Fri, 07/09/2010 - 00:00

Well Monied to become broodmare

Well Monied, the winner of the Grade 2 Honeymoon Handicap in 2009, has been retired, trainer Howard Zucker said on Friday. Zucker said the filly was injured during a gallop in June and will be offered at a breeding stock sale in November.

"We plan on going through the sale in November as a broodmare," Zucker said. "She got a little injury. The timing blew us out of the water for what we had in mind for the summer.

"If the market is bad, we'll hold on to her and breed her and sell her the next year. We don't have any thoughts of bringing her back."

Fri, 07/09/2010 - 00:00

Rawson finding success in Year 2 as trainer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - It has been said that enthusiasm is an essential ingredient in professional success. If that is the case, Jodie Rawson should have a long and productive career as a trainer.

"I just love training horses," Rawson said. "It certainly wasn't on my list of careers when I was younger, but I'm glad it worked out this way."

Fri, 07/09/2010 - 00:00

Zia schedules 17 Thoroughbred stakes

The $200,000 Zia Park Distance Championship and the $150,000 Zia Park Derby are the most prestigious Thoroughbred stakes that will be run during Zia Park's mixed meet that opens Sept. 11. The 53-date season, which also features races for Quarter Horses, extends to Dec. 7.

Fri, 07/09/2010 - 00:00

Del Mar raises purses for lower-level claimers

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Purses for lower-level claiming horses will rise at Del Mar this summer, but prize money for maiden special weight and allowance races will be lower than last year.

Del Mar officials on Thursday released the condition book for the first two weeks of the meeting, from July 21 to Aug. 1, detailing the type of races, distances, and prize money available.

Director of racing Tom Robbins said the decision to raise purses for cheap claimers was done in an effort to curtail the exodus of such horses to Eastern tracks with higher prize money.

Fri, 07/09/2010 - 00:00

Gozzip Girl must change plans again

Barbara D. Livingston
Gozzip Girl will be pointed to the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park and the Beverly D. at Arlington Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Tom Albertrani has had to come up with yet another plan for his Grade 1-winning turf filly Gozzip Girl. Unfortunately, it no longer includes the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga on July 31.

An allowance race Albertrani was hoping to run Gozzip Girl in was part of Wednesday's Belmont card, which was canceled due to extreme heat. That same race failed to fill for Saturday and Sunday, when it was brought back as an extra race.

Thu, 07/08/2010 - 00:00

Syd Licious tries again

The second of this week's two Iowa Stallion Stakes, dedicated to progeny of stallions whose shares were donated to the Iowa Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Association stallion service auction, will be run Saturday at Prairie Meadows.

Six 3-year-olds will compete at a mile and 70 yards for a purse of $81,840. The base purse of $60,000 is bolstered by an additional $21,840 in Iowa-bred supplements, since all of the starters were bred in Iowa.

Thu, 07/08/2010 - 00:00

Catlaunch brings win streak to Lewis

The durable 9-year-old gelding Catlaunch goes for his third straight stakes win when he matches strides over nine furlongs with nine Ohio-bred rivals in the $50,000 George Lewis Memorial at Thistledown.

Catlaunch has won 3 of his 5 races this year, including the Gendelman Memorial at River Downs and the Michael F. Rowland Memorial at Thistledown in his last two.

For a horse that came close to never being foaled, Catlaunch has put together an amazing record of 32-15-9 from 77 starts for earnings of $782,054.

Thu, 07/08/2010 - 00:00

Coatrieux parting with Chiefswood

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Eric Coatrieux's days as a private trainer for Chiefswood Stable have come to an end.

Coatrieux, who began his first full-fledged training gig for Chiefswood's Robert and Mark Krembil in 2002, will be looking to launch a public stable, which he said he hopes will be based at Woodbine.

"I'm in the process of contacting owners I know and will try to find some new clients, as well," said Coatrieux, who will attend the upcoming yearling sales at Keeneland as part of that plan.

Thu, 07/08/2010 - 00:00

Slimmer schedule a way to survive

Change and survive. That's the mode Ellis Park continues to find itself in, with the 2010 summer meet starting Saturday amid the familiar call for alternative gaming and a pared-down racing schedule.

Ellis will race just 27 days on a Friday-through-Sunday schedule, and there are only four stakes on the docket, led by the lone graded race of the meet, the Grade 3, $100,000 Gardenia on Aug. 14. The abbreviated schedule is a sign of the times and one of the unwanted alterations often cited by track owner Ron Geary in his frequent pleas for slots at Kentucky racetracks.

Thu, 07/08/2010 - 00:00

Gio Ponti looks for his winning touch

With most of the focus on the two queens of racing − Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra − little attention has been paid this year to the reigning king of the turf, Gio Ponti.

For Gio Ponti's connections, that may be a good thing. After winning champion turf horse and champion older male honors in 2009, Gio Ponti is winless in three starts in 2010. He has lost five consecutive races since capturing , which had been his fourth consecutive Grade 1 victory. But that was 11 months ago.