Arctic Arrogance tops field for rescheduled G3 Withers;

Posted On 09 Feb 2023

By Mary Eddy —-

Arctic Arrogance tops field for rescheduled G3 Withers

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Chester and Mary Broman’s graded stakes-placed New York homebred Arctic Arrogance will contest graded stakes company for the second time in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers, a nine-furlong test for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Withers, which was rescheduled from last Saturday when live racing was canceled at the Big A due to high winds and extreme cold, is a prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and awards the top-five finishers 20-8-6-4-2 qualifying points towards the prestigious Grade 1 test on May 6 at Churchill Downs. Juddmonte’s Jungfrau is the lone newcomer to the field, which includes all six horses who entered last week.

Arctic Arrogance, who is trained by Linda Rice, will be making this third appearance in a Kentucky Derby points race at the Big A. He looks to break through after valiant runner-up efforts in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen on December 3 and the one-mile Jerome on January 7. He is currently 13th on the leaderboard with eight points.

Rice had previously indicated that Arctic Arrogance has proven to be a challenge to keep fit into his races, including the Jerome when he missed a scheduled work leading into the race. Rice said Arctic Arrogance has maintained good fitness through the extra week between races, working an additional five-furlongs in 1:03.22 over the Belmont dirt training track Friday.

“We didn’t have any weather and didn’t miss any works,” Rice said of the time between the Jerome and the Withers. “Obviously, we were planning on running last week, but with the cancelation, I breezed him before the weather hit us. It was not ideal and the schedule isn’t perfect, but it is what it is.”

The son of Frosted displayed his talents on debut with a pacesetting one-length score in a state-bred maiden sprint in September over a muddy and sealed main track at Saratoga Race Course. He followed with a similar frontrunning trip in the seven-furlong Bertram F. Bongard in September at Belmont at the Big A against state-breds, finishing second to upset winner Jackson Heights.

Arctic Arrogance made his open company debut in the Remsen, where he set the pace under returning pilot Jose Lezcano and battled gamely down the lane with the victorious Dubyuhnell to come up a half-length shy of victory. He traveled in second position throughout in the next-out Jerome, finishing a half-length back of the frontrunning winner Lugan Knight.

Rice said she is hopeful a return to nine furlongs will benefit the grey colt.

“He ran well in the Remsen as a 2-year-old, so you would think at this point that the mile-and-an-eighth will be good for him,” Rice said.

Arctic Arrogance will sport blinkers for the first time in the Withers after wearing them for his last few morning workouts.

“Lezcano breezed him in them,” said Rice. “We felt with the blinkers, he went on by himself rather than being reluctant to leave other horses. It’s going well.”

Arctic Arrogance will emerge from post 1.

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Jungfrau [post 3, Dylan Davis] makes his stakes debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott on the heels of a third-out graduation on December 31 at Gulfstream Park.

The grey son of Arrogate raced close to the pace throughout the 1 1/16-mile contest under Jose Ortiz before challenging Expect More from the three-quarters call and into the turn. The two continued to battle down the stretch with Expect More carrying Jungfrau wide at the three-sixteenths and crossing the finish line a nose ahead in a final time of 1:46.33. A steward’s inquiry and an objection from Ortiz resulted in the disqualification of Expect More and Jungfrau was awarded the maiden-breaking victory.

The win came after two fourth-place finishes at New York racetracks, including his September 3 debut at Saratoga Race Course that was won by subsequent Grade 3 Nashua winner Champions Dream. Garrett O’Rourke, Juddmonte’s General Manager, said Jungfrau has gained valuable experience in each of his outings.

“He’s a horse that, at this stage of the game, you’ve got to step it up another notch,” said O’Rourke. “He definitely has been stepping things up with every performance, as 3-year-olds often do. I think professionalism alone will improve his performance. He’s been to New York and Florida, he’s been inside of horses and outside of horses. He’s run green but he’s had plenty of experience while doing all of that.”

Jungfrau made his final preparations on Sunday, breezing five-eighths in 1:02.60 at Payson Park Training Center.

LC Racing’s Ninetyprcentmaddie [post 6, Abner Adorno] will look to notch his first open-company stakes victory on the heels of a game runner-up effort in the seven-furlong Parx Juvenile on January 3 at its namesake track.

Trained by Butch Reid, Jr., the Pennsylvania-bred son of Weigelia broke from the inside post in the field of eight under Paco Lopez and dueled for the early lead before settling in third at the half-mile call. He angled out down the stretch under strong urging from Lopez, but settled for second 2 3/4 lengths in arrears of the victorious Recruiter.

