ARCADIA, Calif. – Stronghold is unlikely to race at 1 1/4 miles in the foreseeable future after finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Phil D’Amato said Sunday that Stronghold will resume racing this summer. A race goal has not been selected.
“We’ll freshen him up a little bit,” D’Amato said.
“He came out of the race 100 percent. I think he’s got lots of opportunities. He needs his distance, maybe a mile and a sixteenth or a mile and an eighth.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – The invitation is tempting. The details, however, are daunting.
With a win in Saturday’s Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at Santa Anita, the 7-year-old gelding Gold Phoenix earned a berth in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park, near London, on July 6.
The $752,000 Eclipse Stakes is one of Britain’s leading races at 1 1/4 miles. With its prize money and prestige, the race annually draws a terrific field, one that left trainer Phil D’Amato on Sunday thinking more about a domestic campaign than an international trip for Gold Phoenix.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Thorpedo Anna dominated last Friday’s Kentucky Oaks as the second betting choice, leading all the way and splashing clear to a 4 3/4-length victory. But in some ways, the filly was the biggest of longshots. Her mere existence is a credit to breeder and co-owner Judy Hicks, as Thorpedo Anna’s dam, Sataves, had a premature and troubled start to life and required painstaking care.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna and runner-up Just F Y I emerged from their respective efforts in good order and could meet again in some of the major Grade 1 races for their division this summer at Saratoga.
Trainer Kenny McPeek said Thorpedo Anna, who pulled away from Just F Y I late to complete a wire-to-wire, 4 3/4-length victory in the Oaks on a sloppy, sealed track, was “a little tired” from her effort, but in good shape. After leaving a bit of feed on Friday night after the race, the filly bounced right back Saturday.
A cutback in distance and the possible shape of the race gives Tatanka an excellent chance of getting back to his winning ways Thursday at Gulfstream Park. But the seven-time winner is no cinch in a highly competitive $25,000 starter race that includes a $35,000 claiming option.
The one-mile turf event goes as the second of eight races.
Take Me Serious will be looking to stretch her speed around two turns Tuesday, when she starts as the probable favorite in the $55,000 More Than Even Stakes at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla.
The one-mile race is for fillies and mares bred in Oklahoma and honors the multiple stakes-winning mare who was based in Oklahoma.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jockey Jon Court will be retiring after Sunday’s card at Oaklawn Park. The 63-year-old native of Gainesville, Fla., has four mounts, capped by League of Legends in the sixth race.
Court said he announced his decision Monday night. During his career, he’s been a fixture in the Midwest, and rode in Southern California from 2004-08. Court, who began riding in 1980, had won 4,263 races from 35,355 mounts in North America through Thursday for mount earnings of $114 million. In an overseas venture, he captured the Japan Dirt Cup in 2003 with Fleetstreet Dancer.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park on Sunday will close a statistically satisfying meet, with a variety of barometers showing participation increases from patrons, owners, and horses, according to track president Lou Cella.
Looking ahead, Oaklawn plans to make some slight changes to next season’s calendar, which Cella said is agreed to by horsemen and is now subject to final approval from the Arkansas Racing Commission.
Doncho began his career in sparkling fashion, winning two six-furlong races at the Fair Grounds with identical 94 Beyer Speed Figures.
On Sunday, Doncho looks to rebound from his first career loss when he meets seven other 3-year-olds going six furlongs in the $150,000 Gold Fever Stakes at the Belmont at the Big A meet.
The $150,000 License Fee will be run earlier on the card.
Trained by Michelle Lovell, Doncho finished fourth in his stakes debut last month in the Lafayette, a seven-furlong race at Keeneland.
The already lofty expectations surrounding the 3-year-old Laulne were raised April 7, when the filly rallied to win her 2024 debut in the Angels Flight Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita.
Jockey Antonio Fresu told trainer Phil D’Amato after the race that Laulne would be even better in her second start of the year, which will occur in Sunday’s Grade 3 Senorita Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
“I remember him specifically saying that she would improve a lot,” D’Amato said Thursday. “Hopefully, he’s right.
