Straight Arrow continues rise in Empire Classic; Know It All Audrey lands first stakes in Distaff

Maybe the surface ultimately doesn’t matter for Straight Arrow.

Trainer Mike Dini believes his horse will be better on turf, despite his running fifth in his only try on the grass September 15. Dini entered him in a second turf race a month later, but when it was rained off, he left him in and watched him romp by 9 lengths and record a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

Off that performance, Dini opted to keep him on dirt and stretch him out to 1 1/8 miles in the co-featured $250,000 Empire Classic Stakes on New York Showcase Day Sunday at the Belmont at the Big A meeting. Sent off as the 5-2 second choice, the son of Arrogate made his trainer look smart, taking the lead at the quarter pole and rolling to an easy 2 3/4-length win on a muddy and sealed track.

“We ran him back in 14 days, but to me he’s like a 3-year-old going to the Kentucky Derby,” said Dini. “He’s lightly raced and I really don’t train hard. The meet is coming to an end and he’s a hard horse to train. It took two years to get him to the races.”

Bred by Patricia Generazio and foaled at Berkshire Stud in Pine Plains, Straight Arrow, out of the winning Numerous mare Lulu’s Number, was bought for $30,000 by Laura Barrish as a 4-year-old at the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale. He did not debut until June at Monmouth Park, running fifth in a maiden special weight. He broke his maiden in his second start, also on the Jersey Shore, then had a win and a second in state-bred races at Saratoga Race Course.

That’s when Dini decided to get a look at the half-brother of Disco Partner on turf, and why not, as that Generazio runner was a graded stakes winner on the sod and ran third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint twice, while banking more than $1.4 million in an 11-win career.

“He’s Disco Partner’s brother, and he would have won that day if you watch the race,” Dini said. “[Joel] Rosario is coming up and they cut him off. That’s why I believe at some point down the road he’ll be a better turf horse. This kind of racetrack helps him because he has real flat feet and he can get a hold of it.”

Longshots Lobsta and Cicciobello won the early battle and led down the backstretch through a quarter-mile in :23.03 and a half in :46.87. Straight Arrow, Barese and Olympic Dreams were three across the track chasing the pacesetting pair, with favorite Drake’s Passage in sixth. Jockey Jairo Rendon started his move aboard Straight Arrow on the turn, collared Cicciobello on the far turn and opened up down the lane. Sheriff Bianco and Un Ojo closed for second and third, respectively. The winning time was 1:50.51.

“He’s a good horse and knows how to run, you just ask him when you’re ready to go and he gives you everything. He made my day here,” Rendon said. “I was worried a little bit because the turn is right there and we were in the outside post. We got lucky and he has some natural speed, so he put me there and other horses stayed back, so we were able to save some ground in the first turn. I sat back a little behind the speed and just waited until home and asked him. When you ask him, he’s gone.”

Straight Arrow, who increased his career earnings to $295,000 with the $137,500 winner’s share, is one of nine winners produced by Lulu’s Number, who has been bred to 10 stallions during her breeding career. In addition to Disco Partner and Straight Arrow, Bass River Road, Don Six’s Number and Fly Fly Away have all earned at least $100,000.

– Paul Halloran

 

• Three Player’s Stable’s and Oscar Barrera III’s consistent 4-year-old Know It All Audrey earned her first stakes victory Sunday with a victory in the co-featured $250,000 Empire Distaff Stakes on Empire Showcase Day on the final day of the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

Ichiban was first out of the gate on the muddy track with Know It All Audrey breaking close behind and settling at her tail with Sunset Louise taking up the second position to their outside. Ichiban set early fractions of :24.42 and :49.41 while a relaxed Know It All Audrey dropped back another half-length.

Javier Castellano sent Know It All Audrey closer to the leader again at the start of the turn and angled out a path as Sunset Louise dropped back. Ichiban didn’t give in easily and sill held the advantage at the top of the stretch before Know It All Audrey continued her determined run.

Know It All Audrey collared the longtime leader in the final sixteenth and pulled away to win by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:51.57 for the 9 furlongs on the muddy and sealed track.

“When I saw the track condition and they sealed it and the rain kept falling, I knew she was going to give us a good race because she’s always shown up every single time she’s run for us and her record on a sealed, muddy, good track has always been pretty fantastic,” said Barrera, who also trains the filly “Another thing is the distance. She can go a mile and an eighth, which gave us more confidence today because most of these horses [in this race] can’t go the mile and an eighth or they weaken after a mile. It makes a big difference for her.”

Bred by Geraldine Mazza and foaled at Song Hill Thoroughbreds in Mechanicville, Know It All Audrey boosted her earnings to $501,612 with seven wins and eight other top-three finishes in 24 starts. In her 10 starts this season, the daughter of Shackleford has finished in the top three eight times for $303,440 in earnings.

The Empire Distaff also marked the first stakes win for Barrera, who had his first starter in 2011.

“Emotional, happy, super excited,” he said about the milestone. “As a claiming trainer, it’s pretty tough to win stakes races with claimers, so this is definitely the topping on the cake for all of us.”

Know It All Audrey was claimed by her owners for $16,000 last September at the 2022 Belmont at the Big A fall meet when she won by 7 3/4 lengths for Rob Artras and G and A Racing Stables.

