A Early Christmas Gift, Lentenor Racing Friday, December 23rd

Lentenor wins !

Setting a new track record in the process!

He went 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf in 1:40.95, sweet!

Chart:

http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/TAM122311USA7.pdf









(Thanks Mary and Greg for the photo and video!)


What a smart, mature, and very impressive race by Luis Garcia and Lentenor.

Jockey Luis Garcia:

“Everything came out perfect,” said a beaming Garcia. “He got a clean trip and we got him to do what we wanted. He was just cruising, cruising, cruising, then I asked him at the end and he did it. I knew I had the horse so I was really just the passenger. He is a nice, nice horse.”

Trainer Leigh Delacour:

“We entered him at Laurel before we came here but the race was off the turf and we scratched him, so this horse has been ready to run for more than a month,” Delacour said. “I think Luis rode a superb tactical race. Congratulations to the Jacksons for being very patient with this horse. All the parts came together today.”

Delacour said she expects the son of Dynaformer-La Ville Rouge to stay on the turf for the foreseeable future. “We tried him once this summer on dirt and he ran evenly, and you see today he finished his race well. When you see a horse show that turn of foot on the turf, it behooves you to keep him there.”

Thank you to Roy and Gretchen Jackson, Arnaud and Leigh Delacour, and all involved for having Lentenor ready for this race, both mentally and physically, bravo!


A wonderful Christmas gift for all !!!


Merry Christmas...






It has been ten weeks since we last saw Lentenor on the track, a seventh place finish at Keeneland back on October 9th.  The wait is over as Lentenor makes his return today at Tampa Bay Downs, racing in a $32,000 Allowance optional claiming race on the turf at a distance of 1 1/16 miles, post time is about 3:12 eastern time and is the seventh race of ten on today's card.  Lentenor has been stabled at Tampa for just over a month and has been training well there, having recorded three published works, all on the dirt with the latest having him cover five furlongs in a breezing time of 1:02.60. 

On a side note, for those wondering about Lennie's big brother Nicanor, he is also in Tampa and we should start seeing some recorded works from him very soon.  If all goes well, Nicanor should make his return to the track as a six year old in late winter/early spring.  Nicanor was given the time off since his last race back in May to have some time just to be a horse, call it a mental/physical vacation if you will. 

Lentenor (#4), who will officially turn five years old in just over a week on New Years Day, will be facing nine  rivals in the field of ten older runners.  Luis Garcia will have the mount on Lentenor, they drew the four hole to break from, which I believe it is a good spot for the two of them.  Luis rides quite often for Lentenor's trainer, Leigh Delacour, and should be a good fit for Lentenor (I hope).  The turf should be fine, as today's weather calls for sunny skies with temperatures around eighty degrees.  The field is a pretty big drop in class from Lentenor's last race at Keeneland and is reflected in the morning line odds, where Lentenor was made the second choice at odds of 7-2 with Beckham Bend being the favorite at 5-2 odds. 

While looking at the field, I do believe everyone will be chasing the seven year old gelding Riversrunrylee(#7), who will be making his 67th start and is coming off two straight wire to wire victories.  Both of the races were taken off the turf and run on the dirt at both Calder and Delaware Park.  The question for Riversrunrylee, can he get the distance?  I don't believe he will, and we will see him fade coming down the stretch.  As far as the morning line favorite, Beckham Bend (#8), the six year old colt will be making his first start in eight months, having last race in April when he finished second at Gulfstream Park in the Island Whirl Stakes.  I honestly don't see him being a factor after the long lay-off, I believe he will need this race and I don't see him finishing in the top three, we shall see.  The wildcard in the race is the lightly raced three year old gray, Red All Over (#3).  Making just his fifth start, Red All Over does have two wins, the latest coming at Churchill Downs in an Allowance race on the turf at a distance of a mile last month.  If he runs back to that race, he could easily win this race, and at a morning line of 12-1, one could get a decent price on him (even though I fully expect those odds to come down).  The one that scares me the most is the five year old gray gelding Blazen (#10).  Blazen will be breaking from the tenth hole, if he can overcome that, he will be a force to reckon with.  If we see Blazen near the top three early in the race, watch for him to make a strong move turning for home.  He has run very well on the Tampa turf course in the past and he might be side by side with Lentenor, while in a stalking position most of the race.  The question is, who will have the bigger kick at the end?  My guess is Lentenor, with Blazen right there to finish a close second.  Obviously, a lot depends on Lentenor getting a good trip and staying out of trouble.  If that happens, Lentenor should be in a stalking position behind Riversrunrylee most of the race and come charging at the end to get his third victory in twelve starts and give his connections and all of us fans a wonderful early Christmas present!

