Francesca LeDonne Photo

Bond chasing after Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) victory with Prioritize

by NYRA Press Office

• Midnight Bourbon stays at one mile for Champagne (G1)
• Ryerson targets Comely (G3) with Black-Eyed Susan hero Miss Marissa
• New York-bred Chestertown to face elders in Empire Classic
• Royally-bred Overtook makes career debut on Saturday

Veteran conditioner H. James Bond said he has always wanted to win the Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup and is hoping that he can score in Saturday's historic classic-distance event at Belmont Park with William L. Clifton, Jr.'s Prioritize.

The 5-year-old son of multiple Grade 1-winner Tizway, who also was conditioned by Bond for Clifton, was a recent third in the Grade 1 Woodward on September 5 at Saratoga where he floated four wide into the first turn, laid about seven lengths off the pace in fourth and made a late bid to secure the show spot, three lengths behind gate-to-wire winner Global Campaign.

"He's doing well physically," Bond said. "He's a nice horse, which he showed us last time. He seems to be getting better and hopefully he improves even more. The good thing is that we know he can get the mile and a quarter distance."

Prioritize will be piloted in the Jockey Club Gold Cup by jockey Luis Saez. In a race with a compact field, Bond said he is counting on Saez to use his best judgement out of the gate.

"Luis is a master and we've been doing this together a few years now," Bond said. "I'll let him figure it out when he leaves the starting gate. We could end up close to the lead, he could be further back. A small field like this is a rider's race a lot of the time, so he's got to get him in the right position."

Bond has come close to Jockey Club Gold Cup victories in the past with multiple Grade 1-winner Behrens, who finished second beaten 3 ¼ lengths in the 1999 renewal to River Keen, and Tizway, who was third in 2009 to Summer Bird.

"It's a race that's been on my hit list for a while," Bond said. "It takes a nice horse to win a race like this and Prioritize is a nice horse. Hopefully he's good enough on Saturday."

The Jockey Club Gold Cup is a Breeders' Cup "Win And You're In" event, offering an automatic entry into the starting gate for the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 7 at Keeneland.

"We would probably have to win," Bond said regarding a potential Breeders' Cup Classic attempt for Prioritize. "You just never know in this game. You never count your eggs, and always count your blessings. Good horses can be few and far between. We'll just get past Saturday first and Mr. Clifton and myself will make a decision from there."

Prior to the Woodward, Prioritize was victorious against allowance company going 1 1/8 miles over the Saratoga main track. He finished third in the Better Talk Now and the Grade 2 Hill Prince on turf during his 3-year-old season, but did not race on dirt until December 2019, where he pulled a 13-1 upset for a $35,000 tag at Aqueduct. He followed up with two runner-up efforts against allowance company over dirt prior to his allowance score.

Prioritize was selected by Bond out of the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where he was bought for $45,000 from the Legacy Bloodstock consignment. He boasts a record of 14-4-2-3 with $307,100 in lifetime earnings.

Following the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Bond will send out Giacosa for her open company stakes debut in the Grade 2, $150,000 Sands Point going one mile over the Widener turf for sophomore fillies.

Also by Tizway, Giacosa won at third asking over the Widener turf going 1 1/16 miles on June 28 defeating next out winner Crescent Lady and defeated New York-bred winners going one mile on August 7 over the inner turf under Tyler Gaffalione at Saratoga.

"Tyler got off her that day and said, 'She's a really, really good filly'," Bond recalled. "We're really excited to run her. She's sitting on a key race and this is a race I've been looking at since she won at Saratoga. I've got a lot of optimism in this situation. She's a filly that I really like a lot."

Bred in the Empire State by Bond's Song Hill Farm and Roderick Towle, Giacosa is out of the two-time winning Smart Strike mare Smart Engagement, making her a full-sister to stakes-placed Tizzelle, who was runner-up to Grade 1-winner Fourstar Crook in the 2017 John Hettinger at Belmont Park.

"The pedigree is definitely there," Bond said.

Giacosa also will be ridden by Saez, breaking from post 4 at morning line odds of 15-1.

***

Midnight Bourbon stays at one mile for Champagne (G1)

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon will make his fourth straight start going one mile in Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Champagne at Belmont Park.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Midnight Bourbon arrives at the Champagne from a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Iroquois on September 5 at Churchill Downs, where he established a 1 ½-length lead at the top of the stretch but was ultimately passed up by upset winner Sittin On Go. The graded stakes placing came just two weeks after a decisive 5 ½-length maiden victory at second asking at Ellis Park, where he defeated next out winner Aktulgali.

"I'm not sure what happened in the Iroquois," said Winchell's racing and bloodstock manager David Fiske. "Steve said he should've never got run down. The race may have been a little bit quick back coming off his race at Ellis."

Prior to scoring at a second-out graduation, Midnight Bourbon displayed pacesetting tactics in his debut, where he faltered to a well-beaten third beaten 10 ½ lengths.

"He went pretty fast early on in his first start. In some ways, it was a little disappointing, but he sure made up for it in his second start," Fiske said. "He's never run shorter than a mile, so all along we've always thought he would be capable of being a distance horse. It's interesting how we were able to find four races at one mile at three different tracks.

