LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Greta Kuntzweiler has asked the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to consider issuing her a jockey's license nearly three years after she pled guilty on drug-related offenses and ultimately agreed to five years' probation on a suspended 10-year prison sentence.
Mine That Bird had his second workout for trainer D. Wayne Lukas when he breezed a half-mile in 48 seconds over a fast track shortly after the renovation break Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
The Wednesday work reunited Mine That Bird with his regular rider, Calvin Borel, who guided the gelding to a smashing victory in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Working solo, they went in splits of 12.40 and 24.20, with a five-furlong gallop-out time of 1:01.40, according to Churchill clocker John Nichols.
AUBURN, Wash. - No Flies On Doodle raced to a narrow victory Monday in the $50,000 Washington Legislators Handicap at Emerald Downs, her second consecutive stakes win and seventh victory in 10 career starts. The second favorite in the wagering, No Flies On Doodle ($6.60) defeated 7-5 favorite Hallelujah Trail by a neck, with Barbara's Love another half-length back in the field of six older fillies and mares.
Betting and attendance figures for the first five days of the Monmouth Park meet have far exceeded the expectations of the track's operator and the racing officials who supported the adoption of an experimental 50-day meet guaranteeing $1 million in average purse distribution per day, the racing officials said.
Trainer David Hofmans has a race-a-month schedule in mind this summer for J P's Gusto, who won his first stakes in Monday's $66,000 Willard Proctor Memorial Stakes.
J P's Gusto may return in the $100,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship over six furlongs here on July 5, followed by two starts at Del Mar -- the $150,000 Best Pal Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs on Aug. 8 and the $250,000 Del Mar Futurity over seven furlongs on Sept. 8.
Blame him for being slightly biased, but Tom Braly has been left amazed by Evening Jewel's springtime campaign.
Evening Jewel won the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes on a Polytrack synthetic surface at Keeneland in early April, finished a nose behind division leader Blind Luck in the Kentucky Oaks on a dirt surface at Churchill Downs on April 30, and won her turf debut in the Grade 2 Honeymoon Handicap at Hollywood Park on Monday.
"She gives so much effort, it's amazing," Braly said. "It really puts her up there with the best. She did everything right in the Oaks."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Eoin Harty's faith in Victor's Cry improved rapidly through the stretch of Monday's Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile.
As Victor's Cry closed from off the pace, Harty's hopes went from a placing to the grand prize.
"When they turned for home, I would have been happy to run third," he said. "I saw the front-runners struggling and I thought, second. Then I saw them really struggling and I thought I could win."
ALBANY, Calif. - Dennis Patterson didn't have much choice about entering Run It in Monday's Grade 3, $100,000 Berkeley Handicap at Golden Gate Fields.
"The opportunities to run are pretty limited," he explained after committing to the race that included millionaires Bold Chieftain and Delightful Kiss.
The presence of Bold Chieftain, who had beaten Run It while winning the Grade 2 San Francisco Mile and an allowance race in April, made Patterson a little leery about his chances. Bold Chieftain had also dominated Run It in the San Quentin last November.
BOSSIER CITY, La. - After a top-10 finish at the competitive Fair Grounds meeting, trainer Michelle Lovell was cautiously optimistic coming into the Louisiana Downs season, which began May 1.
"You never know with five weeks between meets," said Lovell. "But we thought we would be in pretty good shape when Louisiana Downs started.
"Then one would get a cough or another would miss a work and you would say, 'Uh oh,' because so much can happen in this game."