Fri, 06/15/2018 - 15:00

Disco Partner, Pure Sensation look to repeat in stakes ahead of Breeders' Cup

Debra A. Roma
Disco Partner wins the Jaipur Stakes at Belmont Park on June 9.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Christophe Clement has laid out a tentative plan to get Disco Partner and Pure Sensation – the first- and third-place finishers from the Grade 2 Jaipur on June 9 – to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint this fall at Churchill Downs.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 14:56

Delaware Handicap or Shuvee options for Elate's return

Barbara D. Livingston
Elate earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 98 in the Alabama.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Bill Mott is still figuring out where to bring the Grade 1 winner Elate back to the races. After he decided to skip Saturday’s Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs, Mott basically is deciding between the Grade 2, $700,000 Delaware Handicap on July 14 and the Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Handicap on July 29 at Saratoga.

The main summer objective for Elate is the Grade 1, $700,000 Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Aug. 25.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 14:56

Catholic Boy drills for Belmont Derby

Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Catholic Boy (left) holds off Analyze It to win the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge at Belmont on Saturday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Catholic Boy, the winner of the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge here on June 2, returned to the work tab Friday, breezing a half-mile in 50.76 seconds over the Oklahoma turf course at Saratoga in preparation for the Grade 1, $1.2 million Belmont Derby on July 7 at Belmont Park.

Trainer Jonathan Thomas said the fact that he worked Catholic Boy on Friday is an indication of how well the horse came out of the Pennine Ridge.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 14:16

Fincher, DiVito, Wilkes plan Del Mar stables

Emily Shields
Trainer Todd Fincher says he will keep about 10 horses at Del Mar this season.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Todd Fincher, a leading trainer in New Mexico, and James DiVito and Ian Wilkes, who are based in Kentucky, will have stables at Del Mar for the first time this summer, Del Mar track officials said earlier this week.

Fincher said Thursday that he plans to send approximately 10 horses to Del Mar, the first time he will race in California.

“I’ve always trained mostly New Mexico-breds, but we’ve started to branch out in the open market,” Fincher said.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 14:10

Hansen slowly rebuilding stable after San Luis Rey fire

ARCADIA, Calif. – More than six months after losing half of his stable in the devastating wildfire that struck San Luis Rey Downs, trainer Scott Hansen won for the first time since September in Thursday’s fifth race at Santa Anita.

Frankie Machine ($37.60) won a $30,000 claiming race for maidens at a mile. For Hansen, Frankie Machine was his seventh starter of the year. The stable has slowly been rebuilt in recent months after losing 15 of its 30 horses in the fire last December.

“It’s been a struggle,” Hansen said after leaving the winner’s circle.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 14:10

Sharp Samurai auditions for Eddie Read Stakes

Shigeki Kikkawa
Sharp Samurai has won 6 of 10 starts and earned $483,870.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Sharp Samurai was a length from ending 2017 with five consecutive stakes wins on turf.

The winning streak stretched from June to late October and included two Grade 2 races – the Del Mar Derby and Twilight Derby – before ending with a fourth-place finish behind Mo Town in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby last November.

By any measure, the campaign was a success, leading to high hopes for 2018.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 12:40

Kentucky Downs to transfer purse money to three other in-state tracks

Ryan Thompson/Kentucky Downs
Kentucky Downs intends to transfer $1.5 million in purse money to Ellis Park, Keeneland, and Churchill Downs.

Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., plans to transfer a total of $1.5 million in purse money to three other tracks on the Kentucky circuit, the tracks and the state’s horsemen’s group announced on Thursday.

Ellis Park, Keeneland, and Churchill Downs will each receive $500,000 from Kentucky Downs, according to the announcement. The transfer will need the approval of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, but the organization’s executive director, Marty Maline, was part of the team that negotiated the transfers, and approval is considered to be highly likely.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 11:56

Paolucci sweeps Single 6 for $549,775

Coady Photography
Ron Moquett, recovering from an illness, is 15th on the list of top earners among North American trainers in 2018.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A single perfect ticket worth $549,775 emptied the Single 6 jackpot Thursday at Churchill, marking the first time that has happened since the May 5 Kentucky Derby.

Ron Paolucci, the well-known horse owner who campaigns as Loooch Racing, said Friday he purchased the winner at the Northfield Park harness facility in his hometown of Cleveland. Paolucci said he spent a total of about $3,500 to hit it and produced a photo of the winning ticket, which cost $1,764.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 11:46

Metropolitan Mile runners regroup

Emily Shields
Limousine Liberal (right) wins the Churchill Downs Stakes on May 5.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The trainers of the third- and sixth-place finishers in the Met Mile, Limousine Liberal and McCraken, both said they’re mulling their horse’s next start. Each horse has returned to his Kentucky base.

Trainer Ben Colebrook said from Keeneland that he will probably look at the seven-furlong Belmont Sprint on July 7 for Limousine Liberal.

“He ran a big race and it looks like he’ll stay the mile,” Colebrook said.

Fri, 06/15/2018 - 11:36

Bee Jersey has no definite race agenda

Ronnie Betor
Bee Jersey wins the Metropolitan Mile last weekend at Belmont.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bee Jersey returned to Churchill Downs following his victory in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile last Saturday at Belmont Park but has no definite next race on his agenda, trainer Steve Asmussen said Friday.

“We’ll see how he trains and won’t be in any hurry with him,” Asmussen said.

Likewise, Tenfold, the fifth-place finisher behind Justify in the Belmont Stakes, is back at Churchill with no particular race on his schedule, said Asmussen.