Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Catalano has tough weekend
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It was a rough weekend at Churchill Downs for Wayne Catalano, and not just because his stable star, Farrell, finished last of 14 in the Kentucky Oaks.
Earlier in the week, Catalano lost his older brother. Joe Catalano, a longtime stable employee who was living in their native New Orleans, suffered an apparent heart attack and died at 63.
“We’re having a memorial Mass for him back home” on May 16, Wayne Catalano said early Monday. “Everybody liked Joe Cat. He’s really going to be missed.”
Joe Catalano, who is survived by a son and a daughter, worked primarily as an exercise rider after briefly riding races for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg in the 1970s. He mostly worked for his brother in subsequent years, with the eventual 2011 Kentucky Derby winner, Animal Kingdom, being his most prized morning mount. Wayne Catalano trained Animal Kingdom as a 2-yearold before the horse was turned over to Graham Motion.
“Joe Cat was as good a hand on a horse as anybody,” Wayne Catalano said.
Meanwhile, grief was compounded by disappointment with the Oaks performance of Farrell, the 9-2 second choice. Seemingly in an ideal spot when tracking the dueling leaders, Paradise Woods and Miss Sky Warrior, down the backstretch, Farrell began to falter before they did. She finished 48 lengths behind the victorious Abel Tasman.
Catalano said Farrell was to be vanned to the Rood and Riddle clinic in Lexington on Tuesday, with an examination by Dr. Larry Bramlage scheduled for Wednesday. Farrell, bred and owned by Coffeepot Stables, entered the Oaks having won her four previous races, all stakes, by comfortable margins.
“She’s absolutely perfect,” Catalano said. “From what I can tell, there’s no reason to look at her, but we’re going to do it just because. She’ll have a bone scan because sometimes those things don’t show up anywhere else. She didn’t care for the sloppy track is what I think went wrong, but we’re going to give her this rundown because we can.”
Cox wielding hot hand
Even with all the success he has enjoyed in recent years, this past Kentucky Derby weekend is one that trainer Brad Cox will never forget.
Cox won a combined four races on the Oaks and Derby cards, including three stakes: the Grade 2 Eight Belles with Benner Island, the Grade 3 Twin Spires Turf Sprint with Green Mask, and the Grade 2 American Turf with Arklow.
“I never imagined having a weekend like that, to be honest,” said Cox, a 37-year-old native and lifelong resident of Louisville. “I mean, you dream about it, but for it to actually happen, it was just great.”
His other win came with Visionary Tale in an allowance race that directly followed the Derby. Cox also was represented by Believe in Bertie, beaten just a head by Roca Rojo in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile.
“She ran too good to lose,” he said.
The four wins give Cox a tie for the lead with Greg Foley atop the Churchill trainer standings as the post-Derby segment of the 38-day spring meet begins Thursday. Asked whether he has a shot to win his first training title at Churchill, Cox laughed. He also has strings at Belmont Park and Indiana Grand.
“We’ll try to stay active in the claim box and try to run horses where we can win races,” he said.
In August 2012, Cox was down to just two horses after splitting with Midwest Thoroughbreds. His stable has swelled to more than 100 horses since, with his 2016 statistics of 151 wins and nearly $6.3 million in stable earnings the best yet in a career that began in 2004. He’s on track to surpass those numbers in 2017, having enjoyed a terrific winter and early spring at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park before returning to Kentucky.
Stewart is longshot king again
Dallas Stewart did it again. The 57-year-old trainer with a knack for blowing up the Churchill Downs tote board on Kentucky Derby weekend sent out three winners last week, furthering his reputation as a producer of live longshots.
Darion’s Dream ($26.20) won her career debut in a maidenclaiming race Thursday, and then Northwest Bourbon ($29.40) and Shes a True Beauty ($15.20) won on the Oaks undercard.
“It was a great thrill,” Stewart said. “The horses ran great. It’s just a real special time, Derby week. A lot of people come to the races who usually don’t, and if they cashed some tickets, maybe they’ll consider staying in as part of the business. Hopefully, the industry as a whole put on a good show for them.”
Stewart has a history of producing upsets. In 2005, he sent out Lemons Forever ($96.20) as the biggest-priced winner in Oaks history. In 2013, he saddled Golden Soul (34-1) to be second to Orb in the Derby, and in 2014, he had Commanding Curve (37-1) as the Derby runner-up to California Chrome.
Stewart also was happy with the third-place finish from Tom’s Ready in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs on Saturday and said the 4-year-old colt could run back on the June 10 Belmont Stakes undercard in the Met Mile. Last year on Belmont Day, Tom’s Ready won the Grade 2 Woody Stephens at 7-1.