cait
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Post by cait on Apr 13, 2015 12:44:14 GMT -5
think he's there for the classic - isn't this the first time he's travelled?
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Apr 14, 2015 0:20:07 GMT -5
Not yet. Wednesday
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cait
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Post by cait on Apr 15, 2015 11:57:09 GMT -5
Moreno’s speed to be on display in Charles Town Classic
By Jim Dunleavy
DRF
When the gates open for the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic on Saturday, it won’t be difficult to find Moreno. He’s going to be the horse on the lead.
“If you are in front of us early, you are probably going too fast,” trainer Eric Guillot said.
Moreno’s two biggest wins have come in the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga last summer and the Grade 2 Dwyer at Belmont Park in 2013. Both were accomplished on the front end.
While extremely talented, Moreno has his quirks, and in 25 starts has eight seconds and only three wins. Moreno’s runner-up efforts include the Travers, Woodward, Suburban, and Pennsylvania Derby. He has earned more than $2 million.
“This horse never gets tired, but he waits on horses,” Guillot said. “That’s why I’ve got him in the blinkers, with the ear plugs. That’s why it took him 10 starts to break his maiden. You ever see a horse take 10 starts to break his maiden and then win more than $2 million? It is rare, very rare.”
Moreno had chips removed from both of his front ankles following the Breeders’ Cup Classic last fall. In his first start back, he finished second, beaten 4 1/2 lengths by Shared Belief, in the Santa Anita Handicap.
“He’s got that much talent,” Guillot said. “That’s how I could bring him off a four-month layoff to finish second going a mile and a quarter in the Big Cap.”
Moreno’s bad habits might have cost him the win in his second and most recent start of the year, the New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds. Moreno relaxed just off the pace, took the lead outside Albano turning into the stretch, and opened up about a one-length lead in upper stretch. It looked like the race was over.
But in midstretch, Albano started to come on again. He put his head in front of Moreno’s from the inside nearing the wire just as 22-1 longshot Call Me George went by on the outside for a half-length upset. The final furlong went in a slow 14.24 seconds. In retrospect, Moreno might have come back to the pack more than he was run down.
Cornelio Velasquez will ride Moreno for the first time in the Charles Town Classic, and you can guess what Guillot’s instructions will be.
“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “I don’t want him relaxing off any cheap speed. I want him on the lead.”
Moreno finished third to Imperative and Game On Dude in last year’s Charles Town Classic after running an erratic race. On the lead early, he relinquished command to Game On Dude on the second turn and then dropped several lengths off the pace. He was running hard again at the finish.
Guillot said Moreno might have been bothered by shadows that night and is glad this year’s Classic will be run during the day. Guillot, 53, also said 1 1/8 miles over the six-furlong Charles Town track suits Moreno.
“Charles Town is good for this horse because it is three turns and a short stretch,” he said. “He gets going, and he doesn’t know when to start waiting.”
Since Moreno is a Grade 1 winner, Guillot and owner-breeder Mike Moreno will split a $50,000 bonus for running in the Classic. Guillot planned to ship Moreno from California to Kentucky on Wednesday and then van him to West Virginia on Thursday.
Guillot plans to freshen Moreno after the Charles Town Classic. His major summer goal will be a defense of his Whitney title.
“I’m going to give him two months off and then start pointing him to the Whitney,” he said. “He’ll run before that, but the Whitney is the goal. How good would that be?”
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Post by Evelyn on Apr 15, 2015 20:48:00 GMT -5
CC - Does Mary's horse have a chance?
Eight to Tackle Shared Belief in CT Classic
By Tom LaMarra
Bloodhorse
Eight foes will line up to take a shot at Shared Belief, arguably the top older horse in North America, in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic (gr. II) April 18 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.
The Classic, a 1 1/8-mile event for 4-year-olds and up around three turns on the three-quarter-mile track at Charles Town, is the 12th race on a 13-race card that begins at 12:45 p.m. EDT and includes six other stakes, an overnight handicap, and a lucrative starter allowance event. Post time for the Classic is set for 6:05 p.m.
The first five editions of the Charles Town Classic have been run at night at the West Virginia track.
Shared Belief, owned by Jungle Racing, KMN Racing, Joshua Litt, Alex Solis II, George Todaro, and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, drew post 4 in the Classic and will be ridden as usual by Mike Smith, who won the race in 2013 aboard now-retired Game On Dude. Shared Belief, who has 10 wins in 11 career starts, will carry high weight of 123 pounds and spot his rivals only three to five pounds as the lone winner of a grade I stakes so far this year.
Shared Belief, who won the March 7 Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) in his previous start, was to arrive at Charles Town April 15 to get a feel for the local surface. The champion 2-year-old male of 2013, Shared Belief will make his first start outside of California, where he is based at Golden Gate Fields.
