Sat, 11/09/2013 - 14:27

Gulfstream Park notes: Eldaafer injured while training

Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
Eldaafer (right) defeats Indian Jones by a nose in the Greenwood Cup, his final career start.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Eldaafer, the winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Marathon, has been retired after suffering a suspensory injury pulling up following a routine five-furlong work Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park.

Sat, 11/09/2013 - 13:01

Hollywood Park notes: Reneesgotzip will race next year

Benoit & Associates
Reneesgotzip, setting a Del Mar record for 6 1/2 furlongs in the Rancho Bernardo, could go in the BC Turf Sprint, Filly and Mare Sprint, or Sprint.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Reneesgotzip, second and third in the last two runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, will stay in training as a 5-year-old in 2014, trainer Peter Miller said on Friday.

Earlier in the week, Miller conferred with owner Debbie Lanni about plans for Reneesgotzhip, who has won 7 of 13 starts and earned $795,460.

Sat, 11/09/2013 - 12:53

Churchill Downs notes: McPeek eyeing major stakes for Golden Ticket, Rosalind

Barbara D. Livingston
Golden Ticket, runner-up to Goldencents in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, will start next in either the Cigar Mile or Clark Handicap.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Golden Ticket and Rosalind, the two Ken McPeek horses that put in solid performances at the Breeders’ Cup, are being aimed at one more start apiece before the end of the year.

Golden Ticket, second to Goldencents in the BC Dirt Mile, could travel to New York to challenge Goldencents and Groupie Doll in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile on Nov. 30 at Aqueduct, although the Grade 1 Clark Handicap the previous day at Churchill Downs will remain an option, said McPeek.

Fri, 11/08/2013 - 14:56

Mid-South notes: Show Some Magic to Zia Derby

Barbara D. Livingston
Show Some Magic is one of four Henry Dominguez-trained runners in the $100,000 Riley Allison Futurity at Sunland Park.

Show Some Magic, a stakes winner who finished fifth in the $100,000 Damascus on the Breeders’ Cup Saturday undercard at Santa Anita, is being pointed for the $200,000 Zia Park Derby, said his trainer, Henry Dominguez.

The Zia Derby, to be run over 1 1/16 miles, is on Nov. 24. It is part of a program of stakes that includes the new $300,000 Zia Park Oaks.

Fri, 11/08/2013 - 14:42

Gulfstream Park: Itsmyluckyday back in training

Barbara D. Livingston
Oxbow (right) and Itsmyluckyday, the top two finishers in the Preakness Stakes, are under consideration for the June 8 Belmont Stakes.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr., a Calder regular for three decades, is stabled for the first time this winter at Palm Meadows, where he has more than 60 horses bedded down. They include Speak Logistics and Preakness and Florida Derby runner-up Itsmyluckyday, who is back in training after recuperating from surgery to repair a fractured ilium – part of the pelvis – suffered during the running of the Pegasus Stakes on June 16.

Fri, 11/08/2013 - 13:50

Hollywood Park: Diamond Bachelor eyes CashCall Futurity

Barbara D. Livingston
Diamond Bachelor may make his next start in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity at Betfair Hollywood Park on Dec. 14.

Diamond Bachelor, ninth in the BC Juvenile on Nov. 2, could start in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity at Betfair Hollywood Park on Dec. 14, trainer Patrick Biancone said.

“It’s in the back of our minds,” Biancone said.

Diamond Bachelor was beaten 9 1/2 lengths by New Year’s Day in the BC Juvenile. Biancone said a slow start and enduring kickback for the first time discouraged Diamond Bachelor. Ridden by Julien Leparoux, Diamond Bachelor was last of 13 on the final turn.

Fri, 11/08/2013 - 12:48

Woodbine notes: James Street ready for Autumn

Michael Burns
James Street, who won the Grade 2 Autumn last year, will attempt to win the 1 1/16-mile race again on Sunday.

[bc_video_id:309773:]ETOBICOKE, Ontario – No older male has won back to back in open two-turn stakes on the main track at Woodbine this year.

On Sunday, trainer Josie Carroll will look to end that trend when she sends out James Street for the 1 1/16-mile Autumn, which offers Grade 2 status and a purse of $150,000.

“He’s in good order; he’s ready to roll,” said Carroll, who sent out the Kentucky-bred 6-year-old to win the Grade 3, 1 1/8-mile Durham Cup on Oct. 6.

Fri, 11/08/2013 - 11:53

Churchill Downs notes: Gentlemen's Bet eyes Cigar Mile

Tom Keyser
Gentlemen's Bet will look to rebound from a loss in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt by shipping to Belmont Park for the Sept. 28 Vosburgh.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Gentlemen’s Bet might well be headed for the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in New York, setting up the possibility of an intriguing clash with Goldencents and Golden Ticket, the one-two finishers in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last weekend.

Gentlemen’s Bet also raced at Santa Anita last weekend, carrying an open lead past the furlong pole before settling for third in the six-furlong BC Sprint. Trainer Ron Moquett is interested to see how the 4-year-old colt will fare with a bit more distance.

Thu, 11/07/2013 - 19:22

Goldencents points to Cigar Mile in Eclipse Award bid

Tom Keyser
Goldencents scores a front-running, 2 3/4-length win in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The partnership that owns Goldencents, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, has been reduced from four partners to two, and the 3-year-old will start in the $500,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 30.

Owner Glenn Sorgenstein said Thursday that he and partner Josh Kaplan have privately purchased the ownership shares of Dave Kenney and Rick Pitino, the University of Louisville basketball coach. The four men owned Goldencents through the BC Dirt Mile.

Thu, 11/07/2013 - 15:13

Hollywood Park: Shirreffs making plans for Rookie Sensation, Eblouissante for 2014

Tom Keyser
Rookie Sensation is likely to pass the Hollywood Derby to await a race in 2014 at Santa Anita.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Rookie Sensation, the winner of the Grade 2 Twilight Derby on Nov.  1, and Eblouissante, a half-sister to Zenyatta who sold for $2.1 million at Keeneland on Tuesday, will be among trainer John Shirreffs’s high-profile runners at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting next year.