Month: September 2021

Santa Anita Re-Opens Hillside Turf Course For Autumn Meet

Santa Anita Park's 16-day Autumn Meet will get off to a fast start on Friday, Oct. 1, as a total of four stakes will be offered on a tremendous nine-race card. The Grade 1, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes, one of three Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” Challenge Race qualifiers, will headline the day's racing. Named for the 2015 Triple Crown Champion, the American Pharoah is a Breeders' Cup Win & You're In qualifier to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 5.

With first post time at 1 p.m., walk-up admission is welcomed, with free admission and General Parking on opening day. In addition to the American Pharoah, the Grade 2, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes, for 3-year-olds and up, will be contested at 6 ½ furlongs down Santa Anita's hillside turf course. Named for the legendary retired Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, the Eddie D provides a platform for those horses considering the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 6.

“Our fans, horsemen and Eddie Delahoussaye himself have told us they'd love to see a return to racing down this European-style course which has been unique to Santa Anita for more than six decades,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Operating Officer, Racing Operations for 1/ST Racing. “The Eddie D will be one of four turf sprint stakes to be run on the Camino Real hillside turf course throughout our Autumn Meet.”

Two-year-old fillies will go postward opening day in the Grade 2, $200,000 Chandelier Stakes, a Breeders' Cup Win & You're in qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 5 and 2-year-olds will also be competing at five furlongs on turf in the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes, a Win & You're In qualifier to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5.

With the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships set for Nov. 5 & 6 at Del Mar, Santa Anita will be offering a total of 14 stakes over the course of its opening weekend, Oct. 1 through Oct. 3.

With special early first post time at 12:30 p.m., a total of five stakes will be offered on Saturday, Oct. 2; the Grade 1, $300,000 Awesome Again, a Breeders' Cup Win & You're In qualifier to the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one eighth, the Grade 1, $300,000 Rodeo Drive, a Breeders' Cup Win & You're In qualifier for fillies and mares at a mile and one quarter on turf, the Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, Win & You're In qualifier for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs, the Grade 2, $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship, named for the legendary two-time Horse of the Year, is for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one quarter on turf and the Grade 2, $200,000 City of Hope Mile (turf), for 3-year-olds and up.

On Sunday, Oct. 3, the legendary multiple Eclipse Award winning mare Zenyatta will be feted, with the Grade 2, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes, a Win & You're In qualifier for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles who are pointing to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff. Fillies and mares will also be center stage in the Grade 3, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs, a race which honors the memory of longtime Oak Tree Racing Association board member and prominent owner/breeder, Sherwood Chillingworth.

A pair of one mile turf stakes will also be offered on Oct. 3 for 2-year-olds—the Surfer Girl and the Zuma Beach, as well as the $75,000 Unzip Me, for 3-year-old fillies at 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf.

In addition to the Eddie D and Unzip Me Stakes, a pair of Cal-bred stakes, the $100,000 California Distaff Handicap on Oct. 16 and the $100,000 California Flag Handicap on Oct. 17 will also be contested at 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf. Additionally, selected allowance races will be run down the hillside throughout the course of the 16-day meet.

Santa Anita's spacious Infield area will be open each Saturday and Sunday, through closing day, Oct. 31. For complete details on Santa Anita's opening weekend, including pricing and dining and seating reservations, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Canadian Champion Mighty Heart Headlines Saturday’s Seagram Cup

Mighty Heart, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, is set to tackle 1 1/16-miles on the Tapeta, in Saturday's Grade 3 $150,000 Seagram Cup at Woodbine.

Trained by Hall of Famer Josie Carroll for owner-breeder Larry Cordes, Mighty Heart, a four-year-old son of Dramedy-Emma's Bullseye, will look to deliver his connections a second graded stakes score after taking the Grade 3 Dominion Day on July 1.

The one-eyed colt, who recorded wins last year in the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes, the first two jewels of the Canadian Triple Crown, is in the midst of another fruitful campaign, having posted wins in the Dominion Day and Blame Stakes, a second in his most recent engagement, the Grade 3 West Virginia Governor's Stakes on August 7, and a third in his seasonal bow at Keeneland in April.

Mighty Heart brings a record of 5-1-2 from 12 career starts into his latest test.

“His tenacity [stands out],” said Carroll. “The one thing I've always said about this horse is that he's a little scrapper.”

Daisuke Fukumoto, aboard for the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales and Dominion Day victories, gets the call again on Saturday.

“He made my dream come true so he is special,” said the graded stakes winning rider. “I don't have any particular tension when I ride him. I don't get scared or nervous when we race. I'm always very conscious that I make him run comfortably. I would just like to say one more thing… it's very fun to ride him.”

Mighty Heart launched his career with a pair of starts at Fair Grounds in early 2020. Those efforts, a fourth and a tenth, respectively, eventually led to a discussion between Cordes and a horse chiropractor.

“I knew there was something wrong in those first two races,” recalled Cordes. “The chiropractor was looking him over one day and thought something wasn't right with his jaw. The horse was uncomfortable when he was looking at his face area, so we had a vet come in. He found an inflamed tooth and we took care of it. The rest is history.”

Mighty Heart's next start, last July, resulted in a maiden-breaking performance in what was his first race at Woodbine. He soon grabbed headlines in Canada and beyond after his stirring scores in the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales.

