The featured sixth race Sunday at Fair Grounds hardly could be more of a hodgepodge, with all sorts of horses showing form from all over the place.
Ten were entered in this high-end allowance also open to $50,000 claimers and carded for about 7 1/2 furlongs on turf. Sunday’s sixth is one of three open allowance races on a fairly appealing card. Race 8 is an entry-level sprint allowance for 3-year-old fillies, while the ninth is a second-level turf allowance with a $40,000 claiming option.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Some of the old-timers still at Tampa Bay Downs were here when the track was called Florida Downs. “Even heard a lot of stories from when it was Sunshine Park,” said Ernie Mello, who still trains a three-horse stable out of Barn 5.
Those were the days of Tampa often being derided as a non-factor on the North American racing scene. “I had two or three jobs at a time because there just wasn’t any money here,” said Mello, 78. “Everybody did. Had to.”
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Oaklawn Park officials are hopeful the racing surface, which has been closed since Monday due to freezing temperatures, will be reopened for training Friday afternoon. The track was forced to cancel Friday’s opening day card, but are confident they will race on Saturday.
“We’re a 100 percent go for Saturday,” said David Longinotti, assistant general manager of racing for Oaklawn. “There’s not a weather forecast that I’ve seen that causes me any concern.”
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. won with five of her six mounts Thursday at Tampa Bay Downs, tying a personal record while also tying a track record for second-most wins on a card.
Homeister, 38, won the second race with Daddy’s Honor ($3.20), then was out of the money in the fourth race aboard Hudson Bay. She then reeled off four straight victories with Fire Cloud ($15) in the fifth, Round Trip Loner ($6.20) in the sixth, Mr. Ryder ($10) in the seventh, and He’s Appealing ($24.20) in the eighth. She did not have a mount in the last two races of the day.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Steve Dwoskin had no intention of running his stakes-placed Swift Warrior in Sunday’s $100,000 Dania Beach at Gulfstream Park. But after getting a call from the racing office and learning who the competition would be, Dwoskin changed his plans.
Sidney's Candy, the five-time stakes winner, will not start in Saturday's Grade 2 San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita because of concern over his right hind leg, trainer John Sadler said Friday. Sidney's Candy would have been a heavy favorite in the Grade 2 San Fernando, which will now have a field of eight.
"He came up a little off behind today," Sadler said. "I don't think it's serious."
Sadler said that Sidney's Candy will undergo a nuclear scan test on Monday.
Harmonious may be switching surfaces for her next start.
A two-time Grade 1 winner on turf at Hollywood Park and Keeneland last year and the beaten favorite when second in the Robert Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 1, Harmonious could start in the $150,000 La Canada Stakes for 4-year-old fillies over 1 1/8 miles on the main track Feb. 13, trainer John Shirreffs said. The race could feature Blind Luck or Champagne d’Oro.
On Thursday, Shirreffs watched Harmonious work a half-mile in 49 seconds on the main track at Santa Anita.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Champagne d’Oro’s career has been defined by two Grade 1 wins around one-turn in New York last year – the one-mile Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park in June and the seven-furlong Test Stakes at Saratoga in August.
Trainer Eric Guillot has different goals for 2011 – winning major stakes around two turns. The first opportunity, and a difficult one, will be Sunday’s $150,000 El Encino Stakes over 1 1/16 miles for 4-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.
The distance and the age restriction suit Champagne d’Oro.
It’s common for an owner and trainer to tangle over the proper place to run a horse. When the trainer’s owner also happens to be his father, add in another layer of complexity.
Troy Young trains Flashy Wise Cat, and Young’s dad Lee owns him. Lee Young anted up $100,000 to acquire Flashy Wise Cat at auction, a major sum for a son of the obscure sire Catastrophe, and the elder Young has had strong feelings about the horse all along.
