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Options Abound For ‘Rising Star’ Mashallah

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‘TDN Rising Star’ presented by Hagyard Mashallah (Maxfield) was back to something approaching her best when romping by seven lengths in an age-restricted, first-level Saratoga allowance on July 4 (96 Beyer), opening the door to bigger and loftier targets over the course of the next several weeks.

Named a ‘Rising Star’ after dominating a six-furlong Keeneland maiden by nearly four lengths Apr. 23–good for a massive 106 Beyer Speed Figure–the bay gave way readily to finish a well-beaten fifth trying a mile at Churchill Downs on May 30.

Suffice to say there was a collective sigh of relief emanating from Union Avenue and the faith-restoring success has her connections looking forward to what might be in store.

“For sure,” said Restrepo when asked if it was good to see the filly atone for her last effort. The bloodstock agent signed the winning ticket on Mashallah at OBS March last year, going to $1.25 million on behalf of Jose Aguirre’s JR Ranch in the name of his Marquee Bloodstock. “She surprised all of us with that [first] performance because it’s almost like she does just enough and she looks after herself in training. And when she did that, the way she did it her first time out, [trainer] Brendan [Walsh], he said it that he thought she could get a mile easily.”

On pedigree, handicappers would almost certainly concur. Mashallah is a daughter of All in With Aces (Quiet American), whose 10 winners as a producer includes Hard Aces (Hard Spun), victorious in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita over a mile and a quarter and twice successful in Grade III contests over 12 furlongs.

But Restrepo thinks that oversimplifies things a bit.

“I think you can get fooled, because if you look at the rest of her family and her dam, they’re all six-furlong horses,” he said.

Indeed, All in With Aces’s other black-type performer was Astrollinthepark (Divine Park), a dual black-type winner at sprint trips and runner-up in the GIII Winning Colors Stakes at three-quarters of a mile.

Soon after the mile allowance, the decision was made to cut Mashallah back in distance, but instead of allowing her to roll along on the front end as she had done her first two times to the races, there was a purposeful change in the tactics this time around.

“When Brendan breezed her back, he said, ‘I’m going to stick to sprinting. There’s a race at Saratoga six and a half and let’s see how she goes.’ And she had a great month and it’s great to see her do that. Let her rate, let her get into a rhythm and not necessarily be on the engine flying. And she shut off, which was great.

“And when [jockey Tyler Gaffalione] called upon her, she responded and he felt there was a lot more to give and she’s learning. But I mean clearly talent-wise, just raw talent and ability, she’s got it.”

Having cleared her first allowance condition, Mashallah could be headed into stakes company next time around.

“This is like one of those cliche tick-the-box answers, but you obviously watch her the next couple of weeks and look, the elephant in the room is the [seven-furlong Aug. 8 GI] Test [Stakes]. Obviously, and she’ll be up there at Saratoga the whole time, so that is a possibility,” Restrepo said. “There are races at Colonial and Ellis, so we could go that route and then come back for the [six-furlong Sept. 6 GIII] Prioress [Stakes]. So there are tons of ways to go about it, but the owner is a very patient man and leaves it up to the team to kind of get together.”

At the end of the day, Restrepo and team are happy to defer that decision to the trainer.

‘It’s in Brendan’s hands to make that final call,” he said. “The options are laid before us and it’s just see what’s best for her and see how the field’s shaping up, right?”

Our lovely MASHALLAH bounces back in style style with an easy off the pace victory in the opener today at Saratoga, ridden by @Tyler_Gaff for trainer @brenpwalsh

A talented daughter of Maxfield @DarleyStallions pic.twitter.com/iYqol4tm8T

— JR Ranch (@JRRanch1802) July 4, 2026

The post Options Abound For ‘Rising Star’ Mashallah appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

John Parisella Passes Away

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John Parisella, a top trainer in New York and California for decades and one of the sport’s most colorful figures, passed away Friday July 3 at a Long Island hospital. According to Wikipedia, he was 81.

