ALGORITHMS TOP INDIVIDUAL CHOICE

John Asher
Churchill Downs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -  The first of three pools of Churchill Downs’ 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager (”KDFW”) begins its three-day run on Friday, Feb. 10, and the bet’s opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999: the Mutuel Field, or “All Others”, looms as a very strong favorite.

Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has installed “All Others” as the 9-5 morning line choice for KDFW Pool 1, but the favored individual horse among the 24 wagering interests in this week’s Friday-Sunday pool is an exciting newcomer.  Starlight Racing’s unbeaten Algorithms (#1), is the favored individual horse at 8-1 and the overall second choice in Battaglia’s early odds for the Pool.  The Todd Pletcher-trained colt burst onto the road to the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) with an emphatic five-length victory over previously unbeaten 2-year-old champion Hansen (#12) in the Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park.

Not far behind Algorithms in Battaglia’s Pool 1 morning line odds is Chadds Ford Stable’s once-beaten Union Rags (#23, 10-1), winner of the Grade I Champagne, and Dr. Kendall Hansen and Sky Chai Racing’s Hansen (12-1), who won the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) to earn the Eclipse Award that honored him as America’s champion 2-year-old of 2011.

The popular Kentucky Derby Future Wager offers fans the opportunity to bet on candidates for the famed Kentucky Derby, America’s greatest race and one of the world’s premier sports events, well in advance of this year’s running of the famed 1 ¼-mile race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 5.  Fans will receive the odds on their respective horse or horses that are place at the conclusion of wagering in each 2012 pool, and those odds could be significantly higher than those available on Kentucky Derby Day.

Wagering on 2012’s KDFW Pool 1 is scheduled to open on Friday at noon (all times Eastern) and will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m.  The remaining pools are scheduled for March 2-4 and March 30-April 1, and all KDFW pools feature both win and exacta wagering.

All Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools include 24 betting interests that consist of 23 individual horses and the mutuel field, or “all others” interest.  That latter (#24) includes all 3-year-olds other than the pool’s 23 individual horses.

All bets in the Kentucky Derby are $2 minimum wagers, and there are no refunds on any wager placed during a Kentucky Derby future pool.  If it is determined during any pool that an individual betting interest has suffered an illness, injury or other circumstance that would prevent that horse from competing in the Derby, wagering on that betting interest will be suspended immediately.

Wagering on KDFW Pool 1 is available through TwinSpires.com and other advance deposit wagering platforms and at racetracks and simulcast centers throughout North America.

Here’s the complete field: #1 Algorithms (8-1); #2 Alpha (20-1); #3 Battle Hardended (30-1); #4 Creative Cause (#20-1); #5 Discreet Dancer (15-1); #6 Dullahan (15-1); #7 El Padrino (20-1); #8 Empire Way (50-1); #9 Ever So Lucky (20-1); #10 Fed Biz (20-1); #11 Gemologist (20-1); #12 Hansen (12-1); #13 I’ll Have Another (20-1); #14 Junebugred (50-1); #15 Liaison (20-1); #16 Longview Drive (50-1); #17 Midnight Transfer (50-1); #18 Mr. Bowling (50-1); #19 Out of Bounds (20-1); #20 Rousing Sermon (30-1); #21 Sabercat (30-1); #22 Take Charge Indy (30-1); #23 Union Rags (10-1); and #24 mutuel field (”All Others”, 9-5).

“The mutuel field has been a solid favorite in every opening pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and, given the loss by 2-year-old champion Hansen in his first start as a 3-year-old, there is every reason to think the ‘all others’ bet will be a strong-to-heavy favorite in what appears to be a wide-open crop of Kentucky Derby candidates,” said Battaglia.  “The ‘now’ horse is Algorithms, who is unbeaten, comes from the Pletcher barn, has a strong pedigree and easily handled the reigning 2-year-old champ in the Holy Bull.  The speed figures assigned to that win were impressive, so you can expect a lot of bettors to move in his direction.  But every pool has interesting Derby prospects at attractive odds, and we should remember that last year’s Derby winner, Animal Kingdom, did not even appear as an individual wagering interest until Pool 3.  So much can happen on the road to the Kentucky Derby.”

