Mama’s Gold posts monster upset in Empire Classic; Venti Valentine closes career with Empire Distaff win

Romero Maragh figured there was one way to go aboard Mama’s Gold from his outside draw in Sunday’s $250,000 Empire Classic on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont at the Big A.

“We broke very sharply,” Maragh said. “He is a one-dimensional type of horse, so I knew I had to establish the lead and get to the rail as fast as I could. That’s how he is, and I knew especially going two turns, if he gets to the lead and to a nice cruising speed, that he is going to be tough to beat.”

Mama’s Gold proved exactly that, clicking off strong splits throughout the 9-furlong Empire Classic and running off to a victory at 40-1 in the co-featured event on the annual card for New York-breds.

A half-brother to Grade 2 winner My Mane Squeeze, multiple stakes winner Rotknee and stakes-placed winner Lookin for Trouble, Mama’s Gold landed his first stakes victory in the Empire Classic in just his second stakes appearance. The 4-year-old son of Bolt d’Oro won by 4 1/4 lengths over 2-1 favorite Bank Frenzy in 1:49.01 over the fast main track.

Bred by William “Buck” Butler and campaigned by Joe Hardoon, Mama’s Gold improved to 5-for-18 and picked up $137,500 to boost his bankroll to $329,461.

Mama’s Gold was claimed by trainer Chad Summers from Butler and trainer Mike Maker for $25,000 out of a victory in a maiden claiming race in January 21, 2023 at Aqueduct. He showed up in his next start for Hardoon and Summers and finished last of eight in a 6-furlong starter-optional in early March 2023 at Aqueduct.

Mama’s Gold lost five subsequent starts – for Summers and trainer Brad Cox – before winning three straight for Summers in October and December 2023. Mama’s Gold finished fifth in Aqueduct’s Haynesfield Stakes in late February 2024 before going to the sidelines.

Mama’s Gold returned September 20 and finished second, behind fellow Empire Classic runner Donegal Surges, in a 9-furlong open-company allowance for trainer Jimmy Ferraro at Aqueduct. He finished seventh in a similar race going 1 mile after that, behind Empire Classic runners General Banker and Jackson Heights.

“He bounced the last time, but he recuperated and ran a fantastic race,” Ferraro said after the Empire Classic. “I have a great crew, and they worked hard on him. The distance suits him, he can get a little more of a relaxed pace. It was a perfect trip.”

Maragh gave Mama’s Gold, who is out of the winning Speightstown mare In Spite of Mama, an ideal trip from the start.

Mama’s Gold clicked off splits of :23.96, 47.24 and 1:11.29 with Olympic Dreams, Cicciobello and Drake’s Passage giving chase. Bank Frenzy, winner of the Evan Shipman two starts back at Saratoga Race Course, made a menacing run while wide around the far turn to reach contention. Maragh countered that move while down on the inside with Mama’s Gold, who gave the field the slip and zipped past the mile marker in 1:36.17.

Bank Frenzy couldn’t close from there in the lane as Mama’s Gold draw off and cruised to victory.

“I’m not sure what timing I went, but with him, it is all about comfort,” Maragh said. “He was doing it all comfortably. I’d estimate we went 47 and change, for him, that is OK. That is reasonable. I’m happy we got him into a nice comfort zone and he finished up well, like he always does when he gets to the lead.”

Bred by Butler and foaled at Keane Stud in Amenia, Mama’s Gold is one of four winners out of In Spite of Mama. She’s also the dam of the 6-year-old New York-bred Into Mischief horse Lookin for Trouble, a winner and multiple stakes-placed runner for Butler and Maker.

My Mane Squeeze, second in the recent Grade 2 Lexus Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland Race Course, won this year’s Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes and Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Dogwood Stakes at Churchill Downs, along with three New York-bred stakes. She’s won six of 13 with  $1,044,710 in earnings. Six-time stakes winner Rotknee, third in Sunday’s Hudson Stakes on Showcase Day, sports a record of 11-for-23 with earnings of $713,330.

In Spite of Mama is also the dam of Willful Mama, a New York-bred 2-year-old filly by 2019 Preakness Stakes winner War of Will who finished second in a maiden special weight at Aqueduct September 13; a yearling full brother to Rotknee and a weanling filly by Honest Mischief born May19.

– Tom Law

• There were a million reasons to love the last Valentine’s Day.