The news was confirmed by family friend and fellow trainer Bruce Levine. Levine believes Parisella passed away as the result of a head injury he suffered in a fall.

“His health had been declining pretty good the last year, year and a half,” Levine said. “For whatever reason, he kept falling and losing his balance. A friend of his went to see him last Sunday and found him unconscious in his apartment. There was blood all over the place. They took him to the hospital. He never regained consciousness from there. He fell all the time. Maybe two weeks before he died, he told me, ‘Bruce I am going to die from falling.’ It started about two years ago. He fell in a Dunkin’ Donuts and they had to take him to the hospital and stitch him up. I begged him to go to assisted living. He wouldn’t do it. He was stubborn about certain things.”

Parisella began his career in 1976 and ran his last horse in 2016. He won 960 races during his career, including 22 graded stakes races. His best horse may have been Simply Majestic, a winner of 14 stakes races. He finished third in the 1984 GI Preakness Stakes with Fight Over and Simply Majestic finished third in the 1988 GI Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Parisella was born in Brooklyn to an Italian Catholic family and started his career as an assistant to Tommy Gullo. His mentor later became Johnny Campo.

His primary owner in New York was Ted Sabarese. The two campaigned 1983 for GIII Nashua winner Don Rickles.

While in California, he trained for several actors, including Jack Klugman, Don Adams, Don Rickles,Telly Savalas and James Caan. It was Klugman who gave him the nickname “Trainer to the Stars.”

In 1975, Parisella married Bernadette Birk, the former wife of trainer Bobby Frankel. Parisella and Frankel were originally friends as well as competitors, but it was Parisella who has largely been given credit for raising his step-daughter Bethenny Frankel.

Levine worries that the new generation will forget the top trainers of the seventies and eighties like Parisella.

“John had a great run,” Levine said. “The new generation, they don’t know trainers like John or Frank Martin. Even Woody Stephens, if he didn’t win five Belmonts no one would remember him. ‘The Chief,’  Allen Jerkens, I’m not sure people remember him.”

The post John Parisella Passes Away appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Options Abound For ‘Rising Star’ Mashallah

---

‘TDN Rising Star’ presented by Hagyard Mashallah (Maxfield) was back to something approaching her best when romping by seven lengths in an age-restricted, first-level Saratoga allowance on July 4 (96 Beyer), opening the door to bigger and loftier targets over the course of the next several weeks.

Named a ‘Rising Star’ after dominating a six-furlong Keeneland maiden by nearly four lengths Apr. 23–good for a massive 106 Beyer Speed Figure–the bay gave way readily to finish a well-beaten fifth trying a mile at Churchill Downs on May 30.

Suffice to say there was a collective sigh of relief emanating from Union Avenue and the faith-restoring success has her connections looking forward to what might be in store.

“For sure,” said Restrepo when asked if it was good to see the filly atone for her last effort. The bloodstock agent signed the winning ticket on Mashallah at OBS March last year, going to $1.25 million on behalf of Jose Aguirre’s JR Ranch in the name of his Marquee Bloodstock. “She surprised all of us with that [first] performance because it’s almost like she does just enough and she looks after herself in training. And when she did that, the way she did it her first time out, [trainer] Brendan [Walsh], he said it that he thought she could get a mile easily.”

On pedigree, handicappers would almost certainly concur. Mashallah is a daughter of All in With Aces (Quiet American), whose 10 winners as a producer includes Hard Aces (Hard Spun), victorious in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita over a mile and a quarter and twice successful in Grade III contests over 12 furlongs.

But Restrepo thinks that oversimplifies things a bit.

“I think you can get fooled, because if you look at the rest of her family and her dam, they’re all six-furlong horses,” he said.

Indeed, All in With Aces’s other black-type performer was Astrollinthepark (Divine Park), a dual black-type winner at sprint trips and runner-up in the GIII Winning Colors Stakes at three-quarters of a mile.

Soon after the mile allowance, the decision was made to cut Mashallah back in distance, but instead of allowing her to roll along on the front end as she had done her first two times to the races, there was a purposeful change in the tactics this time around.

