Turfway Park Stakes O Plenty
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Turfway Park Stakes O Plenty
$500k Lane’s End Stakes and More
The 39th running of Turfway Park’s Lane’s End Stakes will be run this Saturday with the winner eying the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Derby. Over 150 horses were nominated by only x will be at post.
In the past the Lane’s End, was run six weeks before the Derby, this year the race is five weeks ahead of the Run for the Roses to accommodate the recent trend toward fewer prep races with ample time between races. The $500,000 Lane’s End’s purse virtually guarantees the winner a spot in the Derby field.
This years Lane’s End looks like this; Trainer Todd Pletcher expects to bring two to the Lane’s End…Connemara broke his maiden at Turfway Park in his debut race last fall before heading to California, where he most recently won the El Camino Real Derby (G3) at Golden Gate. He has three wins and one second in four starts for Pletcher, all on all-weather surfaces.
Russell Baze has been aboard for the son of Giant’s Causeway two most recent starts and will be back in the irons for the Lane’s End.
Doubles Partner will step up to the Lane’s End off two straight wins, the first his maiden score at Churchill last fall and the most recent an impressive allowance win at Gulfstream last month, both on the turf and both at the Lane’s End distance of 1 1/8 miles.
Chris DeCarlo was aboard for both of Doubles Partner’s wins and has been named to ride again Saturday. Pletcher has twice won the Lane’s End Stakes, in 2001 with Balto Star and in 2005 with Flower Alley.
Mike Maker owns five consecutive training titles at Turfway, and his knowledge of the surface will benefit his expected Lane’s End entry, Dean’s Kitten. A son of turf champion Kitten’s Joy, Dean’s Kitten finished sixth in the Grade II Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in November, beaten less than three lengths. He most recently was second, also beaten less than three lengths, in the Grade III Palm Beach at Gulfstream on the turf. Cornelio Velasquez has ridden Dean’s Kitten in his last two starts and has the mount on Saturday.
Ranger Heartley has four wins in 10 starts, each time leading all the way. He most recently was fifth in the El Camino Real Derby, beaten less than four lengths by Connemara, who also is expected for the Lane’s End.
Chief Counsel has a win, two seconds, and two thirds in five starts but has never raced past seven furlongs, so the Lane’s End’s 1 1/8-mile distance is the obvious question. Chief Counsel most recently was second in the OBS Sprint Stakes, his first start since October. His rider Saturday has not been named.
D. Wayne Lukas trainee Northern Giant was third in the Risen Star; beaten less than two lengths will have the services of jockey Calvin Borel. The only question is the synthetic surface.
Others probable for the Lane’s End include Kettle River; Outlaw Man (Ken McPeek); Vow to Wager (Dale Romans), and Letsgetitonmon (Steve Asmussen). The Lane’s End Stakes is the ninth of 12 races on Saturday’s card.
The Lane’s End undercard will feature five additional stakes: the one-mile Bourbonette Oaks (gr. III) for 3-year-old fillies, a prep for the Kentucky Oaks; The 1 1/16-mile Rushaway Stakes for 3-year-olds, also a Kentucky Derby prep; the six furlong Hansel Stakes for 3-year-olds; and the 1 1/16-mile Fairway Fun Stakes for older fillies and mares.
On The Derby Trail
Louisiana Derby’s Three Year Old Showfest
This Saturday’s field for the Louisiana Derby has the first Saturday in May in their sights, but as with underdogs doing damage to everyone’s March Madness bracket and the Florida Derby being won by longshot Ice Box…the 13 horses entered for the $750,000 1 1/8-mile Louisiana Derby (it was 1 1/16 miles last year) might all be thinking the same thing…I can win this race.
The Louisiana Derby favorite is Discreetly Mine at 7-2, who won the February 20th; Grade II Risen Star at the Fair Grounds in wire-to-wire fashion is only one of three horses with a graded stakes win. The other is Ron the Greek, who was the upset winner of the January 23rd Grade II Lecomte. He was a dismal sixth in the Risen Star. A Little Warm, winner of the six-furlong Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Park at the start of the year, is the only other starter with black type on his résumé.
Discreetly Mine is one of two entered for trainer Todd Pletcher. The son of Mineshaft was never seriously challenged in the 1 1/16-mile Risen Star, which is the local prep for the Louisiana Derby. Javier Castallano rode the bay colt to his 1 1/2-length score.
Graded stakes-placed twice as a juvenile and fourth to A Little Warm in the Spectacular Bid while encountering a troubled trip, Discreetly Mine will try out nine furlongs for the first time. Unlike the Risen Star, Discreet Mine should be pressed by two runners – Wow Wow Wow and The Program.
