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G1 Kentucky Oaks contender Venti Valentine ‘beyond a dream’ for New York-based connections

by NYRA Press Office

• G1 Kentucky Oaks contender Venti Valentine ‘beyond a dream’ for New York-based connections
• Gufo on target for G1 Man o’ War; Therapist to $125K Kingston
• Drafted targets G3 Runhappy
• Big A stakes winner Sy Dog returns in G2 American Turf; Belacqua to make North American debut Saturday 
• Graded stakes placed Pulsate gearing up for 6-year-old campaign

When NY Final Furlong Racing Stable was launched in early 2012, one of the goals for managing partners Dan Zanatta and Vince Roth was to win the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks with a New York-bred filly. On Friday, Venti Valentine, owned by NY Final Furlong Racing Stable in partnership with Parkland Thoroughbreds, could make the syndicate’s dreams a reality when taking on a deep field of sophomore fillies in the nine-furlong test at Churchill Downs

NY Final Furlong Racing Stable operates a unique model of investing solely in New York-bred fillies with the goal of a higher probability for success.

“Last year, we won at a 29 percent clip and we were in the money 63 percent, which we didn’t do on accident. It involves a lot of homework and making sure you’re entering horses for the right races,” Zanatta said. “Our whole program, on how we raise horses and who we have work for us and with us and how we select horses and build our team, it’s all a very refined and narrow process.

“When you look at the New York-bred filly divisions, we all kind of become acquaintances with our competition because we know the competition well enough.” Zanatta added. “It’s a unique focus and we’ve had some success, so we’re going to stay focused on what we’ve been successful with.”

Venti Valentine, trained by Jorge Abreu, burst onto the Kentucky Oaks scene in December with a game runner-up effort to Kentucky Oaks-favorite Nest in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct. The effort came following two state-bred triumphs in as many starts at Belmont Park, including a victory in the Maid of the Mist in late October.

After breezing four times in January and February at Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida, Venti Valentine made the trek back to her native state to defeat open company in the Busher Invitational in March at the Big A, a race which her older half-sister Espresso Shot won in 2019.

Venti Valentine arrives at the Oaks off a pacesetting runner-up effort in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Gazelle at Aqueduct, where she was narrowly beaten by the late-rallying Nostalgic, who she will face again on Friday.

Zanatta said the connections are on cloud nine to be a part of Friday’s prestigious race.

“It’s beyond a dream for everyone involved. We talk about our goals and dreams of getting to the Kentucky Oaks. Now that we’re here, it’s well beyond a dream,” Zanatta said. “It’s nerve racking, but there’s tremendous excitement for everyone. We managed these New York-bred fillies over the years to be successful. I don’t like to enter a race unless there’s a high certainty we can win that race.”

Venti Valentine, who will exit post 8 under Tyler Gaffalione, arrived at Churchill Downs early to get acclimated with the surface and has breezed twice over the Louisville oval.

“If we didn’t feel that she would run her absolute best race in the Kentucky Oaks, we wouldn’t go. She got there three weeks ago and she is thriving. She loves the environment at Churchill Downs. She’s put on weight, and she’s gotten stronger. It seems like she loves training there,” Zanatta said. “A couple weeks ago, we wanted an easy 49 and change and she went 47 all on her own without being pushed. Tyler breezed her on Saturday and he didn’t ask her at all, he just sat on her. She went 48 and 4 and out in 1:00 and 4 and he has all the confidence in the world in the filly. He really thinks she’s training well, galloping well, and handling the surface excellently.”

Zanatta said the daughter of 2015 Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line is likely to utilize a stalking trip.

“I think she’ll be sitting just off the pace. We don’t want her too far back or on the lead. I definitely think she has enough speed. She breaks well from the gate where if she can just sit off the front two or three, that’s where we want to be with her,” Zanatta said. “If there’s going to be a sloppy track, it’s even more important to be forwardly placed in that race. Running on a track with moisture is something we know she can do, she won the Maid of the Mist over a sloppy track.”

The Kentucky Oaks experience is relished by not only Zanatta, but also by the 14 partners that will be in attendance, including Albany native Paul Caputo.

