G2 Cigar Mile Handicap runner-up Mika tries G1 Pegasus World Cup
- G2 Cigar Mile Handicap runner-up Mika tries G1 Pegasus World Cup
- G1-winner Napoleon Solo back to work in Florida
- Bernietakescharge on the tab at Belmont Park
- Ortiz considering all options with Doc Sullivan, Moe Eighty Eight
- Blue Note looks to Maddie May off debut win; Stone Smuggler retired
Nice Guys Stables’ Kentucky homebred Mika made a good account of himself when a neck second in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap in December at Aqueduct Racetrack and now tries the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
The Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup closes out a lucrative 13-race card that includes eight stakes. First post is 11 a.m. Eastern on Saturday at Gulfstream Park with the Pegasus World Cup scheduled for 5:39 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via NYRABets.com.
Mika, a Catholic Boy dark bay, was the lone sophomore in the December 6 Cigar Mile taking on elders at odds of 14-1 for trainer Mike Maker. There, he showed the way under returning rider Manny Franco and held a 2 1/2-length advantage through a sharp three-quarters in 1:09.63 over the fast dirt. Mika held his lead past the sixteenth-pole until the 9-for-13 favorite Bishops Bay got up to post a neck score in a final time of 1:34.62.
Mika earned a career-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure in defeat, which is the second highest last-out Beyer in the oversubscribed nine-furlong Pegasus World Cup field behind Disco Time’s 107.
“Exciting stuff, this horse is doing well and we are excited,” said Steve Spielman, founder and managing partner of Nice Guys Stables. “I thought he had it last out. The pace was a bit faster than we wanted to go. I’m not sure that he’s a one-turn miler. I think he wants two turns. I think the Pegasus might be a little bit better of a fit for him.”
Mika made his first three starts for trainer Mike Maker before joining the Russell barn for his next four outings.
Mika, after four turf starts, switched back to dirt three starts back in an off-the-turf optional claimer in May at Delaware Park. He wired the one-mile and 70-yard race by 9 1/4 lengths and validated the performance with a 14 1/4-length pacesetting victory in a 1 1/16-mile November allowance at Laurel Park, both for Russell.
The speedy Mika drew post 10 in the Pegasus World Cup, tabbed at morning line odds of 10-1. The nine-furlong test offers a “Win and You’re In” berth for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in October at Keeneland.
“He’s got a lot of natural speed. He is very quick out of the gate. It looks like there may be a lot of speed in the race though, so let’s see how it all plays out,” Spielman said. “He’s got post 10 and we’ll have to see how he breaks out of the gate at the start.”
Mika is out of the winning Speightstown mare History Supreme. His second dam is Grade 2-placed Bahama Bound and his third dam is dual graded stakes-winner Summer Wind Dancer.
“We always thought he was a nice horse. Mike liked him from Day One,” said Spielman. “He was a late developer. He is a big horse. He just took a little more time to get ready. Obviously, he likes the dirt better than turf. I don’t think this distance is an issue at all. I think he is going to get it.”
Spielman also updated on Nice Guys Stables’ Grade 2-placed Kentucky homebred Let’s Be Frank, who was off-the-board last out for Maker in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in October at Del Mar.
The now sophomore Liam’s Map bay, who was previously third in a maiden and the Grade 2 Pilgrim at Belmont at the Big A, completed his first work back since the Breeders’ Cup when covering three furlongs in 36.60 on January 18 over the Santa Anita Park dirt.
“He’s going to run at Santa Anita. He’s doing really well. We just gave him 30 days off after the 2-year-old campaign,” Spielman said. “He had his first work back and is doing well. We are excited about him, too, another good homebred. We’ll go maiden special weight to bring him along. The Breeders’ Cup was a little aggressive, but we figured we’d take our shot there and then give him 30 days to bring him back if he didn’t win.”
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G1-winner Napoleon Solo back to work in Florida
Gold Square’s Grade 1 Champagne-winner Napoleon Solo, who has been on the bench since his dominant victory in the one-turn mile for juveniles on October 4 at Belmont at the Big A, got back to work on January 14 at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Trained by Chad Summers, the son of Liam’s Map breezed three furlongs in 36.45 seconds for a bullet of five workers and covered the distance again in an identical time on Wednesday for another bullet of 10 workers.
