Delaware Park's live racing card rescheduled to be run today, Thursday, Sept. 2, has been cancelled due to additional rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that affected the region late yesterday afternoon into last night and early this morning.
Live racing is scheduled to resume this Saturday, Sept. 4. First race post time is 1:15 p.m.
The post Additional Rain Forces Thursday Cancellation At Delaware Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Veteran jockey Luis Quinonez needs three more wins to move into second place in the all-time rider standings at Remington Park, ahead of the retired Don Pettinger.
Pettinger finished his career with 1,419 Remington Park victories, 706 behind all-time leader Cliff Berry, who had 2,125. All three riders are in the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Quinonez, 54, came into this meet with 1,416 and has one win in the first four days. He needs 101 more wins to reach 4,000 trips to the winner's circle overall in his career.
“I used to think, 'I'd really like to get to 4,000,' but the last couple of years, it's gotten a little tougher,” said Quinonez, who makes his home in Jones, Okla., just outside of Oklahoma City. “Now it's, 'If I get to 4,000 that would be great. I'm not going to sweat it.'”
He said he will celebrate if and when he moves into second place.
“I got my first win at Remington Park on my very first mount in 1989 when I was about 22 or 23 years old,” he said. “I had just gotten my riding license. I was just galloping horses in 1988, the first year here. The next year, I won on the first horse I rode – New Writer.”
His horse went off at odds of 22-1 for trainer Cliff Darnell and came home with Quinonez's patented late run on the turf. He beat such riders as Berry, the late Pat Steinberg (winner of nine riding titles in the early days of the track and an Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Famer), Dale Cordova (10th all-time here and regular rider for Silver Goblin), and Tony McNeil, now the paddock judge at Remington Park.
“Second place would be great, fantastic,” said Quinonez. “I have so many memories at Remington Park, some good and some bad.”
He said one horse almost broke his neck after finishing second in the race.
“He jumped the tracks at the wire and I tried to grab his mane but I came off,” he said. “We still ran second because it was after the finish, but I came back with a bloody nose.”
Was he injured badly?
“Hey, I came back and won the very next race,” he said.
A jockey doesn't win almost 4,000 times without a few X-rays in his life. He said he's had several concussions at Remington Park in his career, but nothing major. And then there are the good memories.
He made it to the Kentucky Derby once aboard Suddenbreakingnews, the 2016 winner of the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park for trainer Donnie Von Hemel. The best trivia question to come out of that win has to do with who ran second. It was none other than Whitmore, who went on to win the 2020 Breeder's Cup Sprint. Suddenbreakingnews won the Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington Park and finished second in the Springboard Mile in the fall of 2015 before moving to Oaklawn. After winning the Southwest, he ran second to Creator in the Arkansas Derby. Whitmore was third.
“Suddenbreakingnews has to be my all-time favorite because he got me to the Big Dance (Kentucky Derby),” said Quinonez. “Shotgun Kowboy ($1,548,648 earner) and Alternation ($1,064,727) were right up there and Brownie Points ($957,230), but going to the Kentucky Derby was awesome.”
It might have been awesome, but it was a nightmare for him early on.
“We drew the 2-hole and we almost got dropped twice before we went under the wire the first time,” he said. “I really thought we had a chance to win the Derby. I always wanted another chance. I'd been on horses that finished 22nd and 23rd in the Kentucky Derby list (top 20 get in) a few times, but this was my only chance. When I finally got going on him (with clear sailing) the horses on the final turn came out, off the rail, so I took it. We were closing fast and I thought I was going to finish third.”
Suddenbreakingnews finished fifth, less than five lengths behind the 2016 Derby winner Nyquist. Quinonez was within a head and a nose from running third. Exaggerator was second, Gun Runner (2017 Horse of the Year) third and Mohayem fourth.
“I thought we'd catch Gun Runner, but he just had enough left,” Quinonez said.
Quinonez said he still loves riding and competing.
“I still am in pretty good shape,” he said. “I'm not as young now, but this will be fun trying to catch Pettinger for second. I don't think I can catch Cliff, but that's OK. He's my brother from another mother. We've been roommates before and we always play golf together. I don't think I can, but you never know.”
Times have certainly changed. Quinonez won only four races that first year at Remington Park.
“And Cliff only won two, I think,” he said. “He won his first one early and then he ran second about 60 times before winning one more.”
Quinonez, going into Wednesday night's race card at Remington, has had 26,803 starts in his career with 3,899 wins, 3,690 seconds and 3,532 thirds for $76,805,803 from his horses' earnings. At Remington Park, he has ridden 9,719 times with 1,417 wins; 1,344 seconds, and 1,225 thirds for earnings in excess of $25 million.
With a little luck, he could tie the record Wednesday night. He has only two mounts – My Baby Blue (10-1) in the fifth race and Alternative Slew (5-2) in the eighth.
This is the first week Remington Park moves into a four-night racing week, with cards scheduled Wednesday through Saturday, Sept. 1-4. First post nightly is 7:07pm-Central.
The post Veteran Rider Luis Quinonez Approaching Remington Park Milestone Held By Retired Don Pettinger appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
4.27 ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €27,000, 2yo, c/g, 8fT
CHANCELLERY (IRE) (Medaglia d'Oro) starts out for Godolphin and Andre Fabre three months after topping the Arqana Breeze Up Sale at £675,000. From the family of Aljabr (Storm Cat), the March-foaled bay meets Hypotenus (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), the Wertheimers' full-brother to the G3 Prix d'Aumale scorer Soustraction (Ire) and a half to the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner-up Matematica (Ger) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) who debuts for their trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias.
