HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - As Tim Poole, the top assistant to trainer Nick Zito, led War Pass into the paddock before his 3-year-old debut on Sunday here at Gulfstream Park, he spotted a friendly visitor and said, "We've just got to keep the ball rolling."
ARCADIA, Calif. - With his trainer describing the colt as a "machine," Monterey Jazz had his final workout at Hollywood Park on Saturday for the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap next Saturday.
Monterey Jazz breezed six furlongs from the gate in 1:11.40, the fastest of 16 recorded works at the distance. The workout was Monterey Jazz's final major exercise before the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Though favorites won the first two legs of Sunday's pick six, upsets by Phil Cat ($13.60), Aegean Breeze ($20), and Bourne First ($23.20) produced a carryover of $46,720 into Wednesday's card.
The Wednesday pick six is not for the faint of heart or those with limited funds. Then again, an English punter put down 50 pence ($1) at a William Hill branch in Thirsk last Friday and won a million pounds (about $1.97omillion) after his eight-horse parlay hit. So why not think big?
ARCADIA, Calif. - Six months after he joined trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's stable, Heatseeker can give the powerful trainer a historic win in Saturday's $1 million Santa Anita Handicap.
Heatseeker will be Hollendorfer's first starter in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, and the 5-year-old has run well enough in recent weeks to suggest he will play a major factor in the 1 1/4 mile race.
The internal fractions and final time for Sunday's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes have been adjusted after the original clockings posted on the tote board were found to be incorrect.
The official fractions for the 1 1/8-mile Fountain of Youth that will appear on the Equibase chart are now 24.03 seconds, 47.62, 1:11.52, and 1:36.32, with a final time of 1:50.07. Bernie Hettel, Gulfstream's racing operations manager, retimed the race by hand from replays.
Churchill Downs Inc. has hired Darren Rogers as senior director of communications and media services for its flagship racetrack in Louisville, Ky.
Rogers had served since 1999 as director of communications at Lone Star Park in Texas.
Previously, Rogers was an assistant publicity director at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita in California. A Churchill release said Rogers will be a year-round employee and also provide support to the communications staffs at other tracks owned by the company. He will begin his new duties Monday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Nick Zito considers himself to be lucky and blessed. And that's exactly what he was in Sunday's $350,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Zito was lucky enough to have drawn post 1 with Cool Coal Man and blessed to have a horse talented enough to use that advantage to register a half-length decision over a game Elysium Fields in the Grade 2 race that serves as the local prep for the $1 million Florida Derby on March 29.
It took Little Belle four starts to graduate from the maiden ranks, but the Darley Stable homebred is now riding a two-race winning streak after posting a mild upset in Sunday's $81,600 Busher Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.
Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Little Belle stalked the pace set by the 1-2 favorite, Love Co, took over from the outside into the stretch, and drove clear by 2 3/4 lengths over Sweet Vendetta. It was another 11 lengths back to Darling Monique in third. Love Co faded to fourth.
Broke Sharply took another significant step forward as he captured Sunland Park's $50,000 Curribot Handicap.
Owned by Richard Lueck and trained by Gary Cross, the 6-year-old gelding came back from a layoff here Jan. 8 and romped over $20,000 claimers. He was given a significant step up here as he faced five rivals going 1 1/16 miles.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - For the second time in three years, trainer Helen Pitts looked like a genius for running Einstein in the Grade 1, $273,000 Gulfstream Park Turf. The decision to run on Saturday was not made until earlier this week, but it proved the right choice as Einstein held off longshot Dancing Forever to win the 1 3/8-mile grass race under Jose Lezcano.
