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Bergen targets G3 Gotham after Jimmy Winkfield romp

by NYRA Press Office

• Bergen targets G3 Gotham after Jimmy Winkfield romp
• Hot Fudge points to G3 Barbara Fritchie off Interborough triumph
• Speightful Lily earns 95BSF in stunning debut
• Seminole Chief returns to New York for G3 Withers
• Aqueduct Racetrack Week 5 stakes probables

Bergen earned a career-high 87 Beyer Speed Figure for his 5 1/4-length score in Saturday’s $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield, a six-furlong sprint for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by two-time Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, Bergen stalked and pounced to his dominant victory with a four-wide bid under Manny Franco to sweep past the top pair of El Divino Nino and Iridescent at the top of the lane and easily fended off a bid from the latter to cross the finish line first in a final time of 1:12.63 over muddy and sealed footing. The Cox-trained Air Cav put in a late run under Dylan Davis to land third.

“I brought him [Bergen] to New York from Kentucky and had prepared him for a first-level allowance race that didn’t go,” said Cox. “That would have been a prep for this, but we found he was training extremely well leading up to the race yesterday and he ran like he trained. I’m very proud of the effort.”

Bergen, a grey son of Liam’s Map, is owned by Spendthrift Farm, Martin Schwartz, Gandharvi, Big Easy Racing, Rick Kanter, James Bakke, Titletown Racing Stables, Kueber Racing, Golconda Stable, Ali Goodrich and Mark Parkinson.

Bergen entered from a good effort in a one-mile optional claimer when facing winners for the first time in November at Churchill Downs. The $375,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase graduated on debut in October at Keeneland with a three-quarter-length score from off-the-pace in a six-furlong maiden tilt.

“He’s been forward enough and has been a solid work horse,” said Cox. “We liked him first time out at Keeneland and he was able to get it done. Second race, he overcame some trouble to finish up well – he didn’t get the job done but it was a very positive race and he learned a lot from it.”

Cox said he will likely bring Bergen back in the one-turn mile Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 2 at the Big A, which offers 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

“We’re hopeful he’s going to stretch a little bit – I’m not certain he’s a mile and a quarter horse, but he could maybe stretch a little bit and a logical race moving forward would be the Gotham,” said Cox. “The timing would be good. We will let him determine how far he wants to go, not our opinions.”

Calumet Farm’s Air Cav made his first start since a distant fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Champagne on October 7, which came on the heels of a neck score at first asking in August at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The chestnut son of Mitole was within 1 1/2 lengths of the lead at the half-mile call of the Winkfield, but faltered and was defeated 12 lengths by his stablemate.

“I thought he ran OK, he just probably struggled with the track a little bit,” said Cox. “Overall, he came out of it in good order so that’s positive. I think we can build off that race. Hopefully, he can come out of it and be a better horse a month from now.”

Cox added that Albaugh Family Stables’ winning sophomore Lightline is possible for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Saturday at the Big A, should all go well in a scheduled work tomorrow at Fair Grounds. The nine-furlong Withers awards the top-five finishers 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

The Jimmy Winkfield victory marked Cox’s fourth stakes triumph this year in New York, adding to previous Big A success this month with Drum Roll Please in the Jerome, Gin Gin in the Busanda and Comparative in the Ladies.

Cox, who posted a 145-35-35-25 record with $4,943,761 in purse earnings last year on the NYRA circuit, said he is pleased to be competitive in New York where his string is overseen by assistant Dustin Dugas.

“We’ve had a great start to the year and things are going well up there. We’ve always kept an eye on New York racing and we’re willing to ship these horse and get them in the right spots,” Cox said. “The two colts that ran yesterday, Dustin had for the last good while. It works really well and fits our program very well. We love racing in New York year round, not just at Saratoga or Belmont. It’s something we’ve been involved with for several years now, and it’s been good to us. We like to support the program.”

Yesterday, Cox sent out Godolphin’s graded stakes-winner First Mission to an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park where he landed ninth-of-12 after stalking in sixth in the early stages and failing to fire under Luis Saez.

Cox reported the 4-year-old son of Street Sense emerged well from the effort and likely did not care for the kickback over the fast main track.

“I don’t think he handled the track at all. Luis came back and confirmed that he didn’t take the kickback well,” said Cox. “For whatever reason, sometimes horses don’t take the kickback well and don’t travel as well there at Gulfstream when they get behind – he didn’t, it wasn’t his day, but he came out in good order and he’ll ship back to Fair Grounds today. We’ll draw a line through that race and start preparing for another one. I’m not sure what that will be, but we’ll hopefully be a better horse for it going forward.”

