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Blue Grass is the Next Target for Burnham Square
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Saratoga Notebook, Presented by NYRA Bets: Baffert Expects Good Showing from Prince of Monaco in Jerkens
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Weekly National Regulatory Rulings, July 24-30
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maybe its because they have reduced the odds as a result of the big bet. Just a time lapse thing at a guess. -
It was a super day and a super day's racing. Far from unhappy. -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
By Michael Guerin There could be a race inside a race in the $60,000 NZB Airfreight Flying Stakes at Ashburton. The Group 2 is traditionally the most important lead-up to the IRT New Zealand Cup at Addington on November 11, although this season comes with the major side plot of which Australians will turn up to challenge the locals come Cup Day. Leap To Fame’s tilt at the Cup looks back on track after his win at Melton on Saturday night with his trainer Grant Dixon says he is likely to make the trip and he was back into $2 favouritism with the TAB. That aside so far this spring the New Zealand open class ranks have seen a power shift, starting with five or six pacers rated about the same level to Republican Party becoming the clear top dog. A small dog, but top dog nevertheless. He probably already was after a surprisingly dominant six months between November last year and May this year, winning the Invercargill and Auckland Cups then the Messenger and the Roy Purdon, all Group 1s. Republican Party had always been a good horse but never THE horse but he has strengthened as he has matured and that durability and toughness which are the best qualities of the stock of his champion sire Bettors Delight have kicked in. That has also emboldened his young driver Carter Dalgety. “I find when I drive him like a really good horse, that is when he goes best,” says Dalgety, whose parents Cran and Chrissie train Republican Party. “He has earned respect now because when I move on him and he gets the front I keep going at a good tempo and that means every other horse get their chance too.” That could sum up today’s 2400m standing start because if all the main players step safely, it is hard to imagine most of their drivers wouldn’t be keen to take a trail on Republican Party. The last thing they want is an early 800m burn that sees them struggling late and getting a headache and a confidence dent heading into Cup week so with his recent form and respect earned, Republican Party’s $2.80 odds seem fair. There are absolutely rivals good enough to beat him though, headed by the Hayden and Amanda Cullen-trained pair of We Walk By Faith and Don’t Stop Dreaming. Both have raced well this spring and Don’t Stop Dreaming in particular looks to be on the improve, having chased Republican Party home when he thrashed many of these in the Canterbury Classic last start. “Both of ours are in a really good place and Don’t Stop Dreaming is getting close to his peak,” says Cullen. “But I’d narrowly go for We Walk By Faith as our best chance of the two on Monday.” As strong as the Flying Stakes is many of the other races will also provide pointers to the Group 1s of Cup week. The three-year-old pace gives Marketplace (R7, No.5) a chance to get back to winning form but that won’t be a gimme as Got The Chocolates has at least partially closed the gap between the pair. The two-year-old pacing fillies are still working themselves out so Race 4 looks even and a case of whoever gets the best run should win. The same could be said for the Nevele R Fillies heat as some seriously good three-year-old fillies clash and maybe the best of them Captains Mistress (R8, No.1) returns from a Queensland campaign but is fresh up with only one trial. The Cullens have three in that race and Hayden suggests Arafura is their best chance but it is a stacked race with plenty of moving parts. The juvenile male pacers in Race 10 get a welcome break from the unbeaten (and maybe unbeatable) Jumal and Cullen says their favourite Zeus Lightning is ready to win but his draw will make things interesting. The two major trotting races today appear a little clearer with Muscle Mountain the standout in the Flying Sprint (R9, No.2) which he is trying to win for the fourth time versus last season’s victor Bet N Win, who may be disadvantaged by both the draw and a lack of recent racing. There is little doubt Meant To Be (R6, No.12) is the best horse in the three-year-old trot but he is on the unruly over 1700m with some speed inside him from Ya Rite Darl, Habibti Pat (awkwardly drawn) and Tarragindi if the big northerner can roll over the top of them it will be a huge pointer to what lies ahead. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Trentham’s 1200m chute had posed a query for talented sprinter Ima Brazen One (NZ) (Brazen Beau) in previous starts, but that all changed when the mare made every post a winner in Sunday’s Rothley Sprint (1000m). The daughter of Brazen Beau had missed a top three finish in all three of her prior attempts down the unique dog-leg track, but resuming in a new preparation she was still tipped as the horse to beat, closing a $3.30 favourite ahead of Debit ($4). In the hands of Masa Hashizume, the mare showed her customary early speed to cross and lead, settling into a good rhythm with Lhasa and Fancy Like Lass in the trail. She was slightly wayward coming onto the course proper, but once straightened, she gave a good kick and put a margin on her rivals. The challengers were coming hard late, but Ima Brazen One had the winning buffer and held on bravely to score from placegetters Lhasa and Chajaba. While