JAMAICA, N.Y. - Come Friday, jockey Julian Pimentel makes one of the most difficult transitions in racing.
That's when Pimentel loses his apprentice status - and the attractive five-pound weight allowance that goes with it - and becomes a journeyman rider.
On Sunday, Pimentel gave himself some momentum by riding four winners on Aqueduct's nine-race card. He finished the first week of the inner track meet with seven winners to top the standings.
ALBANY, Calif. - Saturday's $55,000-added Gold Rush Stakes for 2-year-olds at Golden Gate will be somewhat overshadowed here on the West Coast by the $200,000 Hollywood Juvenile at Hollywood Park. Even Northern California's two most accomplished 2-year-olds, Yougottawanna and Publication, are scheduled to travel south for the Juvenile.
But the one-mile Gold Rush, a stepping-stone to the $125,000 Grade 3 Golden Gate Derby on Jan. 12 and the El Camino Real Derby, should still be an intriguing race.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Momentum's graded stakes debut was worth the wait.
After being scratched from the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby in late November and the Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup in early December, Momentum won the Grade 3 Native Diver Handicap* (click here for chart) at Hollywood Park on Sunday, his first start on dirt.
The $100,000 race was marred by a fatal injury suffered by Penamacor, the winner of the Chilean Derby and 2000 Guineas last year.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Chris McCarron swept the two stakes at Hollywood Park on Saturday on his way to riding five winners from six mounts.
McCarron scored aboard Nepenthe ($3.60) in the $72,500 Waya Handicap* (click here for chart) and Bella Bella Bella in the $50,000 Golden Ballet Stakes. He ended the day with 282 career stakes wins at Hollywood Park, two better than Bill Shoemaker.
MIAMI - Band Is Passing, whose form tailed off a bit this summer, proved he is back on top of his game by rallying from just off the pace to score a 3 1/4-length decision over the late-striding Crash Course in Saturday's $100,000 Tropical Turf Handicap. The Grade 3 Tropical Turf* (click here for chart) highlighted the Grand Slam I program at Calder that included three other stakes valued at $100,000 apiece.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - Raging Fever made a triumphant return to the races Saturday at Aqueduct, roaring out of the gate under Aaron Gryder and leading every jump to win the $82,775 Garland of Roses Handicap* (click here for chart) by 1 1/2 lengths.
Dat You Miz Blue, who was made the 4-5 favorite with the scratch of Xtra Heat, chased Raging Fever around the track and finished second, four lengths ahead of Look of the Lynx. Carafe, Tina Dynamite, Golightly, and Elektraline completed the order of finish.
NEW ORLEANS - Team Bonapaw might be headed to Dubai.
Kevin Greely, the racing secretary at Nad al Sheba Racecourse, put in a call this week to the connections of Bonapaw, the top sprinter at Fair Grounds, asking them to nominate the horse to the $2 million Dubai Golden Sheema this March - which is exactly what Bonapaw's New Orleans owners, Jim and Dennis Richards, had hoped for all along.
"They definitely want to go," said trainer Tucker Alonzo.
NEW ORLEANS - What's an extra couple of furlongs? Oak Hall, winner of the Champions Day Sprint last season, won the $150,000 Champions Day Classic* (click here for chart) on Saturday, the culminating event of Fair Grounds' $1 million Louisiana Champions Day.
Oak Hall stalked a torrid pace in the 1 1/8-mile Classic, getting a perfect trip under jockey Kirk LeBlanc, who swept the last three Thoroughbred races on the card, the Turf, Ladies, and Classic.
NEW ORLEANS - My Brents Diamond has been chasing Hallowed Dreams for a year. This time, Hallowed Dreams was nowhere to be found, and longshot My Brents Diamond ran down Kettle Man in the stretch to win the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint* (click here for chart) by three-quarters of a length.
Score one for the "other" Louisiana-bred filly sprinter.
"Really, we were just running for place money," said Jerry Quinn, who trains My Brents Diamond for owner Mike Meeks. "We didn't think we'd beat Hallowed Dreams."
MIAMI - Trainer John Ward was scheduled to have flown to south Florida on Saturday to oversee a Sunday workout at Gulfstream Park by Monarchos, the first work by the 2001 Kentucky Derby winner since he arrived here last week to begin preparations for his 4-year-old campaign.
According to assistant trainer Yvonne Azeff, Monarchos has been jogging and galloping between 1 1/4 miles and 1 3/8 miles on a daily basis and continues to do well while adjusting to this track and the balmy climate.
