Arlington International Racecourse Barn Notes: Thursday, June 7, 2018
By Bailey Gallison —-
Cammack Runs in Honor of Late Namesake
Babybluesbdancing Possible for Grade III Chicago Handicap
CAMMACK RUNS IN HONOR OF LATE NAMESAKE
For over thirty years, Addison Cammack was a highly respected figure by many local horsemen during his tenure as a shipping agent at Arlington International Racecourse. So when the co-founder of Creech Brothers Horse Van Lines passed away in December 2011 from lung cancer, it was only appropriate that someone name a racehorse in his honor. Fast forward seven years later, and Team Block’s seasoned veteran Cammack has been highly competitive on the Illinois circuit and will look to continue his ambitious nature in Saturday’s $75,000 Black Tie Affair Handicap.
The horse Cammack won the Black Tie Affair Handicap in 2016 for trainer Chris Block, who has won the 1 1/16-mile turf event a total of seven times – four of which took place with Cammack’s half-brother Fort Prado. The human Cammack was a close friend to not only Block, but many other Arlington trainers.
“Addison Cammack was a dear friend of myself, my family and my crew at the barn,” Block said. “He was not only a good friend but he arranged all the transportation for my horses. He and I became friends many, many years ago. If I ever needed a horse to move, I’d call Addison. He’d take care of everything.
“He was a favorite around the racetrack before I even became a trainer. When he passed away from lung cancer, my dad and I spoke and determined we were going to name this horse after him.”
Coincidentally, a race named in honor of Addison Cammack was run last Saturday. Following Cammack’s passing, Block reached out to Arlington Racing Secretary Chris Polzin to suggest naming a race after the well-respected shipper. Upon doing so, Polzin already knew what was about to be asked.
“I didn’t even need to finish my sentence,” Block said. “Chris said, ‘You want a race named after Addison, don’t you?’ So I told him, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘Consider it done.’”
An 8-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway out of the Fortunate Prospect mare Fort Pond, Cammack will be making his first start of 2018 and has not raced since finishing 11th in the Claiming Crown Emerald Stakes at Gulfstream Park on December 2.
“He’s been training really well, we gave him time off after Gulfstream,” Block said. “He had some issues during race that cause him to not finish off very well. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but we freshened him up and he’s trained real well here in the spring and early summer. I was really hoping to get a prep race prior to this, but it didn’t materialize. We put a series of productive breezes into him. He’s coming into this as good as he could right now.”
Six of Cammack’s 11 career victories took place over the Arlington lawn. He broke his maiden at first asking in June 2013 but it was not until three years later that he would find the winner’s circle at Arlington again. In 2016 won all four of his starts at the Chicagoland oval which included a win in that year’s Black Tie Affair Handicap. Two starts ago last fall, he defeated stakes winners Kasaqui and Applicator in the Les Ahrens Memorial Stakes on September 23.
Block went on to speak of Cammack’s half-brother Fort Prado, who not only won the Black Tie Affair four times (2005-07, 2009) but was also Illinois Horse of the Year in 2006 as well as a leading sire in the state for many years.
“Fort Prado was consistent on the racetrack which we thought would make him a good sire in Illinois,” Block said. “My family thought he’d be a good stallion and we believe he’s been a good fit here. I think he made his mark on Illinois before he left; a lot of Arlington runners are by Fort Prado. For him to go on to be a good sire has been real special and fun to experience.”
In addition Fort Prado’s quartet of Black Tie Affair victories and Cammack, Block has also won the race with Reno Rumble (2001) and Mystery Giver (2002), a multiple stakes winner who was Illinois-bred Horse of the Year in 2003.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have boys like Fort Prado and Mystery Giver that have stayed healthy and competitive that in the later years we were able to compete in this race many times with those guys,” Block added.