Know It All Audrey is out of the stakes-placed Midnight Lute mare Know It All Anna, whose other runner is placed. Know It All Anna herself is one of two stakes performers from six winners out of the Danzig daughter Legion Of Merit alongside the stakes-placed Street Icon.

Each of the four dams on Know It All Audrey’s page have produced at least one stakes performer with all but Know It All Anna also producing a stakes producer as well.

Know It All Anna produced an Instilled Regard colt last year who sold for $130,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale and a Lexitonian weanling filly born in March.

– Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/10/29/straight-arrow-continues-rise-in-empire-classic-know-it-all-audrey-lands-first-stakes-in-distaff/

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Rotknee gives Butler Showcase double in Hudson; Sterling Silver bounces back in Iroquois

William “Buck” Butler joked with trainer Mike Maker before the final weekend of October rolled around – rain or shine depending on where you were – and came through with a lofty prediction.

“This is hardware weekend,” Butler said after winning his second stakes on Sunday’s Empire Showcase Day card to close the Belmont at the Big A meeting. Rotknee provided the back half of the double in the $150,000 Hudson Stakes, about three hours after his half-sister My Mane Squeeze won the $200,000 Maid of the Mist Stakes.

Butler also celebrated a victory in Saturday’s Best of Ohio Sprint Stakes with his homebred Trojan Tale.

Hardware weekend indeed.

Rotknee put an exclamation point on the stretch with a 1-length victory over Ny Traffic and five others in the $150,000 Hudson going 6 1/2 furlongs. The 4-year-old son of Runhappy, winner of last year’s Damon Runyon, Mike Lee and Ontario County for Butler and Maker, won his third of seven starts in 2023 and eighth overall from 14 starts.

Rotknee won four of five starts at 3 to earn New York-bred champion 3-year-old male honors. He was off from late June 2022 until early March 2023, and the Hudson marked his first start in state-bred company since winning last year’s Ontario County at Finger Lakes.

“He’s had a little time off there for the last couple of months, but he came back and this is exactly what I was looking for,” Butler said. “Jose [Lezcano] did a great job. He kept his face clean and on a day like today with his speed, we just hung on.”

The 4-1 third choice behind 2021 Hudson winner Ny Traffic and Today’s Flavor, Rotknee settled into second behind the latter through a quick opening quarter-mile in :21.77.

Lezcano allowed Rotknee to make steady progress around the far turn and took over by the half in :44.36, a length in front of Today’s Flavor with the others led by Thin White Duke well back. Rotknee extended his advantage turning for home and found himself 5 1/2 lengths clear in midstretch. Ny Traffic and Thin White Duke cut into that margin late but were never a serious threat to the winner.

Lezcano, aboard Rotknee for his prior four starts that included back-to-back wins followed by back-to-back defeats, learned plenty from the most recent fourth behind Ny Traffic in a 6 ½-furlong open-company optional-allowance Sept. 15 at Aqueduct.

“Last time, I feel like I grabbed him too much,” Lezcano said. “He broke and I tried to really restrain him. Today, I feel like that wouldn’t work, so I let him break and go on with his business. The way the track played today, it played to his favor. The sealed track helped.”

Foaled at Keane Stud in Amenia, Rotknee is the second foal out of the winning Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama.

In Spite of Mama’s first foal, the 5-year-old New York-bred Into Mischief colt Lookin for Trouble, was a winner and multiple stakes-placed for Butler and Maker. He earned $170,220.

In Spite of Mama is also the dam of the 3-year-old New York-bred Bolt d’Oro colt Mama’s Gold, a three-time winner in 11 starts with earnings of $118,901; and the 2-year-old Audible filly My Mane Squeeze. She is also the dam of a New York-bred yearling filly by 2019 Preakness Stakes winner War of Will and a weanling full brother to Rotknee born May 11.

In Spite of Mama, an 11-year-old out of the Carson City mare Mama Theresa, went 3-2-2 in 17 starts for Butler and Maker from 2014 to 2016.

Butler bought Mama Theresa for $65,000 at the 2005 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training. She won six of 25 starts, placed in two stakes and earned $240,898 for Butler and Timothy Twomey and the late trainer Dominic Galluscio. In Spite of Mama is Mama Theresa’s second foal and a half-sister to four other winners, including stakes winner A Freud of Mama, an earner of $399,818 who also finished third in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park in 2019 for Butler and Maker.

– Tom Law

 

• A consistent performer at the top levels of racing with multiple graded stakes placings, Mark Anderson’s Sterling Silver added a third stakes victory to her resume Sunday in the $150,000 Iroquois on Empire Showcase Day.

The 6 1/2-furlong dirt sprint saw race favorite Sterling Silver drop back early to be last before Javier Castellano piloted her up the outside of the field down the backstretch. The 4-year-old daughter of Cupid was even with the second flight of runners by the time they entered the turn with the leading Leeloo enjoying a 2-length advantage through early fractions of :22.67 and :46.03.

The field tried to close in on Leeloo at the top of the stretch, but she put on another burst of speed, with Sterling Silver the lone pursuer still within a chance. Leeloo didn’t make it easy and Sterling Silver had to spend the whole stretch closing the distance, getting up just in time to win by a neck over Leeloo.

