N.Y.: Scottish Lassie wins BC bid; Carson’s Run, Senbei score

Scottish Lassie graduated from the maiden ranks and punched her ticket to the Breeders' Cup with a decisive upset win in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont at the Big A.

The Frizette, a one-turn mile, is a win-and-you're-in affair for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies to be contested at 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Not only did Scottish Lassie earn a guaranteed spot in the starting gate with the Frizette score, she also tallied 10 qualifying points on the leaderboard for the 2025 Kentucky Oaks.

An elated Jorge Abreu, who secured his first graded win as a trainer, said, "I was expecting a good race today. I know people didn't believe, not in her, in me, because this is the first time I've ever won a graded stakes. You need the quality to win those kinds of races, and I thought I had the horse."

In making only her second career start, the daughter of McKinzie was content under Jose Lezcano to rate behind the quick splits of 22.81 seconds, 46.20, and 1:11.73 set by Social Fortress with mutuel favorite Snowyte right behind her. But once they raced out of the bend in the one-turn mile event, Lezcano gave Scottish Lassie her cue and she spurted to the front.

From there, Scottish Lassie drew off under a strong hand ride through the lane to win by an impressive nine lengths in a final time of 1:36.73 on the fast track. Snowyte, the only other maiden in the field, was the clear runner-up, 6 1/2 lengths in front of Social Fortress.

It was three-quarter lengths back to Another Cleeshay in fourth with Icona Mama, Whatintheliteral and Pondering rounding out the order of finish. The field was reduced to seven by the pre-race scratches of Senza Parole and Paradise City followed by The Queens M G after New York Racing Association veterinarians observed blood from the nose, not via the lungs, as she approached the gate.

"I had really high expectations of this filly since day 1,” Abreu said. “I expected her to run a good race today because Jose was breezing her and she was breezing very good all along. But I didn't know she was going to win by this margin.

“I felt comfortable turning for home when Jose looked back to his inside and he knew nobody was coming,” Abreu said. “I felt very comfortable after that, and she just kept on opening up."

Lezcano said he had full confidence in the filly, based upon their time together in morning training.

“I’ve been working the filly, and she worked fantastic, every work better and better, galloped out like she didn’t do nothing,” Lezcano said. “All the time I joke with Titi (Abreu) and say, ‘I don’t like her.’ He laughs and looked at me and (I said), ‘I’m joking.’ She really does everything right, every work.

“The last work and every work I do is easy. She goes fast. She does it the right way, not rank or anything like that. “It looked like she settled perfect,” Lezcano added. “The longer she goes, the faster she can go. She finished fantastic today.”

Joel Rosario, jockey of runner-up Snowyte, made no excuses for the Danny Gargan trainee making just her second career start.

“It looked like the winner ran a monster race, but she ran well,” Rosario said. “There was a lot of speed, and it looked like she was fine behind horses for a little bit. She learned something from it.”

Scottish Lassie, bred in Kentucky by Winchester Farm, was bought at auction in March as a 2-year-old in training for $85,000 by the partnership of Sportsmen Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Photos Finish, Corms Racing Stable, and Abreu. She returned $15 for a $2 wager.

Scottish Lassie finished a game third behind runner-up Snowyte in her Sept. 1 debut at Saratoga in a seven-furlong sprint won by Quickick, who exited that effort to finish second in Friday’s Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland.

Co-owner Steve Weston of Parkland Thoroughbreds was thrilled, but more for his trainer, a former assistant to Chad Brown, than himself.

“It was more important to me for Titi to win this. Titi has been doing this a long time and I’ve been with him since he left Chad. He’s never won a graded stakes. He’s such a good person and he’s an incredible horseman," Weston said. “We all agreed that if we had won that (first) race, what would we have done? Go to the Frizette. OK, so, let’s pretend we won and go to the Frizette. If we don’t win, then we can go back and win a maiden at any time. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The way she ran today, she could compete with any other 2-year-old in the country.”

Scottish Lassie will get her chance to do just that in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies next and Abreu has his shot to improve on his runner-up effort with Jody's Pride in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies: "I hope so," he said. "Let's see how she comes out of it. That's what we're aiming for."

Scottish Lassie upped her career earnings to $232,000 with the $220,000 winner's share of the purse and her record stands at 2: 1-0-1.

Carson's Run wins Jockey Club Derby for Clement

Carson's Run demonstrated his dominance of the male sophomore turf division with an impressive last-to-first victory in Saturday’s fifth running of the Grade 3, $500,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational, an 11-furlong test for 3-year-olds on the inner turf course.

Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey and trained by Christophe Clement, the chestnut son of Cupid and the Henny Hughes mare Hot N Hectic trailed the field of six for most of the running as the Linda Rice-trained Yo Daddy set fractions of 23:97 seconds, 48:40, 1:14.36 and 1:38.87 on the firm going.

When coming out of the far turn, jockey Dylan Davis tipped out Carson's Run five-wide and the colt kicked in with his tremendous turn of foot. He powered through the lane while inhaling the field to cross the wire first in a final time of 2:14.22, finishing three-quarter-lengths in front of stablemate Deterministic and Hall of Famer Joel Rosario. El Rezeen, who was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., was another head back in third.

Dashman, Desvio and Yo Daddy completed the order of finish. Legend of Time was scratched.

Davis, who also rode the colt to Grade 1 victories in the Summer last year at Woodbine and the Saratoga Derby Invitational this summer, said Carson’s Run’s turn of foot is impressive.

“It’s incredible,” Davis said. “There’s no question about it. It’s a great feeling and he’s a great horse. I’m happy to be aboard him from the beginning and it’s a great feeling to run down these type of horses.”