BABYBLUESBDANCING POSSIBLE FOR GRADE III CHICAGO HANDICAP
Following an allowance victory on Friday, June 1 graded stakes-placed Babybluesbdancing could be back up against higher caliber in the Grade III $100,000 Chicago Handicap according to trainer Terrel Gore. Guided by jockey Julio Felix, the 4-year-old daughter of Sky Mesa was sent to the lead in the early stages of the 1 1/16 miles event that had been rained off the turf and laid down a slow pace up front before kicking away to win by 1½ lengths in the end.
“We’ll look at the (Grade III Chicago Handicap),” Gore said. “I’m not sure yet, but that’s the first place I’m going to look. It’d be nice to stay home since I’ve traveled so much with her.”
Owned by Lizabeth Gore, Babybluesbdancing is no stranger to such caliber after she finished second in the Grade III Iowa Oaks last summer at odds of 50-1 behind California-shipper Shane’s Girlfriend. She is also a three-time stakes winner against state-breds, having taken last year’s Purple Violet and Rolling Meadows Stakes over the all-weather surface at Arlington as well as the Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante Stakes as a 2-year-old.
Also a possibility for the Grade III Chicago Handicap is Princess La Quinta, a recent winner of the Grade III Arlington Matron for trainer and co-owner James Gulick, who indicated that he is considering the seven-furlong event for the daughter of Quality Road.
BLOCK SENDS THREESOME FOR BLACK TIE AFFAIR HANDICAP; LOVELY LOYREE LOOKS FOR BACK-TO-BACK WINS IN MIKE SPELLMAN MEMORIAL HANDICAP
Trainer Chris Block has captured the $75,000 Black Tie Affair Handicap seven times during his career at Arlington International Racecourse and has a 50/50 chance of getting win number eight in the fifth race Saturday when he sends out three of the six runners for the 1 1/16-mile event for Illinois-breds over turf.
Breaking from post three under jockey Jose Lopez, Cammack will be going for his second Black Tie Affair victory, having won the race in 2016. The Team Block-owned 8-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway was second in last year’s outing beaten three-quarters of a length behind Oak Brook. The race will also be Cammack’s first start since last year’s Claiming Crown Emerald Stakes at Gulfstream Park on December 2 where he finished 11th. Cammack boasts the largest career bankroll in the field with $358,050 in lifetime earnings as well as 11 trips to the winner’s circle in 31 lifetime starts, six of which took place at Arlington. In addition to taking the Black Tie Affair Handicap two years ago, Cammack won the Les Ahrens Memorial Stakes in September 2017 going a mile on the grass. The remaining four triumphs at the Chicagoland oval include a maiden win at first asking in June 2013 and a trio of allowance victories against open company.
Block will also saddle Don’task Don’ttell, who breaks from post four and will look to give jockey Carlos Marquez, Jr. his fourth stakes victory of the meet. Owned by Rich Ege in partnership with Team Block, the 4-year-old son of To Honor and Serve was a recent second behind stablemate Bold Rally in an open company allowance event over the local going. In his fourth career start, Don’task Don’ttell broke his maiden over the Arlington turf before a pair of allowance wins over both surfaces at Hawthorne Race Course. After his maiden win, he defeated state-bred winners over an off track on October 25, including Memory Bank (post one, Mitchell Murrill). Don’task Don’ttell followed said victory with an 11¾-length romp against open company over a yielding Hawthorne turf course on November 24.
Rounding out the Block trio is Fort Ridge (post six, Constantino Roman), a four-time winner in 11 career starts who is still going for a victory over the Arlington turf course. Despite having never won on the local turf, he has secured two victories over Arlington’s all weather surface. Both wins took place at the Black Tie Affair’s 1 1/16-mile distance. Fort Ridge is sired by Fort Prado, who won the Black Tie Affair Handicap on four different occasions for Block from 2005-07 and 2009.
“It does look like it is lacking pace,” Block said. “It looks like (Christian C) could be forwardly placed. Don’task Don’ttell can be tactical and I think that Cammack won’t be too far off of that. I don’t look for a quick pace; it should be moderate at best.”
