Hollywood Park notes: Apprentice VanDyke gets first win
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Apprentice jockey Drayden VanDyke won for the first time on Thursday, riding Money Clip to victory in the sixth race at Betfair Hollywood Park. It was the second mount of his career.
VanDyke, 19, guided Money Clip ($9.40) from off the pace with a wide run to win the six-furlong race by a half-length over 12-1 I Buy Gold. Money Clip needed minimal urging, getting a tap of the whip from VanDyke through the stretch.
“It felt great to get my first win,” he said. “This is the best experience ever.”
A native of Hot Springs, Ark., VanDyke is an exercise rider for Tom Proctor, who trains Money Clip. Proctor gave VanDyke the first mount of his career, a sixth-place finish by Two Term Leader here on Nov. 17.
Need You Now lowers sights
Need You Now, the winner of the Le Cle Stakes for 3-year-old fillies here in July, was nominated for the Matriarch Stakes, but instead will run in a one-mile allowance race on turf in Sunday’s third race.
Trained by Mike Mitchell, Need You Now was fourth in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 26 behind Matriarch candidate Wishing Gate.
The allowance race is restricted to fillies who have not won a graded stakes this year. The other runners are Becky Lou, Include the Aussie, Joeandbetty’sbaby, and Judy In Disguise.
Maiden winner tests positive
The purse of a maiden race at Del Mar on Aug. 30 has been ordered redistributed after race winner Van Dien Avenue was disqualified for testing positive for the prohibited raceday medication clenbuterol, Hollywood Park stewards ruled on Thursday.
Van Dien Avenue won the one-mile turf race by a half-length, earning $45,000 for owners Don Van Kempen, Jeffrey Byer, Michael Nentwig, and George Saadeh. Jockey David Flores rode Van Dien Avenue for Jim Cassidy. The owners, Flores, and Cassidy were ordered to return their shares of the prize money by Dec. 21.
As a result of the disqualification, the prize money has been redistributed to the original second- through fifth-place finishers – Warren’s Dixi Bell, Peggy Sue’s Loose, Tickle Again, Cee’s Tizzy Belle, and Gypsy Friday.
Clenbuterol is a bronchodilator allowed for use in training. The California Horse Racing Board suggests a 21-day withdrawal period, according to a 2012 memo on its website.
◗ Apprentice jockey Irving Orozco will begin a three-day suspension on Sunday after dropping an appeal of a suspension issued at Santa Anita in late October. Orozco, 19, was cited for causing interference in the seventh race at Santa Anita on Oct. 27.