SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Dale Romans is targeting three Grade 1 stakes at Saratoga during the second half of the meet, but one race he won’t have a runner in is the Hopeful Stakes on closing day.
Unsurprisingly, Romans confirmed Saturday that Dennis’ Moment, the 19 1/4-length maiden winner at Ellis Park on July 27, would make his next start in the Grade 3, $200,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sept. 14.
SARATOGA SPRINGS - Magic Dance, third in the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes here on Aug.4, will not race again this year due to bone bruising, trainer Steve Asmussen said Friday.
Magic Dance, who won her first two starts, including the Debutante at Churchill, stumbled badly at the break of the Adirondack.
“She reached up and hit the back of her left ankle,” Asmussen said. “She is going to get time off at Three Chimneys.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Catholic Boy, last year’s Travers winner, returned to Saratoga’s main track Friday morning for an easy half-mile workout in 52.06 seconds under jockey Javier Castellano as he prepares for his next start.
Friday’s work was Catholic Boy’s first move since he finished second to Preservationist in the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park on July 6. Catholic Boy came out of that race with some cuts on his left leg that needed to heal. Trainer Jonathan Thomas said Catholic Boy walked and jogged for a two-week period after the race.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Though Point of Honor worked significantly slower than expected Friday morning, trainer George Weaver did not seem too concerned as he prepares his filly for the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama Stakes next Saturday.
Point of Honor, runner-up to Guarana in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks here on July 21, worked five furlongs in 1:05.82 early Friday morning over the Oklahoma training track. Javier Castellano was aboard for the move, which went in splits of 14.00, 27.40, and 40.64, so she got her last quarter in 25.18.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Tacitus, second in both the Belmont Stakes and Jim Dandy, may be equipped with blinkers when he runs in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 24.
On Friday, Tacitus, equipped with blinkers, worked a half-mile in 49.96 seconds over the Oklahoma training track, starting about two lengths behind Tide of the Sea and finishing on even terms. Tacitus got his last quarter in 24.32 seconds.
Aidan Butler, the chief strategy officer of The Stronach Group, the parent company of Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita, has been given the additional role of acting executive director of the company’s California racing operations, according to a statement released on Thursday.
One of Butler’s primary responsibilities will be the continuation of policies enacted earlier this year to improve horse safety after 30 horses were euthanized as a result of injuries in training or racing during the track’s six-month meeting from late December to June 23.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Inspiressa will have her career debut in a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies in Sunday’s fourth race at Del Mar.
She has already become a sentimental favorite for trainer John Sadler after an incident during training hours here on July 18 when Inspiressa narrowly avoided a collision that caused the death of two horses.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 17 may have its largest field in six years.
Racing officials said on Friday that Bal Harbour, second in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup at Monmouth Park on July 20, is a likely runner, bringing the list of candidates to 11. The 2013 running had 12 starters.
Bal Harbour is trained by Todd Pletcher and would be his first starter at a Del Mar summer meeting. Pletcher had six runners at Del Mar on Breeders’ Cup weekend in November 2017.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Laz Barrera won the 1978 Triple Crown with Affirmed, a feat that went unmatched for 37 years. That same year, Laz’s niece, Carmen Barrera, went to work at the New York Racing Association. For the better part of four decades, her impact on New York racing has been similarly unparalleled.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Bolo, the winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita on May 27, worked five furlongs on turf in 1:01.60 at Del Mar on Thursday under jockey Florent Geroux, who flew to California specifically for the workout.
Bolo is expected to start in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf on Aug. 18.
:: Get PPs, Clocker Reports, picks, and more from DRF's Saratoga/Del Mar One-Stop Shop
