String King outruns pedigree, points to Unbridled

At first glance, String King might seem to be of humble bloodlines as the son of a $1,500 stallion and a mare who won her maiden for a claiming price of $15,000. But dig a little deeper and his pedigree taps into one of the great dynasties of the turf.

Nelson Bunker Hunt is the breeder of String King’s grandam, One for Emprey, a horse whom Charlie Smith, the breeder, owner, and trainer of String King, bought off the track in the late 1980s. One for Emprey produced for him String Dancer, who would in turn produce String King, one of the top Louisiana-breds in training with almost $700,000 in earnings. Earlier this month, String King won the eighth stakes of his career in the off-the-turf, $75,000 Louisiana Cup Turf Classic at Louisiana Downs.

For Smith, the pedigree connection to Hunt is one he’s come to appreciate. At first, One for Emprey was simply a racemare he followed because of her determination. She raced at his hometrack of Louisiana Downs in 1987 and 1988.

“The mare always had a little try to her, and when she finished her career, then I bought her,” he said. “She had bowed a tendon. I bought her for a little bit of nothing when she was done racing.” One for Emprey was a daughter of Empery, who won the Epsom Derby. Empery’s sire, Vaguely Noble, was a staple in the Hunt breeding program, producing such horses as Dahlia.

String King is one of two horses Smith has in training, the other being String King’s half-brother, String Attack. String King, a son of the multiple stakes winner Crowned King, emerged from the Louisiana Cup Classic in good order and will target the $75,000 Unbridled on the Super Derby undercard at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 6, said Smith.

Riders support Walker

The Louisiana Downs jockey colony has put up $1,000 to help retired jockey Bobby Walker Jr. return to his hometown of West Monroe, La., from Minnesota. Walker was recently diagnosed with cancer while working as a jockey agent at Canterbury Park, and his daughter told track officials he would like to go home to Louisiana, which will require medical transportation at a cost of $5,000 to $10,000.

“We took up a collection last week, and we’re getting all of that sent off to him this week,” said Don Simington, one of the leading riders at Louisiana Downs. “Trainers also donated. There was close to $1,000 out of the [jockeys’] room.”

Walker, a winner of almost 3,000 races, was a fixture at Louisiana Downs.

“Anybody that’s ridden in Louisiana goes back a long time with Bobby,” said Simington.

Remington Park-based trainer Kari Carddock also is collecting donations for Walker. The Oklahoma City track opens its meet Friday night. Walker also rode at Remington as well as tracks throughout Texas and, among other venues, Canterbury and Ak-Sar-Ben.

Lone Star seeking more Sundays

Lone Star Park is looking to make some changes to the structure of its race week for next year’s Thoroughbred season, said Scott Wells, the track’s president and general manager. Lone Star has again requested a 50-date meet from the Texas Racing Commission but is looking to add more Sunday afternoon cards and drop some of its Thursday night programs. The proposed changes were made in response to requests from customers, said Wells.

Lone Star has requested opening April 9 and racing through July 19. The track would race on a Friday-through-Sunday basis most weeks, with Thursday cards April 9, April 23, June 18, and July 16. There is also a special Monday card May 25.

Lone Star has requested a 6:35 p.m. Central post on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, the main exception being Triple Crown dates, when Saturday’s first post would be 1:35 p.m. First post for the Sunday cards and the Monday program would be 1:35 p.m.

The commission is expected to consider dates requests at its next meeting.

Special pick four for Super Derby Day

Louisiana Downs will have a $100,000-guaranteed pick four pool on Super Derby Day, Sept. 6, said Trent McIntosh, the track’s director of operations. Louisiana Downs will have a program of seven stakes that afternoon, led by the Grade 2, $400,000 Super Derby. Nominations to the 1 1/8-mile race closed Sunday.

Other stakes on the card will include a pair of 2-year-old turf routes, each worth $75,000. The program will be featured on HRTV, said McIntosh.