OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer John Parisella returned to New York from south Florida early Wednesday morning and headed right to his barn at Belmont Park.
A little jet-lagged, Parisella perked up at the sight of his two fabulous 4-year-old fillies, Sunny Desert and Centrique. Combined, Sunny Desert and Centrique have won 11 of their last 12 starts.
Centrique looks to keep the good times rolling Friday at Aqueduct when she heads a field of six entered in the $69,000 allowance feature going a mile.
ARCADIA, Calif. – One month into his comeback, Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens is an everyday fixture at Santa Anita, riding nearly every day and working horses on most mornings each week.
It’s the statistics that he would like to change. Since his return Jan. 6, Stevens, 49, has 2 wins in 28 starts, with 9 second-place finishes.
“I’m disappointed with the seconds, but I like the way they are running,” Stevens said between workers Wednesday morning. “I feel good. I felt good when I started and I feel better now.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer John Kimmel felt that with a little luck, his Kibosh and Lady's Lunar Luck could have run one-two when launching their 2013 campaigns going a mile at Gulfstream Park. On Friday, Kimmel will give his two New York-breds a chance to run one-two again when the pair square off against 10 rivals, this time at a mile and one-sixteenth on the turf, in the afternoon’s $54,500 main event.
Cash Refund, winner of the 2010 Duncan Kenner Stakes and an earner of $367,376, left the Steve Margolis barn at Fair Grounds early Wednesday for his new retirement home at the Forest Lane Farm of Charlie and Amy Lopresti on the outskirts of Lexington, Ky.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The former maiden claimer Funny Gal may be a stakes runner by the end of next month.
Trained by John Sadler, Funny Gal starts in a $58,000 allowance race for California-bred 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita on Friday. The six-furlong race could lead to a start in the $200,000 Evening Jewel Stakes for California-bred 3-year-old fillies over 6 1/2 furlongs here March 30.
Craig Dado and Josh Rubinstein have been promoted to executive vice presidents of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the organization announced Wednesday.
When Craig Fravel left his post as Del Mar’s president and general manager to become chief executive officer of the Breeders’ Cup in July 2011, his position was not filled, and his duties were absorbed by four people: Mike Ernst, Tom Robbins, Dado, and Rubinstein.
Infrattini most likely will make his next start in the $150,000 Mineshaft Handicap on Feb. 23 at Fair Grounds and then skip the $400,000 New Orleans Handicap five weeks later to prepare for the $300,000 Alysheba on the May 3 Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs, said trainer Paul McGee.
Infrattini, a 5-year-old gelding owned by the Z Thoroughbreds LLC of Mike Zlaket, has won his last four starts, the most recent being the Jan. 19 Louisiana Handicap over the highly regarded Mark Valeski.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is introducing two new categories and updating its eligibility criteria this year.
The new categories, in the fields of both Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds, are for human veterans of racing, to recognize those whose careers and impact on racing took place a minimum of 20 years ago, and communicator, which will honor people including broadcasters, announcers, writers, and photographers.
The existing categories are male horse; female horse; builder; people – jockeys/drivers/trainers; and veteran horses.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Ramon Dominguez talked slowly and thoughtfully, the way he often does when answering questions. He spoke quietly, respectfully, and occasionally wittily.
Only this time, he wasn’t talking about his trip on a horse following a race, or about the accomplishments of another fabulous year that ended with an Eclipse Award.
He was talking about his health – literally his state of mind – and his desire to get healthy and ultimately back to doing what he does so well: riding race horses.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Todd Pletcher might not have the winner of the 139th Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs, and Bob Baffert might not either. But between them, they have 11 of the 23 separately listed interests in Pool 1 of the 2013 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, a development that seems to bode well for both.
