Horse Racing
Cigar Mile: Post Time leads stacked field of 11 at Aqueduct
Hillwood Stable’s dual graded-stakes-winning Maryland-bred
millionaire Post Time tops a loaded 11-horse field for Saturday’s Grade 2,
$500,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.
Trained by Brittany Russell and to be piloted once again by
her husband Sheldon Russell, the 4-year-old Frosted colt will face four Grade 1
and Group 1 winners in the one-turn mile handicap for 3-year-olds and up.
Click here for Aqueduct entries and results.
Post Time enters from an impressive rallying effort to
finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. He was
unhurried, last of 13, as Full Serrano pressed the pace of T O Saint Denis
through splits of 22.30, 45.47 and 1:09.69 over the fast main track. Full
Serrano took command at the quarter pole and stayed on strong to the wire as
Post Time, who was seventh at the stretch call, rallied four-wide to miss by 1
1/2 lengths with a final time of 1:35.48. The game effort registered a 102
Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form.
“That was a huge effort. We were delighted with the result.
Sheldon gave him a great ride. Good trip,” Brittany Russell said. “The winner
ran huge that day, and we just couldn’t get to him. Overall we thought it was a
huge race for Post Time, and it was good to see him run a big race like that
and come out of it as good as he did.”
Post Time, in post 11 with an assigned weight of 124 pounds,
won eight of his first nine starts that included winning the seven-furlong General
George (G3) in February at Laurel Park ahead of a neck victory over Castle
Chaos in the seven-furlong Carter (G2) on April 6 at Aqueduct.
The versatile gray hit the board in each of his next three
outings when a close second in the local one-mile Westchester in May, a 6
1/4-length second to National Treasure in the Met Mile (G1) at Saratoga and
third in the Spa’s 1 1/8-mile Whitney (G1) on Aug. 3. Post Time entered the
Breeders’ Cup from an 11 1/2-length romp in the one-mile Polynesian on Sept. 14
at his Laurel Park base.
Brittany Russell said Post Time is especially effective when
there’s speed to chase with his impressive closing kick.
“He’s a smart horse, and he likes to get his feet under him.
He’s in no hurry early,” she said. “He probably has enough versatility that he
could sit a little closer if he had to, but looking at what he’s been doing
recently, he likes to get his feet under him and make his run.”
Post Time has worked back three times at Fair Hill,
including a half-mile drill over the synthetic Saturday in 48.60 seconds.
“He worked great, and it’s all systems go,” Brittany Russell
said. “He’s done everything right. He came home from California in great shape,
and he’s breezed well. We’re marching forward to next weekend.”
Russell said she’s proud of the journey Post Time has
provided her family and that of owner Ellen Charles, who was recognized with a
special award of merit during the Alibi Breakfast this year at Pimlico.
“He’s a lot of fun, and he’s taken us on a really fun ride.
It’s been great that we can enjoy this experience with Ellen,” Brittany Russell
said. “He’s a tough horse. That’s the thing about him. You know he’s going to
show up. That’s just the kind of horse he is.”
The trainer indicated that Post Time’s journey will continue
into 2025.
“As long as he’s healthy, the plan is to race him,” she said.
“We might give him a little pause here at some point. We’ll get through next
weekend and then make a decision if he will race one more time or if he gets
some time off. Obviously the goal would be the latter part of next year, as
long as he doing good.”
Bred in Maryland by Thomas Bowman, Brooke Bowman and Milton Higgins,
Post Time has banked $1,167,910 through a 14: 9-3-2 record.
Peacock Family Racing Stable’s Kentucky homebred Señor
Buscador, in post 9 with 122 pounds including Joel Rosario, a Group 1 winner
with more than $12.9 million in purse earnings, is 1 of 5 millionaires in the
field.
Trained by Todd Fincher, the 6-year-old Mineshaft horse
looks to return to winning form after a trio of off-the-board efforts since
returning from a lucrative jaunt to the Middle East.
The talented bay hopes to avenge a second-place finish in
this event last year when closing from last of 12 to finish 4 1/2 lengths in back
of runaway pacesetter Hoist the Gold.
“I thought he ran excellent in the Cigar Mile last year,”
Fincher said. “He got in a lot of traffic trouble and had to pass 11 horses. He
ended up coming wide but finished great. He ran a great race.”
