Joe Talamo rides five winners at Hollywood Park

Joe Talamo, the 19-year-old jockey, was red-hot at Hollywood Park on Sunday, riding five winners, including Bickersons in the $100,000 Moccasin Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

Bickerson won by 2 1/2 lengths over Miss Heather Lee in the seven-furlong feature. Talamo also won with Outside Shot in the first race, Brady Blue Eyes in the third, Sky Victor in the fifth and  A Jealous Woman in the ninth.

Talamo last won five races when he was an apprentice riding in Louisiana. He was going to celebrate by attending the Lakers game at Staples Center. He now has 10 victories during the Hollywood Park meeting, putting him one behind leader Joel Rosario.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Photo: Joe Talamo. Credit: Donald Miralle, Discovery Communications.

Jockey Garrett Gomez falls at Hollywood Park

Jockey Garrett Gomez (pictured at left) avoided serious injuries after the horse he was riding in the ninth race Saturday at Hollywood Park broke down in the stretch, sending him to the ground.

Gomez was transported to Centinela Hospital in Inglewood but  X-rays on his shoulder and elbow were negative.

The horse Gomez was riding, Bonnie Brown Eyes, a 2-year-old filly, broke her right front leg, fell, hit her neck and died instantly, according to the Daily Racing Form.

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-- Eric Sondheimer

Photo credit: Jonathan Alcorn / AFP / Getty Images

Bobby Frankel, Hall of Fame trainer, dies

Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel has died after a long illness. He was 68.

Santa Anita spokesman Mike Willman said Frankel died at his home in Pacific Palisades at 3 a.m. this morning. He had been sent home on Saturday from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

He was a five-time winner of racing's Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer. He had been dealing with complications from lymphoma, according to the Daily Racing Form.

"He was a horse whisperer with race horses," trainer Barry Abrams said.

Frankel's horses won nearly $228 million, second all-time on the money list to D. Wayne Lukas.

A full story can be found here.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Photo: Bobby Frankel talks to the media in Louisville, Kentucky on April 29, 2004. Credit:  John Sommers / Reuters.

SoCal racing fans could see Zenyatta again

John Shirreffs, the trainer of Zenyatta, said this morning that he'd love to have his unbeaten 5-year-old mare make an appearance during the Hollywood Park meeting that begins Friday, and even show up for the first day of the Santa Anita meeting on Dec. 26 to give racing fans one final opportunity to salute his Breeders' Cup Classic championship mare before she leaves for Kentucky and retirement.

"I think it would be great," Shirreffs said.

It would be Zenyatta's encore, allowing Southern California fans to show their appreciation for winning all 14 of her races.

Shirreffs said he has received no official notification from the tracks about setting up such an appearance, but discussions are taking place because Zenyatta has attracted a fan following like few others in recent years, especially after her performance Saturday in which more than 58,000 screaming fans rooted her home to a one-length victory against 11 male competitors in the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Photo: Jockey Mike Smith celebrates after winning the five million-dollar Breeders' Cup on Zenyatta last Saturday. Credit: Mark Ralston / Getty Images.

Zenyatta Breeders' Cup 2009 video

If it was a movie, no one would have believed it. Maybe they can hire Tobey Maguire to play the jockey when it does get made into a movie.

Zenyatta had no chance to win the Breeders' Cup Classic. She was too far behind. But somehow, she won. It's amazing to watch, so what are you waiting for? Watch it above.

Is Zenyatta the greatest horse of all time? Leave a comment and let us know.

-- Houston Mitchell 

Breeders' Cup Day 2

 

Zenyatta, the unbeaten 5-year-old mare, put together a performance for the ages Saturday before 58,845 at Santa Anita. She rallied from last place in a field of 12, went to the inside around the final turn, went to the outside in the stretch and mowed down her male rivals to win the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, her 14th consecutive victory.

She becomes the first female horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic in the 26-year history, and there were thousands of screaming fans rooting her home as the 5-2 favorite. Gio Ponti finished second, one length behind Zenyatta, and Twice Over was third.

"There are tears coming to my eyes," trainer John Shirreffs said. "I can't believe it. She is a great, great filly. She is all heart. The way the crowd took to her was just amazing. They cheered for her, they clapped for her; they love her. What a wonderful relationship."

Zenyatta finished the 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.62, the longest race of her career, under jockey Mike Smith. And she helped ignite debate over who's the Horse of the Year, since the 3-year-old filly Rachael Alexandra did not race Saturday. She paid $7.60 for the victory.

"I just hope the press appreciates what they have seen," Shirreffs said.

The race was delayed when Quality Road refused to go into the gate. After putting a hood over his eyes, he was shoved into the gate but started kicking and ended up being scratched, forcing the remaining 12 horses to be pulled from the gate and put back in. It didn't faze Zenyatta. And for Shirreffs who won the Ladies' Classic on Friday with Life Is Sweet, it means a sweep of the biggest races in the two-day event.

The two-day attendance figure was 96,496, up nearly 10,000 from last year's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita.

-- Eric Sondheimer

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Conduit was content to watch Presious Passion roll out to a 10-length lead early in the 1 1/2-mile Breeders' Cup Turf race and then put in a kick to win the race by 1/2-length. In many ways, the fact that Presious Passion was still around at the end was equally remarkable. Dar Re Mi was third and Spanish Moon fourth.

Life Is Sweet wins the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic at Santa Anita

 

Life Is Sweet, a horse better known for losing to Zenyatta, won the $2 million Ladies Classic, a race that Zenyatta would have run in if her handlers did not opt for Saturday's Classic. Life Is Sweet, who had won 5 of 14 races going into Friday was beaten by the undefeated super-mare three of the last four races. But Saturday she looked good beating Muska by 2 1/2 lengths.

Music Note, the morning line favorite, finished third and just didn't fire as usual at the end of the 1 1/8 mile race. Garrett Gomez was the winning jockey and John Shirreffs the trainer. Careless Jewel, the post-time favorite went out extremely fast and had a huge lead after 5 furlongs. But the horse tired badly and finished last.

Life is Sweet paid $18.20, $8.00 and $5.00.

After the first day of the mythical Rider Cup the U.S. had a 2-1 lead.

--John Cherwa 

Jockey Julien Leparoux has become the first riding star of the Breeders' Cup, winning his second race of the day after guiding Informed Decision to an upset victory over 4-5 favorite Ventura in the $1 million Filly & Mare sprint at seven furlongs.

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard had a much better ending than in the Breeders' Cup Marathon, when his horse, Cloudy's Knight, was beaten by a nose. Informed Decision won by 1 1/4 lengths and paid $8.80. Free Flying Soul finished third.

The U.S. moved ahead in the Rider Cup 1 1/2 to 1.

-- Eric Sondheimer

The European imports are starting to assert themselves, and it was the England-based 3-year-old filly Midday who rallied along the rail to win the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf by one length over Pure Clan and Forever Together.

Trained by Henry Cecil and ridden by Thomas Queally, Midday ran the 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.14 and returned $6.60 for the victory.

Visit was the pacesetter, but the three top finishers all came on strong in the stretch to overall the early speed.

In the mythical Rider Cup, the win tied the score between the U.S. and Europe at 1-1.

-- Eric Sondheimer

The $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies race provided a near blanket finish but the crafty She Be Wild benefited from a great trip and snuck through on the rail to win her fourth race in five tries. Beautician finished second and Blind Luck took third.

The race was easily the most in doubt with all eyes on the center of the racetrack. But jockey Julien Leparoux, after having the horse break sharply, found a comfortable spot on the rail and continued her ground-saving trip. There were four horses within two lengths of the wire. Wayne Catalano was the winning trainer.

She returned $16.80, $9.00, $5.00.

--John Cherwa

Rosemary Homeister Jr., the lone female in this year's Breeders' Cup competition, led down the stretch aboard Cloudy's Night in the $500,000 Marathon, but lost in a photo finish to John Murtagh aboard Man of Iron.

Said Homeister, 37, who hails from Florida and once competed in the Kentucky Derby: "Galloping out, he was still in front. It was just a bob of the head. He has such a long neck and long nose--I just wish it was a little bit longer. And yes, when you don't win, you get a little deflated."

It was Homeister's first trip to Santa Anita. 

-- Pete Thomas

The $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillis Turf at 1 mile was essentially a two-horse race with Tapitsfly edging past the front-running Rose Catherine in the middle of the stretch to win by 1/2 length. Tapitsfly was ridden by Robby Albarado and trained by Dale Romans. It was the third win in seven races for the 2 year old. It was her first trip over the fiirm turf. 

Rose Catherine broke sharply, turning in a 22 4/5 opening quarter. She seemed comfortable through the backstretch with Tapitsy running about 1/2 length on the outside. Entering the stretch both horses seemed comfortable but Tapitsfly had more gas in the tank. It was the first time Rose Catherine House of Grace finished third and Hatheer finished fourth. The winner paid $21.60, $8.60, $6.00.

In the mythical Rider Cup, the U.S. now leads 1 to 0.

    --John Cherwa

The $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon, at 1 3/4 miles on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface, ended with a dramatic finish, as jockey John Murtagh rallied the royally-bred 3-year-old Man of Iron to a nose victory over the 9-year-old Cloudy's Knight, ridden by female jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. Mastery, the  race favorite, finished third.

