NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND SANTA ANITA PARK ET AL.

POPULAR JOCKEY WINS FIRST-EVER NORTH AMERICAN STAKES


Arizona-bred Top Fortitude broke running and heavily favored Kobe’s Back didn’t, and the result was a stunning 30-1 upset in Saturday’s Grade III, $100,000 Lazaro Barrera Stakes. Ridden by Australian native Kayla Stra, who picked up her first-ever North American stakes win, Top Fortitude won by 1 ½ lengths over an unlucky Tonito M. while covering seven furlongs in 1:22.98.


KAYLA STRA, TOP FORTITUDE, WINNER:

“I think seven furlongs is more like a mile, so I keep that in mind and try not to put too much pressure on them early.
“He can handle it; he’s a strong horse. I think the outside post helped. I was riding so hard my saddle slipped back; I just wanted to make sure no one would get by me.
“I thought there would be two horses on the lead, maybe not the two that I thought but it still helped in how it worked out. I think everything went to plan. When I looked at the form it seemed pretty simple.


                    BLACK EYED SUSAN


Main Line Racing Stable’s Joint Return, four-for-five with two stakes victories, seeks her first graded win in the $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (gr. II) for 3-year-old fillies at Pimlico Race Course May 16.

The Black-Eyed Susan, race 10 on a 13-race Friday program that begins at noon EDT, will be run at 1 1/8 miles. It attracted a contentious field of 11. The grade I Preakness Stakes, second leg of the Triple Crown, will be run May 17 at Pimlico.

Trained by John Servis, Joint Return (by Include   out of the Brunswick mare Brunswick Star), won the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in January and the Calder Oaks at Calder Casino & Race Course in her last start. In between those two races she finished fifth in the grade II Gulfstream Park Oaks on a surface Servis said didn’t suit the filly.

“She just didn’t run her race,” Servis told Maryland Jockey Club officials. “She just didn’t show up. (Jockey Kendrick Carmouche) said she never took a hold of the bit at any part of the race and, for whatever reason, she just wasn’t there.

“I’m looking forward to this race, big-time. She has run well against some decent fillies. The only time she ran against real quality fillies was at Gulfstream, and she didn’t show up. I’m anxious to see how she performs this week against the better fillies.”

Joint Return, based at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania, drew post 1 in the Black-Eyed Susan but typically drops off the pace early and then makes her run. Carmouche has a return call on Joint Return, 15-1 on the morning line with 118 pounds.

The 122-pound highweight, Repole Stable’s Stopchargingmaria, drew post 4 as the 7-2 early choice with Javier Castellano aboard. She is one of two Todd Pletcher trainees entered in the Black-Eyed Susan; his other is Michael Tabor’s Sloane Square, who drew post 8 with jockey Joel Rosario.

Pletcher won his first Black-Eyed Susan in 2005 with Spun Sugar. He followed up with Panty Raid in 2007 and In Lingerie in 2012.

Stopchargingmaria won the Tempted Stakes (gr. III) and Demoiselle Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueduct to close her juvenile campaign last year, but has yet to recapture that form in 2014. A well-beaten fifth in her 3-year-old debut in the Davona Dale Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park, she was fourth in her most recent effort, the Fantasy Stakes (gr. III) at Oaklawn Park April 5.

“I think like a lot of horses, her running style didn’t suit the way Gulfstream was playing at that time of the season,” Pletcher said. “We shipped her to Oaklawn and she ran a little better, although I didn’t think she ran to her full capabilities. Now, she seems to have moved forward and has been training very enthusiastically, indicating to us that she’s back in form. Hopefully, that turns out to be the case.”

Unraced at 2, Sloane Square debuted with a pair of victories this year by a combined 11 3/4 lengths, stretching out each time. She won a Gulfstream maiden going 5 1/2 furlongs Jan. 19 and romped over winners a month later at Calder before finishing second as the favorite in the one-mile Pure Romance Bourbonette Oaks (gr. III) on the Polytrack at Turfway Park last time out. The Giant's Causeway   filly is pegged at 5-1.

$500,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (gr. II, Race 10, 4:47 p.m. EDT), 3YO Fillies, 1 1/8 Miles
PP., Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Joint Return (KY), K Carmouche, 118, J C Servis
2. America (KY), J R Velazquez, 116, W I Mott
3. Shanon Nicole (KY), M E Smith, 116, M J Maker
4. Stopchargingmaria (KY), J Castellano, 122, T A Pletcher
5. Euphrosyne (KY), R Santana Jr., 120, S M Asmussen
6. Arethusa (KY), R Napravnik, 118, E G Harty
7. La Mejor Fiesta (KY), V Espinoza, 116, W A Ward
8. Sloane Square (KY), J Rosario, 116, T A Pletcher
9. Fortune Pearl (KY), T McCarthy, 116, H G Motion
10. Vero Amore (KY), F Pennington, 116, R E Reid Jr.
11. Image of Anna (KY), L Saez, 116, R A Violette Jr.


Read more on  http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/85015/joint-return-among-11-in-black-eyed-susan


                    CALIFORNIAN CHROME


After heavy rain overnight in Louisville, Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner California Chrome was out a bit earlier than usual the morning of May 10 for a routine gallop at Churchill Downs.

Hitting the sloppy, sealed track a little before 6:30 a.m. EDT, the Lucky Pulpit   colt galloped 1 3/4 miles under exercise rider Willie Delgado as he continues preparations for the May 17 Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico Race Course.