Sterling Silver stopped the clock in 1:16.47 as the top pair finished 6 3/4 lengths ahead of Captainsdaughter. Cairo Sugar finished fourth. Funny How, Vallelujah and Bank On Anna completed the field.

“We were much the best today, it was a good setup,” Castellano said. “They went pretty quick early and she’s a come from behind type of horse, so that helped us. She got up right on the wire. She’s getting better and better. I like the way she does it, especially against New York-breds.”

Trained by Tom Albertrani, Sterling Silver won for the sixth time in 18 starts to go with six placings and $652,988 in earnings.

Sterling Silver has flipped back and forth between New York-bred and graded stakes this year, entering off second via disqualification in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Stakes last out. It was the second straight year she’s placed in the race after finishing third in 2022. Sterling Silver’s graded stakes placings also include a second in the Grade 2 Prioress Stakes and third in the Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes.

“She’s very consistent,” Albertrani said. “She only ran one bad race in the [Grade 1] Ballerina at Saratoga, but that was a pretty hot race that day. The way she ran the last time was her best race. She’s just a solid horse. It’s great when she puts in that kind of effort. I always thought six to seven [furlongs] is her game, but probably not more than that.”

Sterling Silver was foaled at Gallagher’s Stud in Ghent and bred by longtime Gallagher’s Stud Farm Manager Mallory Mort and his wife Karen, who had bought her dam Sheet Humor for $14,000 in foal to Midnight Lute at the 2015 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.

The fourth foal out of her dam for those owners, Sterling Silver was sold at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase to Anderson’s Anderson Acres out of the Denali Stud consignment.

Unraced herself, Distorted Humor’s Sheet Humor has produced two winners from three to race – with those winners all bred by the Morts. Sheet Humor is out of the Grade 3 winning Sheets, who is out of the stakes-placed One Hot Minute.

Sheet Humor produced a New York-bred Not This Time colt named Rhetorical in 2021 and he sold for $320,000 the following year at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. Sheet Humor was sold for $3,000 to K.O.I.D. at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale and foaled a Central Banker colt in the country the following year for breeder Kim Chang Man.

– Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/10/29/rotknee-gives-butler-showcase-double-in-hudson-sterling-silver-bounces-back-in-iroquois/

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Homebred Success: Butler’s My Mane Squeeze takes Maid of the Mist; Schwartz’s El Grande O wins Sleepy Hollow

By Alec DiConza

William “Buck” Butler’s homebred My Mane Squeeze notched the first stakes victory of her career in Sunday’s Maid of the Mist Stakes, a 1-mile event on Aqueduct’s main track for New York-bred 2-year-old fillies.

Trained by Mike Maker, the daughter of Audible sat in a stalking position on the rail behind pacesetting Cara’s Time and jockey Dylan Davis through fractions of :23.97 for the quarter-mile and :48.26 for the half. Turning for home, My Mane Squeeze found room between rivals and ran down the frontrunner just inside the eighth pole en route to a 3-length score. The final time over the fast and sealed racetrack was 1:38.73 under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

“She did everything right,” Ortiz said. “She broke well, I was happy where I was biding my time and followed Dylan. I saved all the ground because I feel like this horse needs a little break to save something for the end, but she was there when I tapped her on the shoulder at the quarter pole. I saw I could get out and then she did the rest. She kept going after I hit the clear and galloped out nicely. Mike Maker does a great job, especially with the New York-breds.”

My Mane Squeeze is the latest success for Butler and his Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama. My Mane Squeeze is the fourth foal out of the mare, whose record of producing winners is unvanquished. Her most successful runner to date has been Rotknee, a two-time stakes winning colt also trained by Maker. The 4-year-old son of Runhappy won the 2022 Damon Runyon Stakes at Aqueduct and the 2022 Ontario County Stakes at Finger Lakes, along with a victory in the Hudson Stakes later on Sunday’s Empire Showcase Day card.

In Spite of Mama’s other two foals of racing age are Mama’s Gold, a three-time winner in 11 starts by Bolt d’Oro; and Lookin For Trouble, a colt by Into Mischief who won in his second career start and is also multiple stakes placed. Needless to say, the stakes-winning effort by My Mane Squeeze made Butler very proud.

“This New York program, I love it,” he said. “I’m really enjoying it and enjoying the success that I’ve had with my mares. It’s just great. I’m three generations in with this horse. Mama Theresa [second dam] is my linchpin here, and In Spite of Mama [first dam] has given me nothing but runners.”

My Mane Squeeze finished third in her debut in August at Saratoga Race Course before breaking her maiden in her second start Sept. 1. Though she finished third in the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes in her next start behind Cara’s Time and Caldwell Luvs Gold, the filly turned the tables on these two rivals in Sunday’s triumph.

Foaled at Keane Stud in Amenia, My Mane Squeeze earned $110,000 for the Maid of the Mist Stakes and improved her record to 2-0-2 in four starts and earnings of $183,960.

 

• It has become unusual to see a 2-year-old make many starts in a first season on the track, but El Grande O’s frontrunning score in Sunday’s Sleepy Hollow Stakes proved that some horses simply relish the opportunity to race.

