Trainer's woes know no boundaries

EAST BOSTON, Mass. - Trainer Peter Bazeos has been suspended 30 days and fined $250 after one of his horses tested positive for the bronchodilator Glycopyrrolate, and faces further penalties after a search of his tack room uncovered a prohibited substance.

In yet another ruling, the Bazeos was fined $500 by New York stewards after one of his horses, Misty Forum, was scratched out of an April 17 race at Aqueduct because of a missing Coggins test.

Bazeos, 54, had been enjoying a successful season and trains Comic Genius, the leading local candidate for the June 1 Massachusetts Handicap, and Esteemed Friend, who won last weekend's William Almy Jr. Stakes and who is being pointed for the $150,000 James Moseley Breeders' Cup on the Mass Cap undercard.

Brianna Des Pins tested positive for the Glycopyrrolate following her second-place finish here in the sixth race April 6. That positive test led to a state police search of Bazeos's barn on April 17 that turned up two vials of strychnine.

Strychnine, which acts on the central nervous system, is considered a Class 1 drug and the possession of it could cause Bazeos a significant suspension.

None of Bazeos's horses has tested positive for strychnine, a substance commonly used as rat poison. The stewards held a hearing on the matter Wednesday and are deliberating on what action to take.

Most of Bazeos's horses have been transferred to trainer Dimitrios Synnefias.

Comic Genius remains pointed at the $100,000 Westchester Handicap at Belmont May 8 as a prep for the Mass Cap. Esteemed Friend will likely train up to the Moseley.

Lyd's a Winnah jumps into stakes

Lyd's a Winnah has proven she can deliver over the Suffolk strip. She gets a another opportunity against nine fellow 3-year-old fillies in Saturday's $30,000 Helena Stakes.

Owner Peter Fuller, trainer Ned Allard, and jockey Abby Fuller recalled the glory days of their 1985 Eclipse Award-winning campaign of Mom's Command when Lyd's a Winnah won her maiden race at Suffolk on March 5. Allard immediately pointed her to this stakes after that easy win. She has since finished third in a Philadelphia Park allowance.

Other entrants in the mile contest include streaking Massachusetts-bred star African Princess, a Nick Zito-trained shipper Miss Summer Reign, and Yankee Fashion Stakes winner Mrscoppolaskitchen.

Going out a winner

Ted Williams hit a home run on his final at-bat. Trainer David Savery has found the same magic, with a second horse in as many weeks ending his career on a winning note.

Makin' Progress, who won the 2000 Almy and the last year's Private Terms Stakes in the course of his 13-for-68 career, retired after winning the fifth race April 15.

Two weeks earlier, the Savery-trained Ernie the King scored a win in his final start before becoming a police horse.

"The secret was dropping him down in class," said Savery. "I knew no one would claim him because he's a 10-year-old - even with a stakes win last year."

Owner-breeder Carl Turnbow will send Makin' Progress to A Hoof Above Acres, a farm owned by Savery's daughter Jennifer O'Dell, in Charlemont, Mass.

* Weather permitting, the always-short turf racing season at Suffolk Downs is slated to begin Derby Day, May 4. Suffolk will also shift its weekly schedule starting this week, with the return of Sunday racing May 5. Tuesdays will be dark for the remainder of the meet.