“He’s good and all is well. We’re just trying to stay one day ahead of Ted Noffey,” Summers said. “He seems to be the same horse he was last year, maybe a bit bigger and stronger than he was as a 2-year-old. He knows the difference between the regular days and the breeze days, and he loves his breeze days. He’s very happy.”
The talented gray debuted with a 5 1/4-length victory in a restricted maiden special weight in August at Saratoga Race Course. He followed with his 6 1/2-length romp with a wire-to-wire trip under Hall of Famer Joel Rosario to win the Champagne in a final time of 1:34.57, providing Summers with his first American Grade 1 victory and Napoleon Solo with 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The effort was awarded a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.
Summers said the main goal with Napoleon Solo is the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 2. That path could run through New York in preps like the Grade 3 Gotham [50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points] on February 28 and Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino [100-50-25-15-10] on April 4, or in Florida, where the 50-25-15-10-5 qualifiers include the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth on February 28 at Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby on March 7 ahead of the Grade 1 Florida Derby [100-50-25-15-10] on March 28.
“We’ll try and make the first Saturday in May and back up from there,” Summers said. “We’d like to have a two-race schedule going into it and we’re trying to make plans for which way we want to go. He obviously seems to have an affinity for Aqueduct, so we’ll keep that in mind, and he’s down here in Florida and there’s some big races here, too. If you win a 50-point race and are first or second in a 100-point race, you’re in the Derby, so that’s our goal.”
Bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock, Napoleon Solo was a $40,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the stakes-winning Scat Daddy mare Atomic Blonde.
Summers has another potential Derby candidate in debut maiden-winner Game for It, who he co-owns with Tim Hamlin, Nancy Hamlin and Gold Square. The chestnut son of Known Agenda was a determined half-length winner with a late surge in a six-furlong maiden optional claiming tilt on December 10 at Aqueduct Racetrack, completing the course in 1:13.01 and earning a 67 Beyer. He was entered to run on November 30 at the Big A, but the card was canceled after one race due to a protest lodged by the jockeys resulting in their refusal to ride.
Summers said Game for It is under consideration for either an allowance or a pair of stakes at Gulfstream Park in the seven-furlong Swale or the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Holy Bull, a 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifier, all on January 31.
“He will run next Saturday in the Swale, Holy Bull or the allowance,” said Summers, who indicated Gold Square recently bought into the colt. “He would certainly be under consideration to come back up to New York for the Gotham after that.”
Summers also has Gold Square’s stakes-placed Tartabull nominated to the Listed $200,000 Withers [20-10-6-4-2] on January 31 at the Big A, but indicated the Maryland-bred son of Tapit is likely to target an allowance at Laurel Park, where he trains and has made his last two starts.
“There’s an allowance on February 9 at Laurel, and if he were to run well there, then we can look at [stakes] races down the road, but he needs to get a little bit quicker to be competitive against the bigger horses on the Derby trail right now,” Summers said.
Tartabull was a three-quarter-length third in the seven-furlong restricted Maryland Juvenile on December 6 where he was pinched at the break and tracked in sixth-of-9 early before gaining ground wide around the turn and picking off rivals in the lane. He stuck his head in front for a few strides passing the sixteenth pole, but was edged late while in tight between rivals. Summers lodged an objection against the victorious Code of Silence, but the results were unchanged.
Gold Square’s Dry Powder was last seen finishing a distant eighth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff on November 1 for her lone off-the-board effort in seven outings. The 4-year-old daughter of Gun Runner hit the board in a pair of Grade 1s last year, landing third in the Coaching Club American Oaks in July at the Spa and a neck back of Clicquot in the Grade 1 Cotillion in September at Parx Racing.
Dry Powder got back to work on December 31 at Palm Meadows, and most recently breezed a half-mile in 47.75 on January 15, the bullet of 22 workers at that distance. Summers said she is targeting either the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Royal Delta on February 15 at Gulfstream or the seven-furlong Listed Barbara Fritchie at Laurel on February 14.
“She worked with Game for It last week actually, and they worked well together,” Summers said. “She’ll run in either the Royal Delta or the Barbara Fritchie. She wintered well and went to the farm for 45 days after her last race and has come back very happy. She doesn’t really like you to fiddle with her too much, but she’s moving well on the track.”
