LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sending his loyal backers home with a smile Saturday night wasn’t enough for Brendan Walsh. The 48-year-old Irish native followed up with three more winners Sunday afternoon at Churchill Downs, vaulting him into second place in the local standings while furthering his stature as a highly capable trainer.
Forza Di Oro, unraced since a victory in the Grade 3 Discovery Handicap at Aqueduct last November, is working his way back to the races. On Sunday, he worked a half-mile in 49.38 seconds over the Belmont training track, his fourth workout of the year.
Following the Discovery, trainer Bill Mott was pointing Forza Di Oro to the Pegasus at Gulfstream in late January. The horse suffered a chip fracture in an ankle that needed to be surgically removed.
Du Jour, winner of the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, has been transferred from trainer Bob Baffert to Bill Mott and is pointing to the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on July 10.
Du Jour, a son of Temple City, is owned in partnership by Jill Baffert - Bob’s wife - and Debbie Lanni, the widow of former casino executive Terry Lanni.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Six weeks since returning from a three-month absence due to multiple surgeries, Jose Lezcano is flashing the form that made him the leading rider at the 2019 Belmont Park summer meet.
Despite going winless with five mounts Sunday, Lezcano has won 11 races from his last 27 mounts at Belmont and, with 20 victories from 122 mounts, he has risen into a tie for fifth in the jockey standings at this meet. Lezcano had a four-win day on Saturday. He also won four races on the June 6 card.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Stan the Man, a popular stakes-winning gelding on this circuit, has been retired from racing, trainer John Terranova confirmed Friday.
Terranova said Stan the Man started to show some signs of bone bruising and it didn’t appear that, even given time, he would be able to return at the level at which he’s competed for most of his career. He last raced May 8, finishing fourth in the Runhappy Stakes at Belmont.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Oleksandra, who scratched out of the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes on June 5 when the Belmont turf course came up with some give in it, will try to stretch out to a mile in the Grade 3, $250,000 Poker Stakes here June 20, owner Barry Irwin said Friday.
Oleksandra, who beat the boys in the 2020 Jaipur at six furlongs, has only tried a mile once, that being a two-turn race at Del Mar in November 2018 when she set the pace and faded to ninth.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Maxfield, the Godolphin standout with six wins from seven career starts, continues to train forwardly at Keeneland in preparing for the Grade 2 Stephen Foster, which anchors the closing-day card at Churchill Downs. The 4-year-old Street Sense colt went five furlongs Friday in 1:01 in his fourth breeze since a rousing victory here April 30 in the Grade 2 Alysheba.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Swiss Skydiver won’t be home any time soon. The champion filly is scheduled to move from Belmont Park to Saratoga early this week, with trainer Ken McPeek intent on getting her back to peak health for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on the Aug. 28 Travers card.
Normally based in Kentucky, Swiss Skydiver was supposed to run last Saturday in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on the Belmont Stakes undercard, but she was scratched after coming down with an elevated temperature the morning beforehand.
Del Mar will open its online box office for ticket sales at 10 a.m. Pacific on June 18, with options available for dining areas and reserved seats.
The track’s summer meeting runs from July 16 to Sept. 6.
Reserved seats in the grandstand range from $10 to $40, depending on the day of the week or if there are special events such as premium pricing for opening day or Pacific Classic Day on Aug. 21. The cost includes parking and admission. Reserved seats in the clubhouse range in price from $13 to $82, depending on the race day.
Los Alamitos has increased overnight purses in some categories for its upcoming summer meeting, which runs from June 25 to July 5. The increase was made possible because of gains in all-sources handle at the track’s December meeting, according to racing secretary Bob Moreno.
A maiden special weight race at the upcoming meeting will be worth $45,000, compared to $40,000 at the 2020 summer meeting and $42,000 last December.
