NEW ORLEANS – Last summer, veteran jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. came out of nowhere to win the riding title at Arlington Park.
Valdivia won 80 races from 370 mounts there – a 180-degree turnaround from a winter meet at Gulfstream Park that couldn’t have turned colder for him. Set back by a broken fibula sustained in October 2014, Valdivia was unable to get his business going late that year and early in 2015, and he wound up with only three wins from 105 mounts at that Gulfstream meet.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Paulina’s Love will be considered for the $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf after winning an optional claimer in Wednesday’s seventh race.
Ridden by Gary Stevens, Paulina’s Love always was near the pace and drew off late to win by a convincing 3 1/2 lengths over the English import Nancy from Nairobi. The key to victory was a break of more than 10 weeks between starts, said David Meah, assistant to trainer Richard Baltas.
“I think the extra time between races really helps her,” said Meah.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Sunday Rules won her third stakes but her first against open company Wednesday in the $98,850 Kalookan Queen Stakes for female sprinters at Santa Anita. The win might lead to a return to the statebred division or an attempt at a first graded stakes win in late January.
On Thursday, trainer Phil D’Amato said he is considering the Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs on dirt Jan. 23 or the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint for California-bred females on the hillside turf course Jan. 30.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Hot City Girl, the runner-up to Birdatthewire in last Saturday’s Grade 1 La Brea at Santa Anita, could make her next start in the $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Stakes at Laurel on Feb. 13, trainer Linda Rice said Wednesday. The Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie is run at seven furlongs, the same distance as the La Brea.
“Big purse, good distance,” Rice said at Belmont Park. “Point to that and then give her a break. We’ll see; not sure yet.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Though entered in Friday’s $125,000 Lost in the Fog Stakes at six furlongs, Condo King is likely to scratch from that spot and attempt two turns in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct.
The Jerome is the first of four races on this circuit for 3-year-olds with Kentucky Derby aspirations. The Jerome, at a mile and 70 yards, awards 17 qualifying points (10-4-2-1) to the top four finishers to the May 7 Derby.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Wonder Gal, a well-beaten third in the Grade 3 Comely on Nov. 28, likely will make her next start in the $100,000 Ladies Handicap here on Jan. 10, trainer Leah Gyarmati said Wednesday.
Wonder Gal, the winner of the Empire Distaff two starts back, finished 7 1/2 lengths behind Forever Unbridled and Carrumba, who were noses apart in the Comely.
In just six years as a trainer, Karl Broberg has made a substantial impact on racing. He led all trainers in wins in North America for the second year in a row in 2015, and for the new year, he has divisions of his stable at five different tracks in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Friday’s main event is an optional $25,000 claimer that drew a full field of 14 older fillies and mares going 7 1/2 furlongs on turf. The race has any number of logical contenders, led by Miss Tatey Cat, who has won eight races, including three of her last four. Trained by Nick Gonzalez, she’ll be joined in the starting gate by, among others, Sequoia Princess, Giant’s Jewel, Bibby, Al Khazaaliya, Sokie, Lady Zuzu, and Enthusiastic Gal.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The decision to move the six-furlong Hutcheson Stakes up on the calendar from the middle of the winter gave horsemen a second option to go with the one-mile Mucho Macho Man for their 3-year-olds here on Saturday. And as a result, the races wound up splitting the available talent, with seven in each race and the Hutcheson getting the stronger of the two fields. The Grade 3 Hutcheson attracted the stakes winners Sheikh of Sheikhs and Full Salute along with the extremely promising Awesome Banner.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Smooth Roller, who missed the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31 because of a tendon injury, will resume training in early April, trainer Victor Garcia said on Wednesday.
Smooth Roller was in training for the BC Classic when the injury was detected. Garcia said he expects Smooth Roller to return to racing in the second half of 2016.
“He’s still at the farm,” he said. “The way it looks, he could come back 100 percent.”
