TEXAS STALLION STAKES ON TAP SATURDAY AT SHRP
Saturday’s race card for Sam Houston Race Park will include the running of both divisions of the Clarence Scharbauer, Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes: the Jim’s Orbit for colts and geldings and the Two Altazano for fillies. Both races carry a purse of $65,000 and are contested at 6 furlongs.
The Jim’s Orbit has a field of 7 with a mix of stakes tested runners and several others stepping up for the first time.
Roy W. Cobb’s homebred Mr Money Bags (Silver City – Miss Photogenic) is the 4-5 morning line favorite. This will be the fourth career start for the stakes placed gelding who broke his maiden impressively last November at Zia Park. He advanced directly into stakes company, running third in the $75,000 Big Drama at Delta Downs on January 5. Three weeks later, he returned to action, drawing off by over five lengths in a $50,000 optional allowance sprint at Delta Downs. Trainer Mike Neatherlin has high regard for Mr Money Bags, and confirmed that he is Triple Crown nominated.
Trainer Bret Calhoun has three entrants from three different sires, including Douglas Scharbauer’s homebred Gold Buyer (My Golden Song – Most Magic), who just missed here two weeks ago. He has odds of 12-1.
Truly Bling (Too Much Bling – Mazzy) and Mucho Dinero (Early Flyer – Won Peso) are both owned by Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch. Bred by Stan Huntsinger, the 8-1 Truly Bling is making his first start in stakes company after winning a 6-furlong maiden special weight by 7 lengths here on January 27th.
Multiple stakes placed Mucho Dinero ran third in the My Dandy division of the Texas Stallion Stakes on August 15th and finished second in the El Joven Stakes on September 4th, both at Retama Park. He has odds of 4/1.
“They are all coming into this race off different paths,” said Calhoun. “The recent win here (on January 27) for Truly Bling was a nice confidence builder. Gold Buyer shortens up from a mile and has always shown talent and Mucho Dinero ran pretty hard as a 2-year-old. He’s stakes-tested and is doing well.”
Bred by the late Ed Few, My Bling (Too Much Bling – My Girl Bess), won the My Dandy division of the Texas Stallion Stakes on November 15 at Retama Park and exits a fifth-place finish in the $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes at Remington Park for trainer George Bryant. He runs for HDT Allied Management LLC and has odds of 5-1.
Trainer Danele Durham bred and co-owns the 8-1 Lullaby Bling (Too Much Bling – Soft Music), who placed 3rd in the $107,312 Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity at Lone Star in July.
Trainer Steve Asmussen will send out 15-1 Roundaboutation (Littleexpectations – Tiffany Royal) bred by his father, Keith. This will be just the third start for the gelding, co-owned by Erv Woolsey and Keith Asmussen. He prepped for the Jim’s Orbit with a second-place finish to Truly Bling here on January 27.
Asmussen won last year’s Jim’s Orbit with William S. Farish’s Direct Dial, who was named by the TTA as 2018 Texas Champion 2-Year Old Colt/Gelding and Horse of the Year.
The Jim’s Orbit will run as race four, with an approximate post time of 8:45 pm.
There is a field of 8 for the Two Altazano, headed up by 2-5 favorite Cowgirls Like Us (My Golden Song – Nothinbettertodo). Bred and owned by Douglas Scharbauer, the multiple stakes winning Kentucky-bred has competed in five career stakes races, winning both the Darby’s Daughter division of the Texas Stallion Stakes and the $75,000 La Senorita last year at Retama Park before annexing the $100,000 Trapeze Stakes at Remington in December.
Trainer Bret Calhoun said, “As a 2-year-old, she needed time to develop; then she won three in a row at Retama,” stated Calhoun. “We stepped her up and ran her in the $150,000 Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds in January, but she stumbled badly at the start. I kept her at Fair Grounds and she’s been training well.”
If successful, this would be the third consecutive victory in the Two Altazano for Calhoun, who won it last year with Scharbauer’s homebred Howboutthiscowgirl, a full sister to Cowgirls Like Us and in 2017 with Archer City.
Brandon Jenkins will saddle Pick N Run (Intimidator – Sheltered), owned by Raffaele A. Bruno. Bred by Steve Asmussen, the stakes placed filly ran third behind Cowgirls Like Us in the Texas Stallion Stakes last August at Retama. She has odds of 8-5.
At 4-1 is lightly raced Golden Lullabye (My Golden Song – Going Away Baby) trained by Danny Pish, for owner Sam Sherman. Bred by Magnolia Racing Stable LLC, she won a 6-fulong maiden claimer last month at Fair Grounds by an impressive 5 ½ lengths.
Ten-time leading Sam Houston Race Park conditioner Steve Asmussen has entered Legendary Song (My Golden Song – Pack Your P J’s), bred by Ed & Paula Larson. She was claimed for $25,000 at Remington Park and will make her stakes debut for owner Clark O. Brewster with odds of 12-1.
Completing the field are 20-1 Whipum Nae Nae (Uncle Abbie – Readum N Reap), 30–1 Oklahoma bred Stormie Is Blue (Moro Tap – Borrego’s Treasure), 30-1 Stillaplay (Intimidator – Stillatouch), and 50–1 Silver Coin (Too Much Bling – Maebelucky).
The Two Altazano Stakes will run as race six with an approximate post time of 9:45 pm.
JEFFERSON COUNTY VOTERS TO CONSIDER A NEW RACETRACK
Jefferson County (Texas) commissioners have passed a resolution to put pari-mutuel wagering on the November 5th ballot. If approved, that would clear the way for an interested group to bring a horse racing track to the county.
County Judge Jeff Branick said, “I guess what I’ve heard from a lot of citizens is we’re tired of the constant outflow of hundreds of millions of dollars from the state of Texas into the state of Louisiana, and then there are others who have moral objections to it, so we’re going to let them make a decision without us taking a stand.”
The location of the race track remains up for discussion, but the group seeking the licensing wants it to be at Ford Park – a 221-acre multi-purpose park, arena, exhibit hall, pavilion, midway, and fields located on I-10 South in Beaumont.
2019 LONE STAR RACING CLUB NOW FORMING
The Lone Star Park Racing Club is currently taking memberships for the 2019 Thoroughbred Season which opens Thursday, April 18 and runs through Sunday, July 21. Members will share in the ownership of a racehorse that will compete here during the meet.
The 2018 Inaugural Racing Club enjoyed much success. The club owned three horses during the season, all winners. One of the club’s horses, Fred’s Lucky Boy was voted 2018 Champion Claiming Horse by the Texas Thoroughbred Association.
See www.lonestarpark.com/lsp-racingclub/ for more information.
NOTES: Attention SHRP Horsemen: This Sunday from 7am to 10am, there will be a scheduled power outage to terminate all power running to the west property. Please make sure any equipment is powered down prior to leaving on Saturday evening…If you have not already done so, please send in your RSVP to the TTA Annual Meeting & Awards Dinner asap.