With all that said, I see Lentenor earning  a hard fought victory, with Blazen a close second, and Red All Over rounding out the top three (even though he could also pull out a victory).  Bottom line, just hope it is a safe race for all and they all come out of the race safely!

Finish 4-10-3-7


Tampa Bay Downs, December 23, 2011
Race 7, Post time 3:12, Allowance Optional Claiming $32,000, Purse $21,400
One And One Sixteeth Miles On The Turf (rail at 22 feet)

P.P.     Horse                       Jockey                   Trainer                 Odds

1.  Presumptive                  A. Serpa                 R.S. Lerman               20/1
3.  Red All Over                M. Guidry               W.M. Catalano           12/1
4.  Lentenor                  Luis Garcia           Leigh Delacour          7/2
5.  Bridging                        R.D. Allen, Jr.         W.R. Helmbrecht        20/1
6.  Feels All Right              I. J. Rosendo           Y. Belsoeur                 6/1
7.  Riversrunrylee               L.A. Gonzalez          J. Camillo                    5/1
8.  Beckham Bend             R. Homeister, Jr.      J.K. Chapman             5/2         
9.  Striking Hight                H. Villa-Gomez        D.H. Hinsley               20/1
10.  Blazen                        L.R. Goncalves         A. Pecoraro                6/1
11.  Terriffico                    W. Martinez              A.J. Exposito             12/1

















Thanks to my friend Dewey Ford for the following wonderful photos of Lentenor:












The race can be see on the following link live, post time is about 3:12 eastern time...

http://www.tampabaydowns.com/tampa-bay-downs-live-video.aspx


Godspeed Lentenor...

Margano Wins!!!! Morning Line Favorite Margano Racing Saturday, Post Time 3:21

Margano wins!!!!

What a perfect race by Margano and Javier!  Margano stalked perfectly, then came flying home at the end!  More to follow...

Link to replay on Bloodhorse:

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/GP/2011/12/10/7/race-7


Photo of Margano entering the winner's circle (thanks to Alex Brown on twitter!).


Link: http://twitpic.com/7rip3f




Margano, the morning line favorite (3/1 odds), will be racing Saturday on the Gulfstream turf in race #7, at a distance of 1 1/16 miles (rail at 96 feet), post time is about 3:21.   Thank you to Margano for his return, since it marks my return to racing since his last start (R.I.P. Royal Brush...).


As most Gulfstream maiden races, the field came up extremely tough for Margano.  Javier Castellano will be guiding Margano from gate #9 in the field of twelve two year olds.  Margano is coming off a very impressive second place finish at Belmont Park back on October 15th.  Since then, he has had six solid works, with the last two at Gulfstream Park, all on the dirt.  Margano will be making his third start, out of his three older brothers before him (Barbaro, Nicanor, Lentenor), he has reached his third start quicker then all of them.  Which, to me, shows that Mr. Tagg thinks very highly of him, both in his maturity level and fitness level.  In his last race, which was a 1/16 of a mile shorter and on a yielding turf course at Belmont Park, Margano almost went wire to wire, tiring a bit at the end to finish a very impressive second place.  I love the fact that he was given a short break and has been down in Florida training, I fully expect Margano to run a huge race.


What can I say about this field?  I see plenty of potential in many, but, a majority of the field lacks the experience to show that potential tomorrow.  Out of the twelve, I see three or four that could challenge Margano.  There is plenty of speed in the race, where Margano runs will greatly depend on his break and how well Javier can guide him into the first turn.  I love his post position and think it will leave Javier with plenty of options. 


After looking at the field, my ideal scenario would be for Margano to be about third or fourth into the turn.  I see Silver Max going straight to the lead from the rail, with Get Right challenging him from the get go.  Margano should follow right behind those two, with maybe No Play involved early.  If Javier can get Margano to rate comfortably behind the leaders, I think the leaders will fight each other and Margano should be able to take advantage of this rounding for home.  Shaun Washington is the biggest threat to Margano, but, breaking from the eleventh hole could give Margano just enough of a advantage in the stretch.  If Shaun Washington can get ahead of Margano before the first turn, it could be very tough for Margano to catch him in the stretch.   So, with that said, I will go with Margano to break his maiden, Shaun Washington to come in second, and Godard coming on strong to take third.  Just hope it is a safe race for all, and it sure will be nice to see the Jackson's join Margano in the winner's circle!



