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Weekend Lineup: Derby Points On The Line In Holy Bull, Bob Lewis Sponsored by:
Prime Factor won his career debut under wraps for trainer Todd Pletcher
Throughout the year, the NTRA will provide a guide to the best stakes races in North America and beyond. Races are listed in chronological order (all times Eastern). Full previews when available can be found through the link for each race.
A pair of Kentucky Derby qualifying races are on tap this weekend. The 1 1/16-miles, Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes will headline a 12-race program at Gulfstream Park with five graded stakes worth $600,000 in purses while Santa Anita Park hosts the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Both preps offer qualifying points for the 147th Derby on May 1 to the top four finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale.
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Pete s Play Call winning the Gravesend under Jorge Vargas Jr.
Graded stakes action kicks off at Aqueduct Racetrack for 2021 with a field of five assembling for Saturday s 128th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan for 4-year-olds and upward going seven furlongs over the main track.
Trained by Rudy Rodriguez for owner Michael Dubb, the 8-year-old Pete s Play Call was claimed for $62,500 out of a winning effort in an optional-claiming sprint on Nov. 27 at the Big A. He made first start for new connections a winning one when capturing the 6 1/2-furlong Gravesend last out on Jan. 2 at Aqueduct.
Pete s Play Call was hustled out of the gate in the Gravesend by Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. and sat to the outside of pacesetter Happy Farm. After establishing clear command approaching the quarter pole, Pete s Play Call held off a late charge from fellow Toboggan aspirant Stan the Man to win by 2 ½ lengths over the muddy and sealed track.
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Trainer Rudy Rodriguez
Trainer Rudy Rodriguez entered Sunday s card at Aqueduct on top of the trainer standings with a record of 47-10-2-5 and has a number of stakes contenders lining up to bolster purse earnings already at $429,253 at the Ozone Park, N.Y., track. He added one win and a second-place finish on Sunday.
The 48-year-old conditioner, who has won 14 individual NYRA meet titles in his career, captured the 2018 winter meet with 38 wins.
“We ve got a good group of people working for us, the same people that have been working for us all along,” said Rodriguez. “When the horses are running the way you see them train, that s a plus. Some horses are running good and some horses are running a little better, we just have to keep working hard and hopefully things will keep working out.
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Pete s Play Call winning the Gravesend under Jorge Vargas Jr.
Michael Dubb s Pete s Play Call started his 8-year-old campaign the same way he concluded 2020, saving his best for the stretch in registering a victory in Saturday s 62nd running of the $100,000 Gravesend for 4-year-olds and up at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.
Pete s Play Call outkicked Stan the Man by 2 1/2 lengths to win his first start since being claimed for $62,500 out of a win on November 27 at the Big A. Now trained by Rudy Rodriguez, the gelded son of Munnings was forwardly placed in second position behind Happy Farm, who led the five-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.09 seconds on the muddy and sealed main track.