Dare To Dream Stable’s Memory Bank will be going for his first stakes win when breaking from the rail. Trained by Mike Stidham, the consistent 4-year-old son of Misremembered has never finished worse than third in nine of his 11 career starts, having found the winner’s circle on three occasions. Last summer he broke his maiden over the local all-weather surface at second asking, but did not find the winner’s circle again until this past January when he defeated winners in a first level allowance event on the Tampa Bay Downs turf. He enters the Black Tie Affair coming off of an allowance win over a yielding turf at Arlington.
The remaining starters in the six-horse field are Don and Joe Cochonour’s Christian C (post five, Julio Felix), a 5-year-old son of Kitalpha who will receive some class relief after three off-the-board starts against graded stakes company. Last time out, the Wayne Catalano trainee finished seventh in the Grade III Hanshin Cup on May 12. Breaking from post two, the Earl Hughes owned and trained Fort Dixie will be in search of his first victory since an August 6 allowance event over the Arlington turf where he defeated eventual stakes placed Blue Sky Kowboy at odds of 20-1. Anthony Nunez rides the 6-year-old son of Fort Prado.
Two races later, seven Illinois-bred fillies and mares will square off in the $75,000 Mike Spellman Memorial Handicap. Last year, Lovely Loyree took the 1 1/16-mile turf event in wire-to-wire fashion and will look to make it back-to-back victories as she breaks from post three for Feel The Thunder Stable, Cherrywood Racing Stables, II, Terry Biondo and Oak Rock Racing. The 7-year-old daughter of Cactus Ridge boasts an open company stakes win in the Indiana General Assembly Distaff Stakes at Indiana Grand Race Course back in July 2016 over multiple graded stakes winner Cash Control. That same year, she was also third behind Champion Older Turf Mare Tepin in the Grade III Endeavor Stakes and Grade II Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Her two starts this year both took place in those same races, but this time she finished a respective fourth and ninth.
“She’s been good to me,” Boyce said of Lovely Loyree. “She’s a little older now, so is she as good as she was two years ago when she was running in graded stakes against Tepin? I’m not sure, but we’re going to give it a try. It’s been impossible to get a good prep under her and the two races that she had a Tampa were very, very tough graded stakes.”
A victory in the Mike Spellman Memorial Handicap would give Boyce her third stakes victory this meet after winning last Saturday’s Addison Cammack Memorial Stakes with Devileye and the Isaac Murphy Stakes with Puntsville.
Third to Lovely Loyree in last year’s running, Prado’s Sweet Ride (post seven, Jose Lopez) was a recent second behind Goneghost in Hawthorne’s Milwaukee Avenue Handicap on April 28. Owned by Darrell and Sadie Brommer, the 6-year-old daughter of Fort Prado’s last victory was over a sloppy going at Hawthorne when romping to a 13¼-length victory in the Illinois Princess Handicap on November 4 over 2017 Isaac Murphy Handicap winner One Liz (post five, Julio Felix) Ima Little Kitten (post four, Edgar Perez) and Chlobee (post two, Anthony Nunez). While Prado’s Sweet Ride has found quite a bit of success against fellow state-breds, she also has showcased her talent outside of Illinois and is a three-time stakes winner against open company. These wins took place in the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots’ New Orleans Ladies Overnight Stakes last April, the Minnesota H.B.P.A. Distaff Stakes at Canterbury Park in August 2016 and most notably the Grade III Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs in June 2015.
Wayne Catalano will saddle Don and Joe Cochonour’s One Liz to her second start of the season following her win over the Polytrack at Arlington on May 25. Bred by the Cochonours and then privately sold to race, One Liz returned to their barn after being claimed back in August of 2016. The 7-year-old daughter of Kitalpha is a half-sister to 2016 Mike Spellman Memorial winner Stormin Elle, who raced for the same connections.
Completing the field are Richard Ravin and Patricia’s Hope’s Larry Rivelli trainee Dreamofjean E. (post one, Chris Emigh), who has earned two wins from three starts against allowance company on the Arlington grass, and Lone Pirate Racing’s Jere R. Smith, Jr.-trained Goddess of Kip (post six, Sophie Doyle) looking to make her 51st career start.
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