Caputo’s first experience at horse ownership came with Parting Glass Stable’s Sweet Madness, a daughter of Freud, who won twice on the NYRA circuit in 2008.

When NY Final Furlong Racing Stable offered Sweet Madness’ first progeny, an El Corredor filly named Elle’s Dilemma, Caputo decided to join in.

Caputo said summers at Saratoga with his family sparked his interest in racing, especially witnessing the 1973 Whitney where Onion infamously upset the great Secretariat.

“I could tell you where I was standing at 4-or-5-years-old the day Secretariat lost to Onion. I was hooked from that point on,” Caputo recalled. “Summers at the track with them were my fondest memories as a child. I bought my first horse, Sweet Madness, in a partnership I was involved in. I’ll never forget the feeling I got when she broke her maiden at Aqueduct. It was a feeling I always wanted to have.”

That feeling was multiplied when Caputo was a part of Espresso Shot and Venti Valentine’s Busher triumphs.

“When they win, there is no feeling like it,” Caputo said. “When they turn for home and you get that feeling, it’s great. But even more so with milestones like your first stakes win. When Espresso Shot won the Busher, that was my first stakes win that wasn’t in New York-bred company.

“When Venti Valentine won the Busher and the Maid of the Mist, I knew she was something special,” Caputo added. “I can’t imagine what it would feel like if she were to win the Oaks. I get emotional thinking about it. I think of how much gratitude I have to my brother, uncle and cousin, who brought me into this game. I remember, as a kid, it wasn’t even about the betting, I just loved the sport.” 

Caputo spoke high volumes of his experience with NY Final Furlong Racing Stable.

“They make you feel like you own the entire horse, not just a portion of it and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience than the one I’m having right now with Venti Valentine,” Caputo said.

No matter the outcome on Friday, Caputo said he’ll still feel like a winner.

“She belongs with this group. There are times that I feel I’ve already won because I’ve had this experience,” Caputo said.

Gufo on target for G1 Man o’ War; Therapist to $125K Kingston

Dual Grade 1 winner Gufo captured the Grade 2 Pan American in his 2022 debut in April at Gulfstream Park and will look to make his next start in the Grade 1, $700,000 Man o’ War travelling 1 3/8 miles over the inner turf on May 14 at Belmont Park.

Owned by Otter Bend Stables, the 5-year-old son of Declaration of War, who finished second to Channel Cat in the Man o’ War last year, earned his first of two Grade 1 victories in the 2020 Belmont Derby Invitational. He notched his other Grade 1 victory with a determined score over Japan by a neck in the Sword Dancer in August at Saratoga Race Course. Gufo closed out the year with a disappointing 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in November at Del Mar.

Gufo had his first work at Belmont on Sunday, breezing five furlongs over the main track in 1:04.08 with regular rider Joel Rosario in the irons.

“He’s doing great and getting ready for the Man o’ War,” Clement said. “Rosario breezed him and I’m very happy. We’ll work him again this weekend on the turf. It will be a tough race, but that’s OK.”

Clement is searching for his third Man o’ War victory after sending out three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti to back-to-back victories in 2009 and 2010.

Oak Bluff Stables’ graded stakes placed Therapist will target the 1 1/16-mile $125,000 Kingston for state-breds on May 30 at Belmont after finishing a game second in the open-company Elusive Quality sprinting seven furlongs on April 30.

Clement said he was pleased with the effort from Therapist, who closed from eighth with a flying finish to secure runner-up honors by a half-length over American Monarch.

“He came back well and we’ll look for that turf stakes at the end of the month,” Clement said. “He runs well and doesn’t win too often, but he did run a great race.”

The 7-year-old son of Freud, bred in the Empire State by Oak Bluff Stable and Clement,  has won eight stakes races for total purse earnings of $753,865. Out of the Smart Strike mare Lady Renaissance, Therapist is a full brother to the stakes-winning mare Fresco, who Clement also conditioned for Oak Bluff Stables.

Drafted targets G3 Runhappy

Dublin Fjord Stables, Racepoint Stables, Kevin Hilbert and Thomas O'Keefe's Drafted, who finished fifth last out in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on April 9 at the Big A, returned to the work tab Sunday covering a half-mile in 49.47 over Big Sandy.

