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Hernandez Seeks Winner’s Circle With New Roo, Carribean Caper At Ellis Park

Colby Hernandez already has blown past his win total of three at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., last summer, his first riding at the Pea Patch. With seven victories heading into Saturday's racing, the younger brother of Ellis Park-meet leading rider Brian Hernandez is making significant headway as a mainstay on the circuit his second year riding in Kentucky after 14 years in his native Louisiana.

The younger Hernandez has two shots in Sunday's five stakes to make a productive meet even better. He is the regular rider of 3-for-3 Carribean Caper, the tepid 9-5 favorite in the $100,000 Audubon Oaks over 2-1 Magic Quest. Both 3-year-old fillies come into the seven-furlong race off impressive allowance victories over the track. Brian Hernandez rides Magic Quest.

Hernandez also rides New Roo, who is 10-1 in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Groupie Doll for fillies and mares at a mile. Hernandez rode New Roo for the first time last year at Ellis Park when she won an allowance race by 12 lengths, followed by a runner-up finish in the Groupie Doll won by Lady Kate, who also is back in the stakes.

Carribean Caper, trained by Al Stall, has won her three starts by a combined 17 lengths.

“She does it impressive every time,” Hernandez said. “I think every race she gets better and better. Hopefully, everything works out Sunday and we get a good trip and get the money.”

Though she made it look easy with a 4 1/2-length victory over older fillies and mares last time, Carribean Caper didn't have the smoothest of trips until she drew off.

“She had an awkward break, and the outside horses kind of wiped us about a little bit,” Hernandez said. “I had to check her. But after that, I was able to get her in stride. Middle of the turn, all I did was lean forward on her and she gave me whatever she had. It was push-button from there.

“I think she's a really, really nice horse. I don't think we've opened her up yet all the way. Hopefully, she turns into a great mare.”

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New Roo faces a capacity field of 12 in the Groupie Doll. Trainer Tommy Drury, seeking a confidence-builder in her 5-year-old debut after ending 2020 with a couple of disappointing efforts, dropped New Roo in for the $62,500 claiming option in an allowance race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. She won and wasn't claimed.

“She ran a good race that day,” Hernandez said. “I think at the end she got a little tired because she'd been off. But I think we're in a good spot here. She ran second in the same race last year. Hopefully we can get the money this time. I think she likes this track big-time.

“I feel great about both horses.”

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Cox Prepares Colonel Bowman For Ellis Park Derby, Three Fillies For Groupie Doll

Meet-leading trainer Brad Cox has a barn well-stocked with 3-year-old stakes-winners, and Colonel Bowman will try to become the latest in Sunday's $200,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Derby.

Colonel Bowman earned a shot at stakes company by taking an Ellis Park allowance race.

“He's trained very well up to the race,” said Jorge Abrego, who oversees Cox's Ellis Park operation. “It was his first time going two turns last time; he handled it very well. After the race, he came back good, breezed a couple of times really good. I'm very excited because it's a mile and an eighth. I think he'll run well. I like the horse. I'm not really scared of the competition. I think he has a big shot to win the race.”

Abrego, who was around Colonel Bowman all spring at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., says he's noticed a change.

“He gallops a mile and a half every day,” he said. “Second round, he gets stronger and stronger. I think the two turns for him is very good.”

Cox entered three horses in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Groupie Doll for fillies and mares: stakes-winning and graded stakes-place Dreamalildreamofu, sprint specialist Lady Rocket, and Indiana Grand stakes-winner Matera, who needs a scratch to run. When it was suggested that he was going to be busy in the paddock saddling horses, Abrego quipped, “I hope it keeps me busy in the winner's circle!”

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Morse Preps Verylittlecents, Texas Red Hot For Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes Tries

Randy Morse won a pair of 2-year-old maiden races at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., on July 11 with Randy Patterson's filly Verylittlecents prevailing by 2 1/4 lengths at five-eighths of a mile and Donna Clark's colt Texas Red Hot wresting victory by a head at seven-eighths of a mile. Both youngsters were making their second start.

Now Morse tries to pull off a sweep at the next level, with Verylittlecents the 2-1 favorite in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Debutante and Texas Red Hot at fat 8-1 in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Juvenile.

Morse is very high on Texas Red Hot, even if the Texas Red colt doesn't seem to get that much respect elsewhere.

“He's a really nice-moving colt,” he said. “I'm really high on him. He ran a really slow (speed figure) number the other day. But we'll see. I think he's pretty special. In his last race, it had rained that day. I think they'd opened (harrowed the track) up, and it still wasn't very fast, let's put it that way. It was really muddy out of the chute, and that race was seven-eighths.

“But bottom line is, he did it very professional, I thought. He was boxed in behind horses, nowhere to go. And when he did get a seam, he did what he needed to do.”

