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Brinkerhoff’s ‘Best Horse’ Restrainedvengence Chasing Graded Win In City Of Hope Mile

Restrainedvengence, the “best horse” Val Brinkerhoff has ever trained, comes back in Saturday's Grade II City of Hope Mile on Santa Anita's turf in just over two weeks from his last race, a game head victory as the 4-5 favorite in the $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque, New Mexico over a mile and an eighth on dirt Sept. 19. It was the richest race of the meet.

“The City of Hope is a short field and he came out of his race super-good, never lost any weight and never missed a meal,” said Brinkerhoff, a former jockey who rode at the bush tracks in the northwest before becoming one of the hardest-working horsemen in the game just over a dozen years ago.

Brinkerhoff, who turns 64 on Oct. 19, still gallops his own horses.

“I think getting the horse there took more out of him than the race itself,” said Val, whose wife and dedicated assistant, Kelly, and Bobby Grayson Jr. own the five-year-old gelded son of Hold Me Back, who has an 8-3-1 record from 25 starts with earnings of $625,222. He was second by a head in the City of Hope last year.

“I missed some training on him here but he ran good enough to win despite being bumped through the stretch. He should be fit now because I missed a bunch of time after I ran him at Golden Gate (in the Grade III San Francisco Mile June 14) because of a foot issue, then I missed time because of the smoke from the fires here, but he's fine now.

“He's won stakes on three different surfaces: Tapeta, dirt and turf, so he's very versatile.” While he's never won a graded stakes, the Kentucky-bred has competed in 12 straight added money races and earned Beyer speed figures of 100 or more in three of them.

The City of Hope, race eight of 10 with a 12:30 p.m. first post time: Sharp Samurai, Juan Hernandez, 5-2; Restrainedvengence, Ruben Fuentes, 8-1; Majestic Eagle, Ricardo Gonzalez, 20-1; Royal Ship, Mike Smith, 4-1; Bob and Jackie, Heriberto Figueroa, 12-1; Blitzkrieg, Abel Cedillo, 4-1; and Mo Forza, Flavien Prat, 8-5.

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Saffie Joseph Seeking Training Title Three-Peat At Gulfstream Park West

Before he saddles Haskell (G1) runner-up Ny Traffic in the 145^th Preakness (G1) Saturday afternoon at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. will begin his attempt at a third consecutive training title at Gulfstream Park West.

Joseph, who last week earned the training title at Gulfstream Park's summer meet, will begin the Gulfstream West season with three starters on Opening Day, including Daddy's Joy in the featured ninth race.

Gulfstream West begins its 40-day meet Saturday with a 10-race program. First race post is noon. Due to safety and health protocols, the Gulfstream West meet will be held without spectators. Fans can watch and wager on the races at https://1st.com/bet/ and https://xpressbet.com

Joseph, a third-generation horsemen who came to the U.S. from Barbados in 2011, has built a major stable the past several years after starting with just two horses when he arrived. His accomplishments include victories in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) with Math Wizard, Davona Dale (G2) and Forward Gal (G3) with Tonalist's Shape, the Royal Delta (G3) with Cookie Dough, and the Kitten's Joy (G3) with Island Commish.

On Saturday at Gulfstream West Joseph will have horses in the fifth (Keep Quiet), the ninth (Daddy's Joy) and 10^th (Tony Small).

“We won the last two meets and we hope that we can win this meet again,” Joseph said. “It's not going to be easy obviously, because everyone has the same expectations. But we think we have enough horses and good owners behind us that it's a realistic goal to get it done. It's going to be the last Gulfstream Park West meet so it would be nice to go out three times a winner.”

Daddy's Joy, a 3-year-old filly by Daddy Long Legs, will be one of the favorites in the featured ninth race, an allowance optional claiming event at five furlongs on the turf. After finishing sixth in her debut last December at the Fair Grounds, Daddy's Joy returned from a nine-month layoff to win Gulfstream on the turf Sept. 3 in her first start under Joseph's shedrow.

The filly is owned by Slam Dunk Racing and MyRacehorse.com, which sells micro -shares in its horses. Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Authentic is co-owned by MyRacehorse.com, which sold more than 4,000 micro-shares in the Preakness favorite.

“I got hooked up with them through Slam Dunk Racing,” Joseph said. “They own horses together and that's how it came about. I mainly deal with Slam Dunk and I think Nick Hines has something to do with it. I don't know if he manages MyRaceHorse but he will call me occasionally for them. It's nice. Obviously they own Authentic, and it's good to train for those kinds of people. Owners are what make you, and we're blessed to have really good owners.”

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Trainer Angel Montano Dies In Louisville Hospital At Age 80

Longtime Kentucky-based trainer Angel Montano passed away in a hospital in Louisville on Thursday, according to the Daily Racing Form. He was 80 years old, and had been hospitalized for much of the past six months. Montano died of multiple health complications including COVID-19.

Initially an apprentice jockey when he came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1956, Montano was injured and took out his training license in 1961. Montano trained 1,390 winners over his career, and was the leading trainer at Churchill Downs' spring meet for three straight years, 1976-1978.

“He lived a great life,” one of his seven children, Joey Montano, told drf.com. “Such a character. He loved telling jokes but wasn't very good at it, and that was funny in itself. He loved the horses and all the people at the track and was incredibly loyal to his employees. Think about it – more than 60 years on the track.”

‘Riders Up’ Documentary Showcases North American Sports Bubble At Santa Anita Park

1/ST announced today the television premiere of “Riders Up”, a 30-minute documentary film showcasing Santa Anita Park, and how the company's premier Thoroughbred horse racetrack venue in Southern California successfully created North America's first sports bubble amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The original film, created and shot by the Hennegan Brothers, has been formatted for television and will air on NBCSN on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6:00 p.m. ET. A second airing of the documentary will take place on NBCSN on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:30 p.m. ET, preceding the live broadcast of the 145th Preakness Stakes on NBC at 4:30 p.m. ET.

“Riders Up” highlights how the horse racing community at Santa Anita Park came together within days of the original coronavirus pandemic lockdown to form a self-contained ecosystem that allowed hundreds of backstretch workers, jockeys and essential racing personnel to keep the horses safe and active while protecting themselves, their livelihoods and the community.

For more information on Santa Anita Park and to watch a preview of “Riders Up” please visit www.santaanita.com or on Facebook @SantaAnitaPark.

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