Red Rifle fires off track record in Maxxam Gold Cup

The $100,000

Maxxam Gold Cup has attracted

top horses since its first running in 1994, but Saturday night marked the first time

that multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher had shipped a horse

to Sam Houston.

Red Rifle, owned by WinStar

Farm and Twin Creeks Racing Stable, was making just his sixth career start

in the race. His lone prior stakes appearance was a fourth-place finish in the

Grade 3 Hill Prince on the Belmont Park turf course last June, but on Saturday

the four-year-old son of Giant's Causeway delivered a sensational performance

for his conditioner.

Pletcher had high hopes for the colt last year following a pair of easy debut

wins, but didn't rush his charge. Red Rifle competed just once more following

his Hill Prince foray, running a well-beaten 11th against allowance company in

late December, and seemed to return to form with a solid runner-up

finish in a similar allowance on January 17 at Gulfstream Park. The winner of

that latter contest, Bradester, went on next out to take the Grade 3 Mineshaft

Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Pletcher shipped Red Rifle into Houston on

Wednesday and tabbed Robby Albarado for the riding assignment. Albarado owned

three previous Maxxam victories -- scoring with Valhol (2003), Alumni Hall (2005) and

Student Council (2007) -- and was an extremely confident pilot Saturday evening.

"He broke in a little bit of a tangle," Albarado said. "But I had simple

instructions to get him to the lead as he does not like dirt in his face. He got

to the first turn within himself, settled and came home really nicely. This is a

great stepping-stone race for the rest of the year."

Ginny Depasquale, who has been one of Pletcher's assistants for the past 17

years, handled the saddling duties on Red Rifle, who returned $4 as the

even-money choice in the six-horse field. The colt's career line now stands at

6-3-1-0, $138,820.

"Robby worked him at the Fair Grounds on Monday and gave

him a really good ride tonight," Depasquale remarked. "The horse showed what he is

made of. He definitely has the talent. I'm not sure what Todd has in mind for

him next, but I was very pleased to see this effort tonight."

Last year Kenny McPeek won the Maxxam Gold Cup with

Unstoppable U and returned this year with Grade 1 runner-up Frac Daddy. The gray son of Scat Daddy ran a game second

as the 3-2 second choice.

Another wire job came earlier on Sam Houston's Saturday night card when Ibaka

pulled off a three-length score in the $50,000

Texas Heritage with Lindey Wade aboard. The Doug Wall homebred was the 7-5

pick against his four rivals and paid $4.80 for the victory.

Trained by Bret Calhoun, the Oklahoma-bred Ibaka stopped the clock in 1:37

3/5 for the one-mile event.

"They told me to be aggressive with him," Wade explained. "I was hoping for a

sharp break, but didn't think I would be in front. He put me there so I just

tried to get him to relax and it was all him from there. He just surged on down

the lane. One thing about the Calhoun horses, they always give you more."

Two weeks ago Ibaka came flying from last to first to capture the Jim's

Orbit Stakes in his second try against stakes company. The Uncle Abbie sophomore

improved his scorecard to 4-0-1 from six career starts and has banked $117,036

with the Texas Heritage win.

"He showed us that the time didn't matter," assistant trainer Jay Severs said

of the quick turnaround since the Jim's Orbit and the third consecutive win for

Ibaka.

Wall was very pleased with his colt's victory and traded in his "Ibaka"

T-shirt for a Kentucky Derby shirt.

Sandwiched between the Maxxam Gold Cup and Texas Heritage was the $50,000

Jersey Lilly, a race in which Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred Always Kitten

got the neck win in a blanket finish on the wire.

The four-year-old daughter of Kitten's Joy came

from the clouds under jockey Rosie Napravnik to capture the 1 1/16-mile,

firm-turf race in 1:45 2/5. This was the second year in a row that Napravnik and trainer Mike

Maker delivered the trophy to the Ramseys; last year the trio were

victorious with another Kitten's Joy filly in Artemus Kitten.

"This is a really nice filly," Napravnik said. "I knew she liked to come from

off the pace, and finished with plenty left."

"It was a very good effort," assistant trainer Joe Sharpe agreed. "It is a

privilege to train these Kitten Joys."

Always Kitten added a third stakes win to her resume, which now reads

15-3-3-1, and increased her lifetime earnings to $185,371. The bay miss was the

7-5 favorite and gave back $4.80 for the score.