Get Her Number

For owner/breeder Bruce Chandler, patience was a virtue rewarded when his eye-catching Spirit of Makena captured the GIII San Carlos S. in just his four career start. A head shy from perfection in his spaced-out career, Spirit of Makena debuted late in his 4-year-old season; not seen until an Aug. 5 maiden special at Del Mar last season. He was hounded every step of the way on his step up to allowance optional company Sept. 11 in his first trip at the mile and just couldn't hold off Holden the...

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...

West Point Thoroughbreds, Edwin Barker and William Sandbrook's Elector (Constitution), two-for-three in his young career, will take his first shot in stakes company against five rivals in the GII Triple Bend S. Sunday at Santa Anita. Making just one start as a 3-year-old, on Dec. 26, the $65,000 Keeneland September buy stumbled early and raced greenly en route to a last-place run. Coming back at this seven-furlong trip Feb. 22, the bay was away much better and ran away to a 4 3/4-length graduation, earning a gaudy 97 Beyer. The...

John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer (Twirling Candy), third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in his most recent start, is headed to the May 15 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Race Course. "That's the plan," trainer Michael McCarthy told the Pimlico notes team Monday. The homebred automatically qualified for a starting berth in the 146th Preakness with his victory in the El Camino Real Derby Feb. 13 at Golden Gate Fields. He was third, beaten 5 3/4 lengths in the Blue Grass behind champion Essential Quality (Tapit) and Highly...

Somewhere on the grounds of OBS on Tuesday, the two unacquainted men who bred Dialed In's (Mineshaft) only two Grade l winners to date--Gl Kentucky Derby-bound Get Her Number and Super Stock--quite likely passed each other unaware of the other in that random way of the universe that plays with degrees of separation. I assume this because I was on the phone with Phil Robertson, who co-bred Get Her Number with his wife Brenda, when Pedro "Pete" Gonzalez, the co-breeder of Super Stock with his grandson P.J. Gonzalez, phoned me....

Bob Baffert is dangerous at any track he runs at, but he seems to have a special affinity for Oaklawn, especially in the GII Rebel S. The Hall of Famer has won that event seven times, saddling the likes of Lookin at Lucky (2010), The Factor (2011), Secret Circle (2012), Hoppertunity (2014), Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (2015), Cupid (2016) and Nadal (2020). All of those horses went on to be Grade I winners and stallions and undefeated Concert Tour (Street Sense) looks to add his name to that illustrious...

Gary Barber's Get Her Number (Dialed In), off since winning the GI American Pharoah S. last September, continued to work towards his comeback with a four-furlong drill in :49.80 (1/1) at San Luis Rey Training Center Monday. While his next start has yet to be confirmed, it could come as soon as next Saturday's GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park. "I'm happy with the work and he's doing very well," trainer Peter Miller said Monday afternoon. "We are just deciding whether to put him on the plane Wednesday for the...

Fasig-Tipton has released the first group of supplemental entries to its 2020 November Sale, which are catalogued as hips 265- 279. Highlights include: Fancier (Hip 267): Dam of Get Her Number (Dialed In), recent winner of the GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita Sept. 26. Get Her Number will make his next anticipated start in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Consigned by Vinery Sales, agent. Synchrony (Hip 268): A stakes performer on both dirt and turf, the son of three-time leading sire Tapit is a six-time graded stakes winner...

We often talk of stallions who have had to earn their stripes. And there's no doubt that Dialed In has uncomplainingly completed every drill necessary to get his first Grade I insignia stitched onto his uniform, by Get Her Number in the American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita a few days ago. By the time the son of Mineshaft set up shop in 2013, his qualifications as favorite for the 2011 Derby had rather faded from memory. He had run down Shackleford (Forestry) in the GI Florida Derby, but their...

Get Her Number (Dialed In) and Rombauer (Twirling Candy), also-rans in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Sept. 7, reported home one-two to spring an upset in Saturday's GI American Pharoah S., a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland. It was another gap back to the favored maiden Spielberg (Union Rags) in third. Nicely away from gate six, Get Her Number set up camp just to the outside of longshot Dyn O Mite (Goldencents) as Spielberg settled in an apparently good spot, just behind the...

3rd-Del Mar, $56,000, Msw, 8-14, 2yo, 5fT, :57.50, fm. GET HER NUMBER (c, 2, Dialed In--Fancier, by Bernstein), off at a well-backed 3-1 in a field scratched down to seven after the chilly-on-the-board Stratofortress (The Factor) got loose while parading, took up a prominent position outside of pacesetting Commander Khai (Twirling Candy) and pressed from the outside. The latter carried the lead into the lane, traveling well, and looked home inside the final half-furlong, but Flavien Prat was able to extract just a bit extra from his mount and threw...