Wandering Eyes

Trainer Brad Cox now has the happy issue of having multiple charges to tend to in their quest for the lilies after Sassy Sienna edged Wonder Gadot by a nose in the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park April 13. View the full article

Terry Hamilton's Heart to Heart led at every point of call and cruised to a 1 3/4-length score in the $300,000 Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1T) April 13 at Keeneland. View the full article

Terry Hamilton's Heart to Heart led at every point of call and cruised to about a 1 3/4-length score in the $300,000 Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1) April 13 at Keeneland. View the full article

Red Oak Stable's Unbridled Mo pulled off an impressive upset April 13, when she closed late to win the $700,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) at Oaklawn Park. View the full article

Unbridled Mo (Uncle Mo) storms down the center of the stretch to pull off the upset and record her first Grade I in the GI Apple Blossom H. Friday at Oaklawn Park. The bay was able to sit into a good stalking position at 9-2 as the heavy favorite Unique Bella completely missed the break and rushed up to sit just off the early pace. She was set down for the drive midway on the far turn while three wide and continued to inch closer to Unique Bella passing the furlong marker. She put her head in front at the sixteenth pole and never looked back, springing the upset by two lengths. Unique Bella held on for second. This is the sixth GI winner for her sire Uncle Mo. She is a half to MGSW Unbridled Essence (Essence of Dubai). Her 4-time winning dam Unbridled Waters (Unbridled) is a half to GSW and MGISP Big Booster (Accelerator). Lifetime Record: 10-7-0-0. O/B-Red Oak Stable. T-Todd Pletcher. View the full article

Terry Hamilton's Heart to Heart led at every point of call and cruised to about a three-length score in the $300,000 Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1) April 13 at Keeneland. View the full article

Ed DeRosa of TwinSpires.com takes on TDN’s Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap each prep race leading up to the GI Kentucky Derby. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets -highest bankroll after Apr. 14 wins. DeROSA: Last Week’s Results: Bolt d’Oro was second in the Santa Anita Derby, but neither Old Time Revival nor Blended Citizen made an impact in their respective races. DeROSA BANKROLL: $4290. GI Arkansas Derby – I think the prices on the top two will be more separated than the morning line suggests with Magnum Moon dropping and Solomini hopefully drifting, and I’ll take the bigger price on him turning the tables on the Rebel results. Selection: #5 Solomini (2-1). GIII Lexington S. – I love that Greyvitos has been pointing for this race and connections have not let Derby fever get the best of them. As it turns out, even a win won’t be good enough for a Derby berth, but this horse flashed brilliance at two and coming in fresh here I think will help him get the jump on My Boy Jack with the short stretch helping his trip. Selection: #6 Greyvitos (6-1). SHERACK: Last Week’s Results – Neither of my two longshots Tiz Mischief or King Zachary fired and Bolt d’Oro was second-best. SHERACK BANKROLL: $2380. GI Arkansas Derby – The unbeaten Magnum Moon returns to the site of his ultra-impressive Rebel score and has continued to train impressively since. Would love to back a price here, but just can’t come up with a sound argument to play against this one. Selection: #6 Magnum Moon (8-5). GIII Lexington S. – Telekinesis looked like he could be any kind in his debut win sprinting at Fair Grounds, then took pressure throughout in his two-turn try against older horses and reported home third as the heavy favorite. He’s well-drawn on the inside and should work out a perfect, stalking trip this time around. Selection: #2 Telekinesis (4-1). DiDONATO: Last Week’s Results: Bolt d’Oro and Enticed were simply second best in their respective races, but the former might still have a big say at Churchill. Zing Zang was always far back. Just two more chances to catch Ed… DiDONATO BANKROLL: $3635. GI Arkansas Derby – I wonder if Magnum Moon is simply too good for this bunch, but I think I’m better off taking a bigger price here from a game theory perspective. I loved the way Tenfold finished up in his debut, and while I wish he’d won his second start by more, the horse he beat is ok and he still has every right to take a big step forward in just his third lifetime start. Added ground can’t hurt. Selection: #3 Tenfold (10-1). GIII Lexington S. – His morning line quote seems a bit ambitious, but I’m pretty high on Greyvitos. His two big stakes wins last year seem legit, and he really doesn’t have to get much faster to get the job done. The pace should be honest, so hopefully he’s not too keen off the layoff and he can settle into a stalking trip. Selection: #6 Greyvitos (6-1). View the full article