"It was a good breeze and everything went well. He came back good," trainer David Duggan said.

The 8-year-old Field Commission gelding posted a 4 1/2-length score in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Toboggan in February at Aqueduct ahead of his Carter effort.

Duggan said he was pleased with Drafted's performance in the Carter, but will now take a step back and point to either the Grade 3, $150,000 Runhappy at six furlongs for older horses on May 14 over Big Sandy, or the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on May 21 on the Grade 1 Preakness undercard at Pimlico Race Course.

"The Toboggan was a huge run for him," Duggan said. "We met a different caliber of horse last out and we ran our race and we weren't totally disappointed. We know where we belong. It's time to take a step backwards. We're reviewing the Runhappy and the race in Maryland on Preakness Day, but we'd prefer to stay home if the race came up to suit us."

The well-traveled Drafted made a winning debut in 2016 at Keeneland ahead of stakes efforts at Ascot and Del Mar. He competed in Dubai from 2017 through 2020, capturing a pair of Group 3 wins for conditioner Doug Watson at Meydan Racecourse, before returning to North America in November 2020 with Duggan.

Drafted was eased last year in the Runhappy and did not return until nearly five month's later, running a close fifth in an optional-claimer in October at Belmont.

"He had one run here that wasn't productive, but he got hurt," Duggan said. "You play the hand you’re dealt. It seems like there should be plenty of pace tied on this time, which would suit us."

Drafted found rejuvenated form over the winter at the Big A, finishing third in the Gravesend in December before registering a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure in the Toboggan.

Duggan said he is hopeful that Drafted, who garnered a 93 Beyer in the Carter, will be ready to elevate his game once more in the Runhappy.

"There's a lot of horses running 95 and 100 Beyer Figures, so he needs to have his running shoes on," Duggan said. "It's the logical step and he's doing well, so we'll take a shot at it. We'd prefer to stay here."

Kingsport Farm's King Kumbalay, a 4-year-old Shanghai Bobby gelding bred in Pennsylvania by Jonathan Sheppard, may earn a shot in state-bred stakes company following his three-length score in a first-level allowance mile on April 8 at the Big A.

The consistent dark bay boasts a ledger of 9-4-2-1 with purse earnings of $134,160. He notched a career-best 88 Beyer three starts back when pouncing to a one-length score in a state-bred optional-claimer traveling one mile and seventy yards in February over a muddy Parx main track.

"He's a cool horse and after putting together a couple of nice runs. He's paid his way," Duggan said. "I suppose we may have to try a stakes with him. He's a 'PA-bred' so we may have to go in that direction."

 Big A stakes winner Sy Dog returns in G2 American Turf; Belacqua to make North American debut Saturday

Head of Plains Partners’ Sy Dog, winner of the Central Park in November at Aqueduct Racetrack, is listed as the 7-2 morning-line favorite in Saturday’s Grade 2 American Turf, a 1 1/16-mile test for sophomores at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Graham Motion, the dark bay Slumber colt is a perfect 3-for-3, graduating by four lengths on debut in a seven-furlong turf sprint in October at Belmont. He followed his Central Park score with a rallying three-quarter length win in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Transylvania on April 8 over good Keeneland turf.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. retains the mount from 7 in a field of 11 that also features the multiple graded stakes placed Portfolio Company for trainer Chad Brown.

Motion said he is pleased with how Sy Dog is training into Saturday’s event.

“I feel good about it with the caveat that I worry a little bit coming back in a month off the big layoff,” Motion said. “Having said that, it wasn't like he had a significant amount of time off. I gave him a little break in December and he's done well since the last race.”

Motion said a good effort Saturday would propel Sy Dog towards NYRA’s Caesars Turf Triple series which kicks off with the Grade 1, $1 million Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational at 10 furlongs on July 9 at Belmont Park. The lucrative series includes the 1 3/16-miles Grade 1, $1 million Caesars Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 6 at Saratoga Race Course and concludes with the 12-furlong $1 million Caesars Jockey Club Derby Invitational in September at Belmont.

