LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Neil Pessin has no regrets. Even though he was correct in suspecting heavily favored Gamine was ripe for an upset, the trainer also believes he made the right move by not sending his stable star Bell’s the One to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
“My decision not to run was based strictly on transportation,” Pessin said early Monday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – While most of the top Churchill jockeys were traveling to and from the Breeders’ Cup during parts of last week, Mitch Murrill rode 11 winners to take command atop the local standings.
Murrill rode at least one winner each day from Nov. 3-7, including a three-win Saturday capped by a terrific ride on late-running Necker Island in the $300,000 Bet On Sunshine.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fresh from a Breeders’ Cup weekend during which he drew within striking distance to the all-time record for mount earnings in a single year, star jockey Joel Rosario will ride the next three weeks at Churchill Downs.
After boarding a red-eye Saturday night from San Diego to ride Sunday at Belmont Park, where he had one winner from eight mounts, Rosario now turns his focus to Churchill, where he will be available at Churchill “every single day, with possibly one exception,” agent Ron Anderson said. The fall meet runs through Nov. 28.
Chad Brown won his 10th consecutive Belmont Park fall meet title, winning 29 races from 111 starters at the meet, which ended Sunday. He won 13 stakes and his purse earnings were a meet-best $3.79 million. Todd Pletcher (20), Linda Rice (16), Christophe Clement (16), and Rudy Rodriguez rounded out the top five.
In what was a tight jockey racing heading into closing day, Irad Ortiz Jr. won three races on Sunday’s card to take the title with 33 wins, one more than his brother Jose and two more than Luis Saez. All three had 30 wins heading into the final card.
While still basking in the glow of Aloha West’s nose victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar, owner Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners said Sunday that Independence Hall will likely make his next start in the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec. 4.
The other option is the $750,000 Clark Handicap on Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs, but Wellman said he and the other owners, Twin Creeks Racing and WinStar Farm, are leaning toward the Cigar Mile for Independence Hall, recent winner of the Fayette Stakes at Keeneland.
Rockefeller, who won Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Nashua Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths at Belmont Park, could stay in New York and point to the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct on Dec. 4, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday.
In California, there is basically one important stakes remaining this year for 2-year-old males – the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 11 – and Baffert has Messier and potentially others pointing to that race. Several of the same owners are involved in both Messier and Rockefeller.
The Remsen is run at 1 1/8 miles around two turns.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Lone Rock and Tizamagician were separated by 1 1/2 lengths when they finished first and second in Saturday’s Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes at 1 5/8 miles at Del Mar.
They might meet again at Belmont Park in June.
Robertino Diodoro trains Lone Rock, and Richard Mandella trains Tizamagician. Each said his runner has reached the end of his 2021 season.
DEL MAR, Calif. – In a season that included five stakes wins, all against 3-year-olds, Going Global handled a new assignment in Saturday’s Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar.
Going Global beat older fillies and mares in her first race outside of age-group competition, closing from fifth to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Zofelle.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockeys E.T. Baird and Florent Geroux were fined $5,000 each by Del Mar stewards Grant Baker, Luis Jauregui, and Kim Sawyer over the weekend for excessive use of the whip in Breeders’ Cup races on Friday.
The fines are the heaviest financial penalties for single violations since tougher whip rules were enacted by the California Horse Racing Board in October 2020. Since then, riders competing in California have been limited to six underhand strikes in a race and are allowed two strikes before pausing to allow their mounts to respond.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Canadian male 3-year-old division has been in disarray this year, without a leader. Frosted Over is the fastest sophomore in the country on Beyer Speed Figures, and his recent victory in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby may have put him at the top of the heap among Sovereign Award contenders.
