Dr Ardito outslugs Bankit to win Haynesfield

Dr Ardito made a successful President’s Day foray into stakes competition – and did so surviving a tough tussle with a leading member of the New York-bred older male division – in Monday’s $97,000 Haynesfield at Aqueduct.

Michael Dubb’s and Michael Caruso’s 5-year-old gelding by Liam’s Map also stretched his winning streak to six with a head victory over millionaire and multiple stakes winner Bankit in the 1-mile Haynesfield. Trained by Chad Brown and under Manny Franco, Dr Ardito improved to 6-for-7 and boosted his bankroll to $284,600.

“He has a ton of heart,” Dubb said of the gelding named for his longtime doctor. “Chad has managed this horse incredibly well.”

Dr Ardito, the 4-5 favorite against a group of seasoned New York-breds led by Bankit, landed in the Haynesfield after his connections also considered the open $88,000 allowance-optional at 1 mile that immediately followed the state-bred stakes.

“You have to be patient. I had in my mind if this race didn’t go, we’d be in the 3x here today,” Dubb said. “Fortunately, it did go and all worked out well. He’s had ankle [issues], but we’ve given him plenty of time. We gelded him a long way back and that may have helped him. He’s sound now. Chad is never in a rush.”

Sea Foam and Wudda Y Think Now were in a rush in the Haynesfield, hooked up early and opened up on their three rivals through a sharp opening quarter-mile in :22.84. Bankit and Dr Ardito were content to race third and fourth, respectively, up the backstretch and to the half in :46.18 as the two front-runners continued their duel on the lead.

Bankit, looking to give Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen his 10,001st about 20 minutes after his milestone score at Oaklawn Park, cruised past the tiring leaders approaching the stretch with Dr Ardito to his outside. The two leaders plummeted after 6 furlongs in 1:11.67, leaving Bankit and Dr Ardito to run for the $55,000 first-place check.

Bankit, on the inside under Jose Lezcano, and Dr Ardito were deadlocked past the eighth pole before the latter barely edged clear inside the final sixteenth for the win in 1:37.86.

“I know the horse pretty well so I know when I ask him, he’s going to be there for me,” said Franco, aboard for all of Dr Ardito’s starts. “I knew the pace was hot in front of me and at that point the horse to beat was going to be Bankit, so I had to follow him. When I had the chance, I went around him and I asked my horse because I knew it was him and me. I went a little early, but I think that was the right move.”

Full Moon Fever, making his stakes debut at 16-1, picked up the pieces to finish third and 7 3/4 lengths back. Wudda U Think Now and Sea Foam completed the lineup.

Bred by Fred Hertrich and John Fielding, foaled at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham and out of the winning Indian Charlie mare Delightfully So, Dr Ardito was purchased by Dubb for $95,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Unraced at 2, Dr Ardito made a pair of starts at 3. He finished second in his debut sprinting on a sloppy track at Aqueduct in late February 2021 before winning going 1 mile in mid-April.

Dr Ardito went to the sidelines for nearly a year and returned last February to string together three wins – two against state-breds going 1 mile at Aqueduct and another in an open-company allowance at 1 1/16 miles at Belmont Park. He went to the shelf again after the last victory in mid-May and returned last month at Aqueduct to take another open allowance-optional over stablemate Nabokov on a muddy track at 7 furlongs.

Dr Ardito is the fourth foal out of Delightfully So, a half-sister to Canadian champion and Grade 3 winner Delightful Mary and Grade 2 winner and millionaire Delightful Kiss

Hertrich purchased Delightfully So as an unraced 3-year-old for $55,000 at the 2013 Keeneland January horses of all ages sale. She won two races from nine starts carrying his colors before heading to the breeding shed.

Delightfully So’s first foal, the winning Union Rags gelding Navistar, sold for $900,000 at the 2017 OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training. Her third foal, a New York-bred Constitution filly, sold for $210,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Delightfully So is also the dam of a yearling filly by Volatile that brought $180,000 at last year’s Keeneland November breeding stock sale.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/02/20/dr-ardito-outslugs-bankit-to-win-haynesfield/

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Cairo Sugar delivers 27-1 upset in Maddie May

Cairo Sugar went from favorite to outsider to stakes winner in Sunday’s $100,000 Maddie May for 3-year-old New York-bred fillies at Aqueduct.

