DEL MAR, Calif. – The only track in Southern California where horses are allowed to work on turf is Del Mar, which will host the stakes-filled turf festival in less than two weeks. That resulted in 29 horses working over the local course Sunday morning, including 10 each from the barns of Richard Baltas and Phil D’Amato.
“That’s why they’re here. They can work on grass,” Baltas said.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The 2-year-old Wolfie’s Dynaghost made an auspicious debut Saturday at Aqueduct, winning a seven-furlong maiden race by 1 1/2 lengths, earning a creditable 77 Beyer Speed Figure in the process.
Wolfie’s Dynaghost is by Ghostzapper and is out of the mare Dynaire, making him a half-brother to Sadler’s Joy, a Grade 1 winner on turf who is pointing to Saturday’s Grade 3 Red Smith.
Trainer Tom Albertrani, not known for winning first out, said he was “cautiously optimistic” about Wolfie’s Dynaghost going into Saturday’s race.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - His long-term future has not yet been finalized, but Firenze Fire will make at least one more start in the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec. 5, trainer Kelly Breen said Sunday.
“We’re not sure what we’re going to do or where we’re going, but we got this race in mind,” said Breen, who trains Firenze Fire for Ron Lombardi’s Mr. Amore Stable. “This looks like a pretty good spot for him.”
Trainer Brad Cox, who won four Breeders’ Cup races earlier this month at Keeneland, is among the new faces who have been granted stalls at Sam Houston Race Park, according to an official. The meet will open Jan. 8.
Sam Houston received requests for 2,300 stalls, according to Chris McErlean, vice president of racing for Penn National Gaming, the parent company of Sam Houston. He said the track has 1,124 stalls. Sam Houston allotted stalls to 60 different trainers, according to McErlean.
“I think the Houston meet is going to be very strong,” he said.
The first order of business Saturday morning in trainer Theresa Luneack’s barn was a sweet one for Welder, the millionaire who races for Ra-Max Farms.
“The first thing I did was give him peppermints,” she said.
Welder on Friday night won the Silver Goblin Stakes at Remington Park for a record fourth time. It was his 11th stakes victory at the track – which also is a record at Remington.
“He came back great,” Luneack said Saturday. “He’s super-good this morning, feeling good. I’m really happy with the way he came back.”
Sleepy Eyes Todd, who closed from last to win the $150,000 Lafayette on the Breeders’ Cup Saturday card Nov. 7 at Keeneland, has returned to his base of Remington Park, according to trainer Miguel Silva.
“Today was his first day back to the track,” Silva said Friday. “He looked wonderful.”
Silva said there are no concrete race plans for Sleepy Eyes Todd, who in August won the Grade 2, $600,000 Charles Town Classic.
“We’re just taking it day by day,” he said. “We’re seeing what comes up, and where we can run him. We’ll let the horse tell us what to do.”
Empire of Gold is being freshened following his fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and could see action next year at Oaklawn Park, said trainer Terry Eoff.
Empire of Gold shipped from his Remington Park base in Oklahoma City to Keeneland twice this year, finishing a big second in the Grade 2 Phoenix in October then running a good fourth to Oaklawn regular Whitmore in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 7.
Empire of Gold, who is 3, has since returned to Remington.
The Arizona Department of Racing at a meeting on Thursday approved a simulcast contract between Turf Paradise and Monarch Content Management that could lead to the restoration of some popular betting signals in the state, but the action is likely to be challenged by a rival track in the state, according to racing officials.
The approval of the contract came at a meeting in which Turf’s plans to run an 84-day meet in 2021 was also ratified by the department. The meet is set to begin on Jan. 4 and run through May 1.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Civil Union, the Grade 1 Flower Bowl winner who finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, shipped to South Florida on Friday and will get a rest before preparing for a 6-year-old campaign in 2021, trainer Shug McGaughey said.
“Our plans are to have a good campaign with her next year; where that starts I’m not sure yet,” said McGaughey, who trains Civil Union for owner/breeder Joe Allen.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockey Javier Castellano will take off the final six weeks of 2020 to address a minor issue in his right leg and plans to return to race-riding in early- to-mid-January at Gulfstream Park.
On Monday, Castellano will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right leg, near the hip, to clean up some debris in the area. The procedure will be performed by orthopedic surgeon Bryan T. Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.
