After Gun Runner’s timed workout Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds, trainer Steve Asmussen said the colt would make his 3-year-old debut in either the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park or the Risen Star at Fair Grounds, but following Gun Runner’s work on Monday, Asmussen said Gun Runner will start Feb. 20 in the Risen Star.
The decision came in part because Gun Runner’s in-company, five-furlong drill in 1:00.20 on Monday so impressed Asmussen.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The cancellation of racing over the weekend because of the storm means there will be stakes doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at Aqueduct.
In addition to the Grade 3 Withers, Saturday’s card will include the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan for older sprinters. The Toboggan, featuring a showdown between Grade 1 Carter one-two finishers Dads Caps and Green Gratto, has been postponed twice now due to weather. It was originally scheduled for Jan. 18, then for last Sunday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After a weekend blizzard forced the cancellation of training Saturday and Sunday, horsemen were happy to be able to get their horses to the track Monday. Furthermore, trainers at Aqueduct and Belmont Park lauded the condition of both surfaces and the job done by track maintenance to get them in such good shape.
“The track was beautiful – very, very nice,” said Rudy Rodriguez, who breezed about a dozen horses over Aqueduct’s inner track Monday morning. “I don’t see the track in this good a shape for a long time.”
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Tepin, who won an Eclipse Award as North America’s top female turf runner of 2015, moved closer to her 5-year-old debut by breezing five furlongs in 1:01.65 under Julien Leparoux at Palm Meadows on Monday. Tepin is being pointed toward the Grade 3, $150,000 Endeavour Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for older fillies and mares at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 13.
Trainer Mark Casse said Tepin galloped out six furlongs in about 1:13 and pulled up seven-eighths in about 1:28.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – While the Holy Bull is the main attraction here this weekend, it isn’t the only important 3-year-old prep on tap in the days ahead. Friday’s main event, an entry-level optional-claiming race at a mile, has drawn a stellar field led by Shagaf, Rally Cry, and Bar None.
“Whoever wins this race might turn out to be one of the [Florida] Derby favorites,” said Mark Casse, who trains Bar None for Richard Pell.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There were 11 “Conquest” horses on Sunday’s work tab at the Palm Meadows training center, including Conquest Big E, who will launch his 3-year-old campaign as one of the favorites in Saturday’s Grade 2 Holy Bull.
“If you thought there were a lot of Conquests on the work tab, wait until you see the entries this weekend,” quipped Mark Casse, who trains all those Conquest horses for one of his principal owners, Conquest Stables LLC.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Jockey Stewart Elliott, best known for winning the 2004 Kentucky Derby on Smarty Jones, resumes riding for the first time since October 2014 on Speed Saver in Thursday’s first race at Santa Anita.
Speed Saver is part of a field of seven in a $50,000 claimer for maidens at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Elliott, 50, sustained a rib injury at Del Mar in August 2014, and rode at Keeneland that fall. He did not ride in 2015. Last year, Elliott said he was in business with trainer Tevis McCauley on a deer lodge property in Kentucky.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Watching Tristan’s Trilogy finish fourth in a maiden race on turf at Santa Anita on Saturday was a painful experience for trainer Peter Miller.
Minutes before the race, Tristan’s Trilogy stepped on one of Miller’s feet in the saddling area. Miller was attending to Tristan’s Trilogy’s feet when the colt became fractious and lunged forward, landing on Miller’s foot.
Miller was briefly hospitalized on Saturday afternoon after undergoing X-rays. He was diagnosed with a broken big toe and released early that evening.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Gary Sherlock resisted taking part in an elaborate evening celebration after the upset win by Lost Bus in Saturday’s $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita.
“I went home and went to bed after the last race,” Sherlock said.
Sherlock, who turned 70 earlier this month, was a bit subdued in the winner’s circle, fighting the effects of the flu.
Sunday morning, Sherlock said he felt slightly better. Watching the former claimer Lost Bus win the Grade 2 Santa Monica certainly helped revive his energy.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Las Virgenes Stakes on Feb. 6 at Santa Anita will not be a walkover for the champion 2-year-old filly of 2015.
Grade 1 winner Street Fancy worked a fast five furlongs under Victor Espinoza on Sunday, as she prepares to take on undefeated Eclipse Award winner Songbird in the Las Virgenes. The one-mile race will mark the 2016 debut for both fillies.
