LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Al Stall Jr. said Monday he is leaning toward skipping the early-season big-money events with Tom’s d’Etat and “pointing for a back-end of the year campaign” that would culminate with the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.
Chestertown, a New York-bred son of Tapit who brought $2 million at the OBS March auction, will likely be heading out of town for the winter following his maiden victory Sunday at Aqueduct.
Chestertown, trained by Steve Asmussen for an ownership group that includes West Point Thoroughbreds, earned a 71 Beyer Speed Figure for his 2 3/4-length victory over a sealed main track labeled good. Chestertown was four wide under Irad Ortiz Jr. and pulled away in the final furlong as he covered the one mile in 1:37.56.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The Fall Highweight Handicap is now rescheduled for Sunday after having to be postponed twice in four days.
Originally scheduled for Thanksgiving Day, the Fall Highweight had to be moved when that card was canceled due to high winds. The race was rescheduled for last Sunday, but the final five races of that card were canceled when the jockeys refused to ride because of inclement weather.
Trainer Mike Stidham and owner Godolphin won the 2019 Jimmy Durante Stakes last Saturday at Del Mar with Alms, and the same connections will try to take down the featured eighth race Thursday at Fair Grounds with Elsa, who won the 2018 Jimmy Durante.
From New Orleans to San Diego, Saturday was a grand day for the Mike Stidham stable.
At Fair Grounds, Stidham-trained horses won three races, including an eye-catching maiden score from 2-year-old filly Ursula, who flashed serious stakes potential.
At Del Mar, Stidham charge Alms, another 2-year-old filly, ran her career mark to three wins from three starts with a dominant victory in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes. Alms got an 88 Beyer Speed Figure, the second-highest route number for a 2-year-old filly in North America this year.
Trainers Bob Baffert and Peter Miller were fined by the Del Mar stewards recently for excessive levels of the analgesic phenylbutazone found in their runners earlier this year.
Baffert was cited for two violations, from when Cruel Intention finished third in the Real Good Deal Stakes at Del Mar on July 27 and when Eclair finished fourth in the first race at Del Mar on Aug. 3, a maiden special weight.
Baffert was fined $500 for the first violation and $1,500 for the second since it occurred within a year of the first violation.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Maximum Security and Spun to Run, the two likely favorites for what is shaping up to be a 10-horse field for Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, both put in their final serious training sessions over the weekend.
www.drf.com/race-results/tracks/AQU/country/USA/date/12-07-2019
DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar ended its brief and truncated fall meeting on a high note this past weekend, finishing with top-class stakes racing that produced strong betting figures and helped propel the track to its best average daily handle in the six seasons it has held racing at this time of year since the demise of Hollywood Park.
DEL MAR, Calif. – This was a weekend for ex-claimers to shine in turf marathon stakes at Del Mar.
Saturday, the former $8,000 claimer Zuzanna won the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 3/8 miles on turf. Sunday, Oscar Dominguez, claimed four times in 2018 for $40,000 and earlier this year for that amount, won his first stakes in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles.
Trainer Richard Baltas credited Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez for the victory with Oscar Dominguez. The two barely had a strategy talk before the race, Velazquez said.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Zuzanna, the upset winner of the Red Carpet Handicap on Saturday at Del Mar, was scheduled to be sent to Florida this week, where, owing to her development this year, she would be eligible for anything from starter-allowance races to graded stakes.
