Tampa Bay Derby: Ring Weekend romps at 14-1
Ring Weekend, who took five tries to win a maiden race, broke loose Saturday with a front-running triumph at 14-1 in the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby.
Marty McGeeMar 08, 2014
Ring Weekend, who took five tries to win a maiden race, broke loose Saturday with a front-running triumph at 14-1 in the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby.
California Chrome is training at a place known for horses that run a quarter-mile, but on Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita he ran like a horse who wants every part of 1 1/4 miles.
Trainer Mike Maker had considered several options for General a Rod’s final Kentucky Derby prep but in the end, he opted to avoid the pitfalls of traveling and has decided to keep the Fountain of Youth runner-up at Gulfstream for the Florida Derby.
Louies Flower was to ship Saturday to Fair Grounds in New Orleans for a start in the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby, trainer Bret Calhoun said. The 1 1/8-mile race is March 29.
Top Billing is off the Kentucky Derby trail after suffering a cracked cannon bone in his right front leg during a routine half-mile workout Saturday morning at Payson Park.
Honor Code will make his much-anticipated 3-year-old debut in a $75,000 allowance race at 1 1/16 miles on Wednesday at Gulfstream Park.
Oaklawn Park racing secretary Pat Pope is expecting a large field for next Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Rebel Stakes. Probables for the 1 1/16-mile race include Tapiture and Strong Mandate, who finished one-two in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest last month at Oaklawn, and Kobe’s Back, winner of the Grade 2 San Vicente at Santa Anita.
The 3-year-olds Bayern and Bond Holder, absent from major stakes on Saturday because of foot ailments, had quiet days Friday on opposite sides of the country.
Jerome Stakes winner Noble Moon continued his preparation for the Grade 1 Wood Memorial on April 5 with a four-furlong workout in 49.44 seconds Thursday morning over the Belmont Park training track.
Bayern, the morning-line favorite for the Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, will be scratched from the race because of a suspected foot bruise, trainer Bob Baffert said Thursday.