Clyde was slick. Clyde was smooth. Clyde was as cool as the other side of the pillow. Clyde was Jerry Lambert – as in his birthplace of Clyde, Kansas – and he died this week, at age 74.
Trainer Larry Jones will attempt to complete a sweep of the two richest dirt races at Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday night, when he sends out Albano in the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup. Jones shipped to Texas last month and won the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic with Cassatt, who now is being pointed for the Grade 1 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita. Meanwhile, Albano is a prospect for next month’s Grade 2, $400,000 New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds.
With the 40th running of the Tom Fool Handicap set for March 7 at Aqueduct, test your knowledge of Native Dancer and Tom Fool.
If you believe DAREDEVIL (1) lays over the Swale field (R10) on class (like I do), then the horizontal wagers at the end of the Saturday card at Gulfstream become a bit simpler.
Hoppertunity, who won the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs last November and was third to Shared Belief and California Chrome in the San Antonio Stakes on Feb. 7, is more likely to have his next race in the $10 million Dubai World Cup than the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.
X Y Jet is a fast horse. He ran a 92 Beyer in finishing a close second in the Hutcheson, and on two other occasions over his last four starts he has posted 88 Beyers. And for those reason he is alternative selection to Daredevil in the Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Brother Pat, who has used strong speed to take the first two legs of the Tampa Turf Test, leads an overflow field slated to go to the post Saturday in the 1 1/8-mile starter handicap tilt on the turf as the two divisions of the grass series top an 11-race program.
Masochistic, the flashy winner of three consecutive races in 2014 and the runner-up in the Los Alamitos Mile last September, will start as the favorite in a second-level, $62,500 optional claimer at 6 1/2 furlongs Saturday.
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Though Conspiracy is stepping up in company after a pair of second-place finishes against cheaper, trainer Robert Barbara believes a clean trip is all his horse needs to be competitive in Saturday’s $69,000 allowance feature at Aqueduct.
Texas Red, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November, will remain at a Northern California farm until March 7 while recovering from an abscess in a foot, trainer Keith Desormeaux said on Thursday.
