Tonalist Wins Cigar Mile, Dortmund Gallops to Native Diver, Effinex Tops Clark H. and More

THE WEEKEND WRAP UP

Nov. 27th – 29th

Effinex Outlasts Hoppertunity To Capture Clark H.

Churchill Downs kicked off the weekend’s excitement on Friday night with the running of G1 Clark Handicap, which was won by Effinex and Hall of Famer Mike Smith. Runner-up to American Pharoah in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Effinex went off as the 5-2 favorite, outlasting second place finisher Hoppertunity by ¾-lengths.

Run over a fast track, the field also included the likes of Race Day, Keen Ice, and front-running Mr. Z, who lost no time and shot out of the gate to take the lead. The Lukas-trained colt set moderate early fractions (:23.43 and :47.68) for the first half, but dueling with Shotgun Cowboy took its toll, causing him to fade and finish last. Effinex maintained good positioning in fifth and was sent forward by Mike Smith just after the half. The son of Mineshaft came off the final turn in the five-path, showing tremendous grit in the stretch as he put away the big efforts of Race Day and Looks to Spare (88-1), and held off a late charging Hoppertunity.

New York-bred and trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Effinex earned a 109 Equibase speed figure for his performance. To date, the 4-year-old has 20 career starts and stands a record of 20-7-2-3. Since debuting in February of 2014 he has amassed $2,112,950, averaging $105,648 per start. This was jockey Mike Smith’s second Clark Handicap win and the first for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

Finish
Effinex $7.00 $3.60 $3.20
Hoppertunity $3.20 $2.60
Looks to Spare —-$10.80
Keen Ice

$2 Trifecta $962.60

Dortmund Remains a Titan in Native Diver

In his true form, the 17-hand+ redheaded 3-year-old son of Big Brown dominated the small field of five in Saturday’s G3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar. Winning by an open 4 ½-lengths, in his first start on the seaside track, Dortmund once again demonstrated his class.

Breaking nicely out of the gate, Dortmund stalked pacesetter Majestic City until being turned loose by Gary Stevens, who took over the reins for regular jockey Martin Garcia. Under the encouraging ride of the Hall of Famer, Dortmund easily took the lead in the final turn, slamming the door on the competition.

Since returning from his five-month layoff after running in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with stablemate American Pharoah, Dortmund has reminded us of his excellence, winning back to back stakes races – the Big Bear Stakes at Santa Anita and now the Native Diver.

The big chestnut, trained by Bob Baffert, has eight wins out of ten career starts and has earned more than $1.7 million. He is owned by Kaleem Shah and was bred by Emilie Gerlinde Fojan. The colt is currently ranked 15th among money earners in North America for 2015.

Dortmund $3.20 $2.60 $2.10
Imperative —– $3.60 $2.10
Iron Fist ————– $2.10

$0.50 Trifecta $4.25

Tonalist Defeats Private Zone in Cigar Mile

Fifth place finisher in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, Tonalist bounced back to win the G1 Cigar Mile, defeating Private Zone by a neck. The win gave the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Tapit his second win over a track other than Belmont; his first being at Gulfstream Park when he broke his maiden second time out in January of 2014.

Private Zone, eager to go, attempted to repeat his 2014 victory. The 6-year-old, by Macho Uno, galloped to the lead and set early fractions of :24.15, :48.50 and 1:13.04 before succumbing to exhaustion and being passed by Matrooh, Mshawish and Red Vine on the stretch. Tonalist, who sat second-to-last for 90% of the race, was nowhere to be seen until mid-stretch, where he let out a burst of late speed that got the best of Red Vine right at the wire. The long-legged colt put up a final time of 1:37.14.

“He ran a great race,” jockey John Velazquez stated to EverythingEQ. “The other horses got away from us around the turn because of the slow pace, but we ended up closing really hard. I’m very proud of [Tonalist] for the way he finished.”

