Jockey Tracy Hebert is approaching a milestone of 4,000 career Thoroughbred wins in North America, and he could hit that mark this week at his Zia Park base in Hobbs, N.M.
Hebert had 3,992 wins heading into the Sunday program. He has one mount on a card of mostly Quarter Horse races. Hebert then has five mounts at the track Monday and has been named to ride six horses Tuesday.
California trainer Doug O’Neill hopes to have five runners in Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 3-4.
O’Neill said Thursday that his team will include the 3-year-old Pavel in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4. On the same day, Frank Conversation is scheduled to run in the BC Turf, Piedi Bianchi is a candidate for the Juvenile Fillies, and Guns Loaded is being pointed to the Turf Sprint.
O’Neill acknowledged that Guns Loaded may not gain a berth in what could easily be an oversubscribed race. The Turf Sprint will have a maximum of 14 starters.
Major Cabbie, easy winner of a maiden race for 2-year-olds Sept. 29, is out of training until the middle of 2018 because of an injury, trainer Dan Hendricks said.
Hendricks said the setback was detected recently. Major Cabbie worked a half-mile in 51.40 seconds Oct. 12.
“He’s got a problem,” Hendricks said. “He’ll be out. It’s a shame. He can run, too.”
Owned by K.B. Sareen, Major Cabbie was purchased for $260,000 at a sale of 2-year-olds in training this year. On Sept. 29, Major Cabbie won a one-mile race by 6 1/4 lengths in his second start.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The 10-year-old gelding Royal F J has run his last race.
On Thursday at Santa Anita, Royal F J finished seventh in a $6,250 claimer as a 4-1 shot, beaten 9 1/2 lengths. He won 9 of 102 starts and earned $568,150 in a career that began with trainer Jack Carava at Santa Anita in 2009. Carava was Royal F J’s final trainer.
“I always said if he ran a bad race without an excuse, that would be it,” Carava said Friday. “He didn’t fire.
“I’ve got several offers to give him a good home. He’s a cool horse.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Israel Ocampo will be out for at least a month, and Joe Talamo will not ride this weekend after the pair sustained injuries in a two-horse spill Thursday at Santa Anita.
Ocampo was aboard Warrenscrystalized, who broke down approaching the finish of an allowance race on the hillside turf course. Talamo was aboard Hawk’s Journey, who could not avoid Warrenscrystalized and fell.
Warrenscrystalized was euthanized as a result of a leg injury, according to track stewards. Hawk’s Journey was not injured, trainer Jorge Periban said Friday.
The overachieving 4-year-old Imperial Hint will be Del Mar bound Tuesday for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, in which he will be among the favorites.
Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. will van Imperial Hint from Parx Racing to Newark Liberty International, where he will catch an afternoon FedEx flight. Carvajal plans to give Imperial Hint an easy work at Del Mar prior to the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Two trainers, including Jorge Navarro, have been fined by the New Jersey Racing Commission for positive tests for Class 1 substances in post-race samples of horses under their care, but the commission did not levy suspensions, citing “mitigating circumstances” that point to contamination of the samples.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Ron Moquett said Petrov will be pointed to the $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint on Nov. 20 at Mahoning Valley in Ohio after keeping his non-stakes record perfect with a one-length victory in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance here Wednesday.
Petrov is winless in eight stakes tries – although he was second, third, or fourth in six of them – while having won his other three career starts. The six-furlong Steel Valley is restricted to 3-year-olds.
Solid Sunday undercard
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The next six weeks could be big ones for trainer Dale Romans. His two Breeders’ Cup Juvenile hopefuls, Free Drop Billy and Hollywood Star, were flown to California on Monday, while some of his other stable stars could be in action at the 21-day Churchill Downs fall meet.
Dak Attack, who was forced to miss the BC Juvenile because of a sore shin, is back in light training and is an outside possibility for the Nov. 25 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, Romans said.
