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Oaks Entrants
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Trainer |
Jockey |
Owner |
Breeder |
David Hofmans, 63, was born and raised in Los Angeles and still currently resides in that area in La Canada. He was introduced to the game by his late father, who was an avid fan of horse racing, and was introduced to the backside by former trainer Gary Jones, who was a classmate of Hofmans at Pasadena City College. He began working on the backside at the ground level, grooming and hot walking horses for Gary Jones' father Farrell, before his aptitude elevated him in to training on his own. He has enjoyed a solid career on the West coast as a full time trainer. Hofmans' highlights include winning a pair of Breeders' Cup races in '96 with Alphabet Soup, winner of the Classic, and '03 with Adoration, winner of the Distaff - both against the odds. He may have scored his biggest lifetime win to date with Touch Gold in the '97 Belmont Stakes, denying Silver Charm of the Triple Crown. That proved to be a career year for Hofmans, as he also campaigned Touch Gold to a win in the Gr. I Haskell, and captured Canada's biggest race with another Adena Spings trainee when eventual Horse of the Year Awesome Again won the prestigious Gr. I Queen's Plate. |
A native of Mexico City, Victor Espinoza began riding professionally in 1993, following in the footsteps of his uncle and brother. He garnered his first win at Hippodromo de las America in Sept. 1993 and moved to Southern Calif. soon after. He was the leading apprentice rider at Bay Meadows (1993-94) and at Golden Gate Fields (1994); in 2000, he captured the Hollywood Park spring-summer riding title. His biggest stakes wins to date have been on War Emblem in 2002 Derby and Preakness (GI), Early Pioneer in the 2000 Hollywood Gold Cup (GI) and Spain in the 2000 Breeders' Cup Distaff (GI). In 2005, his mounts earned in excess of $11.4 million, good for 8th nationally. He has had two Derby mounts in addition to War Emblem: Congaree (3rd in 2001) and Borrego (10th in 2004). |
Amerman Racing LLC is owned by John Amerman in partnership with his wife Jerry. John, 74, graduated from Dartmouth and the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth before commencing what would prove to be a highly successful career as a businessman, climbing through the ranks at the toy mega company, Mattel Inc., to serve as the Chairman and CEO from 1987-1997. The Amermans became involved in horse racing in '87 after answering an ad placed by the Team Valor syndicate. They started Amerman Racing in '95 and have since captured more than 20 Grade I wins in a little more than a decade in the industry. They currently have more than 20 horses in active training with Bobby Frankel, Paul McGee, Mike Machowsky and Balance's trainer David Hofmans, who the Amermans also teamed up with in '03 to capture the Breeders' Cup Distaff with longshot Adoration. The Amermans also own Peacefield Farm, a rehabilitation and lay-up facility for thoroughbreds and show horses in Temecula, California. |
Bio Coming Soon |
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04.21.06 - Balance Set For Weekend Work, Ships April 29
04.08.06 - Bushfire Too Fast For Balance, Wait a While In Ashland
04.07.06 - Balance Heads Keeneland's $500,000 Ashland
04.06.06 - Ashland Presents Tough Final Tune Up For Balance
03.12.06 - Balance Shows She's Best In West
03.10.06 - Round Two: Wild Fit vs. Balance
03.05.06 - "All Others" Favored Over Wild Fit, Balance, Champion Folklore In Pool 2 Of Kentucky Oaks Future Wager
02.13.06 - Balance Holds Off Wild Fit in Las Virgenes, Scores First Grade I Win
02.11.06 - Balance Impresses In Las Virgenes
02.09.06 - Las Virgenes Loaded With Future Stars
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DRF Past Performances
Next Race: 05.05 Kentucky Oaks (GI)
Future Wager Odds
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Pool # |
Date |
Horse # |
Final Odds |
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3 |
04.06-09 |
2 |
4-1 |
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2 |
03.02-05 |
3 |
7-1 |
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1 |
01.26-29 |
3 |
13-1 |
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Race History :: Graded Earnings: $471,200 (as of 04.08.06) - Race Record: 7-4-1-2
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Date |
Race |
Finish |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Comments |
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04.08.06 |
Ashland (GI) |
3rd |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Modest rally for third, well behind Bushfire and Wait a While |
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03.12.06 |