Saturday’s Cigar Mile was trainer Christophe Clement’s first win in the G1 race and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez’s second. As for Tonalist, the 2014 Triple Crown spoiler will return in 2016 to run a 5-year-old campaign. This is his fourth G1 victory since debuting in November of 2013. To date he has amassed $3,647,000 in career earnings, $1,695,000 of which was earned over the course of 2015.

Finish
Tonalist $6.40 $3.70 $2.70
Red Vine —— $4.50 $3.30
Matrooh —————$4.80
Mshawish

$2.00 superfecta $149.00

Stormy Lucy Shocks in Matriarch Stakes

In an electrifying finish, Stormy Lucy, the longest shot in the steep field of 14 talented older fillies and mares, came from the clouds to triumph in the $300,000 G1 Matriarch Stakes on Del Mar’s Bing Crosby meet closing day.

Curlin’s Fox, piloted by Triple Crown winning jockey Victor Espinoza, set the opening fractions for the mile long race, going :22.69, :46.70, and 1:11.08 then faded and finished 13th. Recepta and Elvis Trujillo took over on the stretch, but their lead was short lived. 60-1 shot Stormy Lucy, who ran mid-pack for the majority of the race, unveiled a wrath of speed that not many saw coming. At the ¾ mark jockey Kent Desormeaux began to move the mare and the pair was unstoppable down the lane, upsetting the Matriarch by a head with a final time of 1:35.16.

Trained by Ed Moger Jr. and owned by Steve Moger, Stormy Lucy is a 6-year-old mare by Stormy Atlantic and Here Comes Lucinda (Dixieland Band). Sunday’s Matriach is her first G1 stakes win since her 2011 career debut and marks her first win for 2015. The win is also Ed Moger Jr.’s second graded stakes win — his first coming in the 2014 G3 Santa Barbara Handicap. Stormy Lucy’s record stands 31-8-2-5. To date she has accumulated $771,700 in career earnings.

Finish
Stormy Lucy $132.80 $50.40 $21.20
Recepta —————- $9.20 $6.60
Filimbi ———————— $3.80
Queen of the Sand

$1.00 exacta $923.90
$0.50 trifecta $3,785.90
$1.00 superfecta $83,880.00

Casse Racing’s Airoforce Bests Mor Spirit in KY Jockey Club S.

North American trainers better watch out; Mark Casse has a string of horses that look to leave an imprint in the coming year, and the first to watch out for is Airoforce. The 2-year-old runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf returned to win the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes over a sloppy, sealed dirt track, edging out Baffert-trained favorite Mor Spirit by 1 ¾-lengths.

Derby Express set the early fractions of the race (:23.50, :47.61) before being passed by Mor Spirit and Martin Garcia, who went on to set fractions of 1:13.00 and 1:38.56. Sitting towards the back for three-quarters of the race, Airoforce began to move on the turn then took the lead with a sixteenth to go and held on. Jockey Julien Leparoux was in the irons for owner John Oxley. Final time for the 1 1/16-mile: 1:45.48

A son of Colonel John and out of Chocolate Pop (Cuvee), Airoforce was first sold for $20,000 at Fasig Tipton in the fall of 2014. The grey/roan colt was later purchased by East Wood Stable at the OBS 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in April of 2015 before being acquired by John C. Oxley, owner of 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos and 1999 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Beautiful Pleasure.

Since breaking his maiden first time out on the turf in September of this year, Airoforce has made $516,080 in career earnings and currently stands 4-3-1-0. Saturday’s Kentucky Jockey Club win awarded the colt 10 points toward the 2016 Kentucky Derby, ranking him 8^th on the leaderboard. Saturday’s win also marks trainer Mark Casse and jockey Julien Leparoux’s second victory in the G2 race.

Finish
Airoforce $9.00 $4.20 $3.20
Mor Spirit —— $3.40 $3.40
Mo Tom ————— $7.80
Gun Runner

$2.00 Exacta $37.80
$2.00 Trifecta $320.20
$1.00 Superfecta $737.00

Chiropractor Defeats Om in G1 Hollywood Derby

In true Hollywood underdog story fashion, 14-1 longshot Chiropractor, trained by Tom Proctor and ridden by Corey Nakatani, conquered even-money favorite Om in the Grade I $300,000 Hollywood Derby run at Del Mar on Saturday.

