Wed, 08/02/2017 - 09:10

Mandella waxes Poetic after debut score

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Richard Mandella came to Del Mar with a promising group of 2-year-old fillies and got his first win with them on Sunday, when Poetic tallied in her debut going 5 1/2 furlongs, a performance that likely will put her in the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 2, Mandella said.

“She trained like a classy filly,” Mandella said. “I thought she might need further, but it was enough. We never zinged her in a work. She was smart enough. She made us think there was even more.”

Wed, 08/02/2017 - 09:10

Medaglia Gold earns shot at Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf

DEL MAR, Calif. – Medaglia Gold stretched out around two turns, added blinkers, and moved to turf for the third start of her career last Saturday, and her front-running, runaway victory against 2-year-old maiden fillies earned her a spot in the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf on Sept. 4, trainer Cliff Sise Jr. said.

Medaglia Gold ran sixth in her first start and seventh in her second start, both times sprinting on dirt at Santa Anita.

Tue, 08/01/2017 - 19:10

Keen Ice has another giant in his sights

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

Keen Ice doesn’t win very often but when he does it’s usually in spectacular fashion.

In 2015, he pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year when he ran by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. It took nearly two years and 11 races to win again, something he did in last month’s Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park where he knocked off the heavily favored Shaman Ghost.

Tue, 08/01/2017 - 11:47

Ankle injury puts Paid Up Subcriber's career in jeopardy

Debra A. Roma
Paid up Subscriber took his first victory in 13 months with Sunday's Shuvee Handicap.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The euphoria of Paid Up Subscriber’s 32 1/2-length victory in Sunday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Shuvee Handicap at Saratoga didn’t last long, as the 5-year-old mare came out of the race with a fractured right front ankle and her racing future is uncertain, trainer Chad Brown said Tuesday.

Tue, 08/01/2017 - 11:25

Strong work by Arrogate puts him in Pacific Classic

Emily Shields
Arrogate following his defeat in the San Diego Handicap on July 22, 2017.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Arrogate - the Arrogate who was ranked as the best horse in the world, not the Arrogate who sleepwalked through the San Diego Handicap on July 22 - was back on the track on Tuesday at Del Mar with a sharp half-mile workout that left his trainer, Bob Baffert, both smiling broadly and breathing a sigh of relief.

“He looked good today," Baffert said after Arrogate worked a half-mile in 47.20 seconds under jockey Martin Garcia. "He was floating over the track."

Tue, 08/01/2017 - 07:46

Haskell, Jim Dandy upsets muddy 3-year-old picture – and open up Travers field

Joe Labozzetta/Equi-Photo
Girvin (outside) got his nose in front of McCraken and Practical Joke at the wire in Sunday's Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The 3-year-old male division was turned upside down over the weekend when longshots Girvin and Good Samaritan won two important graded stakes while classic winners Always Dreaming and Cloud Computing and the previously undefeated Timeline faltered.

Mon, 07/31/2017 - 19:54

Gaffalione aboard Wine List in Thursday allowance

Barbara D. Livingston
Florida Derby runner-up Majesto will depart for Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby on Friday.

Wine List will have leading jockey Tyler Gaffalione aboard for the first time when a four-day race week begins at Gulfstream on Thursday with a $43,000 allowance as the highlight of a nine-race card.

Wine List, a 7-year-old gelding with a couple of long layoff lines in his past performances, was one of 12 horses sent to Gulfstream earlier this year by Louisiana-based trainer Ron Faucheux partly because of the suspension of turf racing at Evangeline Downs for the balance of the year. Gaffalione has surged again to his customary spot atop the Gulfstream jockey standings.

Mon, 07/31/2017 - 19:46

Gunnevera’s return spices up weekend stakes action

Barbara D. Livingston
Gunnevera got a brief freshening after finishing fifth in the Preakness.

A five-week drought between six-figure stakes at Gulfstream Park will come to an end this weekend, but it’s not just the leadoff events in the popular Florida Sire Stakes series that will catch the attention of racing fans.

Gunnevera also will be back in action at the south Florida track as a huge favorite in the $100,000 Tangelo Stakes, adding to the allure of a weekend that also will include the $100,000 Dr. Fager and $100,000 Desert Vixen on Saturday.

Mon, 07/31/2017 - 15:40

Arklow tries to rebound in Hall of Fame Stakes

Emily Shields
Arklow and jockey Mike Smith score by one length in the American Turf Stakes.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Arklow, the winner of the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs in May, tops a field of nine 3-year-olds for Friday’s Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes.

Arklow rallied to a one-length victory over Good Samaritan in the American Turf, a performance obviously flattered on Saturday when Good Samaritan upset the Grade 2 Jim Dandy here. Trained by Brad Cox, Arklow will attempt to rebound from an 11th-place finish in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby. Florent Geroux will be aboard for the first time.

Mon, 07/31/2017 - 15:36

Mojovation earns start in Hopeful

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On Saturday, trainer Todd Pletcher won four races on the Saratoga card, including a maiden special weight race with the 2-year-old colt Mojovation, who scored a front-running victory by two lengths. He covered six furlongs in 1:11.14 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 86.

“He trained well all summer,” Pletcher said. “It was nice to see him perform up to the way he had been training.”

Mojovation, a son of Quality Road owned by Zayat Stables, likely will make his next start in the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 4.