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Missed The Cut Makes The Grade, Earns First U.S. Win In Tokyo City Cup

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Originally based in England, trainer John Sadler’s long-fused Missed the Cut went from turf to dirt on Sunday at Santa Anita and responded with his first stateside victory, winning by 5½ lengths going 1 1/2 miles in the $100,000 Tokyo City Cup (G3).

Confidently ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Missed the Cut completed the trip in 2:32.78.

With a field of 3-yera-olds and up reduced to four runners by the late scratch of Donner Lake, Rispoli was intent on attending the pace set by Bob Baffert’s Azul Coast, who showed the way to the quarter pole while Missed the Cut saved ground at the rail. The winner then swung three-wide outside of both Azul Coast and Kiss Today Goodbye, who wrested control from the pacesetter turning for home.

At that point, Missed the Cut was ready for his best as he sailed by Kiss Today Goodbye under mild hand urging and appeared to find his best stride late in a dominant effort.

Most recently a close fourth going 1 3/8 miles on grass in the Del Mar Handicap (G2) Sept. 2, Missed the Cut was off at 3-5 and paid $3.20.

Owned by Bee Zee LLC, Lanes End Racing, St. Elias Stables LLC, Edward Babington, Edward Hudson, and Lynne Hudson, Missed the Cut, a 4-year-old Quality Road colt out of the Elusive Quality mare Beauly, had three minor stakes wins on grass in England at age three and is now 11-5-1-0 overall. With the winner’s share of $60,000, he increased his earnings to $285,777. He was bred in Kentucky by Framont Ltd.

Ridden by Hector Berrios, Kiss Today Goodbye bested Azul Coast by 4¼ lengths for second. Order and Law was fourth to complete the order of finish.

Fractions on the race were :24.65, :49.79, 1:15.23, 1:41.67, and 2:07.39.

TOKYO CITY CUP QUOTES

JOCKEY UMBERTO RISPOLI, MISSED THE CUT, WINNER: “I was loaded all the way. He relaxed for me behind the speed and when I asked him in the stretch he responded. Very nice effort.”

TRAINER JOHN SADLER, MISSED THE CUT, WINNER: “He’s a horse that can run long distance. He had a good race here in the spring before we went to Del Mar, he showed he liked the main track. This is his fourth start (stateside), so his whole story isn’t written yet, but it was a good race for him today. I’d like to thank the Japanese Racing Association for putting on a nice show. I had a good time with them in London with the Longines World Championships, great connections here today.

“He might be a good horse for an international race, he’s already run in England and Saudi Arabia so who knows.”

The post Missed The Cut Makes The Grade, Earns First U.S. Win In Tokyo City Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Touch’n Ride Pips Elysian Field For Breeders’ Stakes Win In Classic Thriller At Woodbine

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Touch’n Ride, under Kazushi Kimura, wore down a game rival in Elysian Field and then survived a rider’s claim of foul to win the $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes, the final jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown, Sunday at Woodbine.

It was the duo of slight 3-1 choice Paramount Prince, winner of the first jewel, the King’s Plate, in August, and newcomer to the classic series, 75-1 Hemlo Gold, who led their 12 rivals into the first turn on a summer-like day at the Toronto oval. They were followed by Kaukokaipuu, 15th in the Plate, and second in the Prince of Wales (the second jewel in the series), with Midnight in Malibu fourth. Touch’n Ride, fifth in the Plate, sat in fifth.

Hemlo Gold was head in front after an opening quarter in :23.71 over a firm E.P. Taylor turf course, shadowed by Paramount Prince, with Midnight in Malibu and Kaukokaipuu third and fourth, respectively.

The lead duo continued their up-front tussle that saw Paramount Prince a half-length on top through a half in :48.75. Kimura had Touch’n Ride well within range of the leaders, still comfortably positioned in fifth after a mile. Paramount Prince and Hemlo Gold were still on top heading into the final turn, but the cavalry charge was coming, including Woodbine Oaks victress and Plate runner-up Elysian Field, who was full of run to the outside, and a surging Touch’n Ride.

It then set the stage for a lengthy battle down the long E.P. Taylor stretch, as Elysian Field and Touch’n Ride broke away from their pursuers, neither horse giving an inch, as they drifted to the far outside midway down the lane.

At the wire, Touch’n Ride, a Chiefswood Stable homebred trained by Layne Giliforte, eked out a nose victory. Elysian Field was four lengths ahead of Twowaycrossing, at 51-1, for second. Philip My Dear was fourth. The final time for the 1½ miles was 2:27.56.

Tito’s Calling, Wickenheiser, Kaukokaipuu, British Artillery, Tiburon, Sammy Stone, Simcoe, Hemlo Gold, Paramount Prince and Midnight in Malibu rounded out the order of finish.

Sahin Civaci, aboard Elysian Field, launched a claim of foul against Kimura and Touch’n Ride, but it was disallowed by the stewards.

“It feels amazing,” said Kimura, who notched his first win in the series. “I’ve always tried to win the Triple Crown and I’ve finally made it. Last week, I got on him in the morning and he was a very nice horse on the turf. I was quite comfortable staying behind Paramount Prince, the King’s Plate winner.”

