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UNDEFEATED LADY GIACOMO, ACES N KINGS HEAD TTA SALES FUTURITY FINALS
Lady Giacomo and Aces N Kings, both now 2-for-2 after posting impressive debut and TTA Sales Futurity Trial wins, head to the Finals as strong favorites in their respective divisions.
Lady Giacomo, who races in the interests of JRita Young Thoroughbreds LLC, is listed as the 4-5 morning line favorite over eight other 2-year-old fillies after winning her Trial by 5 ¼ lengths while being taken in hand by jockey Martin Escobar coming to the wire. Trainer Allen Milligan had the daughter of 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo ready at first asking as she overcame a hard bump at the break to go on to a 4 ¾-length win. Lady Giacomo’s main contention may come from another Giacomo filly, Blushing Sis, winner of the other Filly Trial, but in slower time. Blushing Sis will run coupled with Lady Primal as the Markpoint Stables’ entry trained by Cash Asmussen. Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Fastation, a $42,000 Fasig-Tipton Texas 2-Year-Old Sales grad, may be the pacesetter in the $66,090 5-furlong Final.
Caroline Dodwell’s speedy Aces N Kings, the only 2008 foal by Jet Phone, is the 8-5 choice of nine juvenile colts and geldings to post the third win of his brief career in the $60,280 Final. Tamtastic ran second to Aces N Kings in their Trial and should improve in his second start for Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch. Bret Calhoun, Lone Star’s leading trainer with a win percentage over 40, will send out the 5-2 second choice. Jerry Durant and Bill Jordan’s Valid Promise, the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Texas 2-Year-Old Sales topper last April, could improve considerably on his fourth-place Trial finish when he lugged in early, was bumped and then had to go wide.
REDDING COLLIERY DOMINATING WINNER OF $300,000 LONE STAR PARK ’CAP (G3)
On paper, the $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap (G3) looked like a highly competitive race with any one of the seven entrants having a chance to get to the winner’s circle. But the New York shipper Redding Colliery turned the feature of seven stakes on the Lone Star Million program this past Memorial Day into a rout once Rosie Napravnik asked for more run on the turn of the 1 1/16-mile stakes. In a few strides, Redding Colliery had opened a daylight lead that widened to a 6 ¾-length triumph in 1:42 .13.
In piloting the Kiaran McLaughlin trainee, the 22-year-old Napravnik became the first female jockey to win a major stakes race at Lone Star. She had Redding Colliery well clear of West Point Stable’s late-running Awesome Gem. Jim and Marilyn Helzer’s Euroears, the early pacesetter, finished third.
Wasted Tears, owned, bred and trained by Bart Evans, added a second straight Ouija Board Distaff (G3) to her growing list of accomplishments. Her many backers had a few anxious moments in late stretch of the one-mile grass stakes as Fortunia closed to within a neck. Wasted Tears paid $2.60 in winning her 10th race in 15 starts and remains unbeaten in five outings on Lone Star’s turf course. Her time was 1:32.81.
The $150,000 Dallas Turf Cup went to Don Benge’s Wise River, who found Lone Star’s firm turf much to his liking as he completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.61. Baccari Stable LLC’s Golden Euro proved a front-running winner of the grassy USA Stakes restricted to 3-year-olds. His time was 1:42.35.
Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Martin Garcia, who teamed up to win the Preakness (G1) with Lookin At Lucky, recorded two stakes successes on the card. They accounted for the $100,000 Cinemine with Peachtree Stable’s Bonnie Blue Flag, a 6 ½-length winner going 7 furlongs in 1:22.35, and the $75,000 Valid Expectations with Zayat Stable’s Mother Ruth, a 7-length victress at 6 furlongs in 1:08.86.
The $50,000 Carter McGregor Jr. Memorial Stakes for older Texas-breds found Tom Durant’s homebred Supreme Secret, trained by Jack Bruner, and H&H Ranch’s Southern Vintage, conditioned by Karl Broberg, finishing in a win dead-heat after racing the 6 furlongs in 1:10.05. Quiet Again ran third.
LOPE TEXAS’ ANNUAL BENEFIT SHOW TOMORROW AT HAYS COUNTY CIVIC CENTER
LOPE Texas Benefit Horse Show, a family fun event, will be held this Saturday, June 5, in the covered and air-conditioned Hays County Civic Center, 1251 Civic Center Loop, in San Marcos. The show is for all levels of riders with registration beginning at 7am and classes starting at 9am. In addition, there will be food, a garage sale of horse items, a silent auction and equine-related vendors at the show.
Proceeds from the show will go to LOPE Texas, operated by its founder, Lynn Rorke Reardon, in Bastrop where she has already helped transition more than 750 retired racehorses into new careers. For more information on LOPE (LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers), the benefit show, and a listing of the auction items, go to lopetx.org.
Fast furlongs...Texas-bred Chief of Affairs led early, but dropped back to fourth in the stretch run of the 6-furlong Aristides Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs and will be sidelined for awhile after coming back with a small chip that has been removed...Tickets go on sale at noon on Saturday, June 5, for both days of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs on November 5 and 6th...The first of three Friday night programs during Churchill’s present meet will be on June 11 with a “Disco at the Downs” theme...The Texas Racing Commission Rules Committee has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, June 8, in Austin...Betfair TVG has signed on as sponsor of the New York Racing Association’s Triple Tiara comprising this Saturday’s Acorn, the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama, all Grade 1 stakes for 3-year-old fillies...When Fasig-Tipton Executive Vice President and COO Dan Pride approached celebrity chef Bobby Flay about leasing one of his horses to members of the newly formed Fasig-Tipton Racing Club, Flay offered Mesa Fresca, who made 25 lessees happy when she won at Belmont Park on May 22...Six entities posted $1 million with the New York Lottery by the June 1 deadline as their entry fee to be eligible to submit bids on building the 4,500-slot machine parlor at Aqueduct in New York, a location that received legislative approval nine years ago...In all the years I’ve perused the Belmont Stakes Day card, I can’t ever recall a $15,000 claimer for state-bred non-winners of 2 races starting the program and a $25,000 non-winners of 3 races right after the day’s feature, which is further evidence of a decline in racing quality in New York...The Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, which makes U.S. banking institutions responsible for preventing customers from making any transactions between their accounts and offshore online gambling operators, finally went into effect on June 1, nearly four years after it became law...Ruidoso Downs opened on Memorial Day weekend and will introduce future wagering on the 2010 All American Futurity beginning in July...TTA Director Bill Clifton’s Tizway finished a game third to heavily favored Quality Road in the $500,000 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on Memorial Day...There will be seven hours of live television coverage of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes Day program beginning at 11am CDT on ESPN for a 5-hour run until 4pm when the action shifts to ABC through 6pm.