Miguel Mena | Horse Racing Free Tips

Joel Rosario Will Be Back Aboard Tom’s D’Etat In Next Saturday’s Whitney

With the jockey colony at Saratoga under COVID-19 restrictions, regular rider Joel Rosario will get back aboard Tom's d'Etat in next Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Stakes, reports the Daily Racing Form.

In his most recent start, the 7-year-old son of Smart Strike was guided to victory by Miguel Mena in the G2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. Trainer Al Stall has breezed the horse just twice since the June 27 effort, including on Friday at Saratoga.

Rosario rode Tom's d'Etat in that breeze, receiving an official time of 48.22 seconds for a half-mile. Tom's d'Etat has won all five of his starts with Rosario in the saddle.

“He's just a special horse,” Rosario told drf.com. “He's nice to ride; he knows his stuff. He's special because he's very smart, he knows what he's doing out there. He's there for you when you ask him. If you leave him alone, he just takes his time. He felt good.”

First Winner For Claiborne Farm’s Runhappy Comes At Indiana Grand

Runhappy, the most heavily-promoted stallion in America, sired his first winner as the 2-year-old Libertyrun rolled to a 6 1/4-length victory in Wednesday's fourth race at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino.

James McIngvale — the Houston furniture magnate and philanthropist known as Mattress Mack — has invested mightily to advertise Runhappy, his 2015 champion sprinter who is a stallion at famed Claiborne Farm. As it turns out, McIngvale got a little piece of his investment back as the owner and breeder of Libertyrun.

“That's the first Runhappy winner, and in Mack's silks as a matter of fact,” said Kelly Wohlers, who serves as assistant to trainer Laura Wohlers, McIngvale's sister in law. The Wohlers oversee McIngvale's racing operation and were very involved in training Runhappy. “So, we're very proud of him. Very happy for Mack.”

Libertyrun — carrying McIngvale's blue, white and red silks to victory four days after Independence Day — was exceedingly professional in his racing debut, breaking from post 12 to press the early pace from the outside and then cruising away in the stretch.

“He's not a very big horse, but he is very professional,” said jockey Miguel Mena. “He came out of the gate great. When we got to the stretch, he had his ears pricked and I hit him once and he took off running. I hit him one more time and he continued on again. I think he is a very nice horse.”

There have been four other 2-year-olds to race so far from Runhappy's first crop, which has 69 named foals.

McIngvale is known for his Texas-sized promotions and charitable works. For instance, he opened up his Gallery Furniture showrooms as shelters in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey. He also received worldwide publicity with his “Win It All” promotion where customers who had purchased mattresses or bases totaling at least $3,000 would get their money back if the Houston Astros won baseball's World Series. Those Gallery Furniture consumers cashed in on the Astros' 2017 championship and lost in seven games last year. (Mattress Mack made headlines there by wagering millions through sports books to hedge his bet.)

McIngvale is every bit as enthusiastic in promoting Runhappy by sponsoring stakes and race meets around the country. There also is a $100,000 bonus if a horse sired by Runhappy wins an open maiden race at Belmont Park, Saratoga, Del Mar or Kentucky Downs this summer.

Asked how much his boss has put into promoting Runhappy, Kelly Wohlers said, “Tons. I'm very emotional right now. It's absolutely wonderful.

“He loves to train,” he said of Libertyrun. “He's a very nice athlete. He's got Runhappy's mind, but he's got a little more pep in his step. Runhappy had pep in his step when he got to the paddock. But this horse is all the time on go. He loves what he does.”

Libertyrun, who was born in Louisiana, likely will be pointed to a stakes for Louisiana-bred 2-year-olds, Kelly Wohlers said, though he didn't rule out Ellis Park's $100,000 Runhappy Juvenile on Aug. 9.

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Patience, Perseverance Couldn’t Overcome Physical Obstacle For Slain Student’s Namesake Little Guac

Carlo Vaccarezza's sons Nick and Mike made it out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School alive on that horrific Valentine's Day in 2018 in Parkland, Fla., when a gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle and killed 17 students and educators.

Nick's buddy Joaquin Oliver didn't.

“Nick said, 'Dad, the next horse you buy, let's name him after one of my best friends, Joaquin Oliver — they call him Guac,'” recalled the elder Vaccarezza, a horse owner, trainer and Boca Raton restaurateur.

Three weeks later, Vaccarezza paid $55,000 at the Ocala 2-year-old sale for a son of the Claiborne Farm stallion Flatter. The colt was named Little Guac (pronounced wok) to honor the slain 17-year-old.

It would be another two years and four months before Vaccarezza finally got Little Guac to the starting gate for his first start, racing with Nick as owner. If willing something to happen was enough, Little Guac would have been in the winner's circle after Ellis Park's eighth race Saturday. Instead, he raced up close to the leaders until late in the turn before fading to sixth under Miguel Mena in the eight-horse field running 5 1/2 furlongs on turf.

Vaccarezza and jockey Miguel Mena discuss Little Guac after the race

As he waited for the race to start, Vaccarezza said that he thought he finally had Little Guac ready for competition.

