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The past couple months have highlighted numerous successes for Ten Strike Racing.

 

In October, homebred Critical Value rolled to her first stakes victory, strolling to a 5 1/2 length score in the Maid of the Mist Stakes at Belmont Park. The daughter of Bodemeister was coming into the race off a 2 3/4 length maiden score at Saratoga and looks to be a top New York-bred three year old filly for 2020.

On November 16th at Laurel Park, OBS April 2018 purchase Benintendi made his long awaited debut; and boy was it worth the wait. Breaking on top from the gate, Benintendi streaked to the lead and never looked back, setting quick fractions on his way to a breakout 8 3/4 length victory which saw him earn an eye-popping 88 Beyer Speed Figure (Replay). The three year old gelded son of Take Charge Indy stamped himself as a horse to watch for the future for a rising star of the training ranks, Brittany Russell.

Just five days later at Churchill Downs, three year old filly Irish Mischief atoned for her 4th place finish in the G2 Raven Run with a dominant win of her own, running a full field of fillies off their feet in allowance company on her way to a 5 1/4 length victory which saw her earn a career best 94 Beyer Speed Figure (Replay).

As we enter the final month of 2019, Ten Strike appears to be loaded for not only a strong end to the year, but also for a big 2020, with stable star Warrior’s Charge back in training and a December return to the races at Fair Grounds having been set as the target.

Dot Matrix, a six-year-old homebred for Ten Strike Racing took the Ashley T. Cole Stakes at Belmont Park on September 22nd, marking his second career stakes victory.

 

 

After an unlucky 2nd place finish in the West Point Stakes at Saratoga last time out, Dot Matrix avenged that loss, taking down Offering Plan, the winner of that race, as well as G1 winner Voodoo Song, G3 winner Gucci Factor, and stakes winners Therapist and Red Knight.

 

 

Sitting a couple lengths off the pace being set by Voodoo Song, Dot Matrix ranged up to the leader around the turn before engaging in a stretching duel, eventually holding off all comers by a half-length, earning a career best 96 Beyer Speed Figure in the process.

 

 

The son of Freud previously captured the Warrior Veterans Stakes last summer at Indiana Grand, taking down several stakes winners in the process. Dot Matrix’s lifetime earnings now stand at $455,487 with a record of 28-9-4-4.

Lucky Move, claimed for $30,000 by Ten Strike Racing at Churchill during Kentucky Derby week, has already paid dividends with a win at Saratoga, followed up by a close 3rd place finish in the Saratoga Dew Stakes back at that same venue on August 8th.

 

The New York-bred daughter of Lookin At Lucky has blossomed under the care of trainer Bentley Combs, whom she has a win and two third place finishes for.

 

Lucky Move dropped towards the rear of the field in the Saratoga Dew as she usually does, trailing several lengths behind in the $100,000 event. Having to sit behind a dawdling pace, she began to make up ground as they neared the far turn, gathering up a head of steam before jockey Joel Rosario unfortunately dropped his whip at the top of the lane.

 

 

She ultimately ran 3rd, beaten just 2 1/4 lengths, while missing 2nd place by just a head. Since her claim, she has more than earned back her purchase price having racked up over $60,000 in purse money.

 

Originally published on HorseRacingNation.com.

With a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, the owners of Warrior’s Charge didn’t offset the $150,000 fee to supplement their colt for the second leg of the Triple Crown series.

But Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables left Pimlico Race Course with $99,000 of that accounted for and one to watch this summer.

“The horse showed them a lot,” said trainer Brad Cox. “I think for them, everything was positive as far as the performance.

“…He runs as hard as anyone. He’s on the lead. He’s running. He’s a horse we’re going to give plenty of time to after this race — no hurry.”

Warrior’s Charge, as expected, factored in the Preakness pace scenario, leading through a brisk opening half mile of 46.16 seconds. While he stayed on, Anothertwistafate evidenced the difficulty of the early fractions, fading to 10th after pressing Warrior’s Charge.

The Florida-bred son of Munnings entered the Preakness off back-to-back wins at Oaklawn Park, breaking his maiden and then beating winners in front-running efforts.

“I thought, ‘Warrior’s Charge is doing exactly what I thought. He’s going to take them a long way,’ and he continued on,” Cox said. “Then War of Will slipped up on the inside and I thought, ‘OK, he’s got the best of us.’”

The setup benefitted Cox’s other runner, Owendale, who runs for separate ownership and came on for third.

“The horse on the lead ran an unbelievable race,” the trainer added of Warrior’s Charge. “He’s a really nice horse — probably just a little shorter races for him in the future. He’s a very, very nice horse.”

With the Belmont Stakes at 1 1/2 miles not a possibility, Cox mentioned a trio of races in which Warrior’s Charge could appear: the July 5 Iowa Derby, July 13 Indiana Derby (G3) and July 20 Haskell Invitational (G1).

