HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jorge Navarro reports X Y Jet came out of Saturday’s Grade 3 Mr. Prospector tired but in good order and will remain on a path that will hopefully get him back to Dubai to defend his title in the Golden Shaheen later this spring.
X Y Jet set a lively pace before easing to the wire more than 20 lengths behind the winner, Diamond Oops, in the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector while making his first start since winning the 2019 Golden Shaheen nine months earlier.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Math Wizard did little more than work an easy three furlongs in 36.20 seconds Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park, his first recorded breeze since finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The big news came later that afternoon when trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. confirmed the winner of the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby could make his next start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 25.
After a tumultuous year of racing, California opens the 2020 racing season Thursday with only Golden Gate Fields in play after Santa Anita, facing a poor forecast, postponed its first card until Saturday.
Although rain is possible in the Bay Area on Wednesday, Golden Gate, with its synthetic Tapeta surface, should not have any trouble weathering the storm.
Racing secretary Patrick Mackey is proud of the resilience of the track, horses, horsemen, and fans who helped Golden Gate provide good field size and wagering in 2019.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Gulfstream Park closed the main track for training on Monday morning and moved horses from low-lying barns following a torrential downpour that fell throughout the area during the night, causing some flooding on track property.
According to local news stations, the towns of Hallandale Beach, where Gulfstream Park is located, and nearby Aventura were the hardest hit, receiving rainfall totals of 12.8 inches and 12.1 inches, respectively. Other rainfall totals in the area included 3.79 inches in Miami and 8.06 inches in Fort Lauderdale.
Sunland Park launches its 68-date meet Thursday with a revamped racing format, an increase in purses, a new announcer, and third-party Lasix administration. The New Mexico track located right over the border from El Paso, Texas, will race through April 21.
Beautiful Trauma was flattered because she was inside speed on a sloppy, sealed Saturday racing surface clearly biased toward front-runners and/or rail runners. Her trainer, Tom Amoss, acknowledges that, but still believes Beautiful Trauma ran big. She won a first-level, two-turn allowance race for 2-year-old fillies by 16 lengths while getting one mile and 70 yards in 1:44.02, 1.07 seconds faster than a race for males at the same distance and class level later on the card. She earned a 92 Beyer for the victory.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Richard Mandella had planned on giving Omaha Beach a little tune-up on Sunday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes, but with that race having been postponed from Thursday to Saturday, the method in which it unfolded changed.
NEW ORLEANS – Lynn’s Map beat winners in his first try and simultaneously succeeded in his first two-turn trip when he ran down Mr. Monomoy to win a first-level allowance race for 2-year-olds on the Saturday card here. That’s two wins in a row for Lynn’s Map, who probably earned a start in the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 18. He earned an 82 Beyer in the allowance win.
“He really dug in to try and catch [Mr. Monomoy],” said Casse’s Fair Grounds assistant, David Carroll. “I was impressed with him.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – The decision by Santa Anita management to postpone its opening day from Thursday until Saturday was met with approval by trainer Simon Callaghan, whose filly Bellafina will be the favorite in the Grade 1 La Brea, one of the five stakes moved back from Thursday to Saturday.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Callaghan said here Sunday morning. “Why run good horses on a bad track when you know you’ll have a good track two days later?”
