OLDSMAR, Fla. - Kenneth Wirth, a trainer who has raced a stable at Tampa Bay Downs since 1996, was arrested Feb. 1 and accused of maliciously stalking jockey Oriana Rossi, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times.
The report said that according to an arrest affidavit, Wirth, 57, admitted to harassing Rossi, 32, who has ridden a number of horses for the trainer. According to the Times , Rossi reported she had been receiving vulgar text messages from various phone numbers.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Four jockeys including the meet’s leading rider, Antonio Gallardo, continue to recover from injuries following a multi-horse spill during Friday’s sixth race.
La Ranchera, with Alice Cartwright aboard, went down heavily along the inside leaving the turn of the 5 1/2-furlong sprint. That caused a chain reaction with Gallardo, Huber Villa-Gomez, and Janelle Campbell all being unseated from their mounts.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With so many Derby prospects in his barns at Palm Beach Downs, trainer Todd Pletcher conceded Sunday that he likely will have to run some of his trainees against each other in upcoming prep races.
Seven of his 34 Triple Crown nominees were out for serious work Sunday, led by Grade 1 winners Daredevil and Competitive Edge, both nearing their seasonal debuts.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Javier Castellano reached another milestone when posting his 4,000th career win aboard Captain Stan in Sunday’s 10th race. The memorable victory capped off a tremendous weekend for Castellano, the meet’s leading rider, who swept both Grade 1 stakes, the Donn Handicap and Gulfstream Park Turf, the previous afternoon for trainer Todd Pletcher with Constitution and Mshawish, respectively. Castellano is the two-time reigning Eclipse Award winner as the nation’s top rider.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – After being the underdog trying to beat the big guns for years, Sandino Hernandez is enjoying being the trainer saddling the horses to beat these days at Tampa Bay Downs.
Hernandez has sent out 26 starters at this meet and has 10 wins for a blistering 38 percent win rate.
Hernandez, who has been training for more than 30 years, managed to make a living on the tough New York circuit, but said he never had the kind of owners that allowed him to compete with many of the high-profile outfits.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Constitution earned a 113 Beyer Speed Figure in his gate-to-wire triumph on Saturday in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park and could make his next start in the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 28, according to trainer Todd Pletcher.
“We’ve kicked around the idea of Dubai, but we haven’t committed to it yet,” Pletcher said Sunday. “It’s certainly one of the options.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Shared Belief and California Chrome were separated by 1 1/2 lengths at the finish of Saturday’s $590,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita.
They will be apart by 8,300 miles for the better part of March.
On Sunday morning, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer reiterated Shared Belief’s next start will be the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles March 7. Trainer Art Sherman confirmed California Chrome’s next start will be March 28 in the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates.
Far From Over and El Kabeir, the one-two finishers from Saturday’s Grade 3 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct, both appeared to come out of their races in good order, according to their connections, who are mulling their options for the future.
Far From Over, ridden by Manuel Franco, recovered from a terrible stumble at the gate to rally from last and win the Withers by 1 3/4 lengths.
Byron Hughes, the New York-based assistant for trainer Todd Pletcher, said Far From Over had no issues from the stumble.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Both Dortmund and Firing Line, who finished one-two in a thrilling edition of the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, were reported in good condition by their trainers Sunday morning, and there is the possibility they will meet for a third straight time in the Santa Anita Derby on April 4.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Salutos Amigos, who rallied from last to first to win Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct, will wheel back in nine days and run Feb. 16 in the Grade 2, $250,000 General George Handicap at Laurel Park, trainer and part-owner David Jacobson said Sunday.
“He came out of the race like he didn’t even run,” Jacobson said. “I’m definitely going to enter him in the General George.”
