Skelly has returned to Oaklawn after running second in the Group 3, $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 24, according to his trainer, Steve Asmussen. Plans call for the top-class runner to defend his title in the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on April 13.
“Skelly’s here at Oaklawn,” Asmussen said Tuesday. “He’s back training regularly and we think the Count Fleet, we’ll be ready for it.”
From Japan to New Mexico to the steppes of Kazakhstan, they’re putting the “World” into the Dubai World Cup this year.
Drawn Wednesday, a dozen horses whose lives span the globe – among them 2023 World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro and Senor Buscador, who beat Ushba Tesoro last month in the $20 million Saudi Cup – were entered in the Group 1, $12 million World Cup, contested Saturday at Meydan Racecourse over 1 1/4 miles.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Back in February 2016, a Colonel John filly named Ma’am won her maiden at Oaklawn Park.
Fast forward to February 2024 and her first foal, Mystik Dan, was a dominant winner of the track’s Grade 3, $800,000 Southwest Stakes.
The performance has made Mystik Dan one of the top choices for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday in what has been a meaningful journey for a group of breeders and owners born and raised in Arkansas.
ARCADIA, Calif. – A stakes-winning filly and an allowance-caliber colt are key contenders Friday at Santa Anita in bookend legs of the $3 turf pick three on races 4, 6, and 8.
Princess Bettina, winner of the 2023 China Doll Stakes and recent runner-up behind a next-out stakes winner, makes her third start back from a layoff in race 4. Her main rivals in the second-level allowance/optional $80,000 claiming turf sprint are Carmen Miranda and Benedict Canyon. Both have won at the condition. Both are entered for the optional tag.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The 1 1/2-mile distance of the $200,000 Temperence Hill on Friday at Oaklawn Park has brought together an eclectic mix of runners that includes Grade 1 winner Classic Causeway, Grade 2 winner Double Crown, and marathon specialist Strong Tide.
The field has further depth in the graded stakes-placed Speed Bias and Red Run and the up-and-coming O P Firecracker and Game Keeper.
“It’s kind of an interesting race,” said trainer Kenny McPeek, who will saddle supplemental entries Classic Causeway and multiple stakes winner Hayes Strike
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It’s rare to see a multiple graded stakes winner get gelded, never mind one who is 8 years old.
But when Filo Di Arianna runs Friday at Gulfstream Park, he will be doing so as a first-time gelding as he kicks off his 8-year-old campaign in a multi-conditioned allowance scheduled for five furlongs on turf.
Foot issues prompted trainer John Kimmel to change the type of shoes Mandatory wears in his races and the change has brought about a remarkable reversal of fortune.
A 7-year-old gelding by American Pharaoh who won once in his first 20 starts, Mandatory seeks a third straight win Friday at Aqueduct when he runs in a first-level allowance scheduled for 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track.
Just a Touch, who finished second as the favorite in the Grade 3 Gotham on March 2 at Aqueduct, will make his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Blue Grass Stakes on April 6 at Keeneland, trainer Brad Cox confirmed Wednesday.
“It’s a Grade 1 and we just think it’s a very good spot for him,” Cox communicated via text.
Just a Touch, a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, was a 4 1/4-length winner of a six-furlong maiden race in the slop on Jan. 27 at Fair Grounds. He shipped to Aqueduct for the Gotham, where he was sent off the 8-5 favorite in an 11-horse field.
It does not take long to review the race record of T O Password, the Japan-based colt scheduled to start in the Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Unbeaten in two starts, T O Password will be by far the least experienced runner in what is expected to be a field of 20.
T O Password earned a berth in the Kentucky Derby with a narrow win in his stakes debut in the $228,100 Fukuryu Stakes at about 1 1/8 miles at Nakayama Racecourse last Saturday.
Earlier this week, T O Password was confirmed as a probable starter for the Kentucky Derby by Churchill Downs.
