Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Chief Cicatriz could make his next start in BC Sprint
Chief Cicatriz is under consideration for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint after running one of the best races of his career late last month at Remington Park.
He won the David M. Vance with a Beyer Speed Figure of 102 on the Oklahoma Derby undercard Sept. 27. Chief Cicatriz rallied from off the pace for a two-length win, and covered six furlongs on a fast track in 1:08.52.
“He’s back to where he was a couple years ago,” trainer Shawn Davis said. “He ran big. That’s the best race he’s run since the Aristides at Churchill Downs.”
Chief Cicatriz won the Grade 3 Aristides with a career-high Beyer Figure of 110 in June 2018. In more recent times, the horse put together four straight wins, all stakes, from November 2019 to January 2020. The victories came in main-track sprints at Turf Paradise, Zia Park, and Sunland.
Chief Cicatriz could run next at Keeneland on turf because of a lack of suitable main-track sprint opportunities at this time, Davis said.
“We did run him on the grass before, and he handles the grass good,” Davis said. “So, we might run him on the grass.”
Davis said from there, decisions will be made about the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The race is Nov. 7 at Keeneland.
“We’ll kind of see,” Davis said.
Chief Cicatriz is a 7-year-old son of Munnings who races for his breeder, Roy Gene Evans. He has won 15 of 25 starts, with 11 of his wins coming in stakes. Chief Cicatriz has earned $563,295. The horse is currently based at Remington.
Terra’s Angel retired
Terra’s Angel, a multiple stakes winner who long has been a fixture in the Southwest, has been retired, according to her co-owner and trainer, Terry Eoff.
Terra’s Angel is a 5-year-old by Drosselmeyer who won 6 of 23 starts and earned $259,562. She won stakes on both dirt and turf; among her wins were the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf and the La Senorita at Retama Park.
“She was just was an exceptional horse for us,” said Eoff, who raced Terra’s Angel with Johnny Evans. “She took us on a nice ride.”
Eoff said Terra’s Angel was given some time off during the Lone Star Park meet this summer and the decision was ultimately made to retire her from racing.
“She tailed off her last two races,” Eoff said. “We’ll just breed her next year. We’ve got several possibilities. Probably number one on my list is Goldencents.”
Eoff said a decision on a stallion would likely be made in two or three weeks. The trainer and Evans plan to keep Terra’s Angel. She is named for Eoff’s late daughter, Terra.
Eoff and Evans also co-own Empire of Gold, a son of Goldencents who earlier this month ran a bold second at long odds in the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland. The effort put him in the conversation for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.
“It’s possible, but probably not,” Eoff said. “We’ll probably run in the Perryville for straight 3-year-olds on the dirt at Keeneland. It’s the same day. That’s probably our best bet.”
Empire of Gold won a maiden special weight in February at Sam Houston and later won conditioned allowances at Lone Star Park and Remington.
Flores to return home
Jockey Rico Flores, who sustained a cervical spine injury in a Sept. 1 spill at Louisiana Downs and has since been based at a physical therapy facility in New Orleans, is scheduled to return home to Shreveport, La., later this month, according to his longtime girlfriend Sally Warne.
Warne said Flores has an “incomplete spinal injury” and has been learning to walk again. He can walk with assistance, she said. Warne also said Flores has movement in his hands and at this time is able to lift his arms with assistance. He will have outpatient therapy sessions when he gets back home to Shreveport.
Warne said Flores has made a good deal of progress in therapy.
“I am amazed with what I see day to day with him,” she said.
Friends have set up a “Go Fund Me” account for Flores. He long has been a regular on the circuit in Louisiana. Flores registered his first career win in 1994.
Corluna cuts back
Corluna, a multiple stakes winner in her native Texas, returns to the overnight ranks Wednesday night at Remington Park in Oklahoma City.
She goes in race 8, a conditioned allowance at a mile on turf that carries an optional claiming price of $40,000. The race, for fillies and mares, drew eight including main track-only entrant Blue Moonrise.
Corluna exits a third-place finish in the $60,000 Ricks Memorial on Sept. 27 at Remington Park. That race was over 1 1/16 miles. Shortening up some in distance Saturday could serve her cause as both of her stakes wins have come over 7 1/2 furlongs. Richard Eramia has the mount from the rail for Ian Yarnot and trainer Sarah Delany.
◗ Welder drew post 3 in a field of seven for the $130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint on Friday night at Remington. The race is one of eight divisional stakes for Oklahoma-breds on a 10-race card that starts at 7 p.m. Central.
◗ Sunlit Song, winner of the $60,000 Remington Green Stakes on the Oklahoma Derby undercard Sept. 27, goes in a Saturday night allowance at Remington that also drew multiple stakes winner Redatory.