CYPRESS, Calif. - Once On Whiskey won his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby on Saturday, and trainer Bob Baffert is considering sending the late-developing colt cross country for the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park on Aug. 4. Like the Los Alamitos Derby, the $500,000 West Virginia Derby is at 1 1/8 miles.
“We could take a shot in the West Virginia Derby,” Baffert said. “I think distance-wise, he should handle it. He wasn’t that tired.”
The Downs at Albuquerque will put on a “doubleheader” Wednesday.
The track was forced to cancel Saturday night’s card because of inclement weather and is bringing those 10 races back as originally carded on Wednesday, including the $55,000 Budweiser Special Handicap that drew Sunland Park Handicap winner Oh So Regal. The races will form the first part of the doubleheader, with post set for 1:30 p.m. Mountain.
The second part of the doubleheader will be Wednesday’s regularly scheduled races, with a first post of 6:05 p.m. Mountain.
Monomoy Girl, the leader of the 3-year-old filly division, and Midnight Bisou, perhaps her top challenger, put in their final workouts Sunday morning for their showdown in next Sunday’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga.
DEL MAR, Calif. – An overflow field for the featured Oceanside Stakes, plus races for maiden 2-year-old fillies featuring some well-regarded newcomers, highlight the opening-day card at Del Mar on Wednesday, for which entries were taken and posts drawn on Saturday.
The Oceanside, at one mile on turf for 3-year-olds, includes Faversham, the full brother to California Chrome who won a maiden race last time out, as well as Desert Stone and Move Over. It goes as race 8 on the 10-race card.
Bravazo worked four furlongs in 48.20 over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga on Saturday. Shortly afterward trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed the Preakness runner-up as a starter in the $1 million Haskell at Monmouth Park on July 29.
Bravazo has not started since finishing sixth after prompting the early pace in the Belmont Stakes. Bravazo, one of only two horses, along with Justify, to participate in all three legs of this year’s Triple Crown, finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby before rallying to be second, beaten just a half-length, in the Preakness.
ELMONT, N.Y. – After skipping a workout last week, Mind Your Biscuits picked up his preparation for next month’s Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney Stakes by working five furlongs in 1:00.01 Friday morning over Belmont Park’s main track.
Working after the mid-morning renovation break, Mind Your Biscuits worked by himself under Joel Rosario, going his opening three furlongs in 36.42 seconds and getting his final quarter in 23.59. He proceeded to gallop out six furlongs in 1:12.62, seven furlongs in 1:26.43, and a mile in 1:41.79.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Ben Colebrook has gotten off to a good start with his 2-year-olds this year, winning four baby races. He plans to send two of those winners to Saratoga for the opening weekend stakes.
Colebrook will run Blame the Frog in Friday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Schuylerville Stakes for fillies, and then send out debut winner Knicks Go in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford Stakes. Neither horse has raced on Lasix or will race on Lasix next week.
CYPRESS, Calif. – Handle for all California horse races rose 10 percent to $1.58 billion in the first six months of the year compared to last year, the California Horse Racing Board reported Thursday.
The figures were boosted by a strong June in which handle improved 19 percent, to $269.3 million, the board said.
CYPRESS, Calif. – Jockeys Tiago Pereira and Santiago Gonzalez escaped serious injury in a two-horse spill Thursday at Los Alamitos.
The accident occurred on the turn in the day’s second race, an $8,000 claimer, when Templar took an odd step and unseated Pereira. I’ll Wrap It Up was racing behind Templar and collided with his rival, unseating Gonzalez. Both horses ran away and were reported to be uninjured, stewards said.
Trainer Richard Baltas had a busy opening week last summer at Del Mar, where he won with 2 of 15 runners. He finished the seven-week season with 18 wins, tied for the trainer’s title with Phil D’Amato.
Baltas may be equally active in the first five days of the Del Mar summer meeting that begins Wednesday – and could have a stakes win in that span.
Baltas will run Desert Stone on Wednesday in the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf. Desert Stone won consecutive races at Santa Anita in May and June and will have his California stakes debut in the Oceanside.
