Biancone giving Florida another try

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A familiar name from years past is back on the local scene, trainer Patrick Biancone, who has moved his stable back to south Florida and to the Palm Meadows training center in Boynton Beach.

Biancone has not raced at Gulfstream Park since 2011 and shortly afterward moved to the West Coast. He has sent out only 98 starters since Jan. 1, 2014, winning just eight races. He has no wins from seven starters this season.

Biancone, who came to the U.S. from France, has won 314 races since 1983, with purse earnings in excess of $27 million. Sixty-one of those victories came in graded stakes, led by All Along's tour de force in 1983, when she won the Grade 1 Rothmans International, Turf Classic, and D.C. Interntational after winning the Arc de Triomphe, all in a space of 41 days. Biancone also has Grade 1 wins with Irish Smoke in the 2007 Spinaway, Angara in the 2005 Man o’ War, and Lion Heart in the 2004 Haskell.

“I had an owner ask me if I wanted to bring a bunch of horses to Florida, and I said okay,” said Biancone. “I currently have 15 at Palm Meadows, with the hopes of adding a little bit more later on after buying some young horses at the sales. I think the stock I have will be competitive here this summer. I also have a few nice 2-year-olds who’ll hopefully pan out to be something special later this season.”

Biancone had nothing but high praise for the Palm Meadows training facility, which he’d not seen prior to arriving here last month.

“I’ve always loved Florida, especially the weather, and I can’t say enough about this place,” Biancone said. “You’ve got everything you need, including a great turf course, and the horses love it here.”

◗ Ralph Nicks extended his advantage in the trainer standings when Sonanheir won Wednesday’s opener. Nicks, who was en route to New York at the time, posted his 12th victory of the meet, which opened April 6.

Nicks will be splitting his time between Florida and New York this summer. He has nearly 60 horses bedded down locally and another 20 at Belmont Park.

◗ While Nicks and Mark Casse figure to dominate the trainer standings here this summer, a few names flying under the radar are quietly off to good starts at the meet. That group includes Francisco D’Angelo, who has saddled five winners from just eight starters, and Oscar Gonzalez and Chuck Simon, also with five victories apiece from just 15 starts. Leo Gabriel Jr. is batting .500 thus far this session, having sent out four winners from just eight starters.