In her 25th and final start, Venti Valentine – a champion New York-bred as a 2-year-old who was multiple-graded-stakes-placed – went out on top after holding on to win the $250,000 Empire Classic Distaff Sunday on Empire Showcase Day during the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

In winning for the eighth time, the 5-year-old by Firing Line out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Glory Gold became a millionaire, ending her career with $1,056,100 in earnings. Venti Valentine is cataloged as Hip 209[3] at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale.

“She’ll be missed at the barn; I can tell you that,” winning trainer Jorge Abreau said. “She has a lot of heart. She’s a been a lot of fun since Day 1. I really wanted her to win because I wanted her to go over the million-dollar mark.”

Smokin’ Hot Kitty set the pace in the 9-furlong stakes, leading the six-horse field through a quarter-mile in :23.80 and a half in :48.20. Golden Rocket sat right off her down the backstretch, with Bon Adieu third. Odds-on favorite Sterling Silver was in tight quarters on the rail on the far turn, while Irad Ortiz Jr. made what turned out to be the winning move by taking Venti Valentine to the outside.

Venti Valentine had the lead when they straightened for home and opened up by 1 1/2 lengths at the stretch call, but had to hold off a fast-closing Sterling Silver, who was taken to the rail by John Velazquez and missed getting up by a nose.

“All year long we were saying we wanted to get her to the million dollars. That was Jorge Abreu’s goal for the past two years,” said Dan Zanatta, co-managing partner of winning owner NY Final Furlong Stable. “Obviously, we’re big supporters of the New York-bred program and this is one we bred, which is kind of rare that we would breed a horse and campaign it for this long.”

Venti Valentine is one of five winners and three stakes winners produced by Glory Gold, who was bought by Final Furlong for $13,000 while she was carrying Venti Valentine. Final Furlong purchased one of those stakes winners, Espresso Shot, for $69,000 as a yearling in 2017. She won five times and earned $516,625 in a 24-race career.

Glory Gold’s 3-year-old Landed, a daughter of Omaha Beach, sold for $500,000 as a yearling and has won four of seven starts, including two New York-bred stakes this year.

Bred by Final Furlong and Maspeth Stable and foaled at Schuylerville Thoroughbred Farm in Schuylerville, Venti Valentine ends her career with six stakes wins, a second in the Grade 2 Demoiselle in 2021, second in Grade 3 Gazelle in 2022 and third in the Grade 3 Go For Wand in 2023. She also earned a start in the 2022 Kentucky Oaks.

– Paul Halloran

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2024/10/27/mamas-gold-posts-monster-upset-in-empire-classic-venti-valentine-closes-career-with-empire-distaff-win/

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Spirit of St Louis returns on short rest to win Mohawk; Moonage Daydream rolls to third straight stakes victory in Ticonderoga

Spirit of St Louis continues to reinforce the mantra “all good things come to those who wait,” logging his ninth win in a career that didn’t begin until he was a 4-year-old in 2023.

The latest conquest for the gelding by Medaglia d’Oro out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Khancord Kid came Sunday in the Mohawk Stakes on Empire Showcase Day at the Belmont at the Big A meeting. Ridden by Manny Franco, Spirit of St Louis waited until the far turn to make his move, unleashing a five-wide burst that carried him past City Man, the 2023 New York-bred champion turf male. Jerry the Nipper finished third.

The winning margin was 1 1/4 lengths for Spirit of St Louis, who won the Mohawk for the second straight year. The final time was 1:43.09 in a race that was run at a tepid pace – :25.42 for a quarter-mile and :50.31 for the half.

“He’s really a hard-hitting horse,” said Michael Dubb, who owns the gelding in partnership with Madaket Stables and Richard Schermerhorn. “Once in a while you get these, and you just cherish the time you have them because these are the ones you remember. He had it against him today – short rest, 126 pounds, dawdling pace, but his class got him there.”

Spirit of St Louis was coming off a fifth in the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes October 5 at Keeneland Race Course, the only time he has finished off the board in 13 races.

Ruse set the pace Sunday, followed down the backstretch by City Man, with odds-on favorite Spirit of St Louis sitting fifth on the inside. Franco started to advance heading into the turn in what turned out to be an outside-inside-outside move.

“I just took my time,” he said. “I was confident that I was riding the best horse in the race. I knew the pace was slow, but at the same time I was right there with City Man, and I was confident with my target. When he moved, I moved with him. When my horse hit the clear, he kind of switched leads in the stretch and started running. I had no doubt that I had a lot of horse under me. He exploded with a nice turn of foot.”

Bred by Chester and the late Mary Broman, Spirit of St Louis is a full brother to New York-bred champion and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Bar of Gold and a half to stakes-placed state-breds Land Mine and Homeland. Khancord Kid, a Grade 3 winner, has produced five winners.

