Joe Labozzetta Photo

Post Time back for more in G3 Westchester

by Mary Eddy

Hillwood Stable’s dual graded stakes-winner Post Time brings a four-race win streak and a near-perfect ledger to Friday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Westchester, a one-turn mile for older horses, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Brittany Russell, the 4-year-old Frosted colt enters from a narrow victory in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Carter Handicap presented by NYRA Bets on April 6 here, a win that gave Russell back-to-back victories in the historic event after saddling last year’s winner Doppelganger.

Ridden by regular pilot Sheldon Russell, Post Time rallied from three lengths off the pace in last-of-4 before angling four-wide in the turn to set his sights on waning pacesetter Super Chow. Post Time advanced along the outside as Super Chow lost position and drifted out into his rival, all while Castle Chaos made a strong bid along the rail to be in with a shout in the final sixteenth. Post Time overcame his brush with the pacesetter to bravely put his neck in front of a game Castle Chaos and capture his second consecutive graded score in a final time of 1:24 flat.

“It was nice to see him be able to take a step back outside of his home track and put in a good performance,” said Russell. “There was a lot of, ‘Oh, he got carried out.’ But you know, Sheldon had a target on his back that day and they weren’t going to make it easy on him. Sheldon kept him clear and kept him running and the horse got the job done. It was a big effort on our end of it and we’re happy to bring him back up.”

Post Time entered the Carter from a visually-impressive three-length score in the seven-furlong Grade 3 General George in February at Laurel Park and a 6 1/2-length romp in the one-mile restricted Jennings in January at the Maryland oval. His impressive 8-for-9 record includes additional stakes conquests in the seven-furlong Maryland Juvenile and City of Laurel, with his lone loss coming with a third in Keeneland’s Perryville in October.

Post Time tries the mile distance for the first time since the Jennings, something Russell said she is looking forward to.

“He ran good up there last time and the added distance makes it seem like a logical spot,” said Russell.

Post Time is out of the graded stakes-placed Fairbanks mare Vielsalm and was an $85,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale. Following the Carter, owner Ellen Charles noted she selected Post Time at the sale because his second dam, the Maryland-bred Opening Verse mare Merriweather, shared a name with her grandmother, Marjorie Merriweather.

Russell added Post Time’s fairytale career has been a special experience alongside Charles.

“We travel with her [Charles] to the races when he runs and it’s really become a fun thing,” said Russell. “I don’t know how to really explain it, but it feels a little different when we run him. Every time he runs, it means something to her, and I feel like everybody really feels it. It’s hard sometimes to travel and make these decisions with these horses, but he keeps making us look good. We’ll just keep riding the wave and we live in Post Time’s world now.”

Bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Brooke Bowman and Milton P. Higgins, III, Post Time enters off a bullet breeze at Fair Hill when covering five furlongs in 1:01 flat on Thursday.

“He worked great and we’re really happy with him,” said Russell.

Sheldon Russell retains the mount from post 4.

Dual graded stakes-winner Messier [post 3, Jose Gomez] seeks redemption after a last-out disqualification in the nine-furlong Excelsior on March 30 here. The 5-year-old Empire Maker bay was making his second start for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. and drew clear to cross the wire one length in front after a prominent trip under Jose Gomez, but was demoted to second after a stewards’ inquiry determined he interfered with Laughing Boy inside the three-sixteenths.

Dutrow, Jr. said he was pleased with the effort from Messier, who entered from a runner-up effort in a January 1 1/16-mile optional claimer at Laurel in his first outing for him.

“I was thrilled with his race and thought he ran huge, and we’re happy with everything having to do with him,” said Dutrow, Jr. “Everything having to do with Messier is good. He’s training very well.”

Owned by SF Racing, Madaket Stables, Lansdon Robbins, III, Tom Ryan, Robert Masterson, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable and Siena Farm, Messier won or finished second in his first five starts when in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, including his two Grade 3 conquests in the 2021 Bob Hope at Del Mar and 2022 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita Park.

He went on to finish second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and off-the-board in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby for trainer Tim Yakteen before returning to the Baffert barn for the remainder of his sophomore season and the first start of his 4-year-old campaign last January. After nearly one year off, he returned in December to finish third in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint over Tapeta at Woodbine for trainer Kevin Attard. He was then sent to Dutrow, Jr. to finish second in the aforementioned race at Laurel.

A $470,000 purchase at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, the Ontario-bred is out of the multiple stakes-winning Smart Strike mare Checkered Past, with his third dam being 2000 Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Catch the Ring.

Whisper Hill Farm’s Kentucky homebred Charge It [post 7, Kendrick Carmouche] returns for the first time since a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in November at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the dual graded stakes-winning son of Tapit competed almost exclusively in graded events last year, led by an impressive 4 3/4-length pacesetting score in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Suburban in July at Belmont Park.

The 5-year-old gray kicked off his 2023 campaign at Gulfstream Park with a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming score and runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile three starts before his Suburban romp. He closed out the year with fourth-place finishes in the Grade 1 Whitney, Grade 2 Woodward and at the Breeders’ Cup.

Charge It, who was a 23-length winner of the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont as a sophomore, enters the Westchester from four consecutive bullet works at Palm Beach Downs, most recently covering a half-mile in 49.41 on Friday.

Out of the winning Indian Charlie mare I’ll Take Charge, Charge It boasts impeccable bloodlines with his second dam being multiple graded stakes-winning blue hen mare Take Charge Lady. The prolific mare produced Grade 1-winners Take Charge Indy, Will Take Charge and As Time Goes By, as well as Charming, the dam of Grade 1-winners Take Charge Brandi and Omaha Beach.

Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso’s graded stakes-placed New York-bred Dr Ardito [post 6, Manny Franco] seeks his first open-company stakes score after notching three state-bred stakes wins last year.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, the 6-year-old son of Liam’s Map made his seasonal bow with a distant third in the one-mile state-bred Haynesfield in February here when advancing from last-of-6 early.

Last year, he won the Haynesfield by a head and went on to capture the state-bred Evan Shipman Handicap in August at Saratoga Race Course en route to a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Forty Niner. He closed out his productive year with a victory in the Alex M. Robb in December at the Big A.

Bred by John D. Fielding and Fred W. Hertrich, III, Dr Ardito has banked $508,993 in total purse earnings with a 15-8-2-1 record.

Completing the field are the New York-bred stakes-winner Whittington Park [post 5, Eric Cancel] for trainer Jeremiah Englehart; and recent optional claiming winners Adero [post 1, Abner Adorno] for trainer John Servis and Winit [post 2, Romero Maragh] for trainer John Kimmel.

The Westchester is slated as Race 8 on Friday’s nine-race card, which co-features the Grade 3, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay in Race 3. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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