Month: January 2021

Captain Scotty Out To Defend His Title In Palos Verdes

Veteran gelding Captain Scotty is back to defend his title as he heads a field of eight older horses going six furlongs in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes at Santa Anita. A 7-year-old son of Quality Road, Captain Scotty gives trainer Peter Miller a strong one-two punch as he'll be joined by recent acquisition Shashashakemeup, who comes off a big second place finish in his first start off a $50,000 claim at Churchill Downs.

Several others, including the Shelbe Ruis-trained Kneedeepinsnow, Mark Glatt's Pyron, Brian Koriner's Take the One O One, Bob Baffert's Ax Man and Doug O'Neill's Wildman Jack, all rate solid chances in the 69th renewal of the Palos Verdes.

Following his win in the Palos Verdes a year ago, Captain Scotty sustained a string of four double digit defeats, beginning with an 11 ½ length loss in the $1.5 million Saudi Cup Sprint on Feb. 29. In an effort to right the ship, Miller dropped “Scotty” in for a $25,000 claiming tag three starts back on Oct. 2 at Santa Anita, the result being a second place finish. A gate to wire six furlong winner on Oct. 31 at Del Mar, Captain Scotty comes off a game nose victory in a 5 ½ furlong optional claimer at Los Alamitos Dec. 6, a race in which he earned a much improved 92 Beyer Speed figure.

Owned by Gary Barber and Wachtel Stable, Captain Scotty, who has six wins from 20 starts and earnings of $382,048, will be ridden back by Ricky Gonzalez.

Owned by Tom Kagele, Shashashakemeup was haltered for $50,000 win two starts back at Churchill Downs Oct. 28 and although he was second, beaten 2 ¾ lengths in a second condition allowance Nov. 27, he registered a career-best 96 Beyer and thus merits serious consideration with top jock Juan Hernandez taking over in what will be his Santa Anita debut.

A 5-year-old full horse by Flatter, Kneedeepinsnow comes off what appeared to be the best race of his career on Dec. 31, a powerful 2 ¼ length score in a second condition allowance at 6 ½ furlongs. Owned by Ruis Racing, LLC, Kneedeepinsnow will be trying stakes competition for the first time and be ridden by Ruben Fuentes as regular rider Abel Cedillo opted to stay with Wildman Jack.

Claimed for $40,000 four starts back at Churchill Downs on July 9, the Mark Glatt-trained Pyron then took a six furlong starter allowance at Del Mar Aug. 15 and in his second start off the claim, rallied for a 1 ½ length win over Kneedeepinsnow at the same distance on Oct. 16 here. Most recently a close third in a 6 ½ furlong classified allowance Nov. 8 at Del Mar, this 5-year-old full horse by Candy Ride posted a career-top 92 Beyer and appears poised to run a smasher in the Palos Verdes. Owned by Ken Copenhaver, Pyron seeks his first stakes victory with Umberto Rispoli riding back.

Jay Em Ess Stables' California-bred Take the One O One shortens up out of a close third at 29-1 in the G2 San Antonio Stakes Dec. 26 and Patti and Hal Earnhardt's hard knocking Ax Man, idle since fourth in the G2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles July 25, looms dangerous off the bench for Bob Baffert. A winner of six of 14 starts, 6-year-old gelding Ax Man will be ridden for the first time by Tyler Baze.

W.C. Racing's homebred Wildman Jack, who was a close fourth four starts back behind top sprinter Collusion Illusion in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar Aug. 1, was well beaten as the favorite in G2 Joe Hernandez Stakes going 6 ½ furlongs on turf here Jan. 1 and will be trying dirt for only the second time in what will be his 14th career start for Doug O'Neill.

THE GRADE 3 PALOS VERDES STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 9 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

  1. Pyron—Umberto Rispoli—120
  2. Wildman Jack—Abel Cedillo—122
  3. Shooters Shoot—Mario Gutierrez—122
  4. Captain Scotty—Ricardo Gonzalez—122
  5. Shashashakemeup—Juan Hernandez—120
  6. Ax Man—Tyler Baze—120
  7. Take the One O One—Jose Valdivia, Jr.—120
  8. Kneedeepinsnow—Ruben Fuentes—120

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday is at 12:30 p.m. All of Santa Anita's races are offered free of charge at santaanita.com/live and fans can watch and wager at 1st.com/Bet.

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Kirkpatrick & Co Presents In Their Care: Humberto Gomez More Than Just An Exercise Rider To The Stars

It is impossible to imagine that any exercise rider can match the resume Mexico City native Humberto Gomez has built since he arrived in the United States in 2000.

He learned the importance of keeping his mount in rhythm from trainer Bobby Frankel. John Shirreffs' emphasis on patience was somewhat offset by Julio Canani's aggressiveness. Doug O'Neill stressed the importance of a positive attitude and teamwork.

