Saturday, November 26, 2011

Calder Barn Notes: 11-26-11

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (November 26, 2011) – Trainer Antonio Sano sent out a winner on Friday’s card at Calder Casino & Race Course to move into a tie with Nick Canani with 16 wins apiece, and Steve Dwoskin made two trips to the winners’ circle on the nine-race program to close to within one of the top two at 15 victories at the session with five days to go before closing on Friday.

Sano holds a numbers edge over Canani through the next three days’ cards that are drawn with runners entered in four races Saturday, one on Sunday, and two on Monday. Canani has no runners entered Saturday, one in Sunday, and none on Monday. Although trailing by one, Dwoskin is very much alive in this race as he sends out one Saturday, three Sunday, and four on Monday.


The Tropical Meet jockeys’ competition for most wins has been over for some time as Luis Saez has ‘lapped’ his closest rival with 59 victories going into Saturday’s card with Daniel Centeno second at 28, followed by Orlando Bocachica third with 27. Fernando Jara with 23 tallies and Ameth Gonzalez at 20 round out the top five.


Martini Madness a Good Fit in Monday Feature

There haven’t been a lot of opportunities for 2-year-olds to sprint on turf at this Tropical Meet, partially due to wet weather, which made Monday’s ‘a other than’ allowance feature very popular with horsemen as a field of 10 colts and geldings and four others listed ‘also-eligible’ has been drawn for the five-furlong test, few of them with any experience on grass at all.

Gilbert Campbell’s Florida homebred Martini Madness is one of those that have run on turf, finishing second as a 28-to-1 longshot in the $60,000 Fasig-Tipton Turf Dash in late April for trainer Kathleen O’Connell. Regular jockey Eduardo Nunez retains the mount on the chestnut gelding by Sabre d’Argent, who has run three times since the Fasig-Tipton, finishing second twice and third once in starter/allowance events.

Mike Schmeling and owner-trainer Wesley Ward’s Raging Daoust won his last start on the main track here on Nov. 13 with Martini Madness third and will make his fourth career start and turf debut in Monday’s race with jockey Jeffrey Sanchez named to ride. The son of Kafwain won his career debut here in May and finished second by a neck in an allowance race at Presque Isle in early July in his first two starts.

Ward has another prospect entered in the race that would get plenty of attention with his Florida homebred gelding Firefall, but he sits on the ‘also-eligible’ list with Sanchez also named to ride. A son of Ward’s home stallion Bring the Heat, Firefall won his debut going 2 ½ furlongs at Gulfstream Park in mid-April and finished third in the $150,000 Victoria Stakes at Woodbine in mid-June in his only other appearance.

A contender in Monday’s feature with plenty of experience in stakes is J. Robert Harris III’s Mel Beach with Paco Lopez picking up the mount for trainer Eddie Plesa, Jr. The chestnut colt by Pomeroy won the $100,000 Frank Gomez Memorial in early July before dull efforts behind Fort Loudon in the Dr. Fager and Affirmed divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes series.

Half Hollow Racing’s Bob’s Place also ran in the Fasig-Tipton Turf Dash and comes back in Monday’s race for a second chance on grass with Juan Leyva aboard for trainer Steve DiMauro, breaking from the rail. The son of City Place set the pace to the upper stretch in the Fasig-Tipton before tiring to fifth. He finished second in a main track allowance last out on Nov. 7.

Completing the body of the field are Adam Rosenfeld and Charlotte Gershaw’s I Give, Starship Stables’ Starship Silverado, Vicente Stella Stables’ Indirectly A.P., Frank Calabrese’s Riojano, St. George Stable’s Ehecatl and David Howell’s Howelling Wind.

In addition to Firefall on the ‘also-eligible’ list are Albino Rossi’s Bea Top Quality, Rapputi Stable’s Rinuncio Bobo, and The Elkstone Group’s Winoneforthezipper.