Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Masochistic looks to reboot in Churchill Downs Stakes
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Masochistic, the brilliant sprinter who has gained no small amount of notoriety, is returning to where he first became infamous.
It was three years ago on the Kentucky Derby undercard when Masochistic won a six-furlong maiden race by 14 lengths under Victor Espinoza in a major betting coup, having been hammered down to 2-1 after he had finished fifth at 8-1 in his debut at Santa Anita against California-breds seven weeks earlier.
A.C. Avila, at the time the trainer and co-owner of Masochistic, was subsequently fined $10,000 and suspended for 60 days by the California Horse Racing Board because Masochistic tested positive for a tranquilizer, acepromazine, in that debut. And in their weekly review of racing submitted to the board, Santa Anita’s stewards wrote that they were “concerned” that jockey Omar Berrio “prevented his horse from giving his best race.”
Masochistic has become one of the best sprinters in the country and has remained in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
He has won three graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Triple Bend at Santa Anita in 2015. But last fall, after finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, Masochistic tested positive for a trace amount of a steroid, causing his disqualification. His trainer, Ron Ellis – who took over after Avila sold his share in the horse in the first quarter of 2015 – faces a penalty from the state racing board for that disqualification, but already Ellis and Masochistic have been denied participation in this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, per Breeders’ Cup rules.
So, Masochistic will have to find other opportunities, and the place where he will next try to right his career is here at Churchill Downs, where he is scheduled to compete Saturday – on the Derby undercard – in the Grade 2, $500,000 Churchill Downs Stakes at seven furlongs.
Masochistic, a gelding, is now 7. He has won just two of his last seven starts dating to July 2015. He has run once since the Breeders’ Cup, finishing second in the Triple Bend at Santa Anita on March 11.
The Pizza Man returns
The Pizza Man, the winner of the 2015 Arlington Million, is gearing up for another shot at the Arlington Park showcase by training at the Trackside training center near Churchill Downs.
Now 8, The Pizza Man has begun a series of workouts for trainer Roger Brueggemann that his connections hope will result in two prep races leading into the Aug. 12 Million.
“He’s doing great,” said Jim Schenck, racing manager for the gelding’s owner and breeder, the Midwest Thoroughbreds of Richard and Karen Papiese. “He got time off in Ocala before coming back to Roger.”
The Pizza Man, an Illinoisbred by English Channel, has won 17 of 33 career starts and earned more than $2.1 million. His most recent victory came in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer last September at Woodbine.
Arles likely to be retired
Arles, who was scratched last Friday as the odds-on morningline favorite for the Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes at Keeneland, has been diagnosed with a softtissue injury that may lead to her retirement.
Barry Irwin, whose Team Valor International syndicate is an ownership partner in the 5-year-old French-bred mare, said an MRI revealed tendonitis in her left foreleg. “She’ll be rescanned in a couple of weeks, but she’s likely facing retirement,” Irwin said.
Arles finished second in all three of her starts in the United States, all in Grade 3 turf races, after nine starts in Europe.
With her defection from the Bewitch, the 1 1/2-mile turf race was won by Quiet Business, at 16-1 the longest shot in a fivehorse field.
Whiting memorial set
The family of Lynn Whiting has announced that his public memorial service will be held at Churchill on May 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Whiting died April 19 at age 77 from complications of a chronic blood ailment and a stroke suffered in February.
Tuesday marks the 25-year anniversary of Whiting winning the Kentucky Derby with Lil E. Tee. It was on May 2, 1992, that Lil E. Tee gave Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day his only Derby victory from 22 tries.
Bridgmohan with new agent
Veteran jockey Shaun Bridgmohan, who hit the 3,000-win milestone on April 1 at Fair Grounds, has hired Terry “Jaws” Miller as his agent.
The hiring already has produced noticeable results, as Bridgmohan is riding most of the horses in the sizable stable of Dale Romans.
“Jaws and I go way back, and I tend to use whoever he’s selling,” Romans said.
As a team, Miller and Corey Lanerie won 12 riding titles at Churchill. Lanerie hired Lenny Pike Jr. as his agent when the Keeneland meet began in early April.
Flurry of claims
Closing day of the Keeneland spring meet yielded something of a racing rarity: All five starters in the third race were claimed for $10,000. The easy winner was Special Jo, who moved afterward from the care of Chris Hartman to Brett Santangelo.