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PRINCESS HAYA EARNS TEXAS-BRED HORSE OF THE YEAR HONORS FOR 2009
Eileen Hartis’ Texas homebred Princess Haya is the 2009 Texas-bred Horse of the Year based on her 38 Texas-bred Championship Points earned from her Grade 2 Canadian Stakes victory and her Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes third-place finish at Woodbine, plus two other stakes placings at Delaware Park and Monmouth Park. In all, the 4-year-old daughter of Street Cry, out of the Slew City Slew mare Sally Slew, won three of eight starts with four seconds and one third to earn $393,060.
Princess Haya joins Got Koko as the second Hartis homebred to be acclaimed the Texas Horse of the Year this decade. Got Koko earned her crown in 2003. Princess Haya will also be recognized as the Texas Champion Older Filly or Mare. Kirk Robison’s Stealth Cat, the 2008 Texas Horse of the Year, was the runner-up in this division.
The other Texas-bred divisional winners were as follows: 2-Year-Old Filly, Camille’s Appeal, owned by Ro Parra’s Millennium Farms, trained by Steve Asmussen, bred by Stonerside Stable; 2-Year-Old Colt, Oak Motte, owned by Bass Seeligson Partnership and Hugh Fitzsimons, trained by Tom Amoss, bred by Bass Seeligson Partnership; 3-Year-Old Filly, Tom Durant’s homebred City Tone, trained by Jack Bruner; 3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding, Valid Stripes, owned by Donald W. Erickson, trained by Amos Laborde, bred by Ed Few; Older Horse, Talkin to Mom Roo, owned by Jeffrey Sengara, trained by Ted West, bred by L.T. Smith Enterprises.
Camille’s Appeal won three of her four starts including overpowering come-from-behind wins in the first two Texas Stallion Stakes Series races for foals of 2007 for earnings of $165,150 for the year. She totaled 15 points, with Tin Top Cat (8) second and Ruby’s Big Band (7.5) third.
Oak Motte rallied from last of 10 to overwhelm the second race in the Texas Stallion Stakes Series, then added third-place finishes at Delta Downs in the Jean Lafitte and Grade 3 Delta Jackpot to run his bankroll to $208,390 and total 15.5 Championship points. Lydia’s Last Step totaled 12 points to be the runner-up with Western Forum (8.5) third.
City Tone rallied from more than 13 lengths off the pace to win the last leg in the Texas Stallion Stakes Series for foals of 2006. She earned her title through tie-breaker provisions with earnings of $98,754 to top Tiffany Royal ($84,235) and The Cat Who ($64,766). All three fillies accumulated 7.5 points.
Valid Stripes easily won both 3-year-old races in the Texas Stallion Stakes Series and also ran second in the Triple Sec at Delta Downs to earn $166,500 for the year. His 18 Championship points left him well ahead of Poltergeist (7) and Southern Vintage (5).
Talkin to Mom Roo’s runner-up finish in Del Mar’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby accounted for $60,000 of his $128,786 seasonal earnings and provided him with 15 Championship points to finish one point ahead of Quiet Again with Gold Coyote third with 10 points.
ASMUSSEN FINISHES 2009 WITH RECORD 650 WINS FOR THIRD TRAINING CROWN
Steve Asmussen ended 2009 with a single-season record 650 wins to add a third national training crown to his leading trainer honors garnered in 2003 and 2008. He also led all trainers in purse earnings with a cumulative total of $21,876,405. Three Asmussen-trained stakes winners are leading candidates to earn Eclipse Awards. Rachel Alexandra is a shoo-in for 3-year-old filly honors and either she or Zenyatta will be crowned as Horse of the Year. Hot Dixie Chick is a leading contender for the 2-year-old filly title and Kodiak Kowboy may have earned the Sprint championship with his late-season exploits including a convincing win in the Cigar Mile.