This spring, Mighty Heart was voted Canada's Horse of the Year for 2020, and champion Three-Year-Old Colt.

“This horse, he has a determination,” praised Cordes. “He is all heart. He started with a big handicap having no eye, but he didn't let it affect him. He has this fight and he has this grit, whether it's on the track or not.

“When he had his eye injury – and we're 90 per cent sure it was the mare who caused it – we took him to the veterinarian in Guelph (Ontario) and they told us they had to take out the eye. But they told us not too worry about it too much. At his age, less than two weeks old at the time, they said that he'll never know he could have had two eyes. When you watch him run – horses have good peripheral vision – he cocks his head just slightly to the left. Not badly, just enough so that he has that peripheral vision to see what's beside him and have a good view.”

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Mighty Heart's story has created a significant following, both on Mighty Heart's Instagram page (mightyheart.tb) and whenever he goes postward.

“He has a lot of followers,” said Cordes. “I get calls from the United States all the time and different media people from so many places. It's not attention that's just happening locally. Everybody likes an underdog and the fact he only has one eye makes it a compelling story.”

Cordes continues to receive correspondence from fans, young and old.

“I get letters from children, postmarked to Mighty Heart, not Larry Cordes. They draw pictures and share stories. I send horseshoes to them – everybody who sends something I return something to them along with a letter. Some people send Mighty Heart cookies. I don't know how many times people have sent these cookies, which I guess are supposed to be horse cookies. He has a big following and it just makes me so happy.”

The longtime horseman's biggest joy is in seeing the happiness his star brings to others, especially over the past year and a half.

“What's really fantastic is that during this pandemic, what this brought to people… when I go to the track, many people will stop me and say, 'This lifted us up a little bit.' It's done so much just to lift them up a little bit throughout this pandemic.”

Cordes is hoping there's more reason to celebrate come Saturday.

“When he won the Dominion Day, I was going down the escalator, and a gentleman, three people in front of me, threw up his arms up in the air as far as he could reach and yelled, 'You're great, Mighty Heart!' He didn't know that I was behind him, but it showed me what he has done for people. It's absolutely thrilling. I'm proud of him and I'm so happy. If he never wins another race, I'm still so proud. But he has plenty left in him. He's as sound as sound can be. He's just an amazing horse.”

The Seagram Cup is scheduled as race three of 10 on Saturday's 1:10 p.m. card, which also includes the $150,000 Vice Regent Stakes (race seven), a 5-furlong Inner Turf race for Ontario-breds, three-year-olds & upward.

Fans can also watch and wager on all the live action via HPIbet.com.

$150,000 SEAGRAM CUP STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Special Forces – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard

2 – Another Mystery – Antonio Gallardo – Chris Block

3 – Dolder Grand – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

4 – Mighty Heart – Daisuke Fukumoto – Josie Carroll

5 – Tap It to Win – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

$150,000 VICE REGENT STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Alacritous – Steven Bahen – Ashlee Brnjas

2 – Celebratory – Justin Stein – Ashlee Brnjas

3 – Circle of Friends – Patrick Husbands – Don MacRae

4 – Rockcrest – Keveh Nicholls – Nigel Burke

5 – Souper Hot – Kazushi Kimura – Mike Mattine

6 – Not So Quiet – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

7 – City Boy – David Moran – Michael Keogh

8 – Forester's Fortune – Daisuke Fukumoto – Rodney Barrow

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15 Riders Suspended By West Virginia Racing Commission For False Medical Documents

Fifteen jockeys have received suspensions from the West Virginia Racing Commission after stewards determined they “presented false and altered” documentation of required medical examinations.

Eric Barbaran, Ricardo Mejias, Luan Silva Machado, Fernando Salazar Becerra, Juan Leon Velez, Brandon Tapara, Eder Luis Martinez, Luis Hernandez, Sonny Leon, Logan Holbrook, Angel Serpa, Jose Leon, Odhair Mayta, and Jose Davila were all suspended 15 days for the offense. Their suspension dates differ slightly, beginning between Sept. 7 and Sept. 10 and finishing between Sept. 21 and Sept. 24.

Rider Eddie Jurado was suspended 210 days and fined $2,500 because stewards said he “also admitted to producing and/or delivering fictitious documents (copies of physical examinations to 14 other jockeys to perform their work duties at Mountaineer Park. Jurado's suspension runs through April 4, 2022.

All riders are denied access to commission-sanctioned grounds for the duration of their suspension.

According to commission executive director Joe Moore, the commission has not been notified that any of the riders are appealing the rulings.

Herbie Rivera, the Jockeys' Guild representative for Mountaineer riders, said the track, like many others, requires proof of a standard physical at the start of the meet. Most riders can have them done through the appropriate channels for $50 to $70. The rules of racing in West Virginia mandate that riders submit proof they have passed a physical exam within 12 months in order to participate as jockeys, and a baseline concussion test. There are no specific COVID-19 requirements related to the physical, according to the state's rulebook.

Rivera said about half the tracks in the country require a physical at the start of the meet, and that he believes there's no good reason not to comply with the rule. He was surprised the stewards handed down such long suspensions.

“They would tell them their name and then they'd show up with [the document],” he said. “I made sure I went to every rider who was going to have a hearing and sat down with them. I told them, 'It is what it is. You made a mistake.'

“I didn't think they'd be this harsh, but I have a lot of respect for the stewards. The only thing I can do is make suggestions.”

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