The champion Unique Bella has been in no hurry in recent workouts.
On Saturday at Santa Anita, Unique Bella breezed five furlongs in 1:03.80, a time three or four seconds slower than what she is capable of producing. The times are of little concern to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, who said Unique Bella is on course for the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on July 29.
“She didn’t work very fast, but she worked well,” Hollendorfer said.
CYPRESS, Calif. – The three-race winning streak Marley’s Freedom has amassed since mid-April has left owners Ron and Barbara Perry hoping they have a contender for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs in November.
Marley’s Freedom won her first stakes in the Grade 3 Desert Stormer by 7 1/4 lengths at six furlongs at Santa Anita on May 27 and took the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths over Skye Diamonds at 6 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos last Saturday.
Jose Ferrer won six races at Monmouth Park on Sunday to take sole possession of the top spot in the jockey standings, and Jorge Navarro padded his lead in the trainer standings with a record-tying five wins.
Ferrer and Paco Lopez came into the day tied with 29 wins. Lopez was shut out on Sunday's 12-race card. Although Ferrer has never won a Monmouth riding title, he has 1,073 career victories at the Jersey Shore track.
The record for wins on a Monmouth Park card is seven. Lopez accomplished the feat twice in 2014.
ELMONT, N.Y. – The connections of Dwyer Stakes winner Firenze Fire appear ready to resist the temptation to try two turns again and will likely run him in the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens going seven furlongs at Saratoga on Aug. 25, trainer Jason Servis said.
Firenze Fire, 11th in the Kentucky Derby, rolled to a nine-length victory in the Dwyer, running a mile in 1:33.74 and earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 107.
Servis said he spoke with owner Ron Lombardi on Sunday morning, and both seemed on board with the Jerkens.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Limousine Liberal and Whitmore, separated by a neck in Saturday’s Grade 3, $350,000 Belmont Sprint Championship, could make their next starts at Saratoga, but it remains to be seen if they will target the same race.
Limousine Liberal, who won the Belmont Sprint, was scheduled to return to Churchill Downs on Monday. Trainer Ben Colebrook said the Grade 1, $600,000 Forego, a seven-furlong race at Saratoga on Aug. 25, is the logical next spot for the 6-year-old gelding by Successful Appeal. The Belmont Sprint was also run at seven furlongs.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Diversify, who romped to a 6 1/2-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $700,000 Suburban Stakes, will likely make his next start in the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward at Saratoga on Sept. 1, trainer Rick Violette said Sunday.
Violette feels the Grade 1, $1.25 million Whitney on Aug. 4 may come up a bit too soon for a horse who earned a career-best 110 Beyer Speed Figure on Saturday.
ELMONT, N.Y. – It may be a while before we get Round 3 in the budding rivalry between Catholic Boy and Analyze It.
The 1-2 finishers from Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.2 million Belmont Derby, Catholic Boy and Analyze It both emerged from their performances in good order but appear to be targeting different summer objectives.
Trainer Al Stall Jr. now has won with 13 of his last 14 starters in Louisiana after both of his entrants on the Saturday card at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City won their races. The streak includes wins at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas.
Stall’s next starter in the state will come on Monday with Belle Force in the fourth race at Louisiana Downs. She is 2-1 on the morning line for the maiden special weight at a mile on turf. The race is for fillies and mares bred in Louisiana.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Good Magic, Vino Rosso, and Prince Lucky were the prominent 3-year-olds on the work tab Saturday at Belmont Park, while Gronkowski for the second straight week was not.
Good Magic, preparing for the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 29, worked a sharp five furlongs in 1:00.81 in company with Backyard Heaven. The pair got their last quarter in 24.39 seconds and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.10.
Good Magic, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, has not run since finishing fourth in the Preakness Stakes after dueling with Justify.
CYPRESS, Calif. – Los Alamitos canceled the final six races on Friday’s program after jockeys told track officials that excessive heat was causing difficulties for horses.
Darrell Haire, the western regional manager of the Jockey’s Guild, said he spoke with riders after the second race and that he was told the heat had intensified between the first two races. At 2:30 p.m., the temperature was approximately 107 degrees, according to accuweather.com.
“They told me a couple of horses were struggling when they were coming back,” Haire said.
