ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Manny Azpurua will be the first to admit his Ravelo’s Boy is a decided outsider in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. But then again, Azpurua has always relished the idea of being the underdog and flying well below the radar whether at home or when venturing out of south Florida.
“I know I’m the black sheep in here,” said Azpurua. “But I’m always the black sheep when I leave Calder, and my horses have always been right there in graded races up north.”
Roddy Valente has owned dozens of horses over the years, but one that grew close to his heart was the hard-knocking claimer Callmetony.
On Tuesday, Valente claimed Callemetony for the fourth – and final time – and subsequently retired him. The 11-year-old gelding by Runaway Groom will retire to Akindale Farm, a rehabilitation, rescue, and retirement facility, in Pawling, N.Y.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Owners George and Lori Hall and trainer Kelly Breen pulled off a Belmont Stakes shocker last year with 24-1 shot Ruler On Ice.
This year, those same connections are back to take another swing with My Adonis, who was a last-minute addition to the Belmont Stakes field. My Adonis, who finished second to defending juvenile champion Hansen in the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct in March, is listed at 30-1 on the morning line of Daily Racing Form’s Mike Watchmaker, 20-1 on the morning line of NYRA’s Eric Donovan.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Juniper Pass, the winner of the Grade 2 San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita in April 2011, is part of an expected field of six for Saturday’s $250,000 Charles Whittingham Handicap.
The Grade 1 Whittingham over 1 1/4 miles on turf will be a test for Juniper Pass, who was fourth in an allowance race on May 19, his first start of 2012. Last summer, Juniper Pass was sidelined with a knee injury after a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Arlington Handicap at Arlington Park.
ELMONT, N.Y. – On June 9, 2011, Dullahan made his first career start at Churchill Downs. He was sent off at odds of 4-1 in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race. Expectations among his connections were modest, so there was little disappointment when he finished third.
“I thought we had a talented horse that wanted to stretch out,” trainer Dale Romans said. “I just wanted to get a good race into him that day.”
ELMONT, N.Y. – The huge throng that will be on hand Saturday at Belmont Park in anticipation of seeing racing’s first Triple Crown winner since 1978 will have ample opportunity to warm up for the occasion with four graded races on the Belmont Stakes undercard, including a pair of Grade 1 events, the Manhattan and Just a Game.
The 1 1/4-mile Manhattan drew a well-matched field of eight turf specialists, including Boisterous, Hudson Steele, Brilliant Speed, and Al Khali.
If you thought tickets were sold out for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, as has been reported, you’d be right. You’d also be so far behind the times you’re planning on taking a carriage to the race.
Though 21,500 reserved-seat tickets for the Belmont officially sold out weeks ago, plenty of tickets are available for purchase on internet sites, though the vast majority of those tickets are being offered for premiums that run from the merely ridiculous to the ridiculously unconscionable.
ELMONT, N.Y. – When War Admiral won the Triple Crown in 1937, there were a total of 32 horses who ran against him in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. That remains a record, one I’ll Have Another will have to better if he is to become the 12th Triple Crown winner when he competes in the 144th Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park.
ELMONT, N.Y. – There appears to be plenty of experimenting going on when 11 older males start in Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park.
While this year’s bulky field includes last year’s Brooklyn winner, Birdrun, and the 2009 Brooklyn winner, Eldaafer, none of the other nine starters has previously tried the 1 1/2 mile distance. Twelve were actually entered for the Brooklyn, but Balladry, part of a Darley Stable-owned entry along with Arthur’s Tale, will scratch to run in a race Friday at Hollywood Park.
There will be more stakes races than race dates during Retama Park’s meet for Quarter Horses that opens Friday night. The track will run 21 stakes during the course of the 20-date meet, led by the Grade 2, $100,000 TQHA Sales Futurity on July 28. The Grade 3, $75,000 Retama Park Derby is also July 28, while the meet’s first stakes, the $20,000 Selma, goes Friday.
Retama, which is located near San Antonio, will race through Aug. 11. The track will offer live cards every Friday and Saturday night, with first post set for 6:45 p.m. Central.
