Graded stakes-placed Slider glides eastward for G3 Gotham

by NYRA Press Office

• Graded stakes-placed Slider glides eastward for G3 Gotham
• Maximus Meridius, Carmelina work for Gotham Day assignments
• Super Chow ready for G3 Tom Fool H.; Olivia Darling pointed to G1 Madison
• Whittington Park garners career-best 99 BSF for Haynesfield score
• Castle Chaos targets Listed $150K Stymie; Spirit and Glory to $125K Tom Benson Memorial

Hall Racing, Pearl Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds’ Grade 2-placed Slider will likely make his first trip outside of California for Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham, a one-turn mile for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Gotham is one of four stakes slated for Saturday at the Big A and awards the top-five finishers 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

Trained by John Sadler, Slider posted a sharp five-furlong work in 59 seconds flat this morning at Santa Anita Park. The Jimmy Creed colt looks to make his second start of the year after a good third-place effort in the Grade 2 San Vicente on January 6 at the Arcadia oval.

Sadler said he was pleased with the effort from Slider this morning.

“He worked very well,” said Sadler. “He ended up catching a couple horses that broke off in front of him, but for me, it was more about how he galloped out since this will be the furthest he’s ever run. If he looks good tomorrow, he gets on a plane early Tuesday to be there Tuesday afternoon to run Saturday.”

Sadler added the timing of the Gotham is a good reason to send the colt on the 2,792-mile journey from Santa Anita to Ozone Park.

“The spacing is good from his last race and we like a one-turn mile with him, so there’s a lot of things to like for him [in the Gotham],” said Sadler.

Slider has made each of his five outings at sprint distances and has won on both dirt and turf. He graduated at second asking in a 5 1/2-furlong dirt sprint in September at Del Mar ahead of a 1 1/4-length score in the five-furlong Speakeasy over the Santa Anita green. He completed his juvenile campaign with an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint where he was defeated 3 1/4 lengths en route to his return to dirt in the San Vicente to kick off his sophomore season.

Jose Lezcano, who won last year's Gotham aboard Raise Cain, will pick up the mount on Saturday.

Sadler had also nominated the graded stakes-placed Scatify and the New York-bred Tapalo to the Gotham and said both horses are now aiming for other Kentucky Derby preps.

West Point Thoroughbreds’ Scatify was last seen finishing a pacesetting third in the one-mile Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis on February 3 at Santa Anita where he was defeated 8 1/4 lengths to the highly-regarded Nysos and edged out of place honors by Wine Me Up. Scatify made his first start against winners in the Lewis off a determined half-length victory sprinting six-furlongs on debut in December at Los Alamitos.

Sadler said he will consider either the Grade 2 San Felipe on Saturday at Santa Anita or the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 9 – both contested at 1 1/16-miles – for the Justify chestnut.

“He might be looking at the San Felipe or the Tampa Bay Derby,” said Sadler. “We were anxious to get him started and he was a little later getting to me than some of the other ones. We were pleasantly happy with his first race, and missed a little time before the Bob Lewis. He wasn’t going to beat the winner that day, but I think if things had gone a little differently, he could have been second.”

Hronis Racing’s Tapalo finished a prominent second last out in the nine-furlong El Camino Real Derby on February 10 at Golden Gate Fields where he was defeated 1 1/4 lengths by Endlessly. The son of Tapiture, bred by Saratoga Glen Farm, graduated at fourth asking in a January maiden optional claiming tilt sprinting seven furlongs at Santa Anita ahead of his first try on synthetic in in the El Camino Real.

Sadler said he is considering the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 23 at Turfway Park for Tapalo.

“Tapalo will probably go to the Jeff Ruby,” said Sadler. “That was synthetic at Golden Gate and he ran a really nice race up there. I think he’s a developing horse and it was a close race. He’s progressing.”

