Arlington International Racecourse Barn Notes: Saturday, August 4, 2018

By Ryan Martin —-

• Nichols Expresses Confidence in Almanaar
• Motion Trio Works for International Festival of Racing
• Streamline Returns to Winner’s Circle

NICHOLS EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN ALMANAAR

After Almanaar (GB) took home his first United States victory in last year’s Grade I Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap, owner Shadwell Farms’ Racing Manager Rick Nichols had the Grade I $1,000,000 Arlington Million in the back of his mind for the son of Dubawi (IRE). Unfortunately, some setbacks put him on the shelf for the remainder of the year, so the connections are looking to make up for such lost time when they contest this year’s edition of the Million.

Trained by Chad Brown, Almanaar has only run once since the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in an allowance optional claiming event over the turf at Belmont Park on June 8. In doing so, he defeated a trio of graded stakes winners including stable mate Ticonderoga, King Kreesa and Glenville Gardens. In the 1 1/16-mile event, Almanaar sat well off the pace and appeared a bit rank in the early stages of the race. Despite getting angled wide at the top of the stretch, he did not require much asking and was never whipped by jockey Joel Rosario. He held off a late charge from stable mate Ticonderoga to win under a hand ride by a neck and galloped out with authority.

“Chad always liked him,” Nichols said. “He had a little problem right after the Grade I win. He was working and we were actually getting him to last year’s Million, but he came up a little lame in his left front. We had to do some work on him and he went back into training. Chad said he was training great so we thought that we’d give him a try. Chad has always had a lot of faith in the horse and he thinks he’s that kind of horse. We figured we’d see what he can do. The distance should suit him.”

Almanaar began his racing career in France, where he won the Prix Paul de Moussac and the Prix Daphnis (both Group 3 events) in June 2015. He made his United States debut when coming off of a 13-month layoff in a Belmont Park allowance event in September 2016, where he finished fourth Almanaar showed improvement in his following starts with a third-place finish in an allowance race over the Belmont Park inner turf in October 2016. He then finished second behind Flatlined in the Grade II Fort Lauderdale Stakes in January of following year.

“The first time he ran fourth and he ran a little keen that day,” Nichols recalled. “He broke and just went to the lead. He needed to learn how to rate himself a little bit. We ran him in an allowance race at Belmont and he ran a little bit better but he was on the outside and had a wide trip and finished third. He came back at Gulfstream in the Fort Lauderdale and ran second and then we put him in the Grade I at Gulfstream Park and won, was very well ridden.”

Following the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in February 2017, Almanaar continued to record works at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Florida, where Brown keeps his major string of horses in the winter. In early December of that year, he shipped to Camden Training Center in South Carolina where Shadwell keeps a small operation.

“We’ve got a good team here at Shadwell to get horses healed up after injury,” Nichols said. “We sent him down to our operation in South Carolina and they do a good job getting horses back on track.”

So what gives Nichols confidence that Almanaar can score a Million victory in his second race off the bench?

“He’s done it before at that level and Chad is so good with these older turf horses from overseas,” Nichols said. “He knows what to see in them and I have to rely on his judgment because he is so good with him. This horse deserves to be there.”

In 15 career starts, Almanaar has made six trips to the winner’s circle with only four off the board finishes and has secured lifetime earnings of $491,849. He is out of the Bahhare broodmare Baqah (IRE) who won the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly in 2004.

Trainer Chad Brown will also be represented by graded stakes winners Robert Bruce (CHI) and Money Multiplier in the Million. He will be going for his second victory in the prestigious turf event after a win in last year’s edition with Beach Patrol.

MOTION TRIO WORKS FOR INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF RACING

Trainer Graham Motion put the final touches on his International Festival of Racing contingent on Sunday morning at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland.

Scheduled to race in the Grade I $1,000,000 Arlington Million, Augustin Stables’ Spring Quality breezed seven furlongs in 1:26.20 over the all-weather surface while stablemate Untamed Domain drilled six furlongs in 1:13.60 in preparation for the Grade I $400,000 Secretariat Stakes. Pointing to the Grade III $100,000 Pucker Up Stakes, Secret Message worked six furlongs in 1:15.00.

“They both did what I wanted them to do,” Motion said of the two colts. “Untamed Domain is a very efficient work horse and this was a pretty routine work for him on the Tapeta. Spring Quality went seven furlongs in 1:26 and change which was a two-turn work at Fair Hill.”

