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Rachel Alexandra’s defection from the Belmont Stakes leaves the door open for jockey Calvin Borel to ride Mine That Bird in the New York showpiece. Borel will attempt a ‘personal’ Triple Crown. In a statement, jockey Borel said, “Now that this decision is made, I am excited about riding Mine That Bird. I am grateful to both Mr Jackson and Woolley, Jr ( Mine That Bird’s trainer) for giving me this opportunity.”
Mine That Bird will try to become the only twelfth horse to win the Derby and the Belmont Stakes. The Derby champion will get to New York on June 3.
Natalie Douglas, wife of Rene Douglas, was interviewed on HRTV, a Racing channel in the US. “It’s too early to say my husband will not regain use of his legs,” she said. She was contradicting earlier reports.
“When the swelling is down and Rene has had time to relax and heal, we will have a better idea. Rene is very strong and his mind is in the right place. It is now a waiting game. His spine is OK and doctors have hope,” Mrs Douglas averred.
Joseph O’Brien, Aidan O’Brien’s 16 year-old son, was aboard a horse on Thursday at Leopardsown’s twilight meeting for the second ride of his career. It turned out to be a winning one. Joseph was on Johann Zoffany, the 7-4 favourite, and came away victorious. Joseph’s mother led the horse and the jockey to the winner’s circle where they were all greeted by Aidan.
Aidan O’Brien expressed delight. “It’s great to be here. Joseph has ridden plenty of work but you can’t beat race experience. His mum was quite a good jockey but I don’t know about his dad.”
Coral, the UK bookmaking company, offer 4-6 that Fame And Glory will be the favourite in the Epsom Derby. Fame And Glory has been getting steady support and is down to 11-4 from 7-2. Rip Van Winkle has drifted to 6-1 from 5-1 despite the belief that John Murtagh will ride.
Friesan Fire, beaten favourite in the Kentucky Derby, was reported to have grabbed a quarter at Churchill Downs. The colt took his chances in the Preakness. It was another poor showing. It is now being reported that Friesan Fire has suffered a stress fracture in his left front leg. Additionally, there is a secondary non-displaced chip fracture in his right front fetlock. Surgery is being planned. Friesan Fire will be indefinitely sidelined.
Goldikova, champion sophomore filly and Breeders’ Cup winner last year, was a disappointment in her 2009 debut. Trainer Freddie Head is saying that his star pupil is now being pointed toward Newmarket’s Falmouth Stakes.
Two important races on Thursday at Sandown Park were contested. Cima de Triomphe, the Italian Derby winner in 2008, came out of the clouds to catch Conduit in the last jump in the Grade III Brigadier Gerard Stakes, a 2000-metre race. The winner is trained by Luca Cumani who halted the trend of narrow losses in graded races in recent months. Christophe Lemaire flew in from Paris to ride. Conduit, giving seven pounds to the winner, struck the front and looked like a winner after seeing off Pipedreamer, the 15-8 favourite, only to lose in a heartbreaker. Conduit, the 2008 St Leger hero, won Santa Anita’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Trainer Luca Cumani spoke. “We were getting seven pounds. Probably the better horse did not win. My horse will improve a little bit further still.”
Sir Michael Stoute, Conduit’s trainer, expressed his thoughts. “All the others had races. He was giving them weight. You can only be pleased with him. He’s entered in all the races. We will just see how he takes this race and think about it.”
Sir Stoute was again at the receiving end in the Henry II Stakes. His Patkai was the half money choice. It was widely believed that Patkai was on his way to a mouth-watering clash with the formidable Yates in the Ascot Gold Cup. Yeats is going for four wins in a row in Ascot’s main event. With 400 metres left, Ryan Moore had Patkai in front and Geordieland came calling. A brief tussle ensued. To the chagrin of those who had banked on Patkai, Geordieland, responding to jockey Shane Kelly’s urging, ran down the favorite. In the closing stages, Kelly’s mount drifted to the rail and the stewards ordered an inquiry. The result stood much to the satisfaction of Jamie Osborbe, Geordieland’s trainer.
Twice second to Yeats in the Gold Cup, Geordieland finally earned a high profile victory. Trainer Osborne commented. “It is great at the end of the day that he has beaten a horse who was a 2-1 chance at Royal Ascot. He battled and did something many doubted he could not. He will be fine for Royal Ascot with three weeks to go.”
Jockey Jorge Ricardo was hurt in March and missed 73 days. He returned to the saddle on Wednesday at San Isidro in Buenos Aires. He struck in his second ride. Sanapy Halo was Ricardo’s winner in a 1400-metre handicap. Ricardo’s tally stands at 10, 521. Russell Baze’s number is 10,543. In 2009, Baze has 184 winners and Ricardo has ridden 62 winners. The duel goes on.
Saturday and Sunday, I will be at Solvalla Racecourse in Stockholm. There are two eliminations on Sunday for the Elitloppet. The first four finishers will go the final. Post positions in the final will be deterimined by the order of finish and the times in the eliminations. Solvalla is 1000 metres in circumference. An inside post is a big advantage. The Elitloppet is a major race in the international harness calendar. There are two American drivers, Luc Ouellette and Tim Tetrick, who are competing in the race. It is an international cast. Driver Tetrick won a race in the Friday card.
