Bal a Kazoo ships in off short rest for Carle Place

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Provided Sunday’s $125,000 Carle Place Stakes remains on the turf – at this stage, does anybody really listen anymore to a weather forecast – trainer Robert Gorham will start his first horse on the New York Racing Association circuit when he sends out Bal a Kazoo in the six-furlong turf stakes.

However, Gorham, a winner of 2,143 races over a 30-year career, is no stranger to New York racing. In the late 1980s and early 90s, Gorham was the owner of Double Booked, who, trained by Linda Rice, was a 17-time winner and reeled off six stakes wins at five tracks in 1991. Not long after Double Booked retired, Gorham took out his trainer’s license.

“This is my chance to come back and try a turf horse in a stakes,” Gorham said.

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Gorham, with business partner Henry Mast, has a concentration of Indiana- and Ohio-breds and splits his stable between Horseshoe Indianapolis and Thistledown. Bal a Kazoo is one of a handful of Kentucky-breds Gorham has, and the 3-year-old is coming out of a solid third in an allowance race on Oct. 8 at Keeneland.

“He’s been coming around and improving quite a bit all summer long and needed to get the opportunity to step it up a little bit, which obviously he did in that spot at Keeneland,” Gorham said.

Gorham felt Bal a Kazoo could have been second in that spot with a little smoother of a trip.

“It got a little crowded down on the rail at the tail end,” Gorham said. “Maybe with a little more racing room coming down the lane he could have moved up one placing.”

Gorham admitted to being “slightly” concerned about running back 12 days after a top effort.

“The horse has been relatively lightly raced throughout the summer, but we’re talking about a ship, we’re talking about a number of issues so that’s always a concern,” Gorham said. “Would we have liked another week or so? Obviously, but the calendar did not permit.”

Irad Oritz Jr. rides Bal a Kazoo. Ortiz has ridden previously for Gorham, booting home Tivis to victory in the Mahoning Distaff last Nov. 21 at Mahoning Valley.

The New York-bred Vacation Dance won the Atlantic Beach Stakes here last October. Trainer John Kimmel spent several months trying to stretch the horse out in distance to no avail. He is coming off a second-level win against older statebred competition going 5 1/2 furlongs on Sept. 1 at Saratoga.

“As soon as we cracked him back to sprinting, he won again and he did it pretty comfortably,” Kimmel said.

Vacation Dance breaks from post 8 under Javier Castellano.

Gaslight Dancer also cuts back to sprinting after two failed attempts going long. Gaslight Dancer won the Palisades Stakes at Keeneland in April and was third in the William Walker at Churchill.

In his first try on turf, on Aug. 26 at Saratoga, Acoustic Ave finished second to Souper Quest, the same horse who defeated Bal a Kazoo at Keeneland.

Listentothemusic, Son of a Birch, Freedom Road, Just Beat the Odds, and Sir Lancelot complete the field on turf. Super Chow, Ninetyprcentmaddie, and the filly Tappni Josie are entered to run only if the race is transferred to the main track.

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