ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Chantal Sutherland, who has not ridden since July 2014, is planning a comeback in December.
Sutherland, 39, has been exercising horses at Los Alamitos and Santa Anita for the last two months and said Sunday in the Santa Anita barn area she is targeting a full-time return to riding Dec. 26, opening day of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting. Sutherland said she may ride sparingly at Los Alamitos during that track’s winter meeting from Dec. 3-20 to regain fitness.
VINTON, La. – Jet Black Magic, who was a 4 1/4-length winner of the Grade 3, $400,000 Delta Downs Princess for 2-year-old fillies Saturday, emerged from the race in good order, trainer Bret Calhoun said Sunday.
"She really looked good coming down the lane, striding strong," said Calhoun.
Calhoun said plans going forward are to be determined for Jet Black Magic.
"We've got options with her," said Calhoun, who trains Jet Black Magic for Carl Moore. "We haven't made plans yet. We could point for some of the 3-year-old [filly] races at Fair Grounds or Oaklawn."
VINTON, La. – Exaggerator hit the Jackpot on Saturday at Delta Downs and was headed back home to Santa Anita on Sunday. Trainer Keith Desormeaux said the horse wrapped up his 2-year-old season with his win in the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot.
Exaggerator had a productive campaign this year as he also won the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, ran second in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity, and was fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He earned $983,120 in his initial season of racing for Matt Bryan. Plans for Exaggerator's 3-year-old season are to be determined, said Desormeaux.
A bettor in Saint Kitts parlayed a $1.60 ticket into a $149,231.76 payoff Saturday at Golden Gate Fields by hitting all six winners in the Golden Pick 6.
The winning ticket included Summer Story, who scored a $115.20 stunner in the second leg of the bet. Only one favorite, Matty’s Tribal ($6.20) in the fifth leg, scored a win.
The winning ticket featured Giant Warrior ($9.20), Summer Story ($115.20), Claudia Mae ($10.40), Ship Mast ($21.80), Matty’s Tribal ($6.20), and Omdurman ($10.60).
Trainer Christophe Clement worked Tonalist and Red Vine five furlongs in company Saturday morning at Belmont Park and later said both horses are on track to start in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct next weekend.
“They went in a minute and galloped out in 1:13,” said Clement. “I am delighted with how they went and plan to run both horses in the Cigar Mile.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With rain in the forecast Saturday and temperatures predicted to dip into the 20s that evening, the Churchill track-maintenance crew will have a busy Saturday evening and Sunday, regularly harrowing the main track to keep it from freezing.
Even Sunday afternoon won’t provide the maintenance crew with much of a warm-up as the National Weather Service is calling for a high temperature of only 36 degrees, albeit under sunny skies.
By now, String King must know the 335-mile route from the River Point Equestrian Center in Haughton, La., to Fair Grounds well enough that he could walk it on his own rather than ride in a trailer, but of course, it was a horse trailer that Charlie Smith – the breeder, owner, and trainer of String King – used to take the horse from River Point to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Typical for Churchill Downs, the fall meet, which ends next Saturday, will conclude with a flurry of graded stakes action, including two graded stakes each day Thursday through Saturday.
The Grade 2 Falls City and Grade 3 River City handicaps headline the Thanksgiving Day action, followed by the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf and Grade 1 Clark Handicap on Friday and the Grade 2 Golden Rod and Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club stakes on closing-day Saturday, which, as usual, will have a card solely comprised of 2-year-old races.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When a rider goes down in a spill and does not immediately spring back up, worry creeps into the hearts of those watching as they wait, hoping for a signal that the jockey has avoided a major injury.
In this short period of time, minutes can seem like hours, as they did Thursday at Churchill Downs after Sebastian Saez and Sophie Doyle were unseated in a spill during the fifth race. Both lay on the main track for at least five minutes before being transported to nearby Norton Audubon Hospital.
The Thanksgiving Handicap was drawn Thursday and is headed by Clearly Now, a recent arrival on the circuit after being privately purchased by Brittlyn Stable and turned over to trainer Ron Faucheux. Clearly Now, trained previously by Brian Lynch, is a 5-year-old who has been among the better East Coast sprinters for three seasons now, though at times, he has teased at being something even better than a very good horse with earnings of more than $1 million.