Todd Pletcher, will also send out Mission Impazible, a winner of one of four starts. The colt missed by a head in an allowance race in his season debut going six furlongs on the slop at Gulfstream, then was fourth in an even effort in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Rajiv Maragh will ride for the first time.
A Little Warm, second choice on the morning line at 4-1, came from off the pace to win the Spectacular Bid in his season debut. After that, the colt finished second by a length to multiple graded stakes winner D’ Funnybone in the grade II Hutcheson at Gulfstream. David Cohen gets the riding assignment this time.
Also shipping in from South Florida is Fly Down, who won a nine-furlong allowance race in his season debut at Gulfstream for Nick Zito. The lightly-raced colt has won two of three starts and will be ridden by Jose Lezcano again. Zito and Lezcano teamed up to win with Ice Box in the Florida Derby.
Also coming out of the Risen Star are Drosselmeyer, Stay Put, Ron the Greek, and Hotep—the fourth, fifth, sixth, and tenth-place finishers, respectively.
Drosselmeyer was the beaten favorite in the Risen Star, but the confirmed closer chased a slow pace and was finishing gamely along the rail in his two-length defeat. The Bill Mott trainee will likely take from off the pace again under Kent Desormeaux, especially since he drew post 13.
Stay Put also turned in a solid effort in his stakes debut. Stay Put is based at Fair Grounds, where he has worked three times since the Risen Star. Jamie Theriot will be in the irons once again.
Ron the Greek came from last to win the Lecomte under James Graham, to get up by 1 1/2 lengths. A couple of other local horses hoping to make a name for themselves are Backtrack, who is undefeated in two starts, and Island Soul, a Steve Asmussen trainee making his third start of 2010.
The full field for the Grade II $750,000 Louisiana Derby, 3YO, 1 1/8 Miles (Dirt) is below:
|
PP |
Horse |
A/S |
Med |
Jockey |
Wgt |
Trainer |
M/L |
| 1 | Hotep (ON) | 3/C | L | P Husbands | 122 | M R Frostad |
30/1 |
| 2 | Mission Impazible (KY) | 3/C | L | R Maragh | 122 | T A Pletcher |
8/1 |
| 3 | Fly Down (KY) | 3/C | L | J Lezcano | 122 | N P Zito |
8/1 |
| 4 | The Program (KY) | 3/C | L* | C S Nakatani | 122 | B Baffert |
10/1 |
| 5 | A Little Warm (VA) | 3/C | L | D Cohen | 122 | A W Dutrow |
4/1 |
| 6 | Ron the Greek (FL) | 3/C | L | J Graham | 122 | T M Amoss |
6/1 |
| 7 | Discreetly Mine (KY) | 3/C | L | J Castellano | 122 | T A Pletcher |
7/2 |
| 8 | Island Soul (KY) | 3/C | L | R Albarado | 122 | S M Asmussen |
20/1 |
| 9 | Stay Put (KY) | 3/C | L | J Theriot | 122 | S Margolis |
10/1 |
| 10 | Wow Wow Wow (KY) | 3/C | L | J Jacinto | 122 | D W Lukas |
30/1 |
| 11 | Mister Marti Gras (KY) | 3/G | L | S Bridgmohan | 122 | N L Pessin |
30/1 |
| 12 | Backtrack (KY) | 3/G | L | S J Sellers | 122 | G Scherer |
30/1 |
| 13 | Drosselmeyer (KY) | 3/C | L | K J Desormeaux | 122 | W I Mott |
5/1 |
Sunland Derby
Bring on the Bourbon
This Sunday, the little track that could, Sunland Park hosts its $800,000 Grade III Sunland Derby. Last year’s Kentucky Derby winner finished fourth in the Sunland event…does another Kentucky Derby winner loom in the field of nine?
Perhaps.
Unbeaten Conveyance heads the field for the Grade III Sunland Derby. The 1 and 1/8 mile race carries graded status for the first time in 2010 and is the second-richest Kentucky Derby prep race in North America.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Conveyance is the horse to beat at morning line odds of 9-5. The gray/roan colt is currently tied for 15th in graded stakes earnings with Awesome Act among the top sophomores in the nation and can slide into the Kentucky Derby with a victory. The first prize check is worth $400,000.
His main rivals figure to be Tempted to Tapit (3-1), runner-up in the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds last month, and Nacho Friend (9-2), coming off a third in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct three weeks ago.
Conveyance is being asked to go longer than he ever has before in the Sunland Derby. In his last race he led from gate to wire in the Southwest Stakes over one mile at Oaklawn Park, his first try on dirt following three wins on synthetic tracks. Martin Garcia, who rode Conveyance to victory, retains the mount.