Dry Powder, who won the Listed Cathryn Sophia in August at Parx, was a $525,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the winning Broken Vow mare Tell All, a half-sister to dual graded stakes-winner Overheard. She has banked $459,400 through a 7-2-3-1 record.
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Bernietakescharge on the tab at Belmont Park
Robert Rosenthal and Bradford Bernstein’s multiple stakes-winning New York homebred Bernietakescharge returned to the work tab Sunday for the first time since her 2 1/4-length victory in the state-bred Bay Ridge on December 28 at Aqueduct Racetrack. The daughter of Take Charge Indy covered a half-mile in 49.01 seconds over the Belmont Park dirt training track.
“It was just a nice half-mile maintenance work, and she galloped out well,” said trainer Domenick Schettino. “She came out of her race in good shape.”
Bernietakescharge notched her third career stakes win in the one-mile Bay Ridge, where she set a pressured pace through splits of 22.96 seconds, 45.59 and 1:10.05 under Ruben Silvera. She dug in gamely to edge clear in the lane and score in a final time of 1:37.77, earning a 79 Beyer Speed Figure in victory.
“She ran hard last time,” Schettino said. “She ran a big race and didn’t get any kind of a breather throughout the first six furlongs.”
Schettino said he is considering entering the 5-year-old dark bay in the nine-furlong $135,000 Ladies after the cancelation of the remainder of Saturday’s card led to it being rescheduled for Friday, January 30 with entries to be taken on Saturday, January 24.
“Now that they canceled the stake, I’ll consider that,” Schettino said. “I’m not sure yet. There’s a race at Laurel on February 14, too [1 1/16-mile Nellie Morse].”
Bernietakescharge boasts $595,830 in earnings with lifetime record of 20-7-3-2, which includes additional stakes scores last year in the state-bred Critical Eye and open-company Heavenly Prize Invitational.
Bernieandtherose, a 4-year-old half-sister of Bernietakescharge, has not raced since finishing third in the state-bred Bouwerie on June 4 at Saratoga Race Course. The Accelerate chestnut is also a homebred for Rosenthal and Bernstein.
“She’s back here and training very well, so we’re getting her ready for a 4-year-old campaign,” Schettino said. “We gave her some time, and we’ll get her ready to run in an allowance for her first start back.”
The multiple stakes-winner posted a strong sophomore campaign that included four-race win streak, encompassing a pair of state-bred stakes scores in the East View and Maddie May. She holds a 6-4-0-2 record with $255,750 in earnings.
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Ortiz considering all options with Doc Sullivan, Moe Eighty Eight
Trainer John Ortiz has a pair of superb older New York-bred horses for Tristar Farm in Doc Sullivan and Moe Eighty Eight and his main task will be keeping them separated going forward.
Doc Sullivan and Moe Eighty are both nominated to a pair of upcoming seven-furlong sprints at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Listed $150,000 Toboggan on January 31 and the state-bred Say Florida Sandy on February 14. In addition, both horses are also nominated to the $150,000 Fifth Season going one mile on January 30 at Oaklawn Park with Moe Eighty Eight additionally nominated to the nine-furlong $135,000 General MacArthur Overnight on January 31 at the Arkansas oval.
Moe Eighty Eight, a 4-year-old Solomini gelding, also has open allowance conditions locally to pursue.
“He still has options to run at Oaklawn or in New York but we have to separate these two, for sure,” Ortiz said. “I think Doc will stick around in New York and we'll have to see what Moe Eighty Eight can do in open company soon. In order for him [Moe Eighty Eight] to graduate from that state-bred stereotype, we have to put him in open company. I think he's sitting on something big. I can feel it.”
Moe Eighty Eight made five of his first six starts on turf, graduating at fifth asking in a 1 1/16-mile state-bred maiden in September over firm Big A turf. He had previously hit the board in three straight events, including a third-place effort traveling nine-furlongs here in June over firm turf.
Moe Eighty Eight has flourished since switching to dirt for his last two outings here versus fellow state-breds, winning by open lengths with a rallying 8 1/2-length romp traveling a one-turn mile on November 29 and following last out with a 12 1/4-length thrashing of an optional-claiming field sprinting seven furlongs. The latter effort registered a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure.
