What else does one do on a rainy Saturday than work on some long, long, LONG overdue website updates?
Here, a collection of this fall’s stakes races I covered for Brisnet/TwinSpires–a fun fall of racetrack travel.
NYRA photo
Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont Park: Jaywalk
Owners: Cash is King and Leonard C. Green
Trainer: John Servis
Breeder: Gainesway Thoroughbreds LTD
Jockey: Joel Rosario
“She was gorgeous,” said Servis. “She had a beautiful head on her, and she’s a strawberry roan, so that’s kind of striking. She was so feminine, but when we got her, she was all leggy. She had a huge walk on her. I fell in love with her as soon as I looked at her.”
Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park: Complexity
Owner: Klaravich Stables
Trainer: Chad Brown
Breeder: Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings
Jockey: José Ortiz
“He’s just so strong,” said Brown. “His pedigree may not limit how far he can go. To have the speed he has and carry it is impressive.”
NYRA photo
Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park: Discreet Lover
Owner: Trin-Brook Stables
Trainer: Uriah St. Lewis
Breeder: Woodford Thoroughbred
Jockey: Manuel Franco
“We just happened to luck into this one horse,” said Amanda St. Lewis, wife of Uriah. “People don’t give us too many horses, so we have to buy them ourselves.”
Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park: Imperial Hint
Owner: Raymond Mamone
Trainer: Luis Caravajal Jr.
Breeder: Shade Tree Thoroughbreds
Jockey: Javier Castellano
“It’s all heart,” Caravajal said. “He just loves to run.”
Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx: McKinzie
Owners: Karl Watson, Michael Pegram, and Paul Weitman
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Breeder: Summer Wind Farm
Jockey: Mike Smith
Said Waton, a bit ruefully, he added, “We finally got to the Derby.”
Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx: Midnight Bisou
Owners: Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, and Allen Racing
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Breeder: Woodford Thoroughbreds
Jockey: Florent Geroux
Madaket Stables’ Sol Kumin, co-owner of Midnight Bisou and DQ’d runner-up Monomoy Girl: “They’re probably,” he said of his partners in Monomoy Girl, “going to spit in my drink.”
CAN-G3 Bold Venture Stakes at Woodbine: Yorkton
Owner: Chiefswood Stable
Trainer: Stuart Simon
Breeder: Chiefswood Stables
Jockey: Jesse Campbell
“My hat’s off to this horse,” said Campbell. “He ran through his bridle today. I’ve loved this horse since he was a two-year-old.”
Brooklyn Backstretch 