Giza Goddess set to resume training
ARCADIA, Calif. – Giza Goddess, who won the Blue Norther Stakes for 2-year-old fillies in her stakes debut in December, is scheduled to resume training this week after undergoing knee surgery in March.
Trainer John Shirreffs said over the weekend that Giza Goddess has been tack-walking at his stable at Santa Anita in recent weeks and could begin jogging this week. There is a possibility Giza Goddess could start before the end of the summer, he said.
“It depends on how quickly she comes around,” Shirreffs said. “She’s got the thing you love about a turf horse. They can kick the last part.”
Owned by a partnership that includes West Point Thoroughbreds, Giza Goddess has won 2 of 6 starts and earned $92,980.
Gregson Foundation to honor Espinoza
Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza will be honored for his accomplishments in racing at the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation’s annual fundraising dinner at Del Mar this summer.
The Gregson Foundation, which provides college scholarships for the children of backstretch workers, will hold the dinner at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar Resort on Aug. 12.
Espinoza, 47, is well known as one of the leading riders in Southern California and for his success on American Pharoah, the winner of the 2015 Triple Crown, and California Chrome, the Horse of the Year in 2014 and 2016.
Espinoza returned to riding earlier this year after sustaining injuries in a workout at Del Mar last summer.
In the past, the Gregson Foundation has honored jockeys such as Eddie Delahoussaye, Julie Krone, Laffit Pincay Jr., Mike Smith, and Gary Stevens. Tickets are $300 per person. More information is available at www.gregsonfoundation.com.
◗ Trainer Vladimir Cerin has been fined $2,500 after Conquest Flatterme tested in excess of the permitted level of the anti-inflammatory firocoxib in a workout at Santa Anita on Feb. 12, according to a ruling issued by Santa Anita stewards on May 27. The infraction was Cerin’s third medication violation in the last year, the ruling stated.