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Hot Fudge points to G3 Barbara Fritchie off Interborough triumph

KEM Stables’ dual stakes-winner Hot Fudge will point to a start in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie on February 17 at Laurel Park after a gutsy victory in Saturday’s $150,000 Interborough, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Linda Rice, Hot Fudge pounced to a determined half-length triumph over dual graded stakes-winner Dr B after a tenacious stretch battle between the two talented mares.

Hot Fudge had assumed the lead at the top of the lane after a prominent trip under Kendrick Carmouche, but was met with a strong bid by Dr B in the stretch as she charged between Hot Fudge to her inside and the Rice-trained Ain’t Broke to her outside. Hot Fudge responded to the challenge with aplomb and dug in under steady urging from Carmouche to reach the wire first in a final time of 1:25.95 over muddy and sealed footing.

The win was the fourth consecutive for Hot Fudge, who entered from a similar head victory in the six-furlong Garland of Roses, and a pair of allowance-level triumphs traveling seven furlongs in June at Belmont Park and one-mile in December here.

“She came out really well and we’re very happy for her,” Rice said. “She’s in really good form and it’s really exciting. I think she likes the one turn, whether it’s six [furlongs], seven, a mile – I think she’s capable at any of those distances. She can also stalk, she’s not necessarily a need-the-lead type, so that’s also great. She has tactical speed, and it makes her pretty versatile. That opens up a lot of options for her.”

The 5-year-old Liam’s Map dark bay graduated at second asking in September 2021 at Belmont Park, and earned her first black type when finishing a close second in the six-furlong Stewart Manor on turf two months later. She did not race again until last January when making a successful return in a six-furlong allowance at the Big A, and has hit the board in 7-of-8 starts since returning to the races.

“She has taken a lot of patience to get her where she is now,” said Rice. “As a two-year-old, we ran her a little bit but then she got a year off. She’s certainly coming into her own right now.”

Rice said the next logical spot for Hot Fudge will be the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie in three weeks, one week sooner than originally planned after the Interborough was rescheduled due to frigid temperatures at the Big A on January 20.

“I would prefer that we had run last week, but that’s Mother Nature,” said Rice. “We’re going to look at the Barbara Fritchie and we’ll go there because of the graded status. After that, we’ll go to the Distaff in New York.”

A run in the Grade 3, $175,000 Distaff Handicap on April 6 at the Big A would provide Rice with a chance for back-to-back scores in that event after sending out Mommasgottarun to victory last year on five days’ rest.

Bred in Kentucky by Edwin Anthony, Hot Fudge banked $82,500 in victory and improved her lifetime record to 12-7-1-1. She returned $8.80 on a $2 win ticket.

Rice noted that Ronald P. Stewart’s Ain’t Broke also emerged well from the Interborough where she finished third after a seven-wide rally from 3 1/2 lengths off the pace.

The Dialed In dark bay was claimed for $75,000 out of a hard-fought victory in September at Churchill Downs and won back-to-back optional claiming events in her first two appearances for Rice ahead of the Interborough.

“She came out fine,” said Rice. “I thought she was too close to the pace and too wide, and these are tougher fillies. It just wasn’t the right trip for her, but she did get stakes placed. She’ll probably go to an allowance race and maybe we’ll try again in a stakes after that.”

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Speightful Lily earns 95BSF in stunning debut

Avanti Stable’s New York-homebred Speightful Lily, a 4-year-old daughter of Union Rags, made a sparkling debut Saturday when romping to a 14 1/2-length score in a six-furlong state-bred maiden special weight to kick off the card at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by H. James Bond and piloted by Luis Rivera, Jr. from post 2 over the muddy and sealed track, Speightful Lily broke alertly before settling four-wide as Eastern Star marked the opening quarter-mile in 23.27 seconds. Speightful Lily took over with a four-wide move into the stretch run and drew off to win comfortably in a final time of 1:12.03.

The winning effort, which garnered a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, was quicker than the 1:12.63 time recorded by Bergen for winning the $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield two races later.

“It was the right field to run against and a good confidence builder,” Bond said. “The jock rode her good. I told him to be a little patient with her and hopefully at the quarter-pole just kick on. It was perfect. She handled the mud.

“You look at the Winkfield and they went in ‘12 and 3’ and she went in 12 flat for the first time of her life on pretty similar tracks,” added Bond. “It was an impressive performance and our fingers are crossed.”

