Aqueduct Racetrack Notes

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Hit Show earns 91 Beyer in G3 Withers conquest
Drew’s Gold points to G3 Bay Shore after $100K Jimmy Winkfield win
Toxic Gray earns 91 BSF for gutsy maiden victory

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following a triumphant stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack, Gary and Mary West’s Hit Show will remain in New York at trainer Brad Cox’s Belmont Park division to train for his next start.

Hit Show, a gray son of Candy Ride, earned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure for his 5 1/2-length conquest of the nine-furlong test under jockey Manny Franco, earning 20 points towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs. He entered the Withers from a sharp victory against winners on December 17 going a two-turn mile at Oaklawn Park. Initially entered in the Grade 3 Southwest on January 28 at the Arkansas oval, Cox called an audible with Hit Show and sent him to New York for the Withers.

“He looked good this morning. He cooled out well yesterday and came back in good shape,” said Cox’s Belmont-based assistant Dustin Dugas. “He was at the front of the stall, and bright eyed this morning. We’re happy with him and he was happy with himself.”

While all options are currently on the table for Hit Show, Cox said he would strongly consider the nine-furlong Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 8 – the final local Kentucky Derby qualifier, which offers 100-40-30-20-10 points to the top-five finishers.

“He’s always been a horse that we thought would be better with more ground based off pedigree, how he runs and what he’s shown us in his races,” Cox said. “I think we obviously look at the Kentucky Derby and one race between now and then. What race that is, I don’t know yet. It very well could be the Wood Memorial. He obviously likes the racetrack there and we’ll see how things go.”

A second generation Kentucky homebred, Hit Show is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Tapit mare Actress, who, in 2017, posted nine-furlong graded-stakes wins in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico Race Course and the Grade 3 Comely at the Big A.

Hit Show is one of 38 Triple Crown-nominated horses under Cox’s care. Another is Gold Square’s Slip Mahoney, who broke his maiden on January 21 going a one-turn mile at the Big A with Dylan Davis in the irons.

The gray son of Arrogate kept good company in his first two outings, finishing fourth in his November debut at the Big A which was won by the Todd Pletcher-trained Litigate, who captured Saturday’s Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs.

He followed in December here with a runner-up effort to the Pletcher-trained Tapit Trice, who exited that effort to romp by eight lengths in an optional-claimer last Saturday at Gulfstream Park that garnered a 92 Beyer.

Cox said Slip Mahoney is on target for the one-turn mile Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 4 at the Big A, a Kentucky Derby qualifying race that awards 50-20-15-10-5 points to the top-five finishers.

“He ran against some really good horses in his last two races,” Cox said. “He held his own and he’s a nice colt. He’s marching towards the Gotham. That’s where he’ll start next, and we’re excited about him. He showed some heart and determination in his last two and I think he’s one that will get better with doing it in the afternoon. He’s been a little tough to get to the races but once he got there, he’s shown up and run every time.”

Slip Mahoney breezed a half-mile in 49.77 seconds over the Belmont training track on Saturday.

“He came back great. He looked good yesterday,” said Dugas. “He’s another one who ate up everything last night and was ready to go this morning. Dylan was on him yesterday and he was happy with it, too.”

Slip Mahoney is out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Got Lucky. His third dam, Get Lucky, produced Grade 1-winner Girolamo and graded stakes winners Daydreaming and Accelerator as well as Supercharger – the dam of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver. All are direct descendants of influential matriarch La Troienne.

Lightning almost struck twice for Cox on Saturday when Qatar Racing’s Everso Mischievous was a close second on debut in a six furlong maiden event for sophomores. Sent to post as the favorite, the Into Mischief bay dueled in the stretch to the inside of longshot Toxic Gray and came up a head shy of victory. He earned a 90 Beyer for the solid runner-up effort.

Dugas indicated that Everso Mischievous, who also is Triple Crown nominated, will likely get better with more distance.

“He’s a nice horse. I think he’s going to be one that goes a little further. Looking back, he needed that race yesterday,” Dugas said. “The horse who won ran on and got the jump on us. Being a first-time starter, our horse didn’t have the kick to jump right back into the bridle, but he came back big. He thinks he won, so we’ll take it.”

Bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farms, Everso Dangerous is out of the graded stakes-winning Medaglia d’Oro mare Ever So Clever.

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Drew’s Gold points to G3 Bay Shore after $100K Jimmy Winkfield win

Drew’s Gold, trained and co-owned by James Chapman with Stuart Tsujimoto, remained undefeated through three career starts with a 4 1/4-length score in Saturday’s $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield, a six-furlong sprint for sophomores, at the Big A.