The Bromans bought Khancord Kid’s dam, Confidently, in 2000 for $1 million at the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale. Out of Grade 1 winner Key Phrase, Confidently is a full sister to multiple stakes winner Yankee Gentleman with her dam a half-sister to the dam of champion Shared Belief.

– Paul Halloran

• Chris Larsen’s homebred Moonage Daydream collected her third straight stakes victory Sunday in the $200,000 Ticonderoga Stakes at Aqueduct.

Going off as the 5-2 second choice in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes, the 4-year-old Candy Ride filly was first out of the gate but quickly yielded to Silver Skillet and Collaboration. That pair was eager for the lead and Moonage Daydream settled on the rail, just over 2 lengths back as Silver Skillet set fractions of :23.60 and :48.36 ahead of Collaboration.

Moonage Daydream started getting serious at the top of the stretch and took aim at the lead. Pulled a few paths from the rail by jockey Flavien Prat, Moonage Daydream found a clear path and made her own bid for the lead.

Moonage Daydream reached the front entering the final sixteenth and built a half-length margin by the wire. She stopped the clock in 1:42.87 over the firm course. Collaboration finished second, a half-length ahead of Silver Skillet in third. Stonewall Star, 2-1 favorite Whatlovelookslike, Caldwell Luvs Gold, New Ginya and Masterof the Tunes.

“She broke well,” Prat said. “I thought I was in a good position. I was right behind the speed. As soon as I got a gap, she went through and after that she did the rest to get the job done.”

Now the winner of six of 12 starts, the Jorge Abreu-trained Moonage Daydream has won four stakes overall with her first coming in 2022. She’s also placed in seven of 12 races for $480,660 in earnings.

“All the New York-breds that have come to my barn seem to run well for me,” Abreu said. “It looks like I have a better program with the fillies, but I do get more fillies in the barn than colts. It’s a very good program for me.”

Foaled at Hidden Lake Farm in Stillwater for Larsen’s 3C Stable, Moonage Daydream is the third foal out of the winning Malibu Moon mare Elatha. She’s also the dam of two-time winning New York-bred Guardian Moon. Elatha is a granddaughter of the legendary broodmare Misty Dancer.

Misty Dancer is also the dam of stakes winner Quiet Dance, who produced Horse of the Year Saint Liam, Grade 1 winner Funtastic and the Grade 2-winning dam of Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Grade 1 winners Buster’s Ready and Rolling Fog are also under Misty Dancer’s name on the page.

Elatha has an unraced New York-bred American Pharoah 2-year-old filly named Whole Of The Moon, a yearling New York-bred Speightstown colt and a weanling Gun Runner colt born March 3. The mare was bred to Into Mischief in 2024.

– Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2024/10/27/spirit-of-st-louis-returns-on-short-rest-to-win-mohawk-moonage-daydream-rolls-to-third-straight-stakes-victory-in-ticonderoga/

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Light Man lands first stakes win in Hudson; Cara’s Time picks up second in Iroquois

Bruce Levine put blinkers on McRich Stables’ Light Man a few times for morning breezes and loved the response from the 4-year-old Central Banker gelding.

Light Man raced with blinkers for the first time in the afternoon Sunday – in the $150,000 Hudson Stakes on Empire Showcase Day – and showed improvement yet again. Light Man made a wide move on the far turn and got up inside the final sixteenth to land his first stakes victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Hudson.

“He’s a different horse [with the addition of blinkers],” Levine said. “You wouldn’t think he could get too much better, but he was so much more on the bridle the whole way when you breeze him. We’d run him, he’d run in spots and you could just see there was more there. We put the blinkers on him and breezed him a couple times and he just never let go of the bit. He’s just a different horse.”

Third in his first stakes appearance in the John Morrissey Handicap August 8 at Saratoga Race Course and third again in an open-company allowance-optional August 31 in upstate New York, Light Man improved to 5-for-8 in the Hudson. He won by three-quarters of a length under Kendrick Carmouch over Silver Satin with defending champ Rotknee third in the field of seven. Sent off at 8-1, Light Man won in 1:16.64.

“We were thinking about going for the lead and he didn’t break that sharp from the one-hole and everybody else went,” Levin said. “I said, ‘man, they’re cooking up front, it’s going to be a good setup.’ Sure enough, he came running.”

