Sun, 11/28/2021 - 18:37

Tezzaray contributes to great day for Slam Dunk exec

Barbara D. Livingston
Tezzaray was trainer Peter Miller’s final stakes winner before Miller ended his training career on Sunday.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The final three races of Saturday’s program at Del Mar produced an unforgettable hour for Nick Cosato, the managing director of the Slam Dunk Racing syndicate.

Slam Dunk co-owns Tezzaray, who won her stakes debut in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies in the day’s seventh race. Two races later, Beyond Brilliant ($23.80) won the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby. Slam Dunk Racing did not have a runner in the Hollywood Derby, but Cosato made a successful series of bets on the race to give him a win in a track-sponsored handicapping tournament.

Sun, 11/28/2021 - 16:56

Brown considers sending Miles D to Saudi Cup in February

Joe Labozzetta
Miles D was given a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for the victory in the Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Chad Brown has yet to participate in the lucrative races in the Middle East. That could be about to change.

While Brown is far from committing to it, he will give strong consideration to pointing Miles D, winner of Saturday’s $150,000 Discovery at Aqueduct, to the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 26.

“I’m never looking to send my horses to other continents to run,” Brown said Sunday morning outside his Belmont Park barn. “I stick to my circuits, but that race has been on my mind if I had the right-styled horse.”

Sun, 11/28/2021 - 15:55

Send for Me shipping south after winning debut

The 2-year-old filly Send for Me, a seven-length winner of her debut going six furlongs Saturday at Aqueduct, will be heading south for the winter, trainer Jonathan Thomas said Sunday.

He did not have any immediate plans for the daughter of Into Mischief, though he does plan on stretching the filly out in distance over the course of the winter.

On Saturday, she ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:19.29 and earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

Sat, 11/27/2021 - 19:48

Del Mar pick six has carryover of $590,935, mandatory payout

DEL MAR, Calif. - The 20-cent jackpot pick six has a mandatory payout at Del Mar on Sunday and begins with a carryover of $590,935 from Saturday’s program.

Bettors could easily add $4 million to the pool, track officials said.

The pick six covers the fourth through ninth races on a program that begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific. The first race in the pick six sequence begins at 2 p.m., a maiden special weight race at six furlongs.

The pick six has one stakes – the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes, a one-mile turf race for fillies and mares that is the seventh race.

Fri, 11/26/2021 - 14:50

Game debut winner Tap the Faith targets Demoiselle

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Tap the Faith rallies along the inside to win her debut on Nov. 7 at Belmont Park.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Tap the Faith, who overcame a slow start to win her career debut by a head, is likely to run in next Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Aqueduct, trainer Christophe Clement said.

A daughter of Tapit out of the Grade 1 Alabama winner Embellish the Lace, Tap the Faith was a $1.25 million yearling purchase by Claiborne Farm. She is listed as being owned by Manzanita Stables.

“She’s a beautiful filly, she’s very attractive,” Clement said.

Fri, 11/26/2021 - 14:46

Code of Honor, Following Sea on course for Cigar Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
Code of Honor was being considered for the Clark at Churchill Downs, but will stay home for next Saturday's Cigar Mile.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Multiple Grade 1 winner Code of Honor and the graded stakes-winning 3-year-old Following Sea are both targeting next Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile Stakes at Aqueduct.

Aloha West, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner, is also under consideration, according to Aron Wellman, the head of the Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners syndicate, which owns the horse.

Fri, 11/26/2021 - 12:46

Los Alamitos set for two-week Thoroughbred meet

Barbara D. Livingston
Los Alamitos opens its Los Angeles County Fair meet on Friday. It runs through Sept. 26.

Los Alamitos begins a two-week season on Friday highlighted by two graded stakes for 2-year-olds.

The season runs through Dec. 12, with racing on Friday through Sunday next week and from Dec. 9-12 on the final week.

The leading races of the brief meeting are the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes on Dec. 4 and the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 11. Both races are run at 1 1/16 miles for 2-year-olds.

Fri, 11/26/2021 - 12:46

Got Thunder debuts with high expectations

Quick workouts, an expensive price tag, and an attractive pedigree have led to high hopes for the 2-year-old colt Got Thunder, who will have his debut in a maiden special weight race at six furlongs on Sunday at Del Mar.

Trained by John Sadler for West Point Thoroughbreds and Michael Talla, Got Thunder is part of a field of seven in the day’s fourth race, the first leg of a 20-cent pick six with a mandatory payout.

Fri, 11/26/2021 - 12:16

D'Amato hoping Shut Up Michael makes some noise

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Phil D’Amato has had plenty of success with European imports in recent years and hopes to have another nugget in Shut Up Michael, a maiden who makes his first U.S. start in Sunday’s fifth race at Del Mar after finishing third in his lone prior start at Sandown Park in Great Britain.

“He’s a high-energy horse. We’ve spent a lot of time trying to get him to settle, get used to his surroundings and how we do things here,” D’Amato said Friday morning. “In terms of being a runner, he shows a lot of promise.”

Fri, 11/26/2021 - 12:10

Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Art Sherman to retire

Barbara D. Livingston
Art Sherman (right) poses with his son Alan Sherman. Art Sherman will retire as a trainer next month, and the younger Sherman will take over the training of some of his horses.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Art Sherman, whose career spanned from Kentucky Derby winners Swaps to California Chrome, is retiring at the end of the year and was feted by Del Mar on Thursday with a brief winner’s circle ceremony and video tribute.

Sherman, 84, trained California Chrome to a pair of Horse of the Year titles, in 2014, when he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and 2016, when his wins included the Dubai World Cup, Pacific Classic, and Awesome Again.