Sat, 10/27/2018 - 09:42

Lone Sailor opts for Breeders' Cup Classic instead of Dirt Mile

Barbara D. Livingston
Lone Sailor, shown training last month at Churchill Downs, was eighth in the Kentucky Derby.

Lone Sailor will run in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, trainer Tom Amoss said Saturday, a decision that has major implications regarding the prospective field.

As a result, Seeking the Soul remains the bubble horse, ranked 15th, assuming that City of Light - as expected - goes in the Dirt Mile. City of Light was pre-entered in both races, with the Dirt Mile preferred.

The Classic field has a maximum of 14 runners. Collected needs two defections to get in. Entries are taken Monday, and posts drawn that afternoon.

Sat, 10/27/2018 - 09:16

Belmont cancels Saturday card, reschedules all three stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Saturday’s 10-race card at Belmont Park was canceled due to dangerously high winds associated with a powerful coastal storm forecast to impact Long Island and the New York City area throughout the day.

Simulcasting was to go on as scheduled at Belmont and Aqueduct.

The Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler Handicap has been rescheduled for Friday’s opening-day card at Aqueduct. It will be redrawn today.

The $100,000 Awad Stakes and the $100,000 English Channel Stakes have been rescheduled for Nov. 4 at Aqueduct. Those races will be redrawn on Thursday.

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 15:56

Clocker: Mind Your Biscuits looks Classic-ready

Barbara D. Livingston
Thunder Snow works seven furlongs Friday for the BC Classic.

LOUISVILLE, KY. – Cold, damp, and dreary.

That pretty much sums up training hours Friday morning at Churchill Downs, where a steady drizzle made the unseasonably cool temperature feel even cooler. The main track was eventually downgraded from good to sloppy, and the turf course was listed as yielding when opened for business at 9:45 a.m.

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 14:00

Baffert preparing Game Winner for ‘everything'

Shigeki Kikkawa
Game Winner wins the American Pharoah Stakes on Sept. 29.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Game Winner has yet to lose, and trainer Bob Baffert hopes to keep him that way through the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs. Baffert has put Game Winner through a series of varied workouts, which on Friday at Santa Anita included working him inside the 3-year-old Ax Man in his final preparation for the Juvenile.

“He’s got to be ready for anything,” Baffert said. “Inside, outside, on the lead, coming from behind. I want him to be able to handle everything.”

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 13:56

Dream Tree out of BC Filly and Mare Sprint

Debra A. Roma
Dream Tree won the Prioress at Saratoga on Sept. 2 in her last start.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Bob Baffert was planning on sending nine horses to the Breeders’ Cup, and he worked five of them Friday, but the unbeaten Dream Tree came out of her work with an entrapped epiglottis that will need surgery and she is out of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, he said.

Dream Tree worked fast, a half-mile in 46.80 seconds under Drayden Van Dyke, but she struggled to best her company and was “making noise” after the work, Baffert said. An endoscopic examination minutes later at the barn revealed the issue.

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 13:56

Drysdale looking forward to late-season turf stakes

Coady Photography
Vexatious (outside) runs a neck behind Beach Flower in the Dowager Stakes, but was declared the winner in a Keeneland stewards ruling.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The final two months of the year may provide the highlights of 2018 for trainer Neil Drysdale. Drysdale has several runners starting in major turf stakes next weekend and perhaps in December.

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 13:50

Injury will keep Its Gonna Hurt out of BC Juvenile Turf Sprint

Benoit Photo
Its Gonna Hurt returned $18.60 in winning the Speakeasy Stakes on Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Its Gonna Hurt, winner of the Speakeasy Stakes earlier this month at Santa Anita, will miss the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Friday because of a suspensory injury.

Trainer Brian Koriner said the injury was diagnosed on Friday after Its Gonna Hurt was found to have inflammation in a leg. The injury will keep Its Gonna Hurt out of training for four to six months, Koriner said.

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 13:46

Brown's brigade beats the rain, works for Breeders' Cup

Susie Raisher
Sistercharlie (left), the Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes winner, worked a half-mile Friday at Belmont for the BC Filly and Mare Turf.

ELMONT, N.Y. – With a nor’easter forecast for Saturday, Friday became an extremely busy morning at Belmont Park, with 24 horses pre-entered for Breeders’ Cup races putting in workouts over three different tracks.

Trainer Chad Brown moved up scheduled weekend workouts for 11 horses, including eight who worked over the inner turf course. Five of the eight are pre-entered in the $2 million Filly and Mare Turf, led by three-time Grade 1 winner Sistercharlie and recent Grade 1 winners Fourstar Crook and A Raving Beauty.

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 11:30

Hernandez to ride at Gulfstream Park this winter

Barbara D. Livingston
Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. rode four winners Thursday at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brian Hernandez Jr., who has become a perennial top-five rider on the Kentucky circuit, is making a major change in his winter schedule. Hernandez will ride at the Gulfstream Park championship meet, which starts Dec. 1, forgoing his annual pilgrimage to Fair Grounds in his native Louisiana.

“A lot of our top outfits are headed to Florida, so we thought we’d give it a shot,” said Hernandez’s longtime agent, Frank Bernis, referring to trainers such as Kenny McPeek, Rusty Arnold, and Ian Wilkes.

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 11:30

Hartman too busy to fully revel in three-win day

Keeneland/Coady Photography
Trainer Chris Hartman won three races at Keeneland on Wednesday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – You might have thought trainer Chris Hartman had a perfect day by going 3 for 3 on Wednesday at Keeneland, but nope. At the same time, Hartman was going 0 for 3 at Indiana Grand, throwing a tiny wet blanket over an otherwise glorious afternoon.

“Plus, I should’ve killed ‘em at the windows at Keeneland,” Hartman lamented. “I just couldn’t put anything together the right way.”