Aqueduct Racetrack Notes 04/06

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Aqueduct Racetrack Notes

G2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino champ Rodriguez latest sophomore success for Ryan and partners
Ballerina d’Oro punches Kentucky Oaks ticket in G3 Gazelle
Grande secures 50 Kentucky Derby points in G2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino
Crazy Mason points to BSRF start in G3 True North or G1 Met Mile
Servis proud of Irish Maxima’s first graded win in G3 Distaff
Phileas Fogg earns 98 BSF in Listed Excelsior
New York-bred Early On earns Kentucky Oaks berth in game G3 Gazelle second

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino saw its 100th running won by the talented Rodriguez for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, providing his 10 owners with their third likely contender for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 3 after securing the maximum allotment of the 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points available to the top-five finishers.

Tom Ryan, who co-owns the colt with SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, said Rodriguez emerged well from his win in the centennial running of the prestigious nine-furlong route for sophomores.

“It’s great to win the Wood in its 100th running,” Ryan said. “Roberto [Luna, groom] sent us some great video of him jogging up this morning and he’s moving like a gazelle – good color, licked his feed tub last night,” said Ryan, who also serves as the managing partner for SF Racing. “He’ll ship Tuesday back to California and we’ll work backwards from the Derby.”

Piloted to victory by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, the son of 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic led every step of the way over the fast footing through splits of 23.31 seconds, 47.44, 1:11.25 and 1:35.68. The Dylan Davis-piloted Grande was seventh in the early stages and steadily made up ground on the outside to give chase down the lane, but Rodriguez dug in gamely and won by a comfortable 3 1/2 lengths in a final time of 1:48.15. He was awarded a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

Ryan said the assessment provided by the colt’s veteran rider, who noted Rodriguez was difficult to pull up in the gallop-out, is invaluable.

“The feedback from Mike Smith was, ‘Tom, he went through the wire with his ears pricked and he wanted more,’” Ryan said. “He’s a May baby that is really starting to come into himself at the right time, not widely different from his father. Authentic took a while to mature, not necessarily physically, but the mental aspect needed to come together. Mike got along well with Rodriguez yesterday, and that’s the key to it – understanding the horse’s mentality. He ran the way he likes to yesterday, and he sure as hell showed up.

“Coming from Mike, it’s meaningful,” Ryan added of the 2018 Triple Crown-winning rider. “He really knows every metropolitan racetrack in America, and the feedback is always good from him. He was riding around these tracks 30 years ago. He’s a great barometer. We wanted a good horse for Mike, and I’m glad it’s worked out. He’s excited, too.”

The 101 Beyer was the second triple-digit figure Rodriguez has earned and backed up the 100 he received for a dominant seven-length graduation in January over Baeza, who was a hard-fought second in Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. Ryan said Rodriguez was game to meet the challenges presented by his first foray outside of California.

“He came home in 12 and change and then needed the pony to pull him up,” Ryan said, with a laugh. “We couldn’t have been more proud of the effort. It was an excellent performance first time on a plane shipping over there. He handled it all very well, and we’re hopeful that sets him up nicely for the big dance.”

Rodriguez is the latest member of his family to provide success for Ryan and SF Racing, who co-owned his sire Authentic. Rodriguez is out of the winning Cherokee Run mare Cayala, who produced the SF Racing co-owned Grade 3-winner One Liner and the Grade 1-placed Provocateur, who now stands stud in New York.

“It was interesting. We had Authentic as a racehorse, and he was great. We typically spend about 80 to 90 percent of our capital on proven stallions, but we identified Authentic as a stallion we had confidence in his ability to produce a good, Classic distance colt,” Ryan explained. “We bought one in Saratoga, and I had it in my head we’d buy one or two. We ended up buying four, and Rodriguez was one of the four.”

Familiarity with the bloodlines helped Ryan to notice Rodriguez at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt’s strong physical and sparkling vet records were important, but Ryan said a positive review from Baffert was what gave him the green light to purchase him for $485,000 with Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing.

“He was a horse who was on the list, vetted, everything went well, and he was a highly-regarded horse,” Ryan said. “We weren’t really sure where he would land value wise. Bob saw him out back and said to me, ‘I really want to see that horse in the back ring and get a feel for him.’ He had seen him at the barn, but he wanted to see him again and how he reacted. That colt came up there and just stuck his chest out and said, ‘I’m the man.’ Bob came to me and said, ‘I want him.’