Reid, Jr. said that while the inside post hampered Ninetyprcentmaddie in his last start, he is confident Adorno can secure outside position with added ground.

“I have no doubt it hurt him last time,” said Reid, Jr. “Paco got him back outside and he made a nice second run. I look forward to getting him a chance to settle on the outside and see what happens. Going a mile and an eighth, he should be able to do it very comfortably and he should be on or near the lead.”

The Withers will be both the first start beyond sprint distances and outside of Parx for Ninetyprcentmaddie, whose lone stakes victory was a wire-to-wire 3 1/2-length score in the 5 1/2-furlong Whistle Pig against fellow Pennsylvania-breds in August. The bay colt’s breeding suggests he should relish a stretch out, with his full-sister, Ninetypercentbrynn, earning all four of her lifetime victories around two turns for Reid, Jr.

“I think he’ll handle it fine,” said Reid, Jr. “His big sister was a natural route horse. He’s got a great head on his shoulders and a grinding way of running, so I think he’ll handle it well.”

Ninetyprcentmaddie had his final breeze for the Withers on January 28 at Parx, covering a half-mile in 49.83 seconds.

“He had a sensational breeze the other day,” said Reid, Jr. “He went 49 and change and did it like breaking sticks. He came out of it real well.”

Mr. Amore Stable’s New York homebred Andiamo a Firenze enters from a distant fifth-place finish in the aforementioned Jerome for trainer Kelly Breen. There, he stalked the pace under Kendrick Carmouche, but failed to fire after racing in the two-path around the turn, finishing 10 lengths in arrears of Lugan Knight.

Andiamo a Firenze is in search of his first victory since the Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in August sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs against fellow state-breds at Saratoga. He scored the 5 1/2-length victory after a prominent trip under Irad Ortiz, Jr., notching both his first triumph against winners and his first stakes coup. That effort came on the heels of a third-place effort in the Grade 3 Sanford in July at the Spa and a debut maiden score in June at Belmont Park.

The dark bay son of Speightstown, who is a three-quarter sibling to multiple Grade 1-winner Firenze Fire, earned another stakes placing in October at Finger Lakes Racetrack when defeated a nose by Acoustic Ave. in the New York Breeders’ Futurity. There, he finished one length ahead of the filly Stonewall Star, who exited that effort to win the Key Cents in November and the Franklin Square on January 22 at the Big A.

Frankie Pennington, who takes over the reins from an injured Carmouche, will ride from post 7.

Completing the field are trainer James Chapman and Stuart Tsujimoto’s graded stakes-placed Prove Right [post 2, Jose Gomez]; Gary and Mary West’s Hit Show [post 4, Manny Franco], who scratched out of the Grade 3 Southwest on January 28 at Oaklawn Park in favor of this spot for trainer Brad Cox; and Seacoast Thoroughbreds of New England’s stakes-winner General Banker [post 5, Eric Cancel], who finished third in the Jerome last out for trainer James Ferraro.

The Withers is slated as Race 9 on Saturday’s 10-race card, which also features the $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield for sophomore sprinters in Race 3. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

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

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Kool Kathmandu set for stakes debut in $100K Jimmy Winkfield

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Happy Face Racing Stable’s Kool Kathmandu will look to build upon his impressive maiden score in Saturday’s $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield, a six-furlong sprint for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Jimmy Winkfield is named in honor of the last Black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. Winkfield, a Hall of Famer, won the Run for the Roses back-to-back with His Eminence in 1901 and with Alan-a-Dale in 1902. The Jimmy Winkfield was previously known as the Best Turn from 1985 to 2004.

Trained by Charlton Baker, Kool Kathmandu graduated last out at second asking with a gate-to-wire score in a six-furlong maiden sprint contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on December 16 at the Big A.

With returning rider Dylan Davis up, Kool Kathmandu set splits of 22.83 seconds and 46.97, opening up comfortably at the stretch call and winning by an eased-up 5 1/2-lengths in a final time of 1:12.76. That victory, which earned a 75 Beyer Speed Figure, demonstrated a marked improvement on his third-place finish in his November 6 debut here on a fast track.

Baker said the $25,000 purchase from the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale is a potential late-bloomer.

“He got to me early last year in April or May and it took me a while to get him to the races,” Baker said. “He was OK, but mentally, he needed to get better. So, we gelded him [in July] and he’s been good since. It just took him a bit to get there.”

