Kiaran McLaughlin has already scored big time with a South American import. He trained Invasor to a Horse of the Year campaign in 2006. He might have another success story in the early draft stages in the form of Joe Brocklebank’s Private Jet, which won Sunday’s Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint.
A 7-year-old gelding making his North American debut, Private Jet was conserved a couple lengths off the early lead by jockey John Velazquez. They made their move after straightening for home when they split horses to take command and surge ahead by a length at the wire.
Private Jet got five furlongs over a firm grass course in 55.48. The win price came back $20.20. The owner, a Dublin native, is a former jockey probably best known for riding Danzig to victory in that one’s racing debut in 1979. He currently plies his trade as a bloodstock agent.
The Shane Ryan racing operation currently has a big hole to fill with the retirement of Gio Ponti. Maybe Race to Urga will pick up some of the slack. She took a step in that direction with a win in Gulfstream Park’s 10th race, a second-level allowance route on the grass, on Sunday.
Race to Urga, a 4-year-old filly by Bernstein, entered Sunday’s race off a victory at Aqueduct in November. Ridden by Jose Lezcano for the first time, she rallied to score by a length and pay $7.60 to win. Chris Clement, who trained Gio Ponti for Ryan, also handles Race to Urga, which now has three wins from six career starts.
CARROLL’S
FAMILIAR PATH
David Carroll made a couple trips to the winner’s circle at Fair Grounds last Wednesday, the first of which came after the third race, won by My Meadowview Farm’s Nowhere to Hide. The 6-year-old gelding returned to the claiming ranks at the $25,000 tier and rallied under Shawn Bridgmohan to get up by three and one-half lengths. He paid $16.40 to win as the fifth-longest proposition in the six-horse field.
The sixth race at Fair Grounds went to Tim Brown and Carroll’s Audington, ridden by another Bridgmohan in the form of Shawn’s younger brother, Jermaine. Audington, a 3-year-old filly, debuted at Churchill Downs in late November to scant effect, but found the drop into maiden claiming company a winning tonic. She nosed out Coaming, ridden by James Graham, and returned $6.80 to win. She also went unclaimed.
Graham won two other races on that same card, snagging the opener aboard Rekam ($6.20 to win) and the eighth race on Instant Style ($21.40).
PIANIST’S SMASH RECITAL
Carl O’Callaghan’s decision to ship Dr. Pat Sheehy’s Ms Pianist up north to Golden Gate Fields for a starter allowance mile on the main track around two turns was justified when the 3-year-old filly gutted out the victory by a head under Frank Alvarado. In her previous race, four months ago, she broke her maiden at Fairplex. Ms Pianist paid $29.00 to win in the Bay area. Sheehy, a Cork native, is a Newport Beach, Calif.-based oncologist.
Cathal Lynch got the week started on a winning note as C&A Thoroughbreds' Universal Language came home first in a 7-furlong starter allowance at Parx on Monday. The 5-year-old mare has been in the habit of winning every other trip to the post, so her win here should come as no surprise, seeing as how she finished off the board last time out. Angel Arroyo guided her to victory by almost three lengths. She paid $6.60 to win.
Eddie Kenneally continues to pile up the wins in his first winter in New York. He sent Stone Farm and Joseph Sutton's Expression out to a 7-length triumph in Aqueduct's fourth race on Wednesday, a maiden claiming sprint for 3-year-old fillies. Expression, ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, paid $5.00 to win as the heavy chalk and then reported to Charlton Baker's barn, Baker having dropped in a claim slip for $35,000.
