Three wins from three starts, all at two turns, and a 90 Beyer Speed Figure in his stakes debut? Is this 3-year-old on the Triple Crown trail?
He is not.
Cowboy Culture has so far run only on turf, and on turf he will stay for the time being, according to trainer Brad Cox.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Irad Ortiz Jr. is taking his talent to Saudi Arabia. For two days, anyway.
Ortiz will be riding Friday and Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, according to his agent, Steve Rushing. Rushing didn’t have specifics about whom Ortiz would be riding but noted that he would miss cards at Aqueduct on Thursday through Saturday. He is expected to return Sunday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If Withers Stakes winner El Areeb skips the March 4 Gotham here, the race will be in need of a favorite. Mo Town or Practical Joke would fit the bill.
While the Gotham is on the radar for both Mo Town and Practical Joke, their connections are considering other races as well.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – The undefeated stakes winners McCraken and Fact Finding and the Grade 2-placed No Dozing are expected to be the top contenders in the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, the highlight of Saturday’s excellent card at Tampa Bay Downs.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. will not ride until Feb. 18 after losing two appeals of suspensions issued last October, said Nelson Arroyo, his brother and agent.
Through Sunday, Arroyo, 40, was tied for fifth in the Santa Anita standings with nine wins. He did not ride Friday through Sunday to deal with a family emergency in Kentucky, according to stewards.
Arroyo is suspended from Thursday through Feb. 17, a period of six racing days, after losing two appeals for routine riding infractions issued during the Santa Anita autumn meeting.
ARCADIA, Calif. – With eight career starts, Conquest Enforcer has already won five stakes, including the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile for 3-year-olds on turf at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.
His stakes wins have come in age-restricted races, a category that is behind Conquest Enforcer. A 4-year-old colt by Into Mischief, Conquest Enforcer will try to win a stakes against older horses in Saturday’s $200,000 Arcadia Mile on turf at Santa Anita.
“I don’t think there will be a hiccup in the change of age group,” trainer Phil D’Amato said last weekend.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – As dusk neared Sunday evening, most gamblers had their attention on the impending Super Bowl kickoff. That’s right about when someone pulled off quite a coup, taking down the entire Rainbow 6 pool for a whopping $810,713 with the lone perfect ticket.
Gulfstream officials said the ticket was purchased through a wagering hub in Maryland. The jackpot had not been swept in 14 prior racing days and had grown to $572,495 through Saturday, whereupon another $297,827 in wagers was added.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Apart from the Holy Bull being run last weekend as the first major stakes in the division here this year, the 3-year-olds Battalion Runner and Beasley put in solid performances when finishing one-two in a Friday allowance, and Hedge Fund dominated a maiden race Saturday by four lengths. Both races were at 1 1/16 miles.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For a trainer, the first start back for a horse following a layoff is like a big gulp of medicine. You might not like it, but you know it’s probably going to help.
In that vein, Buff Bradley feels better now that Divisidero has a tightener under his belt. In his first race in seven months, Divisidero showed his usual closing kick when finishing third in the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale last month over the Gulfstream Park turf, and now it’s onward and upward for the rest of the year.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – When Grade 1 winner Mind Your Biscuits makes his 4-year-old debut later this month at Gulfstream Park, it will be for a new trainer: a thirtysomething New Yorker named Chad currently based at the Palm Meadows training center.
But stop right there – it’s not whom you’re thinking of. Chad Brown, the 2016 Eclipse Award winner for outstanding trainer, does not have his hands on another up-and-coming horse formerly trained by someone else.
