Rum Twist breezes half-mile at Belmont for G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
- Rum Twist breezes half-mile at Belmont for G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies
- Amelia Green sends out strong pair on Empire Showcase Day
- Handal well represented on Empire Showcase Day
R. Lee Lewis and Lexi Lewis’ Grade 1-placed Rum Twist posted a half-mile breeze Thursday in preparation for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, with NYRA clockers timing her covering the distance in 47.25 seconds in rein to Jose Lezcano over the Belmont Park main track.
Trained by Mark Hennig, the daughter of Mandaloun worked to the outside of 4-year-old gelding Monte Avi [47.88], posting her first work since finishing a 2 3/4-length second to Dotsy in the Grade 1 Frizette on October 3 here.
“It was a little quicker than I anticipated, but there’s a strong wind behind them coming down the stretch,” Hennig said. “Jose Lezcano breezed her for us thankfully, and he had breezed her back at Saratoga this summer. He said, ‘man, she’s a lot stronger horse than she was then.’ He was really pleased with her and he said he couldn’t have gone any easier with her. She was dragging him.”
Rum Twist debuted with a runner-up effort in July at Saratoga Race Course and graduated two starts later with a 5 3/4-length romp going seven furlongs on September 5 there. She then stalked the pace in the one-turn mile Frizette and made a willing run behind upset winner Dotsy. The Frizette and her maiden win, which both came under jockey Paco Lopez, garnered a 78 Beyer Speed Figure.
“She seems a little fiery coming out of that loss,” Hennig said. “It’s almost like she knows she got beat. God willing, she comes out of this well and we’ll be on a van. She’ll head out on Sunday afternoon to arrive there at Keeneland Monday morning. We’ll gallop Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and call it a wrap.”
Hennig added that Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who was aboard for Rum Twist’s first two outings, will have the call in the Juvenile Fillies.
Rum Twist, bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, was a $260,000 purchase at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the winning Congrats mare Rumandice, a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Goldrush Girl and Cayala, dam of graded stakes-winners One Liner and Rodriguez.
Bourbon Lane Stable, HGS Thoroughbreds’ and Hennig’s Spinning Colors is cross-entered in Friday’s second division of the Listed Perfect Sting and Saturday’s state-bred $200,000 Ticonderoga on the Empire Showcase Day card. Hennig said it is likely the 6-year-old Hard Spun mare contests the latter provided the Perfect Sting field remains largely intact.
“She’ll probably run on Saturday, unless there’s a bunch of scratches tomorrow, then I might run tomorrow,” Hennig said.
Spinning Colors, who holds a 26-5-4-3 record, won the state-bred Mount Vernon last June at Saratoga Race Course and has banked more than $475,000 in purses.
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Amelia Green sends out strong pair on Empire Showcase Day
Trainer Amelia Green will send out Doc Sullivan and Highway Harmony on Saturday’s Empire Showcase Day card at Belmont Park, which offers 10 stakes exclusively for horses foaled in New York State valued at a combined $2.1 million in purses.
“This day is great for us trainers in New York. I have a lot of New York-breds, so to have a day to showcase them and have a lot of stakes and money up for grabs is very important for the owners,” Green said. “We’re very grateful for NYRA to provide that.”
Tristar Farm’s Doc Sullivan contests the $250,000 Empire Classic [Race 10], a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up. The 5-year-old Solomini dark bay stretches back out in distance from a fifth in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Vosburgh on October 1 here when making his third start for Green.
Doc Sullivan’s four career efforts at nine furlongs include a neck second to returning rival Bank Frenzy in last year’s Empire Classic for trainer John Ortiz and a one-length second in the state-bred Albany in 2024 for conditioner Mike Miceli.
“I’m actually excited about this distance,” said Green. “At least since I’ve had him, I’ve always thought one mile, 1 1/8 mile, 1 1/16-mile, that range is what he wants to do. I’m excited to stretch him out again and think he’s going to run big.”
Doc Sullivan, bred by Seamus Coughlan, is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Queen Frostine and was a $59,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS June Sale of 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age. He is 25-7-9-2 with $845,090 in earnings.
Lucky Hat Racing, Fugget About It Racing Stables and Sportsmen Stable’s Highway Harmony is a top contender in the inaugural $200,000 New York Filly and Mare Turf Sprint Championship [Race 6] for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going six furlongs over the Widener turf.
