By Steve Sherack
'TOP' FILLY BACK IN CONTESSA BARN
Aspen Hilltop (Bernardini), a visually impressive come-from-behind debut winner when last seen at Saratoga Aug. 14, is aiming for a spring return to the races, per trainer Gary Contessa.
“She fractured her splint bone the day that she won at Saratoga,” Contessa revealed. “She'll start the getting-ready process for the spring. I would say, no way is she ready to run before March or maybe even April, but she'll have a nice, healthy 3-year-old career, hopefully.”
No fewer than 12 lengths back in the early stages in her 6 1/2-furlong unveiling, the $350,000 KEESEP yearling purchase made a powerful, sweeping move on the far turn and came charging down the center of the course in the stretch to get the money by a half length, good for 'TDN Rising Star' honors. There was certainly no lack of quality behind the Lee Pokoik colorbearer that day, either.
The runner-up Berned (Bernardini) returned to graduate in her next attempt at Belmont and was later second in the GIII Tempted S. at the Big A Nov. 5. Third-place finisher Jamyson 'n Ginger (Bernardini) earned the year's highest Beyer Speed Figure for a juvenile of 103 when airing by 15 1/4 lengths in the Belmont slop in October and was recently a close second in the GII Demoiselle S. The fourth-place finisher Torrent (Blame) graduated by six lengths at Churchill Nov. 5.
“Oh my gosh, aren't they?” Contessa said of the graded stakes quality field that Aspen Hilltop defeated on debut. “It was a very good race–it was a very key race. I love the fact that we won a key race like that. She won at 6 1/2 furlongs, but she's probably bred to go 1 1/16 miles or 1 1/8 miles. She certainly exhibited that and that's what we're looking for.”
Aspen Hilltop rejoined Contessa's Palm Meadows string in Florida this weekend.
“That's what keeps you waking up every morning. A horse like that,” the veteran trainer concluded.
Aspen Hilltop, bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock, is the first foal produced by GI Santa Monica S. heroine Home Sweet Aspen (Candy Ride {Arg}). The mare, a $510,000 KEENOV purchase by SF in 2013, produced a filly by Pioneerof the Nile earlier this year and was bred back to Super Saver. She RNA'd for $725,000 at the 2015 KEENOV sale.
SEATTLE SERENADE NEARING RETURN
Some quick thinking by Hall of Famer Mike Smith to pull up 'TDN Rising Star' Seattle Serenade (Smart Strike)–a jaw-dropping winner of his first two career starts in 2015–in the early stages of a Mar. 5 optional claimer at Santa Anita likely saved the $1-million KEESEP yearling graduate's life.
“He fractured his pastern in three places–it was pretty much life threatening,” said Mike Puhich, Director of Horse Operations and trainer at Pegasus Training and Rehabilitation Center. “Mike Smith got him pulled up so fast, and for fracturing it in three different places, it was probably the best-case scenario.”
Insert Dr. Wayne McIlwraith of Colorado State University.
“He was getting on a plane to go do some surgeries over in Europe and we called him and we emailed the X-rays,” Puhich explained. “And instead of catching that flight, he got on a red-eye out to L.A. and said, 'I really think I can fix it if I get those screws in the way it looks like it's fractured.' The way he pieced it together was unbelievable. We were cautiously optimistic, but we were prepared for the worst, period.”
Co-owned by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and Dr. Mark Dedomenico, Seattle Serenade is now on the comeback trail and has posted four workouts at the latter's Pegasus Training Center in November, most recently covering five furlongs over the Polytrack surface in 1:01.20 Nov. 30. So far, so good, Puhich reports.
“I told Jerry that I think he's training better right now than he was before I sent him down the first time,” Puhich said of the 4-year-old. “We'll just keep our fingers crossed. He passed the acid test [Nov. 30]. He looks great. He's going to Jerry at Los Al and will be with his assistant Don Chatlos. We'll hopefully have him ready to go shortly after the first of the year or first part of February. Hat's off to Dr. McIlwraith. He did an amazing job.”
Seattle Serenade is a son of Canadian champion Serenading (A.P. Indy), who has a weanling colt by Distorted Humor and was most recently bred to Curlin. His second dam is MSW & GISP Daijin (Deputy Minister), a full-sister to GI Belmont S. winner Touch Gold and a half-sister to Canadian champion and MGSW/MGISP With Approval (Caro {Ire}). This is also the female family of GISW Brilliant Speed (Dynaformer). Seattle Serenade was bred in Kentucky by Hill 'N' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. and N.E.T.P.
CARTER EARLY TARGET FOR UNIFIED
Carrying an unbeaten tag for the first half of 2016, including smart wins in the GIII Bay Shore S. Apr. 9 and GII Peter Pan S. May 14, 'TDN Rising Star' Unified (Candy Ride {Arg}) was one of the more exciting sophomores in training.
While a puzzling, well-beaten fifth-place finish as the 1-5 chalk when stretched to two turns for the first time in the GIII Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park June 19 may have tempered that enthusiasm a bit, the handsome bay is getting ready to regroup for a 4-year-old campaign, with the possible early-season goal of Aqueduct's seven-furlong GI Carter H. in April.
“Unified's doing great,” Centennial Farms President Don Little Jr. said, adding that he recently re-joined trainer Jimmy Jerkens at Belmont Park. “He had some time off at the farm and put on some weight. He has been under-tack at the farm, just jogging.”
Little continued of the $325,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling acquisition, “I look forward to getting him started, back in the spotlight, we hope, in a couple of months or so. Everybody was in agreement that he just was tailing off a little bit. We always put the horse first. We know that he's got the talent and he'll be set up to display it again when he comes back.”
Unified's stakes-placed dam Union City (Dixie Union), a full-sister to 2010 GII Demoiselle S. heroine Dixie City, has an unplaced 2-year-old filly by Broken Vow and a yearling colt by Candy Ride (Arg). The Edward P. Evans homebred, also the dam of multiple stakes-placed Honkeytonk Man (Bluegrass Cat), brought $260,000 from Blue Devil Racing while in foal to Bluegrass Cat at the 2011 KEENOV sale. She was bred to Honor Code in 2016.
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