Here is a link to watch the race live, remember, post time is about 3:21 eastern time!

Link to Margano's race:  http://www.gulfstreampark.com/portal/gulfstream-video-and-xpressbet-racechat



Race #7, 1 1/16 Miles On The Turf, Maiden Special Weight, Two Year Olds, Purse: $51,000

P.P.   Horse                       Jockey                  Trainer                    Odds

1.      Silver Max               M. Cruz                D. Romans               4-1
2.      Get Right                 Edgar Prado         J. Jerkens                10-1
3.      Kanati Kid               A. Solis                 C. Gambolati            12-1
4.      No Play                    J. Sanchez             E. Gray                    20-1
5.      Arthur                      P. Lopez                K. Ritvo                   15-1
6.      Awesome Life         J. Castanon           P. Byme                   12-1
7.      Godard                    J. Leparoux           T. Proctor                 6-1
8.      Optionality              E. Trujillo              T. Proctor                 8-1
9.      Margano                 Javier Castellano    Barclay Tagg          3-1
10.    Little Nicholas        J. Alvarez                L. Olivares             20-1
11.    Shaun Washington  J. Bravo                  J. Jerkens               5-1
12.    Privacy Invasion     J. Leyva                  D. Fawkes               20-1

Also eligible:

13.    Superiority               L. Panici                 J. Hennessy            10-1
14.    Pikestar                   J. Castanon            M. Nihei                  12-1
15.    Saturday Classic     L. Contreras          M. Casse                  8-1
16.    Super Saturday       J. Castellano          M. Trombetta          8-1



Here are some videos and photos I took from Margano's last race, enjoy...









































































Godspeed Margano...

Margano Today at Belmont Park, Post Time 1:32

Twenty eight days after his debut, Margano will be making his second start at Belmont Park in race #2, post time is about 1:32 for the Maiden Special Weight race.  A field of eight are scheduled to be in the gate for the race, to be run at a distance of one mile on the Belmont turf.  The weather here all week has been miserable, with rain on and off since Wednesday.  I would say there is about a 50/50 chance the race will be kept on the turf, but it is extremely windy this morning, which might allow for the course to dry out enough, we shall see.  Forecast calls for the wind to continue all day, with partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60's.  As of 9:00 this morning, the turf is listed as "yielding", and race #7 and #10 have already been taken off the turf.  If the race is taken off the turf, it will be run at the same distance on the main track.


David Cohen gets the mount this time out on Margano.  Jose Lezcano, who rode Margano in his debut, will be on the morning line favorite, Liquidity Trap, trained by Chad Brown.  I really cannot criticize Mr. Lezcano too much on his ride on Margano first out, I will just say I am happy with the change to Mr. Cohen.  Mr. Cohen is currently tied for third in wins at the Belmont Fall meet, and this past Thursday he notched his 1000th career victory, doing it on the Belmont Park turf course.


I expect Margano to greatly improve of his debut race.  The one mile distance for this race is what his connections had hoped for in his debut, it just didn't come up.  I believe Margano's debut was just for him to experience everything for the first time, call it a extended work-out, if you will.  I fully expect a completely different race for Margano this time out.  I love the fact that it is a smaller field and that Margano drew the outside post.  While I don't expect Margano to be on the lead, I do expect him to break well and get to the front and stalk the leaders, and come flying home in a mad dash to the finish line. 


On paper, Liquidity Trap and  Knock Rock seem to be the ones to beat. Out of those two, Liquidity Trap is my biggest concern, coming off a second place finish on this course back on September 18th.  Knock Rock is coming off a fifth place finish in the Grade III Pilgrim Stakes here at Belmont two weeks ago.  Knock Rock is being raced too often and should be given a couple more weeks off, this being his third race in less then a month and fifth race in two months, too much for a growing two year old in my humble opinion.  The two wildcards are Festive Spirit and McKinley Square.  Festive Spirit is a first time starter, being ridden by Johnny Velazquez and trained by Todd Pletcher.  Mckinley Square will be making his second start for Darley Stables, ridden by Eddie Castro and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin.  Rounding out the field are Captain Fantasic, Matisse, and Odom.  Odom being trained by the disgraced Richard Dutrow, who was just banned for ten years this past week, which goes into affect on October 18th (pending appeal).  I will just say, I couldn't be happier on this judgement and I applaud the powers to be for getting rid of this so-called man.  I am sure Indian Tale feels the same way.  Wishing Odom and all a safe race today.


