HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Horses on the Kentucky Derby trail typically need to overcome a hurdle or two. A few colts set to run Saturday in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park are fair examples.
Rattle N Roll, trained by Kenny McPeek, and the Dale Romans duo of Howling Time and Giant Game already have experienced minor physical setbacks on the Derby trail, but all are healed up and looking to put their best hooves forward in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Messier, the No. 1-ranked male 3-year-old in North America by Daily Racing Form, heads the 100 nominees for this year’s Canadian Triple Crown put out by Woodbine.
Messier has won 3 of 5 starts, all in Southern California, under the guidance of trainer Bob Baffert. Named after hockey great Mark Messier, the son of Empire Maker was a 15-length winner of the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis on Feb. 6 at Santa Anita, when he earned a whopping 103 Beyer Speed Figure.
The six graded stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday have been neatly packaged into two sets of three races through the 11-race program, the richest day of the track’s winter-spring meeting.
The stakes are worth a combined $2.45 million, with three Grade 2 races – the $200,000 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs, $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf, and $400,000 San Felipe Stakes for 3-yeear-olds at 1 1/16 miles -- positioned from the fourth through sixth for national television coverage.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Beautiful Art is scheduled to have his stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, a third race in six weeks amidst a somewhat strange late winter campaign.
Beautiful Art was last of eight in a maiden special weight race at six furlongs on Jan. 22 in his debut, but rebounded to win a $200,000 claiming race for maidens at six furlongs on Feb. 11 at 6-1. Trainer Simon Callaghan hoped to start Beautiful Art in a first-condition allowance race, but has instead opted for an entry in the $400,000 San Felipe Stakes.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Got married. Moved from the Mid-Atlantic to New York. Relocated to California. Underwent ankle surgery. Returned to New York. Became a father.
Those are just some of the highlights of the last 14 months for jockey Trevor McCarthy. While life as the father of an 11-week-old daughter is hectic, things have pretty much stabilized for the 27-year-old McCarthy. Healthy in body and mind, McCarthy is enjoying a stellar winter professionally at Aqueduct as he attempts to break into the New York Racing Association colony on a full-time basis.
ARCADIA, Calif. – In terms of stakes wins, jockey Edwin Maldonado had his best month in nearly a decade in February, winning three stakes at Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita.
Merneith won the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes on Feb. 5 at Santa Anita with Maldonado aboard, followed a week later by Blackadder’s victory in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields. Last Saturday, Maldonado was aboard Alice Marble for a win in the restricted Wishing Well Stakes for female turf sprinters.
Maldonado last won three stakes in a month in the spring 2013.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Geno, winner of the Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series, and Happy Medium, a promising older sprinter who finished third in the Grade 3 Toboggan, had to be euthanized last week in separate training incidents over the Belmont Park training track.
Geno, a 3-year-old son of Big Brown, was euthanized Saturday after a gallop over the training track, according to trainer David Donk.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Officiating, the 7-1 upset winner of the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park in December, has been confirmed by trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. as a starter for Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap.
Officiating, a son of Blame, will be cutting back to six furlongs for the first time in what will be the 16th start in his career. He is coming off a third-place finish behind Speaker’s Corner and Fearless in the Grade 3 Fred Hooper going a mile on Jan. 29 at Gulfstream.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Rockefeller, who last fall shipped from Southern California to New York to win the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes at Belmont Park, will again ship cross-country for Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Monday.
The Gotham, like the Nashua, is run as a one-turn mile.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jose D’Angelo capped a recent torrid streak by winning four races Saturday, including three at Gulfstream Park, giving him seven winners for the week (Feb. 23-27). One of those winners was Duel Fuel on Saturday night at Turfway Park, where D’Angelo also has a foothold.
“My best week since I began training in the U.S.A.,” said a jubilant D’Angelo, a 31-year-old native of Venezuela.
