Mar 29, 2024 | Thoroughbred Ownership News
From DRF.com
Foot issues prompted trainer John Kimmel to change the type of shoes Mandatory wears in his races and the change has brought about a remarkable reversal of fortune.
A 7-year-old gelding by American Pharaoh who won once in his first 20 starts, Mandatory seeks a third straight win Friday at Aqueduct when he runs in a first-level allowance scheduled for 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track.
Kimmel said in the days following a fifth-place performance in a starter allowance on Jan. 27, Mandatory was having difficulties with his feet. The decision was made to switch from a regular aluminum shoe to glue-on shoes. In his first start in the new shoes, Mandatory won a $40,000 claiming race by 12 3/4 lengths and earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, a huge number for that level.
In his first work back after that race, Mandatory breezed a half-mile in a rapid 46.40 seconds, much quicker than expected. A week later, Mandatory won a starter allowance by 1 3/4 lengths, with an 85 Beyer.
“He won that race but it wasn’t the same way he ran the time before,” Kimmel said, adding that the quick work “was almost like he had a race in between races. This time, I said, ‘We’re not going to work him between races.’ ”
Mandatory drew the outside post in this six-horse field and was redden by Manny Franco, as Dylan Davis, aboard for the two most recent wins, is in Dubai to ride Pandagate in Saturday’s UAE Derby at Meydan.
Mandatory broke on top and settled into 3rd, letting the leaders duel it out. Closing the gap in the turn, Mandatory made his bid just off the bend, held off a challenge from the inside and won by 1 1/4 lengths.
The win was the 10th with trainer John Kimmel, and the 3rd of the year as he takes the lead in our trainer standings. Manny Franco also won his 3rd race of the year as he also took the lead in our jockey standings for the year.
Feb 24, 2024 | Thoroughbred Ownership News
Girl Afraid and Ben Curtis picked up an easy win in the opening race at Fairgrounds on Saturday, February 25th. In just our 3rd start at the New Orleans track, it became the 13th different track America’s Pastime Stables has recorded a victory at, as the previous 2 starts resulted in 3rd place finishes. This 6 furlong race set up perfectly as Girl Afraid broke first, then stayed no more than half a length behind the leader as they dueled down the backstretch. As the horses rounded the turn into the homestretch, Ben Curtis took the lead and had Girl Afraid pull away from the pack to show why this filly was the 4:5 favorite. They coasted to the wire with a 5-lenght win in 1:11.10. It was the first win jockey Ben Curtis in his 2nd start for us and our 2nd win of the year with trainer Rob Falcone, Jr.
Meanwhile, a few hours later, we found ourselves in the winner’s circle again over in South Florida. Sweet Dani Girl picked up her second win of the year for us at Gulfstream Park. It was an Ortiz brothers double. Irad got the win with Sweet Dani Girl on January 14th, while Jose notched the victory on Saturday while Irad was at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh aboard White Abarrio in the $20 million Saudi Cup. Jose had Sweet Dani Girl track the pace 2-wide around the first turn and edged closer rounding the far turn to go 3-wide on the outside down the stretch before taking the lead in the final furlong to score the 1/2 length victory in the 1 1/16 mile race in 1:40.46. After collecting 4 wins with Irad, this was our first win with Jose in 5 starts and our second win with trainer Christophe Clement.
Feb 16, 2024 | Thoroughbred Ownership News
Mandatory and Dylan Davis scored a massive victory in the Friday finale at Aqueduct on February 16th. The John Kimmel trained 7-year-old cut back in distance going 7 furlongs and finally got a fast track after the last 3 starts came on muddy tracks. After sitting in 3rd at the half, Mandatory took the lead going into the stretch and then left everyone in the dust as they crossed the wire with a 12 3/4 lead in a final time of 1:24.94. The race left NYRA analyst Andy Serling beaming with praise even stating that it was “a Breeder’s Cup type figure.”
It ended up with a 109 Equibase Speed figure and a 99 Beyer. Going off at odds of 7:2, Mandatory paid $9.40 to win. It was our 8th win with trainer John Kimmel, tying him with James Noble for the 3rd most trainer wins and our 4th win with Dylan Davis aboard, tying him with 6th most on our jockey standings.
Jan 18, 2024 | Thoroughbred Ownership News
Sweet Dani Girl’s win at Gulfstream Park marked the 100th win for America’s Pastime Stables. Here’s a closer look and how we got there. A full breakdown of our stats are available on the results page.
Jan 14, 2024 | Thoroughbred Ownership News
Sweet Dani Girl took home a convincing win in the Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf Stakes on January 14th at Gulfstream Park. Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. worked his way to the inside to save ground, staying a few lengths off the lead between 3rd and 4th place, until the stretch run. That’s when the outside opened up and Ortiz took Sweet Dani Girl out to the 4 path down the stretch and let her loose, overtaking Baby Steps in the final furlong and excelled to victory. The win was the milestone 100th for America’s Pastime Stables and it also marked many other notable moments. Not only was it our first stakes win at Gulfstream Park, it was also our first ever win at Gulfstream Park, as our 11th attempt ended in victory, and is now the 12th different track we’ve recorded a win at. On top of that, it was our first start and first win with trainer Christophe Clement and our 4th win with jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. The iffy forecast also panned out perfectly as the rain held off until after the race as the skies opened up immediately after the winner’s circle photo was taken which resulted in racing being taken off the turf for the remainder of the day.
