SUNDAY FEB. 13 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JANIS!
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*Good effort yesterday at Gulfstream from Stronach Stables’ HUNTERS BAY (Ghostzapper) who posted a whopping 103 BEYER FIGURE when 2nd in an allowance race, beaten just 1 1/4 lengths. The American-bred is now trained by Reade Baker and it was his first race since last spring.
BIG RACES YESTERDAY
BRETHREN – 83
ANTHONY’S CROSS – 90
SILVER MEDALLION – 93
A trio of Kentucky Derby “preview” races were held yesterday (the quotations are there since it is very early none of those three races are a very good gauage historically) and the results were mixed if you are a chalk player.
BRETHREN was pretty good in the Tampa Bay Derby and he was well hyped since his half bro was in this same race, the Sam Davis, last year and then went on to win the Kentucky Derby.
Brethren was bad at the gate, he would not load, and then he broke outward and awkwardly. He used up a bit of speed to get position but then evened out before surging clear. A workmanlike score but the slowest of the 3 big stakes according to Beyer Speed Figures.
ANTHONY’S CROSS won by a snout at Aanta Anita for a well related horse owner (see below). The son of Indian Charlie cost a hatful at auction ($300,000) and was gritty yesterday in the Robert Lewis. Meanwhile, TAPIZAR was a rank maniac on the lead and stopped. Who is betting these horses down to 1 to 5 (and why are commentators on TVG picking them to win???)
SILVER MEDALLION, by BADGE OF SILVER, earned a 93 Beyer as he romped in the El Camino Real Derby for Mike Ryan. He left odds on Comma to the Top in his wake.
From WINSTAR’S FACEBOOK PAGE – BRETHREN taking a rest
SIGNONSANDIEGO REPORT:
Anthony’s Cross has Triple Crown pedigree galore
By Ed Zieralski
Pedigree is such a huge part of a racehorse’s chances to win big races, but Saturday’s Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita showed an owner’s DNA counts just as much in this game.
Shortly after her talented 3-year-old colt, Anthony’s Cross, upset favorite Tapizar in the Grade II, $250,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, Arianne de Kwiatkowski began spinning yarns about her famous father, Henryk, who saved Calumet Farm in 1992 by buying it. She grew up in the game and remembered well when trainer Woody Stephens won his fifth straight Belmont Stakes with her father’s colt, Danzig Connection.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/12/anthonys-cross-has-triple-crown-pedigree-galore/
Brethren, a half-brother to 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, won his third straight victory without defeat in Saturday’s $225,000 Sam Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. Trained by Todd Pletcher at Gulfstream Park’s Palm Meadows training center, the WinStar Farm’s homebred colt stalked the early pace before drawing off to a convincing four-length victory under Ramon Dominguez.
Brethren broke a little slowly from his far-outside No. 10 post in his two-turn debut but recovered to closely stalk the pace before moving to the lead on the far turn and drawing away under mild encouragement.
“Any time you run a horse two turns for the first time – and off of a 70-day layoff – you don’t know how they’re going to respond,” said WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden. “I was very pleased with how he did it and the ease that he did it with.”
An early nomination for the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream on April 3, Brethren was making his 2011 debut while running 1-1/16 miles in 1:45. The 4-5 favorite won his career debut at Belmont Park last October before capturing an entry-level allowance race at Churchill Downs in November.
“He won it like a good horse should,” said Dominguez of Brethren’s stakes debut. READ MORE AT WWW.SIGNONSANDIEGO.COM
CANADIAN-BREDS NOMINATED FOR TRIPLE CROWN
7 of 364 are canadian-bred, I found 6 this morning
Black N Beauty C DK B/ Devil His Due Harbor Girl Adena Springs Dale L. Romans Zayat Stables, LLC
Elite Alex C B Afleet Alex Catch the Moment ALLISON REGISTER Timothy F. Ritchey Elite Alex LLC
Queen’splatekitten C DK B/ Kitten’s Joy Iteration Kenneth L. Ramsey & Sarah K. Ramsey Todd A. Pletcher Mill House
Red Ace C CH Northern Afleet Swiss Courts Cheat James A Everatt, Janeane A Everatt & J Arika Everatt-Meeuse Steve Margolis Peachtree Stable
Sensational Slam C CH Grand Slam Roman Romance Hill ‘N’ Dale Farms Todd A. Pletcher Bobby Flay
Strike Oil C B Forest Wildcat Acadia Windfields Farm Ltd Mark E. Casse John C. Oxley
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/triple-crown-mania/nominations#ixzz1Dq3wL0bR
NIIGON’S PRINCESS and STORMY LORD in the fog at Payson Park
JANET BLACK PHOTO
FIFTY PROOF, owned by Ben Hutzel, John Fielding and Kinghaven Farms, sets out on the Payson Park grass last week.
Janet Black photo