Algorithms is one of four KDFW Pool 1 horses trained by Pletcher, who saddled Super Saver to win the 2010 Kentucky Derby.  Other Pletcher trainees include unbeaten Discreet Dancer (#5 and the overall fifth choice at 15-1), unbeaten Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) winner Gemologist (#11, 20-1) and recent Gulfstream Park allowance winner El Padrino (20-1).  Hall of Famer and three-time Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert trains a pair of Pool 1 horses in Liaison (#15, 20-1) and Fed Biz (#10, 20-1).  Others with a pair of Pool 1 trainees include Hall of Famer trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who trains Rousing Sermon (#20, 30-1) and Longview Drive (#16, 50-1), and Mike Harrington, who trains Norfolk (GI) winner Creative Cause (#4, 20-1) and Empire Way (#8, 50-1).

Team Valor’s Animal Kingdom, who went off at odds of 20-1 and paid $43.80 for a $2 win wager in the 2011 Kentucky Derby, was listed as an individual betting interest only during Pool 3 of last year’s Derby Future Wager.  He closed at odds of 31-1 in that pool and a $2 future wager on trainer Graham Motion’s colt returned $64.40 on Derby Day.  As a member of the “all others” mutuel field in the first two pools of 2011, he returned $6.20 for a Pool 1 bet and $9.40 for a Pool 2 wager.  Both Animal Kingdom and Derby runner-up Nehro were part of the “all others” interest (#24), so the KDFW $2 exacta payouts for the three pools were:

* Pool 1 – 24-13 (mutuel field over third-place Mucho Macho Man) for $230;
* Pool 2 – 24-12 (mutuel field over third-place Mucho Macho Man) for $388.20; and
* Pool 3 – 1-12 (Animal Kingdom over runner-up Nehro) for $3,074.60.

The Derby Day $2 exacta payout for Animal Kingdom over Nehro (16-19) was $329.80.

Real-time odds and other information on the KDFW will be available at the official event Web site at www.KentuckyDerby.com. Wagering interests for the 2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools are chosen by a four-member committee that includes Mike Watchmaker, National Handicapper for Daily Racing Form (”DRF”); Brad Free, DRF West Coast correspondent; Ed DeRosa, Brisnet director of Marketing; and John Asher, vice president of racing communications for Churchill Downs.

Coglianese Photos/Gulfstream Park
Algorithms winning the Holy Bull.

Battle Hardened ‘very well’ after Davis win 
Ever So Lucky works for Saturday’s Hutcheson

(Edited Gulfstream Park report)

BOYNTON BEACH, FL – Chadds Ford Stable’s Champagne (G1) winner and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) runner-up Union Rags was impressive Monday morning working a half-mile at Palm Meadows.

Daily Racing Form columnist and clocker Mike Welsch had the 3-year-old son of Dixie Union working in :48 3/5.

“He did it real easy,” said trainer Michael Matz. “We’ll probably work him with another horse next week. He’s doing very well. We’re still planning on the (Feb. 26) Fountain of Youth (G2) as his first start. The main objective is to get him to the (Kentucky) Derby (G1) in good shape.”

Meanwhile, Battle Hardened, who broke his maiden for trainer Eddie Kenneally at Tampa in Saturday’s Sam F. Davis (G3), was back at Palm Meadows and doing “very well” after his 1¼ length victory over 10 others. Battle Hardened just missed breaking his maiden at Gulfstream Dec. 31 when finishing second by a head to Big Screen.

“We think he’s a nice horse with a future,” Kenneally said. “We wanted to get some graded earnings, but we have a lot of confidence in him and (Tampa) was a good place to take a shot.”

Kenneally said he would nominate Battle Hardened for “all the appropriate races.” He said the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 31 and the $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) March 10 were both possibilities.

