Brian House, a trainer who raced primarily in the Midwest and Southwest circuits but who raced for the first time this year in Saratoga, died Friday at his home in Lexington, Ky., after a bout with cancer. He was 58.
According to his wife Stacy, Brian House worked for the legendary trainer Charlie Whittingham when he had Sunday Silence and Ferdinand. Stacy House said her husband was aboard Ferdinand for his last workout before he won the 1986 Kentucky Derby.
Kleptomaniac, second in a division of Sunday’s All American Derby trials at Ruidoso Downs, won a random shake Monday to gain a berth in the $1,077,688 final on Sept. 6.
Kleptomaniac was timed in 21.549 seconds in the 440-yard trial. Perrys Double Down was third in a division of the trials and also recorded a time of 21.549, leading to Monday’s draw.
Kleptomaniac will be a longshot in the All American Derby, a race led by the first three finishers of the Rainbow Derby in July – Cers Final Try, Hotsempting, and Gold Heart Eagle V.
Quarter Horse jockey Vinnie Bednar underwent spinal cord surgery Sunday at USC Medical Center after being involved in a one-horse spill Saturday at Los Alamitos, his friends said. A person familiar with Bednar’s conditions said the rider is under observation and that there is concern about his long-term condition.
Bednar was injured when he was unseated from the 3-year-old filly Peek It Up in an allowance race at 300 yards. Peek It Up held an early lead before she suffered a fatal injury.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Several of the talented runners in trainer Steve Asmussen’s Saratoga barn put in workouts Monday, with arguably the most impressive being turned in by the 2-year-old colt Jackie’s Warrior, who is preparing for the Grade 1 Runhappy Hopeful on Sept. 7.
Jackie’s Warrior worked outside of the of the multiple stakes-winning 4-year-old Nitrous. The pair worked five furlongs in 1:00.15, breaking off at the half-mile pole and going from that point to the wire in 46.72 seconds with Jackie’s Warrior putting a neck up on his mate at the wire.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On Sunday, Rushing Fall gave trainer Chad Brown his fifth straight victory and sixth win overall in Saratoga’s Grade 1 Diana Stakes. In about 10 weeks, Brown hopes Rushing Fall can give him his fifth victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Most of the Southern California-based horses heading to Churchill Downs for races Derby Week are recording their final drills at Del Mar before traveling, but trainer Michael McCarthy is desirous of getting in a work over the track, so his runners, including Kentucky Oaks candidate Speech, were scheduled to fly to Kentucky on Tuesday in order to work at Churchill Downs later this week.
Speech most recently won the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. She figures to be the third choice in the Kentucky Oaks on Sept. 4, behind Swiss Skydiver and Gamine.
DEL MAR, Calif. – A workout for Kentucky Derby contender Authentic had to be aborted shortly after it began early Monday morning at Del Mar owing to a catastrophic ankle injury suffered by another horse working about five furlongs in front of him, which caused warning sirens to go off and the track’s outriders to instruct all riders to immediately pull up their horses.
Bob Baffert, the trainer of Authentic, was watching the work from the grandstand and was in radio contact with exercise rider Juan Ochoa, who was aboard Authentic.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Tacitus has never been the kind of horse that would wow anyone in the morning. As his trainer Bill Mott says, he’ll only work “as fast as his workmate takes him.”
Mott’s workmate of choice here Monday morning was another Juddmonte homebred, the unraced 3-year-old Nubian, who wound up “taking” Tacitus to an average five-furlong clocking of 1:01.75 over the main track. Tacitus worked with blinkers on this week after breezing without blinkers in his previous local works, all over the Oklahoma training track.
Red Lark won her Grade 1 debut in a 19-1 upset in Saturday’s $252,500 Del Mar Oaks. It could be the first of a collection of Grade 1 wins for owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners in the next few months in top-class races for 3-year-old fillies.
On Sunday, Red Lark was under consideration for the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks at 1 1/4 miles on turf on Sept. 19, according to Eclipse president Aron Wellman and trainer Paddy Gallagher. There are options in shorter races, but the Belmont Oaks distance appeals to Gallagher.
Harvest Moon is a filly without an early autumn race goal.
Harvest Moon won her stakes debut in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile at Del Mar on Saturday. In most years, such an improving filly would be considered for the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes, a $1 million race run in late September at Parx Racing.
The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of that race this year and has left trainer Simon Callaghan unsure of what to do with Harvest Moon.