AP Stable’s daughter of Cairo Prince landed her second straight win with her 27-1 upset of the 1-mile Maddie May, giving Parx Racing-based trainer Alan Bedard his first stakes winner on dirt and his first stakes winner in New York. Under Andrew Wolfsont, Cairo Sugar led from the start on the way to a 1 1/4-length win over even-money favorite and two-time stakes winner Les Bon Temps.

Cairo Sugar won the Maddie May off a 5-length victory in a 1-mile state-bred maiden at Aqueduct Jan. 19. She went to the post 6-5 that day, a far cry from her odds Sunday.

To complicate matters, Cairo Sugar sprung her left front shoe in the paddock before Bedard tacked her up. That led to a brief delay, and some anxious moments for her conditioner.

“I was very upset; I’ve never really had that happen before,” he said. “She actually stepped right on it and pulled it off. The blacksmith did a fantastic job getting it done. She wasn’t real easy about it.”

Cairo Sugar wasn’t easy on her five opponents in the Maddie May. The lone double-digit odds runner in the field of six, Cairo Sugar went to the front after breaking last, regrouping and led Luna Loca by a length through the opening quarter-mile in :23.56.

Les Bon Temps, winner of the Maid Of The Mist on Empire Showcase Day and Fifth Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes in her last two starts; and Sweetest Princess, returning to the New York-bred ranks after a fourth in the Busanda Stakes last time out, tracked the two leaders up the backstretch ahead of 2-1 second choice I’mhavingamoment and Starry Midnight.

Cairo Sugar continued on the lead through the half in :47.39 and 6 furlongs in 1:11.78, repelling a tepid rally from Luna Loca and later a wide run from Les Bon Temps approaching the stretch.

“I got into her because that was the game plan,” Wolfsont said. “I was hoping they would give me an easy lead, but I definitely wasn’t expecting that. Once I saw Jose Gomez [aboard Luna Loca] wasn’t committed to the lead, I figured I would just let her get comfortable a length in front. She took off a little faster than I was expecting, so I eased her back a little bit and got her in a nice and relaxed rhythm.”

Wolfsont said Cairo Sugar had “plenty left in the tank” late in the race and they held a 1-length lead in midstretch. Cairo Sugar hung tough inside the final sixteenth to hold off Les Bon Temps. Sweetest Princess finished another 1 3/4 lengths back in third with I’mhavingamoment fourth. Cairo Sugar won in 1:38.44 over the fast track.

“I was just hoping they wouldn’t come to me too soon because I had no idea how well she was going to run down the whole lane,” Wolfsont said. “She already went pretty quick early, but I was pleasantly surprised.”

Cairo Sugar improved to 2-for-6 with two seconds and third and boosted her earnings to $123,107.

Bred by and foaled at Peter Kazamias’ Kaz Hill Farm in Middletown, Cairo Sugar is out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Awesome Again mare Spun Sugar. AP Stable purchased the filly for $6,000 late in the second session of the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale.

Cairo Sugar made four starts at 2 – the first two for trainer Bruce Kravets at Penn National Race Course and the next for Bedard at Parx and Aqueduct. She finished a respective fourth, third and second twice in those races before her maiden win last month. Only one of those tries came around two turns in a 1-mile and 70-yard maiden race Nov. 29 at Parx. Bedard is hopeful Cairo Sugar will handle added distance going forward.

“Her breeding looks like she can go even longer,” he said. “Hopefully, even a mile and an eighth type of horse. The last time we ran against [I’mhavingamoment] we were second best, and that’s the day she was getting in and we thought a little more distance and not getting in she could go by. Today, she got it done.”

Cairo Sugar is one of 13 foals and eight winners out of Spun Sugar, who was purchased by Kasamias in foal to Street Sense for $20,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. The resulting foal, a New York-bred daughter of Wear My Ring, was a winner for Kazamias on the NYRA circuit. Spun Sugar’s next two foals – the now 4-year-old New York-bred Bank Heist colt Kaz Sugar Bank, most recently third in a Penn National allowance race Feb. 10, and Cairo Sugar – are winners and she’s also the dam of a 2-year-old New York-bred Leofric colt Sugar’s Last Hope.

