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Laura’s Light Makes The Grade In Sunday’s Sweet Life Stakes

Laura’s Light Makes The Grade In Sunday’s Sweet Life Stakes

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An impressive minor stakes winner going a mile on turf in her most recent start, Gary Barber’s Laura’s Light handled a cutback in distance to 5 ½ furlongs with aplomb on Sunday at Santa Anita, as she rallied to take the Grade III, $100,000 Sweet Life Stakes by three quarters of a length. Ridden by Abel Cedillo and trained by Peter Miller, the 3-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Constitution, in her third consecutive appearance on turf, got the distance in 1:02.90.

Breaking sharply from her number five post position, Laura’s Light was about two lengths off the lead as eventual runner-up Lighthouse and longshot Spitefulness slugged it out up front. As Spitefulness caved mid-way around the far turn, Laura’s Light made an eye-catching move to engage Lighthouse at the top of the lane and after a head and head duel, Laura’s Light gained the advantage in the final 70 yards.

“In this game, you have ups and downs,” said Barber, who is also a multiple Academy Award winning motion picture producer. “I loved the way she broke her maiden (Nov. 2 at Golden Gate Fields), so we bought her and she’s a really nice filly by a hot sire, Constitution. Getting a graded stakes win is what you want with fillies.”

A galloping 3 ¼ length winner of the one mile Blue Norther Stakes here on Dec. 29, Laura’s Light was the 2-5 favorite in a field of seven and paid $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10.

“We were pretty confident,” said Miller, who sent Laura’s Light out to second place finish at one mile grass two starts back in the Grade III Jimmy Durante Stakes Nov. 30. “We felt she was the best filly in the race. The five (Lighthouse) put up a really good fight and was stubborn to get by. She’s proven now that she can go long or short, so we’ll take a look and see what’s next. It’s nice to have options.”

Ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, Lighthouse, in a huge effort finished 4 ¼ lengths clear of Roadrunner’s Honor. Off at 6-1, Lighthouse paid $3.80 and $3.60.

Off at 23-1 with Rafael Bejarano, Roadrunner’s Honor paid $4.80 to show.

Fractions on the race were 22.62, 45.19 and 56.75.

The post Laura’s Light Makes The Grade In Sunday’s Sweet Life Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Cox Keeping Options Open With Risen Star Winner Mr. Monomoy, Champion British Idiom

Cox Keeping Options Open With Risen Star Winner Mr. Monomoy, Champion British Idiom

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Brad Cox, trainer of Mr. Monomoy who broke well and was able to clear early in the first division of Saturday’s G2 Risen Star at the Fair Grounds, taking the field wire to wire and earning 50 more points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The half-brother to champion Monomoy Girl currently sits in first on the Derby leaderboard with a total of 52 points.

“He looked really good back in the barn,” Cox said. “He was full of himself this morning and I was very pleased with how he came back after the race and earlier this morning.”

“We’ll talk about where to go next with him,” Cox continued. “The Louisiana Derby is a logical spot but there are certainly other options with him. We’ll get him back to the track and try to make a decision in the near future and come up with a game plan. We’re going to let the dust settle and let everyone kind of catch their breath. Maybe in a week or so we will start putting together the game plan.”

Cox is also the trainer of 2-Year-old Filly Champion British Idiom, who was making her first start since her Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) triumph and finished a solid second behind Finite in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2). The placing earned her 20 points, making a total of 50 points on the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G2) leaderboard.

“She had a little bit of a rough trip into the first turn,” Cox said. “I don’t think it was the difference between winning and losing but it did affect her a little bit. I really think she needed this race. The mile and a sixteenth distance at the Fair Grounds, especially for a 3-year-old filly coming off a layoff is really demanding. Javier (Castellano, jockey) was really pleased with her and thought that she is already maturing from a 2-year-old to a 3-year-old as far as how she acted before the race and even during the race. She was just second best yesterday, but she came back well and looked good this morning.”

