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Pirate’s Punch returns to Morey for $125K Stymie; Shotgun Hottie on target for $250K Busher Invitational

by NYRA Press Office

• Pirate’s Punch returns to Morey for $125K Stymie; Shotgun Hottie on target for $250K Busher Invitational
• Doctor Jeff returns to Rodriguez barn; Magic Circle on point for Busher Invitational
• G3-winner Sharp Starr to cut back in next start for trainer De Paz
• Aqueduct Racetrack Week 11 stakes probables

Five-time winner Pirate’s Punch will return to the barn of trainer William Morey for the first time since 2018 in the one-mile $125,000 Stymie on February 26 at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

Morey saddled the veteran son of Shanghai Bobby through his first three career starts in the summer of 2018, competing at the maiden special weight level in Southern California before being transferred to Jeff Mullins for his following three starts. 

Trained by Grant Forster for the bulk of his career, Pirate’s Punch proved a force to be reckoned with during his 2020 campaign, registering three victories, including a triumph in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park. 

Pirate’s Punch was acquired by Morey for $90,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale on behalf of Gulliver Racing, who co-owns in partnership with Craig W. Drager and Dan Legan. 

Morey said he is hopeful that Pirate’s Punch, who is winless in seven starts since the Salvator Mile, will regain his form in New York.

“We want to give him a chance and see if we can get him back on the beam,” Morey said. “My wife [Elizabeth Morey] and I bought him as a yearling for those clients. I recommended Grant to train them in Kentucky and they had a really good run with him. The owners wanted to try something different, and they called me about trying him in New York.”

Pirate’s Punch is a half-brother to Grade 1-winner Girvin and graded stakes-winner Midnight Bourbon, both of whom are millionaires, as well as graded stakes winner Cocked and Loaded. All are out of the unraced Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon. 

“At that time, we were shocked to get him for as much as we did,” Morey said. “He’s a half to Girvin and at that time he was a hot horse. We were worried he’d go for a lot more money because of Girvin. The fact he was by Shanghai Bobby might have been why it stayed down as he wasn’t as popular a sire at the time.”

Jeff Ganje and Omar Aldabbagh’s Shotgun Hottie captured the seven-furlong Ruthless on February 6 in her debut for Morey at the Big A. Morey said the Gun Runner filly will target the $250,000 Busher Invitational on March 5, a one-turn mile offering 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers. 

Trained previously by Tom Amoss, Shotgun Hottie cut back to one turn for the Ruthless following a fourth-place finish in the two-turn Untapable on December 26 at Fair Grounds Race Course. 

“That was fun, exciting, and a little nerve-racking as well, but it was a great race,” Morey said of the Ruthless effort. “We’ve always wanted to run her at a mile or even further. We ended up going in the Ruthless knowing it might be a little short, but it worked out for us.”

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Doctor Jeff returns to Rodriguez barn; Magic Circle on point for Busher Invitational

Stakes-winner Doctor Jeff is back at the stable of trainer Rudy Rodriguez following two months of downtime at Michael Schrader’s In Front Farm in upstate New York. 

Owned by Michael Dubb and Michael J. Caruso, the 3-year-old son of Street Boss was a last out winner of the six-furlong Atlantic Beach on November 5 over the Belmont Park turf. The winning stakes effort came one month after finishing fourth in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Pilgrim at Belmont. 

Doctor Jeff returned to the work tab on February 8, going an easy three-eighths in 38.58 seconds over the Belmont dirt training track. 

“We were excited when we saw he would run well on the grass. I thought for sure he wanted to go long,” Rodriguez said. “We have to get him together. The other day was his first work back and it was nice and easy. When we get a little closer, we’ll talk to Mr. Dubb and see what they want to do.”

Doctor Jeff broke his maiden on debut in an off-the-turf event in July at Belmont and followed in August with a fifth-place finish as the favorite in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special which was won by High Oak.

Rodriguez said he has not decided on where or when Doctor Jeff would make his sophomore debut. 

“I’m going to let the horse tell us what to do,” Rodriguez said. “We tried to run him back short and, at some point, I think we could stretch him out. We’ll see when the time comes. He looked good and went nice the other morning.”

Purchased for $90,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Doctor Jeff is out of the stakes-placed Flatter mare Wild Bea, who also produced graded stakes-placed Queen of Beas as well as dual stakes-winner Flattering Bea. Her second dam Tarquina was a winner on the turf in France.

Rodriguez said J.W. Singer’s Magic Circle is scheduled to make her next start in the $250,000 Busher Invitational on March 5 at the Big A, which offers 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers. The Kantharos filly captured the nine-furlong Busanda last out on January 23, earning 10 points toward the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. 

