Sun, 10/07/2018 - 17:56

Jockey Pennington has second five-win day in a week

Jockey Frankie Pennington continues to rip it up at Parx Racing, and on Sunday had his second five-win day in a week.

Pennington won races 1 through 4 at Parx, and then took the eighth race, too. Pennington's winners were Berberslilbriebrie ($3.20) for trainer Marcos Zulueta, Rove ($10.20) for Derek Ryan, Little Lu ($7) for Butch Reid, Resonate ($3) for Lupe Preciado, and Amatteroftime ($3.40) for Jason Servis.

Pennington also won five races last Monday and two on Tuesday. He leads the Parx rider standings with 117 wins, 43 more than his nearest pursuer.

Sun, 10/07/2018 - 15:18

Miller may send eight runners to Breeders' Cup

Benoit Photo
Roy H wins the Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Peter Miller may have as many as eight runners in Breeders’ Cup races at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2-3.  His team is still being finalized, he said Sunday.

The leading runner of the group will be Roy H, the 2017 champion sprinter who won Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship to earn a fees-paid berth to the BC Sprint on Nov. 3. Roy H clinched his 2017 championship with a win in the BC Sprint last November.

Sun, 10/07/2018 - 14:28

Wow Cat targets Breeders' Cup Distaff

Barbara D. Livingston
Wow Cat returned $4.60 in winning the Beldame Stakes on Saturday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Wow Cat, the 3 1/4-length winner of Saturday’s Grade 1 Beldame, likely will run in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3, trainer Chad Brown said Sunday.

In the Beldame, Wow Cat sat a perfect outside trip under Jose Ortiz, cruised to the leaders three to four wide, took over leaving the three-eighths pole, and gradually pulled away, beating Divine Miss Grey handily. Wow Cat, a Chilean-bred daughter of Lookin At Lucky, covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.75 and earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

Fri, 10/05/2018 - 16:02

Stakes winner Ready for Rye succumbs to colic

Barbara D. Livingston.
Ready for Rye earned $819,090 and had a career record of 7-5-6 from 29 starts.

Ready for Rye, a stakes-winning sprinter on turf and dirt, had to be euthanized last month due to complications from colic, trainer Tom Albertrani confirmed.

Ready for Rye was entered in but scratched from the Lucky Coin Stakes on Aug. 31 at Saratoga. Albertrani said the horse had a colic episode the previous night and required surgery. Albertrani said Ready for Rye had other subsequent bouts with colic thereafter, but had recovered enough to be sent to a farm near Saratoga.

He then had another bout with colic that proved fatal.

Fri, 10/05/2018 - 15:56

Sadler's Joy still aiming for BC Turf

Ronnie Bettor
Sadler's Joy will get another shot in the Breeders' Cup Turf this year.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Sadler’s Joy, a well-beaten third in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, will still be pointed to the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf, trainer Tom Albertrani said Friday.

Sadler’s Joy was beaten 10 lengths by Channel Maker in the Hirsch, but Albertrani said Sadler’s Joy was hampered by the soft turf.

“I thought he ran well the other day, I thought he tried, the soft ground just seems to compromise him a little bit,” Albertrani said.

Fri, 10/05/2018 - 15:56

Malibu Mischief tries turf in Matron

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Gary Contessa will look to keep his strong meet going when he sends out Malibu Mischief in a field of 12 in Monday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Matron Stakes for juvenile fillies on turf.

The Matron, like Sunday’s Futurity Stakes, had been a long-time staple on dirt.

Malibu Mischief has made all three of her starts on dirt, winning a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special race by six lengths here Sept. 16.

Fri, 10/05/2018 - 15:50

Knickerbocker is Plan B for Hi Happy

Barbara D. Livingston
Hi Happy (center) earned his first North American Grade 1 win in Saturday's Man o' War Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Hi Happy, who was scratched from the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic here Sept. 29 due to the soft turf course condition, was entered for Monday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont Park.

Pletcher said he also is keeping an eye on the Grade 1, $800,000 Canadian International next Saturday at Woodbine, but he noted that the long-range forecast in Canada isn’t conducive to having firm ground. The Belmont turf courses have yet to be firm all meet, but with no rain forecast Saturday through Monday, the course could be in decent shape by Monday.

Fri, 10/05/2018 - 15:16

Pavel works five furlongs for BC Classic

Coady Photography
Pavel wins the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs in June.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Pavel, who won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs in June, worked five furlongs in 1:02.80 at Santa Anita on Friday in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill on Nov. 3.

Trainer Doug O’Neill said Pavel galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.40.

“The track was slow, and he broke off slow,” O’Neill said.

Fri, 10/05/2018 - 15:16

Cordiality leads full field for Swingtime Stakes

Benoit Photo
Cordiality wins the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Cordiality dominated the California-bred stakes for fillies and mares on turf through the spring and summer, winning the Fran’s Valentine Stakes at Santa Anita in May and the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar in August.

Since those wins were in statebred company, Cordiality is eligible for Sunday’s $70,000 Swingtime Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf. The race is restricted to non-winners of a stakes worth $60,000 at a mile or longer this year, with statebred races excluded.

Fri, 10/05/2018 - 14:46

Well-bred maiden opens Keeneland meet with bang

Keeneland/Coady Photography
Pico Entry (right) and jockey Robby Albarado win the first race Friday by a head to open Keeneland's fall meet.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The turf course was soft, owing to heavy overnight rain, but as far as Robby Albarado was concerned, everything was just right.

“There’s definitely some cut to it,” Albarado said after riding Pico Entry to a hard-earned victory Friday in the first race of the 17-day Keeneland fall meet. “But this horse got over it perfect.”