ARCADIA, Calif. - Gamine, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland on Nov. 7, rejoined trainer Bob Baffert’s stable earlier this month after a brief rest in late 2020.
Gamine’s exercise has been limited to jogging in recent days, Baffert said.
Owned by Michael Petersen, Gamine won the third Grade 1 race of her career in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, pulling clear by 6 1/4 lengths in the final furlong of the seven-furlong race.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Charlatan, a convincing winner of the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26, is expected to have his next start in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 20.
Trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday that the timing of the Saudi Cup at 1 1/8 miles, compared to the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 23, was a deciding factor.
“He’ll go to Saudi,” Baffert said. “The Pegasus is coming back a little quick. I’ve got a week to change my mind.”
Fair Grounds on Saturday drew the 2021 Road to the Derby Kickoff Day program, a 13-race, six-stakes extravaganza that attracted 141 entrants, excluding also-eligibles.
The Jan. 16 card has the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes for 3-year-olds as the nightcap and headliner. The Lecomte, carded for 1 1/16 miles, is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby offering 17 Derby qualifying points distributed 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.
Sworn Silence ran hard and finished second in the first race on the Friday program at Fair Grounds – becoming the first loser of the racing week for trainer Chris Hartman. Hartman won with his only starter on the Wednesday card and went 2 for 2 on Thursday.
The second winner on Thursday was the formidable starter-allowance horse Overzealous, who romped in an off-turf route open to $10,000 claimers or $5,000 starter horses, like the winner. Overzealous got an 85 Beyer Speed Figure starting his 7-year-old season with a victory following a five-win 2020 campaign.
Golden Gate Fields will resume racing on Jan. 15, two months after racing was halted because of a coronavirus outbreak in the stable area.
The announcement was made to owners and trainers on Thursday evening following discussions among track executives and local government officials. Entries for the Jan. 15 program will be taken Tuesday.
“It was a long process and we’re delighted to be back,” track general manager David Duggan said in a brief conversation Friday morning. “We’re at a stage that it was okay to come back.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Shivaree was somewhat conspicuous by his absence from the nominations list for the Sunshine Sprint next Saturday at Gulfstream Park, but trainer Ralph Nicks says not to worry.
“He’s running the following Saturday in the Hooper,” said Nicks.
By running Shivaree in open company in the Grade 3, $150,000 Fred W. Hooper at Gulfstream, Nicks is bypassing an opportunity to keep the 4-year-old colt in Florida-bred company. The six-furlong Sunshine Sprint is one of four such restricted races to be featured here Saturday.
Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has some new programs in place for its upcoming 57-day meet during the ongoing pandemic and one requires specific reservations to attend the races, said track president Lou Cella.
The meet opens Jan. 22.
Cella said the Arkansas Department of Health this week accepted a plan from Oaklawn that enables the track to conduct racing with limited spectators. Attendance to start the season will be limited to box-seat holders, members of the track’s jockey club, and those who secure reservations for the track’s various restaurants.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Mike Maker and trainer Todd Pletcher each entered three horses in Sunday’s $100,000 Rego Park Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds going 6 1/2 furlongs.
Maker entered Blue Gator, runner-up in the $100,000 Notebook Stakes here on Nov. 14; Lookin for Trouble, fifth in the Notebook; and Windy Nations, fourth in a division of the New York Stallion Series.
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Am Impazible, a 5-year-old New York-bred mare who has won four consecutive races, could make her stakes debut in the $100,000 Ladies Handicap here on Jan. 10, trainer Kelly Breen said.
Am Impazible came off a 10-month layoff on Dec. 18 to win an open-company first-level allowance race going a one-turn mile.
“It was a big performance,” Breen said. “I didn’t honestly think she was up to it, but she has a lot of heart. She came out of the race in good order. That’s why we’re thinking of trying a stakes.”