"He's a big horse," Fiske added. "I think moving forward, he's going to have a lot to work with. He'll get better as the distances get longer. But he's got his work cut out for him trying to catch [Grade 1-winning stable mate] Jackie's Warrior."

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Midnight Bourbon is by Tiznow and is the fourth offspring out of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon, whose other progeny are all graded stakes winners and include Girvin, who won the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational in 2017. Midnight Bourbon is also a half-brother to graded stakes winners Cocked and Loaded and Pirate's Punch.

***

Ryerson targets Comely (G3) with Black-Eyed Susan hero Miss Marissa

Following a victory in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan on October 3 at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Jimmy Ryerson said he is seeking another graded stakes triumph with Miss Marissa and is eyeing the Grade 3, $100,000 Comely at nine furlongs for 3-year-old fillies on November 27 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Owned by Alfonso Cammarota, the gray or roan daughter of He's Had Enough won her third straight race in Maryland's crown jewel for sophomore fillies, arriving off a 20-1 upset triumph against elders going nine furlongs on August 13 at Saratoga, which registered a 91 Beyer Speed Figure which was a 12 point improvement on her previous best number.

She bested the Brad Cox-trained Bonny South by a neck to win the Black-Eyed Susan, garnering a career-best 92 Beyer.

"We beat older mares at Saratoga and even though it was a small field, there were some nice ones in there like Tom Amoss' filly [Risky Mandate]," Ryerson said. "She ran a much improved Beyer. Long story short, we felt that we'd try the Black-Eyed Susan and she ran back to her race at Saratoga and it was enough to win. I thought she could do it, and she did it. Brad's filly got a little unlucky with the trip and the track could have played to our filly more in terms of speed."

Ryerson said he always had faith in his filly even early on as a juvenile, where she broke her maiden at fourth asking by five lengths at Belmont Park in September 2019. She previously finished behind subsequent graded stakes winner Sweet Melania over grass in July 2019 at the Spa and eventual 2019 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly British Idiom in a six-furlong maiden special weight in August 2019 at Saratoga.

While the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff on November 7 at Keeneland is enticing, Ryerson said he will keep his filly at home for the Comely.

"I think it's a tall test to run against this group of older mares, even the Preakness winner [Swiss Skydiver]," Ryerson said. "I'm happy we have a 3-year-old filly race at Aqueduct. That's where we're hopefully headed. It's a mile and an eighth and we've done that a couple of times now."

Bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds, Miss Marissa is out of the Arch mare Ardara whose dam was 2003-04 Canadian Champion Grass Mare Inish Glora.

***

New York-bred Chestertown to face elders in Empire Classic

After a long anticipated stakes victory in the Albany on September 4 at Saratoga, Chestertown will remain alongside his New York-bred counterparts in the nine-furlong $175,000 Empire Classic on October 24 at Belmont Park.

Owned by a partnership which includes West Point Thoroughbreds, Chester and Mary Broman, Woodford Racing, Siena Farm and Robert Masiello, the $2 million OBS March purchase was highly regarded after a second-out graduation on December 1 at Aqueduct. The victory, which garnered a 71 Beyer Speed Figure, gave the connections enough confidence to try the gray or roan son of Tapit against open company at Fair Grounds for a winter campaign, hitting the board in a pair of races before finding himself back against state-bred company for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen.

Two starts after a distant second against New York-bred winners on June 11 at Belmont Park, Chestertown struck stakes gold over stakes winner City Man in the 1 1/8-mile Albany under jockey Jose Ortiz.

"Jose will be back on after the Albany," said Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds. "Obviously he's going up against older horses for the first time, but he's done well. Steve has done a fantastic job managing the horse, as he does with a lot of Tapits. They're a challenge to train and he has a proven track record with them."

Bred in New York by co-owners Chester and Mary Broman, Chestertown is out of the two-time Grade 1-winning Roman Ruler mare Artemis Agrotera.

***

Royally-bred Overtook makes career debut on Saturday

Trainer Todd Pletcher will debut an immaculately-bred colt in Saturday's sixth race when saddling Overtook for Repole Stable, Vincent Viola's St. Elias Stable, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith.

The chestnut son of multiple champion producing sire Curlin is out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Got Lucky, who was also trained by Pletcher. Overtook was purchased for $1 million from the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Overtook has breeze consistently at Saratoga since early July and recorded his first work at Belmont Park on October 3 going a half-mile in 49.46 over the training track. He will travel six furlongs on the main track in his career debut.

"He's a well-made horse. He's a good moving well-balanced kind of horse so he wasn't hard to pick out," Pletcher said. "He's a colt that we've seen improve steadily all summer. Obviously, he's bred to be a two-turn horse. Hopefully he finishes up well and builds off of this."

Pletcher said Overtook has some similarities to multiple graded stakes winner Keen Ice, who Pletcher trained during the latter portion of his racing career. Like Overtook, Keen Ice also is a son of Curlin.

"He kind of reminds me of Keen Ice a bit," Pletcher said. "He's a miniature version of Keen Ice, but hopefully he has that level of talent."

Overtook is a close relative to 2010 Kentucky Derby winner and champion-producing sire Super Saver, Grade 1-winners Girolamo and Bluegrass Cat as well as graded stakes winner Daydreaming. He is a direct descendant of one of the all-time great matriarchs La Troienne as well as 1971 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Numbered Account.