TRAINER JOHN LOCKE’S RETIREMENT REPORTED IN SUREBET RACING NEWS
John Locke, whose racing stable has been a fixture at nearly all Class 1 race meets in Texas for the past 15 years, is retiring according to a report in SureBet Racing News. A former practicing veterinarian, he leaves his training career on a high note having statistically enjoyed his most successful season in 2009 when he saddled 156 winners. In his career, Locke won 1,277 races and his runners earned more than $14 million, according to Equineline.com.
Locke’s biggest training score came with Texas-bred Scrappy Roo’s upset in the $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Handicap (G3) in 2007 at Sam Houston Race Park, where he also won a training title. Some of Locke’s other stakes winners included Fly Slama Jama, Topango, Oncearoundtwice, Southern Vintage, Holly Lynne and the venerable Proven Cure, who remained competitive in turf stakes as a 12-year-old.
Commenting on his retirement, the 67-year-old Locke said, “I’m healthy, but (wife) Marilyn and I have been thinking about this for a long time. We will tie up some loose ends here for a couple of months and then move to Colorado.” Locke’s former runners have been transferred to Karl Broberg.
Fast furlongs...The Texas Racing Commission has licensed four training facilities for 2010: Delta Training Center in Edcouch, Diamond D Ranch in Lone Oak, Oak Leaf Training Center in Tyler and Pink Crown Farms, LLC in Longview...Today’s auction of Magna Entertainment Corporation’s two Maryland tracks, Laurel Race Park and Pimlico Race Course, has been postponed to January 21 in order to finalize provisions with the lead bidder to preserve the Preakness Stakes at its longtime home...Calvin Borel, Rachel Alexandra’s personable rider, will start his 2010 season a bit late courtesy of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which doubled a 3-day suspension for careless riding to the first six days of the Oaklawn Park meet, January 15-17 and 22-24, after finding Borel filed a frivolous appeal late in the fall meet at Churchill Downs in order to continue to ride...The New York Racing Association, the New York Thoroughbred Breeders and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association have filed objections to a bankruptcy petition by New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation in an effort to get the bankruptcy filing dismissed...In turn, NYCOTB claims it will run out of operating capital within 60 days and must have legislative relief from its obligations to the state, local governments, purses and the breed program and pay them from proceeds left after operational costs, which likely would equate to zero...In Kentucky, Greg Stumbo, speaker of the House of Representatives, plans to refile his video lottery terminal bill that passed the same body during a special summer session before dying in a Senate committee...The Kentucky attorney general’s office has issued an opinion that the operation of Instant Racing machines are legal under state law, but the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would have to amend present administrative regulations to allow the electronic games because the regulations presently contemplate live pari-mutuel racing only...After months of wrangling, the Pennsylvania legislature approved a bill legalizing blackjack, poker, roulette and other table games at the state’s slots parlors, and Governor Ed Rendell has signed the measure into law with revenue expected to begin flowing as early as July...Fasig-Tipton Company’s new office building on its sales grounds in Lexington, KY, is now open and the national auction company has expanded its sponsorship agreement with Gulfstream Park to include the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and added sponsorship of four filly and mare stakes on February 27 to be known as the Fasig-Tipton Filly Festival...Turfway Park has changed the date of the Lane’s End Stakes, the Northern Kentucky track’s major Kentucky Derby prep, from March 20 to the 27th, placing it five weeks before the Run for the Roses...The Jockey Club is again providing owners and breeders with an opportunity to contribute to Thoroughbred aftercare programs through a voluntary checkoff program when they submit applications to register foals...Wagering on U.S. Thoroughbred races declined 9.88 percent with 2009 betting amounting to $12,319,129,673, down $1,350,347,561 from total wagering in 2008 according to a release from Equibase News Service...Oaklawn Park has opened an expanded electronic gambling parlor offering craps, poker, blackjack and Instant Racing machines just in time for the start of its 2010 racing season on January 15...Rachel Alexandra is back in light training at Fair Grounds where she will either make her seasonal debut in March or a cameo appearance for fans...January 16 is the early nomination deadline to the 2010 Triple Crown races at a cost of $600, which takes care of nominating a 3-year-old to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.