ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Tito’s Calling will try to rebound off a poor showing in the Woodbine Oaks in Sunday’s second leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara, the $250,000 Bison City Stakes.
Trained by Mike DePaulo, Tito’s Calling won an Ontario-sired allowance sprint in her May 5 season opener before ending up fourth in the seven-furlong Fury Stakes. When moving out to 1 1/16 miles on July 1, she earned a career-high 81 Beyer Speed Figure when third in the Grade 3 Selene.
The biggest draw on the Longacres Mile Day undercard will be the attempt by Aloha Breeze to sweep the trio of stakes on the schedule for 3-year-old fillies at Emerald Downs in 2023.
As is the case with a few of her opponents, Aloha Breeze will be making her first career start at mile or longer when she tackles the $50,000 Washington Oaks over 1 1/16 miles. There are certainly no guarantees given the added real estate, though it has to help Aloha Breeze’s chances that most of her foes have viewed her at the finish line only from quite a distance.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Northernette endured a heartbreaking loss in the 1977 Queen’s Plate when she was run down in deep stretch over a very sloppy track to finish second to Sound Reason in her third start in three weeks. A week earlier, she had won the Canadian Oaks convincingly, and the quick comeback had to have taken its toll on the gifted Northern Dancer filly.
Five Star General returns to Emerald Downs on Sunday as the horse to beat in field of 10 for the $150,000 Longacres Mile, the track’s premier event.
Trained by Grant Forster, Five Star General won an allowance at 1 1/16 miles last October at Keeneland. He won the Evangeline Mile on April 8 and came back to finish second in the Michael G. Schaefer Memorial on July 8 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, posting a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.
Interstatedaydream has had her share of road trips but will stay closer to home for Sunday’s $150,000 Groupie Doll Stakes at Ellis Park, which could be her springboard into a return to graded stakes company this fall as her career potentially winds down.
As the yearling sales market rolled through Saratoga, Keeneland announced this week that it has cataloged 4,194 horses for its September yearling sale.
The sale will be held over a total of 12 sessions, from Sept. 11 through Sept. 23. For the third consecutive year, the format of the sale will remain the same, which has been cited as a key factor in market stability for the sale. The sale posted record gross, average, and median figures in 2022.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Following a record edition of its Saratoga selected yearling sale, Fasig-Tipton now turns its sights to its New York-bred preferred yearling sale, set for Sunday, Aug. 13, and Monday, Aug. 14. There are 364 entries in the catalog, compared to 283 last year.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Buyers expect to find “collector’s items” among the yearlings carefully chosen for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale, and that was exactly what Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbreds said he found in the $1.5 million Into Mischief colt he purchased for the partnership this week.
Elysian Field
Filly by Hard Spun – Elysian, by Smart Strike
Bred in Ontario by Anderson Farms ($50,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling purchase by Clinton Road Stable; $70,000 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. June 2-year-old purchase by Bruce Brown, agent)
The complexion of the Grade 1, $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs changed dramatically on Friday when trainer Ignacio Correas took Didia out of the race.
Didia was set to vie for favoritism with Fev Rover, but in her absence, Fev Rover figures to be a defined favorite in the 1 3/16-mile turf fixture for older fillies and mares.
