Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Lukas sees growth in Bravazo
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said millionaire Bravazo appears to be sitting on a strong 4-year-old season that he will launch Jan. 26 in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park.
Bravazo, who won last year’s Risen Star at Fair Grounds before running second in both the Preakness and Haskell and third in both the Travers and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, has been working at his base of Oaklawn Park.
He drilled five furlongs in 1:00.60 on a muddy track Wednesday, the fastest of five moves at the distance that day. The horse has worked weekly at Oaklawn since Dec. 10, with one drill not recorded due to fog, said Lukas. He said Luis Saez has the mount for the Pegasus.
“Bravazo is doing well, and we’re definitely going to make the trip to the Pegasus,” Lukas said Thursday. “We’re pointing for that. We’ll probably go a week or so out.
“He’s maturing the right way. If I’m reading him right, he’s maturing, he’s getting stronger. With his pedigree and everything, he could have a pretty good 4-year-old year. His last two races, the two numbers were his best. We feel like he’s headed in the right direction.”
Bravazo is a son of Awesome Again who races for his breeder, Calumet Farm. He earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 102 for his runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap in his 3-year-old finale Nov. 23 and before that put up a 100 Beyer in the Breeders’ Cup.
Lukas said it’s to be determined if Bravazo will have a work at Gulfstream.
“I might let him a stretch his legs a little bit,” he said. “I don’t know yet.”
Lukas said he plans to personally ship Bravazo to Gulfstream.
Cohen, Mojica to Oaklawn
Jockey David Cohen plans to return to Oaklawn for the 2019 meet, which opens Jan. 25, his agent, Bill Castle, said on Friday. Cohen will be riding at Aqueduct through Jan. 12.
Castle said Cohen is scheduled to start working horses at Oaklawn on either Monday or Tuesday. He will then fly back to ride in New York. Castle also will represent Orlando Mojica, who is returning to Oaklawn for the first time since 2010. He started working horses at the track Friday.
Cohen returned from a layoff of more than two years during the Oaklawn meet a year ago and finished third in the standings. He went on to ride in New York and won the Grade 2 Hill Prince and Grade 3 Matron, both at Belmont Park, and last week captured the Alex M. Robb at Aqueduct. Overall, he won 114 races for $7.2 million in mount earnings in 2018.
“David and myself are looking forward to returning,” Castle said of Oaklawn.
Last year, Cohen was a regular aboard horses for Oaklawn leading owner M and M Racing.
Mojica has won titles at Ellis Park, Hoosier Park, Kentucky Downs, and River Downs. He captured the $250,000 Zia Park Derby in November aboard Nanoosh.
“Orlando has ridden for a lot of people over the years and will be diversified with his business,” said Castle.
Sunland: Three sprint stakes
Sunland Park will run three consecutive stakes from the seventh through ninth races on Sunday. The $65,000 Bold Ego is an open-company race for fillies and mares; the $85,000 La Senora is for New Mexicobred 3-year-old fillies; and the $85,000 Four Rivers John Deere is restricted to 3-year-olds bred in New Mexico.
The La Senora opens the stakes trio, with the field of eight fillies led by Roll On Matilda. She is seeking to win her third straight race in the six-furlong stakes. She won an allowance race by seven lengths in October at Zia Park and the $140,000 New Mexico Cup Lassie by 5 3/4 lengths there Nov. 4.
Roll On Matilda earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 76 for the Lassie, the best number in the La Senora. Roimes Chirinos has the mount from post 6 for trainer Todd Fincher, who co-bred Roll On Matilda.
African Heat drew well in post 8. She was the runner-up in the Lassie. Jockey Ry Eikleberry, a five-time title winner at Sunland who recently won his 2,000th Thoroughbred race in North America, has the mount for trainer Henry Dominguez.
The Bold Ego at 5 1/2 furlongs is the second of the stakes, and the field of 11 includes Woman At the Well. She enters off a runner-up finish in the $100,000 Zia Park Distaff on Nov. 21. Alliford Bay won that six-furlong race in a blazing 1:08.05 for her fifth consecutive stakes win. Woman At the Well had entered the Zia Distaff off three straight victories, including the $50,000 Petticoat at The Downs at Albuquerque. Chirinos has the mount from post 11 for trainer Weston Martin.
Others making up the field include stakes winners Kell Paso, Fight to Glory, Kram, and Super Humor.
Hustle Up runs in the sixfurlong Four Rivers. He went 6 for 8 last year, closing out his season with a win in the $145,000 Steve Prather on Dec. 10 at Zia Park. He is cutting back from two turns to one turn in the Four Rivers. He has won two stakes at one turn. Hustle Up won the first five races of his career last year. Shane Laviolette has the mount from the rail for Fincher.
Handle rises at Remington
Remington Park experienced a 7 percent increase in handle during its 67-date 2018 meet, which ended Dec. 16, the Oklahoma City track announced. The average daily handle on Remington’s races from all sources was $1,071,615.
Purses at the meet averaged $247,413 a program, a slight increase over 2017.
Danny Caldwell won his 10th local owner’s crown at Remington. Steve Asmussen won his 14th local training title, breaking his own meet record for both wins (105) and earnings ($3,001,673). The leading jockey was David Cabrera, who set a single-season record for mount earnings at Remington with $2,377,944.
Welder was voted horse of the meet after winning stakes in all four of his starts.