“There’s really only two spots with her going forward,” Cox continued. “The Ashland (G1) at Keenland (April 4, 1 1/16th miles) and the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) (March 21, 1 1/16th miles). She likes both racetracks, she’s moved well over this track at Fair Grounds and also has a good race over the Keenland racetrack. We’re going to let the dust settle with her as well and come up with a game plan.”

The post Cox Keeping Options Open With Risen Star Winner Mr. Monomoy, Champion British Idiom appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Mineshaft Winner Silver Dust DQ’ed From Louisiana Victory

Mineshaft Winner Silver Dust DQ’ed From Louisiana Victory

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Silver Dust (Tapit), who scored in Saturday’s GIII Mineshaft S. at Fair Grounds, has been disqualified and placed last for his previous victory, in the GIII Louisiana S. Jan. 18, due to a failed drug test, according to a report in the Daily Racing Form. The Bret Calhoun-trained gray tested positive for levamisole, the same drug that got eight Joe Sharp trainees disqualified from wins at the meet earlier this month. Calhoun is married to Sharp’s mother, Sara Escudero, and the two trainers’ barns at Fair Grounds are next to one another, according to the DRF.

In addition, Sharp pupil Blackberry Wine (Oxbow), who finished seventh in the first division of Saturday’s GII Risen Star S. at the New Orleans oval, was disqualified from a victory in his previous race, an allowance/optional claiming event also run on Jan. 18.

Levamisole, which Sharp said earlier was found in an over-the-counter deworming product he purchased, is listed as a Class 2 drug by the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

The post Mineshaft Winner Silver Dust DQ’ed From Louisiana Victory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Speightstown Colt the Latest ‘TDN Rising Star’ for the Baffert Barn

Speightstown Colt the Latest ‘TDN Rising Star’ for the Baffert Barn

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Charlatan (Speightstown) would’ve likely gone favored in most Santa Anita maiden special weights if not for the presence Sunday of Lane Way (Into Mischief)–who was third behind Charlatan’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ and GII San Vicente S.-winning stablemate Nadal (Blame) here last month–and he made 6-5 look like a particular bargain after zipping away in dominant fashion to get the ‘Rising Star’ nod himself. Seizing the lead without having to work particularly hard for it, the chestnut bowled along through splits of :21.89 and :44.72. He looked like a lock entering the stretch with a clear advantage, and Drayden Van Dyke didn’t have to ask for anything from there as he glided to the wire 5 3/4 lengths in front. Shooters Shoot (Competitive Edge) held second over odds-on chalk Lane Way.

“I gigged him just a little after the break, just to get him into the race,” said Van Dyke. “I really didn’t know that much about him. You could see he had a couple bullet works from the gate and that he’d been training well. He blew by those horses so easy and as you could see, he galloped out big.”

The winner was the second most expensive Speightstown yearling to sell in 2018 after bringing $700,000 from his formidable ownership group at Keeneland September. His dam annexed the 2013 GII La Troienne S. for Todd Pletcher and Padua Stables, and finished second in a trio of Grade I events behind Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow), Royal Delta (Empire Maker) and Beholder (Henny Hughes) before checking in third behind Beholder and Close Hatches (First Defence) in the 2013 GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She sold days later for $1.2 million at Fasig-Tipton November to Stonestreet.

Authenticity’s first foal was Hanalei Moon (Malibu Moon), SW, $295,090. Charlatan was her second foal. Her now 2-year-old colt Bennyfromthebronx (Tapit) was a $300,000 KEESEP yearling himself. Authenticity produced an Into Mischief filly last May 1 before being bred to Curlin. She is a granddaughter of MGSW and GISP Appealing Missy (Lypheor {GB}).

4th-Santa Anita, $53,900, Msw, 2-16, 3yo, 6f, 1:08.85, ft.
CHARLATAN, c, 3, Speightstown
1st Dam: Authenticity (MGSW & MGISP, $883,362), by Quiet American
2nd Dam: Court of Appeal, by Deputy Minister
3rd Dam: Appealing Missy, by Lypheor (GB)
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $33,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Frederick Hertrich, III, John D. Fielding, & Golconda Stables; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. *$700,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP

The post Speightstown Colt the Latest ‘TDN Rising Star’ for the Baffert Barn appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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