Man of Iron, who raced in Ireland, is by Giant's Causeway out of the top dam, Better Than Honour, the 2007 broodmare of the year. Better Than Honour was also the dam of Belmont Stakes winners Jazil and Rags to Riches and sold for $14 million last year. She also produced Grade II winner Casino Drive.

Man of Iron returned $14.80, $7.20 and $4.40.

In The Times mythical Rider Cup (Europe vs. U.S.) the U.S. leads 1/2 to 0.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Part one of horse racing's biggest day gets underway this morning at Santa Anita Park. There are two non-Cup races. The first Breeders race--the $500,000 Marathon is scheduled for a 12:35 PST post. The grandstands, clubhouse and turf club seem to filled way more than an average day, although there isn't a lot of activity to be seen in the infield. The first day is clearly the preliminary to the Saturday races when undefeated mare Zenyatta takes on the boys in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Keep coming back to this site all day and Saturday for live updates from Santa Anita.

    ---John Cherwa

Photo: Jockey Garrett Gomez begins to celebrate after riding Life Is Sweet to victory in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic on Friday. Credit: Danny Moloshok / Reuters

John McCririck, bless him, brings a touch of the exotic to the Breeders' Cup

One of the most eye-catching and, indeed, entertaining fellows hanging around Santa Anita for the last few days has been John McCririck, who has absolutely nothing to do with making the Breeders' Cup work but everything to do with making it a spectacle.

McCririck, 69, is what's politely known as an English eccentric, or as we English call it, a nutter.

That's not a bad thing. The ex-Harrow man (that's private school, jolly posh, eccentricity encouraged) is a well-known figure at English racetracks, where his televised, um, rants about the horses and how to bet them have long been a popular staple. He is also an accomplished tic-tac man, one who semaphores the odds with a series of hand signals.

McCririck also favors the oddball when it comes to dress -- deerstalker hats, berets, little round caps with tassels, cloaks, flowing robes, loud checks, multiple rings, plastic flowers in buttonholes, you name it. It's all part of the shtick.

For the record, he is also an accredited journalist, covering the Breeders' Cup for the "At The Races" program on England's Channel Four.

Today, near Clockers' Corner, he was explaining to a couple of American TV broadcasters, and anyone else who would listen, how to wager wisely on Friday's and Saturday's 14 Breeders' Cup races so as not to have any regrets come Sunday. Here's just some of what he said:

"Remember, it's now Sunday, and you're looking back and saying, 'Why on earth did we do this? Why on earth didn't we do that?' Never have the 'I should have dones' or the 'If only I'd done this. Why am I so foolish? Why was I so stupid?'

"Don't do that. Think hard. Don't worry about patriotism. You want the Yanks to win, or hate the Europeans? Don't worry about any of that. It just doesn't matter. All that matters is your back pocket. So go in for the money, and these two will give you great runs, Mastery and Goldikova."

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor's Mastery is the 9-to-5 favorite in Friday's Marathon and trainer Fred Head's Goldikova is the defending champion and 8-to-5 favorite in Saturday's Mile.

Thanks, said the television men, that should do it.

"No, it won't," said McCririck. "You'll go with somebody else, and then when you get the winner you'll say, 'Thank God we never listened to that fat fool. What did he know? He got it wrong as usual.' "

Maybe so, but he made it fun, and that's all that counts in the long run.

-- Grahame L. Jones

For more entertainment value, and to get a somewhat decent look at McCririck, check out the video:

Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint favorite California Flag throws rider, heads for barn

California Flag, the 7-to-2 favorite in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, added a bit of excitement to this morning's workouts at Santa Anita when the 5-year-old gray gelding threw exercise rider Colleen Hartford and took off the wrong way down the track, heading for the barn area.

The horse, winner of its last three races and five of its last six, was caught without incident by jockey Aaron Gryder and neither California Flag nor Hartford were injured in the incident, which occurred while the gelding was being schooled at the starting gate.

Joseph Talamo will ride the Brian Koriner-trained favorite in Saturday's $1-million race.

-- Grahame L. Jones

Photo: California Flag gets loose during this morning's Breeders' Cup workouts at Santa Anita. Credit: Jacob de Golish / Getty Images

It's a go for Zenyatta in the Breeders' Cup Classic

Zenyatta, the 5-year-old mare who has won all 13 of her starts, drew the No. 4 position and was installed as the 5-2 favorite for Saturday's $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

It will be her first race against male horses and the longest race of her career at 1 1/4 miles. Owners Jerry and Ann Moss and trainer John Shirreffs decided to pass on Friday's Ladies Classic for the ambitious plan of trying to win in a field of 13 that includes Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird and European superstar Rip Van Winkle.

"We think she deserves this," Jerry Moss said.

Rip Van Winkle was listed in the morning line at 7-2, with Summer Bird at 9-2.

-- Eric Sondheimer