Bred by Adena Springs and raced by Stronach Stables, Spun Sugar won six of 13 including the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at 3 and Grade 1 Apple Blossom and Grade 1 Go for Wand at 4, with $929,171 in earnings. She sold in foal to A.P. Indy for $4.5 million at the 2007 Keeneland November sale.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/02/19/cairo-sugar-delivers-27-1-upset-in-maddie-may/

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Classy Edition makes amends in Royal Delta

Robert and Lawana Low’s Classy Edition turned the tables on Kathleen O. in Saturday’s Grade 3 Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream Park, almost a year removed from losing to that foe in another important South Florida graded stakes.

Benefitting from a smoother trip than her rival this time, Classy Edition improved to 2-for-2 on the season with a 1 3/4-length victory over Kathleen O. in the Royal Delta. Irad Ortiz Jr. rode the 4-year-old daughter of Classic Empire to her first graded stakes win in his fourth win on the card as trainer Todd Pletcher collected his fourth win in the stakes formerly named the Sabin before 2015.

“I was pretty pleased,” Pletcher said. “We got to a good spot and it looked like Irad had a lot of horse, just waiting to pull the trigger.”

The $150,000 Royal Delta looked like a rematch on paper and gamblers agreed, sending last year’s Grade 2 Davona Dale and Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks winner Kathleen O. to the post as the 4-5 favorite. Classy Edition, second to Kathleen O. in the Davona Dale after closing her juvenile campaign with back-to-back state-bred stakes wins, went off even-money with the 6-1 third choice Midnight Stroll the only other filly or mare at single-digit odds in the field of seven.

Longshot Jungle Juice took the early lead and led Classy Edition by a length into the first turn and to the pedestrian quarter-mile split in :25.28. Kathleen O. got away a half-beat slow and wound up sixth in the early stages, 5 lengths behind Jungle Juice and Classy Edition through the first half in :50.15.

Ortiz sent Classy Edition at the leader midway around the far turn and took control, clicking past 6 furlongs in 1:13.93 and opening up with Tap Dance Fever looking like a threat from her outside and Kathleen O. still more than 2 lengths back. Classy Edition extended her lead in the lane and held a 2-length edge at the eighth pole.

“She was going good on the backside,” Ortiz said. “We were going slow but she was close to the lead. I let her do her thing and she did the rest.”

Kathleen O. continued her wide run through the lane but couldn’t gain enough ground on the winner to finish second, 4 lengths ahead of Don’t Get Khozy. Tap Dance Fever, Soul of an Angel, Midnight Stroll and Jungle Juice completed the field.

Classy Edition, who prepped for the Royal Delta with a comeback win in allowance-optional last month at Gulfstream, won in 1:45.15.

Classy Edition, the most expensive New York-bred 2-year-old filly sold at auction in 2020, improved to 5-for-7 in the Royal Delta and boosted her earnings to $372,790. Bloodstock agent Jacob West bought the filly for the Lows for $550,000 out of the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale of 2-year-olds in training, and she ended that year as the second most expensive New York-bred sold at a juvenile auction.

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman and foaled at their Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, Classy Edition was sold at the Timonium sale by Becky Thomas’ Sequel Bloodstock. Out of the Broman-bred two-time winning Bernardini mare Newbie, Classy Edition is a half-sister to multiple New York-bred stakes winner Newly Minted and the stakes-placed New Girl In Town. Newbie is also the dam of the unraced New York-bred American Pharoah colt Pharoah Lake and a yearling New York-bred colt by Vekoma bred by the Bromans.

Newbie is also the dam of the unraced Speightstown mare Colonizer, who sold for $150,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. The Bromans subsequently purchased Colonizer, in foal to Omaha Beach, back for that same price at last year’s Keeneland November breeding stock sale.

The Bromans bought Newbie’s dam Changeisgonnacome, carrying Newbie, for $320,000 at the 2008 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Bred in Virginia by Audley Farm, that mare won Saratoga’s P.G. Johnston Stakes in 2006 and placed in a Grade 2 the following year. All five foals of her foals to race were winners.

Classy Edition started her career with three straight victories in the late summer and early autumn of 2021 – a 5 1/2-furlong maiden at Saratoga, the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes at Belmont Park and the Key Cents Stakes at Aqueduct. She started her 3-year-old campaign with that runner-up in the Davona Dale before a fourth back at Aqueduct in the Grade 3 Gazelle. On the sidelines for nine months, Classy Edition returned to win going 1 mile Jan. 11 at Gulfstream.