Under the care of trainer Linda Rice, Barry Schwartz’s homebred New York-bred colt made his eighth start of the season a winning one and picked up his second stakes win to go with two other stakes placings.

“Mentally, he’s really handled everything well,” Rice said. “Peter Moore, Barry Schwartz’s farm manager, and I were commenting that you rarely see a 2-year-old that has run as much as we’ve run him. He walks around the paddock calm and happy to be here and that’s allowed us to run him more frequently than we’ve run other 2-year-olds. He did bring him in in March, which is earlier than we normally do.”

In the Sleepy Hollow, El Grande O challenged Solo’s Fury for the lead through the opening quarter-mile in :22.82 before taking control approaching the far turn. After a half in :46.17, the Take Charge Indy colt started to separate himself from his competition.

Entering the stretch, victory seemed all but certain, with the colt only having to worry about a stretch rally from stablemate B D Saints that proved too little too late. El Grande O crossed the wire 1 1/4 lengths ahead of B D Saints in 1:37.98 under Jose Ortiz. Aggelos the Great was 5 1/2 lengths farther back in third, with Wine Responsibility, another Rice trainee, fourth. Mischief Joke, Two’s a Crowd, Bonne Chance, Skyler’s Starship and Solo’s Fury completed the field.

El Grande O dominated the Sept. 24 Bertram F. Bongard Stakes by 8 1/4 lengths over a sloppy and sealed track, so there was no worry about whether the colt would be able to handle the muddy surface he faced Sunday.

“He’s run very well on the mud, that’s for sure,” Rice said. “It wasn’t an unknown for us.”

Ortiz, aboard El Grande O for seven of his eight starts, including all three of his victories, has a lot of appreciation for the very experienced colt.

“He’s a dream to be around in the barn; he always has been,” he said. “I’ve been around him for a while now. We ran him on the dirt and he ran good. He ran good on the turf – he went back to the dirt and has been amazing. He’s a very cool, collected horse. Nothing bothers him, and he’s fast.

“He’s going to be tough in this crop and can do any distance 6 [furlongs] to a mile. The Champagne, you’ve got to draw a line through it. It was a very tough race. It was an off track, but he liked that today so it’s not an excuse. I think Linda managed him very well and I’m very happy for Barry and everybody in the whole team. I’m very proud of the work NYRA has put together with the New York program. It’s been great.”

El Grande O, sixth last time out in the Grade 1 Champagne, improved to 3-3-1 in his eight starts with earnings of $319,000.

Foaled at Stonewall Farm in Granite Springs, El Grande O is the ninth foal out of the stakes-placed Unbridled’s Song mare Rainbow’s Song. A half-sister to multiple stakes winner and stakes producer Class Above, Rainbow’s Song is the dam of five winners led by Grade 2-placed Meal Ticket.

Schwartz purchased Rainbow’s Song in foal to American Pharoah for $13,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale. El Grande O is her third New York-bred foal and she’s also the dam of a New York-bred yearling filly by Dialed In that sold for $32,000 at the recent Keeneland September sale. St. Simon Place, which purchased the mare for $17,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, bred that yearling and also a Kentucky-bred colt by Mendelssohn born March 30.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/10/29/homebred-success-butlers-my-mane-squeeze-takes-maid-of-the-mist-schwartzs-el-grande-o-wins-sleepy-hollow/

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Spirit of St Louis adds Mohawk to growing resume; Amanda’s Folly splashes to Ticonderoga win

By Tom Law

Manny Franco came away impressed with Spirit of St Louis when he rode the then first-time starting son of Medaglia d’Oro to victory in a 1-mile state-bred maiden on a sloppy track in mid-February at Aqueduct.

He’s even more impressed now, with Spirit of St Louis 5-for-7 with a pair of stakes victories on the turf in 2023.

“He’s super horse on the grass,” Franco said after Spirit of St Louis fended off a late run from New York-bred champion City Man to kick off the stakes portion of the Empire Showcase program in the $194,000 Mohawk Stakes Sunday. Spirit of St Louis won the 1 1/16-mile Mohawk, run over Aqueduct’s turf labeled firm but with some cut after morning rains, by a half-length over City Man with Jerry the Nipper along for third in the field of five.

Spirit of St Louis added the Mohawk to his victory in the Ashley T. Cole Stakes – also at the expense of City Man – Oct. 6 at the Belmont at the Big A meeting. The full-brother to New York-bred Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Bar of Gold also improved to 3-for-4 on grass in the Mohawk.

The 6-5 favorite after the scratches of Call Me Harry, Kaz Sugar Bank and Noble Huntsman, Spirit of St Louis won in 1:44.90. Franco, the New York Thoroughbred Breeders’ champion jockey in 2019 and 2020, celebrated his 2,000th victory in the Mohawk.

“I feel great. I had that on me the whole week, so I’m glad to do it early,” said Franco, who also recorded his 200th stakes victory on Spirit of St Louis. “I’m a little calm now and happy to do it. Every win means a lot, so right now, I can’t pick one [favorite]. Every win is a blessing. I’m just happy to do this.

“I feel great and blessed. I just try to keep going strong and I’ll keep working hard to keep winning races.”

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman and foaled at their Chestertown Farm in Chestertown, Spirit of St Louis is out of the Grade 3-winning New York-bred Lemon Drop Kid mare Khancord Kid. Bar of Gold, New York-bred champion female sprinter and older dirt female in 2017, won seven of 25 starts and earned $1,551,000 for the Bromans.

Khancord Kid is also the dam of the stakes-placed New York-bred duo Land Mine and Homeland among five winners from five foals to race, including the two-time winning New York-bred 3-year-old Justify filly Im Just Kiddin.

A second-generation Broman-bred, Spirit of St Louis sold for $300,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale. He made his first two starts for owner Peter Brant and trainer Chad Brown – winning that maiden and finishing second in a 9-furlong allowance – before being sold for $280,000 at this year’s Keeneland April horses of all ages sale.

Still trained by Brown and racing for Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Richard Schermerhorn, Spirit of St Louis raced in second early as longshot Ruse set the pace through splits of :24.90, :51.57 and 1:16.37.

Spirit of St Louis and Franco came with a three-wide run into the lane and took control about a furlong from home, just as $1,204,870-earner and graded stakes winner City Man kicked in under Joel Rosario. Spirit of St Louis held that foe off in deep stretch to pick up $110,000 for his connections and boost his bankroll to $370,650.

“He helped me a lot because he jumped out of there running,” Franco said. “I saw Jose [Ortiz, aboard Jerry the Nipper] take back and he was pulling me forward, so I just let him do what he wanted to do because I know the pace wasn’t fast in front. I just kept my position and he was there for me the whole way.”

City Man held second by three-quarters of a length over Jerry the Nipper, with Ruse and Dakota Gold completing the field.

 

• Linda Rice’s run of success with claims this spring and summer – which helped provide her a share of the Saratoga training title – continued on Empire Showcase Day when Amanda’s Folly got up in time to win the off-the-turf $194,000 Ticonderoga Stakes for fillies and mares.

A $16,000 claim out of a win in late April at Aqueduct, Amanda’s Folly won for the third time since with her first stakes victory. Owned and trained by Rice, Amanda’s Folly slipped past 4-5 favorite Silver Skillet in deep stretch under Jose Ortiz to win by a neck.

Amanda’s Folly, a 3-year-old daughter of Mendelssohn, drew into the race as a main track only runner when the Ticonderoga was taken off the turf early on the Empire Showcase Day program. She won the 1-mile event in 1:37.80.

“This filly has a lot of stamina and a mile and an eighth suits her just fine,” Rice said. “I was a little concerned about shortening up to the mile that she would struggle with that a little bit, but she wore the leader [Silver Skillet] down. I was thrilled when it came off.”

The 8-5 second choice in the field of five reduced by the scratches of Can’t Fool Me, Runaway Rumour, Spungie, Waterville and Whatlovelookslike, Amanda’s Folly and jockey Jose Ortiz were content to track Silver Skillet through splits of :23.91, :47.57 and 1:12.39 over the muddy and sealed track.

Silver Skillet, winner of the Suzie O’Cain two starts back and second in the Memories of Silver last time out, still led by a length in midstretch but couldn’t hold off Amanda’s Folly in the final 50 yards. Siler Skillet finished 3 lengths clear of Sweetie for the place spot, with Itsakeyper and Saratoga Chrome completing the field.

Amanda’s Folly improved to 5-for-17 and the $110,000 first-place check boosted her earnings to $334,630.

Bred by Roy Lerman’s Lamholm and foaled at Sequel Stallions New york in Hudson, Amanda’s Folly originally sold for $100,000 as a weanling at the 2020 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Stuart Grant’s The Elkstone Group bought her for $80,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale and she raced for that owner and trainer Rudy Rodriguez for her first six starts.

Trainer Carlos Martin and Hammer Time Stable claimed Amanda’s Folly for $25,000 out of a fifth in a state-bred maiden claiming race January 6 at Aqueduct and Rice claimed her four starts later.

Amanda’s Folly won an off-the-turf state-bred allowance race May 4 at Belmont Park in her first start for Rice. She added another 9-furlong allowance-optional in state-bred company early in the Saratoga meet before a second there behind stablemate Ichiban in the Fleet Indian on Saratoga Showcase Day. Off since a fifth in an open-company optional on closing day at Saratoga, Amanda’s Folly came in ready under Jose Ortiz.

“She was a claim and she has done amazing for Linda and for me,” Ortiz said. “I’ve been riding her for a while now and I’m very happy for the whole team. It’s a very good team. I get on a lot of horses for her in the mornings and we have good results in the afternoon. Linda has always been a winner. She’s got good stock and good horses. They’re quality horses.”

A Florida-bred daughter of Notebook who raced for owner, breeder and trainer Lerman, Privacy won three of 20 starts with three placings and earned $68,065. One of the victories came at Saratoga, in a 7-furlong claiming event during the 2009 meeting.

Privacy’s second foal, the New York-bred Kantharos mare Ancient Secret, was a $225,000 purchase at the 2015 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training by bloodstock agent Steve Young and went on to a graded stakes-winning career that saw her win five of 16 starts and $439,434.

