Trainer Mark Casse has long been a Jackpot Day participant at Delta Downs, and he could have three runners among the eight stakes Saturday on this year’s card: Conquest Tsunami in the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot, Miss Mandate in the Grade 3, $400,000 Delta Downs Princess, and Spring in the Air in the $200,000 Treasure Chest.
MIAMI - Happy My Way has come a long way since defeating Speechify under allowance conditions at Gulfstream last December, winning 3 of 7 subsequent starts, including the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Handicap at Pimlico. He was also second in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt at Saratoga.
Happy My Way is on his way back to south Florida following Saturday’s second-place finish behind upset winner Zee Bros in the De Francis Memorial at Laurel Park, a performance his trainer Joe Orseno was excited about even in defeat.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Nominations have been released for the four graded stakes that conclude the fall meet on Thanksgiving weekend, with easily the most notable name for the Nov. 28 Clark Handicap being Bayern. However, Churchill officials believe trainer Bob Baffert will be starting only Hoppertunity in the Grade 1 Clark, while Baffert said Monday by text: “Bayern not coming.”
The other stakes for closing weekend, all Grade 2 races, are the Falls City on Nov. 27 and the twin 2-year-old stakes, the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod, on Nov. 29.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The expanding dominance of Midwest Thoroughbreds came to the fore again Sunday when a 2-year-old filly named Scadadle ran off to a 6 1/2-length victory in what had looked like a contentious maiden race on paper.
Trained by Chris Richard, Scadadle, by Scat Daddy, earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure.
Midwest, based in Chicago and operated by Richard and Karen Papiese, is well on its way of being the North American wins leader for the fifth straight year. The stable won its first Breeders’ Cup race when Work All Week captured the Nov. 1 BC Sprint.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Rosie Napravnik was temporarily overcome with emotion when addressing an appreciative crowd Saturday while being honored by Churchill Downs for her numerous feats as a jockey.
In halting words, Napravnik, who is expecting a baby in June and stopped competitive riding as of Nov. 1, said: “I want to thank the guys that are down here – most of the jockeys – for helping me become a better rider in a great colony.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It hasn’t been the best of years for jockey Julien Leparoux, but things could be a lot worse.
In fact, you won’t hear Leparoux complaining one bit after what he accomplished Saturday at Churchill Downs in sweeping twin turf stakes for 3-year-olds – the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere on the filly Sparkling Review and the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf on Heart to Heart.
MIAMI – Having had his career slowed by not one but two condylar fractures, and with a daily diet that basically consists of nothing more than soup, it’s a wonder Speechify can still race at all, let alone defeat a quality field like he did in the Kenny Noe Jr. Stakes on Sunday at Gulfstream Park West.
Making just his second start since suffering his second condylar fracture during a workout in January, Speechify dominated seven rivals in the six-furlong Kenny Noe, drawing off to a 3 3/4-length victory under Paco Lopez.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Reade Baker will have a big shot to win Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Kennedy Road Stakes at Woodbine for the second year in a row, as he will start all four horses he has nominated to the race: Jose Sea View, Go Blue Or Go Home, Sharp Sensation, and last year’s Kennedy Road winner, Bear No Joke.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The 2013 Canadian Horse of the Year Up With the Birds has arrived in Japan ahead of his engagement in the Group 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse on Nov. 30, trainer Malcolm Pierce said Sunday.
Up With the Birds began his journey to Japan on Friday, leaving Woodbine by van for Chicago in order to make his flight to Tokyo, which departed early Saturday afternoon. Up With the Birds arrived in Japan on Sunday after a 15-hour flight which included a stop in Anchorage, Alaska.
Gulfstream Park plans to hire a clocker to record official workout times at the Palm Beach Downs training center, the top official of the track said on Monday.
The clocker will be in place at the private training center by Dec. 1, according to Tim Ritvo, the president of Gulfstream. The training center had previously relied on trainers to provide their own workout times.
