Fri, 10/11/2013 - 11:58

Woodbine notes: Baker has trio for Nearctic Stakes

Michael Burns
Fatal Bullet scores by 2 1/4 lengths in Sunday's Bold Venture at Woodbine.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Reade Baker will send out three Bear Stables runners in Sunday’s Grade 1 Nearctic Stakes at six furlongs on turf, and he said Fatal Bullet, Bear No Joke, and Bear Tough Tiger all are capable of making their presence felt in the $300,000 race, which is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

“I’ve been pointing all three for the Nearctic,” Baker said. “I gave them all a break at the training center. Every one of them’s perfect.”

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 15:24

Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Tightend Touchdown is contender

Barbara D. Livingston
Tightend Touchdown scored a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure for his 5 1/2-length win in the Pennsylvania Governor's Cup on June 1 at Penn National.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Tightend Touchdown, who has gone from $35,000 claimer to stakes winner, will be pointed to the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, trainer Jason Servis said Thursday.

Tightend Touchdown, a 4-year-old gelding by Pure Precision, won the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup at Penn National in June. He since has finished second in three consecutive turf stakes, including the Grade 3 Turf Monster at Parx on Labor Day.

“His last two races were on soft turf, and when he gets firm, he likes it a lot better,” Servis said. “He’s been real good for us.”

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 15:02

Belmont Park notes: Honor Code to skip Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Barbara D. Livingston
Champagne runner-up Honor Code will skip the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with an eye toward his 3-year-old season.

ELMONT, N.Y. – With an eye toward next year, trainer Shug McGaughey is taking a conservative route for the rest of Honor Code’s 2-year-old campaign.

McGaughey said Thursday that Honor Code, the runner-up to Havana in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 5, will skip the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on Nov. 2 and instead be pointed to the Grade 2, $400,000 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct on Nov. 30.

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 14:52

Santa Anita: Gomez taken off all mounts

Barbara D. Livingston
Garrett Gomez, out since July14, was set to resume riding races Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Garrett Gomez, who missed part of the summer while dealing with issues related to alcoholism, took off his mounts at Santa Anita on Thursday, and was later removed from his mounts for the rest of the racing week by track stewards, pending a hearing regarding his absence.

Gomez’s agent, Tony Matos, met with track stewards at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday to discuss the situation. Matos later that said Gomez sent him a text message on Thursday morning, stating, “Take me off the horses. I’m not going to ride for the time being.”

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 13:09

Hastings notes: Jebrica ready to seek revenge in British Columbia Premiers

Benoit & Associates
Jebrica, who won the British Columbia Premiers in 2011 but missed by a head last year, will attempt to return to the winner’s circle after this year’s renewal at Hastings Monday.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Jebrica has had a productive year running at mostly Emerald Downs, where he won the $50,000 Budweiser and finished third three times. His best race for veteran trainer Jim Penney might have been in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile, where he finished a close fourth behind Herbie D.

Thu, 10/10/2013 - 12:46

Woodbine: Joshua Tree possible for Canadian International

Michael Burns
Two-time Canadian International winner Joshua Tree will retire at the end of 2013 and stand in France.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Joshua Tree, winner of Woodbine’s Grade 1 Canadian International in 2010 and 2012 and second in the 2011 running, is under consideration for this year’s renewal, the Woodbine media department reported Thursday.

The $1 million Canadian International, a 1 1/2-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up, attracted 17 nominees, while 24 fillies and mares were listed for the same day’s E.P. Taylor Stakes, a Grade 1, $500,000 stakes at 1 1/4 miles on the grass.

Wed, 10/09/2013 - 17:09

Santa Anita: Jeranimo keeps options open

Benoit & Associates
Jeranimo, who won the Grade 1 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar in July, will be pre-entered for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and the $2 million BC Mile.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jeranimo, winner of the Grade 1 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar in July, will be pre-entered for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and the $2 million BC Mile on turf.

Trainer Mike Pender said earlier this week that by pre-entering for both races “we can see what each one shapes up like.”

Owned by B.J. Wright and Robert LaPenta, Jeranimo, 7, finished ninth in his last two starts – the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 25 and the $250,000 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 28. The Eddie Read Stakes in his most recent race on turf.

Wed, 10/09/2013 - 15:21

Belmont: Rain may keep Za Approval, Ruthenia from running in stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Christophe Clement does not want to run Za Approval in Saturday's Knickerbocker if the turf is soft.

Trainer Christophe Clement entered a pair of contenders in both of Saturday’s graded turf stakes at Belmont Park, but given the forecast it is uncertain whether either will run.

In Za Approval, Clement would have the horse to beat in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. But the forecast for rain Thursday and Friday and the likelihood of less than firm ground Saturday could result in him scratching the horse.

Already this year, Clement has scratched Za Approval from the Fourstardave and Bernard Baruch, a pair of Grade 2 events at Saratoga.

Wed, 10/09/2013 - 14:12

Belmont: Rosario eager to resume riding Friday

Tom Keyser
Joel Rosario, sidelined since Aug. 23 with a broken foot, has three mounts on Friday's card at Belmont.

ELMONT, N.Y. – There is never a good time for a jockey to get injured, but the timing of Joel Rosario’s broken foot could not have been worse.

On Aug. 23, Rosario was injured when his mount, Casual Elegance, stumbled past the finish line, unseating him, resulting in a broken bone in his foot. The following day, Rosario was scheduled to ride Kentucky Derby winner Orb in the $1 million Travers at Saratoga. The day after that, he was named to ride Game On Dude, the leading older horse in the country, in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar.