A REAL JEWEL – GEMOLOGIST won his season debut yesterday Gulfstream with a 95 Beyer Figure – he is unbeaten and looking like a serious Kentucky Derby contender for WinStar
RETURN OF GRACE
Just be fun to watch her return, but 5 horse field is not much of a betting event…
http://www.nola.com/horseracing/index.ssf/2012/03/havre_de_grace_to_face_four_ri.html
REBEL REBEL
Oaklawn Park’s big Kentucky Derby prep is today’s REBEL STAKES – needing to get the rust out of the handicapping…THOROUGHBLOG and JAKE are going for JAKE MO!!
FROM NBC SPORTS
BY KELLIE REILEY
Although Kentucky Derby fever hasn’t quite reached the level of March Madness just yet, the trail is heating up, and a few important questions could be answered in Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Here’s what to look for in this final local prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 14.
The Rebel revolves around Southern California shipper SECRET CIRCLE, who will try to hand Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his third straight win in this race. No one doubts this colt’s talent. He’s won four of five, missed by only a half-length in his lone defeat, and has racked up triple-digit BRIS Speed ratings in every start.
Rather, there is some question about his ability to handle added distance. Secret Circle has shown tremendous early speed in his races, most notably when capturing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint. When stretching out to a mile for the first time in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, however, he was run down late by Out of Bounds (now off the trail with an injury).
Secret Circle shipped to Oaklawn to get another chance at a mile, in the second division of the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on February 20, and passed that test. While Secret Circle’s time was a full second faster than the first division, he had to work harder than expected to outduel SCATMAN by a hard-fought half-length. Secret Circle drifted out a bit down the short stretch, which ends at the sixteenth-pole in one-mile races.
http://www.nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46752247/ns/sports-horse_racing/
Saturday, Oaklawn Park, post time: 6:48 p.m. EDT
REBEL S.-GII, $500,000, 3yo, 1 1/16m
PP HORSE OWNER BREEDER TRAINER/JOCKEY ML
1 Unbridled’s Note K Mike McCarty Gulf Coast Farms/Unbridled’s Song Synd-KY Asmussen 20-1
(c, Unbridled’s Song–Siberian Fur, by Siberian Express) Hill
2 Scatman K Jeog Racing LLC Jeog Racing LLC-KY Lauer 8-1
(c, Scat Daddy–Hit It Here Cafe, by Grand Slam) Quinonez
3 Cyber Secret K Charles J Cella Paragon Farms LLC-KY Whiting 15-1
(c, Broken Vow–Stomping, by Dixieland Band) Albarado
4 Optimizer Bluegrass Hall LLC Bluegrass Hall LLC-KY Lukas 30-1
(c, English Channel–Indy Pick, by A.P. Indy) Court
5 Jake Mo Stephen R Brown E H Beau Lane III-KY Milligan 20-1
(c, Giacomo–Credit Approval, by With Approval) Berry
6 Sabercat K Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC Lantern Hill Fm/W J Punk Jr/Lighthouse-KY Asmussen 5-1
(c, Bluegrass Cat–Miner’s Blessing, by Forty Niner) Nakatani
7 Secret Circle K K Watson/M Pegram/P Weitman Willmott Stables-KY Baffert 9-5
(c, Eddington–Ragtime Hope, by Dixieland Band) Bejarano
8 Atigun K Shortleaf Stable Brereton C Jones-KY McPeek 12-1
(c, Istan–Rimini Road, by Dynaformer) Thompson
9 Reckless Jerry Dream Walkin Farms Inc/Lanita Davis Dream Walkin Farms Inc/Lanita Davis-KY Smith 12-1
(c, Cactus Ridge–Miss Moneywise, by Crafty Prospector) Rocco Jr
10a Ring It Up James McIngvale Clover IV Stables-KY Richard 20-1
(c, Toccet–Noontime Angel, by Successful Appeal) Wade
11a Pee H Dee K James McIngvale Omega Fm/B D Gibbs Fm/Chancey Mill Fm-KY Richard 20-1
(c, Tale of the Cat–Trillion Wing {GB}, by In the Wings {GB}) Ocampo
12 Najjaar Shadwell Stable Shadwell Farm LLC-KY Peitz 6-1
(c, Jazil–Hasheema {Ire}, by Darshaan {GB}) Borel
13 Adirondack King K Marchfore Thoroughbreds
(c, Lawyer Ron–Jostle, by Brocco) Elliott
ANOTHER VICTORY FOR JOY?
