Susie Raisher Photo

Honor Marie adds blinkers as live longshot in G1 DraftKings Travers

by NYRA Press Ofiice

• Honor Marie adds blinkers as live longshot in G1 DraftKings Travers
• D’Angelo hopes for first G1 victory with Run Classic in Forego
• Brightwork to G3 Prioress; Quietside to G1 Spinaway; Reining Flowers for the Listed P.G. Johnson
• Brisset saddles Mullikin and World Record in search of first G1 win
• Kimchi Cat earns 84 BSF for Bolton Landing

Trainer Whit Beckman will saddle Honor Marie in search of his first Grade 1 win in Saturday’s $1.25 million DraftKings Travers, a 10-furlong test for sophomores, at Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Ribble Farms, Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein and Dave Fishbein, the Honor Code colt will add blinkers and a new jockey in Tyler Gaffalione as he looks to improve upon a deep-closing fourth-place finish last out in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 8 here.

“Tyler has worked him the last four works. The horse breezes well for him and Tyler has a good feel for him now,” Beckman said. “We know that Tyler is pretty adept at carving out the kind of trip that this horse is going to need.”

Honor Marie made the grade rallying last-to-first in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club in November at Churchill Downs to close out a 3-2-1-0 juvenile campaign. He made his first two sophomore starts in Grade 2 events at Fair Grounds with typical late runs to finish fifth in the nine-furlong Risen Star and second in the 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby.

The $40,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase was bumped hard early in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May and trailed 15 lengths behind the field while last of 20, but still showed grit and determination to pick up the pieces and finish eighth.

Last out, with Florent Geroux up in the Belmont, Honor Marie was again bumped early and last-of-10 through the first two points of call while 13 lengths off the pace before closing to finish fourth – 5 1/2-lengths back of victorious returning rival Dornoch.

Beckman knows his charge cannot afford to give up that much ground when he exits post 6-of-8 on Saturday against a star-studded field that includes Dornoch and the reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Fierceness to his immediate outside, as well as the talented filly Thorpedo Anna leaving the inside post to the inside of Sierra Leone.

“I started thinking about blinkers for him when he was two. His running style can give you that heart attack feel,” Beckman said of the addition of the French cup headgear. “After the Belmont, I put blinkers on him and it doesn't change his disposition, he's just a little more responsive. When you ask him, he pops a little quicker where before you had to gear him up for it and get him into that, 'it's time to go' mentality.

“I think they'll keep him a little closer,” Beckman added. “I just don't want him to be 14 [lengths] back going into the far turn. I need him within seven or eight.”

In 2019, Code of Honor closed to win the Travers from ninth, but just 5 3/4-lengths off the pace, thanks in part to an honest pace set by Mucho Gusto, who reached the mile in 1:35.49 under pressure from Hall of Famer Bill Mott’s Tacitus and the Danny Gargan-trained Tax. This year, it could be the Gargan-conditioned Dornoch setting the tempo under pressure from Tacitus’ full-brother Batten Down.

“It looks on paper like there'll be enough pace that there will be something to run at,” Beckman said. “An epic pace collapse would be a great thing - a mile in 1:35 and change would be super. But we just want to get out of the gate clean and have a nice trip and see what we've got.

“He'll leave the gate quietly,” Beckman added. “It looks like there are two pretty fast horses outside of us - and inside of us, just let them clear and get into a nice, easy trip.”

Honor Marie, listed at 20-1 on the morning line, will arrive at the Travers as the freshest horse in the field with 11 weeks between starts. He has trained regularly over the Oklahoma training track, including a half-mile work in 50.50 seconds Saturday in company with Stowaway.

“He trained over the Oklahoma this morning. I'm just keeping him fresh,” Beckman said. “We always go out early - early mornings, cooler weather, fresh track has always been his game. The Oklahoma is as good as any track I've ever trained on. I've spent a lot of years up here and I’m happy with how he's doing on it.”

