Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
GULFSTREAM
Baseball star Napoli enjoying horse venture
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Former Major League Baseball player turned horse owner Mike Napoli got his new career off to a pretty good beginning here over the weekend, winning with just his second starter, Queen’s Bird, who went wire to wire in Sunday’s fourth race.
Napoli, 37, announced his retirement from baseball in December after a 12-year career during which he played for the Anaheim Angels, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. A catcher, first baseman, and designated hitter, Napoli won the World Series in 2013 with the Red Sox after being named an All-Star with the Rangers the previous season.
Napoli is no stranger to the local horse racing scene. Born in nearby Hollywood, Fla, he grew up in Pembroke Pines where he attended Flanagan High School and was selected in the 17th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft by the Angels.
“When I was younger, my grandfather used to take me to the track all the time at Calder, Gulfstream West now,” said Napoli. “And my buddies would all come to the track to bet on horses. It was something I always loved to do.”
Napoli, who has seven horses, all with trainer Aubrey Maragh, said that following knee surgery last year he decided it was time to start another chapter in his life, and he turned to Thoroughbred horse racing.
“I’m looking to have some fun and hopefully to be able to grow the stable,” Napoli said. “We started by claiming seven horses and making one private purchase. I’m not going to put a ceiling on it. Wherever it takes me, it takes me. Right now I’m just excited about being able to own some horses and get involved.”
Napoli’s first starter ran on Saturday. Reagan’s Odyssey finished fourth and was claimed out of the race. But less than 24 hours later, Napoli was celebrating his first victory as an owner with Queen’s Bird.
“I got a little nervous before my horses ran, just like I’d always get nervous before every game I played,” Napoli said shortly after the race. “But it was a good kind of nervous. And to be able to go into the winner’s circle with all my friends was so cool. Baseball was something I did my whole life. To actually own a horse and win a race is a very different experience and something I really enjoyed. I’d like to get involved in baseball again one day, probably on the coaching side. Right now, I’m planning on taking a year off, spend a little travel time and also to enjoy this and see where it takes me. And hopefully I’ll be able to do well and stick around the business for a long time.”
Pletcher pair headed for stakes
Trainer Todd Pletcher sent the 3-year-olds Outshine and Orra Moor out to impressive allowance victories on Sunday.
Outshine, idle since a fifthplace finish in the Tremont Stakes last spring at Aqueduct, returned to post a two-length victory going seven furlongs against a strong field of entrylevel optional-claiming rivals in Sunday’s main event. The son of Malibu Moon received an 83 Beyer Speed Figure.
“We had high hopes for him all along,” said Pletcher. “We had to stop on him for a little while, but he trained really well once he came back and we were optimistic coming into the race and glad he delivered a big performance.”
Outshine, who raced with blinkers for the first time, rallied from midpack four wide into the stretch before drawing away under John Velazquez.
“I thought it was an ideal trip from the standpoint that it was a good education for him,” said Pletcher. “[Velazquez] put him behind horses, maneuvered through some traffic, and taught him to do some things hopefully he’ll have to do in bigger races down the road.”
Pletcher said the plan would be to stretch Outshine out in distance and point for a stakes in his next start.
“There’s pretty much an option every weekend,” he said. “It’s just a matter timing-wise where he’ll run.”
Orra Moor, a 3 1/4-length winner of her debut on Dec. 22, remained perfect with an eyecatching 7 1/4-length allowance win, also with Velazquez aboard, earlier on the card. She earned a Beyer of 74.
“I thought it was very impressive,” said Pletcher. “This was one of those allowance races when I picked up the overnight I said, ‘Man, this is like a graded stakes.’ I thought this was a good class test and she handled herself well.”
As with Outshine, Pletcher will look for a two-turn stakes for Orra Moor’s next start.
Rainbow 6 returns $100K
The pool for Gulfstream Park’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 on Saturday reached $8.2 million, and those who selected all six winners received $100,919.88. Usually the Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only if there is a single winning ticket, but Gulfstream designated Saturday as a mandatory disbursal day.
There was a $1,509,922 million carryover in the Rainbow 6 going into the day, and $6,754,787 was wagered on the bet Saturday.
The Rainbow 6, conducted on the last six races of the card, got off to a surprising start when Papa Y won race 7 and paid $118. Following him were Trilby ($26.60), Clause ($8.40), Global Campaign ($3.40), Hembree ($7), and Cafe Americano ($4.80).
◗ Sunday’s sixth race was made official with the wrong horse posted in fourth place before the order of finish was corrected several minutes later.
The sixth race was made official with Tamit (No. 2) as the fourth-place finisher and Kailee (No. 1) in fifth place. But Kailee actually crossed the wire threequarters of a length in front of Tamit, and Gulfstream officials quickly corrected the error.
Miss Munnings won the sixth race, a one-mile allowance race on turf, with Ferdinanda and Underestimate finishing in a dead heat for second.