Mon, 12/14/2015 - 10:46

Fast Flying Rumor looks primed for Turf Dash

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Fast Flying Rumor will try to regain the form that enabled him to win the Select Stakes at Monmouth last June when he runs in Friday's turf feature at Tampa Bay Downs.

OLDSMAR, Fla. – A case of the thumps had slowed down Fast Flying Rumor last summer, but the 3-year-old West Acre gelding returned fresh, fit, and ready last Friday at Tampa Bay Downs, scoring at 13-1 in an optional $100,000 claimer for trainer Gerald Bennett and jockey Ronnie Allen Jr. That effort has the horse set for a return to stakes company in the $100,000 Turf Dash here Jan. 9.

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 17:22

D'Amato grateful Street Fancy didn't meet reserve price in February

Benoit & Associates
Street Fancy wound up with trainer Phil D'Amato after bidding at the Barretts Select sale failed to meet her reserve price of $419,000.

CYPRESS, Calif. - Street Fancy, the winner of the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos on Saturday, was one of the first hyped 2-year-olds of the year in California.

Back in February, prior to the Barretts Select sale of 2-year-olds in-training sale in Pomona, Street Fancy worked a furlong in 9.8 seconds. A few days later, she failed to sell when bidding stalled at $400,000.

Trainer Phil D’Amato recalled on Sunday that the reserve price was $419,000. When the filly failed to meet that price, she joined his stable.

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 17:13

Swipe may recover from surgery in time to make Triple Crown trail

Benoit Photo
Swipe wins the Summer Juvenile Championship by a head Sunday at Los Alamitos Race Course.

CYPRESS, Calif. - Swipe, second to Nyquist in four consecutive stakes, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland on Oct. 31, underwent surgery to have a bone chip removed from an ankle last month, trainer Keith Desormeaux said.

Desormeaux said over the weekend he is hopeful that Swipe can return to training in early 2016 and run in prep races for the Triple Crown in March and April.

“We think we still have a chance,” Desormeaux said.

Desormeaux said Swipe will spend a month at a Southern California layup facility, where he will be in light training.

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 17:01

O'Neill hopes one of his two colts blossoms in Los Alamitos Futurity

CYPRESS, Calif. - This could be an action-packed winter in stakes for 3-year-olds for trainer Doug O’Neill.

His stable is led by Nyquist, the unbeaten winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland on Oct. 31. Lurking behind him in the O’Neill stable are Frank Conversation and Sorryaboutnothing, who are scheduled to start in the $350,000 Los Alamitos Futurity next Saturday.

Neither has done anything to merit comparison to Nyquist, but there is hope in the ever-optimistic O’Neill stable that one can develop into a consistent graded stakes runner in coming months.

Sun, 12/13/2015 - 12:29

Balsamo, Jacobson fined for hidden financial interest

The New York stewards have disqualified Box Office from his first-place finish in the fourth race Dec. 4 at Aqueduct and fined that horse’s owner-trainer Diane Balsamo, as well as trainer David Jacobson, for failure to disclose that Jacobson, who also ran a horse in that race, had a hidden financial interest in Box Office.

Sat, 12/12/2015 - 16:35

Smokey Image transferred to Gaines, targets California Cup Derby

Smokey Image, the undefeated winner of four sprint stakes in California, has been transferred from trainer Greg James at Golden Gate Fields to Carla Gaines at Santa Anita by owners and breeders Robert and Betty Irvin.

On Friday, Gaines said Smokey Image has been in her barn for a little less than a month and is in light training. She said Smokey Image’s exercise schedule will intensify in coming weeks, with the goal of a start in the $250,000 California Cup Derby for California-breds at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 30.

Sat, 12/12/2015 - 16:27

Valdez breaks collarbone after mount breaks down

CYPRESS, Calif. – Jockey Felipe Valdez broke his collarbone after being unseated from Giant’s Lexis in Friday’s seventh race at Los Alamitos, track officials said Saturday.

Valdez, 37, was taken to nearby Long Beach Memorial Hospital after the spill and remained there overnight. He was scheduled to meet with a doctor Saturday, according to officials.

Sat, 12/12/2015 - 15:01

Quarter Horse rider Huerta out with injury after spill

CYPRESS, Calif. – Carlos Huerta, the second-leading Quarter Horse jockey at Los Alamitos, suffered three broken vertebrae in a spill after the eighth race Friday evening and will miss mounts in two lucrative races this weekend.

Huerta was unseated after the filly Blabber fell after the Paul Ford Memorial Handicap. Blabber was not injured. Huerta was transported to Long Beach Memorial hospital.

Sat, 12/12/2015 - 10:44

Exercise rider Gladney helps guide California Chrome back to competition

CYPRESS, Calif. – The man entrusted with guiding California Chrome through his daily exercise knows his way around Los Alamitos.

Dihigi Gladney, 40, made a career of riding lower-level Thoroughbreds at Los Alamitos from 1995 until his retirement in 2012. He rode winners at Del Mar, Hollywood Park, and Santa Anita, but most of his 318 career victories were at Los Al.

Fri, 12/11/2015 - 16:00

After 35 years, Berry retiring from saddle

Coady Photography
Cliff Berry, the all-time leading rider at Remington who plans to retire in December, will be honored all meet long at Remington Park.

Cliff Berry has been a longtime kingpin in the Southwest riding ranks, winning more than 20 titles among tracks in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Berry will call it a career on Sunday after he rides Better Than Magic in the $250,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park.