That effort kicked off a strong run of form as Señor
Buscador exited the Cigar Mile to run a deep-closing second when he finished a
neck behind National Treasure in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup Invitational
(G1) in January at Gulfstream Park.
“He had a better trip in the Pegasus and ran a great race.
He ran into a really nice horse in National Treasure and battled to the wire,”
Fincher said.
He then shipped for the 1 1/8-mile $20 million Saudi Cup (G1)
in February to square off around one turn against a formidable field that
included White Abarrio, National Treasure and Hoist the Gold.
With Júnior Alvarado up, Señor Buscador produced a stirring
stretch run to overtake the pacesetting Saudi Crown and fellow closer Ushba
Tesoro to win by a neck. He would follow with another strong performance around
two turns when third in the 1 1/4-mile, $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) in
March at Meydan.
“He ran two more great races out there,” Fincher said. “The
one-turn really favored him (in the Saudi Cup), and the mile-and-an-eighth was
the perfect distance. Everything fell into place for him that day.”
Señor Buscador has made a trio of starts in California since
returning to the U.S., landing fourth in the Pat O’Brien (G2) in August at Del
Mar, fifth in the California Crown (G1) in September at Santa Anita and fifth
last out under returning Hall of Fame rider Joel Rosario in the Breeders’ Cup
Classic when he finished 6 1/2 lengths in back of victorious Sierra Leone on
Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
“The first race was better than it looked on paper. It was a
speed-biased track, and they ran super-fast, but he finished good and galloped
out good,” Fincher said. “Then at Santa Anita, he ran a clunker. That was maybe
his worst race ever.
“The Breeders’ Cup was a tough race. He was stuck down on
the rail, which he’s not used to, and (Rosario) had to use the horse to keep
his position all the way around there. It took him out of his running style,
but he ran a nice race that day. We were wanting to do better, but it was
better than it looked. I think he’s rounding back into form.”
Señor Buscador boasts field-best purse earnings of
$12,941,427 via a 22: 7-2-3 record, including graded wins in the 2022 Ack Ack (G3)
and last year’s San Diego Handicap (G2).
With Señor Buscador bred in Kentucky by Joe Peacock Jr. and
the late Joe Peacock Sr., Fincher has enjoyed training all of the half-siblings
produced thus far out of multiple stakes-winning Desert Gold mare Rose’s
Desert. They include graded-stakes winner Runaway Ghost, multiple stakes winner
Sheriff Brown and stakes winner Our Iris Rose.
“I trained the mother years ago, and all of her offspring
have been really good to us. Not as good as this one, but they’ve all been good
horses. That’s what makes it so special,” said Fincher, who noted Señor Buscador
will race once more in the Pegasus on Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park before being retired
to stud.
Owner-trainer Jeff Runco’s West Virginia-homebred Coastal
Mission, in post 10 with 121 pounds including Arnaldo Bocachica, made the grade
and secured millionaire status last out with a rallying, one-length score at
Aqueduct in the one-mile Forty Niner (G3).
The 5-year-old Great Notion gelding settled in sixth of
eight as returning rival Nelson Avenue showed the way through a half-mile in
45.70 seconds over the fast main track. Coastal Mission advanced four wide
through the turn and closed strongly from the outside to take command
approaching the sixteenth pole to score with a final time of 1:36.10.
Runco said the Forty Niner victory was a special moment.
“We bred and raised him. We’ve been there with him since
birth, and you can’t have a more rewarding feeling than breeding one and
winning a graded stakes with him,” Runco said. “It’s the first time it’s
happened in my career. I’d won a graded stakes before but never with my own
homebred. He just guts it out. It’s a great thing to see a horse that digs in
every time to give you their all.”
Coastal Mission entered the Forty Niner from a gritty,
half-length win over dual graded-stakes winner and returning rival Repo Rocks
in the listed Parx Dirt Mile around two turns on Sept. 21.
“He got a little pinched leaving the gate and got shuffled
back in between horses going through the first turn. He got a tremendous amount
of dirt in his face,” Runco said. “But he dug in and laid in a little bit on
that (Repo Rocks) at the end and just got there. It was amazing.”
Win-friendly Coastal Mission has banked $1,091,653 through a
25: 14-5-1 ledger that includes six stakes victories. He was fifth in this
event last year after exiting post 1 of 12 to cap a campaign that saw him
capture 8-of-10 starts.