***

Maximus Meridius, Carmelina work for Gotham Day assignments

Trainer Butch Reid, Jr. will send a pair of stakes contenders sired by his former charge Maximus Mischief to New York for Saturday’s lucrative Gotham Day card with Maximus Meridius for the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham and Carmelina in the Listed $200,000 Busher, at Aqueduct Racetrack. The talented Maximus Mischief won 3-of-4 starts including a victory in the 2018 Grade 2 Remsen here.

Reid, Jr. has enjoyed tremendous recent form at the Big A, taking stakes in December with Dr B in the Grade 3 Go for Wand and Morning Matcha in the NYSSS Staten Island to go along with a rallying score by Uncle Heavy, who picked up 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points earlier this month in the Grade 3 Withers.

LC Racing, Cash is King and Wellesley Stable’s Maximus Meridius has won 2-of-3 starts, and looms a rising star in the Gotham, a one-turn mile for sophomores offering 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

He worked a half-mile solo Saturday in 47.68 seconds over the Parx Racing dirt.

“He breezed beautifully in 47 and change like breaking sticks. He's ready to go,” Reid, Jr. said. “He did it on his own, he tends to get a little keyed up in company.”

The talented bay, out of the winning Quiet American mare Quiet Virtue, was bred in Pennsylvania by Westerly Farm. He has made three starts, all in open company at Parx, graduating on debut by 10 1/2-lengths in November sprinting six furlongs.

He followed with a third-place finish in a 6 1/2-furlong optional-claiming sprint in December when two-lengths back of Frankie’s Empire, who exited that race to win the Swale at Gulfstream Park.

Maximus Meridius lost focus after rushing to the lead midway on the turn of his second start, so Reid, Jr. added blinkers to the colt’s repertoire last out and the talented bay responded with a prominent 3 1/2-length score in an optional-claiming sprint on January 30.

Reid, Jr. said the colt came to him via his brother, the retired Pennsylvania Hall of Fame trainer Mark Reid, who is known by the family as ‘Uncle Heavy.’

“He's been very impressive from the beginning,” Reid, Jr. said of Maximus Meridius. “He's a big, strong horse that we found out of a field in Chester County, P.A. at my brother's place. He's been very forward the whole time we've had him.”

Mychel Sanchez will retain the mount on Saturday.

Cash is King and LC Racing’s well-traveled multiple stakes-winner Carmelina arrives at the Busher from a frontrunning score in the seven-furlong Gin Talking on December 30 at Laurel Park. The Busher, a one-turn mile for sophomore fillies, offers 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points to the top-five finishers towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

The Pennsylvania-bred Carmelina has breezed back twice, including a half-mile in 51.21 Saturday at Parx.

“She came out of that race really well. We sent her up to Patty Hogan's farm and that worked well with her previously,” Reid, Jr. said. “She's had a couple weeks at the farm and came back with two sharp breezes. I'm really happy with the way she's coming into the race.”

Carmelina has won 4-of-6 starts, including scores in the restricted Keswick in August at Colonial Downs and the state-bred Shamrock Rose in November at Penn National.

Carmelina is the first foal out of the stakes-winner St Averil mare Complete St., who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Complete Zen.

Sanchez is also slated to ride Carmelina Saturday.

Michael Milam’s Pennsylvania-bred Uncle Heavy earned a career-high 84 Beyer Speed Figure for his late nose victory over pacesetter El Grande O in the nine-furlong Grade 3, $250,000 Withers.

Due to an Equine Herpesvirus quarantine at Belmont Park, Uncle Heavy subsequently shipped to a farm in Pennsylvania but was able to return to his Parx base Sunday with the quarantine now lifted.

Reid, Jr. said the colt will resume normal training with an eye towards the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 6 at the Big A. The historic nine-furlong test for sophomores awards 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

“He was on the jogging machine and he didn't lose any fitness. He looks fantastic,” Reid, Jr. said. “We'll have time for three or four good breezes. I'm not worried about fitness at all.”

Reid, Jr. said he loved the way Uncle Heavy rallied to victory last out.

