Sun, 11/27/2016 - 15:03

Songbird deemed healthy for 2017 campaign

Barbara D. Livingston
Mike Smith aboard Songbird after the filly's nose loss to Beholder in Friday's Breeders' Cup Distaff.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Songbird, beaten a nose in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on Nov. 4 in the first loss of her career, recently passed an extensive physical examination in Kentucky and is being pointed for a 2017 campaign as a 4-year-old.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Saturday that Songbird will remain at a farm in Kentucky through December before rejoining his stable at Santa Anita.

“We scanned her from head to toe and didn’t find anything significant,” he said. “We found nothing.

Sun, 11/27/2016 - 14:57

Remsen winner Mo Town eyes New York path to Kentucky Derby

Barbara D. Livingston
Mo Town, with John Velazquez aboard, wins the Remsen Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths Saturday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Mo Town, No Dozing, and Takaful – the first three finishers in Saturday’s Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct – are headed to various parts of Florida in the coming days and could all take different paths to try to get to the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs.

Mo Town won the Remsen by 2 1/2 lengths over No Dozing, with Takaful, the 4-5 favorite, another 3 1/2 lengths back in third.

Sun, 11/27/2016 - 14:30

Injured Bejarano won't make it back for final week of meet

Shigeki Kikkawa
Jockey Rafael Bejarano dropped his appeal and will serve a three-day suspension.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Rafael Bejarano continues to recuperate from a soft-tissue injury to his right hand and will miss the final week of Del Mar’s season that closes Dec. 4, according to his agent, Tora Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi said Bejarano has a follow-up appointment with a specialist on Dec. 5.

If all goes well, Bejarano “should be getting back up on horses shortly after that,” Yamaguchi said.

“We’ll have to play Los Alamitos by ear so we can definitely be 100 percent for the Santa Anita meeting,” which begins Dec. 26, Yamaguchi said.

Sun, 11/27/2016 - 14:25

Racing officials meet over Jimmy Durante Stakes mishap

Benoit & Associates
Journey Home, ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, wins the Jimmy Durante Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths Saturday.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar officials and track stewards met Sunday morning to see what could be learned from the unusual situation in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes on Saturday, when protective pads blew onto the turf course during a rainstorm and forced a number of the runners to try to dodge them.

Sun, 11/27/2016 - 13:20

Connect a candidate for Pegasus World Cup after winning Cigar Mile

Michael Amoruso
Connect and jockey Javier Castellano edge Divining Rod in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Saturday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Connect and Divining Rod, separated by a short head in Saturday’s Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, could possibly see each other again next spring in a race like the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap but will part company for the immediate future.

Sat, 11/26/2016 - 14:24

Miss Temple City tunes up for Matriarch with five-furlong work

Coady Photography
Miss Temple City pays $17.40 for her win under Edgar Prado in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Miss Temple City tuned up for the Grade 1, $300,000 Matriarch Stakes on Dec. 4 at Del Mar on Saturday with a five-furlong workout on the turf in 1:02.40.

Assistant trainer Alice Clapham, who was aboard during the workout, said Miss Temple City continues to hold her form during a campaign that has seen her race in Kentucky, New York, California, and at Royal Ascot.

“She’s done everything great,” Clapham said. “After the Breeders’ Cup, we just gave her an easy week before we started up.”

Sat, 11/26/2016 - 10:28

California Chrome works half-mile in 47.40; Dec. 17 stakes looks likely

Barbara D. Livingston
California Chrome is likely to race in a stakes at Los Alamitos on Dec. 17, although track officials have not formally announced it yet.

CYPRESS, Calif. - California Chrome worked a half-mile in 47.40 seconds at Los Alamitos before dawn Saturday, a quick and somewhat routine exercise for the popular 5-year-old at his home track.

Los Alamitos is increasingly likely to be the site of California Chrome’s next race. Track officials are planning a stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 17 designed to give California Chrome a start in California before his career-final race in the $12 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 28. He will go to stud in Kentucky in 2017.

Sat, 11/26/2016 - 08:52

Jockey Ocampo notches 1,000th career riding victory

Jockey Israel Ocampo won the 1,000th race of his riding career Friday when he guided One Last Knight to victory in the sixth race at Remington Park. The horse won the $20,000 maiden-claiming sprint by five lengths, and returned $5.40.

Ocampo won the first race of his career at Hawthorne in 2006. His mounts have earned more than $23 million, according to Daily Racing Form records.

“I want to thank my family, they’ve been a great support for me,” Ocampo told Remington officials Friday, “and every owner and every trainer who gave me an opportunity. I really appreciate it.”

Fri, 11/25/2016 - 20:02

Solo Del Mar pick 6 ticket hits for $207k

DEL MAR, Calif. – The Thanksgiving holiday extended into Friday for one pick six player, who gleaned $207,461.80 for being the sole winning ticket on the Del Mar pick six, taking down both the general pool and the single-ticket jackpot.

The single-ticket jackpot had not been hit for several days, so there was a carryover in that pool of $116,090 entering Friday’s eight-race card. There was $140,847 in fresh money bet on Friday, which added nearly $16,200 to the jackpot pool, and put $75,245 into the general pool.

Fri, 11/25/2016 - 15:30

Yockey's Warrior ready to climb, but has nowhere to go

Amanda Hodges Weir/Hodges Photography
Yockey's Warrior, with Miguel Mena aboard, wins the Thanksgiving Handicap by 2 1/4 lengths Thursday.

Yockey’s Warrior may have found the best form of his career, and the Beyer Speed Figure the 4-year-old earned in winning the $75,000 Thanksgiving Handicap on Thursday at Fair Grounds supports that.