Racing News

Multiple graded stakes winner Revolutionary will make his long-awaited return to the races Jan. 11 in a salty one-mile allowance optional claiming heat at Gulfstream Park.

Carded second on Saturday's 11-race program, the race attracted six other older horses to challenge the 4-year-old son of War Pass. Revolutionary drew the rail and will have two-time meet riding champion and Eclipse Award finalist Javier Castellano aboard.

It will be the first start for Revolutionary since finishing fifth to stablemate Palace Malice in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) last June. Following the race, owner WinStar Farm opted to give him the rest of the year off to point for a 2014 campaign.

IRVING will bypass the rearranged Grade 1 williamhill.com Levy Board Tolworth Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday for a tilt at the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury next month.

Trained by Paul Nicholls for Axom Racing, Irving is unbeaten in three starts over hurdles including the Grade 2 Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle at Ascot last month.

Victor Carrasco was named a finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey when the 2013 Eclipse Awards nominees were announced Wednesday on HRTV. Winners will be announced at the 43rd annual ceremony, to be held Saturday evening, January 18 at the Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino near Miami.

Carrasco led all apprentice riders in victories (215) and earnings ($4,357,715) last year. Edgard Zayas (183 wins & $3,512,381 as an apprentice) and Manny Franco (130 wins & $4,298,526) are the other finalists in the category. Maryland-based Trevor McCarthy (140 wins & $3,653,365) and Emmanuel Esquivel (142 wins & $3,424,416) were other worthy candidates.

“I felt really happy when I saw my name on TV,” said Carrasco before Laurel’s first race Wednesday afternoon. “The other two nominees are Puerto Rican, too. We went to the same jockey school (Escuela Vocacional Hipica), so I feel very happy about that. One of us is going to be an Eclipse Award winner.”

 Jolenes Pinehonker, who gave a serious hint in his last start by trotting his final half in :55.4 to finish second, used his improved post position this week to easily capture Pompano Park's $10,000 Open Trot on Wednesday night (Jan. 8).

The 5-year-old altered son of Pinetucky, driven by Ed Hensley for Mark O'Mara and owner Lester Raber, drew the rail and began edging closer from fourth early on. He then sprinted from third to the lead on the backstretch and went on to score by 1-3/4 lengths over the early pacesetter Pure Barre. It was his 16th lifetime victory, a win that pushed his lifetime bounty to $322,345 in only 48 lifetime starts.

Pure Barre, handled by Mickey McNichol, did finish second while Mr Web Page, longest prop on the board at 24-1, finished third for Wally Hennessey. HP Forte, an uncoupled stablemate of Jolene's Pinehonker, finished fourth while Guiltywithanexcuse picked up the nickel. The 7-5 favorite Andover America made a miscue early in the mile and finished last in the sextet.

Awsome Valley dictated the fractions on the way to a wire-to-wire, 1:56.2 victory in the $20,000 Open Handicap Trot at Dover Downs on Wednesday.

Tony Morgan took Awsome Valley into the early lead and strolled to the half in a pedestrian :59.1 before turning on the burners en route to a 1:56.2 success, holding off Enrico AS and Allan Davis who challenged the winner on the backstretch to the finish line. For the second straight Wednesday, Mandabra and Corey Callahan raced strongly, only to finish third again.

The win was the first in 2014 for Awsome Valley. The Barbara Boese Revocable Trust owns the Valley Victor-Nannina Ambrosio gelding trained by Ryan McInnis. The victory put Awsome Valley into $206,583 territory with 19 wins.

Csaba, winner of the 2013 Hal's Hope Stakes (gr. III), returns to Gulfstream Park for this year's renewal at one mile on the main track as part of a 10-horse field Jan. 11.

The one-turn Hal's Hope is set for a 5:03 p.m. EST scheduled post as race 10 on the Saturday program, immediately following the Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (gr. IIT) for older horses on turf.

Csaba, who brings an enviable record of 11-3-4 in 26 races with earnings of $571,480, is also entered in the Ft. Lauderdale but would run only if that race is rained off the turf. Trained by Philip Gleaves for Bruce Hollander and Cary Shapoff, the 5-year-old son of Kitten's Joy   was second in his most recent start, the Harlan's Holiday Stakes Dec. 22 at Gulfstream. He won the Fred W. Hooper Stakes (gr. III) as the favorite Dec. 7 at Calder Casino & Race Course.

As the old adage goes, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Owner/breeder Ro Jo Racing (Joe Falsetta and his aunt, Rose Nolan) hope to find that out some day with Cassa’s Image, who can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to a good draw.

The 4-year-old trotting mare, currently the lone horse owned by Ro Jo Racing, will be racing in the first leg of Thursday’s Super Bowl Series at the Meadowlands. In a rarity, Cassa’s Image drew the rail.

However, of the four divisions, she is in the toughest one by far.

One day after arriving from a brief vacation in Ocala, champion sprinterGroupie Doll galloped at Gulfstream Park the morning of Jan. 8 in preparation for the final start of her brilliant career.
            
"She's full of fire," trainer Buff Bradley said. "She's a true racehorse. I was walking her in the shedrow this morning and she was walking straight ahead. When we were taking her to the track, she was marching on with it. She's got training on her mind."
            

When Monticello Raceway presents its 14th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Pace, a race which features the talents of African-American drivers, last year’s champ, Dennis Watson, will be back to defend his title.

This year’s MLK Pace will be presented on Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 21) and it will not only be Monticello Raceway’s annual tribute to the great civil rights leader, but the race will be the first leg of the track's 2014 Heritage Drivers Series.

