LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Salomon Del Valle was just 20 years old when he came to America for the first time. He joined thousands of his Venezuelan countrymen in attending the 1971 Belmont Stakes in New York, where a previously unheralded colt from Venezuela, Canonero II, was trying to complete a sweep of the Triple Crown.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With two defections one week before the Kentucky Derby changing the makeup of the field, Sonneteer will seek to become the first maiden to win the Run for the Roses since Brokers Tip in 1933.
After finishing second in the Rebel Stakes and fourth in the Arkansas Derby, Sonneteer sat 22nd on the Derby points list, behind Lookin At Lee on the bubble of the 20-horse field. Trainer Todd Pletcher declared Malagacy and Battalion Runner out of the race last Saturday, letting Sonneteer and Lookin At Lee into the main body of the field.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In the land of the Derby, might the one-eyed horse be king on Saturday?
That is what those associated with Patch are hoping, as Patch, who had his left eye removed before he ever raced, attempts to become the first horse with just one eye to win the Kentucky Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It was not a good weekend if your name was Syndergaard.
On Saturday night, the equine Syndergaard finished fifth – elevated to fourth by the stewards – in the $100,000 William Walker Stakes at Churchill Downs. On Sunday, the pitcher for whom the colt is named, Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets, left his start against the Washington Nationals with an injury.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Always Dreaming, the Florida Derby winner and a leading contender for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, has made life challenging for trainer Todd Pletcher since his arrival at Churchill Downs.
Always Dreaming has been too aggressive in his morning gallops for Pletcher’s liking. On Monday, Pletcher made a change of equipment and a change of rider, with mixed results.
The eighth race at Belmont Park on Wednesday is a second-level optional claimer at 1 1/4 miles over the inner turf. A field of nine seems likely since two of the entrants were entered for the main track only and rain is not forecast until later in the week.
The graded-stakes winner Mr Maybe will be offered for the optional price of $62,500, only the second time he has been up for sale in a race. Mr Maybe, 6, won his maiden in a $50,000 claiming race at Delaware Park in August 2014.
Disco Partner, who looped the field en route to a 1 3/4-length victory in the Elusive Quality Stakes last Saturday at Belmont Park, could run back in the Grade 3, $300,000 Jaipur Invitational, according to trainer Christophe Clement.
Disco Partner, owned and bred by Frank and Patricia Generazio, was making his first start since joining Clement’s Payson Park stable in March. Disco Partner earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, the second-best mark of his career, trailing only the 102 he earned in winning the Troy Stakes at Saratoga last summer.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There are clear differences between Nyquist, who came into his Kentucky Derby win as an unbeaten juvenile champion, and Irap, who won his maiden in the Blue Grass Stakes for the same connections.
“Nyquist is LeBron James, and Irap’s more like Charles Barkley,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “[Irap is] solid. Even if he’s in the gym every day, he’s always going to be a little bit heavy. He continues to carry a lot of weight, and he’s got tremendous amounts of stamina.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Pizza Man, the winner of the 2015 Arlington Million, is gearing up for another shot at the Arlington Park showcase by training at the Trackside training center near Churchill Downs.
Now 8, The Pizza Man has begun a series of workouts for trainer Roger Brueggemann that his connections hope will result in two prep races leading into the Aug. 12 Million.
“He’s doing great,” said Jim Schenck, racing manager for the gelding’s owner and breeder, the Midwest Thoroughbreds of Richard and Karen Papiese. “He got time off in Ocala before coming back to Roger.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Masochistic, the brilliant sprinter who has gained no small amount of notoriety, is returning to where he first became infamous.
It was three years ago, on the Kentucky Derby undercard, when Masochistic won a six-furlong maiden race by 14 lengths under Victor Espinoza in a major betting coup, having been hammered down to 2-1 after he had finished fifth at 8-1 in his debut at Santa Anita against California-breds seven weeks earlier.