Speightful Lily, out of the Speightstown mare Speightful Lady, is a half-sister to Grade 1-placed Make Mischief and Jody's Song, the dam of last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf runner-up Jody's Pride. She worked consistently over the Belmont Park dirt training track for her belated debut and Bond said Saturday’s performance was worth the wait.

“The good ones make us all look good,” Bond said. “She came back good and I'm hopeful she has a bright future. She has a beautiful pedigree and a lot of siblings that are nice horses, so hopefully she will do the same.”

Bond said he will look to race Speightful Lily through her conditions.

“We'll take it one step at a time and take care of her,” Bond said. “It's a long year and a good summer ahead. As long as she stays sound and happy, we can take it one bite at a time. We missed the 3-year-old year so there's no sense panicking now. Let's just do the right thing by her.”

Bond said Speightful Lily persevered through the “typical headaches” of bringing a young horse to the races.

“She's a big, good-looking filly, but she was a little weaker behind - that was her downfall in her early training in life,” Bond said. “She pulls instead of pushes sometimes in her training, so we had to try and strengthen that rear end a little more. We finally got her there and the wait was well worth it.”

Bond noted he has a half-brother to Speightful Lily by Goldencents named Speightful Storm, who is also a promising prospect.

“I'm giddy over him. He's been training well as a 2-year-old. The future is bright,” Bond said. “He has a shot to run at Saratoga. This horse is very precocious. He's a big good-looking horse, but he's so athletic. He really is an athletic machine. When I see him train it keeps my heart pumping.”

Bond and Avanti Stable teamed up with another New York-homebred in the Sunday opener here when Caldo Candy prevailed at fourth asking in a similar state-bred maiden special weight covering six furlongs in 1:12.58 over sloppy going.

Caldo Candy, a 4-year-old Candy Ride gelding, is out of the Tale of the Cat mare Tanglewood Tale.

Bond Racing Stable’s New York-homebred Roagna has enjoyed a winter break after her impressive debut here in November when closing from 10th-of-12 to win a state-bred maiden special weight route over firm turf.

The Air Force Blue chestnut, with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano up, rallied six-wide to take command at the furlong marker en route to a 3 3/4-lengths score.

“We gave Roagna a break and now she's back in training with the Saratoga division and doing very well. She was very impressive in November,” Bond said. “Javier was very complimentary of her when he got off of her and said she was the real deal. I was almost going to send her to California but I decided to take care of her. It was a rough year - she was ready to run in June and July and we couldn't run her as there was no turf with all the rain. Hopefully, we have a nice filly going forward. She was very professional first time.”

Roagna’s second dam is the Storm Cat mare Decorator, who is a half-sister to Grade 1-winner No Matter What and dual Grade 2-winner E Dubai.

Bond said he is looking forward to the return of turf racing in New York.

“We have an awesome bunch of young horses, and a lot of grass horses that did not get to play last year like Roagna,” Bond said.

Bond, whose wife Tina was recently elected as President of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said he’s also looking forward to debuting a strong group of juveniles this season, including prospects sired by Omaha Beach, Vino Rosso and Tiz the Law.

“It's one of our best group of 2-year-olds that I've ever seen. We have over twenty 2-year-olds in training and they're all doing nicely,” Bond said. “There’s some really fire-up pedigrees. My wife, my clients and I are very excited about them.

“We're going to send a couple of mares to New York stallions this year because the awards are so great and it's a great program,” Bond added. “It's the best program in the world.”

Bond Racing Stable recently welcomed the first foal of dual New York-bred stakes-winner Giacosa, who produced a filly by Coolmore stallion Golden Pal.

“Giacosa just had a nice Golden Pal filly here which is very exciting. She was so good to us,” Bond said. “The little Golden Pal will go out there and run around. We took her out for about an hour this morning and she just runs around her mother. It's unbelievable. We have another one turned out beside her that just stands and looks at her like, ‘what the heck is this thing doing?’”

Giacosa is a daughter of two former Bond trainees, out of the twice-winning Smart Strike mare Smart Engagement and by Tizway, who Bond conditioned to dual Grade 1 wins in the Metropolitan and Whitney Handicaps.

Bred by Song Hill Thoroughbreds and Roderick Towle, Giacosa won the 2021 Yaddo Handicap at Saratoga Race Course and the 2022 Mount Vernon at Belmont Park while banking $357,540 through a 15-5-3-1 ledger.

Giacosa has been bred back to War of Will, who stands at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.