So with all that said, I will go with Margano winning the race, Liquidity Trap in second, and McKinley Square rounding out the top three.


So, I am now out the door for my trek down to Belmont Park on what could be an historic day.  If Margano breaks his maiden, I could be wrong here, but I believe it will be the first time in the history of the sport that four full brothers all registered wins.  If someone can prove me wrong, the first one who does so, I will gladly mail you out a full set of four Kentucky Derby glasses from Barbaro's Kentucky Derby Victory.  I haven't researched this at all, just going by my memory here, lol.  Good luck.



Race #2, Post time 1:32, $51,000 Maiden Special Weight, One mile on the turf

The full field:

1.  Captain Fantastic       Joe Bravo                 Nick Zito                     15-1

2.  McKinley Square      Eddie Castro             Kiaran McLaughlin       5-1

3.  Matisse                     Alan Garcia               James Lawerence         20-1

4.  Liquidity Trap            Jose Lezcano            Chad Brown                5-2

5.  Festive Spirit             Johnny Velazquez      Todd Pletcher              7-2 

6.  Knock Rock             Alex Solis                  Scott Schwartz            3-1 

7.  Odom                       Jeremy Rose              DICK Dutrow            12-1

8.  Margano                  David Cohen           Barclay Tagg             6-1












Godspeed Margano...

Lentenor Running Today at Keeneland!

In less then four hours, Lentenor will be giving it his all at Keeneland in race #10, post time is 6:15 eastern.

The race came up with a very tough field of twelve, to be contested on the Keeneland turf at 1 1/16 miles, Jesus Castanon will be on board  Lentenor for the first time.  Jesus has two mounts today, the first being in the race prior to Lentenor's.  In that race, he will be on Embur's Song, one of the favorites in the Grade One Spinster Stakes.  Lentenor is in good hands with Mr. Castanon, a very solid jockey.  Lentenor will be breaking from the one spot, with a large field, not an ideal spot for Lentenor at all.  Just hope he can save some ground while stalking the leaders, then he can find a hole to burst through, we shall see.

What can I say?  This field could easily be a stakes race, nothing will be easy for Lentenor today!  With a morning line of 12-1, he is a huge underdog against this field.  I look for him to run big, being third out, with a win and a third place finish, I have a gut feeling we will see a big effort from a physically and mentally fit Lentenor.  At least I hope so!

While not having time to look at the field in depth, the three that stand out are J.B.'s Thunder, Rescue Squad, and a colt I really like, Gautier. 

J.B.'s Thunder is looking to regain the form that earned him a victory in last year's Grade One Dixiana Breeders Futurity, a race that was on the Keeneland all weather surface.  Shaun Bridgemohan will once again get the mount, he has been on board J.B.'s Thunder in all four of his previous starts.  J.B.'s Thunder is the morning line favorite with odds of 3-1. 

Rescue Squad will be racing after almost a year lay-off, his last start coming last November at Aqueduct.  In that race, the five year old Dynaformer colt had the best race of his career.  He finished second in the Grade Two Red Smith Handicap, posting his best speed figure in fourteen starts.  Ironically, Jesus Castanon rode him on that day, Johnny Velazquez gets the mount today.  Rescue Squad is the fourth choice in the race with a morning line of 9-2 odds.

Gautier is a Peruvian star, having won the first four starts of his career in Peru.  This four year old colt will be making his fourth start stateside, having finished third in all those races.  I expect a huge effort today, and he is actually the colt I have finishing in the top two, along with Lentenor obviously, lol.  Manny Cruz will be on the Kenneth McPeek trained colt today, just like he has been in the three previous races.  Gautier is the second favorite today, with odds of 4-1.

Those are my three top contenders for Lentenor today, with a few others that could also step up and run huge.  One that I am hoping does well also is Oak Motte, a four year old colt that Edgar Prado will be riding.

Godspeed to Lentenor and Jesus today.  Hope it is a safe race for all, and Lentenor will be seen in the winner's circle moments after the race! 

