Spikezone will look to avenge his lone defeat of the winter meet at Tampa Bay Downs when he meets Just Beat the Odds in a $32,000 second-level/optional-claiming sprint that tops Wednesday’s nine-race card and kicks off Tampa Bay Derby week.
Over a sloppy track going seven furlongs in December, Spikezone set a strong early pace but was run down late by Just Beat the Odds, finishing a half-length behind that one, while 6 1/2 lengths in front of the rest of the field.
A couple of key scratches and the likelihood of a wet track figure to change the complexion of Thursday’s sixth race, a multi-conditioned allowance feature going seven furlongs at Aqueduct.
First, both of trainer Rick Dutrow’s entrants – Kinetic Sky and Petulante – will scratch. Kinetic Sky is no longer eligible for this condition after winning Saturday’s Stymie Stakes at Aqueduct. Petulante ran third in the Stymie off a nine-month layoff and will scratch, according to Dutrow, who added that both horses came out of the Stymie in good condition.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Pick six players around the country on Sunday will turn their attention to Gulfstream Park, which will have another mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6. A carryover in the vicinity of $750,000 is expected assuming the popular gimmick is not hit Friday or on Saturday’s puzzler of a Fountain of Youth program.
The expected carryover on the 20-cent wager should translate to a final pool of perhaps as much as $6 million. The sequence spans races 6 to 11.
Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., opens a 28-date meet Monday with a strong riding colony that includes the comebacking David Cabrera and Belen Quinonez as well as stalwarts Alex Birzer, Curtis Kimes, and Floyd Wethey Jr.
The season will continue through May 15. Will Rogers will race every Monday and Tuesday, select Wednesdays, and on Saturday, May 4, during the simulcast of the Kentucky Derby. First post daily is 1:15 p.m. Central.
No Nay Mets, a three-time stakes winner and the beaten favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, worked a half-mile in 50.77 seconds over the Palm Beach Downs turf course Friday morning. It was his first published workout, but trainer George Weaver said No Nay Mets had been breezing on the farm before coming to him.
Weaver said options for No Nay Mets include the Texas Glitter Stakes at Gulfstream on March 23 or the $250,000 Palisades at Keeneland on April 7.
Crupi, third behind National Treasure and Senor Buscador in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream on Jan. 27, worked a half-mile in 50.07 seconds Friday at Palm Beach Downs, as he continues preparations for the $12 million Dubai World Cup March 30 at Meydan.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said he was happy to see the form of the Pegasus hold up well with Senor Buscador winning and National Treasure finishing fourth, after being part of the pace scenario, in the $20 million Saudi Cup.
For now, She Is Romantic is the second-string 3-year-old turf filly for owners Lee and Susan Searing and trainer Peter Eurton at Santa Anita behind the unbeaten Medoro.
While Medoro is scheduled to start in the $100,000 China Doll Stakes at a mile on turf on March 10, She Is Romantic is part of a field of eight in a competitive six-furlong allowance race on turf on Monday.
The program was scheduled for Sunday, but was delayed 24 hours after the track’s Saturday program was canceled because of weather-related concerns.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – On the day before he was to run Locked and Speak Easy in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, trainer Todd Pletcher put a plethora of 3-year-olds through workouts Friday morning at Palm Beach Downs, as he continues to plot out their potential paths to the Kentucky Derby.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Tanya Showers, Impel, and Pun Intended bring diverse credentials into Sunday’s fourth race at Oaklawn Park.
The first-level allowance is for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles and could produce starters for the Grade 3, $750,000 Fantasy on March 30.
Tanya Showers is the lone runner in the seven-horse field who has competed in stakes company, having placed in both the Mockingbird and Dixie Belle this meet. Those races were over six furlongs, and she’ll be moving to two turns for the first time Sunday.