Last year on the cold (12 degree) and windy afternoon of Jan. 22, Watson scored a decisive 2:04.2 victory with Ally’s Delight after a second over trip stalking the favorite and then rallying to his second victory in the race.

Since the inception of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, only six juvenile males have been crowned champion without winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I). Of the six champions that weren’t Juvenile winners, three won the year’s top honor without even starting in the race.

A strong chance exists that the 2013 racing season could crown a fourth champion that bypassed the Juvenile.

Run And Tell Pap rebounded from two subpar performances to capture Wednesday’s (Jan. 8) $16,500 Winners Over $10,000 Life Trot at The Meadows for Dave Palone, one of eight victories on the 16-race card for Palone.

Although Run And Tell Pap won 10 times in 2013, he broke stride in his final starts of the year. Palone gave him a covered trip Wednesday and the 7-year-old High Falls-Adele’s Jade gelding responded by roaring through the lane to score in 1:56.4, 2-1/2 lengths better than Wing Tips, with TSM Photo Bugger third.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer holds a solid hand in the $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes (gr. II) Jan. 11, sending out recent Native Diver (gr. III) winner Blueskiesnrainbowsand Rousing Sermon at Santa Anita Park.

One of two graded stakes on the Saturday program at Santa Anita, the San Pasqual Stakes has attracted a field of seven older horses at 1 1/16 miles. The race is the first major stakes locally leading to the March 8 Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I).

Ridden by Martin Pedroza, Blueskiesnrainbows was a gate-to-wire winner of the Native Diver Dec. 14 at Betfair Hollywood Park for his Hall of Fame trainer, while Rousing Sermon finished a solid third, beaten a length.

It is with great sadness that Paul and Brenda Walker wish to announce the death of A Js Speed. He died on Thursday (Jan. 8) at the age of 30.

A Js Speed was bred, owned, and raced by Paul and Brenda. He had 177 lifetime starts including 48 wins, 42 seconds and 18 thirds with lifetime earnings of $664,622. He raced from age three until his retirement at age 10.

A Js Speed had a very distinguished career. Unraced at two he was a multiple Ontario Sire Stakes winner at three. He was one of the best in a year that included many future free-for-allers. At the end of his sires stakes year he was considered the horse to beat.

Multiple graded stakes winner Summer Front, freshened up for his 5-year-old campaign by trainer Christophe Clement, meets defending Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (gr. IIT) upset winnerMucho Mas Macho Jan. 11 at Gulfstream Park.

Ten were entered in the well-matched 1 1/16-mile event scheduled for the turf, which is race 9 on the Saturday program with a probable post time of 4:33 p.m. EST. Two of the entrants, Csaba andSuns Out Guns Out, are entered for the main track only. The Ft. Lauderdale is one of two graded stakes on the card, to be followed by $100,000 Hal's Hope (gr. III).

as anyone wanted to ask a driver what they are really thinking out on the Woodbine or Mohawk track? Or get some insight into how to handicap the races on the Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit?

Fans will get that chance to chat, face-to-face, with some of the finest drivers in harness racing before this Saturday’s (Jan. 11) card at Woodbine.

Jody Jamieson (@JodyJamRacing), Anthony MacDonald (@HorseRacingAMac), James MacDonald (@JamesOMac26), Billy Davis, Jr. (@BillyDavisRacin) and 2013’s leading driver Sylvain Filion will be on-hand at 6 p.m. on the second floor of the Woodbine grandstand to greet fans and offer their thoughts on the race card and beyond in a unique Q & A format.

Led by Horse of the Year candidatesMucho Macho Man, Will Take Chargeand 2012 Horse of the Year Wise Dan, the finalists for the 2013 Eclipse Awards were announced Jan. 8.

The award finalists, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing, were announced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters. Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced at the 43rd annual Eclipse Awards dinner and ceremony, presented by Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup and The Stronach Group on Jan. 18 at the Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Dual grade I-winning millionaireLaughing died from colic Jan. 6 at Mid Atlantic Equine Clinic in Ringoes, N.J.

Trained by Alan Goldberg for Richard Santulli, the 6-year-old mare fell ill the evening of Jan. 6. According to Dr. Allan Wise, resident veterinarian for Santulli's Colts Neck Farm, her condition was "extremely painful."

"She went to surgery about 4 a.m. (Jan. 7) and expired on the table," Wise said. "She had been pretty healthy up until now. She had some issues like all horses do, but she was healthy enough to win four graded stakes. It's really tough for the boss and all of us."

Champion grass horse Sunshine Foreverdied Jan. 7 at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement farm near Georgetown, Ky. The 29-year-old stallion was discovered in his paddock at dawn and a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

The son of Roberto out of the Graustark mare Outward Sunshine, Sunshine Forever had been pensioned at Old Friends since his return to the United States in 2004 from stud duty in Japan.

Our foundation stallion, the Eclipse Award winner who we brought home after his breeding career was over, is dead, and there's nothing much more to be said," Old Friends founder and president Michael Blowen said. "I don't think I've ever been sadder."

To say that racing in the north during the winter is unforgiving would be an understatement. Frigid weather, snow and ice, and mud and rain easily portrays what horses and horsemen have to go through just to keep the show going. And often racing has to be cancelled due to the climate conditions.

Since the 2014 season began on New Year's Day, Monticello Raceway has presented just two of its five scheduled programs having to cancel on Thursday (Jan. 2), Friday (Jan. 3) and now Tuesday (Jan. 7) because of temperature readings of -2 degrees.