It took Heart to Heart (h, 7, English Channel-Ask the Question, by Silver Deputy) some 34 starts over the course of six seasons to secure an elusive Grade I success, but the tough-as-teak Ontario-bred with the distinctive blaze that befits his name made it back-to-back scores at the highest level with a typically tenacious front-running victory in Friday’s Maker’s 46 Mile. In a race delayed by 35 minutes by an earlier tote malfunction, Heart to Heart looked a bit toey in the stalls and hopped ever so slightly at the break, but it didn’t cost him, as he was soon in front, dictating a sensible pace from California raider Om (Munnings) as Ballagh Rocks (Stormy Atlantic) was tucked away neatly in third. Still traveling well within himself as they left the quarter pole behind, Heart to Heart was popped the question by his long-time partner Julien Leparoux and they shaded :23 for the final two furlongs to win cozily in the finish. Ballagh Rocks fought back gamely at the fence for second. Forge (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}-Heat Haze {GB}) took a multi-horse photo for third. Heart to Heart, second in the last two runnings of the Maker’s 46, was winning for the 15th time and was taking his career earnings to $1.9 million. Lifetime Record: 35-15-5-3. O-Terry Hamilton; B-Red Hawk Ranch (ON); T-Brian Lynch. View the full article

As the Road to the Kentucky Derby heats up, each week we will take a look at three things to watch from the 3-year-old division as they head into that weekend's respective prep races. View the full article

SASSY SIENNA (f, 3, Midshipman-Tap for Gold, by Pleasant Tap), second in the Martha Washington S. Feb. 10 and third behind a pair of these foes in the GIII Honeybee S. a month later, got it done when it counted Friday to stamp her ticket to next month’s GI Kentucky Oaks. Dismissed at 11-1, the $65,000 KEESEP yearling saved all the ground from her rail draw as she stalked from a distant second behind free-running favorite Amy’s Challenge (Artie Schiller). The chalk threatened to keep right on going after six panels in 1:10.52, but dropped anchor as she hit the top of the lane. Formidable out-of-town invader Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro) moved alongside Sassy Sienna as they took over together in the final sixteenth, but Sassy Sienna dug deeper to get her nose down on the line. A debut winner on the grass last July, Sassy Sienna was third in Saratoga’s P.G. Johnson S. before making a switch to the main track. She checked in fourth in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. in October, and second in a rained-off Churchill allowance in November. Fifth behind Fantasy foe and GIII Honeybee S. heroine Cosmic Burst (Violence) in Remington’s Trapeze S. Dec. 17, she bounced back with a 9 1/2-length romp in a local optional claimer Jan. 15. That was the dark bay’s final start for Zayat Stables, and she had run with these owners listed in her two most recent outings. Lifetime Record: 9-3-2-2. O-Medallion Racing & Jerry McClanahan. B-Haymarket Farm LLC (Ky). T-Brad H Cox. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday’s Insights features a Frankel ‘TDN Rising Star’. 2.30 Lingfield, Cond, £5,800, 3yo, 7f1y (AWT) BETTY F (GB) (Frankel {GB}) , a ‘TDN Rising Star’, kicks off her 3-year-old campaign having last been seen finishing eighth in Newmarket’s G1 Cheveley Park S. Jeremy Noseda opts for the Polytrack for Charles Fox’s homebred, whose dam is a half to the G1SW Seal of Approval (GB) (Authorized {Ire}). View the full article

Keith Brackpool, a former executive with The Stronach Group, is suing the organization for $40 million plus damages according to court documents filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles April 11. View the full article

April 14 is the last call for those looking to earn a trip to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). View the full article

Cajun Breeze had his first winner when his son Cajun Firecracker drew away to a two-length victory in a Gulfstream Park maiden special weight race April 13, with his daughter also finishing second to give the stallion an exacta. View the full article