“We really thought highly of her,” Pletcher said. “She showed quality. She ran a good second in the race here and then needed some time off. She came back really well. I thought her comeback race was excellent. We kind of had a little tactical edge today and she was able to get it done.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/02/18/classy-edition-makes-amends-in-royal-delta/

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Stonewall Star romps in Laurel’s Wide Country

Horacio De Paz figured Stonewall Star deserved another shot at an open-company stakes win after her second victory over state-breds last month. He considered next month’s East View – another stakes for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies – but figured the “timing was right” to return to Maryland for another shot at an open stakes.

Stonewall Star not only returned to the Free State but came away with that open score with a front-running romp in the $100,000 Wide Country to kick off the stakes portion of the Winter Carnival card at Laurel Park. Barry Schwartz’s homebred daughter of Flatter went to the front from the break under Angel Crus and cruised to an 11-length victory over Chickieness in the 7-furlong Wide Country. Stonewall Star won in 1:24.33 over the fast main track.

“I always thought she could run in open company,” De Paz said after Stonewall Star improved to 4-for-7 in her career.

Stonewall Star added the Wide Country to her prior stakes wins in the Jan. 22 Franklin Square and Nov. 20 Key Cents, both at Aqueduct, and bettered her previous effort in Maryland when third between those victories in the Gin Talking Dec. 30 at Laurel. She also boosted her bankroll to $255,808.

“She’s pretty straightforward. She likes to run on the lead, just try not to go too quick too early,” DePaz said. “She’s just in good form right now. … Mentally she’s just really in the zone right now.”

Stonewall Star went to the post as the 9-5 second choice in the field of six behind the 8-5 pick L Street Lady, who was coming off a victory over fellow Wide Country runners Chickieness and We’ll See in the Jan. 21 Xtra Heat Stakes at Laurel. Stonewall Star broke sharp from the outside post, withstood a bump from We’ll See and cleared to lead L Street Lady by a half-length through the opening quarter in :23.07.

Stonewall Star continued to lead by a length over L Street Leady heading into the far turn and to the half in :46.42, with Chickieness and Gormley’s Gabriela just behind. Cruz gave Stonewall Star her cue turning for home and she opened up as L Street Lady faded and Chickieness and Gormley’s Gabriela idled.

A 5-length advantage in midstretch grew with every stride and Stonewall Star finished well clear at the finish. Chickieness finished 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Gormley’s Gabriela for the place spot, with We’ll See, Sally’s Sassy and L Street Lady completing the lineup.

“I thought they would press her a little bit more,” DePaz said. “That was my concern because the last time with the seven-eighths she was on the lead and took everybody on and just came up short that last sixteenth. But today, she was right.

“The question is how far she would go, and she handled the 7 perfectly fine. We’ll continue to let her tell us. We’ll go back to New York and maybe back to Maryland. She’s got options, that’s for sure.”

Bred and foaled at Schwartz’s Stonewall Farm in Granite Springs, Stonewall Star is the fourth foal and one of two stakes winners out of Jonata. La Fuerza, a 6-year-old full sister to Stonewall Star won three stakes carrying his owner and breeder’s black and white colors in 2018. He won four of eight and earned 4261,610.

Jonata is also the dam of New York-bred winners Citizen K, a gelding by Mizzen Mast also trained by De Paz; and Whatlovelookslike, a 4-year-old by English Channel who won at Saratoga in early September and is 2-2-1 in seven starts with $155,250 for trainer Todd Pletcher.

A $100,000 purchase by Schwartz at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling sale, Jonata won two of 17 starts with five placings and $140,800.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/02/18/stonewall-star-romps-in-laurels-wide-country/

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Funny How laughs off competition in Broadway

By Tom Law

Ray Handal was anxious to run Funny How a second time late in last year’s Saratoga Race Course meeting.

He’d watched the then 3-year-old Overanalyze filly come back from a few setbacks, finish a good third in her July 9 debut at Belmont Park and then train well later that month and in early August upstate. Handal had a race in mind for Funny How when The Saratoga Special came calling for its annual Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour on Whitney Day.

“Very typical of a first-timer that needed one from me,” Handal said of the filly’s debut. “I’m thinking she’ll move up a ton second time out.”

