Tag: william antongeorgi iii

Bay Area Trainer Delia Passes Away

Longtime west coast trainer and former jockey William 'Bill' Delia died Thursday due to the complications of COVID-19. He was 75 years old.

Born Dec. 5, 1946, he began his apprenticeship as a jockey in 1966. After a race-riding career in which he piloted 304 winners, Delia switched to training. Beginning in 1985, his career spanned over four decades, winning 975 races from 7,952 starters, with his runners amassing purse earnings of $16,735,424.

The Bay area native was honored with the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Trainer of the Year award in 2019.

Delia's last winner came at Golden Gate Fields Dec. 10 with Hands Off. His final two starters raced this past Friday, Jan. 21.

“As you can imagine, our racing family here at Golden Gate is deeply saddened,” said Golden Gate Fields General Manager David Duggan. “He was one guy you looked forward to seeing every morning. He was a hard worker that loved horses and racing. He had fantastic stories to share and a great sense of humor. With the news of Bill's passing comes a dark shadow that has been cast on our backstretch this morning.”

Jockey William Antongeorgi III, who rode for Delia in recent years, posted on social media Thursday evening.

“Not only was he great to ride for…but he was also just a great guy to be around,” said Antongeorgi. “[Delia was] always laughing and having a good time. This one hurts. I'll miss you.”

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Popular Bay Area Trainer Bill Delia Dies At Age 75

The Bay Area horse racing community is mourning the loss of popular longtime trainer and former jockey William “Bill” Delia, who passed away on Thursday due to complications of COVID-19. Delia was 75 years old.

Delia, born on December 5, 1946, began his apprenticeship as a jockey in 1966. After a race-riding career in which he piloted 304 horses to the wire first, Delia switched to training winners. Starting in 1985 and completing a career that spanned over four decades, Delia won 975 races from 7,952 starters, with his runners amassing purse earnings of $16,735,424.

A recent accolade for Delia came when, after a stellar year for his barn in 2019, the Bay Area native was honored with the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Trainer of the Year award.

“It's a real honor to win an award like this,” said Delia. “I am very appreciative of all the support from my owners and help back at the barn.”

Delia's last winner came at Golden Gate Fields on Dec. 10, 2021 with the Thoroughbred gelding Hands Off. His final two starters raced this past Friday, Jan. 21.

“As you can imagine, our racing family here at Golden Gate is deeply saddened,” said Golden Gate Fields General Manager David Duggan. “He was one guy you looked forward to seeing every morning. He was a hard worker that loved horses and racing. He had fantastic stories to share and a great sense of humor. With the news of Bill's passing comes a dark shadow that has been cast on our backstretch this morning.”

Jockey William Antongeorgi III, who guided some of Delia's best stock in recent years, took to social media to express his condolences Thursday evening.

“Not only was he great to ride for…but he was also just a great guy to be around,” said Antongeorgi. “[Delia was] always laughing and having a good time. This one hurts. I'll miss you.”

The post Popular Bay Area Trainer Bill Delia Dies At Age 75 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jockey Antongeorgi Adopts Beloved Mount Gratzie After Her Retirement

Thirteen-time winner Gratzie has been retired and will spend her post-race life in North Carolina on a farm run by jockey William Antongeorgi III and his mother. Gratzie, who went out a winner on Feb. 4 against claiming competition, ended her racing career with earnings of $261,610.

Antongeorgi, who guided Gratzie to four lifetime wins, is excited about spending more time with her in the future. In total, Antongeorgi rode Gratzie in eight different races.

“She was always really honest,” said Antongeorgi. “Even if we didn't win, she was right there-second or third. I would always go see her in the barn and give her lots of attention. We formed a strong relationship.

I told [trainer] Manny [Badilla], 'I love this mare. If the owners are willing, I'll ship her back to my place in North Carolina and she'll be able to go out in the field and live out a good retirement on our farm.' We were able to make it happen.”