Santa Anita Oaks (GI) |
1st |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Wide throughout, proved much the best in stretch |
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02.11.06 |
Las Virgenes (GI) |
1st |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Took over stretch, held Wild Fit safe |
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12.18.05 |
Hollywood Starlet (GI) |
2nd |
Chart |
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Video |
Could not overtake Diplomat Lady; nice effort |
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11.27.05 |
Sharp Cat |
1st |
Chart |
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Video |
Made successful dirt debut |
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11.02.05 |
Hidden Light |
3rd |
Chart |
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Video |
DQ'd for drifting in after finishing 1st |
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10.07.05 |
Maiden Special Weight @ Oaktree SA |
1st |
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Squeezed start, 4-wide rally, clear |
Recent Workouts
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Date |
Track |
Distance |
Time |
Rank |
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04.28 |
Hollywood |
6 furlongs (fast) |
1:11.60 H |
1/5 |
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04.22 |
Hollywood |
5 furlongs (fast) |
59.60 H |
2/33 |
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04.05 |
Keeneland |
4 furlongs (fast) |
51.00 B |
8/15 |
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03.29 |
Hollywood |
6 furlongs (good) |
1:12.00 H |
1/1 |
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Balance has a lovely pedigree full of class and stamina, as her sire, Thunder Gulch, was one of the more popular 3-year-olds in the mid 90s, capturing the '95 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in a stellar sophomore campaign that saw him win 7-of-10 starts en route to being named champion 3-year-old. Thunder Gulch's stud career picked up right where his racing career left off, stamping his progeny with quality and the ability to get the Classic distances. In his first two crops to hit the track in '99 and '00, Thunder Gulch sired several top class performers, such as Spain ('97), one of the leading filly & mare money earners of all time, champion Point Given ('98), winner of the '01 Preakness and Belmont Stakes, Gr. I winner Tweedside ('98), multiple graded stakes winner Mystic Lady ('98), among others.
Balance's female family is also loaded with stamina influences. Her dam, Vertigineux, is a daughter of the late, great stallion Kris S., and she also has the likes of important sires Hyperion and Tom Rolfe within her first four generations. Her forth dam is by Tom Fool, further solidifying the quality of her maternal lineage. Vertigineux is a relatively young broodmare, and she has one other foal to race. That filly is Where's Bailey, a 4-year-old listed stakes winner routing on the grass by Aljabr.
Dosage Index: 1.93
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BALANCE, the prohibitive 2-1 morning-line favorite, is a deserving choice in here, and she appears to be heads and shoulders above this group on paper when looking at what she has accomplished thus far in her sophomore campaign, having soundly defeated a very nice group of west coast fillies in both the Gr. I Las Virgenes and Gr. I Santa Anita Oaks. Her distant third last out in the Ashland was too bad to be true, as she appeared to be seriously up against it with the clear speed bias. On top of that, the Ashland has been a grave yard for favorites in the past, as just last year Summerly struggled in the Ashland over the different Keeneland strip and came back to capture the Oaks in her next start. The feeling is that Balance is sitting on a rebound effort over a set up that figures to suit her running style, as her tactical speed in this apparent speed-laden race should allow jockey Victor Espinoza to lay a dream trip 3-5 lengths behind the probable dueling pacesetters, and she should make her presence felt on the far turn. The only problem with her is that she will be on the board at probable underlaid odds in a race that has produced several surprises over the past few years. If you like her enough to perceive 9-5 - 5-2 as value, then she is your chalk play. However, the fact that she'll face her toughest race to date in another road test away from California in a full field of 14 fillies, she is hard to suggest when it is certain that value will not be present. Either way, she must be used in exotics. Your call.
- Joel Cunningham |
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Oaks Information
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