ARCADIA, Calif. – Mitole will have been off for more than two months when he goes in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 2, so his connections desired getting a sharp work into him in preparation for a race that is shaping up as the strongest of the two-day festival.
On Tuesday morning at Santa Anita, they got all that, and more.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Eurico Da Silva said he’s looking forward to riding El Tormenta in the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. Trained by Gail Cox, El Tormenta earned a fees-paid berth for the Grade 1 turf event when taking the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile here in September.
“He’s trained very well,” Da Silva said. “Gail’s doing everything right for the horse. I think he’s going to run big. If I didn’t think he had a shot, I would not go.”
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The career of two-time Canadian champion female turf horse Starship Jubilee is winding down, and she should be a Sovereign Award finalist for Canadian Horse of the Year off her recent victory in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes.
Relentless Dancer has established himself as a Louisiana-bred of note – and he’s made just three starts. The talented son of Midshipman won his stakes debut Saturday night, cruising to a 10 1/2-length win in the $100,000 Louisiana Legacy at Delta Downs.
The score came on the heels of a 9 3/4-length win in a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. For both races, Relentless Dancer earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 82. He won over 6 1/2 furlongs in the maiden race and over seven furlongs in the Legacy.
Apprentice jockey Paulina Ramirez and her mount, St Teresa, left those watching a maiden race for 2-year-old fillies last Wednesday at Delta Downs gasping. The pair seemed home free in the stretch drive when St Teresa ducked into the rail, nearly unseating Ramirez. The rider clung to St Teresa’s neck before dramatically swinging back up into the saddle.
“I was very scared,” said Ramirez, 22.
“The only thing that kept me up was that my foot stayed on top of the saddle.”
Ramirez and St Teresa managed to save third. The filly was making the second start of her career.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Chester and Mary Broman were the stars of Saturday’s Empire Showcase Day program, winning three races with horses they bred, two of which they also owned, including Empire Classic winner Mr. Buff.
Thursday, in the second race at Belmont Park, the Bromans’s breeding program will be showcased again when Chestertown, a colt who brought $2 million at the OBS March 2-year-olds in training sale, makes his highly anticipated debut.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Russ Childs saddled his first winner at Santa Anita on Saturday when Navy Queen won a maiden special weight on turf.
Childs, 50, has a seven-horse stable at Los Alamitos and 16 runners based in Utah. He said after Saturday’s win that he plans to expand his stable in California and has clients who have invested in higher-quality runners that can compete on this circuit.
Childs has trained at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.
Los Alamitos has scheduled five stakes for its two-week winter meeting, which runs from Dec. 5-15, including the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes for fillies and mares, which was not run in 2018.
The highlights of the meeting are the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity for 2-year-olds, both on Dec. 7. Both races are run at 1 1/16 miles. The Starlet has a purse of $300,000, while the Los Alamitos Futurity is worth $200,000.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Flavien Prat, the leading rider in Southern California this year, will ride Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, according to his agent, Derek Lawson.
The Breeders’ Cup Distaff is run at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares.
:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, and more
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Restless Rider, whose return to racing was delayed Saturday when she was scratched from the Raven Run, will be out of training “a week or two” after grabbing her left front quarter in training last week, said trainer Kenny McPeek.
“She nicked herself over a sloppy track one morning last week,” said McPeek. “It’s very minor and far from her heart. I just want her 100 percent comfortable before we make any decisions about a next start.”
