Aaron Gryder will ride Galloping Grocer in Saturday's $75,000 Whirlaway Stakes at Aqueduct, trainer Dominick Schettino said Tuesday.
John Velazquez had ridden Galloping Grocer in all four of his starts last year, but he is going to Fair Grounds on Saturday to ride Harlington for trainer Todd Pletcher in the Risen Star Stakes.
"Gryder is riding him in this race," said Schettino. "There's no commitment beyond this."
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Bill White wasn't overly concerned when High Fly drew the outside post for last Saturday's . After all, it appeared the undefeated 3-year-old High Fly had enough speed to overcome the position. But less than a quarter-mile into the race, after High Fly and jockey Eddie Castro got hung out very wide around the opening turn, White realized his horse was in trouble.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - After winning his maiden in July, it took Confirmed two starts to capture his entry-level allowance condition and two more to win a second-level allowance race. If that pattern continues, Confirmed will win Wednesday's $37,000 feature at Gulfstream, which will be decided under third-level optional claiming conditions.
ARCADIA, Calif. - There is a seven-figure race on Rock Hard Ten's schedule in March. Whether it is the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 5 or the $6 million Dubai World Cup on March 26 won't be known until trainer Richard Mandella sees how Rock Hard Ten came out of his nose win over Imperialism in Saturday's $300,000 Strub Stakes and then confers with owners Madeleine Paulson and Ernie Moody.
"Obviously, if everything is good, it's more of what the owners want to do," Mandella said.
After Saturday's race, Moody was leaning toward staying home for the Big Cap.
ARCADIA, Calif. - With the $300,000 Frank Kilroe Mile on March 5 as a firm goal, Laura's Lucky Boy makes his 4-year-old debut and first start for trainer Vladimir Cerin in Wednesday's $75,000 Thunder Road Handicap at Santa Anita.
Owned by Mercedes Stable, Laura's Lucky Boy was transferred from Jason Orman to Cerin after a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby last November. Last year, won 3 of 9 starts, including the Grade 3 Will Rogers Stakes over a mile on turf at Hollywood Park in May.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Sunday began much better than it ended for trainer and faithful Philadelphia Eagles fan Ben Perkins Jr.
In the morning, he sent out the 3-year-old Diamond Wildcat to work a solid five furlongs in 1:00.67 over Belmont Park's training track, the fastest of 24 works at the distance. By day's end, Perkins was sharing the frustrations of thousands of Eagles fans, whose team lost the Super Bowl to New England, 24-21.
Jockey Gary Boulanger's condition has been upgraded from serious to stable at Memorial Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., where he continues to make steady improvement from serious injuries suffered in a mishap during Gulfstream Park's Mac Diarmida Handicap on Jan. 30.
Boulanger underwent emergency surgery to remove his spleen and a blood clot in his brain only hours after his horse, In Hand, broke down in the Mac Diarmida.
"The progress he's made over the last week has been tremendous," said Boulanger's agent, Cory Moran.
Injured jockey Ron Warren underwent a surgical procedure at Stanford Hospital on Monday to irrigate and clean the wound in his right leg, where he suffered a compound fracture in a spill Friday night at Bay Meadows.
Warren, 40, underwent more than four hours of emergency surgery following the accident and had three pins placed in his left hip.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Bay Meadows starter Chuck Burkes called Sunday a "black cat" day after a series of bizarre incidents during the day's first two races.
In race 1, jockey Francisco Duran was unseated when his mount, Way Brite, bolted on the first turn. Quintara bolted on the second turn while on the lead and then almost won, as the winner, Apollo Treasure, struggled to the wire. Favored Devil's Sis, who was virtually eased, nearly collapsed at the finish line.
Race 2 was even stranger.
