DEL MAR, Calif. – Jeranimo makes his final start before the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 3 in Sunday’s $200,000 Del Mar Mile on turf. With a 10-week gap between races, the timing could not be better, trainer Mike Pender insists.
“His races are being spread apart now,” Pender said. “As he gets older, we’ve adjusted, reacting to him and letting him train us. He calls the shots at this stage.”
Winding Way, who scored a breathtaking victory Sunday by overcoming a poor star to capture the Rancho Bernardo Handicap, came out of the race in good condition and now will be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, trainer Carla Gaines said.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On paper, Friday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Ballerina Stakes looks like an intriguing matchup between Grade 1 winners Turbulent Descent and It’s Tricky.
On the track, it will look completely different.
DEL MAR, Calif. – At 7, Rail Trip is good enough to have earned a trip to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in November. He secured an automatic berth for the Dirt Mile with a win in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 28.
His race plans for that autumn day may be subject to change.
Sunday, Rail Trip starts in the $1 million Pacific Classic, three years after he finished third in the race as the favorite. A win would force owner Samantha Siegel and trainer Ron Ellis to reevaluate plans for the autumn. The Breeders’ Cup Classic would become the new goal.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Arlington Million winner Little Mike will be considered for the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Invitational at Belmont Park on Sept. 29 as his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup five weeks later, trainer Dale Romans said, although which Breeders’ Cup event will likely be determined by how the Hirsch unfolds.
DEL MAR, Calif. – With just two prior starts, Winding Way was put in a difficult spot in the Grade 3, $150,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap at Del Mar on Sunday, and then she proceeded to make the task all the more challenging by getting off well behind the field.
But in a stunning display of raw talent, Winding Way managed to overcome that poor start and six other rivals by rallying to capture the Rancho Bernardo, the championship main-track sprint of the meet for older fillies and mares.
Lady of Shamrock will have one prep race before the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 2, and is likely to start in the $250,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes there on Sept. 29.
A day after Lady of Shamrock won the fifth stakes of her career in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, trainer John Sadler said he would prefer to race the filly at Santa Anita this fall as opposed to shipping to Kentucky for a race such as the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October.
“We would be inclined not to travel,” he said.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trainer Dale Romans was back at Saratoga just a few hours after winning the Arlington Million for the first time Saturday. Romans was among those on a charter flight that transported a number of horsemen, including jockey Ramon Dominguez, who gave Little Mike a perfect ride in leading every step of the 30th Million at Arlington Park.
“We all went straight to the airport and were back at a decent hour,” Romans said Sunday morning by phone.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Turns out Little Mike can go 1 1/4 miles – at least when he gets away with murder on the lead.
Setting a glacial pace in the Arlington Million, Little Mike opened up an insurmountable lead coming into the homestretch and had plenty left to hold clear a late challenge from Afsare, denying European invaders a sweep of the four major stakes here at Arlington on Saturday and providing trainer Dale Romans with the first Arlington Million of his career.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – I’m a Dreamer got a dream run before narrowly holding off a late run from Marketing Mix and made Hayley Turner the first winning female jockey in the 23-year history of the Grade 1, $750,000 Beverly D. on Saturday at Arlington Park.
Giving Europe yet another triumph in the International Festival of Racing, I’m a Dreamer was making her second start outside of the United Kingdom when prevailing by a head. The finish line came just in time for I’m a Dreamer, who was seventh of 10 for much of the 1 3/16-mile trip before moving boldly into contention.
