Tag: People

Angel Penna Jr., who trained champions Christmas Past and Laugh and Be Merry, has died in South Florida at the age of 74. According to published reports, Penna was residing in an assisted living facility due to the onset of dementia when he passed.

Born June 27, 1948, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Penna was the son of the Hall of Fame trainer, Angel Penna Sr., who also was born in Buenos Aires but made headlines training in France, England and the United States. In the 1970s, the elder Penna won the Epsom Derby and two runnings of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He died in 1992 at the age of 68. Penna Sr. was widely respected as a horseman whose mantra about his  horses was “don't squeeze the lemon dry.”

The younger Penna, who assisted his father for a number of years, began training in the U.S. in 1980 after getting his start in Europe. His first graded stakes winner came in 1981 with the Chilean-bred El Barril, but the following year he developed the Cynthia Phipps homebred Christmas Past to be champion 3-year-old filly. The daughter of Grey Dawn II won five graded stakes that season, including the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and G1 Ruffian Handicap. Penna ran her against older males in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, where she finished third. Christmas Past came back the following year to beat males in the G1 Gulfstream Park Handicap.

In 1983, Penna developed A Phenomenon into one of the country's top sprinters for owner Brownell Combs II, winning three stakes, including the only Grade 1 race for sprinters then contested, the Vosburgh at Belmont Park. He lost the Eclipse Award vote as champion sprinter to California-based Chinook Pass.

Penna trained several top horses for Josephine Abercrombie's Pin Oak Farm, including dual G1 winner Cool and Laugh and Be Merry, a daughter of Erins Isle who was voted an Eclipse Award in 1990 as champion grass mare after winning 5-of-8 starts, including the G1 Flower Bowl Handicap.

Penna never oversaw a large stable, his most active year coming in 1985 when he was represented by 181 starts and recorded 38 wins. In recent years he was based in South Florida year-round, his number of annual starts averaging less than 40. He saddled his last ru n Nov. 4, 2021, when Only Time finished third in a maiden claiming event at Gulfstream Park.

Penna is survived by his wife, Ruth. Funeral arrangements are not known at this time but will be published when available.

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As the 20^th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing season comes to a close, one jockey has led her category from start to finish. Gage Holmes, a native of Pleasantville, Pa., will be awarded her first riding title as the 2022 Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Holmes didn't enter racing through the traditional family ties route. She began grooming horses at Presque Isle, about an hour away from her home in northwest Pennsylvania. That was her first exposure to horses.

“Riding is something I've always wanted to do,” said Holmes. “I watched all the horse racing movies growing up. It's always been something I wanted to pursue.”

Holmes began her riding career at Gulfstream Park a year ago, scoring her first win aboard Kitten Street in early January of 2022. A prior position as an exercise rider for John Ortiz Jr. led her to a connection to Jock's Agent Jimmy McNerney, who brought her to Indiana for the 2022 meet.

“I had my first gallop job in the Midwest for Ian Wilkes and then worked for John Ortiz before going to Florida to work for Gerald Brooks,” said Holmes. “I was trying to figure out where to go and John (Ortiz) hooked me up with Jimmy (McNerney), so I came to Indiana with no expectations. I just wanted to focus on myself and become the best rider I could.”

Holmes quickly caught on with the local trainers and shot out to an early lead in the apprentice jockey standings. She quickly checked off some boxes on her goals, including her first stakes win aboard Henrietta Topham in the Centennial Distaff Turf Mile at Ellis Park after winning two races with her in Indiana. She later rode the filly in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Stakes, her first Graded Stakes appearance where she finished fourth.

Locally, Holmes was also accomplishing a lot. Heading into the final day of racing, she has 48 wins and more than $1.3 million in purses. Her totals are second only to Katie Clawson-Ramsey, who established the records for both wins and earnings in 2017 for apprentice riders with 71 wins and $1.5 million in earnings. Overall, Holmes is ranked ninth among all jockeys in 2022 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Holmes has had several impressive wins so far in Indiana. One horse that stands out to her is Speedy Delivery.

“I got my first win here and started my bug aboard her (Speedy Delivery),” added Holmes. “She's had four wins here this year and a second in a stakes race (ITOBA Stallion Stakes Fillies). The Elliott's (Michelle, trainer) have been really good to help me get on my feet and get started. Genaro (Garcia) has also helped me a lot here, and I appreciate that so much.”

Holmes also credits assistance from veteran jockeys DeShawn Parker and Rodney Prescott for helping her perfect her skills as a jockey.

“Since I work with Jimmy (McNerney) and he has DeShawn (Parker), we worked a lot of horses together and he has really helped me and given me advice. Rodney (Prescott) has also gone out of his way to help me out.”

When asked what feels different about her riding after competing in 127 days of racing in Indiana, Holmes said, “Confidence in myself and my abilities. And, riding every horse like it's the favorite.”

Holmes will continue her trade as a jockey at Turfway Park this winter, but she will also have another job. The 2018 graduate of Penn State with a degree in veterinary and medical science will enter medical school in January through the distance education pathway of LECOM (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine).

“The program is mostly online, so I can still get out there in the mornings and do the work and get to the races at night,” explained Holmes. “The first year and a half is mostly baseline studies before I decide what discipline of medicine I want to go into.”

Holmes will be the ninth recipient of the Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey award. The award was named after Saez in 2014 following a racing incident that claimed his life. Saez, only 17 at the time, won the honor in 2014. Other recipients of the award include Cheyanna Patrick, Eduardo Gallardo, Clawson, Edgar Morales, Joe Ramos, Kendall Sterritt, Joshua Morales, and Andrea Rodriguez.

The 20^th season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing extends through Wednesday, Nov. 23. Live racing is conducted at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday with Thursday post times set for 2:10 p.m. A total of 12 Saturdays will feature live racing in 2022 highlighted by the 28^th running of the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby and the 27^th running of the Grade 3 $200,000 Indiana Oaks set for Saturday, July 9. For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis.

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The Turf Publicists of America (TPA) announced Monday that the 2022 Big Sport of Turfdom award, which recognizes a person or group of people who enhances coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media and racing publicists, will be presented to Cody Dorman.

When Cody's Wish crossed the wire first in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, the horse's biggest fan, Cody Dorman, was there to celebrate the victory that put an exclamation point on the most heartwarming story in racing.

Dorman, who was born with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, is unable to walk or communicate without utilizing a tablet but he speaks volumes about what it means to never give up. The continuing story of the now 16-year-old who first met an unnamed foal by champion Curlin when Godolphin hosted Cody and his family during Keeneland's Make-A-Wish Day in 2018 is what fairy tales are made of.

From their first meeting, the colt always showed an uncanny interest in Cody and those visits gave Cody the strength to continue through some incredibly tough times. In return, Cody brings something special to that foal who has grown into a racehorse – Cody's Wish has never lost a race with Cody in attendance.

“Cody has brought to the forefront what it means to be strong and brave in his personal life as well as highlighting the extraordinary interaction that occurs between horses and humans,” said Wendy Davis, TPA president. “He gives inspiration to us all.”

The Big Sport of Turfdom award will be presented at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's annual awards luncheon on Dec. 6. The luncheon is part of the 2022 Global Symposium on Racing at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Ariz. The luncheon is included in registration fees for the symposium.

The Big Sport of Turfdom has been presented annually since 1966. Previous winners include jockeys Mike Smith, Pat Day, Chris McCarron, Bill Shoemaker, Angel Cordero Jr., Eddie Arcaro and Gary Stevens; trainers Art Sherman, D. Wayne Lukas, Brad Cox, Tom Amoss and Jack Van Berg; and other individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport, such as Secretariat's owner, Penny Chenery, a two-time winner; announcer Tom Durkin, author Laura Hillenbrand, broadcaster Jim McKay, Turf writer Joe Hirsch and actors Tim Conway and Jack Klugman.

The post ‘He Gives Inspiration To Us All’: Cody Dorman Honored With 2022 Big Sport Of Turfdom Award appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jockey Trevor McCarthy could miss as much as 10 weeks with fractures to both his pelvis and collarbone after an incident on Friday at Aqueduct Racetrack, reports the Daily Racing Form. McCarthy was riding Ever Summer in Friday's sixth race when the filly clipped heels with a rival. He was transported off the track on a backboard and transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for evaluation.

Neither of McCarthy's fractures will require surgical repair.

According to the Equibase chart, a stewards' inquiry was held into the sixth race, resulting in the disqualification of runner-up Rhombique from second to ninth for interference with several rivals. Rhombique, ridden by Jalon Samuel, angled out near the quarter pole and bumped a rival while moving from the two-path to the four-path.

That move forced Ever Summer and McCarthy to the seven-path, where they clipped heels with eventual seventh-place finisher Unruly July. Ever Summer fell to the ground, but returned to her feet after clipping heels and walked off the track under her own power.

New York stewards have issued a seven-day careless riding suspension to Samuel for his role in the incident; Samuel told DRF he does not plan to appeal.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form here and here.

The post McCarthy Out Up To 10 Weeks With Pelvis, Collarbone Fractures; Samuel Suspended Seven Days For Careless Riding appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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