At Gulfstream Monday morning, Augustin Stable’s highly-regarded 3-year-old Ever So Lucky, second Nov. 26 in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) in only his second start, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.75 as he prepared to make his 2012 debut Saturday in the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes (G2). Joining the son of Indian Charlie in the seven furlong event will be Thunder Moccasin. The son of A.P. Warrior, who is trained by Todd Pletcher, broke his maiden Dec. 24 at first asking by 2½ lengths over Ender Knievel, who came back to break his maiden Sunday at a mile by 7¾ lengths.

NYRA file photo
Union Rags

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Maryland Jockey Club announced 2012 Preakness InfieldFest will include performances by Grammy Award nominees Maroon 5 and Wiz Khalifa. Both artists will play extended sets on the main stage in the public Infield on Saturday, May 19 at Pimlico Race Course when the Maryland Jockey Club, North America’s oldest sporting organization, hosts the 137th renewal of the Preakness® Stakes.

Maroon 5 won a GRAMMY for Best New Artist in 2005 and is currently nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for “Moves Like Jagger”, which also features Christina Aguilera. Lead vocalist Adam Levine and Aguilera are coaches on the popular NBC talent show program “The Voice”. Maroon 5, who were named Favorite Band at the 2012 People’s Choice Awards in January, has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. Additional information on the band can be found at http://www.maroon5.com/, http://www.facebook.com/maroon5 and https://twitter.com/maroon5.

Wiz Khalifa is nominated for two GRAMMY Awards: Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for “Black & Yellow”, his single that peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold 3 million digital copies since release. Khalifa’s recent single “Young, Wild & Free”, which also stars Snoop Dogg, recently reached Platinum status. Additional information on the 24-year-old can be found at http://www.wizkhalifa.com/, http://www.facebook.com/wizkhalifa and https://twitter.com/RealWizKhalifa.

“The InfieldFest brand, now in its fourth year, is all about first class music for the region’s most celebrated party at an historic and iconic sporting classic. The multi-celebration festival experience promises a variety of music and entertainment, including the return of the hugely popular MUG Club,” said Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas. “There is plenty for fans to do all day long. The Preakness Infield has become a rite of passage for generations in the mid-Atlantic region. Nowhere else can you listen to great music and soak up the party atmosphere that is InfieldFest at such low prices, capped off by the constant action of live racing that is Preakness Day.”

GRAMMY winners Bruno Mars (2011), Train (2011) and Zac Brown (2010) have performed on the main stage at InfieldFest in previous years as well as Rock and Rock Hall of Famers ZZ Top (2009), Buckcherry (2009) and O.A.R. (2010). Renowned independent promotion and production company, I.M.P., of the legendary 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion, has booked and produced the InfieldFest main stage since its inception in 2009.

In addition to the main stage headliners, Preakness InfieldFest will feature live music from top acts on a second stage, presented by Jägermeister, a variety of activities and a slew of Maryland-branded food and beverage concessions. The Jägermeister stage acts will be announced at a later date.

Two 160 feet MUG Club areas will be available and easily accessible for the second consecutive year. For an additional $20 to a regular admission to the public Infield, fans receive a souvenir mug for unlimited refills of beer. As in all prior years, the Maryland Jockey will continue to work closely with its beverage partners to ensure that responsible drinking policies and protocol is in place for all Preakness fans.

Infield Tickets will be reduced to $40, with a MUG Club package $60 until 7:30 a.m. Monday, February 6 before prices are returned to $50 (Infield Ticket) and $70 (MUG Club).

Seating information and ticket reservations are available at www.preakness.com. Tickets can be bought by calling the Preakness sales office at 410-542-9400 or 877-206-8042 or at www.ticketmaster.com.

NO beverage of any kind (cans or bottles), including alcohol, soft drinks and water will be allowed to be brought into the public Infield. Coolers and backpacks, containing food, will be permitted in the Infield but coolers larger than 28″l x 15″w x 17″h will be prohibited. Beach blankets and suntan lotion, cellular phones, cameras (up to 35mm), camcorders, binoculars and lightweight plastic lawn chairs are also allowed in the Infield. 

