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Thomas hopes full siblings Barese, Breakfastatbonnies can make Sequel Thoroughbreds proud

by NYRA Press Office

• Thomas hopes full siblings Barese, Breakfastatbonnies can make Sequel Thoroughbreds proud
• Big Package returns to Donk’s barn; eyes April return
• Stone Creator gearing up for stakes debut in Maddie May; Glass Ceiling to Barbara Fritchie
• Truth Hurts breezes for Heavenly Prize; Champagne Poetry targets Busher Invitational
• Ice Princess preparing for next start for trainer Gargan
• Aqueduct Racetrack Week 10 stakes probables

Full siblings Barese and Breakfastatbonnies, by Laoban and out of the unraced Successful Appeal mare Right Prevails, will vie for glory in New York-bred stakes action this weekend at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Barese is entered in Saturday’s one-turn mile $100,000 Gander for sophomores, while the 4-year-old Breakfastatbonnies squares off against older fillies and mares in Sunday’s six-furlong $100,000 Broadway. Both horses are bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Lewis Lakin’s Lakland Farm. 

Purchased by Sequel Thoroughbreds’ Becky Thomas at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale, Right Prevails is a full-sister to graded stakes winner and 2005 Kentucky Derby runner-up Closing Argument, who stood at Sequel Stallions in Florida during his first few years at stud. 

“Mr. Lakin and I own the mare together and we were one of the original shareholders of Closing Argument,” Thomas said. “I loved Closing Argument so I bought the mare specifically because she’s a full-sister to him. I bred her to Laoban because I liked the cross. They both are very Successful Appeal looking with a lot of substance. I am a big genotype and phenotype breeder, breeding tall, leggy and stretchy horses.” 

Owned by Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher, Barese closed to capture the 6 1/2-furlong Rego Park on January 9 at the Big A for trainer Mike Maker, racing off an eight month layoff. 

Unbeaten in two starts, Thomas said Barese should appreciate the added distance.

“I feel comfortable he can get the ground. He’s a big, scopey horse,” Thomas said.

Maker purchased Barese for $150,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale last March. Thomas said she initially wanted to breeze Barese a quarter-mile at the sale, but decided to work him an eighth of a mile, which he completed in 10.3 seconds. 

“He was one of the very few horses that I would have worked a quarter to begin with, certainly on Gulfstream’s track,” Thomas recalled. “There was a terrible headwind, so I backed up and worked him an eighth. His quarter would have been a much better time overall than his eighth. He does not have get-out-of-the-box speed and he always trained like a classic-distance horse. I tried to work him an eighth and allow the extra distance for the gallop out times, so we got a fresher horse. He’s a big two-turn horse. He was 16.2 hands when I sold him. I was happy to see Mike buy him for his other clients.”

While Barese displays a come-from-behind running style, his older sister Breakfastatbonnies is known for her early speed. The three-time winning dark bay 4-year-old arrives at the Broadway off a 7 3/4-length romp over next-out winner Eloquent Speaker in a six-furlong state-bred allowance optional claimer on December 11 over a sloppy and sealed Big A. 

Trained by Danny Gargan, Breakfastatbonnies was bought by Jonathan Thorne for $80,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale. Following an 11 1/4-length romp on debut last January at the Big A, owner Randy Hill of R. A. Hill Stable bought into the filly. 

“Bonnie was always very, very fast and trained fast,” Thomas said. “She had a couple veterinary issues, otherwise she would have been a two [hundred] plus filly. Jonathan Thorne bought her and he’s an awesome Sequel breeder. He loved what I was telling him about her and bought her. He sold a part of her after she started doing well. He’s an awesome breeder and an awesome client, so it was really nice to do well for him. He breeds to our stallions, and he supports us.”

Thomas expressed a sense of pride in both horses, but also said it’s a testament to their late sire Laoban. 

“It’s particularly rewarding for the sire. Laoban was a very special horse to us,” Thomas said.

Right Prevails has a 2-year-old progeny by The Lieutenant, who is a full-brother to 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify; she also has a yearling by Mission Impazible and is currently in foal to Catalina Cruiser. Thomas said Right Prevails will visit Justify for this breeding season. 

