With increasing frequency, American horses who ship for a race on the Dubai World Cup card don’t get the long post-Dubai rest they used to. Take Super Chow. He ran below his best form April 5, checking in ninth in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, but was back on the work tab May 11 and is back racing Monday at Monmouth in the $100,000 Mr. Prospector.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Those who waited around in the cold and rain from the time the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga opened at 5:15 a.m. until Sovereignty finally made his appearance nearly 4 1/2 hours later were rewarded for their patience. The Kentucky Derby winner got the better of no less a workmate than Arthur’s Ride after breezing a very impressive-looking five furlongs in 1:02.45 over a surface officially labeled “good” throughout the course of the morning.
The popular border oval Fort Erie launches its 2025 season on Tuesday with an eight-race card, the first of 40 racing days during a meet which is scheduled to conclude Oct. 21.
Racing will be conducted on Tuesdays until June 15, Father’s Day, the first of four Sunday programs during the meet. Mondays will be added to the schedule June 23. There will be no Tuesday racing June 17, July 15, July 29, and Aug. 19.
One of Emerald Downs’s most promising young trainers, Howie Gibson, has had a helping hand. Or hands, plural, as three of the track’s more well-respected veteran trainers – Vince Gibson, Frank Lucarelli, and Tim McCanna – took him under their wings as he worked his way up to having his own barn.
“Vince has always been around,” Gibson said of his uncle. “I learned a lot from all of those guys. I was a part of all their operations. Vince gave me some horses this winter at Turf Paradise, and Frank let me go down to Lone Star, and Tim helped me out by letting me break babies.”
Public Assembly, the 4-year-old filly, needed slightly more than a furlong to announce her presence in California’s turf division late last month.
With a sharp late rally, Public Assembly burst to the front in the Grade 3 Royal Heroine Stakes at a mile at Santa Anita to win her stakes debut and for the third time in her sixth start.
The impressive win has led to a start in a highly competitive Grade 1 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Monday.
The day after Formidable Man won the most prestigious race of his career in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on March 1, trainer Michael McCarthy had a springtime plan in mind. Formidable Man would miss big-time races at Keeneland and Churchill Downs in April and May in favor of Monday’s Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita. If Formidable Man was to play an important role in the national division later this year, McCarthy wanted the 4-year-old colt to have a brief rest.
Going into Monday’s $300,000 race, the plan is working.
ARCADIA, Calif. – If the biggest dirt race Monday at Santa Anita were a little shorter, the richest horse on the Memorial Day program might be a lock.
Skippylongstocking is not a lock in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup.
Although the race has declined in purse and prestige, it is still 1 1/4 miles, which is almost unchartered territory for Skippylongstocking, a $3.5 million earner expected to be strongly favored.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Touchuponastar will meet defending winner Heroic Move and the talented Komorebino Omoide at Lone Star Park on Monday, when he seeks to take down the Grade 3, $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile after running second in Texas’s richest Thoroughbred race the last two years.
The Sexton anchors a 12-race Lone Star Million Day card that includes six stakes. They are worth a total of $1.2 million.
“This is our number one day of the year,” said Lone Star director of racing Bart Lang. “We were happy each of the stakes drew at least 10 horses.”
First time back from a four-month layoff and Mink’s Palace won her first stakes race, the $200,000 Roxelana on April 25 at Churchill Downs, a strong comeback performance from this 4-year-old filly and something to build on into the summer. She’ll get a chance to do so Monday in the Grade 3, $250,000 Winning Colors.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Eternal Silence and In Time give trainer Christophe Clement a strong one-two punch in Monday’s second-level allowance/optional $75,000 claiming race scheduled for 1 3/8 miles over Aqueduct’s inner turf course, the feature on a nine-race Memorial Day card.
Last July, Eternal Silence defeated In Time in a first-level allowance going 1 1/8 miles on closing day of the Belmont at Aqueduct spring/summer meet. It turned out to be the only start Eternal Silence would make in 2024.
