Friday, July 27 2012

Pita to Start Two in Saturday’s Stallion Stakes

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 26, 2012) – A Florida Stallion Stakes rookie when saddling Hello Prince to an 11th-place finish in the 2011 Dr. Fager Stakes, trainer Daniel Pita returns with a pair of runners for Saturday’s opening day of the 2012 Stallion Stakes, sending out the Frank Gomez Memorial third-place finisher Billos Boy in this year’s Dr. Fager along with the debuting filly Talent N Passion in the Desert Vixen.

“He’s doing really well right now,” Pita said of Billos Boy. “I think he’s only going to get better with more distance. To be honest, I wish we were running further than six furlongs on Saturday; that’s how much I think added distance is going to help.”

Thursday, July 26 2012

Stallion Stakes Begin with Dr. Fager and Desert Vixen

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 25, 2012) – Now in its 31st year of existence, the annual Florida Stallion Stakes, a six-race series for 2-year-olds with estimated total purses of $1 million, will commence at Calder Casino & Race Course Saturday with the $75,000 estimated Dr. Fager Division and the $75,000 estimated Desert Vixen Division, both run at six furlongs on the main track with the latter restricted to juvenile fillies.

Gilbert Campbell’s homebred colt Two T’s At Two B is the lone stakes winner among the Stallion Stakes entrants and is likely to go favored in the Dr. Fager off a 5 ¼-length win in the $100,000 Frank Gomez Memorial Stakes on June 30. Trained by Kathleen O’Connell, the son of Untuttable also prevailed in his career debut on May 19 when running off to win by 7 ¼ lengths.

Monday, July 23 2012

Awesome Belle Rewards Gold with Overdue Win

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 22, 2012) – With each defeat that piled up for last year’s Florida Stallion Stakes My Dear Girl Division heroine Awesome Belle, trainer Stanley Gold never lost sight of the eventual goal for the homebred daughter of Awesome of Course, which was a return to two-turn racing in Saturday’s $75,000 Three Ring, a race Awesome Belle won to halt a nine-race losing streak that dated back to last November.

“This was always the plan; to get her back to two turns,” Gold said of Awesome Belle, who had run in three straight sprint stakes at the meet, beginning with an appearance in the French Village Stakes, won by stablemate Redbud Road, on May 12 and concluding with a seventh-place performance in the Grade 3 Azalea Stakes on July 7.

Wednesday, July 11 2012

Angelica Zapata and Canadian Mistress Set for Nancy’s Glitter Showdown

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 11, 2012) – Herman Van Den Broeck’s Angelica Zapata and Miller Racing, LLC’s Canadian Mistress, separated by a neck at the wire following a spirited stretch duel in last month’s $55,000 Emergency Nurse Stakes, will renew their budding rivalry on Saturday in the $75,000 Nancy’s Glitter Handicap, run over 1 1/16 miles of Calder Casino & Race Course dirt.

Trained by Ron Pellegrini, Angelica Zapata had prevailed just two times in her first 15 career starts, but the homebred daughter of Sharp Humor has doubled that win total over the last eight weeks, piecing together consecutive victories in the Emergency Nurse and the $55,000 Sara’s Success, both run on the Calder main track, where the filly remains unbeaten.

Monday, July 09 2012

Smile Sprint Winner Headed to Louisiana; Then California

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 8, 2012) – The morning after his commanding five-length victory in the Grade 2 Smile Sprint, Brittlyn Stable’s Gantry gave the appearance of a horse that had done very little the day before, holding a commanding presence over barn 77 in the Calder Casino & Race Course stable area Sunday.

“He’s been on his toes all morning walking around the barn and looking absolutely great,” winning trainer Ron Faucheux said. “I’m going back to Louisiana today, and he’ll van back to the Evangeline Training Center tomorrow where we’ll give him a little time off.”

Sunday, July 08 2012

PRINCESS ROONEY REDEMPTION FOR MUSICAL ROMANCE; GANTRY TAKES SMILE SPRINT AT CALDER’S SUMMIT OF SPEE

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 7, 2012) – Even though the 2011 season for Pinnacle Racing Stables and Bill Kaplan’s Musical Romance ended in a Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint victory and an Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter, jockey Juan Leyva was continually haunted by a neck defeat in that year’s Grade 1 Princess Rooney Handicap, where the daughter of Concorde’s Tune was caught in the final yards by Sassy Image.

