OLDSMAR, Fla. - Daniel Centeno, who has managed to build a commanding lead in the rider standings at Tampa Bay Downs despite having survived several spills as well as being kicked in the chest by a horse in the paddock, will be moving to a different part of the country when this meet concludes on May 2.
Centeno, who rode at Monmouth Park the past three seasons, will be heading to Presque Isle Downs in western Pennsylvania, according to his agent, Dan Mellul.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Goldsville's workmanlike victory in Saturday's was the sixth victory from seven stakes starters this year in New York for trainer Mike Hushion.
Hushion's previous stakes wins on this circuit came with Tidal Dance (Affectionately and Ladies), Rereadthefootnotes (Hollie Hughes), Lights Off Annie (Broadway), and Shine Upon (Dreamy Mimi). Hushion's only stakes loss in New York came when Lights Off Annie finished second in The Wheel Turns.
Compari and Ventana, who won Grade 2 stakes on the Santa Anita Derby undercard, are bound for major stakes in May.
Compari, who extended his winning streak to six races in the $150,000 Arcadia Handicap, is being considered for the $250,000 Shoemaker Mile on May 31, a Grade 1 on turf, trainer Marty Jones said.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Mike Machowsky's dream of starting Caracortado in the Kentucky Derby more than likely ended with a fourth-place finish in Saturday's $750,000 Santa Anita Derby. The Preakness dream for Caracortado started with the same result.
Machowsky would like to run Caracortado in the Kentucky Deby, but admits that the gelding's $153,000 in career graded stakes earnings may not be sufficient to gain a place in the field.
If more than 20 horses enter the Kentucky Derby, eligibility is determined by graded stakes earnings. Caracortado is .
ARCADIA, Calif. - The Santa Anita stewards suspended jockey Victor Espinoza and fined jockey Garrett Gomez for their roles in an incident Saturday during the and an altercation after the race.
Lookin At Lucky, racing in third place with Gomez aboard, tried to come through inside of second-place Who's Up and Espinoza on the far turn of the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby, but had to be taken up and may have hit the rail. He re-rallied and finished third behind Sidney's Candy and Setsuko. Who's Up finished ninth.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Mona de Momma ran the best race of her career to win her first stakes in Sunday's at Santa Anita, giving trainer John Sadler his second feature race win of the weekend.
Saturday, the Sadler-trainer Sidney's Candy won the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby and is a candidate for the Kentucky Derby on May 1.
In the Grade 3 Las Flores, the 4-year-old Mona de Momma ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:14.50 under jockey Joel Rosario, outfinishing Free Flying Soul by a head. Alpha's Kitten, the 2-1 favorite, finished third, a half-length behind Free Flying Soul.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Noble Bandit dueled on the lead throughout with favored Day Trippi and earned a 2 1/4-length win in Saturday's $10,700 Runza Stakes at Fonner Park. The victory avenged Noble Bandit's loss to Day Trippi earlier this year.
Noble Bandit and Day Trippi had the show to themselves in the six-furlong test for fillies and mares. Noble Bandit and rider Jordan Olesiak kept a head in front of Day Trippi through a duel that went to inside the sixteenth pole, then they edged away late, giving Noble Bandit her first stakes victory.
ARCADIA, Calif. - They were stumblin' and then rumblin' on Saturday at the , in which Sidney's Candy overcame a stumble at the start to lead from virtually start to finish, and a bumping incident on the far turn severely impacted favored Lookin At Lucky.
The bumping led to a brouhaha between Lookin At Lucky's rider, Garrett Gomez, and Victor Espinoza, who rode Who's Up, after the pair dismounted following the race and then again later in the jockeys' room.
