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My Shea D Lady exits NYSSS Statue of Liberty score with eyes on state-bred Suzie O'Cain

by NYRA Press Ofiice

• My Shea D Lady exits NYSSS Statue of Liberty score with eyes on state-bred Suzie O'Cain
• Manama Gold set for turf debut in G3 Lake George
• Casse’s G3 Lake George contender hoping to ‘Pounce’ to victory
• Ryan hopes to go from Jersey Shore to G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial
• Just Katherine to contest G2 Shuvee
• Buttah looks to join siblings Chowda, Lobsta and Oysta as New York racing tastemakers
• Dressed for Success: Bits

Shea D Boy’s Stable’s My Shea D Lady reaped the benefits of severe thunderstorms that moved Wednesday’s $150,000 Statue of Liberty Division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series off the turf. The one-mile event for eligible state-sired sophomore fillies was instead contested on the main track out of the Wilson Chute with My Shea D Lady prevailing by 1 3/4-lengths.

Trained by Carlos David, the daughter of Solomini and the Teufelsberg mare Ladyberg had previously run exclusively on the main track before a last out turf try when fifth in the June 14 six-furlong NYSSS Cupecoy’s Joy at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Stretching out to one mile for the first time in the Statue of Liberty, she earned a new lifetime best Beyer Speed Figure of 75. She improved her record over the dirt to 3-1-1 in seven efforts and is now a two-time stakes winner.

“She is acting really good. She was full of it even after she ran and walked for an hour. We tried to give her some grass and she was acting up and jumping,” David said.

Bred in the Empire State by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, My Shea D Lady has enjoyed success in the New York-bred program. Since breaking her maiden first time out last July going five-furlongs at Gulfstream Park, the David charge has stuck to state-bred or state-sired company. My Shea D Lady annexed the $500,000 NYSSS Fifth Avenue for two-year-old fillies on December 16 over seven-furlongs at the Big A.

David said he would like to try the filly around two turns over the lawn and that the next logical spot would be the $125,000 Suzie O’Cain, a 1 1/16 turf test for New York-bred sophomore fillies on August 14 here.

“I think the Suzie O’Cain is next unless I see something else that makes more sense, but we try to target the New York-bred stakes,” David said.

David’s barn is also home to an on the rise 3-year-old filly by the name of Belle’s Blue Bell. The daughter of Girvin and the stakes-winning Awesome of Course mare Awesome Bell was bred in the Sunshine State by her owners, Jacks or Better Farm. The filly carries a 4-2-0 record in 10 starts all going around one-turn. She was last seen crossing the wire first on June 29 at Monmouth Park in the six-furlong Maryfield for sophomore fillies.

“She came out of the race in good shape. I’m very happy with her performance at Monmouth,” David said.

Belle’s Blue Bell took a trip to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore two starts back to take a chance at graded stakes company in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness, a six-furlong event for sophomore fillies. She raced mid-pack throughout finishing sixth of eleven beaten 7 1/2-lengths by fellow Florida-bred Mystic Lake.

After bouncing back to win last out, Belle’s Blue Bell may have another graded stake in her future in the Spa’s August 3 Grade 1, $500,000 Test presented by Ticketmaster for sophomore fillies over seven-furlongs.

“I talked to the connections and it seems like that is where she is headed,” David said. “I don’t see a lot for 3-year-old fillies out there right now. I will have to nominate and see. It is definitely a step up in class for her, but she did run really good last out.”

David also has the aptly named Win N Your In by freshman sire Win Win Win and the Yes It’s True mare Hello Rosie.

The Florida-bred juvenile filly posted a strong maiden-breaking effort in her second start on July 6 at Gulfstream Park, winning by 7 1/2-lengths against state-bred juvenile fillies covering the 5 1/2-furlongs in a final time of 1:05.05.

Campaigned by Troy Johnson and Maritza Weston, the filly was a bargain buy for her connections out of the 2023 OBS Winter Mixed Sale for $12,000 from the Summerfield Consignment.

Win N Your In is targeting a start in the Colleen on July 28 at Monmouth Park, a 5 1/2-furlong grass sprint for juvenile fillies and if all goes to plan, she will ship to Saratoga for a tilt at the Grade 1 $300,000 Spinaway over seven-furlongs for juvenile fillies on August 31.

“She is currently nominated to the Colleen at Monmouth and it looks like she is the top contender in the race,” David said. “If she wins, I will definitely bring her here and try her on the dirt in the stake later in the meet.”