“The key was the way he finished up. His last five strides were huge, big strides and he gobbled that horse up,” Reid, Jr. said. “That was very impressive his first time going a mile and an eighth and we'll see if we can confirm that coming back in the Wood.”

Uncle Heavy arrived at the Withers from a successful first try around two turns in the one-mile and 70-yard state-bred Wait For It on December 27 at Parx. He graduated on debut sprinting six furlongs in October at the Bensalem oval.

Bred by Barbara Reid, Reid, Jr.’s sister-in-law, and named for his brother, Uncle Heavy is out of the winning New York-bred Tiz Wonderful mare Expect Wonderful.

“It's a great story and he's been a real find so far,” Reid, Jr. said.

Uncle Heavy has banked $293,580 through a 4-3-0-0 record.

***

Super Chow ready for G3 Tom Fool H.; Olivia Darling pointed to G1 Madison

Lea Farms’ Super Chow breezed a half-mile in 50.82 seconds Saturday over the Belmont Park dirt training track as a final preparation for Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Tom Fool Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The 4-year-old colt made the grade last out in the Grade 3 Toboggan going seven furlongs over a muddy and sealed surface on February 3 at Aqueduct, besting fellow older horses under a front-running ride from Madison Olver.

Trainer Jorge Delgado believes the son of Lord Nelson has remained in good form since the Toboggan score, an effort that garnered a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.

“This last work was a type of maintenance. He breezed last week and this week, and it’s mostly to keep the horse happy and stretching his legs,” said Delgado. “The horse is ready, so I feel comfortable with these type of workouts in this scenario.”

Olver and Super Chow won their first graded stake together and she was back aboard for Saturday’s maintenance breeze.

“She encouraged me and told me this breeze was better than the last in her opinion, how the horse felt, the sight of the horse, and the gallop out,” Delgado said. “I feel very happy with all of her feedback.”

The $75,000 purchase at the OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training looks to add a second graded score to his 16-7-4-4 resume that has returned $590,650.

AMO Racing USA’s Grade 2 winner Olivia Darling also worked Saturday for Delgado, going a half-mile in 48.14 in company with sophomore filly Madame Mischief at Gulfstream Park. The 5-year-old Palace mare returned to the work tab last week at the site of her victory in the Grade 2 Inside Information on January 27, which earned a career best 99 Beyer.

“Today was a really good workout. She beat the competition. The workout was set to keep building her confidence and she did everything really good,” Delgado explained. “She finished in 48 and one and galloped out in a minute and one, and she did it pretty easy. I believe she’s going to be a really good mare for us this year.”

Delgado said Olivia Darling will target the seven-furlong Grade 1 Madison on April 6 at Keeneland and may take a look at the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie on March 9 at Gulfstream.

“I might consider the Hurricane Bertie at Gulfstream or go straight to the Madison at Keeneland,” Delgado said. “I don’t know how [tough] the Hurricane Bertie is going to come up, but we will go from there. At the time, the plan is to go to the Madison.”

A $360,000 purchase at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training sale, Olivia Darling has banked $348,263 through an 18-5-6-2 record.

***

Whittington Park garners career-best 99 BSF for Haynesfield score

Ten Strike Racing’s Whittington Park was awarded a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure for his off-the-pace score in Saturday’s $100,000 Haynesfield, a one-turn mile for older New York-breds, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Jeremiah Englehart, the 5-year-old Midnight Lute horse was given a well-timed ride by regular pilot Kendrick Carmouche when rallying from 6 1/2 lengths off the pace with a decisive move approaching the three-quarters call. The Dylan Davis-piloted Anejo was given his cue in the turn and took a 5 1/2-length advantage at the stretch call with Whittington Park gaining with every stride down the center of the course.

Anejo was valiant through the lane as he attempted to thwart the challenge of Whittington Park, but the latter got up just in time to cross the wire a half-length in front and complete the course in 1:39.88.

