– Thanks to longshot Napoleon Solo, the Pick 6 went unhit at Aqueduct on Wednesday. Today’s carryover tops $424,000. Gulfstream has a carryover too, of $378,000.
– Gulfstream increased its jockeys’ insurance to $500,000 from $100,000. The change will be in effect for the rest of the meet. (DRF)
– Afleet Alex will make his three-year-old debut in the Rebel Stakes on March 19. The plan is he’ll run next in the April 16 Arkansas Derby and then the Kentucky Derby. (Gate)
– Rock Hard Ten is ready for the Strub. “He’s doing good,” says trainer Richard Mandella. (BH)
– A new version of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act was introduced in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. (TT)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 02/03/2005 @ 10:35 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
And above all: Considerably talented. Stricken with a case of the wobbles, Shamardal was labeled a “destruction case.” Then along came an energy healer, a massage therapist, and a benevolent insurance adjuster to save the colt’s life. Now the three-year-old is a possible Kentucky Derby contender. (ESPN)
Shamardal is no Lost in the Fog though: The racing world is ga-ga over the three-year-old from Northern California. Offers to buy the youngster have poured in to owner Harry Aleo, and it seems as though only his trainer, Greg Gilchrist, is leery of all the recent Derby talk. If it was up to him, Gilchrist tells Andrew Beyer, “He’d take the money and let somebody else take the chance that Lost in the Fog will be more than a sprinter.” I had to laugh at this: Trainers are such a perennially pessimistic lot. (Daily Racing Form)
Speaking of the Kentucky Derby, the Courier-Journal launched its “Countdown to the Derby” section last Saturday. Part of the package, which will be regularly updated, is a table showing how the CJ panel rates the prospects. Looking it over, I felt the first stirrings of Derby excitment — what a talented bunch of three-year-olds we have to pick through this year.
Posted by JC in Racing on 02/02/2005 @ 9:00 am / Tagged Kentucky Derby / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Apologies for the haphazard and sometimes lackluster posting of recent days. It’s been an uncommonly busy period for me, and I think I might be suffering a little mid-winter slump: The cold, the snow, and worst of all — no live racing. I need a trip to New York or Florida. April 30 is so far away….
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 02/02/2005 @ 8:50 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
