California Chrome settles into quarantine
California Chrome was comfortably settled into the quarantine barn on the Arlington backstretch Wednesday after arriving Tuesday afternoon on a flight from Amsterdam.
Marcus HershJul 08, 2015
California Chrome was comfortably settled into the quarantine barn on the Arlington backstretch Wednesday after arriving Tuesday afternoon on a flight from Amsterdam.
The year has started somewhat slowly for Work All Week, one of two graded-stakes performers for the sprawling Midwest Thoroughbreds operation of Rich and Karen Papiese. But the other Midwest star of 2014, The Pizza Man, popped back into action this season in excellent form.
John Velazquez will ride Tonalist again in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 8. He plans to ride him a little better than he did in the Grade 2 Suburban, when he made a premature move and was beaten a head by Effinex.
Horses that are at greater risk of suffering fatal injuries are becoming easier to identify because of the isolation of several high-risk factors gleaned from a six-year-old injury database, according to the epidemiologist analyzing the data for the U.S. racing industry.
Options abound for Ready for Rye, the Grade 2 Swale winner who on July 4 made a sparkling turf debut winning a second-level allowance race here by 2 3/4 lengths.
Wicked Strong did not find a soft spot in which to make his turf debut in Saturday’s $150,000 Forbidden Apple Stakes at Belmont Park.
Living as we are in the Age of American Pharoah, it is easy to forget that the health of the sport relies on a horizontal integration of exceptional talent to maintain widespread interest. The game can not rely on Pharoah’s daily gallops alone. That is why it is a shame the two most decorated American Thoroughbreds of 2014 have fallen on hard times.
Alsvid quietly became a millionaire Sunday at Gulfstream Park, when he finished fifth in the Grade 2 Smile Sprint. He had been second choice in the Summit of Speed race, but ended up chasing wire-to-wire winner Favorite Tale. Alsvid will now get some downtime, trainer Chris Hartman said on Wednesday.
Integral could become the first repeat winner of the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes since 2005 when she starts in the one-mile race for fillies and mares on Friday over Newmarket’s July Course, but the group she faces this season looks deeper than the one she beat in 2014.
Overall, it was not a wise decision to play Sunday, but I am sometimes swayed by the temptation of a good race card or the thought that, “I know that horse.” On this holiday weekend, I believe our forefathers were looking down at me and saying, “What was he thinking?”