The 6-year-old Mo Town bay won four consecutive races to start this year, capped by a 2 1/2-length score in the state-bred John Hettinger in June at Aqueduct Racetrack, where she set a six-furlong outer turf course record of 1:06.44 in the final stakes run at the historic oval. Bred by Twin Farms, Highway Harmony enters from a 3 1/4-length fifth in the six-furlong Floral Park on September 19 here.
“We sent her for a brief freshening with Bruce Jackson at Fair Hill after that race and we were planning on giving her a bit of time off and bringing her back when the Tapeta season started, but he said she was doing so well that she doesn’t need time off, so she came right back in,” said Green. “I’d have to think she’ll be one of the favorites and hopefully she can run a big race again.”
First post for the 11-race card is 12:05 p.m. Eastern.
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Handal well represented on Empire Showcase Day
Trainer Ray Handal will have a trio of contenders in Valtellina, Chummers, and Ez Roll on Saturday’s Empire Showcase Day program at Belmont Park, which offers 10 stakes exclusively for horses foaled in New York State valued at a combined $2.1 million in purses. Handal noted that Fairy Godmother will scratch from Saturday’s New York Filly and Mare Turf Sprint Championship.
“These are horses we acquired at a moderate market price. We bought Chummers for $6,000, Valtellina for $67,000 and Ez Roll was claimed for $30,000, so to be running for these kind of purses is very rewarding,” Handal said. “This is a great day for the New York-bred program, and it gives us a chance to further the earnings of these horses and celebrate our New York-bred horses.”
Pavilion Racing’s Valtellina rides a two-race win streak into her attempted title defense in the $250,000 Empire Distaff [Race 4], a nine-furlong route for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
The 4-year-old Complexity chestnut, bred by Thorostock, closed from 10 lengths off the pace to capture last year’s Empire Distaff over returning rival Bernietakescharge.
Valtellina [post 3, Dylan Davis] brings solid form into this year’s contest, entering off back-to-back optional-claiming wins traveling one-mile, besting state-breds in August at Saratoga Race Course ahead of an impressive open-company score last out on September 25 here.
“It looks like she’s going to get some pace to run into,” Handal said. “She’s training great and has a win over the surface, so I’m very excited about her.
“I feel like she’s rounding into perfect form,” Handal continued. “She had a good run over the track and even liked it going a mile, which I would say is not her preferred distance – she loves nine furlongs.”
Valtellina has banked $461,280 through a 17-4-3-2 record.
Chummers, owned by Handal in partnership with Blue Bison Stable, will look to return to winning form in the $200,000 Mohawk [Race 5], a nine-furlong inner turf test for 3-year-olds and up.
The popular Combatant sophomore put together a three-race win streak this summer, taking a claiming tilt in June at Belmont at the Big A ahead of rallying neck stakes scores at the Spa in the state-bred Rick Violette in July and the NYSSS Cab Calloway in August.
Bred by Levings Racing, Chummers enters from a fifth-place try versus open company in the one-mile Gio Ponti on September 7 at Saratoga.
“He’s doing great. He owes us nothing at this point. We’re at the end of the year and he has to run against older horses, so we’ll see,” Handal said. “He’s training super. We ran him back on short rest into the Gio Ponti, but it was either that or sit on him into this race and he’s just a feel-good horse, so we took a shot.
“He was a little pace compromised in that last race,” Handal added. “We have the tank filled for this one and I think he’ll make a good showing of himself.”
Chummers sports a 12-4-1-0 record for purse earnings of $299,340.
Winning Dreams Racing Stable’s Ez Roll will be a live longshot in the $250,000 Empire Classic [Race 10], a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up.
The 5-year-old Enticed gelding, bred by Stonegate Stables and Everything’s Cricket Racing, has hit the board in each of his last nine outings, including a pair of scores versus fellow state-breds at 1 1/8-miles.
“We’re taking a shot here. I know he’ll appreciate the nine furlongs and come with his run,” Handal said. “If he’s good enough, maybe we’ll get a big piece of it.”
The hard-knocking Ez Roll has accumulated $299,108 through a 25-4-6-5 record.
First post for Saturday’s 11-race card is 12:05 p.m. Eastern.
General admission at Belmont Park is available for $7 when purchased in advance and provides fans with access to grandstand seats on most days, all areas within the first floor of the grandstand and the backyard. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.
