Chelsea Durand Photo

Chad Brown’s talented turf contingent fills Sunday’s worktab

by NYRA Press Office

• Thunder Snow clears quarantine, gets first look at Belmont’s main track
• Miss Technicality tops Clement’s Sunday turf workers
• Heart to Heart breezes at Belmont in preparation for Shadwell Turf Mile
• G1-winning sophomore Carrick to face elders in G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic
• Tagg: Turf Classic-bound Highland Sky well-suited for Belmont turf

Trainer Chad Brown didn’t let the proverbial grass grow under his feet after having five winners at Belmont Park on Saturday, sending out a loaded contingent to the actual turf Sunday morning in preparation for next weekend’s September Super Saturday and other stakes for the Fall Championship Meet.

Convento Viejo’s Robert Bruce put in his final work before the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on September 29, working five furlongs in company with Almanaar in 1:01.05 on the Belmont inner turf.

The Chilean-bred Robert Bruce, who registered a personal-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure for winning the Grade 1 Arlington Million by a half-length over Almanaar last out on August 11 at Arlington Park, will now take aim at the 1 ½-mile Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on the Widener turf, a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf on November 3 at Churchill Downs.

Robert Bruce will be stretching out to 1 ½ miles for the first time in his four starts since arriving from his native country earlier this year. Almanaar will cut back in distance for the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile on October 6 at Keeneland.

“They’ve been working together and they’ve been a good pair,” Brown said. “Both horses have done well from the Million. They’re two good horses who are similar and they’re good for each other.

“Now is where they’ll go their separate ways for the time being. Robert Bruce will stay further. I’m confident he’ll step up at a mile and a half. We’ll see.”

Three-time Grade 1 winner Sistercharlie breezed four furlongs in 49.12 seconds on the inner turf Sunday, with Brown saying she could train up to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill on November 3. The conditioner also didn’t rule out the possibility of first running in the Grade 1, $500,000 Flower Bowl on Sunday, October 7.

“She came back and worked well today, but because she missed some time, that’s the most likely scenario,” Brown said. “I finally got her back on the worktab today and she worked quite well, so I’ll give myself a little bit of a window and if [she] comes back strong next week, I could end up in the race, I’m not sure yet. I don’t want to be held to one thing or the other.”

Owned by Peter Brant, Sistercharlie last ran at Belmont on June 8 when she finished second by a head to stablemate Fourstar Crook in the Grade 2 New York. She followed that with victories in the Grade 1 Diana on July 21 at Saratoga and the Grade 1 Beverly D on August 11 at Arlington. After suffering a foot bruise, she worked for the first time since racing last month, giving Brown a chance to assess her progress.

“I just want to evaluate her work and see how much fitness she’s lost, if any,” Brown said. “I gave her an easy work today, and she did it fine.”

Newspaperofrecord and Dogtag breezed five furlongs together in 1.01.75 on the inner turf as both remain on target for the Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo for juvenile fillies on September 30.

Dogtag is already a stakes winner after capturing the P.G. Johnson on August 30 at the Spa in a maiden-breaking effort. Newspaperofrecord, an Irish-bred filly, won her debut on August 19 at Saratoga.

“They worked great and they’re both scheduled for the Miss Grillo,” Brown said. “Newspaperofrecord is doing great and has really moved forward and so is Dogtag. Both ran well at Saratoga. I felt good about giving them the opportunity to breeze over the course they are going to run on and I think both handled it well. Those two are good enough to run on any kind of ground.”

Fourstar Crook breezed 1:01.55 with Off Limits. Brown said Fourstar Crook, second in the Grade 1 Beverly D. on August 11 at Arlington, will run in the Grade 1, $500,000 Flower Bowl on October 7 at Belmont. The Flower Bowl, contested at 1 ¼ miles on the inner turf, will offer a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill to the winner.

Off Limits, fifth in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa on August 25 at Saratoga, will run in the Grade 1 First Lady on October 6 at Keeneland.

Rushing Fall and Pollara also breezed five furlongs in company in 1:01.66, with Brown saying Rushing Fall is pointed to the Grade 2 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on October 13 at Keeneland. Pollara is possible for the same race.

Brown also said his winning contingent from Saturday, which included victories in the first four races at Belmont, came back in good order. Among his wins were two in graded stakes, including Uni in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel and Patternrecognition in the Grade 2 Kelso, in which Timeline also ran third.

“So far, everyone looks OK,” Brown said. “I was very proud of his [Patterrecognition’s] effort yesterday. I thought Timeline ran well, too. He was just a little too far back. But he rated nice. He wasn’t beaten that far. I thought both horses ran well.”

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Thunder Snow clears quarantine, gets first look at Belmont’s main track

Initially arriving to Belmont Park on Friday, Godolphin Stable’s multiple graded stakes winner Thunder Snow cleared quarantine Sunday morning and visited the main track, where he put in a brief jog in preparation for a start in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

“We’re happy with him,” said Tommy Burns, traveling manager for trainer Saeed bin Suroor. “He just went out for a little jog and a little hack just to get him used to the surroundings and stretch his legs. He came back nice and he’s happy and went straight into his feed, so he’s good.”