The versatile 4-year-old Candy Ride gelding will be a heavy favorite given his class and superior record. The only other entrant that has consistently raced at the top level in the United States is Southern Equine Stable's Moreno, who drew post 6 and will be ridden by Cornelio Velasquez at 118 pounds.
Hollendorfer said he has no idea how Shared Belief will handle the three-quarter-mile racing surface, but he doesn't seem concerned.
"We have a very athletic horse that has a big turn of foot. We think he should be able to handle that and get the job done, or we wouldn't come. I talked to Mike Smith, and he was quite confident the horse would do well there. (Smith) has done well there himself, so I tend to think he knows what he's talking about."
Hollendorfer said choosing to run Shared Belief at Charles Town wasn't a difficult decision.
"The main consideration was it's a lot bigger purse than anybody else is offering," Hollendorfer said. "Number two, the weight is 123, and that was quite attractive to us. Number three, timing-wise, it gave me an extra week to work with the horse and get him ready for another race. Our horse is doing very well, and we're grateful."
Trained by Eric Guillot, Moreno finished second, 4 1/4 lengths behind Shared Belief, in the Santa Anita Handicap, and in his last start March 28 finished third, beaten a half-length, in the New Orleans Handicap (gr. II) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. The 5-year-old Ghostzapper gelding finished third in last year's Charles Town Classic behind Imperative and Game On Dude.
Known for his speed going longer distances, Moreno has produced major efforts in his career, including a wire-to-wire victory in the 2014 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga Race Course. Last year he entered the Charles Town Classic after a five-month break; this year Moreno has had two races in a little more than a month heading into the race.
Guillot believes his horse has a shot to defeat Shared Belief. The fact Moreno has raced well at Charles Town certainly won't hurt his chances.
"On that particular track, at that particular moment, for that kind of money, if they ride him right, yes, he has got that kind of ability," Guillot said. "Three turns and a short stretch—that's Moreno's type of racetrack."
It appeared Moreno would be the one to catch among the eight horses expected for the Classic, but Richard Hackerman's Warrioroftheroses (Travis Dunkelberger, post 8, 118 pounds) was a late entrant for trainer Damon Dilodovico. Though he never has won a stakes, the 6-year-old A. P. Warrior gelding is a confirmed front-runner who enters the race off of a second-place finish in a Laurel Park allowance race and certainly could make things interesting early in the Classic.
KM Racing Enterprise's Imperative, who won last year's Charles Town Classic from off the pace at 26-1, is back for more. Last year the 5-year-old Bernardini gelding came into the Classic off of a mediocre finish in the Santa Anita Handicap, and will do so again this year for trainer George Papaprodromou.
Imperative hasn't won since his effort last year at Charles Town, though he did finish third in two grade I stakes in California, where he is based. Alonso Quinonez has the call from post 9 at 118 pounds
Charles Town Classic S. (gr. II)
Hollywood Casino At Charles Town Races, Saturday, April 18, 2015, Race 12
1 1/8m
Dirt
$1,500,000
4 yo's & up
6:05 PM (local)
1 Looking Cool (KY) Walter De La Cruz 118 Marcus Judy
2 Vyjack (KY) Jose Montano 118 Rudy R. Rodriguez
3 Street Babe (KY) Joel Rosario 120 Michael Dilger
4 Shared Belief (KY) Mike E. Smith 123 Jerry Hollendorfer
5 Page McKenney (PA) Horacio Karamanos 118 Mary E. Eppler
6 Moreno (KY) Cornelio H. Velasquez 118 Eric J. Guillot
7 General a Rod (KY) John R. Velazquez 118 Todd A. Pletcher
8 Warrioroftheroses (NY) Travis L. Dunkelberger 118 Damon R. Dilodovico
9 Imperative (KY) Alonso Quinonez 118 George Papaprodromou
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cait
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Post by cait on Apr 16, 2015 17:01:20 GMT -5
well - page mck has been really good this year (2 for 2 - both stakes) - he's maybe a late developer - maybe they just want to see how good he is - or maybe they're shooting for place or show with that purse - will use in boxes - she's an excellent horsewoman who has a long history of success locally
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Post by Evelyn on Apr 18, 2015 14:56:42 GMT -5
She and Karamonas had a winner at Pimlico earlier
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 17:14:00 GMT -5
i have said for the last year and a half that bayern and shared belief were the two best horses in training in this country, in no particular order, and im not changing that opinoion. BUT 1/9 is a ridiculous price. what do these people think when they bet their money? im not picking him to lose like someone else is, but i sure as hell wouldnt bet him at that price either.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2015 17:18:08 GMT -5
and that is why you NEVER take 1/5 or 1/9 on any horse in any race.
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Post by Evelyn on Apr 18, 2015 17:51:46 GMT -5
hey CC - She gets a nice check for 3rd!
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