News and Notes for December 2, 2016

ttagenericATB’S IN WEEKEND STAKES
Como Se Llama (City Street – No Other Name) will compete in a full field in Saturday’s $110,000 Claiming Crown Express Stakes at Gulfstream Park for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs.  Tom Durant bred the 7-year-old gelding who now races for Brad Zagone and Anthony Lowrie, and is trained by Karl Broberg.  Como Se Llama has a career record of 38-12-5-3 with $198,579 in earnings.  He is listed at 15/1.

TRAINER BROBERG REACHES 2,000 WINS
As stated in The Paulick Report, trainer Karl Broberg won his 2,000th career race last weekend with two wins at Delta Downs and one at Retama Park.

Broberg saddled his first horse in December 2009. He went from two wins (from three starts) that year, then jumped to 197 in 2010, 242 in 2011, 223 in 2012, 243 in 2013, 325 in 2014, 420 in 2015 and 348 thus far this year. He’s led North America in wins each year since 2014 and he has a career winning percentage of 25 percent (2,000 wins from 8,007 starts through Nov. 27).

He owns nearly half of his current runners in the name of End Zone Athletics, Inc., which is currently leading North American owner by wins, with 132 victories from 542 starts.

“I manage by having the best assistants out there,” he said. “I’m blessed with great help.” He listed Abel Ramirez, Artimio Ramirez, Darwin Quebedo, Jose Garcia, Clemente Montoya and Kevin Martin as his assistants at the various tracks.

“This game’s really not that hard,” Broberg added. “Get good horses, feed them as good as anybody, take care of them and put them in the right spot. It’s not that hard. We make this sport much more difficult than it needs to be.”

Broberg said his small farm near Delta Downs is home for many of his former runners that can no longer compete. “I try to rehome them and I’ve been very aggressive in trying to find homes for my horses, but if I can’t find the right place for them, I’m not afraid to keep them,” he said.

Broberg reached 2,000 career wins in less than seven years – faster than any trainer in U.S. racing history – and the 45-year-old Illinois native said he has a “burning desire” to get to 3,000 as quickly as he can.

RETAMA PARK END OF MEET LEADERS
The chase for the Jockey of the Meet and Trainer of the Meet titles was not decided until the last race of the last day of the 2016 Thoroughbred Meet.

The chase for both titles ended in ties when Ted Gondron riding Danny Pish-trained Pharme’s Soul won the 9th race to tie Sasha Risenhoover for the Jockey of the Meet title. Risenhoover had ridden two winners earlier in the evening to put her one win ahead of Gondron.

Trainer Karl Broberg had a win earlier in the evening with Singing Aces ridden by Rohan Singh to break the tie for the trainer title, but Pish’s win in the 9th brought him back even with Broberg. The wins were the first for both Pharme’s Soul and Singing Aces.

TEXAS STALLION JET PHONE DIES
Texas stallion Jet Phone, the sire of Texas Champion Aces N Kings, died November 27 from kidney and liver problems at the age of 15. The son of Phone Trick stood his entire career at Valor Farm and was bred and raced by the late Clarence Scharbauer Jr., who founded Valor with his wife, Dorothy.

A three-time winner on the track, Jet Phone had success as a stallion despite having only 24 starters from six crops to race. His offspring include Aces N Kings, a six-time stakes winner of $246,639; W V Jetsetter, a two-time stakes winner in Texas who placed in the Grade 3 Jersey Shore Stakes in New Jersey and Grade 2 Saratoga Special Stakes in New York; and Texas-bred stakes winner Aces N Jacks.

Aces N Kings, the only foal from Jet Phone’s first crop, was bred by Diamond D Ranch and campaigned by Caroline Dodwell to a title of Texas Champion 2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding with five wins from eight starts as a juvenile.

“We foaled him here and, other than the racetrack, he lived his whole life here; now he’ll be buried here,” said Ken Carson, general manager of Valor, in a Bloodhorse.com article. “He never got enough mares to be of any significance, but everyone loved him. He was a really kind horse, and we sure hated to lose him.”

NOTES: Condition books and stakes books are now available online at samhoustonracepark.com… December 15 is the deadline for receipt of ballots in the TTA Board of Directors election.