“So far that’s the plan,” said Rodriguez, who saddled Condo Commando [2015] and Water White [2020] to Busher scores. “She’ll have her next breeze this weekend.”

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G3-winner Sharp Starr to cut back in next start for trainer De Paz

Grade 3-winner Sharp Starr will turn back one furlong in her next start after a third-place effort in the nine-furlong Bay Ridge last time out. Trained by Horacio De Paz for owner Barry Schwartz, the New York-homebred was beaten 4 1/2 lengths in the Bay Ridge on December 30 after tracking in fourth. 

“She came out of the Bay Ridge in good order, but the race didn’t set up for her pace wise,” De Paz said. “There wasn’t much pace and how they broke is how they stayed. Trying her at a mile may suit her better.”

The daughter of Munnings put together a competitive 2021 campaign, starting the year with a runner-up effort in the La Verdad in January at the Big A and continuing on to an open-lengths victory in the Empire Distaff in October at Belmont Park.

Sharp Starr raced from well off the pace over a sloppy and sealed main track in the Empire Distaff, breaking last of 10 while trailing pacesetter Trinni Luck by eight lengths in the 1 1/16-mile test, before steadily making up ground through the turn under Jose Ortiz en route to a 3 1/4-length score. 

De Paz said that while the win was impressive, it also left him puzzled. 

“She’s always shown up and had ability, but she kind of confuses us,” De Paz said. “She had been running really good at seven furlongs to a mile, and then she ran [in the Empire Distaff] going a mile and a sixteenth from off the pace. It was completely different than she had been running and she made a nice run. We’re really just trying to figure out what her distance will be, but she’s got class.” 

The 5-year-old bay was nominated to Saturday’s seven-furlong Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel Park, but De Paz said she will instead point to state-bred company at the Big A sometime in March. 

“I didn’t know if the seven furlongs would be her absolute best, so I want to try her in a mile race against New York-breds in March,” De Paz said. 

Take a Shot Stables, East Coast Partners and Liberty House Racing’sCourageous Girl, a 5-year-old daughter of Bourbon Courage, has proven to be an astute acquisition for De Paz, finishing in the money in each of her five starts since being claimed for $35,000 at Saratoga Race Course in August. 

Bred in the Empire State by Brady Horse Racing and RUSBA V Stables, Courageous Girl earned her first win for new connections in a state-bred optional claimer in October at Belmont. She stepped up to stakes company in the restricted La Verdad in January, finishing third behind multiple stakes winner Bank Sting. 

“She has maintained her form well. She had some back class and we had run against her before with Sharp Starr. We knew her and she has matured into herself,” said De Paz. “Things have worked out for her and she places herself in her races.”

Courageous Girl faced another talented opponent last out, setting the pace under Manny Franco in an optional claimer and matching strides with the Chad Brown-trained Default Protection entering the turn. After losing her advantage, the dark bay stayed on well to hold place honors two lengths clear of Honey Money in third. 

“I was very encouraged by her running second in that allowance. It was a solid group and Chad’s filly was the obvious horse to beat,” said De Paz. “I told Manny to ride his race and forget about that filly. It gave me a little bit of hope when they hooked up, but then the other filly just took off. I’m happy because she tries every time. We’ll still try the a-other-than again and if she wins, I’ll try another stakes down the road.” 

Multiple stakes-placed Our Man Mike returns in Race 6 on Sunday at the Big A after providing De Paz with his second win of the year in a state-bred allowance on January 14. The gelded son of Street Boss has found his best form as a sprinter after trying route distances last year. 

The 4-year-old dark bay showed class early on, earning a pair of stakes placings at Finger Lakes as a juvenile before subsequently graduating at Aqueduct last April. 

“He ran very well in those stakes up at Finger Lakes and then last year was kind of an experimental campaign to stretch him out and see if he would set up closer to the pace,” De Paz said. “He’s coming into the race in good order. He’s very consistent when he runs and with how he comes out of his races. He’s a solid horse. Sprinting seems to be what he wants to do.”

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Aqueduct Racetrack Week 11 stakes probables

Saturday, February 26

Probable: Green Light Go (Jimmy Jerkens), Milton The Monster (John Servis), Pirate's Punch (William Morey), Waxman (Todd Pletcher)

Possible: Bodecream (Jeffrey Englehart), Empty Tomb (Robert Falcone, Jr.), Hanalei's Houdini (Mike Maker), Risk Taking (Chad Brown), Sound Money (Chad Brown)