Rail Trip is back and Ron Ellis has him.
Winner of the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup in 2009 for the Jay Em
Ess Stable and Ellis, the gelded son of Jump Star was transferred to
trainer Rick Dutrow in late 2010, failing to win in five starts.
Ellis got the good news on Monday.
“He got here yesterday,” the 51-year-old trainer said Tuesday
from his Hollywood Park headquarters. “It’s a nice Christmas present. He
grabbed a quarter in his last race and required stitches. It was a
pretty nasty gash.”
Rail Trip’s last race was Nov. 17 at Aqueduct in the Sunny and
Mild Stakes. He stumbled at the start and did not finish the nine
furlong race as the 2-5 favorite in a field of five. The Equibase chart
reads, “Rail Trip stumbled badly at the start, losing the rider (Ramon
Dominguez) as a result.
Rail Trip won his first five starts under Ellis, then was second
in both the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap and the Californian Stakes before
winning the Gold Cup on July 11, 2009.
“He’ll walk at my barn until Jan. 1 and we’ll go from there, so
at this point, I don’t really have any plans for him (race-wise),” Ellis
said. “Needless to say, I’m pretty happy.”