The recent Dubai World Cup meeting shone a very bright light on Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}), but one aspect of his profile that may have escaped most is that he’s out of an outstanding mare in Eastern Joy (GB). This daughter of Dubai Destination was no great shakes as a racehorse, winning once over 1800m on soft ground at Vichy from four outings as a 3-year-old. As a broodmare she has been a revelation, producing five consecutive black-type winners with her first five foals. And not a missed year in between. Remarkably, a search for mares that produced as many or more consecutively foaled stakes winners yielded only two others anywhere in the world since the 1970s. You’resothrilling (Storm Cat)’s achievements are well documented. Her first five foals–born in the same time span as Eastern Joy’s–feature three Group 1 winners, Marvellous (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who could add to the family’s silverware in 2018. But you have to travel back to the 1970s to find our third member of the famous five club. That was the Derring-Do (GB) filly Stilvi (GB) who won a pair of Group 3 sprints and was second in the Nunthorpe S. in the days when it was a Group 2. Her first five foals included three Group 1 winners, Middle Park winner Tachypous (GB) (Hotfoot {GB}), champion 2-year-old Tromos (GB) (Busted {GB}) and G1 Irish Derby hero Tyrnavos (GB) (Blakeney {GB}). Tolmi (GB) (Great Nephew {GB}), the last of the five, won the Coronation S. at Royal Ascot a race that now holds Group 1 status. All three mares are clearly exceptional, but you’d have to say Stilvi’s record is the best of the three, both on Timeform ratings–her average score is 126, ahead of You’resothrilling on 118 and Eastern Joy on 114. Moreover, Stilvi did it with five different sires, none of them remotely in the same league as Galileo, responsible for all of You’resothrilling’s stakes winners. Stilvi produced three fillies, but none were good enough to build on their dam’s magnificent achievements and the family has not seen such talented racehorses since. Interestingly, neither Eastern Joy nor You’resothrilling can extend their records as they didn’t produce a foal in 2016. For the record, 65 mares produced four consecutive stakes winners. View the full article

Three of these four are from Ballydoyle and the other is the promising Imaging, who has a race-fitness edge on his three rivals having won from an unpromising position in a conditions race at Cork Mar. 31. He signed off with a 9 1/2-length win over another Aidan O’Brien trainee in Spanish Point (GB) (Frankel {GB}) over this trip at Limerick in October also on heavy ground and is a worthy opponent of one already top-class and two potentially top-class colts. “He is very versatile ground-wise and I have been happy with the horse since Cork,” trainer Dermot Weld said. Very few horses are capable of a G1 Middle Park S.-G1 Dewhurst S. double and the fact that U S Navy Flag made light of it places him in the top drawer. He has a look of Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) about him, but like the G2 Superlative S.-winning ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gustav Klimt he does not need these conditions. “Gustav Klimt is in good form and is just ready to start. Hopefully he’ll come on plenty for the run,” O’Brien said. “He missed the second half of last year and hasn’t been out in a long time. US Navy Flag is in good form, too, and is just ready to start as well. Obviously we’d prefer better ground, but we just want to get him out. He seems to be in good form.” Kenya won the course-and-distance G3 Killavullan S. from the front and would be dangerous left alone there. View the full article

Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs announced Friday that the former will host four $100,000 ($75,000 base purse plus $25,000 KTDF) stakes events on the grass this summer funded by the latter. Kentucky Downs Preview Day will take place at Ellis Aug. 5, and will feature the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up as a stepping stone to the GI Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup; the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf for three-and-up females prepping for the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf; the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint for speedsters with an eye towards the GIII Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint; and the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Mile as a prep for the Tourist Mile. “This is going to really fill a void in turf stakes in Kentucky for the summer,” said Ellis Park president and majority owner Ron Geary. “We are thrilled to be able to present what will be one of the Midwest’s top days of summer racing. Horses targeting Kentucky Downs stakes can stay home and prep with us without the demands of shipping out of the region. We strive to keep up our overnight purses for the owners and trainers who support our race meet and Kentucky racing on a daily basis. So given the ability to add four $100,000 stakes is huge and further entrenches us as the Midwest’s summer racing leader.” Ken Ramsey, perennially the leading owner at Kentucky Downs with his wife Sarah, added, “I don’t know of any other track in the United States–or as far as that, the world–that would help another track out like [Kentucky Downs] helps out. I’m just overwhelmed that they would do that, that they would use some of the money they got from historical horse racing to help the industry out.” View the full article