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Seminole Chief returns to New York for G3 Withers

Brad Grady and David Grund's Florida-sired stakes winner Seminole Chief is on target for Saturday's Grade 3, $250,000 Withers, a nine-furlong test for sophomores offering 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

The Florida-bred Girvin colt, out of the Dunkirk mare Secret Song, graduated at first asking in September in a five-furlong maiden special weight at Finger Lakes. He made his next two outings at Gulfstream Park, posting an off-the-board effort sprinting seven furlongs in the FTBOA Florida Sire Affirmed before adding blinkers to win the 1 1/16-mile FTBOA Florida Sire In Reality at odds of 12-1 over next-out maiden claiming winner Secret Lover.

Seminole Chief, an $80,000 purchase from the OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, breezed 10 times over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Race Course ahead of his debut.

"He was training well at Saratoga and it takes a very good horse to win first time out there," Sisterson said. "I spoke to the owners and if they hadn't given him the opportunity to go to Finger Lakes, the horse probably wouldn't have done what he's done. I thought he would be good enough to win and win convincingly at Finger Lakes.

"The bigger picture was the Florida-sire series at Gulfstream," Sisterson added. "We were disappointed in his second start, but it was the first time he felt dirt kicked in his face and he slipped right out of it. The addition of blinkers third time did the trick."

Sisterson said he was pleased to win the Florida-sire stakes for Grady, who campaigned Girvin and co-bred Seminole Chief.

"I spoke to Brad to try to get a gauge on the Girvin offspring,” Sisterson said. “This horse seems hard as nails and Brad said most of the offspring of Girvin are like that. We're excited about him."

Girvin entered stud in 2019 in Florida at Ocala Stud and moved to Airdrie Stud in Kentucky for the 2023 season.

Sisterson has notched some of his biggest victories in New York, earning his first graded win at the Big A in the 2018 Grade 3 Tempted with Oxy Lady. All four of his Grade 1 wins have occurred at NYRA tracks, including scores at Saratoga Race Course by Vexatious [2020 Personal Ensign] and Lexitonian [2021 Alfred G. Vanderbilt]; at Belmont Park with Channel Cat in the 2021 Man o' War; and at Aqueduct with True Timber in the 2020 Cigar Mile Handicap.

“I need to buy one of those t-shirts that says, 'I love New York' on it," said Sisterson, with a laugh. "We've had a lot of success up there."

C T R Stables’ Colorado Cruiser scored a tenacious fourth-out graduation in a six-furlong maiden special weight on December 26 at Santa Anita for his former conditioner Luis Mendez.

The Catalina Cruiser chestnut, a $90,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, earned a career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure for the prominent score after battling back in the stretch run to secure a nose win over Urban Legend, a $1.3 million sale purchase trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

Colorado Cruiser has breezed back twice over the Palm Meadows Training Center dirt for Sisterson, including a six-furlong breeze in 1:14.75 on January 19. He is targeting Saturday's seven-furlong Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park.

“He's been running in blinkers and I've been tinkering with taking the blinkers off him just to get him to relax a touch,” Sisterson said. “He's training like he doesn’t need blinkers at the moment, so we're really happy with him.”

Sisterson said he is hopeful that Colorado Cruiser will be able to stretch out in distance down the road. The colt finished fourth in a one-mile maiden special weight in November at Del Mar after setting swift splits.

“He went 21 and change and 44 and change going a mile,” Sisterson said. “In watching the replay, I was pleasantly surprised with how well he ran. I think with the removal of blinkers we might be able to stretch him out a bit.”

Colorado Cruiser is out of the Flatter mare Baby Nina, who is a full-sister to multiple stakes-winner Silver Tongued and a half-sister to multiple stakes-winner Dubacious.

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Aqueduct Racetrack Week 5 stakes probables

Saturday, February 3

G3 Withers [20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points]

Probable: Deposition (Uriah St. Lewis), El Grande O (Linda Rice), Khanate (Todd Pletcher), Mission Beach (Brittany Russell), Seminole Chief (Jack Sisterson), Speed Runner (Pletcher), Uncle Heavy (Butch Reid, Jr.)

Possible: Lightline (Brad Cox), Society Man (Danny Gargan)

G3 Toboggan

Probable: Cowan (Raymond Ginter, Jr.), Double Crown (Ginter, Jr.), Frat Pack (Whit Beckman), Joey Freshwater (Rice), Kinetic Sky (Rick Dutrow, Jr.), Manny Wah (William Walden)