HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – As a final Kentucky Derby prep, Tiz the Law’s 4 1/4 length triumph in Saturday’s Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby would have been about as good as it gets under normal circumstances. That decisive yet not overly taxing victory came on the heels of an eight-week layoff that would likely have had the once-beaten New York-bred primed for his peak performance five weeks down the road on Derby day.
Following Decorated Invader's 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Cutler Bay Stakes going a mile, trainer Christophe Clement said Sunday he hopes to get the chance to stretch the 3-year-old out in distance later this year, with New York’s Turf Triple for 3-year-olds in mind.
“If he stays, he stays, if not we can cut back to a mile in a race like the Secretariat,” Clement said, referring to a one-mile race typically run at Arlington Park in August.
Vekoma, last year’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes winner, made a solid return to the races, winning the listed Sir Shackleton Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths. He covered seven furlongs in 1:21.92 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 102, a career best.
Trainer George Weaver said his goal is to make Vekoma a Grade 1 winner this year. When and where that attempt will come is anybody’s guess.
Trainer Graham Motion said he won’t mind giving Mean Mary a little bit of a break following her one-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Orchid Stakes, her third victory in as many starts at the meet.
“She had five races in succession since [September], if I want to have her around for the end of this year, I want to have her fresh that’s why I backed off her after the last race,” said Motion, referring to her three-length in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante on Jan. 25.
The rescheduling of the Kentucky Oaks from May 1 to Sept. 4 works for trainer Ken McPeek when it comes to Swiss Skydiver.
By virtue of her front-running victory in Saturday’s Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, Swiss Skydiver earned her spot in the Kentucky Oaks starting gate. With Swiss Skydiver having already made starts this year at three different venues, McPeek said he plans to freshen his filly until such time as he knows a stakes schedule moving forward.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused many tracks to cancel or postpone major stakes races throughout the country.
With Aqueduct Racetrack having been approved for use as a temporary hospital to help New York state deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Racing Association on Saturday officially canceled the remainder of the Aqueduct spring meet.
As much as anything can be normal these days, there was predictable activity at Santa Anita on Saturday morning, with scores of horses undergoing workouts.
There was no racing on Saturday, a day after the track announced it had been temporarily closed by the Los Angeles county health department because of the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement was made about 35 minutes before the first race was scheduled for Friday.
It was not clear Saturday morning when racing would resume, but there is hope among owners and trainers that the hiatus will be short-lived.
Trainer Christophe Clement became the newest member of the 2,000-win club when Gufo got up in the final strides to win Friday’s 11th and final race at Gulfstream Park.
Earlier in the day, Clement won his 1,999th race when Parish Poet won a maiden race at Tampa Bay Downs.
Clement, 54, is a native of France who went out on his own in the U.S. in 1991 and recorded his first victory that year in October at Belmont Park.
Over the last three decades, Clement has become a fixture on the New York Racing Association circuit as well as Florida in the winter time.
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith has been suspended nine racing days – from April 10-26 – after losing an appeal for a riding infraction in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 29.
The suspension covers Friday through Sunday, the days of the week Santa Anita typically operates, for three consecutive weeks.
The ruling was issued late Friday morning by Santa Anita stewards shortly before the track announced it had ceased racing temporarily by order of Los Angeles county officials because of the coronavirus outbreak.
After holding discussions with Los Angeles County officials on Friday, Santa Anita has ceased racing effective immediately because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The track made the announcement in a statement texted to horsemen at 12:25 p.m. Friday, less than an hour before the day’s first race. The track was preparing for an eight-race program to begin at 1 p.m.
It was not immediately clear when the track would be allowed to resume racing.