Tempted to Tapit also looks to move up on the graded earnings list, where he is tied for 34th after earning $60,000 for his runner-up effort in the 1 1/16-mile Risen Star, where he could not catch the winner, Discreetly Mine, that day while racing second all the way around, beaten by 1 1/2 lengths.
Tempted to Tapit has shown good speed in all five of his prior races, which include a win and three seconds. The gray/roan gelding broke his maiden prior to the Risen Star in his fourth start by 11 1/2 lengths on a muddy track at Aqueduct over one mile on the inner track. David Cohen, who has been aboard Tempted to Tapit in his two most recent starts, will ride again. They leave from the far outside post.
Nacho Friend is making just his fourth lifetime start and second this year following a solid effort in the Gotham. Stalking in fourth in the 1 1/16-mile inner track event, he made a four-wide bid to draw close before weakening late and finishing three lengths behind the victorious Awesome Act. Joe Bravo has been aboard Nacho Friend in all of his races so far. They drew post 2.
Trying two turns for the first time in the Sunland Derby is homebred Classical Slew (6-1), who comes off a third-place finish behind Sidney’s Candy in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita. Sidney’s Candy went on to win the San Felipe Stakes on March 13th.
Storming Saint (8-1) is the best local hope here after winning Sunland’s Borderland Derby via disqualification. Storming Saint, who picked up his first stakes win as the favorite in the Borderland, was jostled through the stretch by his stablemate, Raise the Bridle, causing the stewards to reverse the order of the top two finishers. Storming Saint has won two of five starts but is not nominated to the Triple Crown.
Fog Alert (12-1) weakened to fourth last time out in the El Camino Real Derby after leading briefly in the stretch at Golden Gate Fields. He makes his first start for trainer Brant Taylor.
The Sunland Derby field is below:
|
PP |
Horse |
A/S |
Med |
Jockey |
Wgt |
Trainer |
| 1 | Storming Saint (FL) | 3/C | L | L Contreras | 122 | H Dominguez |
| 2 | Nacho Friend (KY) | 3/C | L | J Bravo | 122 | K J Breen |
| 3 | Conveyance (KY) | 3/C | L | M Garcia | 122 | B Baffert |
| 4 | McKenna’s Justice (KY) | 3/C | L | K S Tohill | 122 | C A Hartman |
| 5 | Endorsement (KY) | 3/C | L | R Albarado | 122 | S Ritter |
| 6 | Classical Slew (KY) | 3/C | L* | T Baze | 122 | D F O’Neill |
| 7 | Fog Alert (KY) | 3/G | L* | A J Juarez, Jr. | 122 | L B Taylor |
| 8 | Guiltbyassociation (KY) | 3/C | L | I D Enriquez | 122 | T W Fincher |
| 9 | Tempted to Tapit (KY) | 3/G | L | D Cohen | 122 | S Klesaris |
Dubai World Cup
Get Your Java Going
BetAmerica will have the Dubai World Cup races to wager on this Saturday morning…early. You can wager while in your PJ’s as the first post is 8:45 a.m. EST. Post time for the World Cup is 1:45 p.m. EST. Gio Ponti will lead the way in the $10 million Emirates Airline World Cup. Gio is not unfamiliar with the World Cup having posted three consecutive runner-up finishes.
This past year Gio Ponti has been high – dual Eclipse Awards in 2009 and four wins in Grade 1 races. The low, a narrow loss to Zenyatta in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. On Saturday Gio Ponti can more than make up for with a victory in the world’s richest horse race. The 5-year-old colt is included in a wide-open international field of 14 that and will go to post at Sheikh Mohhamed’s new $2 billion Meydan Racecourse.
The World Cup, which carried a $6 million purse in 2009, will also include two other U.S.-based horses, Furthest Land and Richard’s Kid. Gio Ponti is expected to vie for favoritism with English invaders Gitano Hernando and Twice Over, and France’s top challenger, Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup winner Vision d’Etat.
Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Stable will send out Mastery and Allybar for Dubai, while top international trainer Mike de Kock has a pair of charges with Mr Brock and Lizard’s Desire, both bred in South Africa. Japan’s lone hope in the 1 1/4-mile contest is Red Desire.
Gio Ponti drew post 4 and will have regular rider Ramon Dominguez aboard. The bay horse will be making his fourth career start on a synthetic surface, but his first on Tapeta. As a 4-year-old, Gio Ponti won four consecutive grade I races on turf, but ended the season with runner-up efforts in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont Park and the Breeders’ Cup, where he was beaten a length after carrying a lead in deep stretch. He began his 2010 campaign with a nose defeat in the Tampa Bay Stakes on the turf.
Furthest Land will be a longshot, just as he was when scoring the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at odds of 21-1 last year. The 5-year-old who has finished off the board in two starts since that upset, drew post 8 and will be ridden by Julien Leparoux.
Richard’s Kid prepped for the World Cup with a narrow victory in the San Antonio Handicap at Santa Anita. The Bob Baffert trainee made a name for himself last year when scoring the grade I Pacific Classic at Del Mar as a 24-1 outsider. Garrett Gomez has flown in for the mount and they will break from post 10.
Twice Over has not raced since finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The 5-year-old Observatory horse is a three-time group stakes winner in England. He drew post 11.
Gitano Hernando may be coming into the World Cup better than anyone. The 4-year-old colt has won three in a row, including a 4 1/2-length score in his prep—Betdaq the Betting Exchange Winter Derby Trial Stakes. All three of those triumphs were on synthetic surfaces, including the grade I Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita last October. Kieren Fallon has the mount and they will break from post 2.
Vision d’Etat, an earner of more than $3.8 million, is the most accomplished of all the World Cup contenders, having won four group I races around the world, including the Cathay Hong Kong Cup. The 5-year-old horse also has victories in the Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby and Prince of Wales Stakes to his credit. He will be making his seasonal debut and first start on a synthetic surface.
Also representing France is Gloria de Campeao, who was runner-up to Well Armed in the 2009 World Cup. The 7-year-old horse has two good efforts over the new Meydan Tapeta surface, including a victory in the Invasor Shadwell Farm Al Maktoum Challenge-Round 1 in January.
Allybar, Mr Brock, Red Desire, and Lizard’s Desire also all have wins at Meydan.
U.S.-based jockey John Velazquez will have the mount on Crowded House, while Aaron Gryder, who is now based in Hong Kong, will be aboard Amor de Pobre. Gryder was aboard Well Armed during his victory last year.
Around the Track
Info for the Race Handicapper
Santa Anita
Unusual Suspect and High Court Drama, both disappointing in the San Luis Rey Handicap on the Santa Anita turf March 20th, are entered right back in the $100,000 Tokyo City Cup Handicap on the Pro-Ride main track a week later.
They are part of an eight-horse field signed on for the 1 1/2-mile test of older horses. Both share the top weight assignment of 117 pounds.
Trainer Barry Abrams is known for quick turnarounds, so Unusual Suspect’s presence is perhaps not as surprising as High Court Drama, who was supplemented to the Tokyo City Cup by trainer Doug O’Neill for owner Christopher McHale. Both horses have extensive experience on synthetic tracks.
Unusual Suspect never threatened in the 12-furlong San Luis Rey, trailing the field for a mile before rallying mildly while four wide to finish fifth, 4 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Bourbon Bay.
Kentucky Derby Future Pool 3
Eskendereya and Lookin At Lucky, loom as the likely favorites heading into the third and final three-day pool of Churchill Downs’ 2010 Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has installed the Todd Pletcher-trained Eskendereya as the 5-1 favorite and Lookin At Lucky, as the 6-1 second choice in his morning line odds for the 24 wagering interests in KDFW Pool 3. But the Mutuel Field, which includes all 3-year-olds other than the 23 individual horses in the pool, is expected to again attract strong support from Future Wager fans. The “All Others” bet, the favorite in each of the previous 2010 KDFW pools, is the 8-1 third choice in the Pool 3 morning line.
Wagering in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager is available at racetracks, satellite wagering sites, and advance deposit wagering outlets, which include TwinSpires.com, will open at noon EDT on Friday, March 26. Betting on the pool is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, March 28 at 6 p.m.
Thoroughbred Racing Action
Weekend Stakes Action
Big goings on this weekend as the Fair Grounds puts on a blitz of stakes races including the Louisiana Derby. Turfway Park hosts the Grade 2 Lane’s End and Sunland Park puts up $800k for the Sunland Park Derby. Watch and wager on these stakes races…all on BetAmerica.com.
Friday – March 26
- Fair Grounds: Fair Grounds Oaks – G2, $300,000, 3yo f, 8.5f.
- Fair Grounds: Bayou Handicap, $100,000, 4&up, f/m, 9f (turf).
- Fair Grounds: Bienville Stakes, $60,000, 4&up, f/m, 5.5f (turf).
- Fair Grounds: Crescent City Oaks, $60,000, 3yo f, Louisiana-bred, 8f.
- Oaklawn Park: Natural State Breeders’ Stakes, $50,000, 4&up, f/m, 6f.
