GREG'S GOLD GETS BACK ON TRACK AFTER INJURY.Byline: ART WILSON Arthur Earl "Dutch" Wilson (December 11, 1885 in Macon, Illinois; died June 12, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois) was a catcher in Major League Baseball.Art Wilson was the catcher for Cubs pitcher Hippo Vaughn during the "double no-hitter" game in 1917. HORSE RACING horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with DEL MAR Del Mar is the name of several places in the United States of America:
The 6-year-old gelding gelding castrated male horse. won the 2005 Bing Crosby Handicap at Del Mar, which annually showcases some of the West's top sprinters, and was being groomed for that year's Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I thoroughbred horse races operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982 by a consortium of North American racing organizations, led by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. when misfortune struck. A career-threatening tendon injury sidelined Greg's Gold for nearly 19months until he resurfaced in a February allowance race at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Greg's Gold will try to repeat his Bing Crosby score of two years ago Sunday when he faces eight rivals in the $300,000 Grade I race at six furlongs over Polytrack. It will be his second race on a synthetic surface after he won the Tiznow Stakes in April over Hollywood Park's Cushion Track. "He really likes this artificial surface," Hofmans said this week in the Del Mar paddock. "He's worked twice over it and he seems to really like it." Hofmans likes Greg's Gold's chances anytime the gelding is healthy, but the trick is keeping him sound. The son of Lake George Lake George, village (1990 est. pop. 1,100), seat of Warren co., E N.Y.; inc. 1903. Situated on the southern tip of Lake George in the foothills of the Adirondack Mts. has won six of 17 races and about a half-million dollars, but the injury that occurred almost two months after his 2005 Bing Crosby score put a real damper on his future and led Boswell and Hofmans to try a new medical procedure. Wade Byrd, a veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. at Southland race tracks, took fat cells from the hind end of Greg's Gold and developed them into stem cells stem cells, unspecialized human or animal cells that can produce mature specialized body cells and at the same time replicate themselves. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a blastocyst (the blastula typical of placental mammals; see embryo), which is very young , which were then injected into the injured area to help alleviate the problem -- a tendon ligament that was tearing on the gelding's right tendon. The procedure came with no money-back guarantees. Nobody in the Greg's Gold camp knew if he'd ever regain his previous form until the allowance victory Feb. 18. He still has to be closely monitored and his races are spaced far enough apart that they don't take too much of a toll, but so far so good. Greg's Gold followed that allowance victory with a strong second to Smokey Stover, one of the nation's top sprinters, in the Grade II Potrero Grande at Santa Anita and then won the Tiznow on Gold Rush Day at Hollywood Park. Hofmans was feeling so good about Greg's Gold at that point he decided to ship to Churchill Downs for the GradeIII Aristides Handicap on June 2. It was his first race outside of California, and the trip did not go well. "He didn't ship well, and he didn't really like the track at all," Hofmans said. "It was too hard." Greg's Gold finished fourth and was shipped back to California, where he'll make his fifth start of 2007 Sunday. "We're throwing that one out, as they say," Hofmans said. The veteran trainer says Greg's Gold is heading into the Bing Crosby in top shape. He'll break from the No. 3 hole and will be handled by two-time defending Del Mar riding champion Victor Espinoza. "Victor came out and worked him the other day," Hofmans said. "He had a real nice work. He went (1:12.20). He's ready to go." Greg's Gold will have to be ready to go with Bordonaro, Battle Won, E Z Warrior and Declan's Moon also in the field. Bordonaro finished fourth in last year's contentious Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs (3/4 mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the , Battle Won has been placed in the past two runnings of the Crosby, EZ Warrior is undefeated in three lifetime starts and Declan's Moon won an Eclipse Award in 2004 as the nation's top male juvenile. "It's tough, it's a real tough spot," Hofmans said. "I really didn't expect it to come up this tough, but he'll try. He tries every time." The ultimate goal is for Greg's Gold to run in the Breeders' Cup Sprint in October at Monmouth Park. It's a dream that will have to be closely monitored. One more setback, and it's likely Boswell will retire his speedy gelding. art.wilson@sgvn.com (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2103 CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Art Wilson |
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