Giacosa salvages rough day for Bonds, City Man gives Reeves’ a double in West Point

By Tom Law

Jim and Tina Bond could only shake their heads. Well, sort of.

Walking the aisle between the first two rows of the clubhouse boxes after Giacosa provided the family stable with some salve following a circumstantial defeat two races prior, the Bonds let their feelings known without letting their feelings known. Tina led off, the first to reach the steps to the winner’s circle.

“Finally, finally,” she said. “What a game. They should have never went to challenge that guy though. But they did.”

Jim followed up, just a bit more diplomatically.

“Momma always said, if you can’t anything nice don’t say anything,” he said after Giacosa won the $150,000 Yaddo Handicap to close the stakes portion of Friday’s New York Showcase Day card. The homebred Tizway filly won by three-quarters of a length over last year’s Yaddo winner Myhartblongstodady and about an hour after the Bond Stable’s Rinaldi was hooked and cooked on the lead in the $150,000 West Point Stakes.

“But I’m Italian, so I just keep blabbing,” Tina Bond said as the couple met friends and partners on the entrance to the winner’s circle.

Giacosa followed her victory on the second day of the meet in a state-bred optional claimer on the grass with her Yaddo win, both under leading rider Luis Saez. She won in 1:42.54 with her fourth win in 11 starts to go with two seconds and a third for $255,590.

Foaled and raised at the Bond’s Mechanicville-based Song Hill Thoroughbreds, which co-bred the filly with Roderick Towle, Giacosa improved to 3-for-4 on the Saratoga turf.

“She’s been telegraphing it,” Jim Bond said of the filly’s readiness for her return to stakes competition. “She’s probably a little better two-turn horse, she got lost at Belmont. A lot of my horses got lost at Belmont the way the spring was. She’s got a nice pedigree, her sisters can run, her mother was a nice filly. We’re blessed to have her and she was telling me she was right.”

“Luis turned the page for me for the race before. That’s the way the game is. It beats you up one minute and every once in a while you get a breather and they say, ‘stay in the game a little longer dummy.’ ”

The beating came in the West Point. Rinaldi, 4-5 in the field of seven coming off a front-running victory in the Grade 3 Forbidden Apple, and Saez were joined on the lead by a hustling Jose Ortiz and Microsecond from the get-go. The two ripped through early fractions of :22.9, :46.35 and 1:11.19 that took a toll, first on Microsecond and eventually on Rinaldi while City Man closed from just off the pace and held off stablemate Therapist to win by a nose.

Rinaldi wound up fifth, beaten 6 lengths in his West Point title defense. Microsecond, so eager for the lead he broke open the stall door before the start of the West Point, wound up eased and more than 50 lengths back.

Giacosa saved the day and turned the frowns upside down.

The fifth foal out of the New York-bred Smart Strike mare Smart Engagement, who Bond bought as a yearling for $30,000 and trained to two wins and a second for $61,030 in earnings. She’s the dam of three full sisters to Giacosa – stakes-placed $236,150-earner Tizzelle, two-time winner and $128,132-earner Way Smart and winner Tizengaginglysmart – along with the 3-year-old Mineshaft filly Gallina who finished third in a state-bred maiden claimer July 21 at Saratoga.

“Big time win,” Bond said. “We have her sisters, all in foal to good stallions at the farm and now she has a home for the rest of her life. We’re lucky. Here at Saratoga we’ve been a little cold. We started out pretty hot and boy oh boy, we hit a lull. We have some more to fire with and Luis has given me a lot of calls, so I think we could win a couple more hopefully.”

Giacosa’s victory capped the six stakes on the 11-race Showcase Day card that produced a paid crowd of 28,492, on-track handle of $4,191,738 and an all-sources handle of $24,231,854.

“This day is important because it enables us to highlight our state’s breeders, owners, horsemen and every participant in the New York-bred program,” said Najja Thompson, Executive Director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. “Since the inaugural Saratoga New York-bred Showcase Day in 2014, this day has only continued to grow. Not only in the purses offered showing the strength and incentives of the New York-bred program, but also the quality of equine athletes on display.

“We’re happy to continue partnering with NYRA to showcase the best of the Empire State on each of our three New York-bred Showcase days throughout the year and especially here at Saratoga.”

• Dean Reeves loved what he saw in Hip 1069 at the 2019 OBS April 2-year-olds in training sale. He was perhaps a bit biased looking at offspring of Mucho Macho Man, who he campaigned to a 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic victory and a career with more than $5.6 million in earnings, but he wasn’t shy spending $180,000 for a colt from the stallion’s second crop.

