Sat, 09/17/2016 - 17:28

Rainha Da Bateria noses out stablemate in Canadian

Michael Burns
Rainha Da Bateria, ridden by Julien Leparoux, finishes a nose ahead of favored Dacita in the Grade 2 Canadian.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — The Chad Brown-trained runners Rainha Da Bateria and even-money favorite Dacita ran one-two while a nose apart in the $303,000 Canadian Stakes on the Woodbine Mile undercard Saturday at Woodbine.

With Julien Leparoux aboard, Rainha Da Bateria ($11.30) raced in second on the backstretch behind the runaway leader, Midnight Miley, who set a lively pace in the Grade 2 turf route.

Fri, 09/16/2016 - 10:10

Debut score points out Conquest Farenheit in Summer Stakes

Michael Burns
Conquest Farenheit earned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure when winning his racing debut at Woodbine.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Conquest Farenheit will look to build off his winning debut in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Summer Stakes over one mile on turf for 2-year-olds at Woodbine. The winner of the race will earn a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

Conquest Farenheit earned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure for his five-length victory over seven furlongs on yielding turf here Aug. 26. Trainer Mark Casse said Conquest Farenheit’s debut race couldn’t have gone better and noted how the seventh-place finisher, Megagray, came back to win last weekend.

Fri, 09/16/2016 - 09:56

Casse takes four shots in Grade 1 Natalma

Barbara D. Livingston
Black Canary (left) beat Orecchiette by a head to win her racing debut.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The 2015 Natalma Stakes was the coming-out party for the Mark Casse-trained Catch a Glimpse, who subsequently won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Canadian Horse of the Year honors.

Partially because of Catch a Glimpse’s accomplishments, the $250,000 Natalma has been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1 status this year while remaining a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In event.

Casse, who has won the Natalma a record six times, entered four in the one-mile turf route at Woodbine: Black Canary, Enstone, Victory to Victory, and Thora Barber.

Thu, 09/15/2016 - 13:50

Recruiting Ready tries route in Iroquois

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Recruiting Ready, shown winning his maiden, tired going 6 1/2 furlongs in the Saratoga Special, but will try 1 1/16 miles in the Iroquois.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – An unexpected entry gives the Iroquois Stakes a very interesting look: Recruiting Ready, a speedy invader from Maryland by way of New York, will have Gary Stevens aboard when stretching out in the 1 1/16-mile race Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Thu, 09/15/2016 - 13:00

Favorite Tale looks tough - if he runs - in Hall of Fame Stakes

Barbara D. Livingston
Favorite Tale may skip Saturday's Hall of Fame to await a tougher prep for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

If Favorite Tale starts in the five-furlong Hall of Fame Stakes at Parx on Saturday, he will be the horse to beat despite not having raced since March.

But on Thursday, trainer Lupe Preciado was not sure if he would run Favorite Tale in the $100,000 Hall of Fame or target one of three Win and You’re In preps for the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 5. Favorite Tale finished third in the BC Sprint a year ago after breaking from post 14.

Thu, 09/15/2016 - 10:36

Strut the Course now healthy to defend title in Canadian Stakes

Michael Burns
Strut the Course earned one of the highest Beyer Speed Figures of her career for her 2015 Canadian Stakes win.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Strut the Course will return from a layoff to defend her title in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Canadian Stakes over about 1 1/8 miles on Woodbine’s turf course. The winner of the Canadian will earn a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.

Strut the Course most recently was second to Lexie Lou in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes on July 3. Trainer Barb Minshall said Strut the Course missed training time after the Dance Smartly due to an illness.

Wed, 09/14/2016 - 14:06

Union Strike will skip Chandelier to await Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

Benoit & Associates
Union Strike will train up to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Union Strike, the winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 3 in her stakes debut, will not start in the $300,000 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 1, but remains an intended starter for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 5, owner Mick Ruis said on Wednesday.

Ruis said Union Strike had “a little bit of shins” before the Debutante, but has recovered since the seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies. She has been jogging in recent days, and was scheduled to begin galloping on Thursday at Santa Anita.

Mon, 09/12/2016 - 14:35

Baltas adds Group 3 winner to stable

Shigeki Kikkawa
Trainer of Grade 1-winning sprinter Big Macher, Richard Baltas is having the best season of his training career. Through Sunday, his horses had won 42 races and more than $1.9 million from 226 starts.

Madam Dancealot, a Group 3 winner at Salisbury Racecourse in England on Sept. 1, was purchased for approximately $291,000 at the Goffs Champion Sale in Ireland last weekend and will join trainer Richard Baltas’s stable in California later this month.

Madam Dancealot will be pointed for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4, according to David Meah, an assistant to Baltas who helped to organize the purchase.

Mon, 09/12/2016 - 14:29

Melatonin may just train up to Breeders' Cup Classic

Shigeki Kikkawa
Melatoin, by Kodiak Kowboy, wins the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita.

Melatonin, a winner of two Grade 1 races in the first half of the year, may run out of time to prepare for the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 1, trainer David Hofmans said.

Hofmans said he may start Melatonin in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 5 after a series of workouts in the coming weeks.

“I don’t know if we’ll make the Awesome Again,” he said. “The other option is to go in off works.”

Fri, 09/09/2016 - 12:26

Ireland: Two Breeders' Cup berths up for grabs

The group stakes winners Brave Anna and Rhododendron are part of trainer Aidan O’Brien’s four-runner team in Sunday’s Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at The Curragh in Ireland, a race that could have implications for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

The $392,400 Moyglare Stud Stakes is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth to the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf.