Courtesy of the Blood-Horse

Favored Currency Swap handled sloppy conditions at rainy Saratoga better than any of his nine juvenile rivals in the $250,000 Three Chimneys Hopeful Stakes (gr. I), edging a persistent Trinniberg on closing day of the 2011 season Sept. 5.

Rajiv Maragh guided 9-5 choice Currency Swap to a three-quarters of a length victory for trainer Terri Pompay and owners Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. A son of High Cotton   bred in Florida by Stonecliff Farm, the bay colt is now two-for-two in his career after breaking his maiden by six lengths in his debut on a fast Saratoga main track Aug. 6.

“I don’t even know how to describe it," Pompay said of her feelings after winning. "I was so excited I thought I was going to pass out. This is my hometown. It’s been exciting and fun because I knew I was bringing a good horse. This horse is so special. I’m so proud of him that he came through."

As part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, Currency Swap earned a slot in the starting gate for the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs.

The gooey going was the X-factor in the seven-furlong Hopeful since only one contestant, Trinniberg, had even been on an off-track before. Final time was 1:26.16.

Trinniberg, sent off at 68-1, finished second, with Big Blue Nation rallying for third. Second-choice J C's Pride was eased by jockey Jose Lezcano on the turn while racing mid-pack on the outside. He was vanned off the track.

Currency Swap was racing as part of a Klaravich/Lawrence entry with Clip the Coupons.

Shooting to the immediate lead was Trinniberg, ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, who sped through a swift opening quarter-mile in :21.91 while leading Vexor and Hunt Crossing. Currency Swap broke with the leading group as well before being taken in hand by Maragh. He advanced into second before Trinniberg completed a half-mile in :45.14.

Those two separated from the rest of the field on the turn, but the taxing conditions soon reduced the battle to a stagger-fest as Trinniberg and Currency Swap approached the furlong mark. Currency Swap, under right-handed urging from Maragh, finally overtook Trinniberg and prevailed under strong encouragement in the final sixteenth. The final furlong was run in 14.67 seconds.

“I tried to put him in a spot that was pretty ideal for me on the outside in the clear where my horse was really happy," Maragh said. "(Trinniberg) put up a really strong challenge. I wasn’t sure I was going to win it until after I had passed the wire.”

Big Blue Nation, with Ramon Dominguez aboard, finished with interest to take third, 3 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up.

Currency Swap, out of the Pine Bluffmare Echo Bluff, brought $70,000 as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky July sale last year. He recorded a 98 Beyer Speed Figure when he covered 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:17.02 to break his maiden impressively one month ago. The Hopeful victory was worth $150,000 and boosted Currency Swap's career total to $180,000.

"The sloppy track was an unknown factor," Pompay said. "I wanted to showcase him on a dry track, but he handled it fine. I thought the other horse (Trinniberg) would stop, but he kept on going. I guess he really liked the slop. My horse showed guts because even when the other horse pushed him out a little bit, he kept digging in.

"This is just the start, because now we can go forward from here. Obviously we’d like to do the Breeders’ Cup; we have to decide whether he’ll have a race in between, or give him the time. I think this horse is going to get better as he gets older, and I think he’ll like the added distance as well.”

This was the first grade I win for Klaravich Stable since Subordination captured the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar in 1998.

“We’re ecstatic," said Seth Klarman. "It’s been a long time between grade I's for us. We were excited about this horse before he even ran. Nick de Meric picked him out. He runs the farm [Manuden Farm in Ocala, Fla.] where our babies grow up.

“We’ll see how he comes out. His next spot, logically, will be the Champagne (gr. I)." The one-mile Champagne is Oct. 8 at Belmont Park.

Courtesy of the Blood-Horse

Twice the Appeal, disqualified in his prior start, made the most of a second chance when he collared Astrology near mid-stretch en route to a 1 1/2-length victory in the $800,000 Sunland Derby (gr. III) in New Mexico Such is the nature of the trail to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands (gr. I) that the 25-1 shot Twice the Appeal, heretofore unmentioned by the experts, jumps all the way into the top 10 on the graded earnings list with the $400,000 first prize. Graded earnings are used to determine preference for a spot in the starting gate for the Run for the Roses May 7.

Courtesy of the Blood-Horse
By Jason Shandler

He did not disappoint.

The son of Indian Charlie was pressed by longshot I'm Steppin' It Up through fast opening fractions, but still had plenty left in the tank to win the $300,000 Champagne Stakes (gr. I) (VIDEO) by 4 3/4 lengths under John Velazquez for his first stakes triumph. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt is now on his way to the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs, where he will likely be the favorite.

