Thu, 06/21/2018 - 15:06

Suspensory issue ends Mongolian Saturday's race career

Emily Shields
Mongolian Saturday, who won the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in 2015, retires with more than $1.2 million in earnings.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Mongolian Saturday, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland in 2015, has run his last race.

Trainer Enebish Ganbat said Thursday that Mongolian Saturday has developed a suspensory issue that has forced retirement. Ganbat said Mongolian Saturday will be sent to his farm in Kentucky.

Thu, 06/21/2018 - 15:00

Marathon programs end spring-summer meet

Barbara D. Livingston
Santa Anita will wrap up its spring-summer meeting with more than 20 races over two days.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita is ending its spring-summer meeting this weekend with marathon racing programs.

Saturday’s program has 12 races and will begin at noon to accommodate an early afternoon ceremony honoring Triple Crown winner Justify. Sunday’s closing-day program is expected to have “10 or 11” races, according to Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of the track’s parent company, The Stronach Group.

Los Alamitos opens its three-week summer meeting Thursday.

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 15:36

Rivelli high on debut winner Strong Will

Coady Photography
Strong Will wins his career debut by 2 1/2 lengths last Sunday.

There have been three 2-year-old races at this Arlington meet, and leading trainer Larry Rivelli has won them all. The most recent came Sunday, when Strong Will, the 1-5 favorite, prevailed by 2 1/2 lengths.

Strong Will was the first winner for freshman sire Strong Mandate and cost owner Carolyn Wilson $775,000 at a 2-year-old auction this spring. He has been described by his trainer as “a man among boys.” He failed to win by an especially wide margin, but Rivelli believes the colt won despite the race’s 4 1/2-furlong distance, not because of it.

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 15:36

Mr. Jagermeister gets green light for Mystic Lake Derby

Coady Photography
Despite being a 3-year-old facing older, Mr. Jagermeister wins the 10,000 Lakes Stakes by 8 1/2 lengths under Leandro Goncalves on Saturday.

Mr. Jagermeister is a go for the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby on Saturday, the richest race of the Canterbury Park season. But so, too, are a slew of other 3-year-olds. Fourteen were entered Wednesday for the one-mile turf race.

Mr. Jagermeister is a Minnesota-bred of rare quality, but what that means for the Mystic Lake Derby is hard to say. The race will be his first on turf and his first around two turns, and he was only confirmed for it after working an easy half-mile on turf Sunday at Canterbury.

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 14:20

Stone Hands in sharp form for San Carlos

Shigeki Kikkawa
Stone Hands will make his graded stakes debut Saturday in Santa Anita's San Carlos Stakes.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Stone Hands was beaten 15 lengths in his stakes debut in the Shared Belief Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile at Del Mar last summer.

Stone Hands has not raced at a mile since then. He has been in brilliant form in sprint races leading to his graded stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita. The $250,000 San Carlos Stakes is run at seven furlongs.

Trained by Doug O’Neill for Paul and Zillah Reddam, Stone Hands has won optional claimers in his last two starts, at 5 1/2 furlongs on May 4 and 6 1/2 furlongs on May 28.

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 14:16

Parsimony could add to O'Neill's 2-year-old tally

Shigeki Kikkawa
Parsimony, runner-up in his debut, will make his second start in Friday's fourth race at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The 2-year-old colt Parsimony, who starts in Friday’s fourth race, has six stablemates of his age that won a maiden race at the spring-summer meeting at Santa Anita.

The success of those 2-year-olds is a main reason why Doug O’Neill led all trainers through Sunday with 29 wins at the meeting.

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 14:06

Justify settling back in at Santa Anita

Barbara D. Livingston
Triple Crown winner Justify was paraded at Churchill Downs on Saturday and arrived back at Santa Anita on Sunday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Justify had a quiet morning of being walked at trainer Bob Baffert’s stable at Santa Anita on Wednesday.There may be several days like that in the next few weeks for the Triple Crown winner.

With Justify not expected to start until late July at the earliest, Baffert said on Wednesday that the colt will have a slow training schedule for the rest of this month.

“We’ll go easy for the next two weeks off and on,” Baffert said.

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 13:26

Large field likely for Princess Rooney; small cast for Smile Sprint

Leslie Martin/Coglianese Photos
My Miss Tapit, ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, is now 2 for 2 after scoring by 1 1/4 lengths in the Game Face.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Todd Pletcher has never been a big fan of the Summit of Speed and typically has declined to ship horses from New York to South Florida to compete in the event amid the summer heat.

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 11:40

Steve Hamilton sidelined with back pain

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Steve Hamilton returned to riding in 2016 after a 10-year hiatus.

Laurel Park rider Steve Hamilton is sidelined with lower back pain, according to his agent, Ben Feliciano Sr. Hamilton, who has not ridden since June 10, was scheduled to see a specialist Wednesday.

Hamilton has been having back pain since he went down in a spill at the Laurel Park winter meet, according to Feliciano. The Laurel meet concluded May 6.

“He’s been in a lot of pain,” Feliciano said. “We talked it over and decided to find out exactly what’s going on rather than him just trying to ride through it.”

Wed, 06/20/2018 - 11:36

Monmouth sees notable business increase on Father's Day card

Monmouth Park had a very successful Father’s Day from a business standpoint, with attendance, ontrack betting, and all-sources handle up markedly from last year.

Father’s Day is the second most heavily attended program of the Monmouth season after the Haskell Invitational card. Last year, announced attendance was 18,527 and $830,730 was wagered ontrack on Monmouth’s races. All-sources handle on Monmouth’s card was more than $4.1 million.