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Big Package returns to Donk’s barn; eyes April return

Five-time winner Big Package returned to the stable of trainer David Donk at Belmont earlier this month with sights set on a return to racing action in April. 

Owned by Donk in partnership with Sean Carney, the New York-bred son of Big Brown spent some down time at Dr. Patty Hogan’s Hogan Equine in New Jersey following a prosperous 4-year-old campaign. 

“He came back last week. He’s back in training and we’ll gear him up,” Donk said. “Hopefully, there’s something in the condition book in April. He had a couple months off and it’ll take a couple of months to get him ready, then we’ll be ready to roll.”

Last season, Big Package found the winner’s circle three times, including twice against open company. Two starts after a victory as the lukewarm favorite in a 5 1/2 furlong allowance win over the Mellon turf in August at Saratoga, Big Package stretched out to seven furlongs to win at 11-1 odds over the Belmont Widener turf in November. He was last seen finishing sixth in his turf stakes debut in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship in November. 

“He had a really good campaign last year, so the waters will get a little deeper,” Donk said. “We’ll test him and see how good he is. He’s run some good open races. He won a two-other-than last time. He has a big turn of foot, so it’ll be fun to see how he progresses.”

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Stone Creator gearing up for stakes debut in Maddie May; Glass Ceiling to Barbara Fritchie

Roddy Valente’s recent maiden winner Stone Creator will make her first start against winners when taking on the one-mile Maddie May for New York-bred sophomore fillies on February 21 at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

Trained by Charlton Baker, the 3-year-old daughter of Creative Cause was the dominant winner of a seven-furlong state-bred maiden special weight at the Big A on January 16, coasting home five lengths clear in a final time of 1:29.13 for the seven-eighths. 

Piloted by Kendrick Carmouche from post 1, Stone Creator battled with runner-up Galaxina for the lead down the backstretch, taking command at the half-mile pole by a head before driving to take a commanding lead at the top of the stretch and pulling away to her open-length victory. 

Baker was full of praise for the filly’s effort and said she showed maturity for a first-time starter. 

“She had been training forwardly all along since Day One and she had been pretty good out there in the mornings,” Baker said. “To me, [seven furlongs] is a tough distance for a first-time starter and when she pulled away like she did at the end it was impressive. She handled it great.” 

The gray filly has had two works since her maiden score, most recently breezing five furlongs in 1:04.54 over Belmont Park’s dirt training track on Wednesday. 

“Her work was pretty good. The track is so [slow] in the mornings, so it’s hard to tell,” Baker said. “We haven’t really been asking her and she’s been working okay.” 

A homebred for Valente, Stone Creator is out of the Empire Maker mare Stone Maker, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and prominent New York sire Bustin Stones. 

Garland of Roses winner Glass Ceiling’s easy optional claiming victory last time out at the Big A on January 23 was enough to convince Baker to step the 5-year-old mare up to graded stakes company and contest the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel Park on February 19. 

The daughter of Constitution was slated to run in the Interborough on January 15, but was rerouted to an optional claiming race after the stake did not fill. 

“She’s a hard-knocking mare and bounces out of her races well, so that’s good going forward,” Baker said. 

A six-time winner for Baker and co-owner Michael Foster, Glass Ceiling will look to secure her first graded win in her first start at the graded level since finishing seventh in the 2020 Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont.

A new addition to the Baker barn is Prisoner, who was claimed out of a winning effort on February 5 for $25,000. 

A gelded son of Violence, Prisoner’s latest win came on the heels of a 20-month layoff after a debut maiden win at Belmont for trainer Rudy Rodriguez and owner Repole Stable in June 2020. 

Baker, who won a four-way shake for Prisoner, said the dark bay gelding’s back class led him to drop the claim on the 4-year-old. 

“He looks okay so far and we haven’t done much with him yet, but I like what I’ve seen so far from him,” Baker said. “We’ll get a better feel for him in a week or so. He was coming off two years off so that was a concern, but we took a shot. It’s a game where you take a shot and gamble and he ran good. Hopefully, he goes forward from there. We’ll take our time and see where he goes. He may go to a starter next.” 

Baker also said that hopes are high for recent back-to-back winner Forty Two Ace, who was claimed for $25,000 out of a winning maiden effort at Aqueduct on January 2. The son of Goldencents won a starter allowance for Baker first off the claim on February 4 going a one-turn mile at odds of 14-1. 

“We are excited about him going forward,” said Baker. “We’ll see how he does in the a-other-than.” 

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Truth Hurts breezes for Heavenly Prize; Champagne Poetry targets Busher Invitational

Truth Hurts, trained and co-owned by Chad Summers with J Stables, breezed a half-mile in 51.25 Thursday over the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for a start in the $125,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational, a one-turn mile for older fillies and mares on March 5 at Aqueduct.

“I liked how she looked and she came home really good,” said Summers of the mare’s first breeze back since finishing fourth in the Mrs. Claus on December 28 at Parx. “We gave her a 30-day break after the Mrs. Claus and we're looking at the Heavenly Prize on March 5. We'll have to work her a couple more times.”

The 5-year-old graded stakes placed daughter of Tonalist enjoyed a solid 2021 campaign, posting a record of 9-2-1-1 for purse earnings of $195,100 led by stakes scores at Belmont in the Pumpkin Pie and off-the-turf Perfect Sting.

Bred in Ontario by William D. Graham, Truth Hurts tested deeper waters over the summer at Saratoga, finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss Handicap and sixth in the Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap. She earned graded black type with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Go for Wand Handicap in December at the Big A.

Summers said Truth Hurts will use the Heavenly Prize as a springboard to the seven-furlong Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap on April 9 at the Big A.

“She'll be 70-80 percent for the Heavenly Prize, but it will be a good starting point for the year and let her race herself into shape with the seven-eighths race on Wood Memorial Day as the first major target,” Summers said. “The old saying is that they're at their best at 5-years-old. She's been a wonderful horse to have in the barn and this will be her last year. We'll sell her in November, so we'll try and enjoy the year.”

Jonathan Hardoon’s Champagne Poetry, a sophomore daughter of Carpe Diem, missed by a nose to Shotgun Hottie in Sunday’s seven-furlong $100,000 Ruthless at the Big A.

“What was cool is on the gallop out they could have had a photo finish at a mile and a mile and a sixteenth - they were inseparable on the gallop out,” Summers said. “We know Shotgun Hottie will stretch out and it gives us confidence that our filly wasn't tired - it wasn't like we got beat on the wire because she was backing up. We got beat on the wire in a good horse race.”

Champagne Poetry will target the one-turn mile $250,000 Busher Invitational on March 5, offering 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers with the Cincinnati Trophy [10-4-2-1 Oaks qualifier] on the same day at Turfway Park as a backup plan.

Summers said Champagne Poetry, a neck maiden winner on January 13 at the Big A, will breeze with blinkers on with an eye to an equipment change for the Busher Invitational.

“We'll put a small cheater blinker on her for the next workout,” Summers said. “She’s done this twice now at Aqueduct where she kind of gets lost on the turn for home and loses her way for an eighth of a mile and then she'll switch her lead and pop in and re-engage and fight to the wire.”

The $20,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Colonel John mare C J Oz, who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Madefromlucky. Champagne Poetry’s third dam, Tap Your Heels, produced Grade 1-winner and influential stallion, Tapit.

“She's a direct descendant of Tapit. The staying power is there,” Summers said. “She just needs to learn to relax a little more in the morning time. She likes to train and maybe a little too much. We have a pony specifically for her to try and get her to settle a bit, because she just wants to go.”

Gold Square’s graded stakes placed Wendell Fong worked three-eighths in 36.20 Thursday over the Belmont dirt training track.

The 6-year-old son of Flat Out was fractious at the gate last out in the six-furlong Gravesend on December 19 at Aqueduct, finishing a distant fifth third time off the bench in a race won by Chateau. He entered the Gravesend from an even fourth in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap on November 28 at the Big A.

“He's been an enigma and I feel that I haven't gotten the best of him,” Summers said. “It's one of those things where they get older and [you wonder] if they're still into it or not. We were expecting after the race in the Fall Highweight he would take a step forward.”

Summers said Wendell Fong displaced his palate in the Gravesend and will use a new bit when he returns to action in a six-furlong allowance sprint on Wednesday at Parx, which may be a stepping stone to the six-furlong Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap on March 5 at Aqueduct.

“We want to give him a little confidence booster. Could we wheel back in the Tom Fool after that - absolutely," Summers said. "The race on Wednesday will tell us a lot - can we move forward, or is he a step behind where he once was.”

The Kentucky-bred won the Fire Plug last January at Parx ahead of a closing second to Chateau in last year’s Grade 3 Tom Fool.

Wild Banker, a 5-year-old New York-bred son of Central Banker owned by Michael Dini and Al Moorhouse, is enjoying a brief freshening following off-the-board efforts at Aqueduct in the NYSSS Thunder Rumble on December 5 and Alex M. Robb on December 31.

Wild Banker, who split time between Dini and Summers last season, enjoyed a productive 2021 campaign, posting a record of 10-4-2-1 for purse earnings of $213,825.

“He had a long campaign. We sent him down to Pleasant Acres Farm in Ocala enjoying some turnout,” Summer said. “We'll bring him back next year. Mike Dini will get him ready in Tampa and we'll see if he comes to New York or goes to Monmouth with Mike.”

Wild Banker closed to finish second in the Empire Classic in October, finishing 11 3/4-lengths behind Americanrevolution, who went on to win the Grade 1 Cigar Mile presented by NYRA Bets.

“He's a cool horse and I was happy he won that photo for second in the Empire Classic behind the beast that is Americanrevolution,” Summers said.

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Ice Princess preparing for next start for trainer Gargan

Flying P Stable, R.A. Hill Stable, and trainer Danny Gargan’s graded stakes-placed stakes winner Ice Princess is steadily working towards her first start since a second in the Bay Ridge on December 30 at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

A gray daughter of Palace Malice, Ice Princess has been the bridesmaid in each of her past three stakes attempts, including the Empire Distaff and John Hettinger at Belmont Park going 1 1/16 miles on the dirt and nine furlongs on the turf, respectively. 

The 5-year-old mare has been a reliable runner for her connections, boasting a record of 4-7-1 from 17 starts with earnings of $403,019. Her best effort at the graded level was a second to Mrs. Danvers in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Comley in 2020, finishing four lengths the better of next-out winner and multiple graded stakes-placed mare Thankful. 

Ice Princess’ lone stakes victory came as a juvenile going a one-turn mile in Aqueduct’s Maddie May where she closed from off the pace in fourth to take charge at the top of the lane and drive home to a 2 1/2 length victory. Gargan said that though she is a stakes winner at a mile, Ice Princess would prefer to go a touch longer. 

“She’s doing really well,” said Gargan. “A mile isn’t really her distance. Going a mile and an eighth or a mile and a sixteenth at two turns is what she prefers. We’ll see how she turns out. We’ll try to find a spot for her. Everything is going well.” 

Ice Princess worked a half-mile in 49.43 over Belmont’s dirt training track on February 3, the fifth-fastest of 72 works that day for the distance. 

A $75,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred Sale of New York-Bred Yearlings, Ice Princess is out of the multiple stakes-placed mare Happy Clapper, a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Ice Festival. 

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Aqueduct Racetrack Week 10 stakes probables

Saturday, February 19

$100K Hollie Hughes (NYB)

Probable: My Boy Tate (Michelle Nevin), South Africa (George Weaver), Wudda U Think Now (Rudy Rodriguez) 

Possible: More Graytful (Ray Handal), Our Man Mike (Horacio De Paz) 

Monday, February 21

$100K Maddie May (NYB)

Probable: Captainsdaughter (Russell Cash), Caragate (Mitchell Friedman), Moam (Horacio De Paz), Reigning Chick (Orlando Noda), Stone Creator (Charlton Baker) 

Possible: Yo Cuz (Bill Mott)