“He’s really good, excellent,” said Eric Vidal, Englehart’s Belmont Park-based assistant. “We’re very proud of him. He’s very gorgeous and he’s a good boy. He had been training for this. He walked this morning and is eating all his candies. He loves candy.”

A homebred for Ten Strike Racing’s Marshall Gramm and Clay Sanders, Whittington Park entered the Haynesfield from a local open-company allowance win in his first start back from a five-month layoff. He earned $55,000 for his Haynesfield victory while improving his lifetime record to 17-6-1-5. He returned $27.20 for a $2 win wager.

***

Castle Chaos targets Listed $150K Stymie; Spirit And Glory to $125K Tom Benson Memorial

Multiple graded stakes-placed Castle Chaos worked a half-mile in 51.35 seconds Saturday over the Palm Meadows Training Center dirt in preparation for a start in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Stymie, a one-turn mile for older horses at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Robert Falcone, Jr. for owners Sanford J. Goldfarb, Nice Guys Stables and Beast Mode Racing, Saturday’s work was the first breeze back for the 6-year-old Palace Malice gelding since his narrow nose defeat to Tumbarumba in the Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper on January 27 at Gulfstream Park.

“He worked good. It was a maintenance breeze. He's fit, I just didn't want to work him twice [ahead of the Stymie],” Falcone, Jr. said. “He went a half in 51 and they finished up the last three-eighths in 37. He did it easy in the bridle and galloped out good all the way around. He came back jumping around the barn.

“It was a great race [in the Hooper] and it's tough to be disappointed - he ran his heart out to just get beat that day,” added Falcone, Jr. “He came back good and we'll move on from there.”

Castle Chaos, who has banked $308,660 through a 14-3-4-4 record, will leave Florida by van on Monday.

The graded stakes-placed Spirit And Glory made her seasonal debut a winning one with an eye-catching run up the rail to take the Listed Albert M. Stall Memorial on February 17 at Fair Grounds while racing off of a six-month layoff.

“She really benefitted from the time off physically; and mentally, she grew up a little bit. I have to thank all the owners for being patient with her and with me. She was doing so good into that race,” Falcone, Jr. said.

Co-owned by Falcone, Jr. with Michael Nentwig, Michael Dubb, Beast Mode Racing, and John Rochfort, the 5-year-old Cotai Glory mare utilized late-running tactics in many of her previous outings but was closer to the pace last out stalking from fourth position under Flavien Prat. She cut the corner and took control down the lane with enough in reserve to stave off the late run of Tryinmyheartout for a three-quarter length win.

Falcone, Jr. credited the safe hands of Prat for a picture-perfect trip.

“In the past, you can tell from watching the replays that she's not the easiest on the jocks. I give a lot of credit to Flavien Prat,” Falcone, Jr. said. “She's a very light-mouthed filly and I think that most of her races she doesn't really put them into it, so going into the first turn as soon as someone comes over on her and the jock takes a little hold, she tosses her head up and overcompensates. The next thing you know, she's out the back of the pack.

“But Flavien rode her perfect,” continued Falcone, Jr. “He has great hands and even when he did have to take a little hold, she respected it and was running into the bridle rather than throwing her head up like she used to. I think that was a lot to do with the time off - she grew up mentally and she was training different since she came back.”

The Irish-bred bay was a memorable winner in her U.S. debut in June 2022 at Belmont, closing from last-of-8 to win an optional-claiming event. She would add the 2022 Viriginia Oaks to her ledger two starts later with a rallying effort from 12th-of-14 to score by 1 1/4-lengths. Last year, she took down the Miss Liberty at Monmouth Park as her lone win in a five-start season that included a narrow neck defeat to Closing Remarks in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap in August at Del Mar to close her campaign.

Falcone, Jr. said Spirit And Glory will now point to the $125,000 Tom Benson Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile turf test on March 23 as part of the Louisiana Derby Day card at Fair Grounds.