Privacy is also the dam of the Grade 3-placed $232,448-earner Jais’s Solitude, winner Seclude and the unraced Omaha Beach 2-year-old filly Summer in Toga, a $170,000 purchase by Young at last year’s Keeneland September sale. Now 19, Privacy didn’t produce a foal in 2022 and is the dam of a weanling full sister to Ancient Secret, also bred by Lamholm.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/10/29/spirit-of-st-louis-adds-mohawk-to-growing-resume-amandas-folly-splashes-to-ticonderoga-win/

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The Empire Showcase Special

By Tom Law

The flagship Showcase Day from the world of New York breeding and racing – Empire Showcase Day – returns with its usual pizzazz Sunday.

One of the biggest days of the year for New York-breds features eight stakes on the 10-race card, run again this year at the Belmont at the Big A meeting due to ongoing construction at Belmont Park.

The team at The Saratoga Special is again privileged to preview all of the day’s races, and more, with a special edition of The Empire Showcase Special.

The Showcase Special offers the perfect primer for anyone heading to Ozone Park for the day’s action, or those watching from home. And we’ve thrown in some of the popular features you see every summer in The Saratoga Special.

Here’s the primer for Sunday, Oct. 29. Enjoy the day, be safe and good luck.

By the Numbers

100: Entries on Sunday’s Empire Showcase Day card.

16: Entries in the first race, a 6-furlong turf maiden for 2-year-old fillies.

10: Runners entered on the card for trainer Linda Rice, the most of any conditioner on the day. Others with large contingents include Christophe Clement (seven), Mike Maker (six) and Rudy Rodriguez (five).

7: Entrants bred or co-bred by Sequel Stallions NY or Sequel Thoroughbreds on the day – Win for Gold, Barese, Baroness Bourbon, Dakota Gold, Tricky Temper, King Moonracer and Leeloo.

6: Runners on the card by the late former leading New York-based freshman sire Laoban – Today’s Flavor, Be the Boss, Barese, Un Ojo, Baroness Bourbon and B D Saints.

5: Horses owned or co-owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing on the card – Dakota Gold, City Man, Radio Red, Silver Skillet and Fabulous Fox.

4: Past Empire Showcase Day winners running Sunday – City Man (2022 Mohawk), Venti Valentine (2021 Maid of the Mist), Runaway Rumour (2022 Ticonderoga) and Ny Traffic (2021 Hudson).

4: Entrants sired by War Dancer on the card – Sinful Dancer, Battle Scars, Starlight Dancer and Ruse.

37: Stallions that bred mares in New York in 2023, according to statistics from The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred.

1,085: Mares bred in New York in 2023, an increase of 11.51 percent from last year’s 973 mares bred.

190: Mares bred to Mind Control in 2023, the most of any stallion in the Empire State. He stands at Rockridge Stud on behalf of a partnership that also includes Irish Hill, Dutchess Views, Hidden Lake, Waldorf, Red Oak, and Madaket. Leading sire Central Banker, who stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, bred 131 mares, while McMahon’s Solomini (103), Sequel Stallions New York’s Honest Mischief (94), Irish Hill and Dutchess View’s War Dancer (71) and Sequel Stallions New York’s Keepmeinmind (70) also finished the season with large books.

1,760,000: Total purses in dollars for Sunday’s Empire Showcase Day card, including $1.6 million for the eight stakes.

1,204,870: Career earnings in dollars for defending Mohawk Stakes winner City Man, the most of any runner on the card. Bred by Moonstar Farm, 6-year-old son of Mucho Macho Man also ranks 43rd on the list of all-time leading New York-bred earners.

 

Worth Repeating

“Empire Showcase Day is the highlight of the fall racing calendar for New York owners and breeders. We’re proud each of our three Showcase Days on the NYRA circuit throughout the year have proven to be premiere days displaying the strength and competitiveness of the New York-bred program for all participants.”
Najja Thompson, Executive Director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc.

 

Names of the Day

Rough Draft, fourth race. Our team at The Saratoga Special is always partial to writing-related names, including this 4-year-old gelding by Editorial.

Venti Valentine, Empire Distaff. Always a classic, New York-bred champion and multiple stakes-winning daughter of Firing Line is a half-sister to Espresso Shot. Coffee anyone?

Funny How, Iroquois. Cleverly named daughter of Overanalyze out of Heavenly Humor, with a tribute to one of the great movie scenes with Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas.

Detective Tom, Sleepy Hollow. Blue Lion Thoroughbreds’ 2-year-old son of The Factor is named for the late Detective Thomas J. Gallo, a 25-year veteran of the NYPD who passed away as a first responder in the cleanup of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Thin White Duke, Hudson. Of course, Dominus gelding is named for the late, great David Bowie.

Drake’s Passage: Robert S. Evans’ homebred son of Tonalist is named for the turbulent body of water between South America and Antarctica, or at least we think that’s the case.

Un Ojo: If you see 4-year-old son of Laoban in the paddock you’ll know why.

 

As for the races …

Race 1. 12:35 p.m. Showcase Day kicks off with $75,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies on the turf.

Race 2. 1:08. The $200,000 Mohawk for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the grass leads off the eight stakes. City Man, an 11-time winner and earner of more than $1.2 million, returns to defend his title and looks to turn the tables on Spirit of St Louis and Jerry the Nipper. They finished ahead of him in the Ashley T. Cole last time out but behind him in the West Point two starts back.

