HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Bullards Alley has already made two trips from Fair Grounds to Gulfstream Park this winter, finishing second in the H. Allen Jerkens and third in the W.L. McKnight. Saturday, he will take on Sadler’s Joy, Bigger Picture, and six others in the Grade 2, $250,000 Pan American at 1 1/2 miles on turf. Sadler’s Joy won last year’s Pan Am.
Bullards Alley is getting a rider switch to Irad Ortiz Jr., replacing Paco Lopez, who was aboard for Bullards Alley’s two prior races here.
Trainer John Terranova’s barn at Belmont Park houses the 2017 Arkansas-bred of the Year.
Heavenly Score will be honored with that title Friday night during the Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Horsemen’s Association annual awards banquet. She led all Arkansas-breds in earnings last year with $222,750.
Heavenly Score went 4 for 10 last year, with all of her starts coming in New York. She was a maiden special weight winner last January at Aqueduct, then won allowances at Saratoga, Belmont, and Aqueduct. Heavenly Score also finished second in the Cicada Stakes at Aqueduct.
Sam Houston launches its Quarter Horse meet Friday night with 11 trials for the Sam Houston Maiden Classic. The 20-date season will run through May 12. The highlight of the meet is the Grade 2 Sam Houston Futurity on April 28.
Sam Houston will race on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The track introduced Monday afternoon racing for Quarter Horses two years ago, and it has proven to be a good fit, said Frank Hopf, senior director of racing operations for Sam Houston.
It took just 10 points to make the Kentucky Derby field in 2013, at least 20 in 2014 and 2015, and at least 30 the past two years. This is now the sixth year that Churchill Downs has utilized a points list to determine the 20-horse field for the Derby – replacing earnings in graded stakes – and the number of points required to gain entry could continue to rise, owing to more interest from overseas runners, putting several well-regarded horses based in this country in jeopardy of not making the field.
Trainer Dale Romans on Wednesday entered Promises Fulfilled and Storm Runner in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. After briefly considering running a third horse, Romans decided to point King Zachary to the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 7.
King Zachary, a son of Curlin, is coming off an eye-catching 7 3/4-length maiden victory at Gulfstream on March 18. The Florida Derby, Romans said, would have been too soon after that race.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Fernando Perez, who has not ridden since December 2016, continues to face health problems related to a concussion and bleeding on the brain from an injury sustained in a workout, leaving doubt as to whether he can return to riding.
Perez, a visitor to Santa Anita during training hours last weekend, said he remains on medication and that doctors have expressed concern about potential seizures. He said he has suffered occasional short-term memory loss.
“The doctor said to take it easy,” Perez said.
Imperial Hint won his 5-year-old debut as easily as he pleased Sunday, setting him up for what trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. hopes is a championship year.
Imperial Hint, owned by Raymond Mamone, was a five-length winner of the $100,000 Florida Cup Sprint on the 16th annual Florida Cup program Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs. Carvajal said he has planned two more works for Imperial Hint before shipping him around April 20 to Kentucky for the Grade 2 Churchill Downs on the May 5 Kentucky Derby undercard.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Lombo, the winner of the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 3, will revert to sprints after finishing seventh in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 10.
Trainer Mike Pender said recently that Lombo should be more competitive in shorter races. Lombo finished 21 1/2 lengths behind top finishers McKinzie and Bolt d’Oro in the San Felipe. Those runners are considered the two leading 3-year-olds in the nation.
“I think I’ll go back to sprinting,” Pender said. “We took on the best the West Coast has to offer and they swallowed him whole.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Few apprentice jockeys have the sort of coaching that Asa Espinoza is enjoying this winter at Santa Anita.
Espinoza, 18, is the nephew of jockey Victor Espinoza, the regular rider of such famous runners as American Pharoah and California Chrome in recent years. Asa Espinoza began riding earlier this year and had three wins through Sunday, including the first two-win day of his career last Saturday.
The younger Espinoza is never far from his uncle. Asa is living with Victor, who shares advice on riding techniques and strategies.