4.30 Dundalk, Mdn, €12,000, 2yo, 6f (AWT)
NEW YORK CITY (IRE) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) debuts for Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor and Smith and is a 600,000gns Book 1-bought full-brother to the G2 Duke of York S.-winning sire Invincible Army (Ire). Aidan O'Brien readies the February-foaled bay, whose dam Rajeem (GB) (Diktat {GB}) sprang a 50-1 upset in the 2006 G1 Falmouth S.
5.02 ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €27,000, 2yo, f, 8fT
AGAVE (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is a significant Juddmonte homebred on the card, being a daughter of the G2 Prix de Pomone third Contribution (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) who is in turn a half to the mighty Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). Andre Fabre introduces the February-foaled homebred is joined by stablemate Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), Baron Edouard De Rothschild's half-sister to the four-times group 1 winner Meandre (Fr) (Slickly {Fr}).
The post Observations: Brother To Invincible Army Debuts at Dundalk appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Viewers of the Grade 1 Forego Aug. 28 got a surprise in the stretch run when experienced competitor Firenze Fire reached over and attacked rival Yaupon around the sixteenth pole. The act of one horse attacking another is called “savaging” and while not completely unheard of during the running of a race, it's not exactly common.
Up until now, the most famous image of a similar incident was probably taken in the final strides of the 1980 Tremont Stakes, where Great Prospector reached over to bite at eventual winner Golden Derby. A black and white photo of the moment, shot from underneath the inside rail by Bob Coglianese, became the Eclipse Award winning image of that year.
Firenze Fire, a 6-year-old intact male with multiple graded stakes races to his credit, came at Yaupon with his teeth several times before jockey Jose Ortiz was able to straighten him out. If Yaupon was disturbed by the behavior, it didn't impact his performance, as he prevailed by a head at the wire. Local reports indicated Yaupon was unharmed by the incident.
Strangely, Firenze Fire has been on the receiving end of such treatment, too. During the running of the G3 Gallant Bob in 2018 he was bitten by Whereshetoldmetogo just before the wire — although he seems to have only gotten a single, somewhat discreet nip on the neck, rather than a teeth-barred facial attack like the one he dealt to Yaupon.
Unreal. Firenze Fire, you savage. pic.twitter.com/hNNCOZcATj
— Ray Paulick (@raypaulick) August 28, 2021
We asked a few equine behavior experts about Firenze Fire's behavior to learn more about what makes horses do this. Here's what we learned.
Dr. Sue McDonnell, founding head of the Equine Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Certified Animal Behaviorist:
I don't think it does have much to do with dominance, but of course can't be sure. I see this all day every day in the herd and I don't think it gains the perpetrator any advantage or dominance. I think it's a reflex gesture that communicates, 'Slow down and let's play fight!' I agree to people it looks vicious, and people often assume it's a dominance thing, but that's a big assumption, probably without much evidence. What I see doesn't support that at all.
I see this among foals playing, bachelors play chasing and wrestling, usually after a long run or “race” if you will, and they are tiring and ones seems to want to slow or stop and wrestle. In serious combat between stallions, that particular biting gesture is not seen. It's more of very serious lunge to take the other down to the ground.
My first thought is that the previous incident is likely coincidence. The only thing that I can think of concerning the possible relationship of having been involved previously is that Firenze Fire is the type of horse that is paying attention to the competitor horse in the sense of actually “racing” the other horse rather just running in response to the rider direction and training — a different motivational state, which is likely perceived among horses. And that in the previous incident where he was the receiver, that competitor horse was reflexively responding to Firenze Fire's natural racing motivation/behavior.
Firenze Fire #10 (R) with Irad Ortiz, Jr. riding overcame a bite by 2nd place finisher Whereshetoldmetogo (L) with jockey Jeremy Rose to win the $300,000 Grade III Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania on September 22, 2018. Photo By Taylor Ejdys/EQUI-PHOTO
Dr. Nicholas Dodman, program director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and diplomate of American College of Veterinary Behaviorists:
Biting with ears pinned back is a typical behavior of an intact horse or a gelding given steroids. If you walk down track shed rows, you can pretty much tell the stallions by the way the horses lay their ears back and charge at people with teeth bared or they do it only to horses being hot walked around the shed rows. The walker knows to give them a wide berth from the stalls and needs to have their horse strong in hand when going by.
I doubt very much that Firenze Fire's biting behavior was a reaction to his being on the receiving end of similar behavior some years before.
Kerry Thomas, founder of the Thomas Herding Technique and THT Bloodstock:
[This incident is not necessarily about exerting dominance] because dominance and physical expression do not always go hand-in-hand by the laws of herd dynamics in nature. In this scenario I view it as more related to the manner of physical expression in what we at THT call a “close-space-fighter”, which means for us horses that have a tendency to exaggerate their physical expression during times of protracted competitive stresses.
It's more a re-direction of focus than a fracture. The same amount of emotional energy that was housed in the forward competitive aspect gets shifted to what the horse views as a close space infraction. This shift in emotional energy disrupts physical efficiency and subsequently affects physical pace. In short, what you have is the mental horse going one direction and the physical horse another for those moments.
By and large I view these as unrelated, separate incidents. However that said, Firenze Fire's herd dynamic rhythms and competitive nature in close space battles can lend itself to a variety of both dishing-out & eliciting of arbitrary expressions, most of which are subtle, some of which, as we have seen, not so subtle.
The emotional expressions of these athletes reminds us we should never underappreciate the beauty of their nature, nor undervalue the impact of it.
The post Ask The Experts: What’s Up With Firenze Fire’s Savagery? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
