Trainer Larry Jones’s pair of 3-year-old stakes winners, Believe You Can and Mr. Bowling, took their Saturday starts well, Jones said Monday morning. Both were scheduled to return to the track for morning training Wednesday, and both are headed to the next round of 3-year-old stakes racing on Feb. 25 in New Orleans – Believe You Can to the Rachel Alexandra Stakes and Mr. Bowling to the Risen Star.
Eclipse Award winner Hansen led a parade of notable horses to work over both the main and turf courses on a gorgeous Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park.
A couple hours after Believe You Can, bred and owned by a Jones (Brereton) and trained by a Jones (Larry) won the Silverbulletday Stakes, Mr. Bowling marched to victory in the Grade 3, $175,000 Lecomte Stakes for the same Jonese.
Kids start getting excited about Christmas before Thanksgiving. Little girls shop for Easter bonnets as the winter snows begin to melt, and there are enterprising young men who stock up on Fourth of July fireworks even as the excitement of Valentine’s Day fades.
Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes.
Liaison, trainer Bob Baffert’s top Kentucky Derby hope, worked six furlongs in 1:11 at Santa Anita on Thursday, the fastest of 16 recorded works at the distance.
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The Grade 3, $175,000 Lecomte Stakes anchors Road to the Derby Kickoff Day on Saturday at Fair Grounds, but do not expect any of the 13 three-year-olds entered in the Lecomte to return the opening kick for a touchdown. The idea here is not to fumble. Next month brings the $300,000 Risen Star Stakes, and the $1 million Louisiana Derby is on April 1.
School was in session Thursday morning for New York’s top Kentucky Derby prospect and for one day at least Alpha was a model student.
List of contenders for the 2012 Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs, ranked by graded stakes earnings. The Kentucky Derby field is limited to 20 3-year-olds; if more than 20 enter, the entries are determined by the amount of graded stakes earnings each horse has accumulated.
Union Rags and 2-year-old champion Hansen top Mike Watchmaker's early Kentucky Derby top 10.
