ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Rafael Bejarano, who has been sidelined since March 18 with a broken left wrist, is hoping to come back in early May, his agent, Tora Yamaguchi, said on Wednesday.
A former leading rider in Southern California, Bejarano recently returned to California after visiting family in Peru while recovering from the injury. Yamaguchi said Bejarano has started physical therapy, but a target date for a return to riding has not been finalized.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Instilled Regard, fourth in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7, is a candidate for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5, if he can gain a berth in the field.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Wednesday that he has held discussions with owner Larry Best about a potential start in the Kentucky Derby for the colt, who was purchased for $1.05 million at a sale of 2-year-olds in training last year.
“We’d have to think about it,” Hollendorfer said. “We’re trying to make a plan.
Churchill Downs will lower the takeout on its pick five from 22 percent to 15 percent beginning with the spring meet this year, officials for the company said on Tuesday.
Churchill officials confirmed the takeout cut at a meeting of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after the company had received approval to modify the bet in several minor ways, including allowing 75 percent of the pool in the bet to carryover if no ticket has all five winners.
Blended Citizen, the winner of the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park on March 17, is under consideration for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5 if enough defections occur that would allow the colt to gain a berth in the field, trainer Doug O’Neill said on Monday.
As of Monday, Blended Citizen would likely need at least two horses to defect from the Kentucky Derby to gain a spot.
:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown will have a difficult time keeping his plethora of female turf stakes runners separated, but that won’t stop him from trying.
A short time before he ran 1-2-3 in the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland on Saturday, Brown ran 1-2 in the Plenty of Grace Stakes at Aqueduct, with Uni beating Fifty Five by a length.
Uni from age 3 to 4 “has come back a little stronger, a little sharper, a little sounder,” Brown said.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Cherie DeVaux has left Chad Brown’s outfit, where she has been an assistant for the last eight years, and will soon open her own stable.
“I feel it’s a really good time after the all the success we’ve had lately and having had the experience to work with some really great horses and really great people,” DeVaux said. “I’m now feeling like it’s time to pursue my own professional goals.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Owner-trainer Happy Alter is rarely at a loss for words when it comes to talking about his multiple graded stakes winner Curlin’s Approval, who is back in serious training again after getting a bit of a break following her fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Royal Delta here on Feb. 19. But on Monday, Alter was more eager to talk about the newest member of his stable, an unnamed 2-year-old by Tapit out of the Grade 1-winning mare Lady of Fifty whom he purchased here for $500,000 at last month’s Fasig-Tipton select sale.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Another multiple stakes-winning filly who showed big speed at Gulfstream on Saturday morning is Starship Bonita. The Florida-bred worked five furlongs in company with two stablemates in 58.49 seconds over a glib track in her first serious move since launching her 3-year-old campaign with a third-place finish in the seven-furlong Sophomore Fillies Stakes on March 25 at Tampa Bay Downs.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Thursday’s 10-race card at Gulfstream is highlighted by the eighth event, a $40,000 optional-claiming test at a mile for Florida-bred 3-year-old fillies that drew a pretty familiar field of nine, topped by Bitacora and Sober On Sunday. But the most intriguing contest of the day comes about 30 minutes later, a one-mile maiden special weight race that drew first-time starters from two powerhouse barns, Legit for trainer Todd Pletcher and Our Honor from the stable of Chad Brown.