Bob Baffert then hired Gomez and allowed him to put all of that together in 2018. He entrusted him with Justify and the rider who is widely known as “Beto” helped him develop an unraced 2-year-old into an undefeated Triple Crown champion.

Gomez emerged as the successor to the great Dana Barnes in Baffert's phenomenal stable, helping quirky Authentic to mature in time to win the pandemic-delayed Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic last year.

Gomez's heroic handiwork on the ground in 2017 is as impressive as anything he has accomplished on horseback. Trainer Kristin Mulhall credits him with saving the life of a 4-month-old Thoroughbred that was seemingly taking its last breaths after swallowing a black widow spider.

Mulhall, receiving phone instructions from veterinarian Melinda Blue, was attempting to perform an emergency tracheotomy using a dull box cutter and a syringe casing for a tube. She was in despair when Gomez arrived. She looked into the flailing horse's eyes and saw imminent death.

“You couldn't even see his pupils,” Mulhall said. “His eyes were bloodshot and cloudy. I thought 'Well, if he can't get enough oxygen, he's probably brain dead.'“

When she told Gomez as much, he refused to give up. He jumped on top of the foal, doing everything he could to hold down its head and feet.

“Try again!” he implored Mulhall. “Try again!”

Her third attempt was the charm. She finally succeeded at cutting an adequate hole in the trachea and suturing the tube into place using dental floss.

“The minute she put the tube, the horse took a lot of air,” Gomez said. “That gave us a lot of hope.”

Humberto Gomez on horseback off the track

Gomez and a friend dragged the horse into a trailer. Gomez continued to hold down the foal as he was rushed to Chino Hills Equine Hospital, where he began a full recovery.

Mulhall thanked Gomez by inviting him to name the California-bred. Gomez thought back to Catemaco, a horse he rode in Mexico City that displayed a huge heart every time he raced. Mulhall quickly embraced the name, which was approved.

Mulhall will be forever grateful to Gomez. “He pushed me to try because I gave up,” she said.

For Gomez, 44, his job is so much more than a job. “I just love what I do,” he said. “I have a passion for racing.”

That passion, combined with expertise gained through exposure to so many prominent trainers, has made him the go-to exercise rider for many of Baffert's stars.

“He can tell me a lot. He tells me what we can do differently. We try to change it up a little bit every day,” Baffert said, adding, “He's a good horseman. He's a really good horseman.”

Baffert and Gomez form a dynamic combination, much the way Baffert and Barnes did. “He cannot feel what I feel,” Gomez said. “I cannot see what he sees.”

According to Baffert, Gomez's input is vital. “He'll tell me if a horse is not doing well,” he said. “I want to know if we're doing too much with him, if we're not doing enough.”

Humberto Gomez with Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic

Baffert had long admired Gomez from a distance. “I always thought he'd make a great addition to the barn,” he said. Once he had the opportunity to hire him, he did not hesitate to assign highly-regarded but unproven Justify to him.

Gomez knew almost immediately that Justify would be the horse of his dreams. “The power of this horse and how professional,” he said. “He was acting like he was an older horse. The horse would do anything you wanted him to do. He likes to please you.”

Authentic? He was a project from the start.

“Authentic, when we got him, he was really immature,” Gomez said. “He would be galloping and looking at things all the time and trying to do things like a troublemaker. Every day was something with him.

“Day by day, we were trying to get to know him better, always keeping in mind that he was a late foal (May 5) and it was going to take him time to mature. With this COVID thing, they changed the time for the Kentucky Derby, so we were lucky to get him more time to get him more mature and everything.”

Gomez raves about Saudi Cup-bound Charlatan, describing him as a “machine.” Although newly-minted 3-year-old Life Is Good and Authentic were both sired by white-hot stallion Into Mischief, he believes that Life Is Good is more advanced than Authentic was at this early stage while describing him as being “in a learning process.”

Justify, Authentic, Charlatan, Life Is Good. The hits keep coming for Gomez. That almost surely will continue as long as he remains aligned with one of the most accomplished trainers of all time.

“I love to be riding all these champions,” Gomez said. “I'm so lucky to be part of his team.”

Catemaco will always hold a special place in his heart, though. Mulhall needed to wait until he turned 4, but on New Year's Day she and Gomez exulted as he made a winning debut in a six-furlong race at Santa Anita.

“It was very emotional because I see a horse almost dying and you never thought the way we saw him that he would make it just to be a pet,” said Gomez, appreciating how far he and Catemaco have come.

Tom Pedulla wrote for USA Today from 1995-2012 and has been a contributor to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Blood-Horse, America's Best Racing and other publications.

If you wish to suggest a backstretch worker as a potential subject for In Their Care, please send an email to info@paulickreport.com that includes the person's name and contact information in addition to a brief description of the employee's background.

