Friday, May 18, 2012
Contact: NYRA Press Office
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- Albertrani to send out Zo Impressive in G1 Acorn, Sahara Gold in G2 Sands Point
- Hard Mystery, fresh off 27-1 upset in overnight stakes, probable to make graded stakes debut in Acorn; 7-year-old mare Frivolous Buck set for
- Hit It Rich looks to acquire additional wealth in G2
- Fields forming for G1 Met Mile, G1
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Tom Albertrani will have two opportunities to win a graded stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Memorial Day, May 28 as he will likely run Zo Impressive in the Grade 1 Acorn and Sahara Gold in the Grade 2 Sands Point.
Zo Impressive will enter the Acorn off a second, beaten 6 ½ lengths, to Grace Hall in the Grade 2, 1 1/8-mile Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 31. The Live Oak Plantation homebred will be cutting back in distance for the Acorn, a one-mile race around a single turn.
“It was a good effort,” Albertrani said of Zo Impressive’s performance in the Gulfstream Park Oaks. “It was her first time around two turns. I was very pleased with her effort as she was second to Grace Hall. It was no disgrace. We still thought there was a lot of improvement we could see from her going into that race.”
Zo Impressive made two starts at Gulfstream prior to the Gulfstream Park Oaks, debuting a 6 ¼-length winner going six furlongs on January 22 and drawing off to a 4 ½-length score in a one-mile allowance on February 25.
“The Acorn is a one-turn mile, and she’s won at that distance, too,” noted Albertrani. “She’s doing very well, and we are looking forward to getting her back on track. She has a good race record so far, and we hope to see her continue and get to win a Grade 1.”
Zo Impressive, by Hard Spun, will attempt to emulate her half-sister Zaftig, who won the 2008 Acorn. Their dam, Zoftig, was victorious in the 2000 Grade 1 Selene at Woodbine.
According to NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes, the Acorn is also expected to attract Aubby K, a 9 ¾-length winner of a Gulfstream optional claimer on March 25; Contested, victorious in the Grade 3 Eight Belles on May 4 at Churchill Downs; Hard Mystery, heroine of Belmont’s Inside Information overnight stakes on April 28; and Reneesgotzip, who took a Betfair Hollywood Park allowance on May 4. Funny Proposition, Lady Cohiba, and On Fire Baby are questionable.
The 1 1/16-mile Sands Point will be the first start on turf for Darley Stable’s Better Lucky, who in her most recent start won a 6 ½-furlong optional claimer by 5 ¼ lengths in the mud on May 2 at Belmont. In her lone route attempt, she was third in the Busher on February 25 at Aqueduct.
“With her having liked the off going, there’s a chance she’ll like turf as well,” said Albertrani of the daughter of Ghostzapper. “She fits well in the race. It’s kind of an experiment, but going back to Busher she put in a big run on the turn and she flattened out. She ran like a turf horse that day, and her pedigree suggests she can run on it.”
The list of probable fillies for the Sands Point also includes Firehouse Red, Kitty Wine, Modulate, Preach Tome Daddy, Regalo Mia, and Somali Lemonade.
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Hard Mystery could have the chance to prove her 27-1 upset in
Owned by R.A. Hill Racing Stable and trainer George Weaver, Hard Mystery has won three of her last four starts, having taken a starter stakes on January 19 and a starter allowance/optional claiming event on February 24 prior to her last-of-six finish in the Limit overnight stakes on March 14, all at Aqueduct.
“People have bad days, and so do horses,” said Weaver’s assistant, Blair Golen, of Hard Mystery’s performance in the Limit. “That’s pretty much all it was.”
The disappointing effort appears to have been an aberration as she prevailed by a widening 5 ¾ lengths in the Inside Information, which was contested at the Acorn’s one-mile distance.
“She likes a pattern, and last time everything came into place with her works and she had a better set up to do well,” said Golen. “She’s on the right track, and if we feel like she can compete then we’ll enter her. She did it easily [in the Inside Information] – she had to put in a little effort, but it’s not like [jockey] Eddie [Castro] had to really get after her. She’s hopefully going to work one more time, and if we feel like it’s a safe spot we’ll try to make it.”
The Weaver barn also plans to have Dr. Gerardus Jameson’s Frivolous Buck, a 7-year-old mare, in the May 27 Mount
“She’s training great, she’s sound, and we just used that race as a prep race,” said Golen. “She ran great. Yeah, she was sixth, but she missed it by what? Two lengths? We’re just going on with it. She’s eating good and looks good, and she loves her job.”
Gitchee Goomie, Hessonite, Lisa Jean, and Rogue’s Jewel are also probable for the
New York-bred males have their own turf feature next Sunday at
Also expected for the Kingston is last year’s Grade 3 Hill Prince winner Street Game, along with Abilio, Fizzano, Lubash, Minnie Punt, Mr. Vegas, Pocket Cowboys, and Writingonthewall. East of Danzig was listed as possible.
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Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, who won the Grade 3 Fort Marcy on May 5 with Boisterous, will attempt to win another graded stakes on turf at
Hit It Rich concluded her 2011 campaign with a victory in the Grade 3 Long Island Handicap in November at Aqueduct, then made two starts at
Following the Orchid, McGaughey considered running Hit It Rich in Keeneland’s Grade 3 Bewitch on April 26 before deciding to await the
“I elected to not take her to Keeneland and run her in that race,” said McGaughey. “I freshened her, and she is doing really well now.”
With Hit It Rich’s
“She has speed, so she should be able to dictate what’s going on,” said McGaughey. “I think she wants [longer] races. We have the
Expected to face Hit It Rich in the
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Headlining a stellar card on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28 is the Grade 1, $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap for 3-year-olds and up. The Met Mile roster is expected to include many of the top horses in the older male division, including the 1-2-3 finishers in this year’s Grade 1 Carter Handicap – Jackson Bend, Caleb’s Posse and Shackleford – and two winners of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap – To Honor and Serve (2011) and
Top older fillies and mares will also meet Monday in the Grade 1, $400,000 Ogden Phipps Handicap, run at 1 1/16 miles. Last year’s winner Awesome Maria rides a six-race win streak into the 2012 renewal and is expected to face dual Grade 1 winner It’s Tricky, who is undefeated in a pair of Grade 2 starts so far this year. Juanita, winner of the Grade 2 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Down on May 4 is expected to join those two, with Afleeting Lady, Nefertini, Pachattack and She’s All In listed as possible for the race.
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