Ellis Park, Race 1 – Thursday, June 29, 2023
By 2YO EdgeMan
ELP1:062923 – Five panels over the dirt track. A short field of six colts who will all be making their first start line up to do battle. This one is ‘quality over quantity’ as there are a few really interesting dudes that are entered. The sires are top notch – Spendthrift’s All-World Into Mischief, Street Sense, Good Magic and Winstar Farm’s Good Samaritan – plus, Spendthrift Farm’s leading First-Crop Sire, Mitole. Mark Casse will saddle two, along with one each from Von Hemel, Lukas, Asmussen and Mike McCarthy. Let’s look at them all…
#1 – Thanks Frank (5/1) – This colt is a home-bred by Into Mischief out of a Tizway mare who was a quality runner in her day. She collected $297K in winnings going 4 for 20, including one win in a black-type affair at two. She also posted her first victory in her second outing as a two-year-old in August at Remington Park. Thanks Frank is her first foal. Trainer Donny Von Hemel has been putting some solid works into this guy, having been out in the morning at Churchill’s Training center six times, with two of them moves of five panels. Her best effort was her second work – on 5/26/23 she went 4f in 48.2 seconds from the gate (3/14). Martin Garcia will manage the reins.
#2 – Market Street (5/1) – D. Wayne sends out this colt who is sired by Street Sense and is from a Quality Road dam that was winless in six efforts on the track. This dude demand $275K from high bidder John Oxley when he went through the sales ring as a yearling last fall at the Keeneland September sale (11/52). He has a 3YO half-bro by Into Mischief that brought $700K as a yearling. Today’s competitor has worked six times, all under Churchill’s Twin Spires and her last four have all been a ½ mile. Her last was her best when she traveled in 48.4 seconds from the gate (6/35). Gabriel Saez gets the call to ride.
#3 – Magical Monarch (5/2) – The favorite in this short field is the first of two for Mark Casse and he sold for $85,000 at the KEE Sept Yearling sale last year (45/81). He is by the sire that gave us this year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Good Magic. Mama could not put her nose on the line first in four runs, but she’s produced a couple runners – a colt who banked $382K with a 8 for 31 record and won with an 81 E-Speed Fig in his second outing in November of his 2YO year in a MCL race at Gulfstream Park West and a gelding who sported an 8 for 39 record with earnings of $168K. His work tab shows eight, four furlong works at Churchill with his best happening on 6/1/23 when he went in 48 flat (7/44). Francisco Arrieta will get the leg up.
#4 – Ozone (3/1) – This fella hammered down for $375K as a yearling at Keeneland September 2022 making him the fourth highest-selling yearling from Mitole last year out of the 116 that sold. His dam won nearly $100K as a racer, going 3 for 14 with 2 of the 3 wins coming at age two. Asmussen is the conditioner and he’s put this guy through his paces having worked at Keeneland five times, before vanning down the Churchill for three more – two five-panel works and then turned back to three panels. His last at KEE on 6/6/23 was impressive – a ½ mile from the gate in 47.6 seconds (3/55). Hot 2YO jock, Luis Saez, will be his pilot.
#5 – Can Group (7/2) – Mark Casse’s second one in here is by Good Samaritan who auctioned well – $100K in last fall’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale (2/41). His Street Sense dam was unraced, but she did throw two good fillies. One made $364K for her owners with a gaudy record of eight wins from nine starts, including a G3 score and a perfect 3 for 3 as a two-year-old (two stakes). The other was a first-out winner in September of her 2YO campaign at Prairie Meadows. Today’s runner has only worked out five times, the first three at Keeneland before his last two 4f bullets at Ellis Park – 47 flat, handily from the gate (1/9) and 47.6 seconds breezing (1/7). Tyler Gaffalione has agreed to saddle up.
#6 – Gottaneedforspeed (4/1) – Accelerate sires this home-bred colt who comes from an ultra-successful dam by Boston Harbor. His 22-year-old mom cashed in for over $1 million as a race mare winning ten times in her 23 starts and one of those was a Grade 1 score, along with three G2 victories. As a broodmare, she has thrown a filly who went 4 for 14 bringing home $408K and a G1 of her own. Trainer Mike McCarthy has sent her out for seven morning efforts, all at Churchill, with her last being a fine bullet move of 47.8 seconds from the gate for four furlongs (1/39). Martin Chuan is assigned the jockey duties.
Pick – #4 Ozone – I think Mitole is going to get his third winner today to extend his lead in the race to become the top First-Crop sire. I really like his workout pattern with a brisk 4f move four back, then two five-furlong efforts before dialing him back to three panels (typical Asmussen). The ownership contingent is absolutely first class – Siena Farm and WinStar Farm. Add to all this the fact that Luis Saez is his guide for the day. No doubt, this should be a competitive affair, but I like this colt who is owned in the Game of Silks by 0x6..05fa.
And…two more tomorrow – one here at the Pea Patch and one at Big Sandy, so keep your eyes peeled for our ‘Picks, Plays and Pontification’ for those events. Until then, let’s get a winner here today! Thank you for your dedication and support of our work – we enjoy providing you with what we are convinced is by far the best information and insight on two-year-old Maiden Special Weight racing at the highest level.
