While Smart Seattle and Zilva have experienced the bright lights of the Breeders' Cup Championship, the rapid, yet quietly, improving Check The Label will take to the turf in the $60,000 Caressing for 2-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs.
The Stormin Fever filly will break from post nine in a field of 12 on closing day at the historic Louisville track. Gabriel Saez picks up the mount while Julien Leparoux will spend his weekend in Japan for the Japan Cup. In her last start, Check The Label endured a perfect trip along the inside and won by a comfortable 2 1/4 lengths over the same sod she'll run over on Saturday. She is now 2-for-3 on the turf and has all but "Labeled" herself as a turf horse.
While it is natural for Smart Seattle to precede Zilva's name, and visa-versa, Check The Label looks to join the well-publicized duo with a solid performance Saturday. A repeat running of her allowance win will do exactly that. Post time for the Caressing is 3:58.
The colt version of the Caressing is the Grand Canyon, and Herringswell Stables will be represented by Cat Park. The Augustin homebred won his last start, a first level allowance at Keeneland, his first try over grass. That race at Keeneland produced next-out winner Lost Aptitude, who will break from the rail in the Grand Canyon. Cat Park (Tale Of The Cat) brings a two race win streak into the Grand Canyon. The Tale Of The Cat colt is now 2-for-3 lifetime. Gabriel Saez has the return call aboard the promising chestnut. Post time for the Grand Canyon is 1:58.
Check The Label and Cat Park are two of three Herringswell juveniles to have won more than their maiden race. Priscilla Graham's Turf Melody completes the trio.
Also on Saturday, Now And Forever (Jeremy Rose) makes a return to the races for Pin Oak Stable in Laurel's fourth race. Let's Do It (Saez) returns to the grass after at Churchill.
The triple of Herringswell 2-year-old runners at Churchill are part of "2-year-old day" where all twelve races feature juveniles. The Grand Canyon and Caressing are two of four stakes on the closing day card. The Kentucky Jockey Club and The Golden Rod are dirt route races for colts and fillies respectively.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Bullsbay Out For Team History And National Respect
Bullsbay was entered on Tuesday for the Grade II Clark as he will attempt to become the first Herringswell runner since Better Talk Now in 2005 to win three graded stakes the same year.The strapping bay has won the Grade III Alysheba and Grade I Whitney along with the Harrison E. Johnson in his 5-year-old breakout season. With a win in the Clark, the Tiznow colt could become the first Herringswell horse to win four stakes in a season since Broken Vow and Confessional accomplished that feat in 2001.
Friday's Clark is as competitive as the handicap division gets. Familiar faces Macho Again and Einstein will head postward, while up-and-comers Etched and Blame look to show they belong.
Macho Again and Bullsbay have started a quiet rivalry throughout their 2009 seasons.
In the Alysheba, Bullsbay beat the grey by 4 1/2 lengths in a winning performance. Just six weeks later, Macho Again turned the tables in the Stephen Foster beating Bullsbay by 1 1/4 lengths. Then came the Whitney. Bullsbay 2-1. In the Woodward, Macho Again evened the score when he ran second compared to Bullsbay's third. 2-2.
They have literally taken turns beating each other. Follow the pattern, Bullsbay's turn.
Both rivals come into the Clark off dull efforts, Macho Again ran a form-breaking distant fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, while Bullsbay didn't care for Santa Anita's Pro-ride in the Breeders' Cup Mile.
With each other's company expect the two bring out the best in each other.
While the two competitors tangle again, they better not ignore the two new faces in Meadowlands Cup winner Etched and Fayette-winning 3-year-old Blame. Both are coming into the Clark off-of a pattern of three career best performances.
Other major contenders include the ageless Einstein and 3-year-old Indiana Derby champ, Misremembered.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Leamington In The Cardinal
Buckets of rain. Raining cats and dogs. The sky fell in. Noah's Arc. Downpour. Washout. Bog.
Any of these cliches can be used to describe October 3 at Belmont Park. Summer Bird danced in the slop to score in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Turf horse of the year, Gio Ponti was stunningly upset in the Joe Hirsch.