Ortiz is confident that Moe Eighty Eight, bred in the Empire State by Crossed Sabres Farm, can handle any distance on dirt.
“He stretched out before. He went a mile and an eighth on the turf, so can he go two turns? Absolutely, he can. We haven't seen him two turns on the dirt yet, but will we? Absolutely,” Ortiz said.
Doc Sullivan, a 5-year-old Solomini dark bay, was on the outside looking in for a potential start in Saturday’s Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park. Rather than ship to Florida, Ortiz opted to keep the versatile horse home with Doc Sullivan breezing three-eighths solo in 36.88 seconds January 17 over the Belmont Park dirt training track.
“I decided not to ship him down when we didn't get the final confirmation. He stretched his legs, it looked good. He came back great. He was eager to get back to work,” Ortiz said.
Doc Sullivan, bred by Seamus Coughlan, has banked $726,590 through a 20-7-6-2 ledger. He is currently on a two-race local win streak, posting a 5 1/2-length score over sloppy and sealed footing in the seven-furlong NYSSS Thunder Rumble on November 22 and a one-length victory in the state-bred Alex M. Robb traveling a one-turn mile on December 26.
Doc Sullivan, a four-time stakes winner, has performed well in recent tries in open company, finishing fourth in both the Grade 1 Forego in August at Saratoga Race Course and the local Grade 3 Vosburgh presented by Army Mule in September.
Ortiz said he’s confident to try a range of distances with Doc Sullivan, who was a neck second in the nine-furlong Empire Classic here in October versus fellow state-breds.
“The horse is versatile. I don't think he's bound to any distance,” Ortiz said. “He ran a fantastic race going a mile and an eighth and I can see him repeating that when the time comes to call on him again, but as far as seven furlongs goes, it would be a good opportunity to keep him where he can thrive the best.”
Shortleaf Stable’s Kentucky-homebred Quietside was entered in last Saturday’s $135,000 Ladies which was rescheduled to January 30 when the card was canceled after four races due to inclement weather.
Ortiz said the 4-year-old Malibu Moon filly is also under consideration for the Grade 3, $250,000 Bayakoa on February 1 at Oaklawn.
“That's something we need to think about. One of the original plans was to run her at Oaklawn in the Bayakoa. We'll take a look at both, but these races are piled up on top of each other now,” Ortiz said.
Quietside, who had shipped over to Aqueduct for Saturday’s race, returned to her Belmont barn and went out Sunday morning to breeze a solo half-mile in 48.26 over the dirt training track.
“Fantastic work,” Ortiz said. “I think she was ready to run her best race there. I couldn't have asked for a better work. She did it all in hand. She's doing fantastic and putting her best foot forward right now.”
Quietside captured a pair of graded events at 1 1/16-miles last year at Oaklawn, taking the Grade 3 Honeybee in February and the Grade 2 Fantasy in March. She was twice Grade 1-placed as a 2-year-old when second in the Spinaway at the Spa and third in the Darley Alcibiades at Keeneland – both events won by eventual Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Immersive.
Tristar Farm’s New York-bred Braverthanubelieve was last seen scoring a lucrative victory in the $500,000 NYSSS Fifth Avenue, a seven-furlong sprint for eligible New York-sired juvenile fillies on December 6. The victory completed a 2-for-2 campaign that started with a debut win on November 22 in a state-bred maiden sprint contested over sloppy and sealed footing.
Ortiz said the Honest Mischief dark bay enjoyed a brief vacation and is back in training in New York with a chance to work this weekend weather permitting.
“She went on a 21-day break after her last race,” Ortiz said. “She came back and started training and was going really well but she got a little sick on us, so we had to slow down on her.”
Braverthanubelieve, bred in the Empire State by Paul Michael Giacopelli MD, is out of the winning Teuflesberg mare Hundred Acre Wood.
