Cigar Mile

It may not have been a Grade I race this year, but the GII Cigar Mile H. came down to a horse with top-level class as Hoist the Gold (Mineshaft) sped gate-to-wire to hoist the trophy ahead of a talented, full field. One of a pair of horses in the field coming back from last month's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, Hoist the Gold took the GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. two starts back with a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure Oct. 6. Consistently raced throughout his career, the 4-year-old...

CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC's Americanrevolution (Constitution--Polly Freeze, by Super Saver) has been retired from racing and will stand in 2024 at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, NY, his connections announced in a release late Thursday afternoon. The Todd Pletcher trainee was a four-time stakes winner at three, culminating in the $750,000 GI Cigar Mile H. as he registered a Beyer Speed Figure of 105. "This is the best horse to retire in New York in a very long time," said Rockridge Stud's Lere Visagie. "We all know we need...

Aqueduct Racetrack's 31-day fall meet will feature 33 stakes--10 of them graded--worth $6.385 million. The stakes scheduled is once again headlined by the $500,000 GII Cigar Mile, which will be held Dec. 2. The Cigar Mile card also includes the $250,000 GII Remsen S. and $250,000 GII Demoiselle S., as well as the $200,000 GIII Go For Wand S. Graded stakes action during the meet also includes the $200,000 GIII Pebbles S.--previously run at Belmont's fall meet--and the $300,000 GII Red Smith S. on Nov. 11 and the $300,000 GIII...

GI Cigar Mile H. winner and former Hill 'n' Dale sire El Corredor (Mr. Greeley--Silvery Swan, by Silver Deputy) has died at the age of 26 in Turkey, according to Turkish news source Yaris Dergisi. El Corredor has stood since 2015 at the Turkey Jockey Club's Silivri Stallion Complex until reportedly passing away Tuesday, June 20. A $110,000 Keeneland September yearling from the first crop of Mr. Greeley, El Corredor was purchased by Bob Baffert and raced in the colors of Hal J. Earnhardt III. The dark bay won the...

Red Oak Stable (Stephen P. Brunetti) and Madaket Stable's (Sol Kumin) Mind Control (Stay Thirsty--Feel That Fire, by Lightnin N Thunder) winner of the GI $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec. 3 in the final start of his career, will stand at Rockridge Stud in New York under the management of Irish Hill Farm, Dutchess Views Stallions, Hidden Lake Farm and Rockridge Stud. The five-year-old is out of a stakes-winning mare and is priced at $8,500 LFSN. Mind Control won the GI Hopeful S. as a 2-year-old and the...

The American Graded Stakes Committee released its list of graded stakes for 2023 Friday and it includes five races that were downgraded from Grade I status to Grade II races, including two of NYRA's more prestigious races for older dirt horses, the Woodward and the Cigar Mile H. Also dropping down from the Grade I to the Grade II level were the Clark S. at Churchill Downs, the Starlet S. at Los Alamitos and the Rodeo Drive S. at Santa Anita. The Woodward was, perhaps, the most surprising inclusion on...

Don't tell owner-trainer Norman (Lynn) Cash that horses need eight weeks between races and can only run four or five times a year. Cash, who has been training only since April, 2021, has found success running his horses as often as possible. Led by the remarkable Beverly Park (Munnings), who, on Monday at Mahoning Valley, will make his 29th start of the year, Cash's stable has earned $3,816,293 on the year. He says it has been profitable in 17 of the 18 months it has been in business. Brought in...

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable's Mind Control (Stay Thirsty), who has competed in 27 stakes since his debut in 2018, closed out his career in style Saturday, scoring his 11th black-type victory and third at the highest level in Aqueduct's GI Cigar Mile. With GI Pennsylvania Derby runner-up Zandon (Upstart) bet down to 3-5, Mind Control was dispatched as the 3-1 second choice, a gift to his faithful fans in his career finale. Away quickest of all, the bay was outrun by 58-1 shot Outlier (Not This Time) and...

Strictly, it's the very reverse of what he's doing—which is actually to revert from two turns to one. In a sense, however, the return of Zandon (Upstart) to Aqueduct on Saturday will bring things full circle.

Just after hitting the 1 1/2-year anniversary mark of sending out his first entry as a licensed trainer, Norman "Lynn" Cash secured his first graded stakes victory with Double Crown (Bourbon Courage), the longest shot on the board at 42-1, who ran down favorite Baby Yoda (Prospective) to clinch the GII Kelso H. at Belmont at the Big A Oct. 29. This Saturday, Cash hopes to take his training career to the next level, as Double Crown returns to Aqueduct, along with stablemate Outlier (Not This Time), to contest the...

Strictly, it's the very reverse of what he's doing—which is actually to revert from two turns to one. In a sense, however, the return of Zandon (Upstart) to Aqueduct on Saturday will bring things full circle. For it was on the equivalent card last year that he began what has turned into a pretty frustrating sequence of races where, for one reason or another, he arguably hasn't quite realized his full potential. When you consider that these include the GI Kentucky Derby itself, that shows how much raw ability he...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 11:50 a.m. EDT Bill Mott unveils Stone Farm homebred BEARINGS (Candy Ride {Arg}) in this event. The chestnut is a full-sibling to Grade I-winning young sire Mastery and a half to SP Clear Sailing (Empire Maker). TJCIS PPs 7th-TAM, $32K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 3:35 p.m. EDT Red Oak Stable homebred WHITE HOLD GOLD (Candy Ride {Arg}) makes a very timely debut Saturday for Greg Sacco. She makes her first trip to the post just eight minutes before her half-brother...