Sunday, April 21 2013

The Road Princess Overnight Stakes Quotes

Michael McCarthy, assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher, of Kauai Katie (No. 4): “I’d say that was pretty much textbook right there. The plan was to go ahead and let her run away from there and finish up nicely. It seemed she controlled the race from the start, set some nice fractions, didn’t overdo it, got the job done. I’d have to think this will [set her up for the Acorn] (Grade 1, one mile, Belmont Park, May 27). That’s been the plan all along.”

Saturday, April 20 2013

SUMMER FRONT ENJOYS SUCCESS IN GRADE 3 MIAMI MILE

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (April 20, 2013) – A promising colt early in his career when winning five of his first seven starts, including the Grade 3 Hill Prince, Waterford Stable’s took the first steps towards what could be a successful 4-year-old season when a 1 ½-length winner of the Grade 3 Miami Mile Handicap at Calder Casino & Race Course on Saturday, covering the eight-furlong trip in 1:35.31 over a turf course listed as good.

Winning Cause Gives Pletcher Fifth Coolmore Lexington Victory

Sweet Cassiopeia Takes Giant’s Causeway

LEXINGTON, KY (April 20, 2013) – Alto Racing’s Winning Cause roared past Cerro (IRE) in upper stretch and held off longshot General Election by a length to win the 32nd running of the $200,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes (G3) for three-year-olds before a crowd of 32,325 on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Keeneland.

SAN SIMEON STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

TYLER BAZE, CHIPS ALL IN, WINNER: “I wasn’t concerned about today at all. Not with the way he’s been training; he’s training lights out. He’s a real special horse and it’s just a privilege to be on him. He’s a really cool horse.”

Kentucky Derby & Oaks Update

PLETCHER QUARTET WORKS TOWARD OAKS
‘CINDERELLA STORY’ ROSE TO GOLD BREEZES
BLACK ONYX HAS STRONG GALLOP

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, April 20, 2013) – It was a busy Saturday morning at the Todd Pletcher barn at Churchill Downs as Dreaming of Julia (ranked No. 4 on the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” Leaderboard), Unlimited Budget (No. 3), Silsita (No. 10) and Princess of Sylmar (No. 7) all worked for the two-time Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) winning trainer.

$200,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes (G3) Quotes

Todd Pletcher (winning trainer of Winning Cause)

On whether he was expecting this type of performance
“To be honest, we weren’t sure. We were stretching him out and stepping up into a graded stakes off two weeks’ rest. The main reason (he was entered in the race) is he’s two for two at Keeneland going into this. We know he likes the surface and thought it was worth taking a shot.”

$100,000 Giant’s Causeway Stakes Quotes

Joe Rocco Jr. (winning jockey)

“She’s really nice. I’m really glad I got the opportunity to ride her. It was pretty uneventful. She broke really good, stalked the pace. She had plenty left to run through the stretch. She’s a really nice mare.”

On what instructions trainer William R. Connelly gave him
“Not really much: Just stay out of her way and let her do her thing. Obviously, she knows her way to the winner’s circle. I tried not to mess it up. She knew how to get there.”

SANTA BARBARA HANDICAP QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

RAFAEL BEJARANO, LADY OF SHAMROCK, WINNER: “I was a little worried about the pace and the horse on the lead was going really slow so I just tried to save ground on both turns. When I saw the opportunity on the rail in the stretch, and I saw a lot of room I just kept running but unfortunately when Victor used the right hand stick his horse kept coming in and completely crossed my lane and I was completely on her heels so I didn’t have any choice but to hold my horse and stop riding a little, and then letting her go again.

NYRA Names Eric Wing Director of Communications & Media Relations

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has named Eric Wing Director of Communications & Media Relations. Wing, who has served as Senior Director of Media Relations at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) since 1999, will oversee corporate communications and serve as company spokesperson for NYRA beginning May 15.

$100,000 Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare Stakes (G3)

Rusty Arnold (winning trainer of Ice Cream Silence)

“Last year, we thought she was our best filly. She went out to Prairie Meadows (finishing second in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks on June 30) and got injured and missed the entire fall. We brought her back, nothing went right in Florida. We didn’t get her the right way. She had a disastrous kind of day (finishing seventh in the Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes on March 17 at Gulfstream Park). We brought her in here early and she did everything right. We had decided we were going to run her in here after we ran her in Florida. It was one of those plans that went the right way.”

On whether he told jockey Rosie Napravnik to take the early lead
“I actually gave it to her. I told her I was confused by the race, by the speed. I said, ‘You let her break, and I don’t want to give you instructions.’ Looks like she did a pretty good job.”

STABLE NOTES BY ED GOLDEN

• TEAM SPAWR HOPES LIME RICKEY IS THEIR CLAIM TO FAME
• SANTA BARBARA CHOICE HAS BREEDERS’ CUP AS HER GOAL
• SPEEDY OBVIOUSLY SHARP FOR SATURDAY’S SAN SIMEON
• JOCKEY STRA HAS RIGHT ELIXIR FOR PICK SIX CARRYOVER OF $370,763

Friday, April 19 2013

MUCHO MAS MACHO LOOKS FOR MORE IN MIAMI MILE

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (April 19, 2013) – Trainer Henry Collazo will look to duplicate the graded stakes success enjoyed by Signal Hill Farms’ Mucho Mas Macho, the 41-1 upset winner of the Grade 2 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes in January, when starting in Saturday’s Grade 3 Miami Mile Handicap at Calder Casino & Race Course.