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.

Wed, 11/06/2013 - 14:17

Hollywood Park: Centralinteligence back at barn after surgery

Shigeki Kikkawa
Centralinteligence has a 70 to 80 percent chance of racing again, veterinarians told trainer Ron Ellis.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Centralinteligence could return to racing after undergoing surgery for a condylar fracture suffered Nov. 1 in the BC Dirt Mile, trainer Ron Ellis said.

Centralinteligence was eased in the BC Dirt Mile after racing in seventh for the first half of the race. He was vanned off and underwent surgery to have two stabilizing pins inserted in his right front leg over the weekend. The gelding was back at Ellis’s barn at Hollywood Park on Wednesday.

Wed, 11/06/2013 - 14:05

Hollywood Park: New Year's Day eyes Kentucky Derby preps

Barbara D. Livingston
New Year's Day (right) wins the Breeders' Cup Juvenile over Havana.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - New Year’s Day, the winner of the BC Juvenile, will not race again this year, trainer Bob Baffert said.

“I’ll freshen him up,” Baffert said. “I want to have him ready for the classics.”

New Year’s Day won his stakes debut in the BC Juvenile, closing from eighth in a field of 13 to catch 5-2 favorite Havana in the final furlong. New Year’s Day won the race over 1 1/16 miles by 1 1/4 lengths. Owned by Gary and Mary West, New Year’s Day beat maidens Aug. 31 at Del Mar in his second start, having finished third there in his debut on Aug. 17.

Wed, 11/06/2013 - 14:04

Woodbine notes: Gonzalez stable enjoying strong year as it tops $2 million earnings mark again

Michael Burns
Midnight Aria, winner of the Queen's Plate Stakes (above) in July, soon will head to Ocala to continue her recuperation from a leg strain.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – It’s been a solid season for the barn of trainer Nick Gonzalez, which recently surpassed the $2 million earnings mark for the sixth time in the past seven years.

“We didn’t really win as many races as we wanted to,” Gonzalez said in his office here Wednesday morning. “But you’ve got to be happy when you win a Queen’s Plate, with Midnight Aria, and watch River Seven finish second in the other two Triple Crown races.”

Wed, 11/06/2013 - 13:53

Hollywood Park: Game On Dude might take shot at Clark Handicap at Churchill

Debra A. Roma
Game On Dude faded to ninth in the Breeders' Cup Classic. He might race again this year, perhaps in the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Game On Dude, ninth as the favorite in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita last Saturday, may not be done racing this year.

Trainer Bob Baffert said earlier this week that Game On Dude will be considered for the $500,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29. The Grade 1 Clark is run over 1  1/8 miles on the main track.

“The Dude will let me know if he’s up for it,” Baffert said. “It’s a race of interest.”