Texas Red Hot, who'd been second in his debut, made a leap forward between races. Morse expects another progression for this race, saying, “I think the farther they keep going he'll just get better and better.”

Verylittlecents finished fourth in her first start.

“She got away really bad,” he said. She had the one hole. But she's really quick. But she showed she had some class, because she kept finishing that day, where most of them when get away bad will just throw in the towel.”

Morse said she put it together in her last start. “A horse came up and hooked her, and when he asked her, she ran away from the field,” he said.

“The filly looks pretty good on paper,” Morse continued, speaking of the Debutante. “The colt, he's going to have to step up numbers-wise. But I think he's capable.

“Both of them, knock on wood, have done very well. Both of them had a really good breeze here, worked in a minute by themselves, just real easy. As hot as it's been, I haven't wanted to overdo anything with them. They're still just babies, still learning.”

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No matter what happens Sunday, Morse believes both babies have a bright future.

“This doesn't mean their whole future, this one race,” he said. “…. (but) you'd like to see them finish. This is seven-eighths of a mile. This will separate a lot of them. They're doing well. It's just a matter if they're good enough.”

Joe Talamo rides both horses.

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Pondering Retirement, Jones Seeks His First Groupie Doll Win With Istan Council

For all the races he's won at his hometown track, trainer Larry Jones could be looking at his final shot to win one of Ellis Park's signature races, Sunday's $125,000 Groupie Doll Stakes at the Henderson, Ky., track.

Jones will saddle Brereton Jones' Istan Council in the mile race, which attracted an overflow field of 13 fillies and mares. The trainer long has pointed horses for the Groupie Doll, and its various incarnations that include being called the Gardenia and the Coca-Cola Handicap. Istan Council is among his starters, having finished third last year behind victorious Lady Kate and New Roo, both of whom return.

A native of Hopkinsville, Ky., Jones has considered Henderson home for most of his adult life. He started his racehorse ownership career at Ellis Park in 1980 and officially began training his horses in 1982, going 0 for 42 before winning a $2,700 maiden-claiming race at Ellis Park in 1983. Fast forward 1,184 wins and almost $55.2 million in purse earnings later, and Jones is strongly considering retiring. Or at least what passes for retirement for someone who only is comfortable sitting if it's in a saddle.

Of course, Jones retired once before, with his wife Cindy taking over the stable in 2010, and that lasted a year. But circumstances are different now.

Rick Porter, the Delaware car dealer and champion owner who supplied Jones with standouts such as Horse of the Year Havre de Grace and Kentucky Derby runners-up Hard Spun and Eight Belles, died in June. Also, the most recent of a sequence of serious injuries sustained during freak training mishaps has relegated Jones to his pony, frustrating the trainer who for decades got on all of his toughest racehorses.

“I figure we'll get through the Oaklawn meet this winter,” Jones said. “But I have had some owners call me, wanting me to take horses next year, and I've turned them down. I don't know if we have any stars in the barn right now. If some of these 2-year-olds turn out to be really good, I'm sure I'll try to see them through their career.

“Since Mr. Porter passed away, and we don't have as many horses for Governor (Brereton) Jones as we did, yeah, we'll probably go,” he said, adding a caveat, “I don't know if I'll ever quit. I own several horses myself. But we'll definitely get down to where I don't have to travel. I'm really getting tired of living out of a suitcase. We've done it for 40 years now, and very extensively for the last 25…. I don't know if I'll completely stop, because I've got a few broodmares, and I've got to do something with these babies. But basically Larry Jones will be on the ownership side of all of them.”

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Of course, being an owner requires a trainer. Jones was self-taught and didn't come up under anyone. In that regard, it's hard to imagine Jones having horses with somebody else.

“Well, that's what I was trying to think,” he agreed. “I can't find anybody that I really want. The last time I quit, I got that Cindy Jones to train for us. But she said she's not doing it anymore, either.”

In the meantime, he has Istan Council in the Groupie Doll, owned by former Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones (no relation), supplied Larry Jones with his three Kentucky Oaks winners. Istan Council comes into the Groupie Doll off a runner-up finish in the Iowa Distaff won by Josie, who also is in Sunday's stakes. Sophie Doyle, the regular rider of Larry Jones' Grade 1-winning filly Street Band, has the mount.

“In the Iowa Distaff, I think Josie had the perfect trip,” Jones said. “I think we had a very good trip. We jumped out, just laying just off the pace, and felt like we had the leader when we wanted her. Then here came Josie and made us start having to hustle up and go. And we still got the jump on Josie, and Josie ran by her down the lane. But she ran a nice race.”

Jones loves the Groupie Doll as a race, even though he also got beat in it last year with Street Band, who finished sixth in her career finale. He finished second in 2012 with Joyful Victory, who a few races later won a Grade 1 race at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.

“I always wanted to try to have something for here,” Jones said. “This is still a very marquee race.”

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