“It’s not like we stole him by any means, but we felt on the day that we were happy with the price,” Ryan added. “We owned the first foal out of that mare, and we’ve had a good relationship with that pedigree.”

As for the Wood Memorial victor’s name, Ryan said partner Gavin Murphy’s [SF Bloodstock] affinity for the film Searching for Sugar Man – not the World Series-winning third baseman Alex Rodriguez – led them to land on Rodriguez.

“Sixto Rodriguez is the character’s name, and some people think he’s named for A-Rod, and if that’s what they want, that’s fine, too,” Ryan said, with a laugh.

Rodriguez now boasts the most points of the six sophomores that have earned Kentucky Derby points for the ownership, and joins Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Citizen Bull, Grade 3-winner Getaway Car, and multiple graded stakes-placed Madaket Road [owned by all but Stonestreet Stables] as Baffert-trained contenders that currently hold enough points to make it into the Derby starting gate with two points races left to be run.

“The target was to have a good horse going to the Kentucky Derby and we feel like we have more than one,” Ryan said. “We probably buy about 20 horses in each crop and have run 15 3-year-olds [this year]. It’s incredible to have a slate of horses that are competing at this level.”

Citizen Bull, winner of the Grade 1 American Pharoah and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year and Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis in February, dueled for the lead in yesterday’s Santa Anita Derby and was one length in front at the three-quarters call, but yielded in the turn and faded to finish fourth 9 3/4 lengths behind the victorious Journalism.

Ryan said the talented colt is still likely to be given a chance in the “Run for the Roses.”

“He didn’t give us what we hoped for yesterday, but upon review, that was only his second run since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, so it’s possible we went a little too light on him,” Ryan said. “He has the points to go, and no decisions are made the day after a race, but our current sense is he will go to the Derby.

“We also have Madaket Road sitting on 46 points, and he came out of his race well,” Ryan added of the Grade 1 Florida Derby fourth-place finisher. “He’s still in the mix, too. Getaway Car has points, but we aren’t going to go that direction with him. He’s going to have some time off and we’ll let him fill out and hopefully have a good summer with him. I can’t speak highly enough of the job Bob and his team in the barn have done to keep these horses fit and sound and healthy and to navigate through the preps.”

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Ballerina d’Oro punches Kentucky Oaks ticket in G3 Gazelle

Rodeo Creek Racing’s Ballerina d’Oro punched her ticket to the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks with a win in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle, a nine-furlong test for sophomore fillies which awarded 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Ballerina d’Oro traveled 1 1/2 lengths back midpack through the first three quarters under Dylan Davis, before launching a wide move in the second turn to take a narrow advantage over Early On to her inside. That rival refused to give in while Ballerina d’Oro lugged in with trouble switching leads, which made for a very close finish, but the Chad Brown trainee prevailed in a final time of 1:50.67.

“She looked at the top of the lane like she was going to switch leads and just pull away, which would’ve given me a lot less work to do going into the Oaks,” Brown said. “Now that she’s done this, she looks sound this morning, now I just have to monitor how she trains and go from there. Maybe she would be less likely to do it [lug in] in a big field, she was kind of all by herself in the middle of the track, maybe that was it, I’ll see.”

Ballerina d’Oro made her first three starts on turf, adding blinkers for her dirt debut when second in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Demoiselle in December here. She entered the Gazelle from a third in the one-mile Grade 2 Davona Dale on March 1 at Gulfstream Park.

“I’ve said I’m not sure how much she got out of the Gulfstream race. It was a solid race, but she had missed some training going into the race, I wasn’t confident an allowance race would go, and it offered some points, so I went ahead and put her in there knowing that she probably wasn’t set up and it was cutting her back to one-turn,” Brown said. “She definitely gained fitness from it, don’t get me wrong; exiting the race it sure looked like she needed one more race to compete in a race like the Kentucky Oaks.”

Brown earned his fourth Gazelle victory, following past scores with Awesome Feather [2011], as well as Lewis Bay [2016] and Search Results [2021], who were third and second next in the Kentucky Oaks.

“This made sense because it’s a surface that she’s had success over. She did everything right until about the three-sixteenths pole,” Brown said. “Then, she started looking around or something. I’m not overly concerned about it. She’s had too many perfect days in a row training for me to be worrying too much about one incident in a short field.”

Brown said the Medaglia d’Oro gray will head to Kentucky later this month.

“She’ll go down to Kentucky when I move to Churchill around the 21st. She’ll have one work here and one work at Churchill,” Brown said.