Additional information can be found on www.facebook.com/InfieldFest and https://twitter.com/PreaknessStakes.

The annual running of the Preakness is an American institution. First contested in 1873, it is one of thoroughbred horse racing’s most valued Grade 1 stakes races. Now one of the largest single-day sporting events in the United States, “The People’s Race…The People’s Party” has hosted up to 121,263 for the pivotal middle jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown at famed Pimlico.

The greatest three-year old horses in the history of racing have thundered down the stretch at “Old Hilltop” in their quest for the Woodlawn Vase, the most valuable trophy in American Sports, including Man o’ War, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Rachel Alexandra.

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Trainer Eddie Kenneally and jockey Julien Leparoux used the same word to describe Battle Hardened’s winning effort Saturday in the 32nd running of the Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes: professional.

Despite entering the race as a maiden, the 3-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Giant’s Causeway-Jen’s Fashion looked the part of, well, a battle-hardened veteran, surging to the lead near the eighth pole and withstanding a belated run from Pasco Stakes winner Prospective by a length-and-a-quarter.

Gulfstream Park Derby winner Reveron finished a nose back of Prospective in third, with 69-1 shot Ravelo’s Boy another nose back in fourth in the 11-horse field. Battle Hardened’s time for the mile-and-a-sixteenth was 1:44.58.

The winner – who had two seconds in three previous starts, both in two-turn races – was the third betting choice among a crowd of 5,344 in the wide-open race, paying $11.

“He was very professional today,” said Leparoux, who was riding Battle Hardened for the first time. “He broke good and put me in the right spot right away. In a big field, I knew we’d be in traffic. When he settled near the inside, he relaxed the way I wanted him to.

“I was inside, inside and then on the second turn, I was able to get out and this horse has a long stride and he kept going,” said Leparoux. “Eddie told me to warm him up good and it went well. I knew he was a maiden, of course, but Eddie told me his last race at Gulfstream was kind of like a win because he had a bad post and some bad luck. He ran big today.”

Kenneally, who trains Battle Hardened for owners Michael B. Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier, had cross-entered the colt in a maiden race at Gulfstream and did not decide until Friday to take a shot at the Sam F. Davis.

“This was a really good bunch of quality horses, but no stars, and that was one reason we decided to take a shot today,” said Kenneally, who won the 2010 Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes with Santiva when he was a maiden. “He’s been training brilliantly and we were happy with how he was coming into the race, so we decided to come here and get some of the big money.

“He showed a little more professionalism today. He relaxed nicely in the thick of things. He was in a group of horses in tight and he had plenty of reasons to back out of there if he wanted to, but he showed a little bit of gameness and a little bit of toughness like you want to see going forward to the bigger races down the road.

We’ll definitely take a real good look at the Tampa Bay Derby (March 10) and it’s very likely,” Kenneally added. “We knew when his races started to go longer he was going to be a better horse. Two-turn races are what he wants to do and he is very good at it.”

Battle Hardened was bred by Lakeside Farm LLC and purchased by the owners as a July yearling for $170,000. His winner’s share of the purse was $120,000.

Mark Casse, who trained Florida Oaks winner Dixie Strike on Saturday and was second with Exclusive Love in the Endeavour Stakes, had mixed feelings about Prospective’s effort.

“You know, he ran really funny,” Casse said. “I thought turning for home he was through, but (jockey) Luis (Contreras) said as soon as (Battle Hardened) came outside him, he took off again. So if we can get him to try harder, he’ll be really good. We might make a few little changes and hopefully come back and try him again (in the Tampa Bay Derby).”

The Sam F. Davis was the centerpiece of Tampa Bay Downs’ Festival Preview Day Presented by Lambholm South. In the other graded stakes, the Grade III, $150,000 Endeavour Stakes for  fillies and mares at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf, Martin S. Schwartz’s 5-year-old mare Zagora justified her 9-10 odds, rolling to a two-and-a-quarter length victory from Exclusive Love under winning rider Javier Castellano. Keertana rallied for third in the eight-horse field.