Later that year he won the Funny Cide Stakes – a race Reeves and Darlene Bilinski won Friday with Senbei – and last year City Man toppled open company in the Gio Ponti Stakes at Aqueduct. He added another victory to his ledger in the West Point, taking advantage of a early hot pace battle between Rinaldi and Microsecond on the way to a narrow victory over stablemate Therapist.

Campaigned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Peter and Patty Searles, City Man won the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes by a nose in 1:41.30 for his fourth victory in 15 starts. Bred by Moonstar Farm and out of the City Zip mare City Scamper, City Man won for the first time in four starts this season for Christophe Clement.

“At the time when I bought him I was not as involved in the New York situation as I am today. … I love this program,” Reeves said. “I just loved him at the OBS Sale and, of course, being by Mucho Macho Man, I thought this horse would develop. We just recently purchased his (weanling) full sister, who looks just like him. He has developed into a really nice horse as a 4-year-old and I think we’ve got some really nice racing ahead.”

City Man started his career on the main track, winning a Saratoga maiden and the Funny Cide and finishing a close the Bertram F. Bongard before taking on open company and finishing fourth in the Central Park Stakes at Aqueduct in early December 2019 to close out his 2-year-old season. He’s run in seven grass races in 10 subsequent starts over two seasons, including a close fourth in the Grade 3 Transylvania at Keeneland, the win in the Gio Ponti and a second in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy in his 2021 debut May 1 at Belmont Park.

“People forget my horse had a really good race in the Fort Marcy when he finished second,” Clement said. “It was a great race. Then I was very disappointed in the Manhattan. He ran flat and when he came back, he wasn’t training well afterwards. It took me a while to get him back, but now he’s back, and I am very happy with it. He’s a good horse.”

City Man prepped for the West Point with a seventh as the favorite in an open optional at 9 furlongs on the grass Aug. 6. Clement also gave him a wake-up 5-furlong breeze in :59.90 Aug. 18.

“I’m proud of both horses, they really came to run,” Reeves said. “I really felt good about City Man because he had worked so well last time out on the dirt. It was 59 and change and he did it with ease. I felt good about that. Senbei, I didn’t know what to expect, but he put on a show.

This is so special for City Man to win this for Mucho Macho Man. He ran really well in the Grade 2 and then we just had two down days, but he’s got to break well. He’s got to be in the game. I think he doesn’t get tired, but he’s not quite as quick footed to finish, but if you’ve got him out there you’ll have a hard time running him down.”

City Man is one of two winners out of City Scamper, a half-sister to New York stakes winner Alysinstilettos and stakes-placed Always For You. He was a productive pinhook for Off The Hook, which purchased City Man for $20,000 as a weanling at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale. He next went through the ring at OBS April and brought $185,000 from Reeves.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/08/27/giacosa-salvages-rough-day-for-bonds-city-man-gives-reeves-a-double-in-west-point/

---

Americanrevolution takes Albany, Byhubbyhellomoney upsets Fleet Indian

By Paul Halloran

The owners of Americanrevolution toyed with the idea of taking a big swing in Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes with their New York-bred 3-year-old, but opted instead for Friday’s $250,000 Albany Stakes on New York Showcase Day at Saratoga Race Course.

Winstar Farm and China Horse Club were looking and feeling good after the son of Constitution justified his 3-5 favoritism and with a 5-length victory in the Albany.

“We were confident,” said WinStar President and CEO Elliott Walden, after the colt bred by Fred Hertrich III and John D. Fielding had no problem blowing by Bob Baffert’s Bobby Bo in the stretch. “He’s a very good horse, one of our better 3-year-olds. It’s nice to see him put it together.”

Americanrevolution, a son of Constitution out of the Super Saver mare Polly Freeze foaled at Irish Hill Century Farm in Stillwater, sold for $275,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Hertrich, who runs Watercress Farm in Kentucky, has a large collection of broodmares and has been a staunch supporter of the New York breeding program. He and Fielding bred New York-bred multiple Grade 1 winner Diversify.

“We were looking for Constitutions,” Walden said. “He was so well-balanced. He stood out to us at the New York-bred sale.”

Americanrevolution ran a troubled fourth in his debut at Keeneland last October, a race won by Mandaloun, who won the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes via disqualification and may yet capture the Kentucky Derby in the same manner. Walden thought Mandaloun should have been on the other end of a DQ in Americanrevolution’s debut.

“Mandaloun bumped him. I thought he should have come down,” Walden said. “They were going for the same spot and he banged him.”

The horse was given the winter off and returned to break his maiden at Belmont June 20 in his first start for Todd Pletcher. That prompted the owners and Pletcher to send him to Finger Lakes July 19 for the New York Derby, a race he won by 7 lengths as the odds-on favorite.