Uncle Mo, a $220,000 Keeneland September 2009 yearling sale purchase, gave owner Mike Repole his first graded stakes win in the Champagne, which went to post with a field of six. The bay colt was sent off at odds of 1-5 after scoring by more than 14 lengths in his Aug. 28 debut at Saratoga.

Under Velazquez’s handling, Uncle Mo broke sharply and went straight to the front. But he did not have an easy time on the lead, as I’m Steppin’ It Up was right on his heels through a :22.41 opening quarter, :45.92 half-mile, and 1:10.47 three-quarters. The favorite put away I’m Steppin’ it Up when they made the turn, opening up a 3 1/2-length lead with a furlong remaining.

His biggest threat in the final furlong was Mountain Town, who made a menacing four-wide rally with Cornelio Velazquez aboard and was bearing down on the leader in upper stretch, but Uncle Mo was still full of run while sprinting to the wire under a vigorous hand ride. The final time on the fast main track was 1:34.51, which tied Seattle Slew for the second-fastest Champagne at the distance, just a fifth of a second slower than Devil's Bag in 1983.

Mountain Town was 9 3/4 lengths clear of third-place I’m Steppin It Up.

“The other horse was right next to him and he got a little strong, but I didn’t want to choke him down,” Velazquez said. “So I just did give and take with him and tried to get him to come back to me a little. Even though he went pretty fast he was doing it comfortably.

“Once we hit the three-eighths pole he kind of let go of the bit and relaxed. And then when I asked him at the quarter pole he was there. The instant I asked him he accelerated. He really did surprise me in how quickly he picked it up. He galloped out really well.”

Uncle Mo, who is based at Belmont, gave Repole his third win on the card.

“It’s been six years as a horse owner, but I’ve been coming here since I was 13, so it’s really been like 28 years, and it just feels great,” Repole said.

“He’s just such a talented horse; he’s able to do things other horses can’t do,” Pletcher said. “The sky’s the limit. I don’t see how a horse could start a career more impressively than he has. His maiden was as good as I’ve seen, and then to come back and run 1:34 2/5 in the Champagne is unbelievable. His times have been exceptionally fast; he gets stronger as he goes along.

“The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile would be the obvious goal. He’ll ship to Churchill Downs (Oct. 26) and have one work over the track.”

Bred in Kentucky by Dr. Michael Cavey, Uncle Mo is out of the Arch mare Playa Maya. He has earned $216,000.

Big Brown eased as Da' Tara denies Triple Crown bid

Courtesy of the Thoroughbred Times
by Ed DeRosa

On a 96-degree day in which the plumbing failed at Belmont Park, it was appropriate that the Triple Crown drought extended another year as Big Brown failed to fire and was eased in the stretch with Robert LaPenta’s Da’ Tara stealing the race on the front end to give Racing Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito his second Belmont Stakes (G1) victory.

Da’ Tara led the field from gate to wire to win by 5 1/4 lengths in 2:29.65, the slowest time since 2002 when Sarava upset War Emblem’s bid in 2:29.72. He is the first gate-to-wire winner of the Belmont since Swale in 1984. Denis of Cork finished second, 2 3/4 lengths ahead of dead heat third-place finishers Ready’s Echo and Anak Nakal.

Big Brown broke alertly but “slipped” a bit leaving the gate. Jockey Kent Desormeaux put his 0.25-to-1 favorite behind Da’ Tara heading into the first turn. Da’ Tara under Alan Garcia came over on Big Brown, and the dual classic winner checked a bit going past the first quarter in :23.82. Desormeaux moved Big Brown off the rail and was 1 1/2 lengths back of Da’ Tara on the backstretch with Tale of Ekati in second to his inside.

Da’ Tara continued to control the race through fractions of :48.30, 1:12.90, and 1:37.96. Desormeaux said he had no horse turning for home and began easing his mount in the stretch.

By the time the field straightened out in the lane, it was clear that no one was going to catch Da’ Tara. The performance was the worst by a Triple Crown hopeful among the 11 who have tried since Affirmed swept the series in 1978.

“He always breaks hard, and he slipped up front,” Desormeaux said. “He was keen to go on, and I got him in a good spot early. In the first turn I thought I was riding the winner.”

“Nick told me to go to lead and slow down the pace, and when the time comes, do what you have to do to get this horse home,” Garcia said.

“I told Alan, if you can get away then get away,” Zito said.

Despite the poor showing, Desormeaux's confidence in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner did not waiver.

