DEL MAR, Calif. - The comeback of Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza is underway this summer, and gearing toward the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in a little more than two months.
When Espinoza recorded a surprise win aboard 24-1 Astronaut in Saturday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, it ended his nine-month drought in Southern California stakes wins, dating to Red Flag’s triumph in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes here last November.
The summer goal was defined early on for Malathaat and was achieved on Saturday when she won the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.
The goal for the fall is less defined. While trainer Todd Pletcher told the New York Racing Association publicity department Sunday morning that the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 6 is “the most likely scenario,” Rick Nichols, the racing manager for Shadwell Stable, which owns Malathaat, said Sunday the $6 million Classic “will be an option that we would look at.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Chad Brown paid Technical Analysis the ultimate compliment following her impressive victory in Saturday’s Grade 2 Lake Placid when he compared her to Dayatthespa, a horse he trained who earned over $2.2 million and capped her outstanding career with a victory in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
Trainer Michael Ewing was breathing a profound sigh of relief Saturday as Bold and Bossy, the 2-year-old filly who galloped down a highway near Ellis Park, was back safe in her stall and free of significant injuries. Ewing also expressed profound gratitude for all in the racing community who came to the assistance of Bold and Bossy.
“The good news is she’s fine,” said Ewing, who also owns Bold and Bossy. “What a disaster it could have been. By the grace of God she wasn’t hit. I hear she was almost hit, and thank God she wasn’t hit.”
DEL MAR, Calif. - The 20-cent Jackpot pick six paid $10,521 at Del Mar on Saturday, a day with a mandatory payout and a track record pool of $8,876,771 in new money.
The pick six helped Del Mar to an all-sources handle of $36,005,612, a record for a non-Breeders’ Cup Day. The previous mark of $25.8 million for a non-Breeders’ Cup day was set on Pacific Classic Day in 2018.
Saturday’s pick six began with a carryover of $1,874,996 from Friday. The pool of new money surpassed the previous record of $6.65 million for a pick six set in September 2010.
The 2-year-old filly Bold and Bossy escaped serious injury Saturday following a frightening gallop down a highway prior to the first race at Ellis Park.
Bold and Bossy, who was set to make her career debut, dropped her rider in the post parade for the first race. She proceeded to jump a fence, run around the levy that surrounds the racetrack, and went out on Highway 41, according to Barbara Borden, a steward presiding at Ellis Park.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Led by Essential Quality, six of the expected seven runners for next Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes, put in their final workout for the race Saturday morning at Saratoga.
But, wait, there’s more.
Letruska, the leading older female in the country, and Swiss Skydiver, last year’s 3-year-old champion filly, also put in sharp moves Saturday toward their meeting in next Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign at Saratoga.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Bill Mott has finalized plans for several of his recent winners, including the 3-year-old Speaker’s Corner, who will make his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Sept. 25.
Speaker’s Corner came off a 10-month layoff to win a first-level allowance race by 5 1/4 lengths going seven furlongs on Aug. 14. Mott has been keen to stretch the horse out to 1 1/8 miles, something he will do against the likes of Hot Rod Charlie, First Captain, Weyburn, and perhaps Medina Spirit in the Pennsylvania Derby.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Knicks Go, the leader of the older male dirt division, will use the Grade 3, $400,000 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Oct. 2 as his prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar, trainer Brad Cox said Friday.
While Knicks Go is still in Saratoga, Cox said plans call for him to ship to Churchill when that track reopens its backside, expected to be right after Labor Day. The Lukas Classic is eight weeks from the Grade 1 Whitney, which Knicks Go won on Aug. 7, and five weeks from the Breeders’ Cup.
