Magic Vow has registered both of his stakes wins on dirt, and he will be moving back to dirt off a turf victory for the $100,000 Evangeline Downs Mile on Saturday night. The Evangeline Mile drew eight, led by Brad Cox trainee Dazzling Gem, and is the richest open-company stakes of the meet.
Evangeline will run a total of four stakes Friday night and Saturday. The races are worth a cumulative $275,000 and include the $75,000 Spotted Horse for fillies and mares, which drew Adore.
ELMONT, N.Y. – La Sardane, winner of the Grade 3 Intercontinental Stakes at Belmont on June 7, will make her next start in the $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes here on June 30, trainer Neil Drysdale said Sunday.
“I think I prefer to race her rather than training and training,” Drysdale said.
Drysdale was at Belmont Sunday to watch La Sardane and the 3-year-old filly Toinette put in workouts over the Belmont turf course.
La Sardane went a quick half-mile in 47.85 seconds.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Mind Your Biscuits, beaten a nose by Bee Jersey in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, is targeting the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 4, said his trainer, Chad Summers.
He may have an interesting prep race beforehand as well.
Summers has nominated Mind Your Biscuits to the $100,000 Saginaw Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for New York-breds at Belmont Park on July 1. Summers said running in the Saginaw may be preferred to having seven weeks between races and simply training the horse to the Whitney.
“I have to think about it,” Summers said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 11-race Stephen Foster card drew $10,694,069 in all-sources handle Saturday, establishing a handle record for a Downs After Dark card. The former high mark among the 47 night cards held at Churchill since 2009 was $9,400,176, set last year on Foster night.
Ontrack attendance was 21,053, well off the corresponding 2015 date, when 28,968 turned out to see American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. The all-time night-card attendance mark is 38,142, set in April 2011.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Ignacio Correas said he is taking a long view on the rest of the year for Blue Prize, who earned a Win and You’re In berth into the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Distaff with her 1 1/2-length triumph Saturday night in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Handicap.
Correas said he intends to run Blue Prize in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Aug. 25, then the Oct. 7 Spinster at her Keeneland home base and the BC Distaff at Churchill Downs.
Blue Prize earned a 94 Beyer.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pavel could make his next start in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 18 at Del Mar, as trainer Doug O’Neill starts looking ahead to the Breeders’ Cup with his latest stable star.
Pavel, with Mario Gutierrez riding for O’Neill and owner Paul Reddam, thrashed a solid group of older horses Saturday night at Churchill Downs in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap, earning an automatic Win and You’re In berth to the Nov. 3 BC Classic at Churchill.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainers Bob Baffert and John Sadler may have two runners each in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes for sprinters at Santa Anita.
But neither trains the most intriguing horse in the expected field – Touching Rainbows, who will have his stakes debut after having won four consecutive races, all optional claimers, in the last year. Touching Rainbows is trained by Phil D’Amato.
The $250,000 San Carlos Stakes is at seven furlongs.
ARCADIA, Calif. – This could be a very interesting summer for Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal.
The Red Baron’s Barn of Jed Cohen, and Rancho Temescal, directed by his son, Tim, own River Boyne, who won his second stakes in the $98,000 Rainbow Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf on Saturday at Santa Anita. They also own the four-time stakes winner Sharp Samurai, who won an allowance race with a $75,000 claiming option in his first start of 2018 on Sunday.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – After his seventh-place finish in the $125,000 Plate Trial Stakes at Woodbine on June 9, Queenston Stakes winner Silent Sting is no longer under consideration for the $1 million Queen’s Plate on June 30. Silent Sting trailed the field throughout the Plate Trial and will now be getting a break on the farm, trainer Sid Attard said.
“He’s been going all winter and last year,” Attard said. “It looks like maybe he’s a bit tired, so we’re going to give him a break. He’s doing good. He’s okay.”
