jones, to remain there.
“Their father was Amory Haskell,” explained Isabelle Ellis. “They really believe strongly in racing in New Jersey.”
Amory Haskell was the founder and first president of the Monmouth Jockey Club, which kickstarted New Jersey racing in 1946. Haskell today is mostly remembered through the annual running of his namesake race, the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational.
Irish War Cry is the product of generations of Haskell breeding. She is out of the Polish Numbers mare Irish Sovereign, who was out of the Beau Genius mare Irish Genius, who was out of the Saint Crespin III mare Irish Trip — all three of whom were bred by Isabelle de Tomaso.
All in all, something of a New Jersey royal family affair.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The pick six was hit by a single ticketholder for $313,208 at Santa Anita on Saturday, a result decided after a disqualification in the ninth race.
Jill Madden, a 5-1 shot, finished first in the ninth race for maiden claimers, but was disqualified and placed second behind favored Lucky Dolly. The stewards conducted an inquiry and decided in a majority decision that Jill Madden lugged in through the stretch and cost Lucky Dolly a better placing. The two fillies were separated by a neck at the wire.
Had Jill Madden kept the win there would have been carryovers in the main pick six pool and the single ticket jackpot pool. As a result of the disqualification, the entire pool was paid out Saturday. The day began with a carryover of $212,103 in the single ticket pool.