Wed, 04/18/2018 - 15:06

Great Stuff possible for Westchester

Alysse Jacobs/Coglianese Photos
Dylan Davis piloted Great Stuff to an an 11-1 upset in Saturday's Grade 3 Toboggan Stakes.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Great Stuff finished third in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct on April 7, and wherever he runs next, he figures to get some class relief since he won’t have to face Carter winner Army Mule.

Trainer David Jacobson said he is considering several options for Great Stuff, including the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester at Belmont Park on May 5. That race is at a mile.

Jacobson said Great Stuff was “too far back” in the Carter, at seven furlongs. “That’s why I think a mile could be good for him,” he said. “He could lay close.”

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 15:06

Caledonia Road nears return

Emily Shields
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Caledonia Road has resumed jogging after surgery to remove an ankle chip.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After turning in a recent work her trainer Ralph Nicks called “outstanding” and “fun to watch,” juvenile filly champion Caledonia Road is getting close to her much-anticipated 3-year-old debut, a race that will serve as a prep for her first major goal of the year, the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park on June 9.

Caledonia Road was absent from the work tab for nearly a month before turning in a half-mile breeze in 48.20 seconds last week at the Palm Meadows training center, where she’s been based since returning to Nicks early this winter.

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 15:00

My Miss Lilly works for Kentucky Oaks

Barbara D. Livingston
My Miss Lilly (No. 6) and jockey Joe Bravo win the Gazelle Stakes by half a length.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – My Miss Lilly stepped up her preparation for the Kentucky Oaks by working four furlongs in 49.65 seconds Wednesday over the Belmont Park training track.

My Miss Lilly worked in company with Inalienable Rights, a stakes-placed 3-year-old gelding. It was the first work for My Miss Lilly since she won the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct on April 7 to punch her ticket to the Oaks, set for May 4 at Churchill Downs.

“I didn’t want her go in 52 by herself, and I figured I’d put something inside of her, give her something to focus on,” trainer Mark Hennig said.

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 14:56

Ransom the Moon to get year started in Kona Gold Stakes

Benoit & Associates
Ransom the Moon and Roy H, the 1-2 finishers in the Bing Crosby Stakes last July, both will sit out Saturday's Triple Bend Stakes.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 1 winners Ransom the Moon and What a View are among the projected starters in graded stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Ransom the Moon, unraced since a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar last November, is part of a likely small field in the Grade 2 Kona Gold Stakes, a $200,000 race at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Trained by Phil D’Amato, Ransom the Moon won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar last July. Other expected runners in the Kona Gold Stakes are Bobby Abu Dhabi, Calculator, and Ten Blessings.

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 14:46

Derby Watch: Apollo remains exception to rule

“It has become practically impossible for a three-year-old which did not race as a juvenile to win a running of the famed classic.”

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 13:56

Preakness contender to emerge from Saturday stakes

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
Still Having Fun and jockey Feargal Lynch prevail in the Miracle Wood Stakes.

Laurel Park has five stakes Saturday, topped by the final local preps for the Preakness and Black-Eyed Susan.

The winner of the $125,000 Federico Tesio, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds, will be assured entrance into the Grade 1, $1.5 million Preakness on May 19, and his owner will save $30,000 in entry and starter fees. The Tesio entrants include Diamond King, whom trainer John Servis would like to see advance to the Preakness, and Still Having Fun, a two-time local stakes winner, both for Tim Keefe.

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 13:50

Snowbirds invade for Charles Town Classic

Justin N. Lane
Diversify has not started since finishing fourth as the favorite in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 24.

The Grade 2, $1.2 million Charles Town Classic on Saturday has a distinctly Florida feel. Diversify, War Story, Fear the Cowboy, and You’re to Blame all have headed north from their winter digs in the Sunshine State.

When post positions were drawn Wednesday, race favorite Diversify landed post 6, and likely second choice War Story drew post 5. The seven-horse field also includes the sharp Maryland shippers Afleet Willy (post 7) and Something Awesome (post 4), plus Fear the Cowboy (post 1), Discreet Lover (post 3), and You’re to Blame (post 2).

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 13:46

Sharp maiden winner Just Whistle to Sir Barton

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Just Whistle, the sharp winner of a 1 1/16-mile maiden race here last Saturday in his third start, could make his next start in the $100,000 Sir Barton on the May 19 Preakness undercard at Pimlico, said trainer Michael Matz. The 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton is restricted to horses who have not won a stakes.

Just Whistle finished in 1:43.49, or faster than the 1:44.22 it took My Boy Jack to win the Lexington Stakes less than two hours later. The big effort followed a runner-up finish behind Kentucky Derby hopeful Hofburg in a March 3 maiden race at Gulfstream Park.

Wed, 04/18/2018 - 13:30

Good Magic to work Saturday

Keeneland/Coady Photography
Good Magic, training at Keeneland on April 17, is set to have his first work since winning the Blue Grass.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Good Magic will breeze Saturday at Keeneland for the first time since his 1 1/2-length victory in the April 7 Blue Grass Stakes, with trainer Chad Brown back from his New York base to observe.

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Wed, 04/18/2018 - 13:26

Itsinthepost streaks into Elkhorn repeat bid

Shigeki Kikkawa
Itsinthepost has won three straight Grade 2 races, most recently the San Luis Rey Stakes on March 24.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Itsinthepost, the leading turf marathoner on the West Coast, will be back Saturday at Keeneland seeking a repeat in the Elkhorn Stakes while also gunning for a fourth straight Grade 2 victory.

Itsinthepost, with Tyler Baze to ride, heads an outstanding field of 12 older horses in the $250,000 Elkhorn, a 1 1/2-mile turf race that goes as the ninth of 10 Saturday races.