“At least I hope he's ready,” he said. “I think it would be a nice story. My son would be really emotional if the horse would win. Myself, too. It's a shame — a young not even 18-year-old kid, we lost him for something crazy. He was such a nice kid and had the world to live for, and unfortunately he got shot.”

Little Guac's finish wasn't simply a matter of the horse tiring in his first start ever. The horse experienced a pulmonary hemorrhaging episode, a common condition in the equine species known as bleeding. In fact, it was what had kept Little Guac from racing earlier in his career, with Vaccarezza giving the horse lots of time off from training and specialized treatments.

Treatment does allow many horses to race successfully with this condition. Little Guac just wasn't one. Now, with Saturday's result, Vaccarezza said Little Guac most likely is through racing after one race in which he earned $300.

“We did everything we could think of,” Vaccarezza said. “We did everything possible. … I think that's the end of his career. If I could look back, I wish I could have named another horse Little Guac, that maybe he'd have won a race. But at least we tried. This is horse racing. You can't predict the future of these animals. It doesn't matter how much you pay for them. We gave it a good try. I hope Little Guac in heaven is proud of his horse.”

The elder Vaccarezza said he doesn't regret trying to get Little Guac to the races.

“If this horse was any other horse, I'd have given up,” he said. “There are very few people who have a horse who is almost 5 years old and hasn't made a start. Due to the fact that it meant so much to my son and being the namesake, I did everything possible to try to let the horse be a good horse and let it run a decent race.”

Carlo Vaccarezza is best known in racing circles for campaigning $3.5 million-earner Little Mike, the horse named for his younger son. Little Mike in 2012 won Churchill Downs' Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, the Arlington Million and Breeders' Cup Turf when trained by Dale Romans. Vaccarezza, who owns Frank & Dino's restaurant in Boca Raton, races many of his horses in the name of family members: wife Priscilla and both sons. He began training his own horses in 2014.

After almost 30 years in Florida, Vaccarezza moved his entire 28-horse stable to Keeneland in mid-March. One factor is that his sons want to attend the University of Kentucky, Nick (who works for trainer Chad Brown) for the equine program and Mike for business administration.

“This has been brewing for a few months,” he said. “We're building another Frank & Dino's in Lexington, so that was the perfect scenario, just to move my horses to Keeneland. I love it in Lexington. I think it's a beautiful town.”

Vaccarezza had a win, three seconds and three thirds at Churchill Downs' spring meet, his first while training full-time in Kentucky. Saturday was his first time at Ellis Park, though he knows racing secretary Dan Bork well from Bork's years at Gulfstream Park.

“It's like a diamond in the rough,” Vaccarezza said of Ellis Park. “It's a pretty little place. Dan Bork is doing a phenomenal job. The main track is great; the turf course is superb, and the people are really friendly.”

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Days After Major Victory In Stephen Foster, Mena Hits, 2,000-Win Milestone

Jockey Miguel Mena won his 2,000th career victory in Friday's fifth race on the second day of the RUNHAPPY Summer Meet at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., going wire to wire on Michael Langford's 3-year-old Substantial in the maiden race on turf.

Active on social media, Mena said he learned from Twitter that he was close to the milestone. Mena achieved win 1,998 in high-profile fashion by taking Churchill Downs' Grade 2 Stephen Foster on leading older horse Tom's d'Etat. No. 1,999 came on Ellis' opening card.

“A lot of folks were posting how I was two away, three away and I was one away today,” said Mena, Ellis Park's 2006 riding champion. “I've been riding since I was 16. I came to America when I was 17 years old. Two thousand wins, a lot of hard work went into it, and it has paid off.”

The native of Peru began riding in America in 2003. Now 33, Mena has earned at least $1 million in purse earnings every year since 2005. He has won at least 100 races every year since 2006, with the exception of 2018, when he was sidelined much of the year after sustaining eight fractures to his ankle and heel in a riding mishap. Delaying his recovery was the fact that surgery wasn't possible because of the development of massive blisters that made the risk of infection too great.

But Mena came back with a vengeance last year, his $6.5 million in purses his highest in seven years. For his persistence, Mena was chosen recipient of the Fair Grounds' first Randy Romero “Pure Courage” Award.

The jockey, who won 50 races in Peru, says back then he couldn't have imagined winning 2,000 races in the United States.

“I never did,” he said. “I came with a lot of dreams. I came very hungry to work my butt off. I'm so grateful to this country. It has given me a better life, not only for me but for my family in Peru as well. I'm very thankful to America.”

Mena's 15,395 career mounts have earned purses exceeding $68.5 million. While now still in his prime, the jockey's statistics might have been even more impressive had a drinking problem at age 22 not threatened to derail his promising career. A turning point came when he married his wife, April, in 2011, the couple subsequently having daughters Naelah and Montserrat.

“We all grow up different. I appreciate the ups and downs that I've been through,” he said. “It has taught me a lot; it has made me mature. Things are going the right way. I just knock on wood to keep it that way.”

Asked about achieving 3,000 wins, Mena said, “Well, we're going to work for it. Ten more years, who knows? We'll keep on working hard.”

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