Funny How did move up, finishing third again on a sloppy track Aug. 26, and hasn’t lost since. She’s won five straight since that 4 1/4-length defeat, the most impressive victory coming in Sunday’s $100,000 Broadway Stakes at Aqueduct. Funny How not only extended her win streak in the 7-furlong Broadway, she landed her first stakes victory in her seventh start.

“She’s a filly that’s just overcome adversity from Day 1,” Handal, who trains Funny How for Adelphi Racing Club and Matt Cutair’s Cutair Racing, said after the Broadway. “She had some setbacks when she was younger. She had a soft tissue [issue] in her back ankle and we gave her the time off and she overcame all that.

“She just has tenacity and a will to win and an amazing fight to her. She’s overcome trips. She overcomes bad breaks like she did today. She finds ways to win.”

Katie Davis picked up her first stakes victory on the New York Racing Association circuit aboard Funny How, who won by 4 1/4 lengths over Betsy Blue and Bank Sting in 1:25.82 over the fast track.

Handal called the Broadway a “massive performance” for Funny How, a $120,000 purchase at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale. Bred by Hibiscus Stable, foaled at Waldorf Farm in North Chatham and out of the Distorted Humor mare Heavenly Humor, Funny How is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner and $638,645-earner Funny Guy, stakes winner Super Humor, stakes-placed $342,170-earner Three Jokers and five other winners.

The Broadway was Funny How’s second straight victory at 7 furlongs, along with an open-company allowance score Jan. 7 at Aqueduct under Davis. She also broke her maiden in open company during the Belmont at the Big A meet before back-to-back victories in the state-bred ranks last fall.

“I always thought she would be fine at the middle distances from seven-eighths or even a mile,” Handal said. “She won the sprints just because she’s so talented.”

Sent off as the 5-1 third choice behind 4-5 choice Bank Sting and the 5-2 Betsy Blue – two of the top older state-bred fillies and mares in training – Funny How found herself last of six through the opening quarter-mile after tossing her head at the start while pinched back between rivals at the break.

“When I warmed up with her, she threw a buck jump, so she was feeling really good,” Davis said. “She was eager to get out of the gate. I was OK that she didn’t break as well. I kept her calm and relaxed and made that one move with her while all the speed goes.”

Davis and Funny How raced into fourth as November Rein hit the opening half in :46.87, with Know It All Audrey and Honey Money in close pursuit. Bank Sting and Betsy Blue dropped toward the back of the field around the far turn, just as Funny How continued her sustained run into the lane.

Funny How took command outside the eighth pole, running away from Know It All Audrey and a back-pedaling November Rein, with Betsy Blue and Bank Sting starting to re-rally. Funny How cleared from there, widening her advantage in deep stretch. Betsy Blue edged Bank Sting by a head for the place spot, with Know It All Audrey 1 3/4 lengths back in fourth. Honey Money and November Rein completed the field.

“I’ve known her for a while since she came to the barn and I was galloping for Ray,” Davis said. “When I first got on her, Ray said, ‘You’re going to like this one’ and I said, ‘Do not take me off of her.’ We just got along really well. We understood each other.

“Every time I get on her and breeze her, she just keeps improving. Fillies sometimes go the wrong way, but this one just keeps improving. They did it right with her. They took the steps and moved her forward and didn’t break her heart. They really got the most out of her and she’s still doing amazing.”

Funny How picked up $55,000 for her fifth win in seven starts to boost her bankroll to $262,660. She’s one of nine winners out of Heavenly Humor, who won seven of 18 starts including five stakes on the Northern California circuit in the mid-2000s.

Hibiscus Stables purchased Heavenly Humor in foal to Big Brown for $25,000 at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga October mixed sale. The resulting foal was Funny Guy, a five-time stakes winner who finished second in the Grade 2 Vosburgh Stakes in 2020. Hibiscus also bred Three Jokers and a yearling New York-bred colt by The Factor from the mare.

Handal didn’t pinpoint Funny How’s next start, but remained as bullish Sunday as that morning back in August.

“We’ll let the dust settle, see what kind of figures she runs and see what options we have going forward. We’re not discouraged from anything. This was a massive performance today.”

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/02/12/funny-how-laughs-off-competition-in-broadway/

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