ELMONT, N.Y. - Preakness winner Shackleford arrived at Belmont Park shortly after 10 am Monday following a 15-hour van ride from Churchill Downs.
Shackleford was bedded down in Barn 7 where trainer Dale Romans has 11 other horses stabled. Romans is expected to arrive in New York on Tuesday to oversee Shackleford's training, which will likely include a workout on Saturday that will ultimately determine the colt's status for the race.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Trainer Marty Wolfson and Farnsworth Stables enjoyed a one-two finish as Jehan beat Bronx City Girl in the $75,900 Red Cross Stakes on Sunday at Monmouth Park.
Joe Bravo was aboard as Jehan, part of the early pace battle, held off her stablemate by 1 1/2 lengths in the six-furlong race for fillies and mares. D’wild Ride got third.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Apprentice jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will be out indefinitely after sustaining a concussion as a result of a spill in Saturday’s tenth race at Belmont Park.
Ortiz was expected to be released from a Long Island hospital on Monday, according to his agent, Tony Micallef. An MRI done Sunday did not reveal any other injuries or internal issues, Micallef said.
Ortiz was named to ride three horses on Sunday, five on Monday, and four on Thursday. Micallef said he did not name Ortiz on anything for Friday when entries for those races were taken on Sunday.
Master Rocket, a maiden who was kept just off a slow pace by jockey Nathan Solomon until upper stretch, rushed past pacesetting odds-on favorite Trophy Boy in deep stretch to upset the $50,000 Green Carpet Stakes for Ohio-bred 3-year-olds Sunday at River Downs.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Stormy Lord led throughout the Grade 2, $168,900 Connaught Cup Stakes on Sunday at Woodbine, while upsetting 2-5 shot Grand Adventure, last year’s winner of the seven-furlong turf sprint.
Stormy Lord set moderate fractions over a course labeled soft in the first grass stakes of the meet, as Macias and Grand Adventure stalked him on the turn. Grand Adventure seemed poised to pounce at the top of the stretch, but Stormy Lord kept on going to score by three lengths, in a time 1:25.72.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Givine closed from off the pace to give owner Marsha Naify and trainer Julio Canani their second stakes win in less than 24 hours in Sunday’s $73,250 Great Lady M. Stakes.
Saturday, Naify and Canani teamed to win the Grade 2 American Handicap with Ryehill Dreamer.
Alternation, who won the Peter Pan Stakes on May 14, will skip the Belmont Stakes on June 11 and point for major races later this summer, trainer Donnie Von Hemel said Sunday morning.
"We looked things over and decided to take a breather," said Von Hemel, who trains Alternation for the Pin Oak Stable of Josephine Abercrombie. "The horse is fine. We just decided to point for races like the Jim Dandy and the Travers. He's had four or five races early in the year. We want to give him a little breather now, then make some noise later."
Won’t Be Denied, who was all out to win her comeback from an eight-month layoff two weeks earlier, returned to score a wire-to-wire victory in Saturday night’s $51,100 It’s Binn Too Long Stakes for West Virginia-bred 3-year-old fillies at Charles Town.
