US RACING: Authentic wins San Felipe Stakes for Bob Baffert
Put to the test Saturday in the Santa Anita Park stretch, Authentic didn’t dip, duck or dodge as when last seen on the 2020 Kentucky Derby trail. The Bob Baffert trainee proved he’s the real deal by winning the Grade 2, US$400,000 San Felipe Stakes. Aside from a mild bobble at the start, the Into […]
US RACING: An analysis of tomorrow’s Tampa Bay Derby
Last month, Sole Volante captured the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs with a closing rush to defeat the favored Independence Hall. With that move forward in his belt, the son of Karakontie will now attempt the next step in the Grade 2, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby this Saturday. But he did […]
US RACING: Veteran Quarter Horse jockey dies after spill
Richard Gamez, a longtime Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse jockey in the southwest, died early Monday as the result of injuries sustained in a Sunday spill during the fifth race at Rillito Park in Arizona. He was 67. Gamez was on the lead with favorite Drama is Overrated in a 5 ½-furlong race for Thoroughbred maidens […]
Ninth horse dies at Santa Anita since late December after being hurt in turf race
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — A ninth horse has died at Santa Anita since late December after being injured in a turf race. Chosen Vessel broke his left front ankle in the US$59,000 race on Saturday. He was pulled up by jockey Edwin Maldonado as he approached the far turn in the 1 1/8-mile race. The […]
SAUDI CUP: Jockeys Mike Smith, Irad Ortiz Jnr fined for excessive whipping
Board-hitting finishes in the US$20 million Saudi Cup weren't quite as profitable as expected for Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith and Irad Ortiz Jr., the two-time defending Eclipse Award winner for outstanding rider. Smith (second aboard Midnight Bisou) and Ortiz Jr. (fourth on Mucho Gusto) were assigned suspensions and fines on a sliding scale […]
SAUDI CUP – Maximum Security wins US$20 million Saudi Cup
Maximum Security – the first Kentucky Derby winner ever to be disqualified for an on-track incident – now has a new claim to fame: winner of the world’s richest-ever horse race. The 4-year-old New Year’s Day colt overcame Mucho Gusto in the stretch and held off a late-charging Midnight Bisou on Saturday to win the […]
SAUDI CUP: Frankie Dettori wins Sprint Cup on Dark Power
It wouldn’t be a major international racing event without Frankie Dettori making his presence known. The Italian jockey scored his first victory of Saudi Cup Saturday when pointing Dark Power to a late charge in the $1 million 1351 Sprint Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack. Dettori kept the 6-year-old gelding Dark Power a few lengths […]
SAUDI CUP: Lisa Allpress becomes first female jockey to win a competitive race in Saudi Arabia
Lisa Allpress became the first female jockey to win a race under rules in Saudi Arabia when she took the opening leg of the international jockeys' challenge Feb. 28 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh on Matmon, a locally trained horse owned by King Abdullah. The New Zealand-based jockey was one of seven women, including […]
SAUDI CUP: Jockey Mike Smith wins two – says it’s the best dirt track he has ever ridden on
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith emerged victorious in the stc International Jockeys Challenge on Friday as history was made on Kingdom Day at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack. While Smith’s two wins from four rounds of the competition, which featured 14 invited riders from around the globe, saw him out on his own in front, Lisa […]
A closer look at the 14 runners in the US$20 million Saudi Cup
A field of 14 is officially set for the world’s richest horse race, with America’s Maximum Security the anticipated favourite in tomorrow’s US$20-million Saudi Cup. Post positions for the nine-furlong feature at King Abdulaziz Racecourse were drawn Wednesday, and the assigned gates look like no hindrance to the fancied contingent that includes McKinzie, Mucho Gusto, […]