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Manama Gold set for turf debut in G3 Lake George

Victorious Racing’s Group 3-winner Manama Gold will make her first start on turf in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Lake George, a one-mile inner turf test for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Manama Gold made her first start for her Hall of Fame conditioner last out when second to Almostgone Rocket in the Listed Jersey Girl sprinting six furlongs here on June 6. The Louisiana-bred daughter of Star Guitar stalked a close third early after a stumbling start under returning Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez. She recovered well to move into second position at the stretch call but was no match for Almostgone Rocket and was defeated six lengths. The effort was awarded an 84 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I thought it was good,” Pletcher said. “She broke sharply and then that second step kind of bobbled a little bit. It was a solid effort.”

Manama Gold was previously undefeated in three starts on dirt in Dubai when in the care of conditioner Fawzi Nass, including a strong 1 1/4-length score in the Group 3 UAE Oaks traveling 1 3/16 miles in February. She is a full sister to turf graded stakes-winner Ova Charged, who is currently amidst a seven-race win streak that includes a triumph in the Grade 3 Unbridled Sydney sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over the Churchill Downs turf on May 3.

Pletcher said the filly’s breeding led him to breeze her over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training turf on June 28, where she covered five furlongs in 1:00.60 in company with 5-year-old multiple turf graded stakes-winner Emmanuel.

“She worked in company with Emmanuel, and she stayed right with him, which is encouraging,” Pletcher said. “She has a full sister who has had quite a bit of success on the turf, so it seemed like a logical thing to try. We thought it was worth breezing her on it, and we saw the breeze we were wanting to see. The options were fairly limited on the dirt, and we felt this was a good time to try it. We aren’t committing to stay on the turf, but the timing of this was good.”

Manama Gold will emerge from post 3 in rein to Velazquez with a morning line assessment of 5-1 in the overflow field of 10, which is headed by the pair of Oversubscribed [post 2, Joel Rosario, 5-2] and Sweet Rebecca [post 6, Tyler Gaffalione, 7-2] for trainer Chad Brown.

Pletcher added that Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Agate Road, who is nominated to the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on July 27 here, is likely to head to Mountaineer instead for the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby on August 4 for another try on dirt.

The son of Quality Road finished off-the-board in his last two outings over turf but won the Grade 2 Pilgrim as a juvenile over the Aqueduct Racetrack green. His best finish in a dirt stakes was a runner-up effort to No More Time in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis in February at Tampa Bay Downs.

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Casse’s G3 Lake George contender hoping to ‘Pounce’ to victory

Resolute Racing’s graded stakes-winner Pounce will look to provide Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse with his first win in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Lake George, a one-mile inner turf test for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

The Lookin At Lucky bay [post 8, Dylan Davis, 124 pounds] has banked $236,999 through a 6-3-0-1 record led by a last-to-first score in the one-mile Grade 3 Herecomesthebride in March at Gulfstream Park.

“She ran a big race in the Herecomesthebride. The turf was extremely hard that day and that may be the key with her,” Casse said. “I'm not sure she'll get that, but she's doing well. Got Stormy loved it when it when the turf was hard, and she was able to get that a couple times here.”

Pounce followed her Gulfstream coup with an off-the-board effort in the Grade 2 Appalachian in April at Keeneland and was a pacesetting third last out on May 31 in the Penn Oaks.

Initially campaigned by Quintessential Racing Florida and Hat Creek Racing, Pounce was purchased in February for $370,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Digital Selected Sale. She is out of the winning Twirling Candy mare Bouncing, who is a half-sister to multiple stakes-placed Blue Harbor.

Casse, who already has three wins at the meet, will send out a trio of promising 2-year-olds this week in first-time starters English Law and Ready to Battle as well as second-time starter Salted.

Gary Barber and Pantofel Stable’s English Law [post 1, Dylan Davis, 15-1ML], a $150,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, will debut in Race 1 on Saturday here – a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test for juveniles.

English Law, out of the Posse mare Lawless Miss, is a half-brother to multiple graded stakes-placed Front Run the Fed [30-7-4-3, $761,211]. He worked a half-mile in 51.66 seconds July 5 over the Oklahoma training turf.

“I like him. He's one of those horses that will run all day long,” Casse said. “You never know how good those horses are until they get in competition because they're a horse that needs pace and probably needs a race or two.

“But I like his attitude and I like the way he moves. That's why he's here - if I didn't, he'd be somewhere else,” added Casse, with a laugh.

Gary Barber’s Ready to Battle [post 10, Eric Cancel, 12-1ML] will debut in Race 7 on Sunday – a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test for juvenile fillies.

The War of Will bay, a $165,000 weanling purchase at the 2022 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, has trained over the Belmont Park dirt training track in preparation for her debut, including a half-mile effort in 50.23 on June 28. She is out of the winning Arch mare Battle Bridge.

