Proctor takes two shots at Garden City

After a successful summer at Saratoga, trainer Tom Proctor hope to continue his momentum at Belmont Park on Saturday when he runs two horses in the Grade 1, $250,000 Garden City Breeders’ Cup for 3-year-old fillies.

Proctor entered both the front-running Queen of the Creek and the late-running Snow Top Mountain in the 1 1/8-mile turf race, which drew a field of eight Both fillies will be stretching out to nine furlongs after competing in one-mile races at Saratoga.

Queen of the Creek went 2 for 2 at Saratoga, winning a second-level allowance race and the faster division of the Riskaverse Stakes on Sept. 2. She did both of those in catch-me-if-you can fashion.

“We’re going to let her free run,” Proctor said.

Snow Top Mountain has finished second in her last four starts - though she was awarded first-place purse money in the Arlington Park Oaks on July 3. At Saratoga, she was beaten a neck to Sea Road in the Hattie Moseley and one-half-length to Awesome Maria in the Riskaverse.

“She was up against it at Saratoga,” Proctor said. “I didn’t change her running style the first time. The second time he let her lay too close to the pace and she lost her punch. Of course, that was a Grade 1 mare that she lost her punch against.”

The likely favorite in the Garden City will be Check the Label, a winner of three consecutive graded stakes, including the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks in her last start. Check the Label will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez from the rail.

Negligee, a Grade 1 winner on synthetic, was entered in the Garden City after an overnight stakes scheduled for the same day was not carded. Negligee has not been out since finishing third in the Sands Point Stakes, a race from which she emerged with an ankle chip that needed to be surgically removed.

Others entered include Gitchee Goomie, Persuading, No Explaining, and Triple Cream.

Bold Hawk attempting comeback

Bold Hawk, a graded stakes winner who has not raced in nearly three years, is attempting a comeback.

In 2007, as a 3-year-old, Bold Hawk won the Grade 3 Hawthorne Derby. He has not raced since finishing third in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on Nov. 25, 2007.

Since then, Bold Hawk sustained an injury to his suspensory, an injured shoulder, a knee fracture and then underwent a throat operation.

Since August, Bold Hawk has breezed six times including a half-mile move in 49.12 seconds last Sunday over the Belmont turf course.

“As of last week nothing else has come back,” said Jimmy Toner, who trains Bold Hawk for Patricia and Ronald Nicholson. “He’s not too far away from running. He’s got such ability and character about him; he’s such a nice horse. I see Jonathan Sheppard with a 10-year-old or somebody else with an 8-year-old so why not keep trying? He’s a 6-year-old.’’

Bold Hawk, a son of Silver Hawk, has won 3 of 6 starts, including a maiden win going 1 1/4 miles her