DEL MAR, Calif. – Even during the lull following Breeders’ Cup, the machinery of a major stable continues to hum.
There might be a 3-year-old campaign to design for a surprise Derby contender or a swanky maiden winner. Perhaps an autumn road trip looms for a Grade 3 winner working as if a Grade 1 victory is imminent, or a pending comeback by a millionaire 8-year-old.
A pair of allowances will be co-featured at Churchill on the 10-race Friday card, which starts at 1 p.m. Eastern. Both are for fillies and mares and are scheduled for the grass.
Race 6 is a $102,000 third-level mile in which Smart Shot, trained by Rusty Arnold, will be looking to improve on her 3-for-5 mark over the Churchill turf. Race 9 is a $97,000 first-level race at 1 3/8 miles, and there’s no real standout among a full field of 12.
Martin Garcia is leaving Southern California to ride in the Midwest. The 35-year-old jockey will begin riding Wednesday at Churchill, according to his new agent, Jay Fedor, and will compete at Turfway Park prior to moving his tack to Oaklawn Park ahead of that meet, which starts Jan. 24.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When Mr. Misunderstood won the River City as an odds-on favorite last fall at Churchill Downs, there was no telling where 2019 would take him.
After all, Mr. Misunderstood had won 11 of 15 starts on turf, including a sweep of his first eight. There was upside aplenty for the gelding, who had become a legitimate mainstay in the Midwest’s upper turf ranks.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Sid Attard was expected to have the favorite in last Saturday’s $100,400 Frost King with the unbeaten Red Giveaway, who got sick and missed the stakes for Ontario-sired 2-year-olds. Attard went to his bench and won it with the 49-1 shot Dotted Line, who – like Red Giveaway – is a son of Signature Red owned by Norseman Racing Stable.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 10-race card scheduled for Wednesday at Churchill Downs has been canceled because of sub-freezing temperatures that have enveloped this region.
Announcement of the Wednesday cancellation was made shortly before noon Eastern on Tuesday so as to give horsemen, employees, and fans ample notice. Temperatures were expected to dip into the mid-teens overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, when highs would only reach the low-40s.
MIAMI – Math Wizard began the year winning a $16,000 maiden claiming race at Gulfstream Park. He ended it 10 months later finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. During that time, Math Wizard became a Grade 1 winner by capturing the Pennsylvania Derby while earning more than $1 million in a rags-to-riches story second only to Maximum Security’s in the 3-year-old division in 2019.
Shotgun Kowboy returns to the overnight ranks for Thursday’s sixth race at Remington Park, a conditioned allowance that carries an optional claiming price of $40,000. He enters the mile and 70-yard feature off a dominant victory in the track’s $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Night Classic.
Shotgun Kowboy won the 1 1/16-mile Classic on Oct. 18 by more than six lengths while making his first start since April. He could get an ideal tracking trip off Pinson in Thursday’s race, which also has drawn stakes winner Net Gain and recent Remington winner Chris and Dave.
Deviant escaped injury in a heel-clipping incident in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf earlier this month at Santa Anita and will return to action next season in the new $200,000 Texas Turf Mile at Sam Houston Race Park, trainer Danny Pish said. The race for 3-year-olds is Jan. 26.
Deviant earned a trip to the Breeders’ Cup after a pair of impressive turf route stakes victories. He won his maiden in the $75,000 El Joven on Aug. 14 at Retama Park, then one start later captured the $60,000 Sunday Silence on Sept. 7 at Louisiana Downs.
MIAMI – One of the stars on Saturday’s Sunshine Millions Preview card was Wildwood’s Beauty, who rallied to a 1 3/4-length decision over Heiressall in the seven-furlong Distaff Preview. The win was the fourth in nine tries this year for the 3-year-old daughter of Kantharos who is trained by Scott Becker for his principal client William Stiritz.
Among those wins was the Sophomore Fillies in March and the Ivanavinalot in May at Tampa Bay Downs.
