Sun, 10/16/2011 - 11:48

Retama: Sisterhood extends string of stakes success for Ramseys by taking La Senorita

Sisterhood continued the incredible run of stakes success her owners, Ken and Sarah Ramsey, have had this month when she won her maiden in Saturday night’s $75,000 La Senorita at Retama Park. She edged Mi Locasta and Keewatin Ice in a three-way photo to give the Ramseys their latest October stakes score behind the Grade 1 Alcibiades with Stephanie’s Kitten, the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America with Holiday for Kitten,  and the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup with Headache.

Sun, 10/16/2011 - 11:40

Belmont: Castro out indefinitely with hairline fracture in back

Jim Lisa
Jockey Eddie Castro celebrates his record nine-win afternoon.

Jockey Eddie Castro will be out of action a minimum of three months after sustaining a hairline fracture of his back in a spill Saturday at Belmont Park.

Castro, 26, will not require surgery, but he will have to wear a back brace for period of time. Castro was expected to be released from North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., on Tuesday.

Doctors at North Shore told Mike Gonzalez, Castro's agent, that Castro could be out three to six months. Gonzalez said he hoped to learn more when he and Castro talk to doctors on Tuesday before Castro is discharged.

Sun, 10/16/2011 - 11:21

Uncle Mo sizzles in five-furlong workout for Breeders' Cup Classic

Tom Keyser
Uncle Mo earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 118 for his victory in Saturday's Kelso.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Uncle Mo appears on the fast track to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In his first workout since a dynamic victory in the Grade 2 Kelso Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 1, Uncle Mo heated up a cool autumn Sunday morning with a five-furlong workout in 58.42 seconds over the Belmont Park training track. Jockey John Velazquez was aboard for the move, which came at 7:45 a.m., over a freshly watered and harrowed track.

Sun, 10/16/2011 - 11:11

Keeneland: Saez released from hospital following nasty looking spill

John C. Engelhardt / Jockeys Guild
Jockeys Ramon Dominguez and Jesus Castanon join trainer Larry Jones and EMT staff attending to Gabriel Saez after Saturday's 10th race at Keeneland.

Jockey Gabriel Saez was released Saturday night from the University of Kentucky Medical Center after being thrown from his mount, Irish Exchange, in the 10th and last race Saturday at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Sat, 10/15/2011 - 23:44

Charles Town: Russell Road collects second West Virginia Breeders' Classic win

Mike Montgomery Photo
Russell Road, ridden by Luis Perez, wins the $500,000 West Virginia Breeders' Classic for the second time in the past three runnings.

Russell Road disappointed his many backers who made him the 1-10 favorite in last year’s West Virginia Breeders’ Classic by finishing fourth. But he made amends for that flop Saturday night with a powerful performance in the 25th running of the richest race for West Virginia-breds at Charles Town.

Jockey Luis Perez, riding Russell Road for just the second time, guided the 5-year-old to a  two-length victory in the $500,000 Classic, a race that he also won as a 3-year-old in 2009.

Sat, 10/15/2011 - 20:56

Santa Anita: Ultimate Eagle connects for $70 surprise in Oak Tree Derby

BENOIT PHOTO
Ultimate Eagle, under Martin Pedroza, holds on for a half-length victory in the Oak Tree Derby.

ARCADIA, Calif.- In the days leading up to Saturday’s $150,000 Oak Tree Derby at Santa Anita, trainer Mike Pender said that his longshot Ultimate Eagle had “a bolt of confidence” from two consecutive wins at Del Mar

Saturday afternoon, Ultimate Eagle backed up Pender’s impressions.

Leading throughout the Grade 2 Oak Tree Derby, Ultimate Eagle ($70.40) held off a late threat from the French invader Venomous to win his stakes debut under jockey Martin Pedroza.

Sat, 10/15/2011 - 20:38

Hawthorne Derby: Willcox Inn remains dominant turf horse in Chicago

Four-Footed Fotos
Willcox Inn, under Robby Albarado, wins his third major turf stakes of the season in the Hawthorne Derby.

STICKNEY, Ill. – The Mid-America Triple, Arlington’s loosely linked series of 3-year-old turf stakes, Willcox Inn couldn’t pull off, but Saturday at Hawthorne, Willcox Inn won for the third time in what might – even more loosely – be termed the Chicago Quadruple, easily capturing the Hawthorne Derby.

Sat, 10/15/2011 - 19:20

Laurel: Softly Lit leads one-two finish for Kobiskie in Selmina

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Sarah Rook guides Softly Lit to her second career stakes victory in the Selima.

Coupled stablemates Softly Lit and Embracing Hearts ran one-two in Saturday’s $75,000 Selima Stakes, completing a sweep of Laurel Park’s two fall turf stakes for 2-year-olds for trainer Dane Kobiskie and owner PTK LLC

The six-furlong Selima, Laurel’s oldest stakes race, was the feature attraction as the track celebrated its centennial. Laurel Park debuted on Oct. 2, 1911 under the auspices of the Laurel Four Corners County Fair.

Sat, 10/15/2011 - 19:05

Calder: Fort Loudon completes third straight Florida Stallion Stakes sweep for Gold

Jim Lisa
Fort Loudon provides jockey Luis Jurado with one of his two stakes wins on Saturday's card at Calder.

MIAMI -   Stanley Gold achieved  arguably the most remarkable training feat in the 40-year history of Calder Race Course when he completed a sweep of the Florida Stallion Stakes for the third straight season, thanks to Fort Loudon’s 2 1/2-length victory over longshot Twin in Saturday’s $300,000 In Reality Stakes

Sat, 10/15/2011 - 18:48

Keeneland: Together takes Queen Elizabeth II on a week's rest for Coolmore and O'Brien

Keeneland/Coady Photography
Jockey Colm O’Donoghue keeps Together's mind on her business during the QE II stretch run.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Leave it to Aidan O’ Brien to rewrite the record book. No filly had even dared try to run in Keeneland’s back-to-back Grade 1 turf races for females until O’Brien tried it on consecutive Saturdays with a 3-year-old named Together, who made the iconic Irish trainer look like the genius he is when she stormed to a 1 1/4-length triumph this latest Saturday in the $400,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.