ELMONT, N.Y. – Tapwrit, the 2017 Belmont Stakes winner, will make his long-awaited return to the races in an allowance Sunday at Belmont Park.
The race will be the first for Tapwrit since he finished fourth in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga last August. Tapwrit had been battling a foot issue that forced his connections to stop on him late last summer. Tapwrit injured the frog, the bottom of a horse’s foot that acts like a shock absorber, and was given ample time to heal.
ELMONT, N.Y. – The two fastest races Disco Partner has ever run were in the Jaipur Invitational at Belmont Park.
His connections hope he has at least one more fast race in those 6-year-old legs when he makes his third appearance in the Grade 2, $400,000 Jaipur Invitational on the undercard of the June 9 Belmont Stakes.
Last year, Disco Partner set a North American record when he ran six furlongs in 1:05.67 in winning the Jaipur by a half-length over Green Mask. In 2016, Disco Partner was beaten a neck by stablemate Pure Sensation in the Jaipur, which went in 1:06.76.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Skye Diamonds, a three-time stakes winner in 2017, worked three furlongs on the infield training track in 39.20 seconds at Santa Anita on Thursday.
The workout was the first for Skye Diamonds since she finished sixth in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on May 5.
Trained by Bill Spawr, Skye Diamonds is a candidate for the Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos on July 7, a race she won in 2017. Spawr said earlier this month that Skye Diamonds struggled on the wet track at Churchill Downs.
ARCADIA, Calif. – McKinzie, a two-time graded stakes winner, is nearing a return to racetrack training after being sidelined with a hock injury in late March.
Trainer Bob Baffert said on Thursday that McKinzie is tack-walking this week at his Santa Anita stable.
“He’ll be back,” Baffert said. “I wanted to make sure he was okay.”
Baffert said McKinzie had issues with a hock detected via a nuclear scan test conducted in late March. Nuclear scans are more precise than routine X-rays and can detect minor deficiencies.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Tyler Baze, who has not ridden since May 19 because of body soreness sustained in a one-horse spill, has postponed his return to riding to June 7 at the earliest, said Craig O’Bryan, Baze’s agent..
Baze was named to ride on Memorial Day weekend and then considered returning this weekend before eventually deciding on a comeback next Thursday. Baze has undergone physical therapy and worked with chiropractors to facilitate a return.
The back end of the May 26 card at Canterbury Park had to be canceled after storms in the area produced too much lightning to safely race. Among the races lost was the $50,000 Honor the Hero, a turf sprint for 3-year-olds and up that has been rescheduled for this Saturday, June 2.
Apprehender has been around the block but still knows his way to the finish line.
The 9-year-old gelding made his 44th career start Saturday in the $65,000 Ed Skinner Memorial Stakes at Prairie Meadows, and after second-place finishes in 2016 and 2017 won the race.
“He’s a pretty cool horse,” said trainer Gene Jacquot. “He’s all about business when he’s on the racetrack and he’s a nice horse in the barn. He can go on and have a nice career after racing. He’s a big, sensible horse. But he came back out of this race bouncing, so I’d say he’s not quite ready to retire.”
Marlon St. Julien, the veteran jockey who was injured in a one-horse accident just after the start of a race May 19 at Prairie Meadows, remains in the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, as he continues a slow recovery from a spinal cord injury.
St. Julien, who had surgery the day after the accident, has movement in his legs and shoulders but has struggled to regain motion in his lower arms, according to Robyn Dean, the wife of St. Julien’s agent, Bobby Dean.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trainer Larry Rivelli has the Arlington barn best stocked with 2-year-olds these days, and it was no surprise that Rivelli swept the first 2-year-old races of the meet over the Memorial Day weekend.
On Saturday, the Iqbaal gelding Echoes of Laughter won by 5 1/2 lengths at first asking, though he only earned a 51 Beyer Speed Figure. Rivelli on Tuesday said Echoes of Laughter could make his next start in the Prairie Gold Juvenile on July 20 at Prairie Meadows.
Iowa is the next frontier for Shotgun Kowboy.
Shotgun Kowboy, who won the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap in his third attempt last Sunday, will take a second crack at Iowa’s premier race for older horses, the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker. The Cornhusker is July 6 at Prairie Meadows.
“That gives me better than 30 days between races,” said C.R. Trout, who bred, owns and trains Shotgun Kowboy. “He’s getting a little age on him, and he needs that time.”
