Latest news with #FlavienPrat
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
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Nysos Brings Brilliance To Del Mar's San Diego Handicap
Nysos Brings Brilliance To Del Mar's San Diego Handicap originally appeared on Paulick Report. The California handicap division has been below par this year. East coast shipper Locked toyed with the best the West had to offer in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in March, but that was before Nysos made his is listed as the 3-5 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/16-mile G2 San Diego Handicap off a dominant effort in the G3 Triple Bend over seven Flavien Prat, who guided the colt to wins in the G3 Bob Hope and G3 Robert B. Lewis, flies in from Saratoga to ride. Baoma Corp's talented runner made his 4-year-old debut off a 15-month layoff in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes on Kentucky Derby day for trainer Bob Baffert. Despite the cross-country ship and sloppy track, Nysos finished second by a neck to returned to California and crushed three rivals in the Triple Bend on May 31 for his first victory since February four of his five races coming around one turn, the distance of the San Diego 'shouldn't be an issue,' trainer Bob Baffert explained to Daily Racing Form, adding that the colt's 'quiet' personality means the 1 1/16 miles should be in his wheelhouse. It helps that Nysos is sired by Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and out of a mare by Preakness winner Bernardini.'He's older now, he's filled out, he's got a great mind,' Baffert told Daily Racing San Diego is the local prep for the G1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 30. Nysos and G1 Haskell winner Journalism are already being talked about as the potential favorites for the 1 ¼ race.'I think we'll know how he comes out of it, what he does next,' Baffert told Daily Racing Form. Nysos' enigmatic stablemate Mirahmadi is expected to provide the San Diego with some pace.'He needs the lead,' Baffert told Daily Racing field also includes the 2021 San Diego winner Express Train, G3 winner Hall of Fame (now in the barn of Michael McCarthy), and the graded stakes-placed Judge Miller. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Randomized Shows Her Heels To Molly Pitcher Rivals
Randomized Shows Her Heels To Molly Pitcher Rivals originally appeared on Paulick Report. Klaravich Stables' multiple graded stakes winner Randomized got the jump on her five filly and mare rivals out of the starting gate and was never headed en route to a three-length victory in Saturday's Grade 3, $500,000 Molly Pitcher, one of five graded stakes on Haskell Day at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. Ridden by Flavien Prat for Chad Brown, a combination that won the 2022 Molly Pitcher with Search Results, Randomized covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.75. The 5-year-old mare by Nyquist out of French Passport, by Elusive Quality, set all the fractions, going :23.97 for the opening quarter mile, :47.25 for the half, 1:10;98 for six furlongs and 1:36.15 for the mile. The victory was the third of the card for Brown and second for Prat. The pair came back in the next race, the G2 United Nations, to win with another Klaravich Stables runner, Redistricting. Randomized paid $6 to win. Majestic Oops finished second, a nose ahead of Candied in third, with Dorth Vader fourth, Occult fifth, and Chilled sixth. Leslie's Rose, who was entered in and won Friday's G2 Shuvee at Saratoga, was scratched, as were Regaled and Power Squeeze. Randomized, breaking from the three post, got the early advantage over Dorth Vader, who broke to her outside under John Velazquez. Dorth Vader, coming off a win in the G1 Ogden Phipps at Saratoga, was lapped on Randomized around the turn and in the run down the backstretch, but when the field rounded the final turn and straightened away into the stretch, Randomized put her away and raced off to the victory. 'She's a mare that always is forwardly placed," said Prat. "She jumped well out of the gate and got herself in the lead and took it from there. She felt very good.' Bred in Kentucky by Cove Springs, Randomized was purchased for $420,000 from Four Star Sales at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She won the G1 Alabama and G2 Beldame before finishing second to Idiomatic in the G1 Distaff as a 3-year-old in 2023, then added the G1 Ogden Phipps last year at 4. She came into the Molly Pitcher off a fifth-place finish over a sloppy racetrack in this year's Phipps, her second start of the year after a close third in the G1 La Troienne, beaten three-quarters of a length, May 2 at Churchill her win in the Molly Pitcher, Randomized has six wins from 13 career starts. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Precocious' Obliteration In Good Order After Eye-Catching Sanford Blowout
'Precocious' Obliteration In Good Order After Eye-Catching Sanford Blowout originally appeared on Paulick Report. Leland Ackerley Racing's Obliteration impressed again when improving to 2-for-2 in Saturday's Sanford (G3), a six-furlong sprint for juveniles, during the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. Advertisement Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the Violence bay graduated by a widening 7 1/2 lengths sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on June 12 at Churchill Downs, and he upped that margin to 10 1/2 lengths at the Spa in a final time of 1:10.65 – his Beyer Speed Figure jumping from 77 to 91. 'He looks like he came out of it good,' said Scott Blasi, assistant to the first time Sanford winning Asmussen. 'He's just a very talented colt, precocious, and hopefully he will continue to improve.' Obliteration broke very sharply from post 2 under Flavien Prat and led every step of the way through fractions of :22.74, :45.56, :57.56 on the fast dirt while turning back the pressure from local Tremont (L) runner-up Blinging It Back to win in dominant fashion. 'He's always been very forward. He proved that in his first start, and showed that was no fluke by coming back and running better than that,' said Blasi. 'He broke so sharply and made it a two-horse race before pulling away.' Advertisement Local graded options for juveniles include the 6 1/2-furlong $200,000 Saratoga Special (G2) on August 2, as well as the seven-furlong $300,000 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful (G1) on September 1. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Obliteration Smashes Opposition In Sanford
