Trainer Mark Casse has nominated five 3-year-old fillies to next Sunday’s $150,000 Fury Stakes, a key prep for the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks on June 14, including Canada’s champion juvenile filly of 2014, Conquest Harlanate.
Bettors that appreciate singling non-favorites might like this pick four play Saturday at Santa Anita.
Emma-Jayne Wilson will return to Ascot in August to participate in the Shergar Cup jockey challenge after being named captain of the girls’ team for the second year in a row.
Ole’s Miss has been one of the most impressive horses training at Hastings this spring. We’ll see if her sharp morning form will carry over when she runs in the $50,000 Brighouse Belles on Sunday.
Evan’s Calling (#2, ML 15-1) takes on a field of 11 in Friday’s eighth race at Lone Star Park, the Grade 3 Texas Mile Stakes. Since Jan. 1, 2014, trainer Brad Cox is winning at a 30 percent clip in route races, for a return on investment of $2.58.
Jacks Escarpment came within three-quarters of a length of remaining undefeated in his seasonal debut April 11 in the Woodstock Stakes at Woodbine, and will now stretch out to seven furlongs for his next start, the $150,000 Queenston Stakes on May 2, trainer Nicholas Gonzalez said.
Turf runners and California-breds are in the Golden Gate Fields spotlight Sunday. Two $100,000 stakes races for 3-year-old Cal-breds as well as a pair of allowance races for Cal-breds will be run on turf as the track celebrates a weekend turf festival that got under way with Saturday’s Grade 3 San Francisco Mile.
Gouyen (#3, ML 4-1) will return to action in Friday’s fifth race at Santa Anita, an about 6 1/2-furlong optional claimer on the downhill turf course. It will be her first start since a second-place finish by a nose in a downhill turf sprint March 26 at Santa Anita. The third- and sixth-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts.
Herbie D hasn’t raced since he won the Grade 3 Longacres Mile on Aug. 18, 2013. Nonetheless, he is clearly the one to beat when he makes his return in the $50,000 George Royal Stakes on Sunday at Hastings.
Superfectas may be the most misunderstood wager in horse racing. Seasoned horseplayers often ignore the superfecta pool, even when it means passing up potentially huge payouts. Many people simply do not know how to play the bet, approaching it the same way they do an exacta: pick your favorite horses and box them. However, since you need to pick the top four horses in exact order, boxing a super can be inefficient and expensive.
