Ellis Park, Race 4 – Saturday, July 1, 2023
By 2YO EdgeMan
ELP4:070123 – Six panels over the dirt track. Ten colts will plan to walk into the starting gate to do battle. Eight have never done this before, one has been out one time and one has previously raced twice. We’ve got a solid field with Arrogate being the proud pops to two of these dudes. Good Magic, Tapit, Street Boss, American Pharoah, Medaglia d’Oro, and Spendthrift Farm’s terrific debut sire – Omaha Beach – each have one representative in here. Ken McPeek will sling the saddle across two of these juveniles and Mike McCarthy, Asmussen, McPeek, Riley Mott, Wilkes, Lukas and Brisset will do the same with one. This race promises to be an interesting and fun affair – let’s give it a closer look…
#1 – Feel the Magic (6/1) – Trained by Mike McCarthy, this First-Time Starter is by the reining KY Derby-winning sire, Good Magic. His dam was not a spectacular runner having only found the Winner’s Circle one time in five tries, cashing in for $31,000 in purse money. This colt sold for an even $100K earlier this year at OBS’s Spring 2YO sale (15/25) and he covered his under tack furlong in 10.1 seconds. Eight Churchill Downs workouts show on this fella’s tab with a bullet two back at a ½ mile – 47.8 seconds from the gate (1/39). He also has breezed five panels pretty briskly. James Graham will be the pilot from the rail.
#2 – Edified (6/1) – Another FTS, this colt will run in Courtlandt Farm’s colors and is trained by Asmussen. He’s a son of the great Tapit, out of a mare that was 2 for 9 while racing, banking $93,000. One of her two scores was done in late June of her two-year-old year when she was victorious at first asking at Delaware Park. She then actually won her next race, also at two, a black-type event at Mountaineer with an 84 E-Speed Fig, but then never won again. She’s also produced a few really nice foals, including a filly who won $619K going 5 for 14, with one of those being a Grade one win and also victory at first asking while two at Saratoga earning an 87 E-Speed Fig. Additionally, she tossed a gelding who pocketed $361K, winning 12 races (one stakes) in 40 starts and another that won 11 times. Today’s colt has worked nine times for Steve, the first six at Keeneland and the last three at Churchill, with two of the last three extended to five-furlong moves. His fastest was his last at KEE – on 6/4/23, he breezed 4f in 48 seconds flat (8/65). Joel Rosario gets the mount.
#3 – Top of the Street (3/1) – The morning line fav checks in with the most experience in the race having been out twice. His first outing, on 5/18/23 at CD, was ugly – an even seventh-place finish from nine runners. However, in his most recent run on 6/1/23, also at CD, he made a big move late to only miss by ¾ of a length and cash out as the runner-up. On the pedigree side, he’s by Street Boss from a dam that won over $300K while a runner, with a record of 4 for 20 and one of those wins was in black type company. She also produced a filly that won a MSW affair at age two in her third outing at Gulfstream Park and went on to win three more times for a total of $107K. Conditioner Tony Hamilton, Jr. has worked him two times, both at a ½ mile since his last race – the one two back was fast – 47.8 seconds (4/100). Brian Hernandez, Jr. gets the call to ride this guy for the third straight time.
#5 – Mentha (12/1) – Fine young trainer, Riley Mott, will tighten the girth prior to this first race for this American Pharoah colt. He’s out of a Medaglia d’Oro mare who was unraced but has produced a nice 3YO filly that won at Saratoga in her second race while two in September last year, flashing an impressive 91 E-Speed Fig. She went on the next month to run second in a Grade 2 event at Belmont and then competed in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf race where she finished a very respectable fifth, while logging an EBSF of 103. Mentha demanded $230K as a yearling last September at Keeneland (19/56). Riley has sent him out in the morning for ten works, all at Churchill’s Training facility, including stretching him out to five panels in his last tune-up. The other work times were solid, but none eye-popping. Martin Garcia saddles up.
#8 – Seize the Grey (8/1) – The Coach locked up his second two-year-old MSW winner this spring at ELP on 6/29/23 in only five tries. Typically, he doesn’t get 2YOs to win at first asking often, but he’s off to a fine start this year. This dude, the first of two in here by the late, great Arrogate, was a $300K yearling at KEE Sept last fall (by MyRacehorse) and his mom was only one for four ($43,000), but that one win was when she scored in November of her two-year-old year at Churchill Downs in her very first race – and notched a 92 EBSF. He rifled off two bullets in his first two, three-furlong works in May at CD – first, 36.8 seconds (1/9) and then 35.2 secs (1/4). Since then, he’s been out four mornings, all at CD and all at a ½ mile, with his times tapering back to a pure maintenance work last effort. Luis Saez has answered the call to be the reinsman for this First-Time Starter.
#9 – Liberal Arts (4/1) – The second of two Arrogate boys is a home-bred FTS trained by Robert Medina and was thrown by a mare who earned nearly $1/4 million while going 3 for 10 with all her victories coming at the age of two (3 for 3). Her first was at DMR in August of her 2YO campaign, then two straight stakes wins before she turned three, both at SA and both sported EBSFs of 92. Today’s runner logged his first morning work back on 4/8/23 at the Training Center in Lexington and Median has sent him there on eleven more occasions. He’s put up four bullets – his fastest was when he polished off a ½ mile in 47.6 seconds (1/10) and his most recent work was also a bullet. Tyler Gaffalione will slip his feet into the stirrups.
#10 Normandy Hero (5/1) – This colt was entered on 6/17/23 in Ellis Park’s R4, but he was ultimately scratched. He is a FTS by Omaha Beach, trained by Rodolphe Brisset and is a homebred for Naoya Yoshida. His mom is by Pioneerof the Nile, but she was winless on the track and only has thrown one other foal of racing age – a 3YO gelding that is 0 for 2 on his young career. Today’s runner has been getting his work in up at Keeneland, having been out ten times. Rodolphe has turned up the dial a bit in his last three moves, sending him 5/8th of a mile on 6/1/23 in 100:6 (1/13), then four furlongs a week later from the gate in 48 flat (2/60) and most recently, since his scratch, he notched a blazing bullet by traveling a ½ mile in 47.8 seconds (1/68). Flavien Prat will be the very capable pilot.
Pick – #10 Normandy Hero – there is no question that this is an extremely competitive race, but as always, we pick one and only one. The scratch two weeks ago is a bit of a concern, but his workout since being scratched shows that all is well. Omaha Beach has already notched three winners from seven starters and today may just make it an even four for eight. Autonomous Collective is the owner of this guy in the Game of Silks – I’m hoping that we all celebrate a win, together.
There are two, nice 2YO stakes races at Ellis Park tomorrow, but no Maiden Specials – so, that’s it for our ‘Picks, Plays and Pontification’ for the week. Of course, remember to catch our ‘Sum Up and Learnings’ for this past week on Monday – always right here on the awesome ‘Past the Wire’ website. Have a fabulous, winning weekend!