The Kentucky-bred Violence colt overcame slow starts in his first two outings, but was away alertly under Jose Gomez and disputed the pace on Saturday, leading through splits of 23.47 seconds and 47.81 over the fast main track.

The $25,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase opened up by 2 1/2-lengths at the stretch call and stopped the clock in a final time of 1:13.09. The emphatic score matched a career-best 83 Beyer Speed Figure.

Chapman said a trip to the starting gate the day before the race was beneficial for the improving dark bay.

“Instead of just taking off, he’d watch the doors and they’d spook him,” explained Chapman. “But the gate crew is so good in New York, they let us take him to the gate the day before and instead of backing him out, we opened up the doors by hand and let him walk out the front to take a breath and chill out. It really helped him relax. With racing, he’s only going to get better.”

Drew’s Gold also benefitted from reuniting with Gomez, who had worked the horse multiple times at Belmont Park in advance of his prior scores. Drew’s Gold ultimately shipped to Churchill Downs in May to win his debut sprinting five furlongs after breaking a step slow under Ricardo Santana, Jr.; and returned to action on January 28 at Laurel Park to defeat winners going 5 1/2-furlongs despite leaping in the air at the start with Jeiron Barbosa up.

“Jose’s known the horse from way back,” Chapman said. “He breezed the horse the work before he won at Churchill when he was supposed to run at Belmont. We had that horse schooled and ready to go in behind horses. And then he worked him here once before he went to Laurel when the race didn’t go here.

Drew’s Gold could step up to graded company next out with an eye towards the seven-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Bay Shore on April 8, which Chapman said is preferable to trying the one-turn mile Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 4, which awards 50-20-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

“I’d rather just keep taking it step-by-step with him and run him in the seven-eighths race,” Chapman said. “He’s doing super. He came out of the race like he didn’t even run.”

Chapman didn’t rule out stretching Drew’s Gold out in distance down the road.

“Who knows until you run around two turns, but it doesn’t seem like the distance has affected him. The further that he goes, he just wins by more,” Chapman said.

Chapman and Tsujimoto attempted to complete a Saturday stakes sweep at the Big A in the Grade 3 Withers, but their 80-1 longshot Prove Right settled for a distant fifth after attending the early pace with Gomez aboard.

The Justify bay, a $15,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, was a strong third in the one-turn mile Grade 3 Nashua here in November ahead of an off-the-board effort in the nine-furlong Remsen on December 3 which was contested over a sloppy and sealed Aqueduct main track.

He would capture an optional-claiming tilt at 5 1/2-furlongs just eight days later at Laurel Park before finishing last-of-5 in the Turfway Prevue sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs on synthetic on January 7.

Prove Right was initially under consideration for the Jimmy Winkfield but when Drew’s Gold exited his Laurel win in good order and was able to wheel back on two week’s rest, Chapman decided to give Prove Right one more shot at nine furlongs.

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something and that maybe the horse didn’t like the mud,” said Chapman. “Obviously, he’s better sprinting than routing, but I wanted to take a chance with a short field. I thought he ran OK. He had a little mucus and snot coming out of the race. He just missed finishing fourth and picking up $15,000.”

Chapman credited Tsujimoto for his patience in campaigning young horses.

“We own the horses together and he’s the best guy you could have as a partner,” Chapman said. “It’s the reason we’re able to do so well with the horses we buy because there’s no heat with him on anything. If I tell him we need to give a horse 30 days, he’s fine.”

Chapman said Prove Right will turn back in distance next out and could come under consideration for the Grade 3 Gotham if the field comes up light, but will keep all his options open.

Chapman has enjoyed tremendous success in New York with bargain buys from yearling sales, including Kavod, a $3,500 Keeneland Yearling Sale purchase in 2020 that graduated in April 2021 at Belmont ahead of a runner-up effort in that year’s Tremont. He would lose Kavod via claim for $50,000 in November 2021 and the horse went on to win the Advent at Oaklawn Park and has now banked $540,240 through 20 starts.

Saucy Lady T, who brought $5,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, graduated in April 2021 at Belmont and completed the trifecta in a trio of Saratoga stakes that summer in the Grade 3 Schuylerville, Grade 2 Adirondack and Grade 1 Spinaway. The Tonalist bay then sold for $425,000 at the Keeneland Horses of All Ages Sale in January 2022.

