Churchill notes: Napravnik on the mend
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jockey Rosie Napravnik, who sustained what doctors have described as a “mild separation” near her shoulder joint in a training accident here Sunday, said Monday through her Facebook account that she is experiencing “mostly minimal pain ... along with maximum frustration of being sidelined.”
Napravnik, 26, is expected to be out four to six weeks, meaning an early return could have her ready for the opening of Saratoga on July 18. Among the mounts she will miss in the interim is Untapable in the June 28 Mother Goose at Belmont.
◗ Class Leader is back in light training after getting a little time off following his come-from-behind victory in the Sir Barton Stakes on the May 17 Preakness undercard, said trainer Neil Howard.
“He came down with a little bug after he gave us such a huge effort there at Pimlico,” said Howard. “He’s fine now, and we’ll start thinking about a spot for him after we get him back breezing.”
◗ A string of eight Bob Baffert horses was scheduled to leave here Wednesday for California, said his assistant, Jim Barnes. One horse not booked on the equine charter flight was Midnight Lucky, the Grade 1-winning filly who already has been shipped out, said Barnes.
◗ Ride On Curlin, the Preakness runner-up who finished last of 11 in the Belmont, is in light training at Churchill. “We’re just jogging him every day,” said trainer Billy Gowan. “We won’t really start back on him until he starts raising hell again.”
◗ Trainer Bret Calhoun said he is pointing Fiftyshadesofgold, fourth in the Acorn, to the Grade 1 Test Stakes on Aug. 2 at Saratoga, and Marchman, a turf-sprint specialist with two stakes wins in Kentucky this spring, to the Grade 3 Parx Dash on July 12 at the suburban Philadelphia track.
◗ A number of Churchill-based horses are scheduled to run next weekend at Prairie Meadows during the Iowa track’s series of major events, including the Steve Margolis pair of Embellishing Bob in the $250,000 Iowa Derby and Cash Control in the $200,000 Iowa Oaks.