Zagora, a French-bred daughter of Green Tune-Zaneton who is trained by Chad Brown, had last raced Sept. 18 at Woodbine in a Grade II stakes. That followed her victory last July in the Grade I Diana at Saratoga, and she was back to that level Saturday, winning in a speedy 1:40.92 for the distance.

“It’s the first time I’ve been up on her since last year but it was like getting back with an old friend,” Castellano said. “We really had a perfect trip. I got her to the inside and she relaxed. When we were getting near the stretch, I asked her and she put in a strong run and that was that.”

Assistant trainer Jose Hernandez, who accompanied Zagora on the van trip from Palm Meadows on Saturday morning, was ecstatic about her performance.

“She was doing so well and training really good at Palm Meadows (Training Center),” Hernandez said. “Chad didn’t tell me anything, only ‘Good luck’ about a half-hour before the race. It is something amazing to be around a mare like this. Javier had a great hold on her and got great position, the fractions were good and she showed her class.”

All-sources handle was approximately $8.2 million, the second-highest total for a Festival Preview Day card.

Live racing resumes Sunday with a first-race post time of 12:25 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits poker action in the Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at the Downs Golf Practice Facility.

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Jay Em Ess Stable’s Bold Front, unhurried early, commenced a rally outside the leaders entering the lane, launched a strong second surge in the late stages and was up to be best by three-quarters of a length in Saturday’s $46,000 main event for maiden sophomores.

Trained by Paul McGee and ridden by Robby Albarado, the winner returned mutuels of $9.60, $4.40 and $3.40, toured the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:45.67 in the race transferred to the sloppy main track and increased his career earnings to $39,213 with his first win in four lifetime starts.

Last Mango Racing Stable and Chris Ewing’s Fleurdefortyfour made the pace with splits of 24.53 and 48.44, could not withstand the winner in the late stages but gamely held the place, paying $6.60 and $3.80 while finishing a neck to the good of Robert Evans’ Attendant, who returned $7 to show.

Racing resumes Sunday at Fair Grounds with a nine-race program beginning at 12:40 p.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.  – Champion 2-year-old Hansen and Union Rags, separated by a head in a thrilling 1-2 finish in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I), and unbeaten Algorithms, who stepped into the spotlight with a five-length win over the champion in the Holy Bull (GIII) at Gulfstream Park, top a large roster of 397 horses made eligible during the early nomination phase to compete in the three classic races that make up American horse racing’s elusive Triple Crown.

The first race in the series of classic races for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the $2 million-guaranteed 138th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) – is set for Saturday, May 5, at world-famous Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.   The second jewel of the Triple Crown is the 137th running of the $1 million Preakness Stakes (GI), which will be run on Saturday, May 19, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.  The American classic series concludes with the 144th running of the Belmont Stakes (GI) on Saturday, June 11 at New York’s Belmont Park.

All three Triple Crown races will be televised by NBC Sports and are scheduled to be broadcast on radio by the Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN).

The nomination total for the 2012 Triple Crown races is a 9.1 percent increase over the 364 early nominees for the three-race classic series a year ago.  The roster of 2012 early Triple Crown nominees is the largest since 2009, when 412 3-year-olds were made eligible during the early period.  This year’s early nomination period, during which each nomination was accompanied by a $600 fee, closed on Saturday, Jan. 21. A late period for nominations – during which each nomination must be accompanied by a $6,000 fee – will conclude on Saturday, March 24.

Hansen, owned by Dr. Kendall Hansen and the Sky Chai Racing partnership, completed a perfect three-race campaign with his narrow front-running victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs.  Along with a 13¼-length victory in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile over synthetic Polytrack at Turfway Park, that victory earned Hansen the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old of 2011.  Maker’s colt suffered the first setback of his young career in his runner-up finish in the one-mile Holy Bull on Jan. 29, his first start of his 3-year-old season.

Union Rags, a son of Dixie Union owned by Chadds Ford Stable, suffered his only setback in four races in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.  The bay son of Dixie Union is trained by Michael Matz, who saddled Barbaro to win the 2006 Kentucky Derby, and scored stakes wins in the Champagne (GI) and the Saratoga Special (GII).