Runco said Coastal Mission, who entered last year’s Cigar
Mile from a facile score in the restricted West Virginia Breeders’ Classic, is
better prepared for battle this time around.
“He wasn’t going into it last year like he is this year. He
has tremendous experience and bottom and all the things you want to see going
into this kind of race,” Runco said. “That’s why we’ve kept him in this type of
company and didn’t run him in the Breeders’ Classic here (in West Virginia) and
opted to go to the Forty Niner. You have to keep this horse in this kind of
company if you want to run in this kind of company.”
Coastal Mission worked back a half-mile in 47.0 seconds at
his Charles Town base on Nov. 21.
“It was a great workout. He went pretty quick and did it
pretty much in hand,” Runco said. “I let him stretch his legs a little bit the
last part of his training (Saturday) morning, just a little wake-up call for
him, and he’s ready to go next week.
“It’s a solid group or horses, but this horse loves New York.
He won the Forty Niner there, and he’s doing as good as I could ask. This is
the time to try these kinds of horses. He’s going to try hard. Will he win? We’ll
see. But he’s going to give it his all. He always does.”
Coastal Mission, a full brother to multiple graded-stakes-placed
Lewisfield, is out of Crowd Pleaser mare Smart Crowd, who is a half-sister to
dual graded-stakes winner Duckhorn.
Atlantic Six Racing’s Book’em Danno, in post 1 with 120 pounds
including Irad Ortiz Jr., made the grade in style besting fellow sophomores by
a half-length in the seven-furlong Woody Stephens (G1) in June at Saratoga.
The Bucchero gelding was off slow under Ortiz and settled in
fifth position as Barksdale and Frost Free zipped through a half-mile in a
swift 43.08 seconds. Ortiz asked Book’em Danno for more nearing the quarter pole
and tipped his charge four wide for the stretch run to open up a four-length
lead, staying on gamely to stave off the favored Prince of Monaco at a final
time of 1:21.30.
The Woody Stephens effort garnered a 100 Beyer, the first of
three straight triple-digit figures, including a win in the six-furlong Jersey
Shore worth a 101 in July at Monmouth Park and a third in the seven-furlong H.
Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) worth a 104 on Aug. 24 at the Spa.
Book’em Danno enters from a closing second in the
seven-furlong Perryville (G3) on Oct. 19 at Keeneland when finishing a neck in back
of Brunacini. He was a game second in the Saudi Derby (G3) in February when he
was a head behind in second to then undefeated Forever Young.
Ryan indicated he will utilize the Cigar Mile as a measuring
stick to see if Book’em Danno is better suited for the six-furlong Riyadh Dirt
Sprint (G2) or the 1 1/8-mile Saudi Cup, both in February at King Abdulaziz
Racecourse.
Bred by Gregory Kilka and Bright View Farm and out of unraced
Ghostzapper mare Adorabella, Book’em Danno is a half sibling to multiple dirt-stakes
winner Girl Trouble. He has banked $1,018,125 through a 10: 6-3-1 ledger.
Siena Farm and WinStar Farm’s Grade 1 winner Mullikin, in post
5 with 124 pounds including Flavien Prat, would secure millionaire status
should he win the Cigar Mile.
Trained by Rodolphe Brisset, the 4-year-old Violence colt
has earned $853,612 via a 10: 5-3-1 record topped by graded wins traveling
seven furlongs in the John A. Nerud (G2) in July at Belmont at the Big A and a
front-running tour de force in the Forego (G1) in August at the Spa to run his
sophomore campaign win streak to four.
Brisset trained Mullikin up to the Breeders’ Cup and decided
on cutting the horse back to six furlongs for the Sprint rather than try two
turns for the first time in the Dirt Mile.
“The mile was two turns, and in our experience, you don’t
try something new that you don’t know at the Breeders’ Cup,” Brisset said.
Mullikin, with Prat up, broke alertly in the Breeders’ Cup
Sprint and tracked from eighth position. He was 4 3/4 lengths in back of the
pace-setting Federal Judge, who marked the half-mile in 44.12 seconds under
pressure from Bentornato and the close-up Straight No Chaser. Mullikin made a
four-wide move through the turn and closed to finish third, three lengths behind
victorious Straight No Chaser, who bested Bentornato by a half-length.
