HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The extensive physical change in the Gulfstream Park landscape has brought along a more subtle change in the track's most visible series of races. The 3-year-old events leading to the Florida Derby have undergone revisions that Gulfstream racing secretary Dave Bailey believes will strengthen the series and make it more alluring to horsemen.
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DRF Past Performances
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The jockey colony for the upcoming Gulfstream Park meeting will be second to none. Anchored by Hall of Famers Jerry Bailey and Pat Day as well as future Hall of Famers Edgar Prado and John Velazquez, the group will also include three-time Gulfstream titleholder Jorge Chavez, Eclipse Award winner Jose Santos, six-time British riding champ Kieren Fallon, Joe Bravo, Eibar Coa, and Calder kingpin Eddie Castro.
MIAMI - Trainer Nick Zito was all smiles after watching the last of his horses work over the Gulfstream Park track Friday morning.
Among them was his undefeated New York-bred gelding Commentator, whom Zito is readying for his 2005 debut in Gulfstream's Grade 3 Hal's Hope Handicap on Saturday. The Hal's Hope may serve as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Donn Handicap four weeks later.
NEW ORLEANS - Brian Hernandez Jr. had a lot to celebrate on New Year's Eve. He finished the year as the top apprentice rider in victories in 2004 and is a leading candidate for the Eclipse Award. A 19-year-old native of Lafayette, La., Hernandez won 240 races in 1,439 mounts during the year, racking up earnings of more than $4.3 million.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Galloping Grocer, the talented New York-bred gelding with designs on the Kentucky Derby, recently resumed serious training as he gears up for his 3-year-old campaign. Galloping Grocer is scheduled to make his seasonal debut in the Whirlaway Stakes here on Feb. 12.
After getting a month off following a neck loss to the undefeated Rockport Harbor in the Remsen, Galloping Grocer resumed galloping on Monday. Trainer Dominick Schettino said he plans to get three workouts into Galloping Grocer before the Whirlaway.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Resplendency had never raced before on the grass, and there was no way she was going to try it for the first time on Friday. Rather, what trainer Bob Baffert hoped was that the $113,500 would be moved to the main track because of recent wet weather.
At the least, Baffert can join the National Weather Service, because his forecast was spot on.
Dean Sarvis closed out the holiday meet at Turfway on Friday by easily winning his first riding title there. It was the second title of 2004 for the veteran jockey, who rode a record 167 winners at River Downs during the summer.
Sarvis finished the meet with 39 winners, 15 more than second-place Ramsey Zimmerman.
Sarvis is widely considered the favorite to top the winter-spring meeting at Turfway, which begins Saturday and continues until April 7.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Megascape and Pelham Bay were the top New York-bred juvenile fillies of 2004. Two days into their 3-year-old season, Megascape and Pelham Bay meet in an open company stakes when they head a six-horse field in Sunday's $75,000 Ruthless at Aqueduct.
Megascape beat Pelham Bay in the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes in October and Pelham Bay came back to beat Megascape in the Maid of the Mist 20 days later. Megascape had a legitimate excuse in the Maid of the Mist as she was diagnosed with a lung infection.
ARCADIA, Calif. - A steady rain was falling Friday morning as top sprinter McCann's Mojave headed to the Santa Anita racetrack, and trainer Leonard Dorfman shouted to the exercise rider, "Don't get him wet!"
Dorfman was joking, of course. A series of storms continued to soak Southern California into the weekend, and Dorfman said the condition of the racetrack will be a key factor in whether McCann's Mojave returns Sunday in the Grade 3 El Conejo Handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs.