Up With the Birds was last seen at Arlington finishing a decent fourth of seven in the 2014 Arlington Million, and since that probably wasn’t his very best race, he looks like the horse to beat Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Arlington Handicap.
Prairie Meadows stages a pair of restricted stakes for 3-year-olds who were nominated and kept eligible on Saturday, the $60,000 Iowa Stallion and the $60,000 Iowa Stallion Filly. Trainer Kelly Von Hemel has a strong hand in the Iowa Stallion with both Caribbean Cowboy and Holdmegold set to line up in the field of ten colts and geldings.
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Although a major stakes win has eluded Artspeak thus far in his 3-year-old campaign, trainer Tony Alagna remains confident in last year’s champion colt as he heads into Saturday’s Meadowlands Pace eliminations.
Trainer Brian Lynch had himself a huge weekend, capped off by Shaman Ghost’s victory on Sunday at Woodbine in the Queen’s Plate. On Saturday, Lynch sent out Coffee Clique to capture the Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap at Parx, and Clearly Now to finish second behind the odds-on Private Zone in the Grade 3 Belmont Sprint.
Thunder Agard will be making a couple of significant moves on Saturday, when he starts as the probable favorite in the $45,000 Jack Cole Stakes at SunRay Park in Farmington, N.M.
Trainer Shug McGaughey was all smiles Thursday looking back on Ironicus’s impressive performance on Wednesday. Ironicus cruised to a 1 1/4-length decision in the high-priced optional-claiming race.
Waltzing Matilda officially toted 115 pounds to victory when she upset the Grade 2 New York making her U.S. debut here on June 5. But the daughter of Danehill actually carried a bit more weight than that in the New York, running the race while in foal.
The $100,000 Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday matches Louisiana Derby runner-up Stanford against three-time stakes winner Souper Colossal, whose season is just now getting started in earnest following a spring illness.
I like Ben’s Cat in the Parx Dash, but this is no easy spot. The five-furlong race will be over so fast that good and bad luck likely will determine the outcome.
The well-traveled Court’s Ruling will make a return visit to Hazel Park Raceway on Saturday to enter the gate for the $20,000 Lansing Stakes.
