ETOBICOKE, Ontario – El Tormenta broke through to win his first graded stakes in the Grade 2 Connaught Cup over seven furlongs on turf June 1 and will make his next start on June 29, Queen’s Plate Day.
El Tormenta has been nominated to both the Grade 1, $300,000 Highlander Stakes over six furlongs and the Grade 2, $175,000 King Edward Stakes over one mile as part of the Queen’s Plate undercard, but trainer Gail Cox said a decision had not yet been made on which race he will enter.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Oaks runner-up Bold Script will not run in the $1 million Queen’s Plate and will instead point to the $225,000 Bison City Stakes, trainer Stuart Simon said. The Bison City is for 3-year-old fillies foaled in Canada over 1 1/16 miles on Woodbine’s Tapeta on June 30.
Bold Script finished second by a neck to Desert Ride in the Woodbine Oaks following a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Selene Stakes on May 18.
“She took the race very, very well and has come out of it great,” Simon said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Corey Lanerie, who has won or shared 16 riding titles at Churchill since 2012, leads the standings with just seven programs remaining at the 38-day meet. Through last weekend, Lanerie has 31 wins and is followed by Miguel Mena (26), Julien Leparoux (25), Gabriel Saez (22), and Tyler Gaffalione (20).
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Lanerie’s wife, Shantel, at age 42.
Among trainers, Steve Asmussen leads with 21 wins, followed by Eddie Kenneally (14) and Mike Maker (12).
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Choices aplenty await Seeking the Soul as trainer Dallas Stewart contemplates what’s next for a 6-year-old horse who stamped his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Classic with a dramatic victory Saturday night in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs.
“East Coast, West Coast, we’re keeping our options open,” said Stewart, who trains Seeking the Soul for owner-breeder Charles Fipke. “One thing is for sure – we definitely have a spot in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, unlike last year.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Omaha Beach, unraced since winning the Arkansas Derby on April 13, resumed racetrack exercise on Friday for the first time since undergoing surgery for an entrapped epiglottis that caused him to be withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby last month.
Omaha Beach returned to trainer Richard Mandella’s stable earlier this month and underwent a precautionary throat inspection before he returned training.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Mucho Gusto won consecutive stakes for the first time in his career in Sunday’s Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita.
In doing so, the colt likely earned a trip to the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 20, one of the nation’s premier summertime stakes for 3-year-olds.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Queen Bee to You, second in two stakes for California-breds at Santa Anita earlier this year, was recently transferred to trainer Andrew Lerner after previous trainer Michael Pender was given a 30-day suspension earlier this month for animal welfare violations.
In a ruling issued on June 7, Santa Anita stewards Grant Baker, Luis Jauregui and Kim Sawyer suspended Pender from June 14 to July 13 for issues involving the condition of the gelding New Karma.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Seven horses were scratched at Santa Anita on Friday and Saturday and two were excluded from being entered for Sunday’s races by a five-person panel of veterinarians and stewards formed last week to conduct more stringent inspections of horses in the aftermath of 29 equine fatalities since late December.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Rafael Bejarano was the deserving recipient of ample praise in the Santa Anita stables on Sunday, a day after the 36-year-old veteran won the 4,000th race of his career in North America.
Bejarano had a three-win day on Saturday, and the middle victory of the sequence – aboard Portal Creek in the third race – was the milestone victory. He later won his 4,001st race on the promising 5-year-old gelding Desert Law in the $100,351 Thor’s Echo Stakes for statebred sprinters.