“When Brendan breezed her back, he said, ‘I’m going to stick to sprinting. There’s a race at Saratoga six and a half and let’s see how she goes.’ And she had a great month and it’s great to see her do that. Let her rate, let her get into a rhythm and not necessarily be on the engine flying. And she shut off, which was great.

“And when [jockey Tyler Gaffalione] called upon her, she responded and he felt there was a lot more to give and she’s learning. But I mean clearly talent-wise, just raw talent and ability, she’s got it.”

Having cleared her first allowance condition, Mashallah could be headed into stakes company next time around.

“This is like one of those cliche tick-the-box answers, but you obviously watch her the next couple of weeks and look, the elephant in the room is the [seven-furlong Aug. 8 GI] Test [Stakes]. Obviously, and she’ll be up there at Saratoga the whole time, so that is a possibility,” Restrepo said. “There are races at Colonial and Ellis, so we could go that route and then come back for the [six-furlong Sept. 6 GIII] Prioress [Stakes]. So there are tons of ways to go about it, but the owner is a very patient man and leaves it up to the team to kind of get together.”

At the end of the day, Restrepo and team are happy to defer that decision to the trainer.

‘It’s in Brendan’s hands to make that final call,” he said. “The options are laid before us and it’s just see what’s best for her and see how the field’s shaping up, right?”

Our lovely MASHALLAH bounces back in style style with an easy off the pace victory in the opener today at Saratoga, ridden by @Tyler_Gaff for trainer @brenpwalsh

A talented daughter of Maxfield @DarleyStallions pic.twitter.com/iYqol4tm8T

— JR Ranch (@JRRanch1802) July 4, 2026

The post Options Abound For ‘Rising Star’ Mashallah appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

John Parisella Passes Away

---

John Parisella, a top trainer in New York and California for decades and one of the sport’s most colorful figures, passed away Friday July 3 at a Long Island hospital. According to Wikipedia, he was 81.

The news was confirmed by family friend and fellow trainer Bruce Levine. Levine believes Parisella passed away as the result of a head injury he suffered in a fall.

“His health had been declining pretty good the last year, year and a half,” Levine said. “For whatever reason, he kept falling and losing his balance. A friend of his went to see him last Sunday and found him unconscious in his apartment. There was blood all over the place. They took him to the hospital. He never regained consciousness from there. He fell all the time. Maybe two weeks before he died, he told me, ‘Bruce I am going to die from falling.’ It started about two years ago. He fell in a Dunkin’ Donuts and they had to take him to the hospital and stitch him up. I begged him to go to assisted living. He wouldn’t do it. He was stubborn about certain things.”

Parisella began his career in 1976 and ran his last horse in 2016. He won 960 races during his career, including 22 graded stakes races. His best horse may have been Simply Majestic, a winner of 14 stakes races. He finished third in the 1984 GI Preakness Stakes with Fight Over and Simply Majestic finished third in the 1988 GI Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Parisella was born in Brooklyn to an Italian Catholic family and started his career as an assistant to Tommy Gullo. His mentor later became Johnny Campo.

His primary owner in New York was Ted Sabarese. The two campaigned 1983 for GIII Nashua winner Don Rickles.

While in California, he trained for several actors, including Jack Klugman, Don Adams, Don Rickles,Telly Savalas and James Caan. It was Klugman who gave him the nickname “Trainer to the Stars.”

In 1975, Parisella married Bernadette Birk, the former wife of trainer Bobby Frankel. Parisella and Frankel were originally friends as well as competitors, but it was Parisella who has largely been given credit for raising his step-daughter Bethenny Frankel.

Levine worries that the new generation will forget the top trainers of the seventies and eighties like Parisella.

“John had a great run,” Levine said. “The new generation, they don’t know trainers like John or Frank Martin. Even Woody Stephens, if he didn’t win five Belmonts no one would remember him. ‘The Chief,’  Allen Jerkens, I’m not sure people remember him.”

The post John Parisella Passes Away appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.