Davis added that Carson's Run holds a very special place in his heart.

“He means everything. He’s one of my top horses, and I get a little emotional when he runs his best races,” Davis said. “I just try to stay focused and enjoy the journey.”

The win was the third in the first five races on Saturday’s 12-race card for Davis, and it was a 1-2 finish for Clement.

"They both ran great,” said Clement, who came back in the next race on the card to win the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint with Senbei. “One (Carson's Run) came from off the pace. The other, I told Rosario, 'run him forward. If someone takes you on, stay in second or third. If not, make the lead.' Obviously, that horse of Linda wanted to be on the front, but they both ran well. He (Carson's Run) always shows a very good kick. He won the Grade 1 as a 2-year-old and he has a great turn of foot. It's nice when they go that long that he has that turn of foot because he came from last."

Carson's Run’s victory concluded NYRA’s series of turf races for sophomores, which saw him also capture the middle leg in the aforementioned Saratoga Derby on Aug. 11 and Trikari take the Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) in June.

Davis said he was equally impressed with Carson's Run.

“He likes to get a little keen early, but I try to work with him and try to get to the rail and switch him off,” Davis said. “As he’s going along with his races, he’s learning to contain himself a little better and he knows when to run. Sometimes he gets his nerves built up and he wants to use a little bit more earlier, but today I was able to get him nice and relaxed to the back. On the backside, I said, ‘I’m tough and I feel really good. If he puts on his ‘A’ game effort, he’s going to run them down.’ I switched him to the outside, which is a position he likes, and ran them down. It was a nice performance.”

Rosario said Deterministic was simply second best even with a bit of trouble in the stretch.

“I stayed inside there and it looked like it’d open up. Everything looked OK, but it was a little tight inside there. It opened up and he was fine,” Rosario said. “I thought he ran a good race. I don’t think it cost him the race. The other horse looked like he had a better kick than my horse. But my horse was running hard and we just got beat right there. A good effort.”

Carson's Run, bred in Kentucky by Frankfort Park Farm, paid $5 for a $2 win bet. He upped his record to 9: 5-2-0 and improved his bankroll to $1,574,629 after taking home $275,000 in victory.

Clement said he will take his time in finding a next start for Carson’s Run and Deterministic, with one potential target being the Hollywood Derby (G1) on Nov. 30 at Del Mar.

"The big question is do we run them once more. We don't need to decide that now,” Clement concluded. “There's only one race on paper which is the Hollywood Derby. Let's see what happens the next few weeks and then we will give them a break and have a nice 4-year-old campaign."

Back on grass, Senbei wins Turf Sprint

Senbei rallied in the stretch, overtaking three challengers from the far outside in surging to the wire a 1 1/4-length winner in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint at Belmont at the Big A.

Senbei captured the six-furlong outer turf sprint for 3-year-olds and up, and finished on the board for the fourth time in six starts on the turf since trainer Christophe Clement elected to move him off the main track.

Senbei, under jockey Manny Franco, was content to sit in fifth position as Determined Kingdom slightly outpaced 2-1 favorite Nothing Better to lead the eight-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 22.10 seconds and the half in 44.37 over the firm footing.

Out of the turn, Nothing Better made a move to Determined Kingdom’s outside. But Senbei, who had won multiple stakes on dirt, including the 2021 Funny Cide, earned the distinction with Gold Fever in 2022 of being a multi-surface stakes-winner, charging from the far outside to overtake Alogon, Determined Kingdom and Nothing Better and completing the course in 1:07.74.

Nothing Better held off Alogon by a half-length for runner-up honors while Son of a Birch came in fourth. Determined Kingdom, Mischievous Angel, Axthelm and Maya Prince completed the order of finish. Outlaw Kid, who was entered in the Nearctic (G2) on Saturday at Woodbine, was scratched, along with main-track only entrant Prince of Jericho.

“I had a great trip," Franco said. “My horse broke OK and those three horses went to the lead and I just stayed behind them. He was traveling nice and on the bridle. When I hit the clear at the quarter pole, I have to give credit to the horses in front because they were tough to go by, but my horse did it. They didn’t come back at all, but my horse ran them down.

“He gave me a nice turn of foot,” Franco said. “When I hit the clear, he just explodes.”

Senbei returned $10 on a $2 win bet, improving his career earnings to $640,000. Overall, the 5-year-old Candy Ride gelding has won five stakes and moved his career ledger to 17: 7-2-1.

“It worked out perfect,” Clement said. “It was a great ride by Manny, patient, saved ground and exploded in the stretch. Manny rode him with a lot of confidence.

“Senbei is a good horse,” Clement said. “As a young horse, he was very good on dirt. He lost his form a bit on dirt, and the grass brought him back. He's been running very well on grass, maybe more on firmer turf than softer turf. He's not always lucky. In turf racing, you need a bit of racing luck, but today he was very impressive.”

Nothing Better finished second in a stakes race for the third consecutive time following the Select in August at Monmouth Park and the Da Hoss in September at Colonial Downs.

“My horse is very fast, a sprinter,” said Nothing Better jockey Jorge Ruiz. “(Determined Kingdom) put too much pressure on my horse. The horse broke sharp and went to the lead, but it’s too much pressure. When he came up to me, we were going too fast.”

Clement said the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 2 at Del Mar would be the ideal next spot if possible, but the listed, six-furlong $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship on Nov. 9 also could be a possible target.

“I've got Big Invasion as well for the same owners. I have to decide if they both stay here or do we ship one of them,” Clement said. “I don't know if we can get in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint or if either of them has done enough to get there. I'll need to think about it and make a plan."