***

Grande secures 50 Kentucky Derby points in G2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino

Repole Stable’s Grande finished second and picked up 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, a nine-furlong test for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The race awarded 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, with Rodriguez taking the top prize and Grande finishing 3 1/2 lengths back for second.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Curlin dark bay was making his stakes debut after a pair of 2 1/2-length scores at Gulfstream Park. In the Wood, he was forced wide into the first turn to avoid clipping heels, but he recovered nicely under Dylan Davis and improved past all but the Hall of Famer Bob Baffert-trained pacesetter.

Pletcher said Grande, who stands 16th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, earned his berth to the ‘Run for the Roses.’

“He seemed to be in good order this morning,” said Pletcher. “He looks good. We were hoping to find out if he’d be competitive with those horses. We felt like he would be. So, I thought for his third start, with kind of a rough trip around the first turn, it was a good effort. I’m glad he was able to accumulate some points and get a good experience in, so that [the Kentucky Derby] would be the plan.”

Pletcher said the Wood was likely a good education for the lightly-raced colt. His previous wins were at one mile in January and nine furlongs last out on February 27, both while forwardly placed under Hall of Famer John Velazquez.

“He got some kickback for the first time and handled that well. It just got a little messy into the first turn,” Pletcher said. “Dylan kind of had to check off heels. That fanned him out pretty wide, but I thought he put in a good, long sustained run, and the experience hopefully moves him forward.”

The runner-up finish earned a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure.

Grande, out of the graded stakes-winning War Front mare Journey Home, was a $300,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. His second dam is dual Grade 1-placed Soul Search, and his third dam, Solar Colony, is a full-sister to 1991 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Pleasant Stage.

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Crazy Mason points to BSRF start in G3 True North or G1 Met Mile

Donna Wright and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Crazy Mason completed a hat trick of local sprint wins with a scintillating last-to-first charge under Manny Franco to capture Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Carter presented by NYRA Bets, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Gregg Sacco and saddled by his son and assistant, Will Sacco, the 4-year-old Coal Front colt was last-of-7 and 10 lengths off a rapid duel between Full Moon Madness and Maximus Meridius, who zipped through a half-mile in 44.85 seconds.

Franco and Crazy Mason saved ground before being urged into contention midway through the turn and swung five-wide for the stretch run and taking dead aim at Quint’s Brew, who got first jump from third position. Crazy Mason needed every bit of the lengthy Big A stretch and arrived in the final jumps to score a neck win in a final time of 1:21.95. The winning effort registered a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

Gregg Sacco, who watched the stacked 13-race Wood Memorial Day card on TV from Florida, said the race made for dramatic viewing.

“I’m really proud of Will and the job the team did,” Sacco said. “I really wish I could have been there because watching on the TV I couldn’t see him in the early part of the race, I was like, ‘what’s going on?’ Watching live you can gauge it a little better, but that was some kick. It was very exciting.

“NYRA put on a great day of racing,” Sacco added. “Every race was competitive, and it was great to be a part of it and to come out a winner in the Carter.”

Sacco noted that his son called him midway through the card to discuss the possibility of asking Franco to put Crazy Mason into the race as the track appeared to be favoring horses in the first flight.

“We talked about it, but I said, ‘No. Just let him do his thing. I don’t want to get him in there and bottled up – just let him see the field and if he’s good enough, he’s good enough,’” Sacco said. “Fortunately, he was good enough. It’s a pretty crazy kick he’s got.

“It was a talented field of stakes winners and seasoned horses,” Sacco added. “We had to really run to nail Quint’s Brew. Mason got into another gear, and he did it on his left lead which was very impressive. I give a lot of credit to Manny – sometimes a jockey will try and make him pop that lead in the heat of the battle and lose a little momentum, but for him to run down Quint’s Brew on his left lead was impressive.”

Crazy Mason graduated at second asking in a restricted maiden sprint in July 2023 at Saratoga Race Course and was a closing second in the Inaugural in December 2023 at Tampa Bay Downs. However, as a 3-year-old, Sacco tried to stretch the talented grey out on the Kentucky Derby trail with a pair of Grade 3 preps at Tampa Bay Downs when sixth in the Sam F. Davis and seventh in the Tampa Bay Derby.

Sacco has focused Crazy Mason on local sprint races since returning to action from a distant third in the one mile and 70 yard Long Brach in May at Monmouth Park, including a fourth in a November allowance off the layoff before back-to-back scores against winners in last-to-first fashion.

Crazy Mason could now point to either the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap or the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3, $400,000 True North on June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.

