OPELOUSAS, La. - Two young riders scored important victories this past week at Evangeline Downs.
Apprentice jockey Anna Roberts picked up her first career riding victory last Wednesday night, cruising home on 3-2 favorite King of Mardi Gras in the evening's ninth race. King of Mardi Gras, trained by Jorge Lara, won for the 16th time from 60 starts.
"I'm obviously thrilled," said Roberts following the race. "It is like a dream come true."
Since the Sunland Park Derby was introduced in 2003, track officials have taken aggressive steps to try and get the race graded status. Their ship might have come in last Saturday. Mine That Bird won the Kentucky Derby at 50-1 one start after finishing fourth in this year's $800,000 Sunland Park Derby.
"Hopefully his win, coupled with the performances of some of the other horses that came out of the race, will earn enough points to get us graded this year," said Harold Payne, general manager of Sunland. "We've got some depth and quality coming out of the race."
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Mike Stidham doesn't want to let Tizaqueena out of his sight.
"She's right here, in my office with me," Stidham said Tuesday morning, reached at his Arlington barn.
Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but Tizaqueena no doubt occupies a prime spot in the Stidham barn after winning the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile on Derby Day at Churchill Downs. That victory made Tizaqueena 3 for 3 in 2009, 3 for 3 on turf, 5 for 6 in her career, and was her first graded stakes win.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The 2-year-old filly Smooth as Candy will begin her career in the shadow of her full brother Chocolate Candy, even if he is 2,500 miles away.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Tuesday at Hollywood Park that Smooth as Candy (by Candy Ride out of Crownette) will arrive here later this month after early breezes at Rancho Paseana in Rancho Santa Fe.
Meanwhile, Chocolate Candy shipped Tuesday to New York and will train up to the Belmont Stakes after finishing fifth in the Kentucky Derby.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Kelly Leak, who in his last start won the $800,000 Sunland Park Derby over future Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, will miss Saturday's Lone Star Derby, trainer Mike Machowsky said. Based in Southern California, the horse was to fly here later this week after turning in his final work Sunday, but plans changed Tuesday.
"This morning we tracked him, and he coughed a couple of times," Machowsky said. "We scoped him and found an ulcer on the tip of his epiglottis. It's not a big thing. He'll miss a week of training."
Jockey Robby Albarado will be represented on a temporary basis by agent Anthony Martin, who will tend to the veteran jockey's riding assignments while Lenny Pike, Albarado's longtime agent, goes on personal leave.
Martin, 20, said Monday that he is scheduled to begin booking mounts for Albarado for the Thursday program at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., where Albarado will ride through the end of the spring meet, July 5. The length of the arrangement will be determined by when Pike returns and possibly could last through the end of the meet, said Martin.
All-sources wagering on Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville fell for the third consecutive year, declining 8.7 percent from the 2008 total, according to figures provided by Churchill Downs. Preliminary television ratings for the race, however, climbed 7 percent to the highest figure in 17 years.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Nassau County Stakes winner Flashing will not return in the Grade 1 Acorn on Belmont Stakes Day, but according to trainer Tom Albertrani it has nothing to do with the expected presence of Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra in that race.
Albertrani said he wasn't even planning to run Flashing in last Saturday's Nassau County, but rather an overnight stakes going a mile here May 13. He only opted for the Nassau County when the race came up a five-horse field.
ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Keith Bennett said he will be bringing a stable to Golden Gate Fields and the summer fairs this year, and that's good news for the racing office and bettors.
Bennett is the kind of trainer who likes to run. He tied with Mike Chambers for the training lead at the just-concluded Turf Paradise race meeting with 72 victories, and has won with 51 of his 117 starters this year for an extraordinary 44 percent win rate.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Trainer Mike Machowsky insists he does not regret keeping his 3-year-old Kelly Leak out of the Kentucky Derby. But if he did, who could blame him?
Back on March 29, Kelly Leak won the Sunland Park Derby by 1 1/2 lengths, with Mine That Bird fourth. On Saturday, Mine That Bird upset the Kentucky Derby.
Machowsky never intended to start Kelly Leak in the Kentucky Derby, preferring to wait for the $400,000 Lone Star Derby over 1 1/16 miles Saturday. Even after the Kentucky Derby result, Machowsky said he was glad Kelly Leak stayed out of the classic.
