HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Kazushi Kimura, the 2019 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey, worked a horse for trainer Bill Tharrenos Friday morning at Gulfstream Park and plans to ride locally until returning to his home base at Woodbine prior to the opening of the 2020 season on April 18.
Kimura said because of visa restrictions, he is only permitted to accept mounts from Canadian-based horsemen while in South Florida.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Mike Maker is a new face this meet at Oaklawn, having set up a 20-horse division.
Maker joked that his stable at Oaklawn, which does not have a grass course, is “very turf heavy.”
Bringing horses to Oaklawn was appealing for a couple of reasons, said Maker.
“I’ve got some great clients that live in Arkansas that like to race there,” he said. “The purses don’t hurt, either.”
Dot Matrix is back home at Fair Grounds following his win last Sunday in the Grade 3, $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston.
Options for his next start include the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic on March 21 at Fair Grounds and the Grade 2, $250,000 Elkhorn on April 18 at Keeneland, said trainer Brad Cox.
“We may just wait for the Elkhorn or we may shorten him back up,” Cox said. “He’s good anywhere from a mile and a sixteenth and beyond.”
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – In a new program instituted by Oaklawn Park, a portion of claiming revenues this meet will be set aside for aftercare programs.
“We’re pushing to make sure everyone knows our athletes, when they’re done on the racetrack, that they have another life,” said Pat Pope, racing secretary at Oaklawn.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Vekoma, unraced since finishing 13th (and being placed 12th) in the Kentucky Derby last May, is being pointed to a return to action “in the back half of March,” said trainer George Weaver.
Vekoma posted his first two works on Jan. 20 and 28 since resuming training at Palm Beach.
“We’ll start getting into more serious training now,” said Weaver. “I’m sure we’ll start him back in a one-turn race, probably going six or seven furlongs.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Diamond Oops, fourth in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup last Saturday at Gulfstream, will return to one-turn races for the foreseeable future and is being pointed to the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on April 4 at Aqueduct, said trainer Patrick Biancone.
“We’re going back to six or seven furlongs,” said Biancone. “He won’t run again until the Carter,” a $400,000 race at seven furlongs.
Diamond Oops, a 5-year-old gelding, won the seven-furlong Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream two starts back, earning a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Gouverneur Morris will ship from his Florida base to make his 3-year-old debut in the Feb. 17 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park looking to score points on the Kentucky Derby trail.
Barry Irwin, whose Team Valor International partnership owns Gouverneur Morris with WinStar Farm, said the Constitution colt is flourishing in his training for Todd Pletcher at the Palm Beach Downs training center in Delray Beach, Fla.
Golden Gate Fields, forced to cancel Thursday's racing because of a gas leak, announced Thursday it would have to cancel racing as well as simulcasting for the remainder of the week.
General manager David Duggan said that to repair the leak on Thursday, the utility company had to shut off the gas. When it re-pressured the line, it damaged pipes that supply hot water for the facility, which is located in Albany on the shore of San Francisco Bay.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Bricks and Mortar found himself in a tussle with an unexpected rival in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita in November. In a talented field of 12, United, the 51-1 longest shot in the field, led in the stretch and challenged Bricks and Mortar to the wire before finishing second by a head.
With Bricks and Mortar retired to stud, United can take a leading role in the turf marathon division this year. It won’t be long before owners Larry, Nancy, and Jaime Roth and trainer Richard Mandella know where United stands.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The big guns in the handicap division are skipping the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, but they will not be missed.
Without notables McKinzie, Mucho Gusto, Gift Box, or Higher Power, the 1 1/8-mile San Pasqual must stand on its own. No problem.
An evenly matched field of 10 entered the San Pasqual, an appealing race for bettors and one that will determine who takes on Gift Box in the Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.
