Antonio Gallardo went 4 for 5 at Presque Isle Downs on Tuesday evening to extend his lead in the rider standings to 19. The final win was his 1,000th in North America.
Gallardo’s career has been on the upswing for several years, but when he first came to the United States from his native Spain in 2008, things were quite different.
“I went to Miami, to Palm Meadows,” Gallardo said. “It was very hard. Nobody would even let me jog a horse.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It will be no surprise when either Todd Pletcher or Chad Brown wins this year’s Saratoga training title. Nor will it be shocking to see Bill Mott, Christophe Clement, Kiaran McLaughlin, and Linda Rice in the top 10.
But they can’t win all the races. Many summers, there are trainers who greatly exceed expectations at Saratoga. Here’s a handful of trainers, listed alphabetically, who might win more races than you’d think.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In the first hour on his first morning in Saratoga this summer, jockey Florent Geroux worked two graded stakes winners for trainer Steve Asmussen.
“You spoiled me on my first day,” Geroux said to Asmussen following workouts on Louisiana Derby winner Gun Runner and Belmont Stakes winner Creator.
If Geroux can pick up those kinds of mounts in the afternoon, it could be a fun summer for the 30-year-old Frenchman, who will ride full time at Saratoga for the first time when this prestigious meet opens Friday.
DEL MAR, Calif. – An impressive allowance victory by the filly Entrechat on Sunday likely earned her a start in a stakes race next time out, trainer Neil Drysdale said.
“We could think about the Osunitas or something like that,” Drysdale said. The Osunitas, for nonwinners of a stakes race this year, is at 1 1/16 miles on turf Aug. 7.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Midnight Storm emerged from his victory in the Grade 2 Eddie Read on Sunday in good condition, and now trainer Phil D’Amato has set his sights on the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita. D’Amato said he needs to decide in the next couple of weeks the best way to get there, either with a race in between or by having Midnight Storm come into the Breeders’ Cup fresh.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Todd Pletcher’s quest for his 13th Saratoga trainer’s title and Chad Brown’s bid for his first begin Friday, with both horsemen having top contenders in stakes run on the opening-day 10-race card.
In the Grade 2, $200,000 Lake George, for 3-year-old fillies on turf, Brown sends out Ancient Secret and Elysea’s World in a 12-horse field. Brown won last year’s Lake George with Mrs McDougal.
Emerald Downs-based trainer Monique Snowden apparently committed suicide Sunday evening. Snowden was thought to be distraught after a horse she trained, The Chilli Man, broke down in the $50,000 Emerald Express at Emerald on Sunday and had to be euthanized.
Snowden, 37, was thought to have jumped off a bridge into the Green River in Enumclaw, Wash.
Snowden was married to Dennis Snowden, who is the assistant trainer to Frank Lucarelli.
“Dennis said they found her car at the bridge,” Lucarelli said on Tuesday.
The nine West Virginia Breeders Classics races, scheduled for Oct. 8 at Charles Town, will be worth $90,000 more than a year ago. Total purses on this year's card will be $1.17 million.
The two most valuable races on the card, the $500,000 West Virginia Breeders Classic and the $150,000 West Virginia Cavada Breeders Classic, will have the same purses as in 2015. The other seven races are all worth more.
Trainer Al Stall Jr. said Tuesday morning that he and majority owner Seth Klarman have decided not to appeal Paid Up Subscriber’s second-place finish Saturday in the Delaware Handicap. Paid Up Subscriber, owned by Klarman’s Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence, was bumped at the start of the Delaware Handicap when winner I’m a Chatterbox broke in and crowded rivals.
"We're just going to move forward and concentrate on the next race," Stall said.
Trainer John Sadler said he doesn’t crank up his 2-year-olds – “If they win first time out, it’s because they’re pretty nice horses,” he said – so he’s particularly encouraged by Morganite, a daughter of Gemologist who was a debut winner against maiden 2-year-old fillies on Saturday at Del Mar.
“She’ll run once more here. I don’t know if she’ll run twice more here,” Sadler said. “I think she’s got a lot of quality, and she’ll be better when she goes farther. She’s got a lot of upside.”
