Sat, 10/24/2015 - 13:43

Tonalist leads busy morning for Breeders' Cup workers

Barbara D. Livingston
Tonalist wins the Jockey Club Gold Cup by 4 3/4 lengths Saturday at Belmont Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Tonalist, the two-time Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, and 10 horses from trainer Chad Brown’s stable led a flurry of Breeders’ Cup workers Saturday morning at Belmont Park.

A total of 15 horses with designs on getting into a Breeders’ Cup race had published workouts on one of three surfaces at Belmont on a cool, partly sunny fall morning.

Tonalist, preparing for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, led off the morning, working five furlongs in 1:00.41 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:14.17 and pulling up seven-eighths in 1:29.36.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 15:53

Mshawish shines on busy day for Breeders’ Cup workers

Barbara D. Livingston
Mshawish works four furlongs in 48.19 seconds Friday morning at Keeneland in preparation for the Breeders' Cup Mile.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Friday proved to be the busiest morning yet at Keeneland for Breeders’ Cup workers, with a logjam after the renovation break caused in part by a forecast that calls for possible showers beginning around mid-morning Saturday and continuing over the next couple days.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 15:26

California Chrome settling in at Los Alamitos

Four-Footed Fotos
California Chrome, shown here at Arlington Park in July, has been jogging a mile each day at Los Alamitos.

California Chrome has settled into a routine of light exercise since his arrival from a Kentucky farm earlier this month.

Trainer Art Sherman said on Thursday that California Chrome has been jogged a mile each day. The exercise will increase to two miles this weekend. California Chrome is based with Sherman’s stable at Los Alamitos.

Sherman said California Chrome was overly eager when he resumed training, but that the 4-year-old has shown more patience in recent days.

“I noticed this morning that he’s a little better,” Sherman said on Thursday. “He’s settled down.”

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 15:22

Del Mar nears opening day

Sunday is the final day of the Santa Anita autumn meeting, and when Del Mar is taking entries for Thursday’s opening day of its autumn meeting. The Del Mar meeting will operate on a four-day per week schedule, from Thursday through Sunday, until it ends on Nov. 29.

The opening week of Del Mar includes simulcasts of Breeders’ Cup races from Keeneland on Friday and Saturday. The track plans to conduct nine-race programs on those days, running live events between Breeders’ Cup races.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 15:17

Isotherm will try dirt again in BC Juvenile

Barbara D. Livingston
Isotherm (left), winner of the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes, will target the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Though his connections listed the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Friday as his first preference, Isotherm will be entered Monday for Saturday’s $2 million Juvenile on the dirt, trainer George Weaver said Friday.

Isotherm is 2 for 2 on turf, including a victory Sept. 26 in the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont Park. He finished fourth in his only dirt start, a six-furlong race at Saratoga.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 15:03

Stellar Wind gets a tune-up for Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Benoit & Associates
Stellar Wind wins the Torrey Pines on Aug. 30 at Del Mar.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Stellar Wind, the multiple-graded-stakes-winning 3-year-old filly, was eager for action at Santa Anita on Friday morning.

A week before a scheduled start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Oct. 30, Stellar Wind worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 in company with stablemate Scooter Bird. Stellar Wind did not work particularly fast on a track that seemed slower than normal, but was ready to engage Scooter Bird when urged by jockey Victor Espinoza.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 14:57

Academic, Square Dancer stars of the meet

Four-Footed Fotos
Academic (inside) wins the British Columbia Derby on Sept. 13 at Hastings.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Looking back at the 2015 Hastings meet, which ends Sunday, there were two events that stood out – the formation of the Hastings Racing Club was a huge success, and Academic becoming the first filly to win the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby since 1959.

The Hastings Racing Club, which was formed to encourage horse ownership, cost $250 to join. Managed by Richard Yates, the 200-member club bought two horses, Urban Achiever and Square Dancer. Both were trained by Steve Henson.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 14:42

Big Business returns in Sunday sprint allowance

Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Big Business, who won the Alex M. Robb Stakes last December, will make his first start in eight months Sunday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Big Business, away from the races since February, returns Sunday in a $90,000 allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs. The race looked like it was written for El Kabeir, but the multiple-graded-stakes-winning 3-year-old was not entered.

Big Business, who won the Alex M. Robb Stakes on Dec. 31, finished fifth Feb. 16 in the Grade 3 General George Handicap at Laurel. It was his second straight fifth-place finish, and Big Business was given a break.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 14:38

Tencendur cleared to return to training

Debra A. Roma
Tencendur, who hasn't run since June's Ohio Derby, is back in training at Saratoga.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Tencendur, runner-up in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial and the Ohio Derby, recently rejoined trainer George Weaver’s barn at Saratoga after being sidelined for the summer due to a chipped sesamoid bone.

“His ankle looks great,” said Weaver. “There was no suspensory damage. We got clearance to go back into training. He showed signs of being a horse, and we’re looking forward to him coming back as a 4-year-old.”

Weaver said Tencendur probably would move to south Florida before year’s end, but he still is eligible for all of his New York-bred allowance conditions.

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 14:38

U.K. champion jockey De Sousa set to ride in U.S.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Silvestre de Sousa has gone from hunted to hunter.

De Sousa, champion jockey in the United Kingdom for 2015 with 132 victories, made his first visit Friday morning to Belmont Park, where he intends to start riding next week. Along with his agent, Seth Benzel, de Sousa was making the rounds Friday and trying to drum up business for his attempt at succeeding in North America.