Ricardo Santana Jr. will have the mount on Tapiture if he runs in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday.
Asmussen said he wants to see how Tapiture trains in the next two weeks before committing to the race but added that if Tapiture runs, Santana rides.
"He was fourth on Saturday," Asmussen said, referring to the Arkansas Derby, "which was disappointing. He arrived safely at Churchill Downs, is scheduled to gallop tomorrow, and is scheduled to breeze on Monday."
Opening week at Lone Star finished with high attendance Friday and Saturday, with Equibase reporting crowds of 15,633 Friday and 17,000 Saturday. Those crowds were bolstered by popular concerts both evenings. With a good percentage of the fans there for the music, per-capita wagering was low. Ontrack handle was $335,125 on Friday and $487,775 on Saturday, also per Equibase figures.
By way of comparison, without a concert on opening night this past Thursday, 6,145 fans attended and wagered $343,207.
Nominations for the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile on April 26 don’t close until Thursday, but one invader for the race, Taptowne, is already on the Lone Star backstretch, readying for a start.
A homebred multiple stakes winner of more than $657,000 owned by Clovertown Farm, he finished third in the March 15 Razorback Handicap in his seasonal debut at Oaklawn Park, where he was based this winter. But rather than race him back in the Oaklawn Handicap, where he would have faced Will Take Charge and Revolutionary, his connections opted to ship him to Lone Star for the Texas Mile.
Shared Belief, last year’s champion 2-year-old male who has been sidelined all year with foot problems, took his first step toward a return to action with a three-furlong work at Golden Gate Fields on Tuesday morning that trainer Jerry Hollendorfer timed in 38.40 seconds over the Tapeta surface.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jose Garoffalo confirmed Tuesday that Rafael Bejarano will ride Wildcat Red in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3. Bejarano will be the sixth different jockey to be aboard the Fountain of Youth Stakes winner and Florida Derby runner-up in as many starts.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Although rain and chill were back by Monday, a weekend of terrific weather yielded a combined three-day attendance of 74,788 at Keeneland, including 39,722 on Blue Grass Day, the second-highest in track history.
Part of the allure for the 20,741 who turned out Sunday was a “Ladies of the Turf” event that attracted an extraordinary group of retired and active female jockeys, including pioneers such as Kathy Kusner, Diane Crump, Barbara Jo Rubin, Patti Cooksey, and Kaye Bell, all of whom recorded notable firsts of sorts.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Lexington Stakes is the last race with eligibility points toward the Kentucky Derby, but that will be a moot point Saturday when the 1 1/16-mile race is run at Keeneland.
None of the 3-year-olds under consideration for the Lexington have any Derby qualifying points, and with just 10 points to the winner, it seems impossible that any can crash the 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby, since 20 points appears the likely threshold to make it.
Jockey Junior Alvarado, sidelined since breaking his ankle on Dec. 22 in a gate mishap at Aqueduct, has been getting on horses for two weeks and plans to return to race-riding here on Saturday.
Alvarado, who ranked fifth on this circuit in wins in 2013 with 188, worked a couple of horses on Monday morning, including one for Gary Contessa.
“It’s been a long time, almost four months,” Alvarado said. “Hopefully, I’ll be 100 percent completely ready for Belmont.”
Kid Cruz, who scratched out of the Wood Memorial due to a sore shoulder, will likely run in Saturday’s Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico as a possible stepping-stone to the Preakness.
Trainer Linda Rice had given some thought to the Illinois Derby, also this Saturday, but for a variety of reasons she decided the Tesio might be better.
“It’s an easier ship, the Preakness is on the same track, it’s good timing-wise,” Rice said. “That’s what we’re considering.”
Strapping Groom, fifth in the Grade 1 Carter in his last start, will get some time off before returning to take aim at a repeat victory in the Grade 1 Forego Handicap at Saratoga, trainer David Jacobson said.
With victories in the Gravesend and Grade 3 Tom Fool over the winter, Strapping Groom entered the Carter in top form. But Jacobson said there were signs the morning of the race that he might not bring his ‘A’ game.
