Belmont/Aqueduct Saturday Stakes Previews

Posted On 16 Sep 2022

BY Ryan Martin/Keith McCalmont —-

McKulick headlines G3 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Klaravich Stables’ McKulick will strive for victory in two-thirds of the filly division of the Caesars Turf Triple when taking on five others in the third running of Saturday’s Grade 3, $700,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational for 3-year-old fillies traveling 11 furlongs over the inner turf at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

Trained by Chad Brown, McKulick captured the first leg of the Turf Triple in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational on July 9 at Belmont Park en route to a runner-up finish in the second leg – the Grade 1 Saratoga Oaks Invitational on August 7. The daughter of Frankel has never finished out of the money in six lifetime starts, while boasting a 2-3-1 record and earnings of $713,650.

After finishing a late closing second against graded stakes company at Churchill Downs in her first two starts of the year, McKulick handled a stretch out in distance with flying colors in the 10-furlong Belmont Oaks. She tracked in fifth down the backstretch before launching a three-wide move around the far turn and collaring With The Moonlight in the final furlong to win by 1 3/4 lengths. McKulick came up short of victory by the same margin in the Saratoga Oaks, which was won by With The Moonlight.

McKulick demonstrated staying capabilities in her Belmont Oaks score, and Brown said the extra eighth of a mile should be within reach for his talented bay.

“She’s starting to give me that feeling that she might be able to do it,” said Brown, who trained last year’s winner Shantisara. “She ran into a really nice filly that turned the table on us after the Belmont Oaks. I thought she ran really well. We’ll try to complete the triple and run in all three legs. She’s been very consistent. I’m very proud of her.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will retain the mount from post 1.

Australian Bloodstock’s German-based Toskana Belle adds international flavor to the field, entering off a victory in the Group 1 German Oaks on August 7 at Dusseldorf for trainer Andreas Wohler.

The French-bred daughter of Italian Group 1 winner Shamalgan sprung a 16-1 upset when defeating a dozen other sophomore fillies in the German Oaks, run at the Jockey Club Oaks distance.

Internationally acclaimed rider Frankie Dettori is sure to give Toskana Belle his signature flying dismount should she win the Jockey Club Oaks, breaking from post 4.

Trainer Christophe Clement will send out Canisy following a troubled sixth in the restricted Riskaverse on August 25 at Saratoga. Owned by Marc Holliday’s Blue Devil Racing Stable, Canisy made her stakes debut in the one-mile Riskaverse, where she broke inward into a rival, skimmed the rail in fifth down the backstretch before making her bid in upper stretch, bumping with another rival at the sixteenths-pole and finished 2 1/4 lengths in arrears of upset winner Gina Romantica.

The lightly-raced Canisy began her campaign on a winning note over Belmont’s inner turf on May 1, running down next out winner Contemporary Art to win by a neck. She defeated winners in wire-to-wire fashion two starts later over the inner turf at Saratoga on July 14.

“She needs a bit of a smoother trip,” said Clement assistant Christophe Lorieul. “She’s a big filly and I don’t think you want to stop her too much and take back and go. She had to do that twice last time in the stretch. She needs something a bit smoother. The distance I don’t think will be a problem, she’s by Point of Entry and she can go on any ground.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will retain the mount from post 3.

Michael Tabor’s Beside Herself enters off a triumph against elders, defeating graded stakes placed Rocky Sky by 3 1/4 lengths in a 12-furlong allowance optional claimer on August 25 at the Spa.

The daughter of Uncle Mo, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, earned her two other trips to the winner’s circle in similar frontrunning fashion when breaking her maiden at third asking in January at Gulfstream and defeating winners in April at Keeneland. She earned graded stakes black type when third in the Grade 3 Regret on June 4 at Churchill Downs.

Flavien Prat, who piloted last year’s winner Shantisara and inaugural winner Edisa [2019], will seek to keep his perfect record in the Jockey Club Oaks afloat when guiding Beside Herself from post 6.

Trainer Ian Wilkes will send out Margaret Long and Keith Long’s Miss Yearwood following a triumphant turf debut on August 7 at Ellis Park.

The daughter of Will Take Charge broke her maiden travelling 10 furlongs on April 30 at Churchill Downs before finishing a distant seventh in her stakes debut in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on May 20 at Pimlico Race Course. She rebounded in the next out Monomoy Girl on June 18 at Churchill Downs, finishing a close second.

Chris Landeros will ship up to ride Miss Yearwood, who breaks from post 5.

Completing the field is Godolphin’s Nostalgic, who will once again experiment with turf, entering off a distant sixth in the Grade 1 Alabama on August 20 over the Saratoga main track.

The Medaglia d’Oro filly made her sophomore debut in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant in February over the Gulfstream Park turf, finishing a distant ninth in her lone start on grass for Hall of Famer Bill Mott. A next out allowance optional claiming winner on the Florida oval’s main track, she made the grade in the Grade 3 Gazelle on April 9 at Aqueduct.

Nostalgic has trained extensively over the Oklahoma training turf at Saratoga, recording an easy half-mile breeze in 50.92 on Monday.

Luis Saez will ride Nostalgic from post 2.

