Though he won’t be going for the Triple Crown, Seize the Grey will be aiming for his third win in five weeks when he runs in the $2 million Belmont Stakes on June 8 at Saratoga.
To hear Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas tell it, Seize the Grey has appeared to thrive from the busy schedule that includes wins in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on May 4 at Churchill Downs and the Preakness on May 18 at Pimlico.
As the 2023 Kentucky Derby approached, a Brad Cox-trained colt regularly caught the eye during Churchill Downs morning training. The colt worked with a Derby horse, Verifying – outworked him, in fact – and was set to run on Derby Day, but Everso Mischievous was no Derby horse. Making his second start, Everso Mischievous cleared the maiden ranks in last race on the Derby card, and by autumn was fulfilling the potential he showed those April and May mornings.
ELMONT, N.Y. – White Abarrio, the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, worked a strong half-mile Wednesday morning at Belmont that left his connections feeling quite confident heading into the Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga on June 8.
With jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. up, White Abarrio went a half-mile in 47.16 seconds over the training track, galloping out five furlongs in 59.97 and six furlongs in 1:13.62. It was his eighth published work since early April and since he returned from the Middle East, following his 10th-place finish in the Group 1 Saudi Cup.
Fresh off a 47-1 upset victory in Churchill’s Grade 2 American Turf on May 4, Trikari is listed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite in Friday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Penn Mile for 3-year-olds on grass at Penn National.
“It wasn’t necessarily my original plan,” trainer Graham Motion said about the Penn Mile. “But I feel like he’s done well in the month since Churchill. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Many were taken with Lapochka’s strong pre-race warm-up shown on Woodbine’s television coverage before his May 11 season opener. The venerable 11-year-old ran to his looks and won the seven-furlong sprint for $25,000 claimers going away by 3 1/2 lengths.
Lapochka looks to double up while changing surfaces from the Tapeta to the main turf in Friday’s fourth race, a 6 1/2-furlong starter allowance/optional claimer. Trainer Vito Armata said he was pleasantly surprised with the powerful chestnut’s comeback performance.
I’m Telling Mom will make her 3-year-old debut and appears to be the horse to beat in Friday’s $25,000 claiming feature over 5 1/2 furlongs at Emerald Downs.
Trained by Blaine Wright and owned by Finger Gun Racing, I’m Telling Mom will wear blinkers for the first time. The filly was a debut winner from well off the pace when defeating maiden claimers on Sept. 3 and last raced over the Tapeta surface at Golden Gate Fields three weeks later.
Daily Racing Form handicappers David Aragona and Mike Beer provide their selections, analysis, and suggested wagers for the Belmont Stakes day card on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at Saratoga.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The month of May ends Friday at Santa Anita the same way it began – with a short-price 2-year-old at the springtime home of short prices.
One in every four races this month at Santa Anita included an odds-on favorite, and the juvenile colt who started the trend finds himself in a familiar role Friday – odds-on to win a California-bred maiden race. This time, the favorite should not miss.
After almost 50 years with Daily Racing Form, handicapper and writer Brian Mulligan, best known as the longtime “Sweep” for the Southern California circuit, is hanging up his tack and retiring this week.
As a young man from New Jersey, Mulligan did some backstretch work, including for then up-and-coming Southern California trainer Bill Spawr. From there, he moved to the Racing Form’s Los Angeles office, initially in the statistical department, back when the office still used manual typewriters and kept a horse’s workout records on index cards.