This also was Untamed Domain’s first work since a troubled sixth-place finish in the Grade III Kent Stakes at Delaware Park. Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, he was sent up the rail at the top of the stretch but was checked very hard and lost a great deal of ground. He was beaten 3¼ lengths behind eventual winner Golden Brown.

“That’s pretty much norma,” Motion said. “I usually wait three weeks to work them after they race. He’s very fit; fitness isn’t an issue. Obviously with Spring Quality you want him to get something out of it. I feel comfortable with where he (Untamed Domain) is at.”

A 3-year-old son of Animal Kingdom, Untamed Domain is still in search of his first victory since last year’s Grade II Summer Stakes at Woodbine on September 17. He opened eyes last year when finishing second behind Mendelssohn in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on November 3.

Prior to his last run in the Kent, Untamed Domain finished fourth in the Grade II Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park on June 2.

“Honestly I feel bad for him in his last two,” Motion said. “His prep at Belmont we changed his style; he got very keen and didn’t get to run his true race. Joe (Bravo) and I strategized it and laid him close to the pace which isn’t what he wants to do. We came to a more conservative spot at Delaware and had a disastrous trip.”

Last year Motion sent Ascend to the Million who, like Spring Quality, was also an upset winner of the Grade I Manhattan Handicap. Motion has taken a different approach to Spring Quality going into this year’s Million and has trained the 4-year-old son of current North American Grade I-winning sire Quality Road up to the race as opposed to racing him once between the Manhattan and Million, which is what he did with Ascend. Last year, Ascend ran fourth in the Grade II Bowling Green Stakes before running fifth in the Million.

“I felt like last year with Ascend we kind of did the Million as an afterthought,” Motion said. “We took a shot at Saratoga and he didn’t have a good trip. He didn’t break well at Arlington. I learned from my mistake last year and just run in the Million. It just seemed like a logical spot to point for and it’s obviously a very prestigious race.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be aboard Untamed Domain while Hall of Fame rider Edgar Prado will retain the mount on Spring Quality.

Spring Quality is out of the Deputy Minister broodmare Spring Star, producer of graded stakes winner Holiday Star who scored back to back runnings of the Grade III Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse in 2014-15.

Pointing to the Pucker Up, Secret Message was a private acquisition by Sol Kumin’s Madaket
Stable following an allowance win at Turfway Park on March 31, which she captured by 1¼ lengths. Since then, she finished second in the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, which was her turf debut. In her next start in the Grade III Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 16, she broke very slow and was 13 lengths from the front but closed late to get fourth beaten 2¾ lengths by Beyond Blame.

“She got a little wound up in the gate that night at Churchill,” Motion said. “She was acting up a bit and it was a little overwhelming with it being Stephen Foster night. They had a big crowd. Since then we’ve schooled her in the gate in the mornings and have worked with her a bit so I think she should show some improvement.”

Secret Message is owned by Madaket Stables in partnership with ERJ Racing, Elayne Stable 5 and Bouchey Thoroughbred Ventures. She is by Hat Trick (JPN) out of the Gone West mare Westside Singer.

STREAMLINE RETURNS TO WINNER’S CIRCLE

Two-time graded stakes winner Streamline returned to her winning ways on Friday afternoon in Arlington International Racecourse’s fifth race and also scored her fourth victory over the lawn.

At the top of the stretch of the one-mile turf event, the 6-year-old Illinois-bred daughter of Straight Line appeared to be beaten but angled wide and made a charging move to win by a neck over graded stakes placed Daddy’s Boo.

Owned by Nancy Vanier and Cartwright Thoroughbreds and trained by Brian Williamson, Streamline maintained top form in graded stakes against the likes of Terra Promessa, Farrell and Stellar Wind, but had finished off the board in her last four outings prior to Friday’s win. The most recent of which was an eighth-place finish in the Grade III Fleur De Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 16. Her last victory took place in February, when she won the Grade III Bayakoa Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

“She’s really classy and she’s won three out of four on the turf so it wasn’t like she didn’t belong on the surface,” Williamson said following the race. “I was little worried around the turn when she got boxed in there. Once (jockey Edgar Perez) got her to the outside, she kicked in and it was nice to see. She had been up against some tough horses. It was nice to get back on the right way and get her confidence up.”

Williamson is unsure as to where Streamline’s next start would take place, but did acknowledge his plethora of options since she has won on all three surfaces.

“I’ve just been glancing; I don’t have any plans yet but she came out of the race nice,” Williamson said. “I’m very pleased with that. Now I got to see what’s coming up. I have options. There’s Kentucky Downs, but she’s not Kentucky-bred so the purse would be quite a bit lower than what it is. I have to take a look at some other spots.”