“That was our first,” Walden said, when asked if WinStar had ever run a horse at the Farmington track.

That made the Travers a consideration.

“We thought about it,” Walden said, “but we thought this race would be low-hanging fruit and would build his confidence. I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up in the Pennsylvania Derby (at Parx Racing Sept. 25).”

Bobby Bo led the Albany through fractions of :23.49 and :47.33, with It’s Gravy and Joey Loose Lips in pursuit. Joel Rosario was content to track them in fourth, advanced on the rail going into the far turn and shifted three-wide coming out of it. He took the lead at the eighth pole and pulled away.

“I thought we would be a little closer to the pacesetter, but we got a little traffic and a little dirt around the turn,” Pletcher said. “He came away in good position turning up the backside and continued to improve his spot. It seemed like he was always travelling well.”

The winning jockey was Luis Saez, who made three trips to the winner’s circle Friday to extend his lead in the jockey standings to 14 over Jose Ortiz (56-42).

“He put me in a nice spot, right there. He’s a nice horse,” said Saez, who left Saratoga after the last race and flew to West Virginia to ride Art Collector in the Charles Town Classic. “When we came to the stretch, we found the room and he just started running pretty quick. I knew he was going to be in that spot. That’s the spot I was looking for. I tried to cover up and everything came so well. I’m very happy.”

• A daughter of Effinex winning on New York-bred Showcase Day at Saratoga for an owner from Queens and an octogenarian who has been training horses for a half-century?

That works.

That was the story in Friday’s Fleet Indian Stakes, as the cleverly named Byhubbyhellomoney rallied up the rail to win the $200,000 stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on the main track. Byhubbyhellomoney caught 4-5 favorite Make Mischief, who nearly beat the starting gate and had a wide trip, taking the lead at the top of the stretch, before losing by a neck.

Steve Shapiro, owner of Jupiter Stable, claimed the filly in June at Belmont and sent her to Bob Dunham, the trainer of Eclipse Award champion filly Chou Croute in 1972.

“Bob is the most underrated trainer out there,” said Shapiro, who lives on the water in the Neponsit section of Queens. “Unfortunately, he’s outlived all his moneyed owners. I found him three or four years ago. … He doesn’t have a lot of horses, so he can pay attention to me. I love him.”

Shapiro said he claimed the horse – named by original owner Bad Boy Racing apparently after an acrimonious severing of marital vows – because of his sire, the fourth highest-earning New York-bred of all time. Effinex won the Grade 1 Clark, Grade 2 Suburban twice and the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap. He was standing at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbred in Saratoga Springs when he died suddenly of a ruptured pulmonary artery in 2017.

Effinex, who originally stood at Questroyal North in Stillwater before moving to McMahon six weeks before he died, sired his first black-type winner June 19 at Belmont when Tom Morley saddled 3-year-old Ocala Dream to a New York Stallion Series Stakes win.

“Effinex was a $3 million earner who could go long,” Shapiro said. “He was a solid sire and if he had lived I think he would have turned out to be solid New York-bred sire.”

He would have been proud Friday of his daughter, who was bred by Anderson Boulton Thoroughbreds and is out of the El Prado mare Shocking Behavior. After getting bumped at the start, Joel Rosario had her in the middle of the pack through a half mile in :48.30 and 6 furlongs in 1:13.24. Rosario saved ground on the far turn and stayed on the rail in the stretch, outdueling Make Mischief, owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, who was coming out of the Grade 1 Test three weeks ago.

“I had no choice but to be [to the inside],” Rosario said. “In the beginning, I didn’t know how much room was there. There was a little bit of room, but it looked like she would take a little bit of time to get there. Afterward, when she saw everything open, she just went forward. She responded really well.”

Dunham, bedecked in a multi-colored sport coat in the winner’s circle, said he was confident his filly would get the distance, even though she had never run beyond a mile.

“She’s been training very good,” said Dunham, who has won 415 races with earnings of just under $9 million in his career. “We breezed her and she breezed outstanding. She reaches out when she gallops. It’s great to win any race at Saratoga, whether it’s a $25,000 claimer or a maiden special weight or a stakes. It’s nice to run New York-bred horses.”

Casse congratulated Dunham in the winner’s circle and if he had to get beat, he wanted it to be by him.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/08/27/americanrevolution-takes-albany-byhubbyhellomoney-upsets-fleet-indian/

---

Waldorf-foaled Senbei, November Rein win Showcase Day juvenile stakes

By Mary Eddy

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s and Darlene Bilinski’s Senbei remained perfect in Friday’s $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes on New York Showcase Day at Saratoga Race Course. A debut winner in a maiden special weight July 18 for trainer Christophe Clement, Senbei added a second victory with a front-running effort in his stakes debut.

