OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On the last day of 2015, Empire Dreams beat Saratoga Snacks by a head in the $100,000 Alex M. Robb Stakes at Aqueduct.
On the last day of 2016, Empire Dreams will go for a repeat in the 1 1/16-mile Alex Robb, while Saratoga Snacks will be enjoying retirement at a farm in East Greenbush, N.Y., owned by ReRun, an organization that places retired Thoroughbreds in new homes.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Bavaro, the dominant winner of the Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series on Dec. 17, likely will get a chance to stretch out around two turns in the $100,000 Gander Stakes for New York-breds on Jan. 28.
Gary Sciacca, who trains Bavaro for Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells, also has the option of keeping Bavaro sprinting in the $125,000 Rego Park Stakes on Jan. 21 but said he wants to find out sooner rather than later if the horse will be successful stretching out.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Antonio Gallardo, who will finish 2016 as the second-leading rider in North America in wins, will move his tack to Aqueduct for the winter, according to his agent, Matt Muzikar.
Gallardo entered the final week of 2016 with 328 winners on the year, second only to Jose Ortiz’s 350. Gallardo was planning to ride the winter at Gulfstream Park but believes there might be better opportunities for him at Aqueduct. Gallardo rode here on the weekend of Dec. 17-18, winning two races from nine mounts, including the $125,000 Queens County Stakes aboard War Story.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens is recovering from a Dec. 21 hip-replacement operation and hopes to return to riding in the coming months.
Stevens was at Santa Anita on Monday morning to watch workouts. He said he has been instructed to begin as much physical therapy as possible.
“The doctor said if it starts hurting, I’ve done too much,” he said.
Stevens said aside from bruising and swelling at the incision point, he has experienced minimal discomfort. He previously had a knee replaced.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Midnight Storm, proven on turf, will face one of the toughest assignments of his career in Sunday’s $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes on dirt at Santa Anita.
There is a strong likelihood that Midnight Storm will race against Arrogate, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic here on Nov. 5. The challenge is one worth taking, according to majority owner Alex Venneri.
“We won’t duck anymore,” he said. “When you duck a horse, things can go bad.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Grade 3 Mr. Prospector, which failed to fill on Monday, will be brought back Sunday, and confidence is high that the race will go.
The six-furlong Mr. Prospector died with five horses in the entry box: the Jorge Navarro-trained trio of X Y Jet, Delta Bluesman, and Shaft of Light, along with Candip and El Deal. Stakes coordinator Mike Costanzo he is expecting those five, Yourdreamsormine, and perhaps the supplemental nominee Squadron A to be entered for Sunday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The biggest question mark for most of the field in Saturday’s two-mile H. Allen Jerkens Stakes is whether they can stay the distance. But distance is clearly not an issue for a veteran steeplechaser like Top Striker, who returns to the flat off the best performance of his career, a 10-length victory in the prestigious Colonial Cup at Camden.
The 7-year-old Top Striker is trained by Archibald Kingsley Jr., who said he attempted to give the gelding a break after he defeated Rawnaq in the Nov. 19 Colonial Cup.
Juddmonte Farms announced last week that a berth has been privately purchased to allow their star colt, Arrogate, to be a starter in the inaugural $12 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park in south Florida.
Juddmonte purchased the berth originally owned by Coolmore, the Irish-based partnership owned by Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith. Under the unique conditions of the Pegasus, 12 starting spots in the 1 1/8-mile race were purchased last year for $1 million each. Terms of the sale by Coolmore to Juddmonte were not disclosed.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Sticksstatelydude, among the dozen or so handicap horses under consideration for a slot in the $12 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 28, has been stopped on and will be sidelined indefinitely, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Thursday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jorge Navarro was looking forward to getting both X Y Jet and Delta Bluesman back to action at Gulfstream Park on Monday in the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector. But he’s going to have to wait at least several days longer than planned after the race died with only five horses in the entry box, three of them from Navarro’s barn, when entries closed late Wednesday morning.
According to stakes coordinator Mike Costanzo, plans are for the Mr. Prospector to be re-carded sometime during New Year’s weekend. The six-furlong fixture attracted only 14 nominations.