Chiropractor broke well from post position three and trailed by six lengths heading into the first turn of the nine furlong turf outing. Om made an early move on pacesetter Acceptance as the field of 14 left the back stretch. It seemed Om had it in the bag, but he was overrun by a cavalry charge headed by Chiropractor and March.

After the race, Om’s jockey Gary Stevens stated, “It was a super effort by this horse today. He threw a fit in the starting gate. We had all kinds of problems; he kicked the you-know-what out of it. He was good during the running though. He wasn’t pulling. He ran his race and ran well. We just got beat.”

This was the second stakes win of the meet and of the day for Proctor. The victory is the third of seven career starts for Chiropractor, bringing his total earnings to $273,100. The 3-year-old gelding by Kitten’s Joy is owned and bred by Glen Hill Farm.

Finish
Chiropractor $30.80 $18.00 $6.00
March —————— $14.80 $6.80
Om ——————————- $2.60
Fundamental

$1.00 Superfecta $6,625.50

Forever Unbridled Shows Grit in Comely

Forever Unbridled may have been out of the picture for a while following the Kentucky Oaks, but she wasn’t out of it forever. The 3-year-old daughter of Unbridled’s Song returned to the winner’s circle on November 28^th after narrowly taking the $300,000 Comely Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct.

Temper Mint Patty was the unexpected leader of the race, setting fractions of :24.04, :49.47 and 1:14.27 throughout six furlongs. Forever Unbridled was in fourth through the backstretch. Jockey John Velazquez waited until the three-sixteenths pole to ask his mount for everything. His move paid off as Unbridled Forever outdid Carrumba by a head. The fillies ran the mile in 1:38.48 and stopped the clock at 1:50.75.

This was trainer Dallas Stewart and Velazquez’s first win in this race as they narrowly denied Shug McGaughey his third win, which would have been his first since 2007. Unbridled Forever’s record is improved to 8-2-2-2 with earnings of $311,600. She is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Lemons Forever, winner of the 2006 Kentucky Oaks.

Finish
Forever Unbridled $11.40 $5.40 $3.50
Carrumba ——————– $4.20 $2.80
Wonder Gal ————————- $2.80
Stroke Play

$2.00 Trifecta $132.50
$2.00 Superfecta $3,196.00

Family Meeting Pulls an Upset in the Jimmy Durante Stakes

Going in a 35-1 longshot, Florida-bred Family Meeting and 2014 Apprentice Jockey Eclipse Award winner Drayden Van Dyke shocked the crowd at Del Mar when they rallied to win the G3 $100,000 Jimmy Durante Stakes. Idling 10 lengths behind the leader, Family Meeting sprang into action heading into the stretch – edging out Mokat and Corey Nakatani.

Breaking from post 11, Family Meeting was buried in the back of the 12 horse field of 2-year-old fillies traveling a mile over the grass. Having just broken her maiden and stepping up into a competitive stakes race, Family Meeting’s come-off-the-pace style was a factor in a victory.

“She’s a little green; she hasn’t quite figured it all out yet. She was idling on me. But I could feel I had a ton of horse under me, so I just wanted to keep her calm. When it came time, she went. She’s a good one. Can’t wait to see what she does next,” Van Dyke said of the winner.

This was the first stakes win of the meet for Drayden Van Dyke, and his first at Del Mar. It was also the first stakes win at the Bing Crosby meet for trainer Tom Proctor. Family Meeting is owned and bred by Glen Hill Farm.

The winner paid $76.60 to win, $33.60 to place, and $13.80 to show.

$0.50 Trifecta $936.75
$1.00 Superfecta $6,028.40

Mohaymen Stays Unbeaten in Remsen

It was all Mohaymen in the $300,000 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct on November 28^th. The 2-year-old colt remained unbeaten with the victory, which was his second straight graded stakes win.