On Saturday, Leyva completed the final verse of that troubling chapter with a half-length victory in the 2012 renewal of the Princess Rooney at Calder Casino & Race Course.

Saturday, July 07 2012

Faucheux Doesn’t Fear Trinniberg in Grade 2 Smile Sprint

FAUCHEUX DOESN’T FEAR TRINNIBERG IN GRADE 2 SMILE SPRINT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 6, 2012) – With the complexion of the Grade 2 Smile Sprint appearing to hinge on the decision of whether or not superstar sophomore sprinter Trinniberg is going to run there or in the Grade 3 Carry Back Stakes, at least one trainer isn’t all that concerned about the possible presence of the lightning-quick colt. In fact, trainer Ron Faucheux, the conditioner of Louisiana invader Gantry, is kind of hoping to see Trinniberg in the Calder Casino & Race Course starting gate for the Smile.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t have any problem at all with him being in the race,” Faucheux said Friday afternoon. “Provided there is another horse in there that will go with him.

Thursday, July 05 2012

Defy Gravity Arrives from Maryland for Azalea Stakes

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 5, 2012) – Trainer Lori Testerman and her 3-year-old filly Defy Gravity cleared the Calder Casino & Race Course stable gate Wednesday afternoon, having shipped down from Maryland in advance of a Saturday start in the Grade 3 Azalea Stakes.

“The ride down went perfect and she has settled in nicely,” Testerman said from the Calder receiving barn Thursday morning. “It’s funny because it was so hot up there that it’s actually nicer down here where at least there is a breeze. We had to come to Florida, in July, to cool off.”

Frolic’s Revenge Escapes with Sweettrickydancer Win

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (July 4, 2012) – Though never as impressive as when a 17-length winner in the $55,000 Regal Gal Stakes on June 2, Stride Rite Racing Stable, Inc.’s Frolic’s Revenge prevailed nonetheless in the $55,000 Sweettrickydancer at Calder Casino & Race Course Wednesday, escaping with the narrowest of victories while needing every bit of the one-mile distance to win by a nose while touring the outer edge of the Calder turf.

Seeking her third straight stakes win at the meet, Frolic’s Revenge, ridden by Luis Saez, was allowed to settle comfortably in second through the early stages of the Sweettrickydancer while Montessa G, returning from nearly eight months on the sidelines, was put aggressively on the lead by jockey Jesus Rios, setting splits of :23.20, :47.72, and 1:11.17.

Saturday, June 30 2012

Musical Romance Works for Princess Rooney

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (June 29, 2012) – Several Summit of Speed hopefuls made morning workout appearances at Calder Casino & Race Course on Friday, including a powerful half-mile move by Eclipse Award champion female sprinter and likely Grade 1 Princess Rooney favorite Musical Romance, who covered the four-furlong trip in a bullet :46.20.

“She was doing it all on her own,” trainer Bill Kaplan said. “She really gets a lot out of her work in the morning, so bringing her up to the race this year without a real prep hasn’t been that much different. She’s perfectly fit for the race.”

Thursday, June 28 2012

Gantry Arrives for Smile Sprint

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (June 28, 2012) – Brittlyn Stable, Inc.’s Gantry, a three-time sprint-stakes winner at Fair Grounds last seen finishing third behind 2011 Preakness winner Shackleford and 2011 Eclipse Award champion sprinter Amazombie in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap, arrived at Calder Casino & Race Course Thursday morning in advance of a start in next weekend’s Grade 2 Smile Sprint, part of the annual Summit of Speed program.

“We got in about ten o’clock this morning and he was bouncing around when he got off the van and everything looked good,” trainer Ron Faucheux said. “He’s been training great, and our plan was to get him here with enough time to get in a work over the track, which we’ll probably do on Sunday.”

FIRST JUVENILE STAKES OF THE MEET SATURDAY

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (June 27, 2012) – Calder Casino & Race Course will offer its first 2-year-old stakes of the season on Saturday as the $100,000 Frank Gomez Memorial Stakes and the $100,000 J J’s Dream Stakes, both run at 5 ½ furlongs with the latter restricted to fillies, share the south Florida spotlight. Both races attracted a field of nine.

Owner Gilbert Campbell will start a pair of promising homebred juveniles in the Frank Gomez Memorial with both Dan the Irishman and Two T’s At Two B scheduled to carry his colors to battle for trainer Kathleen O’Connell.