Mon, 09/18/2023 - 13:45

I'm Smokin winner Dr. No No being pointed to Golden State Juvenile

Dr. No No wins I'm Smokin at DMR Sept 8 2023
Benoit Photo
Dr. No No raced three times at Del Mar, including a win in the I’m Smokin. He is being pointed to the Golden State Juvenile.

A busy summer at Del Mar will lead to a light fall campaign at Santa Anita for Dr. No No, the winner of the I’m Smokin Stakes for 2-year-old California-breds at Del Mar on Sept. 4.

Trainer Brian Koriner said on Sunday that Dr. No No will be pointed for the $175,000 Golden State Juvenile for 2-year-old statebreds at Santa Anita on Nov. 3 as part of the undercard on the first day of Breeders’ Cup races.

“He needs a break,” Koriner said. “If they run three times at Del Mar, they need time. Hopefully that will make him a better horse by giving him some time.”

Mon, 09/18/2023 - 12:40

Pick six carryover features big fields, tough puzzles

Tom Keyser
Kuramata in the fourth race has been a beaten favorite in his last two but still may be a single on many pick six tickets.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It might be a good idea to get some friends to pool some money together if you want to attack Thursday’s pick six at Aqueduct, which begins with an $86,515 carryover following the improbable victory by Giramonte ($194.50) in Sunday’s finale.

Thursday’s turf-heavy sequence, which starts in race 4 (2:39 p.m.), includes large, or least competitive, fields and some perilous-looking singles.

Here’s a look:

Mon, 09/18/2023 - 12:25

Plan for winter-spring meet buys time for Golden Gate horsemen

Shane Micheli/Vassar Photography
Jack Steiner is the first Golden Gate trainer to declare that he will be moving his training operation to Southern California.

Stoic Luna, winner of the Golden Gate Turf Distaff on Saturday, is likely to make her next start at Santa Anita in early October. She is likely to be followed by many other runners trained by Jack Steiner.

Steiner said over the weekend that he plans to relocate his stable from Golden Gate Fields to Southern California in the near future in light of the news in recent months that Golden Gate Fields will close.

Mon, 09/18/2023 - 11:40

Keeneland September: Repole, buying, selling, reflecting on how he got here

Keeneland photo
Mike Repole has purchased 43 yearlings, either on his own or in partnership, at the Keeneland September sale. He also bred the $3 million topper, a colt by Into Mischief.

Mike Repole bred last week’s $3 million Keeneland September sale topper. He was quickly back to work reinvesting some of those profits.

“I’m trying to be the number one buyer and the number one seller at the same sale,” Repole quipped.

That benchmark is well within reach, on the buying side anyway. Repole’s name appeared on 43 sale tickets, alone or in partnership, through Sunday night, marking the halfway point of Keeneland September, with those yearlings totaling $16,020,000.

Mon, 09/18/2023 - 10:55

Crevalle d'Oro gets more ground, blinkers in search of breakthrough

Michael Burns
Woodbine's feature on Thursday is a maiden special for 2-year-old fillies going a mile on the main turf.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Crevalle d’Oro looks best among the three Mark Casse-trained 2-year-old fillies in Thursday’s third race at Woodbine, a one-mile maiden special on the main turf with a base purse of $72,000.

Crevalle d’Oro wound up third after running greenly when debuting in one of the better juvenile races of the meet on the grass July 22. The winner, Airosa, came back to take the Catch a Glimpse Stakes with an 85 Beyer Speed Figure, and runner-up Golden Canary subsequently beat the boys in the Soaring Free Stakes with an 80 Beyer.

Fri, 09/15/2023 - 14:20

Roses for Debra goes back to Tapeta for Presque Isle Masters

Roses for Debra wins Smart N Fancy at SAR Aug 25 2023
Barbara D. Livingston
Roses for Debra, who started her career at Presque Isle, is untested and unbeaten in four races since being switched to turf by Christophe Clement.

Last year, a gray Pennsylvania-bred went from success at Saratoga to a rich event in her home state of Pennsylvania, the Grade 2, $300,000 Presque Isle Downs Masters, where she finished fourth. She then went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

The gray Pennsylvania-bred filly Roses for Debra will try to do Caravel one better in Monday night’s Masters. She has a formidable foe in another speedy gray, Marissa’s Lady. Both have shown an affinity for this Tapeta track.

Fri, 09/15/2023 - 13:40

Brooklyn Strong looking for first synthetic win

Barbara D. Livingston
Brooklyn Strong is looking for his first victory on a synthetic track on Sunday.

Brooklyn Strong will have back class in his corner when he meets Tapeta specialist Volcanic in the eighth race Sunday at Gulfstream Park.

The conditioned allowance over a mile and 70 yards on Tapeta carries a claiming option of $62,500. The race drew eight older runners.

Brooklyn Strong won the Grade 2 Remsen in December 2020 at Aqueduct. He’s looking for his first win on a synthetic track on Sunday following an 11th-place finish in the Commentator Stakes on May 29 at Belmont Park.

Fri, 09/15/2023 - 13:25

Faith in Humanity has won following a long layoff before

Faith in Humanity wins Honey Fox at GP March 4 2023
Adam Coglianese/Coglianese Photos
Faith in Humanity (right) led throughout the Grade 3 Honey Fox last March after a layoff of 177 days.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Ten different older females have combined to win 14 graded stakes on turf in 2023 for trainer Chad Brown. The first one to do so was Faith in Humanity, who on Sunday returns from a 197-day layoff in a multi-conditioned allowance that serves as the co-feature on Aqueduct’s nine-race program.

The $105,000 race, run at a mile, was open to fillies and mares who are eligible for a third-level allowance condition, who have not won four races, or horses who have not won $60,000 this year. Two of the horses are entered for the optional $80,000 claiming condition.

Fri, 09/15/2023 - 12:30

Hazelbrook nearing best form for Seaway Stakes

Michael Burns
Hazelbrook was Canada’s champion female sprinter last year. She will look to regain that form in Sunday’s Grade 3 Seaway.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The absence of Woodbine’s leading female sprinter, the Presque Isle Masters-bound Loyalty, is good news for the those in Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Seaway Stakes. Reigning Canadian champion female sprinter Hazelbrook has been inching her way back into peak form in time for the seven-furlong event.

Fri, 09/15/2023 - 11:50

American Admiral giving right signs coming into Los Alamitos Special

American Admiral at SA May 29 2021
Emily Shields
American Admiral was dull when finishing eighth in the San Diego but has trained well since for trainer Tim Yakteen.

American Admiral was nominated for the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Sept. 2 at Del Mar. That is as close as he has gotten to a start in the $1 million race.

“He was only nominated if the race fell apart,” trainer Tim Yakteen said. “It was going to be a big ask.”

The Pacific Classic field was as tough as expected, leaving American Admiral in the barn. Two weeks later, Yakteen has found a more suitable race for American Admiral in Sunday’s $100,000 Los Alamitos Special at 1 1/16 miles.

“He’s training super,” Yakteen said. “It’s a good spot for him.”