Bal a Bali will undergo a nuclear scan before a decision is made on his future as trainer Richard Mandella tries to figure out why he ran so poorly Sunday in the Del Mar Mile, in which he finished last of six.
“He looks fine. We’ve gone over him with a fine-toothed comb,” Mandella said. “We’ll check him out, put him through a scan.”
Mike Smith, the Hall of Fame jockey, has pledged 1 percent of his earnings from his mounts on Saturday at Saratoga to the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, which funds research into equine health issues, according to the foundation.
Smith, who is based in Southern California, has several high-profile mounts Saturday, including champion Songbird in the Grade 1, $700,000 Personal Ensign and West Coast in the $1.25 million Travers. He is named on two other horses in stakes races scheduled for that day.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Led by the undefeated, stakes-winning Run Away, three of the top contenders for the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 4 all worked on Tuesday at Del Mar.
Run Away, who won the Best Pal in his most recent start to run his record to 3 for 3, went five furlongs in 1:00.20 under exercise rider Serafin Carmona while never appearing to get out of a high lope. His owner, Kaleem Shah, was among those in attendance for the work.
“Really, really nice,” trainer Simon Callaghan said after watching the drill. “He’s doing great and he loves this track.”
Nik Juarez, runaway leader of the Monmouth Park jockey standings, will begin riding in New York when Belmont Park opens Sept. 8, according to Juarez and his new agent, Ron Anderson.
Juarez will ride at Belmont and Aqueduct through fall and then return to Florida, where he has ridden with success since January 2016. At the last Gulfstream Park winter meet, Juarez tied for fourth in the standings with Javier Castellano, trailing only Luis Saez, Paco Lopez, and Tyler Gaffalione.
"I'm taking a leap of faith," Juarez said about riding in New York.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Ian Wilkes had been wavering on whether to work McCraken one more time or simply give him an extended gallop five days out from Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
On Sunday at Saratoga, Blue Prize missed winning the Summer Colony Stakes by a nose, a tough beat that her trainer, Ignacio Correas, watched from across the country. Correas had traveled to Del Mar, where he saddled the Argentine import Le Ken in his U.S. debut, the Del Mar Mile.
Correas still was in California on Monday, but Tuesday he was flying to New York to run another horse at Saratoga. All this, and Correas’s main string is stabled at Keeneland, with a satellite string at Arlington.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In response to a rash of equine fatalities during the Saratoga meet, state racing regulators and officials have implemented additional protocols they hope will enhance equine safety.
The New York State Gaming Commission has stationed an additional regulatory veterinarian on the grounds of Saratoga during training hours. This person ensures that a veterinary presence exists to view horses during busy training hours and confirm that any incidents are appropriately documented and managed.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Entering 1997, Bill Mott was coming off a year in which he guided Cigar to a second straight Horse of the Year title, won his second straight Eclipse Award as leading trainer, and won the fourth of his nine Saratoga training titles. Todd Pletcher was about to start his second full year of training. Chad Brown was 18 years old.
Over the last two decades, Pletcher has become the all-time leading trainer in purse money won, and Brown has developed one of the top barns in the country. Mott, 64, in his words, “just keeps plugging along.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Finley’sluckycharm, beaten a neck by Paulassilverlining in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss, will not make Saturday’s Grade 1 Ballerina due to swelling in a leg that caused her to miss some training time, trainer Bret Calhoun said.
Calhoun said Finley’sluckycharm was scheduled to work Aug. 9, but he noticed the swelling, and though a bone scan came back negative, she missed a few days of training.
“It was very minor, but [I] obviously had to stop and figure it out,” Calhoun said.
