Woodbine Harness: Horses to watch from Mar. 20 - Mar. 23
Horses to watch from Woodbine Harness.
Ken WaltersMar 25, 2015
Horses to watch from Woodbine Harness.
Jockey Drayden Van Dyke will ride Include Betty in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park on April 4, according to his agent, Sarah Wolfe.
Jockey David Flores has been given a one-year suspension in Singapore for failing to “obtain the best possible placing” in a race Feb. 22, a decision that the rider may appeal.
Leading jockey Rafael Bejarano has been granted an appeal of a three-day suspension for careless riding last weekend at Santa Anita, according to his agent, Joe Ferrer.
When Devine Aida romped to a 6 3/4-length victory in the Herecomesthebride, it opened up further dirt possibilities for the daughter of Unbridled’s Song. On Wednesday, she was supplemented to Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks, one of seven stakes on the undercard of Saturday’s 14-race Florida Derby program.
Trainer Todd Pletcher was looking for a soft landing spot in which to return his Grade 1 -winning 2-year-old Competitive Edge to the races. He did not find it in Friday’s $60,000 Tamarac Stakes at Gulfstream Park, which also happens to be the launching point for Mr. Jordan, another undefeated 2-year-old of 2014.
Trace Creek arguably is the most accomplished member of the $75,000 Arkansas Breeders’ Stakes field at Oaklawn as a Grade 3-placed runner who has won allowance races at Churchill Downs and Keeneland. But his form has been built on turf, and he will be moving to dirt Friday for the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up bred in Arkansas.
I'm a Chatterbox went off at 8-1 when she led all the way to win the Silverbulletday Stakes by eight lengths, and she was a 3-1 favorite when she stormed from behind to win the Grade 3 Rachel Alexandra by 2 1/2 lengths.
Shared Belief, the dominant older horse in the nation this year, worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 at Golden Gate Fields on Tuesday for a start in Arkansas or West Virginia next month.
The rematch between Upstart and Itsaknockout will draw most of the prerace attention, but it is the undefeated Materiality who may be the wild card in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby.