When it comes to the first round of Fair Grounds dirt-route stakes races for newly turned 3-year-old colts and fillies, trainer Larry Jones has been the man.
Jones won the Lecomte Stakes in 2012 with Mr. Bowling, in 2009 with Friesan Fire, and in 2007 with Hard Spun. He won the Tiffany Lass for fillies (now the Silverbulletday) with Just Jenda in 2009 and in 2012 with Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Saturday's Grade 3 Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream lured a field of nine, led by 2011 winner Apriority and the speedy Star Harbour.
Apriority looked like his former self following a series of dull efforts when he rallied to a convincing five-length allowance win here last month. Star Harbour ran five statebred rivals off their feet capturing the seven-furlong Sunshine State in wire-to-wire fashion here three weeks earlier.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 1 winner Tiz Flirtatious will stay in training in 2014, trainer Marty Jones said last weekend.
A 5-year-old mare, Tiz Flirtatious is likely to race in the spring at Santa Anita.
“We’ll run her next year,” Jones said. “She’ll get a couple of months off and it will take her a couple of months to get ready. You’ll see her in April or May.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockey Junior Alvarado will be out at least three months after sustaining a broken left ankle in a gate mishap just prior to the start of Sunday’s $100,000 East View Stakes at Aqueduct.
Alvarado, tweeted a photo of the ankle Sunday night and wrote that it was broken in three places. After meeting with his personal physician on Monday, Alvarado was scheduled to have surgery to repair his ankle Thursday.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – While a number of trainers and jockeys have returned to the Maryland circuit to take advantage of the big boost in purses brought about by new gaming laws in that state, a couple of Maryland mainstays opted to head south to Tampa Bay Downs for the winter.
Trainer Dane Kobiskie and jockey Erick Rodriguez are racing here for the first time and bring strong credentials with them.
Golden Gate Fields opens its 2013-14 racing season Thursday and is caught up in the ripple effect of the makeover of the Southern California racing calendar.
With the closing of Hollywood Park, Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita, both owned by the Stronach Group, hold all the state’s racing dates until the start of the Northern California fair season at Pleasanton on June 19.
FLORENCE, Ky. – Albin Jimenez not only leads the jockey standings at the ongoing holiday meet at Turfway Park, but he has to be considered a big favorite for the longer winter-spring meet that follows.
Jimenez, 22, has been gaining favor with well-known horsemen who have left horses in Kentucky for four months of winter racing, including Mike Maker, Charlie LoPresti, Kellyn Gorder, and Tom Drury. Through Thursday night, Jimenez led the holiday meet with 11 wins.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Along with the usual satisfaction that goes with winning three races on one card, trainer Linda Rice had further reason to be excited about going 3 for 3 Thursday at Aqueduct. When La Verdad won a $72,000 allowance race, it was Rice’s 100th win of 2013, making this the first time in her 27-year training career she reached that plateau.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Harlan’s Holiday’s legacy got a boost earlier this week with the performance of one of his progeny, the promising 2-year-old filly Duff One, who rallied to an impressive allowance victory over the odds-on Ready to Act in Thursday’s ninth race. Joel Rosario was aboard.
Duff One, stakes placed this summer on the turf at Saratoga, is trained by Gary Contessa, who had a good run on the grass here last winter with the 3-year-old Rydilluc.
“Obviously, we’ve always liked her,” Contessa said. “You can see by the way we’ve placed her in stakes.”
