Tag: thoroughbred

Protestors Lying On Track Delay Golden Gate Card, Shut Down Vaccination Site

A group of four protestors lying on the track in a “sleeping dragon” maneuver caused officials to push back the start of Thursday's card at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, Calif. Races were scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. Pacific, and have not begun as of 3:45 p.m. The track feed indicates that the afternoon's first race has been canceled, while races two through seven are delayed until further notice.

The actions also caused a 2 1/2-hour shutdown of the COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted at Golden Gate.

The protestors were joined by a group of about a dozen others demonstrating outside the track, and belong to a group called Direct Action Everywhere (DXE), which has been live streaming the goings-on on their Facebook page.

Spokesperson Cassie King, appearing on the live feed, said DXE was spurred to action by the deaths of three horses during a recent four-week period.

According to a press release issued by the organization, the four on-track protestors are Omar Aicardi, Rachel Ziegler, Rocky Chau and Jamie Crom. They are connected by heavily-weighted PVC pipes in a direct action maneuver called a “sleeping dragon.” They also lit purple smoke flares while in place.

“These beautiful animals live lives of exploitation and abuse for the sake of profit, then they're killed for the same reason,” said Chau. “The public is increasingly aware of the reality of this barbaric industry, and is demanding that we leave it in the past.”

At about 1:30 p.m., security personnel could be seen on the track hovering over the protestors, but didn't take any action against them. An hour later, a tent was placed on the track to shade the protestors.

The post Protestors Lying On Track Delay Golden Gate Card, Shut Down Vaccination Site appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jockey Rocco Bowen Getting ‘In The Zone’ At Oaklawn Park

Mile races at Oaklawn occasionally trick riding newcomers since those races end at the sixteenth pole.

Add Barbados native Rocco Bowen to the list, but his ending was a treat. Taking no chances in last Saturday's sixth race, Bowen guided Background ($70) to a noteworthy 1 ¾-length victory for trainer Mike Puhich in the $88,000 second-level allowance event for older horses.

“I rode four or five jumps after the wire,” Bowen said during training hours last Sunday. “(Ricardo) Santana was like: 'Stop! Stop! Stop! Rocco, stop, you're going to get fined.' But I was like so in the zone. I wanted to make sure the job was done – sealed, packaged and delivered.”

The victory, over a sloppy track with light rain falling, made Bowen, 31, the first Barbadian jockey to win a race at Oaklawn. Riding at Oaklawn for the first time this year, Bowen had been winless in 33 mounts at the meet, which was interrupted last month because of severe winter weather.

“I wouldn't say discouraged, I felt more like I was letting my agent down,” Bowen said, referring to his mentor, retired jockey Joe Steiner. “He took up a huge task to take my book when I came to Oaklawn, so I felt personally it was on me that I was letting him down and I wasn't putting my best foot forward. I wasn't putting my best foot forward to feed him and his family. It's the first time away from his 5-year-old boy. It's hard. I've been in that position, being away from my kids the first time. It's never easy. I had that in the back of my mind: 'What am I doing?' I'm taking away from his family. I'm not doing any good.”

A wicked left hook from Mother Nature added to Bowen's frustration. Arctic temperatures and heavy snow led Oaklawn to cancel eight live racing dates and 11 days of training in February. Not only did Bowen miss numerous chances to record his first victory, he gets on many horses each morning.

Bowen lives on Lake Hamilton and said much of his snow(cation) was spent driving to a nearby Kroger or gas station and venturing to the track to shedrow horses for trainer Norman McKnight to stay fit.

“I only missed like three days and then Mr. McKnight put me to work,” Bowen said. “It was surely one of the biggest snowstorms I've witnessed. I sent my mom videos, constantly, my family. I was like, 'Family, I thought you loved me. Where's the sunshine?' ”

Although Bowen cut his teeth in Canada, he became a riding star in the Pacific Northwest. He became the first Bajan jockey to win a riding title in the United States at the 2015-2016 Portland Meadows meeting and was champion jockey three consecutive years (2016, 2017 and 2018) at Emerald Downs in suburban Seattle before a debilitating arm injury in September 2018 cost him approximately 1 ½ years in the saddle. Bowen resumed riding June 4 at Belterra Park and a week later became the first Bajan jockey to win a race Churchill Downs (White Wolf for trainer Paul Holthus of Hot Springs). The purse was $24,000. Bowen said it was the trainer's wife, Oaklawn paddock analyst/handicapper Nancy Holthus, who reminded him last Saturday's pot was almost four times larger.