“We broke pretty sharp, and Flavien thought he was in the
right spot, and he stayed where he was,” Brisset said. “The race didn’t go as
fast as we thought. We thought some of those horses in front could have gone a
little faster based on the PPs. It was a fast race but not as fast as the way
it looked on the PPs. They were all Grade 1 horses, and when you are four
lengths off of them and have to make up ground, it’s not easy.”
Although the chart notes that Mullikin was climbing down the
backstretch, Brisset said he had no complaints with how his horse handled the
surface.
“Flavien said he was traveling well, maybe with the kickback
he was a little more off the bridle. All around we didn’t feel like we had to
use the track as an excuse,” Brisset said. “The six furlongs didn’t bother me
at all, but the seven fits him much better. We knew that before the race, but
he has enough speed that he can put himself in the right spot. It was just a
bit unlucky the way the race set up, and we ended up being a little further
back than we wanted.”
Mullikin has worked back twice, including a six-furlong
breeze in 1:13.8 Friday at Keeneland.
“I always thought if he came out of the race in good shape,
we’d be looking at the Cigar Mile,” Brisset said. “I was very happy with the
work, and it looks like he came out of the work very good, too. He’s won at
seven furlongs, and I’m hoping he can answer my question about the mile. If he
does, that opens up some options for next year.”
Brisset said he will let Prat decide how to ride the
versatile Mullikin on Saturday.
“I’ve been saying all year he doesn’t need to be on the lead
to win,” Brisset said. “He won the Forego on the lead, because he broke good
that day, and a couple horses maybe didn’t break as good as they were supposed
to. We have stalked and sat right there and won on the lead, too. It will be up
to the jockey and the horse on the day.”
A $500,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September yearling
sale, Mullikin is out of graded-stakes-placed Congrats mare Tulira’s Star, who
is a half-sister to graded-stakes winner Mountain General.
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm’s Grade 1
winner Locked, in post 7 with John Velázquez part of the 119-pounds impost,
returned victorious for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher from a nearly
one-year layoff at Aqueduct. He bested elders Oct. 19 in a seven-furlong
allowance, optional-claiming sprint by 7 1/2 lengths. The winning effort
registered a career-best 97 Beyer.
“The horse is coming into the race really well,” Pletcher
assistant Stu Hampson said. “We are excited to get him back to the races.
Obviously he put in a really good performance going seven furlongs here. It was
a fast time. The track may or may not have been a little fast that day, but he
did it the right way, and we are excited to stretch him out a little bit here.”
The Gun Runner sophomore was making his first start since
finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November 2023 at Santa Anita.
The talented chestnut colt graduated in September 2023 at Saratoga before
taking down the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) one month later at Keeneland.
A $425,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling
Sale, Locked is out of the winning Malibu Moon
mare Luna Rosa, a half-sister to multiple graded-stakes winners Gabby’s
Golden Gal and Always a Princess.
Rounding out a talented field are Jamie Ness trainee Repo
Rocks in post 3 with 120 pounds including Ruben Silvera, who has banked
$978,046 through 43 career starts; graded-stakes-winning millionaire Law
Professor, post 6, 119, Kendrick Carmouche, for trainer Rob Atras; multiple
graded-stakes-placed Pipeline, post 8, 118, Alvarado, for trainer Cherie
DeVaux; recent Forty Niner runner-up Nelson Avenue, post 2, 118, Dylan Davis,
for trainer Wayne Potts; and two-time winner Vinsanity, post 4, 112, Francisco
Martinez, for conditioner Antonio Arriaga.
The Cigar Mile is slated for 3:35 p.m. EST as the ninth of
Saturday’s 10 races. The first post is at 11:40 a.m.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | HRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Book’em Danno Bucchero |
6.82 | Entered | |||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 2 |
|
Nelson Avenue Into Mischief |
4.79 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 3 |
|
Repo Rocks Tapiture |
6.03 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 4 |
|
Vinsanity Tapiture |
0.00 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
Mullikin Violence |
7.67 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 6 |
|
Law Professor Constitution |
5.80 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 7 |
|
Locked Gun Runner |
6.32 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Pipeline Speightstown |
6.05 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 9 |
|
Senor Buscador Mineshaft |
7.53 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 10 |
|
Coastal Mission Great Notion |
6.05 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 11 |
|
Post Time Frosted |
7.23 | Entered | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
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