HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Grade 1 winners Lochte and Twilight Eclipse were among the 26 horses nominated to the Grade 3 W.L. McKnight Handicap here next Saturday. The grassy McKnight will share top billing on the card with its filly counterpart, the Grade 3 La Prevoyante, and the Grade 3 Sugar Swirl for fillies and mares on the main track.
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DRF Past Performances
A good horse can come from anywhere, and if trainer Bret Calhoun didn’t know that before, he has found that out this year.
“I keep telling people my hopes for the future are a New York-bred, a Louisiana-bred, and a Texas-bred by a teaser stallion,” Calhoun said.
Hugh Robertson took out his trainer’s license in 1976, so when he says that Lovable Lyss is the best filly he has ever trained, there’s some historical weight behind the statement. And that’s what Robertson said Friday, the day after Lovable Lyss won her second race of the Fair Grounds meet in her first try around two turns, winning by five lengths after setting a strong pace. The race decided by midstretch, Cisco Torres eased Lovable Lyss through the final furlong.
Carlos Marquez Jr. considered retiring, weary of the injuries a man will incur in 30 years of riding racehorses.
But with 2,800 wins to his credit, and with a competitive fire that still burns, the 48-year-old Marquez has made his way to Turfway Park for the winter for the first time.
Marquez has been riding for accomplished trainers such as Mike Maker, Kellyn Gorder, and Helen Pitts since arriving this month at Turfway in northern Kentucky, where nearly 20 years ago he won the track’s signature race – then known as the Jim Beam Stakes – when riding Concerto.
NEW ORLEANS – It has happened quickly for apprentice rider Erica Murray. Last winter, she was exercising horses in New Orleans, still learning the ropes of the racetrack. A month into the 2015-16 Fair Grounds meet, Murray is a top-10 rider, with a record of 6-7-6 from 54 mounts through Thursday’s card.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Murray said. “Last year, I was here galloping. I never thought I’d be riding this year.”
Ben’s Duchess has not raced since winning the Grade 3 L.A. Woman Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 4. This was not the way trainer John Sadler envisioned preparing the 3-year-old filly for the $300,000 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.
“They couldn’t fill a race for her at Del Mar,” he said, referring to the track’s autumn meeting.
As a result, Ben’s Duchess will start in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs after a layoff of 12 weeks. The break between races is not a concern for Sadler, who trains Ben’s Duchess for Doubledown Stables.
She Has Charm, an unraced 2-year-old filly by Smart Strike, has shown trainer Peter Eurton enough promise in recent training for him to be enthusiastic about her prospects for 2016. What is less certain is how she will perform in her career debut in Saturday’s fourth race at Los Alamitos, a maiden special weight contest at six furlongs for 2-year-old fillies.
“She has some talent,” Eurton said. “We want to get a race into her.”
After winning the Grade 1 Clark Handicap following a runner-up finish to American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Effinex certainly earned a little break.
Effinex is at Belmont Park, where he gets hand-walked three times a day, beginning at 5:30 a.m., according to Steve Moyer, assistant to trainer Jimmy Jerkens.
In an effort to boost field size for the first part of the winter, the New York Racing Association will offer a complimentary shuttle service for horses based at Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia to race at Aqueduct from Dec. 26 through Feb. 12. Parx is closed for racing during that time.
NYRA is partnering with Sallee Horse Transport to provide this service.
Pickups for Parx-based horses will begin each race day at 4:15 a.m. Returns will take place following the races, once all runners have cooled out.