The Jockey Club Oaks Invitational is carded as Race 7 on the Belmont at the Big A’s 11-race program, which also features the Grade 1, $1 million Caesars Jockey Club Derby Invitational for sophomores going 12 furlongs in Race 10. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of every day of Belmont at the Big A on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

Classic Causeway and Nations Pride renew rivalry in G3 Caesars Jockey Club Derby Invitational

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Classic Causeway and Nations Pride, who have each won one leg of the Caesars Turf Triple, will square off once more in Saturday’s Grade 3, $1 million Caesars Jockey Club Derby, to close out the lucrative series in the 12-furlong inner turf test for sophomores at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper’s Kentucky homebred Classic Causeway struck first with a gate-to-wire 26-1 upset score under Julien Leparoux in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Caesars Belmont Derby on July 9 to win his turf debut by three-quarter lengths over Nations Pride.

Trained by Ken McPeek, the Giant’s Causeway chestnut dug in gamely to stave off the late-running Nations Pride, who endured a troubled trip from post 10-of-12 under Frankie Dettori when slow from the gate and checked in upper stretch.

Godolphin’s Irish homebred Nations Pride, by Teofilo, turned the tables on his familiar foe last out in the 1 3/16-mile Grade 1 Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 6, stalking the early foot of Classic Causeway before pouncing to a 1 3/4-length score with William Buick in the irons. Classic Causeway settled for third, a head back of Annapolis, who exited that event to capture the Grade 3 Saranac by a geared down 5 1/2-lengths on September 3 at the Spa.

McPeek said he is hopeful that Flavien Prat, who picks up the mount from post 1, can work out a comfortable trip while trying the Big A turf for the first time.

“I don’t know that surface is going to be a big deal as much as how he rates and relaxes and how long he can stay. It’s going to be an interesting run for him, it’s a mile-and-a-half,” McPeek said. “He’s a unique horse in that the pace of the race is all the difference with him.”

Classic Causeway, who was Grade 1-placed as a juvenile, began his 3-year-old season with a pair of starts at Tampa Bay Downs for his former trainer Brian Lynch, making the grade in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis in February and following with a 2 1/2-length score in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby.

He set the pace when 11th in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in April at Gulfstream Park before an off-the-board effort in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs. Classic Causeway was then transferred to McPeek, finishing third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 25 at Thistledown before returning on two week’s rest to win the Belmont Derby.

The Charlie Appleby-trained Nations Pride made his North American debut in the Belmont Derby from an eighth in the 12-furlong Group 1 Epsom Derby on June 4, five weeks after a seven-length romp over subsequent Derby runner-up Hoo Ya Mal in the Newmarket Stakes.

Nations Pride had a four-race win streak snapped at Epsom, with his three previous wins all coming on flat courses, including a 3 1/4-length score in the 10-furlong Jumeirah Derby at Meydan in Dubai.

Nations Pride, who has remained in New York in the care of travelling assistant Chris Connett, has breezed regularly over the Oklahoma training turf at Saratoga including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.67 on September 11.

“The entire trip, the horse has gone from strength to strength. You can see that in his runs,” Connett said. “Physically, he’s matured into his frame. Earlier in the year he was a nice horse. He was well thought of to run in the Derby at Epsom, but from a physical standpoint he’s just filled his frame a lot more and mentally as well. He really switches off now and is really taking it all in very well.”

Appleby won this event last year with Yibir, who subsequently captured the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in November at Del Mar en route to Champion Turf Male honors.

Dettori returns to the irons aboard Nations Pride from post 3.

Bennett Racing PYT’s multiple group stakes winner Ardakan is one of four newcomers to the Caesars Turf Triple series.

Trained by Markus Klug, who will saddle his first starter in North America, the Reliable Man grey captured the nine-furlong Group 3 Premio Guido Berardelli in November at Capannelle and added the 11-furlong Group 2 Premio Derby Italiano to his ledger in May. He followed with a close eighth-place effort in the 12-furlong Group 1 Deutsches Derby in July at Hamburg, defeated 2 1/2-lengths by Sammarco, who exited that effort to win a Group 1 over older company at Munich.

Ardakan enters from a third-place finish versus older horses in the 12-furlong Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin in August at Hoppegarten, defeated just two lengths by the victorious Rebel’s Romance.

Andrasch Starke, who captured the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup in June with Loft, will pilot Ardakan from post 6.

Marc Keller’s stakes-placed Kentucky homebred Daunt [post 5, Javier Castellano] will make his second attempt in graded company, having finished a close fifth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Pennine Ridge in June at Belmont.

Trained by Robert Ribaudo, the dark bay Nyquist colt finished third in the Awad in November to close out his juvenile campaign.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Albert Frassetto’s The Grey Wizard [post 4, John Velazquez] graduated in March traveling 10 furlongs over the Dundalk synthetic for his former conditioner Joseph O’Brien.

The Caravaggio bay launched his sophomore season in North America in the care of conditioner Graham Motion, finishing second in June at Laurel Park. He enters from a close fourth, defeated 2 1/4-lengths, in a 1 3/16-mile allowance event on August 25 at the Spa, closing from last-of-12 after a slow start to finish a nose ahead of Daunt.

Rounding out the field is Wicked Fast [post 2, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], who was claimed for $35,000 last out by owner-trainer Joe Sharp from a second-place finish in a 1 1/16-mile turf tilt.

He sports a record of 8-2-2-2 led by a maiden win for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in November at Belmont, from which he was haltered for $50,000, and an allowance score for conditioner Jorge Abreu in June traveling nine furlongs over yielding Belmont green.

The Tourist gelding’s dam, Wicked Charm, is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winning Champion English Channel.

The Caesars Jockey Club Derby is slated as Race 10 on Saturday’s 11-race card, which also offers the Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks in Race 7. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

-30-