ARCADIA, Calif. – A minor bout of colic prevented Shenandoah Queen from starting in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita last Saturday and has eliminated her from consideration for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 3.
She could run Nov. 4 in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint at seven furlongs, trainer John Sadler said.
“I have to figure out a plan,” Sadler said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Flavien Prat has won or tied for riding titles at four meetings in Southern California since the summer of 2016. Last Saturday, Prat won three Grade 1 races on a card for the first time in his career at Santa Anita on horses bound for Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 3-4.
On Sunday, Prat reflected on the recent riding titles and the big day on Saturday. He was quick to answer which milestone meant more.
“Those days are better,” he said of Saturday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Stellar Wind, the leading older female in California, worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 at Santa Anita on Sunday for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 3.
Trainer John Sadler timed Stellar Wind in a quicker 1:01. He described the workout as “beautiful.”
Stellar Wind won the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on July 30 in her last start. Sadler said he plans to work Stellar Wind four more times before the BC Distaff. The last of those workouts, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 29, could be at Del Mar, he said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – A portion of the purse of the Grade 3 Adoration Stakes at Santa Anita in May was ordered redistributed on Sunday after runner-up Skye Diamonds tested in excess of the permitted level of clenbuterol, according to a ruling published by the Santa Anita stewards.
Skye Diamonds earned $20,000 of the $100,000 purse, which has been forfeited. The revised order of finish promotes the original third- through fifth-place finishers one position each – Sensitively, Lady Tapit, and Autumn Flower.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Two Grade 1 wins on the same day would be a career-defining afternoon for most trainers.
For Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, two Grade 1 wins on Saturday’s program at Santa Anita made for his best day of 2017 – but brought him only halfway to a personal milestone. On Saturday, Paradise Woods won the Zenyatta Stakes, while Avenge won the Rodeo Drive Stakes.
Remarkably, Mandella’s best day came in 2003, when he won four Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup races on the same program at Santa Anita, led by Pleasantly Perfect in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Highland Sky convinced his connections to take a shot in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup with a solid five-furlong workout in 1:01.16 on Sunday over Belmont Park’s main track.
The Gold Cup will represent the first start on dirt for Highland Sky, a 4-year-old son of Sky Mesa who has made the first 12 starts of his career on dirt.
Though El Deal was beaten a length by Takaful in Saturday’s Grade 1 Vosburgh Stakes, he is still likely to run in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 4, trainer Jorge Navarro said Sunday.
“We’re 80 percent right now that we’re going,” Navarro said. “I do think he belongs there with the speed he’s got. Hopefully, the speed will carry him.”
Beach Patrol’s five-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic may elevate him from fringe player to major contender in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
In his first try at the distance, Beach Patrol showed he could handle 1 1/2 miles, the same distances as the BC Turf. His previous biggest victories had come at the 1 1/4 mile distance in both the Grade 1 Arlington Million in August and Grade 1 Secretariat last year.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott is headed back to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and that has to make his colleagues with horses pointed to that race at least a little bit nervous.
Mott has won the Distaff five times - including three straight runnings from 2010-12 - and has finished second in it twice from 13 starters. After missing the race the last two years, Mott will be sending Elate to Southern California for this year’s $2 million Distaff to be run Nov. 3 at Del Mar.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Keen Ice, the probable favorite for next Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Destin, one of his major threats in the race, worked four furlongs in 48.50 seconds in company Saturday morning over the Belmont Park training track.
Keen Ice, under Jose Ortiz, worked inside of Destin, under Hector Ramos, with the two going their opening quarter in 23.61 seconds and their final quarter in 24.89. The two galloped out five-eighths in 1:01.54, then Keen Ice began to edge away through six furlongs in 1:14.78 and seven furlongs in 1:29.18.
