HOT SPRINGS — Borel still two short of 5,000
It appears jockey Calvin Borel will record his 5,000th career victory at Oaklawn Park.
Borel finished third with both of his mounts Thursday afternoon at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, leaving him with 4,998 victories.
Only 25 riders in North American racing history have reached 5,000 victories, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization.
Jerry Hissam of Hot Springs, Borel’s longtime agent, said he doesn’t expect the jockey to ride again before Oaklawn opens Jan. 11.
Borel, 46, normally rides sparingly in December after the Churchill Downs fall meeting ends in late November.
One of Borel’s third place finishes Thursday was aboard Boss Man Rocket, a 2-year-old War Front colt owned by Frank Fletcher of North Little Rock.
Borel recorded his 3,000th victory March 26, 1999, at Oaklawn and his 4,000th victory Feb. 16, 2005, at Oaklawn.
Borel was Oaklawn’s leading rider in 1995 and 2001.
Hissam recovering
Jerry Hissam of Hot Springs, the longtime agent for jockey Calvin Borel, is recovering from triple bypass heart surgery earlier this month, said David Longinotti, Oaklawn’s assistant general manager/ racing.
Longinotti said Hissam underwent surgery Dec. 7 at St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs and was released Wednesday.
“He’s recovering at home and seems to be doing great,” Longinotti said.
Back to work
Brown Almighty breezed a half-mile in :48.80 Saturday morning, the colt’s first workout since finishing ninth in the $1 million Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita in suburban Los Angeles.
Brown Almighty, a son of champion Big Brown, is scheduled to make his 3-year-old, and dirt, debut, in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 21.
No internal fractions were available for Saturday’s work, but it equaled the second fastest of 50 recorded at the distance.
“We couldn’t be happier with his work, for the first back off the layoff,” co-owner Richard Robertson of Camden said. “He did all that within himself. We never asked him, but he loved the dirt. We have determined, at this point, it looks like the dirt is not an issue
Robertson said Brown Almighty’s next work will be 5 furlongs.
The Smarty Jones is a mile.
Final furlong
Brassy and Proud had the first officially timed workout of the 2013 Oaklawn season when he went a half-mile in :50.40 Monday morning for trainer Steve Hobby of Hot Springs. ... There were 782 horses on the grounds late Saturday morning. … Installation of a new main elevator on the first floor near the paddock has been completed, said David Longinotti, Oaklawn’s assistant general manager/ racing. … Casanova Kiddo, a 2-year-old unstarted daughter of Langfuhr, worked a half-mile in :49.20 Saturday morning for the PHWL partnership of Jim Pickering, a Little RockCPA; Howard House of Batesville; Batesville attorney Bill Walmsley, and Mark Lamberth, a Batesville highway contractor and House’s son-in-law.
Walmsley said Casanova Kiddo is being pointed for the $60,000 Rainbow Miss on March 29, a race restricted to 3-year-old fillies bred in Arkansas. Casanova Kiddo’s full sister, Casanova Move, sold in foal to Quality Road for $550,000 at the 2011 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
Sports, Pages 29 on 12/16/2012