David Cabrera, a leading rider in the Mid-South region who has not been named on horses the last two weeks due to a family emergency in Mexico, is scheduled to resume riding Tuesday at Will Rogers Downs. Cabrera is named to ride Welder in the $50,000 Highland Ice Stakes.
“He got back two, three days ago,” said agent Joe Santos Jr. “Back to Oklahoma. The plan is to ride Welder, and then we’ll go from there. We have a few horses lined up at Keeneland.”
Mr Money Bags, who has won back-to-back stakes at Sam Houston by a combined 18 1/2 lengths, is now eyeing graded company. Trainer Mike Neatherlin said the horse is being pointed for the Grade 3, $400,000 Pat Day Mile on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Mr Money Bags has defeated restricted stakes company in his last two starts, winning a Texas Stallion Stakes division by 11 1/2 lengths on Feb. 23, then taking the Groovy for Texas-breds by seven lengths March 23. Both races came over six furlongs, and for each he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 89.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will be active in a pair of stakes next Saturday at Keeneland, with Market King being pointed for the Grade 2, $1 million Blue Grass and Warrior’s Club set to defend his title in the Grade 3, $250,000 Commonwealth.
Lukas said both horses will be ridden by Jon Court.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Omaha Beach, who has risen rapidly in the 3-year-old division in recent months, worked a half-mile in 47.80 seconds at Santa Anita on Friday in preparation for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 13.
Working with a stablemate, Omaha Beach ran two wide and pulled clear under Alex Solis to record the quickest time of 25 works at the distance. Solis, the former jockey, assists trainer Richard Mandella and occasionally works horses.
Mandella timed Omaha Beach in 47.16 seconds and the colt finished several lengths clear of his stablemate.
Los Alamitos will run three stakes during its three-week summer meeting, which runs from June 27 to July 14, highlighted by the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs.
The $200,000 Great Lady M. will be run on July 6, the middle Saturday of the meeting. The $100,000 Bertrando Stakes for California-bred milers will be run on June 29, while the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby will be run at 1 1/8 miles on July 13.
The $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby was worth $200,000 last year and was a Grade 2, but was downgraded for this year’s running.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The $75,000 Santana Mile for 4-year-olds and up was scheduled for Sunday at Santa Anita, but drew only two entries and has been canceled, racing officials said.
The Santana Mile had 20 nominations. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said earlier this month he hoped to start Blackjackcat, the third-place finisher in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Mile who recently joined his stable. Blackjackcat was sixth in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes on turf on Feb. 9.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Hidden Scroll isn’t the only 3-year-old who finished fourth in a major Kentucky Derby prep after setting a very fast and contested pace.
So, too, did Zenden, who posted splits of 22.79 seconds, 45.85, and 1:09.57 while pressed by Well Defined for the opening six furlongs of the Tampa Bay Derby. He led until midstretch but gradually weakened while making his first start beyond seven furlongs.
Mind Control, a multiple stakes winner around one turn, will make his next start at Aqueduct in the Grade 3, $250,000 Bay Shore Stakes at seven furlongs and not the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at nine furlongs, trainer Gregg Sacco said Friday.
That decision effectively removes Mind Control from consideration for the Kentucky Derby. Mind Control has 30 qualifying points for the Derby, which as of Friday put him 11th in the standings under the system used by Churchill Downs to determine the 20 horses for the Kentucky Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. – A new rule approved by the California Horse Racing Board on Thursday that will severely restrict whip use by jockeys may be months from being implemented, but was met with starkly mixed reactions on Friday from a small group of riders.
Some oppose the plan, while others realize there is little they can do to change the racing board’s direction.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Global Campaign, who came out of a fifth-place finish in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream with a foot injury, has resumed galloping and soon will be relocated to Churchill Downs, trainer Stan Hough said Friday.
Global Campaign tore off part of his hoof in the Fountain of Youth. He has been equipped with a special shoe that has “a plate that takes the pressure off his quarter where he took it off,” Hough said.
Hough said he didn’t have a race picked out for Global Campaign, who won his first two starts impressively.
