HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – As if the two Pegasus World Cup events weren’t enough, a full slate of supporting stakes also will be part of a blockbuster Saturday card at Gulfstream Park.
Foremost among the seven stakes is an alluring rematch between Stormy Liberal and World of Trouble, who earned Beyer Speed Figures of 119 and 118, respectively, as the 1-2 finishers in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in November. They’re the principals in the Gulfstream Turf Sprint at five furlongs.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Mark Hennig reports that his Kentucky Derby prospect Bourbon War exited his impressive allowance win here Friday in good order and was scheduled to go back to training Tuesday morning. Bourbon War rallied to a 2 1/4-length victory over Cutting Humor going 1 1/16 miles in his 3-year-old debut, earning a career-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure.
Laurel Park canceled its Martin Luther King Jr. holiday card early Monday morning due to freezing temperatures and strong winds. Laurel will next race Thursday.
It was 12 degrees with winds from 15 to 25 miles per hour in Laurel, Md., on Monday morning. The arctic blast also caused cancellations in the region at Aqueduct and Parx Racing.
Laurel and Maryland OTB outlets will be open for simulcast wagering Monday, but the scheduled South American simulcasts from Valparaiso in Chile have been canceled.
It’s possible that neither Manny Wah, who was third in the Lecomte, or Liora, who was fourth in the Silverbulletday, will return for the next round of stakes races on Feb. 16 at Fair Grounds.
Both horses, trainer Wayne Catalano said Sunday morning, appeared to have come out of their respective races in good shape, but Catalano said he would take a measured approach in planning a winter schedule.
Trainer Jerry O’Dwyer posted a video on social media Sunday morning showing Needs Supervision bucking and playing in a little round pen outside the Fair Grounds barn in which she’s housed. A video, expanding on the cliché, must be worth well over a thousand words, and it was clear Needs Supervision had bounced out of her Saturday win in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes full of life.
“She’s bright-eyed today, looks great,” O’Dwyer said. “She’ll have two days [of] walking, maybe three, depending on her energy level.”
Hog Creek Hustle, who ran well finishing second in the Lecomte, will try War of Will again in the Risen Star if all goes well, trainer Vickie Foley said Sunday.
“It looks like he came out of the race good. We’re looking forward to moving on to the Risen Star,” Foley said.
Though barely 12 hours earlier he had run the best race of his career in winning the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds by four lengths, War of Will on Sunday morning still had plenty of will to return to war, from all reports.
“He acts like he didn’t even really run,” trainer Mark Casse said Sunday after departing New Orleans for Florida, where he spends most of the winter.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Wet weather on the South Florida coast Sunday morning resulted in less-than-perfect track conditions for two participants in Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup program - Something Awesome, one of the outsiders in the $9 million World Cup Invitational, and Yoshida, the likely favorite for the $7 million World Cup Turf.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Stormy Liberal, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3, will start in Saturday’s $150,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint at five furlongs, trainer Peter Miller said on Sunday.
Stormy Liberal was second in his only start since the BC Turf Sprint, the Grade 3 Joe Hernandez Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on Jan. 1. Miller was critical of the way he prepared Stormy Liberal for the Hernandez, saying he “undertrained” the 7-year-old gelding.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Pick a graded stakes at Santa Anita in the next few months, and chances are a leading contender for that event had a workout on Sunday.
On Sunday, there were 312 recorded workouts – 260 on the main track, 51 on the training track, and one on turf. At times, particularly immediately after the track was renovated, it was difficult to keep up with all the action.
The most prominent runner was Game Winner, the undefeated 3-year-old who is expected to be named champion 2-year-old male of 2018 at Thursday’s Eclipse Awards in Florida.
