Preakness starter Conquest Mo Money is scheduled to arrive in New Mexico next week to rehab from injuries he sustained while preparing for the Grade 2 Woody Stephens on the June 10 Belmont Stakes card. The progress he makes will dictate whether he returns to the races at Zia Park, which opens in September and runs into December, or Sunland Park, which starts its season on the heels of Zia.
“We’re not going to push him,” said Tom McKenna, who races Conquest Mo Money with his wife, Sandra.
ELMONT, N.Y. – I Still Miss You, the New York-bred filly who has won both of her starts, including the Astoria Stakes here on June 8, most likely will make her next start in the Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville on July 21, opening day of Saratoga.
I Still Miss You is eligible for the $100,000 Lynbrook Stakes on July 16, closing day of the Belmont meet, but trainer Jeremiah Englehart said, “The numbers came back, and she improved a lot from her first start to her second start, so I’m in favor of giving her the extra time.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing are expected to meet again in the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on July 29.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Lindo Amor, third in two stakes at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai this year, has joined trainer Paulo Lobo’s stable and will have his American debut during the Del Mar summer meeting.
The Del Mar meeting runs July 19 to Sept. 4.
Lindo Amor was second in a Group 1 race in Argentina in 2016. In Dubai this year, Lindo Amor was third in the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes in February and 10th in the Group 3 Burj Nahaar on March 4, with both races at a mile on dirt.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Midnight Storm is returning to turf after three consecutive losses on dirt. Trainer Phil D’Amato said this week that the 6-year-old Midnight Storm will be pointed for the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on July 22 or the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 20. Midnight Storm won both races in 2016.
Owned by Alex Venneri and Little Red Feather Racing, Midnight Storm was later third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile on turf at Santa Anita. He won the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes on dirt at Del Mar in November and the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 1.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Cupid, the winner of the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 27 in his first start of 2017, could start in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park on July 8, trainer Bob Baffert said on Friday.
The $750,000 Suburban Handicap is run at 1 1/4 miles on dirt, the same distance as the $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita.
“If he’s going good, I’m thinking of the Suburban,” Baffert said.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Citing a desire to find a better balance between his personal and professional lives, former jockey Richard Migliore announced Friday that he is leaving his post as racing analyst with the New York Racing Association.
Migliore’s last day at NYRA will be July 8, the day of the five-stakes Stars and Stripes program at Belmont Park.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mark Casse said from his base at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. training center that Classic Empire returned to training Friday morning at Churchill Downs for the first time since being declared from consideration for the Belmont Stakes with a foot abscess. Classic Empire, fourth in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Preakness, was the Belmont favorite prior to his defection.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In more than 10 years as an assistant and exercise rider for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Rodolphe Brisset worked with top-class racehorses on a daily basis, including Royal Delta, Drosselmeyer, To Honor and Serve, Tourist, and many others.
Now on his own since early April, the cupboard isn’t nearly as full, but just give Brisset a little time. On Thursday evening at Churchill Downs, Brisset got his first winner as a trainer when Lady Soul, ridden by fellow countryman Julien Leparoux, won a $40,000 maiden-claiming route by 2 3/4 lengths.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Wesley Ward, Steve Asmussen, and John Hancock have dominated the 2-year-old ranks this spring in Kentucky. But Dale Romans raised his hand Thursday evening at Churchill to effectively say: “Count me in, too.”
In a one-hour span, Romans won two 5 1/2-furlong races with Free Drop Billy, a colt by Union Rags, and Dak Attack, a colt by Ghostzapper. Both are owned by the Albaugh Family Stable and were ridden by Robby Albarado.
“We’ve got a lot of hope for both of them,” Romans said. “I’m sure at least one of them will go with me to Saratoga.”
