Contact Information:
Bob Roberts (216-662-8600)
August 5, 2008
www.thistledown.com
TRAINER TIM HAMM SEEKS TO CONTINUE DOMINANCE OF OHIO TWO-YEAR-OLD STAKES
A turkey for Hamm? Owner-trainer Tim Hamm has saddled the winners of the first two Ohio Fund added-money races for freshman runners in 2008. The North Jackson horseman is expected to vie for favoritism for a third consecutive success when he sends out both Raise the Reward and Astronaut in Friday's $50,000 Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes at Thistledown.
Raise the Reward, who Hamm runs in partnership with Brian Broll, won the July 13th Hoover Stakes at River Downs. Astronaut, who races solely for Hamm's Blazing Meadows Farm, was just a length behind in second place. Hamm also nominated Slides Choice, winner of the July 27th Tah Dah Stakes at River Downs for the Kindergarten, but the filly will remain in the barn, as will Holy Harem, another Hamm runner (he had four of the 17 Kindergarten nominees) who was the beaten favorite in the Tah Dah (second to stablemate Slides Choice).
"Those fillies have yet to run against colts and I really didn't want to run them with the boys in this race," said Hamm. "We'll leave it up to Raise the Reward and Astronaut. Both are training and running well."
Raise The Reward, who'll be ridden by Azael De Leon, will break from the No. 2 post in the eight-horse Kindergarten field. Astronaut, who'll be handled by Luis Gonzalez, will start in the No. 3 post. While the only other Kindergarten starter with stakes experience is the race's lone filly, Pyrite Score, (she was third to Slides Choice in the Tah Dah), an interesting entry is Australis Day, who invades from Philadelphia Park. Although a maiden after two starts, the Five Star Day colt has been working forwardly in the morning.
The Kindergarten, a six-furlong sprint, is being run for the 18th time. It is the 10th race on Friday's card with an approximate post time of 4:14 p.m.
SANTOS WINS 1,000th RACE ABOARD FLYINGPALM
Jockey Felipe Santos, a native of the Dominican Republic, scored the 1,000th victory of his career when he rallied Flyingpalm to win Friday's seventh race at Thistledown.
"I was stuck on 999 for a while," said Santos, 54, who has been riding for 35 years. "I really have more victories. I won nearly 500 races at tracks in the Virgin Islands, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic."
Fittingly, Santos' milestone victory came aboard a horse who is owned by Winning Stables Inc. He was riding the four-year-old gelding for the first time ever and, after breaking from the gate on top, took back to second before rallying in midstretch for the victory.
LEADER BOARD -- After 14 programs of the 66-day season-ending Randall-Cranwood Meeting, Weldon Cloninger leads all jockeys with 13 victories. He had two winners on Monday to take the lead away from Ernesto Oro, who has 12 winners. Luis Gonzalez is third at nine winners, followed by both Summit-Thistle Meeting champion Louis Stokes and Jane Magrell, both on eight winners . . . The trainers' race is also tight with Summit-Thistledown Meeting champion Jeff Radosevich leading Jevon Crumley, nine winners to eight. Randy Joe Faulkner is third with seven winners . . . Thistledown will be open Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights this week for evening full-card simulcasting. It is open each and every afternoon for wagering on races from across North America . . . Woodbine, the top track in Canada, renewed the Grade II $159,085 Royal North Stakes on Saturday, a race won by Akronism. The Royal North is the only graded North American stakes race named for an Ohio champion. Royal North was voted Ohio Horse of the Year in 1978, as well as sophomore filly champion.
FEED BAG --- Bruno Schickedanz' Reputed Deeds ran his winning streak to four when he was game along the rail to win Monday's fifth race. The seven-year-old mare, a Jeff Radosevich-trainee, began her streak with back-to-back wins at Mountaineer and has since strung together three scores at Thistledown…Brass Hat, winner of the 2004 Ohio Derby, has been sidelined by a strained ligament in his left front leg. The now seven-year-old gelding may not get back to the races until 2009, if even then. He has won eight of 26 career starts and has banked $1,790,314 . . .Thistledown winner Shipwatch missed by a mere neck of winning Saturday's $100,000 Claiming Crown Emerald Stakes at Canterbury Park. The seven-year-old gelding, who scored at Thistledown on July 20, earned $20,000 for finishing second. Owned by Patrick Scanlon, Shipwatch is trained by Gerald Bennett, who claimed him for Scanlon for $16,000 at Tampa Bay Downs in early March.