Talamo Expects Big Effort Aboard Daddy D T

Joe Talamo expects another strong effort aboard Daddy D T when he rides the Scat Daddy ridgling for Hronis Racing and John Sadler in Saturday’s $75,000 Pasadena Stakes for 3-year-olds at one mile on turf.

Talamo and Daddy D T finished second by a neck in an overnight race at a mile on grass Feb. 22.

“He should be tough,” Talamo said. “They didn’t have much speed last time. The turf was soft. He ran a good race. He’s run against come tough horses (American Pharoah and Bolo, to name but two).

“He shows up every time. If he doesn’t win, he’s always right there.”

In six starts, Daddy D T has one win, a second and two thirds.

The Pasadena, race four on a nine-race program: Bench Warrant, Tyler Baze, 5-2; Daddy D T, Joe Talamo, 3-1; Jazzy Josh, Rafael Bejarano, 6-1; Papacoolpapacool, Elvis Trujillo, 7-2; Temple Keys, Aaron Gryder, 20-1; Ernest Shackleton, Felipe Valdez, 20-1; Soul Driver, Gary Stevens, 6-1; Stand and Salute, Flavien Prat, 10-1; and Anytime Anyplace, Martin Pedroza, 6-1.

LUZZI TO RECEIVE WOOLF AWARD ON APRIL 12

Santa Anita Park has announced that 2015 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award winner Mike Luzzi will travel west from his home in New York to receive the prestigious Woolf Award trophy in a ceremony between races on Sunday, April 12.

Sidelined due to a broken leg and fractured pelvis sustained in a paddock accident at Aqueduct on Nov. 2, Luzzi has undergone reconstructive surgery and is now rehabbing for a return to the saddle at some point this year.

Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, the Woolf Award is one of the most highly coveted honors in all of racing as it recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character have earned esteem for both the individual and the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

America’s Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 1989, Luzzi, by a vote of his peers, outpolled four other finalists: James Graham, Leslie Mawing, Corey Nakatani and the recently retired Rosie Napravnik.

It is expected that Luzzi, who has won 3,420 career races, will be accompanied April 12 by his wife, Tania, daughter, Larue, 14, and son, Lane, 16.

FINISH LINES: Agent Tony Matos hopes Corey Nakatani can resume riding in about a month after the 44-year-old Hall of Fame nominee went down when his mount, Bilger’s Sapphire, clipped heels and fell in Sunday’s fifth race at about 6 ½ furlongs on turf. “It’s not as bad as it appeared,” Matos said. “He had no surgery. His (left) collar bone is broken but it’s not displaced and it takes three weeks to heal. He’ll have X-rays taken, and then if everything looks all right, he can start getting on horses.” . . . Agent Mike Ciani reports that three-time Kentucky Derby winner Kent Desormeaux rides Mr. Z for D. Wayne Lukas in the Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds on March 28. Nakatani had been scheduled to ride . . . Agent Scotty McClellan has Joe Talamo named on horses at Oaklawn Park on March 28, including War Story in the Louisiana Derby; Moreno in the New Orleans Handicap; and Chocolate Ride in the Mervin H. Munoz Jr. Memorial . . . Thursday morning, trainer Craig Lewis was still pondering where streaking Warren’s Veneda would make her next start. “Against the boys (in the Charles Town Classic), the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park, or maybe just wait,” the trainer said of the California-bred mare who captured the Grade I Santa Margarita Saturday for her third straight stakes win. Incidentally, the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic on April 18 will be run in the daytime this year, not in the evening as in the past . . . Two-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder worked six furlongs under Gary Stevens in a snappy 1:10.80 for her 5-year-old debut. “The Madison (at Keeneland on April 4) remains a possibility,” trainer Richard Mandella said. San Onofre’s time of 1:10.40 for Karen Headley was the fastest at the distance, the average time of which was 1:12.60 . . . David Nance, second in Santa Anita’s Handicapping Challenge Tournament last week, and jockey Aaron Gryder, will be Tom Quigley’s guests Saturday and Sunday, respectively, in the East Paddock Gardens at 11:20 a.m. . . . Santa Anita presents the world-famous Winner’s Circle BBQ Championship Saturday in its spacious infield. Taste delicious samplings from the masters of BBQ and watch a full card of Thoroughbred racing. Special packages are available at santaanita.com/events . . . Saturday, March 28, features the Grade III Tokyo City Cup on Japan Family Day, with the Ramen Yokocho Festival in the infield. For details, visit www.tokyocitycup.com . . . Poetry in motion: Saturday’s hunch play of the day comes in the San Luis Rey—Raise Your Gaze, ridden by Tyler Baze.

Source: Santa Anita Park