ELMONT, N.Y. – Pure Sensation, who won Monday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Turf Monster at Parx, most likely will train up to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 4 at Del Mar, trainer Christophe Clement said Wednesday.
“That would be the plan today,” Clement said, noting that he would discuss it with owners Frank and Patricia Generazio again.
Guignol won his second Group 1 race in the last 12 months in Sunday’s $296,475 Grosser Preis Von Baden at Baden-Baden Racecourse in Germany, earning a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
A 7-2 chance, Guignol, ridden by Filip Minarik, led throughout the Grosser Preis Von Baden at 1 1/2 miles on turf, finishing 2 1/4 lengths in front of Iquitos, the 6-5 favorite who rallied on the inside in the stretch but did not threaten the winner.
The 3-year-old Colomano finished third in the field of six.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – As he watched the rain fall hard outside the office of his Saratoga barn Sunday morning, trainer Steve Asmussen could only smile.
“How fortunate are we that this wasn’t yesterday?” Asmussen said.
A wet track, a surface that Gun Runner has not particularly enjoyed, might have been the only thing that could have prevented Gun Runner from putting on a dazzling show in Saturday’s $750,000 Woodward Stakes, a race he won by 10 1/4 lengths over Rally Cry for his third consecutive Grade 1 victory.
Iquitos will be favored to win the Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Baden at Baden-Baden Racecourse in Germany for the second consecutive year on Sunday, a race that offers a fees-paid berth for the winner to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
Iquitos had a European and Asian campaign following his win in the 2016 Grosser Preis Von Baden, a season that ended with a seventh in the Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse last November.
Ulysses is no Trojan horse. The 4-year-old colt is all solid racehorse now, improving start by start, and after an impressive two-length win over Churchill on Wednesday at York in the Group 1 Juddmonte International, his connections are pointing to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar.
The International is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In race, granting its winner a fees-paid berth in the BC Turf, including international travel expenses. As a 3-year-old last fall, Ulysses finished fourth in the BC Turf, and he has since improved considerably.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Mind Your Biscuits solidified his position atop the nation’s sprint division with yet another electrifying performance Saturday at Belmont Park, an easy 3 1/2-length victory over Awesome Slew in the Grade 2 Belmont Sprint for which he received a 106 Beyer Speed Figure as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario — The favored shipper Green Mask punched his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint this fall at Del Mar with a decisive score in Sunday’s Grade 2 Highlander Stakes, a BC Win and You’re In qualifier at Woodbine.
Commute set a lively pace in the six-furlong turf sprint, while being pressed by longshot Don Camillo, as Green Mask raced about five lengths back in fifth on the turn under Javier Castellano.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The Cinderella story of Imperial Hint and trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. added another chapter Saturday at Gulfstream Park when the speedster ran away through the stretch to a popular and one-sided 4 3/4-length victory over Awesome Banner in the $250,000 Smile Sprint. By winning the Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, Imperial Hint is guaranteed an all-expenses-paid slot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Curlin’s Approval proved she’s back in top form - earning an all-expenses-paid, guaranteed berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in the process - in drawing away to a convincing 4 1/2-length victory over Distinta in Sunday’s $250,000 Princess Rooney at Gulfstream Park.
Lightstream, the 6-5 favorite, finished another half-length farther back in third.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – What began as one of the Cinderella stories of this year’s Dubai World Cup program ended a little before midnight when trainer Luis Carvajal Jr., who operates a modest eight-horse stable at Parx Racing, was forced to scratch his star, Imperial Hint, from the Dubai Golden Shaheen just days before the race due to a minor infection.
