Richie the Bull's plans open-ended for now

STICKNEY, Ill. – Dom the Bomb won the Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity last December at Hawthorne by 5 1/4 lengths with a Beyer Speed Figure of 82. On Saturday, his half-brother, Richie the Bull, won the Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity by 9 1/4 lengths with a Beyer of 80. But Richie the Bull’s connections, trainer Larry Rivelli and owners Richard Ravin and V-Leaf Stables, surely hope the two horses’ story lines diverge from here on out.

Dom the Bomb ran back in the Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream, badly grabbed a quarter a couple strides into the race, and never has been the same horse since his Edgar win last year, losing all four of his starts this season and going on the shelf in July. Where Rivelli laid out plans to give Dom the Bomb an early-winter stakes try a year ago, he is leaving things open right now for Richie the Bull, who beat little on Saturday but raced under pace pressure for most of the trip while making his two-turn debut and pulled away encouragingly.

“I have no idea really what’s next,” Rivelli said Sunday. “We could give him a little time off, and it wouldn’t hurt him, maybe look for something down at Tampa. He ran as good as I thought he would. The horse is game. I think he’s an above-average horse, not a great horse, but he’s one of those horses that will run and lay it down every time.”

Richie the Bull is by Benny the Bull and out of the Five Star Day mare Richiesgirlgotgame. Rivelli also won the Edgar in 2013 with Rambling Richie, who, like Dom the Bomb, might not have truly been a two-turn horse.

“I’ve won that race with sprinters before who got two turns because it was the right race for them, but this horse might be a little better,” said Rivelli.

◗ Chris Emigh, seeking his first riding title since 2006, has opened a commanding lead in the Hawthorne jockeys’ standings with 51 wins through Saturday, 18 more than Tim Thornton and Santo Sanjur, who are tied for second. Emigh also leads in purse money earned with more than $640,000, and his 21 percent strike rate is the highest among regular riders at this meet.