The G1 Satsuki Sho lost a bit of its lustre when the undefeated champion 2-year-old colt Danon Premium (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) sustained a stone bruise earlier this month and was ruled out of this 2000-metre contest. However, 16 other quality colts are stepping forward for the second Classic of the Japanese season at Nakayama this Sunday. Group 1 winner Time Flyer (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) is one of the main protagonists. Successful in the Listed Hagi S. last October at third asking, he dropped a spot in the G3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai S. in the wake of Grail (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) on Nov. 25. The colt regained his winning form in the Dec. 28 Hopeful, defeating GSW Gendarme (Kitten’s Joy). The bay was fifth in the Listed Wakaba S. at Hanshin on Mar. 17 in his sophomore bow and will leave from stall one. “He’s come back well after his last race, and the jockey’s been putting him through his paces, particularly working on the horse’s ability to finish strongly,” said Time Flyer’s trainer Kunihide Matsuda. “He could be a Derby horse, but in the meantime, he’s back at the course and distance where he won a Group 1 last year, and so must have a good chance.” Wagnerian (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was undefeated in his first three starts, including the G3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai S. at Tokyo on Nov. 18. He suffered his first loss to the benched Danon Premium–Gendarme was third–in the G2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho locally over course and distance on Mar. 4. “He’s been working well and his breathing’s good,” said trainer Yasuo Tomomichi. “He’s calmed down a lot. There’ll be more runners this time, and I don’t think the pace will be slow, but with the power this horse has got, and maximizing that to its full potential, he must have a chance.” Yet another scalp claimed by the missing Danon Premium, Stelvio (Jpn) could make it a Classic double for his young sire Lord Kanaloa, after his paternal half-sister Almond Eye (Jpn) (Jpn) captured the G1 Oka Sho on Sunday. Runner-up to the aforementioned juvenile champ in the Oct. 7 G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup and the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. at Hanshin on Dec. 17, Stelvio was first past the post in the G2 Fuji TV Sho Spring S. on Mar. 18. The lightly raced Kitano Commandeur (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is facing group company for the first time Sunday. A winner in a 2000-metre Hanshin newcomers’ race on Dec. 23, the colt returned on Feb. 25 to win the Listed Sumire S. there upped 200 metres. View the full article

– GI Florida Derby winner Audible (Into Mischief) covered four furlongs at Palm Beach Downs Friday in a best-of-26 :48.74. The spin came in company with stakes-wining older stablemate You’re To Blame (Distorted Humor), and featured a five-furlong gallop out in 1:02.22. “For him I thought it was outstanding,” Pletcher said. “He’s not always an overzealous work horse, but today he seemed on his game and focused,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I thought he did very well. He’s coming back in [in the May 5 GI Kentucky Derby] five weeks off a 1 1/8-mile race so I think we’re just trying to have him peak on the day and keep him fit without overdoing it. I thought this morning was an important step in that direction. I know sometimes he doesn’t work as well as others, but leading up to this race you’d like all three of his works to be good and the first one was excellent.” – Pletcher also sent out Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy) Friday with blinkers added. The GII Louisiana Derby hero went in 1:01.19 (4/7). “It was a good, solid five-eighths,” Pletcher said. “He’s never been a horse that’s a fantastic gallop-out horse, but I think today was solid.” – GII Risen Star S. upsetter Bravazo (Awesome Again) got his work in under the Twin Spires Friday. The Calumet homebred was credited with an official clocking of 1:01.20 (9/23). He went in splits of :12.80, :24.80 and :37 and galloped out in 1:16.40 for six furlongs. “It was a really good maintenance work,” said Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. “He was getting over the ground well and we will do more with him in his next two works.” View the full article

2nd-KEE, $76K, Alw/Opt. Clm., 3yo, 9f, post time: 1:39 p.m. ET Fresh off a towering 7 1/4-length debut success in a seven-furlong maiden on the GII Tampa Bay Derby undercard Mar. 10 (video), RULER OF THE NILE (Pioneerof the Nile) looks to remain perfect in this first two-turn voyage. A $240K KEENOV weanling turned $1-million OBSMAR breezer, the bay colt is out of a winning half-sister to MGSW Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile) and to GISP Nonna Mia (Empire Maker), the dam of GISW Outwork (Uncle Mo). The Todd Pletcher trainee faces off with Penalty (Blame), a $390K KEESEP yearling purchase who defied odds of nearly 14-1 to graduate at first asking over seven furlongs at Gulfstream Park Feb. 24. TJCIS PPs 1st-SA, $54K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1mT, post time: 3:00 p.m. ET CAJUN TREASURE (Treasure Beach {GB}) breezed an eighth of a mile in :10 1/5 ahead of the 2017 OBSAPR sale and was hammered down for $250K, by far the most expensive of his young sire’s juveniles to sell to date. There is pedigree appeal to boot, as the Florida-bred is kin to Cajun Delta Dawn (Kantharos), who won two legs of the Florida Stallion Stakes in 2016; SW Mom’z Laugh (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}); GSP Peace At Dawn (Peace Rules); and MSP Cajun Breeze (Congrats), who coincidentally was represented by his first winner as a sire Friday at Gulfstream. TJCIS PPs 11th-KEE, $74K, Msw, 3yo, f, 7f, post time: 6:45 p.m. ET HANALEI MOON (Malibu Moon) is the first foal from Authenticity (Quiet American), a two-time graded winner and four times placed at Grade I level, including a third-place effort to Beholder (Henny Hughes) in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The mare found herself in the Fasig-Tipton sales ring three days later and fetched $1.2 million from Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings. Hanalei Moon is bred on the same cross responsible for Bernardini. Song of Mine (Ghostzapper), the half-sister to multiple champion Songbird (Medaglia d’Oro), cost $800K as an FTSAUG yearling and cuts back to one turn off a pacesetting fourth at Oaklawn Mar. 8. TJCIS PPs View the full article

