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Another Milestone For Asmussen: 700 Career Wins At Oaklawn

Steve Asmussen became the second trainer to reach 700 career victories at Oaklawn when even-money favorite Swiftsure captured Saturday's seventh race at under Ricardo Santana Jr.

Asmussen entered the 2021 Oaklawn meeting that began Friday with 696 career victories at the Hot Springs, Ark., track. He saddled one winner Friday and added victories in Saturday's fourth race with favored Jalen Journey ($4.40) and sixth race, the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes, with favored Silver State ($3.80) before reaching the career milestone with Swiftsure ($4).

A two-time Eclipse Award winner (2008 and 2009) as the nation's outstanding trainer, Asmussen, 55, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016. He is seeking his record-tying 11^th Oaklawn training title.

“Oaklawn's been unbelievably good to us,” Asmussen said. “I think it's propelled us to where we're at. The opportunity to run this quality of horse for a good amount of money – there's a lot of good people we work for to go out and continue to improve their stock. Everything feels like it's headed in the right direction.”

Asmussen started his first horse at Oaklawn in 1989 and saddled his first winner in Hot Springs Feb. 9, 1996 (Honest J). Asmussen recorded his first Oaklawn stakes victory the following day with Valid Expectations in the $50,000 Mountain Valley for 3-year-old sprinters. Valid Expectations, Asmussen's first nationally prominent runner, was ridden by older brother Cash Asmussen, an Eclipse Award-winning apprentice and champion jockey in France.

Steve Asmussen has at least one stakes victory every year in Hot Springs since 1996 and Silver State marked his Oaklawn-record 90^thoverall. He set a single-season Oaklawn record for purse earnings in 2019 ($5,644,609). Asmussen, through Saturday, had started 3,408 horses in his Oaklawn career.

Some of Asmussen's top horses to run at Oaklawn include champions Curlin, Untapable, Gun Runner, Mitole and Midnight Bisou – all stakes winners in Hot Springs.

The late Bob Holthus is the only other trainer in Oaklawn history with 700 career victories. Holthus, a nine-time Oaklawn training champion, recorded more than 850 in Hot Springs.

“Am I second? Dang, I'm second in a lot of categories, aren't I?” Asmussen joked. “Second all-time in wins, second at Oaklawn in wins, second in money earned.”

Asmussen entered Sunday second in North American history career in purse earnings (more than $344 million), according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization, and second in career victories (9,159), including two with Curlin in the United Arab Emirates in 2008. Asmussen is projected to surpass the late Dale Baird (9,445) for career victories this fall. A former jockey, Asmussen had his first starter, and victory, in 1986.

“I promise you this,” Asmussen said. “I don't plan on stopping right on it (9,445), if that matters at all.”

Hall of Famer Henry Forrest (11) holds the record for most career Oaklawn training titles. Asmussen was Oaklawn's leading trainer in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. His 64 victories in 2019 is the second-highest single-season total in Oaklawn history.

Saturday's triple left Asmussen and Brad Cox (four victories) tied for the early lead in this year's Oaklawn standings. Both are finalists for an Eclipse Award as the country's outstanding trainer of 2020.

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Desormeaux Sidelined After Suffering Back Injury In Santa Anita Spill

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux will be on the sidelines after suffering what he called “a couple lil bone cracks in my back” as a result of a spill in Saturday's fifth race at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Desormeaux, who turns 51 on Feb. 27, was aboard Scat's Choice for trainer Vann Belvoir in the $25,000 claiming race going six furlongs on the main track when the horse suffered a catastrophic injury approaching the far turn while just behind the early leader. Desormeaux was thrown to the ground but did not appear to be struck by any trailing horses.

Scat's Choice, a 3-year-old filly by First Samurai, was euthanized, the first main track racing casualty at Santa Anita since 2019.

Complaining of hip soreness, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the rider was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena for diagnosis. On Sunday morning, after returning to his home, Desormeaux posted the following on Facebook.

Good Morning all.
Thx for your concern
The spill caused a couple lil bone cracks in my back. I have returned home. No surgery.
Dr. Says its completely a pain management situation.

Posted by Kent J Desormeaux on Sunday, January 24, 2021

Desormeaux returned to riding at the start of the Santa Anita winter meet after taking five months off, in part because of a ban by officials at Del Mar stemming from an on-site incident that took place after the races. He was also suspended by stewards for 15 days for disorderly conduct that included a racial slur and aggressive behavior. During the down time, Desormeaux entered an alcohol rehabilitation facility.

With more than 6,000 career wins and three Eclipse Awards, Desormeaux has been slow to gather momentum since returning. He finished 2020 winning with one of four mounts, with two thirds, at the start of the Santa Anita meet, but has gone 0-for-26 in 2021, with four seconds and four thirds.

Scat's Choice had not recorded any workouts since a Dec. 5 breeze at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Ky., but the filly raced twice in December, finishing eighth at West Virginia's Mountaineer Park Dec. 13 and then fifth Dec. 29 at Mahoning Valley in Ohio. She was trained by James Chapman prior to being sent to Belvoir in Southern California. She won one of 10 races after being purchased as a yearling by Chapman and Stuart Tsujimoto for $5,000.

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Tampa Bay Downs: Glyshaw Saddles 500th Career Winner

Tim Glyshaw's immediate reaction to scoring career victory No. 500 in Friday's 10th race at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., was tongue-in-cheek, but also reflected the life of a trainer who has experienced numerous highs and his share of setbacks since taking out his license in 2004.

“If I have to wait this long to win the next 500,” he said, to no one in particular, “I'll be really old.”

The head victory by 3-year-old colt Cochise Charlie in the five-furlong turf event in his second career start might have aged the 52-year-old Glyshaw a bit, but he was understandably ecstatic after the Kentucky-bred and jockey Roberto Alvarado, Jr., hung on to defeat Beach Warrior in 57.31 seconds.

“I thought (Alvarado) did a real good job. I'm glad he decided not to ding-dong it on the lead (with pace-setter Good Boy Roy) and kept him a little off of it,” Glyshaw said. “It taught him a little something, and I'm very happy the way he liked the turf. I guess we'll keep him on it now.”

Glyshaw was also happy to win No. 500 for owner Wayne Spalding of Kentucky, for whom he trained 2017 Grade 1 Pattison Canadian International Stakes winner Bullards Alley. “Wayne just got diagnosed with a serious illness, so it is pretty special to win this for him,” Glyshaw said.

Glyshaw, who came up in the sport under the late Bob Holthus, also trained multiple-G2 winner Bucchero, who competed in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in 2017 and 2018.

“This ranks right up there with going to the Breeders' Cup twice and to Royal Ascot with Bucchero and winning the Pattison with Bullards Alley,” Glyshaw said. “Winning 500 races is something I never imagined doing when I started training.”

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Joe Talamo Tests Positive For COVID-19, Off Mounts At Oaklawn

Jockey Joe Talamo has been taken off his six mounts on Friday's opening day card at Oaklawn Park, reports the Daily Racing Form, after a 6:00 a.m. rapid test returned a positive result for COVID-19.

Talamo was showing no symptoms, according to his agent Jake Romans, and had tested negative on Monday.

Oaklawn's requirements for outside jockeys include two negative PCR COVID-19 tests within five days, with the second to be taken on race day.

Talamo was named on Moonlight Strike in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., and will be replaced by Ramon Vazquez.

Romans said he expects Talamo won't return to the saddle until Feb. 5. Talamo was named on six horses Saturday and six horses Sunday, as well.