August 8 racing highlights: Weekend stakes wrap
Ardmore Bay took the Tyro at Monmouth Park. Photo by Paige Kelly/EQUI-PHOTO
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: Weekend stakes roundup
MONMOUTH PARK: ARDMORE BAY TAKES THE TYRO; RED LODGE WINS THE COLLEEN
The Elkstone Group LLC’s Ardmore Bay pushed past Follow the Rainbow and Bay Numbers late in the lane to capture the $60,000 Tyro Stakes by a length on Sunday at Monmouth Park before a crowd 11,308.
Trained by Thomas Morley, Ardmore Bay stopped the timer in 1:04.12 for the 5 ½ furlongs over firm turf and paid $8.20, $4.20 and $3.20. Bay Numbers completed the $45.60 exacta and returned $4.60 and $3. It was a nose back to Follow the Rainbow, who paid $2.40 to show in the field of six, comprised of four colts, a gelding and one filly, Lightning Dove, who finished fifth as the 9-5 favorite.
“They were going really fast when we broke,” said winning rider Victor Lebron. “I just put my horse into cruise control and let him be two or three off of them. I saw how he ran at Belmont and it was an impressive race. Around the turn, I had him rolling. We were three or four wide, but I just didn’t want to stop him because of how fast he was coming and I knew I had a lot left.”
A colt by Bluegrass Cat from the Candy Ride mare Collar, Ardmore Bay is now a perfect two-for-two, having broke his maiden against fellow New York breds at Belmont on July 4. He has earned $72,000 for his connections.
In Saturday’s $60,000 Colleen Stakes for two-year-old fillies, Hat Creek Racing and Head of Plains’ Red Lodge popped out of the gate first and never looked back, posting an impressive 3 ½ length victory.
Trained by Wesley Ward, Red Lodge went the 5 ½ furlongs over firm turf in 1:02.98 and returned $3, $2.10 and $2.10 as the odds-on favorite in the field of five 2-year-old fillies. Iron Mizz rallied to complete the $5.40 exacta and paid $2.40 and $2.10. It was another length and a half back to Harlands Thunder, who returned $2.10 to show.
“She is a very nice filly,” said winning rider Paco Lopez. “She had a great break and went to the lead. I hit her one time going around the turn and I knew I had a lot of horse left.”
A daughter of Midshipman from the Aldebaran mare Star Silver, Red Lodge was making her first start since the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 16. She has now won two of her four starts, good for earnings of $81,000.
CHARLES TOWN: BULLETS FEVER FIRES IN LEAVITT
How good is Bullets Fever?
That’s a question that remains to be answered, but for the moment, “pretty darn good” will suffice. The three-year-old Fiber Sonde colt posted a front-running, 1 1/2 length score in Saturday’s $50,000 Robert G. Leavitt Stakes for West Virginia-bred sophomores at Charles Town to run his record to a gaudy seven-for-seven with four stakes wins and $192,999 in earnings.
Bred in West Virginia by John McKee, Bullets Fever is a full-brother to the talented multiple stakes winner Hidden Canyon. He is out of the stakes-placed Indian Charlie mare Ghost Canyon. He is trained by Jeff Runco for owner David Raim.
On Saturday, Bullets Fever, under Arnaldo Bocachica, popped the latches in front and never looked back. Running time for the seven furlongs was 1:24.04. James Casey trainee Castle Bound was second, and it was 4 1/2 more lengths back to another Runco trainee, North Atlantic, in third.
PENN NATIONAL: EDGE OF REALITY RALLIES IN ROBELLINO
Edge of Reality entered Saturday’s $100,000 Robellino Stakes for Pennsylvania-breds at Penn National with just a single win in his last 14 starts: not an auspicious streak, especially for a horse who’d won six of his first 15 races, including a score in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones at Parx Racing.
But the six-year-old son of Lawyer Ron-Our Nancy Lee, by Touch Gold found the winning touch Saturday, rallying from eighth in a 10-horse field under Jeremy Rose to win by a length over 20-1 longshot Raging Market. Favored Granny’s Kitten was third. Running time for 1 1/16 miles over firm turf was 1:42.06.
Edge of Reality is a homebred for The Elkstone Group LLC and is trained by Graham Motion. He now has eight wins from 30 starts and career earnings of $640,620.
LOOK AHEAD: TODAY’S ACTION
- Tracks in action today: Delaware Park, Parx Racing.
- Delaware Park’s featured eighth race this afternoon is a $40,000 third level allowance contest that’s brought together an intriguing group of fillies and mares going 1 mile 70 yards on the turf. Lael Stables sends an entry of Marabea, trained by Graham Motion, and Inside Out, trained by Arnaud Delacour, which is lined as the 5-2 morning line favorite. The former was recently third against similar, while the latter ran fifth in the G3 Dick Memorial over the strip. But there are plenty of other options, too: Bobbi Grace (7-2) finished just behind Marabea in her last race and could turn the tables here; another Delacour trainee, Amizzen Grace (6-1), enters off a win and hasn’t been worse than fourth in her 10-race career. And for a live longshot, Divine Dawn (12-1) might be work a look; she’s never been worse than second in four career turf starts and comes out of the red-hot Larry Jones barn.
- Trainer Eddie Plesa ships in favored Sir Ray (5-2) for Parx Racing’s third race, the first of four $50,000 maiden special weight races on the day, this one for two-year-olds going five furlongs on the turf. Sir Ray was third on debut over the track and will have Frankie Pennington up. The Alan Goldberg-trained filly Balayage (3-1), by War Front, was sixth on debut at Belmont Park and will have Joe Bravo up as she takes on the boys. And trainer Greg Sacco sends out Mo Tramp (9-2), a son of hot sire Uncle Mo who has been training forwardly towards his debut today. Jose Ferrer is in the irons.
