Blanc nears return to saddle

DEL MAR, Calif. - Jockey Brice Blanc, idle for the past week after being involved in an accident on the turf course, was out walking at Del Mar on Tuesday morning and said he was scheduled to visit a doctor on Wednesday in hopes of being cleared to ride.

“Hopefully I’ll be back by the weekend, or sometime next week,” Blanc said. “The first two days after the accident were pretty rough. I was really body sore. I’m feeling better now.”

Toro makes a visit

Former jockey Fernando Toro lives in the area, but has kept a fairly low profile in recent years, preferring the fairways to the stable area. He was out on Tuesday morning, visiting his old friend trainer Richard Mandella and lamenting that his golf game had regressed in recent months.

“I hurt my shoulder, so I haven’t played for awhile,” Toro, 73, said. “I was down to a 5 handicap, but it was up to 10.”

Toro, who began his career in his native Chile, retired in 1990 with 3,555 wins in North America. Best known for his grass-riding ability, he won inaugural Breeders’ Cup Mile in 1984 with Royal Heroine, and the 1986 Arlington Million with Estrapade.