Prospect Park earned a start in a stakes race after an impressive win in an optional claimer at a mile Friday. Now, owners Marty and Pam Wygod and trainer Clifford Sise have to pick a race.
Punctuate was withdrawn from Sunday’s $200,000 San Vicente Stakes after becoming cast in his stall at trainer Bob Baffert’s stable Saturday.
Hoppertunity, the winner of graded stakes at Churchill Downs and Santa Anita in his last two starts, will face the champions California Chrome and Shared Belief in the $500,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7.
Led by Eclipse Award winners American Pharoah and Take Charge Brandi, along with Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red, a total of 429 3-year-olds were announced on Saturday by Churchill Downs as the early nominations to this year’s Triple Crown.
Fully understand that TENNESEE (#7) can win this and ruin most of the value of this play, but I'll take a shot with HELIODORO (#3), who makes his second start for Nick Zito complete with works that suggest he's better than he showed in his debut. Also, POOL WINNER (#8) has some decent works for trainer Alan Goldberg (3).
List of horses nominated for the 2015 Triple Crown.
The presence of Texas Red in the Grade 2 San Vicente, race 6, gives the late pick three appeal (races 6-8) as Texas Red can be your linchpin.
January went out like a lion for the New York Racing Association as cold temperatures combined with high winds forced officials to cancel Saturday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct.
Saratoga Dreamer, who had made his first two starts on turf with mixed results, made a triumphant dirt debut Friday at Aqueduct, overcoming some bad pre-race behavior and a stubborn stretch foe in Regal Minister to win the inaugural $125,000 Rego Park Stakes by a neck.
With the feature race, the Allen Jerkens Stakes, being a two-mile contest on the turf – the type of race rarely run in North America – this handicapper will steer clear of it and focus on other races instead. Betting it is just too much of a shot in the dark, with horses generally not having raced this far and jockeys being unaccustomed to riding in races of such length.