Casse said Ready to Battle resembles her sire, who Casse saddled for a victory in the 2019 Grade 1 Preakness.

“She's a lot like him. They were giving her a bath the other day and I looked over and for a second I thought, is War of Will here?,” said Casse, with a laugh. “She still has to show she has that talent but she’s a big filly and a good-moving thing. I don't put a lot of emphasis on winning first time out. It's more about development and both those horses will need some development.”

Casse will send out the well-regarded Salted [post 6, Jose Ortiz, 8-1ML] in Race 9 on Sunday – a six-furlong maiden special weight sprint for 2-year-old fillies.

The $760,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Casse-trained Quality Road mare Salty, who won the 2018 Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs.

Campaigned by Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, Salted debuted in May at Churchill when second in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden sprint to Adeera, who exited that event to run fifth in the Debutante.

“She ran well first time, and we scoped her afterwards and she was entrapped,” Casse said. “For her to run as well as she did speaks volumes to her. She had a minor surgery to fix that and she's back training well. I would expect a pretty good effort from her.”

Salted worked a half-mile in 48.87 here Saturday over the main track.

“I thought her last breeze was excellent. I was very pleased with her,” Casse said.

Gary Barber and Kinsman Stable’s graded stakes-placed Strong Quality worked five-eighths in 1:00.04 over the main track Thursday in company with maiden Sandman.

Casse said Strong Quality, a 5-year-old Quality Road dark bay, will enter the 11-furlong Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green on July 28 here.

“He worked well. I usually work him by himself, but I put him with some company yesterday,” Casse said. “It was more for the other horse than it was for him, but I thought he worked extremely well. We'll enter in the Bowling Green and see what happens.”

Strong Quality, who won the restricted Knicks Go in May at Churchill, finished off-the-board last out in the 1 3/16-mile Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day here.

***

Ryan hopes to go from Jersey Shore to G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial

Atlantic Six Racing’s Book’em Danno, last-out winner of the seven-furlong Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 8 Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga Race Course, is entered in Friday’s $100,000 Jersey Shore, a six-furlong sprint for sophomores at Monmouth Park. He was also nominated to the 6 1/2-furlong, Grade 2 $200,000 Amsterdam on July 26 at Saratoga, but trainer Derek Ryan confirmed Thursday morning the plan was to stay on the Jersey Shore.

Ryan said the main target is the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 24 at the Spa.

“We’re probably going to run him because it is good timing for the Allen Jerkens. I get five weeks from now until then,” said Ryan. “The Allen Jerkens is the main goal. It's six weeks from our last race and five from here to the Jerkens.

“We don’t have to win this one. We just want to get what I want out of it,” Ryan added.

Book‘em Danno enters from a half-mile bullet in 47 seconds flat on July 11 at Monmouth, fastest-of-49 workers at the distance.

“The last couple of works have been the best he’s ever worked, and he’s been doing it on his own,” Ryan said. “I used to work him in company, I don’t anymore. He’s just doing good right now. With a little luck, he gets it done tomorrow.”

The New Jersey-bred showed his potential on debut, beating fellow state-breds by 9 1/2 lengths sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs in August at Monmouth. He also captured a pair of six-furlong stakes as a juvenile, including the Smoke Glacken at Monmouth Park and the off-the-turf Listed Futurity at Belmont at the Big A, in September and October, respectively.

He received year-end honors as New Jersey’s 2023 Horse of the Year, Champion Sprinter, and Champion 2-Year-Old Male. He now returns to race in the Garden State for the first time since September.

“All the guys that own him are local, so they’ll actually all be able to see him,” said Ryan. “It’ll be the first time they’ve all seen him run at the same time.”

In his ventures elsewhere, the Bucchero gelding has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in dirt sprints, netting his first top-level score in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens. There, he came from nine lengths off a blistering pace set by Barksdale to assume command at the top of the stretch, with enough in reserve to fend off the closing Prince of Monaco.

The performance garnered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure. It also avenged a head defeat to the then-undefeated Forever Young in the one-mile Group 3 Saudi Derby in February at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, where he stalked and took the lead in similar fashion before being nailed at the wire.

Book’em Danno made the voyage to Saudi Arabia after an eye-catching 12 1/2-length romp in the seven-furlong Pasco in January at Tampa Bay Downs.

Bred by Gregory Kilka and Bright View Farm, out of the unraced Ghostzapper mare Adorabella, Book’em Danno is a half-sibling to multiple dirt stakes-winner Girl Trouble.

