Baze to return Wednesday
PLEASANTON, Calif. - Jockey Russell Baze, expected to miss six weeks after breaking his left collarbone in a June 8 spill, will return to action next Wednesday at the Alameda County Fair, less than one month after the accident.
Baze was injured less than a week after his milestone 9,000th victory when Cowboy Badgett suffered a fatal breakdown. The break was in a spot that allowed for speedy healing, aided by a special machine that stimulates bone growth.
Baze has been working horses at Bay Meadows and was scheduled to work Lost in the Fog on Thursday for the colt's final preparation before shipping to Calder to run in the Grade 2 Carry Back on July 9.
"He'll only ride two or three a day for a while," said Baze's agent, Ray Harris. "He's feeling good and has been working hard on his recovery because he wanted to ride Lost in the Fog."
Familiar pattern
Will history repeat for trainer Gloria Haley on Friday?
Last year, the Haley-trained Yerevan Star made the second start of her career here and won. She won a stakes in her next start and has gone on to become a multiple stakes winner.
This year, Haley sends out , a 4-year-old gelding making his second career start, in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race.
As with Yerevan Star, he showed a bit of promise in his debut when he broke slowly and raced greenly early but finished well.
"He's an immature horse and can be quite a lot to handle," Haley said. "As a 2-year-old, he would demolish everybody, so we had to geld him."
Since breaking poorly in his debut, Awesome Honor has received plenty of schooling in the gate at Golden Gate Fields.
"We've got quite a gate crew, and they did a great job working with him," she said. "He worked really well and did a great job getting out of the gate."
Since his debut, Awesome Honor has recorded a pair of bullet half-mile drills.
Haley said Awesome Honor should be even better when he goes longer.
"He should be much better going a mile, but we haven't been able to get any races to fill for him," Haley said.