Through the years, the $400,000 Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes at Keeneland has been won by some of the fleetest fillies and mares to ever grace American racetracks.
Category: Horse Racing News
Clock is ticking for both Dettori and his wonder horse Enable as they seek Arc history on Sunday
Sunday will be a fourth and final shot at Europe's biggest all-age race for the six-year-old mare whose biological clock is telling her that it is time to become a mother rather a champion racehorse.
Versatile Diamond Oops Runs Down Longshot Empire Of Gold In Phoenix
Last-out winner of the G2 Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs, the versatile 3-1 favorite Diamond Oops made the switch back to the dirt on Friday when he won the G3 Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland. The 5-year-old son of Lookin at Lucky ran six furlongs over the fast dirt in 1:09.24, besting 51-1 longshot Empire of Gold by three-quarters of a length on the wire. Trained by Pat Biancone and ridden by Florent Geroux, Diamond Oops is campaigned by the Diamond 100 Racing Club, Amy Dunne, D P Racing and Patrick L. Biancone Racing.
The victory earned Diamond Oops an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Sprint next month, also at Keeneland.
Grade 1 winner No Parole sped out of the starting gate to grab the early lead, while Remington Park invader Empire of Gold moved up to add pressure through early fractions of :22.24 and :44.73. Echo Town and Diamond Oops were just behind the frontrunners early, while veteran Whitmore and Ohio-bred millionaire Mo Don't No tracked in mid-pack.
Rounding the far turn, Empire of Gold grabbed the lead away from No Parole and opened up by several lengths. Diamond Oops took up the chase, but looked to have too much to do with three-sixteenths of a mile to run.
Instead, when Geroux gave the gelding his cue, Diamond Oops dug in gamely and drew even with his rival. Empire of Gold switched to the wrong lead late, trying to find more, but Diamond Oops pushed past to hit the wire three-quarters of a length in front. Empire of Gold had to settle for second, while Echo Town was game late to deny Whitmore for third. Absolutely Aiden was fifth.
Bred in Kentucky by Kin Hui Racing Stables, Diamond Oops is out of the stakes-winning Whywhywhy mare Patriotic Viva. He started showing up in a big way last year, winning the G3 Smile Sprint on dirt before running second in both the G1 Vanderbilt (dirt) and the G1 Shadwell Turf Mile. He was eighth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile before rebounding to win the G3 Mr. Prospector.
This year, Diamond Oops has not finished worse than fourth in four starts, and his overall record stands at 7-3-1 from 16 starts for earnings of over $1 million.
The post Versatile Diamond Oops Runs Down Longshot Empire Of Gold In Phoenix appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Angel Montano, Longtime Kentucky Trainer, Dies on 80th Birthday
Angel O. Montano Sr., a longtime Kentucky-based trainer, died Oct. 1. The Churchill Downs publicity department confirmed the death, noting in a Twitter posting that his passing coincided with the date of his 80th birthday.
Daily Racing Form reported the cause of death as numerous health issues complicated by a recent hospitalization for COVID-19.
According to a 2010 profile in the Evansville Courier & Press, Montano arrived in Louisville at age 17, taking a three-day bus ride from his native Mexico City after his contract as a jockey was purchased by a Kentucky-based owner. But he was hurt in a spill while galloping a horse in the morning and never rode in a race.
Montano rose through the ranks on the backstretch and in 1961 started training on his own, earning a reputation for being able to bring out the best in cheaper horses. He was admired and respected by backside employees and horse owners alike for treating his animals and other people with dignity and respect.
Despite keeping relatively small stables, over the decades Montano won three seasonal training titles at Churchill Downs, five at old Miles Park in Louisville, four at old Latonia (now Turfway Park), and four at Ellis Park, according to the Courier & Press feature story.
On the 1995 GI Kentucky Derby undercard, the Montano-trained Goldseeker Bud, a 20-1 long shot, upset the previous year’s Derby champ, Go For Gin, in the GIII Churchill Downs H. It was the only graded-stakes score of Montano’s nearly 60-year career.
“I can’t ask for any better,” Montano told the Courier & Press in 2010.”I’ve got my wife and seven kids, who all graduated from college and are doing great. And I’ve got my horses and friends. The racetrack has been good to me. The horse business can be good to me. It’s been a good life.”
Montano’s wife of 58 years, Patricia, also known as “Mom Pat,” predeceased him in 2018.
Visitation hours are Oct. 7 from 2-8 p.m. at Ratterman Brothers Funeral Home, 12900 Shelbyville Road in Louisville (this is the East Louisville location; please note there are two Rattermans locations in the city). A funeral service will be held Oct. 8 at 10 a.m., with details to be posted here.
Montano’s family is asking for memorial gifts in his honor to be donated to the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs.
The post Angel Montano, Longtime Kentucky Trainer, Dies on 80th Birthday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