With two wins from five starts this year including a victory in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge in March, Burns said plans for the 4-year-old Irish-bred son of Helmet would be made day by day heading into the race.

“He’ll do a canter tomorrow,” said Burns. “We’ll take it day by day, I’ll speak to Saeed everyday. He arrives Tuesday and we’ll probably do a blow-out either Wednesday or Thursday. No decision yet; we’ll just see what his progress is.”

The Gold Cup will be Thunder Snow’s first start on dirt since winning the Grade 1 Dubai World Cup in March. Burns said he was looking forward to getting the 4-year-old Irish-bred colt back on the surface of his biggest career victory following an eighth-place finish in his most recent start, the Group 1 Juddmonte International on August 22 at York Racecourse.

“We’re excited to get him back to the dirt,” said Burns. “He was running well in the U.K. on the grass in Group 1s and he did win a Group 1 in France on heavy ground in Saint-Cloud Racecourse, but he really enjoys the dirt, so we’re happy to see him back on it.”

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Miss Technicality tops Clement’s Sunday turf workers

Trainer Christophe Clement has had a busy weekend on the worktab, having breezed multiple graded stakes winners Disco Partner and Pure Sensation on Belmont’s main track Saturday, joined the following day by a bevy of grass workers Sunday morning.

Namcook Stables and John McCormack’s Miss Technicality led Clement’s six-horse contingent with a four-furlong move in 47.88 seconds in company. The 2-year-old Gio Ponti filly is undefeated in two career starts, including a six-length victory in the listed Juvenile Fillies on September 1 at Kentucky Downs, and is on target for the Grade 2 Miss Grillo at 1 1/16 miles on the grass next Sunday.

Miss Technicality hit the wire about two lengths ahead of Chiara Luna, who earned a time of 48.20 as she prepares for her U.S. debut. Previously trained by European trainer Dermot Weld, the 3-year-old Kentucky-bred filly by War Front is under consideration for the $200,000 Pebbles for sophomore fillies at a mile on the turf October 13, said Clement.

“[Miss Technicality] looked swell and she’s on course. Chiara Luna is a nice filly who’s getting close to a race, possibly the Pebbles,” he said.

Green Lantern Stable’s homebred graded stakes winner Frostmourne worked a solo four furlongs in 48.48. Last year, the Speightstown colt won the Grade 2 Penn Mile and Grade 3 Kent before finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Hill Prince to close out his sophomore campaign. He came back as a 4-year-old this spring to win an allowance optional claiming race in March at Gulfstream Park and finish fifth in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile in April. He finished fourth in the Grade 2 Monmouth last time out on May 26.

“It was his first work back. We gave him a complete break after his last race because it was a bit disappointing,” said Clement. “I thought he looked well. He’s not ready to run, but he worked very well.”

Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf runner-up Best Performance and Chipolata, third in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks last time out, worked four furlongs in company in 49.66 and 49.77, respectively. Best Performance, by Broken Vow, hasn’t raced since finishing fifth as the beaten favorite in an allowance optional claimer on June 10.

“Best Performance is on the way back too from a break and she looks well,” said Clement. “We were looking forward to the Sands Point with her, but unfortunately, she had a small temperature a week before the race, so we had to miss it. She’s another one that could be possible for the Pebbles.”

Rounding out Clement’s turf workers was White Flag, who went 48.20 on his own as his connections mull their options for the 4-year-old War Front colt. White Flag finished second as the 5-2 favorite in the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint on September 8. Clement said he could join Patricia Generazio homebred multiple graded stakes winners Pure Sensation and Disco Partner in the conversation for the $150,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational on October 6 or could travel west for the Grade 2 City of Hope on October 6 at Santa Anita Park.

“I will probably run two of the three [in the Belmont Turf Sprint], because there’s some other races to consider,” he said. “We could also stretch White Flag out to go a mile, maybe the race in California.”

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Heart to Heart breezes at Belmont in preparation for Shadwell Turf Mile

Terry Hamilton’s Heart to Heart continued to train up to the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile next month, breezing four furlongs in 48.10 seconds Sunday.

Trainer Brian Lynch said the 7-year-old son of English Channel has continued to look good in recording his fourth work at Belmont since running sixth in the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap on softer ground August 11 at Saratoga.

“Since the Fourstardave, he’s been training well. He’s a horse who just hates the soft turf, so that’s his excuse there. He’s trained good since and worked a lovely minute there last week and came back and worked nice today. He’s on schedule.”

Before his disappointing effort at the Spa, Heart to Heart was coming off three stellar efforts in Grade 1 races, running second by a neck to Hunt in the Shoemaker Mile on May 28 at Santa Anita and posting back-to-back wins in the Gulfstream Park Turf on February 10 and the Maker’s 46 Mile on April 13 at Keeneland.

