HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Onlyforyou, a winner of her first four career starts including the Grade 2 Forward Gal and Grade 2 Davona Dale stakes here earlier in the meet, was euthanized Saturday after suffering a condylar fracture while galloping out after a routine workout at Palm Meadows.
Onlyforyou, a 3-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, was owned by Glencrest Farm LLC. She was preparing for a scheduled start in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 29.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Having already won the Fountain of Youth Stakes and earned enough qualifying points to be virtually assured of making it into the Kentucky Derby with Wildcat Red, Jose Garoffalo has a luxury few other trainers have when it comes to preparing their 3-year-olds for Derby preps such as the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 29.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Richard Mandella wanted to give Beholder a freshening after her win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, bring her back in the spring, and point for the major races in the summer and fall, including the Distaff, to be run again at Santa Anita this year.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Jockey Gonzalo Nicolas has been granted a 69-day extension of his apprentice claim after missing more than two months because of injury earlier this year. Nicolas, 23, returned to riding Friday for the first time since suffering a back injury in a spill Jan. 2.
Santa Anita stewards issued a ruling Thursday stating that Nicolas can ride as an apprentice until Oct. 24 or until he has ridden his 40th winner, whichever occurs later. Through Friday, Nicolas had 25 wins.
Nicolas was the leading apprentice at the Hollywood Park autumn meeting last year.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Kristo, third in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 8, is a candidate for the $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 5 as a last-chance prep for the Kentucky Derby, trainer John Sadler said.
Kristo has 1 win in 5 starts and was second in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 11. Sadler said Kristo needs a big performance in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial over 1 1/8 miles to move toward a start at Churchill Downs.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Jockey Patrick Valenzuela told Santa Anita stewards March 9 that his riding career was “done” after he failed to show up to ride Jan. 24-25, and that he wanted to work as an exercise rider for income.
On Friday, the stewards denied that request, stating in a one-page ruling that Valenzuela not be eligible to ride or work as an exercise rider through October 2015, the term of his current jockey’s license.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Samraat and Uncle Sigh, the one-two finishers in both the Grade 3 Withers and Grade 3 Gotham, remain in lockstep, at least as far as their preparation for the $1 million Wood Memorial on April 5 is concerned, as both 3-year-olds returned to the work tab Saturday.
At Belmont Park, Uncle Sigh worked five furlongs in 1:01.79 over the training track, getting his last quarter-mile in 24.01 seconds while under minimal encouragement from exercise rider Nick Santagata. Uncle Sigh galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.08.
Apprentice jockey Courtney Hernandez won the first race of her career Friday night at Delta Downs, when her mount, Mission to Collect, finished in a dead heat for the win with Xstream Heart. The victory came in the fourth race. Hernandez rode Mission to Collect ($10.60) for trainer Shelton Zenon, Jr.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Shug McGaughey and his longtime assistant Buzz Tenney, lifelong friends since attending grade school together in Lexington, Ky., have parted ways following a 29 1/2-year association on the racetrack.
“It came as a surprise, no doubt, when I got the news earlier this week,” Tenney said on Saturday. “It’s been a good go. I always wanted to work around good horses, and by being with Shug, I certainly was given an opportunity to do that.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – There is a two-day pick six carryover of $226,505 for Saturday’s nine-race program at Santa Anita.
Upset wins by Ancient Stone ($40.80) and Boozer ($42.20) in consecutive races Friday clinched the carryover. The pool of new money could exceed $1 million.
Saturday’s pick six covers the fourth through ninth races on a program that begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific.
