ARCADIA, Calif. – A little later than expected, Bellafina, the expected favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2, had her final workout at Santa Anita on Thursday, going a half-mile in 47.40 seconds.
The workout was delayed by approximately 10 minutes to allow a horse ambulance to transport a horse off the track who had pulled up in the stretch while exercising.
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ARCADIA, Calif. – Sharp Samurai, who has won five stakes in the last 18 months, will miss the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3 because of illness, trainer Mark Glatt said on Thursday.
Sharp Samurai has been diagnosed with a throat infection and is undergoing treatment, Glatt said.
“He’s not going to run,” Glatt said. “You have to be 110 percent ready to run in those races.”
The illness was diagnosed last Saturday. Sharp Samurai was pre-entered for the BC Mile on Monday with the hope the illness would quickly subside.
Bravazo worked worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, after which his trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, said he would definitely run in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and not the Classic. Both races are Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, and Bravazo was pre-entered in both on Wednesday, with the Dirt Mile listed as his preference.
"That's where we're headed," Lukas said.
Lukas said Luis Contreras has the mount.
ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York State Gaming Commission fined AmTote International for two incidents that affected wagering at Belmont Park on Oct. 13.
The commission fined AmTote $7,500 for failure to properly close wagering before the first leg of a pick-four wager combining two races from Yonkers and two from Belmont Park. The commission also fined AmTote $2,500 for failure to inform the stewards that it had closed and then reopened wagering on the sixth race at Belmont that same day.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Coal Front, a multiple graded stakes-winning 3-year-old of 2017, will make his first start in 13 months in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park.
Coal Front, a son of Stay Thirsty, is 4 for 5, with his lone loss being a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga in August 2017. On Sept. 23, 2017, Coal Front won the Grade 3 Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx. He came out of that race with a condylar fracture to his right foreleg.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf historically has had large fields, and on Saturday the race will have a maximum field of 14 starters, according to Santa Anita racing officials.
The candidates for the $100,000 race at a mile include the stakes winners Ms Bad Behavior, Pulpit Rider, Rayya, Streetwithnoname, Tesora, and Toinette, as well as Flammetta, Hey Negrita, K P Pergoliscious, Movie Moment, So Hi Society, Spring Lily, Streak of Luck, and West Palm Beach.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Andrew Lerner, a 29-year-old trainer who launched a stable in 2017, has three runners on Friday’s eight-race program at Santa Anita.
Lerner, who trains 17 horses, is hoping to grow his stable substantially, in part by buying horses at upcoming sales.
“I want to get to 40 by January,” he said on a recent morning. “We’ve got some new partners.”
Lerner is starting to attract attention with recent success. This year, he has won with 7 of 56 starters, and has won with 5 of his last 25 runners since July 14.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Pete and Kosta Hronis, whose stable includes the Breeders’ Cup hopefuls Accelerate and Catalina Cruiser, recently committed to buying a berth in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 26, trainer John Sadler said.
As to which horse will start is unclear. Accelerate, who goes to stud in Kentucky in 2019, is the future-book favorite for the BC Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3, the same day Catalina Cruiser is expected to be favored in the BC Dirt Mile.
“We have two that are going good,” Sadler said.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Withdrawn from Breeders’ Cup consideration after a subpar last effort, Hofburg will take a different route in seeking to restore his lofty reputation Saturday in the closing-day feature at Keeneland, the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes.
Six older opponents will line up against 3-year-old Hofburg in the $200,000 Fayette, a 1 1/8-mile race that anchors the 10-race finale. Jose Ortiz will be aboard Hofburg, and they break from post 6.