With only two Irish-trained colts set to take on Ballydoyle’s trio in Saturday’s G3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax S., Leopardstown’s initial Derby trial is akin to a strong home gallop for Ballydoyle. ‘TDN Rising Stars’ The Pentagon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Delano Roosevelt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) both look primed to be better 3-year-olds than 2-year-olds, but the former already boasts a high level of form having been successful in the G3 Tyros S. here in July and third in the G1 Racing Post Trophy after a setback at Doncaster in October. The stable’s other runner Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) had Delano Roosevelt back in third when the comprehensive winner of the G3 Golden Fleece S. here in September and it will be a case of who handles this ground and who is the most forward of the trio at this fledgling stage of the season. Last year, Aidan O’Brien sent out three in this and the best of them was Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who managed only fourth and he was keen to stress that this is just the jumping-off point for his new trio. “The Pentagon is in good shape and is ready to start. Obviously he doesn’t want that kind of ground, but we just want to get him started,” he said. “Nelson might handle the ground. He handles an ease and will stay well. He’s in good form as well. Delano Roosevelt will handle an ease in the ground, is in good form and is ready to start off as well.” View the full article

Despite being beset by a consistently miserable wet spell, Leopardstown’s Classic trials day on Saturday is well supported by Ballydoyle who are represented by a quartet in the G3 Ballylinch Stud ‘Priory Belle’ 1000 Guineas Trial S. As the rapid rise of the previously unheralded Winter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) proved last year, no firm idea of the pecking order at Rosegreen can be taken for granted at this time of year and it may not be all-important that Ryan Moore is on I Can Fly (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Successful by four lengths in a Dundalk maiden over this trip in September, she was third in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. at Newmarket the following month. Winter’s 1000 Guineas pilot Wayne Lordan is aboard the course-and-distance maiden winner Sarrocchi (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while the G3 Anglesey S. scorer Actress (Ire) (Declaration of War) has the best form in the race having finished third in the six-furlong G1 Phoenix S. at The Curragh in August. Aidan O’Brien is looking forward to getting them started. “I Can Fly is in good form. She had a couple of runs last year at Dundalk and Newmarket and we’re happy with her,” he commented. “Actress is in good form as well, but obviously she would prefer better ground. She’s just ready to start as well and we’ll find out if she gets seven or further. She’s never run that far before. Sarrocchi won a maiden at the backend in easy ground. She’s in good form but will also improve a lot from the run.” ‘TDN Rising Star’ Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) beat Actress by five lengths in the Listed Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies’ Sprint S. at Naas in May, but has subsequently suffered two reversals when second in the G3 Albany S. at Royal Ascot in June and when fifth in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. at The Curragh in September. View the full article