The field:


1 Lentenor (KY) 4/C LA Jesus Castanon 120 Leigh Delacour

2 Redboard (KY) 3/G LA C J Lanerie 117 G W Simms

3 Rescue Squad (KY) 5/H L J R Velazquez 120 C R McGaughey III

4 Perregaux (KY) 3/C L J R Leparoux 117 N J Howard

5 San Antone (KY) 3/C LA J Graham 117 G R Arnold, II

6 Lighthouse Sound (KY) 4/G LA R A Dominguez 120 M J Trombetta

7 Gautier (KY) 4/C LA M R Cruz 120 K G McPeek

8 J. B.'s Thunder (KY) 3/C LA G K Gomez 117 A M Stall, Jr.

9 Oak Motte (TX) 4/C L E S Prado 120 K Gorder

10 Nikki's Sandcastle (KY) 4/G L R Maragh 120 D C Kassen

11 Fort Larned (KY) 3/C L R Albarado 117 I R Wilkes

12 Tonto Fontenot (KY) 4/G J K Court 120 B C Barnett

















Godspeed Lentenor...

Margano Debut Recap

First and foremost, my sincere apoligies for not getting Margano's debut recap posted earlier, sorry!  Just hope the old idiom "Better late then never" applies here?

When Margano first walked into the paddock area prior to his first career start, I was very impressed by his calm demeanor and that he was taller then what I had envisioned.  He almost looked sleepy as he walked back and forth in the paddock, quite different then his two older brothers on raceday.  One also needs to remember, Belmont Park is his home, and he his quite familiar with its paddock area.  While darker then his brothers, he sure had their kind eye and very impressive build. 

Going out to the track, his calm demeanor had started to change.  He was completely professional, but one could tell his eyes had become wider and I believe he knew what was about to follow, his first race of his career, a earlier career debut then his three brothers before him.  He was ready.

There had been some talk that maybe Margano had gate issues since he "practiced" going into the gate four times prior to his debut.  On this day, there were no issues at all, he went into the gate perfectly, very professional! 

When the gate opened, Margano broke cleanly and without incident, maybe just a step slow though.  About a hundred yards out, Jose did have to check hard due to a couple of colts in front of him.  Down the backstrech, Jose had the brakes on almost the whole time as Margano raced near the back of the pack, eighth out of ten in the field.  Picture yourself driving your car with the foot on the gas while also having a foot on the brake, this is how Margano was being ridden.  Then Margano was able to run freely for a short time, his stride was nice and fluid, but, once again, Jose needed to apply the brakes going into the far turn.  Midway into the far turn, Margano was now in last place, but only about ten lengths from the leaders.  At the top of the stretch, Margano was FINALLY allowed to run.  With a wall of horses in front of him, he needed to go six wide to get clear sailing.  Once this happened, it was wonderful to see Margano running freely down the stretch.  His ears pinned and his long stride gaining momentum with every step, he looked like he "got it".  He ended up finishing seventh in the field of ten, a field that was a very promising group of two year olds.  Our Entourage won the race, owned by Mr. Mike Repole and trained by Mr. Todd Pletcher, he will be one to watch as he progresses.

After the race, as Margano came back in fine order, I was quite impressed that he didn't seem to be breathing hard at all, while the other colts all seemed very winded.  Despite being checked back for almost the whole race, which drains energy, Margano wasn't phased in the least, quite impressive.  On paper, one sees that he finished seventh and it LOOKS disappointing, I don't see it that way at all.  While finishing seventh, Margano was only five lengths from the winner.  One also needs to remember, this is a learning process, and in this one race, Margano learned so much.  While I usually am not one to come down on a jockey, I will just say, I was not happy with Jose's ride at all, enough said.  While Margano did run greenly at times, his stretch run made me very excited about his future.  He will progress after this, and, look for the next race to be run complete differently, a race that he will be ridden with a chance to actually win the race.


Bottom line, it was a safe and impressive debut for Margano and he will be a force as he learns, race by race!

BTW, Margano had his third work since his debut earlier this morning (October 9th).  He went five furlongs in 1:00.02 on the fast dirt track at Belmont, first of five that worked.  I wouldn't be surprised if he has his second race very soon at Belmont Park.




Video replay of Margano's debut:






Video I shot of the stretch run:





Photos I snapped of the stunning Margano:











































































Photos my friend Elaine snapped (thanks Elaine!):























Godspeed Margano...