OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The 3-year-old El Charro, the runner-up in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 2, has been purchased privately by trainer David Jacobson and Sol Kumin’s Head of Plains Stable and will relocate to Southern California, Jacobson said Thursday.
El Charro, a son of Put It Back, had been owned by Golden Legacy Stable and was trained by Juan Rodriguez.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sudden Surprise, a four-time sprint-stakes winner, will be given the opportunity to stretch out around two turns in the $100,000 Gander Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds at Aqueduct on Feb. 6, trainer Todd Pletcher said Thursday.
Sudden Surprise, a son of Giant Surprise owned and bred by Mike Repole, went 5 for 6 as a 2-year-old, with this wins coming from 5 1/2 to seven furlongs. His lone loss came in the one-mile Sleepy Hollow Stakes at Belmont Park, where he finished fourth, beaten 3 1/2 lengths by Get Jets.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In Equality, third in the Jerome Stakes on Jan. 2, could make his next start in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 20, trainer Leah Gyarmati said Thursday.
After making his first two starts on turf, In Equality won a maiden special weight race on dirt Dec. 13 and then came back to finish third, 6 3/4 lengths behind winner Flexibility, in the Grade 3, $200,000 Jerome Stakes.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher entered a trio of 3-year-old fillies in Sunday’s $100,000 Ruthless Stakes, but it remains to be seen how many he actually starts in the six-furlong race.
Pletcher’s trio of Clipthecouponannie, Lost Raven, and Mo d’Amour drew the three inside posts in an eight-horse field. Lost Raven and Mo d’Amour are cross-entered in Saturday’s $75,000 Marshua Stakes at Laurel Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Kobe’s Back, the winner of the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland last April, has been invited to the $2 million Golden Shaheen for sprinters March 26 in Dubai.
On Thursday, trainer Peter Eurton said Kobe’s Back’s participation in that race is not certain and will depend on how he performs in the $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes on Feb. 7 and on subsequent conversations with owners Lee and Susan Searing.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Songbird, unbeaten in four starts, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in October, is on schedule for her first start of 2016 in the $300,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 6.
On Thursday, Songbird moved closer to the race with a six-furlong workout in 1:14.40 at Santa Anita.
According to Santa Anita clockers, Songbird ran the first half-mile in 50.20 seconds and the final quarter-mile in 24.20. She galloped out seven furlongs in 1:27.80. Songbird worked alone.
NEW ORLEANS – Hugh Robertson bought his first horse in 1971, a filly named Ensorcel whom trainer Frank Kirby sold to him for $2,000. Robertson trained her a bit, sent her to Ak-Sar-Ben, and won two races right away, making a tidy profit.
Cease, the winner of the 2012 Maxxam Gold Cup who also finished third in that year’s Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga, has been retired from racing at the age of 9.
Trainer Eddie Barker, who claimed Cease for $12,500 last fall, only got to run him twice. He said Cease, a gelding by War Chant, sustained a crack in his humerus bone that likely would need 45 days to heal. Barker said he likely could get Cease back to the races, but “then I still got to train him over this winter track for 60 days and pound on him. He’s made $700,000; it’s not fair to him.”
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – What to do for an encore?
Oaklawn Park’s racing program reached a pinnacle last season when the eventual Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah, launched his 3-year-old campaign with wins in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby. It was the highest high in a run of 3-year-old success for Oaklawn dating back to Smarty Jones in 2004, but Oaklawn is not resting on its laurels for the 2016 meet, which opens Friday.
Mean Season, who came off an 11-month layoff to win a third-level allowance race at Laurel Park last Saturday, likely will return to Maryland for the $250,000 General George Handicap on Feb. 15.
“That seems logical,” Leanna Willaford, the Belmont Park-based assistant to Bill Mott, said Wednesday. “We’re just happy he came back good.”
Mean Season is 2 for 2 at Laurel, including a win going a mile. The General George is run at seven furlongs.