Algorithms, owned the Starlight Racing partnership headed by managing partner Jack Wolf, burst onto the road to the Triple Crown with an impressive five-length victory over Hansen in the Holy Bull.  That race was the debut in stakes competition for the Todd Pletcher-trained son of 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini and his third in as many starts.  He has won his three races, including a maiden victory last June at Belmont Park and a pair of wins this year at Gulfstream Park.

Other winners of major stakes races on the list of early Triple Crown nominees include CashCall Futurity (GI) winner Liaison; Creative Cause, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and winner of the Norfolk (GI) and Best Pal (GII); Hopeful (GI) winner Currency Swap; Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (GI) winner Dullahan; unbeaten Kentucky Jockey Club (GII) winner Gemologist; and Delta Jackpot (GIII) winner Sabercat.

Of this year’s 397 nominations, 344 are colts and there are 37 geldings.  The list also includes 10 ridglings.

Horses bred in Kentucky again dominated the roster of Triple Crown nominees.  Of the 397 nominees, 303 were born in Kentucky.  Florida was next with 27 horses, followed by New York with 13 and California with 12.  Fourteen of the nominees were produced outside of the United States, a number that includes six horses bred in Ireland.

The list of nominees includes six fillies, and that group is headed by Anita Cauley’s On Fire Baby, winner of the Golden Rod (GII).  She ran third to Triple Crown nominee Junebugred when she faced males in Oaklawn Park’s Smarty Jones on Jan. 16.

Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables LLC leads all owners with 13 nominees to the 2012 Triple Crown.  Robert LaPenta is next with 10 and Klaravich Stables Inc. has nine nominees, either on its own or in partnerships.

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who scored his first Kentucky Derby victory with Super Saver in 2010, led trainers for the third consecutive year with 32 Triple Crown nominees.  Pletcher was tied at 20 atop last year’s list with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who ranks second 21 nominated horses.  Steve Asmussen and Nick Zito are next with 15 nominees, and Dale Romans nominated 14.

There is a tie atop the roster of leading Triple Crown sires between two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) winner Tiznow and Unbridled’s Song, each with 12 Triple Crown nominees.  Malibu Moon and Street Sense, the winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby whose first crop of foals are 3-year-olds, share the next spot with 11 nominees.   War Front sired 10, with Hard Spun and Smart Strike next with nine.

The Kentucky Derby field has been limited to 20 starters since 1975, and accumulated earnings in prestigious graded stakes races along the “Road to the Triple Crown” have determined the field for the 1¼-mile classic since 1986.  The field for the Preakness, the 1 3/16-mile second jewel of the Triple Crown, is limited to 14 starters, while Belmont Stakes, the “Test of the Champion” and finale of the series at 1½ miles, permits a maximum field of 16 horses.

A Triple Crown sweep – one of the most difficult feats in all of sports – has been accomplished on just 11 occasions: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1942), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978). Fifty other horses have finished one win shy of the honor.

The 2011 Triple Crown races yielded three different winning horses and the connections of each of the winners experienced their first victories in the coveted series.

Animal Kingdom, owned and bred by the Team Valor partnership headed by Barry Irwin, scored an emphatic victory in the Kentucky Derby to kick-off the 2011 Triple Crown.  The winner was trained by H. Graham Motion and was ridden by jockey John Velazquez, who picked up his winning mount the day before the race. Mike Lauffer and W.D. Cubbedge’s Shackleford, fourth in the Kentucky Derby for trainer Dale Romans, held off the surging Animal Kingdom by a half-length at Pimlico to win the Preakness under jockey Jesus Castanon. The Belmont Stakes went to George and Lori Hall’s Ruler On Ice, a late nominee to the Triple Crown who had been excluded from the Kentucky Derby field because of insufficient earnings in graded stakes races.  The son of Roman Ruler won by a half-length under jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. and provided trainer Kelly Breen with his first success in a Triple Crown race.