Antongeorgi relayed that Gratzie arrived in North Carolina on Tuesday in good order.

“She's a world traveler,” said Antongeorgi. “She's from England. She's traveled before. From what I understand, she had a very smooth trip across the country and looks really happy. We've got a pony named Dusty right next to her. They're already hitting it off and in love with each other, so that's really cool. We'll take her out on the trails, and she'll enjoy her life living out there in the pasture.”

Gratzie, by Grade 2 winner and Juddmonte homebred Three Valleys, was bred in Great Britain by John Troy and Robert Levitt and began her racing career as a 2-year-old in 2013. Three years later, she was sold to American owners Ron Charles and Sam Gordon for $25,685 at the Tattersalls Horses-In-Training Sale of 2016. Since the purchase, Gratzie won 7 races in America, raking in U.S. earnings of just over $150,000. Throughout her career in the states, Gratzie was conditioned by Manny Badilla.

“She's a barn favorite for sure,” said Badilla. “She was always so sweet. You could come up and pet her and feed her and love on her. What I'll remember about [Gratzie] is her heart: not only was she sweet around the barn but she tried so hard in every race she ran in. She never got sour. She always tried and loved being around our team. We'll miss her here.”

With that, Manny had just one more thing to say.

“It's the greatest thing ever to send her somewhere nice.”

 

— Matt Dinerman (@3coltshandicap) March 10, 2021

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Neptune’s Storm Wears Down Kiwi’s Dream In San Francisco Mile

Neptune's Storm overtook stubborn Australian-bred Kiwi's Dream in deep stretch to win Sunday's Grade 3 San Francisco Mile Stakes, closing-day feature at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif.

Trained by Richard Baltas and ridden by William Antongeorgi III, Neptune's Storm covered one mile on firm turf in 1:35.50, winning by a head and earning $150,000 from the San Francisco Mile's $251,350 purse. He paid $8 to win.

Kiwi's Dream, who similarly was caught in the final strides to lose by a head to Restrainedvengence in the May 25 All American on the Tapeta surface at Golden Gate, was 1 ¾ lengths clear of Camino Del Paraiso in second, with Restrainedvengence, the 8-5 favorite, finishing fourth. Arch Prince, Majestic Eagle, Simply Breathless and Murad Khan completed the order of finish in the race for 3-year-olds and up. All starters carried 125 pounds except for Simply Breathless, the lone mare in the field, who carried 120 under the weight for age conditions.

Neptune's Storm tracked Kiwi's Dream in second from the outset, the latter going right to the front under Golden Gate's leading rider, Juan Hernandez, and setting moderate fractions of :23.97, 48:11, and 1:11.91. Antongeorgi moved Neptune's Storm alongside the frontrunner at the top of the stretch, the seven furlongs clocked in 1:23.88, but Kiwi's Dream proved a tough foe to overtake, giving away grudgingly in the final yards for locally-based trainer Victor Trujillo.

A 4-year-old gelding by Stormy Atlantic out of the Irish-bred mare Immortal Life, by Iffraaj, Neptune's Storm was winning for the sixth time in 16 career starts. His only previous graded stakes victory came Oct. 19 at Belmont Park in the G2 Hill Prince. Neptune's Storm was a close second Nov. 30 in the G1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar and he comes out of a seventh-place finish to Raging Bull in the G1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita May 25.

Neptune's Storm was bred in Kentucky by Tracy Farmer and races for CYBT, Saul Gevertz, Lynn Gitomer, Mike Goetz, Michael Nentwig and Daniel Weiner.

Live racing of the 2019-2020 Winter/Spring meet at Golden Gate concluded on Sunday with mandatory payouts in the Pick 5's, Rolling Super High Five and Golden Pick Six jackpot wagers. Racing resumes at Golden Gate Fields on July 29 with the “Sonoma County Fair Meet at Golden Gate Fields” which runs through August 11. The Golden Gate Fields Summer meet immediately follows with live racing from August 12 through October 6.

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