The New York stretch of the Road to the Kentucky Derby kicks off on New Year’s Day at Aqueduct with the Jerome Stakes offering eight newly turned 3-year-olds the opportunity to pick up a few qualifying points, which could come in handy should those runners still have Triple Crown aspirations in the spring.
Tag: Racing
Beer Can Mean Heads Down The Hill In Saturday’s Joe Hernandez Stakes
Trainer Mark Glatt's red-hot Beer Can Man heads a field of seven older horses going 6 ½ furlongs down Santa Anita's hillside turf course in Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 Joe Hernandez Stakes. Named for the original Voice of Santa Anita, the Hernandez will return to a hillside start after being run in late 2020 at 5 ½ furlongs over the track's turf oval.
Forwardly placed early, Beer Can Man prevailed by a head as the 3-5 favorite in his most recent start, a five furlong turf classified allowance at Del Mar Nov. 7. Off the board in his debut going six furlongs over a sloppy track at Indiana Grand on July 22, 2020, the 4-year-old colt by Can the Man has been well at home on turf ever since, winning five races (including the G3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes in his first start for Glatt on Nov. 29, 2020), while second twice and third once.
Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables, LLC and Madaket Stable, LLC, Beer Can Man will be trying the hillside course for the first time in what will be his 11th career start. With Flavien Prat set to ride him back, Beer Can Man, who is out of the Dynaformer mare Cheesecake, has earnings of $273,556.
A head and a nose away from being unbeaten in his last three starts, French-bred Commander, a rousing two-length winner down the hill two starts back on Oct. 2, comes off a close second in a five furlong turf classified allowance on Nov. 7 at Del Mar and rates a huge chance with Juan Hernandez taking over. Owned by the Sinnott Family Trust, this 5-year-old gelding will hope to be rallying late.
Three eastern shippers, Bill Mott's Chewing Gum, Paddy Gallagher's Delaware and Michael Trombetta's Momos, are all consistent turf horses in search of their first graded stakes victories.
THE GRADE 2 JOE HERNANDEZ STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 6 of 10 Approximate post time 2:30 p.m. PT
- Beer Can Man—Flavien Prat—120
- Bran—Joe Bravo—120
- Chewing Gum—Umberto Rispoli—120
- Delaware—Mike Smith—120
- Commander—Juan Hernandez—120
- Momos—John Velazquez—120
- Cupid's Claws—Kent Desormeaux—120
First post time for a 10-race card that will include four graded stakes on Saturday is at 12 noon. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.
The post Beer Can Mean Heads Down The Hill In Saturday’s Joe Hernandez Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Park Avenue Chasing Third Straight Win In La Canada
In search of her third consecutive win in what will be her first stakes assignment, John Sadler's Park Avenue rates a big look in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 La Canada Stakes as six older fillies and mares go a mile and one sixteenth.
Fresh off a game victory in the G3 Bayakoa Stakes at Los Alamitos, Bob Baffert's As Time Goes By, the leading money earner in the field, looms as the probable post time favorite.
A disappointing third in the Bayakoa Dec. 5, Richard Mandella's Moonlight d'Oro will try to regain the form that saw her win the G3 Las Virgenes Stakes here three starts back on Feb. 6.
Owned by Hronis Racing, LLC, Park Avenue pressed the pace and went on to an impressive five length maiden win going one mile two starts back on Oct. 29 and she followed that up with another five-length score going a flat mile in a first condition allowance Dec. 12 at Los Alamitos when ridden for the first time by Juan Hernandez, who sticks with her on Saturday.
A $450,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase in 2019, Park Avenue is a 4-year-old filly by Quality Road out of the Indian Charlie mare Remarkable. With an overall mark of 6-2-2-1, she has earnings of $104,700.
The likely post time favorite, multiple graded stakes winning As Time Goes By enters the La Canada fresh off an impressive 1 ¼ length win as the even money favorite in the Bayakoa going 1 1/6 miles. A winner of two G2 stakes here earlier this year, the Santa Maria on May 22 and the Santa Margarita on April 24, As Time Goes By has three wins and as many second from six Santa Anita starts.
Trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, this 5-year-old daughter of American Pharoah is 12-5-3-1 with earnings of $535,600 and will be ridden back by Flavien Prat.
Second two starts back after stumbling at the break of an ungraded one mile stakes at Del Mar Nov. 3, Moonlight d'Oro fetched $620,000 out of the same Keeneland sale Park Avenue graduated from. With her Las Virgenes victory, she's 6-2-2-2 overall with earnings of $195,790 and will be ridden for the first time by Mike Smith.
THE GRADE 3 LA CANADA STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 9 of 10 Approximate post time 4:30 p.m. PT
- Moonlight d'Oro—Mike Smith—122
- Cowboys Daughter—Kyle Frey—120
- Fi Fi Pharoah—Umberto Rispoli—120
- Velvet Slippers—John Velazquez—120
- Park Avenue—Juan Hernandez—120
- As Time Goes By—Flavien Prat–122
First post time for a 10-race card that will include four graded stakes on Saturday is at 12 noon. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.
The post Park Avenue Chasing Third Straight Win In La Canada appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
2021 Horse Racing Year in Review: Superstar Horses, Records Broken, and History Made at the Breeders’ Cup
Fans returned to tracks with great enthusiasm after a year’s absence due to the pandemic. Business was brisk on all fronts as racing celebrated some sense of normalcy and looked hopefully to what shows every sign of being a bright future. Tom Pedulla recalls some of the year’s most significant moments:
