Double Star is back at his Louisiana Downs base after winning his second straight Evangeline Downs stakes on Saturday, and trainer Bob Schultz said the horse could make his next start at home in the Prelude Stakes.
The $60,000 Prelude, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds, will be run Aug. 4 at Louisiana Downs.
“We could take a shot in there if they don’t have anything for straight 3-year-old Louisiana-breds,” Schultz said Monday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Itsinthepost has earned a brief rest after winning his fourth Grade 2 stakes of 2018 in the Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf last Saturday.
Trainer Jeff Mullins said the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on Aug. 18 is a late summer goal for Itsinthepost, who is owned by Jed Cohen’s Red Barons Barn.
“I think I’ll give him a little bit of a break,” Mullins said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Unique Bella will have four or five rivals when she starts as a prohibitive favorite in Saturday’s Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita.
As of Monday, the list of candidates include La Force, Munny Spunt, Paradise Woods, Shenandoah Queen, and Vale Dori. Munny Spunt must be supplemented for $8,000 when entries are taken on Wednesday, and trainer Doug O’Neill said that was the plan as of Monday.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bob Baffert laid eyes on Justify in the flesh on Monday for the first time since the colt left Baltimore after winning the Preakness Stakes to move to the threshold of racing history. Baffert liked what he saw from his Triple Crown hopeful as the colt went for a routine gallop on a busy, warm morning at Churchill Downs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The first of two Downs After Dark night programs during the post-Kentucky Derby segment of the spring meet will be run Saturday with the Grade 3, $100,000 Aristides as the feature.
Mr. Crow, a lightly raced 4-year-old with big Beyer Speed Figures, and Wilbo, a 6-year-old who most recently was second in the Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park, head the prospective lineup for the six-furlong Aristides. Other probables include Awesome Saturday, Chief Cicatriz, and Shadow Tracer.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Betting blindly on anything saddled by Mike Tomlinson this year has been a profitable move. Tomlinson has been particularly hot this spring at Churchill Downs, where he has won with 10 of his first 21 starters.
“I knew I had some bullets to fire with to start the meet,” said Tomlinson. “We hope the holster isn’t running out.”
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – O’Kratos became a graded stakes winner and recorded his second consecutive victory to start the Woodbine meet in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes on Tapeta back on May 13, but he may have to switch surfaces for his next start.
A lack of options for the Kentucky-bred 3-year-old on Tapeta at Woodbine is forcing trainer Darwin Banach to look at both turf and dirt alternatives.
“We would love to just keep him on the Tapeta and then we wouldn’t have to make any decisions to decide whether he’d like turf or not,” Banach said.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Roger Attfield has been on a roll to start the 2018 Woodbine meet, recording six wins and three-runner up finishes from his first 14 starters.
“We just got lucky and got the right races at the right time,” Attfield said. “It’s been nice for sure. The horses are all doing well, so hopefully we can continue on that.”
ARCADIA, Calif. - For what she had accomplished at the time, Sophie P was hardly a bargain when she was purchased at a horses in training sale in England last December for approximately $216,000. The price was more than trainer Jim Cassidy expected to pay.
“The price got a little bit crazy,” he recalled Sunday. “Obviously, she was liked by others. Sometimes, you either go or you stop.”
At the time, Sophie P had won four minor races and finished second in a minor stakes in Scotland. The purchase seemed to make more sense after Saturday’s races at Santa Anita.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Accelerate announced his presence in the California older horse division last July with a win in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar by 8 1/2 lengths over a field that included 2017 Dubai World Cup winner Arrogate.
Accelerate is likely to start in the $200,000 San Diego Handicap again this year, on July 21, with an enhanced status on the circuit.
Accelerate won his second Grade 1 race at 1 1/4 miles this year in Saturday’s $500,345 Gold Cup at Santa Anita.
