Sam Houston: Gleam of Hope, Cease top Maxxam Gold Cup

Gleam of Hope and Cease will be invading Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday night for the $150,000 Maxxam Gold Cup. They will be part of an eight-horse field for the richest dirt race of the meet. The Maxxam, at a mile and an eighth, will go as the ninth race, with a scheduled post of 10:28 p.m. Central.

Gleam of Hope last raced on Jan. 21, and finished fourth in the $100,000 Louisiana Handicap. Before that race, he missed by a nose in the $72,000 Tenacious, also at Fair Grounds. Gleam of Hope will break from the rail, with trainer Michael Stidham giving the mount to James Graham.

Cease was second in a $40,000 optional claiming allowance at Fair Grounds in his last start Feb. 16. Last year, he was third in the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup and fifth in the Grade 2 Breeders’ Cup Marathon. He drew post 4, and trainer Al Stall Jr. has given the mount to Glen Murphy.

Coyote Legend, a multiple stakes winner, will break from post 2.

Landeros heading to Florida

Jockey Chris Landeros, a two-time title winner at Lone Star Park who ranks second in the current standings at Sam Houston, will make the move to south Florida after the Sam Houston meet ends on March 12, he said on Wednesday.

Landeros, a 23-year-old native of California, will ride at Gulfstream Park, then will be based at Calder Race Course. He said he would be represented in Florida by agent Dan Mellul.

“It was a hard decision for me,” Landeros said of the move. “But it’s a spot to ride all year, and there’s a lot of Derby preps. I’m hoping to catch something good in the next few years.”