DEL MAR, Calif. – Paradise Woods, who finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff last week, will turn back to seven furlongs for the La Brea Stakes on opening day of Santa Anita’s winter meeting Dec. 26, trainer Richard Mandella said Thursday.
STICKNEY, Ill. – The Tabulator faded to fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but the colt’s connections probably will give him one more chance to shine this year.
While no final decision has been made, The Tabulator is tentatively scheduled to start Dec. 17 at Remington Park in the $400,000 Springboard Mile, trainer Larry Rivelli said.
“Soundness-wise he came back great,” said Rivelli, who has The Tabulator back with his string at Hawthorne.
Like so many grass races this Hawthorne meet, two Illinois-bred stakes on Saturday fell victim to wet conditions.
The Illini Princess and the Buck’s Boy both were moved to dirt because of a sodden turf course, and both races, packed with statebred talent, were considerably weakened.
Retama Park near San Antonio had a three-way tie atop its rider standings heading into Friday.
Ted Gondron, who won last year’s title in a tie, has won 22 races this meet, as has Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez and Ivan Arellano.
Perennial leading trainer Danny Pish leads the standings with 25 wins. Ronnie Cravens III is second with 17.
The leading owner is End Zone Athletics, with 12 wins compared to six from runner-up Adriel Gonzalez.
Jockey Alexis Batista was thrown from a mount who broke down during a Nov. 2 race at Delta Downs and was initially diagnosed with a hairline fracture of his C-7 vertebrae, but he is scheduled to have more tests, his agent, Antonio Floyd, said Tuesday.
Batista had a second round of X-rays with a specialist earlier this week which proved inconclusive, perhaps due to swelling, and he is being scheduled for an MRI, Floyd said.
“He’s doing a little better,” Floyd said. “They’ve got him in the neck brace.”
Battle of Midway gave Remington Park a notable claim Nov. 3 when he parlayed a runner-up finish in the Oklahoma Derby into a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar. He became the first horse to win a Breeders’ Cup race one start after running at Remington.
The Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby and its supporting stakes were repositioned from October to late September in 2012 to serve as potential preps for the BC. This year the Oklahoma Derby card was Sept. 24, and five weeks later came Battle of Midway in the Dirt Mile.
November. Ben’s Cat raced in six of them.
Nov. 24, 2010 was the first. The start came in a Laurel Park allowance race. Ben’s Cat, still never beaten, won his eighth race.
Nov. 23, 2011, Ben’s Cat was third, beaten a neck, in the $200,000 Six Bits Handicap at Penn National.
November 2012, November 2013, and November 2014 – those were the years Ben went back-to-back-to-back in the $200,000 Fabulous Strike Handicap at Penn, his three biggest dirt wins.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kelly Breen typically is nowhere near Kentucky at this time of year, but the trainer sent seven horses to run at the Churchill fall meet.
“We came for the Chilukki,” said Breen, referring to the runner-up finish by Money’soncharlotte in the Grade 2 race here last Saturday. “I thought I’d bring a few extra.”
Breen, a longtime leading trainer in New Jersey, said his final starter at Churchill likely will be Nov. 19 before he regroups his stable in Florida.
Eight for Commonwealth Turf
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dale Romans said he is undeterred despite the disappointing performances of his two starters in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and is looking ahead to happier days with both.
Hollywood Star finished sixth for Romans at 36-1, and Breeders’ Futurity winner Free Drop Billy ran ninth as the 7-1 second choice. Both are owned by the Albaugh Family Stables.
“They’re better than they showed,” Romans said. “They’re both getting 30 days off and then they’ll join me down in Florida sometime in December. We’ll get them ready for the Derby trail down there.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – All seven Breeders’ Cup starters trained by Mark Casse were flown Wednesday from Southern California to south Florida and will head in various directions in the coming weeks and months, with all seven intended for 2018 campaigns.
