Painting the Sky will be racing as a Paint for the first time Wednesday night at Evangeline Downs, but the start will come against her fellow Thoroughbreds.
Whaaaaat?
Painting the Sky is a Thoroughbred, but her markings resemble those of a Paint, and her connections had submitted paperwork to have her dual-registered as a Paint. Painting the Sky on Monday received her certificate of registration from the American Paint Horse Association.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Paid Up Subscriber, who earned an expenses-paid berth to the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Distaff by rolling to her first stakes victory Saturday night in the Fleur de Lis Handicap, will head soon to Saratoga, where she could take part in the major filly-and-mare races that start with the Grade 3 Shuvee on July 31, according to trainer Al Stall Jr.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Jockeys Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr. have combined to win 30 percent of the races run at this meet (102 for 343). But for the next three racing days at least, neither will be appearing in the winner’s circle.
Both Ortiz brothers are serving suspensions starting Wednesday. Jose Ortiz, who leads the standings with 61 wins, is serving a three-day suspension for a careless-riding infraction from June 15. His suspension was reduced from five days for waiving his right of appeal.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Hot City Girl, the graded-stakes-winning New York-bred female sprinter, is getting closer to a return to the races. On Sunday, she breezed five furlongs under Jose Ortiz in 1:00.10, just her second breeze back after getting some time off during the winter and spring.
“Jose worked her a little faster than I wanted this morning, but she’s doing very well,” trainer Linda Rice said. “She’s not too far away.”
Rice is targeting the Grade 2, $200,000 Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga on July 27 for Hot City Girl, if she can hold her on the ground that long.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Donegal Moon showed a new dimension by rallying from last under Joe Bravo to win the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth on Sunday by 1 1/4 lengths.
“He generally has been a little closer than that,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He didn’t break great, and Joe was able to drop him over, and it looked like there was a fair amount of pace in the race. We didn’t think we were going to be last early, but we didn’t think we were going to be in the first three.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – It was a perplexing 24 hours for trainer Jimmy Jerkens, who watched the two best horses in his barn get beat as odds-on favorites in graded stakes over the weekend.
On Sunday, the 3-year-old Unified suffered his first defeat from four starts when he ran fifth, 13 1/2 lengths behind winner Donegal Moon, at 1-5 in the Grade 3 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park. That result came the day after the 5-year-old Effinex finished sixth, beaten 6 1/4 lengths by winner Bradester, at 3-5 in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bradester likely will make his next start July 31 in the Monmouth Cup after becoming a millionaire with his front-running victory Saturday night in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Eddie Kenneally said he is most comfortable with the timing and other factors involved with sending Bradester back to the Grade 2, $200,000 Monmouth Cup, a 1 1/16-mile race that the horse won last year.
“The timing is good, and I really like Monmouth,” he said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Last Friday, on a warm afternoon at Santa Anita, jockey Flavien Prat won three races from seven mounts, the highlight of an otherwise-quiet program. The hat trick moved Prat into a tie for the lead in the standings for the spring-summer meeting with Rafael Bejarano and represented his 82nd through 84th victories of 2016.
At the same point last year, Prat had 41 wins. Prat missed more than three months last year because of a back injury and won 84 races for the entire year.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Tower of Texas has not raced since finishing seventh in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile last September, and he’ll likely make his return to the races in the Grade 2, $200,000 King Edward Stakes over a mile on turf July 2, trainer Roger Attfield said.
Tower of Texas won last year’s King Edward Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths over Platinum Glory.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Aye Aye Captain went into the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial on June 12 as a Queen’s Plate prospect for trainer Catherine Day Phillips but will not proceed to the Plate after a fifth-place finish behind winner Amis Gizmo.
Day Phillips said Aye Aye Captain will be pointed toward the $125,000 Deputy Minister Stakes on July 20, a race run over seven furlongs on the Tapeta for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.
“We gave it a go for the added distance, but I don’t think that’s to his suiting at this stage,” she said. “The Deputy Minister seems to be the spot.”
