LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Hog Creek Hustle was scheduled to breeze this weekend at Churchill Downs as the Grade 1-winning colt begins his serious preparations for his next race, the Allen Jerkens on Aug. 24 at Saratoga.
“I really kind of wish Aug. 24 would hurry up and get here,” said Vickie Foley, who trains Hog Creek Hustle for a partnership headed by Patty Tipton and friends. “He’s a physically fit horse and he’s training beautifully.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The final seven races of Thursday’s 11-race card at Saratoga were canceled after unexpected heavy rains rendered the main track unusable.
“On a day when there was zero forecast for rain, we were caught by a weather situation where we don’t feel it is safe for our equine athletes or our human athletes to continue,” Martin Panza, NYRA’s senior vice president of racing operations said. “It appears there is more rain coming, and it is not something we feel we could have fixed quickly enough.”
Wednesday was a day of mixed emotions for trainer Steve Asmussen, who won the $150,000 New York Derby at Finger Lakes with Bankit a short while before his Mia Mischief finished fourth as the 6-5 favorite here in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Annals of Time could be headed to the Grade 1, $800,000 Sword Dancer Invitational following his eye-catching 4 1/2-length victory in a third-level allowance race Wednesday at Saratoga.
Annals of Time won the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby as a 3-year-old in 2016, and has raced only three times since, owing to a soft tissue injury. Wednesday, he was running 1 3/16 miles for the first time. He covered the distance in 1:54.71 and earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Win Win Win is getting the remainder of the year off and will be pointed to a 4-year-old campaign, trainer Mike Trombetta said Thursday.
A recent winner of the Manila Stakes, a one-mile turf race at Belmont on July 4, Win Win Win was thought to be a candidate for either the $1 million Saratoga Derby on Aug. 4 or perhaps the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens, a seven-furlong dirt race on Aug. 24. But Trombetta feels the horse is in need of a rest and was sent to owner Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, Fla., earlier this week.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Campaign is likely to start in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 17 after winning his second main-track marathon this year in Wednesday’s Grade 3 Cougar II Handicap at Del Mar.
Campaign ($3.40) closed from last in a field of five to catch a stubborn stretch leader in Itsinthepost and win by 1 1/4 lengths, finishing 1 1/2 miles in 2:32.36. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.
Campaign, who was ridden by Rafael Bejarano, trailed Itsinthepost by 2 1/2 lengths with a quarter-mile remaining.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Wrecking Crew was one of the most sought-after juveniles at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale in Florida in March after zooming a furlong in 9.40 seconds in a pre-sale workout. Gary Hartunian’s Rockingham Ranch bought him for $875,000.
Saturday at Del Mar, Wrecking Crew will have his debut in a maiden special weight race at six furlongs. Owned by Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen, Wrecking Crew will be ridden by leading rider Flavien Prat and is the subject of high hopes from trainer Peter Miller.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Shedaresthedevil, winner of a maiden special weight race June 13 at Churchill Downs, was recently transferred to trainer Simon Callaghan in California and will have her stakes debut in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs on Aug. 3 at Del Mar.
Shedaresthedevil was bought by Qatar Racing, Callaghan said. Shedaresthedevil won at 5 1/2 furlongs in her debut, closing from fourth in a field of eight to win by 3 1/4 lengths. She was trained by Norm Casse for Glencrest Farm.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Imperial Hint, the dominant winner of last year’s Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, will face top sprinter Mitole and five others in Saturday’s 35th renewal of the Vanderbilt going six furlongs.
Imperial Hint, the beaten favorite in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint, is making his first start since he finished third in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 30 in Dubai.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Two-time Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow arrived in Saratoga on Monday and cleared quarantine early Wednesday morning to train for a start in the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on Aug. 3.
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