Pinnacle Peak, a game front-running winner of a 2-year-old first-level dirt-route allowance Friday night at Fair Grounds, is a likely runner in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 16, trainer Mike Stidham said. Stidham could have two horses in the Lecomte, with Noble Thought, a good-looking dirt-route maiden winner here on Dec. 4, also pointed toward the Lecomte.
The near-term goal for trainer Neil Howard and owner-breeder Will Farish following Eagle's impressive win in Saturday's Tenacious at Fair Grounds is to win a graded race, but the next two-turn dirt stakes here for older horses, the Louisiana Handicap on Jan. 16, is a listed $100,000 race. Howard and Farish will have to decide whether to send Eagle back out for that race or await the Grade 3 Mineshaft in February.
Trainer Brad Cox saddles Majestic Angel (#5, ML 8-1) in Sunday's sixth race at Fair Grounds, an about one-mile maiden special weight race on turf. Since Jan. 1, 2014, Cox is winning at a 29 percent clip with first-time turf starters, for a return on investment of $3.73. Check out the Positive ROI report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
Jockey G.R. Carter Jr., the all-time leading Quarter Horse rider in wins and earnings, retired Saturday night at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La.
Queen Washita’s effort in Saturday night’s $257,650 EVD Futurity was as impressive as her trial performance. She was a length winner of the closing night card for Quarter Horses at Evangeline Downs, one start after setting the fastest qualifying time for the race in a 2 1/4 length romp.
Apprentice Ashley Broussard completed a sweep of the weekend stakes at Delta Downs on Saturday night when she guided Deep Bottom to a front-running win in the $65,000 B-Connected.
Alsono set a track record Saturday at Sunland Park when he wired the field in the $65,000 KLAQ Handicap. He covered five furlongs on a fast track in 55.72 seconds.
After a smooth victory Saturday at Fair Grounds in the Tenacious Stakes, where he beat Freestyler by 1 1/4 lengths, Eagle looks like a colt ready for bigger and better things.
Financial Modeling, allowed to coast along on an uncontested lead under Irad Ortiz Jr., galloped to a 4 1/4-length victory over 6-5 favorite Tommy Macho in Saturday’s $100,000 Queens County Stakes.
Mor Spirit on Saturday stamped himself as a potential serious contender for the 2016 Kentucky Derby by running down stablemate Toews On Ice to win the Grade 1, $350,000 Los Alamitos Futurity, a race trainer Bob Baffert also won last year with Dortmund.