Although Beckman, who went out on his own in 2021, is in search of his first Grade 1-winner, the 42-year-old conditioner has plenty of experience at the top flight having previously worked for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Eoin Harty and four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown. In fact, he was on the Pletcher team the day Stay Thirsty won the 2011 Travers.

“Uncle Mo ran that day and was second to Caleb's Posse in the King's Bishop - he threw a shoe and was second by a nose,” recalled Beckman. “Stay Thirsty won the Travers later that day. I was with those horses the whole time through.”

But the talented conditioner would love the opportunity to saddle a Grade 1-winner of his own and he believes Honor Marie has the ability to compete against this group.

“For me, it would be a testament to how we've always felt about this horse. This horse has put himself in that category as a legitimate Grade 1 type animal,” Beckman said. “Personally, I don't need the validation, but it is nice when you lead a horse into this kind of race that the horse can follow up and hopefully have him do what I know he can do. For me, the biggest thrill comes from seeing how happy the owners and everyone else can be.

“I got into this not to train claiming horses. I want to train Grade 1 horses,” added Beckman. “Training him is a privilege and I've been blessed to have him.”

Beckman said he has been pleased with what he’s seen from Honor Marie the past several weeks leading into this race, including a feisty version of the colt paddock schooling here on Wednesday.

“When he gets the saddle on, he'll start to buck up and get a little bit intense,” Beckman said. “He's a pure fighter. He gets his adrenaline up and he knows it's time to go to war.”

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D’Angelo hopes for first G1 victory with Run Classic in Forego

Trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo will send out Tom Durant’s graded stakes-placed Run Classic in search of his first Grade 1 victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

D’Angelo, who started his first horse in 2017, has already enjoyed several milestones this year, including his first graded conquest when No More Time captured the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, and a tremendous showing with Gabaldon to run a hard-trying second in the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot.

The 34-year-old native of Venezuela has been a key player on the big stage before, leading over Jesus’ Team to finish second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and third in the Grade 1 Preakness in 2020. Now, he brings another live chance at an elusive top-level triumph as Run Classic enters the Forego from a good runner-up effort to Comedy Town in the six-furlong Listed Smile Sprint on July 6 at Gulfstream Park.

D'Angelo said he is confident the Forego’s extra furlong will help the son of Runhappy execute his signature rally from off the pace.

“He’s doing pretty good, and he ran pretty good last time,” said D’Angelo. “He came back out of it very good, and that’s important. Now, I think the seven furlongs will be very helpful to him. We are ready.”

Run Classic was trained by Bret Calhoun through his first 11 starts that included four wins and a close third in last year’s Grade 3 Mineshaft at Fair Grounds. He was away from the races from last May until February when debuting for D’Angelo with a win in the Listed Gulfstream Park Sprint where he dominated by 3 1/4 lengths under returning Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano. He headed overseas to finish seventh in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in March, but rebounded well in the Smile Sprint.

“He’s close to giving the same performance,” D’Angelo said of the Gulfstream Park Sprint. “The seven furlongs, he has more ground to get comfortable and to have it his way.”

Run Classic, a $475,000 purchase at the 2020 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, boasts a lifetime record of 14-5-3-1 with $445,367 in earnings. He will emerge from post 5 in rein to Castellano as the 5-1 morning line fourth choice in the field of eight.

D’Angelo also provided updates on No More Time and Gabaldon, who have not raced since this spring. No More Time, a talented Not This Time sophomore, was on his way to the Kentucky Derby after his win in the Sam F. Davis and a close second in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby, but suffered an injury and was forced to miss the Triple Crown races.

D'Angelo said Morplay Racing’s dark bay is making progress towards a return to the races.

“He’s doing pretty good,” said D’Angelo. “He started walking with a rider and some light training, so that’s very good for him.”

As for Soldi Stable’s Gabaldon, D’Angelo said the Florida-bred son of Gone Astray is enjoying some time away from the racetrack at WinStar Farm and will target a return sometime this fall, likely at Keeneland.

