August Rain will head a full field of 12 in the tradition-rich Grade 3 British Columbia Derby on Saturday at Hastings. The 1 1/8-mile fixture pits the Barbara Heads-trained favorite against nine foes he has beaten in the past and a pair that he has not.
Maiden Cape Blossom rates a pretty good shot Saturday, when she meets winners in a field of $25,000 claimers over six furlongs at Emerald Downs.
The feature race on the penultimate day of the 2024 season will match seven fillies and one mare in a race restricted to those who have never won two races. Shopping for a spot to race on closing weekend can be tricky, and it is partly for that reason that David Martinez trainee Cape Blossom will face winners.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Godolphin and Charlie Appleby have a remarkable record together at Woodbine, having won with nine of 13 starters, all in Grade 1 company. Following Modern Games and Master of The Seas, the powerful owner-trainer tandem will try to win Saturday’s $1 million Woodbine Mile for the third year in a row with Naval Power.
The blockbuster 12-race card includes three other Grade 1 turf stakes – the E.P. Taylor, Summer, and Natalma. Like the Woodbine Mile, the Summer and Natalma are Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In qualifiers.
Trainer Mark Casse has been enjoying Sandman ever since the gray colt came to his barn as an expensive purchase earlier this year.
“He’s just a wonderful horse to be around,” Casse said. “He does things in the mornings that make me smile.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – What began as a slow summer turned quickly for trainer Christophe Clement, who, from Aug. 24 to Sept. 7 won five races with three seconds and three thirds from 13 starters at four different venues.
The run began with Far Bridge winning the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga on Aug. 24 and ended Saturday with Deterministic winning the Grade 3 Virginia Derby and Style Points dead-heating for first in the Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs. In between, Big Invasion won the Harvey Pack Stakes at Saratoga and Patrick’s Promise won a maiden race at Colonial.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Javier Castellano, who suffered a fractured hand in a spill at Saratoga on Aug. 30, hopes to return by the first weekend in October, the Hall of Fame rider said Wednesday.
Castellano was injured when his mount Take Me To Church was bumped into by a fallen The Big Torpedo during the stretch run of the Grade 3 Saranac Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 30. Castellano was unseated and after initial X-rays indicated he had no fractures, further imaging revealed he had a tiny fracture in his right hind.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following a 10-day break to freshen up and recharge, racing on this circuit resumes Friday at Aqueduct with the first of 31 cards to be contested during what would ordinarily be the Belmont Park fall meeting.
Trainer Joe Orseno plans to send a division of horses to Kentucky on Sunday. It’s a first for the horseman, who will be racing at Churchill Downs on a regular basis. Back in 2000, he won a pair of Breeders’ Cup races at the track, taking the Juvenile with Macho Uno and the Filly and Mare Turf with Perfect Sting.
Orseno is based at Gulfstream Park and also had horses at Monmouth Park. He said most of the Kentucky division will be made up of horses shipping in from New Jersey.
Trainer Joe Orseno is bullish on Bucchero and on Friday he will saddle one of the stallion’s promising 3-year-old fillies, Etrurian, in the featured eighth race at Gulfstream Park. She goes in a five-furlong allowance for 3-year-old fillies on turf that drew nine, including fellow Bucchero daughter Super Freaky Girl, stakes winner Welcome Back, and sharp maiden winner Next Right Thing,
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The combination of no racing on this circuit in 10 days, the absence of turf racing at Churchill Downs, and a gorgeous forecast may have led to a mad dash to the entry box for the first two turf stakes to be offered at the Belmont at the Big A meet.
