LNJ Foxwoods pulls out of SoCal

ARCADIA, Calif. – The LNJ Foxwoods stable of Larry, Nanci, and Jaime Roth of New York is pulling most of its runners from California, Jaime Roth said in a message published on Twitter on Sunday.

The Roth family had approximately eight horses in Southern California, notably United, who has been retired after a career that included seven graded stakes wins and a second in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

United sustained an injury in the days before the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar last November and will be retrained as a riding horse, according to Jaime Roth.

“LNJ Foxwoods has made the difficult decision to take a break from having horses stabled year-round in Southern California,” Jaime Roth wrote on Twitter.

She cited the family’s base in New York and the recent relocation of racing adviser Alex Solis II from California to Kentucky as factors in the decision.

“We would like to focus on the East Coast, Canada, and Kentucky circuits at this time,” she wrote. “We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Southern California and celebrated many milestones there, including winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint with Covfefe at Santa Anita.”

Covfefe was the champion female sprinter and champion 3-year-old filly of 2019, the year she won the BC Filly and Mare Sprint for trainer Brad Cox.

The Roth horses based in Southern California will be relocated across the country and internationally.

Set Sail, who finished sixth of eight as the 2-1 favorite in Saturday’s Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park, will be moved from California-based Richard Mandella to Bill Mott in New York, Solis said in a phone interview.

The Mandella-trained Subconscious, who won the Grade 2 Twilight Derby last October and has been second and third in two graded stakes on turf this year, will be moved to Australian trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

Urban, a 3-year-old filly previously trained by Simon Callaghan at Santa Anita, will be moved to trainer Josie Carroll at Woodbine and pointed to stakes later this spring.

The Roth family will continue to have a small number of horses based at Golden Gate Fields with trainer Blaine Wright.

The decision to depart Southern California comes a week after their filly Speedcuber, purchased as a weanling for $525,000, was euthanized as a result of an injury sustained in a turf race May 7 at Santa Anita.

The Roth family has had success with American horses in Australia. In March, their filly Lighthouse won the Group 1 Coolmore Classic for fillies and mares at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. Lighthouse was trained by Callaghan in 2020, the year she won the $400,000 Music City Stakes at Kentucky Downs.

United, 7, won 10 of 22 starts and earned $1,813,549. His seven graded stakes wins included the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar and Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita in both 2020 and 2021.