Jose Francisco D’Angelo is winning races. Lots of races. He would like to be able to win more of the better races.
That seems to be on the horizon.
Through Tuesday, D’Angelo has 33 wins this year, which ties him for seventh in the nation. He ranks second in wins at Tampa Bay Downs, fourth at Gulfstream Park.
Larry Lederman, a track announcer for both harness and Thoroughbred racing, died on Tuesday at his home in East Windsor, N.J., at the age of 67, according to friends. Lederman was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2011, and his death was related to the cancer.
WHO’S HOT
There’s a new kid in town. Deterministic, off nearly seven months, scored a decisive comeback victory in the Grace 3 Gotham Stakes on March 2 at Aqueduct to emerge as the newest addition to Derby Watch. Deterministic, 2 for 2, opens as 12-1 third choice by linemaker David Aragona.
Deterministic defeated Just a Touch by two lengths in the Gotham, a one-turn mile that was run over a sloppy track. Just a Touch, also making just his second career start, ran well. Aragona lowered his price from 30-1 to 20-1.
Total handle on the Sunday card at Santa Anita that featured the Santa Anita Handicap and several supporting stakes was 20.8 percent lower than the Santa Anita Handicap card last year, when it was held on a Saturday and had two additional races, according to an analysis of charts of the races.
Trainer Christophe Clement has yet to run a horse in the Kentucky Derby in his 30-year training career, but in Deterministic he has a horse that has the qualifications to get him there for the first time.
Deterministic overcame a near eight-month layoff and an extremely sloppy track to win Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes by two lengths at Aqueduct. The 50 qualifying points he earned for that win should be more than enough to get into Derby field.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Although most of the talk both before and after Dornoch’s popular victory here Saturday in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth centered around who didn’t run, rather than who did run in the race, the fact remains that a very solid Kentucky Derby candidate emerged from the somewhat bizarre event with a boatload of qualifying points and a pretty good base to build upon as he continues to move forward to the first Saturday in May.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Just F Y I, the undefeated champion 2-year-old filly of 2023, was scratched out of Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Davona Dale Stakes at Gulfstream Park due to a temperature, trainer Bill Mott said Saturday afternoon.
"I can't risk it," Mott said. "She doesn't seem too bad."
Mott said he shipped Just F Y I from Payson Park to Gulfstream Park on Friday and seemed okay before developing a temperature Saturday morning.
The scratch of Just F Y I figures to leave Leslie's Rose a heavy favorite in the Davona Dale.
Nysos, the brilliant and undefeated 3-year-old scheduled to run Sunday in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, has been scratched, trainer Bob Baffert confirmed on Saturday.
“I scratched him,” Baffert said. “I changed my mind. I’m going to wait, give him extra time. He had a big effort.”
The most recent start by Nysos was a 105 Beyer Speed Figure smasher in the one-mile Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 3 at Santa Anita. Nysos won by more than seven lengths, extending his unbeaten streak to three.
Danny Gargan was fishing Monday morning, he and fellow horsemen John Kimmel and Scott Everett reeling in some good-sized sailfish in the waters off Jupiter, Fla.
This spring, Gargan hopes to go big-game hunting with his 3-year-old Dornoch.
The expedition to the Kentucky Derby begins in earnest Saturday when Dornoch makes his highly anticipated seasonal debut in the Grade 3, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The Fountain of Youth, at 1 1/16 miles, offers its top five finishers (50-25-15-10-5) qualifying points toward the Derby.
WHO’S HOT
One can’t stop the feeling Timberlake’s reputation is growing. After winning his comeback Feb. 24 at Oaklawn, his first start since finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Timberlake’s Derby Watch odds were lowered to 10-1 by linemaker David Aragona. Timberlake is now sol feeling that Timberlitary second choice behind Sierra Leone, the 8-1 Derby Watch favorite.
