LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Phil Sims said Friday from Keeneland that he is “seriously considering” running Don’t Tell Sophia in the Grade 2 Falls City at Churchill Downs on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.
Sims said Don’t Tell Sophia has trained forwardly since finishing second to Untapable in the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and that there “really aren’t any drawbacks” to racing the 6-year-old mare one more time before heading to Oaklawn Park for the winter.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fruit Ludt set a track record for a mile Friday at Churchill, but it comes with a giant asterisk.
Facing five others under a $40,000 never-won-two claiming condition, Fruit Ludt finished in 1:33.26 on a track labeled fast but undoubtedly frozen. Claimed two starts back by trainer Chris Richard for owner Maggi Moss, the 3-year-old Congrats colt won by 2 1/2 lengths under Corey Lanerie.
The former record of 1:33.31 was set by Infrattini in a 7 1/4-length optional-claiming win on Nov. 22, 2012.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lacking any of the big-name 3-year-olds from the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Clark Handicap still could have a pair of 3-year-olds as major contenders.
Constitution and Hoppertunity, both of whom missed the Kentucky Derby in May with injuries, are among the prospective field for the 141st running of the Grade 1, $500,000 Clark, the annual fall-meet highlight to be run Friday at Churchill Downs.
MIAMI – There will be a lot of long faces around trainer Eddie Plesa Jr.’s barn at Gulfstream Park West on Monday when stable star Itsmyluckyday boards a van that will take him to New York. Itsmyluckyday is scheduled to make the final start of his career next Saturday at Aqueduct in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile.
Spendthrift Farm has acquired the breeding rights to Itsmyluckyday, who will stand stud at the farm in Lexington, Ky., next season. That means Plesa and his crew will bid adieu to the Grade 1 winner for the final time on Monday.
NEW ORLEANS – On a recent morning on the Fair Grounds backstretch, trainer Keith Desormeaux was stopped a few times by colleagues congratulating him for winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Texas Red.
“This is the area that I’ve frequented the most,” said Desormeaux, 47, who is from Maurice, La., and has made Fair Grounds his winter base for many years. “To see a guy like me sneak up there and win such an important race, it’s fun. It’s what we bust our ass for.”
The outstanding sprint mare Reneesgotzip has been retired, trainer Peter Miller said Thursday.
Reneesgotzip, age 5, finished ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 1 in her last start. That completed a career in which she won eight times in 16 starts and earned $869,860. The daughter of City Zip is owned by Debbie Lanni.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Six starts into his career, Red Outlaw has six wins. He’ll be putting that unbeaten record on the line before this Del Mar meet ends, but whether it comes Sunday in the $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes or next Saturday in the Grade 1, $300,000 Hollywood Derby is a question trainer Peter Miller hadn’t quite worked out the answer to as of Thursday morning.
Ocho Ocho Ocho is one of the most exciting prospects in Saturday's Delta Downs Jackpot as an undefeated stakes winner with a serious turn of foot. He dueled through blazing fractions last out when he won the $100,000 Juvenile Sprint at Santa Anita on the Breeders’ Cup undercard Nov. 1. In his only other start, Ocho Ocho Ocho won his debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita, stalking and pouncing in a razor-sharp 1:02.80 on Oct. 11.
Golden Actor will have a Hall of Fame rider on his team Saturday when he runs in the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot. But the retired Jose Santos won’t be making his comeback on the horse. He has instead been serving as an adviser to owner Jaime Mejia, who races Golden Actor under the nom de course Thoroughbred Champion Training Center.
The fields for Zia Park’s most prestigious races were drawn Wednesday, and Southern California invaders Jojo Warrior and Tonito M., are expected to start as the respective favorites in the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks and $200,000 Zia Park Derby when the races are run Nov. 26.
