Pennsylvania-bred Roses for Debra won three times at Presque Isle Downs early in her career before moving on, and she is now a graded stakes-winning turf sprinter in New York and Kentucky. The mare returns to her home state for Friday night’s Grade 2, $300,000 Presque Isle Downs Masters – and she didn’t come alone. Stablemate Gal in a Rush gives trainer Christophe Clement a strong hand in the track’s premier race.
The 10-race card includes three supporting stakes and begins at 4 p.m. Eastern.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Ecstasy is 2 for 3 on the grass and should be dangerous in Friday’s seventh race, a conditioned allowance with an $80,000 claiming option scheduled for 6 1/2 furlongs on the main turf.
Ecstasy won an allowance route on the inner turf with ease July 13. After failing to fire behind Time to Dazzle and future Grade 2 stakes winner Simply in Front in the Grade 3 Ontario Colleen, the 3-year-old notched a seven-furlong allowance/optional claimer on the main turf Aug. 30.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Favorites went a measly 7 for 30 during opening week of the Belmont at the Big A meet and just 2 for 15 on turf. So, it’s not shocking that two of the first three cards produced carryovers in the pick six, including a $48,657 carryover awaiting bettors Thursday.
The 2-year-old set features prominently on Friday’s 10-race card, which begins at 12:45 p.m., with two divisions of a $120,000 maiden special weight for juvenile fillies.
The first of those, the day’s fourth race, marks the debut of the well-bred Ensorcell for Ron Moquett. The daughter of rising star sire Not This Time is out of the locally popular Grade 1 winner On Fire Baby.
Alyeska and Geez Eloise are both daughters of prominent freshman sire Vekoma, who leads his class by individual winners and is represented by last weekend’s Iroquois winner, Jonathan’s Way.
A handful of stakes winners fit the conditions of the nominal feature on the eight-race twilight Thursday card at Churchill Downs, which has a first post of 5 p.m. The richest race of the day is a 1 1/16-mile allowance/optional-claiming race for 3-year-olds and up who have never won three races other than, or who have never won four races.
Zeitlos has won three stakes sprinting on dirt this year. She is winless in her two turf starts. But still, trainer Steve Asmussen said another try on the grass could be in the future for the filly, who notched her latest victory in the Open Mind Stakes last Saturday at Churchill Downs.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Neil Morris was planning to run Evie’s Prince on Thursday at Aqueduct, he just wasn’t planning to do so in the Grade 1, $150,000 Lonesome Glory Steeplechase.
But Evie’s Prince, Hidden Path, and Westerland were redirected from the William Entenmann Novice Stakes – also scheduled for Thursday but not used – to help fill the Lonesome Glory, which ultimately went with seven horses.
Churchill Downs begins the second week of its September meet with a nine-race Wednesday card that begins at 12:45 p.m. The feature is a $134,000 allowance/optional-claiming race at six furlongs. The race is for 3-year-olds who have never won two-other-than, or who have never won three races.
The morning-line favorite is Billal, who is stakes-placed both this year and last. Two starts back, the 3-year-old was third in the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes, a one-turn mile at Aqueduct, won by subsequent Grade 1 winner Domestic Product.
