Peppers Pride Pulls Out
To steal a title from the Thoroughblogger post about Big Brown’s Belmont Stakes loss… AAARRRGGGG! New Mexico’s monsoon season conspired against Peppers Pride in her bid for a record 17th-consecutive win. Trainer Joel Marr scratched her from the race because of safety concerns with the muddy track. Per the Thoroughbred Times article, the mare’s next start may not be until early November. Jason Shandler’s blog voices some of the frustration over the scratch. It is getting tougher and tougher for Peppers Pride to break the record.
Proud Spell May Race in Breeders Cup
Santa Anita Park has finished installation of their Pro-Ride surface, which may be host to Proud Spell after all. In the August 19th Thoroughblogger post it was written that trainer Larry Jones was not running leading three-year-old filly Proud Spell in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic because of his qualms about the new synthetic surface. Just two days later he, rescinded on his statement, saying that owner/breeder Brereton Jones still had the race as an option for her.
Bill Finley writes that though many people perceive the synthetic surfaces in general to favor turf horses, dirt horses seem to hold their form very well. Curlin is another horse that, to this point, is unlikely to run in the Breeders’ Cup. Of that, Finley writes, “Was Jess Jackson paying attention? Curlin’s owner has apparently swallowed the anti-synthetic track Kool-Aid. Either that or he’s not telling the whole story. Did Curlin work terribly over the Polytrack surface when based at Keeneland last year?” Time will tell how Santa Anita’s new Pro-Ride surface plays, but it still too soon to come to any conclusions, especially if divisional championships may be on the line.
Pedroza Watch
According to the most recent edition of Del Mar’s stable notes, Martin Pedroza has 2,998 career wins, only two away from a landmark 3,000. He rides five horses on Wednesday, Del Mar’s closing day. In race 1, he is aboard an also-eligible horse, Jimbo’s Fire Ant, who will only race if two horses scratch. In race 2 he rides Carbella, 12-1 in the morning line odds. Longshot Union Scale is his race 5 mount for leading trainer John Sadler. Seven Secrets in race 8 is listed at odds of 10-1. In Del Mar’s last race of 2008, Inspired Storm could be Pedroza’s best chance of the day at 5-1 odds. If he does not achieve 3,000 career victories at Del Mar, he will come to Fairplex Park where he has more wins all-time than any other jockey. Fairplex Park’s opening day is this Friday, September 5, with first post at 12 noon.