The current 33-year streak without a Triple Crown winner is the longest in the history of the series.  The previous record was a 25-year gap between the Triple Crown earned by Citation in 1948 and Secretariat’s stunning sweep in 1973.

NYRA file photo
Union Rags

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Alpha took a big step along the road to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack, drawing clear to an emphatic 3 ¼-length victory as the 1-5 favorite in the Grade 3, $200,000 Withers for 3-year-olds.

Leaving from the outside in the field of six, the Bernardini colt was floated wide on the first turn but then settled in about two lengths behind pacesetter How Do I Win as he led through an opening quarter-mile in 23.71 and a half in 48.04. Moving up three-wide on the far turn, Alpha took command at the top of the stretch when asked and was never threatened as he cruised under the wire for his second straight stakes win of 2012.

His winning time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:44.23.

“You always want to save ground, and after I went wide through the first turn my main goal was to try and get him to relax,” said winning jockey Ramon Dominguez, who teamed with Alpha to win the Big A’s Count Fleet on Jan. 7. “I was a little more familiar with the horse [today] and I kind of knew what to expect, but I thought he moved forward from his last race. Although that race was good to begin with, I was very happy with his race today. I thought he improved. He finished up nice, and the last eighth he was really doing it on his own and galloped out good. Just the way you want to see.”

The Withers victory was worth $120,000 and boosted Alpha’s all-important career graded stakes earnings to $180,000, including $60,000 from his runner-up finish to Union Rags in the Grade 1 Champagne last fall at BelmontPark. The win also opened up a number of options for the Godolphin Stable color-bearer, including Aqueduct’s Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham on March 3 and the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World New York City Casino Wood Memorial on April 7.

“The plans will be to talk to Simon Crisford from Godolphin to see which way to go,” said winning trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “He’s here in New York right now, but he could relocate, or he could run back in the Gotham in a month. We’ll just have to talk about it. At least we got $120,000 in graded earnings [today] going forward to the first Saturday in May. That’s important.”

Alpha returned $2.70 for a $2 win bet as he extended his record to 3-1-0 from five starts. In his only off-the-board performance, he was 11th in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after acting up in the gate, something which McLaughlin’s team has been working on for weeks.

“He was great in the gate,” said McLaughlin. “We’ve been schooling him a lot. It worked out today. Obviously it’s nice to be outside, but at some point he’s going to have to be inside, so we’ll see how our schooling is working.

“I think he improved some [from the Count Fleet] because of how wide he was both trips, and he was better in the gate,” he added. “He gets a better grade for this race – if it was a ‘B’ last time, he gets an ‘A’ this time.”

Speightscity, the longest shot on the board at 44-1, got up for second, 1¾ lengths ahead of Tiger Walk. Completing the order of finish were How Do I Win, King Kid, and Hakama. Swag Daddy was scratched.

NYRA/Adam Coglianese
Alpha and jockey Ramon Dominguez win the Grade 3, $200,000 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Calibrachoa stalked longshot pacesetter Diski Dance and drove past that opponent in the stretch to post a repeat victory in the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Part of a coupled entry that went off as the 2-5 favorite, the Repole Stable representative bobbled at the start but recovered to track Diski Dance through fractions of 23.35 and 46.07. Jockey Cornelio Velasquez set down Calibrachoa inside the quarter pole, and the dark bay passed Diski Dance with a furlong remaining before going on to a 2¼-length decision. Caixa Eletronica, coupled in the wagering with the winner, was third.

“First jump out of the gate, he stumbled, but he stayed in the race,” said Velasquez. “I stayed right there in second easy, and waited until the last three-sixteenths. I asked him, and he passed. I had a lot of horse. He was the best horse in the race.”

Calibrachoa completed six furlongs in 1:09.47 and returned $2.90 for a $2 wager.

The 2012 Toboggan was Calibrachoa’s first start since his third-place finish in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap on November 26. It was his fourth Grade 3 stakes victory at the Big A, having also taken the 2011 Tom Fool Handicap in March and Bold Ruler in November in addition to his two Toboggan scores. Overall, he is 4-for-4 on the inner track and 2-for-3 on the main track at Aqueduct.

