Royal Delta will be strongly favored when she seeks an unprecedented three-peat in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, though trainer Bill Mott and owner Benjamin Leon have not closed the door on the BC Classic.
“That has not been decided,” Mott said Monday. “It’s more logical to keep her in the filly race for now.”
The Breeders' Cup will be run at Santa Anita on Nov. 1-2.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It came more than two years late, but Pants On Fire finally found the Churchill Downs winner’s circle.
Ninth as the 8-1 second choice in the 2011 Kentucky Derby, the 5-year-old Pants On Fire rolled to victory Saturday night in the 21st running of the Grade 3, $110,700 Ack Ack Handicap at Churchill. Paco Lopez was aboard for owners George and Lori Hall and trainer Kelly Breen.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Little doubt that Dale Romans has “bounced” after his Eclipse Award-winning 2012 season, but an incredible finish to the Iroquois Stakes on Saturday night made up for a lot of 2013 disappointment.
A wild winner’s circle celebration was kicked off when a pair of Romans longshots, Cleburne and Smart Cover, finished 1-2 for Donegal Racing in the Grade 3, $171,750 Iroquois, one of four stakes on a Downs After Dark card at Churchill Downs.
Cleburne, a 34-1 shot, finished a neck ahead of his stablemate Smart Cover, a 26-1 shot in a field of 10 2-year-olds.
Untapable ($13.60) outgamed favored Stonetastic in a torrid stretch run to remain unbeaten in two starts in the Grade 2, $168,150 Pocahontas Stakes, the filly counterpart to the Iroquois. With Rosie Napravnik fresh off the Kentucky Downs charter, Untapable overcame some early trouble when prevailing by a half-length at Churchill Downs. She finished the distance in 1:44.38.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Though she was a Grade 1 winner around two turns at age 3, Dance Card could have a different agenda as she prepares for a limited 4-year-old campaign.
Martin Pedroza was asked what happened last year, when for the first time since 1999 he was not the leading rider at the Los Angeles County Fair, now known as Barretts Racing at Fairplex Park. He was sitting in the Del Mar jockeys lounge, in baggy shorts and a loose tank top befitting the final day of the summer meet. He raised his right arm.
The near certainty of a rainy Friday night and Saturday on the eastern coast of Ireland means Al Kazeem will cross the Irish Sea from England to contest the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday at Leopardstown.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Egg Drop, who survived a spirited stretch run and a stewards’ inquiry to win the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap on Monday at Del Mar, emerged from the race in good condition and will be pointed to the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park as a year-end goal, with an intermediate stop at Santa Anita’s fall meeting, according to Phil D’Amato, assistant to Egg Drop’s trainer, Mike Mitchell.
Novellist, winner of consecutive Group 1 races in June and July, can solidify his claims as a leading contender for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France in October when he starts favored in Sunday’s Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Baden at Baden-Baden in Germany.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The With Anticipation Stakes has blossomed into a good barometer for future success as four of its last six winners have hit the board in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
With two solid efforts under his belt – including a win over the course – and good spacing between races, Base Case Scenario may rate a slight edge Thursday in a competitive renewal of the Grade 2, $200,000 With Anticipation at Saratoga.