she handled the chute on this occasion, her trainer Mike Breslin indicated he will be looking elsewhere for future options. “I knew she was ready to run a big race, she was probably as forward as I’ve had her to resume,” he said. “She still didn’t do things that well across the junction, but when Masa angled her back to the rail, that helped. “I still don’t think, at a good level, that the chute or a straight-six like Riccarton would be her go, so I’m keen to get her up to Ellerslie and give her a go right-handed around there to see how she copes. “I’m hoping to do that before Christmas, then we can see if she’s good enough to go back up for a race like the Concorde (Gr.3, 1200m).” Bred by Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay, Ima Brazen One was a $100,000 purchase by her trainer at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales in 2022 and has subsequently earned $118,460 for In To Win Brazenly Syndicate, managed by Tineke Balcombe. In the previous race, the Grahams Painters Sprint (1000m), the In To Win silks were to the fore once again aboard a Breslin runner, this time with promising four-year-old Kosta (NZ) (War Decree). Aided by a no-panic ride from Samantha Collett, Kosta settled back in the field and weaved his way through up the straight, showing a stunning late burst to catch the favourite Toronto just short of the line. The son of War Decree had been a frequent figure in the steward’s report last preparation, but looked every bit the professional in his first-up outing. “He’s always been an athlete, the head just hasn’t fallen into place,” Breslin said. “We rode him quietly in his trial the other day amongst horses and he showed that he was starting to learn. Sam rode him in that trial and was very keen to ride him raceday, which gave me a bit of confidence. “I knew that he would sprint well in a fresh state, and the good thing about that is he gets off the bridle a little bit. If I gave him another trial and went straight into a 1400m race, he may just get up on the steel. “He’s shown in his two wins that he’s got a great turn of foot, and today, he probably wasn’t entitled to win as easily as he did.” While he sprinted stylishly fresh, Breslin is hoping to see Kosta over a middle-distance trip in time. “I honestly think he’s a 2000m horse with some more time and education,” he said. “He’s by War Decree out of a High Chaparral mare, so it’s a staying family. He’s a real athlete, it’s just a matter of getting his head to follow.” In To Win and Chris Rutten Bloodstock outlaid $80,000 to secure Kosta at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2023 Ready To Run Sale from the draft of BMD Bloodstock. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Exciting filly Cream Tart (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) is set to line up in one of the major three-year-old races over New Zealand Cup Week following her impressive win in Sunday’s Upper Hutt Car Sales LTD Three-Year-Old (1400m) at Trentham. The well-bred daughter of Hello Youmzain was a standout juvenile winner in early June, before going down to Lubeck when resuming at Rotorua earlier this month. Stepping up to 1400m, she was fancied in a small but tidy field of three-year-olds, which included stakes winners Platinum Diamond, Intention and Bona Sforza. Cream Tart jumped away positively from an outside gate, with a lack of early speed seeing her land outside the default leader Intention. The speed was no more than an amble as they crawled around to the home turn, setting up a true sprint home. Jockey Craig Grylls asked for an effort from Cream Tart and she got the better of Intention early in the straight, and despite laying in and showing a bit of inexperience, she was much too sharp, holding out Belzoni by 1 – ¼ lengths with Intention holding on well for third ahead of Abbakiss. Her trainer Tony Pike now has a decision to make, whether Cream Tart steps out on the first day of the Riccarton carnival in the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), or wait another week and take on the boys in the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m). “She’s a very talented filly, still a bit light-framed but we’re in a short run up to the Guineas as many of the three-year-olds are with the way things have gone through the spring,” Pike said. “I didn’t really want to take on the big guns on Monday in the Sarten (Gr.2, 1400m), so this looked like a nice race ahead of the Guineas. She’s done it well, she still did a few things wrong but as long as she comes through this trip well, I’ll make a decision in the next week or so around which Guineas we head to. “I thought the boys probably don’t look quite as strong as the fillies at this stage, so there is a chance she could go there.” The Cambridge horseman was satisfied with her first-up effort on a slow tempo, especially when seeing how she ran through the line on both occasions this time in. “It was a slow tempo again (at Rotorua), she is bred to run a mile to 2000m and she probably just got outsprinted by a sharper horse on that tempo,” he said. “She was strong through the line and was again today, so I don’t think the mile will hold any worries for her down at Riccarton.” Bred by Windsor Park Stud, Cream Tart is out of the New Approach mare Cream Of The Crop, who produced multiple Group One winner Mustang Valley. Pike went to $220,000 to secure her out of Windsor Park’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale in 2024. Following Sunday’s victory, Cream Tart has shortened into $10 on the market for the 1000 Guineas, currently led by recent Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) winner Well Written ($2.80). View the full article
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