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Caddo River Could Give Owner John Ed Anthony Sweep Of Oaklawn’s Derby Prep Series

No owner has won all four of what are now Oaklawn's Kentucky Derby points races, but one will have that chance Friday when trainer Brad Cox sends out Caddo River for John Ed Anthony's Shortleaf Stable in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes.

Probable post time for the Smarty Jones, a 1-mile event that highlights Oaklawn's opening-day nine-race program and goes as the eighth race, is 4:11 p.m. (Central). First post is 12:30 p.m. There is a 40-percent chance of showers Friday morning before skies clear and afternoon temperatures climb to the mid-50s, according to weatherunderground.com.

Caddo River is among seven horses entered in the Smarty Jones, which will offer 17 points (10-4-2-1) to the top four finishers, respectively, toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. Oaklawn's Kentucky Derby points series continues with the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 15, $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) March 13 and the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 10.

No owner has dominated Oaklawn's Triple Crown prep series like Anthony, 81, a Hot Springs lumberman who rose to acclaim in the late 1970s when his horses ran under the Loblolly Stable banner. Anthony hasn't had Smarty Jones starter since the race was inaugurated in 2008, but he's won the Southwest a record three times (1984, 1987 and 1991), Rebel a record five times (1980, 1984, 1987, 1992 and 1993) and the Arkansas Derby a record three times (1980, 1987 and 1992).

Many of Anthony's best horses were named for points in Arkansas, including Cox's Ridge, the owner's first nationally prominent runner; Temperence Hill, the country's champion 3-year-old male of 1980 after winning the Rebel, Arkansas Derby and Belmont Stakes; Prairie Bayou, the country's champion 3-year-old male of 1993 after winning the Preakness; and Pine Bluff, the 1992 Arkansas Derby and Preakness winner.

Caddo River, by 2007 Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun, will be making his two-turn and stakes debut after a blowout Nov. 15 maiden score at Churchill Downs to close his 2020 campaign. A homebred for Anthony, the colt is named for a tributary that begins about 55 miles southwest of Hot Springs.

“The Caddo River is a beautiful stream,” Anthony said. “I keep a long list of potential names and this was a promising horse. I thought the name fit very well. That was the reason I chose it. I can't tell you how many horses I've given good names that didn't work out. Of course, I've wasted some really good names on some horses that turned out not to be good racehorses. But you always hope that the good name will attach to a good horse.”

Caddo River made three starts at 2, finishing second in two 7-furlong races in New York before breaking his maiden by 9 ½-front-running lengths in a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs. Caddo River delivered as the odds-on favorite and earned a career-high 83 Beyer Speed Figure. Caddo River has four published workouts at Oaklawn, the last a Jan. 16 move over a fast track when he covered 5 furlongs, in company, in 1:00.40.

“This COVID has cramped our style across the board and so I'm not as familiar with the horse as I normally would be,” Anthony said. “I usually smoke them over in the spring in Ocala and then again in the summer, sometimes up at Saratoga. But last year, as you know, that wasn't, I guess, appropriate, certainly for a man of my age. I know him by what I'm being told and, of course, Brad thinks highly of him and feels like, as Brad says, 'This is a good horse.' So, we'll see how good.”

Caddo River is out of the Anthony-raced mare, Pangburn, an allowance winner at the 2015 Oaklawn meeting. Pangburn then finished third in the $150,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) and fourth in the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3), Oaklawn's two biggest events for 3-year-old fillies. All three races were 1 1/16 miles.

The projected Smarty Jones field from the rail out: Martini Blu, Francisco Arrieta to ride, 115 pounds, 6-1 on the morning line; Lawlessness, David Cohen, 115, 12-1; Cowan, Ricardo Santana Jr., 115, 9-5; Big Thorn, David Cabrera, 117, 9-2; Hardly Swayed, Martin Garcia, 115, 12-1; Moonlite Strike, Joe Talamo, 115, 4-1; and Caddo River, Florent Geroux, 115, 5-2.

Cowan and Big Thorn, a recent arrival from south Florida, are trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, who won the 2020 Smarty Jones with Gold Street. Cowan finished a fast-closing second in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) Nov. 6 at Keeneland and completed his 2-year-old campaign with a runner-up finish in the $200,000 Springboard Mile Dec. 18 at Remington Park.

Big Thorn, previously with trainer David Fawkes, won the $60,000 off-the-turf Juvenile Turf Stakes Nov. 22 at Gulfstream Park West for prominent Arkansas owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong. The Lieblongs bred Big Thorn and campaigned his sire, Grade 1 winner The Big Beast.

Moonlite Strike, a winner of two consecutive starts in south Florida, will be making his two-turn and stakes debut for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who has a string at Oaklawn for the first time in 2021. Lawlessness is also entered in an entry-level allowance race Saturday, but will run in the Smarty Jones, trainer Ingrid Mason said Wednesday morning.

The Smarty Jones is the first of 33 scheduled stakes races during the 57-day meeting that ends May 1.

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