Tulsa World: Tulsa horse shows promise

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Tulsa horse shows promise

By RICHARD LINIHAN Horse Racing
Published: 11/21/2009 2:28 AM
Last Modified: 11/21/2009 7:22 AM

THERE IS A race in Louisville, Ky., Saturday that may be a preview for Tulsans who love having a local rooting interest in the biggest races of the year.

Tulsa owner John Wieczorek (Avalon Farms) and his horse partner Ron Rashinski send out a horse named Custom for Carlos today in the $60,000 Bet on Sunshine Handicap at Churchill Downs that could determine whether this 3-year-old colt will be on a plane to Dubai this spring to race for millions of dollars there. If he shows the kind of ability he already has by the end of spring, he could be considered a legitimate candidate for the Breeders' Cup Sprint next year.

If he is so fast and so talented, why did he not run in this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint?

They didn't want to rush him as a 3-year-old and there were some questions as to whether he would like the synthetic racing surface at Santa Anita. Thank goodness the racing powers that be will return the World Thoroughbred Championships put on by the Breeders' Cup back to a track with good old-fashioned dirt and sand next year.

Maybe the American horses will have a better chance this time. European horses won half of the 14 BC races this year and were a dominating presence last year as well.

Nine horses have been entered in Churchill Downs' eighth race, which should go off approximately 3:06 Tulsa time, and Custom for Carlos has been established as the 2-1 favorite to win the race. He is by More than Ready, a strong stallion that sends out many sprint winners. Eddie Kenneally is the trainer and Jose Lezcano will ride the horse.

Custom for Carlos has run nine races this year, winning three and landing in the top three six times. He has earned $253,590 lifetime. He did not race as a 2-year-old.

At today's distance of 6 furlongs, Custom for Carlos has won two of three times and finished second in the other start. He ran a 1 minute, 8 seconds 6 furlongs, winning a Grade 3 race at Monmouth in July and then a 1:08 2/5ths, finishing second by a nose in his last try at Philadelphia Park. His Andy Beyer speed figures from those two tries at this distance were 111 and 106. The 111 was the seventh-highest Beyer figure in the country this year among all 3-year-old races, and that includes the Triple Crown of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

Denis of Cork getting workout: Tulsa owners Suzanne and W.K. Warren Jr. are hoping to see their third-place finisher in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Denis of Cork, return to the racetrack in 2010. Denis, who also ran second in the Belmont Stakes, has been laid up for about a year and a half with two separate injuries, but has been working out under the eye of trainer David Carroll.

He breezed 3 furlongs on Nov. 9 in 38 seconds at Churchill Downs and 4 furlongs on Monday in 50.40 seconds. Carroll, who will take the horse to New Orleans for the winter, said Denis of Cork is still a long way from racing again.

Richard Linihan is marketing director for Fair Meadows of Tulsa.

By RICHARD LINIHAN Horse Racing

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