Blinkers May Boost Famished's Chances in Palm Beach
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coady Photography
South Bend wins the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs
While jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.'s attention will be focused on winning the $20 million Saudi Cup with Mucho Gusto, back home in the United States he could play a big role in winning a grade 3 turf stakes.
On Feb. 1, when Ortiz rode Famished in the Dania Beach Stakes, he returned from a fifth-place finish and suggested to trainer John Kimmel that he equip the 3-year-old with a set of small blinkers in his next start.
Kimmel heeded that advice, and Feb. 29, a few hours after Ortiz rides in the Saudi Cup, Manny Franco will pick up the mount on Tobey Morton's Famished and will look to reap the benefits of Ortiz's insight when the son of Uncle Mo runs in the $150,000 Palm Beach Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park while equipped with blinkers.
"I thought he had a pretty good run last time. Irad made the suggestion to try a set of cheater blinkers on him because he was always trying to niggle him to try and keep him in contact with the field," Kimmel said. "He got beat a length for the whole thing and had a little bit of trouble, but he said maybe that would kind of keep him up on the bridle and make it a little easier where he wouldn't have to overcome so much. He's worked twice with the blinkers and worked lights out with them, so we'll see what he does on Saturday."
Famished rallied from seventh in the Dania Beach but fell 1 1/2 lengths shy of the victorious Field Pass, who did not return for the Palm Beach. It was Famished's second start on turf.
A winner of one of five starts, he landed post 10 for the 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds.
Fourth behind runaway winner Independence Hall in the Nashua Stakes (G3) on dirt between his two turf starts, Famished was purchased by Morton for $375,000 from the Wavertree Stables consignment at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The first foal out of the Survivalist mare Ravenist, he originally went to JSM Equine for $225,000 from the consignment of breeder Michael Byrne at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Sagamore Farm's South Bend was third in the Dania Beach, losing by a neck and head, and will break from post 7.
Trained by Stanley Hough, South Bend made his turf debut in the Dania Beach after making his first five starts on dirt, a stretch of races that included a win in the Street Sense Stakes and a fourth in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes.
The son of Algorithms bred in Kentucky by Highclere out of the Old Trieste mare Sandra's Rose is one of two stakes winners from his dam's eight foals to race. Sagamore bought him for $70,000 from the Pick View consignment at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
South Bend will also add blinkers.
The field of 12 also includes grade 1-placed Vitalogy, who will be making his 3-year-old debut.
The son of No Nay Never started his career in Europe with a maiden win and a fourth in a group 3 stakes. He was then bought by a group that grew to Qatar Racing Limited, Marc Detampel, and Bottle Rocket Stable and shipped to North America to finish third in the Summer Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine.
After closing with a rush from 14th in the Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (G3T) and winding up second for new trainer Brendan Walsh, Vitalogy moved on to the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park but was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America (G1T) by the team of veterinarians at the world championships.
The son of the Arch mare Sylvestris is the only stakes-placed runner from his dam's four foals to race.
The draw for the Palm Beach was not kind to Vitalogy and jockey Javier Castellano as they landed post 12 and face a tricky trip with a short run to the first turn.
The field also includes four starters who are exiting maiden special weight wins at Gulfstream Park: Calumet Farm's Bee Catcher, Skychai Racing and Sand Dollar Stable's Fancy Liquor, Centennial Farms' Life On Top, and Mike Borchetta, Martha Borchetta, Scott Borchetta, and Martin Silver's Sassy But Smart.
Bee Catcher, a homebred son of English Channel , graduated in his fourth start, scoring by a length in a Jan. 18 race for trainer Graham Motion.
"I was really pleased with his run last time. This is going to be a big step up for him, obviously, but looking at the form there's quite a few horses like him that just broke their maiden," Motion said. "The timing is good, and I just thought it made sense to put him in there."
Fancy Liquor led throughout in a Feb. 2 debut win for trainer Mike Maker, and Life On Top rallied from seventh to prevail by a neck Jan. 18 in his second start and first on turf.
Life On Top, a Carpe Diem colt, posted the faster time of the two Jan. 18 one-mile maiden races, covering the mile in 1:34.56 while Bee Catcher needed 1:36.21 two races earlier.
The Kendall Condie-trained Sassy But Smart, a son of Overdriven, was a 2 1/4-length winner of a Feb. 13 mile maiden race for Florida-breds.