Looms Boldly, the 7-5 favorite, and 34-1 longshot Disarmed dueled for the early lead and clicked off the opening quarter-mile in :21.96. Rotknee, coming off a powerful victory in the Leon Reed Memorial Stakes September 23 at Finger Lakes, took over and led through the half in :44.97 just ahead of Factually Correct.

Rotknee continued to lead in midstretch, a length clear of Light Man with Silver Satin also within a chance after a wide run into the lane. Light Man collared Rotknee at the sixteenth pole. Silver Satin finished a clear second, 1 3/4 lengths in front of Rotknee with Sheriff Bianco fourth. Factually Correct, Disarmed and Looms Boldly completed the field.

Carmouche loved the trip from the start.

“He kind of broke a step slow and they bumped his back end,” he said. “I let the speed run away from him. First time blinkers with my horse, I knew he would improve. Once I got him outside, he was ready to run. It was just a matter of time of getting to the wire first.”

“I wanted to be a little forward with my horse because of the blinkers. It didn’t work out that way. I went to Plan B – just sit and make a run. He made the run and got the money.”

Bred by Newman Racing and foaled at Fawn Ridge Farm in Schodack, Light Man picked up $82,500 for the victory and boosted his bankroll to $315,450.

Levine purchased Light Man for $30,000 out of the Vinery Sales consignment at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale.

Light Man is the sixth foal out of the stakes-winning New York-bred Freud mare So N So, a homebred for Donald Newman who won two of five starts and earned $98,500. She’s also the dam of multiple stakes winner Absatootly and winners Quest for Fire, So Let It Be So and Whendowerunpappy, along with the unraced 2-year-old Lookin At Lucky colt Hello Newman.

– Tom Law

• Nearly 13 months to the day after she secured her first stakes victory, the Stephen Crestani Jr-bred Cara’s Time added a second to her resume in Sunday’s $150,000 Iroquois Stakes on Empire Showcase Day.

Breaking from the widest gate in the 6 1/2-furlong stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares, Cara’s Time hopped at the start and was the last out, but that position didn’t last long. Dylan Davis allowed his mount to quickly move up along the outside and settle just behind the pressured Athena Beach, who set early fractions of :22.47 and :45.74 with Security Code pushing her to keep the pace honest.

Cara’s Time loomed large around the turn as Davis asked her for more, joining the battle for the lead as the field hit the stretch. Athena Beach started to fade and left Cara’s Time to take command. Cara’s Time faced her own challenge down the stretch, with Captainsdaughter launching a bid late. Cara’s Time won the duel in the final furlong, refusing to fold and winning by a head in 1:17.13.

“I thought we were going to be on the lead fighting it out, but [after hopping at the start] the jock did a terrific job,” said winning trainer Mitch Freidman. “She was very game. She dug in. She really likes to go head-and-head with horses. If she comes out of the gate and goes head-and-head down the backside, it doesn’t matter, that’s what she likes. She likes to be next to horses and fight it out.”

The Iroquois was the fourth victory for the Not This Time filly, who races for Richard Greeley. Cara’s Time, who placed in seven of her 11 starts, boosted her earnings to $346,850.

“It was a lot of fun,” Greeley said. “My wife is here, the real Cara that we name all these horses after. … It is a great day for New York-breds. I breed a lot of them, so I want to thank Mitch for the great training job that he’s been doing.”

Foaled at The New Hill Farm in Hoosick Falls and a $175,000 purchase by Greeley at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred sale, Cara’s Time is one of two winners from three to race out of the Macho Uno mare Zindra. That mare is also the dam of two-time winning New York-bred Glorious Tapizar and the placed New York-bred Japazina.

Cara’s Time is also closely related to the multiple graded stakes winner and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Next. That runner is by her sire and out of Zindra’s multiple stakes placed three-quarter sister Bahia Beach.

Zindra has a New York-bred Midnight Storm yearling filly and an Independence Hall weanling colt. She was bred to Liam’s Map for 2025.

– Melissa Bauer-Herzog

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2024/10/27/light-man-lands-first-stakes-win-in-hudson-caras-time-picks-up-second-in-iroquois/

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Sacrosanct, With the Angels stay perfect in Empire Showcase Day juvenile stakes

By Alec DiConza

Sacrosanct proved his blowout victory in last month’s Bertram F. Bongard Stakes was no fluke when winning Sunday’s $200,000 Sleepy Hollow Stakes to kick off the stakes portion of the Empire Showcase Day program at Belmont at the Big A.

Breaking from post two as the 2-5 favorite, the New York-bred son of Honest Mischief outdueled multiple stakes winner Mo Plex in the stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths under Manny Franco.