“Honestly, I didn't know the purse until I got back to the room, until one of my biggest fans, Nancy, said something to me,” Bowen said. “She said on top of me winning, it was a big purse. I said, 'Nancy, I was just hoping to win one.' It didn't matter the purse size because all purses here are big. Some are bigger than others. I was just hoping to notch one. It feels great.”

Bowen entered Thursday with 1,008 career North American victories, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. He was named on two horses Thursday at Oaklawn, including Frankies Moonshine for Paul Holthus in the fifth race.

The most famous rider produced by Barbados, a small Caribbean island northeast of Venezuela, is Patrick Husbands, an eight-time Sovereign Award winner as the outstanding jockey in Canada. Husbands is 0 for 11 in his career at Churchill Downs and never ridden at Oaklawn.

The post Jockey Rocco Bowen Getting ‘In The Zone’ At Oaklawn Park appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Sun Path To Ship North, Chase Oaks Points In Oaklawn’s Honeybee

Juddmonte Farms' two-time winner Sun Path was installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies signed on to compete in Saturday's $300,000 Honeybee (Grade 3) at Oaklawn.

The Honeybee is the featured race on Oaklawn's 10-race program. The 1 1/16-mile event is carded as Race 9 with a post time of 6:10 p.m. The Top 4 finishers will be awarded points on a 50-20-10-5 scale for the April 30, $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks.

Trained by two-time Kentucky Oaks-winning conditioner Brad Cox, Sun Path was an emphatic 12-length winner of a Dec. 18 allowance event at Fair Grounds. The Munnings filly attempted stakes company in the $150,000 Silverbulletday but settled for a fourth-place finish after a wide trip throughout the race. Joe Talamo has the call from post No. 4.

Sun Path is the half-sister Bonny South, winner of the G2 Fair Grounds Oaks and second in the G1 Alabama last year.

Another filly likely to garner attention at the betting windows is Willis Horton's $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes winner Will's Secret. Trained by Dallas Stewart and ridden by Jon Court, Will's Secret bested five rivals in the Jan. 30 Martha Washington by 5 ¼ lengths at odds of 8-1. The homebred daughter of Willis' prized stallion Will Take Charge, Will's Secret drew post 2 for Saturday's Honeybee.

The complete field from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Tabor Hall (David Cohen, Kenny McPeek, 10-1); Will's Secret (Court, Stewart, 7-2); Willful Woman (Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen, 6-1); Sun Path (Talamo, Cox, 5-2); Pauline's Pearl (Francisco Arietta, Asmussen, 8-1); Absolute Anna (Ramon Vazquez, Jerry Hollendorfer, 15-1); Oliviaofthedesert (David Cabrera, McPeek, 7-2); Coach (Florent Geroux, Cox, 4-1).

The post Sun Path To Ship North, Chase Oaks Points In Oaklawn’s Honeybee appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Saudi Cup Winner Mishriff Headed For Dubai; Returns To Turf In Sheema Classic

After his thrilling upset victory over Charlatan in the $20 million Saudi Cup on the dirt, Mishriff will return to the turf for the Dubai Sheema Classic on the Dubai World Cup undercard on Mar. 27, reports the Racing Post. The $4 million race is contested over 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Meydan Racecourse.

Trained by John Gosden, the 4-year-old son of Make Believe won the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano on turf last summer.

Trainer John Gosden told the Racing Post: “This morning we've accepted an invitation for Mishriff to run in the Dubai Sheema Classic. He's a versatile horse and we've always wanted to try him over this trip of a mile and a half. This will then give him plenty of time for a break before tackling Royal Ascot in June and the Eclipse S. at Sandown the following month.”

Read more at the Racing Post (behind paywall).

The post Saudi Cup Winner Mishriff Headed For Dubai; Returns To Turf In Sheema Classic appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights