ARCADIA, Calif. – The multiple stakes winner Sharp Samurai has been turned out until early 2020, trainer Mark Glatt said on Friday.
Sharp Samurai was second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf on Aug. 18. He had one workout in September before the decision was made to give the 5-year-old gelding a rest.
“He had some things that were nagging at him and we thought this would be a good time,” Glatt said. “He’ll be out until the first of the year.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Mitole, widely regarded as the leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 2, had his first major exercise at Santa Anita on Friday.
Mitole worked an easy half-mile in 50.60 seconds with minimal urging in the final furlong.
“That’s about as slow as you can go with him,” said Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen. “It was his first time over a new track.”
Mitole, a 4-year-old colt owned by William and Corinne Heiligbrodt, galloped out five furlongs in 1:04, Blasi said.
The Saddling Paddock Chalet, a temporary structure overlooking the paddock from the parking lot side of the grandstand, has been reinstalled at Keeneland and will be in place for the next three years during the September sale, the fall meet, and the November sale, Bob Elliston, the track’s vice president of racing, said on Friday, opening day at the track. That will include the 2020 Breeders’ Cup.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Twelve 3-year-old turf fillies have been invited to the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, which will be run next Saturday as the highlight of the coming weekend at Keeneland.
Chad Brown has three of the invitees, all of whom will be among the favorites for the 36th running of the 1 1/8-mile QE II, the sixth and last Grade 1 of the fall meet. The Brown fillies are Cafe Americano, Cambier Parc, and Regal Glory.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mitchell Murrill arrived plenty early for the Keeneland fall meet, and it seems to have paid off. Murrill was the first jockey among an ultra-deep riding colony to visit the winner’s circle, guiding Bordini from far back to win the meet opener Friday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – California Horse Racing Board commissioner Dennis Alfieri relinquished his owner’s license earlier this week to focus on regulatory matters facing racing in the state, he said in an interview on Thursday evening.
The decision was in reaction to a recent statement by Gov. Gavin Newsom asking members of the racing board to avoid conflicts of interest, such as having a direct involvement in the sport they regulate.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Churchill Downs Inc. has reached an agreement to purchase Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky for $46 million, giving the company an additional foothold in a heavily populated area to expand its casino operations.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Sistercharlie, the reigning female turf champion and a winner of five consecutive Grade 1 races, will be heavily favored to make it six in a row when she heads a field of seven entered Thursday for Sunday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Flower Bowl, a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
Sistercharlie will be making just her third start of the year after winning both the Diana and Beverly D. She will break from post 2 under John Velazquez.
ELMONT, N.Y. – On a wet, gloomy Thursday morning on Long Island, Come Dancing returned to the work tab, breezing a half-mile in 49.94 seconds over a good Belmont Park training track. Come Dancing, winner of four graded stakes this year including the Grade 1 Ballerina, is pointing to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
Trainer Carlos Martin wanted Javier Castellano to work Come Dancing, so he decided to move the work up to Thursday as Castellano is scheduled to be at Keeneland on Friday and Saturday.