Donegal Moon set the pace, followed by Flexibility, as Mohaymen settled back in fourth for jockey Junior Alvarado. Flexibilty had an advantage briefly off of the turn, but Mohaymen was not to be denied. When asked by Alvarado, he went between Flexibility and Donegal Moon, and easily shook his competition. The large grey colt crossed the wire 1 ½ lengths in front of Flexibilty. Gift Box was another length and a half back in third. Mohaymen’s final time for the 1 1/8^th mile race was 1:50.69 over a fast track.

The son of Tapit and Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union) – dam of 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner New Year’s Day – picked up 10 points toward the Kentucky Derby with his victory. He improved his record to a stellar three for three with earnings of $345,000. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who also trained Justwhistledixie, will be basing the colt in Florida as he prepares for his three-year-old campaign.

Finish
Mohaymen $5.10 $3.30 $2.50
Flexibility ———- $4.60 $3.30
Gift Box ——————– $2.70

$2.00 Trifecta $43.20

Lewis Bay Rallies in Demoiselle Stakes

In her graded stakes debut, Lewis Bay proved that she was more than up to the challenge. The daughter of Bernardini was up against stakes winners and other horses with stakes experience, but that barely fazed her as she rallied to win the $300,000 G2 Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct.

Lost Raven, a homebred for Repole Stables, ran a half-mile in :50.04. As the field ran through the turn, Thrilled challenged her stablemate and the pair found themselves running even with longshot Disco Rose as well. They ran six furlongs in 1:14.86 as Lewis Bay, under Irad Ortiz Jr., went five to six paths wide at the head of the stretch. The bay filly rallied to issue a challenge, taking over at the eighth pole before inching clear under a drive to the finish. Her final time for the 1 1/8 mile race was 1:53.41. Thrilled was 1 ¾ lengths back in second, with Disco Rose in third.

The Demoiselle is one of the early points races for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), giving Lewis Bay, a granddaughter of A.P. Indy, 10 points. Thrilled earned four, Disco Rose earned two, and fourth place finished Flora Dora picked up one point.

Lewis Bay’s win gave Ortiz and trainer Chad Brown their first victory in the Demoiselle. She has won two of three starts, and a second place finish, and has earnings of $240,000.

Finish
Lewis Bay $4.10 $2.80 $2.70
Thrilled ———- $4.10 $3.40
Disco Rose ————– $9.20
Flora Dora

$2.00 Superfecta $541.00

Dressed in Hermes and Mike Smith Score in Cecil B. DeMille S.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf participant and fifth place finisher, Dressed in Hermes returned to the track on Sunday to win the G3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes. The 2-year-old gelding, trained by Janet Armstrong, set out against a field of twelve, winning by 1 ¼-lengths.

Manhattan Dan and Jose Lezcano set hot early fractions of the mile race (:22.45, :46.80), but lost momentum when they were met by Collected and Martin Garcia past the half point call. Under the urging hand of Garcia, Collected took over to set late fractions of 1:11.59 and 1:23.86 before falling victim to Dressed in Hermes’s aggressive closing speed. Collected settled for second, followed by Frank Conversation in third and Rare Candy in fourth. The final time was 1:36.13.

In addition to the G1 Clark Handicap, this was Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith’s third graded stakes win of the weekend and trainer Janet Armstrong’s first graded stakes career achievement. Dressed in Hermes is a son of Japanese-bred sire Hat Trick and is out of Pennsylvania-bred mare Elusive Fashion, by Elusive Quality. The Kentucky-bred runner was bred by and is owned by Budget Stables.

Dressed in Hermes returned $9.40 for the win, $4.80 for place, and $3.80 for show.

$1.00 Superfecta $10,492.20

Midnight Storm Hails in Seabiscuit Handicap

Midnight Storm and Triple Crown winning jockey Victor Espinoza struck like lightening to capture the G2 $250,000 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar on Friday. The flashy bay 4-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile, surged to the wire to win by 1 ¾-lengths.

