By the time I’ll Have Another and Nyquist reached mid-March of their 3-year-old seasons, they were already stakes winners on their way to wins in the Kentucky Derby for owners Paul and Zillah Reddam and trainer Doug O’Neill.
If the same partnership has a runner in this year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6, they will do so with a colt prepared in a different manner.
Blazing Sevens, who finished eighth in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park on March 4, will look to rebound and potentially earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby by running in the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 8, trainer Chad Brown confirmed Wednesday.
Brown said Blazing Sevens is tentatively scheduled to van from Payson Park in Florida to New York on Sunday following a workout over the weekend.
Although Japan offers a series of Kentucky Derby points races, Japanese-bred Triple Crown nominee Mandarin Hero is eyeing the spring classic from a different route, and is coming from Japan for next month’s Santa Anita Derby.
Alice Marble will be ready to race at Santa Anita on Friday in the $100,000 Irish O’Brien Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares, regardless of the surface used for the race.
Big Summer, her leading rival, might scratch from the Irish O’Brien, scheduled at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course, if it is moved to the main track.
Santa Anita sustained three inches of rain on Tuesday and early Wednesday, track officials said, leading to the possibility of a surface switch on Friday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Expectations will be considerably higher at Gulfstream Park for three horses who most recently finished well back in a Grade 3 race in which all were huge longshots.
Don’t Get Khozy, Soul of an Angel, and Jungle Juice will reconvene Friday in a $73,000 allowance that anchors a nine-race card. They were a respective third, fifth, and seventh when dismissed at odds of 76-1, 87-1, and 63-1 here Feb. 18 in the Royal Delta, a Grade 3 race in which Classy Edition and Kathleen O. ran 1-2 as the favorites.
My father, Ralph Rampellini, held a trainer’s license in the 1960s when he took a job as a swing-shift groom for Syl Veitch at Belmont Park.
He wanted to learn the art of conditioning racehorses from one of the best, and Veitch imparted lessons my father would call on throughout a career in which he trained for Nelson Bunker Hunt, Leslie Combs II of Spendthrift Farm, and John Franks.
It was a dream realized for the “city boy” – to find his place in racing. The sport is one my father and I talked about on a daily basis, up until his passing on Saturday at age 78.
WHO’S HOT
Depending on who you ask, Tampa Bay Derby winner Tapit Trice either cemented his status as a top Derby contender or exposed himself as lacking the mental fortitude for a 20-horse Derby stampede. His Derby Watch odds of 10-1 reflect those mixed reactions to Saturday’s victory. Derby Watch favorite Forte’s odds dropped from 4-1 to 3-1 following the defection of the horse many viewed to be his main rival. Gotham runner-up Slip Mahoney, who barely missed the cut last week, takes this week’s extra spot, listed at 50-1.
There have been many years Todd Pletcher spent March and April moving 3-year-olds all over the chessboard. This year, Pletcher has fewer pawns in the game. But he has the reigning king stabled at his winter base, the Palm Beach Downs training center in Florida, and another piece that showed his power this past weekend.
Paris Peacock has finished last in both of her starts on this continent, but don’t let that mislead you. The Irish-bred filly will be in receipt of massive class relief when she returns to action Friday in the feature race at Tampa Bay Downs.
“We got a race in her a few weeks back, and she’s really been doing good since then,” said Tom Proctor, who trains Paris Peacock for the Glen Hill Farm of Craig Bernick and family.