“I knew that the one horse (Mo Plex) was the other horse to beat and he broke good,” Franco said. “My horse broke good. So, it was like a match race. I went right next to him. I gave a breather to my horse at some point and I finished strong with him. He responded really well. He is a really nice colt.”

Sacrosanct sat just off of Mo Plex through quick fractions of :22.78 and :46.21. Trained by Brad Cox, Sacrosanct ran up alongside Mo Plex rounding the far turn and poked his nose in front at the quarter pole. Owned by Lady Sheila Stable, Net Birdie LLC and Schwing Thoroughbreds, Sacrosanct edged clear and ran home to win the 1-mile stakes for 2-year-old New York-breds in 1:36.30.

Sacrosanct made his debut at 6 furlongs and then stretched out to 7 furlongs for the Bongard, but he hadn’t been tested at the 1-mile distance before Sunday. Assistant trainer Dustin Dugas said he was confident that he’d handle it well.

“I thought he could get the mile today, but he really had to work for it,” he said. “I was worried about Mo Plex as he already had a mile start under him and I knew he’d be a tough one to beat. Manny rode a good head’s-up race, and we were fortunate to have the outside advantage on Mo Plex. Our horse had been training really well and I thought he could get the mile, and he did.”

Sacrosanct won his first race by 3 1/4 lengths at Saratoga Race Course and then crushed the field in the Bongard by 12 lengths. He improved to 3-for-3 with earnings of $228,250 in the Sleepy Hollow.

Bred by Burleson Farms, McKenzie Bloodstock and Sequel Thoroughbreds and foaled at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson, Sacrosanct is the fourth foal out of the unraced Unbridled’s Song mare Vibrato.

Sacrosanct was purchased for $260,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-year-olds in training sale. Vibrato is also the dam of Navit, a graded stakes winner in Puerto Rico, and the four-time winner All The Diamonds.

• Winning Move Stable’s Steve Sigler named his star 2-year-old filly With the Angels with family in mind.

“My son Adam, who was a fervent race fan, loved the racetrack, knew all the jockeys and the trainers,” Sigler said Sunday at Aqueduct. “So congenial, so affable, (he) passed away almost a decade ago. In tribute to him, and my mother-in-law who passed away this past summer at 103, we named the horse With the Angels, which is so appropriate. Everyone loves the name and hopefully she’ll continue to live up to that name.”

With the Angels delivered on those hopes for Winning Move and fellow owners John Oxley, Lady Sheila Stable, Rideau Racers and Sanford Robbins with an impressive 3 1/4-length victory in Sunday’s $200,000 Maid of the Mist Stakes. The Omaha Beach filly trained by Linda Rice improved to 3-for-3 after having already demolished her competition by 11 1/2 lengths in her debut at Saratoga Race Course this summer and by 9 3/4 lengths in the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes September 22.

Rice considered trying open company in the Grade 1 Frizette after the Gimma, but elected to wait for Showcase Day.

“We decided against the Frizette,” she said. “We wanted to give her a chance to get a few more races under her belt before she meets open company, that was the plan, and that’s what we did today.”

Rice’s plan worked perfectly Sunday.

With the Angels broke well and cruised to take an easy lead early on in the 1-mile affair for New York-bred 2-year-old fillies. Under Jose Ortiz, With the Angels led Boston’s Phinest through fractions of :23.57 and :46.82 before quickly extending her lead through the stretch. She crossed the wire well clear of her competition in 1:36.69 with Boston’s Phinest holding second and Carmen’s Candy Jar finishing third.

“Broke good. Obviously, she was the controlling speed,” Ortiz said. “Nice test for her to keep improving. She has won at 6 (furlongs), 7, now today at 1 mile. We are excited with her, step-by-step. I think Linda has done an amazing job with the owners to manage her and take it little by little. We are going to keep going forward.”

Rice said that With the Angels could challenge open company in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes December 7 at Aqueduct.

“That’s our mark if we’re going to step into open company,” Rice said about the Demoiselle. “That, or we’ll wrap her up for the year and start her up again in the spring. Time will tell.”

Bred by Joseph DeRico and foaled at River Valley Farm in Gansevoort, With the Angels is out of the three-time winning Pulpit mare Sister Margaret. She’s the dam of three other winnings, including stakes-placed filly Maggy’s Palace. With the Angels sold for $350,000 at the OBS April 2-year-olds in training sale.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2024/10/27/sacrosanct-with-the-angels-stay-perfect-in-empire-showcase-day-juvenile-stakes/

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