Houston Ladies Classic attracts 38 nominees

Houston Ladies Classic attracts 38 nominees

Nominations have closed for the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic, which will

be contested on January 25. A

record number of fillies and mares representing

racing's top connections from the East and West coast have been in contact with

the Sam Houston racing office. The richest Thoroughbred race in Texas is the

marquee event of the 2014 live racing season at Sam Houston Race Park,

which gets underway on Friday.

The winner of the inaugural Houston Ladies Classic was Joyful Victory, who

set a new track record for the distance of 1 1/16 miles under jockey Rosie

Napravnik. The striking gray mare continued her stellar year with two graded

stakes victories. Trained by Larry Jones for Fox Hill Farm, Joyful

Victory earned $1.2 million in her illustrious career and promises to be equally

impressive as a broodmare. She is a finalist for the 43rd Annual Eclipse Awards,

in the older female division, which will be announced on Saturday.

Sam Houston officials are hopeful that another top-class runner will be

crowned on January 25, and early indications are that this will be a highly

competitive field. This year's event closed with 38 fillies and mares, topping

the 20 nominations received in 2013. Some of the most prominent horsemen from

both coasts including Mike Maker, Steve Asmussen, Mark Casse, Kiaran McLaughlin,

Ken McPeek, Michael Matz, Tom Albertrani, Richard Mandella, Bob Baffert, Jerry

Hollendorfer, Peter Miller and Jeff Bonde, have contenders in mind.

Trainer Mark Casse shipped in Sisterly Love for the 2013 Houston Ladies

Classic and the daughter of Bellamy Road ran a respectable third. The

Kentucky-bred mare won back-to-back stakes last year at Woodbine and has been

training for her 2014 debut at Palm Meadows in Florida.

Don't Tell Sophia performed well in stakes company in 2013 with a victory in

the Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs last

November. Phil Sims trains the six-year-old daughter of Congaree and is also the

co-owner with Jerry Namy.

And Why Not is under consideration according to her trainer Michael Matz. The

five-year-old mare ran fourth to Princess of Sylmar in the Beldame

Invitational last September at Belmont Park. Matz, a distinguished member of the

United States Olympic Equestrian Team, is an accomplished Thoroughbred

trainer, best known as the conditioner of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro.

Jockey Luis Saez, who celebrated his 1,000th career win milestone on January 11

at Gulfstream Park, would be Matz's choice to pilot the daughter of Street Cry.

Another possible entrant is Unusual Way, who captured the Zia Park Oaks

on November 27 for trainer Jeff Bonde. The California-bred daughter of Unusual

Heat is closing in on the $600,000 career earnings mark. Rider Edwin Maldonado,

who was an apprentice at Sam Houston 10 years ago and is now one of

the top jockeys in Southern California, rode Unusual Way at Zia.

Rose to Gold is another top-caliber nominee who will ship in from Florida this

week for trainer Sal Santoro. The daughter of Friends Lake won both the Honeybee and Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park, punching her ticket to the

Kentucky Oaks last May at Churchill Downs. Santoro is hopeful that jockey Calvin Borel, who is riding at Oaklawn, will jet in to ride the chestnut filly.

Jones has always done well at Sam Houston Race Park and is

considering the Brereton Jones homebred Same Cross for the Houston Ladies

Classic. The five-year-old mare comes off a victory in a six-furlong allowance at

Fair Grounds on November 29.

Eclipse Award-winning trainer Steve Asmussen has nominated Sister Ginger, a

four-year-old daughter of Student Council, owned by Millennium Farms and Littlebrother Farm. Asmussen has run horses annually at Sam Houston Race Park,

winning five training titles as well as three leading owner honors.

Fiftyshadesofhay is a multiple-graded stakes winner for Hall of Famer Baffert. The Pulpit filly won the Black Eyed Susan at Pimlico and had a solid runner-up finish in the Alabama Stakes last

August at Saratoga. This would be the first time Baffert has run at Sam Houston

Race Park.

"We are extremely gratified that so many prominent horsemen have made

nominations for the Houston Ladies Classic," said Eric Johnston, Sam Houston Race

Park's vice-president of racing. "Joyful Victory was an amazing champion last

year and we look forward to presenting another exceptional evening of racing for

our fans here in Houston and across the country."

The Houston Ladies Classic will benefit the Houston affiliate of the Susan G.

Komen For the Cure®. Since 1982, Komen has led the way in the fight against

breast cancer. Sam Houston Race Park will donate $1 for each guest attending the

exceptional evening of racing on January 25.

In a partnership announced earlier this month, HRTV, "The Network for Horse

Sports" will broadcast a two-hour special beginning at 9 p.m. (CST) from Sam

Houston Race Park on January 25. The special will include live race coverage

and special events as part of the stakes-filled card highlighted by the Houston Ladies Classic and the Grade 3, $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup.

The Houston Ladies Classic will be the first stakes of the inaugural Penn

Gaming Racing Challenge. The national program will incorporate more than 20 stakes races in

2014 worth over $5.5 million. The stakes will take place at

Charles Town Races, Penn National, Sam Houston

and Zia Park. The Challenge includes tie-ins between groups of

races in the series, as well as bonuses and prizes that include free

nominations, refund of entry and starter fees, and trips to the PNGI-owned M

Resort in Las Vegas.

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