HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There are no graded stakes races on the schedule this weekend at Gulfstream Park, but there will be action aplenty nonetheless, with the Claiming Crown back for an eighth straight season Saturday followed by the third local renewal of the Clasico Internacional del Caribe, featuring the best horses from Latin America and the Caribbean on Sunday.
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DRF Past Performances
Jack the Umpire, who won his second straight two-turn race at Delta Downs last week in the $100,000 Jean Lafitte, is a candidate for the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte on Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds, trainer Brett Brinkman said Monday. The Lecomte, at 1 1/16 miles, is the first race on the road to the Louisiana Derby.
Brinkman said Jack the Umpire also would be nominated for the $400,000 Springboard Mile on Dec. 15 at Remington Park and the $200,000 Texas Turf Mile on Jan. 26 at Sam Houston. But he said the most probable next spot for the horse will be the Lecomte.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Multiple Grade 1 winner Spiced Perfection will head a short field for Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Go for Wand Handicap at Aqueduct.
On Monday, Spiced Perfection worked five furlongs in 1:02 over a good Churchill Downs surface. Afterward, her connections said they were pleased with the move and would ship here for the race.
Spiced Perfection finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and was cataloged to be sold a few days later, but she did not attain her reserve and will remain in training for another year.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Maximum Security was one of four horses trainer Jason Servis nominated to the Cigar Mile. The other three – Firenze Fire, Sunny Ridge, and Monongahela – all won stakes races last week at other venues.
Firenze Fire, a Grade 1 winner, captured the $200,000 Fabulous Strike Handicap at Penn National on Nov. 27. He earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for the easy score.
Firenze Fire is expected to remain in training and could be aimed at winter sprint stakes at Aqueduct such as the Gravesend on Dec. 22 or the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan on Jan. 18.
Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said Monday he plans to send a 15-horse division to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., for the meet that opens Jan. 24. McGaughey is based in South Florida and New York.
McGaughey said his son, Reeve, will accompany the horses to Oaklawn. McGaughey estimated it will be the first time since 1984 or 1985 that he’s had a string at Oaklawn.
“We’re looking forward to it,” he said.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After missing a work and a race, Saturday’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs, due to a minor illness several weeks ago, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has Chance It just about back on his regular schedule again. The decision to be made now is where to go next with the leader of the local 2-year-old division. Chance It has not started since cruising to an easy victory in the 1 1/16-mile In Reality Stakes here more than nine weeks ago.
Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer plans to relocate his stable to Oaklawn Park in January, he said on Sunday.
Hollendorfer said he plans to have approximately 25 horses at Oaklawn Park, which runs from Jan. 24 to May 2. He had a stable based at the Del Mar autumn meeting, which ended on Sunday, and has a stable at Los Alamitos, which runs a two-week winter meeting from Friday through Dec. 15.
Anneau d’Or and Wrecking Crew, second and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, are scheduled to start in Saturday’s Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity at 1 1/16 miles for 2-year-olds.
Storm the Court, the upset winner of the BC Juvenile at 45-1, will not start and is scheduled to run in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 1.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A 27-1 victory by Fascilitator in the seventh race Friday at Churchill was the first for trainer Dan Sanner since his wife, Debbie, died suddenly on Sept. 10 at age 53.
“It was an emotional day,” said Sanner, a trainer since 1993. “Of course I was thinking of her, but she wouldn’t want me to sit here and wallow in self-pity. I’m trying to be upbeat and move forward, although it’s been very hard.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two jockeys headed to Gulfstream for the winter are using different tactics after being suspended by the Churchill stewards for recent infractions.
Chris Landeros has accepted a three-day suspension that runs Wednesday through Friday for the disqualification of Royal Mesa from second to third in the 10th race Friday. He will be back in the saddle for the Claiming Crown on Saturday at Gulfstream.