Joyful Heart also breezed four furlongs on the inner turf in 49.49 seconds Sunday. The 2-year-old Kitten’s Joy colt broke his maiden at second asking on July 8 at Belmont and stepped up to stakes competition with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 With Anticipation on August 29 at the Spa.

Lynch said the Amerman Racing homebred could be a possibility for the Grade 3, $200,000 Pilgrim on September 29 but could instead run in the $150,000 Futurity on October 7, a Breeders’ Cup qualifier to the Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 2.

“We’re torn between the Pilgrim or the Futurity, and I think I’m leaning towards the Futurity,” Lynch said. “He’s doing really good and worked well this morning.”

Emmy Performance continued to move closer to a possible stakes debut, running third in an allowance optional claimer on September 20 at Belmont. Her second on-the-board finish in five career starts had Lynch thinking of possible next stops. The Point of Entry filly is a half-sister to stablemate Oscar Performance, recent winner of the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, as well as multiple graded stakes winner Oscar Nominated.

“She had a bit of a troubled trip there [where] she broke from the inside and got shuffled back to last. She had a big, wide move, but I thought she ran really well,” Lynch said. “We’d love to get her a stakes win or stakes-placed with that pedigree, that’d be very valuable. There might be something at Keeneland for her. But I’d like to win an allowance race with her before I get too creative.”

Lynch said another half-sibling to Oscar Performance, Award Winner, a 2-year-old Ghostzapper colt, is readying for his debut. Since starting his training in July at Belmont, Award Winner has put in nine official breezes, including a five-furlong work in 1:02.21 Friday on Belmont’s training track.

“He’s doing well and we have very high hopes for him. Hopefully he’ll start [before the meet ends] at Belmont,” Lynch said.

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G1-winning sophomore Carrick to face elders in G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic

Donegal Racing’s Grade 1 Secretariat winner Carrick exited his Saturday breeze in fine fettle, said trainer Tom Morley, who confirmed Sunday morning that the 3-year-old Giant’s Causeway colt would make his next against older horses in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Saturday.

Morley said he was satisfied with how Carrick came out of the work, a 48.81-second four-furlong breeze over Belmont’s main track, noting that the colt has the build and the breeding to appreciate the 1 ½-mile distance of the Turf Classic. He won the 1 ¼-mile Secretariat by a neck over 4-5 favorite Analyze It at odds of 38-1 on August 11 at Arlington Park.

“His work on Saturday was superb,” said Morley. “We just wanted to make sure he came out of it nicely, which he has, before making a definitive decision about the Joe Hirsch. As of now, he’s on target for the race.”

Breaking his maiden in his debut on May 12 at Belmont, Carrick followed with a starter allowance win at Belmont before entering the Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park winning the Secretariat.

“He’s grown out quite well and is a very big 3-year-old compared to when he made his first start for us,” said Morley. “One of the reasons we decided to point for the Joe Hirsch instead of the [Grade 3, $500,000] Hill Prince [for 3-year-olds on October 6] is that we would receive weight in the Joe Hirsch rather than giving weight in the Hill Prince.”

In a field expected to feature multiple graded stakes winners Robert Bruce, Spring Quality, and Sadler’s Joy, Morley said he believes Carrick has enough talent to win.

“Numbers-wise on the sheets, he’s right there with the rest of the field,” he said. “He certainly has the pedigree to be well-suited to go the mile-and-a-half distance. The way he galloped out in the Secretariat only confirmed my thoughts as he stayed out in front the field past the wire. So, we’ll take our shot especially with the Breeders Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ factor. Depending on how it goes, we always have the [Grade 1] Hollywood Derby as a backup.”

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Tagg: Turf Classic-bound Highland Sky well-suited for Belmont turf

Multiple graded stakes-placed Highland Sky emerged from his breeze on Saturday in good order and remains on track for next weekend’s Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, said trainer Barclay Tagg Sunday morning.

Owned by Joyce Young, Gerald McManis, and Jerrie Stewart McManis, Highland Sky went five furlongs in 1:00.50 over the Belmont training track, the third-fastest of 27 at the distance. He was fifth this summer in both the Grade 2 Bowling Green and Grade 1 Sword Dancer. Prior to that, he put in a gutsy effort on June 24 at Belmont to win an optional-claimer by a hard-fought neck over Call Provision to earn a career-best 103 Beyer.

The Turf Classic will be Highland Sky’s ninth start on the turf at Belmont, but his first over the sweeping Widener course, which Tagg thinks can only benefit the 5-year-old gelding by Sky Mesa out of the Petionville dam Kristi With a K.

“I’ve had all his brothers and sisters, cousins, the whole family I’ve trained, and we’ve had some pretty good Grade 1 horses there,” said Tagg. “He’s doing great. So far, so good, and I think he’ll like this course here. It’s a little bit bigger and it won’t be so tight on the turns.”