That day was the last time Leamington was seen at the races. The VooDoo Dancer heroine has never stepped foot on a soft turf that she liked. It looked like she was going to get her firm course that day, until they called the fillies and mares to the paddock for the Grade I Flower Bowl. (Insert your favorite monsoon cliche here).
As the water pelleted down on the way to the empty paddock. The jockeys took their time leaving the quarters in hopes for the rain to pass. No such luck. The riders then hopped on their classy fillies and headed towards the 1 1/2 miles track.
Leamington led the 1 1/4 Flower Bowl until the top of the stretch over the deep bog and that was enough to tire the 4-year-old daughter of Pleasant Tap. She faded to finish fifth after doing all the dirty work at 14-1.
In her 13 career starts, Leamington has 4 wins, all on a firm ground. Of the three times she met a wet turf course, she was 1o, 67 and 15 lengths out of it.
The Churchill turf course played firm on Friday and is expected to stay that way for the 36th running of the Cardinal.
Any of these cliches can be used to describe October 3 at Belmont Park. Summer Bird danced in the slop to score in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Turf horse of the year, Gio Ponti was stunningly upset in the Joe Hirsch.
That day was the last time Leamington was seen at the races. The VooDoo Dancer heroine has never stepped foot on a soft turf that she liked. It looked like she was going to get her firm course that day, until they called the fillies and mares to the paddock for the Grade I Flower Bowl. (Insert your favorite monsoon cliche here).
As the water pelleted down on the way to the empty paddock. The jockeys took their time leaving the quarters in hopes for the rain to pass. No such luck. The riders then hopped on their classy fillies and headed towards the 1 1/2 miles track.
Leamington led the 1 1/4 Flower Bowl until the top of the stretch over the deep bog and that was enough to tire the 4-year-old daughter of Pleasant Tap. She faded to finish fifth after doing all the dirty work at 14-1.
In her 13 career starts, Leamington has 4 wins, all on a firm ground. Of the three times she met a wet turf course, she was 1o, 67 and 15 lengths out of it.
The Churchill turf course played firm on Friday and is expected to stay that way for the 36th running of the Cardinal.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Smart Bid Returns In Style
As if the green and white halved silks of George Strawbridge's Augustin Stables were not seen enough over Breeders' Cup weekend....Strawbridge's Smart Bid, absent from the races since April, returned to capture the $100,000 Damascus stakes on the undercard of Breeders' Cup Saturday. The 3-year-old son of Smart Strike traveled a perfect stalking-trip under Jeremy Rose, down on the rail. The favorite, M One Rifle set honest-enough fractions of 22.2, 44.3 and 1:08.3, while Smart Bid sat no more than 2-lengths off that at any point of the 7-furlong contest.
At the top of the stretch, Rose swung the homebred off the rail and to the right of the pace-setter. Smart Bid and pilot then dug down and proved best. The Damascus was Smart Bid's first stakes win.
Smart Bid was last seen in Keeneland's Transylvania Stakes during the famous track's opening weekend to it's Spring meeting. That day, Smart Bid put in his best performance-to date-with a second place finish in the 1 1/16 Grade III. Saturday the sophomore showed his versatility in winning a 7-furlong stake, while months earlier, he just missed in a 8.5-furlong contest. That versatility will give the colt's connections many options from here out.
Graham has stated that the 7-furlong Grade I Malibu at Santa Anita on December 26 is on the 3-year-old's radar.
-JP
Friday, November 6, 2009
It's An Augustin Friday
A trio of Augustin Stable 2-year-olds will head to the starting gate for Herringswell Stables on Friday. Two of those are fillies, running in the biggest races of their young careers in the Breeders' Cup. The other, a colt, running in.. the biggest race of his career, his first!
Smart Seattle will be the first drink poured at our Breeders' Cup party, when she breaks from post 3 in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
The 2-year-old Smart Strike daughter will be ridden for the third time in three starts by Jeremy Rose.
Zilva is postward in the $2,000,000 Juvenile Fillies. The Successful Appeal daughter will break from the rail. Jeremy Rose will ride for the third consecutive time. Zilva comes out of a close third in the Grade I Alcibiades at Keeneland.