Originally written by PaulickReport.com. 

It wasn’t until after the Kentucky Derby that economist Marshall Gramm even began to consider starting a horse in the 2019 edition of the Preakness Stakes. According to the Daily Memphian, the Rhodes professor took on the idea after learning that neither Country House nor Maximum Security would be starting in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown.

His partnership group, Ten Strike Racing, owns a 3-year-old son of Munnings named Warrior’s Charge. The colt won his last two starts at Oaklawn Park by a combined 12 1/2 lengths, but wasn’t nominated to the Triple Crown. It cost $150,000 to make Warrior’s Charge eligible for the Preakness, but Gramm believes it is worth the risk.

“He’s probably worth $600,000 to $750,000 right now,” Gramm said. “The Preakness could increase it to $4 million. The winner’s share is $900,000. You’re talking about, if you finish third, we break even on the gamble. We may look like geniuses or we make look like fools.”

Trained by Brad Cox, Warrior’s Charge will inherit the skills of Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano for the Preakness. The colt needs to race on or near the lead to be competitive, Gramm explained, and the gambler expects him to go off at 10-1 or 12-1 odds.

On one of the biggest days of racing at Oaklawn all year, Ten Strike and Madaket Stable’s WARRIOR’S CHARGE took a field of 3yos wire-to-wire in a $100,000 Maiden Special Weight.

Breaking sharply from the inside, jockey Jose Ortiz guided WARRIOR’S CHARGE around the 1-1/16m test setting a solid pace. As the field rounded into the stretch, the pair drew away from the rest of the field to win by 6 lengths, running a full second faster than the other Maiden Special Weight run on that day. Warrior’s Charge earned a massive 89 Beyer for his effort.

It’s clear he appreciated the stretch out around 2-turns and with that in mind, our connections will consider an allowance or stake for his next start.

Originally published by TheTDN.com. 

It’s been a big year in Thoroughbred racing for Marshall Gramm. The economics professor and co-founder of Ten Strike Racing was represented by the stable’s first Grade I winner last June when LONG ON VALUE (Value Plus) won the GI Highlander S. at Woodbine. His homebred DOT MATRIX (Freud) became a stakes winner a month later. Then in November, Gramm and his Ten Strike partners sold DIVINE ELEGANCE (Uncle Mo), a $50,000 claim, for $750,000 in foal to Tapit at Fasig-Tipton November. Gramm capped things off with a huge run at the NHC. As one of only four people to have both of their entries make the semi-final–or top 67 entries–Gramm came into Sunday’s action as a Top 10 performer and was in 7th as they moved on to the Final Table. He wasn’t able to make up any ground on the leaders in the final round, though, and checked in ninth.

 

“Listen, I feel blessed–I’ve had a great year,” he said. “I feel very thankful for my partners at Ten Strike Racing, especially my founding partner Clay Sanders. We’ve had a lot of fun. And there are a lot of people that take part in the process. Our trainers, our stable manager and agent Liz Crow, and then there are all my friends who help me with handicapping. The one great thing about the NHC is that it’s a horseplayers convention. I came here five years ago with Clay and another buddy, and the second year I came back, I knew no one. I’d go out to dinners by myself. Now, some of my closest friends are people I met here. I really enjoy that aspect of this event.”

Gramm will hope to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday with recent stakes winner HARLAN PUNCH (Harlan’s Holiday), who goes in the GIII Mineshaft S. at the Fair Grounds  Connections have said that a good effort punches his ticket to the $1.5 million G2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai Mar. 30.

HARLAN PUNCH, the tenacious, 6-year-old gelding by Harlan’s Holiday, got Ten Strike Racing off the Stakes “duck” in 2019 after an impressive win in the $75,000 Louisiana Stakes at the Fair Grounds last Saturday.

In his second start for trainer Brad Cox, Harlan Punch stalked the pacesetter in second throughout and put in a massive effort in the stretch to dig deep and prevail by 3/4-lengths to earn a 96 Beyer.

A win in the Louisiana Stakes marks the 10th career victory for Harlan Punch who now boasts career earnings of over $749,000.

 

 

Last seen running a very game and memorable second place finish in the G3 Gallant Bob stakes at Parx back in September on $1,000,000 Pennsylvania Derby Day, Whereshetoldmetogo is gearing up for his 2019 campaign for the new connections of Ten Strike Racing, Madaket Stables, Michael Kisber and Black Cloud Racing.

Privately purchased by the group before his last start, Whereshetoldmetogo was given a winter freshening by the new connections and is currently in training at Hidden Brook South before heading to the stable of trainer Brad Cox.

The 4-year-old son of El Padrino is a multiple Stakes winner and G3 placed with earnings of over $323,000.