DEL MAR, Calif. – Mel Stute may be retired from training, but he still is a regular fixture at the track in the mornings and at the betting windows in the afternoons, and many of his friends gathered at the barn of his son, Gary, Friday morning to toast him on the occasion of his 87th birthday.
Ramos Gin Fizzes were being blended well before 8:30 a.m.
“In my younger days, that’s what you drank for a hangover,” Stute said.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Peter Miller, who trains Reneesgotzip, will welcome back one of his promising 2-year-olds from last year when Celtic Moon, now 3, makes his first start in 11 months Sunday in race 2.
Celtic Moon was second in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes last summer but has not been seen since finishing 10th of 11 in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on closing day.
“He had a shin fracture,” Miller said. “We did surgery. He’s been training very well for this.”
DEL MAR, Calif. – Living The Life had not run in almost four months prior to winning her U.S. debut Thursday, but she could come back a lot quicker for her next race, trainer Gary Mandella said Friday.
Living The Life was an easy winner of an optional claimer under jockey Mike Smith, so much so that Mandella said he is considering running Living The Life in the Grade 3, $150,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Aug. 17, a race expected to be topped by the defending race winner, Reneesgotzip, but not expected to have a large field.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – According to Glen Todd, the British Columbia Horse Racing Industry Management Committee confirmed that the four racing days tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18, 19, 25, and 26 at Hastings will be held. Todd sits on the government-appointed committee as the horsemen’s representative.
When the dates were originally released, certain budget conditions had to be met by July 31 in order for the four days to be run.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Robbie Anderson has seen enough of Koffee Grinder and is planning to ship Off the Top to Northlands Park to run in next Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Canadian Derby.
Off the Top finished second behind Koffee Grinder in his last two races – the $50,000 Chris Loseth on July 1 and the B.C. Cup Stellar’s Jay last Monday.
“My horse ran two very good races, but he might not be the kind of horse Koffee Grinder is,” said Anderson.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Bal a Bali, the winner of four Group 1 races in Brazil this year, including the Rio Triple Crown, will arrive Tuesday at trainer Richard Mandella’s stable to be trained for the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita.
A 4-year-old colt by Put It Back, Bal a Bali has won 10 of 11 starts, including his last seven starts since September. He won the Grande Premio Brasil on June 8, a race that was part of the B.C. Win and You’re In program for the B.C. Turf.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Eswan Flores was suspended 90 days by Del Mar stewards Thursday for testing in excess of the prescription medication Xanax on June 29 at Santa Anita.
The suspension was made retroactive to Aug. 3 and runs through Oct. 31. During the suspension, Flores, 21, is banned from the racetrack and must undergo counseling with the Winners Foundation and comply with that organization’s recommendations before he is allowed to participate in a hearing for possible reinstatement.
CYPRESS, Calif. – Almost nine weeks after finishing fourth in the Belmont Stakes in a bid to sweep the Triple Crown, California Chrome had the first workout of his comeback at Los Alamitos on Friday, going three furlongs in 37.60 seconds.
The way California Chrome finished left trainer Art Sherman anxious for the start of the popular colt’s autumn campaign next month.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Serious, a 4-year-old filly who suffered fractured sesamoids in a turf sprint July 31 at Del Mar, is recovering without the need of surgery and could be bred next year, trainer Vince Smith said Wednesday.
A former $5,000 claimer, Serious was pulled up on the turn in the race and is the most recent horse injured in a race on the turf course. Immediately following her injury, there was concern that Serious would have to be euthanized.
Four horses were euthanized as a result of injuries in turf races from July 17-26.
