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Horse Racing News: Hollywood Park and Emerald
Downs
by Marty McGee
of DRF.com
Borel may jump off Mine That Bird
HORSE RACING NEWS - A potential conflict could lead to jockey Calvin
Borel snubbing his Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird once again.
Borel is tentatively scheduled to ride Mine That Bird in the $750,000
West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park on Aug. 1, but there is a
possibility Borel could vacate the mount in favor of Warrior's Reward,
a promising 3-year-old who runs Saturday in the $200,000 Dwyer Stakes
at Belmont Park.
Ian Wilkes, trainer of Warrior's Reward, said he has received a two-race
commitment from Borel and his agent, Jerry Hissam, for the Dwyer and
the $500,000 Jim Dandy on Aug. 1 at Saratoga. Hissam said Tuesday
he had no comment.
Borel, widely credited for a sensational ride in guiding Mine That
Bird to his 50-1 upset in the May 2 Kentucky Derby, got off the gelding
to ride Rachel Alexandra two weeks later in the Preakness.
Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness, while Mine That Bird, ridden by
Mike Smith, rallied to be second. Borel then got the mount back on
Mine That Bird for the June 6 Belmont Stakes.
Mine That Bird, the 5-4 favorite, made a bold move at the top of the
stretch before fading to third behind Summer Bird and Dunkirk. Chip
Woolley, trainer of Mine That Bird, has been planning on Borel riding
his stable star in the West Virginia Derby, and even had Borel breeze
the gelding an easy half-mile Monday morning at Churchill Downs.
Woolley said Tuesday morning at Churchill that he had not yet heard
from Hissam or Borel about the Aug. 1 situation but that he intended
to ask for a firm commitment, one way or another, "probably in the
next day or two."
Woolley said he was "okay with Calvin getting on Rachel Alexandra
for the Preakness because I really felt in my heart she wasn't going
to run, but she did, so we went along with it. This deal here's a
little different, though."
Warrior's Reward, a Medaglia d'Oro colt owned by A. Stevens Miles,
has won 2 of 5 starts and most recently finished a close second in
the Grade 3 Northern Dancer Stakes on the June 13 Stephen Foster undercard
at Churchill. In his previous race,
Warrior's Reward earned a 113 Beyer Speed Figure in winning a May
1 allowance at Churchill. Borel rides frequently for Wilkes, the longtime
protege and business associate of trainer Carl Nafzger, for whom Borel
won the 2007 Derby aboard Street Sense. Wilkes trains a large stable
and therefore is the source of far more business for Borel than Woolley,
whose stable is based in New Mexico.
Both the Jim Dandy and West Virginia Derby serve as preps for the
$1 million Shadwell Travers Stakes, set for Aug. 29 at Saratoga. Mine
That Bird and Warrior's Reward are both being pointed to the Travers.

by Marty McGee
of DRF.com
Theriot returns following 30-day suspension
HORSE RACING, Jamie Theriot returned to riding Monday night at Indiana
Downs with three off-the-board finishes. Theriot will ride the final
four days at Churchill, starting with nine mounts on the 11-race Thursday
night card.
Theriot was suspended 30 days, from May 30 to June 28, for his role
in the May 23 spill at Arlington Park in which jockey Rene Douglas
was critically injured. Theriot had one of the best days of his 14-year
career when riding six winners on the June 18, 2008, card at Churchill.
*
Apprentice rider Stephanie Slinger will have the first three mounts
of her career Thursday night at Churchill. Slinger, 22, has galloped
horses for Hall of Fame trainers Lukas and Bobby Frankel in preparation
for her new career. Her first mount is on Pish Posh in the second
race.

by Steve Andersen
of DRF.com
English import has star potential
HORSE RACING, HOLLYWOOD PARK - INGLEWOOD, Calif - A weekday program
in Brighton, England, is not the first place scouts look for a Del
Mar stakes prospect. Cleisthenes, who makes his American debut at
Hollywood Park on Thursday, may be the exception.
A Kentucky-bred by Pleasantly Perfect, Cleisthenes dusted seven rivals
in a six-furlong maiden race on May 12, setting off a rapid chain
of events that led to him being acquired privately by Michael Talla
and winding up in trainer John Sadler's Hollywood Park stable a few
weeks later.
In Thursday's seventh race, an optional claimer over a mile on turf,
Cleisthenes will be tested in advance of a potential start in the
$100,000 Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar July 22. Not only is Thursday's
race Cleisthenes's first start in the United States and first start
against winners, but it comes against several promising 3-year-olds
who could also appear in the Oceanside.
Sadler is undeterred. He has trained Cleisthenes for nearly a month,
and thinks the gelding is genuine. "We like him a lot," Sadler said.
"This is not going to be a secret. He's breezed really nicely." Previously
trained by William Haggas, Cleisthenes was purchased for $25,000 at
the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale.
The six-length win at Brighton is his only start. The purchase price
to get him to the United States was not disclosed, Sadler said. "You
would say he's an expensive gelding," Sadler said.
"He looks good, but he's got to go out there and do it." Cleisthenes
is part of a field of 10 that includes the multiple stakes winner
Backbackbackgone, entered for an $80,000 claiming price, and the recent
maiden race winners Fort Sumter, Gretsky, I'll Show Them, Margarita
Shot, and Savu.
Savu, trained by Neil Drysdale, won a maiden race over 1 1/16 miles
on June 20 despite racing wide throughout. Savu is by Storm Cat, out
of Fiji, the 1998 champion female turf horse.
Rainbow Goose was a troubled second in an optional claimer June 11,
his first start in California and first start for trainer Jack Carava.
Rainbow Goose was away slowly and ran wide on the final turn. Carava
is considering the Oceanside Stakes for Rainbow Goose "if he comes
back and everything looks good."
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