Knowing Calibrachoa’s affinity for Aqueduct, winning trainer Todd Pletcher said the 5-year-old could resurface in the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap on March 3, Gotham Stakes Day.

“He’s so good at Aqueduct we have to look at [the Tom Fool],” said Pletcher.

Calibrachoa, who was bred in Kentucky by Nelson Bunker Hunt, is 9-3-4 from 19 starts. His lifetime earnings stand at $546,040 after receiving $90,000 for his 2012 Toboggan victory.

“He loves Aqueduct,” added winning owner Mike Repole. “But he’s run well at Belmont and run well at Saratoga. You guys know how much I like New York, so we keep him here.”

Pletcher added that Caixa Eletronica remains under consideration for the Grade 2 General George Handicap on Feb. 20 at Laurel Park.

Candyman E was fourth, followed home by Flat Bold, Rule by Night, and Dr Disco. J J’s Lucky Train was scratched.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Nicole H extended her inner-track unbeaten streak to four Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack, splitting horses in the stretch and going on to a 2½-length victory in the 72nd running of the $100,000 Correction Stakes.

Tracking in third along the rail as Winning Image was stalked by Golden Mystery through an opening quarter-mile in 23.18 and a half in 46.78, Nicole H found herself blocked to the outside as they turned for home. Urged between the two front runners by jockey Ramon Dominguez, Nicole H grabbed the lead and widened her advantage through the stretch.

“I was actually trying to work my way out from the half-mile to the three-eighths pole, but unfortunately, horses kept coming to my outside, and really, I was left with no choice,” Dominguez said. “I felt like I had enough horse and she was handy enough where even if the horse in front had come in, even in a split-second, I had the horse to get inside or outside. I would have rather been tracking on the outside, but I was very happy about the way she was taking me. When she finally got through, she continued going. She was a lot handier than last time.”

The 5-year-old daughter of Mr. Greeley completed six furlongs in 1:11.08 and returned $3.00 as the 1-2 favorite. Longshot Honchis’n Ponchis came on late to edge Golden Mystery for second and Love That Dance, Streaker, Cinco de Mayo Mio and Winning Image completed the order of finish.

“Cornelio (Velasquez, aboard Golden Mystery) race-rode my horse pretty strong. It was good riding, but you hope the best horse makes the trainer and jockey look pretty smart,” said Mike Hushion, who trains Nicole H for Gem, Inc. “We’ve always felt she was one of the best fillies in the country. We have the rest of the year to prove it.”

Nicole H now claims a record of 7-6-2 from 18 starts and a $404,344 bankroll, including the $60,000 she earned for today’s victory. Next up could be a title defense in the Grade 2, $200,000 Distaff Handicap run at seven furlongs over Aqueduct’s main track on April 14.

“There are a lot of choices, but that would be the obvious one,” Hushion said.

LAUREL , Md. – Copperville Farm’s Dance to Bristol scored an easy win in today’s feature at Laurel Park, the $100,000 Marshua Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Sent to post at 4-5 under Elias Peltrouche, the Charles Town-based shipper pressed the easy pace of Double the Energy before ranging up to take the lead in mid-stretch and pulling away to win by 5-3/4 lengths. Terralba rallied to take second and Defy Gravity was third.

The winner, a Speightstown filly trained by Ollie Figgins III, paid $3.60. The victory was her third in seven starts. Her resume includes a win in the Pandera Stakes at Aqueduct two starts back.

“This is a nice filly. I’ve ridden her the last four or five times,” said Peltroche. “I was happy they scratched this horse (Doe) so she didn’t have to run with this horse.”

“She’s just growing up a little, I believe,” said Figgins. “She likes this track. I worked her here Sunday. We were quietly confident. I never tell him how to ride her. She has speed and she puts herself where she needs to be. We’ll see how she is. It’s not out of the question that we’ll stretch her out.”

Photo courtesy of MJC (Jim McCue)
Dance to Bristol