“He walked well this morning, and we’ll see how he trains. Something like the True North or the Met Mile would be the considerations,” Sacco said. “I don’t think he’ll run before that. He broke his maiden at Saratoga which is nice, so we’ll march on and target one of those two races.”

A $27,500 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale purchase, Crazy Mason is out of the graded stakes-placed Maria’s Mon mare Izshelegal, who is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Comfort. His third dam is dual graded stakes-winner Katz Me If You Can, who captured the 2001 Grade 2 Genuine Risk Handicap at Belmont Park.

“My son and Nick Sallusto from Thorostock picked him out on behalf of Phil and Donna Wright,” Sacco said. “He went down to Ocala and Nick broke him. He came to us as a 2-year-old, and he was well prepared. Nick liked him at the farm. He said, ‘he looks like a runner and has a beautiful stride.’ When he was a baby, he was a bit of a handful and he still is. He’s very tough in the barn.”

Bred in Kentucky by Gmbracstables, Mr. & Mrs. Ramon Rangel and Mr. & Mrs. Zachary Madden, Crazy Mason has banked $375,970 via a 13-5-2-2 record.

***

Servis proud of Irish Maxima’s first graded win in G3 Distaff

Trainer John Servis looked on proudly Saturday as Irish Three Racing’s Irish Maxima went wire-to-wire to capture her first graded stakes victory in Aqueduct Racetrack’s Grade 3, $175,000 Distaff, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares.

The 4-year-old daughter of Maximus Mischief was away slowly from the inside post in the field of five but was hustled along by regular rider Frankie Pennington and was able to make the lead as Socially Selective and St. Benedicts Prep applied pressure to her outside through the opening quarter-mile in 23.26 seconds over the fast footing.

Irish Maxima extended her lead to 1 1/2 lengths through the half-mile in 45.80 and St. Benedicts Prep unleashed an outside bid into the stretch, but the pacesetter had plenty in reserve to fend off her rival by 1 1/4 lengths in a final time of 1:22.92. Irish Maxima earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure for the win.

“She’s very good, I’m very happy with her this morning,” Servis said. “She’s got good enough speed where she usually doesn’t have to use it much early on. She did a little bit yesterday breaking a step slow from the one hole, but she overcame it.”

Upon her return to the winner’s circle, Irish Maxima was met by a jubilant celebration from her owners and friends, with a smiling Servis beside them.

“They had a really good time,” Servis said, with a laugh. “That’s what it’s all about.”

Irish Maxima made the grade in her second attempt, her lone other try an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Frizette in 2023 here. A nine-month respite from November 2023 until last August led to a nearly flawless record in seven efforts since, including six wins that were led by a quartet of stakes coups.

“Early on, we thought the world of her, and I thought she was something special,” Servis said. “We probably got a little carried away and ambitious with where we spotted her. Her mind wasn’t quite right then, and she was a little hard to rate. The time off really gave her the opportunity to mature, and she’s been absolutely awesome this year.”

After the Distaff, Servis indicated Irish Maxima may be ready for another try in top competition, eyeing the seven-furlong Grade 1, $1 million Derby City Distaff on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

“We’re going to talk about it,” Servis said, noting the local 6 1/2-furlong Grade 3, $175,000 Vagrancy on the same day is also in play.

Bred in Kentucky by Pillar Property Services, Irish Maxima is out of the Grade 2-placed Out of Place mare Palace Pier and was a $50,000 purchase by Servis at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training sale.

***

Phileas Fogg earns 98 BSF in Listed Excelsior

Jupiter Stable’s Phileas Fogg employed different tactics when securing his second stakes win in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Excelsior, a 1 1/4-mile test for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Gustavo Rodriguez, the 5-year-old Astern gelding set the pace when romping in the nine-furlong Listed Queens County on December 29 here. On Saturday, Mama’s Gold ran off to an eight-length advantage through a half-mile, but Phileas Fogg reeled him in en route to a 5 1/4-length victory under Kendrick Carmouche.

The final time of 2:01.69 on the fast dirt registered a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, one tick shy of Phileas Fogg’s career-best from the Queens County.

“We knew when he grabs the lead, he runs good, but I was worried about Mama’s Gold. The owner said, ‘We’ve got to go,’ and I said, ‘Let’s see what Kendrick wants to do,’” Rodriguez recalled. “Kendrick came with a beautiful plan. The way it happened was exactly what he told us.”

Rodriguez said Phileas Fogg, who improved to 4-for-5 since his July claim at Saratoga Race Course, exited the race in good order.

“Everything is good. He walked good, I jogged him, he jogged good, everything looks good,” said Rodriguez. “Man, Kendrick gave him a beautiful ride.”

The measured score was win number 4,001 for Carmouche.

“Just to race in a count of 4,000 is a lot, but to win 4,000 is special. Listen, Kendrick is a very, very good and smart jockey,” said Rodriguez. “I said to Kendrick that once he broke out of the gate, he takes control.”

Post-race, owner Steve Shapiro said the Grade 2, $400,000 Suburban on July 4 during the July 4 Racing Festival at Saratoga is a target race. Rodriguez wanted to enjoy Saturday’s win before making any definitive plans, but ruled out a return to turf, which the bay ran on six times for different connections.

“Right now, I’m just wanting to enjoy the win. Then, my owner and I can sit down and talk about him and see where we want to go,” said Rodriguez. “No turf. We didn’t claim the horse to run on turf. We claimed him to run on dirt, the way he was training. He ran a beautiful race on dirt for [Jimmy] Toner.”

***

New York-bred Early On earns Kentucky Oaks berth in game G3 Gazelle second

C2 Racing Stable, Ken Reimer, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch and Bradley Kent’s New York-bred Early On won the early pace battle with Vanilla Sundae but could not stave off Ballerina d’Oro in a game nose defeat in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., the Union Rags bay showed courage in the 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks points qualifier and convinced her connections she deserves a chance on the first Friday in May at Churchill Downs.

“In talking it over with the ownership group, the initial reaction is that we will go on to the Oaks. The plan right now is to go directly to Churchill with her,” Joseph, Jr. said.

Early On, with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano up, pressed Vanilla Sundae through splits of 24.10 seconds and 48.36 over the fast main track. She led through three-quarters in 1:12.66 but had to deal with the favored Ballerina d’Oro, who loomed large but did not switch leads at first when it seemed she would open up by many lengths at the top of the lane.

A game and determined Early On battled back along the rail and made a race of it to earn place honors with 5 3/4-lengths back to Deloraine in third as the Chad Brown-trained Ballerina d’Oro stopped the clock in 1:50.67.

“She showed a lot more speed than normal,” Joseph, Jr. said. “At the quarter-pole, it looked like Chad’s horse was going pretty good, but she battled on and at the eighth pole I thought she might go on and win it, but the other horse was better than her on the day. We were happy with her effort.”

Early On is now sixth on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 75 points. She added to her closing effort when a half-length second to Fondly in the Virginia Oaks on March 15 where she picked up 25 points at Colonial Downs.

Joseph, Jr. said the improving bay, who graduated at fourth asking when stretched out to 1 1/16-miles in February at Gulfstream Park, showed a pleasing new dimension on Saturday.

“I like that she’s getting a little more tactical because normally she gives herself too much to do, so that is a good attribute to have,” Joseph, Jr. said. “The Oaks is obviously going to be a faster run race, so they’ll run away from her, and she’ll have to hopefully come and get them – stamina is her best asset.”

Early On, who scratched out of the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks in favor of the Gazelle, was bred in the Empire State by John Lauriello. She was purchased for $20,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale and is out of the Distorted Humor mare Sally O’Brien – a half-sister to multiple stakes-winner Lipstick City.

Joseph, Jr. said Michael J. Ryan’s Dilger, who landed third in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Carter presented by NYRA Bets, performed admirably as a 16-1 longshot in the seven-furlong sprint for older horses won by Crazy Mason.

“That was an ambitious spot that we gave him, and we were very happy with him,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He’s a solid horse that always tries. He ran well.

“We have no plans for him yet,” Joseph, Jr. added. “We still have the ‘2X’ allowance condition, but nothing is decided with him right now.”

The 4-year-old Lope de Vega colt added to a previous graded placing when closing for third in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Lexington last April at Keeneland.

Joseph, Jr. said that Peachtree Stable and Stefania Farms’ Bear Claw Necklace, who did not ship to New York and scratched from Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, will look for an allowance spot.

The Lord Nelson bay has made three starts, all at Gulfstream Park, including a second-out graduation in December and a distant third to well-regarded Praetor on March 9. He worked a half-mile in 50 flat on Friday at Palm Meadows Training Center.

“He breezed well. He’s a good workhorse,” Joseph, Jr. said. “We just want to go to an allowance spot. I don’t know where yet. The Wood was a very tough spot.”