Venture to face males (again) in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from Hollywood Park:
Nine days after Rachel Alexandra became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes, Ventura seeks to become the first female in 58 years to win the $250,000-added Shoemaker Mile on the Hollywood Park turf May 25. The Shoemaker will be the first Grade 1 stake of the meet.
While Rachel Alexandra made her first start against males in the Preakness, Ventura has had plenty of experience running with the boys. The 5-year-old mare has started four times against the other gender with two firsts and two seconds.
Ventura broke her maiden against males in her second start in June, 2007, at Folkestone, England. In her final start in England, she beat males in the listed Hyde Stakes on Polytrack at Kempton in November, 2007.
Since joining the barn of Bobby Frankel in the United States, Ventura has finished second against males twice in Grade I turf races at one mile. She finished 1 ¼ lengths behind Rahys Attorney in the Woodbine Mile in Toronto in September and a nose behind Gio Ponti in the Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March.
Only two females have won the Shoemaker in its 65-year history: Happy Issue in 1946 and Special Touch in 1951.
Ventura, a Juddmonte Farms homebred by Chester House, will make her second start on the Hollywood Park lawn. She finished second by a nose to Diamond Diva in the CashCall Mile last July after pulling herself up with the lead just before the wire.
A model of consistency, Ventura has recorded eight firsts and seven seconds in 18 starts for earnings of $1,659,470. She won the Grade I Just A Game Handicap at Belmont and the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita last year and the Grade I Santa Monica Handicap at Santa Anita in January. In her last start at Keeneland in April, Ventura finished second by a head in the Madison Stakes.
National earnings leader Garrett Gomez will ride the mare for Frankel. Other probable starters include: Hyperbaric (Victor Espinoza), Whatsthescript (Joel Rosario), U S Ranger (Rafael Bejarano) and the Richard Mandella-trained duo of Dixie Chatter (Tyler Baze) and Tiz West (Joseph Talamo).
U S Ranger, third-place finisher in the Inglewood Handicap, worked seven furlongs on turf in 1:29.60 Sunday for trainer Neil Drysdale.
Nine days after Rachel Alexandra became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes, Ventura seeks to become the first female in 58 years to win the $250,000-added Shoemaker Mile on the Hollywood Park turf May 25. The Shoemaker will be the first Grade 1 stake of the meet.
While Rachel Alexandra made her first start against males in the Preakness, Ventura has had plenty of experience running with the boys. The 5-year-old mare has started four times against the other gender with two firsts and two seconds.
Ventura broke her maiden against males in her second start in June, 2007, at Folkestone, England. In her final start in England, she beat males in the listed Hyde Stakes on Polytrack at Kempton in November, 2007.
Since joining the barn of Bobby Frankel in the United States, Ventura has finished second against males twice in Grade I turf races at one mile. She finished 1 ¼ lengths behind Rahys Attorney in the Woodbine Mile in Toronto in September and a nose behind Gio Ponti in the Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March.
Only two females have won the Shoemaker in its 65-year history: Happy Issue in 1946 and Special Touch in 1951.
Ventura, a Juddmonte Farms homebred by Chester House, will make her second start on the Hollywood Park lawn. She finished second by a nose to Diamond Diva in the CashCall Mile last July after pulling herself up with the lead just before the wire.
A model of consistency, Ventura has recorded eight firsts and seven seconds in 18 starts for earnings of $1,659,470. She won the Grade I Just A Game Handicap at Belmont and the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita last year and the Grade I Santa Monica Handicap at Santa Anita in January. In her last start at Keeneland in April, Ventura finished second by a head in the Madison Stakes.
National earnings leader Garrett Gomez will ride the mare for Frankel. Other probable starters include: Hyperbaric (Victor Espinoza), Whatsthescript (Joel Rosario), U S Ranger (Rafael Bejarano) and the Richard Mandella-trained duo of Dixie Chatter (Tyler Baze) and Tiz West (Joseph Talamo).
U S Ranger, third-place finisher in the Inglewood Handicap, worked seven furlongs on turf in 1:29.60 Sunday for trainer Neil Drysdale.
Comments
Churchill Downs _ Race 8 - #8 Gary D 4-1
this guy did not draw well for a 4 1/2 furlong race, that said...my notes from ObsMarch were win early type, fast, twitchy and size...trainer will have him cranked...he worked 20.3 for a 1/4 mile in that sale...live piece
If you are going to copy somebody else's work, please state the source.
Not trying to be a dick here, but give credit where credit is due. It's only fair.
Also, a bit of an update here. Gary D's 20.3 sale breeze was one tick off the show's best quarter-mile time of 20.2, which four horses tied for. The other Asmussen entered here (the one ridden by Bridgmohan) is named Bout, and those two worked in company together on May 12 and May 5. Based on the two common drills, the fact that Bridgmohan turns up on Bout, and the fact that Gary D is drawn out in the 8-hole with the race starting very close to the turn (as Zap alludes to), it's hard to give Gary D an edge over Bout.
i wasnt looking for credit and i never put a name out without permission