The Frosted grey has breezed back five times, including a half-mile in 49.95 Friday over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

Kool Kathmandu, out of the stakes-winning Weigelia mare Fat Kat, will look to add to the solid stakes-winning ledger of his immediate family. His second dam, Katarica Disco, produced seven six-figure earners and three stakes winners, including his dam and the multiple stakes winners Disco Ebo and Smooth B.

Davis retains the mount from post 3.

Drew’s Gold [post 4, Jose Gomez] brings a perfect 2-for-2 record into his stakes debut for trainer James Chapman and owner Stuart Tsujimoto.

The Violence dark bay overcame trouble at the gate in both outings, including his May 12 graduation sprinting five furlongs at Churchill Downs and his victorious return to action traveling 5 1/2-furlongs on January 28 at Laurel Park.

Last out, Drew’s Gold broke in the air and settled in fourth position before being steadied at the half-mile and eventually angled outside for clear racing room en route to a 3 3/4-length score that garnered a field-best 83 Beyer.

“He always breaks a little slow. He’s still scared of the doors,” Chapman said. “He doesn’t break through them, he watches them a second and gets himself left. But then he gets in the race and does what he does.”

The $25,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, out of the multiple stakes-winning Vindication mare Frolic’s Revenge, is a half-sibling to stakes-winner American Frolic.

Winning Move Stable’s Joey Freshwater [post 1, Jose Lezcano] has won 2-of-3 starts and will make his stakes debut for trainer Linda Rice.

The Jimmy Creed colt was haltered for $50,000 out of a winning effort at second asking over a sloppy and sealed main track on November 27 at Churchill Downs.

Rice said she was impressed with Joey Freshwater’s fourth-place finish on debut in a November 6 maiden tilt at Churchill after attending a swift early pace.

“He had shown a lot of speed in his first race and backed up out of it a little bit. That was at a tougher level, and I thought with that race under his belt he could improve,” Rice said. “I was impressed with the effort despite the fact that he didn’t hit the board. I like his pedigree and wanted to take a shot on this horse. What’s the downside?”

Joey Freshwater, who sold for $35,000 at the OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, is out of the More Than Ready mare Lake Turkana, who is a half-sister to graded-stakes winner Crewman.

Joey Freshwater paid immediate dividends by winning first out for his current connections here on New Year’s Day in a six-furlong optional-claimer over muddy and sealed going.

With Kendrick Carmouche in the irons, he stalked four-wide from three lengths off the pace as Swifty Devil marked the half-mile in 46.13. Joey Freshwater launched a bid at the top of the lane and took over in mid-stretch en route to a one-length score.

“I thought it was a very good effort. I was happy he rated nicely on the outside,” Rice said. “He’s very ratable and I think the distance is in his range. He’s doing well and we’re really excited about running him.”

Harrell Ventures and Starlight Racing’s Clubhouse is the richest sales purchase in the field having been hammered down for $425,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Speightstown chestnut is out of the Tapit mare Wild Ridge, who is a half-sibling to multiple graded-stakes winner Cazadero, last year’s Grade 2 Remsen-winner Dubyuhnell, graded-stakes placed Almost Famous and stakes-winner Mt. Brave.

Clubhouse is also the most experienced horse in the field with a record of 6-1-0-3, and enters from a 6 1/2-length maiden score in a seven-furlong sprint over a good main track on January 14 at the Big A.

He was a distant fifth here as the favorite in Kool Kathmandu’s maiden win, but made amends last out by attending the early pace through a quarter-mile in 24.15 and taking over through a half-mile in 48.94. Clubhouse opened up by eight lengths at the stretch call and was geared down to the wire for a 6 1/2-length score under Carmouche, stopping the clock in 1:27.05 and registering a 73 Beyer.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez takes over from the injured Carmouche from the outermost post 5.

Bran Jam Stable and David W. Clark’s stakes-placed Daydreaming Boy [post 2, Dexter Haddock] will make his third consecutive stakes start for trainer Louis Linder, Jr.

The Goldencents chestnut made his first four starts at Parx, graduating at second asking with a gate-to-wire score to defeat next-out winner Blue Royal by 7 1/2-lengths over a muddy and sealed main track. He followed with a troubled second after stumbling at the start in the six-furlong Future Stars on December 5 ahead of an even fourth in the seven-furlong Parx Juvenile which was contested over a sloppy and sealed main track.

Bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms, Daydreaming Boy, out of the Corinthian mare Denali Dreamscape, is a half-brother to stakes-winner New Boss.

The Jimmy Winkfield is slated as Race 3 on Saturday’s 10-race card, which also features the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers in Race 9, offering 20-8-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.