“I was surprised he was 8-1,” said Clement. “He has trained well and he’s a good-looking horse. He always showed speed. The only instructions I gave to Manny (Franco) was to break well and then be comfortable. I thought he did pretty good. He’s not just a horse, he’s a nice horse.”

When asked by Franco, the 2-year-old son of Candy Ride took the lead a few strides from the gate and was challenged by Rick Violette Stakes winner Run Curtis Run. After running the half-mile in :44.88, Run Curtis Run began to tire as the pair reached the top of the stretch. Eventual runner-up Montebello put in his bid on the outside, but Senbei rebroke and stayed clear to win by 2 3/4 lengths. The final time was 1:18.09.

“He tried to break so fast, he bobbled a little bit, but he’s fast and I was able to make the lead,” Franco said. “When I passed the half-mile pole, he picked his ears up a little bit and I said, ‘I’ve got horse.’ I was a little worried because I knew I was going a little faster, but as I told the trainer and owner, that’s the way he can get it done.”

The win with Senbei added to a big day for Dr. Jerry and Darlene Bilinski’s Waldorf Farm in North Chatham, which was also the birthplace of Seeking The Ante winner November Rein.

“I was nervous and decided to say my prayers and not bet and the combination made the whole thing happen,” Jerry Bilinski joked. “This is the ultimate. To have a horse like this go wire-to-wire was amazing. He blew them all away.”

A top breeder in New York, Waldorf Farm stands first-year sire Mr. Monomoy and top New York stallion Bustin Stones. Bilinski said the success he has seen in the racing industry wouldn’t be possible without the programs offered in New York.

“Because of Showcase Day and the New York-bred program, I’m still in the business,” he said. “We produce a lot of income for a lot of feed companies and other entities that pay taxes, so it’s a great program for the state, too. As a breeder, getting breeder awards is what keeps us afloat. It’s fantastic.”

Out of the winning Western Cat mare Sweet Aloha, Senbei is a half-brother to dual stakes winners Filibustin and Indy’s Lady and stakes-placed Man O Manassas. Bilinski recalled the mare’s other foals and compared Senbei to his half-siblings.

“His mother has produced a number of other stakes horses, but this is probably the best one,” Bilinski said. “We’re very happy about that.”

• November Rein improved to 2-for-3 when she won the $200,000 Seeking The Ante to kick off the six stakes. Trained by Kelly Breen, November Rein overcame a stumble at the start to win her first stakes for owner/breeder Ron Lombardi’s Mr. Amore Stables.

November Rein was hurried to the front after the troubled start by Jose Ortiz to set the pace for the 6 1/2-furlong stakes over the main track. As Velvet Sister tracked 2 lengths behind in second, November Rein rolled through a half in :45.98. Velvet Sister tried to make a run at the top of the stretch but could not pass the daughter of Street Boss, who won by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:17.74.

“She recovered quickly (after the start) and it was a short field, so I let her run through the chute and ended up on the lead anyway,” Ortiz said. “She was very good. She relaxed well and when I asked her, she was there for me.”

Relieved that she recovered well from her poor start, Breen said the filly can often be temperamental in the barn and for her handlers.

“She’s very quirky,” he said. “Until she’s loaded in and they open the gate, believe me, I’m nervous. … Jose has formed a perfect bond with her. To get her here to win a stakes race with her, plus being a homebred for Ron Lombardi is amazing. It takes a village to get to the winner’s circle.”

Lombardi, who has seen success at the highest level of racing with horses like multiple Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire, said winning with horses like November Rein is always memorable.

“Winning once at Saratoga is special, but winning twice with the same horse, it doesn’t happen often,” he said. “I’ve been up here for years and you don’t win them all. Kelly’s been really high on her and she showed it again today. I expected her to do well, but how she ran today was just tremendous.”

November Rein was also foaled at Waldorf Farm, where Lombardi keeps his broodmares.

“I’m up to 23 mares. I stockpiled them to breed to Firenze Fire, but I decided to get them out to New York stallions first,” Lombardi said. “The New York-breds are so great. It’s a great program. It’s one of the best.”

With another win and a second to her credit, November Rein’s earnings have increased to $171,750. She is the first winner out of the multiple stakes-winning Gators N Bears mare Ju Ju Eyeballs.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2021/08/27/waldorf-foaled-senbei-november-rein-win-showcase-day-juvenile-stakes/

---