Canadian-bred filly big fave at Oaklawn
Oaklawn Park – March 17, 2012
Race 8 – 4:43 PM Exacta / 50 Cent Trifecta / 50 Cent Pick 4 (Races 8-9-10-11)
Azeri S. (Grade III)
Purse $150,000. Fillies And Mares, Four Year Olds And Upward. No nomination fee, original nominators paying $1,000 to pass the entry box and $1,000 additional to start. Supplementary nominations may be made by closing time of entries at a fee of $2,500 which qualifies to start with $150,000 Guaranteed. To be divided 60% to the Owner of the winner, 20% to second, 10% to third, 5% to fourth, 3% to fifth and 2% to be divided equally among all other starters. Weights: 122 Lbs. Non-winners of $60,000 twice at a mile orover since September 19, 2011 allowed 3 Lbs.; $50,000 once at a mile or over since October 17, 2011, allowed 5 Lbs.; $40,000 at a mile or over in 2011-2012 allowed 7 Lbs.; $25,000 at any distance in 2011-2012, allowed 9 Lbs. Starters to be named through the entry box by the usual time of closing. Closed Friday, March 9, 2012 with 23 nominees. One And One Sixteenth Miles.
P# PP Horse Virtual
Stable A/S Med Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1 Absinthe Minded (KY) 5/M L T J Thompson 119 D W Lukas 3/2
2 2 She’s All In (OK) 5/M L L S Quinonez 119 D K Von Hemel 10/1
3 3 Ravi’s Song (KY) 6/M L C H Borel 117 C Bowman 9/2
4 4 Joyful Victory (ON) 4/F L R Albarado 117 J L Jones 8/5
5 5 Tiz Miz Sue (KY) 5/M L J Rocco, Jr. 115 S Hobby 4/1
CANADIAN STUFF – QUEEN’S PLATE UPDATES
Notable Plate eligibles on the worktab:
PALM MEADOWS – May 16
Canadian Navy (ON) Gelding 3 1:00.90 b 1/8
PAYSON PARK MAR 15
Hard Not to Like (ON) Filly 3 1:02.40 b 1/6
IN SYNC – CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP GOES TO SYNCHRONIZED
Kauto Star pulled up, seems fine
KAUTO STAR is recognized as the greatest chaser since Arkle, he has 2 Cheltenham Gold Cups, 5 King Georges, and 4 Betfair Chases among his 23 wins.
http://horseracing.about.com/od/uk/ss/aa-2012-cheltenham-festival_11.htm
BREAK DOWNS AT AQUEDUCT SURGING – TRACK ADJUSTS PURSES
Will lowering purses for low level claiming races lead to horses not being tossed into races just because they are there? Or are people just running them to get them claimed?
http://www.drf.com/news/aqueduct-nyra-adjust-bottom-claim-level-purses-following-breakdowns
FORBES MAGAZINE STUDY ON HORSE BREAKDOWNS
Why do horses break down? The Jockey Club tries to find out
If you’re interested in equine welfare, you’ve had no shortage of reading material or troubling information to ponder in the last few weeks. Yesterday, HBO cancelled Luck after a third horse died during its production. Two had died during filming of races; the third was being led to a barn, reared up, fell, hit its head, and was euthanized.
Also yesterday, the office of New York Governor Cuomo took his latest shot across the bow of New York racing with a letter addressed to Charles Hayward, president of the New York Racing Association, which runs Belmont, Saratoga, and Aqueduct. Aqueduct has made the news lately with a spate of fatal breakdowns over its inner track; on Wednesday, Hillsboro Bay became the 16th horse to suffer a fatal injury since the inner track opened on November 30, an unusually high number.
The letter reads in part, “The statistics on horse breakdowns on the inner track this winter are extremely disturbing…This pattern of equine loss should not be allowed to continue.” It advises NYRA to “…hire a qualified independent investigator or team of investigators to review the circumstances involving these breakdowns, analyze the causes, and recommend any necessary action to (sic) equine breakdowns at NYRA facilities.” (One assumes that a verb is supposed to go in there, presumably something like “reduce” or “prevent.”)
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