Quechee actually runs first of the three. He is 3,000 miles away from his stablemate fillies, but runs just three hours before Smart Seattle.
The Afleet Alex gray will be ridden by Gabriel Saez in Aqueduct's third race. The son of Tarika will travel 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
After pointing to these races since breaking their maidens at Saratoga, today has arrived. The question of "which filly where?" has been answered. It is now up to the fillies. They're on display to the racing world. All the team can do now is get a good seat and watch them show to the rest of the people what they've shown to us. Safe trips and good racing luck to all three.
Game time.
Smart Seattle will be the first drink poured at our Breeders' Cup party, when she breaks from post 3 in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
The 2-year-old Smart Strike daughter will be ridden for the third time in three starts by Jeremy Rose.
Zilva is postward in the $2,000,000 Juvenile Fillies. The Successful Appeal daughter will break from the rail. Jeremy Rose will ride for the third consecutive time. Zilva comes out of a close third in the Grade I Alcibiades at Keeneland.
Quechee actually runs first of the three. He is 3,000 miles away from his stablemate fillies, but runs just three hours before Smart Seattle.
The Afleet Alex gray will be ridden by Gabriel Saez in Aqueduct's third race. The son of Tarika will travel 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
After pointing to these races since breaking their maidens at Saratoga, today has arrived. The question of "which filly where?" has been answered. It is now up to the fillies. They're on display to the racing world. All the team can do now is get a good seat and watch them show to the rest of the people what they've shown to us. Safe trips and good racing luck to all three.
Game time.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Quick Catch Up.
2YO Breeders' Cup Hopefuls Go Easy
Smart Seattle & Zilva breezed in-company over the Santa Anita Pro-Ride surface on Saturday in :48 4/5 seconds. Televised on HRTV, the two fillies seemed to travel without any urging and made it a work that would certainly leave you optimistic.
Smart Seattle is expected to be one of the choices in the Juvenile Fillies Turf on Friday November 6. Zilva is expected to run in the Juvenile Fillies, just hours after her stablemate.
6-year-old German retired
Caprice, winner of the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park in July has been retired. A winner of $225, 525 and two stakes races since entering the Herringswell barn, the daughter of Monsun will spend her after-the-races life in Kentucky as a NP Bloodstock broodmare.
Caprice also won the La Zanzara stakes at Santa Anita in February. The long-distance specialist retires with a career record of 4-for-24.
Silver Reunion back to galloping.
3-year-old Harlan's Holiday filly, Silver Reunion has returned to galloping after her attempt in the Grade III Valley View.
Silver Reunion seemed to not get along with the wet turf course at Keeneland. In result, Bluegrass Princess, whom Silver Reunion beat convincingly over Saratoga's firm course, picked up the pieces in the Valley View.
Silver Reunion looks to get back to the winner's circle, and on firm ground, in the November 14 Mrs. Revere at Churchill.
Smart Seattle & Zilva breezed in-company over the Santa Anita Pro-Ride surface on Saturday in :48 4/5 seconds. Televised on HRTV, the two fillies seemed to travel without any urging and made it a work that would certainly leave you optimistic.
Smart Seattle is expected to be one of the choices in the Juvenile Fillies Turf on Friday November 6. Zilva is expected to run in the Juvenile Fillies, just hours after her stablemate.
6-year-old German retired
Caprice, winner of the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park in July has been retired. A winner of $225, 525 and two stakes races since entering the Herringswell barn, the daughter of Monsun will spend her after-the-races life in Kentucky as a NP Bloodstock broodmare.
Caprice also won the La Zanzara stakes at Santa Anita in February. The long-distance specialist retires with a career record of 4-for-24.
Silver Reunion back to galloping.
3-year-old Harlan's Holiday filly, Silver Reunion has returned to galloping after her attempt in the Grade III Valley View.
Silver Reunion seemed to not get along with the wet turf course at Keeneland. In result, Bluegrass Princess, whom Silver Reunion beat convincingly over Saratoga's firm course, picked up the pieces in the Valley View.
Silver Reunion looks to get back to the winner's circle, and on firm ground, in the November 14 Mrs. Revere at Churchill.
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