ARCADIA, Calif. – Justify’s post-Triple Crown celebration tour continued on Saturday with a 15-minute walk to the paddock, racetrack and winner’s circle at Santa Anita before an adoring crowd, most of whom went home with mobile phones filled with photographs.
This was the second consecutive Saturday Justify was shown to his fans. On June 16, Justify was paraded at Churchill Downs.
Magnum Moon, winner of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in April and most recently 19th in the May 5 Kentucky Derby, sustained a career-ending front-leg injury galloping out following a workout Saturday morning at Belmont Park, said Jacob West, racing manager for the colt’s owners, Robert and Lawana Low.
X Y Jet had trainer Jorge Navarro brimming with confidence after working five furlongs from the gate in 59.60 Saturday at Monmouth Park in preparation for his upcoming start in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park on June 30.
“I was thrilled with the way he worked this morning, and happy with the way he came back,” Navarro said. “He’s ready for the race.”
Saturday’s work was the fifth for X Y Jet, all at Monmouth, since his frustrating second-place finish behind Mind Your Biscuits in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan on March 31.
A backstretch worker at Belmont Park died on June 6, five days after being admitted to the hospital after being found unconscious in the stable area, and the death is being investigated by state health officials as a suspected case of hantavirus, according to an advisory issued by the New York State Department of Health.
The un-named worker, who lived in a dorm on the Belmont backstretch, may have been exposed to “rodent excretions,” the advisory said, and tests are currently being conducted to confirm if the death was caused by hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Faversham, a full brother to popular two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, won for the first time in his career in a maiden race for California-breds on turf Thursday at Santa Anita.
The win left trainer Art Sherman tentatively planning a start in the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf July 18 at Del Mar.
Faversham won a one-mile race by 3 1/4 lengths, closing from eighth in a field of 10. Ridden by Tiago Pereira, Faversham paid $36.40.
Los Alamitos will begin its 12-day summer meeting Thursday with a relatively quiet four-day week of racing. There are no stakes scheduled during the opening week. The first stakes will be the $100,000 Bertrando Stakes for statebred milers July 4.
Racing will be on a Thursday-through-Sunday basis the first and third weeks. The second week will have racing on July 4, no racing on July 5, and three days of racing from July 6-8. The meeting concludes July 15.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Two years ago, Santa Anita ran the final three weeks of its spring-summer meeting on the main track while the turf course underwent a badly needed renovation.
This weekend, the spring-summer meeting ends with an emphasis on grass racing. On Saturday, six of 12 races were scheduled for turf, and six of the 11 Sunday races also are set for the turf course.
The course, a Bermuda Bandera grass, has handled significant use since late December, without showing wear-and-tear, such as a high number of divots or worn areas.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Phil Hall reported that Apalachee Bay came out of his impressive win in a maiden special weight race last Sunday in excellent shape and will soon be heading to Alberta where he will run in the $50,000 Count Lathum for 3-year-olds on July 14 at Northlands Park. He will be stretching out to a middle distance for the first time in the 1 1/16-mile race.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Shawn Davis has been on plenty of wild rides during his career as a three-time national champion saddle bronc rider. Now, Davis is embarking on a wild ride of a different nature with his graded stakes-winning speedster Chief Cicatriz, one that he hopes might ultimately land him a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint later this year.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer John Ross will have a starter in the $1 million Queen’s Plate for the first time since 2011 when Coronation Futurity winner Aheadbyacentury enters the starting gate for the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown on June 30 at Woodbine.
