gambling News Source:
http://www.chron.com
Si Puede still going strong
4-year-old victorious in first race of 2006
By RICHARD DEAN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Jose Vega became the regular rider on Si Puede by accident. Prior to Si Puede's first race, she acted up in the paddock, and the jockey assigned to the quarter horse backed out.
Vega got on Si Puede that day and his ridden her in all 20 races, including in 2005 when she was voted Sam Houston Race Park's horse of the meet for the quarter horse meeting.
Last Saturday at Sam Houston, Vega rode Si Puede to a win in an allowance race. It was Si Puede's first race in more than six months following a busy 2005 schedule.
One jockey's decision not to ride Si Puede was Vega's good fortune.
"I'm not going to name names, but every time I've seen him, I just smile," said Dave Correll, who trains Si Puede for owner Lukin Gilliland.
Correll wasn't sure what to expect from Si Puede, who had not raced since Dec. 30.
"I told Mr. Gilliland if we were going to get outrun this year, it would be the first time out," Correll said. "It didn't happen. She came through. She didn't have to be pushed. We were really pleased."
After a slow start in the 330-yard race, Si Puede (the 4-year-old daughter of Holland Ease) defeated 10 rivals convincingly for her 14th win.
"She hates to get outrun," Correll said. "She has a lot of heart and desire. She's tough and the most determined animal you'll ever be around. She's a free-moving animal that likes to run."
Correll used Saturday's race as a set-up for either the Barnmaster Sprint or the TQHA Classic Stakes, both of which are at Sam Houston on July 28.
The weather's great
Temperature was 71 degrees with a 3-mph wind from the west for Wednesday's first race on opening day of Del Mar's thoroughbred meeting.
It should be a pleasant 43 days of racing at the California track.
With $23 million in purses, Del Mar will run Wednesday through Monday until Sept. 6.
Last year's all-source handle on opening day was $14.9 million, with $4.6 million coming ontrack. All-source handle at last year's meet exceeded $600 million.
End of the line?
A ninth-place finish by Lost in the Fog in the Smile Sprint at Calder last weekend has the horse's connections thinking of retiring the 2005 champion sprinter.
A year ago at this time, Lost in the Fog was unbeaten.
This year, the 4-year-old won once in three tries, and Saturday's race may have been his last.
"We're not leaning one way or the other," Lost in the Fog's trainer Greg Gilchrist told the Daily Racing Form. "We'll give him time to get his feet underneath him and see how he is. We want to determine if he can be competitive at the level he should be."
Too Much Bling doing well
After several recent disappointing finishes from Bob and John, Stonerside Stable welcomed some good news. Last Saturday at Calder, Too Much Bling won the Carry Back Stakes at the Miami track's annual Summit of Speed.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Too Much Bling broke well from the sixth position, laid off the pace until the backstretch and responded to Edgar Prado's tapping and won by two lengths, covering six furlongs in 1:10.48 and earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 107.
"He's one of the top two or three sprinters in the country," said John Adger, racing and bloodstock manager of Stonerside Stable. "We feel good about the way he ran."
Too Much Bling, who ran second in the Woody Stephens Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park last month, is being considered for the 7-furlong King's Bishop on Aug. 26 at Saratoga. The ultimate goal is the Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs for the Ohio bred who has five wins, a second and two thirds in 10 lifetime starts.
Too Much Bling is at Del Mar along with Bob and John under Baffert's care. Bob and John is taking an extended vacation after finishing 17th in the Kentucky Derby and eighth in the Belmont Stakes.
"I talked to Baffert the other day, and he said Bob and John was filling out and doing fantastic," Adger said. "We think he's going to be one of the top 4-year-olds in the country next year."
Big doings for Sam
The final weekend of July is a significant one at Sam Houston Race Park, with the Texas Summer Showdown and TQHA Yearling Sale.
The TQHA Yearling Sale with 320 American Quarter Horses starts at 11 a.m. on July 28, and the evening's racing card features four stakes races with total purses of $140,000. Post time is 6 p.m.
The yearling sale continues on July 29, and live quarter horse racing starts at 6 p.m., including the $341,700 TQHA Sale Futurity. Sam Houston Race Park will also present an Equine Expo on both days, beginning at 10 a.m.
|
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
