Fri, 12/13/2024 - 14:32

Lemon Muffin sitting on a big effort

Lemon Muffin May 14 2024
Barbara D. Livingston
In her lone career win, Lemon Muffin took down the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn last meet.

Lemon Muffin might have been bred in Kentucky, but she’s an Arkansas girl at heart.

The winner of last season’s Grade 3 Honeybee at Oaklawn Park while still a maiden, Lemon Muffin is back in the entries in Hot Springs, Ark., on Sunday.

Lemon Muffin goes in the eighth race, a first-level allowance for fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles. She is part of a field of 12.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 14:07

Speightful Lily's gate schooling pays off in allowance victory

Speightful Lily wins at SAR June 9 2024
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Speightful Lily, shown winning in June, is now 3 for 5 for trainer James Bond and her owner/breeder Avanti Stable.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Speightful Lily has yet to duplicate her mammoth debut performance from 11 months ago, but her front-running victory Thursday in a second-level New York-bred allowance was a good sign to trainer James Bond.

Speightful Lily, who won her debut last January by 14 1/2 lengths while earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, won for the third time in five starts. She had not run since finishing sixth as the 4-5 favorite in a similar spot as Thursday in July at Saratoga.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 14:05

Kant Hurry Love being pointed to What a Summer at Laurel Park

Kant Hurry Love wins Garland of Roses at AQU Dec 8 2024
Chelsea Durand/NYRA
Kant Hurry Love wins the Garland of Roses. She may be sold or bred in 2025.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Kant Hurry Love, who came off a 5 1/2-month layoff to win the Garland of Roses Stakes on Dec. 8, will most likely make her next start in the $100,000 What a Summer Stakes on Jan. 18 at Laurel Park, trainer David Duggan said.

Duggan said the lack of a six-furlong opportunity in New York for Kant Hurry Love is what made him look out of town. The next six-furlong stakes for females in New York is the $125,000 Correction on March 2.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 14:02

Despite late-race dramatics, Mama's Gold pairs up 103 Beyers

Mama's Gold wins at AQU Dec 12 2024
Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Mama's Gold jumped something late in her Thursday victory and almost unseated jockey Romero Maragh.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York-bred Mama’s Gold won an open-company second-level allowance race by four lengths on Thursday, earning the same 103 Beyer Speed Figure he did winning the $250,000 Empire Classic on Oct. 27. Both races were run at 1 1/8 miles.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 13:06

Sir Kartrite tops intriguing statebred field; $47K pick six carryover

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Sir Kartrite (inside) is one of five last-out maiden winners in the field for Sunday's feature at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A quartet of allowance races for New York-breds highlight Sunday’s 10-race program at Aqueduct with the most interesting perhaps being the one for 2-year-old males going six furlongs where five of the seven entrants are coming off maiden victories.

Following Sunday’s card, Aqueduct is dark until Dec. 27.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 12:20

Shea Brennan will take back in King Glorious Stakes

Benoit Photo
Graduation Stakes winner R Heisman will make his first start since being gelded in the King Glorious on Sunday.

Shea Brennan raced near the front in the Golden State Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 1 before fading to finish third.

Reflecting on the loss on Friday, trainer Phil D’Amato wondered if he gave jockey Flavien Prat the wrong instructions.

“I had Flavien put him into the race more than I think he probably likes,” D’Amato said. “That was all on me.”

Jockey Antonio Fresu will be given a different directive when he rides Shea Brennan for the first time in Sunday’s $100,000 King Glorious Stakes for 2-year-old statebreds at a mile at Los Alamitos.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 12:13

Bay Meadows Juvenile: Kalea Bay is Baffert's first Pleasanton runner since 1998

Kalea Bay wins maiden at SA Sept 28 2024
Benoit Photo
Kalea Bay romped by 8 1/2 lengths in a September maiden race at Santa Anita prior to his disappointing performance in the Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar.

Kalea Bay looks somewhat out of place in Sunday’s $75,000 Bay Meadows Juvenile at the Golden State Racing meeting in Pleasanton, Calif.

The colt was a $700,000 yearling purchase, is trained by high-profile Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, and had a dynamic win by 8 1/4 lengths as the 3-10 favorite in a maiden race at Santa Anita in his third career start in September.

Kalea Bay also has a clunker on his race record, a last-place finish of five in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 17.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 11:50

American Dreamin can clinch title in Los Alamitos Two Million

After American Dreamin won the $1.04 million Golden State Million at Los Alamitos on Oct. 27, trainer Monty Arrossa described the final major futurity of the year – Sunday’s $1.8 million Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity – as “our Super Bowl.”

American Dreamin qualified for the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity with a trial race win on Nov. 24, and can clinch the title of champion 2-year-old filly of 2024 with a win in Sunday’s 400-yard final.

Fri, 12/13/2024 - 11:25

Sadler looks to stamp successful meet with Ron's Gizmo in Steady Growth

Julie Wright
Ron's Gizmo gets back to Tapeta and a more suitable distance in Sunday's Steady Growth at Woodbine.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Ron Sadler has had a memorable Woodbine meet, winning several allowances with the speedy Souped Up and sending out the popular 10-year-old Northern Ruby to win her swan song last week before heading off to the breeding shed.

Sadler could win Sunday’s closing-day feature, the $100,000 Steady Growth Stakes, with his aptly named stable star Ron’s Gizmo. Sadler was the original trainer of the 7-year-old son of Giant Gizmo, who has banked nearly $300,000 over the past two years.

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