***

Just Katherine to contest G2 Shuvee

R.T Racing Stable’s graded stakes placed Just Katherine will run in Sunday’s nine-furlong Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee at Saratoga Race Course despite being cross-entered in Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile Grade 3, $500,000 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park.

Trainer Jose Jimenez confirmed the plan is to run the 4-year-old Justify filly in the Shuvee, where she will break from the outermost post 5 with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano aboard. Last year at the Spa, she was second to eventual multiple Grade 1 winner Randomized in the one-mile Wilton ahead of an optional-claiming score at Sunday’s distance over returning foe Raging Sea.

“The Shuvee at Saratoga,” Jimenez said regarding the decision. “She had a really great performance in her two races over there. She has a win and a second place in that stake. We think she loved that stretch in Saratoga.”

Just Katherine was defeated a neck by Accede last-out in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses on June 15 at Belmont at the Big A. It was her second start of the year, dating to an off-the-board finish in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Bayakoa in February at Oaklawn Park.

“That last race was really great. She was coming from a little layoff, so we wanted to give her seven furlongs before stretching her out,” said Jimenez. “She’s kind of a middle pack horse and I think over one mile will help her a lot to get a better position.”

Just Katherine enters from a bullet half-mile in 47.29 seconds on July 11 over the Belmont Park dirt training track, fastest-of-42 workers at the distance. She worked five furlongs there a week prior in 1:03.70.

“She always surprises us. She has been training really well. Coming from the layoff and seven furlongs we wanted to give her more distance, she’s been responding really well to that,” said Jimenez.

Just Katherine, out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Reve Enchante, is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Dream It Is, who won the local 2017 Grade 3 Schuylerville. She was an $85,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

***

Buttah looks to join siblings Chowda, Lobsta and Oysta as New York racing tastemakers

Eddie F’s Racing’s Buttah, a half-brother to the popular fellow New York-breds Chowda, Lobsta and Oysta, will try to continue a tasty trend when he debuts later this month at Saratoga Race Course.

The uniquely named equines are owned by Ed Fazzone, proprietor of Eddie F's New England Seafood Restaurant, which has locations in Saratoga Springs and Clifton Park. All four of the siblings were bred by Fedwell Farms and are out of the winning Chief Seattle mare Salty Little Sis.

Stakes-winner Chowda [24-3-2-3, $225,091] and dual stakes-winner Lobsta [24-6-2-2, $359,445], both by Emcee, were mainstays on the NYRA circuit over the past several years. The former captured the 2020 Gander at Aqueduct Racetrack, while the latter finished second in the same event one year later – both in the care of Gary Sciacca.

Lobsta made his name with a 28-1 upset in the 2021 NYSSS Thunder Rumble and doubled his stakes tally when elevated to victory in the following year’s Say Florida Sandy – both at the Big A.

While Oysta, by Micromanage, showed little interest in racing in his lone start, it appears that the Rachel Sells-trained Buttah could be a runner. The 2-year-old son of Leofric worked five-eighths solo this morning in 1:02.11 over the main track in a move the trainer said was smooth as.

“Lane Luzzi breezed him by himself in 1:02. It was a nice easy breeze around there and he took in all the sights of the main track,” Sells said. “We’re looking at a race on the 25th. He's close.”

Buttah, like his siblings, was broken at Woodberry Payne’s farm in Virginia and joined Sells' string at Finger Lakes before advancing to her Spa stable two weeks back.

“He's a lot like Chowda and Lobsta where the more he does, the better he's showing to be,” Sells said. “He came in a little green, but the more he goes the better he gets and the more we like him. He's starting to figure it out. We'll think about trying him on the turf at some point being a Leofric.”

Sells, who conditioned both Chowda and Lobsta at the end of their careers, said Buttah shares a few similar traits to his siblings.

“He's got the attitude Lobsta had. He loves the personal attention,” Sells said. “The more you're with him, the happier he is and that's how Lobsta was - he really thrived off of the attention and had a real ‘look-at-me’ presence.”

Chowda, who last raced in July 2023 at Finger Lakes, and Lobsta, who made his last outing in February at the Big A, have both come off the boil and are now retired with Heather Hayes to a farm in Connecticut.

“Lobsta is going to be a sport horse stallion and Chowda is becoming a hunter/jumper for Heather’s daughter. They're both living ‘the life of Riley’ right now and enjoying it.”

Although Oysta never came out of his shell on the racetrack, Sells said he’s settling into retired life with a new owner in Schenectady where he is training to become a hunter/jumper.

“Ed's a great owner. He takes very good care of his horses,” Sells said. “Chowda and Oysta were very good to him, and he wasn't going to put them down through the claiming ranks. We found them a great home and we get updates all the time. They're having a great retirement and hopefully we'll have some Lobsta babies coming up.”