Saturday – March 27
- Beulah Park: Royal North Stakes, $50,000, 3yo f, Ohio-bred, 6f.
- Fair Grounds: Louisiana Derby – G2, $750,000, 3yo, 9f.
- Fair Grounds: M.H. Muniz Jr. Handicap – G2, $300,000, 4&up, 9f (turf).
- Fair Grounds: New Orleans Handicap – G2, $300,000, 4&up, 9f.
- Fair Grounds: Duncan F. Kenner Stakes, $100,000, 3&up, 6f.
- Fair Grounds: Crescent City Derby, $60,000, 3yo, Louisiana-bred, 8.5f.
- Fair Grounds: Grindstone Stakes, $60,000, 3yo, 7.5f (turf).
- Gulfstream Park: Pan American Stakes – G3, $150,000, 4&up, 12f (turf).
- Laurel Park: Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Handicap, $50,000, 3&up, 9f.
- Oaklawn Park: Carousel Handicap, $60,000, 4&up, f/m, 6f.
- Oaklawn Park: Rainbow Miss Stakes, $50,000, 3yo f, Arkansas-bred, 6f.
- Sam Houston: Maxxam Gold Cup, $100,000, 4&up, 9f.
- Sam Houston: Sam Houston Distaff, $50,000, 4&up, f/m, 8.5f.
- Santa Anita: Tokyo City Cup – G3, $100,000, 4&up, 12f.
- Turfway Park: Lane’s End Stakes – G2, $500,000, 3yo, 9f.
- Turfway Park: Rushaway Stakes, $100,000, 3yo, 8.5f.
- Turfway Park: Bourbonette Oaks Breeders’ Cup – G3, $75,000, 3yo f, 8f.
- Turfway Park: Fairway Fun Stakes, $50,000, 4&up, f/m, 8.5f.
- Turfway Park: Hansel Stakes, $50,000, 3yo, 6f.
- Turfway Park: Queen Stakes, $50,000, 4&up, f/m, 6f.
Sunday – March 28
- Fair Grounds: Red Camelia Stakes, $60,000, 4&up, f/m, 8.5f (turf).
- Gulfstream Park: Orchid Stakes – G3, $150,000, 4&up, f/m, 12f (turf).
- Oaklawn Park: Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes, $50,000, 4&up, c/g, 6f.
- Oaklawn Park: Rainbow Stakes, $50,000, 3yo, c/g, Arkansas-bred, 6f.
- Santa Anita: Santa Paula Stakes – G3, $100,000, 3yo f, 6.5f.
- Santa Anita: March Madness Handicap, $33,000, 4&up, 8f (turf).
- Sunland Park: Sunland Derby – G3, $800,000, 3yo, 9f.
- Sunland Park: Sunland Park Oaks, $200,000, 3yo f, 8.5f.
- Sunland Park: La Coneja Stakes, $125,000, 4&up, f/m, 5.5f.
- Sunland Park: Harry W. Henson Handicap, $100,000, 3&up, f/m, 8f.
- Sunland Park: New Mexico Breeders’ Derby, $100,000, 3yo, 8.5f.
- Sunland Park: New Mexico Breeders’ Oaks, $100,000, 3yo f, 8.5f.
Harness Stakes Action
This Weekend’s Stakes Action
BetAmerica.com still has great harness action from the East Coast to the West Coast, from Canada and the U.S. Watch and Wager on these Harness stakes races this week:
Friday – March 26
- Meadows: Quarter Mile , $15,000, 3&4 yo, F&M Pace
- Yonkers: Petticoat, $12,500, 3&4 yo, F&M Pace
- Yonkers: Blue Chip Matchmaker, $40,000, Open, Mare Pace
Saturday – March 27
- Yonkers: Sagamore Hill, $20,000, 3&4 yo, H&G Trot
- Yonkers: George M Levy, $50,000, Free For All Pace
Monday – March 29
- Meadows: Triple Diamond, $20,000, 3&4 yo, H&G Trot
Tuesday – March 30
- Meadows: Wheel of Fortune, $20,000, 3&4 yo, H&G Pace
Wednesday – March 31
- Dover Downs: DSBF, $20,000, 3 yo, Filly Pace
- Dover Downs: DSBF, $20,000, 3 yo, Filly Trot
- Meadows: Double Double, $20,000, F&M Trot
Thursday –April 1
- Dover Downs: DSBF, $20,000, 3 yo, C&G Pace
- Dover Downs: DSBF, $20,000, 3 yo, C&G Trot
- Meadowlands: Jersey Girls, $20,000, 4&Under, F&M Pace
Posted by Jared Alexander
Gulfstream Park’s Florida Derby
