STICKNEY, Ill. – Recount, the Arlington-Washington Futurity winner in his most recent start, won’t race again until 2015, trainer Jim DiVito said last week.
Recount had been considered for an Illinois-bred stakes race later in the Hawthorne meet, but DiVito took him out of training and has sent him to a Florida farm for a winter turnout.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Saturday’s $100,000 Autumn Miss Stakes for 3-year-old fillies over a mile on turf at Santa Anita will have a large field, and a strong team from trainer Tom Proctor’s stable.
The Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes is led by Alexis Tangier, who won the Unzip Me Stakes on the hillside turf course Sept. 27 in her stakes debut for trainer Mandella.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Kent Desormeaux, who has not ridden since Sept. 28 after being kicked in the chest during a post parade, is aiming for a comeback Sunday at Santa Anita.
Desormeaux, 44, suffered a collapsed lung and fractured ribs on his left side when he was kicked after being unseated from his mount in a post parade. Desormeaux was hospitalized for two days because of his injuries.
On Wednesday, Desormeaux said he received doctor’s clearance Tuesday to resume exercising horses for his comeback.
“We’re all good to go,” he said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Beholder, the two-time champion, continues to struggle with an elevated temperature that prevented her from being pre-entered for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on Oct. 31.
Beholder was declared from the BC Distaff last Sunday when she spiked a 104-degree temperature and was treated with penicillin, which cannot appear in post-race tests. Trainer Richard Mandella said Wednesday that Beholder has shown improvement, but that her temperature that morning was 102.
ELMONT, N.Y. – A new claiming rule will go into effect with the Oct. 29 beginning of the Aqueduct meeting, one designed to reward horsemen for displaying patience in bringing horses back off an extended layoff.
An owner may opt to declare a horse ineligible from being claimed provided the horse has not started for a minimum of 180 days and the horse is entered for a claiming price equal to or greater than the price at which he last started.
ELMONT, N.Y. – El Kabeir, who impressed in winning a maiden race at Saratoga before failing to handle the slop when fourth in the Grade 1 Champagne, will be pointed to the Grade 2, $250,000 Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct on Nov. 2, trainer John Terranova said.
ELMONT, N.Y. – After seriously considering supplementing him into one of two Breeders’ Cup races, the connections of River Rocks opted to stay home and run him in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park, where he likely will be favored against five rivals.
River Rocks had won three consecutive races – including two at Saratoga – before finishing a good second in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap at Belmont on Sept. 27. River Rocks, a speed horse, put away two challengers before being run down late by Vyjack.
ARCADIA, Calif. — There may be a feminine presence to the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 1.
When pre-entries were announced on Wednesday, the list of 16 potential runners included three fillies and mares: Chicquita, Just The Judge, and Secret Gesture.
Just The Judge and Secret Gesture were also pre-entered in the $2 million BC Filly and Mare Turf on the same day, with that race listed by their owners and trainers as a first preference. Chicquita, trained by Aidan O’Brien, has the BC Filly and Mare Turf as a second preference.
Just a couple of minor surprises were in store when pre-entries for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint were announced Wednesday at Santa Anita: Top Kisser is not in the lineup, and Thank You Marylou is.
After Top Kisser won the Grade 3 L.A. Woman at Santa Anita on Oct. 4, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said that owner-breeder Tommy Town Thoroughbreds intended to supplement the homebred mare for $100,000, but that did not happen.
Eight top-class Europeans, led by defending champion Dank, were among the 17 pre-entries announced Wednesday for the $2 Million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 1 – setting up an intriguing international matchup.
Although American horses are expected to have strength in numbers, with nine pre-entries, led by Stephanie’s Kitten, Dayatthespa, Parranda, and Emollient, the Europeans are the favorites.