Going off at 9-2, Midnight Storm broke sharply and tucked in behind longshot Macro Access, who set a quick pace early (:23.78), and pounced heading into the homestretch – running a mile and one sixteen over the turf course in 1:42.70. Midnight Storm defeated favorites Bal a Bali and Toowindytohaulroxs, running first second and third, respectively.

“I let him do his own thing. He settled in behind [Macro Access] and [Midnight Storm] was just running easy. He liked it and I was really happy on the backstretch. He was nice and relaxed. At the three-eighths pole we went and he was gone. Good race for him; he’s a good horse,” said Espinoza.

The victory is Midnight Storm’s fifth win out of 15 starts, bringing his career earnings to $562,110. Last year, Midnight Storm was the winner of the G2 Del Mar Derby.  He is owned by Alex Venneri, the Marjorie Dye Revocable Trust and Little Red Feather Racing and trained by Phil D’Amato.

Finish
Midnight Storm $9.60 $6.00 $5.60
Bal a Bali ————- $4.20 $3.40
Toowindytohaulrox ——– $11.80

$0.50 Trifecta $211.05

Taris Takes Command in Go For Wand

Taris, who was third in the Twinspires Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (Gr.1), added another stakes win to her resume on November 27^th.  Going off as the 4-5 favorite, the 4-year-old daughter of Flatter took command of the $300,000 Go For Wand Handicap (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack, never looking back as she crossed the wire 2 ½ lengths ahead.

Spelling Again set the pace in the one-turn mile race, giving opening fractions of :23.80 and :47.49, while Taris, under jockey Joel Rosario, sat three-quarters of a length behind her. She looked set to stay ahead at the three-quarter mark, which she ran in 1:11.46. Taris was having none of that, however, charging up to take over despite floating outward on the turn. Her final time for the race, run over a fast track, was 1:36.10. Behind Taris, Mei Ling, who was carried six wide into the upper stretch, dug in to take second by ¾-lengths. Spelling Again weakened late, but held on for third.

Taris has now won three graded stakes and has a record of 6-1-2 from 10 starts. The Go For Wand boosted her earnings to $687,700. Bred in Kentucky by Claiborne Farm, Taris was consigned at the 2012 Keeneland September yearling sales and sold for $90,000. According to trainer Simon Callaghan, her next start may come at Santa Anita in February.

The winner paid $3.80 to win, $2.90 to place, and $2.40 to show.

Top four finishers: Taris, Mei Ling, Spelling Again and Kiss to Remember.

Almasty Goes From Claimer to Graded Stakes Winner in Commonwealth

Almasty may have been claimed for $30,000 by trainer Brad Cox in March, but on November 27^th the chestnut ridgling looked every bit a stakes winner as he set the pace and then drew away to take the $100,000 Commonwealth Turf (G3) at Churchill Downs. The race was his first graded stakes try.

Under jockey Jon Court, the 3-year-old son of Scat Daddy dueled briefly with Bucchero at the beginning of the race, but shook him to pull clear and set fractions of :23.48, :48.10, and 1:13.48 for six furlongs. At that point he led by two lengths and continued to pull away in the stretch. The final margin of victory for the 1 1/16 mile race was 4 ¼ lengths. Saham closed from 10^th to finish second, and Quality Bird was another 3 ½ lengths back in third. The final time was 1:45.41, and the turf was rated good.

Almasty’s last win came three starts back, in a mile turf allowance at Saratoga Race Course. He followed that race with a fourth place finish in the Better Talk Now Stakes at Saratoga and a third place finish in an allowance optional claiming at Belmont on October 17^th. The Commonwealth improved Almasty’s record to 4-1-1 from 10 starts, totaling earnings of $158,831.

Finish
Almasty $24.40 $12.00 $7.60
Saham ———– $4.60 $3.60
Quality Bird ———— $5.60
Granny’s Kitten

$1.00 Superfecta $3,607.40

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