Mr Speaker Amped Up for Saturday’s Grade 2 Commonwealth Cup
Mr Speaker Amped Up for Saturday’s Grade 2 Commonwealth Cup
Force the Pass Brings Excellence into Grade 2 Commonwealth Derby
Cut to Order Stepping Up for Bid to Win Sixth Race in a Row
The 4-year-old son of Pulpit, who captured the $1.25 million Belmont Derby (G1) last year, has been showing trainer Shug McGaughey all the signs that a big effort is on tap for the 1 1/8-mile turf stakes that will be presented by the Virginia Equine Alliance at Laurel Park, along with the $400,000 Commonwealth Derby (G2).
“He had a really great work on turf at Saratoga before we came down here and he had a nice work last Saturday here,” said McGaughey from his barn on the Belmont Park backstretch. “He’s really doing good. His last two races were really good races.”
Mr Speaker broke through with a winning performance in an optional claiming allowance at Belmont July 15 in his third start of the year, earning a return to graded-stakes competition. The Phipps Stable homebred finished fourth, beaten by 1¾ lengths, under Patrick Husbands in the Sky Classic (G2) at Woodbine Aug. 16.
“He tried to go through on the inside and got shut off. Then, he had to go outside. He said he was planning to go to the outside before but by the time he got there, it got shut off,” McGaughey said.
Mr Speaker had a productive 2014 season that followed a victory in the Dania Beach (G3) at Gulfstream to close out his 2-year-old campaign. He won the Lexington Stakes (G3) on Keeneland’s former Polytrack surface in April and the Belmont Derby on turf in July. The grandson of undefeated champion Personal Ensign was subsequently given a shot on dirt in the Travers (G1), in which he finished fifth out of 10 starters with a wide trip from his outside post position.
“He ran a good race in the Travers, but he kind of lost his way after that, although his race at Keeneland wasn’t all that bad,” said McGaughey, referring to his trainee’s 2015 debut in which he finished fourth after encountering traffic. “I thought we were going to win. We were on the outside but he dropped down to the inside and kind of got bogged down.”
Mr Speaker, rated as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven entered for the Commonwealth Cup, will be ridden by New York-based Jose Ortiz for the first time.
Force the Pass Brings Excellence into Grade 2 Commonwealth Derby
Excellence in Thoroughbred racing is generally measured by success in Grade 1 stakes. Force the Pass passed that test of excellence with Richard Santulli’s flying colors while winning the $1.25 million Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) at Belmont Park July 4.
The 3-year-old son of Speightstown, who is the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s $400,000 Commonwealth Derby (G2) at Laurel Park, had already proven his superior quality to trainer Alan Goldberg in his previous start.
Force the Pass pulled out an unlikely victory in the face of adversity in the $500,000 Penn Mile (G3) May 30, scoring by a head with a late surge.
“He stepped up in the race at Penn National. That race to me was as incredible a race as I’ve ever seen,” Goldberg said. “I watched him the whole way and I could see he was in trouble, trouble, trouble. I said, ‘Aw, we’re dead.’”
Force the Pass was in tight quarters into deep stretch before shaking free to make up 5 ½ lengths with a surge that took him from eighth to first in a flash.
He followed up his remarkable Penn Mile win with a dominating 3 ¾-length triumph in the Belmont Derby, in which he stalked the pace while saving ground before taking over on the turn into the homestretch and drawing clear through the stretch run.
“He had everything his own way. He got a good trip, sat in the right spot, and when we asked him, he was there for us,” Goldberg said. “The other race [Penn Mile] was incredible.”
Force the Pass followed up his back-to-back graded-stakes scores with a third-place finish in the Secretariat (G1) at Arlington Park Aug. 15 after compromising his chances by lunging in the air at the start.
Force the Pass will be ridden for the first time by Trevor McCarthy Saturday.
Cut to Order Stepping Up for Bid to Win Sixth Race in a Row
Midwest Thoroughbreds’ Cut to Order is scheduled to seek his sixth-straight victory while making his stakes debut in Saturday’s $250,000 Commonwealth Cup (G2) at Laurel.
The 4-year-old son of Ready’s Image was claimed for $12,500 out of a third-place finish on dirt at Tampa Bay Downs April 15 and responded to a switch back to turf with five wins in a row.
Trained by Jamie Ness, Cut to Order won his first two starts for his new connections while racing with claiming tags of $16,000 and $18,000 by seven lengths and six lengths, respectively. The Kentucky-bred gelding, who had finished off the board in two starts on grass for his old connections, followed up his first two wins for Midwest Thoroughbreds at Tampa Bay Downs and Monmouth Park with a 6 ½-length triumph in an entry-level allowance at Pimlico May, 30. His two most recent scores came against starter-handicap rivals at Monmouth Park.
“We were running in the starter series at Monmouth and there was one race left, and they wouldn’t run against him. We had no other options,” Ness said. “This is a big step up, a huge step up, but he deserves a shot.”
Rated at 10-1 in the morning line, Cut to Order won his most recent start at the 1 1/8-mile distance of Saturday’s race while continuing his impressive streak for his new connections.
“Sometimes on different programs, they excel,” Ness said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do.”