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Brightwork to G3 Prioress; Quietside to G1 Spinaway; Reining Flowers for the Listed P.G. Johnson

Trainer John Ortiz has quietly had a strong summer at Saratoga Race Course. Entering Thursday’s card, he has won 4-of-7 starts, striking at a 57 percent rate. In the final stretch of the meet, stakes action from the Ortiz barn picks up and it is worth keeping an eye on.

WSS Racing’s Grade 1-winning sophomore filly Brightwork was set to return from an over eight-month layoff in the Grade 1, $500,000 Test presented by Ticketmaster, on August 3, but scratched after flipping in the paddock.

“Off that mishap in the paddock, she had a little road rash, so the veterinarians scratched her which is in the best interest of the horse and the game. It was a very disappointing day because before I thought she was going to be more than ready to run,” said Ortiz. “We were able to take care of her and just continue going forward.”

Ortiz said the winner of last year’s Grade 1 Spinaway now turns to a race on that same August 31 card in the six-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Prioress.

“She’s been schooling quite regularly. She was just a little too excited that day. I think now she feels sorry for everybody and she’s been behaving in the paddock,” said Ortiz, with a laugh. “We are going to take her to the Prioress which should be a really good spot to start her back.”

Ortiz strives for repeat Spinaway victories with Shortleaf Stable’s Kentucky homebred Quietside. The Malibu Moon dark bay enters the top-level seven-furlong test for juvenile fillies off an impressive debut win on August 4 here.

There, Quietside stalked the pace under Luis Saez before surging to a 6 1/4-length score, covering the six furlongs in a final time of 1:11.03, which registered an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Ever since we got her, this is kind of where we were hoping and planning the route would be for her,” said Ortiz. “The number she got was pretty impressive, indeed, but not surprising.

“We’re stretching her out from six to seven furlongs, but she won that race at six well in hand. It’d be nice to get back-to-back Spinaways, that’s obviously the goal right now,” Ortiz added.

Quietside is out of the Grade 1-placed Speightstown mare Benner Island, who won the 2017 Grade 2 Eight Belles going the Spinaway distance at Churchill Downs.

Ortiz’s next local stakes action will come in the form of Four G Racing’s Kentucky homebred Reining Flowers, who has entered in Wednesday’s Listed $150,000 P.G. Johnson, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for juvenile fillies.

Last out was a third-race graduation for the Midnight Storm dark bay, traveling the P.G. Johnson distance on July 28 here. Piloted by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Reining Flowers got up from 9th-of-10 in the last jumps to post a 14-1 upset victory over Good Long Cry and next-out winner As Catch Can.

“She came out of the race in very good shape. She actually looks like she got a bit taller and wider. She has definitely grown,” said Ortiz. “She’s been very forward and she understands her job now, so we are ready to step up with her.”

Reining Flowers was previously second twice at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Out of the winning Congrats mare Mi Fiori, she is a half-sister to the graded stakes-placed Crown Imperial, who is conditioned by Ortiz for the same connections.

Crown Imperial, a sophomore Classic Empire filly, placed in the Grade 2 Jessamine in October at Keeneland after beginning her career with a 6-for-6 on-the-board record including a win in the Untapable in September at Kentucky Downs.

“Crown Imperial definitely showed a lot more speed as a 2-year-old. Whereas this one, she has been much more rideable and relaxed,” said Ortiz. “I think Reining Flowers is more fitting for a two-turn race.”

***

Brisset saddles Mullikin and World Record in search of first G1 win

Trainer Rodolphe Brisset will look to secure the first Grade 1 win in his young training career Saturday when he saddles Mullikin and World Record in the Forego and H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, respectively.