Obliteration Smashes Opposition In Sanford originally appeared on Paulick Report. Leland Ackerley Racing's Obliteration was ultra-impressive when improving to 2-for-2 in Saturday's Grade 3, $175,000 Sanford, a six-furlong sprint for juveniles, during the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. Advertisement Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the Violence bay graduated by a widening 7 1/2 lengths sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on June 12 at Churchill Downs, and he upped that margin to 10 1/2 lengths at the Spa in a final time of 1:10.65. 'He's just a very special horse,' said Scott Blasi, assistant to the first time Sanford-winning Asmussen. 'He has a ton of class for a 2-year-old, very laid back and really good turn-of-foot. I definitely think he improved from his first race to this race.' Obliteration broke very sharply from post 2 under Flavien Prat and showed the way through an opening quarter mile in 22.74 seconds, while tracked by local Tremont (L) runner-up Blinging It Back, with a gap developing to Imagine John and Strategic Risk. The Jose Ortiz-piloted Blinging It Back stuck outside Obliteration's hip in the turn as the pair increasingly separated themselves from the rest of the field. Through the half-mile in 45.56, it was still just a half-length between the top two betting choices, but Obliteration was preparing to live up to his name once straightened for home. Advertisement 'He was very efficient out of the gate and after that, felt very in control,' said Prat. 'Around the turn, he waited a bit on horses, but as soon as I squeezed him and he went back to his right lead, he went on.' Obliteration surged in the stretch en route to his eye-catching victory over Blinging It Back. Imagine John finished another 3 1/4 lengths back in third and Strategic Risk completed the superfecta. Fistfulofmoney and first time starter Honey Dutch completed the order of finish. 'As soon as he swapped leads and went to his right lead, it felt like he extended himself well and made a good run,' said Prat, aboard for the first time in the afternoon, taking over for Erik Asmussen, the reigning Eclipse Award Outstanding Apprentice and Steve's son. Local graded options for juveniles include the 6 1/2-furlong Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special on August 2, as well as the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful on September 1. Advertisement Ortiz said the Hall of Famer Mark Casse-trained Blinging It Back got a good trip, but was just second best. Casse also sent out Strategic Risk for fourth. 'It was very nice. The two [Obliteration] broke good and I felt like it was a two-horse race, so I went after him,' said Ortiz. 'I felt like I did what I had to do. He was better than me and I was second best. I had a good trip, and he ran good.' Bred in Kentucky by Ocala Stud, Obliteration, a $200,000 purchase at the 2025 OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training out of the stakes-placed Master Command mare I'mclassyandsassy, is a half-brother to stakes-winners Sassy Beast and Pure Class, Grade 3-placed Big and Classy and stakes-placed Family Biz. Obliteration banked $96,250 in victory while returning $3.80 for a $2 win bet as the post-time favorite. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Verifire Clinches Maxfield In Quick Time To Keep Record Perfect
Verifire Clinches Maxfield In Quick Time To Keep Record Perfect originally appeared on Paulick Report. Verifire sat just off the pacesetters, poked his head in front at the top of the stretch with a three-wide move and then rolled down the Churchill Downs stretch to dominate Sunday's fourth running of the $239,685 Maxfield Stakes (L) by 2¾ lengths over Smoken Wicked and remain unbeaten in three starts. Advertisement Breaking from the post No. 9 in the field of 11 3-year-olds, Verifire tracked early leaders Captain Cook and Smoken Wicked, who set fractions of :22.36 and :44.56. Midway around the turn, Verifire swept three-wide to collar the leaders and hit the top of the stretch in front. He took command with three-sixteenths of a mile to run and held the field at bay for the fast victory in 1:20.77 for seven furlongs – only 0.33 off Groupie Doll's 2012 track record of 1:20.44. Flavien Prat rode the winner for trainer Brad Cox and owner John Stewart's Resolute Racing. 'We're very proud of his effort today,' Cox said. 'He's a perfect 3-for-3 and the record speaks for itself. He was able to prove his first two races were very legitimate against a solid field this afternoon.' Previously, Verifire broke his maiden at Colonial Downs in March and won a first-level allowance at Pimlico. His three victories have been by a combined 15½ lengths. Advertisement Verifire, the 5-2 favorite, paid $7.18 for the win. Smoken Wicked, second as the 9-2 third betting choice with Brian Hernandez Jr. in the saddle, outfinished Captain Cook by a length for second. Retribution was fourth and was followed by Speed King, Ancient World, Flood Zone, Kale's Angel, Furio, Max Got Excited and Normandy Coast. Dreaminblue and Perfect Force were scratched. Verifire is a son of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic out of the Smart Strike mare Ruby Trust. The $146,560 first prize boosted his career earnings to $223,960. He was bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds LTD. The Maxfield Stakes is named in honor of Godolphin's eight-time winner. Maxfield was a two-time Grade 1 winner and won his career finale in the 2021 Clark (G1) at Churchill Downs. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
