HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Nominations are out for the Grade 1 Donn Handicap, and along with the expected probables, including defending champ Lea and a host of older handicap stars from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher, the list included one surprise – Grade 1 winner Hoppertunity, who is stabled on the West Coast with trainer Bob Baffert.
The Donn shares top billing at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 7 with the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap.
It was quite the five-day run for trainer Larry Jones. At Fair Grounds last Thursday, Jones gained a starter for the Risen Star Stakes in Bluff. On Saturday at Sam Houston, he won two stakes, the $400,000 Ladies Classic with Cassatt, and the $50,000 Allen’s Landing with the 3-year-old Exodus. And on Monday at Fair Grounds, Lovely Maria ran her way into the Rachel Alexandra Stakes with a front-running allowance-race victory over the promising Shook Up.
There’s no question Steve Asmussen loves winning horse races. And he would have loved for the 3-year-old filly Shook Up to have won her first start against winners in an entry-level allowance race Monday at Fair Grounds.
She didn’t, finishing second as the overwhelming favorite to wire-to-wire winner Lovely Maria, but Asmussen remains bullish on Shook Up’s future, and said she would still be pointed to the Rachel Alexandra Stakes on Feb. 21 at Fair Grounds.
A winter storm that brought between 8 and 14 inches of snow to the New York metropolitan area before ending late Tuesday morning forced New York Racing Association officials to cancel Wednesday’s card at Aqueduct.
It is the sixth full-card cancellation of the meet – all since Jan. 7. Another card was scrapped after two races were run.
Fort Erie Race Track has announced a 40-day race meet for 2015, which is a two-week extension of the 2014 season.
Racing is scheduled for Tuesdays and Sundays throughout the meet, which runs from June 2 through Oct. 20. Tuesday racing will have a 4:15 p.m. Eastern post time until Sept. 1, when it will be rolled back to 1:50 p.m. until closing day. Sunday racing will be conducted with a 1:50 p.m. start time.
Winning Image, an 8-year-old daughter of Southern Image who won 14 of 34 starts and $750,237 while racing primarily on the Mid-Atlantic circuit, was purchased for $100,000 by Calumet Farm on Jan. 13 at the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale.
Winning Image, owned by Martin Scafidi, won 10 stakes during her career. Five of those wins came at Parx, where she was based with trainer Michael Aro.
Two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Javier Castellano will receive a key to the city Wednesday night during a ceremony at the city hall in Hallandale Beach.
A Gulfstream release said Castellano is being recognized for his many feats in racing, including his domination of the local jockey standings in recent years.
Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito said he plans to run Frammento back in the Fountain of Youth even after the colt was well beaten in the Holy Bull. Frammento finished sixth at 21-1 when nearly 19 lengths behind Upstart.
“We’ve got to keep him closer early,” Zito said. “I’ll probably add blinkers. Yeah, we’re going to give him another chance. He’s better than that.”
