It was one of those weekends for trainer Larry Jones. In the first race Sunday, for maiden claimers, his starters ran one-two, and later on that card, 4-year-old The Sandman won his two-turn debut over first-level allowance foes by 7 3/4 lengths.
Saturday had been even better. Jones sent out Hard Aces to win his first stakes in the $75,000 Louisiana Handicap, and a couple races later, his trainee I’m a Chatterbox impressively won the listed Silverbulletday Stakes.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Monday was a memorable afternoon at Gulfstream Park for trainer Jane Cibelli – and especially her loyal backers. Cibelli sent out Dude About Town to win the sixth race at a $51.20 mutuel, then came right back to take the eighth with Nic N Jr ($47.60).
“It was a good day,” said Cibelli, a native of England who has won 610 races in an American training career that began in 1987. “The most I’ve ever won in a day is three.”
A $1 pick three that bookended the two Cibelli winners (with a 5-1 shot in the middle) returned $5,793.
ARCADIA, Calif. – San Onofre zoomed through the early months of the 2013-14 Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, winning three times in less than 60 days. It seemed to be the start of an exciting 4-year-old campaign for the gelding until he was sidelined with injury.
In the last two weeks, Lucy’s Bob Boy has been scheduled to start twice. One race was canceled due to inclement weather, and he missed the other because of his strong dislike of traveling by van.
The Jan. 7 Blue Ridge Handicap at Charles Town looked to be a perfect spot for Lucy’s Bob Boy, a winner of 21 of 28 starts at the West Virginia track, and he was made the 2-5 morning-line choice. Unfortunately, the card was scrapped due to wind-chill concerns.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A huge Saturday for 3-year-olds is on tap at Gulfstream, with fields for five stakes for sophomores having been drawn Monday.
The main event is the Grade 2, $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile race that leads to the Feb. 21 Fountain of Youth and March 28 Florida Derby. Likely favorites in a field of 10 are Upstart, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and Frosted, second in the Remsen Stakes.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Pleuven figures to be returning to graded stakes competition after rallying to a one-length optional-claiming win over Gulfstream Park turf on Saturday. The outing was the first for Pleuven since his fourth-place finish here nearly 11 months earlier in the Grade 3 Palm Beach.
Pleuven, 4, began his career in his native France before joining trainer Chad Brown’s stable near the end of his 2-year-old campaign. He finished third in the Grade 3 Dania Beach in December 2013 in his U.S. debut.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Peter Walder said he has no immediate plans for Sr. Quisqueyano, the 20-1 winner of the Sunshine Millions Classic on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, although he said the Donn Handicap is out of the question.
“We’re just enjoying this one,” Walder said Monday. “We’re in Miami for the winter, right? It’s a good time and place to enjoy a victory like this.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Upstart and Frosted are the top names among a field of 10 entered in Gulfstream Park’s first Kentucky Derby points race of the year, the Grade 2, $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes on Saturday.
Upstart, third behind Texas Red and Carpe Diem in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his last start, was confirmed as a starter Sunday by trainer Rick Violette after a six-furlong workout in 1:12.20 at the Palm Meadows training center.
CYPRESS, Calif. – In his first workout since being named 2014 Horse of the Year and winning the Eclipse Award for outstanding 3-year-old male on Saturday, California Chrome worked seven furlongs in 1:27.20 at Los Alamitos on Monday. He went well in hand under jockey Victor Espinoza, continuing to impress trainer Art Sherman in advance of a scheduled comeback in the $500,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7.
OLDSMAR, Fla. – When Roma’s Sister rallied inside through the late stages of Sunday’s opener to upset the heavily favored Fiesta Rose, the win was emblematic of trainer Gerald Bennett’s approach to life and training horses.
“I hate to lose, and I love to upset the status quo,” Bennett quipped not long ago.
