Ten Strike Racing’s homebred Whittington Park notched his first stakes victory with a well-timed ride from Kendrick Carmouche in Saturday’s $100,000 Haynesfield, a one-turn mile for older New York-breds, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Swill picked up his first Stakes win in the Challedon Stakes at Pimlico. It was his fourth lifetime win and brought his earnings to over $200,000. Congrats to Brittany Russell and our partners Kueber Racing!
AWAKENED scored his first stakes triumph with an off-the-pace win in the $150,000 G1 Jonathan Sheppard Stakes at Saratoga, a 2 3/8-mile hurdle race.
The 6-year-old gelding by Curlin started his career on the flat, breaking his maiden going 10 furlongs on the turf at Ellis Park before switching over to hurdles.
After running second in last year’s Edward P. Evans Stakes at Colonial Downs, ALEX JOON turned the tides and won going away while trainer Lindsay Schultz celebrated her first stakes victory with the 6-year-old gelding.
Eyeing Clover became a stakes winner Saturday when he fought off favorite Gun Pilot for a length victory in the $200,000 Hot Springs at Oaklawn Park.
“The first turn, I decided to pull back off those two horses – we were really in tight quarters,” said Florent Geroux, who rode Eyeing Clover. “After that he settled, ran a good race. I was right near the horse on the lead, a nice spot saving ground, and when I asked him down the lane, he fought very hard.”
Eyeing Clover has now won 3 of 4 starts for earnings of $230,050. The Triple Crown nominee is a half-brother to Heavenhasmynikki, a Grade 3 winner of more than $400,000.
Looms Boldly lead the way to secure his victory in the $100,000 Damon Runyon Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds at Aqueduct. The win was the second from four starts for Looms Boldly, a son of Goldencents trained by Brad Cox.
Ten Strike Racing homebred MAJESTIC RETURN broke her maiden in just her second start at Aqueduct for trainer Michelle Giangiulio. The 3-year-old filly is by Ten Strike’s G1W LONG ON VALUE and out of the 7-time winner MAJESTIC MIST who also ran under the Ten Strike Racing banner.
Eyeing Clover broke his maiden in his debut at Oaklawn Park on New Year’s Eve, winning in gate-to-wire fashion while earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 79.
From the Bloodhorse:
Multiple stakes winner Whereshetoldmetogo , scratched as the program favorite from the $75,000 Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial Stakes Nov. 25 at Laurel Park, has been retired from racing, according to trainer Brittany Russell.
Bred in Maryland by David Wade and campaigned by Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber, and BTR Racing, the 7-year-old El Padrino gelding retires with 17 wins, 13 in stakes, and $967,795 in purse earnings from 37 starts.
“The horse is doing fine and he’s going to have a great second career,” Russell said. “He just wasn’t 100%, so we weren’t going to run him. We said this is the time, unfortunately. He’s going to be 8 years old. We wanted to get to a million (dollars), but he doesn’t owe anyone anything.”
Whereshetoldmetogo, out of the Domestic Dispute mare Undisputed Legend , competed for Russell over the second half of his career, recording 10 wins, nine of them stakes victories, in 17 starts for the trainer.
“He’s given the partnership a lot of thrills, all the stakes that he’s won,” she added. “There’s a lot I feel like he deserves, but at the end of the day you have to take care of the horse first. That’s where we are.”
Seven of Whereshetoldmetogo’s stakes wins came at Laurel, including the 2020 Frank Whiteley Stakes and Dave’s Friend Stakes, 2021 Not For Love Stakes and Bender Memorial, and the 2022 Not For Love. Earlier in his career, he raced for trainer Anthony Pecoraro, winning stakes and finishing a close second to grade 1 winner Firenze Fire in the 2018 Gallant Bob Stakes (G3) at Parx Racing.
Russell said Whereshetoldmetogo will join Dr. Allison Marshall, an equine chiropractor based in Mechanicsville, Va., near Richmond, and begin working toward his second career.
“Everybody thought he was going to run the other day, so when I called her and said he’s officially retired, she was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I wasn’t expecting that.’ And I was like, ‘Neither was I,’ ” Russell said. “He’ll probably stay with us for another week or so until they get all set up. He’s going to become a show horse for them.”
Until that time comes, Russell is more than happy to keep Whereshetoldmetogo around.
“Just having him in the shedrow, it’s going to be sad to see him gone,” Russell said. “The ultimate goal was always to see this horse retired healthy and have a great life. He’s earned a lot of money, he’s done a lot of racing.
“He’s awesome. He’s like, ‘Whenever you want me to do something, let me know.’ He’ll just have a little bit of time off and really they can just rock on and get him training in what he’s going to be doing now. He wants a job.”
G3W/G2P Lady Rocket sold for $1,050,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale last night, capping a career which saw her earn north of $767,000, while winning 7 of her 17 starts including graded stakes races in New York and at Churchill Downs. Owned in partnership with Frank Fletcher, Lady Rocket won stakes races at four different race tracks during her career after being purchased for $420,000 at the 2019 OBS April Sale.
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