"I wanted to go out before the track got chewed up," assistant trainer Alan Sherman said of the colt's earlier than usual appearance. "He has been on a 'wet-fast' track before, but I don't know if he has been on a sealed track."

David Lehr, senior director of track surfaces, said Churchill Downs received two inches of rain after Friday's final race that went off around 7:30 p.m.

"We were able to go around three times before the rain," Lehr said of sealing the track. "It rained off and on all night and we got one big burst around 2:30 in the morning."

California Chrome is scheduled to leave for Baltimore May 12 and will gallop at Churchill before departing.

"We are supposed to load at the barn at 10 o'clock Monday morning and the plane leaves Lexington at 12:30," Sherman said. "He will train that morning and then go."

John Oxley's Illinois Derby (gr. III) winner Dynamic Impact was scheduled for a workout Saturday morning at Churchill in preparation for the Preakness, but the wet weather forced assistant trainer Norman Casse to scrub the drill.

"I was hoping they would open the track up, but they didn't and I totally understand why. They made the right call with all the rain," Casse said of the sealed track. "We are prepared to go tomorrow and if not, it is not a big deal and we can go Monday."

With the work postponed, Dynamic Impact galloped 1 1/2 miles instead under exercise rider Marco Cano.

"A lot of my horses didn't go out and I am happy he at least got to gallop," Casse said.

Among other Preakness hopefuls, Ria Antonia, who finished sixth in the May 2 Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), visited the starting gate and then galloped 1 1/2 miles under Maurice Sanchez.

"She had blinkers on in the Oaks and we are going to change equipment for her next race; whatever that will be," trainer Tom Amoss said. "She stood in the gate with blinkers off, which is required for an equipment change.  We are still up in the air about the Preakness. She will work Sunday or Monday, depending on the weather."

If Ria Antonia goes on to the Preakness, she would bid to become the sixth filly to win the race and join Rachel Alexandra (2009), Nellie Morse (1924), Rhine Maiden (1915), Whimsical (1906) and Flocarline (1903).

After the track reopened at 8:30, Bayern galloped 1 1/2 miles under Jorge Alvarez and Ride On Curlin galloped two miles with Bryan Beccia aboard.


Read more on http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/84986/chrome-gallops-at-rain-soaked-churchill


             FIFTYSHADESOFHAY IMPROVES AFTER A SERIES OF SUM PAR RACES


Favored Fiftyshadesofhay, winless in her last five starts, got back in the win column with a come-from-behind victory in the $250,000 Ruffian Stakes (gr. II) (VIDEO) at Belmont Park May 11.

The 4-year-old Pulpit filly, owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, sat in fifth early in the one-mile test. She rallied off the rail to enter contention in the stretch, was angled out by jockey John Velazquez for the drive and passed the top three to win in deep stretch by three-quarters of a length.

Grade I winner Grace Hall, in her first race since being injured in the Apple Blossom Stakes (gr. I) 13 months ago, got second by a nose over My Wandy's Girl.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Fiftyshadesofhay won for the first time since her powerful victory in the grade III Iowa Oaks June 29, 2013. In her most recent race March 15 at Santa Anita Park, Fiftyshadesofhay finished sixth in the Santa Margarita Stakes (gr. I) in her second start of 2014.

In the Ruffian, run around one turn, Six Queens and My Wandy's Girl made the early pace through quick fractions of :22.33 for the opening quarter mile and :45.30 for the half mile on a fast track at Belmont. Fiftyshadesofhay raced in fifth behind Parc Monceau and returnee Grace Hall through the first half-mile, while Toasting trailed in sixth.

My Wandy's Girl disposed of front-running Six Queens through six furlongs in 1:10.04 as Grace Hall rallied on the outside. But Velazquez got Fiftyshadesofhay in gear in the final sixteenth of a mile, and the filly blew past on outside to win in a sharp effort.

"I was on the outside the whole backstretch and she didn't seem like she was going anywhere," said Velazquez. "They were going fast enough, so I thought I'd try to save some ground and put her behind horses and hopefully I'd get somewhere. By the three-eighths pole she started moving. I finally got out about the three-sixteenths pole and she responded.

"As soon as I got to the clear, she was running so good, I thought 'She's going to get there.' Not only did she get there, when she put a head in front she wanted to pull up. I said, 'Don't do that now, keep running!'"

The time for one mile was 1:35.70. Six Queens, Toasting, and Parc Monceau rounded out the order of finish.

Fiftyshadesofhay, the slight favorite at 8-5 over Wandy's Girl, paid $5.40, $3.70, and $2.50 across the board. Grace Hall returned $4.70 and $2.60, while My Wandy's Girl paid $2.50. The $2 exacta paid $26.60 and the $2 trifecta $53.

Fiftyshadesofhay, out of the Real Quiet mare Quiet Kim, was bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm. She now has five wins, four seconds, and three thirds in 16 starts and earnings of $946,547.

"She had me a little worried there the way (track announcer Tom) Durkin was calling her," said Baffert. "I saw her way behind and I saw the hot pace, so I thought we had a chance. I told John to ride her however he wanted and I guess he knew what he was doing. It worked out that way at Pimlico last year (in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan), and she won. She likes to run from off the pace, but you can't really do that in California."

Fiftyshadesofhay has raced predominantly in California for Baffert, who made the decision to ship her east for this year's La Troienne (gr. I) at Churchill Downs but then decided to skip the race after the filly did not train to his expectations.



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