Fri, 01/16/2015 - 13:11

Fast Anna resumes training after knee surgery

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Kathy Ritvo has not yet picked out a race for Fast Anna's 4-year-old debut.

Fast Anna, who set the pace into the stretch before finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, returned to the track for the first time Thursday at Gulfstream Park after undergoing minor knee surgery this winter, according to trainer Kathy Ritvo.

Fri, 01/16/2015 - 11:45

Barbados remains on target for Hutcheson

Barbara D. Livingston
Barbados, shown winning the Spectacular Bid, is a confirmed starter for the seven-furlong Hutcheson for 3-year-olds.

Trainer Mike Tomlinson said things couldn’t be better with Barbados, a three-length winner of the Jan. 3 Spectacular Bid at Gulfstream Park, and indicated that the colt will run back in the Grade 3, $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes on the Holy Bull undercard next Saturday.

“I’ll probably do a little something with him Tuesday, maybe breeze him an easy three-eighths,” said Tomlinson. “With just three weeks between races, there’s no need to ask for too much.”

Thu, 01/15/2015 - 14:33

Big Business, Geaux Mets represent Jacobson in Holly Hughes

Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Big Business (inside) will cut back to six furlongs after winning the Alex M. Robb at 1 1/16 miles.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer David Jacobson entered two horses for Sunday’s $100,000 Hollie Hughes Stakes at Aqueduct, but he did not enter the 10-year-old Be Bullish, a two-time winner from five starts in the race.

Jacobson did enter Big Business, who will be cutting back to six furlongs for the first time since Sept. 20, 2012, when he won a $35,000 claiming race at Belmont in his first start for Jacobson. Big Business is coming off a win in the Alex M. Robb at 1 1/16 miles.

He drew post 6 and will be ridden by Fernando Jara.

Thu, 01/15/2015 - 14:31

Condo Commando starts preparing for 2015 campaign

Barbara D. Livingston
Condo Commando has begun training for her first start since winning the Grade 2 Demoiselle in November.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Condo Commando, an Eclipse Award finalist for champion 2-year-old filly of 2014, has recently returned to trainer Rudy Rodriguez’s Aqueduct barn to begin preparations for her 3-year-old campaign.

Following her 11 1/2-length victory in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct in late November, Condo Commando was turned out at the Fair Hill Training Center in North East, Md.

Thu, 01/15/2015 - 14:21

Blue-collar horses set to run for more than $700K in Claiming Championship Series

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – New York’s version of the Claiming Crown will comprise 10 stakes worth a total of $710,000 in purse money when the inaugural Claiming Championship Series is held at Aqueduct on March 21.

Modeled after the Claiming Crown, which was run at Gulfstream Park last December, New York’s Claiming Championship Series will be open to horses who have started for a claiming price in 2014-15. The races will be run over the inner track.

Wed, 01/14/2015 - 15:34

Don't Tell Sophia to skip Pippin Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Don't Tell Sophia will try to add to an already productive year when she starts in Thursday's Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs.

Eclipse Award finalist Don’t Tell Sophia had been targeting the $100,000 Pippin at Oaklawn on Saturday for her first start of the year, but weather-related training disruptions led trainer Phil Sims to skip the race with her when entries were taken Wednesday.

Sims said Don’t Tell Sophia likely will make her next start in the Bayakoa, a $100,000 race for fillies and mares Feb. 15. This year, the race has been elevated in status to a Grade 3.

Wed, 01/14/2015 - 15:32

Private Prospect looks to get back on track in Smarty Jones

Barbara D. Livingston
Private Prospect kicks off his 3-year-old season Monday in the Smarty Jones.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Private Prospect brought a tidy record into last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. The multiple stakes winner had won 3 of 4 career starts, with his lone loss coming by a head when he finished second in the Grade 3 Arlington Washington Futurity.

Wed, 01/14/2015 - 15:27

Racing surface taking some work

NEW ORLEANS – Pedro Zavala, the track superintendent at Fair Grounds, said Wednesday morning that he planned to blade and work the racing surface Wednesday afternoon in an effort to change the complexion of the main track.

Wed, 01/14/2015 - 15:25

West Coast Belle eager for Silverbulletday

Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
West Coast Belle kept her undefeated record intact when she won the Golden Rod Stakes in November.

NEW ORLEANS – West Coast Belle, undefeated in three starts and the winner of the Grade 2 Golden Rod in her most recent race, was credited with a half-mile work in 51.20 seconds at Fair Grounds on Wednesday, though trainer Wayne Catalano said West Coast Belle was not scheduled for an official work.

“We just two-minute-clipped her – open her lungs up a little before the race – and they caught her going an easy half,” said Catalano, who trains West Coast Belle for Gary and Mary West.

Wed, 01/14/2015 - 15:04

Tiznow R J starting to put it together

NEW ORLEANS – Give a horseman a choice between a talented early-season 3-year-old with size and scope and a more diminutive model, and – particularly with classic-race aspirations in mind – he probably will choose the big horse. But bigger is not always better. Young horses of large size need more time to grow into their frame, to figure out how their bodies work at peak speed.