Saturday, April 23, 2011
Contact: NYRA Press Office
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NYRA NOTES
- Haynesfield tunes up for April 30
- Caixa Eletronica, Christmas for Liam will step up in class for Westchester
- Convocation on target for Westchester
- Stormy's Majesty triumphant in 4-year-old debut; 'Met Mile' under consideration
- It's Tricky back at
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Belmont Park's stakes program kicks off April 30 with the 82nd running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Westchester and multiple graded stakes winner Haynesfield tuned up for his 2011 debut in the one-mile race with a five-furlong work in 1:00.43 over Belmont's main track.
The move was the fastest of eight at the distance over the "good" main track, and marked the fourth straight bullet move for Turtle Bird Stable's 5-year-old son of Speightstown since he returned to training in March.
"He went very well," said Toby Sheets, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, of Haynesfield. "As long as he comes out of it well, we'll be on target for the
Haynesfield, winner of more than $1.1 million, was 3-1-0 from six starts last year, including victories in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap along with a runner-up finish to
Also on Asmussen's worktab was
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Caixa Eletronica and Christmas for Liam, who appear to be hitting their best stride at the respective ages of 6 and 4, are expected to represent the Todd Pletcher barn in next Saturday's
Caixa Eletronica kept strong company this winter at
"Caixa Eletronica is a horse who caught my eye when he beat Mission Impazible in allowance race at Gulfstream, and he came back to finish second in the Mineshaft Handicap and win the New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds," said Pletcher. "We knew what kind of horse Caixa Eletronica was: a consistent horse who was worth the money."
The son of Arromanches will attempt to emulate stablemate Calibrachoa, who took the Grade 3 Toboggan and Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap after being claimed for $40,000 by Pletcher and Repole.
Like Caixa Eletronica, Christmas for Liam exits an optional claiming victory at Gulfstream, having drawn off to win by 7 ¼ lengths on April 3. He has made one other start this year, taking an entry-level allowance by 3 ½ lengths on February 27.
"Christmas for Liam is a big horse, and early on we felt like he'd improve as he got older," said Pletcher, who conditions the homebred for the Estate of Edward P. Evans. "He has matured physically and he has matured mentally, and his two allowance races this year have been impressive. He's the complete package as he is a horse who can carry his speed over a distance of ground. Everything he has done in those allowance races has indicated that he's ready to run in a graded stakes."
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Centennial Farms' Convocation, second in last year's Westchester, will return for another shot in Saturday's 82nd renewal of the race, said trainer Jimmy Jerkens.
A troubled third in his 2011 debut, when he checked sharply at the sixteenth pole to finish less than two lengths behind longshot El Kingdom at
"That was a good comeback race," said Jerkens of the one-mile optional claimer. "He would have won it, but he got in a lot of trouble."
The 5-year-old son of Pulpit, who is 3-5-1 from 13 starts with earnings of $306,345, is still seeking his first stakes win. At age 3, he was second and fifth behind Kensei in the Grade 2 Dwyer and the Grade 2 Jim Dandy, respectively. Last year was fourth to
"He's doing well," said Jerkens of Convocation, adding that Alan Garcia will be aboard for the
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Trainer Dominic Galluscio issued an upbeat bulletin the morning after Stormy's Majesty opened his 2011 campaign with a 1 ¼-length victory against New York-breds in yesterday's Noble Nashua at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"I was very happy with his race yesterday," said Galluscio, who trains the 4-year-old son of Stormy Atlantic for Robert A. Vukovich's WellSpring Stables. "He runs well fresh, but you never know if you have them fit enough."
Stormy's Majesty completed his sophomore season by winning the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap in November and by finishing second in the Grade 3
"There will be plenty of opportunities for him," said Galluscio. "I'm hoping he will be good enough to win some open stakes races."
Stormy's Majesty's next start could come in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at
"We'll see how things go," said Galluscio.
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Busher winner It's Tricky has rejoined trainer Kiaran McLaughlin's
"She got back about 10 days ago," Artie Magnuson, McLaughlin's
It's Tricky was undefeated going into the Gulfstream Park Oaks – a race in which R Heat Lightning romped by 8 ¼ lengths – having broken her maiden and taken an optional claimer at Aqueduct en route to the February 5 Busher.
"We're talking now about what's next for her, but we're not sure yet," Magnuson added.
McLaughlin and Darley teamed up for a win on Friday as Hockley returned from a seven-month layoff to take a second-level optional claimer on the Aqueduct turf.
A 4-year-old son of A.P. Indy, Hockley began his career with trainer Eoin Harty, picking up a pair of runner-up finishes on the all-weather surface at
Hockley turned to the turf as a sophomore, breaking his maiden on the grass at Santa Anita in March 2010 and earning an allowance optional claiming victory at
"We might try it again at some point. He trains well on it and he has some good back races on the dirt," Magnuson noted. "We don't want to get too smart, because we know he likes turf, but it's a possibility."
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