Arlington Park Barn Notes: Sunday, Sept. 19

                       

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Barn Notes: Sunday, September 19, 2010                                                                             

 

In Today’s Notes: 

 

·        Perez Pounds Out a Saturday Triple at Arlington Park

·        Baze Toasts Seven-Up Advantage Entering Sunday’s Races

·        Lassie Rematch Likely in Keeneland’s Alcibiades

·        Castanon, Catalano Milestone Counts Unchanged Saturday

 

 

EDDIE PEREZ POUNDS OUT A SATURDAY TRIPLE AT ARLINGTON PARK

 

            Sir Francis Bacon, the British statesman and renaissance philosopher considered to be the father of inductive reasoning, once advised on the merits of consistency:  “Look to make your course regular, that men may know beforehand what to expect.”

 

            Veteran Arlington Park jockey Eddie Perez, who scored a hat trick Saturday at Chicago’s northwest oval, was certainly the riding star of the day but it is the consistency of his riding record over the last decade here that would allow trainers to know what to expect when they name Perez aboard their horses.

 

            No one is more aware of this than trainer Chris Block, who has teamed with Perez to earn more purses in tandem ($805,280 through Saturday’s program) than any other jockey-trainer duo this summer.  In fact, it was Lothenbach Stables’ P.S. I Love You, the Block-trained winner of Saturday’s seventh race, that launched jockey and trainer to the top of that earnings list.

 

            “We’ve done great together since I started riding for him,” said Perez Sunday morning during training hours.  “He uses me on a lot of horses and also gives me a chance to ride some of his best horses, and he has sent me out of town this summer to ride horses for him at Kentucky Downs and Indiana Downs.  I think I’m also supposed to ride some horses for him at Keeneland next month.

 

            “I also ride a lot for Dale Bennett, Moises Yanez and Hugh Robertson,” Perez said, “and yesterday I won a race for Donna Dupuy (the third on Frederick Kuen’s Donta) and another one for Manny Perez (the opener on Sugar Daddy Stable’s G Street Band).”

 

            However, the advent of Saturday’s triple also allows additional support concerning the consistency of Perez at Arlington over the last 10 seasons.  The 44-year-old native of Taluca, Mexico, has never failed to finish among the top 20 in the final standings over the last decade and in nine of the last 10 years he has finished in the top 15.

 

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Barn Notes

September 19, 2010

Page 2

            Perez’ best finish in Arlington’s annual standings to date over that same time period was a fifth-place finish in 2007, but with Thursday’s hat trick, the popular rider is ranked fifth again and might equal that ranking when Arlington closes its doors for 2010 on Sept. 26.

 

            “The way we’ve been doing this season is very satisfying,” said Perez, who has vaulted nine positions in Arlington’s all-time jockey standings during 2010 and is now on the cusp of Arlington’s all-time top 20 reinsman. “I’m very happy with the way the summer has gone.”

 

             Also, there is one final Perez statistic easily reachable before Sunday’s closing day program.  With three more victories, Perez will pass Hall of Fame jockey Willie Shoemaker on Arlington’s all-time leading rider list, supplanting the legend that was Arlington’s jockey champion in 1958 and at one time the winningest rider in the world.

 

BAZE BOASTS SEVEN-UP ADVANTAGE ENTERING SUNDAY’S RACES

            Following a riding double Saturday at Arlington, leading rider Michael Baze now leads Arlington’s defending jockey champion Junior Alvarado by seven wins entering Sunday’s 87th racing day of Arlington’s 91-day season.

 

            Baze, riding at Arlington for the first time this summer, won the second half of Saturday’s Daily Double aboard Voodoomon Racing Stable’s Spanish Ambassador for trainer Jim McMullen.

 

            The native of Renton, Washington, returned to the winner’s circle on All In Stable’s Willcox Inn for conditioner Mike Stidham in Saturday’s finale.

 

LASSIE REMATCH LIKELY IN KEENELAND’S ALCIBIADES

            Darrell and Evelyn Yates’ Jordy Y, who finished second in the Grade III Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes Sept. 11 at Arlington Park, is now likely to return in Keeneland’s Grade I Darley Alcibiades Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on Oct. 8, opening day of the fall season at the central Kentucky oval, trainer Wayne Catalano indicated Saturday.

 

            On the morning after the Lassie, Chicago’s main event for juvenile members of the distaff set, Mike Reavis, trainer and breeder of Lassie winner Wonderlandbynight, owned by Mark Dedomenico, said that the Alcibiades was also a likely next target for that filly.

 

CASTANON, CATALANO MILESTONE COUNTS UNCHANGED SATURDAY

            With no wins Saturday, trainer Wayne Catalano and jockey Jesus Castanon’s separate pursuit of personal milestones stalled briefly prior to entering Sunday’s races.

 

            After saddling 72 winners so far this summer, Catalano remains two wins short of the 74 victories he had during the 2007 season when he established Arlington’s all-time single-season leading trainer mark.

 

            Jesus Castanon remained at 1,994 career victories on Thoroughbreds in his pursuit of the 2,000-career win milestone.

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