Nick Zito
Zito, a New York City native, started in racing as a teenager as a hotwalker and groom for trainer Buddy Jacobson. He later worked as an assistant to trainers LeRoy Jolley and John Campo. He saddled his first winner in 1972 and is one of only 17 trainers in history to saddle two or more Kentucky Derby winners (Strike The Gold and Go For Gin), as well as the 2003 Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town, and Birdstone to upset Smarty Jones in last year's Belmont Stakes (GI). His principal clients include George Steinbrenner, Tracy Farmer and Marylou Whitney. He and his wife, Kim, son Alexander and daughter Sara live in Garden City, N.Y.
Edgar Prado
Edgar Prado is a native of Lima, Peru and hails from a racing family - his father is a trainer and two of his eight brothers are jockeys. He dominated the Maryland racing scene for years with multiple riding titles at both Laurel and Pimlico, but in the summer of 1999 decided to shift his tack to New York. He won 1,000 races over a two-year span in 1997-1998, to join Chris McCarron and Kent Desormeaux as the only riders to accomplish that feat and led the nation in wins with 536 in '97, 474 in '98, and 402 in '99. He was second nationally in earnings last year, when his mounts won over $18.3 million. Prado won the Kentucky Oaks in 2003 on Bird Town and the Belmont twice: Birdstone (2004) and Sarava (2002). He has ridden in the past five Derbies, with his best finish a third on Peace Rules in 2003.
Live Oak Plantation
Live Oak is the namesake of Charlotte C. Weber, who is the granddaughter of Campbell's Soup founder John Dorrance, and her family is still a primary stockholder in the company. Weber is on the board of trustees for the Metropolitan Museum of Art who also collects Impressionist and ancient Chinese works. She is a major arts benefactor for both museums and to North Carolina University. Live Oak is located in Ocala, Florida, on 4,500 acres, where Eltish and Hesabull stand stud. Her current stable consists of greater than 30 horses spread out among several trainers. She has had only one Derby starter, Laser Light, who was second behind Gato Del Sol in 1982.
Whitewood Stable Inc. (KY)
Owned by Geroge Ohrstrom and managed by his son Clark, Whitewood Stable is located on over 1,800 acres in Plains, Virginia. Clark is a third-generation horseman; the farm was purchased by his grandfather, George Sr., in 1952. The stable is a corporate entity that also owns the magazine The Chronicle of the Horse as well as Victory Racing Plates, the largest equine footwear company in the country. The family has been breeding and racing Thoroughbreds for over 70 years. Focusing on stakes quality broodmares, Whitewood currently houses just eight mares. They also have stallion interests in Aldebaran, Cozzene, Gulch, Trempolino, and Marquetry.
05.04.05 - Wednesday Barn Notes 05.03.05 - Tuesday Barn Notes 05.02.05 - Monday Barn Notes 05.01.05 - Sunday Barn Notes 04.30.05 - Saturday Barn Notes 04.29.05 - Friday Barn Notes 04.28.05 - Thursday Barn Notes 03.05.2005 - Upsets Abound In Saturday's Filly Stakes At Gulfstream Park 02.05.2005 - Maddalena, Sis City Dominating In Gulfstream Stakes
As with most Zito firsters, first race was a good learning experience
Recent Workouts
Date
Track
Distance
Time
Rank
4.28
Keeneland (fast)
6 furlongs
1:14.80 B
2/4
4.03
Keeneland (fast)
5 furlongs
1:02.00 B
1/3
3.30
Keeneland (fast)
5 furlongs
1:01.80 B
1/8
3.22
Gulfstream Park (fast)
5 furlongs
1:03.0 B
3/4
IN THE GOLD is coming to hand quickly and comes to the Oaks off a game Beaumont performance just as Nick Zito did with Oaks heroine Bird Town. Stretches back out to nine panels here and it is disturbing that she came up short in both nine panel starts in Florida this winter, even when Sis City didn't show up for the second round. So the distance is a big question but not her talent or connections as Zito has put together one of the most incredible spring seasons in recent memory. Rafael Bejarano seems to fit her to a tee and knows this track as well as any after leading the jock's standings at every Kentucky track last year. Probable second choice to Sis City is rapidly becoming a top notch filly but this may be too far for one who has never won beyond a mile. Willing to play against in first or second but it will be tough to push her much farther back on the tickets.
In the Gold is a daughter of the Adena Springs stallion Golden Missile, who is also the sire of the leading three-year-old colt Going Wild. Golden Missile is a son of 1992 Horse of the Year A. P. Indy. He was slow to develop, racing only once at two and five times at three. He did, however, win the Cumberland Stakes in his sophmore year. He blossomed in his four and five year old campaigns, winning four stakes, including the Pimlico Special (GI) and Stephen Foster Handicap (GII), as well as finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Classic (GI). He wrapped up his career with nearly $2.2 in earnings, hitting the board in 21 of 25 starts. In the Gold comes from his first crop of racing age, and to date he has had two stakes winners: Going Wild and Inspiring. As of this writing, Golden Missile ranks in the top five of second crop sires.
In the Gold is the fourth foal to race out of her dam Incinerate. Interestingly, her first two foals were by sprint specialists (Carson City and Birdonthewire), but were both multiple winners going two turns. Her third foal, High Blitz, was strictly a sprinter who won the Christmas Stakes at age four.
Incinerate, like Golden Missile, was not a precocious racehorse. She started 62 times, but did not win her first stake until age five, when she won the Bed O'roses Handicap (GII). Overall, she was very competitive on the New York filly and mare circuit, winning 14 times and earning $554,088. Her half brother, Fan the Flame, won the Round Table (GIII) and finished second in the Southwest Stakes at age three. With the multitude of classic distance influences on both sides of her pedigree (Seattle Slew, Secretariat, Buckpasser, Hail to Reason), almost any distance should be within her reach.
Dosage Index: 3.00
CDSN » Churchill Downs Simulcast Network » 