Brisset carries a record of 26-0-3-1 in Grade 1 events since he started training on his own in 2017, but does strike at 15 percent in the money at the level. His first Grade 1 starter was Quip in the 2018 Arkansas Derby where he finished second to Magnum Moon. Since that first taste the barn has had a starter in at least one Grade 1 every year, including twice in the Kentucky Oaks and once in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Only once in those 26 tries did he lead over the morning line favorite. In the 2022 Belmont Stakes, the Brisset trainee We the People, fresh off a win in the Grade 3 Peter Pan, was made the 2-1 morning line favorite, but by post time, he was third choice and would go on to finish ninth to Mo Donegal.

On Saturday, Brisset’s form looks to change when he saddles WinStar Farm and Siena Farm’s Mullikin in the Grade 1, $500,000 Forego, a seven-furlong test for older horses in Race 11.

Mullikin won the seven-furlong Grade 2 John A. Nerud last out at Belmont at the Big A by a comfortable 1 1/2-lengths over Coastal Mission. He earned a new career best 102 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The win was also his first graded stakes victory and improved his record to 8-4-3-0 with $398,612 in earnings.

The Nerud win secured him as the 8-5 ML favorite in the prestigious Forego where he will break from post 6 under Flavien Prat.

Brisset said he was unworried by the notion of having the favorite.

“We are not scared of taking a shot, obviously it is a little bit different when you lead one over there at 8/5 but for us it doesn’t change anything. The routine is going to be the same. We know how to handle the pressure. I have been around those good horses for a long time. That is the good part of it,” Brisset said.

Brisset also brings this year’s Grade 2 Amsterdam winner, World Record, to the paddock in Race 12 Saturday, the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, a seven-furlong test for sophomores. The son of Gun Runner was last seen going gate to wire in the July 26 Amsterdam going 6 1/2-furlongs. The win saw him earn a new lifetime best 101 Beyer.

World Record also races for WinStar Farm and Siena Farm and will break from post 1 under Luis Saez. Tabbed on the morning line at 8-1, World Record looks to improve his 4-2-0-2 record and either give his trainer his first Grade 1 win or a Grade 1 double.

When asked about potentially improving his top-level record Brisset cheekily offered, “Obviously if we can improve the record that would be nice. I am happy with how both horses are coming into this weekend. We respect the competition they are going to have to face, but that is what Saturday racing is all about,” Brisset said.

***

Kimchi Cat earns 84 BSF for Bolton Landing

Joel Politi’s Kimchi Cat posted an impressive 3 1/2-length victory in Sunday’s off-the-turf $150,000 Bolton Landing, a 5 1/2-furlong Listed stakes for juvenile fillies originally scheduled for the Mellon turf, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Tom Amoss, the Twirling Candy dark bay stalked the pace set by Viggiedal before taking the lead approaching the final eighth and not looking back in a final time of 1:04.06 over the good main track.

Amoss said he has observed steady improvement from Kimchi Cat to avenge a loss to Viggiedal on debut sprinting five furlongs in June at Churchill Downs.

“I was really proud of her. It all goes back to her first start and the education she got- She did not make the lead, got stuck behind horses, had to wait and try to catch the winner who was very good that day,” said Amoss. “She lost the battle, but she won the war. There was a lot of speed this past week and she was able to lay off and make a really big run.”

The professional victory garnered a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I like to try and develop these young horses,” Amoss said of his thoughts on the strong number for a juvenile filly. “More than any other speed figure she ran, I was just proud that she has adapted well to our program and done well up to this point.”

Amoss confirmed Kimchi Cat exited the race in good order, adding that she will be pointed towards the one-mile Grade 3 Pocahontas in September at Churchill Downs.

“She’s doing really good. She’s not a big filly. She’s got some growing to do, she’s kind of late for her age group in terms of maturity,” said Amoss. “I think we are looking at the Pocahontas opening weekend of Churchill Downs. It’s further going one mile, but stays at one turn, so the natural progression says that is the spot.”

Bred in Kentucky by Coffee Pot Stables, Kimchi Cat, out of the winning Sky Mesa mare Winter Dawn, was a $185,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.