Also in the field are LNJ Foxwoods and NK Racing's Tiesto, who was sixth last year in the Awad Stakes, and Summerplace Farm's Fenwick Station, who was second in the Gainesway Farm Juvenile Stakes at Kentucky Downs as a 2-year-old.
The Palm Beach will be the fourth race on a 14-race card and the first of nine graded stakes on the program.
Abscond Heads Herecomesthebride
Also on Saturday's card, Apogee Bloodstock's Abscond, a grade 1-winning daughter of Blame , is scheduled to meet 11 other 3-year-old fillies in the $150,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T).
"She's shown a lot of promise all the way through," trainer Eddie Kenneally said. "She had breezed really well before her first out, and it turned out she went and won professionally the first time we ran her. She hasn't run a bad race in her lifetime. All of her races are good, and she's coming into this one in very good shape."
Abscond won the one-mile Natalma Stakes (G1T) on yielding Woodbine turf in September, earning a trip to Santa Anita Park for the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). She became involved in a contested pace while racing between horses and faltered late to finish seventh, 4 1/2 lengths behind victorious Sharing.
Abscond trains before the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park
"She was in the middle of two horses, and they may have been going a little quick the first part of the race, and it hurt us in the stretch," Kenneally said. "But she hung in there and showed some courage and didn't get beaten by much. She bounced back nicely and ran a good race in the Ginger Brew and got beaten less than a length after not a great trip."
Abscond stumbled at the start of the 7 1/2-furlong Ginger Brew Stakes last out Jan. 4, rated off the pace, and finished with energy to come within three-quarters of a length of victorious She's My Type while finishing third.
Abscond will be ridden for the first time by Tyler Gaffalione in the 1 1/16-mile Herecomesthebride.
"She's very versatile. This is a mile and a sixteenth—the farthest she's gone so far is a mile—but I think it's well within her range," Kenneally said. "Her pedigree says she should have no problem with that."
Mary Ann Charlston's JPMorgan Chase Jessamine Stakes (G2T) runner-up Witez also enters off a narrow loss in her 2020 debut. The daughter of More Than Ready pressed the pace in a Jan. 31 allowance optional claiming race and moved to the lead in the stretch, only to be caught late by Stuart Janney III's In a Hurry, who is entered in the Herecomesthebride by trainer Shug McGaughey.
Teresa and David Palmer's Cheermeister, a frontrunning winner of the Feb. 1 Sweetest Chant Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream last time out, seeks another graded score. The Armando De La Cerda-trained daughter of Bodemeister sustained her first loss in the Ginger Brew, in which she finished far back after breaking through the gate prior to the start.
Maker will be represented by David Staudacher's Sunset Promise and Paradise Farms and Parkland Thoroughbreds' Stunning Sky. Sunset Promise is a multiple stakes-placed daughter of Broken Vow who recovered from early bumping to close from 11th to fourth in the Ginger Brew last time out. Stunning Sky, a daughter of Declaration of War, won a Jan. 9 allowance optional claimer after being claimed for $50,000 in her previous start.
Trainer Mark Casse and owner Gary Barber will also be represented by a pair of fillies—Declarationwarrior and Lucky Polly, both of whom are coming off maiden victories.
Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 29, 2020, Race 4Entries: Palm Beach S. (G3T)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Tiesto (KY)
Junior Alvarado
118
William I. Mott
6/1
2
2Bee Catcher (KY)
Edgar S. Prado
118
H. Graham Motion
15/1
3
3Street Ready (KY)
Chris Landeros
118
Ian R. Wilkes
12/1
4
4Sassy But Smart (FL)
Joe Bravo
118
Kendall Condie
15/1
5
5Fancy Liquor (KY)
Florent Geroux
118
Michael J. Maker
5/1
6
6Allgorilla (KY)
Silvia Zapico
118
Jaime Mejia
30/1
7
7South Bend (KY)
Julien R. Leparoux
122
Stanley M. Hough
4/1
8
8Life On Top (KY)
Rajiv Maragh
118
James A. Jerkens
12/1
9
9Turn of Events (KY)
Paco Lopez
118
Michael J. Maker
15/1
10
10Famished (ON)
Manuel Franco
118
John C. Kimmel
10/1
11
11Fenwick Station (KY)
Tyler Gaffalione
120
Eddie Kenneally
6/1
12
12Vitalogy (GB)
Javier Castellano
118
Brendan P. Walsh
9/2