“I do think he's a horse that's going to like the longer races in New York over the summer,” Motion said. “He's from a stamina-influencing stallion and I think he'll appreciate the longer distances and perhaps it's just a bonus what he's done up to now.”

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Belacqua will make her North American debut in Saturday’s fourth race at Belmont, a 1 1/16-miles turf test for sophomore fillies.

The Irish-bred daughter of Havana Gold, out of the Intikhab mare Chatting, launched her career with a trio of starts over synthetic footing in England with trainer George Boughey, winning a one-mile allowance in December at Lingfield.

Belacqua has worked extensively at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01 flat April 30 over the all-weather surface in company with Mia Martina, who Motion has entered in Saturday’s Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay at Belmont.

“It's a logical spot to get her going here,” Motion said. “She's had plenty of works. I wouldn't say her works have been overly impressive, but I thought last weekend when she worked with Mia Martina, I thought they worked well together and I was pleased with her. It was an encouraging work.”

Motion said he was appreciative of finding a turf allowance restricted to fellow sophomore fillies.

“You don't get these opportunities with 3-year-old fillies in very many places. You almost have to go to New York to run in these kind of races,” Motion said. “She’s from a European family and the turf is something I think she’ll handle, for sure.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the call from Post 5.

Graded stakes placed Pulsate gearing up for 6-year-old campaign

Owner Marc Keller and trainer Bobby Ribaudo will look forward to the return of graded stakes placed stakes-winner Pulsate sometime in June after a winter away from the races.

Pulsate, a 6-year-old son of Speightstown, put together a productive 2021 campaign that was topped by a stakes victory in the Lucky Coin in September at Saratoga Race Course. Pulsate continued a run of good form earning place honors by close margins in three consecutive stakes outings, including a runner-up effort in October in the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational.

Ribaudo praised the tenacity Pulsate showed in winning the Lucky Coin after he was forced to make a start on dirt when the turf allowance he was set for did not fill.

“We got to Saratoga last year and the three-other-than didn’t go, so I had to run him on the dirt because he needed to run,” said Ribaudo. “He finished fourth that day, but it helped him win the Lucky Coin.”

The chestnut wintered at the farm of Dr. Patty Hogan in New Jersey before returning to training at the beginning of April. He has since recorded three works over Belmont’s dirt training track, most recently breezing an easy half-mile in 50.50 seconds on May 2.

Ribaudo said Pulsate is doing better than ever in his training.

“He’s fully matured,” said Ribaudo. “He’s had issues in the past, but now he’s as sound as he’s ever been and I can train him better. Maturity has helped him, and I think that goes for Speightstowns in particular. He’s a good example of it. He’s a character.”

Ribaudo is hopeful a softer spot than the Grade 1, $400,000 Jaipur Invitational on June 11 will come up for Pulsate’s seasonal debut.

“He’s on schedule to be ready by mid-June,” said Ribaudo. “We’re trying to get into an allowance race sometime then and get him ready for Saratoga. The only thing that came up right now is the Jaipur, but that’s a Grade 1 and that would be sending him to the lions too soon. We’re hoping that something will come up.”

Out of the multiple graded stakes placed Kitten’s Joy mare Celestial Kitten, Pulsate boasts a consistent record of 20-4-7-2 and earnings of $397,655. He was purchased for $280,000 out of the 2018 Ocala Breeders’ Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Stakes-placed Daunt will make his return for Ribaudo and Keller in Race 9 on Thursday at Belmont, an optional claimer for 3-year-olds and upward going 1 1/16 miles over the Widener turf.

A dark bay son of Nyquist, Daunt broke his maiden at second asking going 1 1/16 miles in September and was last seen finishing a competitive third in the $100,000 Awad on November 5 at the same distance. Daunt spent some time at Niall Brennan Stables’ training center in Florida earlier this year before returning to Ribaudo’s Belmont barn in April.

“He broke his maiden last year and was third in the stake and then we put him away,” Ribaudo said. “This allowance suits him perfect, but everybody else in the race ran all winter and he’s the only horse coming off the layoff. But he’s doing great.”

Daunt will break from post 12 with Trevor McCarthy in the irons.