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.–When David Cohen stepped into the paddock for a Feb. 1, 2014 race at Aqueduct, he had no reason to believe that his career and his life were about to be turned upside down. Cohen may have never reached the top echelon of the New York riding colony, but he was a steady force, good enough to be sixth in the nation in wins in 2009, good enough to have won the 2012 GI Travers S. in a dead-heat aboard Golden Ticket (Speightstown). That day in February and that race were supposed to be nothing out of the ordinary. Instead, in a freak accident, he was kicked by his mount before getting astride the horse, fracturing his tibia and fibula. Afterward, it was reported that Cohen would return in about eight weeks. It turned out to be more than 3 1/2 years. The injuries he suffered that day were the first in a number of setbacks, both on and off-track problems, that put his career on hold. Cohen would eventually come to the realization that he had to step away from the sport until he was ready to push the reset button. That’s exactly what he did Nov. 30, when returning to the game and riding in a race at the Fair Grounds. He didn’t win that day, but not much has gone wrong since. He entered the final week of the Oaklawn meet with 35 winners and a firm grip on third place in the standings. It has been a better-than-expected showing for a rider sidelined for so long, but a bigger test awaits. Some four years and two months after the paddock injury, Cohen will start accepting mounts at Aqueduct Apr. 18. He hopes not just to re-establish himself as a winning rider on what may the toughest circuit in the U.S., but to be a better, more successful version of the jockey that has been missing from the NYRA circuit for what seems like an eternity. “I don’t think ‘I am this caliber of a rider so I should be one, two or three in the standings or in the top five,'” he said. ” Really, I just came back knowing my ability and that if I got support from the owners and the trainers with the proper horses good things would happen. If I’m in the top 10, top five, top three, that would just be an extra blessing. I’m just happy to be back riding again and to be healthy, mentally and physically. I know that if I’m given enough opportunities the sky’s the limit.” Cohen came back about nine months after suffering the initial injury, but lasted less than a weak as the tibia and fibula fractures had not healed to the point where he was truly ready to return to riding. In the midst of his injury problems, his father, Morry, was seriously ill and would eventually succumb to complications related to cancer and heart problems. “Growing up, my father had been in the business as an owner and a trainer,” Cohen said. “As a family we would go to Del Mar for the summer. My brother, sister and mom would go to the beach and I would go to the racetrack as a young kid. I was glued to my father’s side. He had an auto body shop and I went there to work every day. When I became a jockey he went to work with me all the time. He went around with me everywhere, to Dubai, to Japan. He go to experience everything with me. We were as close as can be.” Still dealing with his father’s death, Cohen was hit with a second tragedy. His sister, Dana, passed away about 18 months after Morry Cohen died. Cohen said his sister accidently hit her head. Believing she was fine, she went to sleep instead of receiving treatment and never woke up. The cause of death was swelling on her brain. “Even though she was my older sister, I played that older brother role,” he said. “She and I were very close. The two closest people in my immediate family were taken away from within a year and a half of one another.” Though Cohen had healed from his racing injuries, he was struggling mentally in the aftermath of the loss of his father and sister. He knew what he needed in order to feel better, and it was time. The point came where he was ready to return to riding, but he knew that if he did not plot his comeback carefully he would run the risk of being an afterthought after being away for so long. His first move was to connect with trainer Robertino Diodoro. The connection was made by his agent, Bill Castle, who also represents jockey Angel Arroyo, who rides most of Diodoro’s horses in New York. Cohen began by galloping horses for Diodoro and would launch his comeback in late November. His emphasis, however, was on Oaklawn. “I probably could have returned six months earlier, around August or September,” Cohen said. “We really wanted to come back in the right and proper way and we really focused on Oaklawn Park to be the place to return.” That he had Diodoro behind him was a major plus. The trainer has one of the most productive barns at Oaklawn and is second in the trainer’s standings behind Steve Asmussen. “David started with us working horses at the Evangeline training center and I could see what good shape he was in and that he was very focused,” Diodoro said. “Watching him ride, seeing how good his attitude was and how fit he was, I wasn’t really concerned that he hadn’t ridden in so long. At the same time, I knew there would be a little bit of rust to start with. There was. But he has done a great job for us. I watch him closely because he rides 95% of our horses and I root for him when he’s riding for someone else in a race we’re not in. As the meet has gone along, he has gotten better and better.” Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga will be a lot tougher than Oaklawn for Cohen, but he says he’s encouraged by the fact he has heard from so many New York trainers who have called or texted to wish him well and to say they look forward to giving him mounts. He says he has heard from, among others, David Jacobson, Linda Rice, Rudy Rodriguez and Todd Pletcher. He wants them to know that this David Cohen will be not only a good rider, but someone who has learned to overcome adversity and has grown and matured from the experience. “If you live long enough, eventually you will go through something and you will have a hurdle to overcome,” he said. “It’s great to learn that you can take it and come back mentally stronger. With what I’ve been through, I’ve grown a lot over the last three, four years. In life, things happen for very specific reasons. Something good has come out of something that was so negative in my life. That has helped make me the rider I am now and it has helped make me a better person.” View the full article

Less than a year after saddling his first starter, Rodolphe Brisset found himself in the remarkable position of conditioning a leading contender on the Road to the Kentucky Derby when his trainee Quip won the Tampa Bay Derby (G2). View the full article

Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) winner Audible continued his preparation for the May 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) when he worked a half-mile in a bullet :48.75 April 13 at Palm Beach Downs. View the full article