Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:16

Midnight Storm using Awesome Again as stepping-stone to Breeders' Cup

Barbara D. Livingston
Midnight Storm finished second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in his last start.

Midnight Storm is likely to run in a one-mile race during the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 3-4 at Del Mar. A start in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on dirt Sept. 30 at Santa Anita could determine whether the BC Dirt Mile or BC Mile on turf is chosen for the seven-time stakes winner.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:16

Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf: Lady Eli to face challengers from far and wide

Ronnie Betor
Ballston Spa winner Lady Eli may not make another start prior to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Nov. 4.

Last year, in one of the more thrilling Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita, Lady Eli was edged a nose by the European Queen’s Trust in the Filly and Mare Turf. The loss denied Lady Eli a second Breeders’ Cup triumph, following a score in the Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2014.

When the Filly and Mare Turf is renewed Nov. 4 at Del Mar, once again Lady Eli is likely to face challengers from abroad. Already, two European fillies, Ashiana and Hydrangea, have earned free berths by winning Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, and another, Birdie Gold, did so by winning a stakes race in Peru.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:10

Motion may try Ascend on dirt

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Graham Motion may give Grade 1 Manhattan winner Ascend a start on dirt in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Trainer Graham Motion is considering one of two races at Belmont Park for Grade 1 Manhattan winner Ascend.

Ascend could start in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch, a 1 1/2-mile turf race on Sept. 30, but he also is thinking of waiting a week and switching Ascend to dirt in the Grade 1, 1 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup.

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Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:10

Hawksmoor will start next in Keeneland's First Lady

Debra A. Roma
Hawksmoor will try for her third graded stakes win of the year and first career Grade 1 in Keeneland's First Lady.

Trainer Arnaud Delacour bypassed the Grade 2 Canadian at Woodbine last Saturday with Hawksmoor and is pointing her to the Grade 1, $400,000 First Lady at Keeneland. The one-mile turf race will be run Oct. 7.

Delacour opted for the First Lady because Hawksmoor ran well over the Keeneland course in the Queen Elizabeth II while making her United States debut last fall. She finished third, beaten a head by Time and Motion and Harmonize in that race after leading in the stretch.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:00

Ferrer, Carrasco recuperating from spill

Jockeys Jose Ferrer and Victor Carrasco are recovering from serious injuries sustained in a five-horse spill at Delaware Park on Sept. 14.

Carrasco, 25, the leading rider at the Laurel Park summer meet, broke his lower right leg in several places. He had surgery Friday and is recuperating at home.

Ferrer, 53, was in the midst of an excellent season prior to the spill. He finished second in the Monmouth Park standings and has 104 victories and a 21 percent win average for the year.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 13:00

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf: Capla Temptress has travel plans booked

Emily Shields
Capla Temptress and jockey Joel Rosario win the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes by three-quarters of a length.

Capla Temptress is a 2-year-old filly on the go these days.

An Irish-bred, Capla Temptress was sent from England to Canada for last Sunday’s Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine. She performed brilliantly, closing from seventh in a field of nine to win for the third time in four starts.

On Tuesday, she was vanned to trainer Bill Mott’s stable in New York. At the end of October, if all goes well, Capla Temptress will be sent to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 3.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 12:56

Breeders' Cup Juvenile: Romans, Albaugh due for a win

Coady Photography
Dak Attack was a three-length winner of Sunday's Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In 2015, trainer Dale Romans and owner Dennis Albaugh finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Brody’s Cause. Last year, that same trainer-owner combination finished second in the Juvenile with Not This Time.

“The pattern says we win this year,” Romans said. “You got to think positive.”

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 12:20

Rivers Run Deep headed to Best of Ohio Sprint Stakes

Rivers Run Deep would fit well in the Oct. 7 Woodford at Keeneland after crushing a solid field of turf sprinters last Sunday at Churchill, but trainer Chris Hartman said the 6-year-old millionaire will make his next start the same day in the $150,000 Best of Ohio Sprint at Belterra Park, a race the horse has won the past three years.

“He’s a rock star,” Hartman said of Rivers Run Deep, a winner in 19 of 37 career starts, all for James and Ywachetta Driver. “He’s a win machine, absolutely loves his job.”

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 12:06

Locust Grove top three could meet again in Spinster

Churchill Downs/Coady Photography
Locust Grove winner Romantic Vision could face second- and third-place finishers Blue Prize and Tiger Moth in the Spinster.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Romantic Vision, Blue Prize, and Tiger Moth – the one-two-three finishers in the Grade 3 Locust Grove last weekend at Churchill – could reconvene in the Oct. 8 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, but otherwise that Grade 1 race is currently lacking in top prospects.

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 12:06

Lukas mulling plans for Sporting Chance

Debra A. Roma
Hopeful winner Sporting Chance may train up to the Breeders' Cup juvenile, or prep once more.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said he is thinking about whether to run his latest Hopeful winner, Sporting Chance, in the Oct. 7 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland or just go straight into the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

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