LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dale Romans has his stakes contingent preparing for the next round of battle after a somewhat disappointing Kentucky Derby weekend that was salvaged by a Grade 1 victory for the stable.
A triumph by Molly Morgan in the Grade 1 La Troienne on the Kentucky Oaks undercard helped take some of the sting out of a fifth-place finish by Birdatthewire in the Oaks, a seventh by Keen Ice in the Derby, and defeats for five other Romans runners in stakes during the two-day extravaganza.
ELMONT, N.Y. – After a minor foot issue forced him to scratch Palace Malice from the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes last weekend, trainer Todd Pletcher was scrambling to find a back-up plan to get the horse ready for next month’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.
Sunday’s $100,000 Diablo Stakes at six furlongs at Belmont Park became Plan B, but it did not come up easy.
Palace Malice was one of eight horses entered Friday for Sunday’s Diablo Stakes, including Grade 1 winner Palace and the multiple Grade 3 winner Clearly Now.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Commissioner, the runner-up in last year’s Belmont Stakes and the winner of the Grade 3 Skip Away Stakes at Gulfstream on March 28, will make his next start in the $300,000 Pimlico Special, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Meanwhile, Race Day, the winner of the Razorback and Oaklawn Park handicaps in his last two starts, will be aimed at either the Met Mile or the Stephen Foster, Pletcher said.
Lynch on the grounds
Brian Lynch has brought in the first six of what will eventually be 30 horses to Belmont Park.
OCEANPORT, N.J. – When Monmouth Park begins its 70th season Saturday, there will be a few tweaks that should appeal to bettors, a new face in the announcer’s booth, and the return of a local hero to the jockey colony.
At the same time, Darby Development, which operates the track for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, continues to work on legislative initiatives intended to guarantee long-term financial stability for the industry. The New Jersey horsemen’s group has leased Monmouth Park from the state since 2012.
ELMONT, N.Y. – One week after winning his fourth Kentucky Derby, trainer Bob Baffert will try for the biggest race run for 3-year-olds this week when he starts Wolf Man Rocket in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park. The Peter Man is run at 1 1/8 miles around one turn.
The Peter Pan, the local prep for the Belmont Stakes on June 6, drew a field of only five. Trainer Todd Pletcher has the uncoupled entry of Two Weeks Off and Madefromlucky. Trainer Mark Casse supplemented Conquest Curlinate, while Bill Mott entered Tiz Shea D.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Hardest Core, the upset winner of last year’s Grade 1 Arlington Million, will make his seasonal debut in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park.
The Man o’ War will be a homecoming of sorts for Hardest Core, who began his career in the barn of New York-based trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, winning two of three starts over the Belmont turf, including a maiden score May 31, 2013.
Trainer Allen Milligan is on the move. He won the first graded race of his career last week at Lone Star Park with Texas Air. He has Haveyougoneaway on deck for an opening-weekend stakes at Ruidoso Downs. And he’s looking at sending a small division of horses to Del Mar.
Milligan, 48, took down the co-richest race of the Lone Star meet last Friday night when Texas Air closed from off the pace to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile. The horse will be pointed for a sweep of the meet’s biggest prizes later this month in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap.
Trainer Ron Moquett said Kentucky Derby 15th-place finisher Far Right exited the Derby in good shape and that he and owners Harry Rosenblum and Bob LaPenta would soon discuss the next course of action. Far Right returned to training Wednesday at Churchill.
“They’ve got Derbies in Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana, right?” asked Moquett. “I’m guessing those kinds of races might be better for us. We’d love to get his confidence back and his earnings up.”
Chief steward Barbara Borden said Wednesday that the Churchill Downs stewards intend to further scrutinize replays of the Kentucky Derby in response to questions about jockey Victor Espinoza having used his whip 32 times in urging American Pharoah to victory.
Whereas some other states have rules that limit the number of times the whip can be used, “there is not a maximum number” in Kentucky, said Borden. “Obviously, overt abuse would be something that would constitute us considering action, but clearly this is a discretionary issue.”