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Blue Note looks to Maddie May off debut win; Stone Smuggler retired
NY Final Furlong Racing Stable has enjoyed stakes success with dirt fillies and mares over the last several years, and could add to their ledger with the New York-bred sophomore filly Blue Note, who graduated in her January 16 debut traveling a one-turn mile against fellow state-breds at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Linda Rice, the daughter of Cloud Computing had one rival beat down the backstretch under Flavien Prat and was coaxed along after the opening quarter-mile elapsed in 23.84 seconds. The field was tightly bunched in the turn and Blue Note split rivals after the half in 47.87, but still had 3 1/2 lengths to make up while under a strong hand ride as they reached three-quarters in 1:14.24. The dark bay filly was five-wide in the lane and took dead aim at the leading Mathea, gaining with every stride before angling inside of her foe and edging clear to the one-length victory in a final time of 1:41.55. She was awarded a 58 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.
Managing partner Dan Zanatta of NY Final Furlong Racing Stable, which co-owns the filly with SunsetRidge Racing Stable, Sacandaga Stable and Rice, said he was impressed that Blue Note was able to dig in for the win despite only recording six works since returning from a four-month training respite in November.
“She was extremely green, and I think Linda confessed she wasn’t totally ready for this spot,” Zanatta said. “This spot came up and we threw her in there because she breezed well the morning that entries were taken, and we decided to try her. We only had six breezes into her, and typically we’d want more than that to go a mile first time out. Flavien said she kind of ran in spots, stopped running, and then at the top of the stretch she was almost trying to throw Flavien off [laughs]. Once he got her straightened out and set down, she was really impressive. The fractions of the race were fairly slow and she was able to close into them.”
Zanatta said the filly impressed enough for the connections to consider the local one-turn mile $135,000 Maddie May for state-bred sophomore fillies on March 7 next.
“As she matures, mentally and physically she’s going to improve,” Zanatta said. “As she puts things together, I think she will be quite exciting. To be able to win first time out going a mile at only 70 percent of where we wanted her to be is impressive. I don’t think the Maddie May would be a stretch at all. There’s no allowance races that really fit her in the next 30 or 40 days, so that’s kind of the next New York-bred condition that comes up for her.”
A $40,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale, Blue Note is out of the Overanalyze mare She’s Overanalyzed, a half-sister to Grade 3-placed multiple stakes-winner Please Flatter Me.
NY Final Furlong Racing Stable’s aforementioned dirt stakes fillies include the pair of Stone Smuggler and Kay Cup, who were each last seen finishing off-the-board in sprint starts for trainer Jorge Abreu at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Stone Smuggler, co-owned by SunsetRidge Racing Stable, was a dual stakes-winner as a juvenile in 2024, taking the Lady Finger at Finger Lakes Racetrack and the $500,000 NYSSS Fifth Avenue at Aqueduct. Last year, she finished off-the-board in three starts – all in stakes – and last ran fifth in the NYSSS Staten Island on November 22.
Zanatta said Stone Smuggler was retired following the Staten Island.
“She was injured coming out of her last race, so we had to retire her. She’s going to be sold as a broodmare in the [Fasig-Tipton] February sale next month in Lexington,” Zanatta said.
Stone Smuggler, by Honest Mischief and out of the Bustin Stones mare Bustinattheseams, retires with a 7-2-1-1 record and $377,847 in earnings.
Kay Cup, co-owned by Electric City Racing and Sportsmen Stable, is receiving a freshening after making six starts last year, including a win in the state-bred Bouwerie in June at Saratoga. She followed with a second to Vehemente in the Fleet Indian in August at the Spa, and off-the-board finishes in two of her next three outings that surrounded a close second in a local state-bred optional claimer on December 10.
Zanatta said a last-out fourth as the post-time favorite in a state-bred optional claimer on December 31 led to the decision to freshen Kay Cup for a 4-year-old campaign.
“She’s been in training for a full year now, and after her last race, she was giving us signs she wasn’t at her peak, so we sent her down to the farm in Florida to eat some grass and get turned out for 60 days,” Zanatta said. “We’ll bring her back, but she’s a filly we got two really good races out of and then she gave us some signs that she needed more time between races. We missed some races we wanted to run in, and we were always struggling to keep her completely happy every week. It’s taken us a little while to get to different races – not because she isn’t sound, but making sure she’s ready to run back.”
Kay Cup holds a 7-2-2-1 record with $232,820 in earnings. The 4-year-old Instagrand dark bay is out of the winning Lemon Drop Kid mare Gypsy Jo and was a $100,00 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred Yearling Sale.