Barn Notes
Ginger Brew Can Climax Sensational Winter Campaign For Lynch
Stronach Stable’s 3-year-old Canadian homebred filly Ginger Brew is a strong contender in Saturday’s $200,000 Calder Oaks at Calder Race Course on the inaugural ‘Turf Million’ program, and could add an exclamation point to a remarkable winter campaign in South Florida for trainer Brian Lynch as his stable moves on to his summer headquarters at Woodbine in Canada.
“She certainly gives every indication of being a stakes filly and never has done anything wrong. I’m looking forward to running her Saturday,” said Lynch on Thursday morning from his winter quarters at Palm Meadows, where he trains privately for owner-breeder Frank Stronach.
“She was very impressive winning her last start on turf and ran well to be second to Shes All Eltish in the race before that going a mile on dirt. I think she is better on turf and going a distance, and should like the mile-and-an-eighth Saturday.”
Ginger Brew is a chestnut daughter of Milwaukee Brew that won her lone start last year in October sprinting on Polytrack at Woodbine. She lost a narrow decision when second on turf at Gulfstream in an allowance on Jan. 9 in her second start before finishing three-quarters of a length behind Shes All Eltish in the main track allowance on Feb. 26, followed by an impressive four-length score on turf last out on Mar. 15.
Shes All Eltish came back to capture the Bonnie Miss Stakes (G2) by 6 ¾ lengths on Florida Derby Day at Gulfstream on Mar. 29 for trainer Marty Wolfson, and will be among Ginger Brew’s most accomplished rivals in the Calder Oaks along with Pam and Martin Wygod’s Life is Sweet for trainer Bill Mott.
Lynch is a 43-year-old native of Australia who began training there in 1990 and became a professional bull rider in Canada in the mid-90s. “You could say I have kind of a Carl Nafzger background.” Three years ago he became an assistant trainer for Bobby Frankel’s division at Woodbine and was given a division of his own before coming to South Florida for the 2006-07 winter season.
Lynch got this past winter campaign off to a strong start during the Tropical Meet here in November and December, sending out seven winners from just 15 starters with four seconds. The stable kept up the strong pace and high win percentage at Gulfstream with 14 victories from 42 starters with six seconds and eight thirds for earnings of nearly $800,000 for the two meets.
The star of the stable was Stronach’s 5-year-old homebred mare Sugar Swirl, who swept all three of the Graded sprint stakes for fillies and mares at the Gulfstream meet - the First Lady Handicap (G3), Hurricane Bertie Handicap (G3) and Shirley Jones Handicap (G2) last out on Mar. 29. Lynch also sent out the stable’s 5-year-old homebred mare Spring Waltz to capture the Rampart Handicap (G2) on Mar. 9.
“I’ve sent most of the stable on to Woodbine,” said Lynch. “But I’m taking Sugar Swirl to Kentucky to run in the ($300,000) Humana Distaff (G1) on Derby Day. She’ll get a little break after that, freshen her up, and maybe bring her back at Saratoga. There’s a race for Spring Waltz at Arlington Park on May 26,” referring to the $150,000 Arlington Matron (G3).
“It’s been quite a season for us where everything just came together.”
Clement’s South Florida Campaigns Begin and End at Calder
Trainer Christophe Clement has been a strong supporter of Calder’s Tropical Meet for more than a decade and now ranks fifth in all-time stakes victories at that session with 16, trailing only Marty Wolfson (23), Luis Olivares (18) and Manny Tortora and Frank Gomez tied for third (17).
Three of Clement’s Tropical stakes total came here late last year with Live Oak Plantation’s venerable gelding Revved Up capturing the $150,000 Bonnie Heath Turf Cup on Florida Million Day for the third year in a row, Virginia Kraft Payson’s Grade 1-winning filly Rutherienne winning the $100,000 Frances A. Genter Stakes (G3) and Jacks or Better Farms’ filly Bayou’s Lassie scoring in the $100,000 Stage Door Betty Handicap (G3).
Clement can start to make a mark in the Calder stakes history records with five starters in the four stakes worth $1.15 million to be run on Saturday’s inaugural ‘Turf Million’ program, including the likely favorites in three of the four rich events before shipping north for the summer from his Payson Park winter headquarters.
The stable will be represented by Jon and Sarah Kelly’s Sporting Art and Peachtree Stable’s Flying Dismount in the $400,000 Calder Derby (G3), Robert Scarborough’s Mauralakana in the $300,000 Mairzy Doates Handicap, Waterford Stable’s In Summation in the $250,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint and Hugo Lascelles and Harry McCalmont’s Applauded in the $200,000 Calder Oaks.
Clement won the Calder Oaks in 2000 with Skymarc Farm’s Lucky Lune when the race was run in the fall. He has won the $200,000 La Prevoyante Handicap (G2) four times, including back-to-back victories by the top class filly Coretta (1998-99) and finished second in last year’s edition with Green Girl.
A major victory early in Clement’s career after coming over from France to open his stable in the early 1990s came with Allen Paulson’s Flag Down in the 1995 W.L. McKnight Handicap (G2) during the Tropical Meet, a race in which he sent out Revved Up for a close-up second-place finish behind Grade 1 winner Meteor Storm in 2005.
