OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The in-form St Anthony will seek his third consecutive victory when he meets seven rivals in a seemingly wide open running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at Aqueduct.
Originally scheduled for last Sunday, the Knickerbocker was not carded due to forecasted rain that ultimately forced all but one of eight scheduled turf races to the main track last weekend at Aqueduct.
Trainer Bob Baffert is taking a fresh is best approach when it comes to preparing Prince of Monaco for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.
Baffert, seeking a record sixth Juvenile victory, is expected to have three runners in the 1 1/16-mile race. Prince of Monaco, who is 3 for 3, is likely to be joined by Grade 1 American Pharoah one-two finishers Muth and Wine Me Up in the 40th running of the Juvenile.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Arizona longshots are making news, in baseball and horse racing.
The surprising Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Los Angeles Dodgers and are playing for a berth in the World Series; Arizona-bred filly Desert Dawn will aim for a similar upset Nov. 4 in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita.
Lindy probably earned a trip to the Breeders’ Cup with a closing second-place finish Saturday in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.
The French-bred filly, second in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) before being sent to trainer Brendan Walsh in America, was coming hard at pacesetting Mawj in the QE II, and while her rally fell a half-length short in that 1 1/8-mile race, Lindy earned a strong 99 Beyer Speed Figure.
Despite finishing second as a heavy favorite on Sunday in the Franklin Stakes at Keeneland, Caravel will ship to Santa Anita late this month with designs on a repeat victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
Caravel’s intended participation brings to eight the number of trainer Brad Cox’s expected Breeders’ Cup starters, just one fewer than the number of Breeders’ Cup winners he has sent out from a mere 31 starters, an exceptional strike rate in races as competitive as these.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockeys Jose Lezcano and Joel Rosario will be serving three-day careless riding suspensions Thursday through Saturday while jockey Javier Castellano has appealed a three-day suspension handed him by the track stewards.
Rosario was handed his suspension for his ride aboard Spirit Prince in the Grade 2 Pilgrim Stakes on Oct. 4. Spirit Prince came in and bumped Fulmineo, who finished second while Spirit Prince was declared to be in a dead heat for third with Liam’s Journey.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jody’s Pride, winner of the off-the-turf Matron Stakes, is being pointed to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita, trainer Jorge Abreu said Monday.
Abreu has twice tried to run Jody’s Pride on turf, but both races were rained off to the main track and Jody’s Pride won both handily. A daughter of American Pharoah, Jody’s Pride has only run 5 1/2 furlongs and six furlongs. The Juvenile Fillies is run at 1 1/16 miles.
“It’s a concern,” Abreu said of the distance, “but I think she’ll be able to handle it.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Clapton, winner of the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Sept. 30, is being trained toward a start in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.
Trainer Chad Summers was planning to work Clapton Tuesday at Belmont Park and then ship to Southern California on Saturday so that he can get a work over Santa Anita’s main track the last weekend of October.
Summers has gone as far as to secure a jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, for the Classic.
Del Mar has cut overnight purses for its 13-day autumn meeting from Nov. 10 to Dec. 3.
The reductions were expected. The track announced earlier this month that stakes purses for the season would drop $400,000, to $2.05 million. The purses of six stakes were cut.
For overnight purses, some categories have been affected more than others. A maiden special weight will be worth $61,000, down 12.8 percent from $70,000 at the 2022 autumn meeting. A first-condition allowance race will be worth $63,000, a decline of 12.5 percent from last fall’s purse of $72,000.
Led by Arabian Knight, the winner of the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 2, trainer Bob Baffert gave several prominent horses workouts at Santa Anita on Monday, less than three weeks before the Breeders’ Cup.
“We started picking up the tempo a little bit,” Baffert said.
Arabian Knight, unraced since the Pacific Classic, worked seven furlongs in 1:24. A winner of 3 of 4 starts, Arabian Knight is rated as a leading contender for the $6 million BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles on Nov. 4. Arabian Knight won his first try at 1 1/4 miles in the Pacific Classic.