Sells said she is hopeful that her new trainee will be another in a line of Eddie F’s Racing’s recipe for success.

“The speed he's showing breaking out of gate is good - he has a turn of foot out of there,” said Sells, who sends out Lucency in Race 7 today here. “I think he'll want a little more ground than the race on the 25th - seven furlongs may be his thing. The good thing is that every horse we put him with he's always trying to be that little bit better. He's got that, 'I'm gonna get ya, I'm gonna get ya' and that's good to see.”

***

Dressed for Success: Bits

Trainers of equine athletes utilize a variety of equipment to help their trainees reach their full potential. Aside from the standard saddle and bridle are a host of specialized bits, facial covers, horseshoes, and riding crops. This series will examine the use of these tools and how horsemen determine which one is right for their horses.

Piloting a horse safely at top speed is thanks in great part to the right mouthpiece, or bit. The bit is the piece of metal that is inserted into the horse’s mouth above the tongue and settled into the bars, or toothless gaps between the incisors and molars, on the horse’s jaw.

Hall of Fame conditioner Shug McGaughey, who has trained horses for more than four decades, said determining the proper equipment for a horse has two parts to its equation.

“One thing is control, and the other is the comfort of it,” McGaughey explained. “You don’t want something biting at them, and to that point, if I ever got one with a cut in their mouth, I might use a snake bit that wraps around and doesn’t rub the sides of their mouth.”

The bit itself is not just one straight bar of metal but can be a variety of shapes and flexibilities to accommodate a horse’s needs and comforts. Some horses are very sensitive in their mouth and require a gentler persuasion from bits like the snaffle, which sees its two pieces joined on a hinge in the middle of the mouthpiece.

One of the common snaffle bits used in horse racing is the D-bit, named for the shape of the pieces of metal that rest against the outer cheeks of the horse. The mouthpiece of the bit is fixed to the outer cheekpiece, making the bit stable in the horse’s mouth and preventing pinching.

Some horses are more comfortable positioning the bit where they please, making a loose ring snaffle a great option for more particular horses. This bit has a similar mouthpiece to traditional D-bits, but the cheekpieces are looped into the ends of the mouthpiece, allowing for the mouthpiece to be adjusted by the horse to fit where he or she would like it to sit in their mouth. A mouthpiece that is moveable on the cheekpiece also helps with horses who are heavy-mouthed and take a strong hold of the bit.

“I think the ring snaffle is a comfortable bit for them and I very seldom have any issues with it,” McGaughey said.

McGaughey has more than 11,000 starters and has earned over 2,300 wins in an illustrious career dating to 1978. He has trained five members of the Hall of Fame in 1989 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes-winner Easy Goer; eight-time Grade 1-winners Personal Ensign and Heavenly Prize, the former of which was undefeated in 13 starts; Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff-winner Inside Information; and dual Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile-winner Lure.

Nearly all of these Hall of Famers had something in common in addition to their supreme talent and athleticism: four of McGaughey’s five Hall of Famers raced in loose ring snaffles, the bit of choice for McGaughey throughout his career.

Additionally, the McGaughey-trained Eclipse Award-winners Honor Code, Queena, Rhythm, Smuggler, Storm Flag Flying and Vanlandingham all raced regularly in loose ring snaffle bits, as did 2013 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner Orb.

McGaughey explained his preference for the loose ring snaffle is due to its comfort for both the horse and rider.

“I very seldom use anything else training or racing,” said McGaughey. “Maybe if I had a horse who was lugging in or lugging out, maybe I would put a ring bit, but I don’t use anything extreme. I think it’s easy on their mouth and it is controllable with the big rings. It’s something I’m used to and have been using the whole time.”

McGaughey added he has strayed from his usual equipment preference on occasion, but stressed the importance of addressing the mental side of training horses who may have steering issues before making a hasty change of equipment.

“The D-bit sometimes can slide through their mouth, and I don’t like that. The hope is the snaffle doesn’t give any trouble for the rider,” McGaughey said. “If the horse gets too strong in their gallops or if they lug in or lug out, I work a lot with their mind first before trying to change things around. If I had to change it, the biggest thing would be to go to something that helps with control.”

For McGaughey, the safety and comfort of his horses and riders comes before anything else, a formula that has led him to enjoy one of racing’s most accomplished careers and more than $174 million in total purses.

“If you had to get away from it [the loose ring snaffle], it would be more for a control type of thing,” McGaughey said. “The biggest thing is for the horse to be comfortable with it, for the rider to be comfortable with it, and I think they are.”