Giliforte, who has over 900 career training wins to his name, found a way to ride out the unfolding drama.

“It’s nerve-racking when you watch a horse get herded out like that,” he said. “The biggest worry is that the horse is going to slip up inside the field. If it impeded your trip, you can claim foul and reverse the order, but if a horse slips up the inside and you have nothing to do with it, it can take the win from you. Nerve-racking to watch.”

But also deeply rewarding.

“I’m getting choked up over it,” said Giliforte. “I had a great feeling going into the race and for him to come through the way he did and Kazushi to give him the ride that he did, it’s fantastic.”

With the Breeders’ victory, Touch’n Ride, a son of Candy Ride (ARG) out of Niigon’s Touch, by Niigon, is now 2-0-1 from four starts. Chiefswood won the 2018 edition with Neepawa.

The bay gelding, third choice on the toteboard, paid $10.20 for the win.

The post Touch’n Ride Pips Elysian Field For Breeders’ Stakes Win In Classic Thriller At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Touch’n Ride Survives Inquiry Scare to Win Breeders’ Stakes Thriller

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Lightly raced but full of heart, Touch’n Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) would not let the filly go in the final yards and bravely got by Elysian Fields (Hard Spun) to prevail by the slimmest of margins, determined by a photo.

Last seen finishing fifth in the Kings Plate S. won by familiar face Paramount Prince (Society’s Chairman)–where the runner-up here again played bridesmaid–and gone since then, Touch’n Ride was content to track from fifth in a packed field of 14 as the speed went on its way. Cruising along in the second flight among cover down the backstretch, Kazushi Kimura was forced to wait for room behind a three-strong wall of leaders at the half-mile, but found his seam entering the top of the stretch. Locking horns with Elysian Fields as she bravely fought off his challenge, and the pair drifting far into the course midway home, it took the length of the stretch and a photo to separate them, but succeed he did, beating her by a nose. Paramount Prince faded to next to last while Prince of Wales S. runner-up Kaukokaipuu (Mr Speaker) finished seventh. A rider’s claim of foul from Sahin Civac, aboard Elysian Fields, afterwards was disallowed by the stewards.

“It feels amazing,” said Kimura, who notched his first win in the series. “I’ve always tried to win the Triple Crown and I’ve finally made it. Last week, I got on him in the morning and he was a very nice horse on the turf. I was quite comfortable staying behind Paramount Prince, the King’s Plate winner [during the race].”

Added conditioner Layne Giliforte: “It’s nerve-racking when you watch a horse get herded out like that…I had a great feeling going into the race and for him to come through the way he did and Kazushi to give him the ride that he did, it’s fantastic.”

With his victory here, Touch’n Ride continuous something of a familial tradition, joining elder brother Neepawa (Scat Daddy) as a winner of the Breeders’ S. He’s also a half-brother to SP Niigon’s Spin (Hard Spun) as well as a 2023 half-sister by American Triple Crown hero, Justify. Niigon’s Touch went to Twirling Candy for 2024.

#4 TOUCH’N RIDE ($10.20) battled with Elysian Field in the final furlong, but narrowly bested that foe to win the $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes at @WoodbineTB!

Touch’n Ride was piloted by @kazushi0096 for trainer Layne Giliforte and Chiefswood Stables Limited. pic.twitter.com/1lXfDk4Zxl

— TVG (@TVG) October 1, 2023

Sunday, Woodbine Racetrack
BREEDERS’ S., C$403,000, Woodbine, 10-1, (C), 3yo, 1 1/2mT, 2:27.56, fm.
1–TOUCH’N RIDE, 126, g, 3, by Candy Ride (Arg)
          1st Dam: Niigon’s Touch (SW, $204,615), by Niigon
          2nd Dam: Laser Touch, by Touch Gold
          3rd Dam: Laser Hawk, by Silver Hawk
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Chiefswood Stables Limited (ON); T-Layne S. Giliforte; J-Kazushi Kimura. C$240,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-1, $238,513. *1/2 to Neepawa (Scat Daddy), SW, $307,222.
2–Elysian Field, 123, f, 3, Hard Spun–Elysian, by Smart Strike. ($50,000 Ylg ’21 FTKOCT; $70,000 2yo ’22 OBSOPN). O-Team Valor International and Gary Barber; B-Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (ON); T-Mark E. Casse. C$80,000.
3–Twowaycrossing, 126, g, 3, English Channel–Double Guns Girl, by Langfuhr. 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B/T-Roger L. Attfield (ON). C$40,000.
Margins: NO, 4, 3/4. Odds: 4.10, 3.55, 51.65.
Also Ran: Philip My Dear, Tito’s Calling, Wickenheiser, Kaukokaipuu, British Artillery, Tiburon, Sammy Stone, Simcoe, Hemlo Gold, Paramount Prince, Midnight in Malibu. Scratched: Enjoythesilent, Greystone, Legal Catch, Over and Ollie.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Adare Manor Cruises to Fifth Straight Win in Zenyatta

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To see Adare Manor (f, 4, Uncle Mo–Brooklynsway, by Giant Gizmo) gallop out after Santa Anita’s GII Zenyatta S. was to see a filly who looked like she was pretty proud of herself. Indeed, she should have been. The Zenyatta was Adare Manor’s fifth straight win, as well as fourth consecutive graded win, and she took this one in the most facile manner possible, eased up as she cruised under the line a 5 1/4-length victress.