“It’s just a matter of spotting them right and always having a bit of pedigree when you buy,” said Chapman. “Whatever faults they have that caused the price, once they show they can run, you don’t have to be a genius to make some money on them.”

The Chapman family is arguably best known for campaigning the multiple graded-stakes winner Caller One, who, in 2000, captured the Grade 3 Lafayette at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Kentucky Cup Sprint at Turfway Park. He would finish fourth in that year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint [won by Kona Gold], marking the quarter-mile in 20.82 seconds and the half in 43.56 despite a troubled start.

The Phone Trick bay added the Grade 3 Los Angeles Handicap at Hollywood Park to his ledger in 2001, just two starts before finishing third to the victorious Squirtle Squirt in that year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Belmont Park.

His overseas ventures included back-to-back wins in the Dubai Golden Shaheen in 2001-02, the first victory as a Group 3 and the second as a Group 1. He completed his career at the age of 10 with a win in the 2007 Rocket Man, a two-furlong sprint in the slop at Calder Race Course.

Chapman said the now 26-year-old Caller One is enjoying his retirement years in Florida.

“He’s at my dad’s place in Florida. He’s a little long in the tooth, but they spoil him,” Chapman said. “He’s lived a good life. He’s out in the big field with a couple other horses and doing fine.”

Chapman said he has many fond memories of Caller One, including his tremendous Breeders’ Cup efforts.

“In 2001, it was the year Tiznow won the Classic and the year that Frankel won his first Breeders’ Cup with Squirtle Squirt. I remember it like it was yesterday,” Chapman said. “The year before at Churchill, he stumbled leaving the gate and he took off and went 20 and change. He’s such a nice horse.”

Caller One banked more than $3.2 million in purse earnings through a record of 29-11-5-3.

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Toxic Gray earns 91 BSF for gutsy maiden victory

Christopher Borducci, George Raymond and David Berley’s Toxic Gray graduated in impressive fashion with a narrow victory over Everso Mischievous in Saturday’s sixth race, a six-furlong maiden special weight for 3-year-olds, at Aqueduct Racetrack. The determined effort garnered a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.

Trained by Michael Miceli, the son of Verrazano made his first start for his connections after he was purchased privately on the heels of a strong debut second-place effort at odds of 43-1 in a $40,000 maiden claiming event in December at Tampa Bay Downs. There, he was bumped at the break and tracked the pace in third down the backstretch before angling to the three-path and closing gamely to earn place honors.

That event proved to be a key race as the third and fourth-place finishers, Lookin’ Super and Gratia Prince, also exited the race to break their maiden next out on February 10 and February 3, respectively, at Tampa. Fatih, the sixth-place finisher, finished a game second in the February 10 maiden won by Lookin’ Super.

Toxic Gray stepped up in company yesterday and was sent to post at odds of 7-1 under the guidance of Eric Cancel. Toxic Gray raced closely to the pace for the first quarter-mile before rushing up to race in tandem with the frontrunning Everso Mischievous through the turn and to the top of the lane. The two easily drew away from the rest of the field and went head-to-head down the stretch before Toxic Gray got the better bob and secured the win by a head.

Miceli said he felt confident Toxic Gray was poised to give a strong effort.

“He showed me in his works that he wasn’t going to a maiden 40,” Miceli said, with a laugh. “He had a couple good works well in-hand, and he still went pretty fast. I called the owners and said, ‘Look, he’s training really good. We should take a shot at the maiden special.’ We decided to run him in that spot yesterday and he came through. He’s like a little bulldog. He fought on to get the win.”

Toxic Gray first caught Miceli’s eye as a juvenile at the OBS June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training where he breezed a quarter-mile in 21 seconds flat before failing to meet his reserve with a bid of $45,000. Miceli said it was his brother-in-law, Joe Brocklebank, who brought the horse to his attention.

“We had watched him when he breezed for the sale in Ocala, and for one reason or another, it [a sale] didn’t get done at the time,” Miceli said. “He needed more time. My brother-in-law told me about the horse and we decided to move forward. He ran at Tampa and ran second, and I said, ‘Well, it looks like kind of a nice horse to come up to be second.’ So, we went ahead and purchased him privately from the previous owner and he trained very good when he came here.”

Miceli said he will look to run Toxic Gray through his conditions for the time being.

“He’s the type of horse who loves what he does,” said Miceli. “He’s very well-mannered and he’s push-button. If you want to go fast, he’ll go fast. If you want to slow him down, he’s very cooperative.”