“This is still the best horse I’ve ever ridden. He’s not lame; nothing was wrong,” Desormeaux said. “When I turned for home, I had no horse. I thought the race was playing into us, but when I asked Big Brown to engage, I had no horse. I was done.”

Desormeaux was aboard Real Quiet in that colt’s Triple Crown bid in 1998. He said that loss—by a nose to Victory Gallop—was more disheartening than this year’s Belmont because he does not feel any responsibility for Big Brown’s loss.

“I cannot imagine the freaks the 11 Triple Crown winners were,” Desormeaux said.

Da’ Tara paid $79 to win, $5 more than Birdstone paid to win in 2004 when that Zito trainee denied Smarty Jones the Triple Crown. Zito also finished third that year with Royal Assault, and the Zito trainee Anak Nakal was part of the dead heat third-place finish this year.

“The champ wasn’t himself today, but I said it a million times: I’m still going to play this game,” Zito said. “Both of my wins were equally surprising.”

Zito and LaPenta teaming to win the final leg of the Triple Crown is an appropriate coda on a Triple Crown season that began with all eyes on the duo’s champion two-year-old male War Pass.

After winning an allowance race, War Pass disappointed with a last-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) before running second to Tale of Ekati in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1). War Pass then missed the Triple Crown with a leg injury.

“We wish we were here with War Pass today, but Da’ Tara said he’d do it for him, and he did it very well,” LaPenta said. “Nick did just a phenomenal job here. This has been one of his favorite horses.”

Zito picked Da’ Tara out for LaPenta at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale. LaPenta went to $175,000 for the Tiznow colt, and while he sometimes pinhooks his yearling purchases, Da’ Tara was one horse Zito told LaPenta to keep.

WinStar bred Da’ Tara in Kentucky out of the winning Pirate’s Bounty mare Torchera. Da’ Tara has won two of eight starts and earned $664,067.

Big Brown’s trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., denied requests for interviews immediately after the race.

“Please, not now,” he said.

6/14/08 - Fleur de Lis: Gomez Never Had it so Easy

(Hysterical Lady was a Four Star Sales graduate of Keeneland November 2003 )

COURTESY OF THE BLOOD-HORSE

Hystericalady cruises to victory in the Fleur de Lis. Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

Garrett Gomez was the envy of every jockey June 14 at Churchill Downs. Who wouldn’t want to pick up the mount for the first time on a horse that had won eight of her previous 18 starts? Not to mention that she loves the distance and the racetrack.

Welcome to Gomez’ life as he entered the gate aboard Hystericalady, who would dominate her opponents on the way to a 7 ½-length score in the Fleur de Lis Handicap (gr. II).

The on-track crowd may have showed up to get a look at the reigning Horse of the Year Curlin in the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I), but they saw a dynamite performance from Hystericalady, who continues to be at the top of her game for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

Hystericalady sat just behind Initforthekandy for the first half-mile (in :49.69) and the two would then switch positions and run one-two the rest of the nine-furlong race, Gomez letting the 5-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor out a notch at each pole as she coasted home the easiest kind of winner.

Sent off by the crowd at 1-2, she ran like those odds, being in hand the final sixteenth to cover the distance in 1:50.88 and return $3 and $2.20 to her faithful backers. Initforthekandy paid $7.20 to place as the longest shot (15-1) in the field reduced to five after the scratch of Cowgirls Don’t Cry. Kathleens Reel finished third but there was no show wagering.  

"This is the first time I have ridden her and she is a nice, nice mare," Gomez said. "I thought there might be one or two more horses go for the lead. I eased her out at the half-mile and she moved on. At the head of the stretch, she gave me a little more kick than I was expecting." 

Hystericalady has run well over the Churchill track all three times Hollendorfer has sent her there from his Northern California base. She won the Humana Distaff Stakes (gr. I) on the Derby day undercard in 2007 and finished third, beaten a head, in the same race this Derby day. 

"This worked out good for us," Hollendorfer said. "I am not sure when her next race is going to be, but it probably won’t be at Del Mar. I would think she may run two more times before the Breeders’ Cup." 

The Fleur de Lis was the sixth stakes win for Hystericalady, who races for Hollendorfer in partnership with George Todaro, Tom Clark, and Rancho San Miguel. On the board in 14 of her 19 starts, Hystericalady, who was bred in Kentucky by Abbott Properties from the Northair mare Sacramentada, increased her lifetime earnings to $1,510,025.

For Gomez, his cut of the $199,578 she made June 14 may have been the easiest score of his riding career.