Bottas inside winning the 2025 Pilgrim, NYRA Photo
Christian Abdo
Dahman’s Grade 2-winner Bottas will make his sophomore debut and first effort since the Breeders’ Cup in Thursday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Pennine Ridge, a 1 1/16-mile inner turf test for sophomores, during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Miguel Clement, the Vekoma dark bay captured the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Pilgrim on October 3 at Belmont at the Big A, punching a “Win and You’re In” ticket to the one-mile Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, where he finished ninth 28 days later at Del Mar.
Bottas’ lone other start was a 2 1/4-length debut win over Thursday’s course and distance in August. That effort, which earned a respectable 78 Beyer Speed Figure, came in last-to-first fashion and in the opening race on Travers Day, stamping the colt as one to watch going forward.
“I’m very excited for this race. He’s a very good horse,” Clement said. “Hopefully, I didn’t get it wrong, that I didn’t leave him short. It’s that simple. He’s doing very well.”
The experienced racing driver Valtteri Bottas competes in Formula 1 for Cadillac. The equine Bottas [post 1, Manny Franco], a $300,000 purchase at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, is a half-brother to stakes-winner Parenting out of the winning Lemon Drop Kid mare Iadorakid, a half-sister to Canadian Champion Turf Male El Tormenta and Grade 3-winner Zero Tolerance.
Gary Barber’s Blackmail [post 5, Javier Castellano] upset the one-mile Woodhaven last out on April 25 at Aqueduct Racetrack. Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the Not This Time gelding posted a career-best 85 Beyer in the stalking victory under a heady ride from returning Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who rallied his charge up the rail to edge the favored Instability.
“It was a great ride by Javier, he sat on him and made the late run,” Casse said. “He’s by one of the hottest sires in the world and I find they tend to get better with age as well.”
Blackmail made his stakes debut in the Woodhaven following a pacesetting optional claiming effort in February at Tampa Bay Downs that saw him cross the finish line third, but disqualified to seventh for interference in the first turn.
Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation, Blackmail was a $150,000 purchase at February’s Fasig-Tipton February Digital Sale and is out of the winning Street Cry mare Waving, who also produced dual stakes-placed Aquitania Arrival.
Casse also sends out Gary Barber and Peter Deutsch’s Grade 3-placed Blinging It Back [post 6, Jose Ortiz] off a fifth in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 American Turf on May 2 at Churchill Downs. The Volatile gray went off at odds of 56-1 and left a decent account of himself in the 7 1/2-length defeat to Stark Contrast, earning an 84 Beyer, his best mark on turf.
Blinging It Back made his first four starts on dirt, including seconds sprinting here in last summer’s Listed Tremont and Grade 3 Sanford. He graduated fifth-out in his turf debut in September at Kentucky Downs, and kicked off this season with a third in the 7 1/2-furlong Cutler Bay in March at Gulfstream Park.
The $80,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, a half-brother to multiple stakes-winner Ima Discreet Lady [51-15-11-9, $700,670], is out of the multiple stakes-placed Too Much Bling mare Ima Three Blinger.
Mo Speed Racing’s West End Kid [post 9, Tyler Gaffalione] is 2-for-3, running fourth in his February debut at Gulfstream Park, then adding blinkers to roll to two wins in Kentucky. Trained by Will Walden, the Twirling Candy bay’s scores both came by over three lengths traveling 1 1/16 miles, in an April maiden at Keeneland and an optional-claimer last out on May 8 at Churchill Downs. The performances earned 84 and 85 Beyers, respectively.
“I can’t say enough good things,” Walden said. “He is freaky. To say he doesn’t yet understand his job sounds ignorant, but I don’t think we’ve tapped into who he really is yet. He’s just been leveling off and running away from them. I think he’s super talented. This is the same distance, but I think as we go on, he could be better at nine furlongs or longer as well.”
West End Kid, a $350,000 purchase at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, is out of the Scat Daddy mare To a Friend, a half-sister to dual graded stakes-placed Starting Over and graded-placed Into Vanishing.
Rounding out the field are stakes-placed Noble Dynasty [post 4, Junior Alvarado] for Hall of Famer Bill Mott; maiden winners Glavine [post 8, John Velazquez] for trainer Tom Morley, Time for America [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer Michelle Nihei; as well as Chips and Fish [post 2, Chris Elliott] and the maiden Asked and Answered [post 7, Ruben Silvera] for conditioner Antonio Arriaga.
Talk to Me Jimmy [blinkers OFF] is entered for the main track-only.
The Pennine Ridge is slated as Race 3 on Thursday’s 11-race card, which features the Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup [Race 10] – a ‘Golden Ticket’ event offering the winner an automatic berth into the Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup – the Grade 2, $250,000 Intercontinental [Race 8] and $175,000 Jersey Girl [Race 2]. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.
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