Sun, 09/24/2017 - 16:43

Spectator to miss Chandelier, BC Juvenile Fillies

Benoit & Associates
Spectator was a 5 1/4-length winner of the Sorrento Stakes.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Spectator, the winner of the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 5, has been taken out of training and will miss two key Grade 1 races for 2-year-old fillies in Southern California in coming months: Saturday’s $300,000 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar on Nov. 4.

But the Chandelier is the likely next start for Moonshine Memories, who won the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 2, a race in which Spectator finished third in her most recent start.

Sun, 09/24/2017 - 13:59

Oscar Performance drills for Joe Hirsch Turf Classic

Four-Footed Fotos
Oscar Performance paid $5 in winning the Secretariat Stakes on Saturday at Arlington.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Watching Oscar Performance, trainer Brian Lynch sees a 3-year-old who is maturing and improving all the time.

On Saturday, Oscar Performance will face his sternest test to date when he takes on older horses for the first time in the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park. On Sunday, Oscar Performance put in his final workout for the Joe Hirsch, breezing five furlongs in 1:01.57 by himself over the inner turf course.

Under Irad Ortiz Jr., Oscar Performance got his final quarter in 23.15 seconds over very firm ground.

Sun, 09/24/2017 - 11:52

Baffert savors West Coast's Pa. Derby win; Irap sustains career-ending injury

Barbara D. Livingston
West Coast rolls to a 7 1/4-length win in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.

BENSALEM, Pa. – Trainer Bob Baffert was counting his blessings following West Coast's emphatic 7 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on Saturday. A number of champion horses have gone through Baffert's barn during his Hall of Fame career, but the last three years have been off the charts.

"First, we had American Pharoah, and I thought that was it, then the next year Arrogate, and now this horse," Baffert said.

Sat, 09/23/2017 - 14:09

Keen Ice, Destin drill for Jockey Club Gold Cup

Barbara D. Livingston
Keen Ice had lost 10 consecutive starts since August 2015.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher could run as many as three horses in the Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup on Oct. 7 at Belmont Park, and on Saturday, all three put in workouts in preparation for the 1 1/4-mile race.

Pletcher’s two definite Gold Cup starters, Keen Ice and Destin, worked five furlongs in 1:00.97 together Saturday morning over the Belmont Park training track. Meanwhile, at Saratoga, Rally Cry worked a half-mile in 50.03 seconds.

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 15:56

Firenze Fire possible for Champagne or Futurity

Barbara D. Livingston
Firenze Fire paid $27.00 in winning the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Firenze Fire, winner of the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, breezed a half-mile in 49.80 seconds Friday morning over the Belmont Park training track. He went in company with Picco Uno, winner of the Union Avenue Stakes.

Jason Servis, trainer of Firenze Fire, said he is considering either the Grade 1 Champagne, going a mile here Oct. 7, or Grade 3 Futurity, going six furlongs Oct. 14, for the son of Poseidon’s Warrior.

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 15:50

Miss Sky Warrior gearing up for return

Barbara D. Livingston
Miss Sky Warrior is 52-1 in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Miss Sky Warrior, the multiple graded stakes-winning 3-year-old filly trained by Kelly Breen, is on the comeback trail.

Unraced since an eighth-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks, Miss Sky Warrior has breezed three times at Belmont Park in the last two weeks.

“She needed some time after the Oaks,” Breen said. “We’re just taking our time getting her back. She’s probably six weeks away from a race.”

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 15:50

Money'soncharlotte streaking into Beldame

JJ Zamaiko
Money'soncharlotte takes a 1 1/4-length victory in the Lady Jacqueline Stake on Saturday at Thistledown.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Unbeaten in four starts this year, Money’soncharlotte will put her streak to the test in the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Stakes next Saturday at Belmont Park.

Trained by Kelly Breen for owner George Hall, Money’soncharlotte won two of her first three career starts, including a maiden race at Belmont in October 2014 and a minor stakes at Gulfstream Park West. Over the next two years, Money’soncharlotte went just 1 for 14.

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 13:46

Good things expected from Midcourt in his debut

CYPRESS, Calif. – Midcourt comes from a Grade 1 family.

The colt is by Midnight Lute, the champion sprinter of 2007, and is out of Mayo On the Side, who won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs in 2004. Midcourt was purchased for $450,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale and is owned by Lee and Susan Searing.

Expectations for Midcourt when he makes his debut Sunday at Los Alamitos match his pedigree and purchase price.

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 13:30

Tatters to Riches recovering from surgery

Benoit & Associates
Tatters to Riches impressed with an easy debut win at Del Mar on July 29.

Tatters to Riches, who finished sixth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 4, is out of training after undergoing recent surgery to have a bone chip removed from a hind ankle.

Tim Cohen, who owns Tatters to Riches with his father, Jed, said the colt will be rested for about four months before resuming training with Jeff Mullins.

“We fully expect him back at the end of the year or the beginning of next year,” Cohen said. “The horse will tell us the next move.”

Fri, 09/22/2017 - 13:26

Piedi Bianchi, Donworth give O'Neill a shot at two Grade 1's

Barbara D. Livingston
Donworth will face a stiff test against Arrogate in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 22.

Piedi Bianchi and Donworth will be trainer Doug O’Neill’s runners in Grade 1 races Sept. 30 at Santa Anita, an important program in the buildup to the Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 3-4.

Piedi Bianchi, a 2-year-old filly, was beaten a half-length in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs Sept. 2. She closed steadily through the final quarter-mile, leaving the ever-optimistic O’Neill expecting a winning race in the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita.