Sun, 12/02/2018 - 18:41

City of Light begins preparation for Pegasus

Barbara D. Livingston
City of Light earned a career-best 110 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

City of Light, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile one month ago, returned to the work tab Sunday at Santa Anita with a half-mile drill in 48.80 seconds under exercise rider Norman Rodriguez as he began preparation for his next scheduled start, the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 26.

Michael McCarthy, who trains City of Light, anticipated waiting a little longer to give City of Light a work, but City of Light had something else to say.

“The horse had been asking to work for a week or 10 days, and so went ahead and obliged,” McCarthy said.

Sun, 12/02/2018 - 17:50

Marley's Freedom may try two turns next

Ronnie Betor
Marley's Freedom (right) earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for the Go for Wand triumph.

After passing her first test going one mile in Saturday’s Grade 3 Go for Wand, Marley’s Freedom will likely get a test around two turns for her next start.

Trainer Bob Baffert, via text on Sunday, indicated that Marley’s Freedom will be considered for the Grade 2, $200,000 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 12. The La Canada is run at 1 1/16 miles around two turns.

Marley’s Freedom earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for her Go for Wand victory, which came by a neck over Come Dancing.

Sun, 12/02/2018 - 17:45

Brisset in no rush with Positive Spirit

Barbara D. Livingston
Positive Spirit opened up to win Saturday's Grade 2 Demoiselle by 10 1/2 lengths.

Trainer Rodolphe Brisset will be a man on the move this week, but his Demoiselle winner, Positive Spirit, will be taking it easy in New York for a few days before shipping to Payson Park in Florida to prepare for her 3-year-old campaign.

Brisset stopped by Belmont Park to check on Positive Spirit before he flew to Del Mar to saddle Mission Impassible in the Grade 1 Matriarch. Brisset will then be at Fair Grounds on Tuesday and Lexington on Wednesday before heading to Payson himself.

Sun, 12/02/2018 - 17:38

Maximus Mischief may race twice before Kentucky Derby

Barbara D. Livingston
Maximus Mischief returned $4.80 with the Remsen Stakes win.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Maximus Mischief, winner of the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Saturday, returned to Parx Racing on Saturday night but will soon leave for South Florida where he will likely have two starts in preparation for a planned start in the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

Maximus Mischief scored a front-running, 2 1/4-length victory in the Remsen to remain undefeated in three starts. It was his first start around two turns and first at 1 1/8 miles.

Trainer Butch Reid said Maximus Mischief was a bit tired but otherwise came out of the race in good order.

Sun, 12/02/2018 - 16:09

Baffert notches 20th 2-year-old maiden victory

DEL MAR, Calif. - The first-time starter Kingly gave trainer Bob Baffert his 20th win with a 2-year-old maiden this year Saturday at Del Mar.

Kingly, a full brother to the stakes winners Mohaymen and New Year’s Day, won a six-furlong race by three-quarters of a length over Stretford End, the 3-5 favorite. Kingly ($10.20) was always near the front, while racing on the inside under jockey Drayden Van Dyke.

“He’s bred to be a good horse,” Baffert said. “He showed me a lot. He showed me more in the afternoon than in the morning, that’s a positive.”

Sun, 12/02/2018 - 16:02

King of Speed to switch surfaces for Los Alamitos Futurity

Shigeki Kikkawa
King of Speed will be nominated to the Breeders' Cup for $100,000 and run in the Juvenile Turf, said trainer Jeff Bonde.

King of Speed, a multiple stakes winner on turf in recent months, is switching surfaces for Saturday’s Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity.

Trainer Jeff Bonde said over the weekend that King of Speed will run in the $300,000 Los Alamitos Futurity and will be ridden for the first time by Kent Desormeaux in the 1 1/16-mile race. Desormeaux replaces Gary Stevens, who retired in November because of a neck injury.

Desormeaux takes the mount on a colt who finished 12th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on a yielding turf course at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2.

Sun, 12/02/2018 - 15:17

Trainer Brown in position for third consecutive Eclipse Award

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Chad Brown won all three Grade 1 races run last weekend.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There is still a month to go, but trainer Chad Brown has already attained single-year bests in wins, purse earnings, and Grade 1 victories as he sets his sights on a potential third straight Eclipse Award as North America’s leading trainer.

Sat, 12/01/2018 - 19:35

Espinoza progressing toward return, now targeting mid-January

Benoit Photo
Victor Espinoza stands between the actors Luke (left) and Owen Wilson during the trophy presentation for the Hollywood Derby on Saturday at Del Mar.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Victor Espinoza, the Hall of Fame jockey who has been sidelined since a morning training accident more than four months ago, on Saturday at Del Mar said he was making excellent progress and hoped to return to action by mid-January.

“I’m getting there, almost there,” said Espinoza, who was visiting the track for the first time since the accident on July 22, an indication of how well he is doing.

Fri, 11/30/2018 - 15:06

Surgery helps Dawn the Destroyer

Adam Coglianese/NYRA
Dawn the Destroyer wins an allowance race Thursday at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Dawn the Destroyer ended a five-race losing streak dating to July 2017 with a 4 1/4-length victory in a second-level allowance race at Aqueduct on Thursday.

It was her first start since April and first since undergoing a throat operation known as a tie-back, according to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. The tie-back helps keep cartilage from interfering with a horse’s airway.

“She came back a different filly,” said McLaughlin, who trains Dawn the Destroyer for Stonestreet Stable. “She filled out, looks fabulous, and was working very, very well.”

Fri, 11/30/2018 - 15:00

Complexity, Sippican Harbor may get late start next year

Susie Raisher
Complexity trains at Belmont in October.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Complexity and Sippican Harbor, Grade 1 winners this year on the New York Racing Association circuit, are both recovering from minor issues that may delay their 3-year-old seasons.

Complexity, winner of the Grade 1 Champagne, came out of his 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with sore shins, according to trainer Chad Brown. Complexity is getting some time off at Stonestreet Farm in Ocala, Fla.