Race 3. 1:42. The 2-year-old fillies take their turn in the $200,000 Maid of the Mist at 1 mile on the main track. Tricky Temper finished second in the off-the-turf Matron against open company last time out and takes on proven stakes competitors Caldwell Luvs Gold, Cara’s Time and My Mane Squeeze.

Race 4. 2:12. A brief break in the stakes action for a 6-furlong turf allowance-optional that drew a full field, an also eligible and some main track only runners. Rain in the forecast could move this one, so be sure to check those scratches.

Race 5. 2:44. The co-featured $250,000 Empire Distaff gives Ichiban the opportunity to take on older horses – again – and chance to extend her win streak to four. She won’t have it easy with the likes of Venti Valentine, Know It All Audrey and April Antics in the field.

Race 6. 3:16. Back to the grass for the $200,000 Ticonderoga for fillies and mares. Lawrence Goichman’s Runaway Rumour has been strong in this division for several seasons, won it last year and looks to go out with a victory in her career finale. Strong group lines up here with Spungie, Whatlovelookslike, Silver Skillet and Itsakeyper among the major players.

Race 7. 3:48. Field of eight female sprinters for the $150,000 Iroquois, including DQ’d Gallant Bloom winner Sterling Silver, Broadway winner Funny How, 2022 Union Avenue winner Bank On Anna and the ever-popular Vallelujah.

Race 8. 4:22. The 2-year-old males get their chance in the $200,000 Sleepy Hollow at 1 mile. The first five from the Bertram F. Bongard – El Grande O, Aggelos the Great, Bonne Chance, Skyler’s Starship and Detective Tom – are back along with last-out maiden winners Solo’s Fury, Two’s a Crowd and Wine Responsibility.

Race 9. 4:54. Today’s Flavor and Thin White Duke finished 1-2 in the Belmont Turf Sprint which was not run at Belmont nor on turf. They’re still major players here in the $150,000 Hudson, along with Win for Gold, Ny Traffic, Amundson and Rotknee.

Race 10. 5:24. Cap the day with the $250,000 Empire Classic. The co-featured event looks wide open with Barese, Sherriff Bianco, Drake’s Passage, Un Ojo and Straight Arrow in the mix. Sherriff Biano exits a fourth behind Cody’s Wish in the Grade 2 Vosburgh, Drake’s Passage won the Albany two starts back and Barese comes in off a victory in the Genessee Valley Breeders’ at Finger Lakes.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/10/28/the-empire-showcase-special-3/

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Stars out for Empire Showcase Day

The stars of the New York-bred program will be out in force Sunday during the annual Empire Showcase Day card to close the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

A total of 100 New York-breds were entered for the 10-race card that features eight stakes worth $1.6 million. The card starts at 12:35 p.m. ET with the co-featured $250,000 Empire Distaff Stakes set for 2:44 and the $250,000 Empire Classic Stakes set for 5:24.

“Empire Showcase Day is the highlight of the fall racing calendar for New York owners and breeders,” said Najja Thompson, Executive Director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. “We’re proud each of our three Showcase Days on the NYRA circuit throughout the year have proven to be premiere days displaying the strength and competitiveness of the New York-bred program for all participants.”

The 9-furlong Empire Distaff attracted a field of seven led by Ichiban, a three-time winner at Saratoga Race Course; and New York-bred champion Venti Valentine.

Bred by Southern Equine Stables LLC and owned by Cypress Creek Equine, Ichiban won the Fleet Indian Stakes on Saratoga Showcase Day for trainer Linda Rice. Venti Valentine, champion New York-bred 2-year-old filly in 2021, was bred by Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable and brings a two-race win streak into the Empire Distaff for trainer Jorge Abreu.

Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s multiple stakes-winner Barese comes into the 9-furlong Empire Classic off a victory in the Genesee Valley Breeders’ Stakes in early September at Finger Lakes. Bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Lakland Farm, the 4-year-old son of Laoban also won an open-company allowance this summer at Belmont Park for trainer Mike Maker.

Barese takes on nine others in the Empire Classic, including a trio from trainer Linda Rice’s barn in last year’s runner-up Curlin’s Wisdom, graded stakes winner Un Ojo and Sheriff Bianco. The field also includes multiple stakes winner Lobsta, stakes winner Drake’s Passage, stakes-placed Olympic Dreams and Aggregation and allowance winners Cicciobello and Straight Arrow.

The $200,000 Mohawk for older horses going 1 1/16 on the turf kicks off the stakes action in the second race at 1:08 p.m. The Mohawk attracted a field of eight led by last year’s winner and New York-bred champion turf male City Man.

New York-bred juveniles figure prominently on the card in the $200,000 Maid of the Mist for fillies and the $200,000 Sleepy Hollow.

Cara’s Time, Caldwell Luvs Gold and My Mane Squeeze, the first three past the finish in the Joseph A. Gimma in late September, are back for the 1-mile Maid of the Mist, which goes as the third race at 1:42 p.m.

El Grande O, winner of the Bertram F. Bongard two starts back; headlines the field of 10 in the 1-mile Sleepy Hollow. Barry K. Schwartz’s homebred son of Take Charge Indy takes on four of his former foes in the Bongard in Aggelos the Great, Bonne Chance, Skyler’s Starship and Detective Tom.

Lawrence Goichman’s homebred Runaway Rumour returns to defend her title in the $200,000 Ticonderoga for fillies and mares on the grass. The 5-year-old daughter of Flintshire won the John Hettinger last time out and most likely heads into retirement after the 1 1/16-mile Ticonderoga.

A pair of competitive 6 1/2-furlong sprints – the $150,000 Iroquois for fillies and mares and the $150,000 Hudson for 3-year-olds and up – bolster the star-studded card. Graded stakes competitors Sterling Silver and Funny How, along with Kentucky shipper Leeloo, top the field for the Iroquois, while Today’s Flavor, Win for Gold, Thin White Duke and 2021 winner Ny Traffic look tough in the Hudson.

 

NYTB Members:

Enjoy Empire Showcase Day with a reservation at Equestris Restaurant. Offering breathtaking views with floor-to-ceiling windows, Equestris is Aqueduct’s premier venue for horsemen, owners and breeders. It’s the perfect place to enjoy the premium buffet on the 10-race annual Empire Showcase Day, featuring eight New York-bred stakes races worth $1.6 million, highlighted by the $250,000 Empire Classic and $250,000 Empire Distaff.

Equestris Restaurant will be open this Sunday from 11am – 3:30pm. The premium buffet includes tax & gratuity:

• Adults: $75 per person
• Children (3-12): $30 per child
• Children under 3: Free

You can book your reservation directly through NYRA.com[4] or by calling 844-NYRA-TIX. For individuals and groups with horses entered on the day, please feel free to contact NYRA’s Horsemen’s Relations Department at 718-659-2206.

Please click here[5] to view Sunday’s menu at Equestris Restaurant.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/10/27/stars-out-for-empire-showcase-day/

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NYRA to raise purses for 2024 NY-bred foal crop

[1]

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced a significant investment in the future of the New York-bred program, paving the way for the 2024 New York-bred foal crop to compete for some of the richest purses of any state-bred program in the nation.

Beginning January 1, 2026, New York-bred overnight races for 2-year-olds on the NYRA circuit will offer purse amounts matching the race’s open-company counterpart. Accordingly, the 2024 New York-bred foal crop will gain the benefits and financial rewards that will flow from purse parity.

At the 2023 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, maiden races restricted to New York-bred 2-year-olds featured a purse of $88,000 compared to a purse of $105,000 offered for 2-year-olds competing in an open-company maiden event.

While this purse increase will impact only the 2024 New York-bred foal crop, NYRA intends to further expand purse parity for additional categories of New York-bred races in the future.

In 2022, NYRA conducted 556 races exclusively for registered New York-breds with purses totaling $42,366,000. Among those races were 56 stakes with $8,725,000 of purse money on offer. NYRA holds three high profile NY-bred showcase days annually, highlighted by New York Showcase Day at Saratoga Race Course. In 2023, Saratoga Showcase Day was run on the Sunday of Travers Weekend and featured a whopping 113 NY-breds competing in 11 races, including six stakes worth a combined $1.25 million.

As a result of the partnership between NYRA and FOX Sports, nearly every NY-bred contest is broadcast live to a national audience on the FOX Sports family of networks. Both Saratoga Live and America’s Day at the Races, which are produced by NYRA, have generated sustained ratings growth since they were launched nationally in 2016.

“The New York-bred program is critically important to the future of thoroughbred racing in New York State,” said Dave O’Rourke, NYRA President and CEO. “This new purse structure increases the value of the upcoming foal crop of New York-breds, and reflects NYRA’s commitment to the owners, breeders and trainers who choose to breed and race in New York.”

Beyond the rich purses offered by NYRA, a variety of owner, breeder and stallion awards are available to those who breed and race in New York. These lucrative incentives serve as a significant benefit to thoroughbred breeding farms across the state, which create and sustain thousands of jobs in every corner of New York.

“This initiative is a strong signal to the bloodstock market on why you should breed and foal in New York, and own a New York-bred to race,” said Najja Thompson, Executive Director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB). “New York-breds compete and win at the highest levels, and NYRA’s consistent support guarantees more opportunities than ever for New York State’s breeders and owners.”

New York State has adopted rules that expand the reach of the New York-bred awards and benefits by clarifying a pathway for non-resident mares to gain residency status. According to the rule changes, a non-resident mare purchased in foal through public auction is deemed a resident mare provided the mare is purchased for at least $50,000 in the public auction; is present in the state of New York within 15 days after a sale in North America and 60 days at any public auction sale abroad; the foal is foaled in New York; and the mare thereafter is continuously in residence in New York from within 120 days after her last cover in the year of conception of another foal and remains in residency until foaling.

“It pays to participate in the New York-bred program,” added Thompson. “And bringing a mare back to New York is a valuable proposition, especially for the 2024 foaling season.”

For additional information on resident and non-resident mares and their foals, visit https://www.nybreds.com/rules/resident-non-resident-mares[2].

To support the residency rule, NYRA and The New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund (NYTBDF) provide up to $650,000 per year in purse bonuses to owners. The bonus offers $5,000 every time a New York-sired New York-bred wins at the maiden special weight or allowance level at NYRA’s tracks.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/10/25/nyra-to-raise-purses-for-2024-ny-bred-foal-crop/

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