OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Divine Miss Grey, dominant winner of Monday’s $100,000 Interborough Stakes at Aqueduct, will point to the Grade 2, $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at Laurel Park on Feb. 17, trainer Danny Gargan said Thursday.
Gargan said Divine Miss Grey came out of the Interborough “great” and he sees no need to stop on her now that she’s in such good form. Divine Miss Grey won the Interborough by 3 1/4 lengths a month after she won an allowance race here by 3 3/4 lengths.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The extremely well-bred Sherini will try to join a long list of stakes-winning siblings when she runs in Sunday’s $100,000 Ladies Stakes at Aqueduct. This will be the 147th running of the Ladies, first contested in 1868.
Sherini, owned and bred by Len Riggio’s My Meadowview Farm, is a 5-year-old daughter of Bernardini out of the Unbridled mare Oatsee, who has produced Grade 1 winners Shackleford and Lady Joanne as well as graded stakes winners Afleeting Lady and Baghdaria.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Hoppertunity worked five furlongs in 1:00 on Thursday in preparation for an expected start in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 3.
The $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes is run at 1 1/8 miles, and essentially has traded places on the Santa Anita calendar with the San Antonio Stakes.
Hoppertunity won the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes in early February the last two winter-spring meets. This meet, the San Antonio was run on the Dec. 26 opening day of the meet, and Hoppertunity finished fourth.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Selcourt won her 4-year-old debut by 7 1/2 lengths in the Kalookan Queen Stakes at Santa Anita last Sunday, and trainer John Sadler hopes to start her in the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes in March and perhaps the Grade 1 Beholder Mile in June.
The Kalookan Queen Stakes, at 6 1/2 furlongs, was the first stakes victory for Selcourt. She led throughout the Kalookan Queen and pulled clear to win in 1:15.88.
The Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes will be run at seven furlongs March 24.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Beau Recall will run in the shortest race of her American career in Saturday’s Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes at Santa Anita in an effort to produce the best race of her career.
The $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes is run at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course, and will be Beau Recall’s first start in a turf sprint since she won a 2016 maiden race at seven furlongs on turf in Ireland at 2.
Keeneland Racecourse has increased the purse of its Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes by $75,000 for this year’s spring meet, which will feature 16 stakes races worth a record $4.4 million in total purses, the track said on Thursday.
The $200,000 Appalachian, which was recently elevated from a Grade 3 to a Grade 2, will be run on opening day of the spring meet, April 6. The race was the only stakes race targeted for a purse increase this year. All of the other stakes will have the same purse as last year.
Fair Grounds Race Course on Wednesday cancelled the racing program on Thursday, Jan. 18 owing to wintry weather in the area.
New Orleans had record cold on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning in addition to a mix of sleet, ice, and snow. The conditions were unusually harsh by area standards and led to widespread cancellations, postponements, and travel problems. The low temperature early Thursday morning was forecast to be an unusually low 23 degrees, with Thursday’s high expected to reach 42.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Sassy Sienna turned in an impressive performance on the Smarty Jones card Monday, when the 3-year-old filly drew off by 9 1/2 lengths in an optional $62,500 claiming race at a mile. The race came one start after Sassy Sienna finished fifth in the $100,000 Trapeze at Remington.
Last year, Sassy Sienna ran fourth in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland and finished third in the $100,000 P.G. Johnson on turf at Saratoga. She earned a career-higher Beyer Speed Figure of 77 on Monday.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mourinho emerged from his win in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Monday at Oaklawn in good order, and he will be considered for the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest here Feb. 19, trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday.
Mourinho picked up 10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby in the Smarty Jones, a one-mile race that he won wire to wire. For his 3 1/4-length victory, Mourinho earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 99. He invaded from Southern California.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The grass indeed proved greener for the New York Racing Association as the 2017 Aqueduct fall meet – the first in four decades with two turf courses – showed gains in all-sources handle compared with 2016.
All-sources handle for the meet was $250,376,535 a 7.6 percent increase over the $232,646,188 handled in 2016. Ontrack handle was $28,099,665, a 2 percent increase over the $27,554,724 handled in 2016.