Clearly the class of the field as the 1-9 favorite, Adare Manor ran like it. The Michael Lund Petersen colorbearer broke from the rail, hustled to the front under her own power, and was unbothered by early pressure from Micro Share (Upstart), last-out winner of Del Mar’s Tranquility Lake S. Sept. 4. Jockey Juan Hernandez could not have looked more comfortable on board the eventual winner–like he was out for a Sunday afternoon stroll–as the two edged clear for a :23.71 first quarter. Moving easily with her ears flicking back and forth as her three rivals lined up behind her and left her completely alone on the lead, Adare Manor clicked off a half in :47.91 and three-quarters in 1:11.96. Hernandez peered over his left shoulder leaving the turn and was so satisfied with his filly’s position that he sat still as a stone down the lane, then eased up his mount at the wire. Last year’s GII Santa Anita Oaks winner Desert Dawn (Cupid) followed her home, just as she did in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. Aug. 5. Desert Dawn was 6 1/4 lengths in front of Micro Share, while Window Shopping (American Pharoah), the only 3-year-old in the field and winner of the GII Summertime Oaks in June, was fourth.

“Today all the credit goes to my filly, to Bob [Baffert], and his team. They brought her ready,” said Hernandez. “She broke a little slow the last couple of times, but today she broke on her own, I didn’t even have to push her. She was just galloping around on the lead and I didn’t do much today.”

In addition to the aforementioned Clement Hirsch, Adare Manor’s streak also includes the GII Santa Margarita S. and the GII Santa Maria S. She is five for six on the year, following up a 2022 which included a victory in the GIII Las Virgenes S. and runner-up finishes in both the GII Santa Anita Oaks and the GII Black-Eyed Susan S.

Baffert enthused after the Zenyatta: “She just keeps improving and we wanted to see something like this to see if we were going to take a crack at the Breeders’ Cup [Distaff]. So I think if she comes out of it well, we will go for it.”

#1 ADARE MANOR ($2.20) wires the G2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita for her fifth consecutive victory.

The G1-winning daughter of @coolmoreamerica‘s Uncle Mo was ridden by @JJHernandezS19 for trainer Bob Baffert and Michael Lund Petersen. pic.twitter.com/EZljJtPGQM

— TVG (@TVG) October 1, 2023

Pedigree Notes:

Coolmore America’s Uncle Mo, currently ranked a strong second on the 2023 leading sires list, is the sire of Adare Manor and another dozen black-type winners of this year bred in the Northern Hemisphere, including recent GI Pacific Classic winner Arabian Knight. With his ninth crop of 2-year-olds now at the track, Uncle Mo has 95 stakes winners, 48 of which are graded. Adare Manor is the only one of Uncle Mo‘s stakes winners out of a Giant Gizmo mare, but he does have three out of daughters of Giant’s Causeway, sire of Giant Gizmo. Giant Gizmo was last reported to be standing in Panama. Adare Manor is the only black-type winner out of one of his daughters.

Winner of the 2016 GIII Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare S. at Keeneland, Brooklynsway has produced Adare Manor and an unraced 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief. Her yearling, a Ghostzapper filly already named Nosleeptilbrooklyn, was a $500,000 purchase by Boardshorts Stables on the first day of Book 2 at the recent Keeneland September sale. The mare delivered a full-brother to Adare Manor Mar. 24. She was bred back to Tapit.

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
ZENYATTA S.-GII, $196,000, Santa Anita, 10-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.70, gd.
1–ADARE MANOR, 126, f, 4, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Brooklynsway (GSW-USA, MSW & GSP-Can, $724,597), by Giant Gizmo
2nd Dam: Explosive Story, by Radio Star
3rd Dam: Maya’s Note, by Editor’s Note
($180,000 Ylg ’20 FTKFEB; $190,000 RNA Ylg ’20 FTKSEL; $375,000 2yo ’21 OBSOPN). O-Michael Lund Petersen; B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC & Gary Broad (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 13-7-4-0, $981,600. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Desert Dawn, 122, f, 4, Cupid–Ashley’s Glory, by Honour and Glory. ($32,000 RNA Ylg ’20 OBSOCT). O/B-H & E Ranch (AZ); T-Philip D’Amato. $40,000.
3–Micro Share, 122, f, 4, Upstart–Who’sbeeninmybed, by The Daddy. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($10,000 Wlg ’19 KEENOV; $125,000 Ylg ’20 OBSOCT; $450,000 2yo ’21 OBSAPR). O-MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $24,000.
Margins: 5 1/4, 6 1/4, 22 1/4. Odds: 0.10, 5.40, 6.70. Also Ran: Window Shopping.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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